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All NYC subway stations will have cell service by January 9th
When officials recently vowed that all New York City underground subway stations would have cellular coverage sometime in early 2017, they weren't joking. Governor Cuomo has revealed that all active stations will have service from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon on January 9th. That's on top of WiFi, which went live just before 2016 came to a close. The only exceptions are four stations that are either in mid-renovation or about to go through renovations, but they'll have live service as soon as the makeovers are finished.
MIT: Carpooling services could replace most NYC cabs
Researchers have proved mathematically what you probably already knew: Carpooling services are more efficient, less polluting and less costly than traditional taxis. Using data from three million New York City taxi rides, a team from from MIT's CSAIL computer science lab found that just 3,000 vehicles from services like UberPOOL and Lyft Line could replace NYC's 14,000 strong cab fleet. What's more, they'd reduce congestion by three times, barely impact travel times, and you'd only have to wait an average of 2.7 minutes for a ride.
All New York City underground subway stations now have WiFi
Officials vowed that all of New York City's underground subway stations would have WiFi by the end of 2016, and they're meeting that goal... if only at the very last minute. As of New Year's Eve, every one of the 279 stations now has internet access thanks to Transit Wireless. WiFi is a long time in coming (the first stations went online in 2011), but it's important if you either have spotty phone reception or a WiFi-only device that would otherwise go dark.
New York City now lets you pay for parking with your phone
New York City is making good on its promise to have smarter parking meters before 2016 is over. As of December 19th, the first ParkNYC-capable Muni-Meters are live in midtown Manhattan -- you can now pay for parking through a smartphone app (or the web, or a call) instead of fishing for cards and coins. While you'll need to load a virtual wallet, you can extend your parking if you're in danger of running out. The days of racing to the meter to top it up will soon be over, then, but so are the days of pleading with traffic officers when you're a little too late.
Book your next workout right from a Google search
Google's been transforming Search for a bit, making it easier to find TV listings, restaurant menus and plan a vacation. Next up the internet juggernaut is making it easier to book a sweat session -- and maybe more than that in the future. For now though, Reserve With Google handles yoga and fitness classes in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City. And, you guessed it, the feature will come to Maps and Search in short order.
Mozilla helped build a gallery-style exhibit on data security
For a few moments after stepping in from the cold, it was easy to forget I wasn't in a ritzy SoHo holiday pop-up shop. The room was stark white. Cheerful staffers huddled around display tables in matching hoodies. It wasn't until I spotted a set of tomes filled with stolen LinkedIn passwords -- just feet away from a pair of Air Yeezy 2s purchased off the deep web by an automated bot, naturally -- that the space's true purpose became clear. Welcome to the Glass Room.
Airbnb drops its lawsuit against New York
Some of Airbnb's larger US legal battles are winding down quickly. In the wake of a settlement with the state, the rental listings company is dropping a lawsuit against New York that fought a ban on short-term rentals where the tenant isn't present. State assembly member Linda Rosenthal describes this as a victory over a "foolhardy and frivolous" complaint, although there is a degree of compromise involved. Officials won't aim to directly punish Airbnb, Rosenthal says. While they'd never intended to single out Airbnb in the first place, the focus will instead be on the people abusing services for bootleg hotels and similarly sketchy operations.
Former Uber drivers can appeal bans in New York City
If Uber kicks out a driver, that's usually all she wrote. They have to look for new work, even if the final offense was something beyond their control. In New York City, however, it's a different story. A newly instituted appeals process, the result of negotiations with the Independent Drivers Guild, will let ex-drivers challenge certain bans and potentially resume their ridesharing. They'll face a panel of five other drivers (jointly picked by the Guild and Uber) who can reverse deactivations where there's some room for dispute, such as excessive cancellations or passing on too many rides.
Snapchat Spectacles are available in New York City
You knew it was just a matter of time -- after stops in California and Oklahoma, Snapchat is now selling Spectacles in New York City. If you can make it to 5 East 59th Street in upper midtown Manhattan (conveniently facing Apple's iconic 5th Avenue store) and can afford to queue up, you too can score up to two pairs of the purposefully hard-to-get $130 camera glasses. The store will stick around through New Year's Eve, although it'll unsurprisingly be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
New York City's free gigabit WiFi comes to Brooklyn
LinkNYC's free, gigabit-grade WiFi is all over large chunks of New York City, but there's a conspicuous Brooklyn-sized gap... or rather, there was. The communication network has switched on its first two Brooklyn kiosks, both of them on Fulton Street in the Bed-Stuy area. Don't worry about having to visit a small part of the borough to get no-cost internet access, though. There are nine other Brooklyn hotspots due to go online in the weeks ahead, including some near LIU-Brooklyn and Prospect Park.
