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TikTok has been testing minigames ahead of a 'major' gaming push
After entering into a partnership with Zynga last year, TikTok has been testing a pair of mobile minigames on its platform in Vietnam.
The SAT will drop the pencil and go completely digital by 2024
The SAT standardized college admissions tests will be taken exclusively on computers starting in 2024.
Rapid COVID tests will soon be fully covered by insurance in the US
The Biden administration has announced that COVID-19 testing kits must be covered by private insurance.
Apple will require unvaccinated employees to test for COVID-19 daily
Apple will require all unvaccinated corporate employees to be tested for COVID-19 every time they have to work in the office.
College Board prepares digital SATs in case schools remain closed
Digital versions of the SAT and ACT exams are being developed in case school shutdowns continue.
Alphabet’s Verily shows how its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites work
Verily -- Alphabet's healthcare brand -- isn't just creating a website to help northern Californians determine whether they need a test for COVID-19. It's also piloting drive-thru testing. It has opened two sites, one in Riverside County and another in Sacramento County, and today, it shared a video that shows how the COVID-19 testing works.
Blue Origin shows off the engine and nose cone of its reusable rocket
In late 2018, the US Air Force awarded Blue Origin $500 million to build the New Glenn rocket with a reusable first stage and performance similar to SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. We haven't heard a lot since then, but Jeff Bezos' company has just shared a couple of updates on development, showing the immense scale of the new rocket and how the upper stage engines work.
SpaceX successfully completes Crew Dragon engine tests without an explosion
SpaceX has successfully completed a round of Crew Dragon tests, which previously ended in an explosion. The space company attempted a similar set of static fire engine tests on April 20th, but it admitted a few days later that the Crew Dragon capsule it used was destroyed. It blamed the explosion on a component that leaked liquid oxidizer into high-pressure helium tubes. The more recent attempt went off without a hitch.
SpaceX tests heat shields that will stop its Starship from burning up
After successfully getting its Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, SpaceX has shifted focus to another huge project: the interplanetary Starship. In a tweet, Elon Musk showed off tests on the Starship's heat shield, the part that will keep it from burning up when it returns to Earth. The blow-torch like devices brought the temperatures up to 1,650 degrees Kelvin (2,500 degrees F) at the most extreme, white-hot regions -- enough to stand the heat of orbital re-entry, Musk said.
The Pixel 3 and Galaxy Note 9 top DxOMark's new selfie camera scores
We use the selfie camera on our smartphones up to 40 percent of the time, yet most testing puts the emphasis on the rear camera. To address that issue, DxOMark has introduced scoring for front-facing smartphone cameras based on criteria like skin tone and color accuracy, sharpness, contrast, exposure and more. A number of cameras have already been tested, and the models on top, by a wide margin, are Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 and the Google Pixel 3, both with overall scores of 92. Rounding out the top five were Xiaomi's Mi Mix 3, the Apple iPhone XS Max and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, with scores of 84, 82 and 81 respectively.
Watch Faraday Future's high-speed FF 91 field tests
Faraday Future hasn't given up on the FF 91 despite going through a financial crisis and losing executives along the way. Now, a few months after a Hong Kong investor reportedly threw the startup a $1.5 billion lifeline, it has dropped a new video showing the tests it recently conducted to validate the luxury EV's battery, thermal and powertrain controls. The company's engineers staged what they call the "Autobahn drive cycle" and "Operation 120 mph" tests, which are critical to the FF 91's engineering process. Chou Yeh, Faraday's Senior Manager of Powertrain and Thermal Controls, said the tests will help "eliminate issues before they arise and [continue] to add value to the vehicle during the final stages of verification."
Algeria shuts down internet during exams to curb cheating
Algeria is not kidding around when it comes to exam cheats this year. The country is shutting off internet access for both mobile and fixed line connections for an hour after each high school diploma exam starts. Officials hope the move will stop any leaks. The temporary shutdowns will last until the end of the exam season on June 25th, the BBC reported. Algeria is also blocking Facebook across the nation during the period.
AAA is testing self-driving cars to see how safe they are
Fully autonomous cars won't be allowed on the streets until they're safe, but how will we know when that happens? The American Automobile Association (AAA) is trying to figure that out by testing self-driving cars powered by Torc Robotics "Asimov" system. The aim is to gather information and develop safety criteria that could be used by any company developing self-driving tech. "By creating a blueprint for automakers to follow, we hope to build public trust in technology," said AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah CEO Tim Condon.
