All posts filed under: Technology

Waymo Puts Toronto on the Map for Its Robotaxis

Waymo Puts Toronto on the Map for Its Robotaxis

Published by skeptic

Waymo is bringing its autonomous ride services across the border to Canada for the first time.  The company said in a blog post on Friday that its robotaxis will be available for you to book rides in the app in the Toronto area in 2028. It will start with a limited number of its mainstay Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs, and will add more over time.  But if you’re in Toronto, you can expect to see Waymo cars, driven by humans, in the coming days as the company maps local street networks and acclimates its autonomous technology to traffic patterns and driving conditions. Waymo will test in select Toronto neighborhoods, including Liberty Village, St. Lawrence Market and Yorkdale. It has also built a sixth-generation Waymo Driver autonomous driving system to navigate diverse environments, including the extreme winter weather Toronto faces in the colder months. A Waymo representative did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. The company is also partnering with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management for vehicle maintenance, validation driving and customer service. Waymo …

Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini Price Increases ‘Much More Striking’ Than New Features

Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini Price Increases ‘Much More Striking’ Than New Features

Published by skeptic

Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber shared his first impressions of the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 this week, and he concluded that the price increases the devices received are “much more striking” than any of the new features introduced. Prior to receiving price increases in late June, the previous Apple TV 4K started at $129 in the U.S., while the previous HomePod mini was priced at $99. The new Apple TV and the HomePod mini 2 are priced at $299 and $149, respectively, so both devices are now significantly more expensive than they were just four months ago. Since the new Apple TV is only available in a single configuration with 128GB of storage and an Ethernet port, it is more fair to compare it to the equivalent previous-generation 128GB model, which was initially $149 and went up to $249 in late June. This means the new model is technically only $50 more expensive, but the reality is that the minimum you can spend on a new Apple TV 4K is now $299, …

Munich dumps proprietary for open source (again) – but no Linux desktop

Munich dumps proprietary for open source (again) – but no Linux desktop

Published by skeptic

ZDNET’s key takeaways Munich is not bringing back LiMux, its Linux desktop distro. Instead, the city is replacing proprietary infrastructure software with open-source programs. Munich is also helping to build software for its own needs and for other cities.  PRAGUE — At Open Source Summit Europe, Dr. Laura Dornheim, Munich’s chief digital officer, said in her keynote speech that Munich abandoned its LiMux Linux desktop deployment for Windows over a decade ago because of politics, but now it’s returning to open-source software. Also: Linus Torvalds is using AI to develop Linux kernel code now It’s not returning to the Linux desktop, however — not yet, anyway. Instead, it’s switching its infrastructure programs from proprietary software to open-source software.  For example, it’s replacing VMware with Proxmox, moving from Jira and Confluence to OpenProject and XWiki, and adopting PostgreSQL as an alternative to Oracle databases. The two infrastructure and collaboration migrations alone are expected to save roughly €1.5 million or more annually. Taken together, these projects illustrate the difference between Munich’s first Linux campaign and its current …

‘ACOTAR’ refresher: What to know before ‘A Court of Splintered Harmony’

‘ACOTAR’ refresher: What to know before ‘A Court of Splintered Harmony’

Published by skeptic

You remember the wings. You remember the mating bonds. You probably remember Nesta and Cassian’s training sessions better than the political situation on the continent (or maybe that’s just me). But with Sarah J. Maas’s next A Court of Thorns and Roses book approaching, some details suddenly feel more pressing. Who is Koschei again? Where did we leave Elain and Lucien? And why are people talking about a sword from an entirely different series? The last ACOTAR installment, A Court of Silver Flames, gave Nesta a love story, a new community, and a very expensive bargain with the Cauldron. Since then, Maas has expanded this world through her Crescent City books, leaving ACOTAR readers with developments they might have missed. Here’s what to remember before opening A Court of Splintered Harmony. Warning: Major spoilers for the published ACOTAR books follow. The Crescent City section also spoils House of Sky and Breath and House of Flame and Shadow. When does the next ACOTAR book come out? A Court of Splintered Harmony arrives Oct. 27, 2026. It’s …

