Uber’s self-driving cars are still a ‘science experiment,’ report says

TwitterFacebook

Uber’s self-driving cars still aren’t very reliable, apparently.

Business Insider reports that Uber’s self-driving tech is still far behind competitors like Waymo. The report, which cites interviews with employees in Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), compares the self-driving cars project to a “science experiment,” and says that the cars “perform reliably only on limited well-mapped routes, and aren’t making much progress on handling more.”

That may sound like a harsh assessment, but as BI points out, Uber has had other priorities besides autonomous driving alone. Since the company resumed testing its self-driving cars in December following a fatal accident in Arizona, Uber has been progressing much more slowly. It’s possible the cautious approach is frustrating to some employees, who may want to see more rapid improvements in the underlying technology rather than safety-related updates alone.  Read more…

More about Tech, Transportation, Mashable Video, Uber, and Self Driving Cars

Drone discovers a Hawaiian plant that was thought to be extinct

TwitterFacebook

Hey there, Hibiscadelphus woodii. How you been?

The plant, which is also known as “Wood’s hau kuahiwi” and was thought to be extinct, is apparently still around and possibly even flourishing in its native Hawaii. Researchers for the National Tropical Botanical Garden on the island of Kauai made the discovery with a little help from a drone.

SEE ALSO: In a glamorous turn of events, polar bears are pooping glitter to fight off extinction

Three of the plants were spotted in footage captured by a drone that was sent out to explore Kalalau Valley. The remote region of Kauai is known for its biodiversity, thanks to cliffs that make the region inaccessible to the humans and goats that pose a threat to local plant life. Read more…

More about Science, Hawaii, Extinct, Science, and Climate Environment

How dare you do this to Cypress Hill, Hollywood Walk of Fame

TwitterFacebook

West Coast hip-hop legends Cypress Hill finally made it to the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday — two days too early, in the minds of some.

The plaque was formally presented on Thursday, April 18, 2019. But everyone knows that Cypress Hill is synonymous with marijuana. Couldn’t whoever constructed the plaque have waited two days to present it on 4/20, the biggest marijuana holiday of the year?

SEE ALSO: Where the 2020 presidential candidates stand on marijuana legalization

Cypress Hill is known for their many excellent pro-weed jams, including “Hits From the Bong” and the subtly titled, “I Want to Get High.” Read more…

More about Culture, Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Cypress Hill, Culture, and Web Culture

Revelation that Goombas might have arms and hands rocks video game world

TwitterFacebook

Not since Mario’s nipples has the video game world been rocked this hard by a revelation about anatomy: Goombas have arms and hands!

The discovery of these appendages comes courtesy of photos of a Goomba keshi rubber figure (an eraser) shared to Twitter by user Joe Piconi, which shows the Goomba with his arms and hands folded behind his back, thus giving him the armless appearance.

Goombas have arms and hands. They are folded neatly behind their backspic.twitter.com/nRXVi6u92f

— Joe Piconi (@joepiconi) April 19, 2019

This is a potentially stunning revelation given that, for decades, the Goombas have been able to do all kinds of activities, like baseball and bowling, without using these hidden arms.  Read more…

More about Nintendo, Video Games, Super Mario, Goombas, and Entertainment

Cersei and Tyrion Lannister meet their ‘Sesame Street’ Muppet doubles

TwitterFacebook

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Westeros? 

A photo posted by Lena Headey on Instagram hints that we could see another delightful Game Of Thrones/Sesame Street crossover in the future. 

The image shows Headey, Peter Dinklage, and their new life coach Elmo hanging out with Cersei and Tyrion’s Sesame Street doppelgängers. Look how happy they all look — Muppets will do that to even a blood-thirsty, brother-loving queen.

