Startup - Page 9 of 11

Failed electric jet startup Zunum sues Boeing for fraud and misuse of trade secrets

In 2017, Zunum Aero was flying high. The Kirkland, Washington-based aviation startup came out of stealth mode with bold plans to build a fleet of 12-seat hybrid electric jets for short, regional hops between cities. The company, which had received millions of dollars from the venture arms of Boeing and JetBlue, said it would be ready to fly by 2022.

Not long after, those dreams came crashing down to earth. In 2018, Zunum ran out of cash, forcing it to lay off nearly all of its employees and vacate its headquarters. It struggled to raise additional funds that it needed to get its plans back in motion. And now, Zunum is striking back at one of its former investors. The company filed a lawsuit in Washington Superior Court this week accusing aerospace giant Boeing of fraud, technology theft, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Zunum said that Boeing “colluded with other key aerospace manufacturers and funders” to sabotage its efforts to raise additional cash and tried to poach Zunum’s engineers during the process. The startup claims that Boeing saw its superior technology and potential to disrupt air travel as a threat to its own dominance in the aviation world and sought to undermine it. Using its due diligence as an investor as subtext, Zunum said Boeing gained access to its business plan and proprietary technology, and “exploited” Zunum for its own benefit.

“Boeing saw an innovative venture, with a dramatically improved path to the future, and presented itself as interested in investing and partnering with Zunum,” the company claims in court filings. “But instead, Boeing stole Zunum’s technology and intentionally hobbled the upstart entrant in order to maintain its dominant position in commercial aviation by stifling competition.”

It’s rare that a startup would sue one of its investors after failing to deliver on its promises. But Zunum said its setbacks weren’t because of bad technology or a faulty business plan. Rather, the company claims it was sabotaged by Boeing, which misused its position as an investor to pillage its talent and patents before eventually scuttling the company’s ability to continue to raise money.

Zunum also names HorizonX, Boeing’s venture capital arm, and French engine supplier Safran as co-defendants. The company is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. A spokesperson for Boeing did not respond to a request for comment.

Founded by former executives from Microsoft and Google, Zunum proposed building several models of hybrid aircraft, one with a 700-mile range by 2022, and another with a 1,000-mile range by 2030. These jets wouldn’t be suitable for flights that are long-haul, cross-country, or transoceanic, but rather short, regional trips under 1,000 miles. (Think LA to San Francisco or New York to Boston.) The idea was to offer cheap flights that are low-emission and low hassle to take off and land.

“Jet engines are efficient when they’re big and up high,” Matt Knapp, Zunum’s chief technology officer, told The Verge in 2017. “If you fly a jet engine a short distance, it’s not very efficient. So you’ve got this damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t [approach] to flying a small airplane a short distance.”

That same year, Boeing’s HorizonX and Jet Blue’s venture division agreed to invest in Zunum, instantly bolstering its credibility. The companies sank a combined combined $6.2 million into the company in Series A funding, according to a Zunum fundraising pitch obtained by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Washington state’s Clean Energy Fund kicked in an additional $800,000 in a research-and-development grant.

“Zunum is reinvigorating the regional market with a solution that’s both innovative and realistic,” Logan Jones, managing director at Boeing’s HorizonX, said in a statement at the time.

But things quickly went south, and in 2018, the company was forced to cease all operations. According to Fortune, the founders laid off almost all of their 70-person staff and gave up two of their facilities, one in Indianapolis and the other in Bothell, Washington. Creditors seized equipment from and changed the locks at another facility in Illinois.

Zunum puts the blame on Boeing. The Chicago-based company repeatedly reneged on promises for additional funds and dissuaded other investors from putting money in, the lawsuit alleges.

“Boeing also kept Zunum beholden to it for much-needed capital and market validation, stringing Zunum along with the prospects of an anchor investment and providing leadership on further fundraising,” the lawsuit says. “Although Zunum also sought investments elsewhere, Boeing actively interfered with and undermined those business relationships while inducing Zunum to continue its reliance on Boeing by holding out the prospect of a strategic partnership or merger.”

Zunum also accuses Boeing of copying its plans and technology that it disclosed to Boeing as an investor. After obtaining the proprietary information, the lawsuit alleges, Boeing approached Safran, the French engine supplier, with plans to build a hybrid-electric plane based on Zunum’s designs.

“Zunum discovered that Boeing was secretly developing a replica prototype of Zunum’s flagship aircraft design, staffed by the very same engineers and other professionals whom Boeing had assigned to conduct extensive due diligence on Zunum, under non-disclosure and non-use obligations,” the lawsuit reads.

Intel raises the performance of AMD's Ryzen 4000 AUs on battery power

Intel’s typically performance-based performance tests do not provide a realistic picture of laptop performance.

AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series of APUs made the company seriously compete for popularity in laptops as well. Now, however, Intel has picked up a detail on the beak of the stick, which few reviews pay special attention to: battery performance.

According to Intel, depending on the test, laptops with AMD processors will even perform 29 – 48 percent less on the battery than at the end of the plug, when for laptops with the company’s own processors the difference is a single percentage. Intel has used PCMark 10, WebXPRT, and PPT to PDF tests as examples.

The reason for the difference is apparently in the short tests, because as Intel says in its slides, AMD will only increase the performance of its processors to full with a delay of about 7 – 11 . Apparently, the tests chosen by Intel are so short in nature that the difference made by a slow startup becomes significant. In longer tests, such as Cinebench, the difference cannot be made in the same way because the test itself lasts long enough.

Several third parties, such as ArsTechnica, have verified that Intel’s tests are correct. However, the site points out that despite this slowness, for example, during the five-minute Cinebench R 23 loop, Ryzen 7 Pro 4750 U renders frames more than Core i7 – 1185 G7 while consuming less energy. The reference laptops chosen by Intel for the test were also criticized, as their TDPs and actual consumption differed significantly

. Intel therefore hopes that future tests on laptops will be done either on the battery, or on both the battery and the cable end, to get a true picture of the laptop’s performance. So far, AMD has not commented at any level.

Update: Tom’s Hardware also features other Intel-run tests around the same theme.

Source: ArsTechnica

Review: Skullcandy Crusher ANC Noise canceling with a lot of extra

The Skullcandy Crusher may not sound like something you’ll want to put on your head, but wait: it’s a noise-canceling headset that packs in several unique features that you won’t find elsewhere. But can a button to adjust the basses and a personal tuning based on an ear test be enough to stand out from the crowd? There are plenty of rivalsâ ?? ¦

Advantages of ANC During the spring lockdown we are â ???? and probably more people â ???? will appreciate the benefits of noise-canceling headphones even more. NC headphones were already on the rise anyway, but the sales figures are now getting even more of a boost. So if you’re looking for an explanation of why so many new headphones are popping up that actively combat ambient noise, that’s it.

Among the many new models that have recently appeared we also saw this futuristically shaped Skullcandy Crusher ANC, which for approximately 220 euro is in the shops. Not to be confused with the â ???? ordinaryâ ???? and older Crusher Wireless headphones that only have Bluetooth, by the way. But given that the design of the two Crushers differs somewhat, the risk of making a mistake is rather small.

With its price tag of just over 200 Euro, the Crusher ANC is a middle class in the segment. That is significantly cheaper than the high-end models, such as the Sony WH – 1000 XM3 or Bose NCH 700, and still a bit more pricey than the loafers. The Philips PH 805 for example. What do you get for that amount? Some surprising and even unique things. The most important two: you can personalize the sound on the basis of an ear test and via a large slider you can adjust the basses while listening. Certainly the latter function is not only available for music, but also for people who play games and watch films while traveling. Most NC headphones don’t really do much with those audiences, so Skullcandy does.

