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Bragi sells off its in-ear headphone business as it focuses on software

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The company previously said that it knew its future in hardware was uncertain from the outset. With that said, Bragi wasn’t so much encouraged leave the hardware market as it was pushed. While products like the Dash were ahead of their time, they were quickly overshadowed by other smart all-wireless earbuds like Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Gear IconX, let alone more traditional offerings from the likes of Bose and Jabra. Bragi faced stiff odds trying to compete against hardware heavyweights, and bowing out may have given it a better chance at survival.

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Black Ops 4′ gets a second battle royale map tomorrow

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It’s not the first time the Call of Duty series has based a map on the infamous Bay Area prison. The Mob of the Dead zombies map is also set on Alcatraz, and there will be zombies for you to tackle in the Blackout map too. The trailer also suggests you’ll be able to take down your enemies with a flamethrower.

With Treyarch and Activation facing fierce competition from the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends, Battlefield V and others in a crowded battle royale marketplace, a new map based on such a recognizable location might help it draw in players new and old. In other news, Blackout will also once again have a free trial. You’ll be able to play it gratis for the rest of the month starting April 2nd, though you’ll need an Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus subscription to join in on consoles.

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Google report details the ongoing fight against bad Android apps

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More specifically, the percentage of PHAs downloaded from Google Play increase from 0.02 percent in 2017 to 0.04 percent in 2018. “If we remove the numbers for click fraud from these stats, the data shows that PHAs on Google Play declined by 31 percent year-over-year,” the report says.

Google doesn’t have an easy task of securing the more than two billion Android devices worldwide. But with its AI-driven Google Play Protect, which debuted in 2017, it’s able to scan over 50 billion apps daily. In 2018, Google continued to build on Google Play Protect’s machine-learning capabilities.

Other statistics support the drop in PHA installs. In 2018, 0.45 percent of Android devices running Google Play Protect had PHAs installed. That was down from 0.56 percent in 2017. And Google Play Protect prevented 1.6 billion PHA installation attempts from outside of Google Play — though the report doesn’t say how many installation attempts it blocked inside Google Play.

Still, despite Google’s best efforts to protect Android devices, we’ve seen malware resurface on Google Play simply by using a new publisher and new app names, and a massive ad scam stole millions of dollars. Earlier this month, Check Point researchers alerted Google to adware nicknamed “SimBad.” Google removed 210 infected apps, but not before they’d been downloaded 150 millions times. With click fraud on the rise — it accounted for 54.9 percent of the total PHA installation rate and mainly targeted the US, Brazil and Mexico — that might be Google’s next big challenge.

You can take a look at the full report here.

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Boeing’s 737 Max update is still ‘weeks’ away from FAA approval

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The agency didn’t offer an estimated time frame for approval.

This long wait wasn’t entirely unexpected. Leaks hinting at tentative approval warned that Boeing might have to make last-minute changes, and even an ideal update schedule would have airlines waiting a while to deploy the update to their fleets. Still, the FAA’s statement is a reminder that the parties involved don’t want to take any chances with the 737 Max’s stall system, and that this saga is unlikely to end for a long while.

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Valve’s Index VR headset will ship June 15th

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You’ll need a reasonably powerful Windows PC to handle the Index. You’ll want a dual-core processor with hyperthreading, 8GB of RAM and either a GeForce GTX 970 or a Radeon RX480 for graphics, although Valve really wants you to have a quad-core CPU and GTX 1070-class video.

There are certain reasonably safe expectations for Index beyond what’s shown here. The cameras on the outside indicate that it’ll feature “inside-out” tracking similar to the Oculus Rift S and other recent headsets, giving you position detection that doesn’t explicitly require a base station. The controllers, meanwhile, are straightforward designs with analog sticks and a plethora of buttons. Index isn’t particularly revolutionary on the outside (we’ll find out what else it can do on May 1st), but that’s not necessarily the point — this is a showcase for Valve’s goals for VR, and one that doesn’t depend on a third party like HTC.

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Samsung’s 5G Galaxy S10 debuts in South Korea first on April 5th

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Even though South Korea’s 5G network has technically been live since December 1rst, mobile operators delayed an official launch since no compatible devices were ready yet for sale. Disagreements over pricing with the South Korean government further added to the delay. South Korean regulators finally approved pricing plans on Monday for 5G devices, according to VentureBeat.

But if you’re outside of South Korea, you’ll have to wait; Samsung hasn’t confirmed release dates in any other countries for the S10 5G. If all goes as planned, though, American and British customers will be able to buy the phones later this year. Verizon, which will be the first to carry them in the US, plans to launch 5G in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11th and expand to more than 30 other cities by the end of 2019. UK customers will have to wait slightly longer. EE, which partnered with Samsung to sell the phones, plans to launch 5G in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Belfast, Edinburgh and Manchester by this summer.

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LA County is using an algorithm to clear 50,000 pot convictions faster

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The two counties have been working with Code for America since July to examine marijuana conviction data, as automating the process should help them clear cases much more quickly than through entirely manual processes. There are an estimated 50,000 eligible cases in Los Angeles County and 4,000 in San Joaquin County. Code for America’s Clear My Record system also helped San Francisco clear more than 8,000 marijuana convictions.

“As technology advances and the criminal justice system evolves, we as prosecutors must do our part to pursue innovative justice procedures on behalf of our constituents,” Los Angeles County DA Jackie Lacey said. “This collaboration will improve people’s lives by erasing the mistakes of their past and hopefully lead them on a path to a better future. Helping to clear that path by reducing or dismissing cannabis convictions can result in someone securing a job or benefitting from other programs that may have been unavailable to them in the past.”

