Fleet
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Twitter fixing 'fleets' bug that showed messages after they disappeared
Twitter is fixing a bug with 'fleets' that let you see them after they were supposed to disappear.
Twitter tests 'Fleets' that delete themselves after 24 hours
Twitter is finally dipping its toe into ephemeral content. The company is testing a new feature, called "fleets," which allows users to to post tweets that automatically disappear after 24 hours. For now, the experimental feature is only live in Brazil, but Twitter says it could eventually land in other countries. If fleets do end up becoming widely available, it could fundamentally alter how people interact on Twitter.
Electrify America will use robots to charge self-driving EVs
As self-driving and electric vehicles advance, one fundamental question remains: How will autonomous EVs connect to charging stations? Volkswagen-backed Electrify America and Stable Auto hope to answer that. The two companies are working together to develop robotic charging stations for self-driving vehicle fleets.
Inboard's electric scooters will only be available for shared fleets
Last fall, electric skateboard startup Inboard Technology announced plans for its first electric scooter. Dubbed the Glider, consumers could pre-order the device with a $349 deposit placed toward the $1,299 price tag. Now, according to The Verge, Inboard is backing off of plans for a consumer version of the Glider and is refunding the 1,500 people who put down deposits on the new ride. Instead, Inboard plans to focus on making electric scooters for shared fleets.
Paris launches world's biggest e-bike fleet to curb pollution
Residents of Paris and its suburbs may soon have access to up to 20,000 electric bicycles. Public transit company Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is launching an e-bike renting scheme called Véligo with 10,000 e-bikes to start with. If that works out, IDFM will expand to 20,000, which would make it the world's largest electric bike rental system.
Amazon is buying 100 electric Mercedes delivery vans
Amazon is the latest company adding electric vehicles to its fleet. The e-commerce juggernaut has ordered 100 of Mercedes-Benz's eVito transit vans, which Mercedes says will hit the market next year. While the vans' range might seem limited (150 - 100 Km, depending on the use conditions; 62 miles - 92 miles) that covers a lot of ground in a city environment. A full charge will take six hours, and Amazon's eVito deployment will take place by the end of next year, according to a statement from Mercedes.
UK National Grid plans superfast country-wide EV charging network
Range anxiety could soon be a thing of the past for electric vehicle drivers in the UK, as National Grid is proposing a network of superfast charging points that would mean 90 percent of motorists would always be within 50 miles of a charging station. The strategically-placed points would offer up to 350KW of power, drawn directly from the country's high-voltage power grid, which is managed by the company, and could charge a car in between five and 12 minutes -- much faster than the 20 to 40 minutes it currently takes.
Peugeot embraces electric cars in bid to return to US market
Carmaker Peugeot has announced a raft of ambitious plans that will see it re-enter the US market and offer an all-electric fleet by 2025. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, Peugeot chief executive Carlos Tavares said the company plans to use its recent acquisition of GM's European Opel and Vauxhall operations as a springboard for global expansion -- namely into the US, which it left over 20 years ago due to competition from Japan.
Uber orders up to 24,000 Volvo SUVs for its self-driving fleet
Uber has just taken another big step from a ride-sharing service to a transportation provider. It announced that it will buy up to 24,000 Volvo XC90s, marking the first major vehicle fleet purchase by a ride-hailing service. Uber will take delivery of the SUVs between 2019 and 2021, then equip them with its own sensors and tech, allowing it to do fully autonomous, driver-free passenger rides. "This new agreement puts us on a path toward mass-produced, self-driving vehicles at scale," Uber's Jeff Miller told Bloomberg.
Waymo inches closer to driverless car launch with repair deal
Google's spin-off company Waymo has hired AutoNation, America's largest auto retailer, to maintain and repair its fleeting of driverless vehicles around the country, AutoNation said in a press release. That represents a very positive step for Waymo toward its driverless car and possible ride-sharing launch. "AutoNation will help assure that Waymo vehicles are always in top condition as we bring fully self-driving cars to the public," Waymo CEO John Krafcik said.
