Here’s All You Should Know About Apple’s New Headquarters That Will Open In April

After several delays, Apple's sprawling new campus, dubbed "Apple Park," will finally open in April this year, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday. Although the first wave of employees will begin moving into the new Cupertino headquarters this spring, it will take about six months for all of the 12,000-plus workers to make the transition, Apple said. Construction will run through the summer. Apple's high standards contributed to delays on the project, former construction managers said. One door handle, for example, took at least a year-and-a-half to design, according to a former construction manager.

But Apple believes that's fine. 

“Steve invested so much of his energy creating and supporting vital, creative environments," Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, said in a statement. 

"We have approached the design, engineering and making of our new campus with the same enthusiasm and design principles that characterize our products." he said. 

Here is a list of  features the new Apple Park boasts of:

• Popularly known as the 'Spaceship' campus, owing to it's shape and size, Apple Park is spread over 176 acres of area in California's Santa Clara Valley,  and is said to reflect the childhood California landscapes Jobs grew up with. 
• It is often cited as the last thing Jobs built before his death, and was built at an reported cost of $5 billion, though the figure has not yet been confirmed by Apple. 
• It is built to accommodate almost 13,000 people. 
• The whole campus has been designed to run on renewable energy 
• The park is fitted with 17 megawatts of  rooftop solar panels, the largest on-site solar installation in the world, the Verge reported. 
  
• • The construction is also naturally ventilated, and is said to require no heating or air conditioning for nine months of the year.
    
  • The main building is 2.8 million-square-foot in area, and is in the shape of a giant ring. It allegedly boasts of the world's largest piece of curved glass.
  • The campus has a built-in theatre that has the capacity to seat 1,000 people. Apple has decided to name the theatre 'Steve Jobs Theatre'  as a special tribute to the former co-founder. 
  • Apple reportedly planted almost 9,000 trees in areas surrounding the campus, so that employees have lush grassy slopes and 'meadows' to jog and walk in,the Mirror reported.
  • Reports also claim that the buttons on the elevators in apple Park are designed to look like the 'Home' button of the iPhone7. 
  • The campus will include a visitors centre with an Apple Store, along with a cafe, a fitness centre for Apple employees and secure research and development facilities. 

7 innovative features in the new BMW 5-series

BMW is placing a bigger focus on tech in its all-new BMW 5-Series.

In addition to semi-autonomous features, the 2017 BMW 5-series comes with smart display systems and Amazon's digital assistant Alexa. The 5-series hits dealerships this month.

Scroll down for a closer look.

BMW made a few design changes to the overall appearance of the car. It's 1.2 inches longer to increase legroom in the back, and the headlights now flow into the kidney grille.

The new BMW 5-series also offers increased trunk capacity at 18.7 cubic feet. The car comes in 13 different colors.

All of the seats in the new 5-Series have eight different massage programs, each with three different intensity modes.

When the middle seat is not in use, passengers can use a fold-down armrest with cupholders. The seat can also be completely folded down to create a pass-through to the trunk — perfect for carrying skis.

BMW is also introducing something called Evasion Aid in the new 5-Series. If a vehicle in front of the car brakes aggressively, the car will change lanes quickly to avoid a forward collision. Evasion Aid works at speeds up to 100 mph.

The car comes with the standard Comfort, Sport, and ECO driving modes. The Sport mode offers a more dynamic driving experience, while ECO is best when you're looking for efficiency.

BMW's Adaptive Drive system will adapt the driving style based on the route ahead, taking into account road conditions, curves ahead, and upcoming intersections.

Source : Business Insider

The top 12 rumors we're hearing about Apple's next iPhone

Even die-hard iPhone fans have to admit that the AMOLED displays on other phones, particularly those from Samsung, look better than the LCD screens on iPhones.

But if the rumors are true, iPhone fans may no longer need to make that admission, as Apple is reportedly looking to use a form of OLED display on the next iPhone. Just prepare your wallet, because OLED isn't cheap.

But that's just one of the rumors we're hearing. Check out all the latest scuttlebutt surrounding Apple's next iPhone.

There WILL be an S model of the iPhone 7.

A Barclay's report obtained by MacRumors said Apple would skip the S model this year, which has historically followed each new phone version. The report claimed Apple would instead jump directly from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone 8 — possibly called the iPhone 10 — in 2017.