Modern looks Like many of its peers, the Crusher ANC is a headphones designed for mobile use. You can fold it so that you can easily store it in the supplied case. It is a very solid fabric thing, by the way, with room for the charging cable and a thin audio cable for when the battery is empty. The headphones are available in different color editions (including a stylish black version with cognac brown ear cushions) and are made of plastic, so that the weight can be kept low. That is not at the expense of the build quality; the Crusher ANC seems solid and doesn’t crack when we twist it. That is immediately distinctive compared to cheaper devices.

The Crusher ANC looks a bit futuristic, an impression that is reinforced by the three large buttons on the right ear and Sensory Bass slider and a series of bright LEDs indicating the battery level on the left. And then there is the USB-C port (handy, you can use the cable from your new smartphone) and an aux input for wired listening. This remains a useful option if you want to watch a movie on an airplane via the inflight system.

Real buttons The buttons on the Crusher NC are large but very easy to operate by touch. That is a plus. And we prefer physical buttons to touchpads for headphones because you can always operate real keys, even when wearing gloves, so that’s worth a pat on the back. But don’t worry, touchpad lovers: Skullcandy has also thought of you. By tapping on the left ear you can switch on noise canceling or activate an ambient mode so that you become more aware of your surroundings.

If you look closely, the feeling of luxury disappears a bit, partly because the brackets and small visual elements that seem to be metal from far away still appear plastic at a few centimeters away. The ear pads are of high quality and rest softly on the head. Since the headband is also well padded at the top (with a shape that allows a little more cooling), the Crusher ANC deserves good marks when it comes to comfort. expected, to be fair.

The headphone housings and ear pads are a bit narrower than normal, which puts the Crusher ANC somewhere on the border between a large on-ear and a smaller over-ear headphone. Those looking for a more discreet, smaller device that sits more subtly on your head should check out this Skullcandy. Sure, that subtlety is somewhat undermined by the logo of an alien skull on both sides of the headband. But you don’t expect much subtlety from a brand with a name like Skullcandy, right?

All for you You don’t need to install the Skullcandy app (iOS, Android) if you don’t want to. If you do, you do get access to a number of useful things (such as firmware updates) and the show-off function of these headphones: personal sound. The underlying idea is that everyone’s hearing is different (and that is correct, partly due to age effects) and headphones should take this into account. Otherwise, you won’t hear your music the way the headphone designer wanted.

Skullcandy isn’t the first to discover this. The AKG N 90 Q and Sony WH – 1000 For example, XM3 use test tones to adjust the display to the fit on the ears. Because yes, that also has an influence. What Skullcandy does is different. It uses technology from Audiodo, a Swedish startup that has devised an algorithm to adjust the sound signal to your ear characteristics. To find out how and what you hear correctly, you have to go through a relatively extensive hearing test in the Skullcandy. You really have to take some time for it and â ???? above all – find a very quiet environment. A whole series of test tones are played per ear, including tones that are very quiet, each time indicating whether you hear something or not. Based on this inquiry, Audiodo creates a filter that adjusts the sound, and that per ear. After all, it is quite possible that one ear perceives certain frequencies better than the other.

It all sounds very technical, but in the app it is kept simple. Just tap a button if you hear the tone or not. Then yes, a curve is presented per ear, without explanation or checkpoints, but with a button so that you can immediately switch between â ???? offâ ???? and â ???? optimizedâ ????. This way you can decide for yourself what the function does and whether you think it is worthwhile.

It is also useful that you can perform the test several times and save multiple profiles. The first time we did that, there was some background noise, which prevented us from hearing certain tones. In a later test at a quieter time of the day we heard more tones and the personal representation was therefore slightly different. Is the feature really useful? We think so. The fact that we got a slightly different result for each measurement proves that an algorithm is only as good as the data you feed it, but the result was still slightly more balanced than the standard display. And by that we do not only mean per se in terms of frequency response, but above all that a better balance was created between left and right. Which in turn made the soundstage bigger and allowed the music to ‘escape’ more? out of your head. It’s not that the closed Crusher ANC suddenly took on the character of an open audiophile headphone, but thanks to the function it does take a step in that direction.

Flapping ears The Crusher ANC has one more function that you can call special: Sensory Bass. You operate it via a large slider at the bottom of the left driver housing. Slide this button up and basses will be thickened. But this is not just an extra bass button. It mainly works on very low tones, so that you do not immediately notice anything when listening to, say, violin music or when watching a film scene with only dialogues. That changes immediately when there are beats in music or that movie shifts into a higher gear and action starts. Then you get a good portion of sub bass served, including strong physical feedback, a bit similar to the vibration function on a Dualshock controller. In its highest position it is almost overwhelming. When we took the Crusher to the â ???? Old Guardâ ???? watched via Netflix on our LG GX8 smartphone, with Sensory Bass on max mode, we almost jumped out of our seat during a shootout and moments later when a helicopter came into view during Charlize Theron and Matthias Schoenaerts’ journey to South Sudan. It seemed as if our ears were flapping, and it even leaned a little towards the pain threshold! Perhaps this works so well because the sub-basses are delivered directly to your skull, thanks to a motor that is included in the driver housing. Sensory Bass is one of those things you love or despise, and it may also be a main reason for some to get that Crusher ANC. With games and films, it really adds value, if you ask us, but to an extent. At maximum strength it can really get too much.

Where is â ???? em? Are you someone who always loses things? Then the Tile compatibility of the Crusher ANC is a real asset. Tile is a service that works via an app and helps you to find a lost device. You must first register the Crusher ANC via the Tile app, then you can locate the headphones by having it play a loud sound. It’s a good idea, but the Crusher’s speakers can’t be loud enough for you to hear from afar. No problem if the headphones are on the couch, for example, but if there is a pillow or a stack of strips on it, you will only detect the sound from close by. The added value is therefore quite relative, especially in a messy house. Nevertheless, Tile functionality is a bit of hype. Bose and Sennheiser also provide it on select headphones, such as the Momentum Wireless 3.

Enough functions with this Skullcandy, but what about the sound quality? Sensory Bass and the personal sound profiles have a strong influence on what you hear. Still, we dare to say that the Crusher ANC is a commercially tuned headphone, with somewhat heavier basses that suit urban genres and electronic music. That’s fine if you’re looking for just that. More importantly, these headphones are good in terms of drivers and adjustment. A solid bass foundation is indeed provided, but basses remain clean and detailed, and they do not drown out higher frequencies. With that, the Crusher ANC plays at a higher level. You are not listening to bloated or bloated basses and otherwise a dull sound â ???? as you may experience with cheaper headphones.

Vocals are beautifully presented, we notice when listening to â ???? Meryemâ ????, an atmospheric album (CD quality via Qobuz) by the Moroccan singer Meryem Aboulouafa that mixes many influences around and sometimes towards trip hop and trance. Songs like the intense â ???? Retreat! Â ???? and the slow, cinematic â ???? Deeplyâ ???? sound good on the Crusher ANC, although we do find with the latter that the basses dominate slightly when the volume is really loud. We are sorry that there is no equalizer in the app. If we listen to this album via BubbleUPnP and EQâ € ™ and there, it balances out nicely. OK, that is far too cumbersome for many listeners, but it is a plus that the Crusher ANC handles such adjustments without any problems. By the way, confirm t also our Huawei P 30 Pro that the Crusher ANC aptX and aptX Supports HD, two Bluetooth codecs that give a better guarantee of quality. Good news for the mobile audiophile, which aptX HD will not often encounter in this price segment.

