Tesla CEO Elon Musk has discussed the company’s ambitions to build a self-driving car on more than one occasion, and now he’s revealed a bit more about its plans. After reports today about a job listing for an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Controls Engineer, he spoke to the Financial Times and confirmed the company is working on a form of autopilot in-house. Expressing his opinion that fully autonomous cars may be a bit too difficult to achieve right now, he said Tesla “should be able to do 90 per cent of miles driven within three years.” Other major car companies — Mercedes, GM, Volvo and Continental, just to name a few — have projects for either full or partial car self-control, but they’re still under development for reasons both technical and legal. Also hanging in the balance is Google’s autonomous car project, although from Musk’s statements it appears Tesla has decided to go its own wa y on the technology. The three year target is an ambitious one, but we’ll put this one somewhere between Iron Man and Hyperloop on the Musk scale. Filed under: Transportation Comments Via: Reuters Source: FT

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Tesla’s ‘autopilot’ car project targets 90 percent of miles driven, three years from now

Mozilla has just released Firefox 24, and this refresh lavishes most of its attention on the Android version. The updated mobile browser enables WebRTC support, letting Android users conduct web-based video chats without a plugin. These surfers can also share browser tabs between NFC-capable devices, launch a preferred sharing app from the main menu, read in Braille and enable a Night mode in Reader. Desktop users aren’t completely left out of the upgrade frenzy, however. Firefox 24 lets them quickly close all tabs to the right of a selected tab, drag out chat windows and use the stealthier scrollbars in OS X Lion and newer. If you’re intrigued by any of the new Firefox clients, you can grab the edition you need at one of the source links. Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Software , Mobile Comments Via: Mozilla Blog (1) , (2) Source: Firefox , Google Play

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Firefox 24 arrives with WebRTC video chats on Android, quick-close tabs on desktop

With iOS 7 arriving tomorrow , Apple is extending some love to the owners of older iOS devices that have been left behind. New compatibility features, first spotted on Reddit , will now kick into action if you attempt to download an app that is not supported by your current firmware. Instead, the company now asks if you’d like to install the last compatible version, which, for some apps, can be over a year old. We’ve successfully installed an older version of Instagram to an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.3.3 and Twitter to an iPhone 3G running iOS 4.2.1. Although Instagram was “out of date, ” the last compatible version of Twitter (featured above) was version 4.3.2, and hit the App Store back on August 18th, 2012. If you’re feeling nostalgic and you’ve got an aging iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that could use a bit of exercise, Apple’s latest tweak might teach your old device some new tricks. Filed under: Cellphones , Software , Apple Comments Source: Reddit

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Apple offering ‘last compatible version’ of iOS apps for older hardware

This surely marks a faint glimmer of hope for all the beaten-down and forgotten formats out there. Granted, the vinyl record has been out of fashion recently but still, a 745 percent increase in Amazon sales marks some pretty impressive growth. So, why the bump? A retro explosion? A new-found appreciation for fidelity in this world of streaming compression? The answer’s likely a little bit of both. Also, don’t underestimate the power of Amazon’s AutoRip feature. See, vinyl’s not only the fastest growing music medium on Amazon, it’s also the most popular format for AutoRip, which entitles buyers to MP3 versions of physical albums they buy. Obviously, though, it’s a bit tougher for most music lovers to rip vinyl than, say, a CD. So, which records are selling best? As of the weekend, the top vinyl titles include albums by the Death Grips, Amy Winehouse and Arcade Fire. Daft Punk, Nirvana and Paul McCartney managed to make their way into the top ten, as well. Those who prefer their information served up in a handy graphical format should click through to the source link below. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Amazon Comments Source: Amazon

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Amazon vinyl sales up 745 percent since 2008, 8-track mulling comeback

If Internet.org ever hopes to be successful with its goal of bringing affordable internet to the next 5 billion people, the cost of delivery will need to be much cheaper than it is today. Today, members of the coalition — which includes Facebook, Qualcomm, Ericsson and others — released a substantial 70-page white paper that outlines some of the initial steps that are on the drawing board. According to the group’s estimates, data delivery is currently 100 times too expensive to execute the vision of Internet.org, but all of that could change within the next decade. To accomplish this, Internet.org is seeking ways to bring a tenfold improvement to the cost of delivering data, along with apps that are 10 times more efficient. For Facebook’s part, it highlights technologies such as HipHop for PHP and the HipHop virtual machine, which allows its existing servers to accommodate 500 percent more traffic than before, and its Air Traffic Control system, which allows it to simulate different mobile networks and congestion systems around the world. Similarly, Facebook is looking to compression technologies such as WebP — currently in use on its Android app — to replace image formats such as PNG and JPEG, which alone could reduce network traffic by 20%. Another challenge is looming, however, as Qualcomm estimates that the demand for data will double each year over the next 10 years, ultimately increasing 1000 fold over where it is today. To meet that demand, it’s lobbying for a substantial spectrum reallocation, along with technologies such as carrier aggregation, LTE-Broadcast and LTE Direct. Combine this with more unconventional approaches that it’ll reveal at a later date, and you begin to appreciate the massive undertaking that lies ahead for the partners of Internet.org. Filed under: Internet , Mobile , Facebook Comments Source: Facebook , Internet.org (PDF)