Nike's new store in New York City is loaded with tech
SoHo is one of the trendiest neighborhoods in New York City. It's home to hundreds of shops from some of the most popular brands, including Apple, Adidas and, as of last month, Google. Now you can add Nike to this list. On November 18th, the sportswear giant will open a five-story 55,000-square-foot space loaded with technology, from 3D-printed decorations (pictured above) to a Kinect-powered basketball court. There are also other simple, yet useful, things such as Apple Pay support and large touchscreens on walls that help you call an associate or buy products on the spot.
Microsoft will hold a Windows 10 event October 26th
It has been a busy few weeks for the big tech companies making major announcements and we're not done yet. Microsoft announced today that it will host a Windows 10 event October 26th in New York City at 10:00 AM ET. The company didn't get into specifics on the invite or social media posts, but if it's keeping an yearly update timeline for new Surface Pros, perhaps we'll see a new model later this month. The Surface Pro 4 was revealed in early October last year after all. Of course, there's sure to be some discussion on the latest developments for Windows 10 as well, and we'll be there to bring you all the news live as it happens.
Flywheel's phone-based taxi meter arrives in NYC
Flywheel is giving taxis in New York City the modern touch. The company is bringing its software meter and app-based hailing system to the Big Apple after its initial release in a handful of cities last year. TaxiOS puts a cab's navigation, payment, meter and dispatch system on a single phone. It can automatically calculate fares, including tolls, split the total amount between passengers, accept credit card and cash payments and email receipts to customers. Plus, it will allow taxis in the city to accept app payments made through Flywheel's Uber-like ride-hailing app even if you flag them down in the street.
Uber adds an advance booking option in NYC
Hailing an Uber is pretty straightforward. You launch the app, choose a pickup location and hit the "request" button. Easy. Uber's simplicity has been to the detriment of flexibility, however. For the longest time, you couldn't schedule a ride in advance -- say, if you were planning for an early flight, or an important work meeting. That's now changing, however. Following roll-outs in Seattle, London, and other parts of the UK, Uber is bringing its early booking system to New York City. Starting today, you can hail a ride anywhere between 15 minutes and 30 days in advance.
New York: Don't use your Galaxy Note 7 on the subway
Samsung just can't catch a break. On top of aviation regulators and safety officials warning against using pre-recall versions of the Galaxy Note 7, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority now says that Note 7 owners are "urged" against using or charging their phone on buses and trains. You should turn it off before entering the station, the MTA says. This isn't a formal ban, but it's safe to say that you'll be a persona non grata if the Authority catches you using the fire-prone handset on the subway.
NYC's firefighters will use drones to make their jobs safer
New York City's firefighters have a new ally that could help keep them safe: drones. They've begun testing a small, fire-engine red unmanned aerial vehicle that can take both standard and infrared images and videos. The $85,000 machine will send footage to commanders in real-time, giving them the information they need to quickly come up with the best possible response.
New York's Bryant Park is tracking visitor behavior
Like any other potential advertising space, New York City's Bryant Park needs information about its visitors in order to attract potential sponsors. To gather that information, the private Bryant Park Corporation, which runs the city-owned park, has announced a new partnership with data analytics firm PlaceIQ allowing the BPC to glean anonymized data from visitors' mobile phones that can be used to create a generalized picture of the parkgoers and their movement or buying habits.
Iconic NY store's extensive Mac collection is up for auction
Tekserve, a landmark New York City Apple dealer and repair center for 29 years, closed this week and is auctioning off its huge collection of computers and other tech. The centerpiece is a 35-piece (mostly) Macintosh collection from its Mac Museum, which only includes groundbreaking or special models and "consciously omits variants." Highlights include a 128K Macintosh signed by Steve Wozniak, a Lisa and a NeXTcube. So far, the top bid is $31,000.
Cult classic 'Indigo Prophecy' gets a new PS4 release date
Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream has announced that one of its earlier pseudo-cinematic games, Indigo Prophecy, will be released for PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Store on August 9th. It will arrive as a PS2-to-PS4 game so it won't be fully remastered, but this version will still support Trophies. The game was originally supposed to come out on Sony's console in July, but was held up for unknown reasons.
A digital 'totem' leads the way in one of New York's oldest museums
Museums, for all the wonders they contain, have a reputation for being staid and musty. At their worst they've even been described as mausoleums. That's a problem when it comes to exhibits about an active, living culture like the Haida people of British Columbia. The American Museum of Natural History has taken it upon itself to change that perception of the native groups of the Pacific Northwest, implementing new technologies in its oldest hall to educate millions of visitors about these thousands of people living on the other side of the continent.