The noise canceling on the Skullcandy does its job, but is certainly not as effective as with the high-end models. Perhaps also because the passive isolation with these headphones is somewhat more limited, especially compared to the JBL Club One, for example. In our simulation, where we played a YouTube video of a train ride through a snowstorm, we could still perceive the typical track sounds when no music was playing through the headphones. If you do watch a movie or listen to music, the train mesh almost completely disappears into the background. Remarkable: voice noises are very well eliminated. The Crusher ANC therefore seems a good choice for an open office environment or if you are always listening to something while commuting. Travelers who use NC headphones to rest and don’t play anything should opt for highly effective noise-canceling headphones like the top Sony model.

Conclusion Some unique features make the Crusher ANC a special NC headphones, and at a reasonable price. The biggest flaw is the slight noise. You have that with many headphones with active noise cancellation, but here it is just a bit louder. At the same time, it is hardly bothering you when listening to music, and certainly not in a noisy environment. However, the NC cannot eliminate the loudest environmental noise. The Sensory Bass button is really great. At its highest setting it is crazy overkill for music, even for a convincing basshead, but at a lower setting it is a great bonus for movies and games. These headphones are definitely recommended for Netflix on the train or plane.

Skullcandy Crusher ANC

219 euro | www.skullcandy.com

Rating 4 out of 5

Review Como Audio Solo + Ambiente + Turntable set

Como Audio is certainly no stranger to the readers of HIFI.NL. We have been in regular contact with Tom DeVesto, and have previously introduced you extensively with the Como Audio Musica. The label â ???? table radioâ ???? was quite an understatement. But the line of products is bigger. Como Audio also has a record player in its range. That of course requires a review.

Como Audio Como is a relatively new brand, but has deep roots in the audio. After all, there is a man with a vision behind it: Â Tom DeVesto . A â ???? completeâ ???? bringing a new brand to the market, mainly dominated by Sonos, requires a set of balls. When we look at the products and their quality, we admire Como Audio. As audio enthusiasts, we know that CD and vinyl are not dead. And Como Audio knows that too. But then with a future proof touch.

Personally, we wanted to get started with the Como Audio Bluetooth Turntable, but in full Como mode. How? With a complete set! The Solo + Ambiente + Turntable. That is a Solo with extra speaker and a turntable: a set that provides the user with many possibilities.

The Solo becomes a real stereo system with the additional Ambiente speaker, with almost everything on board: multiroom audio, streaming audio, Spotify, DAB +, USB, headphone connection, Bluetooth, clock and alarm, 2x stereo input (3.5mm), color screen, wifi, optical input and one 30 Watt class-D amplifier for the control of the 2-way system. The Solo comes in 4 versions, for each an appropriate color for the interior.

Which brings us to the second product in this set. This turntable has no name other than Bluetooth Turntable. so Como could have come up with a peppy name for that. If we can make a suggestion: the Limoncello? The turntable itself is well put together. We see that the arm resembles a model from Pro-Ject, which suggests that parts come from it. Of course Como Audio gives it its own twist. A heavy steel platform, slip mat and a dust cover. We also find an Ortofon OM 10 element. A built-in phonostage and Bluetooth functionality make it reasonably future-proof, and that offers possibilities. The Como Audio Bluetooth Turntable can therefore be connected wirelessly to the Solo.

Start and drive Unpack, drop and set the set has a maximum of 30 minutes to time. Crazy called it took most of the time to set up. This has to do with the buttons on the front of the Solo; these are both rotary and click buttons. The screen is not a touchscreen, although the appearance suggests otherwise!

The Ambiente stereo speaker can be connected with a single RCA cable. This is attached to the speaker. To connect to the WiFi network, we have to turn and click the buttons. It gives a bit of the feel of a text message you make on a Nokia 3310. But once we are connected, it is set. We are greeted with a notification that there is a system update. It is always good to keep internet connected systems up to date. After the update we are only surprised: we can completely reset the Solo! Nothing has been preserved. That is a point to improve. It is easy to immediately download the app, available for Android and iOS.

The buttons on the front have a big advantage: quick, easy operation. If it was a bit more difficult to set up, it is that easy to use the same buttons. This also makes it clear why this was chosen. We have to understand which button does what, but we get the hang of it in no time. This is a strong point for people who don’t feel like messing with an app on the phone. In addition, a remote control is also included. We choose our favorite radio stations, our music server is linked and we connect the record player. It is almost ready for use. It is advisable to check the adjustment. A check to see if the record player is level is also a step in this process. We connect the whole with the supplied cable and adapter. For example, the record player can be connected to the Solo. The transparent RCA cable then goes to a 3.5 mm plug.

Now we already hear you think: “That’s not good, is it?”. And you are absolutely right about that. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and that also applies to audio systems. Preference is given to a cable that already contains the adapter and which consists of one whole. But this is what Como Audio delivered, so this is what we test it with. Fortunately, the head office has announced that it will deliver the product with a different cable from this summer, so that no more adapters are needed. Now all that remains is an espresso and a listening session.

Musical Fun Factor “It’s a Wednesday morning, 07: 00 hours The Solo on button is pressed. Preset button 1 and Q-music can be heard over the speakers. The radio station logo appears on the screen. Meanwhile, the coffee machine is switched on and the living room is enveloped in the scent of fresh espresso. ”

This is how the Como Audio set has made its appearance in recent weeks, in a daily rhythm. The acceptance in such a steady rhythm can be a difficult process. In the case of the Como Audio Solo, Ambiente and the Turntable it was quite organic; within a day it was very natural to just turn on the radio or just turn on a CD from the server. And that is sometimes a different matter with some products. (Just below us; the Solo, Ambiente and Limoncello sound much better, right?). A comparison with Sonos or Bluesound is therefore easily made. But we’ll get to that later.

The step to turn on music for a moment is just the touch of a button. In the days when people work a lot at home, we also notice that we also listen to more music. There was a lot of radio, especially in the morning, and from lunch music was switched on via Spotify or the server. Around dinner the round black discs appeared and several LPs were listened to while enjoying a glass of wine.

The convenience and “Fun Factor” are very high with this set, and that is exactly what makes listening to music so much fun. Something we already encountered with the Crosley . But what exactly do we mean by that? It is often a combination of several factors. Think of the product, the price of the product, the ease of use, the right music and the time or place. The Solo excels in convenience. Press the button and listen. What we often encounter with multiroom or smart speakers is the smartphone. This almost always has to be taken in hand to put on other music. Then we are often tempted to read that email, or to view that post on Instagram or Facebook. There is no such distraction with the Como Audio Solo. It takes you as a user with a modern system back to a period of uncomplicated music experience. Of course there is an app available, but if we have used it five times during the entire period, then it is a lot. Combine that convenience with the sound quality and the circle is complete.

