New York City
Latest
The Shed and the art of the flex
The Shed's concept is simple: It's the 120-foot tall building that moves. This idea is both its architectural hallmark and its metaphor for the future of culture. Opening on Friday, New York City's half-billion dollar, hybrid museum-meets-performance space can shapeshift to double its indoor perimeter in five minutes.
Optimus Ride is testing its self-driving shuttle in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
New York City is getting a self-driving shuttle, sort of. Optimus Ride announced plans to deploy its self-driving system at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the second quarter of this year. The vehicles will run in a closed loop on the Navy Yard's private roads. While this is a far cry from self-driving shuttles weaving through Times Square, the company claims this is first commercial self-driving vehicle program in the state of New York.
Verizon plans to roll out its 5G mobile network in 30 cities this year
At Samsung's Unpacked event Wednesday, it emerged Verizon is getting a short-term exclusive on Samsung's first 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 5G. To make sure people can use the handset and other 5G phones as intended, the provider plans to turn on its 5G mobile network in 30 US cities this year.
Tomorrow's firefighters will have near-superhuman abilities
Firefighting gear has evolved continuously since the 1600s to keep pace with the challenges that firefighters face, such as the numerous blazes that are currently ravaging Northern California. During the colonial days, structures routinely burned to the ground because firefighters simply lacked the necessary protection (any protection, really) to enter buildings and fight fires from the inside.
Charmin's ‘Van-Go’ is the on-demand toilet NYC deserves
Everybody's favorite cartoon shit bear (slow your roll there, Mike Isaac), is coming to New York City! On June 21st and 22nd, the Charmin toilet paper company is running a promotional event wherein folks will be able to order an on-demand, mobile port-a-potty in select neighborhoods throughout the city, right from their smartphones.
New York City schools tap Amazon for e-books
The New York City Department of Education has awarded Amazon a $30 million contract to provide digital textbooks to its 1.1 million students over the next three years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
We're having reader meetups tonight in NYC and San Francisco!
You know us, we like to hang out with you, the readers, every chance we get. So let's make that happen tonight in New York City, at the Barcade in Manhattan's East Village, and in San Francisco at the Public House. All you need to do is bring cash for drinks, food and any arcade games you'd like to play. Oh, and we'll have plenty of time for ugly-selfie contests, because why not. You'll find the necessary the details below -- or you could RSVP via Facebook pages for each event (San Francisco and New York).
NYC commits $70 million toward universal broadband
In an ambitious effort to close New York City's digital divide, the De Blasio administration has announced that it's going to spend $70 million bringing high-speed internet access to the city's residents. An estimated 22 percent of New Yorkers overall lack a home internet connection (with that number jumping to 36 percent for the poorest residents), which significantly impacts their social mobility, according to the mayor's office.
The NYPD is trying a more precise gunshot detection system
Zeroing in on the precise source of gunfire is next to impossible in densely packed cities like New York City. Shots reverberate off of building facades, obscuring the shooter's location and costing law enforcement precious response time. But with a newly installed gunshot detection system, the NYPD will know exactly where those shots are coming from.
New York City green-lights the use of Chromebooks in public schools
It's no secret that Chromebooks have been on the rise, especially in classrooms, and now Google has scored another big win: New York City officials just formally approved the use of Chromebooks in public schools. In a statement, Hal Friedlander, Chief Information Office at the New York City Department of Education, said that he gave Chromebooks the OK in part because some schools were already using Google Drive and other Apps for Education. In addition, Friedlander cited all the reasons Google has been pushing Chromebooks to schools in the first place: They're easy to integrate into existing systems, they don't require any additional training for staff and they're easy for IT departments to manage. So no surprises there. Additionally, Friedlander said the Department of Education worked with various Chromebook manufacturers to make sure they met the city's technical requirements. No word on which models made the cut, exactly, but we think you all know by now who the major players are.
NYC's domain on record pace with over 56,000 accounts so far
The history of New York City's top-level domain is still quite young, having only launched in full last month. But, since then, .nyc has already managed to serve up more than 56,000 registrations, making it one of the fastest growing city domains ever -- above Berlin, London, Melbourne, Paris and Tokyo, to mention a few. A representative of .nyc told us there are over 5,000 accounts being registered every week; that's even higher than what the the likes of .london gets, which isn't limited to residents only, unlike The Big Apple's domain.
