Innholdsfortegnelse for #273 i Techlife News

Two days before Christmas, Luis Gonzalez received a little Chinese modem from Cuba’s state-owned telecommunications company. The 55-year-old theater producer connected the device to his phone and his laptop computer, which instantly lit up with a service unimaginable in the Cuba of just a few years ago - relatively fast home internet. “It’s really easy to sit and find whatever you need,”Gonzalez said as he sat in his living room updating his Facebook account, listening to Uruguayan radio online and checking an arriving tourist’s landing time for a neighbor who rents rooms in their building in historic Old Havana. “Most Cubans aren’t used to this convenience.” Home internet came to Cuba last month in a limited pilot program that’s part of the most dramatic change in daily life here since…

After a relative suffered a heart attack a few years ago, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Adrian Aoun got an unsettling look at a health-care system that he diagnosed as an inefficient and outdated mess. Now he believes he has a remedy. It’s called Forward, a health-management service that charges a $149 per month - roughly $1,800 a year - to tend to all of its patients’ primary-care needs. And not just with attentive doctoring, either; Forward plans to deploy body scanners, sensors, giant touch-screen monitors, infrared devices and other high-tech gizmos that could make a doctor’s appointment feel more like a trip to an Apple store. “Doctors are super smart, but they are set up for failure in so many ways,” Aoun says. “We haven’t built the tools that they need…

China’s sole aircraft carrier has returned home following a far-ranging three-week training mission during which its combat capabilities were closely scrutinized and speculation soared over what future role the flat-top will play amid China’s growing military ambitions. The Defense Ministry said the 60,000-ton Liaoning sailed in to the eastern port of Qingdao along with its battle group that includes destroyers, frigates, a supply ship and antisubmarine craft. The ministry quoted the group’s commander, Rear Adm. Chen Yueqi, as saying the drill simulated real combat as closely as possible and “achieved all targets set for it.” China commissioned the carrier in 2012 and declared it combat ready in November, shortly after which it launched its first live-fire exercises. The cruise that began on Christmas Day took it through the Miyako Strait,…

Nintendo is trying to Switch it up. The Japanese video-game company revealed details about its hotly anticipated Nintendo Switch, a video game console that also serves as a hand-held gaming device, during a global rollout. The price in the U.S. will be $300, a bit above the $200 to $250 that analysts were expecting. It will debut March 3. The Switch is the first major hybrid console/hand-held gaming device. “Nintendo Switch is a new way to play,” said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime at a packed event in New York, where several hundred reporters tried out games including the fantasy game “Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and the fighting game “Arms” on the device. HOPING TO END A DRY SPELL Nintendo needs the Switch to be a hit. Its…

11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory Dropkick Murphys Drawing inspiration from the work of The Claddagh Fund, Dropkick Murphys return in all of their punk rock glory with their ninth studio album. FIVE FACTS: 1. Dropkick Murphys was formed on a dare. Someone who worked with band frontman Ken Casey dared him to open for his band at a gig. Ken gathered some friends and won the $20 bet, with the act going on to become Dropkick Murphys. 2. The band gets its name from a Massachusetts-born wrestler who went by the name John E. “Dropkick” Murphy. 3. 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory will mark the first time the band has recorded an album away from home. 4. The cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that appears…

Looking relaxed in his black shorts and ankle-length socks, Thongchai Jaidee took aim at the range and hit a shot into the cloudless sky to the backdrop of “The Zephyr Song” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Minutes later, the playlist had moved on to a dance song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. Welcome to the modern-day European Tour. In the latest move to make golf more entertaining and fun for both players and spectators, music is being played on the range throughout the week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The intention also is for music to be played on the walkway to the first tee, giving it a feel comparable to the build-up to a boxing match. The soundtrack to golf will no longer be just the thwack…

Australian officials defended their suspension of the fruitless deep-sea sonar search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, insisting on Wednesday that the enormous costs involved played no role in their decision to halt the nearly three-year hunt. Australia’s Transport Minister Darren Chester also said that while the search had been called off on Tuesday, work behind the scenes would go on, with experts continuing to analyze data associated with the doomed aircraft’s final hours and examining any future debris that washes ashore. But he declined to specify what kind of breakthrough would convince officials to resume the search for the Boeing 777’s underwater wreckage. “When we get some information or data or a breakthrough that leads us to a specific location, the experts will know it when they see it,”he told…

There’s a new thrill on the streets of downtown Las Vegas, where high- and low-rollers alike are climbing aboard what officials call the first driverless electric shuttle operating on a public U.S. street. The oval-shaped shuttle began running last week as part of a 10-day pilot program, carrying up to 12 passengers for free along a short stretch of the Fremont Street East entertainment district. The vehicle has a human attendant and computer monitor, but no steering wheel and no brake pedals. Passengers push a button at a marked stop to board it. The shuttle uses GPS, electronic curb sensors and other technology, and doesn’t require lane lines to make its way. “The ride was smooth. It’s clean and quiet and seats comfortably,” said Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who was among…

