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VW tests self-driving cars on the streets of Hamburg
VW will need to hustle if it's going to make automated driving a practical reality by 2025, and it appears it's moving quickly. The automaker is now testing self-driving versions of the e-Golf in real-world conditions in Hamburg -- the first time its driverless vehicles have roamed a major German city. They're Level 4 vehicles (fully autonomous in most situations) that will putt around a roughly 1.9-mile section of a "digital test bed," but they'll have to contend with urban traffic like anyone else.
Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data
Germany has ordered Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data from users and delete all the information it has already collected. The Hamburg regulator said the social network hadn't properly notified the nation's 35 million WhatsApp users that it recently started gathering their data. "Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened," said Commissioner Johannes Caspar.
Google uses tiny cameras to capture adorable mini Street View
When you think of Google Street View, you'll probably get visions of the company's camera-mounted cars or its colossal Trekker backpacks. The search giant has sent them to some of the world's most picturesque locations, but for its latest Street View project, things have got a whole lot smaller. With help from a specially-modified model train and bus, Google has captured a 360-degree Street View map of Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest miniature railway.
Hamburg is pee-proofing its public places
If you're the type of man that enjoys dry feet and pants, you'd better think twice before emptying your bladder in Hamburg, Germany. Pee against a wall in the city's historic red light district and there's a good chance that your stream will come back to bite you thanks to a coat of nano-paint.
Not so fast: Uber facing bans in Germany once again
Just when you thought Uber's legal battle in Germany was settled once and for all, Bloomberg is now writing about the company having to deal with new challenges in that country. According to the report, Uber has been ordered to bring its UberPop and UberBlack services to a halt, yet again, in two of Germany's biggest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. Local authorities there argued that Uber clearly violates German laws, claiming the ridesharing firm doesn't have the appropriate license to operate legally, which was enough for courts in those cities to rule in favor of a ban. "The services violate multiple rules for transporting people that serve to protect customers," a spokesperson for the Berlin court told Bloomberg. "The ban serves to protect the viability and functioning of the taxi services, in which the public has an important interest."
Uber banned across Germany
Despite putting the brakes on injunctions in both Berlin and Hamburg, Uber has once again felt the effects of a ban, but this time it's effective on a national level. Earlier today, a court in Frankfurt ruled that the car-hailing service doesn't have the necessary permits or insurance under German law. Despite facing a potential €250,000 fine for each unsanctioned journey and the risk that its directors could face time behind bars, Uber says the ban is unenforceable and has pledged to continue picking up passengers while it launches an appeal. Industry body Taxi Deutschland is happy with the ruling, though, describing Uber as a "form of locust share-economy" and also adding that smartphone ratings should not replace proper accreditation by authorities. The ruling comes just days after the company announced its intention to double capacity in the country by year-end. Despite today's court action hanging over its head, even the threat of a national ban doesn't appear to have distracted Uber from meeting its goal.
YouTube ordered to filter video uploads by German court, could face hefty fines
A Hamburg court decision has ruled that YouTube is responsible for what its users upload to the site. This therefore could make the site liable for any copyright infringement associated with that. Furthermore, the court has asked the video sharing giant to put filters in place that detect clips that are protected by the German royalties agency Gema at the point of upload. Worst of all, this could saddle the website with a hefty tab. Although this particular case only pertains to 12 videos (and the ruling to seven of those,) future fines could be as much as €250,000 ($330,000) per case. YouTube maintained that it has no responsibility over what users upload, but that it did take action when notified about protected content. [Thanks, Guy]
iPod 10th anniversary: Apple design exhibit at MKG Hamburg
Since we're celebrating a decade of iPod today, it's a perfect time to share our photos from the Stylectrical exhibition at the MK&G museum in Hamburg, Germany. This collection features scores of Apple products (largely from the reign of design chief Jonathan Ive) alongside some of the industrial designs from other companies that informed, or were influenced by, the clean and functional Apple aesthetic. Check out the 'wall of iPods' that covers the full decade-long arc of the music player. %Gallery-137322% Some of the most remarkable juxtapositions in the exhibit come with the pairings of mid-20th century Braun products with the Apple designs that follow their distinctive looks. The three postcards from the exhibit (shown above) feature designs by Dieter Rams for Braun that would seem perfectly in place on the tables of an Apple Store, save that they were produced in the late 1950s and early '60s. Rams' influence on Ive's designs is widely acknowledged -- witness the iOS Calculator app, which is a dead ringer for the Braun ET66 calculator -- but there's a difference between knowing that and seeing it right in front of you. The exhibition is a must-visit for any Apple fan passing through Hamburg between now and mid-January. Don't miss the art gallery of prints from photographer Michael Tompert; his 12LVE project destroys Apple products (ow!) in the service of beautiful and haunting images. Enjoy the gallery of products and displays. Thanks to the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe and curator Ina Grätz for inviting us to visit. Reader Neil Curtis also toured the exhibit and sent us the video walkthrough below. Photos by Michael Rose, © 2011. All rights reserved.
