Self-driving cars could hit a major road block in California
The
California Department of Motor Vehicles has released draft regulations
for autonomous cars in the US state, and it could hold back progress on
the development of driverless cars.
Amongst other proposed regulations, the
draft regulations
calls for all autonomous cars to still include a steering wheel and
pedals when operating in the state, as well as a licensed driver with an
"autonomous vehicle operator certificate" who could take over the
controls if needed.
This would mean that driverless cars, like the
one Google is developing (which has simple off and on buttons) or ones
that could essentially work as driverless taxis, would be banned on
Californian roads.
The draft regulations will also require
autonomous cars to undergo testing and certification by a third party in
order to get a three-year operating permit for cars that can be leased
to the public, not bought.
Disappointments
Google has already criticized the draft regulations, saying in a statement to the
New York Times of its autonomous car development, "Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this."
"We're
gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on
the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live
here."
The concern is that requiring a human on board who would
also need a special operating certificate would mean autonomous cars
won't ever be fully autonomous, and development of driverless cars won't
move too much farther beyond what Tesla has already made available with
its autonomous control update - at least not in California.
But
the DMV said, "manufacturers need to obtain more experience in testing
driverless vehicles on public roads prior to making this technology
available to the general public."
Even so, the proposed
regulations are still just a draft, and will be holding public workshops
regarding the drafts in Sacramento on January 28 and in Los Angeles on
February 2 next year.
"The department will address the unique
safety, performance and equipment requirements associated with fully
autonomous vehicles without the presence of a driver in subsequent
regulatory packages," the DMV draft reads as well.
Read More ...
Review: HP EliteBook 745 G3
Introduction and design
If
you've ever been envious of the tech that executives carry, HP is
hoping to cure some of your envy with the EliteBook G3 (starting at
$749, £497, AU$1,040). The 14-inch EliteBook 745 G3 joins the 12-inch
EliteBook 725 G3 and 15-inch EliteBook 755 G3 in HP's mid-range 700
series. This range is inspired by the flagship
EliteBook 1020 G1, retaining the metal build quality but without a premium price tag.
The EliteBook 745 G3 is part of
HP's strategy
for offices to help recruit and retain talent. Millennial workers
demand sleeker designs that are inspired by consumer products, while IT
managers seek security and manageability. The EliteBook 745 G3 is
designed to balance those competing needs in a compact, lightweight
package.
The
EliteBook 700 Series meets these workers' needs by being the thinnest
and lightest mainstream commercial notebook. As a 14-inch commercial
laptop, the EliteBook 745 G3 competes against
Lenovo's ThinkPad T450s ($979, £650, AU$1,359) and Dell's Latitude e7450 ($1,364, £906, AU$1,894).
Design
With
a silver, aluminum clad body, HP shows that enterprise laptops don't
need to be black box. The silver metal construction gives the EliteBook
745 G3 a solid feel, and the design looks similar to HP's premium
consumer-class notebooks, like the HP Envy.
HP's goal in designing the EliteBook 745 G3 is to bring some of the premium features found on the flagship
EliteBook Folio 1020 G1
to the mid-range model. For example, even though HP trades the premium
unibody construction on the Folio 1020 G1 for a lower price point on the
EliteBook 745 G3, you'll still be treated with silver aluminum for the
lid, side panels and keyboard deck, along with a durable magnesium alloy
bottom plate.
The laptop measures 13.3 x 9.3 x 0.74 inches (33.8
x 23.6 x 1.88cm). The uniform thickness means that the EliteBook 745 G3
is a boxy laptop. However, HP employed clever contouring with the
silver paint on the side panels to give the illusion of a tapered
wedge-shaped design, making the 745 G3 appear slimmer than it actually
is.
Even
though the ThinkPad T450s and Dell Latitude e7450 share the same
14-inch screen size, the compact dimensions of the HP EliteBook 745 G3
makes it a whisper slimmer than its rivals.
However, despite its
slim figure, the EliteBook occupies a larger surface area on your desk.
The EliteBook is 0.27 inches (0.69cm) wider and 0.4 inches (1.02cm)
deeper than the ThinkPad, and it's 0.27 inches wider (0.69cm) and 0.18
inches (0.46cm) deeper than the Latitude.
Of the three notebooks,
the EliteBook is still the lightest, weighing 3.41 pounds (1.55kg).
This makes it 0.09 pounds (0.04kg) lighter than the ThinkPad and 0.02
pounds (0.01kg) lighter than the Latitude. Compared to the more compact
12-inch, Core M-powered EliteBook Folio 1020 G1, the 745 G3 is 1.21
pounds (0.55kg) heavier. You'll sacrifice portability for extra power
and screen real estate on the 745 G3.
Borrowing
from the EliteBook Folio 1020 G1, the only thing that interrupts the
brushed aluminum lid design is HP's glossy silver logo. If you replaced
HP's logo with a glowing Apple logo, it would be easy to mistake the
EliteBook 745 G3 for a 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pro from this angle.
Opening
the lid, you'll find a spacious 14-inch matte display on the EliteBook
745 G3. The base model comes with an HD+ (1,366 x 768) display, but our
review unit shipped with a 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) full HD non-touch
panel. A webcam is integrated into the top bezel. Users with a need for
higher pixel density could upgrade to a version with a WQHD (2,560 x
1,440) resolution screen.
Compared to the glossy screens found on
the premium 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina and HP's EliteBook Folio
1020 G1, the matte screen on the 745 G3 helps reduce glare and
reflection when viewed under bright indoor lighting or outdoors under
sunlight. The downside is that the screen isn't flush with the bezel.
This makes the screen harder to clean or wipe down, as dirt and dust
could get trapped in the area where the bezel meets the screen.
The
sizable top and bottom bezels are the biggest gripes I have with the
screen. If the EliteBook 745 G3 was a convertible laptop, then large
bezels could be forgiven for improved ergonomics when used as a tablet,
but since the 745 G3 is a standard laptop, it's unclear why HP didn't
reduce the bezel size. Reducing the size of the bezels would have the
added effect of reducing the overall footprint of the notebook, making
it even more compact.
On
the front edge of the laptop are tiny LED lights that indicate network
connectivity, power, charge status and hard drive write status. The
lights are labeled, but the downward-facing position of the label makes
it hard to decipher what each light does.
Keyboard
On the
keyboard deck, you'll find a spill-resistant, full-sized backlit
keyboard with HP's premium keyboard design from the EliteBook Folio 1020
G1. To the top of the keyboard is a speaker bar, and below the keyboard
is a trackpad with right and left mouse buttons. NFC is integrated into
the trackpad, which also works with NFC-based Smart Cards for security.
The keyboard deck design is similar to the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1.
Even
though the key caps aren't contoured and feel flat, the keyboard is
highly responsive, with deep key travel. The keys are springy, but sound
more dampen for a quieter typing experience than the enterprise-class
keyboard on Dell's Latitude E7250 7000 Series.
In some ways, the
EliteBook 745 G3 feels like a more premium product than the more
expensive EliteBook Folio 1020 G1. Whereas HP chose form over function
when it comes to the trackpad on the 1020 G1, the dual-cursor inputs on
the 745 G3 makes it feel like an enterprise-class system.
If
you're not a fan of the trackpoint, the downside with its placement is
that the nub eats into the G, H and B keys, making these keys smaller.
Even though the trackpoint design is shared with the Lenovo ThinkPad
T450s, the G, H and B keys on the ThinkPad are larger, making typing
easier on the Lenovo. I found that I made less typos with the ThinkPad's
keyboard design around these keys than on the EliteBook, but I
preferred the EliteBook's springier keys.
Another
improvement that HP made on the 745 G3 compared to the EliteBook Folio
1020 G1 is that there are physical mouse buttons just below the
trackpad. I found the force-sensitive trackpad design on the EliteBook
Folio 1020 G1 to be difficult to use. Even though the use is similar to
the Force Touch touchpad design that Apple uses on the new MacBook Pro
laptops, HP doesn't offer tactile feedback response for when a key is
clicked. Having buttons buttons eliminate that problem.
Specifications and benchmarks
Don't
let its svelte figure fool you. As a business-class notebook, the
EliteBook 745 G3 is highly configurable and powerful, with various
options for screen resolutions and up to two storage drives (users can
add a single solid state drive and a single hard drive to maximize
storage capacity).
The EliteBook 745 G3 is the first laptop to ship with
AMD's mobile sixth generation A12 APU,
which comes with 12 total computing cores, which is divided into four
processing cores and eight graphics core. The A12 APU comes with
integrated AMD Radeon R7 graphics, which delivers comparable performance
to AMD's FirePro 2000 series graphics, according to AMD.
Because
the AMD A12 Pro APU is positioned to compete against Intel's mainstream
Core i processor, it feels as if the EliteBook 745 G3 should be the
flagship Elite notebook, not the EliteBook Folio 1020 G1. The EliteBook
745 G3's faster processor delivers better performance compared to the
power conservative Intel Core M chip on the 1020 G1.
Unlike the
fanless Core M processor, the AMD A12 Pro processor requires active
cooling, and you'll find vents on the left side and bottom of the
EliteBook 745 G3. In a way, this makes the 745 G3 more powerful than its
premium counterpart, and you'll also have access to full-sized ports
without requiring any adapters. On the left side, you'll find a lock,
single USB and VGA ports along with a Smart Card reader.
A
second USB port joins a USB Type C port, DisplayPort, Ethernet port,
and headphone and microphone combo jack on the right side. You'll also
find a SIM card slot, HP's slim dock connector and the power port on
this side.
It's
unfortunate that HP did not include an HDMI port given that the company
managed to cram in dual legacy video output standards on the 745 G3.
Because a number of businesses are upgrading to projectors, HDTVs and
monitors that support the consumer-centric HDMI technology, the omission
of this port means that you'll likely need to carry a dongle or adapter
when traveling.
A slab of black magnesium covers the bottom of
the laptop, and a removable plate conceals upgradeable components.
You'll be able to upgrade the RAM and storage drives once the bottom
plate is removed. Additionally, you'll also be able to add a mobile
broadband card into the unit to get 4G LTE connectivity, as all 745 G3
models come wired with antennas and an accessible SIM card slot.
