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NYC's next subway cars have WiFi and USB ports built-in
The New York City subway system is gearing up for a major overhaul meant to bring a "modernized look and feel" to lighting, wayfinding and subway cars by the year 2020. At a press conference on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $27 billion, five-year plan to add 1,025 new subway cars, more informative digital screens, better security features and -- most importantly for anyone who needs to get some work done underground – WiFi and USB charging ports in the cars and stations.
Sonos' flagship NYC store hosts a massive wall of speakers
Sonos may be in the middle of a restructuring phase, but it isn't wasting any time rolling out its plans for the near future. Today, the company unveiled its first-ever retail store in New York City. The 4,200 square foot space, located in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, features seven listening rooms designed to let consumers experience Sonos products firsthand. But the most outstanding decor is what you see above, known as The Wall of Sound. It's a 17-by-24-foot installation made up of roughly 300 Sonos speakers, of which eight are plugged in and active.
New York speeds up access to its train ticket mobile app
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority initially promised that smartphone-friendly train ticketing would roll out by the end of 2016, but (unlike some trains) it's ahead of schedule. Governor Cuomo has revealed that the MTA eTix app will be available to all Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers by the end of the summer. The rollout will happen in phases. You can already buy tickets for LIRR's Port Washington Branch and the Metro-North Hudson line. By August 22nd, there should be a "full system wide implementation" on both railways -- you usually won't have to worry about carrying physical tickets as long as you have an Android phone or iPhone.
Solar-powered aircraft completes its flight across the US
Solar Impulse 2 continues its slow creep around the globe, this time completing its journey across the US by landing in New York City. It first arrived in the continental US back in April when the solar-powered aircraft touched down in San Francisco, and now has completed its 14th leg since leaving Abu Dhabi in March of last year. It's not the fastest way to get around -- especially given delays due to battery damage -- but it is very green, which is the whole point. Next up is an Atlantic Ocean crossing, with a destination in either southern Europe or Northern Africa. Check below for video of the latest flight.
NYPD's smartphone program is shortening crime response times
The NYPD Mobility Initiative is paying off in spades for Gotham's police. The force's Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch recently revealed that thanks to the initiative that puts smartphones and tablets in police hands, response times to crimes in progress are down 12.6 percent. Gotham's 36,000 officers are able to arrive at crimes in progress within 4 minutes and 26 seconds. According to a report by the New York Daily News, that's the lowest the responses have been in more than half a decade. That expediency extends to 911 call responses as well. With a dedicated app, the police are able to start moving toward a crime scene before a dispatcher even contacts them.
You can play the new 'Legend of Zelda' early in New York City
You won't be left out of the E3 festivities just because you can't make it to Los Angeles for E3 Live. Nintendo is giving gamers in New York City an opportunity to play The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U between June 14th and June 19th if they're willing to jump through a few hoops. To start, you'll have to show up for a "Super-Fan Signup Day" at Nintendo's New York store on the morning of June 11th to have a chance of playing. If you're one of the 500 people to make the cut, you'll have to line up at the store on June 14th to get a wristband and make an appointment for some hands-on time.
New York City rolls out its first WiFi-equipped buses
When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority promised that New York City's WiFi-packing buses would arrive sometime in the second or third quarter of this year, it was clearly being cautious -- the first wave of those buses is rolling out today. Visit Queens and you'll see seven internet-savvy people carriers roaming the streets, with a total of 75 in the borough this summer. That's still tiny next to the 2,042 planned buses for the entire city, but it'll be helpful if you just have to get your tablet online when you're in South Jamaica.
Open data reveals dodgy NYPD parking ticket practices
Open data policies in government don't just exist for the sake of convenience -- sometimes, they can reveal serious structural problems. I Quant NY's Ben Wellington took advantage of both New York City's open data and Google Maps to determine that the NYPD was issuing thousands of tickets on streets where parking is legal. While you're allowed to park next to a pedestrian ramp as long as there's no crosswalk, the police issued five or more tickets in 1,966 of these spots over the past 2.5 years. That's over $1.7 million per year in fines against people who were obeying the law.
Uber lets New York City drivers organize, with limits
Although Uber drivers have been organizing for a while, getting Uber to play along with those organizations has been difficult when it doesn't even want to treat workers as full-fledged employees. At last, though, there's some progress. Uber has partnered with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to create the Independent Drivers Guild, the first labor group the ridesharing company officially recognizes. The Guild gives New York City's Uber drivers a collective voice in some issues, particularly when Uber kicks them out. It'll also reduce rates on everything from insurance to legal services.
Google and AOL team up to stop tech talent leaving NYC
New York City may be the Big Apple, but it plays second fiddle to Silicon Valley when it comes to technology. That's why a number of companies located there including (Engadget's parent company) AOL, Bloomberg and, yes, California-based Google and Facebook have formed an advocate association called Tech:NYC. In a blog post, AOL's Tim Armstrong and New York venture capitalist Fred Wilson say "we feel that the NYC tech community deserves a more formal organization to represent itself before local and state governments and the business community and civic sector."
