Investigators need logins for non-urgent requests. However, they only need to “declare and acknowledge” that they’re officers if there’s an emergency. We wouldn’t expect this to be widely abused (you could easily face legal trouble), but it’s theoretically possible to misuse the system.
We’ve asked Amazon for comment, although it hadn’t responded to TechCrunch inquiries as we wrote this.
This isn’t the first time a major tech firm’s police portal has been visible online. Motherboardfound that anyone with an email address could reach Facebook’s portals. This does provide insight into how Amazon’s system works, though, and raises questions about security if the public can stumble across the request system.
Netflix has more Resident Evil programming in the works than its live-action show. The streaming giant has revealedResident Evil: Infinite Darkness, a “CG anime” series due to premiere sometime in 2021. While the foes of the show (apart from zombies) are still mysterious, the production will revolve around iconic characters Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. The teaser has Claire investigating what looks to be a chemical-obsessed horror, while Leon is rescuing an unknown man.
Capcom’s Hiroyuki Kobayashi will produce and supervise the series. Veteran anime studio TMS Entertainment (the company that released Akira and Lupin the 3rd) will also produce. Quebico, whose leader Kei Miyamoto produced the Resident Evil: Vendetta movie, will handle the animation production.
Elon “Im going to put a chip in your head” Musk has never been one to shy away from making grandiose forward looking statements but if he can keep his word from this year’s battery day — the one about being able to build batteries at half the current cost per kWh and usher in the era of $25,000 electric cars within tree years. That’s going to revolutionize the EV market far more than the Roadster ever did. Maybe even more than the Model S Plaid will.
Engadget
If a social video platform’s success is measured by the amount of hate-filled garbage rhetoric moderators have to continually pull down, then TikTok is killing it. The site yanked more than 100 million videos found in violation of its community guidelines. Even more impressive is that the videos it did pull constituted just 1 percent of total uploads for the year.
Engadget
It wouldn’t be so bad if the department hadn’t simultaneously spent those years constantly, gleefully, lying to journalists and the public that they’re supposed to serve about whether or not they were using the technology. Makes you wonder what else the LAPD has been lying about.
Engadget
It only took 3.6 million scorched acres and 26 deaths this year to finally spur California Governor Gavin Newson into taking more than performative climate action. This week he announced the issuance of an executive order requiring all new vehicles sold in the state come 2035 to be zero emission — effectively banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state. Expect this to be heavily litigated in the coming decade and a half until the new rules kick in.
The company is quiet about specifications, release dates or pricing, but says the production model will be its first EV destined for China. It’s not clear if the street-ready version of the SUV E:concept will be limited to China, however. While we wouldn’t expect a two-door version to reach many parts of the world, a four-door could be more appealing in an SUV-obsessed North America.
Honda has already committed to releasing two EVs in North America using GM’s platform for the 2024 model year. We wouldn’t count on them being directly related to this concept SUV, but it might hint at the design language for those future zero-emission rides.
“Next year we will launch the first battery-electric M car in the performance segment, based on the i4, as something to confirm. Then we’re working on hybrid electrified performance and high-performance cars, but it is too early to disclose which ones it is going to be.”
As CarAdvice noted, it likely means that the vehicle will be sportier than the standard i4 but won’t be able to match the division’s “high-performance” models, such as the BMW M3 and M4. Flasch explained that current battery technologies still don’t have the capability to power its high-performance cars and that it will take more time to design one that can. The company still has to figure out a few more things to be able to develop a full-blown M EV, as well: “[T]he biggest question to answer is,” he said, “how to handle weight of a battery electric car and still offer M-specific, or M-style, dynamics.”
The CEO didn’t have a lot of details to share about the car, but if it’s a sportier i4, then we can probably expect better specs than the standard version. BMW previously revealed that the i4 will have a 390 kW motor that can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in about four seconds. It will have a max speed of 124 miles per hour and an 80 kWh battery that will give it the capability to run for approximately 373 miles on a single charge. The standard i4 is expected to be available in 2022, which means you may have to wait more than a couple of years before the M version comes out.
There’s clearly a pragmatic incentive to allow reused rockets. The Space Force expects to save $52.7 million for the GPS III missions alone. It might also be difficult to insist on brand new rockets. SpaceX is shifting its focus to Starship, and might not be eager to make more Falcon 9 rockets than necessary.
This also reflects added trust in SpaceX. Although the company has clearly played a crucial role in US government launches through projects like Crew Dragon, the contract represents another level of confidence.
Hyundai’s electric sports car ambitions didn’t end with a spruced-up Veloster. The automaker has unveiled an RM20e Racing Midship Sports Car that not only promises to boost its motorsport plans, but reflects the “next generation” of N performance cars — it’s billed as the company’s first “high-performance” electric sports car of any kind. It’s powerful, as you’d expect from racing EVs, but Hyundai is also promising a balanced design that could even be ready for the street.
As the name implies, the 810HP motor sits at the middle of the body. That not only lets the RM20e reach 62MPH in less than three seconds and 124MPH in 9.88 seconds, but allows for the traction, balance, and braking you’d hope for in a race car. Even so, the design supposedly offers “daily-driver quietness” and responsiveness.
The Precept’s cabin uses a slew of recycled and reclaimed material, including plastic bottles, cork vinyl and fishing nets. You’ll also find a flax composite in both the interior and exterior. However, it’s also a reflection of Polestar’s goals for semi-autonomous driving. LiDAR offers “increased driving assistance,” while the grille from the Polestar 2 has been replaced with a camera and radar sensors.
The Precept also has a sleeker, more original look than the Polestar 2, which was based on the Volvo Concept 40.2.
It’s not shocking that Polestar would manufacture the Precept. It’s still a young standalone brand with just two vehicles in its stable — this could be a more upscale option for those who want a pure EV. It also has obvious competition from rivals like Tesla. The Precept won’t necessarily offer a direct challenge to cars like the Model S, but it could provide a viable alternative.
You might want to dial back your expectations for the first high-altitude SpaceX Starship flight. Elon Musk now says the flight with the SN8 prototype will top out at 15km, or close to 50,000ft, instead of the 18km and 60,000ft he’d mentioned earlier. It’s not clear what prompted the lowered expectations, but Musk added that the rocket would get its nosecone and front flaps “next week.”
He also showed current progress on the prototype, noting that the rear body flaps were already in place. An SN9 prototype is due in October.
Tesla has a long history of including features in hardware and locking them with software to help simplify its production while keeping costs in check. However, this is one of the most obvious examples of it — your AWD Model Y can already accelerate this quickly, it just hasn’t been given the option until now.
This is also a defensive move. Tesla has tried to block unofficial performance hacks for a while. An Acceleration Boost might reduce the temptation to use those hacks while giving the automaker a way to profit well after you buy an EV.