Here is how the EliteBook 745 G3 that was sent to techradar for review was configured:
Specifications
Processor: 2.10GHz quad-core AMD A12-8800B R7 (up to 3.2GHz with Turbo, 2MB cache)
Graphics: Integrated AMD Radeon R7 (8-core)
Memory: 8GB 1600 DDR3 SDRAM
Storage: 256 GB 2280 M2 SATA III TLC Solid-State Drive (SSD)
Screen: 14 inch LED FHD SVA Anti-Glare (1920x1080)
Camera: 720p HD webcam
Wireless: Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, mobile broadband optional
Ports:
2x USB 3.0, 1 x USB Type A, DisplayPort, VGA, Ethernet, SD card reader,
headphone/microphone combo port, HP slim dock, SIM, TPM, Smart Card
reader, fingerprint scanner
Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.3 x 0.74 inches
Weight: 3.41 pounds
Even
though the EliteBook 745 G3 has a low $749 (£497, AU$1,040) starting
price, our review unit is priced at $1,800 (£1,196, AU$2,500). Upgrading
the 745 G3 with a QHD display, 16GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity, and a
512GB SSD and 500GB hard drive brings the price up to $2,229 (£1,481,
AU$3,096). At this price, you'll get more storage, but the advantage of
AMD's powerful yet affordable A12 Pro APU compared to Intel's mainstream
Core i5 becomes less obvious.
In fact, fully configured, the
EliteBook 745 G3 is $100 (£66, AU$138) more expensive than a 13-inch
MacBook Pro with Retina Display configured with a 3.1GHz Intel Core i7
processor, 16GB RAM and a 512GB solid state drive. You will, however,
lose the extra 500GB hard drive, fingerprint scanner and the 4G LTE
modem with Apple's laptop, but you'll gain a more solid unibody
construction.
Benchmarks
PCMark8: Work: 2,227; Home: 2,644
Battery life: 3 hours and 31 minutes
3DMark: Fire Strike: 1,031; Cloud Gate: 4,745; Sky Diver: 3,614
Cinebench: CPU: 211 points; GPU: 33 fps
Geekbench: Single-core: 2,119; Multi-core: 5,251
The
PCMark8, 3DMark and Cinebench benchmarks reveal that the performance of
EliteBook 745 G3 is in line with Intel's Core i series processors. The
ThinkPad T450s's PCMark Home score of 2,200 and 2,896 Work score
delivered by Intel's fifth generation dual-core Core i5 CPU were within
range of the AMD A12 Pro APU on the 745 G3, and both processors share
similar battery life with three-cell batteries.
Where the A12 Pro
shines is with graphics, beating the ThinkPad's graphic performance on
two of three 3DMark benchmarks. The ThinkPad scored 731 on the Fire
Strike, 5,305 on Cloud Gate and 2,648 on Sky Diver tests. Additionally,
the ThinkPad delivered 10 fewer frames per second using Cinebench's GPU
benchmark.
As
expected, both AMD A12 Pro APU and the Broadwell-based Intel Core i5
processors delivered much better performance than the energy efficient
Intel Core M chipset found on the flagship EliteBook Folio 1020 G1.
Compared to the 1020, the 745 G3 readily wins in all tests.
The
745 G3's processor performance is 376 points better using PCMark 8's
work test, and 72 points higher using Cinebench's CPU test. Graphics
performance of the integrated Radeon R7 on the 745 G3 is about three
times better than the integrated Intel HD graphics on the 1020 G1,
earning scores of 407, 1,551 and 1,526 on Fire Strike, Cloud Gate and
Sky Diver tests, respectively.
For
a system that requires active cooling, EliteBook 745 G3 is surprisingly
quiet. Although the fan turned on during the benchmark testing and in
my general use, but the noise was quiet and never bothersome. For the
most part, the fan remained idle for basic tasks, like word processing.
Compared to Intel's newest mainstream processor, the
sixth generation Skylake Core i5 CPU, on the
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, the AMD A12 Pro APU on the EliteBook 745 G3 is still able to hold its ground.
Graphics
benchmark was mixed between the two systems using 3DMark. Both the
EliteBook 745 G3 and the Surface Pro 4 scored similar marks using the
Sky Diver test, but the 745 G3 scored 175 points better on Fire Strike
and 2,261 points worse on the Cloud Gate. Processing performance is
about equal, with the Surface Pro 4 score 2,406 using PCMark 8's Home
test. The Surface Pro 4 pulled ahead with a CPU score of 305 points and
GPU score of 37 fps.
Performance and value
HP claims that
the notebook sheds 10% of its thickness and 13% of its weight from the
previous generation G2 model. However, don't let its lighter weight and
slimmer figure fool you, the EliteBook is still a durable notebook
having passed MIL-SPEC 810G testing against dirt, dust and drops.
For
office workers who eat and drink at their desks, the spill-resistant
keyboard means that an accidentally spilled glass of water won't damage
the laptop. Liquid that is spilled on the keyboard will flow through a
drainage system that empties out through a hole on the bottom of the
EliteBook 745 G3.
When
used with Windows 10, the integrated fingerprint sensor makes it easy
to unlock your laptop with Windows Hello. This makes securing your data
easier than having to type in a password. The swipe-based fingerprint
reader isn't quite as easy as newer touch-based readers, but I found the
system to be accurate and fast. Out of ten swipes, the 745 G3 was able
to positively identify me eight tens.
For added security, the
EliteBook 745 G3 also comes with HP's Sure Start technology. The
self-healing BIOS ensures that the BIOS will restore itself in the event
of a corruption, either as a result of malicious software or an
interrupted BIOS update.
Overall, the EliteBook 745 G3 feels
fast, and I didn't notice any performance difference when compared to
systems with Intel's Core i5 processor. The notebook had no problems
handling Windows 10's natives apps while running instant messaging
clients, handling multiple tabs in multiple browser windows, and running
Skype conference calls and messaging apps. The only slight slow down
I've noticed is that larger programs, like Adobe Premiere Pro, would
start up slower on the EliteBook 745 G3 compared to the Intel-powered
Lenovo ThinkPad T450s, but performance within the app was similar with
both systems.
Display
A rarity even on business notebooks
today, the matte display was very comfortable to use. Because of the
matte finish, the screen doesn't appear as crisp as a glossy display.
However, I found the EliteBook 745 G3's matte screen more comfortable
than the glossy screen on the EliteBook Folio 1020 for extended use. The
matte coating minimizes reflection and glare, which also means less eye
strain.
The display provides wide viewing angles, and the 300
nits of brightness means that it is comfortable for use indoors and
outdoors under shaded areas. You'll want to avoid using the 745 G3 under
direct sunlight, as the screen gets washed out.
As I'm now
accustomed to using a touchscreen on Windows-based systems, not having a
touchscreen on my EliteBook 745 G3 review unit was a big hindrance. A
touchscreen is an optional upgrade, as is a higher resolution QHD panel.
Audio
Unlike the Envy and Spectre consumer PC lines, HP
opted not to include any visible branding from its audio partnership
with Bang & Olufsen. Even though you won't find any B&O
branding on this laptop, HP assured me that B&O tuning helps the
745 G3 deliver a superior experience for voice and video conferencing.
As
a result of the collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, the
EliteBook 745 G3 comes with noise reduction software to minimize
background and keyboard noise when you're on a video conference call,
and the laptop comes with HP Clear Sound Amp so you can hear clearer
audio from the call.
For
a laptop, I found audio quality to be loud, rich and clean, even at
high volume settings. Audio output is loud enough to fill a small room.
There was no distortion at the highest volume, but audiophiles who want
even richer audio output should invest in quality headphones or
speakers.
For comparison, the standard edition of the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 does not come with any Bang & Olufsen tuning.
Battery life
HP
didn't provide battery life estimates, but AMD claims that the A12 Pro
APU is capable of all-day battery life when playing back 1080p videos.
Looping
a 1080p-encoded video with volume and brightness set to 50%, the
EliteBook 745 G3 delivered just shy of six hours of battery life, which
is good for a transcontinental flight, but you'll want to find a charger
as soon as you land to continue working.
PCMark8's
rigorous battery life test shows that the EliteBook 745 G3 is capable
of three hours and 31 minutes of battery life when performing work
tasks. In my anecdotal battery life test working in the browser, running
messaging clients and working in Microsoft Office 2013, I found the
battery depleted in five hours and 45 minutes.
Value
AMD's
value proposition with the A12 Pro APU is that you'll get similar
performance to Intel's mainstream Core i5 processor at a lower price.
With
the savings you'll get when choosing the A12 Pro APU over a comparable
build with an Intel Core i5 processor, AMD says you can invest that
price difference into other components. This means you can upgrade to a
faster solid state drive, increase the hard drive capacity, add more RAM
or use your savings to invest in a 4G LTE upgrade for your laptop.
Verdict
HP
designed the EliteBook 745 G3 for mid-level executives to have a
business-class laptop with a similar fit and finish to the premium
C-level class EliteBook Folio 1020 G1. And HP succeeded on this
endeavor, delivering a metal-clad laptop that sacrifices a unibody
construction for a lower price point. Best of all, the 745 G3 earns its
keep with a faster processor than the power-sipping processor of the
more expensive 1020 G1.
We liked
The
EliteBook 745 G3 is a versatile laptop with numerous options for
configurability. Keep in mind that adding a touchscreen, increasing the
screen resolution and adding more storage and memory will quickly
increase the price tag of the EliteBook 745 G3. However, at its base
configuration, the EliteBook 745 G3 is an affordable mid-range
business-class laptop.
The performance of the included AMD A12 APU
with integrated Radeon R7 graphics rivals more expensive systems
configured with Intel's mainstream Core i5 processor. In this regard,
the improved performance of the 745 G3 compared to the Core M chipset on
the flagship HP EliteBook 1020 G1 makes this mid-ranger feel like a
more premium product.
A comfortable keyboard, easy to use
trackpad, loud speakers and bright, matte display round out the top
features of this commercial notebook.
We disliked
Like
the flagship EliteBook 1020 G1, battery life remains an issue with the
745 G3. The powerful performance of the AMD A12 Pro processor, combined
with the three-cell battery, means you'll fall short of AMD's all-day
battery life claims.
As a mid-range notebook, features like a touchscreen, solid state drive and high resolution display are added extras.
Final verdict
Compared
to Apple's MacBook strategy, HP is taking a different approach with its
EliteBook by offering performance at a lower cost. This makes the
entry-level EliteBook 745 G3 an exceptional value for those who want
Intel Core i5-level performance but don't want to pay the price for the
mainstream CPU. AMD's A12 APU delivers exceptional computing. As long as
you're willing to sacrifice screen resolution and storage at lower
price points, you'll be rewarded with an affordable system that's highly
upgradeable as your needs evolve.
Read More ...
