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Tesla Granted Permission to Sell Model 3 in Europe

Charlotte Henry ·

LONDON – Tesla received permission to start selling the Model 3 in Europe. Bloomberg News reported Monday that the Dutch vehicle authority, RDW, gave the firm the go-ahead. It could start delivering the Long Range Battery version of the vehicle in February. The news came just days after CEO Elon Musk announced that the company was going to lay off 7% of its full-time staff to reduce the price of the Model 3.

The European launch is crucial for Tesla as it navigates what Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk called a “very difficult” road ahead. The company is cutting jobs so it can profitably deliver lower-priced versions of the Model 3, Tesla’s first car targeted for the mass market. Musk has pointed to sales of the sedan in Europe and China as a main reason he isn’t concerned about any potential setback caused by a halving of the U.S. federal tax credit, to $3,750, on Tesla purchases as of Jan. 1.

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Samsung Galaxy S10 Images Leaked

Charlotte Henry ·

On Friday, VentureBeat’s famed phone-leaker Evan Blass tweeted a picture of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 range.  It featured the Galaxy S10E, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+. The Verge reported on the leaks, saying that the Galaxy S10E is likely to be the cheaper model in the range. It has just 2 cameras at the back, while both the other two models three. The report also noted that Samsung and Verizon are thought to have held discussions about bringing 5G to the U.S.

Blass points out that this image features the Galaxy S10 lineup in clear cases, with the S10E on the left, the S10 in the middle, and the S10+ on the right. The S10E features two cameras on the back, while the other two have three. The S10+ also appears to have a pair of front-facing cameras with a larger hole-punch.

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New 'Shot on iPhone XS' Film Set for Chinese New Year Release

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple looks set to release a new «Shot on iPhone XS» film in the near future. 9to5Mac picked up on Chinese reports which indicated that the new clip will be will be released to coincide with Chinese New Year. Those reports suggested that the latest iPhone XS short will be officially announced on January 25th. Apple released a «Shot on iPhone XS» film back in September 2018. It showed off the camera’s slow motion, time-lapse, and 4K capabilities.

A post on Chinese social network QQ.com shares what appears to be teaser materials for the film. Text invites you to click on text to reveal the protagonist of the film, and doing so reveals a man with a taped-up bucket … Other text asks whose story will be told, and how the secret will be kept, revealing further images of the man on the back of a motorcycle and a closer shot of the bucket.

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5 Drawing Apps for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

Andrew Orr ·

Michael Calore’s list is a good follow up to my article of apps that put the pro in iPad Pro. If you’re an artist, here are five drawing apps to look out for.

Whether you’re a casual scribbler or seasoned illustrator, the iPad Pro, paired with its Pencil, can be a serious artistic tool.

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Google Investigation Shows Apple Was Right About Face ID

Andrew Orr ·

Take this with a grain of salt because this tweet is all I’ve seen about this. But David Ruddock of AndroidPolice mentioned a Google investigation trying to determine if certain types of fingerprint sensors are secure.

Another CES Story: I’ve heard Google is currently investigating whether current optical fingerprint sensor designs are secure enough to be used for TrustZone auth (mobile payments, banking apps, etc). There is real concern optical FPRs may be too easy to spoof.

Although facial recognition came to Android first, it was there for convenience as a way to unlock your device. But Apple added it for security, and it looks like they bet on the right horse.

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A List of macOS Touch Bar Apps

Andrew Orr ·

The Touch Bar on recent Macs doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, but David Nield writes about macOS Touch Bar apps that do make use of it.

We’re only going to limit ourselves to mentioning one Apple app in the list, but dig around, and you’ll find that pretty much every native macOS program includes some Touch Bar shortcuts you might find useful.

Personally I’m of the opinion that the feature is gimmicky and doesn’t add much functionality to Macs.

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Some Guidelines on how to Spot Bad Science

Andrew Orr ·

Recently I wrote a PSA on Wi-Fi and cancer, and a lot of people disagree with me by sending me links to studies and other news that also disagree. That’s fine, but at the same time a lot more effort goes into scientific research than cherry picking Google results. I don’t claim to know better than these studies, but a scientific study needs to be taken into context of the field as a whole. John Oliver had a good segment on studies and how they can be misunderstood. Compound Interest has a rough guide to spotting bad science and red flags to watch out for. I’ve made use of this guide for some time, and I think it’s helpful.

This graphic looks at the different factors that can contribute towards ‘bad’ science – it was inspired by the research I carried out for the recent aluminium chlorohydrate graphic, where many articles linked the compound to causing breast cancer, referencing scientific research which drew questionable conclusions from their results.

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Cortana no Longer an Alexa or Google Home Competitor

Charlotte Henry ·

Microsoft no longer sees its Cortana digital assistant as a competitor to the more popular Alexa and Google Home. The company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, said that it should be further integrated with its rivals’ platforms instead, The Verge reported. Microsoft and Amazon already partnered for some Cortana/Alexa integration, and this is clearly where Microsoft intends to take the product next – more of an app or service across multiple platforms, not hardware to be sold.

CEO Satya Nadella revealed that Microsoft no longer sees Cortana as a competitor to Alexa or Google Assistant. “Cortana needs to be that skill for anybody who’s a Microsoft 365 subscriber,” explains Nadella, referencing Microsoft’s new consumer subscription push. “You should be able to use it on Google Assistant, you should be able to use it on Alexa, just like how you use our apps on Android and iOS so that’s at least how we want to think about where it’ll go.”