Tech Boys

Ride-sharing and transportation platform Didi Chuxing announced today that it has formed a joint venture with BP, the British gas, oil and energy supermajor. to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure in China. The charging stations will be available to Didi and non-Didi drivers. The news of Didi and BP’s joint venture comes one week after Didi announced that it had received funding totaling $600 million from Toyota Motor Corporation . As part of that deal, Didi and Toyota Motor set up a joint venture with GAC Toyota Motor to provide vehicle-related services to Didi drivers. BP’s first charging site in Guangzhou has already been connected to XAS (Xiaoju Automobile Solutions), which Didi spun out in April 2018 to put all its vehicle-related services into one platform. XAS is part of Didi Chuxing’s evolution from a ride-sharing company to a mobility services platform, with its services available to other car, transportation and logistics companies. In June, Didi also opened

Pearson , the London-based educational software maker, said today that thousands of school and university accounts, mostly in the United States, were affected by a data breach. The company added that it has notified affected users already and that the vulnerability has been fixed. The Wall Street Journal reports that the data breach happened in November 2018 and Pearson was notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in March. The perpetrator is still unknown. According to Pearson, unauthorized access was gained to 13,000 school and university accounts on AIMSweb, the company’s student monitoring and assessment platform. The data exposed included first and last names and, in some cases, date of birth and email addresses. Each account could potentially include information about thousands of students. Pearson added that it has no evidence that any of the exposed information was misused. It will offer free credit monitoring services to affected users as a “precautionary measure.

Lyft has made its Bay Wheels e-bikes in San Francisco unavailable to customers after a couple of them caught fire. According to San Francisco Examiner, a witness who saw the first incident on Wednesday said the flames came from the bike's battery. A... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2LTcxG1 via IFTTT

Love this wonderful rendition of the Beatles ' Yellow Submarine ' album cover , in string art, which was of course so very much of the era of this record's release. From R/crafts , and by @ meltsir -- who mounted it on a piece of spray-painted wood. What a wonderful reminder that patience can result in truly surprising beauty. View the original . from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/2MwwIc4 via IFTTT

“I made a wooden flag out of 2x4s for my oldest friend from high school who works as a peace officer. I grinded and sanded it to look like it it blowing in the wind and used a torch to burn in the dark areas.” From Redditor or and IMGUR ian GoodlyEarth . Don't miss the video at the end! I made a waving wooden flag out of 2x4s for my peace officer friend who I've know since high school. I used a torch to burn the dark colors into the wood. from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/319vHLf via IFTTT

Get a load of this delicious video of a beekeeper slicing that honeycomb down, from which to extract this year's honey harvest. It's so sweet and sticky and amazing I literally can't handle it! “Is this what you people want ?” “And the 2019 honey season is in the bag,” says beekeeper and IMGURian chop655 . “Pulled ~30-35 gallons (360-420lbs) for the year. Bee kind to each other.” Here's the video: Is this what you people want? from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/2YjXxYk via IFTTT

Mama bear and her cubs make off with some dog food on Elizabeth Loflin's North Carolina porch . Video below. The four little bears [ IMGUR / MSN/Storyful ] from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/31bCzaP via IFTTT

ALMERIA, SPAIN: These idiots dumped a used refrigerator out in nature, and the cops made them go out and get it and dispose of it properly. Morons dump fridge in nature. police orders them to retrieve it. The guy in the video got fined 45K Euro, and the shitcompany appliance sales firm where he worked was also investigated : After conducting an inspection at their facilities, located in the town of Olula del Río (Almería), the agents found about 50 washing machines stored in the outer courtyard of a warehouse among dry vegetation, as well as about 20 refrigerators under roof, all without having been removed #ÚLTIMAHORA | Despiden y multan con 45.000 euros al joven que lanzó una nevera por un monte de #Almeria Los compañeros del Seprona ha identificado a este hombre que se grabó lanzando un frigorífico en un monte. pic.twitter.com/zdubu2ZxBx — AUGC Guardia Civil (@AUGC_Comunica) July 31, 2019 More: Reddit , 20minutos.es , and levante-emv.com [via IMGUR ] from Boin

