Transition
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Porsche says 80 percent of its cars will be electric by 2030
The Taycan has once again outsold the 911, but there's still no word on when the iconic sports car will get an electric makeover.
EVs made up more than half of car sales in Norway last year
Norway has spent decades planning its transition to EVs. Now its seeing the results of all that work.
Joe Biden's presidential transition launches with BuildBackBetter.gov
The Joe Biden - Kamala Harris administration now has federal government support to begin its transition, including millions in funding and the use of .gov domains.
Terrafugia's first flying car should finally go on sale in 2019
Terrafugia's Transition flying car has been in development purgatory for years, but it's finally here... almost. The company has announced that the first production models of the Transition will go on sale sometime in 2019. While that does sound like a long way off, it does provide a more concrete release window than you've had in the past. And if it's any consolation, the finished machine will have some useful improvements in return for the extra months of waiting.
Trump's White House website deletes climate change, LGBT pages
As Donald Trump takes over the White House today, a number of folks on Twitter have been pointing out that many crucial pages on WhiteHouse.gov have disappeared, including those relating to climate change and the LGBTQ community. While certainly troubling to the many millions of Americans worried about how the incoming administration will handle such topics, what's happening on the White House website is little more than a transition -- every page that was up on the site under the Obama administration has been removed, not just ones relating to topics that the new president doesn't care about.
Donald Trump's 'Transition Team' launches GreatAgain.gov
Now that the election is complete, the business of transitioning into a Donald Trump presidency is upon us. The president-elect's Transition Team launched its Twitter account and the GreatAgain.gov website, inviting citizens to connect with the incoming administration directly. Its descriptions of policy (including building a "great" wall) and Help Wanted sign for presidential appointees arrive just as thousands are marching in cities across the country protesting the election's result. If you just can't wait to follow the new/old POTUS account on Twitter, this is where things start.
Apple wants to wean you from Android with its new iPhone guide
Apple is clearly hoping that its bigger iPhones will tempt you to switch from Android. It just launched a migration guide that helps move your stuff into the iOS universe, whether it's a contact list, internet account or media collection. Some of the advice is fairly self-evident; email and social networks should come across without a hitch, and you'll usually find App Store equivalents to any given Android program. You may find a few useful pointers, however, such as using iCloud as a go-between for your important documents.
Zynga appoints former Best Buy strategist as CFO
Social-turning-mobile game studio Zynga has brought on David Lee, Best Buy's former senior vice president of enterprise finance, to serve as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. Lee will work with Mark Vranesh, Zynga's existing CFO and CAO, over the next month to help the transition go smoothly. In a comment on Lee's move, Zynga CEO Don Mattrick said that "David has a deep understanding of business management and a sharp financial acumen that will be invaluable to Zynga's long term growth and success." Lee will report directly to Mattrick, who left his role as Microsoft's interactive entertainment business president in July 2013. Mattrick's shift was followed by the departure of several Zynga executives, as well as studio co-founder Justin Waldron. With last year's closure of OMGPOP and several Zynga studios, Lee's talents certainly seem needed at the troubled development house. [Image: Zynga]
A Tale in the Desert is under new management
After years of inactivity on the A Tale in the Desert front, you might be forgiven from not noticing that the title changed hands last month. That's OK, we didn't see it before now either. Citing preoccupation with another project, eGenesis has handed over management and development of A Tale in the Desert to Pluribus Games. The upside to this transition for gamers is two-fold: The new owners have made the game free for the time being and are preparing to start up the next iteration of the story, Tale VII. "EGenesis has been overwhelmed with their newest project, Dragon's Tale, and has not been able to devote the time needed to ATitD. It is our belief that we will be able to greatly improve the game for you, our customers," Pluribus announced. [Thanks to Alan for the tip!]