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Internet.org targets efficiency and cost reduction to connect the next 5 billion

Having a hard time making it in the internet radio space ? Maybe you should take a feather from the cap of a firm that still rides the airwaves . That seems to be Rdio’s approach — according to the New York Times , the company is partnering with Cumulus Media (a company that owns for-real radio stations) to create a free version of its audio streaming service. Rdio will also trade a stake in its parent company, Pulser Media, for chunks of Cumulus programming and promotion on the traditional airwaves. Cumulus will sell ads for Rdio’s impending free service, as well as compile playlists from its catalog of syndicated programming. This could buffer Rdio’s music library with news and talk shows, which will hopefully give the service a competitive advantage over services like Spotify , Pandora and iTunes Radio . Although the deal doesn’t involve a cash exchange, the Times reports the value of Cumulus’ services at over $100 million. As for that free Rdio overhaul? It’s predicted to be out sometime before the end of the year. The deal will be officially announced on Monday, until then, check out the NYT report at the source link below. Filed under: Misc , Portable Audio/Video Comments Source: NYT

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NYT: Rdio to offer free streaming by year’s end, strikes deal with traditional radio company

Microsoft’s new recycle-for-reward initiative doesn’t target one of its own devices — instead, it focuses on another company’s popular gadget: Apple’s iPad . The trade-in program offers at least $200 in exchange for a “gently used” iPad 2, 3 or 4 . You can probably get more than $200 in other places, especially for the newer slates, and you can even get cash instead of the Microsoft Store gift cards Redmond’s giving out. However, outgoing CEO Ballmer and Co. are hoping you’ll find the project helpful if you’ve been wanting to buy their products anyway — particularly the Surface tablets, as evidenced by their prominent placement on the program’s page. Before you surrender old iPads to give Surface a chance, know that the trade-in scheme will run until October 27th, which gives you time to see Microsoft’s next attempt . Filed under: Tablets , Microsoft Comments Via: ZDNet Source: Microsoft

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Microsoft offers $200 credit for used iPads, hopes you’ll become a Surface convert

Intel has cranked up its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) mini-computer to near gaming levels of power with the release of its 4th-gen Core-i5 D54250WYK kit. The new model comes with the latest HD Graphics 5000 , for one, and also uses Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 to ratchet the CPU clock past stock levels when the need arises. It’s got the chip giant’s Quick Sync video to speed up encoding, a DisplayPort 1.2 jack with 4K capability, four USB 3.0 ports, an infrared sensor, stereo/mic jacks and a gigabit Ethernet controller. There’s no pricing or date yet, but bear in mind that you’ll need to add RAM (up to 16GB), an mSATA drive and some kind of monitor to make it fly — though dwarfing it with a 4K display ( like this one ) might be overkill. Filed under: Desktops , Intel Comments Source: Intel

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Intel’s updated NUC squeezes in Haswell Core-i5, HD 5000 4K graphics

Hello, compatibility! Microsoft’s obviously a major proponent of Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) , but if you’ve been using electronic mail for any length of time, you’re probably aware that IMAP is a darn near universal protocol. Now, Microsoft is adding IMAP (and OAuth) support to Outlook.com. In addition to this being a lovely sign of Microsoft not shunning rival standards, it also opens up a ton of new possibilities. For one, applications that haven’t supported EAS — programs such as Mac Mail and the Mac edition of Mozilla Thunderbird — can now host Outlook.com accounts. Moreover, IMAP gives devs the ability to build third-party clients and services that are useful to end-users, and Microsoft’s announcing the first set of those as well. TripIt , Sift, Slice, motley*bunch, Unroll.me, OtherInbox, and Context.IO have taken advantage of Outlook.com’s new IMAP capability and are rolling out updates today that allow their apps and services to integrate with your Outlook.com email. If you’d like for your own app to follow suit, Microsoft’s providing a bit of instruction right here . Filed under: Internet , Microsoft Comments Source: Outlook Blog

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Outlook.com gains IMAP support, integrates with third-party services like TripIt

Intel barely existed on the mobile scene two years ago, and yet the company’s Clover Trail chips for low-power tablets and hybrids have already had a huge impact on the Windows PC market — not least by rendering Windows for ARM (aka Windows RT) largely redundant . But Clover Trail’s performance in devices like the Acer Iconia W3 or Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is far from perfect, especially with Windows 8 desktop applications and anything that involves 3D graphics, and that’s why we’re more than ready for its successor: Bay Trail , which is based on the next-generation 22nm Silvermont architecture . Intel has today detailed three families of Bay Trail chips, the most interesting of which is undoubtedly the Z3000-series for tablet form factors, and you can catch up on these new SoCs right after the break. Filed under: Desktops , Laptops , Tablets , Intel Comments

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Intel details Z3000 Bay Trail chips for tablets and hybrids, claims up to 2x CPU and 3x GPU performance