Waymo is creating 3D maps of Los Angeles to better understand traffic congestion

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company under Alphabet, has started creating 3D maps in some heavily trafficked sections of Los Angeles to better understand congestion there and determine if its self-driving vehicles would be a good fit in the city.

For now, Waymo is bringing just three of its self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Los Angeles to map downtown and a section of Wilshire Boulevard known as Miracle Mile.

Waymo employees will initially drive the vehicles to create 3D maps of the city. These maps are unlike Google Maps or Waze. Instead, they include topographical features such as lane merges, shared turn lanes and curb heights as well as road types and the distance and dimensions of the road itself, according to Waymo. That data is combined with traffic control information like signs, the lengths of crosswalks and the locations of traffic lights.

Starting this week, Angelenos might catch a glimpse of Waymo’s cars on the streets of LA! Our cars will be in town exploring how Waymo's tech might fit into LA’s dynamic transportation environment and complement the City’s innovative approach to transportation. pic.twitter.com/REHfxrxqdL

— Waymo (@Waymo) October 7, 2019

Waymo does have a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California and could theoretically deploy its fleet in Los Angeles. But for now, the company is in mapping and assessment mode. Waymo’s foray into Los Angeles is designed to give the company insight into driving conditions there and how its AV technology might someday be used.

The company said it doesn’t plan to launch a rider program like its Waymo One one currently operating in suburbs of Phoenix. Waymo One allows individuals to hail a ride in one of the self-driving cars, which have a human safety driver behind the wheel.

The self-driving car company began testing its autonomous vehicles in and around Mountain View, Calif., before branching out to other cities and weather, including Novi, Mich., Kirkland, Wash., San Francisco and more recently in Florida. But the bulk of the company’s activities have been in suburbs of Phoenix  and around Mountain View — two places with lots of sun, and even blowing dust, in the case of Phoenix.

The road ahead for Waymo, AV engineering and mobility, with Waymo CTO Dmitri Dolgov

Read Full Article

Spotify gains Siri support on iOS 13, arrives on Apple TV

In a long-awaited move, Spotify announced this morning its iOS 13 app would now offer Siri support and its streaming music service would also become available on Apple TV. That means you can now request your favorite music or podcasts using Siri voice commands, by preferencing the command with “Hey Siri, play…,” followed by the audio you want, and concluding the command with “on Spotify.”

The Siri support had been spotted earlier while in beta testing, but the company hadn’t confirmed when it would be publicly available.

According to Spotify, the Siri support will also work over Apple AirPods, on CarPlay, and via AirPlay on Apple HomePod.

In addition, the Spotify iOS app update will include support for iPhone’s new data-saver mode, which aids when bandwidth is an issue.

Spotify is also today launching on Apple TV, joining other Spotify apps for TV platforms, including Roku, Android TV, Samsung Tizen, and Amazon Fire TV.

The app updates are still rolling out, so you may need to wait to take advantage of the Apple TV support and other new features.

The lack of Siri support for Spotify was not the streaming music service’s fault — it wasn’t until iOS 13 that such support even became an option. With the new mobile operating system launched in September, Apple finally opened up its SiriKit framework to third-party apps, allowing end-users to better control their apps using voice commands. That includes audio playback on music services like Spotify, as well as the ability to like and dislike tracks, skip or go to the next song, and get track information.

Pandora, Google Maps and Waze were among the first to adopt Siri integration when it became available in iOS 13 — a clear indication that some of Apple’s chief rivals have been ready and willing to launch Siri support as soon as it was possible.

Though the integration with Siri will be useful for end-users and beneficial to Spotify’s business, it may also weaken the streaming company’s antitrust claims against Apple.

Spotify has long stated that Apple engages in anti-competitive business practices when it comes to its app platform, which is designed to favor its own apps and services, like Apple Music, it says. Among its chief complaints was the inability of third-party apps to work with Siri, which gave Apple’s own apps a favored position. Spotify also strongly believes the 30% revenue share required by the App Store hampers its growth potential.

