Here’s what’s on my mind.

Coming from a background as an academician, here’s where I provide insight into my career, my passions and my life.

The new Nokia 3310: What’s changed?

Who knew stringing four numbers together and slapping it on a feature phone could evoke such a strong consumer reaction in 2017? Ever since HMD Global won MWC by announcing the new Nokia 3310, millennials have been frothing at the mouth in anticipati…

‘iPhone 8’ Renders Offer Direct Size Comparisons With iPhone 7 and Galaxy S8

Alleged “iPhone 8” leaks have been coming fast and steady over recent weeks, with various schematics and protective case designs suggesting Apple has finalized the radical redesign destined for its tenth anniversary smartphone.

Many of the leaks we’ve been tracking in the last few days in particular offer few if any details beyond what we’ve already heard about Apple’s upcoming OLED iPhone, but a couple of renders are making the rounds online that may give readers a clearer idea of how the new handset might look alongside current smartphones on the market.



In the above renders, originally published by iDrop News, an “iPhone 8” with edge-to-edge display is shown set in between Apple’s existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new handset is expected to be 144mm tall, 71mm wide, and 7.7mm thick, according to leaked design renderings and schematics. They compare to existing iPhone 7 dimensions of 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm.

Another render, pictured below, shows the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone in between the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Samsung’s devices measure 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm and 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm, respectively. Taken together, the above numbers suggest Apple’s redesigned handset will be slightly thicker than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 but not as thick as the Galaxy S8.



The last major rumor about the so-called “iPhone 8” came last week, when it was reported that Apple suppliers TSMC confirmed Apple had successfully integrated Touch ID fingerprint recognition into the OLED display.

The new handset is expected to release in the fall alongside upgraded “S” cycle versions of Apple’s existing line-up. Other features for the high-end phone could include a front-facing dual-lens camera with 3D sensing capabilities and some form of wireless charging.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)

Discuss this article in our forums

Uber Fires Engineer Accused of Stealing Self-Driving Secrets From Waymo

In the ongoing legal battle between Uber and Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber announced this week that it has fired Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing Waymo’s self-driving intellectual property when he left his job at Google to start his own company, Otto (via The New York Times). In the original lawsuit, Waymo claimed that when Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski’s stolen trade secrets came with the purchase, mainly centering around Waymo’s LiDAR system.

In the months following Waymo’s filing, Uber denied the accusations and “pressured Mr. Levandowski to cooperate” with the court. When he was ordered by a federal judge to give the court any evidence related to Waymo’s accusations, as well as a testimony, he was said to have asserted his Fifth Amendment rights in order to avoid self-incrimination. The judge gave Levandowski an internal deadline to hand over the evidence in question, and when he missed it Uber decided to fire him.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick (left) and former employee Anthony Levandowski (right)


According to legal analysts watching the case, if Levandowski continued to be employed by Uber, “the company risked being tarnished…as if it were indirectly condoning his actions.”

“Over the last few months Uber has provided significant evidence to the court to demonstrate that our self-driving technology has been built independently,” Angela L. Padilla, Uber’s associate general counsel for employment and litigation, wrote in an email to employees. “Over that same period, Uber has urged Anthony to fully cooperate in helping the court get to the facts and ultimately helping to prove our case.”

She added: “We take our obligations under the court order very seriously, and so we have chosen to terminate his employment at Uber.”

When the lawsuit was filed in February, Levandowski and “other former Waymo employees” were accused of stealing around 14,000 confidential Waymo files that included data on Waymo’s laser-based radar (LiDAR) system, which the company called “one of the most powerful parts” of its self-driving technology. Federal prosecutors began investigating the case earlier in May, while also partially granting Waymo’s request for an injunction against Uber’s self-driving efforts as the case continues.

Besides Waymo’s lawsuit, Uber has also faced troubled waters this year when the Department of Justice began investigating the ride-hailing company over its use of “greyball” software that let drivers operate in places where the Uber app is restricted.

It also came out this year that Apple CEO Tim Cook threatened to remove Uber from the iOS App Store in 2015 after discovering that Uber was secretly “fingerprinting” iPhones that used the app. Uber said the decision was made to prevent fraud, making sure users could no longer create multiple fake accounts on one device to collect new account bonuses, despite knowing that its method was in direct violation of Apple’s app privacy guidelines.

Although Uber’s self-driving future is uncertain, Waymo has made progress in recent months with the launch of an autonomous car program in Phoenix, as well as the announcement of a partnership with Lyft that plans “to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream.”

Tags: Google, Uber, Waymo

Discuss this article in our forums

Matterport launches Pro2 camera optimized for 2D and 3D imagery

 Matterport is updating its depth-sensing camera for customers seeking to capture their businesses and real estate properties in virtual reality. The Pro2 Camera is a spec bump rather than a rethink of the company’s first camera and is actually built upon improving the quality of its 2D still imagery for customers who are using print mediums in addition to the virtual reality tours… Read More

UTM Open Day