Category: Technology

Mowing your lawn can be a therapeutic hobby, but it can also be a nightmare if you don’t find the time (or willpower) to start that old drawstring mower. Fortunately, for those of us willing to part with a few bucks, there are now robotic lawnmowers that take the time and pain out of seasonal lawn maintenance. A battery-powered, solid robo-mower can learn to cut your lawn inside and out, quickly, quietly and according to a schedule you have created.

We review the best robotic lawn mowers of 2020 with their top features. For our list, we consider the quality of services in some categories, such as: B. Noise level, automatic sensors and adjustability of the blades.

Worx WR140

This Worx model shows a strong understanding of what the average buyer needs from a reliable robotic lawnmower. First, they need a reasonable price: a lot of people interested in a robotic lawnmower don’t want to spend thousands of dollars, especially if they’re not sure how exactly it will work. Second, buyers are looking for bots that can handle relatively small spaces very neatly. The WR140 meets these requirements because it’s a sub $ 1,000 mower that does a really good job on lawns no larger than a quarter acre.

The mower is designed to follow a schedule based on the information you provide in the app about your lawn. Light layers are cut that do not have to be emptied or collected. If necessary, you can still adjust the cutting height. The “Cut to Edge” design helps the knives mow as close to the lawn’s edges as possible so you don’t get those pesky stragglers on the flower beds, and there’s a handy warning feature to notify you when your mower leaves the lawn Space that indicates a performance problem or that someone is tampering with the device (every good robotic lawnmower should have this feature).

Not the most powerful bot at 20V, but it has the features a lawn owner needs, including auto battery charging and the ability to climb 20 degree hills. The sensors keep it from colliding with anything surprising, and you can also use included magnetic strips to surround certain items to help the bot avoid that area. All in all that Worx WR140 is a great mower bot for first-time bot cutters.

Robomow RS630

We tested the Robomow RS630 a few years ago and it is still one of the leading robotic lawnmowers, although the price is a bit high. For larger and more complex yards, however, you’ll need a little more lawnmowers than the Worx above. The Robomow RS630 can handle yards up to three quarters of an acre and sloped yards up to 20 degrees, making this unit ideal for most yard types. It also has a rain sensor to prevent mowing in bad weather and automatic charging when the mower is low on power.

With an operational decibel range of up to 78 dB, the Robomow RS630 is certainly louder than the Husqvarna Automower 450X (our next recommendation), but significantly quieter than the average lawnmower.

Husqvarna Automower 450X

The Husqvarna Automower 450X covers most lawns – up to 1.25 hectares. While other models on this list have softer lines and warmer, matte color schemes, the Automower 450X has a glossier RoboCop 2 construction and looks downright menacing in your front yard.

As with the other models, you must “fence” the area around your lawn and garden before you start mowing. However, you can also customize the map of your farm through the app to mark additional zones to avoid. This is necessary for trenches or rougher areas where the mower may have difficulty traction.

You can set mowing times over the course of a specific month so that the model can trim as regularly or as minimally as desired. Regular mowing minimizes clippings and ensures a cleaner garden.

Perhaps the best feature, however, is its quiet operation. Rated at just 58 decibels, the Husqvarna Automower 450X is about as loud as an air conditioner. If you really wanted to, you could probably get away with mowing in the middle of the night without waking the neighbors.

Honda Miimo HRM520

It’s really no surprise that Honda – the company that brought us Asimo – was one of the pioneering manufacturers of robotic lawn care. Overall, the Miimo HRM520 is one of our most popular offers on the market with its 3-quarter acre mowing capacity and an impressive mowing ability of up to 25 degrees.

With the HRM520 app, you can adjust the cutting height, start or stop the device and manage a calendar from your smartphone. This model uses an innovative “continuous cutting system” in which the machine cuts your lawn about an inch several times a week. Honda says this promotes better growth and overall health for the farm compared to infrequent and larger cuts.

These routine lawn sections also adapt to the seasonal variations in grass growth. Whenever thicker sections of grass are detected, it adapts quickly to allow for more accurate cuts. The Honda Miimo HRM520’s three landscape sensors enable it to detect and avoid potential obstacles.

Husqvarna 115H Connect

The Husqvarna 315X is versatile, providing lawn maintenance for properties with half an acre or less, slopes of 22 degrees or less, and grass heights of 2.4 inches or less. The battery is charged for one hour and ten minutes and can be controlled via a smartphone app. Another great benefit of this mower is the LCD panel which allows you to adjust the controls as needed.

Command technology is the premier feature that makes the Husqvarna 115H Connect one of the best voice command technologies out there. A big advantage for voice command lovers is that this mower can be easily connected to Google Assistant and Alexa. With your commands you can start, stop, park, set how long the mower runs, pause and much more.

Are you looking for more lawn tools? We have found the best lawn sprinklers, weed killers and leaf blowers for your garden.