Mac Tips: How to use Windows 10 on a Mac
As much as
Mac owners might like to think that they have the superior desktop operating system with
OS X, there might actually be times when you'd want to be running
Windows
as well. There's the matter of games and PC-only software, of course,
and if you're a programmer it's convenient to be able to switch back and
forth between other operating systems. Plus, there are feature
differences: Windows 10 has Cortana built in, whereas Siri has yet to
make the jump to OS X. Whatever your reason, putting Windows 10 onto a
Mac running OS X El Capitan is completely doable. Here are two easy ways
to make it so (and unlike using Bootcamp, neither of them require you
to restart your computer to switch between operating systems).
Using Parallels Desktop
The
most convenient way to use Windows 10 on a Mac is probably by acquiring
the Parallels Desktop software for Mac. It's a paid application (though
there is a free trial), but when it comes to features and ease of use,
it's arguably the best option available.
Before
you do that, however, you'll need to get a copy of Windows 10. You can
get an ISO file directly from Microsoft by clicking
here.
Most users will probably want to opt for the standard version of
Windows 10 in English, 32-bit download, but your situation may vary.
Download it to your Mac desktop.
Next, get a copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac from
here.
Click Buy Now or Try Now, then download the DMG file, unzip it, and go
through the installation process, which will likely require your
administrative password. If you bought Parallels Desktop you can enter
the key here to get full access to the software; if not, you can click
the button for the aforementioned free 14-day trial.
Once
Parallels is installed, open up the program and begin the process of
installing Windows 10. You'll be presented with three choices: get
windows 10 from Microsoft, install Windows or another OS from a DVD or
image file, or migrate Windows from a PC. In this case, you'll want to
choose the second option. Double-click Windows 10 and the ISO file you
grabbed earlier should be located automatically. (If it isn't, select it
from the desktop.)
As you click through the setup pages, you'll
want to uncheck "this version requires a product key" when the option
appears, and you'll also need to choose how you'll be using the virtual
machine, which alters the way features are configured and memory is
allocated. Don't worry about this too much - you can always change this
later. (You can do so by selecting Action > Configure after
shutting down Windows 10 under the Power section of the Windows menu in
the lower right corner.) You'll also need to select a name and location
for your Windows 10 setup.
After
making these selections, Parallels will load up a Windows environment.
Select the Home version, then begin the installation. It'll take a few
minutes to install, but you're almost done - Windows 10 will shortly be
installed on your Mac. Once installation is complete, Parallels should
automatically open Coherence mode, which lets you use Windows 10
features while still running OS X. To switch to full Windows mode, go to
the Parallels drop-down in the Finder menu bar of OS X and choose View
> Exit Coherence.
Now that you're running Windows 10
through Parallels you'll be able to take advantage of a plethora of new
options. In addition to being able to run Windows applications, you'll
also be able to utilize features across both operating systems, such as
full use of Cortana, Quick Look for Windows documents (by pressing the
space bar, just like when in OS X), simplified file sharing and
printing, and Mac location services support for Windows apps, among
other features.
Using VirtualBox
Alternatively,
if you don't need all those bells and whistles, you could opt for a
free method of running Windows 10 on Mac called VirtualBox. (You'll also
need to download Windows 10 from Microsoft as described in the previous
section.)
You can download Virtualbox by going
here
and clicking on the link for VirtualBox 5.0.10 for OS X hosts. Download
the DMG file, open it, then double-click the package file to install
it. When it's done installing, open the app from your Applications
folder. Next, select a name, memory size, and virtual hard drive size to
create your virtual Windows environment. With that set up, click the
green Start arrow to install Windows 10. Choose to perform a custom
install and that's that - you'll now have a fully functioning version of
Windows 10 on your Mac.
Read More ...
Stan plans 2016 activity, doubling local original production
Considering local streaming service
Stan only launched at the start of the year, the venture has already had a fairly big impact on the local market.
And
2016 is set to be even bigger, with the company announcing that it
plans to more than double local production over the coming year.
While the
previously announced production of Wolf Creek will make its debut in 2016, the company has also confirmed a second season of its successful comedy, No Activity.
Lots of Activity
No
Activity has been well received by both critics and subscribers, so
it's not a huge surprise that the show is getting picked up for a second
season.
While Stan has named both No Activity and Wolf Creek in its 2016 lineup, it's also promised new programs for the new year.
In
any case, it's good news for Australians wanting to get their fix of
quality original content, and will help Stan compete with
Netflix's plans for
even more TV next year as well.
Read More ...
Kia at CES 2016: it's all about autonomous driving
Kia has revealed its plans for
CES 2016, and they revolve around two words: autonomous driving.
While
still light on specifics, Kia said its January 5 press conference will
serve as the "global debut of its dedicated autonomous driving program."
The
Optima maker will dive into its future vision, strategy and new technologies for autonomous driving during the presser.
Kia
also plans to discuss the moves its made in the connected car space,
though, truthfully, we're most excited for the self-driving goods.
The
auto company announced earlier this week that it's been approved to
test self-driving technologies on public roads in Nevada. It also set a
goal of introducing partially autonomous driving tech to its line-up by
2020 and, fingers crossed, will put fully autonomous vehicles in car
dealer lots by 2030.
Kia and its sister firm Hyundai are
investing $2 billion over the next two years to help develop a new
Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and hire more engineers to
drive (pardon the pun) innovation.
Read More ...
Review: Hyundai Tucson
Design, interior and infotainment
Station
wagons, or estates and touring's for those on the eastern side of the
Atlantic, were once a staple for the American car buyer. It was the
ultimate family vehicle that was comfortable with tons of space.
Americans ditched the station wagon for the minivan and later the sport
utility vehicle (SUV). The last decade paved way for a new type of
vehicle: the crossover utility vehicle (CUV).
While it has a
fancy new name, the CUV is the result of car buyers circling back to the
station wagon, regardless of whether they'd admit it. Theoretically,
the CUV combines the tall seating position of a sport utility vehicle
(SUV) with the comfort, drivability and fuel economy of a car. In
reality, it's a hatchback or station wagon with extra ground clearance.
Regardless
of what you call it, Hyundai has an all-new Tucson compact CUV that
looks simple but quite upscale. Hyundai sent me a gorgeous Caribbean
blue 2016 Tucson Limited AWD, loaded with the Ultimate Package that
retails for $34,945 (£30,930 for the similarly-equipped Tucson Premium
SE 1.6 T-GDI Petrol 4WD DCT automatic or AU$43,490 for the Tucson
Highlander 1.6 T-GDI petrol AWD) to test for a week.
I
dig the Tucson's new look: the front-end has a mean grin to it, though
it's not too aggressive. The car has an understated look that is more
typical of luxury cars than the mainstream ones it competes with.
Hyundai also reserved the use of chrome to some parts of the grille and
door handles, which I appreciate deeply – I despise chrome accents on
cars.
Interior
Step inside the new Tuscon, and you're
treated to soft-touch materials all over that give the car a feel of
luxury. The heavily-insulated doors open and close with a heavy "thunk"
that's typically associated with premium cars. Grab the leather-wrapped
steering wheel, and your hands feel at home with the integrated thumb
grips.
Look
forward, and you're treated to a pair of analog gauges for the
tachometer, engine coolant temperature, speedometer and fuel. Sandwiched
between the gauges is a 4.2-inch, multi-function LCD that displays your
trip, fuel economy, driver assist, turn-by-turn navigation and music
information. Hyundai provides access to settings for driver assists and
vehicle conveniences, like how long the lights stay on after you get out
of the car, sensitivity of the automatic headlamps, enable or disable
the smart trunk and more, via the small LCD.
Everything looks and
feels good initially, but then you reach down for the shifter and notice
the lower center console is made of hard, cheap plastics with fake
stitching that doesn't look premium at all.
You move your knee
around a little and notice there's a padded vinyl cover for your right
knee. Most of the interior of the Tucson looks luxe – until you reach
for the center console. It's understandable to use cheaper plastics on
the lower parts of the dash, but the transition from a nicely-appointed,
padded knee rest to the cheapest plastic of the interior doesn't match
well in my eyes.
I'd rather Hyundai forgo the padded knee rests
for a higher-quality center console that matches the rest of the
interior, but I could be nitpicking. The Tucson as tested is not a cheap
car, and the padded knee rest feels like slapping a Band-Aid to cover
up bigger problems.
Nevertheless, the Tucson has a well-laid out,
driver-focused interior. The center stack, where the infotainment
display and climate controls reside, has a slight tilt towards the
driver. There's a large, powered panoramic sunroof that occupies most of
the roof and brightens up the all-black interior. If you find the
sunlight annoying, there's a powered sunshade that covers the entire
glass panel.
Infotainment system
Hyundai announced their
Display Audio infotainment system nearly a year ago for its first public
demo at CES 2015. The 2016 Tucson is the first Hyundai to integrate the
new system.
Gone from Display Audio is the CD player, finally. I
haven't purchased a CD since the early days of in-car iPod
connectivity, with the Alpine KCA-420i, so I won't lose any sleep over
it.
Mounted
at the top of the center stack is an 8-inch LCD with a resolution of
800 x 480. It's not high-DPI, like your smartphone, but you're not
spending a long amount of time staring at the screen from a few inches
away, either. Mounted directly below the display are clearly-labeled
buttons that provide direct access to frequently used functions and
knobs, like volume and radio tuning or music file navigation.
As
someone that prefers tactile feedback while driving, I appreciate the
buttons. It might not look as sleek as a completely black panel of
capacitive touch buttons, or as simple as touchscreen-only designs, but
function is always more important than form to me.
Steering wheel
controls are available for your basic volume, next/previous track or
preset, voice command, audio source and phone functions as well. I found
myself using the steering wheel controls most of the time in the car.
The entire user interface is familiar and identical to other Hyundai and Kia vehicles, including the
Optima.
There's a split home screen that shows navigation and audio functions
side-by-side. I found myself using the SiriusXM interface most of the
time.
Display Audio features HD Radio, SiriusXM, USB audio,
Pandora connectivity and iPhone or iPod support. The SiriusXM tuner
supports time-shifting for stations set to the first preset, so you can
start over or replay Taylor Swift tracks over and over again to your
heart's content.
There's one USB port in the center console with a large cubby that fits phablets, like my
Nexus 6,
with room to spare. The USB port can be used for standard flash drives
with MP3s on it or your phone. I measured power output on the USB port
using a Drok USB power meter at 0.8-amps with my Nexus 6 plugged in and
0.5-amps with my
iPhone 6S,
so there's plenty of power to charge your devices, but it won't charge
nearly as fast as a dedicated 2.1-amp or QuickCharge-compatible
chargers.
