Computer processors across Amazon Web Services recently hummed into gear to create 30 simulations of what Earth could look like by the middle of this century. Normally, climate models run on supercomputers. But this effort on Amazon’s servers represents one of the first attempts to do modeling on the cloud and could…
The internal skirmishes between the new and old guards of conservative political power continue, this time colliding over the future of a Democratically controlled Federal Communications Commission. Though Republican lawmakers have spent months opposing Biden’s efforts to fill two open FCC seats with Democrats, at…
The thought of picnics or snacks at the park will no longer bring up dreaded images of fingers covered in crumbs and sticky goo thanks to a clever new product called the Monchi, which is a snack container that integrates a set of finger-operated silicone tongs into the lid. Genius.
“It is a good story,” the actor said of reconnecting with Jennifer Lopez. “It’s a great story. And, you know, maybe one day I’ll tell it.”
The rule requiring employees at large companies to get vaccinated or be tested weekly hasn’t taken effect yet.
The gamblers won a collective total of nearly $15,000 only to have their wagers voided later.
<img width=”1280″ height=”711″ src=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/close-black-holes-1280×711.jpg” class=”webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image” alt=”” style=”margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%” data-attachment-id=”700886″ data-permalink=”https://www.slashgear.com/very-large-telescope-spots-earths-new-nearest-pair-of-black-holes-01700885/close-black-holes/” data-orig-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/close-black-holes.jpg” data-orig-size=”1440,800″ data-comments-opened=”0″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”ESO Very Large Telescope discovers nearest black hole pair ever” data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”
Google has revealed a slew of features and updates for Android 12. Starting today, the digital car key function that was announced at Google I/O in May is available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 for compatible BMW vehicles in select countries. You can use your phone to lock and unlock the doors, and start the engine. The feature is likely coming to other vehicles later — Google has been working with other, unnamed automakers on support for digital car keys.
There’s now an option to open Android Auto automatically when you connect your device to a compatible car. In addition, the home screen will have an always-on play button, so you can fire up your favorite music with a single tap.
Smart reply options (which will arrive in the coming months) will offer more ways to respond to text messages while you’re driving. You can tap to reply or create a custom message with the help of Google Assistant. Also coming soon, there’ll be a faster way to search for music in your media apps. Just tap the search button and say the name of your favorite artist or song.
Other media-centric options are coming to the home screen of Android 12 proper. A YouTube Music widget, for instance, includes playback controls and recently played songs. Two other widgets are rolling out next week. One for Google Play Books offers access to your library of books and could help you keep track of where you are in audiobooks.
A Google Photos People & Pets widget, meanwhile, provides an easy way to bring your loved ones to the home screen. Select a few faces and a frame, and your family, friends and pets can take pride of place on the home screen.
Elsewhere in Google Photos, you’ll start to see Memories in the photo grid. It’s a curated selection of photos and videos from holidays and events like birthdays and graduations, which are displayed in a stories format. Along with renaming, personalizing and correcting them, you’ll have the option to remove Memories from the grid.
Google is bringing Family Bell from smart home products to mobile devices. You can set up the feature to alert you and your family with bells and notifications when it’s time to do certain things, such as picking up kids from school or getting to bed at a decent hour. Family members can set or customize as many bells as they like on their own devices to keep stay on schedule. Google will offer suggested bells too, including holiday-themed ones like volunteering for a local cause or watering the tree.
In Gboard’s Emoji Kitchen, you’ll see thousands more emoji mashups. They’ll be available for Gboard Beta users starting today and for everyone in the coming weeks.
Last, but not least, Google announced another Android security measure. To help protect your privacy, your device will automatically turn off runtime permissions (which allow apps to access data or carry out actions for you) in apps you haven’t used in a while. You can turn these permissions back on in the app or the device settings. The feature will be available on Android 12 at first. Starting next month, Google plans to roll it out to devices with Google Play services running Android 6.0 or later.
A few months later than originally planned, Sony has opened pre-orders for its first drone for professionals. The company says the Airpeak S1 is the smallest drone that supports a full-size, mirrorless Alpha camera.
The debut model in the Airpeak line works with several Sony cameras, including the Alpha 1, Alpha 7S series, Alpha 7R series and Alpha 9 series. The company says the S1 has proprietary technology that supports smooth movement at high speed and provides stable wind resistance in service of helping cinematographers and photographers to capture high-quality footage and photos from the sky.
Sony claims the S1 can fly for up to 22 minutes au naturale, and up to 12 minutes with a heavy payload, such as the Alpha 7S III with a FE 24mm F1.4 GM lens. The drone has a top speed of just under 56mph.
The Airpeak Flight app for iOS provides real-time status info and updates on the hardware. With the Airpeak Base web app, users can create advanced, repeatable flight plans, manage the drone and camera and troubleshoot issues. There’s also a dual operation mode, which allows one person to control the drone and another to operate the camera and gimbal. Both users can see what the camera is capturing.
The Airpeak S1 comes with two sets of propellers, two rechargeable batteries and a controller. Sony has shaved $1,000 off the previously announced price — the drone now costs a still-eye-watering $9,000. The S1 should ship on December 24th, so it might arrive a little too late to be an extremely generous holiday gift.
There’s an optional cloud service called Airpeak Plus that offers extra storage, enhanced geofencing tools and flight log importing and exporting. It costs around $300 for 12 months.
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