Editor’s recommendations

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Welcome to the latest edition of Pardon The Intrusion, TNW’s bi-weekly newsletter in which we explore the wild world of security.

Google Project zeroThe elite team of insect hunters does not need an introduction.

The white hat hackers were good at finding something Bug in Android and iOS, but that’s impressive new disclosure by Ian Beer beats everything that came before.

Beer spent six months of his lockdown single-handedly devising a method that would allow iPhones to be remotely hijacked. This shows that with just one Raspberry Pi, commercially available WiFi adapters that cost a total of $ 100 and a few lines of code available are possible for a remote attacker too Take full control from any iPhone nearby.

What’s more impressive is that multiple vulnerabilities don’t have to be chained together to fully control an iPhone, Beer explained in a 30,000 word magnum opus.

The exploit “uses a single memory corruption vulnerability to compromise the flagship iPhone 11 Pro,” allowing a villain to “view all photos, read all email, copy all private messages, and monitor everything that happens” [the device] Real time.”

The bugs Beer discovered while developing this chain of exploits were all fixed before iOS 13.5 was released earlier this year.

But, as Beer wrote in his post, the takeaway here should be: “A person working alone in their bedroom has been able to develop a skill that allows them to seriously become iPhone users they’ve come in close contact with endanger. “

Patrick Wardle, a senior security researcher at Jamf, described Beer’s Lockdown Project as “Artwork. ”

What’s the trend in terms of security?

Google News app for Android, Facebook patched a critical problem in its Messenger app for Android, which could allow an attacker to eavesdrop on callers, and Twitter was introduced Support for two-factor authentication with physical security keys.

• In a big win for privacy and security, Google has announced that it will expand its messaging app for Android to include end-to-end encryption, starting with one-on-one calls between users of the app. [Google]
• Swiss lawmakers raised concerns after reports that a country-based encryption company called Omnisec was allegedly used as a Trojan horse by US and German intelligence agencies to spy on governments around the world. [AFP]
• Facebook has patched a critical problem in his messenger app for Android, which could have allowed a hacker to call you and listen before you answered the call. It’s similar to a security flaw in FaceTime that Apple quickly fixed last year. [Google Project Zero]
• Researchers at the University of Leuven in Belgium found flaws in the keyless entry system of the Tesla Model X, which would have allowed attackers to steal the car within minutes. This is the third such attack on Tesla’s key chain. [IMEC]
• Symantec researchers engaged Chinese threat actor APT10 (also known as Stone Panda and Cicada) for a year to steal sensitive data from numerous Japanese companies and their subsidiaries. [Symantec]
• T.The hacking group known as APT32 or OceanLotus has set up a new MacOS backdoor that gives attackers a window into the compromised computer, allowing them to search and steal confidential information and confidential business documents. [Trend Micro]
• Security engineer and bug hunter Ashar Javed is on the lookout for 365 security holes in Microsoft Office 365. [Vice]
• North Korean hackers attempted to destroy UK drug maker AstraZeneca’s systems using LinkedIn and WhatsApp to send out bogus job postings containing malware as national threat actors continue to target health organizations working on COVID-19 vaccine research. [Reuters]
• Just like that Pitfalls of privacy The Australian Inspector General for Intelligence and Security (IGIS) found that the country’s espionage agencies “randomly” collected data from the country’s COVIDSafe contact tracking app for the first six months of operation. However, the data has not been decrypted, accessed or used. [iTnews]
• Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University in the Negev described a new form of “cyber biological attack” that could allow a malicious actor to compromise a biologist’s computer in order to inject pathogenic substrings into DNA sequences and deliver dangerous viruses and toxins develop. [ZDNet / ESET]
• Twitter added support for two-factor authentication using hardware security keys. [Twitter]
• The last 14 days of data breaches, leaks and ransomware: Advantech, Belden, Embraer, Spotify, US fertilityand the personal data of 16 million Brazilian COVID-19 patients.

Data point

According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky’s IT Threat Evolution Report For the third quarter of 2020, cyber criminals are resorting to the spread of malware containing the names of popular streaming platforms to trick users into downloading.

“Typically, backdoors and other Trojans are downloaded when users try to gain access in an unofficial way – by buying discounted accounts, getting a ‘hack’ to keep their free trial running, or trying on a free subscription to access. “

Between January 2019 and April 8, 2020, Trojans made up 47.23% of all malware camouflaged under the names of popular streaming platforms.

That’s it. I’ll see you all in two weeks. Stay safe!

Delighted x TNW (enthusiastic[at]the next web[dot]With)

Read Next: How to Set Your Google Photos Pictures as Live Wallpaper for Android

Now is the time of year to find the best bargains on electronics of all kinds. Cyber ​​Week offers discount everything from computers to smartwatches. This is a great time to buy what you’ve always wanted to buy but never seem to enjoy. Or when you buy Christmas gifts, you can give that special someone a great gift at a great price. One category that you should definitely check out is drones, as these once exclusive technologies are now cheaper than ever. Whether you want to get aerial photography of an area or an event, or just want to have fun with friends or family while flying a drone outdoors, you can find tons of Cyber ​​Week drone deals today.