With the rotary knob we scroll through the music on the server, until we come across an album of which we think ‘yes, nice’. A good example is the Buena Vista Social Club, with the eponymous album from 1997. We own the album in Flac, hi-res. The Como just plays that. And the surprise is all the greater when we hear that the display is better than expected. The vocals and instruments are clear and have a clear place in the room. We do hear a slightly exaggerated mid-low / low. This is mainly because the housing has to compensate. So don’t expect audiophile performance. It is more like a delicious warm apple pie from Oma. All flavors have come together in that apple pie and together they form the whole. The audio performance of the Solo and the Ambiente can also be compared. We really hear music. We do not hear the vocals and instruments separately. We also don’t hear different levels, we just hear music, as a whole. Straight forward.

We also find the pleasure when we grab a few LPs. The album 21 by Adele and Forever Dreaming by Myles Sanko , for example. Adele doesn’t need an introduction. Myles Sanko is a British soul and jazz singer. He has been working hard since 2013 and has performed at North Sea Jazz, among others. We put on the song of the same name Forever Dreaming. We are looking for the swing that is in that song. With a good audio system sitting still is difficult and you will be captivated by the melody. We clearly hear the wind section shaping the melody. Here you can indeed hear the swing we are looking for. There is a small but. The music sounds good, better than you would expect. We only miss some body here and there. Just that little bit of strength underneath that creates conviction. When we set up Adele, we like to listen to that powerful swipe. Turning Tables is a very suitable number for this. Also appropriate in terms of name. Adele can convey a lot of emotion with her singing. This is also audible on the Como Audio Solo and Bluetooth Turntable. We feel the emotion and the swipe is more than pure enough. For a 2-way system, the Solo and the Turntable set a good score. Although there is more quality in the Turntable than the Solo can display.

Straightforward Now as a reader you naturally want to know what it costs and whether it is that exorbitant amount is worth. Let’s start with the target audience. For whom is such a set interesting? Are you that person who is harassed for the third time by the neighbor on Saturday because she can’t stop talking about their new Sonos speaker? And that they are now audiophiles too, because they have more than 1000 to spend on audio stuff, but they still have to save for the subwoofer. Making you wonder if you could drink the bottle of red wine in hand in one gulp, as long as you don’t have to listen to your neighbor anymore? Congratulations! You belong to the target group for Como Audio! They have an extensive range for multi-room audio products. Audio products made of wood. Available in 4 different colors, such as walnut. It is made for people who want the audio quality, but not Sonos. And especially its convenience. Just turn on some music. Music for cooking, or for relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine.

The set as a whole is very extensive and prepared for the future. The TV can also be connected to it with an optical cable. The cable was a weak link with the record player. It did not stay in place and the adapter prevented us from using all connections at the back. The Bluetooth connection provided more freedom. We could also place the record player elsewhere, at a slightly greater distance. The downside is that the quality of the connection was not always great. A slight hum could be heard when the turntable was turned on. As soon as the music started we didn’t hear anything anymore. A simple adapter is included with the record player. This could explain the hum. It can often be traced back to electricity or earth. The adapter can be replaced for an Sbooster, for example. This will also be a leap forward in the ge loud quality. The hum was also more present with Bluetooth than with wired listening, but again for the sake of completeness: the cabling of the test set differs from how the product is now delivered, and according to the manufacturer the c connector and ground cause hum in this setup.

Now we mainly used the front controls, but there is also an app. He could use some finishing touches. There will probably be a tip at startup, but that’s in a different language. So we can’t read that.

Which brings us to the prize. For the Como Audio Solo you pay 399 euro, for the Bluetooth Turntable you pay your 499 euro and for the Ambiente again 129 euros. That brings the total price to 1027 euros. Is it worth that price?

As a comparison, you could also buy 2x a Sonos Five or a Bluesound Pulse Mini, but at the same time it cannot be compared. It lacks the look and charisma of the Como Audio. The Fun Factor! The pleasure and that is precisely what makes listening to music so addictive. Another perspective can also be the ministry. This system is also very suitable for people who do not want to switch on or operate their audio with a smartphone. It would be even more attractive if Como Audio turns it into a set or bundle, including a nice set price, then we are completely happy.

Conclusion Como Audio is a great brand, with authentic audio aspects. The combination of the Solo, Ambiente and the Bluetooth Turntable provide a high fun factor. Add to that the fact that the operation is very simple and easy. A smartphone or tablet is not required for use. Are there any drawbacks? Sure, but that doesn’t make the fun and adventure of music on the Como Audio any less.

Como Audio

Combi: â ?? ¬ 1. 027 | Â como-audio.nl Â

Rating: 4/5

Corona warning app: First “purify”, then expand

The Corona Warning App (CWA) could “help a lot” in the winter of the pandemic, but it does not work properly despite investments already worth millions. This is what the chairman of the Green parliamentary group, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, assumes. Reason enough to invite experts to a “digital exchange” about meaningful possible further developments. They were certain: The mobile prestige application is currently overwhelming the users, but also needs more functions.

First of all, the basic procedure of contact tracking is necessary Jutta Gurkmann from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) emphasized that they could better explain the actual warning mechanism via Bluetooth. At present, the user comes across “a lot of lead deserts, has to click through, is referred to hotlines”. He ends up with a question-and-answer list from the federal government, but even after ten minutes of reading it still cannot really make it clear to him what different types of risk encounters actually mean. Nobody wants to work their way through there. Gurkmann therefore recommended “detox” first. The user must “find really good information with fewer clicks”.

It is also necessary to define the warnings and the resulting rights and obligations more clearly Elisa Lindinger from the Superrr Lab think tank. The app is currently raising a lot of questions and is “rather anti-nudging”. The users became dulled. Ansgar Gerhardus from the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research at the University of Bremen put it in the same vein that a warning about a low risk in connection with two encounters is more unsettling than helping. Explanations are not understandable for laypeople. If someone goes to the family doctor with a “red app” but has no symptoms, he can at best take unpaid leave. Many employees would not even load the application. In addition, there is the “diffuse hole” that 40 percent of users do not pass on a positive result of a corona test and many warnings are omitted.

Registration using QR code The unfounded fear of negative consequences is apparently great. Linus Neumann from the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) explained his plea to enrich the CWA with an option for decentralized cluster recording. The heuristic Bluetooth method of measuring the distance to third parties via the signal strength and calculating the risk of infection has its limits and could only be expanded on the basis of the alternative interface between Apple and Google. It is therefore advisable to switch to other, epidemiologically meaningful tracing methods.

At the moment, individuals are sending codes that are stored on cell phones, Neumann explained. When clustering, for example via the CrowdNotifier, such an identifier stands for a meeting of several people and would later manually enter that they had left the location. Everyone else scanned the identifier using a QR code and stored it on their smartphone. At the same time, the organizer’s cell phone generates a second code to alert everyone involved if necessary. This procedure can be transferred to check-ins for restaurants and is “more privacy-friendly and faster than a contact diary”.

“Infections take place in places where there are many people,” reported Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen. A cluster recognition is therefore important, organizers have to provide QR codes for logging in and out. Unlike in South Korea, for example, the aspect of voluntariness must be preserved. The federal government has concerns here that it does not want to allow the CWA as a check-in tool for restaurants, for example. The consumer advocate Gurkmann could imagine such an approach if it adheres to the “strict earmarking”. Contact data would have to be given anyway. Test laboratories should also be able to feed their reports 100 percent digitally into the app, emphasized Zeeb.