When you're at the dispensary trying to choose a strain. Not sure what John Delaney was on at the Democratic Debate tonight, but I am certain I do not want to be on it. MRW my wife is going through the list of things that need to get done this weekend [via IMGUR ] from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/2GSfvGL via IFTTT

At the end of CNN's second Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night, all the candidates ended their closing statements with their websites.  Except Joe Biden, who got confused. He gave the number to his text line with no context instead.  “Go to Joe 30330, and help me in this fight,” Biden said, faltering very slightly mid-sentence, possibly as he realised his mistake. Before the candidates had even left the stage, Joe30330.com was purchased. And a moment later, it was redirecting to fellow presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's site, PeteForAmerica.com . But another couple of minutes later, the redirect changed again ... to joshforamerica.com .  Read more... More about Joe Biden , Domain Name , Pete Buttigieg , Culture , and Politics from Mashable https://ift.tt/2Mwsq4C via IFTTT

In May, venture capitalist Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital warned in a Financial Times column that Amazon’s recent $575 million investment in the London-based delivery service Deliveroo could prove ominous for local restaurants. Wrote Moritz: “Amazon is now one step away from becoming a multi-brand restaurant company — and that could mean doomsday for many dining haunts.” Moritz was right to attract more attention to the deal. Deliveroo has begun operating shared kitchens from which it will not simply transport food to customers but eventually prepare it, too . His warning may even have played a role in this recent decision of Britain’s competition regulator to halt work on Amazon’s investment so it can first investigate whether the deal poses competitive concerns. Moritz knows the playbook because of Sequoia’s early investment in Rebel Foods , formerly known as Faasos, a once-small Pune, India-based company that now prepares a variety of foods in its cloud kitchens. As he say

Fintech startup Revolut is launching its stock trading feature today. It’s a Robinhood-like feature that lets you buy and sell shares without any commission. For now, the feature is limited to some Revolut customers with a Metal card. While Robinhood has completely changed the stock trading retail market in the U.S., buying shares hasn’t changed much in Europe. Revolut wants to make it easier to invest on the stock market. After topping up your Revolut account, you can buy and hold shares directly from the Revolut app. For now, the feature is limited to 300 U.S.-listed stocks on NASDAQ and NYSE. The company says that it plans to expand to U.K. and European stocks as well as Exchange Traded Funds. There’s no minimum limit on transactions, which means that you can buy fractional shares for $1 for instance. You can see real-time prices in the Revolut app. When it comes to fees, Revolut doesn’t charge any fee indeed, but with some caveats. The feature is currently limited to Revolut M

Got hardware? Well then, listen up, because our search continues for boundary-pushing, early-stage hardware startups to join us in Shenzhen, China for an epic opportunity; launch your startup on a global stage and compete in Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen  on November 11-12. Apply here to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019 . Why? It’s your chance to demo your product to the top investors and technologists in the world. Hardware Battlefield, cousin to Startup Battlefield , focuses exclusively on innovative hardware because, let’s face it, it’s the backbone of technology. From enterprise solutions to agtech advancements, medical devices to consumer product goods — hardware startups are in the international spotlight. If you make the cut, you’ll compete against 15 of the world’s most innovative hardware makers for bragging rights, plenty of investor love, media exposure and $25,000 in equity-free cash. Just participating in a Battlefield can change the whole trajectory of your

If you've already mastered Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, the game has another challenge for you. When Activision and Beenox revealed their revival of the Naughty Dog classic last month, they kicked off the Nitro Grand Prix. With that first race com... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2SXQiPQ via IFTTT

The FAA's free app that kept drone pilots aware of "no fly zones" performed a much-needed service -- but had few fans. The federal agency teamed up with drone software maker Kittyhawk to create a new version of the B4UFLY app that is being released t... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2YDEwPG via IFTTT

As our beloved and recently unveiled narrator tells us at the top of Jane the Virgin 's final episode, everything ends. Stories end, friendships end, relationships end, and we must come to terms with it. Yet so often in real life – outside of telenovelas and the CW shows that honor them – things don't end. Chapters of our own lives draw to a close, but then things go on. You learn to live without the thing that ended, or with the new change. The endings we experience in letting go of television are unique because rarely in life do we have to let go of so many beloved people and places at once, never to hear from them again. Read more... More about Entertainment , Television , Jane The Virgin , The Cw , and Entertainment from Mashable https://ift.tt/2YxVu29 via IFTTT