Best Deals on Cyber ​​Week Drones

How to choose a drone during Cyber ​​Week

There are tons of different types, brands, and prices of drones. How do you know which one to choose? When choosing the best drone for your needs, consider factors such as video resolution and frames per second, additional features like video stabilization and obstacle avoidance, and the weight of the drone. More high-end drones not only record better quality videos, but are also easier to control in the air thanks to intelligent environmental sensors and more precise inputs. This is especially important on days with wind and bad weather, as it is more difficult to control a drone in these conditions. So think about what you want to use your drone for and whether you are at the mercy of the weather when you fly your new drone.

Weight is also an important factor as drones weighing more than 250 grams must be registered if you want to fly them in the US. So drones like the original DJI Mavic Mini and the newer DJI Mini 2 weigh just 249 grams, both of which are great choices for those who want to start flying right away and don’t want to worry about paperwork. If you are looking for the best video quality for professional productions, a high-end model like the DJI Mavic 2 Pro or even the DJI Mavic Air 2 offers features such as environment detection, autonomous tracking of a subject, exceptionally solid build quality, responsive controls and an excellent camera . Of course, all of these features aren’t cheap, so high-end drones are expensive!

There are tons of affordable drone pilot options for beginners too. Brands like Snaptain have many inexpensive entry-level drones under $ 200, and you can find inexpensive models from well-respected brands like Potensic too. The Potensic T25 or Snaptain SP650 are two examples of affordable drones that still allow you to enjoy the fun of flying and record videos in 1080p quality. This makes them perfect for home and leisure use.

Should you buy a drone during Cyber ​​Week?

For all bargain hunters, Cyber ​​Week is the last big sales event of the year where you get the best drones at the highest discount on the market. If you don’t take advantage of these Cyber ​​Week offers, the next time you’ll see discounts as good as 2021. There is no better time to start purchasing these Cyber ​​Week drone deals than today.

Are drone deals too good to be true?

The old axiom “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is” always applies to sales like Cyber ​​Week. Retailers like to take advantage of these events to clear their shelves of stale inventory, so a hot Cyber ​​Week drone deal you noticed earlier may be out of date by today’s standards and not have the features you really want in 2020 The excitement about the sale (or pressure tactics like countdown timers and limited availability warnings) can improve your judgment. Feel free to add the item to your cart, but do take a look around and compare prices first before hitting the checkout button.

It is also a good idea to do your research by reading guides like this before shopping for Cyber ​​Week drone deals. So you already have a good idea of ​​what you want, what features to look for, and what is actually a really great bargain. This will help you set a budget to stick to while also providing you with the information you need to prevent you from making a purchase that may later disappoint you.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we carefully and independently select what we cover. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this post are subject to change at any time. Make sure they are still valid before making a purchase.

Digital Trends can earn commissions on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editor’s recommendations

Now is the time of year to find the best bargains on electronics of all kinds. Cyber ​​Week offers discount everything from computers to smartwatches. This is a great time to buy what you’ve always wanted to buy but never seem to enjoy. Or when you buy Christmas gifts, you can give that special someone a great gift at a great price. One category that you should definitely check out is drones, as these once exclusive technologies are now cheaper than ever. Whether you want to get aerial photography of an area or an event, or just want to have fun with friends or family while flying a drone outdoors, you can find tons of Cyber ​​Week drone deals today.

Best Deals on Cyber ​​Week Drones

How to choose a drone during Cyber ​​Week

There are tons of different types, brands, and prices of drones. How do you know which one to choose? When choosing the best drone for your needs, consider factors such as video resolution and frames per second, additional features like video stabilization and obstacle avoidance, and the weight of the drone. More high-end drones not only record better quality videos, but are also easier to control in the air thanks to intelligent environmental sensors and more precise inputs. This is especially important on days with wind and bad weather, as it is more difficult to control a drone in these conditions. So think about what you want to use your drone for and whether you are at the mercy of the weather when you fly your new drone.

Weight is also an important factor as drones weighing more than 250 grams must be registered if you want to fly them in the US. So drones like the original DJI Mavic Mini and the newer DJI Mini 2 weigh just 249 grams, both of which are great choices for those who want to start flying right away and don’t want to worry about paperwork. If you are looking for the best video quality for professional productions, a high-end model like the DJI Mavic 2 Pro or even the DJI Mavic Air 2 offers features such as environment detection, autonomous tracking of a subject, exceptionally solid build quality, responsive controls and an excellent camera . Of course, all of these features aren’t cheap, so high-end drones are expensive!

