option
Latest
Uber will let you hire a driver by the hour in select cities
Uber's new Hourly option lets riders make multiple trips in a single ride.
Tesla brings self-driving hardware to its entire fleet
If you're wondering if the Model 3 will be ready for our eventual autonomous future, wonder no more. Tesla announced that beginning today, all the cars it builds will have the necessary hardware to drive completely on their own if the owner decides they want to enable the option. The full self-driving hardware suite will cost an additional $8,000.
Mac 101: Option-select those columns
It's fitting that this is my last Mac 101 tip for TUAW, because it's one of the first "whoa, how did you do that?" tricks I learned as a desktop publishing newbie way, way back in the day. Like, Word and PageMaker on System 5, 1988-vintage back in the day, when I was learning how to write, edit and lay out the entertainment section of Carnegie Mellon's campus paper The Tartan from my patient (mostly) mentor and boss, Bruce Kasrel. Say someone has sent you a Word file with tabular data in it. Unfortunately, they haven't used actual tabs -- that would be too easy (one could copy and paste into Excel or Numbers). No, in this case they've created the columns with spaces, and the data you actually need (like a set of prices, or dates of events) is in one of the columns. Rather than laboriously copying and pasting a row or cell at a time, try this: hold down the Option key and drag just around the "column" that you want to copy. Watch how the selected area behaves like a marquee in a drawing app, rather than a normal word processing/sequential selection. Take a moment to enjoy your secret knowledge. If that's not exciting enough, try this on for size: the same trick works in Adobe Reader, so if you need to extract a column of data from a table in a PDF, give the option-select tip a try. For more option key goodness (and there are a lot of good things it can do!) check out this rundown over at Cult of Mac. (In other tech news from my alma mater, today we learned that CMU and Uber are teaming up to develop the future of autonomous taxis. "Welcome, Mr. Jetson, sit back and enjoy the ride.")
Tesla Model S now has $6,500 Performance Plus option for more range, better handling
Current or wannabe Tesla S owners can now opt for a Performance Plus option that adds a bit of range and a lot of extra handling -- and the whole idea came from none other than McLaren. After a journalist told Elon Musk that his nimble sedan was nonetheless outdone by a McLaren MP4-12C supercar (duh?), Tesla's engineers got to work tweaking the suspension and adding new Michelin tires. The latter boosts range by 6 to 12 miles over the stock rubber, while the whole package adds more cornering grip and acceleration "while maintaining ride quality," according to the company. Current owners can get the option retrofitted for $13,000, but if you're still kicking tires, it'll add $6,500 to your total Tesla S bill for the up-rated suspension bits, plus another $3,500 for the optional 21-inch wheels. Sounds tempting for a poor-man's McLaren, and given the new financing options, you might even be able to justify it. Update: We've updated this post to clarify pricing. The 21-inch wheels are not included in the $6,500 Performance Plus package.
Lose It! announces a premium service
Lose It! is one of the most popular calorie-counting/weight loss apps on the App Store. It arrived back in the early days of iOS, but consistent updates and a big user base have kept it high up on the charts for a long time. And today, the app's developers, FitNow, have announced that they're expanding the app's functionality and introducing a premium subscription service for Lose It! users. As you'd expect, everything currently available in the app will remain free. But the premium service will add more functionality, including the ability to track things like sleep, nutrients and more. The service also features tie-ins with other popular health and fitness apps and the ability to create groups and challenges for the app's social circles. The subscription will be available for US$39.99 a year, though there's currently a launch special price of just $29.99. And FitNow says it's not a recurring subscription, so users will have the option every year to decide whether they want to renew, or just let the service end. Lose It! is a very popular and exceptional way to track your health and weight on iOS, and it'll be interesting to see how this new option does for them among their already substantial user base.