Elon Musk confirms satellite plans, announcement '2 - 3 months away'
This weekend the Wall Street Journal published rumors linking everyman billionaire Elon Musk to an internet-via-satellite project and tonight he addressed those rumors. In a tweet Musk said his company SpaceX is "in the early stages of developing advanced micro-satellites operating in large formations." We'll have to wait for more details though, as he said an announcement is a couple of months away. The rumors suggest Musk is working with Greg Wyler, formerly of Google / O3b Networks, to launch a total of 700 satellites. The difference between their satellites and others in use would be the size of the fleet -- 10x the size of the largest currently in orbit -- and the size of the satellites, which would be much smaller than those currently used for communications. If it all comes together, expect to see states bidding (again) for the right to build Musk's next big thing, and takes on competition from Google (with satellites and balloons) and Facebook (drones) to extend the internet's reach from above. Update: In follow up tweets, Musk said the drones could provide "unfettered" internet, at very low cost, and that several points in the initial WSJ report were wrong. [Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
UK government weighs Tesla's Model S for its £5 million electric vehicle fleet
Despite costing £17,000 ($29,000) per car more than it budgeted, the UK government is weighing the purchase of Model S EVs for its fleet, according to Tesla. In an effort to go green, the UK said it wants to buy 150 electric cars for government mucky-mucks, following the lead of China, which mandated that 30 percent of its fleet must run on electrons. Unfortunately, the budget is £5 million ($8.5 million) for all 150 cars, or about £33,000 per vehicle -- and the Tesla Model S currently runs about £50,000 ($85,000) in the UK. That compares to about £30,000 for BMW's i3 (excluding the gas-powered range extender), another likely competitor. However, the Tesla has one large advantage: it can run about 250 miles on a charge, where the BMW can only go 81 miles. As Bidness Etc put it, that's at least two round trips between PM David Cameron's country retreat and his 10 Downing Street workplace -- though we imagine he'll stick with the armored Jag anyway.
Captain's Log: Fleets for new players in Star Trek Online
Once again it's time to delve into tips and tricks for new players in this week's Captain's Log. I'm quite happy to say that many of these previous columns are still very popular and generate a lot of feedback. This week I will endeavor to help new Star Trek Online (and MMO) players with questions I've received via email about the pros and cons of joining a fleet. All MMOs have social groups, most called guilds. In Star Trek Online these groups are appropriately referred to as fleets due to the naval structure of the factional militaries. These social groups are extremely diverse, as diverse as the people who play the game. The trick is finding the right fit.
EVE Evolved: Odyssey 1.1 and PvP balance
It's been just under three months since EVE Online's exploration-focused Odyssey expansion went live, bringing in a new hacking minigame and significantly buffing the underused tier 1 and tier 2 battleships. With a complete rebalancing all of the tech 1 sub-capital ships now complete, CCP has turned its attention to some of the oldest tech 2 ships in the game: Heavy Assault Ships and Command Ships. Developers have been testing out changes to these ships on the test server and hitting up players for feedback since Odyssey went live, and the results are finally ready to deploy. Odyssey 1.1 will go live in two days time on September 3rd and contains some pretty big changes that are sure to shake up the PvP landscape. Medium-sized long-range weapons have been buffed beyond all recognition, and a buff to active tanking may soon make it viable in PvP. Heavy Assault Ships and Command Ships have been beefed up, the Dominix is getting a small nerf following its absolute dominance in the Alliance Tournament, and the Nosferatu energy vampire module may be about to make a return to PvP setups. In this week's EVE Evolved, I analyse the upcoming Odyssey 1.1 patch and what the new ship balance changes mean for the average player.
EVE Evolved: A guide to roles in fleet PvP
It seems as if every time the topic of PvP comes up in an EVE Online news post or article, a few people will chime in with stories of their horrible experiences with it. This seems almost baffling to me, as I would say EVE offers the best PvP experience in the entire MMO genre. It soon becomes apparent that we aren't playing the same game and that their experience is one of helpless newbies being ganked by evil blobs of bad guys. If that describes your first few days in the depths of space, you may well have missed out on some incredible fights. For me, PvP in EVE means fleet warfare; it's all about co-ordinated groups of players hunting around the map for other fleets they can probably defeat while avoiding all the larger fish that will swallow them whole. The players on PvP ops are always itching for action, but a good fleet commander will carefully weigh enemy fleets and be sure to engage only when he thinks he has the upper hand. Figuring out ways to fight above your weight or look weaker than you are play an important role in the PvP metagame, turning EVE into a kind of intergalactic game of poker played by fleet commanders using their pilots as betting chips. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at all the different roles that make a successful fleet and what you'll need to fill that role.