Navigating flash drives is straightforward. You can
navigate by track information, like artist, album, song or song title,
but I prefer to select my music by folder. Display Audio maintains the
folder structure of your flash drive, so if you're particular about how
you organize your music folders, there won't be any annoying surprises
here.
Pandora
connectivity is available for Android and iPhones. Android relies on
Bluetooth audio streaming, while iOS requires a wired USB connection.
Shockingly, Pandora via Bluetooth with my Nexus 6 sounded just as rich
as the iPhone 6S's wired connection, and a significant quality upgrade
compared to the AVN 4.0-based system in the
Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata, which had audible compression artifacts and muddy bass.
Hyundai
has not confirmed what changed with Display Audio to drastically
improve the audio quality. I predict Hyundai upgraded the Bluetooth
stack used in Display Audio to support the AAC audio codec. Your typical
advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP) audio implementation only
requires support for low complexity subband coding (SBC), which focuses
on bandwidth efficiency and not sound quality.
A2DP supports
additional codecs, like MP3 and AAC, but infotainment systems don't
typically support receiving the optional codecs. Theoretically, if the
receiver supports MP3 or AAC decoding, then there's virtually no audio
quality difference between wired and wireless connections. Pandora
streams are encoded in AAC at bitrates up to 192kbps (Pandora One), so
if it can pass the raw AAC signal to the car and let the infotainment
system decode it, audio quality is limited to the
digital-analog-converters (DAC) in the car.
The typical Bluetooth
audio streaming that relies on SBC requires the audio source to be
decoded, re-encoded to SBC, sent to the receiver, then decoded again,
which results in awful sound quality that rivals SiriusXM for poor
compression and low bit rates.
Navigation in the Tucson works
without any surprises. You can input addresses or search POIs. The maps
aren't as fancy and 3D as luxury vehicles, but it all does the job. I
will commend Hyundai for not employing safety lockouts that prevent
using the navigation functions when the car is moving. There's a
disclaimer that pops up every time the car starts that asks you to
agree, but it goes away after a short amount of time.
SiriusXM
NavTraffic is supported in the US and requires a $3.99 per month fee,
while International versions of the car use radio data via the traffic
message channel (TNC). I'm not fond of SiriusXM NavTraffic at all. The
subscription is too much to pay for something that's offered for free on
my smartphone that's always with me. There's also the issue in which I
can spot road traffic and SiriusXM will not report anything.
Bluetooth
is available for smartphone pairing. I didn't encounter any issues with
my Nexus 6 or iPhone 6S when trying to pair. Both devices paired,
downloaded contacts and call history without any issues. There isn't
support for in-car text messaging, but you're better off using Siri or
Google voice recognition for hands-free text replies.
Voice
commands are available, but the system is slow to comprehend, inaccurate
and doesn't work very well, like most offline, automotive voice
recognition systems. I've yet to experience in-car voice recognition
that can rival Siri or Google Now, but the Tucson doesn't support Apple
CarPlay or Android Auto yet.
Siri Eyes-Free is available when
paired with a compatible iPhone. With Eyes-Free, Siri can be triggered
by holding down the voice recognition button on the steering wheel. I
found myself defaulting to using my iPhone in the Tucson, because of
Siri's inherent in-car speech recognition abilities.
Android Auto & Apple CarPlay
When Hyundai announced Display Audio and demonstrated development boxes at CES, there was a focus on
Android Auto and
CarPlay
connectivity. Neither connectivity options are available yet. This is
completely inexcusable, considering Hyundai's own Sonata and the
Kia Optima have at least Android Auto support, albeit CarPlay won't be ready until next year.
The
2015 Sonata debuted without Android Auto support, but took a year
before the update was rolled out to vehicles, so expect to wait for a
while with the Tucson. It's a shame Android Auto and CarPlay
connectivity aren't ready yet, especially when GM, Honda and Volkswagen,
including the updated
Passat, support it with 2016 model year vehicles.
I'll revisit the Tucson and update this review when Hyundai releases the software update to enable the two in-car phone tools.
Audio, driver assists and BlueLink
Hyundai
doesn't offer a branded audio system upgrade in the Tucson. Exclusive
to the Limited trim levels is an eight-speaker sound system with
external amplifier, while the lower trim levels sport a six-speaker
system. While there are a total of eight speakers, there are only six
discrete audio channels, because Hyundai counts each individual driver
as a speaker.
The Tucson has six discrete audio channels: front,
rear, center and subwoofer channels. The front doors each have a woofer,
tweeter and count as two speakers. Hyundai installs the subwoofer on
the side of the cargo area.
The subwoofer and mid-bass is a
little muddy, while the tweeters could offer more clarity. I'd say sound
quality is adequate for your daily commute, but not as impressive as
the premium-branded Infinity or Lexicon systems in the Sonata and
Genesis sedans. It's definitely not an audiophile-level system, but I
expect more from the range-topping Limited trim.
Driver assists
Hyundai's
suite of driver assists includes a blind-spot monitor (BSM) system,
backup camera that's standard on Sport and Limited trims, and downhill
brake control (DBC) that's standard on all trims. Check the box for the
Ultimate Package, and you get lane departure warning (LDW) and automatic
emergency braking with pedestrian detection (AEB).
The
radar-based BSM aids in lane changes by detecting other cars in the
blind spot and provides audible and visual alerts accordingly. Hyundai
integrates a flashing indicator into the side mirrors that flashes once
if it detects a car in the blind spot.
When
you use the turn signal and it detects a car in the blind spot or a car
that's approaching at a faster rate of speed in the adjacent lane, the
indicator flashes rapidly and the car beeps to notify you. If the car is
in reverse, the same sensors are used for rear cross-traffic detection,
which is extremely helpful in parking lots with limited visibility
while you're backing out.
A backup camera is standard on all
Tucson trim levels, which provides a good enough view of what's behind
the car. Hyundai provides an overlay with active guidelines that gives
you an approximate idea of where the car will end up depending on your
steering wheel input.
DBC
is a neat little feature that helps getting the Tucson down steep
hills, ideally where there's ice, snow or other slippery surfaces.
Simply press the button located below the shifter and the car
automatically controls the brake and throttle to get the car down the
incline at 5 mph. I tested this feature going down a steep hill in the
rain, where the technology isn't necessarily needed, but it was the only
place I could test it.
I found DBC to be a lot easier to use
than attempting to work the brakes to maintain a slower speed going down
a steep incline. This feature can be a lifesaver for those who live
atop a steep hill where it snows or freezes over a lot, and makes life
easier for more experienced drivers.
LDW is a purely passive
affair. It's only active when the LDW indicator in the gauge cluster is
green, which is at speeds above 40 mph, like most other cars. The system
alerts you if you're about to depart the lane with a visual display in
the gauge cluster, plus a series of annoying beeps if you leave the
lane.
I
find passive LDW systems more of an annoyance, but I don't have trouble
staying within the lane markers or need a reminder otherwise.
Fortunately, Hyundai makes it easy to disable the system with a button
on the dashboard, to the left of the steering wheel.
AEB is a
feature that should work in theory, but not something I can safely test
outside of a controlled environment. Nevertheless, AEB can detect
imminent collision and apply full braking capabilities, the equivalent
of slamming on the brakes, at speeds of 5 to 50 mph. It can also detect
pedestrians and brake immediately when traveling from 5 to 43 mph, in
case someone decides to jaywalk when you're not paying attention.
Hyundai
lets you set the sensitivity of the AEB system via the gauge cluster
LCD, so you can adjust it to suit your level of driving attentiveness.
While AEB, when it's working, can help deter accidents, it's not a
substitute for being alert and attentive while driving, but should only
serve as an aid for worse-case scenarios.
Missing from the suite
of driver assists is adaptive cruise control (ACC), unfortunately. The
car is designed to accommodate the feature, but Hyundai chose not to
offer it yet – for an undisclosed reason. Hyundai plans on offering ACC
on the recently unveiled Elantra, which shares a platform with the
Tucson.
Nevertheless,
my chats with Hyundai representatives reveal the Tucson can accommodate
ACC if the company chooses to include it. There's a spot in the center
console for the electronic parking brake that would replace the '80s
truck-like foot-operated parking brake, if Hyundai were to offer its
excellent full-speed range smart cruise control system.
Blue Link
Exclusive to the range-topping Limited trim is
Hyundai's Blue Link
telematics system that provides a smartphone app to remotely control
vehicle features and roadside assistance. The Blue Link mobile app is
available for Android and iOS devices, including a companion app for
Android Wear and the
Apple Watch.
I tested the Blue Link app on my Motorola Nexus 6 and
Asus ZenWatch
and found the app to be simple and functional. You can lock, unlock,
remote start, trigger the horn and lights, send navigation locations
directly to the car, and check vehicle status using the Blue Link app.
The smartwatch companion app has most of the same functions as the
smartphone app.
I
find the novelty of remote starting my car from my smartwatch
entertaining, but it's not something I can see myself using regularly.
If you live in the snow belt, remote start is a huge nicety to have for
cold mornings, but there's one caveat to Blue Link: subscription costs.
A
one-year trial period comes with every new Blue Link-equipped Hyundai
vehicle for the peace of mind services in the Connected Care Package,
but the Remote Package that enables the smartphone apps has a reduced,
three-month trial period. However, the subscription cost is $99 (Blue
Link is not available in the UK or AUS) a year, which works out to $8.25
a month, for the Remote Package.
The price for Hyundai's remote
features sounds reasonable – no more than a Google Music or Netflix
subscription – but you also need the $99-a-year Connected Care Assurance
Package to even consider the Remote Package. For a grand total of $200 a
year, or about $17 a month, you can remotely control your car from a
smartphone app.
I personally wouldn't pay for any of the Blue
Link services. I'm carrying on just fine with an "old fashioned" remote
start button on the key fob, since that doesn't require a subscription
to use.
Performance and living with it
Hyundai equips the
Tucson Eco, Sport and Limited with a 1.6-liter turbocharged
four-cylinder motor matched to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT),
with your choice of front or all-wheel drive (AWD). The model I drove
has AWD. The turbocharged powertrain and DCT is rated for 175 horsepower
(hp) with 195 pound-per-foot (lb-ft) of torque.
To verify the rated power numbers, I took the car down to
Drift-Office,
a local tuning shop owned by a good friend of mine in Auburn, Wash., to
put it on a vehicle dynamometer (dyno) and measure how much horsepower
the car generates. It was a chilly and wet Washington day, with an
average temperature 55 degrees Fahrenheit and an average humidity of 92%
at 69 feet above sea level on the day of my visit. The car was strapped
down and ran four times.