Mobile World Congress 2012: best of show
Mobile World Congress 2012 was a massively exciting show and true to form brought us so much new kit to be excited about in early 2012. From Intel's Medfield launch, a 41-megapixel smartphone, a new generation of personal hotspots and even engineered metals using micro arc oxidation, there was never a dull moment. Highlighting what was best, most innovative, or interesting is a tough nut but we've done our best to point out the highlights using our impressions -- and the occasional arm-wrestling match -- to chose the finalists amongst the products and our Editor's more notable achievements. Fly through to the next page and have a look at our takeaways from this, the most intense mobile tech show of the year.
Option announces new 4G chipset compatible with Windows 8
Belgian wireless outfit Option has produced a 4G modem that takes up the same space inside a netbook or tablet as the company's previous 3G-enabled model. The GTM801 is based around Qualcomm's universal-standard Gobi MDM9215 and, even better, is already designed to support Windows 8 -- so we can at least hope that the first or second wave of tablets for Microsoft's new OS will be able to access 4G natively, for when we need to work Facebook on the go. Given that all of Option's tech is Gobi-based, you'll also have backwards compatibility with pretty much every standard ever invented, which is good if you don't live in the middle of an LTE zone.
Option XYFI is 'world's smallest' personal hotspot -- we go hands-on!
Option's XYFI (pronounced ex-WiFi) was announced earlier this week with little fanfare but piqued our interest with its claim to being the world's smallest personal hotspot. We had an opportunity to look and discuss it at a quiet table at MWC today, a nice change from a showy booth. Option has been out of the data connectivity game in any significant way -- for what seems like forever -- in a segment it once led with some 70% of market share. The XYFI is indeed small and at first glance looks like a simple USB modem and not an access point that can support up to 8 people's roaming internet needs via WiFi or 3G connectivity. The USB plug swivels open in switchblade-style -- we found that little button somehow so soothing -- and then pops into your desktop for a quick 4-step setup. As you've likely sussed, the XYFI doesn't have a battery of its own but rather relies on a beautiful 4000mAh xpal adapter the Option device plugs into -- and once connected we're told you can expect about 8 hours of battery life. Option's other accessories for the XYFI include a plug for the car and AC adapter. We'll admit that Option has a steep hill to climb in the mobile hotspot world, but we're sold already. Pricing should be sub $100 for the XYFI alone and we'll be back with details on the accessories and launch date as soon as can. Gallery of this really sharp looking device follows.%Gallery-149031%
Option XYfi mobile hotspot tours the FCC, HSUPA in tow
What you're looking at above is a render of Option Wireless' XYfi mobile broadband hotspot; currently being reviewed by the folks over at the FCC. Dawning the model number GI0643, the XYfi packs quad-band 2G and tri-band 3G GSM radios -- complete with UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA goodness. The filing doesn't clue us in on which network (if any) will be carrying the XYfi, but it does indicate that your WiFi-enabled peripherals will be able to connect via 802.11b/g/n. The request letter was submitted this past July, but now that it's in the public's view, it ought not be too long before you find the unit gracing a store shelf. One burning question remains: who let Motorola Mobility's marketing team name this thing?
Dell Latitude E6420 adds Verizon LTE option, high price to match high speeds
That Sandy Bridge-equipped, "business rugged" Latitude E6420 that Dell debuted earlier this year just got a little more appealing to data fiends always on the go. That particular model can now be loaded with a Verizon LTE card that, as Big Red likes to brag, is up to ten times faster its 3G EV-DO network. You're gonna have to cough up the big bucks to put the DW5800 4G mini-card in your laptop, though. The add-on is $249 and you'll still have to sign up for a data plan, which starts at $30 a month for 2GB -- but we're sure you were prepared for a little sticker shock.
Speed up Empty Trash
If you've got a bunch of locked files in your Trash, the 'really delete?' warnings can be a drag. You can speed up the Empty Trash process and bypass all the warnings (use with caution!) by holding down the Option key before choosing the command from the Finder menu. Notice that the ellipsis disappears from the command name, indicating that you won't be bothered (or checked with) again.