Dependence on Google and Apple The health authorities also complained that they had practically no gain in knowledge from the CWA users. At the moment it cannot even be clarified whether the goal of shortening the time between risk exposure and a test will be achieved. Patrick Hennig from the startup Nexenio explained that the company wanted to create an open standard for a secure, data-saving exchange with the health authorities as part of the Luca app and thus simplify contact tracking. There is no central evaluation unit. Rather, the system relies on decentralized keys that can be applied to different devices, which, in addition to the citizen or an organizer, the health department could also use within a certain period of time. If the user sees that this has decrypted data at around 9: 30, this is an indication of having been part of a chain of infection. In addition, there is the option of voluntarily sharing his contact diary from the check-ins with the authorities.

As an alternative to the smartphone, Stefan Köpsell brought Head of the data protection and security working group at the Barkhausen Institute of TU Dresden, the corona warning buzzer developed there. This has the advantage of not being dependent on Google and Apple. Here, too, no more information would be collected than necessary. However, the professor raised the question of how strongly the acceptance of relevant applications is linked to data protection: “We also don’t see hundreds of thousands of people on the street because the encryption is to be weakened.”

New functions of the CWA Even with a high level of data protection, the CWA could be expanded, for example “into a real corona information channel”, underlined Göring-Eckardt. For the Greens, cluster detection is also “the alpha and omega”. The federal government announced three more “updates” for the CWA after the online meeting of the heads of government of the federal states with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). This would, for example, implement automatic reminders after a positive test of a warning that has not yet taken place for one’s own contact persons, integrate a mini-dashboard with current information on the course of the infection and improve the measurement accuracy by migrating to the new Apple and Google interface. In addition, the intervals for notification of a warning should be significantly reduced. Other extensions such as a contact diary are currently being checked and – if possible – “promptly implemented in 2021”.

(emw)

Macs with Apple's M1 chip: reinstallation can paralyze computers

An error in the macOS recovery causes significant problems on ARM Macs: The attempt to reinstall the operating system on one of the Macs with Apple’s M1 chip currently fails with an error message, as several users report. After deleting the SSD and reloading macOS 10 Big Sur, the message appears that an error occurred while preparing the update, “the Personalizing the software update failed “- try again.

Restore only via second Mac Further attempts would, however, result in the same error message, according to affected users. Normal startup of the Mac is no longer possible at this stage. As things stand, the only way out is to repair or restore the Mac’s firmware using DFU mode – similar to what is known from iPhones, but more laborious: The firmware restore requires a second Mac with at least macOS 10. 15. 6 Catalina and the tool Apple Configurator 2, the can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store.

To connect the two Macs, a USB-C to USB-C cable or – for Interoperability with older Macs – a USB-A to USB-C cable is required. The cable must support the transmission of data and power, emphasizes Apple. Thunderbolt 3 cables are not supported according to the manufacturer, but according to experience reports they still work.

Cumbersome procedure Das The cable must be plugged into a specific port on the Mac to be restored, as Apple states in its instructions, which are currently only available in English. In order to put the M1-Mac into DFU mode (Device Firmware Upgrade), a specific key combination must also be pressed directly after switching on. If the procedure described by Apple fails, users can fall back on a manual based on experience reports from Mr. Macintosh. Recovery via DFU mode and a second Mac is not new, it also works on all Macs with Apple’s T2 security chip.

Users of the new M1 Macs – MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or Mac mini – should initially refrain from reinstalling the operating system, as far as possible, until Apple has created a way to do this again normally via macOS recovery.

(lbe)

RadioShack will live forever as a zombie brand

RadioShack’s shambling remains were given another jolt of life today when they were purchased by another company that plans to relaunch the once-great retailer as an online-focused brand.

The store’s remains were purchased by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a startup founded in 2019 that’s been scooping up brands from other faded retail giants as well, including Pier 1, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Dressbarn, and more. REV says RadioShack’s website already has “strong existing sales and sales potential,” and the company is “confident” it can further raise awareness of the brand internationally.

REV claims it’s successfully turned around other companies it’s launched as online brands. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dressbarn more than doubled its revenue between the first and second quarter of 2020.

RadioShack was founded in 1921 and became a retail staple in the ’80s and ’90s for anyone looking to grab tech basics. For a long time, that meant actual radio components, but wound up including lots of electronic toys (one Verge editor fondly remembers his Armatron) and eventually phones. Its fortunes declined vastly as online shopping arrived, and the company filed for bankruptcy twice in the past five years. RadioShack still licenses its name to third-party “authorized” stores and sells branded products within some locations of HobbyTown, a crafts retailer — similar to how you can still find “Sharper Image” products at Kohl’s even though that retailer shut its physical doors over a decade ago. REV didn’t say whether those RadioShack licenses would stick around.

REV says it will “soon relaunch” RadioShack’s website. So for those of you still clinging on to fond memories of the store, there’ll be a familiar enough place to go when you want to buy overpriced HDMI cables and knockoff headphones.

Sunshine Contacts is an invite-only address book app from Marissa Mayer’s new startup

Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has just revealed her first major product since stepping down back in 2017: a new contact management application for iOS devices called Sunshine Contacts.

Sunshine Contacts is the first product from Mayer’s Sunshine startup (previously known as Lumi Labs), and it promises to be “the world’s most advanced, intuitive contact manager.”

Sunshine’s goal is to unify and simplify your contacts across Apple’s Contacts app and Gmail, pulling down your data from those sources and combining it with publicly available information. At the same time, the app promises to help organize and clean up your contacts, filling in missing chunks of information, and deleting duplicate entries. Then, it can sync that information back to your contact app and help continue to keep it updated over time.

Sunshine also offers more granular settings for sharing contacts, allowing users to share more specific personal information (for close friends) for more general information, or a professional card that includes less information for business contacts.

These are all good ideas, but Sunshine is by no means the first app to try to figure out a better way to manage contacts. There was Cobook in 2012, Brewster in 2014, FullContact in 2015, Cardhop in 2017 — just to name a few. It’s not entirely clear what Sunshine is offering here that past efforts at simplifying and unifying contacts haven’t done in the past.

The company doesn’t need to figure that out now. Sunshine Contacts is launching as a free service, and while there are plans to offer more premium paid features down the line, there’s no real downside in trying it out, assuming you can get in. Right now, the app is launching as an invite-only service (taking a page from other buzzy startups, like Superhuman), so Sunshine will be able to closely manage how many users it has to support.

While a contact syncing service might seem to be a little small for Mayer’s first post-Yahoo project, Sunshine’s goals are beyond just one app: in an interview with Wired, Mayer says that the company hopes to create a suite of “smart, small-scale sharing” products over time, of which Sunshine Contacts is expected to just be the start.

Update November 18th, 5:25pm: Lumi Labs — the former name of Mayer’s startup — has been renamed to Sunshine alongside the launch of the app.

Roli Lumi review: a portable keyboard that lights the way for first-time musicians

Piano lessons for me as a child meant sitting down every Tuesday at a shiny black Yamaha upright, looking up at shelves laden with tributes to my piano teacher’s twin obsessions: busts of classical greats like Beethoven and Chopin, and copies of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, to which he contributed every year. I’d sit and play; he’d sit and criticize. And over the course of a torturous six-year education, my teacher, Mr Dyson, instilled in my grumpy teenage self a love of music I can never adequately thank him for. I did my grades, paid my dues, and I’ve played more or less ever since.

All this is perhaps why the Lumi keyboard — the slickest, most intriguing piece of musical hardware I’ve come across in recent years — appalls and impresses me in equal measure.