The
numbers the Tucson puts down at the wheels is truly impressive, with
172 hp and 196 lb-ft. There's virtually no power loss through the
drivetrain, so either Hyundai's DCT is very efficient or the engine is
highly underrated. To put things into perspective, typical AWD cars lose
25% to 30% of its engine power through the transmission. I was
expecting the Tucson to make around 130hp at the wheels, but it
surpassed my expectations.
You might be curious about the run
with a max power of 156 hp depicted above, which did happen. However, it
was the third run where the car suffered some heat soak from being
stressed with nothing but a giant blower fan as its source of cool air.
This is not something you typically experience on the road.
Driving
the Tucson around town reveals that the car is quite refined, with
smooth power delivery and quick shifts from the DCT. The car never feels
starved for power and performs well getting up to highway merging
speeds.
Due
to the design of DCTs, which more closely resembles a manual than a
traditional automatic transmission, early units would shudder at low
speeds where you're inching forward in-traffic, like a manual
transmission. Fortunately, the DCT in the Tucson doesn't exhibit this
behavior very often, and the typical driver won't notice it.
Since
the Tucson isn't a high-performance vehicle of any sort, steering
wheel-mounted paddle shifters are absent. Hyundai provides a manual mode
that lets you select the gear, but the selections are more of a
suggestion than anything. If you reach the engine redline or drop below a
certain amount of revolutions per minute, or rpm, the transmission will
automatically upshift or downshift for you, so you don't have full
control over the transmission gearing. I find this annoying but it's not
something I'll mark the car down for, since it's not a performance
vehicle.
Hyundai did a remarkable job on the suspension tuning.
The car handles twisty roads well, with minimal body roll while the
struts smoothly absorb bumps in the road, resulting in a smooth and
comfortable ride. Steering, on the other hand, could be better. Hyundai
employs its drive select mode, which lets you choose between Normal, Eco
and Sport driving modes. Your selection alters the throttle response,
transmission shift points and steering feel.
Since the Tucson
features an electric-power steering motor mounted on the steering
column, it suffers the same fate as other systems. There's very little
road feel, and it doesn't have a "just right" drive mode (i.e. one that
feels natural), unlike the larger Sonata 2.0t Sport and Kia Optima SX,
which have the power steering motors mounted on the steering rack.
The
normal drive mode has the right amount of precision but feels too
light, while the sport mode doesn't feel as precise: it applies too much
force and feels artificial, but has the right amount of weight that I
like for steering. Ultimately, I left the car in normal most of the time
and got used to the lighter feel of this mode. Steering feel might not
be something that you're shopping for, but if it doesn't bug you, the
Tucson is a fine car to drive.
The US Environmental Protection
Agency rates the Tucson with the 1.6-liter turbo motor at 24 miles per
gallon (mpg) in the city, 28 on the highway and 26 combined mpg, which
is comparable to gasoline competitors. It falls short on the highway
fuel economy when compared to the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5, but the
torquey turbo motor is worth the lower fuel economy for me.
During
my time with the Hyundai Tucson, my fuel economy hovered around 22 to
23 mpg, according to the vehicle's trip computer. Drivers that are much
easier on the gas pedal than me – I have a lead foot – should experience
slightly better fuel economy.
Living with the car
Crossovers are the default car most families look at when kids get introduced into the mix. We partnered up with
Diono,
a car seat manufacturer, to test-fit three car seats in the back of the
Tucson. Diono's USA headquarters is in Puyallup, Wash., where I conduct
vehicle testing and a convenient place to stop by and test-fit car
seats. With the help of Diono, we attempted to install three Radian RXT
convertible car seats in the back of the Tucson.
The Tucson has
two pairs of lower LATCH anchors for the outboard seats while the middle
seat requires the use of the three-point seat belt. All three seats
have top LATCH anchors available. The car seats were installed using the
vehicle seat belts and not LATCH anchors.
Unfortunately,
the Tucson failed this test. Three car seats could not be installed
safely in the back, regardless of whether they were front or
rear-facing. The placement of the belt buckles makes it impossible to do
so in the middle and driver side rear-seat. It's a shame, because there
appears to be enough physical space to fit three car seats. If Hyundai
updates the buckle design, I'll gladly revisit this and update the
review accordingly.
Junk in the trunk
Hyundai employs the
same hands-free smart trunk feature as the Kia Optima in the Tucson. It
works the same way: walk up to the locked car with the key fob in your
pocket and it automatically opens for you. The Tucson implementation
works a lot better, with the inclusion of a powered trunk that opens
without your intervention.
So, in the ideal scenario, you walk up to the Tucson with your hands full of
Star Wars
toys, wait a few seconds and the trunk opens for you. You load up all
the toys, press a button to close the trunk and hop in the car and drive
off. I did not experience this ideal scenario exactly, but the
hands-free smart trunk worked every time.
The Tucson has a cargo
area of 31 cubic feet, which is plenty of space to accommodate luggage
for a family road trip. I keep a Sumo Gigantor and Omni from
Sumo Lounge
around for trunk space testing. The Gigantor is a little too big to
carry in and out of my house, so I stick to using the Omni for most
cars. It's a fun way I devised to show exactly how big a trunk is.
I
dragged the Sumo Omni outside to put in the Tucson and got it half-way
in – fortunately, none of my neighbors were around to question what I
was doing. The 60 x 60 x 38-inch bean bag got halfway into the trunk
with the back seats up, but can easily fit with the seats down.
If you need to haul tall or oddly shaped items, the Tucson should be able to accommodate them without any problems.
Verdict
Hyundai
leaves me very conflicted with its 2016 Tucson. I'm a big fan of the
styling: it has an elegant but understated look that's humble. I'm
absolutely in love with the Caribbean Blue color of the car I tested
too.
However, for the $34,945 (£30,930 for the similarly equipped
Tucson Premium SE 1.6 T-GDI Petrol 4WD DCT automatic or AU$43,490 for
the Tucson Highlander 1.6 T-GDI petrol AWD) that Hyundai asks for the
top-of-the-line Tucson Limited AWD with Ultimate Package, I expect more.
We liked
I
like Hyundai's Display Audio infotainment system, even without Android
Auto or Apple CarPlay. It's very intuitive to use, with a combination of
touchscreen and physical buttons. Removing the CD player is a nice
touch, as it promotes a clean dashboard without a random slot that most
drivers never use.
The Pandora connectivity works well on Android
and iOS, and I was surprised by the sound quality of Pandora via
Bluetooth with my Nexus 6. For once, the sound quality matched the wired
connection of iOS.
The Tucson's 1.6-liter, turbocharged four
cylinder and dual-clutch transmission delivers impressive performance
numbers that translate well into everyday driving. It has the right
amount of power and low-end torque to keep you happy – and even
lead-foot drivers like myself – and never feels under powered. If
anything, the turbo motor leaves me wondering how much more power I
could get out of it with some aftermarket goodies, but Hyundai probably
frowns upon modifying its review samples.
Blue Link is
well-executed on all Hyundai models, including the Tucson. Having the
ability to control your car remotely with a smartphone app or smartwatch
is a nice convenience, especially for those that are forgetful or OCD
about making sure their car is locked. I, for one, know I am sometimes
paranoid and wonder whether I forgot to lock my car, but sometimes too
lazy to walk back outside to make sure.
The hands-free smart trunk
is a useful convenience for those that hand-carry groceries, or have
two kids to carry. I've yet to experience it failing, unlike the systems
from competing makers, such as Volkswagen, that require silly karate
leg-sweeping motions to trigger the trunk release. It doesn't get much
easier than walking up to the trunk of your car and waiting for it to
open.
We disliked
While Hyundai promises Android Auto and
Apple CarPlay are coming soon, it's unacceptable to not at least have
one ready at this time. The last time Hyundai promised Android Auto was
coming to the Sonata, it took a year before the update was rolled out,
and it still doesn't have CarPlay either – that's still promised for a
later date. With Volkswagen, General Motors and Honda supporting both
smartphone connectivity standards, Hyundai has no excuse for the delays.
The absence of adaptive cruise control is a puzzling choice,
especially since it's found within the Ford Escape, Mazda CX-5, Honda
CR-V and Toyota RAV4, all of which are older models that predate the
Tucson. Lacking a pivotal tech feature from a company that's always
delivered more tech features than its competitors is odd to me,
especially since the car was designed to accommodate the feature
already.
While I like the features Blue Link offers, I don't like
the subscription costs. Alone, the $99-a-year Blue Link Remote Package
wouldn't be too bad of a deal, since it provides control and access to
the Tucson. But requiring the $99-a-year Connected Care Assurance
Package before you can even think of the Remote Package tarnishes the
offer. I'd love to have just the remote control features of Blue Link,
but I couldn't care less for peace-of-mind services that are only useful
in case of a collision.
Final verdict
Hyundai's latest
Tucson is a stylish compact crossover with elegance inside and out. If
it didn't sport the Hyundai badge, it would be easy to mistake the
Tuscon for a luxury crossover that would fit in with Audi and Lexus's
models. Beyond the tech inside, the powertrain delivers enough oomph to
keep lead-foot drivers happy without sacrificing too much fuel economy.
Ultimately,
if you don't care about adaptive cruise control, steering feel doesn't
concern you and you are patient enough to wait for Android Auto and
CarPlay, the Tucson is a solid compact crossover – just don't go running
to the dealership over it.
Read More ...
There was more TV in 2015 than ever before
Are
your TV show 'to watch' lists growing out of hand? Don't worry, it's
not all your fault, as a new study has found that there were more
scripted television shows available in 2015 than ever before.
To
put it into a number, there were 409 scripted TV shows available across
broadcast, cable and online services, according to a new study from FX
Networks research department.
It adds up to be nearly twice as many scripted shows as there were in 2009, which only had about 211.
"The
unprecedented increase in the number of scripted series has reached a
new milestone in 2015 with a record 409, nearly doubling the total in
just the past six years," said Julie Piepenkotter, executive VP of FX
Network's research arm.
"This statistic is staggering and almost unimaginable from where they were a decade ago."
A golden age
While
streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, have
definitely contributed to the increase (2014 had 27 shows from these
services, while this year saw 44), the other biggest increase has come
from basic cable networks, which includes DirectTV.
There were 169 scripted shows from basic cable networks in 2014, while 2015 had 181. However, back in 2009, there were only 66.
Meanwhile,
both broadcast and pay cable have only seen small jumps over the year,
but have still increased the amount of content they put out.
All this basically amounts to there being more choices in scripted TV shows there have ever been, accessible from
more services than there have ever been, too.
And
while we may be at the peak of TV content - a golden age, in many ways -
there's still a lot more growth to be had it seems. Netflix, for
instance, has announced it will introduce at least another
31 news shows next year.