Now, however, it appears we could expect S models of the iPhone 7 next year with updates to the processor and a new red color option, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and the Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara, which are both highly reliable sources.

The iPhone 7 "S" models could have bigger screens.

Another Barclays report from November claimed that Apple is cooking up two iPhones with bigger screens than the usual 4.7- and 5.5-inch screens on the current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Specifically, the analysts say the new screens will measure 5 inches and 5.8 inches.

That said, the report doesn't specify that the new screen sizes are for S models of the iPhone 7 line. However, considering the rumor contains details on two new screen sizes, and the premium iPhone 8 is rumored to only be sold in one size, we could deduce that the Barclays report is referring to two S models.

In addition to the new S models, Apple will sell a third "high-end" iPhone with a medium-sized screen and a wraparound design.

A custom iPhone 5S made to look even more premium than the original models.

A report from Kuo predicted that Apple would release a "high-end" iPhone with a larger 5.8-inch screen compared with the iPhone 7 Plus's 5.5-inch screen.

Yet more recent reports and rumors claim the premium iPhone 8 will have a smaller 5.1- or 5.2-inch screen that will wrap around the edges of the device. It sounds like a similar design concept as the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Since 2017 marks the iPhone's 10th anniversary, it wouldn't be surprising if Apple does something special to mark the anniversary of its most important product.

The front surface of the ultra-premium iPhone will be all display, with no borders or bezels.

Rumors that the iPhone 8 would have an all-display front surface emerged from John Gruber, the plugged-in Apple blogger and podcaster from Daring Fireball.

Gruber says he has heard insider scuttlebutt that the iPhone 8's front won't have any bezels or borders, and that it'll be one large display.

The iPhone 8 will mostly be made of glass, with an aluminum frame.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iPhone 8's body will be made of glass. If so, it could have a similar aesthetic as the iPhone 4 and 4S, both of which had a glass back.

A report from the Japanese news site Nikkei says Apple is indeed ditching the metal back design for an all-glass back and metal frame.

The home button will be invisible.

In January 2017, the KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple would use optical sensors for the Touch ID home button. According to Kuo, optical sensors will allow the Touch ID button to be hidden, as they can read fingerprints through thicker OLED panels than the current iPhone's capacitive Touch ID sensor, which needs to be exposed.

Previous rumors that support Kuo's prediction include John Gruber's claims. He says the home button, which also houses the fingerprint sensor, will be embedded into the front glass panel, making it invisible.

Gruber's claims line up nicely with rumors posted by the tech site I4U that a future iPhone will have an embedded home button.

Recently, the Chinese tech giant Xiaomi released new phones with the same technology that Apple described in a patent for alternative home buttons, which could give us an idea of how a future home button on the iPhone 8 could work.

The iPhone 8 will have an incredible screen.

This could be one of the most popular rumors about the "special 10th anniversary edition" of the iPhone. 

In February, GSMArena reported that Apple struck a huge deal to buy 60 million OLED displays from Samsung. One month prior, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple would reportedly use a different technology for its Touch ID fingerprint reader, which is linked to the rumors that Apple's next iPhone will have an OLED display.

Previously, rumors from The Korea Herald suggested the high-end iPhone would have an AMOLED display, even though the other iPhones released in 2017 are expected to have LCD displays, like past iPhone models.

OLED displays are superior to LCD displays, which are currently used on the iPhone 7, in almost every way. They're more power efficient, produce better colors, better contrast, and better brightness. 

The iPhone 8 will support wireless charging.

A Barclay's report summarized by MacRumors said the iPhone 8 will have wireless charging. In general, we know that Apple is looking into the technology because of a patent filed on September 9.

In addition, Sharp president Tai Jeng-Wu apparently mentioned to university students that the next iPhone will include wireless charging.

In February 2017, an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider that the company recently joined the Wireless Power Consortium, an industry group that develops a widely-used wireless charging standard. It's not a direct admission that that Apple will add wireless charging to its upcoming iPhones, but it's a pretty good hint that Apple is very interested in expanding its wireless power technology beyond the Apple Watch.

It won't have a headphone jack.

This one is easy. Since the iPhone 7 doesn't have a headphone jack, we can expect future iPhones won't feature a headphone jack either.

The premium iPhone 8 will likely cost over $1,000.