The $299 Lumi is the latest offering from music hardware startup Roli, known for its squishy Seaboard keyboards and modular beat-making Blocks accessories. But while Roli’s past products have been aimed squarely at professionals, the Lumi is meant to attract would-be musicians: people who’ve never read a note of music in their life, but are eager to play all the same. It’s designed to lure in newbies with its light-up keys, Guitar Hero-style interface, and slick Bluetooth app, before embedding musical hooks deep in their heart with a back-catalogue of simplified pop, rock, and classical tunes to play along with. It’s a bold approach to musical education and unquestionably engaging. But I fear it has its limits.

Let’s start with the product first before we get on to the teaching aspects. Roli unquestionably makes gorgeous, idiosyncratic hardware. The Lumi has more design DNA in common with slick MIDI controllers used by DJs than starter Casio keyboards. It’s minimalist and compact, with two octaves of slightly small-than-average-size keys, a matte black plastic construction, and three soft-touch rubber buttons at the top. Although testers of early Lumi prototypes reported problems with the product’s build quality, the keyboards we tested were reassuringly solid. Each key lights up top to bottom, capable of displaying a full rainbow of colors as musical guides. The Lumi also has an internal battery, meaning you can toss it in a bag and take it on the go.

Setup is as simple as the design. Just download the Lumi app on a phone or tablet, push the power button on the keyboard, and connect to your keyboard over Bluetooth. The Lumi is really only designed for one hand to play at a time, but you can join multiple keyboards together using magnetic connectors to engage both of your hands at once.

My only slight criticism of the hardware is the keys themselves. The action of keyboard keys in general is, unsurprisingly, a matter of some importance to piano players. The more expensive sort of digital keyboard has what are known as “weighted” and “graded” keys, meaning they offer different levels of resistance at different parts of the keyboard. (This is to mimic the mechanics of an acoustic piano, where lower keys are harder to press and higher keys easier; an effect created by the keys’ levered construction).

Lumi’s keys don’t feel weighted or graded, which is not that surprising. Although you can get keyboards that cost the same as the Lumi with these features, Roli is justifying the price primarily via its software, not hardware. That being said, I still felt the Lumi’s keys were mushier than I would have liked, even for a starter keyboard, and has a disappointing plunge depth (you can’t push them down nearly as far as keys on a regular piano). And they also failed every now and again to register my touch if I was playing too fast. That could be extremely frustrating for someone struggling to learn an instrument that doesn’t seem to love them back. They keys are touch-sensitive, too, which allows you to play more softly or loudly. But again, that sensitivity is limited. Try playing Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” for example, and you’ll feel like you’re clomping through an art gallery in heavy boots.

The sleek design of the hardware is carried through to the software. Open up the Lumi app and you’re presented with a few options: Home, Learn, and Play. The Home screen lets you jump in to music straight away with three categories of tracks: “very easy songs” (staples of first piano books like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”); “abridged hits” (minute long snippets of pop songs such as Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”); and, somewhat bafflingly, a “hit the dancefloor” playlist containing tracks from the likes of Major Lazer, Pharrell Williams, and Calvin Harris. The latter category reminded me that Roli is really trying to attract a wide range of customers here — not just children learning to play for the first time, but older people who’ve perhaps always loved listening to music but never known how to start playing it.

In addition to the Home screen there are two more sections: Play, containing the app’s back-catalog of music, and Learn, home to Roli’s music lessons. A word on the back-catalog first, though, because it is simply wild. A quick scroll through the “intermediate” category, for example, takes me through an eclectic selection: Satie’s “Gymnopédie No.1”, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, Toploader’s “Dancin’ in the Moonlight”, and the State Anthem of The Russian Federation, all right next to one another. I honestly don’t quite know how to convey the weirdness of the music Roli has chosen, but I can say for certain I love it. Anyone can find something they want to play here, and though the bulk of tracks are split between classical tunes you can hum and pop hits of the last 10 years, Roli keeps you guessing by dropping in bangers like “No Scrubs” by TLC or “Rocket Man” by Elton John. These hits don’t come for free though, and require a $79 yearly subscription to “Lumi Complete” (which also gets you access to a full range of lessons and exercise). Those without the subscription only get a selection of 40 classical tunes, leaving the product severely diminished as a result.

However, this acclaim for Lumi’s back-catalog brings me to the feature I had the most doubts about, and it’s one that’s central to the entire product: how the music itself is taught. As mentioned above, the Lumi uses light up keys to power a Guitar Hero-style interface (officially known as “cascade” mode). Notes fall towards you on the screen and you hit them in time to play the music. The keyboard’s keys also light up faintly before the notes arrive, guiding your hands and fingers. Just as with Guitar Hero, there are also little gamified touches to keep your attention. You’re graded on how accurately you timed each note; earn multipliers for hot streaks; and get a star rating at the end of each song you play. It’s a simple, intuitive interface that anyone can understand. But its simplicity creates limits.

The problems come when songs progress beyond relatively simple tunes and start incorporating more complex rhythms and melodies. Here, the amount of information you can fit into a Guitar Hero interface is simply too restrictive. Traditional sheet music, by comparison, uses a style of notation that’s evolved over centuries. It’s streamlined and compressed, and contains a wealth of information that can be understood at a glance. Things like dynamics, key signature, time signature, and a song’s overall structure can be taken in by an experienced musician almost intuitively. If you can read sheet music, you can not only look ahead in a song, but also better engage with its structure, picking out patterns like repeating motifs or harmonic progressions. Sheet music is also even more important for the piano, where different staves are used to separate what each hand plays.

The Guitar Hero interface, by comparison, is all about the moment. It focuses attention on a stream of notes that move constantly towards the player rather than a musical landscape they can survey at leisure. ‘Here comes the note,’ says the interface, ‘don’t miss it, here it is, play it, now!’ It’s a framework that borrows more from video games than musical education, and that doesn’t so much teach you to read music as react to it. And while it’s certainly possible to learn relatively tricky songs on the Lumi keyboard, I’m dubious how transferable these skills are. Once you reach the limits of the interface and have to change to traditional sheet music and keyboards, you’ll have a lot to learn as well as some bad habits to forget.

In fairness to Roli, Lumi is certainly much more than just Guitar Hero for piano. Many songs give you the option to play along with traditional sheet music, for example, and the app includes a fantastic library of lessons and exercises that teach you musical fundamentals. Chords, fingering and hand positions, as well as elements of notation are all covered, with interactive video presentations from bright and lively musicians. The company told me that it also plans to expand these lessons in future, to encourage the transition to traditional sheet music.

More good news though: it’s in these early stages that Lumi’s gamified environment really excels. For beginners sitting down at the piano for the first time, there are few things more discouraging than being confronted with their own ineptitude. You plod through scales and struggle to play nursery rhymes as if they were Rachmaninov, and then you give up because it’s all too hard. (Believe me, I’ve been there! I regularly go back to there every time I try something challenging!)

Lumi at least brightens these early difficulties through light and color. Even for the simplest songs, it gives players a backing score that makes them feel like they’re performing on stage. And for children learning to play for the first time I imagine these features would help keep them engaged and interested where a music book by itself could fail.

The question, then, is how far can you go with Lumi, and is it worth the price? Right now, the $299 price tag includes a $50 voucher for a year of Lumi Complete, the subscription service which gets you full access to the Lumi library and all its exercises and lessons (the cost without a voucher: $79). Roli isn’t selling the keyboard without this voucher right now, and I can see why: so much of the product’s attraction comes from its lessons and music. And while for that money you could get a better quality keyboard and a clutch of learn-to-play instructional books, you couldn’t get the lessons needed to take you through your first couple of grades.