There are tons of affordable drone pilot options for beginners too. Brands like Snaptain have many inexpensive entry-level drones under $ 200, and you can find inexpensive models from well-respected brands like Potensic too. The Potensic T25 or Snaptain SP650 are two examples of affordable drones that still allow you to enjoy the fun of flying and record videos in 1080p quality. This makes them perfect for home and leisure use.

Should you buy a drone during Cyber ​​Week?

For all bargain hunters, Cyber ​​Week is the last big sales event of the year where you get the best drones at the highest discount on the market. If you don’t take advantage of these Cyber ​​Week offers, the next time you’ll see discounts as good as 2021. There is no better time to start purchasing these Cyber ​​Week drone deals than today.

Are drone deals too good to be true?

The old axiom “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is” always applies to sales like Cyber ​​Week. Retailers like to take advantage of these events to clear their shelves of stale inventory, so a hot Cyber ​​Week drone deal you noticed earlier may be out of date by today’s standards and not have the features you really want in 2020 The excitement about the sale (or pressure tactics like countdown timers and limited availability warnings) can improve your judgment. Feel free to add the item to your cart, but do take a look around and compare prices first before hitting the checkout button.

It is also a good idea to do your research by reading guides like this before shopping for Cyber ​​Week drone deals. So you already have a good idea of ​​what you want, what features to look for, and what is actually a really great bargain. This will help you set a budget to stick to while also providing you with the information you need to prevent you from making a purchase that may later disappoint you.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we carefully and independently select what we cover. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this post are subject to change at any time. Make sure they are still valid before making a purchase.

Digital Trends can earn commissions on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editor’s recommendations

The first “self-driving car” vehicle from Zoox, the autonomous vehicle maker that Amazon bought for $ 1.2 billion earlier this year, was spotted before its official unveiling on December 14th.

Images shared first on Reddit and then on Twitter show the Push-Me-Pull-You vehicle in front of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. It looks like it was filmed before its official reveal later this month.

@zoox is shooting everything in @FairmontSF today. Looks like 2021 to me! Exciting future ahead of us! #selfdrivingcars #innovation pic.twitter.com/8XjS4qPOcV

– Christian Claus (@ Christian1Claus) December 6, 2020

However, Zoox, perhaps one of the lesser-known self-driving startups, hasn’t kept its vehicles entirely under lock and key.

No effort has been made to disguise the test vehicles in recent years. which has taken the form of modified SUVs or its self-contained autonomous vehicle platform. With these pictures we finally get a confirmation of what the body will look like.

Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson – via FlickrZoox test vehicles at the original headquarters, a former SLAC fire station. The VH moniker was used for all of the early proof-of-concept test vehicles. It is indicative of an early derogatory press report that Zoox was just “vaporware horseshit”. They hugged and expanded to manifest this!

It is also clear that there are bus doors in the middle of the side of the vehicle, which enable passengers to get on and off board without any problems.

[Read: Why AI is the future of home security]

This means that all the front passenger seats that are oriented towards the center of the vehicle appear to be facing each other. We saw this as a possibility when the company was hosting a press day at their headquarters and their VH1 test vehicles had the same layout.

Photo credit: Reddit – u / lakhailb87 Image shared by Lakailb87 on Reddit. Zoox appeared to be filming outside a hotel in San Francisco. The LiDAR sensors on every corner are clearly visible. Without the red lights it would be hard to know if this car is coming or going.

Obviously there is no room for a human driver because as a self-driving car he doesn’t need one.

Zoox also teased an unveiling video on their YouTube that gives practically nothing, but shows the shape of the headlights and a covert silhouette.

The outline of the vehicle reflects the shape of the vehicle in the images shared on Reddit. I think we can take these as representative of what will be revealed next week.

Earlier this year, online retail giant Amazon bought Zoox for $ 1.2 billion. It was the company’s biggest foray into self-driving technology and one of the company’s largest acquisitions ever.

At the time, it wasn’t clear what Amazon would do with Zoox. The online shop already owns a handful of robotics and autonomous vehicle manufacturers that developed its warehouse robots.

Amazon said it wanted to help Zoox achieve its dream, but it rarely happens that acquisitions of this magnitude will only help. Currently, Zoox is on its own, but it is unlikely to be the case forever.

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. That’s why Polestar combines electric driving with state-of-the-art design and exciting performance. Find out how.

Published on December 7, 2020 – 11:06 UTC

Are you someone who searches for lost items a lot? Do your car keys always seem to disappear? If you’re struggling to keep track of important things, a bluetooth tracker can change your life – and keep you from losing your nerve.

Some of our top picks are Chipolo and Tile. Find out which bluetooth tracker is best for Android or iPhone users and read more about what to expect from these smart little tracking devices.

tile

John Velasco / Digital Trends

Perhaps the most popular Bluetooth tracker brand right now is Tile. The current range of tile trackers covers the vast majority of situations. There’s the waterproof tile sticker, which is about a quarter-size, and can stick to most metal or plastic items. It’s IPX7 certified, has a range of around 150 feet and a battery life of three years. The Tile Slim is a credit card size tracker that fits easily in your wallet or purse. It has a range of 200 feet and a battery that should last three years. The Tile Pro is a square with a hole in the top corner that easily fits on a key ring and has the longest reach at 400 feet. It’s also the loudest of the tile trackers and has a replaceable battery that should last a year.