Option's refreshed GTM601 / GTM609 module is the smallest with voice, HSPA, EV-DO, GPS, GLONASS, and alphabet soup
Besides a healthy consumer modem business, Option is one of the world's big suppliers of cellular chipsets -- and it just unleashed a particularly interesting one here at CES this week. No bigger than a postage stamp and about as thick as a nickel, the second-generation GTM601 and GTM609 is billed as the world's smallest to support voice, GSM / HSPA, CDMA / EV-DO, GPS, and GLONASS, which stands to make your next phone design (assuming you are, in fact, designing a phone) more svelte and power-conscious than ever before... and as a bonus, it'll work around the world with the world's most popular 2G / 3G standards and frequencies. Follow the break for the full press release.
AT&T USBConnect Turbo and Velocity are carrier's first LG and GPS modems, respectively
Location-based services have finally melted our brains to the point where we're completely useless without immediate and constant access to Google Maps or a reasonable facsimile -- we couldn't fold a paper map if we tried, and even if we could, we'd spend an hour looking for the pulsing blue dot. That's why we're so delighted to hear that AT&T has finally outed its very first GPS-enabled USB modem, the USBConnect Velocity from Option, that includes a so-called Option GPS Control Panel for injecting your whereabouts into popular services like Yahoo and Bing (Google, curiously, isn't mentioned). The other newbie to the lineup is the USBConnect Turbo -- AT&T's very first modem from LG -- with an "ergonomic design" and versatile connector for even the most awkward ports (MacBook, we're looking straight at you). Both devices will be available on the 7th of the month; the Turbo will be free on contract after rebate while the Velocity comes in at $29.99.
New Line Cinema options rights for film adaptation of Heavy Rain
What if Heavy Rain, which is so often heralded by creator David Cage as "interactive fiction," was just a bit less interactive? Is the game's story and cast of vaguely-French-sounding characters strong enough to carry a feature-length film? We might just find out, some day -- internet super-sleuth superannuation recently uncovered copyright documents which reveal that New Line Productions optioned the rights to turn Heavy Rain into a movie on May 15, 2006 -- just a few days after "The Casting" trailer (NSFW) was revealed at E3. This doesn't ensure the development of a Heavy Rain movie, of course; it only means if any film studio makes the film, it's going to be New Line Cinema. We think the rights are in good hands -- New Line did some great work on the film adaptations of those Lord of the Rings games.
Mac 101: Navigating OS X with your keyboard
Let's face it: unless you're just casually surfing the Internet or playing a game, chances are pretty good that your hands are on the keyboard most of the time when you're at the computer. Sure, the mouse is only a few inches away, but wouldn't it just be easier if you didn't have to keep going back and forth from the mouse to the keyboard? Enter the world of keyboard shortcuts. A keyboard shortcut is exactly what the name implies: a way of using the keys on your keyboard to quickly perform tasks that typically would require multiple steps using a mouse. Before we dive in to the magic keystrokes, let's take a quick look at how shortcuts work on the Mac.
The Daily Grind: How important are options?
Saying that a game is linear is almost a dirty word in the field of games, at least when it comes to RPGs and their close genre relatives. The advent of games that allow you to decide whether to trek through the Desert of Certain Doom or the Forest of Inevitable Demise has spoiled us a bit -- we expect to have a choice. MMOs are hardly exempt, and in some ways even worse off, with players who want to choose which quests they do, which abilities they learn, and what their character likes in a pie. Of course, by the same token, it's better to have one path that's fleshed-out and interesting than a half-dozen with hardly any expansion to them, whether it's a path to the level cap or just a chain of learning abilities. So the question is, how important is the power of choice? When leveling, would you prefer variety of zones without as much quality to each area, or a full dint of quality in far fewer different places? Do you want your characters to learn anything even if there's not much to learn, or do you prefer a single path that has been expertly balanced?
Pentax Optio H90 and Optio L10 cameras briefly leak out
Looks like the color-crazy engineers in the Pentax labs are brewing up some new goodies: these images of a new Optio H90 and new orange-topped Optio L10 were briefly up on a retailer site today, and Photorumors managed to retrieve the images from Google's cache. There's also an entry for a third Optio, but there was no associated image or info, so there's at least one surprise left in this world.