10 reasons to join us at Engadget #ExpandNY!
It's what you've all been waiting for! Engadget Expand is the place this week. We're taking over the Javits Center in Manhattan on November 7th and 8th. We're pretty damn excited for what's on tap this year, and we think you should be too. But, in case you need convincing read on for 10 reasons to get pumped.
Engadget Expand is all about you. And us. But really, you.
Engadget Expand is our annual event that's all about you -- our fans. It's not your typical tech conference that's priced for people fortunate to have an expense account. We make the event completely FREE thanks to our generous sponsors, giving you the chance to experience the future -- right now. And while you're at it, you get to meet your favorite Engadget editors. When you join us at the Javits Center North in New York City next week on November 7-8, you'll be set loose on our show floor. You can check out some of our exhibitors and get your hands on gadgets that people can't buy yet (or in some cases, build your own in our workshops), head to our Expand stage and hear from some smart and inspiring people and so much more.
What's up with Engadget Expand?
We're just two weeks away from our free Engadget Expand event, taking place at New York City's Javits Center on November 7th and 8th and there's still so much to tell you about. If you can't join us in person, don't worry -- we'll keep you updated throughout the weekend with dispatches from the show floor and our livestream here on Engadget.
NYPD is getting equipped with over 40,000 mobile devices
Thanks to a massive $160 million investment, the New York City Police Department is on its way to receive a combination of up to 41,000 smartphones and tablets. Known as the NYPD Mobility Initiative, which will be mostly financed by criminal asset funds provided by the Manhattan DA's Office, the goal is to provide the the city's law enforcement with tools that can improve and streamline their overall workflow. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said there are a few key elements to this plan, such as offering better case support for detectives, providing features including real-time 911 data, enhanced database access for patrol staff, quick entry points to info like Amber Alerts and email accounts for every officer.
Engadget and JetBlue will beam you to Expand!
We're sending one lucky Engadget reader (and a guest of choice) to Engadget Expand in New York City on November 7-8, thanks to our friends at JetBlue Airways and our sponsors. What's more, if you're one of the 10 runners-up, Suitable Technologies will give you a block of time to mosey around the Expand floor remotely with its BeamPro device.
NYC brings carrier and WiFi coverage to more subway stations
For the most part, New York City's underground transportation system is solid and reliable. It gets locals from point A to point B with ease, and that's the only thing which should matter -- never mind the strange things that occasionally transpire while commuting. Having said this, a large number of subway stations still lack any sort of network coverage, making it nearly impossible for people to do basic tasks on their mobile devices, like getting on a phone call or browsing the web. Thankfully, it's about to get better for residents of The Big Apple, plus the more than 50 million people who visit the city every year. Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said wireless connectivity is now available at 40 additional underground platforms, including 11 in Manhattan and 29 in Queens.
Here's what you need to know about Engadget Expand, so far
We've talked a lot about Engadget Expand so far (you know, that free event we're holding at the Javits Center in NYC on November 7th and 8th). It's time we got you caught up on who's speaking (and when), who's exhibiting on the show floor, what's up with Insert Coin and finally, the winner of our 'In The City' sweepstakes. Let's get started.
New York City residents can now get their own .nyc domain
NYC announced last year that its residents, including businesses and government entities, would be able to get a custom domain to match the place they call home -- something London has done as well. With the first two phases of the rollout now complete, which gave first dibs to city officials and trademark owners, it's finally time for the general availability of top-level domains for New York City. In order to qualify, you'll need to show proof that you live within one of the five boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, The Bronx and Queens). To make things easier, NYC teamed up with over 50 registrars, among which are GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Domain.com and Name.com, with prices per domain ranging anywhere from $25 to $50. They're on a first come, first served basis, however, so hurry if you're interested.
NYC now has hundreds of ad beacons in phone booths (update: mayor orders them removed)
Buzzfeed has learned that New York City allowed hundreds of bluetooth beacons to be installed without public consultation, a decision that has roused the ire of privacy groups. Outdoor ad outfit Titan installed around 500 Gimbal beacons in phone booths around Manhattan, skirting normal red tape by saying they were deployed for maintenance purposes only. However, it admitted it's also using them to decide when to rotate ad panels and recently pushed smartphone ads to Tribeca Film Festival participants. The devices can also pick up location and time data, though Titan told the NY Daily News that it is "absolutely, categorically not" doing so unless users opt in and install a third-party app.