Fake meat is coming to a barbecue near you. Impossible Foods has been granted approval by the FDA to sell its plant-based meat in US grocery stores this fall, reported Bloomberg. After expressing some initial doubts, the agency formally ruled that so... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2K5uRcO via IFTTT

While most pranks that originate from YouTube are terrible, a recent one targeted at homeless people in Los Angeles was particularly abhorrent and cruel. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, a group of online pranksters connected with popular You... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/318QpLq via IFTTT

Someone dropped donated a live mortar shell to Goodwill in Placerville, Califonia. While the shell, thought to be leftover from World War II, would likely have fetched more than the usual bric-à-brac on offer, the organization is clear that they don't accept donations of live ammunition. From CBS Sacramento : Goodwill says people often drop off items in boxes that haven’t been looked through, and sometimes the donations are from a deceased war veteran... “As we sort through those things we often find war memorabilia, grenades, it’s rare that we find a live grenade or any live ammunition, but when we do we have protocols in place to make sure that we dispose of it safely,” said Richard Abrusci, President and CEO of Goodwill Sacramento. In the case of this potentially explosive mortar, the bomb squad came in to take it away and disposed of it at Travis Air Force Base. from Boing Boing https://ift.tt/2YCyI9f via IFTTT

Google is levelling up its security for businesses. The company unveiled a host of new protections for its G Suite, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Cloud Identity customers at the Next Tokyo summit. G Suite Enterprise admins can choose to enroll high... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2Mz4X2V via IFTTT

BBC Click's Spencer Kelly takes a ride in some in some of Nasa's latest vehicles. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2STBh1q via Technology

These days, everyone seems to have an app or software idea, and thanks to the availability of custom software developers, it’s possible to make those apps a reality. Software development is something you can learn, but it takes years of experience (and oftentimes a team of collaborators) to create a functional finished product—and most aspiring entrepreneurs don’t have the time or patience to go through these steps on their own. However, merely hiring a custom software developer isn’t going to be enough to guarantee your product will be built the way you want it. There are hundreds, if not thousands of available options, and thousands of variables that could impact your project along the course of its development. So what steps can you take to ensure your project is successful when hiring a custom software developer? Validating Your Idea Before doing anything else, take the time to think critically about your idea for an app or software project; you’ll need to focus on two main d

Since we reviewed Jaybird's Run, the company's first truly wireless earbuds, the competition has heated up significantly. So much so that just making the Run fully waterproof isn't enough -- Jaybird needs something bold to turn heads (and ears) again... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2GCu5C6 via IFTTT

Nairobi based internet hardware and service startup BRCK and Egyptian ride-hail venture Swvl are partnering to bring WiFI and online entertainment to on-demand bus service in Kenya. BRCK will install its routers on Swvl vehicles in Kenya and run its Moja service, which offers free public WiFi—internet, music, and entertainment—subsidized by commercial partners. Founded in Cairo in 2017, Swvl is a mass transit service that has positioned itself as an Uber for shared buses. “Think ride hailing, but with a bus…and instead of the vehicle coming to you…you go to the bus, and the bus picks you up at a certain point and time,” Swvl’s general manager for Kenya, Shivachi Muleji, told TechCrunch via email. The company raised a $42 million Series B round in June , with intent to expand in Africa, Swvl CEO Mostafa Kandil said in an interview . In Kenya, BRCK has installed 15 of its units in Swvl buses and looks to offer its Moja WiFi service in 700 by 2020, BRCK’s chief operating officer

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday. Apple finally revealed when its sleek new credit card will launch . The Apple Card will be launching in August, the company said on its earnings call, confirming a previous report from Bloomberg. Apple's iPhone sales slump continued in Q3, but Mac and wearable growth helped top targets . Apple's iPhone sales fell 12%, but were better than analysts had forecast. The woman suspected of stealing more than 100 million people's data from the bank Capital One clued in the FBI because she boasted about a hack on GitHub, Slack, and Twitter, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors on Monday . Capital One on Monday revealed that the data of some 106 million people had been compromised in the breach, which it said occurred in March. The Chinese tech firm Huawei said it saw a massive sales increase in the first half of 2019, despite pressure from the US trade ban . Overall revenue was up 23

