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Facebook eyes ride-sharing feature for events pages

Facebook has been ramping up its Events pages as of late, and a recent patent application shows another use for those listings. In the paperwork, the social network explains how Events pages can also serve as a hub for ride sharing. Instead of the usual Going, Not Going, and Interested RSVPs on an event’s page, you would have the option to say whether or not you plan to drive. If you do, you can input details as to how many passengers you can take, if you just want to offer a ride to friends and what time you’ll be leaving. As you might expect, Facebook can pair passengers and drivers based on personal details like common interests, where you went to school and more to decrease the chances of awkward silence. After your pals (or soon-to-be pals) are all locked in, you’ll receive navigation info to guide you to the pickup spots. While a patent app doesn’t mean the company will actually implement the feature, this makes a lot of sense for Facebook. Using the Events pages as a primary interface could allow the folks in Melo Park to include ride sharing and carpooling relatively easily. For now, though, you’ll have to rely on hailing an Uber through Messenger . Via: Tech Insider Source: USPTO

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Facebook eyes ride-sharing feature for events pages

The iPad Pro can handle firmware updates for accessories

Well, here’s an interesting development. Some iPad Pro users have noticed that, with the latest version of iOS 9, their monstrous tablet is able to push firmware updates to a connected accessory. Many customers were experiencing lag and other niggles with Logitech’s Create Keyboard Case , but found they could fix the problem by updating their slate to the second beta of iOS 9.3. As German developer Stefan Wolfrum notes , when the keyboard is attached through the Smart Connector an intriguing “Accessory Update” option appears on-screen. Within less than a minute, the update is completed and the problems are seemingly resolved. It’s the first time we can recall an iOS device updating an accessory’s firmware in this way. The mystery, at least for now, are the requirements for such an exchange. Is it dependent on the Smart Connector, the new version of iOS, or both? If it does require Apple’s fancy new port, that means the useful feature is restricted to the iPad Pro for now. Given at least one new iPad is expected in March , however, it might not be long before we see the capability in another, smaller and cheaper iOS device. WHOA! iOS 9.3 beta 2 apparently just updated my @Logitech Create #iPadPro keyboard’s firmware!! /cc @settern pic.twitter.com/N2uRxVWBiL — Stefan Wolfrum ☺ (@metawops) January 27, 2016 Via: Cult of Mac Source: Stefan Wolfrum (Twitter)

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The iPad Pro can handle firmware updates for accessories

HTC Vive Pre impressions: A great VR system has only gotten better

Sam Machkovech Say hello to the HTC Vive Pre—the near-final version of the VR system. The headset comes complete with two tracking wands and two laser-tracking stations. 12 more images in gallery SEATTLE, Washington—Valve and HTC took the wraps off of their latest, near-final version of the Vive virtual reality system at this month’s CES, but we barely got a chance to play with the refreshed headset. That changed on Wednesday thanks to an event hosted in Valve’s hometown of Seattle, where the company offered Ars 12 lengthy demos of upcoming games and apps. Our detailed impressions of those dozen demos are forthcoming, but in the meantime, we have good news. The pre-release Vive Pre hardware may not be phenomenally better than the original Vive dev kit, but every change has made an already-impressive VR system feel that much more complete, comfortable, and worth salivating over. Like the original HTC Vive dev kit , the Vive Pre asks users to wear a VR headset whilst walking around a pre-defined, real-life space and holding motion-tracked wands in each hand. These wands’ main buttons are still a gun-like trigger and a thumb-accessible, clickable trackpad; in addition, the handle has a button on each side of the controller’s grip, and those are now positioned for easier hand access. New menu buttons have been placed above and below the trackpad, as well. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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HTC Vive Pre impressions: A great VR system has only gotten better

How A Tesla With Autopilot Forced Us To Take The Road Trip Of The Past

The weird thing about the road trip of the future is that it’s much more like the road trips we used to take in our past than anything else. My coworkers and I just did 1400-odd miles in an electric Tesla Model S that could also drive itself. It wasn’t just the trip of the future. It was the way things used to be, too. Read more…

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How A Tesla With Autopilot Forced Us To Take The Road Trip Of The Past

Lyft will pay $12.25 million to settle drivers’ lawsuit in CA

One company is done battling a gig economy -related lawsuit, at least in California. Lyft has agreed to grant its drivers more workplace protection and to pay $12.5 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit. The California drivers who filed the lawsuit against the company wanted to be reclassified as employees in order to receive minimum wage and benefits, as well as to get Lyft to pay for their gas and vehicle maintenance. While they’ve unfortunately failed to get their status changed — they’re still considered contractors — drivers in the state will get part of the settlement fund based on the hours they’ve put into working for the company. Lyft also can’t drop drivers whenever it wants. The company can only terminate someone based on a number of predetermined reasons, such as low passenger ratings. Even then, the driver will be given the chance to air their side of the story. Finally, drivers who consistently get high ratings and who passengers pinpoint as their favorites will be rewarded with bonuses. Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson told Reuters that while Lyft is losing millions, it still got off “fairly lightly.” Reclassifying drivers as employees, he said, would have cost the company much, much more. Uber wasn’t able to prevent a similar case from becoming a full-fledged class action lawsuit, but this proves it’s possible to settle with the plaintiffs without changing how the company operates. [Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images] Source: Reuters , Bloomberg

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Lyft will pay $12.25 million to settle drivers’ lawsuit in CA

Here’s a Homemade Exoskeleton Jacking Up a Small Car

There’s all sorts of expensive R&D facilities working frantically to make body-enhancing skeletons into actual things, but the research isn’t limited just to big companies. Two years ago, a YouTuber showed off his Elysium -inspired suit curling 170lbs; last weekend, he decided to life a Mini Cooper. Read more…

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Here’s a Homemade Exoskeleton Jacking Up a Small Car

Uber Screwup Exposed Driver’s Social Security Number and Tax Info

Tax season already sucks for independent contractors, but some Uber drivers who logged on to the company’s Partners portal to receive their 1099s are complaining about an especially nasty surprise: Instead of their own information, drivers say they received the tax forms of other drivers. Read more…

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Uber Screwup Exposed Driver’s Social Security Number and Tax Info

New stem cell treatment could ‘cure’ type 1 diabetes

Researchers at MIT and Harvard figured out how to produce pancreatic beta cells — the ones that produce insulin — in large quantities back in 2014. The same intercollegiate team announced in the journal Nature on Monday that they’ve now managed to implant those cells into mice that have been genetically designed to suffer from Type 1 diabetes — without the cells being rejected. Even more impressive, the diabetic mice produced their own insulin during the 174-day study period, eliminating the need for daily injections . Instead, patients would simply need “booster” injections of beta cells once every few years. This method “has the potential to provide diabetics with a new pancreas that is protected from the immune system, ” study co-author Daniel Anderson said in a statement, “which would allow them to control their blood sugar without taking drugs.” Human trials are expected to begin within the next few years. [Image Credit: Getty] Via: Gizmodo Source: Nature

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New stem cell treatment could ‘cure’ type 1 diabetes

ZCast Makes Podcasting and Live Streaming One-Touch Easy

iOS: Podcasting can be a tricky business to get into, but ZCast for iPhone, just launched, makes it as easy as downloading an app, pressing record, and letting your stream fly. The service even integrates with Twitter, so you can let people know you’re broadcasting so they can tune in live. Read more…

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ZCast Makes Podcasting and Live Streaming One-Touch Easy