Fast Company's Mark Sullivan expects the upcoming "special 10th-anniversary edition" of the iPhone to cost more than $1,000, which lines up with many of the rumors coming out of Apple's Asian supply chain.

The smaller iPhone models will not get the dual-lens camera from the iPhone 7 Plus.

Kuo believes the dual-lens camera will remain an exclusive feature for the larger iPhone models from 2017 onward.

There might have been a glimmer of hope that the dual-lens camera would make its way to the smaller iPhone model, as the optical image stabilization that was exclusive to the iPhone 6S Plus trickled its way down to the regular iPhone 7. But if Kuo's predictions are true, this will not be the case. So, don't expect a dual-lens camera in the smaller iPhone 7S; expect it in the larger iPhone 7S Plus, and in the iPhone 8.

The iPhone 8 could have facial recognition powered by "new laser sensors."

Apple's next iPhone could include "some form of facial/gesture recognition" powered a "new laser sensor" and infrared sensor on the front surface of the phone, according to a research note distributed to clients by Cowen and Company. We're not sure about the validity of this rumor, but it would make sense to see some new technologies if the iPhone 8 really does cost over $1,000.

Source: Business Insider

Is your iPhone acting slow? This super simple trick fixes it in just 30 seconds

iPhones generally tend to be smooth with no or rare RAM management issues.

But if you are using an iPhone that is more than a couple of years old, chances are there might be situations when it lags under the burden of latest graphic-intensive apps.

For getting rid of that problem, here is a super simple solution to get your iPhone refreshed within seconds.

First, unlock your device.

Now, long-press the power button till the shutdown screen appears. Once this screen comes on, long-press the Home button.

After a few seconds, the screen will reset and you will be taken back to the app or home screen you were previously on. 

This actually resets the RAM of the phone and clears any kind of cache or stored files that might have been using extra amount of RAM that is causing the lag.

ISRO Creates Record by Launching 104 Satellites. Watch the record breaking Take off Video

HIGHLIGHTS

• PSLV-C37 had 104 satellites onboard
• Of the 104, only 3 satellites were from India
• 96 of the satellites onboard PSLV-C37 were of US origin

ISRO launched the PSLV-C37 rocket on Wednesday with a record-setting 104 satellites on board the craft. The ISRO launch was yet another feather in the Indian space agency’s cap, which has also launched the cheapest mission to Mars, named Mangalyaan. The PSLV-C37, which launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, carried aboard the CartoSat-2D satellite, as well as 103 nano-satellites from various countries. Here’s a list of all the 104 satellites aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C37 rocket.

CartoSat-2D – ISRO, India (1)
CartoSat-2D is fifth in the series of CartoSat-2 remote-sensing satellites that capture and send panchromatic and multispectral images of India from space. These images can be used to monitor the coastal land use, urban and rural planning, road networks and water distribution, and to identify natural and man-made features. Weighing 714 kilograms, ISRO’s CartoSat-2D is the heaviest satellite onboard the PSLV-C37 and accounts for more than half the 1,377 kilogram payload of the rocket.

INS-1A – ISRO, India (1)
ISRO Nano Satellite-1A is an 8.4-kilogram research satellite that will stay operational for six months, and carry two science payloads. One is the Surface BRDF Radiometer (SBR) payload that can be used measure the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of targets on the Earth's surface and will be able to take readings of the sunlight reflected off different surface features. The other is the Single Event Upset Monitor (SEUM), which can be used to track Single Event Upsets that happen due to high energy radiation in space environment in Commercial, Off-the-Shelf (COTS) electronic components.

INS-1B – ISRO, India (1)
ISRO Nano Satellite-1B aboard the new PSLV-C37 rocket is also a modular satellite similar to the INS-1B, but weighs 9.7 kilogram. It is expected to remain operational for 6-12 months and also carries two science payloads: the Earth Exosphere Lyman Alpha Analyser (EELA) and Origami Camera payload from ISRO's Space Application Centre (SAC). EELA keeps track of terrestrial exospheric line-of-sight neutral atomic hydrogen Lyman Alpha flux and can give an estimate for the interplanetary hydrogen Lyman Alpha background flux by means of deep space observations. The Origami Camera, on the other hand, is a remote sensing colour camera that can take high-resolution pictures of the Earth with a small package.