T-Mobile to start turning off older MetroPCS network this year
T-Mobile's efforts to transition customers from MetroPCS' aging CDMA network to its own GSM and LTE frequencies is going quite swimmingly. The company has been bragging that it's well ahead of schedule, and in some markets it's already begun repurposing the smaller carrier's spectrum to deliver faster Wideband LTE connections. Things are going so well, in fact, that it will begin shutting down the slower MetroPCS network this year, instead of waiting until 2015. The first three cities on the chopping block will be Boston, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. Though, considering its accelerated transition we wouldn't be surprised to see others join the list before the end of the year. Around 40 percent of MetroPCS users have already switched to phones that will work on T-Mobile's network, and the carrier plans to offer more aggressive upgrade options to push more customers over. Those that have yet to upgrade won't suffer a complete disruption of service, however, thanks to roaming agreements. The next step, of course, will be "refarming" that newly cleared spectrum to deliver even faster wireless speeds. [Image credit: Jim Carroll, Flickr]
Watch Terrafugia's Transition fly and drive in public for the first time (video)
Sure, the Terrafugia Transition took to the skies for the first time at the 2012 NY Auto Show, but it has yet to fly and drive in front of an audience -- until now. The "driveable plane" did two laps around the field at this year's EAA AirVenture airshow in Wisconsin, once up in the air and once on land, as you can see in the videos past the break. In between the laps, it transforms from an airborne into a land vehicle by automatically folding its wings flush against its body. Despite the successful demo, it'll take a while before we see a Transition on the road -- Terrafugia plans to build a third prototype of the $279,000 plane / car before it begins production. Millionaires and supervillains, take note: you can pay a $10,000 reserve fee for one, but don't expect it to grace your driveway or hangar until 2015 or 2016.
T-Mobile says MetroPCS' network transition is ahead of schedule
T-Mobile is more than a little eager to justify its acquisition of MetroPCS. To its relief, there's early evidence that the money was well spent: it says that MetroPCS' switch to a blend of HSPA+ and LTE is ahead of schedule, and it cites the just-started Bring Your Own Phone program as proof. The bigger carrier is already planning to expand MetroPCS' device mix, too. In addition to the recent launches of the Galaxy Exhibit and Optimus L9, T-Mobile's refreshed Galaxy S III is due on June 17th. We won't declare the transition a resounding success just yet, however -- when T-Mobile only expects to finish converting MetroPCS customers by 2015, there's still a lot of ground left to cover. [Image credit: Jim Carroll, Flickr]
Sprint closes deal to buy US Cellular spectrum, adds 420,000 customers
Sprint was clearly hungry for capacity when it bought spectrum from US Cellular last fall, and it's at last getting its fill -- some of it, at least -- by closing the deal today. The carrier has officially taken possession of 20MHz in airwaves across Midwestern cities like Champaign, Chicago and South Bend, as well as 10MHz in St. Louis. The customer handover isn't quite as grandiose as was mentioned in November, however: Sprint is ultimately adopting 420,000 US Cellular customers, rather than the originally claimed 585,000. It should be a relatively bump-free transition, no matter who's included in the group. Sprint expects the switch to take several months, and it's keeping the US Cellular network active while customers go hunting for discounted phones.
Terrafugia considering TF-X, a vertical-takeoff flying car (video)
We've been hearing about Terrafugia's Transition "flying car" for, well, far too long, considering that it has yet to even venture beyond the prototype phase. The prop plane / roadworthy vehicle combo has its fair share of fans -- some of them with deep enough pockets to place an order -- but it won't be making its way from your garage to the runway anytime soon. With that in mind, the company's TF-X vertical-takeoff model is even less likely to see the light of day, but it's being considered nonetheless. The plug-in hybrid-electric aircraft would take off and land vertically, like a helicopter -- if the DOT and FAA allowed it, you could literally fly over the highway whenever you run into traffic, though we can't imagine that pilots will ever get the green light to take off from public roads, even if the TF-X becomes a reality. For now, it exists only in the minds of Terrafugia's ambitious team, a few image renders and a minute-long animated demo, which we've embedded for your viewing pleasure after the break.
