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Ireland votes to stop investing public money in fossil fuels
Ireland just took a big step toward cutting coal and oil out of the picture. Its Parliament has passed a bill that stops the country from investing in fossil fuels as part of an €8 billion ($8.6 billion) government fund. The measure still has to clear a review before it becomes law, but it would make Ireland the first nation to completely eliminate public funding for fossil fuel sources. Even countries that have committed to ditching non-renewable energy, like Iceland, can't quite make that claim. The closest is Norway, which ditched some of its investments back in 2015.
Study shows Uber created some new taxi jobs, but hurt wages
One of the taxi industry's biggest complaints against its competition at ridesharing companies like Uber in Lyft is the idea that these newcomers have been siphoning away jobs from regularly employed taxi drivers. According to a new study of data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, that was not actually the case.
Apple is reportedly reinventing the iPhone's fingerprint reader
Future iPhones may revolve around more than just an eye-catching curved display. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who frequently (though not always) has a knack for hardware scoops, believes that Apple is designing a whole new Touch ID fingerprint reader for future iPhones and iPads. In order for Apple to virtually eliminate bezels, it needs a reader that sits under the screen -- and that means a brand new optical sensor. Development is underway, the analyst says, but development is still early enough that the technology might not be ready in time for the 2017 iPhone.
Uber will pay $20 million for exaggerating drivers' earnings
In yet another big settlement for the ride-hailing giant, Uber has agreed to pay a $20 million fee to resolve a case with the US Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC's complaint, Uber intentionally exaggerated drivers' potential income and vehicle financing rates in order to attract new drivers to its platform.
NASA may rely on Russian shuttles for ISS missions until 2019
NASA is considering buying seats aboard the Soyuz spacecraft for 2019, according to a solicitation it filed recently. The agency originally wanted to end its dependence on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft this year, but SpaceX and Boeing aren't quite ready to take astronauts to the ISS. Boeing had to push back its first manned flight to the space station to December 2018 or later due to a design flaw with the Starliner. SpaceX also had to delay its plans after a Falcon 9 exploded on the launch pad last year. While both companies could very well be able to stick to their new timelines, NASA could be eyeing the purchase as an insurance in case of additional delays. Besides, seats on the Soyuz keep getting more expensive every year.
China suspends plans for 85 coal power plants
China is taking some steps to curb pollution (it doesn't have much choice), but one of its most recent steps may be more of a happy accident. The country's National Energy Administration is suspending 85 planned or in-progress coal power plants -- not because they're threats to the environment and public health (which they are), but because they don't fit in with China's latest Five Year Plan. It's targeting a coal capacity limit of 1,100GW, but the plants would have brought it to 1,250GW. While that's still an increase over the current 920GW capacity, it's definitely an improvement.
ASUS's ZenFone AR handles both virtual and augmented reality
While ASUS's ZenFone AR might have been leaked days early, it's nonetheless a phone that's trying to drag us into the future -- whether that's virtual reality or augmented reality. ASUS says its ZenFone AR will be compatible with both Google's Daydream VR platform as well as Google's Tango augmented-reality tech.
Acer's 21-inch gaming laptop will cost you a staggering $8,999
You knew Acer's wonderfully overdone Predator 21X gaming laptop was going to cost a pretty penny, but probably not this much. The PC maker has revealed launch details for its 21-inch desktop replacement, and the system will cost a mind-numbing $8,999 when it ships in February. You may have to choose between this and a nice used car. There are plenty of reasons for the over-the-top price tag, at least. In addition to the signature 21-inch curved 1080p display and mechanical keyboard, you're getting an overclockable 7th-generation Core i7-7820HK processor, 64GB (!) of RAM, dual GTX 1080 graphics chips, Tobii eye tracking, as many as four 512GB solid-state drives in a RAID stripe and a 2TB hard drive. You probably won't need to consider a replacement for a long, long while. And don't worry if this is absolute overkill, as there's a vaguely affordable model in the mix.
Donut-shaped ice shelters could shield astronauts on Mars
Since future astronauts might be spending months at a time on Mars, their sturdy shelters must reliably insulate inhabitants from extreme outer temperatures and the cosmic radiation filtering through the planet's thin atmosphere. Some have proposed concepts that use material found on the surface, like this conceptual concrete, to minimize what the crew brings with them. Scientists and experts at NASA's Langley Research Center have came up with a novel, efficient solution that repurposes planet resources: The Mars Ice Home.