Uber shuts down its Instant Delivery food service in NYC
Uber has pulled the plug on Instant Delivery in New York City. The UberEats feature, which offers pre-set lunch items to be delivered in 10 minutes or less, had been available to people in The Big Apple since last year. But, as of today, that's no longer the case. "In order to bring you the most exciting selection, the highest quality food, and the fastest delivery time, we've decided to narrow our focus," Uber said in an email to users, explaining its decision to move away from that service.
New York's NFC payments for public transit are five years away
The move toward a more futuristic modern New York City is going to be a slow one. The MTA recently opened up the bidding process (PDF) for replacing Gotham's existing MetroCard readers with NFC terminals for busses and trains, but the contracts are expected to last 69 months. So if you were hoping to tap your phone to hitch a ride sometime soon, that won't happen until deep into 2021 at the earliest.
Computers can tell when you've been drunk tweeting
In case the rambling string of misspelled words and incoherent thoughts weren't dead giveaways, scientists have developed a method of machine learning to sniff out drunk tweets. Researchers from the University of Rochester collected 11,000 geotagged tweets over a year from two areas: New York and Monroe County, filtering the 140-character notes containing "drunk," "beer," "party" and other libation-related words. From there the school employed Amazon Mechanical Turks to decide whether the person sending the tweets was simply talking about booze or were actually drinking it while tweeting.
NYC's WiFi-equipped buses will debut in Queens this year
Looks like New Yorkers won't have to wait years before they see those high-tech buses state Governor Andrew Cuomo promised last month. Besides outfitting subway stations with WiFi connections, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is also gearing up to deploy the first 70 WiFi-equipped buses in Queens in the second or third quarter of 2016. The new vehicles will also have up to 55 USB charging ports on board, as well as three LCD screens that flash stop announcements, transfers and other information.
Samsung has a new flagship store where you can't buy anything
Many people like to do their shopping online, but there's something to be said for going to a brick-and-mortar location and actually seeing something before you buy it. With that in mind, Samsung is joining companies like Apple, Microsoft and Nintendo in opening a physical shop to experience its product. But there's one key difference: Samsung won't actually be selling any devices at its new flagship location. Instead, you'll find art exhibits, cooking classes and musical performances in what the company is billing as a cultural center aimed at owners (and prospective owners) of Samsung devices.
Nintendo's flagship store reopens with a new name and new look
In the decade since Nintendo World opened, the store has become a tourist destination, a popular hangout for kids and a mecca for Nintendo fans across the globe. With that last audience in mind, it shut its doors last month so it could be remodeled into something more befitting its status as the world's only Nintendo retail location. And with that new design comes a new name: Nintendo NY.
NYPD used Stingrays over 1,000 times since 2008
Until now, New York City's police department hadn't disclosed any information about whether or not it used so-called Stingrays to monitor cell phone activity. In response to an NYCLU (NYCLU) request, the NYPD admitted that it used the devices over 1,000 times between 2008 and May 2015. What's more, NYPD doesn't have a written policy in place that guides how the tech should be used. As a refresher, Stingrays create a fake 2G cellular network that can be used to track the locations and monitor call or text activity in a certain area. Even when a specific mobile device is targeted, information from other phones in the area is still accessible.
NYC's parking meters are getting a big upgrade this year
Driving in New York City is stressful enough as it is and that's before you have to try finding a parking spot only to realize that you're out of quarters. Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan in place for making the latter easier, however: upgrading Gotham's 85,000 parking meters so they all accept smartphone-based payment systems by year's end. Rather than printing out a slip and putting it on your dashboard, soon you'll be able to just flash your phone at the new Muni-Meters.
Uber's price cuts arrive for New York City passengers
Uber announced price cuts to encourage riders to use the service during the winter months a few weeks ago. Today, the price drop is hitting New York City. Passengers in the Big Apple can expect fares to drop by about 15 percent. For example, getting from Bay Ridge to Sunset park used to cost $10.54 with UberX, and now it'll set you back $8.96. The minimum fare is also reduced from $8 to $7 and other Uber options, like the SUVs on UberXL, are seeing a price drop as well.
New York City won't let you take 'hoverboards' on the subway
Efforts might be underway to legalize "hoverboards" in New York City, but that doesn't mean that you'll get to take them everywhere you go even if they do get the all-clear. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency has banned the self-balancing scooters on buses, trains and stations over their well-publicized fire risks. Also, the MTA is quick to add that it already bans skateboards and other wheeled transport -- this is just a logical extension of that policy. In short, the chances of ever carrying that Swagway on the subway are pretty much zero. [Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images]
