Geek Trivia: The Original Aerosol Can Was Invented To Apply What?

The Original Aerosol Can Was Invented To Apply What?

Hair Spray Insect Repellent Ski Wax Engine Lubricant Think you know the answer?

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Slack isn't becoming the "central nervous system" for all the workflows of its users because it's just filling cracks left by productivity apps, not fixing them (Kevin Kwok/kwokchain)

Kevin Kwok / kwokchain:
Slack isn't becoming the “central nervous system” for all the workflows of its users because it's just filling cracks left by productivity apps, not fixing them  —  The arc of collaboration is long and it bends in the direction of functional workflows.

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Facebook has built a static analysis platform, dubbed Zoncolan, that can scan Facebook's 100M lines of code in under 30 minutes to help catch bugs (Lily Hay Newman/Wired)

Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Facebook has built a static analysis platform, dubbed Zoncolan, that can scan Facebook's 100M lines of code in under 30 minutes to help catch bugs  —  FACEBOOK DOESN'T HAVE the most stellar privacy and security track record, especially given that many of its notable gaffes were avoidable.

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Apple's WebKit announces strict anti-tracking policy to prevent covert tracking and all cross-site tracking, credits Mozilla's policy for inspiring its approach (Natasha Lomas/TechCrunch)

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Apple's WebKit announces strict anti-tracking policy to prevent covert tracking and all cross-site tracking, credits Mozilla's policy for inspiring its approach  —  WebKit, the open source engine that underpins Internet browsers including Apple's Safari browser, has announced …

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Q&A with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who says the company is now working with 4,500 AI startups, compared to 2,000 in April, 2017 (Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat)

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Q&A with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who says the company is now working with 4,500 AI startups, compared to 2,000 in April, 2017  —  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang proudly proclaimed on an analyst earnings call this week that artificial intelligence is the “single most powerful force of our time.”

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NASA and SpaceX practice Crew Dragon evacuation procedure with astronaut recovery vessel

NASA and SpaceX continue their joint preparations for the eventually astronaut crew missions that SpaceX will fly for the agency, with a test of the emergency evacuation procedure for SpaceX’s GO Searcher seaborne ship. The ship is intended to be used to recover spacecraft and astronauts in an actual mission scenario, and the rehearsals this week are a key part of ensuring mission readiness before an actual crewed SpaceX mission.

Photos from the dress rehearsal, which is the first coordinated end-to-end practice run involving the full NASA and SpaceX mission teams working in concert, saw NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken don SpaceX’s fancy new crew suits and mimic a situation where they needed to be removed from the returned Crew Dragon spacecraft and taken to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from the GO Searcher by helicopter.

By all accounts, this was a successful exercise and seems to have left parties on both sides happy with the results. Check out photos released by NASA of the dry run below.

[gallery ids="1870192,1870193,1870194,1870195,1870196,1870197,1870198,1870199,1870200,1870201,1870202,1870203,1870204,1870205,1870206,1870207"]

SpaceX and NASA continue to work towards a goal of launching Crew Dragon’s first actual crewed flight this year, though they’ve encountered setbacks that make that potentially impossible, including the explosion of a Crew Dragon test vehicle during a static test fire in April.

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Voyage’s driverless future, ghost work, B2B growth strategies, and Black Hat takeaways

Inside Voyage’s plan to deliver a driverless future

In the autonomous vehicle space, startups have taken radically different strategies to building our AV future. Some companies like Waymo have driven all across different types of environments in order to rack up the datasets that they believe will be needed to effectively maneuver without a human driver.

That’s the opposite strategy of Voyage, where CEO and founder Oliver Cameron and his team have focused on driving safety in the incredibly constrained context of two retirement communities.

Our transportation editor Kirsten Korosec talked with the company and analyzes their approach in a new profile for Extra Crunch, and also drops some news about a partnership the company has brewing with a major automotive manufacturer.

Cameron, who shies away from discussing timelines, describes the company as inching toward driverless service.

Its self-driving software has now reached maturation in the communities it is testing in, and Voyage is now focusing on validation, according to Cameron.

Voyage has developed a few systems that will help push it closer to a commercial driverless service while maintaining safety, such as a collision mitigation system that it calls Rango, an internal nickname inspired by the 2011 computer-animated Western action-comedy about a chameleon.

This collision mitigation system is designed to be extremely fast-reacting, like a reptile — hence the Rango name. Rango, which has an independent power source and compute system and uses a different approach to perception than the main self-driving system, is designed to react quickly. If needed, it will engage the full force of the brakes.