Our pick is the Tile Mate, which has a similar design to the Pro but is cheaper. The downside is that the range drops to 200 feet but is still noisy, comes with a removable battery that should last a year, and comes at a price that’s easier to swallow. Right now, you can buy the Tile Mate in a variety of limited-edition designs – like the comic-inspired superhero design or the colorful Malibu sunset designs – that come in a starter pack of a mate and slim tracker for $ 53 are included.

All Tile trackers work with a companion app on your iPhone or Android phone. You can have the tracker play a sound to help you find the item you’re looking for, and you can also see the last known location on a map. You can also use the Tile Mate to find your phone by pressing the button twice. With Tile, all nearby trackers can locate your marked object. Hence the important fact that it has a very large user base. Tile also supports Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can instruct your smart speaker to ask Tile where you left your buttons and trigger the ringtone. If you want smart notifications when you leave something behind, an annual battery change, and 30 days of location history, you’ll need to upgrade to the Tile Premium subscription service, which costs $ 30 per year or $ 3 per month – with a free 30-day trial.

Chipolo

Simon Hill / Digital Trends

The Chipolo ONE is very similar to the Tile Mate except that it is circular and comes in six different colors. It also has a loud alarm that goes up to 120 decibels, it’s waterproof with an IPX5 rating, and it requires standard CR2032 coin-operated batteries that you can replace – although a full battery should last around two years. Great for keys, the Chipolo ONE can also alert you out of range on your Android phone or iPhone to prevent you from leaving your keys or whatever is attached to them. Unlike Tile, these alerts are out of range at no additional cost and no subscription is required. Press the button on the Chipolo twice and your phone will ring. The range is 200 feet and Chipolo also works with Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa.

You can see highlighted items on a map on your phone or in your web browser. You can also mark lost items and get help from other Chipolo users even though they have a smaller user base than Tile, so this feature may not work. You can also purchase a Chipolo CARD that fits in your wallet but doesn’t have a removable battery and isn’t quite as loud. Otherwise it works the same as with the Chipolo ONE. Another nice feature Chipolo offers is the ability to take a remote selfie with your phone using Chipolo ONE or CARD.

orbit

You can find a full line of Orbit tracking products that work similarly to the first two items on our list. Our choice is the Orbit Keys, an aluminum disc that can be easily attached to a key ring. It’s available in many colors, IPX6 certified for water resistance, and can set off an alarm at 90 decibels. It can also ring your phone, take a selfie and of course you can use the Android or iOS app to see the last known location. It also works with Alexa and can trigger an alert if you leave a tagged item behind. Although it has a removable battery, the average battery life is a little less than the competition at around six months.

Orbit also has a special glasses tracker that fits on the arm of your glasses, a stick-on CD, and a wallet card which we think are some pretty cool ideas from Orbit. They also offer crowd-finding, although the base isn’t as big as Chipolo or Tile.

The classic look of the Orbit Key between the large color palette and the brushed aluminum finish offsets the size and the slightly limited battery life.

Eksy tracker with remote control

If you spend most of your time at home and still manage to misplace personal items, you may not need more extensive maintenance features such as precise coordinate mapping of places visited over a long distance.

This collection of trackers with a tracking remote control could be the answer. For a pretty reasonable price, you get four trackers that can be attached to keys, pet collars, bags, or even remotes with tape. For each tracker there is a central remote control with a separate, color-coded button.

Press the button to notify the appropriate tracker that a small LED beeps and lights up for your attention. The trackers reach approximately 70 decibels and are suitable for a range of 50 to 100 feet.

While not the smallest or most stylish on the market, these trackers are still practical enough to plug into a wide variety of devices and they won’t cost you a lot of money.

There is also no need to install or use a smartphone app. These trackers use a different radio frequency than Bluetooth. You need replaceable CR2032 batteries and the remote control requires two AAA batteries. Trackers and remotes have a battery life of one to two years, except for extreme daily use.

Editor’s recommendations

Digital Trends can earn a commission when you buy from links on our website.

On this Cyber ​​Monday you can give your loved ones and friends the gift of learning something new and exciting while enjoying the knowledge for yourself. It’s all thanks to MasterClass and its BOGO offer for online courses. Right now, you can get two all-access passes for the price of one. That means you and a loved one can learn and study a wide variety of subjects for just $ 180 through highly professional educational resources. It’s one of the many fantastic Cyber ​​Monday deals out there right now.