At a time when most of us are stuck at home, or at least trying to avoid leaving the house, the all-in-one pitch from Roli seems particularly attractive. I just wonder how far Lumi can really take first-time musicians. I think Roli’s first educational produt is a good, but expensive, on-ramp for someone keen to try and play the piano for the first time, but the road soon runs out. If you really want to play, then the Lumi is only the start.

Amazon launches Amazon Pharmacy for prescription medicine delivery

Amazon is making its biggest push into the healthcare industry yet with the launch today of Amazon Pharmacy: a new service offering home delivery for prescription medication.

Customers can sign up to the new store by creating a ”secure pharmacy profile,” with the option of adding information about their health insurance, any outstanding medical issues like allergies, and any regular prescriptions. The store will offer a range of “generic and brand-name drugs,” reports CNBC, including “commonly prescribed drugs like insulin, triamcinolone steroid creams, metformin for controlling blood sugar, and sumatriptan for migraines.” Notably, the pharmacy will not sell Schedule II medications, which includes many common opioids like Oxycontin.

As usual for Amazon, Prime members will get a number of advantages over regular customers. These perks include free, two-day delivery on orders and discounts on medication. Amazon claims Prime members will be able to save “up to 80 percent off generic and 40 percent off brand name medications when paying without insurance.” Prime members will also be able to save on medication bought in person from over 50,000 pharmacies across the US, including Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens.

Amazon Pharmacy will be available in 45 states this weeks, reports CNBC. States currently not covered include Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and Minnesota, though Amazon plans to expand to those areas in the future. Amazon says it accepts “most” insurance plans, and will give customers the option of speaking to a pharmacist for advice.

The launch of Amazon Pharmacy is a significant move from Amazon, but far from unexpected. The company has been steadily building up its position in the healthcare market for years now, with signs pointing to a launch into pharmaceutical services.

In 2018 it bought pharmaceutical delivery startup PillPack for just under $1 billion. The company later rebranded the service as PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy, and CNBC reports that PillPack’s infrastructure (including its fulfillment centers and relationships with healthcare providers) were used to create Amazon Pharmacy. Amazon says PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy will continue as a “distinct service,” aimed at customers “managing multiple daily medications for chronic conditions.”

According to Healthcare Weekly, the pharmacy industry is worth $312 billion in the US, with annual growth rates of 3 percent driven primarily by the rise of online stores and home delivery. Given Amazon’s prowess in logistics and its network of warehouses and drivers, entering this space seems logical. And at a time when more people are staying at home because of the pandemic, the prospect of delivering medication is even more attractive.

In a press statement, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of North American Consumer, Doug Herrington, suggested that this dynamic would work in the company’s favor. “As more and more people look to complete everyday errands from home, pharmacy is an important and needed addition to the Amazon online store,” said Herrington.

Buzzard: Schools test news app against conspiracy theories

The media startup “Buzzard” goes to schools with a news app. With it, young people should learn in class to expose conspiracy theories and burst opinion filter bubbles, as the Berlin startup announced on Monday at the start of the dpa. The app shows various points of view on current topics from newspapers, magazines, social media and web blogs from the entire spectrum of opinion in an overview and offers journalistic classifications to positions.

Ten pilot schools from several federal states are initially participating in the app, as it was said. Teachers and students can use the app in political and social studies classes. The app is free of charge for schools, and foundations are involved in the financing. Other users pay reduced 3, 50 euros per month or optionally 5, 8, 20 or 80 Euro. The first 14 days is free to use.

“The Buzzard” brought launched its first news app in May. Since the end 2016, the media startup from Leipzig, which is now based in Berlin, had been working on the project. Here, too, the aim is to show the diversity of perspectives in debates and to classify incorrect information. The idea was supported by many prominent journalists and there were also several prizes. A crowdfunding campaign found many supporters within a short time.

Bubbles and fakes on social media “Young people almost use it only their smartphone to find out about world events and many read the news mainly via social media. There, however, filter bubbles and fake news lurk, “said startup co-founder Dario Nassal. Co-founder Felix Friedrich added: “Using the example of the USA, we can see how bad the social division is for a democracy. But in this country too, during Corona, more and more people are increasingly living in their bubbles.”

Algorithms based on machine learning could hardly show users why they are viewing certain content, and certainly not play out pro and contra arguments as such, say the company founders. The content is selected and compiled by a team around the founders. A short press review, recommendations on individual perspectives and the reasons why they propose articles appear in a tile look. However, due to the amount of work involved, there is a time delay in being up-to-date.

At Buzzard, there are no suggestions for personalization based on usage behavior. Users can follow certain topics. Instead of a like button, there is an “aha effect button” that can be set by anyone who had such a moment while reading. In retrospect, readers get a list of the opened articles, so they can control themselves: Have I always followed particularly conservative media on a topic? Have I allowed counter-arguments? The function can also be switched off. ( with material from dpa ) /

(anw)

Uber reportedly may sell its self-driving car division to rival Aurora

Uber is in talks to sell its autonomous vehicle unit to startup competitor Aurora Innovation, TechCrunch reported. If it comes to pass, the sale of Uber Advanced Technologies Group (UberATG), would mark the end of a bumpy road for a division of Uber that was valued at $7.25 billion as recently as last July, but which has been plagued with ongoing problems.

In March of 2019, Uber avoided criminal charges in the 2018 death of Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona, the first-ever death involving an autonomous car. Federal investigators found that Uber, the safety driver behind the wheel of the car, and the state of Arizona all shared a portion of the blame for the incident. The accident ended Uber’s test program in Tempe, but the company resumed testing in Pittsburgh, where UberATG is headquartered.

And UberATG was involved in a trade secrets lawsuit with competitor Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet. Uber settled the case unexpectedly in February of 2018.

And according to Uber’s most recent earnings report, while its “ATG and other technologies” segment had revenues of $25 million in the third quarter, the segment saw a net loss of $303 million for the nine months ended September 30th, according to TechCrunch.

Aurora was founded in 2017 by Chris Urmson, the former lead engineer for Google’s self-driving project. Much of its focus has been on developing technology for self-driving trucks. The startup’s most recent valuation was about $2.5 billion, and Aurora said in July it was expanding its testing of autonomous vehicles into Texas.

Aurora and Uber did not immediately reply to requests for comment Saturday.

Here’s how much Rivian’s electric truck and SUV will cost when they come out in 2021

Rivian, the electric vehicle startup based in Michigan and California, revealed this week the pricing for its forthcoming R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. Both vehicles, which were first unveiled in late 2018, are expected to reach customers by summer 2021.

Special “launch” editions of both vehicles will come first, starting with $75,000 for the R1T truck and $77,500 for the R1S SUV. Both will come with 300 miles of range. A 400-mile battery pack for the R1T will be available in January 2022, Rivian says.

Initially, the company only planned for a 300-mile R1S, but now intends to release details for a longer-range version of the SUV with both five- and seven-passenger seating after it goes into production. Rivian will also announce a 250-mile range, lower priced R1T and R1S at that time. The company recently showed off an electric delivery van that it is developing in partnership with Amazon.

These prices represent a slight increase over what the company originally announced back in 2018, when it said the R1T would have a base price of $69,000 and the R1S would start at $72,500. The company’s vehicles will also be eligible for a federal tax credit of $7,500 each.