NASA is helping 13 companies develop technologies that could benefit its future missions. Jim Reuter, the associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, explained that the agency has identified the key areas it needs for futu... from Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2MtHPTg via IFTTT

When Rad Konieczny first saw a screenshot of the video, he felt physically sick. A friend of a friend was the first to spot it. They told the 24-year-old set/costume designer that there was a tweet out there with him in it, but it wasn't until later that evening — when people started messaging him en masse — that Konieczny actually saw it. "I knew it was meant in a bad way, I just knew," he told Mashable. "When you’re bullied for years you sense these things."  The now-deleted video was taken at a bar in London. It showed Konieczny facing away from the camera, talking to a group of friends. He was wearing a pair of cut-off denim shorts, and the person taking the video was laughing at his outfit. Read more... More about Twitter , Privacy , Body Shaming , Culture , and Web Culture from Mashable https://ift.tt/2ZlrRhG via IFTTT

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, as president, he would allow gig workers to unionize. "There are people in the gig economy who go through more jobs in a week than my parents went through in their lifetime," Buttigieg said during the debate. "That's why I propose that we allow gig workers to unionize because a gig is a job and a worker is a worker." Organizing among some gig-economy workers is already beginning. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said he would allow gig workers to unionize to "put the interest of workers first." "There are people in the gig economy who go through more jobs in a week than my parents went through in their lifetime," Buttigieg said during the debate when answering a question about trade. "That's why I propose that we allow gig workers to unionize, because a gig is a job and a worker is a worker

As it forecast earlier this month, Samsung reported a steep drop in its second-quarter earnings due to lower market demand for chips and smartphones. The company said its second-quarter operating profit fell 55.6% year-over-year to 6.6 trillion won (about $5.6 billion), on consolidated revenue of 56.13 trillion won, slightly above the guidance it issued three weeks ago . Last quarter, Samsung also reported that its operating profit had dropped by more than half . The same issues that hit its earnings during the first quarter of this year have continued, including lower memory prices as major datacenter customers adjust their inventory, meaning they are currently buying less chips (the weak market also impacted competing semiconductor maker SK Hynix’s quarterly earnings ). Samsung reported that its chip business saw second-quarter operating profit drop 71% year-over-year to 3.4 trillion won, on consolidated revenue of 16.09 trillion won. In the second half of the year, the company exp

There’s a double standard when it comes to the sexualities of men versus women, trans and gender non-conforming folks. Unbound and Dame Products , two sex tech startups, have teamed up to bring attention to the issue. By launching a website, “ Approved, Not Approved ” and staging a protest outside Facebook’s NYC headquarters, the two startups hope to bring more awareness to the company’s advertising guidelines that seem to favor products that cater to cisgender men. The point of the digital campaign is to show how ads for sex toys and products geared toward men are more likely to be approved than those for women, trans or gender non-conforming people. “For so long, advertisements have been how we continue to reinforce the status quo of what we view as societally desirable and validating,” Dame Products CEO Alexandra Fine told TechCrunch. “Since we’re in a category that’s often denied, we wanted to create an experience that illuminates the disparity.” On Facebook, for example, it’s

Daniel Kish is a blind man who sees the world with sound. He travels the globe by himself teaching others to see with senses that we all have but are unaware of! Through his work, he’s teaching us all to redefine is “impossible” for ourselves. Not long ago, we thought the brain’s circuits were wired once and then slowly degraded through our lives. Not any more! There is a world of new research on the brain’s astounding ability to form new pathways and connections when there is damage or missing capacities. Daniel Kish has had a life that is a testament to that research, using his brain’s potential to adapt to blindness: he “sees” much like bats and dolphins. His work points to the fact that similar capacities probably lie dormant in us all. We may be standing on the edge of a leap of human potential. His work is one of those stories that turns commonly held notions on their head. In this article, we dive into to potential of yet another future we once thought impossible. Source: