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Ubisoft is donating $564,000 to help rebuild Notre-Dame
Following the fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris this week, Ubisoft has pledged €500,000 ($564,000) to help restore the iconic church. The studio, which faithfully recreated Notre-Dame in Assassin's Creed Unity, is also offering that game for free until April 25th on PC to honor the landmark. "We want to give everyone the chance to experience the majesty and beauty of Notre-Dame the best way we know how," Ubisoft, which is headquartered in France and has studios in Paris, said.
'Aftermath' is a 360-degree walkthrough of the Camp Fire devastation
Camp Fire, the tragedy that killed at least 85 victims and destroyed around 14,000 homes across Paradise, California, continues to torment as residents start returning to the ruin as of yesterday. News channels around the world have been offering a sober look at what little is left behind the walls of fire, but not long after disaster struck, former Lytro exec Steve Cooper already sensed the need to capture a proper first-hand account of this unprecedented catastrophic event. With help from his firefighter friend at the scene plus CAL FIRE's media team, the filmmaker eventually arrived in Paradise on November 13th -- day five of Camp Fire -- with his SUV and 360 camera to commence his two-day shoot. The result was the aptly named Aftermath, a seven-minute 8K 360 video documentary now available on YouTube.
The US government knows climate change is ravaging the planet
Hurricane Katrina claimed nearly 2,000 lives when it struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, submerging New Orleans in floodwater and devastating the region for more than a decade. It was the costliest natural disaster in US history, causing more than $160 billion in damage. Hurricane Katrina was the result of human-driven climate change.
Ford will keep GT supercar from catching fire with a software update
If you're driving in your fancy Ford GT supercar on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca you definitely don't want to see is fire erupting from the engine behind you. Turns out, neither does Ford, especially after one burst into flames earlier this year in Germany. The American car manufacturer has issued a recall for its beautiful flying-buttressed supercar. and will fix the erupting-into-flames issue via a software update. Approximately 200 of the 2017-18 Ford GTs are affected in this recall. The issue arises from hydraulic fluid which may leak from the valve block assembly due to high pressure onto the exhaust. So far, only one owner has been affected by the issue. The driver, who goes by muc.collector on Instagram, was driving casually through Munich, Germany when his car caught on fire. Luckily neither the 52-year-old driver, nor his son, were injured. The car itself only had 43 miles on the odometer, meaning it was likely mechanical issue, and wasn't caused by a crash or reckless driving. Ford was kind enough to replace the driver's GT free of charge, though. View this post on Instagram First supercar I saw when I visited Munich a month ago... | #Ford #GT #FordGT #V6 #EcoBoost #MucCollector A post shared by cem (@itsme.cem) on Sep 17, 2018 at 12:35pm PDT But considering that each Gorilla-Glass-windshielded GT retails for $450,000, it's probably best that Ford deals with the problem sooner rather than later.
FL Studio gets its own dedicated music-making hardware
The favorite DAW (digital audio workstation) of producers like Metro Boomin and Mike Will Made It finally has a piece of hardware to call its own. Ableton got its first dedicated hardware controller way back in 2009. And Pro Tools has had them since... well honestly I don't even know, but long before that even. FL Studio though, despite its popularity, has had to make do with generic MIDI controllers until now. The Akai Professional Fire changes all of that.
Fire at Tesla's Gigafactory briefly disrupts production
Tesla just had to contend with another fire at one of its facilities. The electric car maker and county emergency staff have reported that a fire broke out in the Gigafactory in Nevada late on Saturday, leading to a halt in production as the company evacuated the building. The company thankfully faced no injuries and resumed operations early on Sunday, but it's not clear what damage was done or how much this might affect the plant's battery and motor output.
Fire near Tesla's Fremont plant extinguished quickly
This evening firefighters responded to a structure fire burning near Tesla's Fremont plant, with initial reports indicating it started in a cardboard pile and spread to the grass. While pictures from the air posted by local news station KTVU showed a tent-like structure burning, is not the tent built recently to house an additional Model 3 production line. According to a Tesla spokesperson, "some cardboard and shipping materials" being prepared for recycling were the source. The Fremont Fire department tweeted that the fire has been extinguished, and didn't report any injuries. CEO Elon Musk also tweeted "No injuries or damage to factory." Tesla: This evening, some cardboard and shipping materials being prepared for recycling on our southern fence line caught fire, along with a small patch of grass next to a Tesla parking lot. The fire is now contained. We would like to thank the Fremont Fire Department for their rapid response. There are no injuries and we are investigating the cause.
Researchers create safer lithium-ion batteries that harden on impact
Lithium-ion batteries have a world of important applications (smartphones, electric vehicles and the Mars Curiosity Rover, to name a few), but they're also notoriously unstable, and if damaged can result in burns, house fires and even plane crashes. Now, researchers think they've found a way to eliminate these dangers, by creating a lithium-ion battery that hardens on impact.
Older Fire TV devices get improved protection against Android malware
It came to light earlier this year that a virus was attacking Fire TV devices because of an Android-based vulnerability relating to ADB (Android Debug Bridge) connections. But part of the newest software update, 5.2.6.6, should make things a lot more secure, no matter how you've been playing around with your device's developer options.
Alexa hands-free mode is available on Fire 7 and 8 HD tablets
If you own an Amazon Fire 7 or Fire 8 HD (2017) tablet, then you're in luck because your device just gained a new feature. If your device is connected to power and/or the screen is in use, you can use the device for smart home voice control thanks to Alexa. The software update that will enable the hands-free Alexa feature is currently rolling out to devices.
Facebook's Messenger Kids app arrives on Amazon Fire tablets
Facebook launched a Messenger app just for kids this past December, but it was only available on iOS. Now the app is available on Amazon's app store for Fire tablets as well. While it might not help counter the current worries over connected gadget addiction, the app has some built-in features to help limit kids exposure to undesirable content and people.
HP lost key historical archives in California's wildfires
There's no question that California's recent wildfires are ultimately a human tragedy, destroying homes and upturning lives. Please donate if you can. However, they've also represented a loss for technology history. The Press Democrat has learned that fire in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove region destroyed key archives of HP's namesake founders, William Hewlett and David Packard, earlier in October. The blaze destroyed correspondence, writing and other artifacts held at the headquarters of Keysight Technologies, a company with HP origins that took ownership of the archives in 2014. While a large chunk of HP's archives are stored elsewhere (such as with HP spinoff Agilent), this wiped out a significant amount of irreplaceable personal material.
Amazon Fire HD 10 review (2017): A $150 tablet that's actually good
It's hard to get excited about an Android tablet in 2017. Samsung is still trying to take on the iPad with its premium Galaxy Tab S lineup, and there are countless slates from other companies that seem more obligatory than innovative. Mostly it boils down to one thing: Google hasn't done much to make Android tablet-friendly. That makes Amazon's newest Fire HD 10 tablet all the more special. It features a great 10-inch screen, it's fast enough to run plenty of apps, and, most important, it costs just $150/£150.
Uber leased recalled cars to drivers in Singapore (updated)
Uber's troubles just keep on coming. A new report in The Wall Street Journal today says that the ride-sharing company knowingly leased recalled Honda Vezel sport-utility vehicles to Uber drivers. According to the Journal, Uber managers in the region were aware of the recall, but still bought and leased more than 1,000 of the Vezels to drivers in Singapore. This past January, says the report, one of the leased Vezels caught fire, melted the interior and cracked a football-sized hole in the windshield, all due to the same recalled electrical part.
Amazon's Alexa comes to Fire tablets in the UK
If Amazon's upgraded Fire tablet range has left your slate looking a little dated, we have some good news: Alexa is coming. The online retail giant confirmed today that when its new Alexa-equipped Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets arrive early next month, it will push an update to older devices, allowing you to get to grips with the fully-integrated AI assistant.
Amazon's Fire tablets get a little thinner and a little faster
If you grabbed a person in the street and asked them when Amazon releases new tablets, you'd expect them to shout "September-ish!" before calling the calls. After all, the company has released a new Fire HD slate in late September or early October for pretty much the last five years. So it's a little surprising to see Amazon pulling the dust sheets off its updated lineup of tablets in May.
Fitbit says that Flex 2 didn't explode on its own
Wisconsin resident Dina Mitchell said she suffered second-degree burns on her arm after her Fitbit Flex 2 suddenly caught fire on Tuesday, while she was reading a book. Today, Fitbit says that didn't happen.
A Fitbit Flex 2 reportedly exploded on woman's arm
Dina Mitchell was reading a book on Tuesday in her Wisconsin home when the Fitbit Flex 2 on her wrist exploded, causing second-degree burns, she told ABC News. Mitchell reportedly tore the device off of her arm as it was still on fire, and doctors had to remove melted plastic and rubber from the wound. She said she had worn the Flex 2 for about two weeks before the explosion.
Color-changing hair dye responds to your environment
Just because you want to color your hair doesn't mean you want the same color all the time. Wouldn't it be nice if it could change with the weather, or whether or not you're inside? You might get your wish. The Unseen has developed a color-changing hair dye, Fire, that reacts to shifts in temperature -- it could be red outside and revert to a more natural color indoors. The carbon-based molecules in the dye alter their light absorption when they're subjected to temperature changes, producing different colors that you can reverse just by heading somewhere new.
Samsung factory fire triggered by discarded batteries
Samsung just can't catch a break when it comes to batteries. The company reports that faulty lithium batteries and other waste products triggered a minor fire at a Samsung SDI factory in Tianjin, China on February 8th. No one was hurt, the company says, and it's largely business as usual at the plant. You won't have to worry about (further) delays for the Galaxy S8, then.