Rivian’s vehicles will eventually go head-to-head against some potentially heavy hitters like Tesla, General Motors, and Ford, as well as new players like Lordstown and Bollinger. There are dozens of electric trucks and SUVs planned for the next few years, thanks to skyrocketing sales in the US. Automakers tend to make more profit on bigger vehicles than sedans, though battery costs tend to drive up the prices of electric vehicles compared to their gas-powered equivalents.

Rivian, which has picked up some huge investments from a host of major players including Amazon, also unveiled plans for a “hands-free” advanced driver assist system that it’s calling “Rivian Driver+.”

The system, which will only work on select highways at first, will allow the vehicle to “automatically steer, adjust speed, and change lanes on your command,” Rivian says. Over-the-air software updates will help improve its area of coverage and capabilities. But it isn’t a self-driving system, and “requires your full attention on the road at all times and you should not use a hand-held device behind the wheel,” the company warns.

PlayStation 5 Media Remote in pictures: How the PS5 remote works

(Pocket-lint) – The PlayStation 5 is now available (in the US at least) and that means accessories are hitting the market too.

One of the official add-ons that we’ve been most excited about is the PS5 Media Remote – a relatively simple remote control for the media side of the console – and we’ve now got our hands on one, which we’ve paired and briefly tested.

Even its very existance excites us. Sony decided against releasing its own remote for the PS4 (there were some third-party alternatives) and we lamented its absence. But, with the PS5 now sporting a 4K Blu-ray player and a dedicated area on the UX for media, it makes complete sense for a dedicated, first-party clicker to control it all.

Design and buttons

The Media Remote itself is battery operated, with two AA batteries included in the box. This is essential really, as you don’t want to have to recharge a flat remote just to watch something on Netflix.

It is designed to look like the console and DualSense controller, with the same white plastic coating and shiny black area sandwiched in-between.

On the front, you get buttons for volume, mute, a TV on and off button, directions, enter, options and back. There are the usual play and pause buttons too.

Additionally, there are dedicated shortcut buttons to instantly start-up Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and YouTube. And there is a PlayStation button, of course, to open the console’s home menu.

One other button is present but it doesn’t seem to do anything right now. It’s a microphone button that is, according to the manual, “reserved for future use”. Looks like voice control of some kind is coming folks.

Pairing the remote

The Media Remote is Bluetooth and easy to pair.

You just startup your PS5 normally, head to “Settings”, then “Accessories”, scroll down to “Media Remote” and tap on “Set up Media Remote”.

Brace yourselves, Call of Duty gamers – the excuses are coming! (promo)

The instructions will guide you through the pairing process (you just need to press the PlayStation and options buttons to put it into pairing mode).

This happened for us in seconds. Then we were asked if we also wanted to use it to control our TV. Saying ‘yes”, it found the TV immediately (through HDMI CEC) and it worked straight away. Plus, with our Sonos Arc soundbar also set-up through HDMI ARC with CEC, the volume buttons worked on that too.

First Impressions

In all, while simple and actually smaller than we originally expected, the PS5 Media Remote is very effectively at what it does. You point it and control your media content.

It would have been nice to have had one customisable shortcut button to go with the preassigned ones, but that’s by the by.

Now all Sony has to do is fix the HDR weirdness on its media apps (and add the terrestrial services) and we’d be happy as Larry.

Writing by Rik Henderson.

Flying taxi startup Lilium will build a hub for its electric aircraft in Florida

One of Germany’s premier flying taxi startups just gained a foothold in the US. Lilium, the five-year-old venture-backed startup from Munich, announced that it will build a 56,000-square-foot transportation hub for its aerial taxi service in Orlando, Florida. The company aims to have passengers taking regional trips in its electric five-seater aircraft starting in 2025.

Lilium says it will construct a $25 million “vertiport” in Lake Nona, a planned community of about 65,000 people within the Orlando city limits. It will work with the primary real estate developer in the area, Bahamas-based Tavistock Development Company, on the development and construction of the vertiport.

Lilium says its project will be privately financed, though the Orlando city council is considering awarding the company an $831,250 tax break over nine years, according to the Orlando Business Journal. Lilium says it will create more than 100 jobs, and the city estimates the transportation hub will generate $1.7 million in economic activity in a 10-year period.

Lilium is the latest electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startup to take an incremental step toward launching a full-scale regional transportation service. The company’s chief operating officer, Remo Gerber, told The Verge the plan is to create service where passengers can fly to nearby cities in a much shorter time than it takes to drive.

“So now they can connect to Tampa in 30 minutes, which is a notorious one-and-a-half to two-hour drive,” Gerber said. “There’s no other alternative to get there. But you can not just get to Tampa, but you can go one further, two extra minutes and you’re in St. Petersburg.”

Lilium burst out onto the scene in 2017 when it announced the first test flight of its two-seater prototype. Two years later, the company started testing its five-seater prototype, the Lilium Jet.

The Jet is not your typical aircraft: there is no tail, rudder, propellers, or gearbox. It has an egg-shaped cabin perched on landing gear with a pair of parallel tilt-rotor wings. The wings were fitted with a total of 36 electric jet engines that tilt up for vertical takeoff and then shift forward for horizontal flight. In final form, the Lilium Jet will have a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles) and a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), the company says.

That’s much farther than many of its competitors are predicting of their electric aircraft. Gerber said this was due to the Jet’s fixed-wing design, which requires less than 10 percent of its maximum 2,000 horsepower during cruise flight.

Just this past year alone, the company has raised $275 million from investors, including Baillie Gifford, the 112-year-old Scottish asset management firm that is the second-biggest shareholder in Tesla after Elon Musk. But the funding round fell short of the $400–500 million that TechCrunch reported the company was pursuing last October. Lilium denies it was seeking to raise that much money, citing lower labor costs in Germany.

Lilium isn’t the only company with designs for flying taxis. There are more than 100 different electric aircraft programs in development worldwide, with big names including Joby Aviation, Volocopter, Ehang, and Wisk Aero, as well as planned offerings from Hyundai, Toyota, Airbus, Boeing, and Bell, which is partnered with Uber.

Lilium also isn’t the only eVTOL company with aims for a US-based service. Earlier this year, Chinese drone maker Ehang demonstrated its autonomous air taxi in the US for the first time, with its all-electric two-seater flying above a test track south of Raleigh, North Carolina, for about five minutes.

Another German startup, Volocopter, unveiled its latest model at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2018. It also built a pop-up vertiport in Singapore for a tech conference late last year. The company recently started accepting reservations for flights on its 18-rotor electric aircraft — though they won’t be filled until 2023 at the earliest.

Of course, Lilium and all of its competitors will need to overcome many serious technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles before any of their small, battery-powered aircraft are cleared for takeoff. Lilium has yet to publicly demonstrate that the Jet is safe for human passengers, nor has its battery range been independently verified.

The power-to-weight ratio is a huge challenge for electric flight. Energy density — the amount of energy stored in a given system — is the key metric, and today’s batteries don’t contain enough energy to get most planes off the ground. To weigh it out: jet fuel gives us about 43 times more energy than a battery that’s just as heavy.

There have been numerous demonstrations of battery-powered flight, but there are no electric aircraft in commercial operation anywhere in the world. Any flying taxi service will have to be certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration and numerous other aviation regulators across the globe. And Lilium still needs to figure out how it will produce its vehicles at mass scale.

“Building the networks, getting the approvals, is difficult and hard work,” Gerber said, “but I think all of it is possible. We know it’s possible, but it’s certainly something to remain humble about.”