Uber's self-driving car tests aren't going as well as planned
Uber has lots of work to do to catch up with its rivals' self-driving car technologies. According to the internal test reports Recode obtained, the company's 43 self-driving cars autonomously drove a total of 20,354 miles during the week ending on March 8th. That's impressive, considering it's four times the number of miles Uber's first 20 autonomous cars drove in January. However, the robotic vehicles also had more help from their human drivers that Uber would have liked.
AT&T to conduct 5G streaming tests with DirecTV Now
In a simultaneous test of wireless broadband and net neutrality, AT&T will test its upcoming 5G tech with DirecTV Now video streaming. Trial customers in Austin, Texas will be able to stream the services on a variety of devices over fixed 5G connections at several sites. The goal, the carrier said in a press release, is to see how "wireless millimeter wave technology handles heavy video traffic.
Comcast is charging its trial users extra to avoid data caps
If you're participating in Comcast's capped broadband trials, you'll soon get a way to avoid usage limits, according to document spotted by DSL Reports. If you guessed "pay more money" as that solution, you can step up for your prize. The company has released a new FAQ for its trial Xfinity program in Florida, one of the regions where it's testing 300GB cap limits. A new "unlimited data option" will let users avoid any overage charges -- which normally run $10 for each 50GB of data -- by paying an extra $30 per month on top of the normal rates.
UK sets the rules of the road for driverless car tests
A bunch of driverless cars are now being trialled in the UK, so it makes sense to give researchers a special kind of road-testing rulebook. After all, Britain's existing laws were never written with autonomous vehicles in mind. To support the new wave of research, the Department for Transport (DfT) has published a Code of Practice which sets out some basic ground rules for testing driverless cars on public roads. These include having a backup driver that can retake control at any moment -- similar to how Google's driverless cars operate in the US. Supervisors should also hold an appropriate UK driving licence and be familiar with new systems that might cause problems and require intervention.
FAA gives Amazon the OK to conduct drone tests
After threatening to take its drone tests elsewhere, the FAA granted the online retailer permission to test its unmanned aircraft. If you'll recall, Bezos & Co. weren't interested in leveraging any of the government-approved test sites for drone trials, wanting instead to fly near its Seattle R&D facility. The "experimental airworthiness certificate" awarded today allows Amazon to make test flights at 400 feet or below, so long as the unmanned aircraft stays within the pilot's sight. What's more, any testing must be done during the day, with a private pilot's certificate and medical credentials required for anyone behind the controls. As is the case with this type of permit, the FAA requires monthly reports that include the number of flights, pilot time, any issues that arise, if there's a loss of communication and if the pilot has to deviate from the air traffic controllers' cues. Back in January, the FAA teamed up with CNN to look into the use of drones for news coverage, so we could certainly see even more of the flying machines take off soon. Of course, we'll still have to wait a while to receive packages via drone, but at least Amazon is getting to test in its own backyard.
Schools ban watches from exams to keep cheating off wrists
If you think your school is overly cautious when it makes you ditch your phone before a big test, you haven't seen anything yet. BuzzFeed News has learned that multiple universities have issued blanket bans on all watches during exams in case students are wearing smartwatches they could use to cheat. According to London's City University, it "wouldn't be practical" to have proctors checking every watch to make sure it's analog -- it's easier to make you write with bare arms. The move is unfortunate if you're used to glancing at your watch to gauge your progress, but it does make sense given how easy it is to get memos, text messages and other unfair advantages on your wrist. Whether or not you think smartwatch cheating represents a major problem, it's probably a good idea to leave that Pebble or ZenWatch at home during your mid-terms.
iPhone 6 tops competition in benchmarks, battery life
Apple's annual iPhone update always brings with it a nice bump in specs, and this year is no different. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are currently being put through their paces by the benchmarking gurus at AnandTech, and the preliminary results show that Apple's newest pair of smartphones are among the best of the best on several popular graphical tests as well as web browsing battery life. In nearly all the tests -- check out the full rundown to get the whole picture -- the iPhone 6 twins hold the top two smartphone scores, with the exception of a physics benchmark where they only narrowly beat out the iPhone 5s and lag behind the rest of the competition. It's unclear why that particular test came out the way it did, while the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus dominate so handily in the rest, but the testing parameters have been questioned by commenters. It's interesting to note where the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus trade places from test to test. With slightly less screen real estate to worry about, the iPhone 6 has a small advantage and manages to eke out its bigger brother a few times along the way. The two remain very close in nearly every test though, so the slight differences in performance shouldn't factor into your choice either way. [Graph via Anandtech]