Mac 101: Getting to know the menu bar and menu extras
More Mac 101, our ongoing series of tips for those new to Mac OS X. One of my favorite things to do when I see someone else's Mac is to see what "Menu Extras" they use. Menu Extras live in the menu bar at the top of your screen, over on the far right-hand side. As you add more third-party software to your Mac, you will probably notice more and more items showing up there. If you open System Preferences and type "menu bar" you can find 12 different Menu Extras you can "show" in the menu bar, but one of the most popular and useful is the AirPort Menu Extra. In Snow Leopard, the-already-quite-handy AirPort status icon became a lot more powerful and informative. Apple has posted a page explaining the various meanings behind AirPort status icons. Generally speaking you ought to see only a few of these: an empty icon (AirPort is turned off), grey curved lines (AirPort is on but not connected), or 1-4 black lines indicating signal strength of the Wi-Fi connection. New in Snow Leopard is the "animated" AirPort icon which appears when AirPort is searching for wireless access points or waiting to be assigned an IP address. (If you are seeing a different icon, check out the page from Apple.) Since we're looking at the menu bar, here's another tip: option-click everything. Several menu extras, especially ones from Apple, have additional features/information which you can access if you hold down the alt/option key while clicking on the icon. Here's what happens when you click vs option-click several menu extras from Apple (several of these are new and/or improved in Snow Leopard): Volume: a regular click will reveal a slider to adjust the volume but an option-click will show a list of input and output devices to choose from (similar in function to Rogue Amoeba's SoundSource, which was recently updated for 10.6 compatibility). MobileMe: a regular click shows time of last sync, option to sync now, and option to open the System Preferences panel for MobileMe. However option-click shows a wonderfully detailed list of every item MobileMe knows about, as well as when it last synchronized succesfully. It also offers Sync Diagnostics, Reset Sync Services (something I still have to use far too often, but less frequently than in the past) and a few other options. Bluetooth: a regular click reveals basic settings and "paired" devices. An option-click adds a "Bluetooth Explorer" and "PacketLogger" (two "pro" options that you may never need, but are helpful for troubleshooting) as well as showing the version number. AirPort: a regular click will show available networks and a few basic options, but an option-click shows several bits of information about your current Wi-Fi connection; however, most people will probably just be interested in the Channel and Security. The basic point is this: feel free to option-click around. If the particular menu extra does not have any "hidden features" to show, it will still show the regular options even when you option-click. You won't hurt anything. Final menu extra tip: if you want to remove a menu extra from the dock, you can try dragging it while holding down the command key. If that doesn't work, look in the application's preferences for an option to show or hide its menu bar item. Once you have mastered the basics, you may want to explore some more powerful third-party menu bar items.
Apple allows matte screens on 15-inch MacBook Pros again
Hooray for all us big-window dwelling Mac users! If you're craving something other than Apple's standard glossy screen, the anti-glare matte finish is an option again on the Apple Store for 15" MacBook Pros. Except it'll cost you $50 extra and replaces the black border with a silver one. Small price to pay for reducing eye strain, says I.[via Engadget]
FCC filing foretells ExpressCard data modem for T-Mobile subs?
It's great that T-Mobile's actively selling its 3G data network -- which still has that new-network smell, may we add -- to laptop users, but it won't be maximally useful until they've got both USB and ExpressCard options on the shelf. They've got the USB bit out of the way -- so turning our attention to the ExpressCard side, it seem that Option's GlobeTrotter Express 442 might be in the works (the 441 is pictured here, but the 442 is identical in appearance). This versatile piece covers fully four different WCDMA bands with up to 7.2Mbps HSDPA on the downlink and 5.76Mbps on the up, making it very, very useful no matter what country you might take the card to (of course, roaming charges are another matter altogether). No word on whether T-Mobile is actually planning on stocking the 442, but we're encouraged to see it pass the FCC's testing with AWS on board, so we'd venture to say it's a strong possibility. [Via Cell Phone Signal]
