We MUST bring Hitchbot’s killers to justice!
People are bastards. They really are. HitchBOT, the cheerful hitchhiking robot that had made cross-country trips across Canada, the Netherlands and Germany, had intended to travel across the United States, but instead, after just 300 miles, HitchBOT came to an unfortunate end on the mean streets of Philadelphia. HitchBOT was an entity entirely dependent on the kindness of strangers. It travelled by itself and couldn't move on its own but required friendly humans to take it from place to place. Part art project and part social experiment, the friendly robot had been well received by all and sundry until that fateful night.
HitchBOT, the cheerful hitchhiking robot, was decapitated in Philadelphia last week
A statement on HitchBOT’s website read: “HitchBOT's trip came to an end last night in Philadelphia after having spent a little over two weeks hitchhiking and visiting sites in Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, and New York City. Unfortunately, HitchBOT was vandalized overnight in Philadelphia; sometimes bad things happen to good robots.” In its short life, the robot got to sit in a plane’s cockpit, meet Father Christmas and visit a Dutch art gallery, and whilst his epic journey might have come to an abrupt end, its creators have been touched by all the concern for HitchBOT through social media. So much so, that they have yet to lose their faith in humanity. The team is waiting to get HitchBOT's remains back from Philadelphia and will then decide on its next path. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Windows 10 is a hit!
In news that should surprise nobody who has been lucky enough to bag themselves an upgrade this week, Windows 10’s install base has already reached nearly 27 million users! Microsoft has yet to publicly address the milestone in the same way they previously did, but considering how popular this latest (and reportedly final) version of the operating system has been, it's possible that such an announcement will come in the near future. Windows 10 is available now as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, but not all PCs have gotten the invite to do so. Eager PC users can use numerous methods for skipped the queue, but should be wary of scam emails encouraging them to upgrade.
Yves Behar reinvents the TV set-top box
Yves Behar’s Fuseproject consultancy has worked with French broadcaster Canal+ on an inventive, tiny but powerful new set-top box called “Le Cube S.” The design is an update of the original Le Cube Fuseproject designed for Canal+ in 2008, but the new product fits into the palm of a hand. Its top surface features a textured pattern of opposing perpendicular lines referencing the Canal + interface. In short, it’s far more attractive than a set-top box really has any right to be.
Fuseproject has worked with French broadcaster Canal+ on an inventive, tiny but powerful new set-top box
Le Cube S is a subtle and elegant device with a hidden screen disguised behind its matte black surface and shows channel logos in full-colour. Eventually the 240×320 pixel screen will be able to show programme information too. By placing the hard drive in a separate white stand which sits underneath the cube Behar’s team has managed to shrink the main product considerably. Behar says the final product is the result of many iterations. He adds: “The Le Cube of eight years ago was always meant to eventually become this.” Eight years well spent we think. It certainly beats the drab and gormless looking Virgin and Sky boxes hands down!
The world’s first Braille smartwatch is announced
A South Korean start-up company called Dot recently unveiled a smartwatch built for blind users. The company’s CEO, Eric Ju Yoon Kim, explained that he wanted to make a smartwatch for the blind that was affordable and stylish. He said: “Until now, if you got a message on iOS from your girlfriend, for example, you had to listen to Siri read it to you in that voice, which is impersonal.” The braille display works using four depressed cells which rise and refresh to reveal new characters. The speed can be altered based on how fast the user can read. The company hopes to ship 10,000 watches by the end of the year!
YouTube finally cuts the 301+ view counter
YouTube is finally retiring the "301+ views" placeholder, which would until now appear on popular videos until their number of views could be officially verified by the site. In its place, YouTube is implementing a new system that counts and verifies views as they come in. Considering how huge YouTube has become over the past 5 years, we’re a little shocked it’s taken them this long to sort it out, but better late than never. The placeholder was put in place to freeze a video's view count after it went above 300. YouTube would verify the numbers were real, and not the result of automated view manipulating bots.
YouTube is finally retiring the "301+ views" placeholder
Viral videos that hit the internet fast and hard were the most often noticed by the average YouTube user to have their count stuck at the placeholder, and became known as a sign that a video was making an impact in a short pace of time. Lots of changes have been coming to YouTube of late. Not only has the interface been given a much-needed revamp, but the site now has its own music service and in June it announced a new gaming hub for videos and streaming content from games.
Google Fiber hits Texas
Google announced this week that it's bringing its Google Fiber network to San Antonio in Texas. Google Fiber’s Texan head honcho Mark Strama, said that implementing their fibre network in San Antonio will make it the largest fibre city to date, due in part to the 1.4 million people currently living there. There's no set date as to when Google Fiber will be fully operational in the city, but the design phase will begin soon. Strama said: "We’ll work closely with city leaders over the next several months to plan the layout of over 4,000 miles of fibre-optic cables—enough to stretch to Canada and back—across the metro area. This is no small task, and it will take some time, but we can’t wait to get started." As to whether or not we can ever expect Google Fiber (or should that be Fibre?) in the UK? Announcements have yet to be made, but we wouldn’t count it out!