MasterClass is a big name in online learning for a reason. The service allows you to stream exclusive lessons from some of the best known experts in the field you choose. Each All Access Pass offers hundreds of lessons from the most experienced teachers, and you can easily watch them all on your smart TV, smartphone, laptop or tablet.

Always wanted to learn how to cook with Gordon Ramsay or learn the best photography techniques from Annie Leibovitz? These are just two of the options available to you with a MasterClass All Access Pass. You can also study the art of storytelling with Neil Gaiman, learn to sing with Christina Aguilera and even learn the best ball handling and scoring skills from Stephen Curry. The number of options at MasterClass is huge, with opportunities to learn almost anything you want to learn.

Each course lasts less than 20 lessons, with each lesson lasting around 10 minutes. This is ideal for bite-sized studies that you can easily incorporate into your routine, or just to learn something new and exciting. Not sure where to start? We checked out the best MasterClass online courses for learning.

MasterClass is potentially useful for your career and just plain fun. It is a fantastic gift idea for your loved one. Typically, the price of an all-access pass is $ 180. As part of MasterClass’s Cyber ​​Monday sale, you can buy one and get one for free. It is a fantastic time for you and a loved one to learn something new. You can even sign up for the same course and discuss what you learned every day!

But be quick. The MasterClass BOGO offer is limited and ends on November 30th. You don’t want to miss such a great opportunity.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we carefully and independently select what we cover. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this post are subject to change at any time. Make sure they are still valid before making a purchase.

Digital Trends can earn commissions on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editor’s recommendations

A senior nuclear scientist with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a division of the Iranian military service, was assassinated on November 27 in what the Iranian government designated as an AI machine gun assassination attempt.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was murdered while traveling in a convoy outside Tehran. A Nissan pickup truck equipped with a mounted machine gun reportedly captured the convoy and opened fire. Moments later the truck exploded.

According to the IRGC’s deputy commander Ali Fadavi, “no killer was present at the scene of the strike” when the scientist was attacked, according to a report by the Iranian state-controlled media company Tasnim News Agency.

The report continues:

A machine gun equipped with a “satellite-controlled intelligent system” and installed on a pickup had fired a total of 13 shots in the attack.

All other bullets were fired by the bodyguards, Fadavi noted.

The intelligent system for controlling the machine gun had focused on Fakhrizadeh and used artificial intelligence, the general explained.

He said the purpose of the explosion of the gun-laden pickup truck after the shooting was to kill the 11 IRGC soldiers who escorted the scientist.

It appears that the Iranian government and Fadvai are claiming the attack was carried out entirely remotely. In such a case, this would mean that the Nissan pickup used was either remote-controlled by a human or driven autonomously by the AI.

Assuming the claims are correct, it would mean that a terrorist organization or foreign government built a robot out of a Nissan truck and machine gun and then used satellite imagery to track, identify and detect Fakhrizadeh.

The AI-powered machine gun reportedly shot and killed Fakhrizadeh’s vehicle, as well as a bodyguard trying to shield the scientist. Fakhrizadeh’s wife, who Iranian officials claimed was inches from him, was unharmed.

Take quickly: The big news here is all of the politics. Numerous experts point the finger at Israel, whose government has not yet confirmed or denied responsibility. And some have even claimed the hit was approved and sanctioned by US President Donald Trump.

While this allegation has been an unsubstantiated suspicion, it is not that far-fetched. Donald Trump approved the use of a Reaper drone to assassinate IRGC General Qasem Soleiman earlier this year.

But maybe that’s not the big picture. This type of killing differs from the Trump drone attack ordered in January. While both are out of court (the US is not at war with Iran), the drone attack used military equipment paid for by US taxpayers to carry out a strike at the request of the US commander in chief.

If it is substantiated that Fakhrizadeh’s murder was carried out completely autonomously “without an assassin on site”, as has been reported, it would be (to the best of our knowledge here at Neural) the first time a civilian production vehicle has been converted into a killer robot and to kill someone completely autonomously.

Published on December 7, 2020 – 20:29 UTC

Text messaging – the communication technology we’ve known and loved since the 1990s – is gradually showing its age. They just don’t work the way we are used to and expect over the past few years. For example, they don’t support read receipts, group messages, or animated stickers that everyone likes to trade with apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and WeChat. You need a cellular connection – and a signal – and a 160-character limit to say what you think. That may sound surprisingly restrictive, but old habits die hard. The last count, SMS or SMS (Short Message Service), is still very much appreciated by the public. According to Statistic from 2017, around 781 billion text messages are sent monthly in the US and more than 9.3 trillion texts are sent every year. According to Statista, the number of SMS messages sent in the US increased by 15.8% from 2017 to 2018 to 2 trillion.