View this post on Instagram

SUCH A GOOD DAY AT WORK @sesamestreet @hbo photo by the beauty that is @helenstills #respectbringsustogether

A post shared by Lena Headey (@iamlenaheadey) on Read more…

More about Game Of Thrones, Sesame Street, Lena Headey, Muppets, and Elmo

‘Malicious software attack’ knocked the Weather Channel off-air for more than an hour

TwitterFacebook

The FBI is currently investigating a “malicious software attack” that interrupted the Weather Channel’s non-stop 24-hour-a-day coverage.

The Weather Channel suddenly went dark for more than an hour on Thursday during its live morning broadcast. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, an FBI spokesperson said the outage was the result of a ransomware attack.

pic.twitter.com/ovSgrgHxXY

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) April 18, 2019

“We experienced issues with this morning’s live broadcast following a malicious software attack on the network,” the Weather Channel said in a statement. “We were able to restore live programming quickly through backup mechanisms. Federal law enforcement is actively investigating the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience to viewers as we work to resolve the matter.” Read more…

More about Television, Hacking, Fbi, Ransomware, and Weather Channel

Zuckerberg could be held personally accountable for Facebook data breaches

TwitterFacebook

The federal government wants to hold Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for Facebook’s privacy woes.

According to a report in the Washington Post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently investigating Facebook and looking into whether the Facebook’s founder and CEO should be held liable for the company’s data mishandling and privacy issues. 

Facebook and the FTC have been in discussions for more than a year over the agency’s probe into the company. Sources familiar with these discussions say that the FTC is mulling over an unusual decision to hold Zuckerberg himself accountable for the company’s data leaks and breaches.  Read more…

More about Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Data Breach, Ftc, and Federal Trade Commission

Behold, the very bizarre Facebook auto-captions from NASA launch

TwitterFacebook

“And we have lift off the guitarist G 11 mission.” Huh? 

The closed captions on Facebook might need a bit of tweaking after a NASA video displayed some peculiar subtitles.

The video in question is the Wednesday launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, carrying a Cygnus cargo freighter destined for the International Space Station, done in conjunction with NASA. As Ars Technica pointed out, the captions leave a lot to be desired. 

Watch the original video below with the captions turned on. 

In case you missed it, here are a few of the more choice errors made in the captions. 

Facebook closed captions on NASA launch

In this case, the caption should have read, “and we have lift off of the Antares NG-11 mission.” Read more…

More about Tech, Facebook, Space, Nasa, and Science

YouTube gives Premium subscribers free Super Chat credits

TwitterFacebook

YouTube wants its paying subscribers to share the wealth with their favorite creators.

The video giant is currently giving out free Super Chat credits to YouTube Premium subscribers, according to AndroidPolice. Super Chats allow viewers to give a monetary “tip” to YouTube creators during a livestream in exchange for a highlighted comment in the chat.

It’s a beta test we are running — glad you like it! 🙂

— Ryan Wyatt (@Fwiz) March 25, 2019

YouTube’s Head of Gaming Ryan Wyatt has confirmed that the free Super Chat credits are part of an ongoing beta test.  

Premium subscribers currently pay $11.99 per month for an ad-free experience on the YouTube platform. As part of the beta test, Premium users are being given either one $2 Super Chat credit or two 99 cent credits. The latter can be split up between two separate YouTube livestreamers.  Read more…

More about Youtube, Livestream, Twitch, Livestreaming, and Creators

Watch the stunning trailer for ‘When They See Us,’ Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five series

TwitterFacebook

Netflix has released the official trailer for When They See Us, the four-part miniseries from Ava DuVernay that tells the story of the Central Park Five, five young black men wrongly convicted of rape  in New York City in 1989. 

According to Netflix, the series will cover the entire 25 years between the April 19, 1989 assault of Trisha Meili and the 2014 settlement between New York City and the five men — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — who spent years in jail for crimes they didn’t commit. 

The Hollywood Reporter notes the series will show the events from the perspective of those five young men. And, in the clip above, you’ll even catch a flash of the infamous full-page ad taken out by Donald Trump in May 1989, calling for the execution of the five boys.  Read more…

More about Netflix, Trailers, Ava Duvernay, When They See Us, and Central Park Five