Porsche Taycan already has 30,000 pre-orders. How does that compare to Tesla?

Porsche Taycan already has 30,000 pre-orders. How does that compare to Tesla?

The year is 2012. Elon Musk has yet to call anyone a “pedo guy” or drag the SEC on Twitter. There’s no Cybertruck with cracked windows, and no overly ambitious promises of a $35,000 electric car. Instead, fledgling electric vehicle company Tesla is just starting to deliver its first luxury sedan, the Model S.

Just seven years ago, Tesla’s first mainstream vehicle was just hitting the road. About 15,000 reservations for the car came in throughout the year. The first Model S cars were delivered in June and only 2,650 of the vehicles made it to customers before 2013. At the time, the Nissan Leaf was the only real all-electric contender. Read more…

More about Tesla, Porsche, Electric Vehicles, Porsche Taycan, and Tech

YouTube app joins the billion-dollar club thanks to in-app purchases

YouTube app joins the billion-dollar club thanks to in-app purchases

People are spending a lot of money in the YouTube app. 

The Google-owned platform has taken in more than $563 million in 2019, bringing the app’s lifetime revenue to more than $1 billion, according to new analysis from app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

That milestone places YouTube amongst an elite group of just a handful of non-gaming apps to hit the $1 billion mark. Sensor Tower only looked at revenue from in-app purchases and subscriptions, so the $1 billion doesn’t reflect YouTube’s ad revenue, or what the company has made from the YouTube Music or YouTube TV apps.

YouTube has consistently ranked as one of the most-downloaded apps, so it’s not necessarily surprising that it’s also a major moneymaker for the company. Google has been notoriously secretive about YouTube revenue, but Sensor Tower’s report highlights just how much in-app spending has spiked in the last year.  Read more…

More about Tech, Google, Youtube, Apps And Software, and Tech

Twitter now lets you make GIFs out of iOS Live Photos

Twitter now lets you make GIFs out of iOS Live Photos

Rejoice, iOS Live Photos have found yet another purpose!

Twitter announced today that it will allow users to take Live Photos from their iPhone or other iOS device and upload the media as a GIF in their tweet.

Your iOS Live Photos can now be used as GIFs –– upload an iOS Live Photo anywhere you use images on Twitter (Tweets, Retweets with comment, replies, DMs) and tap the GIF button. Now you’ve got yourself a shiny new GIF to share! https://t.co/0YECZUeL1s

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 11, 2019

To take advantage of this new feature, all you have to do is upload a Live Photo as you would any other still image. Twitter will be able to tell if it’s a Live Photo and will then provide a simple GIF button, which turns the image into a GIF with a simple tap. Read more…

More about Twitter, Iphone, Ios, Gifs, and Live Photos

San Francisco doesn’t want to be tech’s petri dish anymore

San Francisco doesn't want to be tech's petri dish anymore

San Francisco legislators have had it with the tech industry’s wacky ideas spilling onto the streets.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors passed legislation that aims to prevent tech companies from using the city as a test ground.

Essentially, tech companies won’t just be able to drop a new product into the world and see what happens — without getting government approval first. 

That’s in contrast to how companies like Uber and Airbnb have operated in the past. E-scooter companies like Bird are especially notorious for letting their products loose on street without considering the consequences. Governments have been struggling to keep up with regulating the scooters ever since. Read more…

More about San Francisco, Tech, and Silicon Valley

This ‘starry night’ toad was lost to scientists for decades

This 'starry night' toad was lost to scientists for decades

There’s a magical mountain on the Colombian coast, said Lina Valencia, a biological anthropologist and Colombia conservation officer at Global Wildlife Conservation. The 18,700-foot peak, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is the tallest coastal mountain on Earth. At different elevations, the peak hosts life found nowhere else.

At about 6,500 feet up, a black toad, spotted in white like an impressionist night sky, inhabits the mountainous land. It’s the starry night harlequin toad, or Atelopus aryescue, and conservationists hadn’t spotted the ornately decorated species since 1991. 

But the indigenous Arhuaco people knew the toad was there, all along. “It was never lost to them, it was lost to science,” said Valencia. Read more…

More about Science, Animals, Conservation, Science, and Climate Environment

Watch Ninja, 28, struggle to make a sandwich

Watch Ninja, 28, struggle to make a sandwich

Ninja tried to keep up with Bon Appétit chef Carla Lalli Music in the latest episode of “Back to Back Chef.” 

It did not go well.

Music planned a relatively simple bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Tyler Blevins, known by his professional gaming handle “Ninja,” tried to follow along based on verbal instructions only. 

Despite Ninja’s cooking background — he told Music that when he worked at a restaurant for three years where his duties included “sautéing, cooking at the noodle station, and prepping noodles” — he couldn’t fathom sliced bread. When Music instructed him to cut two slices from the loaf of bread in front of him, Ninja couldn’t grasp how one slices bread.  Read more…

More about Viral Videos, Ninja, Bon Appetit, Culture, and Web Culture

Bloomberg accidentally created an Alexa Fleshlight and oh my gawd

Bloomberg accidentally created an Alexa Fleshlight and oh my gawd

Bust out the brain bleach, because you’re gonna need it. 

In an amazing feat of not being able to see what’s right in front of them, on Dec. 11 Bloomberg Businessweek published a well-reported dive into the privacy concerns surrounding Amazon’s family of Alexa products. And, to drive the article’s point home, someone on the company’s art team created cover art that, shall we say, implies customers are doing more than just talking to the digital assistant. 

I mean, just look at the damn thing. It’s a Fleshlight! 

Please, put the lid back.

Please, put the lid back.

Image: SCOTT GELBER / Bloomberg businessweek

And we’re not the only ones who immediately made this rather unfortunate connection. Read more…

More about Amazon, Alexa, Fleshlight, Tech, and Big Tech Companies