Despite the continued popularity of text messaging, some people need more than it can provide. To make the service more valuable and competitive with popular, feature-rich messaging apps, smartphone manufacturers, wireless operators, and government agencies in the wireless industry have developed the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol (also known as RCS chat) known as the Modern Version of SMS, which combines the functions of Facebook Messenger, iMessage and WhatsApp on one platform. The interactive chat protocol enables the exchange of group chats, video, audio and high-resolution images that look and function like iMessage and other large-scale messaging apps. It makes it easy to read receipts and see in real time when someone replies to your message. Your phone may already have it.

RCS arrives

Google’s customers in the UK, France and Mexico could choose to chat instead of waiting for carriers to introduce it. Now Android users in the USA can also take part in the new chat campaign. Last November, Google announced the launch of RCS as the primary SMS platform for Android for anyone using the Android Messages app. Android Messages are installed on many Android phones. A partnership between Google and Samsung enables RCS features to work seamlessly between the Samsung Messages and Android Messages apps, the standard SMS apps on their devices. You can also jump into the Google Play Store to download messages yourself.

The SMS background story

The invention of SMS sending is older than the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pilot. SMS was first proposed in 1982 for the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a second generation cell standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

The original idea was to transmit texts via the signaling systems that controlled telephone traffic. ETSI engineers developed a framework that was both small enough to fit into the existing signaling paths (128 bytes, later improved to 160 seven-bit characters) and modular enough to accommodate carrier management functions such as real-time Billing and message redirection (forwarding messages to) support a recipient other than the one specified by the user) and message blocking.

After nearly a decade of tinkering, SMS went into commercial use in December 1992 – a milestone that Neil Papworth, an engineer, marked with a text message to Vodafone customer Richard Jarvis on Merry Christmas. From then on, cell phone manufacturers such as Nokia and cellular operators such as Fleet Call (now Nextel) and BT Cellnet (now O2 UK) rose on board the messaging train. By 2010, almost 20 years after the first text message, mobile subscribers exchanged 6.1 trillion messages.

Despite the explosive growth of SMS, the technology has not advanced too much since the 1990s. Even when the phone’s form factors changed and Apple’s iPhone made the modern touchscreen smartphone popular, the SMS remained unchanged – except for 160 characters. RCS changes all of that.

What is RCS?

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is the protocol that will eventually replace SMS, and it started off slowly. It was founded in 2007 by a group of industry sponsors and inducted into the GSM Association, a trade group, the next year, where it essentially languished for nearly a decade. In 2018, Google announced that it had partnered with major wireless carriers around the world to adopt the RCS protocol. The result is Chat, a protocol based on the RCS Universal Profile – a global standard for the introduction of RCS, which subscribers from different network operators and countries can use to communicate with one another.

The chat evolves to look like iMessage and other messaging apps, but there are some nice extras planned as well. Google worked with companies to add helpful features to chat to improve communication, such as: B. Branding news messages and sharing content such as pictures, video clips and gifs, or to send live updates of upcoming trips and boarding passes, and possibly even allow customers to choose airline seats from Android messages. Chat is hardware independent and therefore works on multiple devices.

However, one critical element is missing in chat: while the original RCS protocol allowed for client-server encryption to be implemented, chat does not offer end-to-end encryption like iMessage or Signal. Rather, it retains the same legal interception standards as its SMS predecessor.

It is possible for chat to work on iOS even though Apple does not yet support the protocol. This is because with iMessage, many of the great RCS features are already available to iPhone users when they are communicating with other Apple users. In the US, Apple users make up 50% of the smartphone market, and the company has been communicating with the GSMA over the past few years about implementing RCS, but nothing solid has emerged from those conversations.

Chat is a protocol

Chat isn’t just another Android messaging app: it’s the friendly name for the RCS Protocol, or the RCS Universal Profile. Chat is only available for two apps: Android Messages and Samsung Messages. While this seems a bit limiting, most smartphone manufacturers ship with Android’s default messaging app, so you may already have access. Many moving parts are required for chat to work. First of all, your network operator must support the protocol. You also need a device and a messaging app that support chat. After all, your recipient must have chat too, otherwise chat messages will revert to SMS.

In addition to the introduction of Android messaging into the 21st century with reading receipts, entering indicators, and sending and receiving high-resolution photos and videos, users can chat, name group chats, add participants and remove them from group chats via WiFi or mobile data , and more. You can activate RCS by starting the Android Messages app and activating the chat functions. Text messages are automatically routed through the new protocol if RCS is activated for both parties. But not everyone will, at least not yet.

Who supports the chat?

For almost a decade, it has been difficult to obtain broad support for the RCS protocol. While some airlines like Sprint and T-Mobile got on board fairly early, many manufacturers hesitated. Since RCS requires both software and a network update, many manufacturers did not want to develop software to make their devices retrospectively support the protocol. Google now offers chat for customers through its app, eliminating the need for carrier support. Microsoft has also chosen the protocol. In the US, all of the major carriers have signaled their support for chat, which means it should be pretty easy for virtual cellular network operators to get on board when and if they choose to implement the standard.