Jev is Vercel’s fastest-adopted AI model ever

Jev is Vercel’s fastest-adopted AI model ever

Published by skeptic

Jev has become the fastest adopted AI model ever — at least by some measures. Vercel data published on Thursday shows that, within two weeks of its launch, the buzzy decision model was being used by 35% of paid teams, with nearly double the reach of the second most popular model, Sonnet 5.5. It’s the fastest adoption a model has ever seen in its first two weeks, according to Vercel’s data, and a major accomplishment for the model’s creators, Typesafe AI. Published in limited release on September 15, Jev is designed as a lightweight tool for choosing between a few pre-determined outputs. Limiting the outputs lets the model run cheaper and faster than alternatives like Sonnet, making it ideal for classifying large quantities of data quickly. That new approach has attracted significant buzz in the weeks since Jev’s release — inspiring competing offerings from OpenAI and Amazon, among others — but until now there has been little hard data to back up the good vibes. The data comes from the Vercel’s AI gateway, a unified …

What Is the Porsche Mission S? Inside the Brand’s Bold Supercar Vision

What Is the Porsche Mission S? Inside the Brand’s Bold Supercar Vision

Published by skeptic

The Porsche Mission S concept car has made a striking debut, showcasing the brand’s ambitious vision for high-performance engineering. Positioned as a potential successor to the iconic Porsche 918 Spyder, this mid-engine supercar concept combines retro-inspired aesthetics with innovative technology. With competitors such as the Ferrari SF90 and Lamborghini Revuelto in its sights, the Mission […] The post What Is the Porsche Mission S? Inside the Brand’s Bold Supercar Vision appeared first on Geeky Gadgets. Source link

This cool accessory turns your bike electric in just three seconds

This cool accessory turns your bike electric in just three seconds

Published by skeptic

There are plenty of e-bike conversion kits designed to turn your existing bicycle electric, but most involve at least a bit of wrenching. Spiny 2 takes a different approach, using a removable friction-drive system that can apparently snap onto your bike in just three seconds. Now let me start by saying that this is a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, so it’s a “buyer beware” situation. My long-time readers will know I have a rule about crowdfunding campaigns. I don’t cover them unless they either A) come from a company that has a track record of delivering products in the past, or B) I personally test out the product in advance to confirm it’s legitimate and works. In this case, I haven’t personally tested the Spiny 2 e-bike kit, but the brand does appear to have delivered hundreds of their previous version of the kit, so this isn’t a brand new, fly-by-night company. The newly unveiled second-generation system combines its motor and battery into a compact 2.2 kg (4.9 lb) package. Once the mounting hardware and …

This Windows 11 change frees up RAM on low-memory PCs

This Windows 11 change frees up RAM on low-memory PCs

Published by skeptic

Summary Windows 11 will load widgets only when opened on PCs with 8GB of RAM or less, freeing more than 200MB for other tasks. Improved memory management lets Windows retain up to 2GB more active data in RAM instead of moving it to slower storage. These changes should make budget PCs feel more responsive when multitasking or switching between apps and browser tabs. In an attempt to make Windows 11 more responsive, Microsoft is making several changes to how the operating system behaves in terms of memory usage, especially when it comes to PCs with limited RAM capacities. According to Microsoft’s official announcement, computers with 8GB of RAM or less will no longer load Windows Widgets before you actually open them. The company claims this can open up more than 200MB of memory for other apps and workloads. Moreover, another memory-management update to Windows 11 allows it to keep up to 2GB more active data in RAM rather than shifting it to slower storage. Microsoft says its recent improvements make Windows 11 up to 20% …

0 Retroid Pocket Duo Brings Dual OLEDs to Retro Games

$270 Retroid Pocket Duo Brings Dual OLEDs to Retro Games

Published by skeptic

Retro Game Corps examines the Retroid Pocket Duo, a clamshell gaming console designed to merge retro gaming performance with modern functionality. The device features dual OLED displays, a 5.5-inch top screen with a 1920×1080 resolution and a 4.5-inch bottom screen at 1280×960, delivering sharp visuals and a 120Hz refresh rate. Powered by the Qualcomm Dragon […] The post $270 Retroid Pocket Duo Brings Dual OLEDs to Retro Games appeared first on Geeky Gadgets. Source link