Twitter gives API 1.0 a reprieve, lets it live until June 11th
Those who preferred Twitter's earlier, more liberal ways have regarded May 7th with a sense of dread, as that's when API 1.0 (and our chance at a truly competitive app ecosystem) was supposed to go dark. While the company isn't about to reverse course, it is giving the refuseniks a break by delaying the shutdown until June 11th. More time is necessary for blackout tests, Twitter says. We wouldn't lean too heavily on remaining API 1.0-era apps and services when that instability exists, but the extra month does allow for a gentler transition into API 1.1's brave new world. [Image credit: Coletivo Mambembe, Flickr]
Microsoft finishes migrating Hotmail users to Outlook.com, adds direct SkyDrive sharing
When Microsoft took Outlook.com public, it also took on the rather daunting task of moving 300 million-plus Hotmail accounts over to the more modern infrastructure without drawing our wrath. However you feel about the new interface, that transition is at last complete: Outlook.com is now the sole front end for the over 400 million people who use Microsoft's free email services. Both Hotmail.com addresses and Hotmail Plus accounts will keep working despite the switch, the company says. To mark the occasion, Microsoft is launching two significant upgrades. It's adding tighter SkyDrive integration that lets users attach files directly from their SkyDrive accounts, including optimized photo attachments. Those who rely on email aliases will also like that Microsoft has finally let us choose an SMTP server to send messages from non-Outlook addresses without revealing the true source -- we won't have to put up with "on behalf of" tags any longer. Both features are rolling out today.
Twitter narrows TweetDeck AIR and mobile app shutdowns to May 7th
Twitter has been warning for weeks that it would shut down TweetDeck's AIR and mobile apps sometime in early May, but it didn't say exactly when loyalists would finally have to move on. The company now has a firm date: May 7th. In just over two weeks, Twitter will both pull the apps from their respective stores and stop existing installs from working as the service's version 1.0 API rides into the sunset. While the persisting native and web-based desktop apps will lessen some of the sting, we'd suggest that you pay your last respects if you have fond memories of TweetDeck's early apps.
Terrafugia's Transition aircraft not likely to see production this year
Terrafugia's Transition flying car (or driveable plane) has stayed out of the spotlight since we caught a glimpse of it last year, but AOL Autos recently checked-in with the daring manufacturer to gauge its progress. Sure, the prototype has already scored a VIN from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and an N-number from the Federal Aviation Administration, but it turns out the land /air hybrid is still awaiting complete certification by the NHTSA. Production dates won't be announced until the craft has been rubber-stamped by Uncle Sam, and that isn't expected to occur within the next 12 months. For now, suppliers are being lined up, and it's very likely that another prototype will be fashioned before it hits the assembly line. You might not be able to sit inside your very own Transition soon, but you will be able to see the first model on display at Cape Cod's Heritage Museum this summer.
Microsoft now starting wider transition from Messenger to Skype on April 8th
It turns out that Microsoft's planned March 15th transition from Messenger to Skype is more of a soft target than a hard cutoff. Microsoft will switch off desktop Messenger that day only for a "test group," the company tells ZDNet; if all goes smoothly, the transition will start in earnest with English-speaking countries on April 8th. Every desktop user should be off the boat by April 30th. Messenger will still work on mobile devices, as well as in multi-network clients like Adium or Trillian, but that's not expected to last long -- and it might get quite lonely. Most of us ultimately get a slight reprieve, but the writing is most definitely on the wall.
Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann leaving by the end of 2013, CFO to take over
Not every CEO makes a graceful exit -- just ask HP. It's clear that Deutsche Telekom chief René Obermann would rather leave on his own terms, as he's orchestrating his departure up to a year before it takes place. The 16-year veteran expects to leave the company before the end of 2013, and the company has already lined up CFO Timotheus Höttges as the replacement at the start of 2014. Obermann says he's leaving to get closer to on-the-ground operations than possible while he's leading a telecom giant. Whether or not that's the full story, he likely won't mind leaving some of DT's uncertainties behind him, including the fallout from the blocked T-Mobile merger with AT&T as well as the long-term fates of both EE's rollout and the MetroPCS acquisition. When the company's Supervisory Board chairman says he wishes Obermann would stay, however, there's little doubting that this CEO transition is happening on friendlier terms than we've known in recent memory.