California voted to legalize recreational pot use in 2016. Last year, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1793 into law, which gave district attorneys until July 1st, 2020 to review convictions eligible for downgrading or expungement and act accordingly.

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Kia crammed a lot of range and tech into its Soul EV

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What’s nice is that on the tech front, Kia has followed in Hyundai’s footsteps by offering ADAS (Advanced Drivers Assistance System) standard on the Soul EV. No matter which trim level you get, it comes with adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist. While driving in Seoul’s morning traffic, the system had no problem tracking vehicles and adjusting itself when other cars merged in front of it.

The lane-keep assist was equally smooth at centering the car, but sharper highway curves were ultimately its undoing. The small SUV is good at is alerting you when you get close to the edge of the lane. If you’re the type of person who has trouble centering your vehicle, it’s great. But it starts to act like a helicopter parent always nit-picking your lane position choices around sharp corners with its alerts. My advice: On long stretches of boring interstates, keep it on. Everywhere else, shut it down.

2020 Kia Soul EV

Yet when you do find yourself on a twisty mountain road or in town, the vehicle’s adjustable regenerative braking is great. The Soul EV has four levels of motor-assisted deceleration, ranging from level zero (which is just coasting) to three, which translates into one-pedal driving and pushes the most energy back to the battery. Like all these systems, the Soul’s highest level of motor-based stopping takes a bit to get used to, but once you’ve mastered the ability to lift off the accelerator and stop right ahead of a crosswalk, you’re golden. I found it especially fun while navigating the downhill section of a twisting mountain road. I tapped the brakes maybe twice during that section of the drive.

Which brings to a surprising bit about the Soul EV: how well it corners. With its 64kWh battery pack under the seats, the low center of gravity reduces the crossover’s body roll and makes for spirited driving. The only real drawback is that its rather precise steering might be too twitchy for some drivers. Turn the wheel just a little bit and the vehicle reacts. I’m a fan, but others might find it too aggressive.

Acceleration is also spirited. Kia was smart to include a Sport mode for those times when you want to take advantage of all that electric torque (291-foot-pounds). Sure, it burns through your battery, but it’s a hoot. For more reasonable driving there’s a “Normal” and efficient Eco mode. While cruising around town in Eco mode I was never wanting for power, nor did I feel like I was unable to keep pace with traffic when I depressed the accelerator. For those times when you really need to squeeze every single mile out of the battery, there’s an Eco plus mode that can be used by holding down the “mode” button for three seconds.

2020 Kia Soul Ev

Fortunately, the long-range Soul EV can cover up to 243 miles before the 64kWh pack needs a charge. It’s short of the Hyundai Kona EV’s range, but more than that of the Chevy Bolt. It supports 100kW DC fast charging standard. So taking the battery from 20 to 80 percent takes 46 minutes according to Kia.

The small SUV’s infotainment system helps keep track of your energy usage and like other Kia vehicles is the exact system found in Hyundais. Like the Kona EV, it’s an electric vehicle focused version of the infotainment system with a home screen that highlights three main features and subscreens that house the rest of the features you care about. It also supports Android Auto and CarPlay; during my tests only had just a tiny bit of latency while in use.

Meanwhile, the rest of the interior is comfortable both in the front and back seats. This newer Kia Soul EV has less headroom in the back, but even at 6-foot-3, I didn’t have any issues sitting in the back.

2020 Kia Soul Ev

Which brings me to the design. The Kia Soul EV looks marvelous, especially if you opt for one of the two-tone paint jobs that adds an accent tint to the roof. The front of the car looks like a Star Wars Stormtrooper (you know, the ones on Hoth), and unlike the Hyundai Kona, the lack of a grill doesn’t take away from its striking appearance. If anything it actually looks better than the gas version of the vehicle.

Overall, the Kia Soul EV is a magnificent upgrade to an already very good electric vehicle. Kia has added all the tech first-adopters would want into a package that’s efficient and stylish. Once we get the pricing details, we’ll know just how good a deal it is.

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An 88-foot-long electric bus is headed to Colombia

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Today, BYD launched what it says is the world’s longest electric bus, the K12A. At 88 feet long, the red bi-articulate bus looks like a giant caterpillar. It can carry up to 250 people, reach a max speed of about 40 MPH and travel 186 miles on a single charge. The bus is headed for the country of Colombia, where it will be part of the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system (BRT), but it could join other BRTs.

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Researchers designed a shape-shifting airplane wing

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In a paper in the journal Smart Materials and Structures, the research team explains how it has radically redesigned the airplane wing. Their new structure is a lightweight lattice framework, made of thousands of repeating, tiny triangles of matchstick-like struts, covered in a thin polymer layer. Because this “metamaterial” is mostly comprised of empty space, it is extremely lightweight — less than one-thousandth the density of rubber. And, the carefully positioned struts allow the wing to change shape automatically in response to changes in aerodynamic loading conditions. Both factors could make aircraft more energy efficient.

This isn’t an entirely new concept. It was presented a few years ago, but now, the researchers have developed a way to manufacture the individual parts for the wing using injection molding. They’ve brought the time required to produce each part — a hollow cube with tiny struts along each edge — down from several minutes to just 17 seconds. While the meter-long model they created was hand assembled, the process was designed to be repetitive, so that in the future, small, autonomous robots will be able to assemble the wings.

The potential for a light-weight, shape-shifting wing raises questions about the ideal aircraft shape. With this technology, we might be able to break away from the “tube with wings” design and utilize a more efficient configuration — possibly an integrated body and wing structure. If the idea of watching an airplane wing change shape as you cruise at 30,000 feet alarms you, don’t worry yet. This is a long way from commercial airline-ready. In the meantime, it also has the potential to redesign other structures, like the wing-like blades of wind turbines.

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