A Southern California Gas Company facility where a blowout spewed methane for nearly four months has completed a safety review and could resume reduced operations after a series of public hearings, state officials said Tuesday. The Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site has been crippled more than a year since the blowout discovered in October 2015 drove 8,000 families from their homes and led to mass complaints of nosebleeds, nausea, headaches and other maladies. More than a third of the wells in the aging former oil field now pass rigorous inspections ordered after the blowout, the Department of Conservation said. If allowed to resume gas storage, the company would be limited to store only about a third of the facility’s capacity, the state said. Aliso Canyon is the largest gas…

Facebook says it’s introducing measures to tackle the spread of fake news in Germany, months before the country holds a national election. The social network said the investigative media group Correctiv will be its first outside fact-checker in Germany and it’s working to bring aboard other media organizations. It said updates to make it easier to report fake news will be introduced shortly in Germany. Facebook last month launched plans to focus on the “worst of the worst” offenders and partner with outside fact-checkers and news organizations, including The Associated Press, to sort out true news reports from made-up stories. Germany is expected to hold a national election in September. Facebook has also faced criticism in Germany for what critics call an insufficient response to hate speech.…

Two years after guiding the company through an unprecedented email hack, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is leaving the company to become the chairman of the board for Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat. Sony said that Lynton, a 13-year Sony veteran who led both the music and entertainment group, will stay on for six months to ensure a smooth transition as Sony Corp. President and CEO Kazuo Hirai looks for a replacement. In a statement, Lynton said he had been involved with Snapchat since its early days and is choosing to focus on that company given its recent growth. Lynton started with Sony in 2004 as chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and in 2012 was named CEO of Sony Entertainment. Sony Pictures Entertainment and its various film…

“Hidden Figures,” the uplifting film about African-American mathematicians at NASA during the 1960s space race, led the North American box office for the second straight week, selling $27.5 million in tickets over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, according to final studio figures Tuesday. The Fox release, which stars Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer, has now made $61.9 million following its two weeks of nationwide release. Holdovers dominated the four-day weekend, while a number of high-profile new wide releases struggled badly. Ben Affleck’s period crime thriller “Live by Night” managed a feeble $6 million, and Martin Scorsese’s passion project, the Christian epic “Silence,” earned a mere $2.4 million. Paramount’s pricey family film “Monster Trucks,” which cost $125 million, opened with just $14.2 million. In an unprecedented…

Baidu Inc., which operates China’s most popular Internet search engine, says it has hired a former Microsoft executive with a background in artificial intelligence to improve its competitiveness in the field. Baidu said Qi Lu was named group president and chief operating officer in charge of products, technology and sales. Qi, who has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, previously was Microsoft Corp.’s global executive vice president. Robin Li, Baidu’s chairman, said in a statement, “With Dr. Lu on board, we are confident that our strategy will be executed smoothly and Baidu will become a world-class technology company and global leader in AI.”…

Imagine you’re behind the wheel when your brakes fail. As you speed toward a crowded crosswalk, you’re confronted with an impossible choice: veer right and mow down a large group of elderly people, or veer left into a woman pushing a stroller. Now imagine you’re riding in the back of a self-driving car. How would it decide? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are asking people worldwide how they think a robot car should handle such life-or-death decisions. Their goal is not just for better algorithms and ethical tenets to guide autonomous vehicles, but to understand what it will take for society to accept the vehicles and use them. Their findings present a dilemma for car makers and governments eager to introduce self-driving vehicles on the promise that they’ll…

EMAIL COMPETES WITH MESSAGING FOR RELEVANCE Here’s a small question for you: when was the last time you contacted someone by making a traditional phone call? It probably wasn’t recently. That’s because the continuing rise of messaging apps and services, like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat and iMessage, is changing the game when it comes to communication - with friends, family and even businesses and work colleagues. Meanwhile, social media is transforming the way many of us consume news, leaving the question: what relevance will traditional phone calls and email have in the foreseeable future? SOME OF THE LEADING LIGHTS IN MESSAGING In February 2016, WhatsApp announced that it had amassed a billion monthly active users. The following July, Facebook, the owner of WhatsApp, announced that Facebook Messenger had reached the same milestone. This…

The Girl on the Train Based on the best-selling thriller novel by Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train follows the newly divorced Rachel (Emily Blunt) as she becomes embroiled in a terrifying mystery surrounding a house that she passes on the train every day. FIVE FACTS: 1. Paula Hawkins’ thriller novel The Girl on the Train became one of the fastest-selling adult fiction novels in recent history. 2. In the book the story takes place in England, with Rachel taking the train into London every day, but for the movie the setting was changed to New York. 3. Chris Evans was originally considered to play the role of Tom Watson, but due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts involving another movie, was forced to drop out. 4. Emily Blunt was pregnant…

Former astronaut Gene Cernan, who as the last person to walk on the moon returned to Earth with a message of “peace and hope for all mankind,” died on Monday (16), his family said. He was 82. Cernan was with his relatives when he died at a Houston hospital following ongoing heath issues, family spokeswoman Melissa Wren told The Associated Press. His family said his devotion to lunar exploration never waned. “Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space and encouraged our nation’s leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon,” his family said in a statement released by NASA. Cernan was commander of NASA’s Apollo 17 mission…