Carrier updates

Last fall, the four major US airlines – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint – founded the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative, a joint venture that focuses on standardizing RCS and operates independently of Google.

• Sprint: While Sprint has already introduced RCS Universal Profile and was the first to do so, you need a supported device to benefit from it – and you also need to speak to someone who has a supported device. The latest Universal Profile is now running and all Sprint Android devices are RCS enabled for messaging to communicate with both Sprint customers and other supporting vendors.
• T-Mobile: T-Mobile has started rolling out RCS Universal Profile on some smartphones and has activated RCS with an older version of the universal protocol. Subscribers can access features such as 100MB file transfer, 100 member group chats, and tap indicators, but not chatbots, sender verification, and business messaging that are included in the newer versions. It is supported on most Android phones made from 2018 onwards.
• AT & T: AT&T has approved the RCS standard, but there is still no final word for a rollout.
• Verizon: Verizon introduces RCS to support its phones. Most Verizon phones support RCS messaging with the Verizon Message Plus app. However, since it is not the universal profile, it will only work with other Verizon devices. Well-known devices that support the universal profile are the Google Pixel 3, 3a and 4 series, the Samsung Galaxy S9, S10 and S20 series and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series.
• Google Fi: Google Fi now supports RCS on all Fi phones.
• US Cellular: US Cellular runs the latest Universal Profile so all US Cellular Android devices can communicate using RCS messages if the recipient supports the protocol.

Prepaid cellular operators in the US have joined the RCS law. Those who now support the Universal Profile include: Boost Mobile, EcoMobile, Freedom Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Straight Talk, Telcel América, Tiercel Wireless, Ting, Total Wireless, and Virgin Mobile.

Outside the US, telecommunications providers in countries around the world have adopted the universal RCS profile, including Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo, and others serving Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Working with the UK and French airlines, Google has fully rolled out RCS in these countries.

Where are we now

Google and the other carriers are not yet sure how RCS will come together or if it will merge into one cohesive whole. RCS has not yet turned into an organized, fully connected, multi-faceted messaging passageway that we hope will happen at some point. Not much has changed at the moment, however. Network providers offer RCS messaging, but the service is still not compatible with all computers. There are 430 million active users according to the GSMA. 13 million of them live in Germany. While RCS has already initiated services in several countries, they have yet to effectively standardize the network connection between all of these countries. Hence, we know that RCS has the potential to become a primary consolidated messaging technology, but it will take them more time to troubleshoot issues in their system.

Editor’s recommendations

Here at SHIFT, we think electric cars are great – obviously. But we have a particular weakness for classic cars that have been converted to electric drives.

Unfortunately, it is complicated to bring a beloved vintage engine with batteries and electric motors into the 21st century. The specialist for EV conversions, Zero Labs, would like to change this with its “classic electrical platform”.

In simple terms, it is a complete and ready-to-use electric car chassis with just one body placed on top and the controls connected.

Credit: Zero Labs The Zero Labs platform is a fully functional, ready-to-use electric car. All it takes is a body to fall on and it’s pretty good to drive.

According to Zero Labs, this platform can be used to replace the powertrain of classic muscle cars, two-door coupes, SUVs and pickups.

Unlike other classic car conversions that only replace the engine, transmission and fuel tank, the platform replaces the entire chassis, including the brakes, suspension and running gear.

[Read: Why AI is the future of home security]

With that in mind, you can be sure that it will have the driving characteristics of a modern car.

Credit: Zero Labs The Zero Labs platform would transform your classic car into a modern, one-of-a-kind performance vehicle.

The platform can be equipped with either an 85 or 100 kWh battery. The larger of the two is good for a range of up to 235 miles, but this can be significantly affected by the aerodynamic profile of the body placed on it.

While Zero Labs isn’t trying to turn classic cars into quarter mile monsters, it does claim some formidable performance metrics.

The company says it can deliver 400% more power than the original powertrain in cars manufactured before 1975. In other words, it has around 600 horsepower delivered by two engines.

It’s important to note that this platform is much more than just a bunch of electric car parts that you bolt a body to. It has remote diagnostics so Zero Labs can perform maintenance work wirelessly.

It also has regenerative braking, quick charge capability, built-in thermal management and a four-year warranty on the motor and battery. With the Zero Labs platform, you are essentially buying a complete electric car, but one that gives you the freedom to decide how it should look.

There’s no word on prices but don’t expect it to be cheap. Zero Labs will be accepting requests for production slots next year.

While the platform introduces some standardization to the world of converting classic cars to electric vehicles, it is still a niche product and is not manufactured on the same scale as traditional electric vehicles.

Zero Labs already offers EV conversions of old Ford Broncos and Land Rovers, starting at around $ 185,000.

At the moment, EV conversion still doesn’t seem cheap, but it remains very, very unique.

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. That’s why Polestar combines electric driving with state-of-the-art design and exciting performance. Find out how.

Published on December 7, 2020 – 16:14 UTC