NASA seeks public input on how to cut SLS and Orion costs
NASA has admitted in its latest Request for Information (RFI) that it's spending a bit too much money on the Space Launch System's and the Orion capsule's development. The agency is asking for public input on how to minimize the "production, operations and maintenance costs" of the rocket-and-spacecraft system -- an issue it needs to address soon since it will be under a new administration within a couple of months.
Uber gets slapped with lawsuit over missing food delivery tips
A courier in New York who used to deliver food for Uber has filed a lawsuit against the company over unpaid tips, according to Buzzfeed News. In the lawsuit, he said that tips from customers never made it to him and other delivery personnel for UberRush and UberEats. Both services deliver food to your doorstep from nearby restaurants, but they still have their differences. Rush mainly operates through GrubHub's delivery service whose rates typically include online gratuity, none of which (the plaintiff said) made it to couriers' pockets.
Uber drivers in the UK entitled to minimum wage, tribunal rules
Uber drivers have won an employment tribunal case in the UK, making them entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the National Minimum Wage. The ride-hailing company has long argued that its chauffeurs are self-employed contractors, not employees; the tribunal disagreed, however, setting a major precedent for the company and its relationship with workers. GMB, the union for professional drivers in the UK, initiated the two "test cases" in July. It's described the decision as a "monumental victory" that will impact "over 30,000 drivers" in England and Wales.
GM's 'Maven' car-sharing service lands in San Francisco
There's a new option for getting around the streets of San Francisco. GM has announced the immediate availability of its car-sharing platform Maven in the City by the Bay. The automaker -- which has a substantial $500 million investment in Lyft -- will continue to expand the service to other metropolitan areas as it dives deeper into alternatives to individual vehicle ownership.
Boeing pushes space taxi's first ISS mission to late 2018
Boeing's CS-100 Starliner won't be ferrying astronauts to the ISS until December 2018 (or maybe even later), according to Aviation Week. The aerospace corp was supposed to help end NASA's dependence on Russia's Soyuz rockets by 2017, but it announced in May this year that its space taxi won't be ready until mid-2018. Unfortunately, Boeing has no choice but to delay that historic flight even further due to a handful of manufacturing issues.
President Obama outlines vision for sending humans to Mars
This morning, CNN published a piece by President Barack Obama in which he outlines plans to get human to Mars in the 2030s. It gives a bit more detail to desires expressed by the president for years now -- he first mentioned the 2030 timeframe back in 2010. "We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America's story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time," President Obama writes today.
Uber will pay riders $384,000 due to its misleading tip policy
For a brief, one-year period, Uber's marketing materials stated that the company's ride-hailing app automatically charged users a 20 percent tip for drivers. Unfortunately for drivers and users, Uber was actually taking a 40 to 50 percent cut of that tip – a fact which led to a lawsuit claiming the company was misleading consumers. According to Bloomberg Technology, US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco just approved Uber's proposed $384,000 settlement with 47,000 users that will essentially refund all of those pilfered "tips."
Pizza Hut delivers the world's first playable DJ pizza box
The major brands won't admit it, but it's pretty hard to innovate in the pizza-making industry. Stuffed crust and sausage-ringed pizza are now well established, so companies like Domino's and Pizza Hut are turning to clever marketing gimmicks to ensure sales keep ticking over. One such stunt is today's launch of the "world's first playable DJ pizza box" from Pizza Hut, which is a standard cardboard container rigged up with touch-sensitive decks, a mixer and other controllable buttons.
Four crops grown in simulated Martian soil are safe to eat
We're still not sure if we can Mark Watney our way through a Martian mission, because soil on the red planet contains heavy metals toxic to humans, including lead and arsenic. A team of scientists from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, however, found out that radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes grown in Martian soil are safe to eat after years of research. The scientists have been growing different types of plants in soil that NASA developed to simulate what's found on the red planet since 2013. While they haven't exactly eaten any of them yet -- and team leader Wieger Wamelink admits radishes are still best grown on Earth -- they confirmed that these four can grow on Mars without absorbing dangerous levels of heavy metals.
Charge your phone with KFC's new take-out box
Suppose you've just fired up Yelp to hunt down the nearest KFC, texted your friends to get their order and then posted a sweet victory Snapchat of your crispy haul. That probably just took a chunk from your smartphone battery -- but don't worry dudes, KFC's got your back with a device charger in your take-out box. Just don't try to plug it in while you're fingers-deep in greasy chicken.
Embrace your inner DJ with McDonald's McTrax placemat
Would you like a side of sick beats with those french fries? McDonald's Netherlands has you covered with the McTrax Placemat, a sheet of paper that allows you to connect with your smartphone to channel your inner Diplo.
