Daily Roundup: Apple's new Macbook, AI that mimics the brain and more!
Apple's latest attempt to reinvent the laptop is finally here and we go hands on in our review. In other news, researchers at IBM are testing AI software that mimics the human brain and iOS 8.3 appears to break TouchID for App Store purchases. Catch up on these stories and more in the Daily Roundup.
MacBook review: Apple reinvents the laptop again
For months, the internet was abuzz with two similar, and somewhat contradictory, Apple rumors. Depending on whom you believed, the famously secretive company was working on either a 12-inch "iPad Pro" or a Retina display MacBook Air. To date, neither of these products has materialized, but there's reason to believe that both rumors were actually pointing toward the new 12-inch MacBook.
Apple's iOS 8.3 update breaks Touch ID purchasing for some users
If you haven't downloaded and installed iOS 8.3 yet, you might want to hold off for a bit first. Apple says the update packs that new emoji keyboard and a slew of performance fixes, but multiple reports on Reddit, Twitter and Apple's own support forums claim that the new software build basically breaks TouchID support for iTunes and App Store purchases.
IBM starts testing AI software that mimics the human brain
We haven't talked about Numenta since an HP exec left to join the company in 2011, because, well, it's been keeping a pretty low-profile existence. Now, a big name tech corp is reigniting interest in the company and its artificial intelligence software. According to MIT's Technology Review, IBM has recently started testing Numenta's algorithms for practical tasks, such as analyzing satellite imagery of crops and spotting early signs of malfunctioning field machinery.
There's no point lining up for an Apple Watch
It's a fact of life that, shortly before Apple launches a product, gadget fans begin lining up outside stores equipped with a tent and some rations. That's why it was surprising to see new(ish) retail chief Angela Ahrendts discouraging the practice in a memo leaked to Business Insider.
The man who left behind $78 million to revamp a classic space shooter
Eric Peterson has dedicated 20 years of his life to the video game industry, handling development and production in startups and large studios alike. He has a passion for space games, and in April 2012, he helped found Cloud Imperium Games, the studio building Chris Roberts' massive interstellar simulator Star Citizen.
Cops are routinely using this secret cell phone tracking tool
Big federal agencies with ominous-sounding three-letter acronyms aren't the only ones that spy on your activities -- your local police might be doing it, too. Take for instance, the police department of Erie County, New York, which was recently caught using stingray devices in at least 47 instances between May 1, 2010 and October 3, 2014. According to the details published by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the department asked the court for permission to use stingray only once between that time frame.
'Mario Kart 8' is about to get absurdly fast
How big of a difference do those extra 50 cubic centimeters in Mario Kart 8 make? Well, Iwata and Co. have a video showing the current fastest/most difficult setting (150cc) side by side with the 200cc level the outfit announced last week. The trip around Piranha Plant Slide starts out slowly enough, but it isn't long before the differences start to show. There's roughly a five second gap between when Mario passes the first eponymous flora on the 200cc speed and 150cc, for instance, and the lead only grows from there.