- TVs and streaming will factor in a big way at CES 2016
Read More ...
Netflix socks will keep your feet warm and your show paused
With
a little engineering and some yarn, days of dozing off during a
streaming binge could be a thing of the past thanks to a none other than
"Netflix socks."
Netflix has put up the design for a
pair of socks
you can make at home that can tell when you nod off and will promptly
pause your show or movie. The socks use an accelerometer to tell when
the wearer is inactive and flashes a little LED to remind them to move.
If
the user remains idle, the socks send a signal to pause the program on
Netflix, ensuring sleeping viewers don't miss a thing. Accelerometers
detecting sleep patterns are nothing new, with a similar method used in
Fitbit fitness trackers to tell if a user is having a restless night.
Intrigued? Netflix has
the necessary parts detailed online, as well as step-by-step knitting instructions for socks themed after some of its original programs, like
Marvel's Jessica Jones,
House of Cards, and
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi6RLrJrjLQ
(That last design makes us want to knit some socks to gift to techradar's very own Home Entertainment Editor,
Nick Pino.)
If
constructing a pair of electronic socks isn't enough of a challenge for
you, Netflix has also prepared another do-it-yourself project called
The Switch,
a device you can build and program to dim the lights, put your phone on
silent, order food, and start up some Twin Peaks with a single push of a
button.
Read More ...
Microsoft apologizes for confusing OneDrive strategy
Microsoft issued an apology to OneDrive customers for its
recent missteps.
The company acknowledged that it did not provide enough transparency in
its storage strategy, especially for business customers.
"Overall,
we have taken too long to provide an update on our storage plans around
OneDrive for Business," said Jeff Taper, Corporate Vice President for
OneDrive and SharePoint, in a statement. "We also recognize we are
disappointing customers who expected unlimited storage across every
Office 365 plan, and I want to apologize for not meeting your
expectations."
As part of its apology, Microsoft announced that
unlimited storage will come to OneDrive for Business users on select
Office 365 Enterprise, Government and Education plans.
Unlimited for business
Compatible
Office 365 plans that will receive the unlimited storage upgrade are for enterprise, government or education with five or more users.
Unfortunately,
the rollout is staggered, and unlimited storage is not automatic.
Starting this month, Microsoft will begin increasing OneDrive storage
capacity from 1TB to 5TB for all users, and the process will complete in
March 2016. Users who need more than 5TB of storage will have to submit
a request to Microsoft support, Taper advised.
In order to be
upgraded to the 5TB OneDrive storage capacity with the option to go
unlimited, users must be subscribed to an Office 365 Education or Office
365 Enterprise or Government E3, E4 or E5 plans. Additionally, OneDrive
for Business Plan 2 and SharePoint Plan 2 customers will also get the
boosted storage.
"Customers on all other Office 365 Enterprise,
Business and standalone plans that include OneDrive for Business will
continue to receive 1 TB of storage per user," said Taper.
Taper also apologized for not giving a clearer storage roadmap to OneDrive for Business customers sooner.
New sync client
Microsoft
is also rolling out a new sync client for OneDrive for Business. The
OneDrive for Business Next Generation Sync Client is now out of beta and
is available for download. The Windows client, available for Windows 7,
8 and 10, is available immediately, and Mac support will be coming at
the end of December. Support for Windows 8.1 won't arrive until the
first quarter of next year.
The Next Generation Sync Client
delivers a more reliable sync experience, as well as some notable new
features. The client supports large files, up to 10GB in size, and
removes the 20,000 file sync limit. Additionally, it also supports
selective sync.
At release, the Next Generation Sync Client will
only support OneDrive for Business, but Microsoft promises that the
client will also support SharePoint document libraries in future
releases.
Additionally, Microsoft also updated the mobile clients
for Windows 10 Mobile, Android and iOS. Windows 10 Mobile owners can
now view, edit, create, share and upload files using the OneDrive client
to their personal or OneDrive for Business accounts.
And similar
to OneDrive for Android, OneDrive for iOS will be updated this month to
include offline capabilities. Users can make select files available for
offline viewing, and this capability will also come to Windows 10 Mobile
in the second quarter of next year.
Finally,
Office Lens
for iOS now integrates with OneDrive for Business. Office Lens is a
mobile scanner that automatically crops and trims digitized scans before
uploading the files to your OneDrive account. OneDrive for Business
support will come to the Office Lens app for Android and Windows 10
Mobile in 2016.
Read More ...
Apple Music's new station will get you in the mood for Star Wars
Need
something to listen to while waiting in line for The Force Awakens
tickets? Apple Music's got you covered with newly launched
Star Wars Radio.
The
custom streaming station not only contains the essential tracks from
John William's iconic score, but also tosses in additional sound effects
to set the mood, from the blips and bloops of droids to the familiar
(though typically inaccurate) 'pew pew' bolts of Stormtrooper blasters.
Star
Wars Radio is available on both the desktop and mobile clients for
Apple Music, though Apple has noted that the station is not available in
all regions outside the US.
For the ears that can't get enough Star Wars, iTunes is also taking pre-orders on
the soundtrack from The Force Awakens, (complete with a track list potentially rife with spoilers - you've been warned!)
Apple Music isn't the only service tying in with the release of The Force Awakens.
Facebook Messenger stickers,
Twitter emojis,
Chrome's spoiler-dodging browser extension,
character-themed Google Cardboard headsets,
a brand-new Battlefront game, and
Spotify are just a few of the features and services building up hype for the seventh chapter of the Star Wars saga.
Read More ...
Review: UE Boom 2
UE Boom 2
If you've shopped for a Bluetooth speaker within the past year or so, you've probably heard of the
UE Boom,
or at least you should have. It won me over with its unmatched style,
powerful audio and battery performance – plus a ton of features, thanks
to its companion app.
It only makes sense that the UE's follow-up wouldn't mess with what didn't need fixing.
The
UE Boom 2 is here in similar – OK, nearly identical – fashion, yet
there are some cool changes that have taken place under the hood. It
takes on the same $199 (£169, AU$249) price point of its predecessor
and, for those of you who already own the original, the Boom 2 can link
up to the Boom through the app's Double Up feature.
If you missed
out on the first UE Boom, I wholeheartedly recommend the Boom 2. It's
the same size, but comes in new colors, packs in slightly better sound
and introduces tap controls and waterproofing to UE's Bluetooth speaker
lineup.
On the other hand, while these additions are neat, they
might not be enough to justify the cost if you already own the original
model and are hoping for bigger changes.
Design
The
UE Boom didn't need a design overhaul, and thankfully, UE recognized
that. There are slight changes, which I'll dig into along the way, but
check out my review of the original
UE Boom to get a good sense of its design ID and what makes it so special.
Running
across the unit that UE sent to techradar for review, I noticed a few,
welcome changes that deserve a mention. First off, the mesh fabric here
looks less porous and feels more durable than what is wrapped around the
original Boom.
The controls of the UE Boom 2 are unchanged, and
at that, still remarkably simple to use – even if you're using the
speaker for the first time. But, if you've got a sharp eye for detail,
like yours truly, you'll notice a few cosmetic adjustments around the
unit.
For
a cleaner look, UE decided to omit the Bluetooth logo from the pairing
button, and the power button looks a little different. Even with these
changes, new users shouldn't have too much trouble at all figuring
things out.
On the bottom of the Boom 2, UE has touched up the
port flaps, making them sit flush with the base. More importantly, they
are easier to flip open and access because of this change. Just like the
last model, the flap door can be removed entirely if you'd rather not
mess with it each time you need to charge.
Performance and features
The
UE Boom 2 builds upon a strong foundation put forward by the last
model, making noticeable strides in its 360-degree sound delivery, one
of my biggest gripes about the first. Its room-filling capability
frequently leaves me struck by how powerful this small, cylindrical
speaker sounds.
Just
like the last Boom, there's an impressive set of features inside the
speaker, but you'll need the companion app to unlock them. The UE Boom
app allows you to adjust the equalizer effect and Double Up, UE's way of
linking two of its speakers together over Bluetooth to, you guessed it,
double the sound. The app can also set alarms to wake you from sleep,
but the older Boom can do that, too.
As mentioned earlier, the UE
Boom 2 has some new tricks up its sleeve. First off, the app for the
new speaker supports Block Party, a feature that allows up to two people
nearby to connect to it via Bluetooth and play a track.
The best part? The Boom 2 owner has the power to boot either of the DJ wannabes if their suggestions stink.
Next
up are the tap controls. Through the app, you can activate them, which
allows you to change the song by simply picking up the speaker and
tapping it. Just like the remote you find embedded in most headphone
cables these days, the UE Boom 2 mimics this familiarized input.
You
can also tap twice to skip songs or three times to go backwards. This
might seem like a superfluous addition, but this extra level of control
was sorely missing from the original model.
In addition to
kicking out the jams, the UE Boom 2 also makes for a competent
speakerphone. You can pick up and hang up calls by giving the Bluetooth
pairing button a press. I found that this speaker can pick up multiple
voices speaking at low to medium volumes without any trouble.
The
icing on the cake, and the feature that could tempt owners of the
original the most, is the waterproofing. Improving over the IPX4 rating
of the UE Boom, which couldn't safely handle more than a splash or two,
the IPX7-equipped UE Boom 2 can be submerged in water up to a meter deep
for 30 minutes before you run the risk of leakage. This also means that
you can leave it out in the rain without the worry that you've just
flushed 200 bucks down the drain.
Final verdict
Owners
of the previous UE Boom may find themselves tossed about whether they
should upgrade. It might help to think of this as a supplement, rather
than a replacement, as you can pair up UE's latest with the original
model. Just make sure you remember which one is waterproof if you take
them outside.
The UE Boom 2 offers the same ease of use that I
loved about the original, and improves both the audio profile and
360-degree soundstage effect. Battery life remains unchanged from the 15
hours that the original put forward, but it still meets, if not
exceeds, the industry standard.
And to think that the UE Boom 2
accomplishes all this while packing in more features, like tap control
and waterproofing. If you're deep in the search for your next –, or
first – Bluetooth speaker, you can stop looking now.
Read More ...
Updated: You'll never have to leave Facebook Messenger to request an Uber again
Hailing an Uber is already incredibly convenient, but today Facebook Messenger is taking it one step further.
The
chat service is testing a new feature called Transportation on
Messenger, letting users request, receive updates and pay for a ride
without needing to download a ride sharing app or leave a conversation.
Uber
is its first partner. If someone sends you an address in a chat, you
can tap on the address and request an Uber from within Messenger.