Hamburg, Germany Apple Store to open this weekend
Remember that German Apple Store that was painted with a giant Microsoft logo while it was under construction? Well, it's finally ready to open sans its Microsoft branding. The new Jungfernstieg store in Hamburg, Germany will shed its window coverings later this week and open for business this weekend. The two-level retail location, which formerly housed a jewelry store, will become Apple's seventh retail outlet in Germany. [Via ifoAppleStore]
Apple Store Hamburg nears opening day
I didn't get a chance to swing by the site of the upcoming Jungfernsteig Apple Store when I was in Hamburg this week, but the guys at case manufacturer Alkr did (no surprise, it's their home town). The store is featuring giant red window panels and is said to be getting close to readiness for its first customers. The center sign translates as "We (will be) pleased to greet you here soon." Seems pretty straightforward, no? The larger side signs say 'Moin,' which is a slang form of 'Hello' that's commonly used in parts of Northern Germany. Keep an eye out for more details & schedule on the store opening. Thanks Jürgen!
Exhibition of Apple design debuts in German museum
During the Steve Jobs II era at Apple, the company's product priorities focused on ease of use, delighting and surprising the customer, and of course the incredible design aesthetic that we all know and love. That design philosophy has been championed and executed by the industrial design team led by senior vice president Jonathan Ive, and it is Ive's work with Apple that is the topic of a new exhibition in Hamburg, Germany at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Arts and Crafts). Stylectrical: On Electro-Design That Makes History aims to take a close look at "the complex process of industrial design in the context of cultural studies." The show, opening this weekend, contains 300 separate exhibits; over half of those are Apple products. All products released by Apple under Ive's design oversight are supposed to be represented there (the first time that's happened), alongside other leading electronic product design examples. There is particular attention paid to the ties between Apple design and the German industrial giant Braun's products. In addition to a print catalog, the exhibition merits pride of place in the museum's own iPhone app (of course). You can see photos from the exhibit, check opening times and view museum information. The exhibition runs from now until January 15, 2012. Admission is €8 (€5 for Thursday evenings), and the museum is open every day but Monday. I'm planning to check it out in person next week, and I'll share some pictures and impressions from the visit.
Germany challenges Facebook on facial recognition, citing EU privacy laws
Facebook's facial recognition feature probably won't find too many smiles in Germany, where federal regulators are challenging the social network to change its ways, or face the consequences. On Tuesday, Hamburg's Data Protection Authority (DPA) sent a letter to the company, advising it to obtain user permission before harvesting biometric data, as outlined by EU privacy laws that require consumer consent. As it stands right now, users can opt-out of the photo-tagging function by tinkering with their privacy settings, but the DPA claims that's still too invasive, and has "repeatedly" asked Facebook to shut down the feature altogether. Zuckerberg & Co. now have two weeks to respond to the letter, and could face a fine of up to €300,000 (about $427,000) if a compromise isn't reached. In a statement, company spokeswoman Tina Kulow said, "We will consider the points the Hamburg Data Protection Authority have made... but firmly reject any claim that we are not meeting our obligations under European Union data protection law."
Upcoming Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany pranked by Windows fanbois (Updated)
When new Apple Stores are under construction, it's common for the front of the store to be hidden in a large black wooden structure. Yesterday morning, the black box at the new store in Hamburg, Germany was plastered with a nicely painted and quite artistic Windows logo, which was later painted over by a worker with a ladder and bucket of black paint. German Apple fan site iFun.de was sent some photos, allegedly by three different readers. Being the skeptic that I am, I ran the photos through the Forensic Error Level Analysis tool to see if these were real photos or just nicely Photoshopped images. You can see the results here: Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 The results were inconclusive -- while the Windows logo did show signs of being a pasted-on Photoshop artifact, the appearance of colors on a stark black background can also cause artifacts to show up in the analysis tool. Closer inspection under magnification showed reflections of the correct shades in the window to the right of the logo. So, it's up to TUAW readers to make the call. Are the photos real? Or did iFun.de get pranked instead of the Apple Store? Leave your comments below. Update: Looks like the prank was real. The video below shows how the antic was pulled off.
