Новости за 25.10.2017

President Trump will put a new program in place that could accelerate and increase the number of drone tests across the United States, according to a new memorandum released by the White House. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot program, as it’s called, will allow US cities and states to partner with tech companies to draw up at least five trial programs around the country over the next three years. Each program will have to be reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Influential tech industry figure Robert Scoble has rebutted allegations of sexual misconduct in a combative blog post. In the scathing 2,500-word statement, Scoble says he was misquoted by former partner Shel Israel, who said Scoble had confirmed the reports were “mostly true” and that he would be canceling his public activity for the rest of the year. Instead, he accuses four women of using “grains of truth to sell false narrative” about his behavior. He also excoriates TechCrunch and Business Insider... Читать дальше...

Influential tech industry figure Robert Scoble has refuted allegations of sexual misconduct in a combative blog post. In the the scathing 2,500-word statement, Scoble says he was misquoted by former partner Shel Israel, who said Scoble had confirmed the reports were “mostly true” and that he would be canceling his public activity for the rest of the year. Instead, he accuses four women of using “grains of truth to sell false narrative” about his behavior. He also excoriates TechCrunch and Business Insider... Читать дальше...

Mitsubishi may not resonate with many people when it comes to cars, but the name “Evolution” might if you’re a fan of rallying or gaming or Vin Diesel movies.

In recent years, horror author Joe Hill has emerged as a major presence on bookstore shelves. The son of horror legend Stephen King, he’s forged his own career with a string of best-selling novels. His comic series, Locke & Key is currently being adapted into a TV series for Hulu.

Two months ago, Verizon implemented a change to all of its unlimited data plans that placed limits on the quality at which users could stream video. The company split its unlimited plan into two tiers, with the cheaper option restricting video streaming to 480p resolution; a higher-priced $85 “Beyond Unlimited” plan tops out at 720p video on smartphones (and 1080p on tablets). The new restrictions immediately applied to all plans and Verizon customers had no way of opting out if they wanted to... Читать дальше...

Uber is teaming up with British bank Barclays to offer its first branded credit card, the companies announced today. The card offers rewards for purchases at restaurants, hotels, and, of course, Uber rides. You can even apply for the card within Uber’s app starting next month.

Google has released the latest developer preview of Android Oreo. Version 8.1 will be released in December, but Android Beta Program users can test it now. Anyone can also download and install the system images with an unlocked bootloader. The Beta Program issues these updates over the air, although the developer preview is only compatible with the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C, Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL.

This fall, The Verge is making a choice. The choice is fear! We’ve decided to embrace the season by taking in as many new horror movies as possible and reporting back on which ones are worth your time. We’re calling this series Hold My Hand, as we look at films you might want to watch with a supportive viewing partner. Get comfortable, put the kettle on, check the closet for ghosts, then find a hand to squeeze until the bones pop.

Tesla has laid off over 200 employees from its SolarCity business for performance reasons, just over a week after firing hundreds more from its motor vehicle division. The company says that while some of the layoffs were based on poor performance reviews, others were precipitated by the merging of SolarCity with Tesla. But half a dozen former employees contradict this claim, telling CNBC they were “blindsided” by the firings.

Harvard’s robot bees have really evolved over the years. The RoboBee project was first unveiled in 2013, when the bots were only capable of takeoff and flying. Since then, they’ve been modified to stick to surfaces and swim underwater, and now their creators say they’re able to dive in and out of water — a big achievement for a tiny robot bee.

German automotive parts supplier Continental has developed a new speaker-less audio system for cars it calls Ac2ated Sound. Continental says the new system will reduce the amount of weight traditionally taken up by car speakers by up to 90 percent, using surface vibrations to deliver sound, much like a violin.

For weeks, one of the world’s top security firms has been dogged by reports of government espionage. According to a string of reports, Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software was used as part of a sophisticated effort by Russian intelligence to steal classified NSA documents. The software had flagged classified materials brought home by a luckless NSA contractor, and used the antivirus system to transmit the materials back to Kaspersky’s headquarters in Moscow. When Israeli agents broke into Kaspersky’s network for a separate operation in 2015... Читать дальше...

Apple is calling into contention an earlier report from Bloomberg that claimed the company had lowered the accuracy of the face recognition in order to increase iPhone X production yields, calling the report “completely false” in a statement to The Verge.

The powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR has been making headlines for its ability to edit DNA, which could one day transform how we fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Now, scientists have created a new version of CRISPR that can target and edit a different genetic building block: RNA.

Stranger Things returns on Friday, and the brands want us to know they’re just as excited as we are to get back to Hawkins, Indiana. The most recent attempt to capitalize on the show’s popularity comes from Lyft, with the launch of “Strange Mode.”

If you were expecting Game of Thrones-type shows to come from Apple’s original video content push, you’re going to be disappointed. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple will not allow its upcoming shows to feature nudity, strong language, or violence. Instead, the company wants to focus on comedies and dramas like This Is Us and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories that can appeal to a wider audience.

Sony surprised the camera world this morning when it finally announced the new Sony A7R III, the long-rumored third iteration of one of the company’s best digital mirrorless cameras. It ships in November, and will retail for $3,200, according to Sony.

Welcome back to Circuit Breaker Live: the not-quite live edition. In case you missed our show yesterday — it streams live on Twitter every Tuesday at 4PM ET / 1PM PT — we’ve recorded the whole thing and have it ready for playback above. This week, we have Ashley Carman discussing the instant camera revival, Lauren Goode talking about the Apple Watch Series 3 and other wearables, and myself testing out some of the latest smart speakers, including the brand new Echo.

Patreon is letting users directly link its payment platform to WordPress, MailChimp, and other services. Today, it’s launching an “app directory” of plugins based on its existing API, along with a developer portal that includes documentation for building new tools. It’s part of a major Patreon expansion in the wake of a $60 million funding round last month, and a step toward making the service a full-fledged payment system, not just a crowdfunding site.

If you're sick of guessing or measuring dimensions to see whether a fancy new couch will fit into a room in your tiny apartment, Target has just introduced a novel way to shop: through an AR feature on its mobile website. The See It In Your Space feature is similar in concept to Ikea's AR app. It's supposed to let customers use their smartphone camera to virtually map out how furniture will look in their rooms.

When producer Yoshiaki Nishimura first talked to director Hiromasa Yonebayashi about the project that would become the animated feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Yonebayashi had reservations. “I hesitated a little bit,” he tells The Verge, “because I thought it might be compared to Kiki’s Delivery Service, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, which was also about a young witch.”

‘He’s a friend from work!’

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Mineral water pods. Think about that idea. I'll give you a second.

A German company called Mitte has created a new, titular device that’s designed to create purified mineral water at home that can be dispensed either hot or cold. It relies on proprietary mineral cartridges, aka pods, to populate the water with various minerals, like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. One cartridge should last for 400 liters, or around 105 gallons, and they vary in price from €40 ($47) to €50 ($58). The machine itself costs around $328... Читать дальше...

Honda has shown another plan for a dedicated electric vehicle that serves as an indicator that the Japanese automaker is serious about EVs and AI, all while embracing some of its heritage when it comes to design.