Or,
you can click on the little car icon or select Transportation from the
"more menu" button, and before you know it, your Uber is on its way.
Uber
will send you ride updates within Messenger, and a note pops up in
chats so your friends know a ride is on its way. You can also pay
without having to leave your conversation, and Uber will send you a
receipt in a private chat.
The feature is rolling out to a select
number of users in the US, and only in places where Uber operates.
Facebook promised more regions and additional ride-sharing services will
come to Transportation soon.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=Dj4f1d-EZy4
If
you're in on the test, you'll need the latest version of Messenger to
access Transportation. If you're a seasoned Uberite, you can sync up
your account with Messenger starting today. Anyone who uses the feature
for the first time gets a $20 ride credit, though the offer is only
available for a limited time. New Uber users can sign up for the service
from within Messenger, too.
Facebook has attempted to get/
force
people onto Messenger for quite some time, and this seems like another
attempt, albeit a savvy one, to hook users into the chat ecosystem. We
can't imagine it catching fire with people who don't use Messenger on
the regular, but loyal followers may find it a nifty new add-on.
Read More ...
Updated: Philips Hue will work with any ol' bulb after all
Update 12/26: Only a day after the original announcement, Phillips has
reversed its decision to block third-party light bulbs on
Phillips Hue.
Following
negative backlash, Phillips said it underestimated the number of
consumers using third-party bulbs, and is currently working on an update
to undo yesterday's decision.
Original story below...
Digital rights management has come to home appliances as Phillips announced it won't support third-party bulbs for
Phillips Hue.
The smart home lighting system will eventually have more options for
bulbs, but anyone looking to go off the proprietary path may encounter
obstacles.
Phillips announced its
latest update
as fixing an "interoperability issue," citing that certain third-party
light bulbs wouldn't operate properly with its Hue system, either not
turning off successfully or properly working with the Hue's "scene"
functionality.
Up until now, owners of Phillips' light framework
could use typically cheaper bulbs from other brands such as Cree or GE
that were compatible with the system. However, as Hue updates its
platform, several of these bulbs were unable to keep up and showed
performance bugs.
Rather than working out issues with each
individual product, Phillips is putting Friends Of Hue in effect, a
program in which brands can undergo testing to meet Hue's standards.
Products that make it into the Friends Of Hue circle will work after the
update is applied, making them the only current alternative to
Phillips' proprietary light bulbs.
Read More ...
Microsoft reinstates Windows 10 Mobile update for Lumia 950
The suspended
Windows 10 Mobile update is back online and ready for Lumia owners to download on their
950 and 950XL smartphones. Microsoft had
pulled the update after it recognized several glitches, but now the company has reinstated the same build 10586.29 for its newest smartphones.
"After
momentarily pausing the Windows 10 Mobile update due to an issue with
the update server that impacted the installation of the update on a
limited number of phones, we have addressed the issue and will begin
rolling out the 10586.29 update again," Microsoft told
ZDNet.
It
appears that this build is the same build as before, and that Microsoft
only made changes to its servers to resolve installation issues. This
means that this reinstated release doesn't come with any new fixes,
features or patches, as it's not a new build number.
What went wrong
Microsoft
pulled the original update earlier this week after users complained
that they weren't able to install the update on their Lumia 950 and
950XL phones.
"We
are aware of issues related to the recently published Windows 10 Mobile
update, including: update not being offered, update appearing to get
stuck at 0% and pesky low storage notifications," Microsoft acknowledged
at the time.
It's unclear what actions Microsoft took, if any, to
resolve the low storage notifications after the update is installed.
When the update was pulled, Microsoft advised its users to ignore the
bothersome low storage notifications.
Users who were successfully
able to update their phones before the initial update was pulled will
continue to receive future updates. This is good news, as it means that
users won't have to downgrade their phones only to re-upgrade to the
latest build in order to receive updates in the future, as was the case
with some earlier Windows 10 Mobile Preview builds.
Microsoft's
support site indicates that Windows 10 Mobile will be supported through
January 9, 2018. On that date, Microsoft will
end mainstream support for the operating system, and it's unclear what will succeed Windows 10 Mobile.
Read More ...
Acura just got a self-driving car thanks to this hacker
Famed
iPhone and PS3 jailbreaker
George Hotz,
or geohot, is back again with a new hack, and this time it's a
self-driving car. The 26-year-old hacker started with a 2016 Acura ILX
with AcuraWatch Plus package and added laser-based radar (LIDAR) and
additional cameras to serve as the car's eyes.
The ILX features
the AcuraWatch Plus suite of driver assist technologies, which includes
Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) that helps keep the car in the lane.
Most importantly, when the car is traveling at speeds above 40 mph on
mildly curvy or straight roads, the LKAS can help steer the car so it
stays in the center of the lane.
Normally, LKAS warns the driver
if it doesn't detect steering input, and automatically disables itself
until the car is restarted, after three warnings. Hotz installs a
computer with a mess of cables and GPS sensors to tap into the vehicle's
internal bus to take control. The computer, which runs Linux and is
connected to a 21.5-inch LCD, replaces the car's glovebox and functions
as an artificial intelligence system.
A gaming joystick is
installed in the center console of the ILX, and with a single pull, the
self-driving system engages. While the install looks like a cluttered
mess, Hotz wants to eventually produce a camera package with accompany
software for $1000 to automakers and custom vehicle shops.
It's a crazy, but cool endeavor from the former electronics hacker. Check out the full story on
Bloomberg.
Read More ...
Reddit's plan to rid the internet of Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoilers
Reddit,
the front page of the internet, isn't going to risk becoming the front
page for Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoilers. After experimenting with
a fairly lenient plan of action on how to handle accounts that enjoy
partaking in the posting of spoilers, Reddit has decided to just whip
out the ban hammer instead.
The new policy isn't too confusing. If you post spoilers for the new Star Wars film on the
Star Wars subreddit,
which will debut at a midnight screening tonight in the UK and other,
luckier parts of the world, you will be permanently banned, full stop.
It's
a rather unprecedented move for an online community to off its members
for posting spoilers, but most should know: it's never a good idea to
get between Star Wars fans and their films, especially when it's one
that is so hotly anticipated and has, somehow, remained shrouded in
secrecy.
Reddit
moderator TheGreatZiegfield and his team of mod are tasked with putting
a stop on any and all Star Wars 7 leaks and have banned "dozens of
users so far for this." And as a result, he stated that "I think all the
mods have had it spoiled for them by now. We'll do our best to make
sure you guys don't suffer the same fate."
If you manage to make
it to your local theater to check out Star Wars' return to the silver
screen unscathed by spoilers, offer up a silent salute for the people
who worked hard (and thanklessly, for that matter) to preserve the
experience for you.
In the meantime, you should probably install
Force Block,
the Chrome extension that does its best to hide your eyes from anything
Star Wars-related. But, you can keep it locked on techvadar, which
we've lovingly retitled our site in celebration of the new film. We
promise not to spoil a gosh darn thing.
Via
The Next Web
Explore all of our Star Wars Week content. Come over to the Dark Side...
Read More ...
What is Pebble Health? And why should Apple and Google be worried?
Although
they're not dedicated fitness tracking platforms, both the Apple Watch
and Android Wear allow users to track their general activity (how far
they walk, the number of steps taken and hours slept).
So far,
this feature has been missing in Pebble's range of smartwatches. That's
not to say they're not capable of fitness tracking - the devices do
include accelerometers (the hardware used for sensing movement) - but it
was up to software developers to utilise the hardware.
Some
developers, such as Jawbone and Misfit, did so, but the apps drained
battery and didn't come preinstalled. Enter Pebble Health, a native
activity and sleep tracking experience, which is integrated throughout
the OS.
Pebble
Health was developed in collaboration with researchers at Stanford
University. It tracks your daily activity and automatically detects when
you're asleep.
The tracking is integrated with the UI, making daily stats and insights instantly available in the Timeline.
For
example, you can wake up to your day with a report on how well you
slept, and end the day by viewing how many steps you've taken. Instead
of striving for the magic (and slightly pointless) 10,000 steps a day,
Pebble Health will measure your performance against your own average.
As well as simply tracking, Pebble will also provide suggestions on how you can improve fitness and sleep.
It's all about access and accuracy
As
well as native tracking, Pebble will also grant its eager developer
community access the APIs. This will give developers the ability to
build their own apps and watch faces capable of harnessing the data.
As
we previously mentioned, Pebble Health was developed in collaboration
with Stanford University, or more specifically, its Wearable Health Lab.
This
was in an effort to create a truly accessible health platform
available. "Transparency at the algorithmic level is an essential
missing piece in the progress toward making wearables valid for use in
health applications," said Dr. Christy Lane.
"By making the right
data available, Pebble Health allows us to perform proper validation
studies on activity tracking for the first time."
"Now,
methods for collection of wearable health data will be transparent,
allowing health professionals to apply previous insights to new data.
We're excited to collaborate with Pebble on this approach and further
our mission to lead the way for wearable health and medicine
applications."
A welcome addition to Pebble Health is the ability
to also sync data with Apple Health and Google Fit, giving users a more
granular view of their health.
Naturally, questions will arise
over whether the Pebble Time is an accurate enough tool for collecting
reliable health data. The basic smartwatch doesn't include a heart rate
sensor or GPS, so it's less accurate than, say, the
Apple Watch, most Android Wear devices, and even the
Fitbit Charge HR.
Despite
that, the concept of an open source health data platform is incredibly
powerful, regardless of privacy fears, so perhaps Apple and Google
should be worried.
Pebble Health will make an appearance on the
Pebble Time, Pebble Time Steel, and Pebble Time Round, so original
Pebble wearers will be left lazy and tracker-less. You can update your
smartphone app to receive the firmware upgrade.
We'll be updating our Pebble Time review as soon as we test Health's accuracy.
Read More ...
Apple and IBM are creating iPad Pro-specific apps
Apple
really wants your organization to make the switch from Windows. IBM and
Apple are co-producing business-based apps for the iPad Pro to help
simplify tasks and eliminate unnecessary paperwork.
Since
announcing a partnership last year that brought IBM business apps to
Apple's iOS environment, the two tech giants have now co-produced more
than 100 apps for the iPhone and iPad.
The IBM-built iOS apps
span 14 different verticals, including healthcare, financial services
and retail. The tools combine IBM's data and analytics capabilities with
Apple's mobile operating system. The partnership is designed to lure
business users away from Microsoft's Windows operating system and onto
Apple's Mac OS for desktop and iOS for the iPhone and iPad.