Cryptic introduces Dilithium Mine Outpost to Star Trek Online
Earlier this month, Cryptic hinted at some big changes to fleet holding projects in Star Trek Online. Executive producer Daniel Stahl went on the record in the company's Ask Cryptic column and explained that the STO team had something planned involving "dilithium-based mechanics." Today's dev blog finally explained what all that means: Starting soon, fleets will have the option of working on the Dilithium Mine, a brand-new fleet outpost. The Dilithium Mine features both indoor and outdoor environments and is accessible through the Beta Ursae Block or through an unlockable transwarp. If you play Star Trek Online, those are probably words that make sense to you. The mine's appearance will change as fleet members upgrade its facilities by following its three progression tracks. Completing the main progression track for the Dilithium Mine will reward fleets with discounts on project dilithium input costs, new construction projects, daily missions, and a daily repeatable that allows fleet members to refine ore beyond their normal cap. The sub tracks offer a variety of bonuses, mostly related to discounts on fleet projects. Fleets will have access to the Dilithium Mine the moment it goes live but will need to reach the first tier of its main track before being granted access to the physical space.
The Think Tank: What do you look for in a guild?
Guilds are what make MMOs. It's that social interaction among real people that defines a massively multiplayer experience, but our guild preferences differ greatly. Some of us like to stick with the same guild throughout multiple games, some of us only play with real-life friends, and some of us seek out new guilds as part of the adventure in each new game. The Massively staff is certainly no different as we all have our own way of interacting with guilds in the MMOs we love so much. How do you think each team member likes his or her social interaction? Follow along after the jump to find out.
Captain's Log: STO's fleet advancement and reputation systems
In my continuing efforts to mark time until we all find out what the blazes the most recent teasers for Star Trek Online's upcoming March Beneath the Raptor's Wings are hinting at, this column is going to delve into two huge new tech developments the game has seen since its free-to-play conversion. Many players are just now coming back to Star Trek Online after a prolonged absence and have asked me to touch on some of the changes the game has seen in the past two years. Seasons Six and Seven saw the release of the fleet advancement and reputation systems. Both of the new systems work on the same basic principles, so let's go over the basics, then touch on each individual system's idiosyncrasies.
Visualized: Google Street View car fleet gets ready to conquer (and map) the world
Ever wonder how Google can make such grandiose claims for the sheer amount of Street View imagery it collects? Here's how. Google's Masrur Odinaev has posted a snapshot of a central mapping car parking lot that shows dozens of the camera-equipped Subaru Imprezas amassed ahead of future runs. While it already represents more Street View cars in one place than anyone outside of Google would normally ever see, what's most impressive is remembering that this addresses just a portion of the entire vehicle mix -- aside from the local cars you don't see in the photo, there are extra units worldwide providing street-level coverage alongside tricycles and underwater expeditions. Odinaev's look reminds us just how much effort is needed to make Street View a common feature -- and that there are are legions of Google staffers whose low-profile work goes a long way towards making our navigation easier.
Toyota plans dialed-back launch of eQ and iQ EV city cars in December
Toyota's just-arrived RAV4 EV will soon get a much smaller cousin -- albeit a very elusive one. An electric version of the iQ city car will arrive in Japan (as the eQ) and the US (as the iQ EV) this December, but the automaker is significantly scaling back its 2010 promises of several thousand cars sold per year to just 100 fleet-oriented vehicles. The charging times, costs and range of EVs "do not meet society's needs," vice chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada says to explain the smaller ambitions. It's easy to understand the cautious approach after seeing the car's final details. While they're not out of line with the specs of other EVs, the eQ's 3-hour fast charge, 62-mile range and ¥3.6 million ($46,130) price wouldn't have regular customers flocking to dealerships. Most of Toyota's energy is instead being funneled into its tried-and-true hybrids, with 21 due on the market by 2015, as well as plans to deliver the company's first hydrogen fuel cell car by the same year. Eco-conscious drivers may be disappointed that Toyota isn't moving as aggressively into a pure electric realm as some of its rivals, but we'd rather see smartly planned baby steps than an overly risky plunge.