Startup ads are taking over the subway

Public transit is just swimming in startup ads. From complete Brex takeovers of the San Francisco Caltrain station to the sleep puzzles posted by Casper across the New York City subway, startups have been taking advantage of this unique out-of-home advertising space. What’s the full story though? Our reporter Anthony Ha takes a look at how the subway ad market came to be in the past few years, and what the future holds for other marketers.

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A look at donations by major tech execs to 2020 presidential candidates, with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders notably absent from the list of recipients (Ari Levy/CNBC)

Ari Levy / CNBC:
A look at donations by major tech execs to 2020 presidential candidates, with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders notably absent from the list of recipients  —  KEY POINTS  — LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman has donated money to four Democratic primary candidates, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has provided money to three.

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Sources: SoftBank plans to lend up to $20B to its employees to buy stakes in its second VC fund, with Masayoshi Son accounting for more than half of the amount (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: SoftBank plans to lend up to $20B to its employees to buy stakes in its second VC fund, with Masayoshi Son accounting for more than half of the amount  —  Unusual setup doubly exposes the Japanese company to a startup economy that is starting to show cracks

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You Can Now Assign Google Assistant Reminders to People

You can now set reminders for other people using Google Assistant. Assignable Reminders let you remind friends and family to perform certain tasks at certain times. Or even when they reach a certain location. Which could be both useful and annoying.

How to Assign Google Assistant Reminders

Google launched Assignable Reminders in a post on The Keyword. Glenn Wilson makes it clear that Google has launched this feature to coincide with the kids returning to school. Which is a busy and stressful time for parents and children alike around the world.

Google explains that you can now “create reminders for your partner or roommate to do things like pick up the groceries, pay a recurring bill, walk the dog—or send them a note of encouragement when they need it the most”.

Help your roommate remember to take out the trash or tell your spouse “good luck in the big meeting” with new Assignable reminders on the Assistant. ? https://t.co/5oLYDHL3v3 pic.twitter.com/MApjVwfvON

— Google (@Google) August 15, 2019

To assign a reminder, ask Assistant, “Hey Google, remind [Name] to take out the trash at 7pm”, “Hey Google, remind [Name] to pick up flowers when she gets to New York”, or “Hey Google, remind [Name] that she will do great on tomorrow’s exam”.

Assignable Reminders are rolling out on phones, speakers, and smart displays in the US, UK, and Australia. You can assign reminders to people in your Google family group or those with their accounts linked to the same speaker or smart display.

How to Get More Out of Google Assistant

Assignable Reminders are clearly a potentially useful feature. Particularly for busy families who have far too much going on in their lives. However, Assignable Reminders could also be misused for nagging people to do stuff they don’t want to do.

If you’re new to Google Assistant be sure to read our beginner’s guide to Google Assistant. And once you’ve got the hang of the basics, you can then use these Google Assistant IFTTT recipes designed to boost your productivity levels.

Read the full article: You Can Now Assign Google Assistant Reminders to People

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Claim Your FREE Copy of Linux All-in-One for Dummies (Worth $30)

Linux All-in-One For Dummies covers everything from the very basics of getting started with Linux up to more advanced topics such as scripting and Linux certification.

Inside, you will find over 500 pages of Linux topics, organized into eight task-oriented mini-books that help you understand all aspects of the latest OS distributions of the most popular open-source operating system in use today.

And for a few days only, you can download this ebook for free!

Download This Ebook for Free

Among other things, you will learn how to:

• Install and configure peripherals, software packages, and keep everything current
• Connect to the internet, set up a local area network (including a primer on TCP/IP, and managing a local area network using configuration tools and files)
• Browse the web securely and anonymously
• Get everything you need to pass your entry-level Linux certification exams

Linux All-in-One For Dummies is your one-stop guide, whether you’re looking for a beginner’s guide or a trusted resource for when you need some assistance. But hurry. This free offer is only available until August 20, 2019!

Want in? Click here to download your free copy of Linux All-in-One For Dummies from TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access the ebook, but it’s well worth it!

Read the full article: Claim Your FREE Copy of Linux All-in-One for Dummies (Worth $30)

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Ikea says it is creating a new business unit, Ikea Home smart, with end-to-end responsibility for its portfolio of smart devices (Thomas Ricker/The Verge)

Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Ikea says it is creating a new business unit, Ikea Home smart, with end-to-end responsibility for its portfolio of smart devices  —  ‘We are just getting started’  —  Ikea is formalizing what has recently become all too obvious: the company is making a major bet on smart home tech as a source of new revenue.

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Ikea doubles down on smart home tech with new business unit

Ikea’s smart home investments to date have been smart but scattered – now the Swedish home goods brand says it’s going to amp up its smart home bets with a brand new dedicated business unit.