Apple retail news: three new stores opened this weekend
While all of the attention this weekend was around the launch of Snow Leopard, Apple opened up three new retail stores; two new stores in the US and one in Germany. First, the company opened a new store in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday, which is now Apple's second store in Germany, after the store in Munich opened last December. Second, there's a new store in Dedham, Massachusetts at the Legacy Place shopping center. This store will be the ninth store in the state of Massachusetts. Finally, Apple also opened up a new store at the Stonebriar shopping complex in Frisco, Texas. This store makes it the sixth store in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. If you live in or are near one of these areas, be sure to check out your new Apple Store. As always, we would love to hear your stories of your first visit or see your photos!
Video: Antares DLR-H2 becomes planet's first fuel cell-powered aircraft
Fuel cells may have lost some steam of late here in the automotive realm, but they're still going strong at 30,000 feet. Over in Hamburg, Germany, the Antares DLR-H2 has become the first piloted aircraft capable of taking off using only power from fuel cells, which means that it flies with absolutely no carbon emissions. The craft is based on the Antares 20E glider, which boasts a wingspan of just over 65 feet and has a cruising range of 466 miles over five hours. Currently, the propulsion system permits maximum flying speeds of around 105mph, but we're certain those behind the creation are gunning for more. As for its future? It'll be stationed at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg where it'll act a "flying test platform" for the next three years, and afterwards, we fully expect to see this thing fetch a pretty penny on eBay. Action-packed video is after the break.[Thanks, Mademoiselle Y]
Blaupunkt shows off miRoamer-powered internet car radios
We'll be honest: apart from the ridiculous custom cars and the Viliv S7, we pretty much avoided the car audio-oriented North Hall at CES this year -- which means we sadly didn't get any facetime with Blaupunkt's miRoamer-powered TravelPilot New Jersey 600i internet car stereo. (Apparently double-DIN is big in the Jerz.) The prototype head unit connects to a cellphone over Bluetooth to access the internet, and uses the miRoamer service to stream "tens of thousands" of stations on the service -- which the company estimates will consume about 2GB of data a month, so you'd better hope your data plan doesn't cap you off or charge you for overages. The radio is expected to arrive in the second half of the year for $399, which isn't bad, but doesn't do much good for the squares like us who never swap out their car stereos -- which is probably why miRoamer is targeting 2010 for placement in OEM head units. One more pic of the single-DIN sized "Hamburg" model after the break.
Verizon's FiOS TV makes its western New York debut
Western New York, FiOS. FiOS, western New York. That's right -- not even two full months after Verizon's FiOS TV took New York City by storm, the service has officially gone live in the western park of the state. We've known this was coming for quite some time, but it feels oh-so-good to know that some 60,000 households in the greater Buffalo area can now phone up Verizon and order up its fiber-based TV programming, high-speed internet and digital phone services. Among the first communities to get served are parts of Amherst, Hamburg, Orchard Park and Tonawanda; expect additional communities in the region to get gifted "within the next few weeks." Any western New Yorkers mulling the switch?
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: June 21, 2008
Verizon's simply expanding too quickly for us to dedicate an entire post to each and every new locale, so from here on out, we'll be rounding these up weekly for those who care to take a peek. This week, the operator stretched its fiber-based TV services to Amherst, Hamburg and Lawrence, New York, six more communities in New Jersey and two more towns (Ashland and Plymouth) in Massachusetts. Furthermore, service is finally available to order in North Andover, MA, and if you're looking for more detail on those Garden State areas, we're talking parts of Bayonne, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Loch Arbour and Lakewood. For more dirt on each, dive into the read links below. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - New York expansionRead - New Jersey expansionRead - Massachusetts expansion
Verizon aims FiOS TV at Western New York
Though it's easy to throw stones at New York in envy of it being heavily covered by fiber-based TV services (comparatively speaking, of course), those residing in the western half of the state have felt just as left out -- until now. Verizon has announced that it finally landed an agreement authorizing it to offer FiOS TV service to residents of the Village of Hamburg. In case you couldn't tell, the aforementioned locale is the first municipality in western New York to grant the carrier a video franchise, and if no one on the New York State Public Service Commission has any gripes, folks in the area can look forward to seeing the rollout begin this summer. Did we mention we're envious of New York?
Rumor: Leipzig Games Convention may move in 2008
The German Games Convention, which is typically just referred to as "Leipzig," may need a different name. The event being held August 23 - 26, which grew 40% this year following the death of E3, is getting a little big for its east German britches and may go west. Wii Definitive Spec, run by a German journalist, says "several industry insiders" have said that the show may move in 2008.Leipzig is apparently too small for some large exhibitors (due to the airport and location) and they are looking for the show to move to someplace a little bit more accommodating. The two cities likely to inherit the event would be Frankfurt and Cologne -- two larger cities that are easily accessible and already host large events. Speaking of large events, we'd prefer to see Munich in the running, and ask the event be moved from August to late September or early October. Oktoberfest and a gaming convention ... it would be fantastic.