Flock-3p – Plant Labs, United States of America (88)
ISRO’s PSLV-C37 will take Planet Labs’ 88 Flock-3p nano-satellites to space, bringing the total number of Dove satellites in space to 100. The satellites will be able to capture images of the entire Earth surface once a day and take pictures in line-scanner formation at mid-morning pass times to minimise shadows in the images they capture.

Lemur-2 – Spire Global, United States of America (8)
Eight Lemur-2 nano-satellites operated by Spire Global of the USA, each of which carries a meteorological payload that can determine the atmospheric pressure, humidity and temperature using signals from GPS satellites in Earth’s atmosphere. These nano-satellites also carry a payload that allows them to monitor and send forward tracking data from seafaring vessels.

Al-Farabi-1 – Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan (1)
The Al-Farabi-1 is a nano-satellite developed by students of the Kazakhstan’s Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. It weighs 1.7 kilograms and will work on calculating uplink/downlink and ADCS Mission algorithms and testing of self-made components.

BGUSat – Ben Gurion University, Israel (1)
A 3U CubeSat nano-satellite developed by Israel’s Ben Gurion University, BGUSat carries two imaging payloads, an experimental GPS receiver and an optical communication experiment. It measures 10x10x30 centimetres and weighs 5 kilograms. The BGUSat’s cameras can track climate phenomena and its guidance system enables the operators choose the areas to shoot and research through a dedicated ground station at BGU. 

Nayif-1 – Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), UAE (1)
Students at UAE’s Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) developed the Nayif-1 nano-satellite and will be used for educational purposes.

DIDO-2 – SpacePharma, Israel and Switzerland (1)
DIDO-2 is a microgravity research nano-satellite that can be used to conduct biochemical and physical experiments in micro-gravity. It will serve pharmaceutical companies, as well as other organisations, and will be able to send back data to Earth-based researchers via the on-board microscope.

PEASS – PEASS Consortium, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Israel (1)
PiezoElectric Assisted Smart Satellite Structure or PEASS is a nano-satellite that can be used to evaluate and qualify ‘smart structures’ which combine composite panels, piezoelectric materials, and next-generation sensors.

The PSLV-C37 rocket launched by ISRO carries satellites from many different countries as part of Antrix Corporation Limited’s deals with the operators of these satellites. Antrix is ISRO’s commercial division and provides entities the option to get their satellites in space onboard the ISRO rockets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately congratulated the ISRO scientists for the successful launch of 104 satellites, which smashes a record previously held by Russia.

"This remarkable feat ... is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation. India salutes our scientists," PM Modi wrote on Twitter.

President Pranab Mukherjee wrote in a series of tweets that "this day shall go down as a landmark in the history of our space programme," and the "nation is proud of the achievement, which has demonstrated, yet again, India's increasing space capabilities."

Vice President Hamid Ali Ansari also congratulated the ISRO team on the successful PSLV-C37 launch, saying, "I offer my congratulations to the Scientists, Engineers and Technicians of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the successful launch of the PSLV-C37 rocket that placed 104 satellites including Cartosat 2 Series from India and 7 other counties in their designated orbits. This has been a history scripting effort of launching 104 satellites in a single launch. The flawless launch has once again demonstrated India’s capabilities in the space sector and underlined our efforts to make the use and exploration of space more accessible and affordable."

Source : NDTV

Dubai is buying 200 Tesla vehicles as part of its ambitious self-driving taxi plan

Dubai is buying 200 Tesla vehicles as it looks to become a leader in the self-driving-car space.

Tesla will supply 200 Model S and Model X vehicles to the Dubai Taxi Corporation's fleet, according to The National, a UAE-owned, English-language newspaper. Tesla CEO Elon Musk inked the deal with the Roads and Transport Authority at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday. 

The deal is part of the Dubai Future Foundation's goal of making 25% of car trips autonomous by 2030. The agreement was signed the same day Tesla began selling its electric cars in Dubai, marking its first foray into the Middle East.

The Tesla vehicles will come equipped with the company's second-generation hardware suite that improves Tesla's Autopilot capabilities. The hardware will allow the cars to achieve full autonomy, pending further software approval, Tesla has said.

Tesla did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment regarding the timeline of the new taxi deal.

Dubai showed off its vision for a driver-less future in April when it released a video of a person hailing a self-driving Tesla taxi. The modified Tesla came with an augmented reality map that let passengers select where they want to go.