The company’s smart home endeavors began in 2012, and focused on wireless charging and smart lighting. It’s iterated in both areas since, developing self-installed integrated wireless chargers for its furniture, as well as light/charger combos, and finally with a new partnership with Sonos that produced the Symfonisk line of wireless smart speakers.

Ikea also has its own ambitions in terms of being the hub for future smart home products, not only from a hardware perspective, but also via its Home smart app, which it rebranded from being more strictly focused on its Tradfri line of connected bulbs in June. During the Symfonisk launch, Ikea told me it has broader ambitions for the Home smart app as a central hub for connected home control for its customers.

“At IKEA we want to continue to offer products for a better life at home for the many people going forward. In order to do so we need to explore products and solutions beyond conventional home furnishing,” said Björn Block, Head of the new IKEA Home smart Business Unit at IKEA of Sweden, in a press release from the company.

Ikea also characterized this as its biggest new focus area in terms of the overall business and brand since it introduced its Children’s Ikea line.

The partnership between Sonos and Ikea that produced the Symfonisk line is a long-term one, and both companies told me to expect more products to come out of that team-up in future. But it sounds like Ikea intends to explore how smart home tech might touch all aspects of its business, so it’s fair to anticipate more partnerships and product categories to follow as a result of this new investment focus, too.

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SoftBank reportedly plans to lend employees as much as $20 billion to invest in its VC fund

SoftBank has a plant to loan up to $20 billion to its employees, including CEO Masayoshi Son, for the purposes of having that capital re-invested in SoftBank’s own Vision venture fund, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. That’s a highly unusual move that could be risky in terms of how much exposure SoftBank Group has on the whole in terms of its startup bets, but the upside is that it can potentially fill out as much as a fifth of its newly announced second Vision Fund’s total target raise of $108 billion from a highly aligned investor pool.

SoftBank revealed its plans for its second Vision Fund last month, including $38 billion from SoftBank itself, as well as commitments from Apple, Microsoft and more. The company also took a similar approach to its original Vision Fund, WSJ reports, with stakes from employees provided with loans totalling $8 billion of that $100 billion commitment.

The potential pay-off is big, provided the fund has some solid winners that achieve liquidation events that provide big returns that employees can then use to pay off the original loans, walking away with profit. That’s definitely a risk, however, especially in the current global economic client. As WSJ notes, the Uber shares that Vision Fund I acquired are now worth less than what SoftBank originally paid for them according to sources, and SoftBank bet WeWork looks poised to be another company whose IPO might not make that much, if any, money for later stage investors.

Microsoft in talks to invest in SoftBank’s second Vision Fund

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Sources: the US Department of Commerce to extend Huawei's license to buy US goods, which expires on August 19, by another 90 days (Reuters)

Reuters:
Sources: the US Department of Commerce to extend Huawei's license to buy US goods, which expires on August 19, by another 90 days  —  SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to extend a reprieve given to Huawei Technologies that permits the Chinese firm …

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Next Apple Watch could include new ceramic and titanium models

Apple’s next Apple Watch revision could include new materials for the case, including titanium and ceramic. That’s according to new assets pulled form the latest watchOS beta release, as uncovered by Brazilian site iHelp.br (via 9to5Mac). The new screens discovered in the beta show graphics used to pair the Apple Watch during setup, and list “Titanium Case” and “Ceramic Case” alongside model size identification info.

Apple has previously offered a ceramic Apple Watch, alongside its Series 2 and Series 3 models, with a premium price and white and black case options. The company hasn’t previously used titanium, but the lightweight, durable metal is popular among traditional watchmakers because it can really significantly reduce the heft of a watch case, while still providing a premium look and feel.

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 4 was the first significant change in body design for the wearable since its introduction in 2015, so it seems unlikely that Apple will change that this year again. The new physical design includes larger case sizes (40mm and 44mm, respectively, vs. 38mm and 42mm for previous generations), a thinner profile and a display with rounded corners and slimmer bezels.

Offering new materials is a way for Apple to deliver new hardware that is observably new on the outside, in addition to whatever processor and component improvements they make on the inside. Apple will likely also offer these alongside their stainless steel and aluminum models, should they actually be released this fall, and would probably charge a premium for these material options, too.

The Series 4 Apple Watch proved a serious improvement in terms of performance, and added features like the onboard ECG. Splashy new looks likely won’t be the extent of what Apple has planned for Series 5, however, especially since the company is revamping watchOS to be much more independent of the phone, which would benefit from more capable processors.

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