How the Pro apps will work
It
is immediately unclear how the iPad Pro-specific apps will differ from
the 100 apps IBM has already created for Apple. However, Apple has been
given a bit of grief for launching the productivity-focused iPad Pro on
the mobile iOS operating system, rather than taking advantage of the
desktop-based Mac OS.
IBM-produced iPad Pro applications wouldn't
necessarily enable a desktop-rich environment, such as Windows-based
2-in-1s like the
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or
Surface Book.
But IBM's enhanced analytics and computer learning tools (think:
Watson) would enable iPad Pro users to pull rich insights from back-end
tools and then make on-the-fly changes to business strategy.
No,
iPad Pro users wouldn't be able to multitask or run the same
processor-heavy tasks as they would on high-end Surface device, but the
large format iPad Pro, backed by IBM's analytics, give business users
who prefer iPhones and Macs a capable productivity device that can
easily be transported from the factory floor back to the office without
having to switch computing environments.
What have IBM and Apple done so far?
The
two companies have created a host of applications
designed to provide healthcare providers with easy access to patient
records, simplified hospital ward management and patient monitoring
tools, among other apps.
Other MobileFirst apps are built to help
employees and managers keep track of shift changes, manage travel,
service mortgage loans, connect with clients, diagnose issues in the
field, inspect assets and document unsafe working conditions in
factories.
Apple and IBM offer its clients 24/7 IT support,
AppleCare for Enterprise, for all Apple hardware and operating systems.
As part of the package, Apple will replace up to 10% of a client's iPad
and iPhone devices at no additional cost if the hardware is lost or
damaged.
Additionally, IBM has made some of the MobileFirst iOS
apps available on the Apple Watch, thereby extending the benefits of the
applications to the wearable environment.
A love story
This isn't the only monumental partnership between the two tech giants this year.
IBM has adopted as many as
50,000 MacBooks
for employee use. It is estimated that up to 75% of IBM employees would
make the switch from Lenovo-branded ThinkPad notebooks to MacBook
laptops by the end of 2015.
Additionally, IBM's "Commit Health" initiative gives IBM employees a subsidy that covers the cost of the
Apple Watch in order to help IBM offer a healthier workforce.
Read More ...
Best Fuji lenses you can buy in 2015
Best Fuji lenses
Fuji's
latest X-series compact system cameras are full of retro charm yet bang
up to date. Up-market models like the X-T1, X-T10 and X-E2 are smart,
stylish and sophisticated in their own right. But just like any other
system camera, you need top-quality lenses to get the best out of them.
That's where Fuji's 'XF' line of premium optics comes into play.
The
current line-up includes both prime and zoom lenses, all with a really
pro-grade feel to their build and handling. Construction typically
includes metal rather than plastic lens barrels and mounting plates,
while 'R' type lenses add intuitive aperture rings. Some are WR
(Weather-Resistant), have OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and fast LM
(Linear Motor) autofocus. Let's start with the ideal general-purpose
lens and work our way down the XF shopping list.
1. Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR
The perfect starting point, this standard zoom is supremely versatile
Effective focal length: 24-84mm |
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/22 |
Autofocus motor: Twin linear motor |
Minimum focus distance: 0.6m (0.3m at 16mm) |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.16x |
Image stabilizer: No |
Weather seals: Yes |
Filter thread: 77mm |
Dimensions: 83x106mm |
Weight: 655g
Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR
Excellent image quality
Fast, near-silent autofocus
No image stabilization
Quite bulky
Covering
everything from generously wide-angle viewing to short telephoto reach,
the constant-aperture design of this lens gives you good creative
control over depth of field and enables fast shutter speeds under dull
lighting. A consequence of the fairly fast f/2.8 aperture is that the
front elements need to be quite large and the lens itself is fairly
bulky. However, handling is excellent and, as with our other featured
lenses, there's an aperture ring with one-third click stops and a
smooth, precise fly-by-wire manual focus ring. Highlights include
top-quality glass and coatings, a fast twin linear motor autofocus
system and weather-seals. Sharpness and contrast are excellent, colour
fringing is minimal and distortions are amazingly well controlled for a
standard zoom.
2. Fuji XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR
Extend your reach and get closer to the action
Effective focal length: 76-214mm |
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/22 |
Autofocus motor: Triple linear motor |
Minimum focus distance: 1m |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.12x |
Image stabilizer: Yes |
Weather seals: Yes |
Filter thread: 72mm |
Dimensions: 83x176mm |
Weight: 995g
Fuji XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR
Effective optical stabilizer
Internal zoom and focus
Heavy for an X-mount lens
Great value but expensive
The
most logical follow-on to the 16-55mm zoom is this 50-140mm lens. It
gives a classic telephoto zoom range equivalent to about 70-200mm on a
full-frame camera, complete with a fast and constant f/2.8 aperture.
Typical for this type of lens, zoom and focus are completely internal,
so the overall physical length is fixed. Bonuses include a four-stop
optical image stabilizer and a tripod mounting foot that keeps the lens
well balanced during both landscape and portrait orientation shooting.
Autofocus practically snaps into position, thanks to a triple linear
motor system and, continuing the main attraction of the 16-55mm lens,
image quality is superb in terms of sharpness and contrast, along with
negligible levels of colour fringing and distortions throughout the zoom
range.
3. Fuji XF 35mm f/2 R WR
A standard prime with an ultra-compact and lightweight build
Effective focal length: 53mm |
Aperture range: f/2 to f/16 |
Autofocus motor: Stepping motor |
Minimum focus distance: 0.35m |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.14x |
Image stabilizer: No |
Weather seals: Yes |
Filter thread: 43mm |
Dimensions: 60x46mm |
Weight: 170g
Fuji XF 35mm f/2 R WR
Amazingly small and lightweight
Solid, weather-resistant build
Lacks corner-sharpness wide open
Choosing silver or black is tough!
So-called
'nifty fifty' lenses for D-SLR cameras are typically bulky and
plasticky. This lens gives practically the same effective focal length
of about 50mm, for a standard viewing angle and natural perspective.
It's comparatively tiny but is nevertheless beautifully crafted with all
exterior parts being made from metal. Superior handling benefits from
the usual XF-series aperture ring and fly-by-wire focus ring. Despite
being such a dinky little lens, there's very little vignetting (darkened
image corners) even at the widest aperture of f/2. Contrast and
centre-sharpness are also impressive at this aperture, although you need
to stop down to f/5.6 for similarly superb sharpness in image corners.
Autofocus is virtually soundless but very quick.
4. Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R
The focal length and wide aperture make it perfect for portraiture
Effective focal length: 85mm |
Aperture range: f/1.2 to f/16 |
Autofocus motor: Stepping motor |
Minimum focus distance: 0.7m |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.09x |
Image stabilizer: No |
Weather seals: No |
Filter thread: 62mm |
Dimensions: 73x70mm |
Weight: 405g
Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R
Shallow depth of field effects
Beautifully smooth bokeh
Not weather-sealed
Expensive to buy
So-called
'nifty fifty' lenses for D-SLR cameras are typically bulky and
plasticky. This lens gives practically the same effective focal length
of about 50mm, for a standard viewing angle and natural perspective.
It's comparatively tiny but is nevertheless beautifully crafted with all
exterior parts being made from metal. Superior handling benefits from
the usual XF-series aperture ring and fly-by-wire focus ring. Despite
being such a dinky little lens, there's very little vignetting (darkened
image corners) even at the widest aperture of f/2. Contrast and
centre-sharpness are also impressive at this aperture, although you need
to stop down to f/5.6 for similarly superb sharpness in image corners.
Autofocus is virtually soundless but very quick.
5. Fuji XF 60mm f/2.4 R Macro
A really neat lens for the little things in life
Effective focal length: 91mm |
Aperture range: f/2.4 to f/22 |
Autofocus motor: Stepping motor |
Minimum focus distance: 0.27m |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.5x |
Image stabilizer: No |
Weather seals: No |
Filter thread: 39mm |
Dimensions: 64x71mm |
Weight: 215g
Fuji XF 60mm f/2.4 R Macro
Incredible levels of fine detail
Small and light for a macro lens
Inner barrel extends slightly
No focus range limiter switch
Shooting
extreme close-ups can become a strange fascination. A good macro lens
can reveal almost microscopic levels of detail that are invisible to the
naked eye, or turn garden bugs into giant alien invaders. Despite its
remarkably compact build, Fuji's 60mm lens gives a somewhat classic
effective focal length of 90mm, favoured by many macro photographers.
The lens only has a 0.5x maximum magnification ratio instead of the more
usual full 1.0x but, taking the APS-C format image sensor of X-series
cameras into account, the scope for enlargement when reviewing images on
screen or in print is epic. It can also double up as a decent portrait
lens, if the 56mm f/1.2 is beyond your budget.
6. Fuji XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR
Fast and fabulous, it's a sporty little number
Effective focal length: 137mm |
Aperture range: f/2 to f/16 |
Autofocus motor: Quad linear motor |
Minimum focus distance: 0.6m |
Maximum magnification factor: 0.2x |
Image stabilizer: No |
Weather seals: Yes |
Filter thread: 62mm |
Dimensions: 75x105mm |
Weight: 540g
Fuji XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR
Good telephoto reach with a wide aperture
Super-fast quad linear motor autofocus
No optical image stabilizer
Lacks the versatility of a telephoto zoom
There's
a lot to be said for having a fast, short telephoto prime lens in your
kit bag. It gives useful reach for wide-ranging subjects from sports and
wildlife to tightly cropped portraits, while enabling fast shutter
speeds for freezing the action. With an effective focal length of 137mm
and a wide f/2 aperture, this lens really fits the bill. And continuing
the 'fast' theme, it also has a quad linear motor autofocus system with
lightning-quick reflexes. Handling is typically excellent and, while it
doesn't feature the optical image stabilizer of the 50-140mm zoom lens,
it's much smaller and lighter. Image quality is stunning in every
respect.
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EE is now recalling all of its Power Bar chargers due to a fire risk
EE is recalling all of its free Power Bar chargers due to a fire safety risk, and offering customers a £20 voucher in return.
In a
statement
EE said, "We are taking this action because we are aware of a very
small number of further incidents where Power Bars have overheated in
circumstances that could cause a fire safety risk."
The advice
from EE is to stop using your Power Bars immediately and return them to
an EE store as soon as possible. You'll then get a £20 EE voucher, the
same value as a charger.
This news comes after EE recalled a few Power Bar chargers in
August
this year. At the time, EE assured customers it was only those with the
model number E1-06, but as it turns out, the risk is far more
widespread.
If you're unable to get to an EE store, it's recommended you call 0800 079 0305 for further information on what to do.
Read More ...
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