Intel used fatal Uber crash footage to show what its self-driving software would do

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After a self-driving Uber crashed and killed a woman walking her bike across a Tempe, Arizona, road last week, the technology behind autonomous vehicles has been questioned and scrutinized.

Intel, the company behind the driver-assistance software Mobileye — which is used in certain autonomous cars, like Waymo, but not in Uber — took the footage Tempe police released from the crash and ran their software through the fatal incident. 

Mobileye CEO and CFO Amnon Shashua wrote in a editorial Monday that “despite the suboptimal conditions, where much of the high dynamic range data that would be present in the actual scene was likely lost, clear detection was achieved approximately one second before impact.”  Read more…

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Reddit Gold pulls bitcoin payment option

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Reddit Gold is done with bitcoin.

The premium version of the online forum Reddit used to let you pay for an upgraded membership with the cryptocurrency, bitcoin. But in the past few days it looks like the ad-free version of the site isn’t as gung-ho on the digital coin as it once was.

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin drops below $10K following SEC warning and Binance hack rumors

When I went to sign up Monday for a month of Reddit Gold I was given two payment options: PayPal or credit card.

No bitcoin for Reddit Gold.

No bitcoin for Reddit Gold.

Image: reddit gold/screengrab

A conversation two years ago in the “goldbenefits” sub-reddit conversation shows that bitcoin was an option at one point. Read more…

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Acer ruins Apple’s cheap iPad party with its own affordable Chrome OS tablet that includes a stylus

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Apple wants to rule classrooms with the iPad, but Google is clearly not going to let that happen.

Ahead of Apple’s education-focused event on Tuesday, where it will likely debut a cheaper iPad, Acer has announced its own low-cost tablet, and it’s the first one to run Chrome OS.

SEE ALSO: A cheaper iPad is Apple’s best chance at winning over U.S. classrooms

Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 is clearly a shot aimed directly at Apple. At $329, the tablet offers mostly comparable specs and has one thing Apple’s equally priced iPad doesn’t: a built-in stylus.

  • 9.7-inch (2,048 x 1,536 resolution) IPS display

  • 3999 RockChip processor

  • 4GB of RAM

  • 32GB of storage (expandable via microSD card slot)

  • Up to 9 hours of battery life

  • 5-megapixel rear camera

  • 2-megapixel front-facing camera

  • Stereo speakers Read more…

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Antibiotic use skyrockets globally, stoking fears of tough ‘superbugs’

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Antibiotics made their big debut during World War II, when the U.Spumped out increasingly potent doses of penicillin to successfully combat bacterial infections in troops.

These antibacterial drugs have been hugely effective in the seven decades since, but there’s a consequence: The more that antibiotics are consumed, the more resistant infectious bugs become to these drugs, possibly giving rise to “superbugs” that are resistant to known treatments.  

Today, the problem is global and on the rise, according to a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Read more…

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Gina Rodriguez will play Carmen Sandiego in the live-action movie

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Netflix has found a star for its upcoming Carmen Sandiego movie: Gina Rodriguez.

Rodriguez will be starring as Carmen Sandiego in the upcoming live-action movie, The Hollywood Reporter wrote Monday, in addition to her role as the voice of the red-clad thief in Netflix’s upcoming animated Carmen Sandiego series.

SEE ALSO: Sing along with a reunited Rockapella for Carmen Sandiego’s 30th anniversary

When the news first hit that the Jane the Virgin star would be voicing Carmen Sandiego, Rodriguez confirmed it by saying she already had Carmen’s signature outfit: a red fedora and coat, which may have been a sign that she was willing to take the live-action role too. Read more…

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Weird orange snow captivates skiers in eastern Europe

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About every five years, the snow turns orange in parts of eastern Europe.

That happened again over the weekend, stunning skiers in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and other places in the region, with photos of the oddity appearing on social media.

SEE ALSO: Historic snowstorm slams East Coast, as winter stages hostile takeover of spring

According to The Independent, the phenomenon is understood to be the result of Sahara Desert sand and dust being carried into the atmosphere, where it mixes with snow and rain, and is then dumped over areas in eastern Europe.

“There has been a lot of lifted sand or dust originating from North Africa and the Sahara, from sand storms which have formed in the desert,” UK Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates told the newspaper.   Read more…

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Very good pups attend ‘Isle of Dogs’ screening and Twitter can’t handle it

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You’ll either love or hate the latest movie-going trend: Dog-friendly film screenings.

The concept made headlines recently when a San Francisco theater hosted viewers and their pups for the new Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs. Now such a screening in Dublin, Ireland, has turned into a Twitter Moment, complete with photos of adorable canines at the cinema.  

SEE ALSO: Why is Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ set in Japan? We’re not sure either.

Dogs that see the movie at Light House Cinema get plenty of water and a blanket so they can sit atop the theater chair next to their owner. The theater stressed that owners of “uncontrollable” dogs will be asked to leave. “But we’re sure this won’t happen as we’re expecting lots of good boys and girls,” the theater said on its website.  Read more…

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Stormy Daniels discussed her alleged affair with Donald Trump on ’60 Minutes’

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This was it. The moment an entire nation (well, except perhaps one guy) was waiting for, and it did not disappoint. 

A pre-recorded interview with Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, aired this evening on 60 Minutes and dived into her alleged affair with Donald Trump — as well as the supposed efforts to keep her quiet. 

While Trump has so far publicly denied Daniels’ claims, that didn’t stop her from providing new details about the decade-old (again, alleged) happenings, and explaining why she went public in the first place.  

SEE ALSO: Watching Stormy Daniels decimate trolls on Twitter is its own kind of porn Read more…

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