The streamer filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union in March. And now, U.S. lawmakers have reached out to Spotify to request information as a part of an antitrust probe here in the states, reports claim. 

Despite its new ability to integrate with Siri in iOS 13, Spotify could argue that it’s still not enough. Users will have to say “on Spotify” to take advantage of the new functionality, instead of being able to set their default music app to Spotify, which would be easier. It could also point out that the support is only available to iOS 13 devices, not the entire iOS market.

Along with the Apple-related news, Spotify today also announced support for Google Nest Home Max, Sonos Move, Sonos One SL, Samsung Galaxy Fold, and preinstallation on Michael Kors Acess, Diesel and Emporio Armani Wear OS smartwatches.

 

Read Full Article

An ancient rock suggests a new theory for how life started | Tara Djokic

An ancient rock suggests a new theory for how life started | Tara Djokic

Exactly when and where did life on Earth begin? Scientists have long thought that it emerged three billion years ago in the ocean -- until astrobiologist Tara Djokic and her team made an unexpected discovery in the western Australian desert. Learn how an ancient rock found near a hot volcanic pool is shifting our understanding of the origin-of-life puzzle.

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

The 7 Best Apps for Teachers to Use in the Classroom

Using technology in the classroom has been the subject of many debates. When used in the right ways, tech has the power to transform a classroom. So instead of banning technology from schools, it’s time to embrace it.

As a teacher, you should take advantage of the many available education apps. With the right apps, you can schedule lesson plans, establish communication with parents and students, use in-classroom tools, and much more. Try out the following apps to get more control over your classroom.

1. ClassDojo

ClassDojo turns your classroom into a community. It allows you to interact with both parents and students with its secure messaging system. Not only can you send your students’ parents any classroom updates, photos, and videos, but parents get direct access to their child’s status right from their phone.

Once you create a class on the app, you can start using the class toolkit. Here, you have access to a convenient group maker, a noise meter, and a music player. You can also display discussion questions and add directions for students to view. This all-in-one teacher app can help you create a much more positive classroom environment.

Download: ClassDojo for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Edmodo

Edmodo is the perfect tool for any classroom level, and its clean interface lets you quickly set up classes. To get students and parents on board, simply share the classroom link with the members you want to add. Once you have your members, keep your classroom updated by adding announcements to your classroom feed.

Edmodo lets you send private messages to students and parents, as well as establish small groups for collaborative projects. When you want to send your students an assignment, simply upload it to the app, and it’ll automatically share with everyone in class.

Want even more teaching inspiration? Head to the Discover tab to learn some helpful teaching tips, challenge your students to educational games, and get more activity ideas.

Download: Edmodo for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Google Classroom

If you want to start using Google Classroom, your school must have an account with G Suite for Education. Once that’s settled, you can start adding students to your Google Classroom with their Gmail addresses.

After creating a class, you can add specific assignments, questions, materials, and topics to it. All this content appears in a stream that your students can easily access. Google Classroom also integrates with Google Drive, so you can upload assignments, grades, and photos to the class folder.

Google Drive comes with several awesome features for students, making it pair well with Google Classroom.

Download: Google Classroom for Android | iOS (Free)

4. Planboard

Looking for an easier way to plan lessons? Check out Planboard, the lesson planning app you can use on-the-go. Keep track of your class schedule by adding classes to your calendar, and set curriculum standards for each of your classes. If you want to save time and effort, you can search Planboard’s library of official standards instead.

The app also lets you upload files and photos to your lesson plans, as well as share those plans. Planboard syncs all your data to the web, so you can view your plans from your computer.

Download: Planboard for Android | iOS (Free)

5. Seesaw: The Learning Journal

Seesaw is one of the most popular education apps, as it’s used in over 200,000 classrooms. It’s a great way to plan activities in any subject, for any age.

When you create a class, you can browse the app’s Activity Library. Enter your class’s subject and grade from the dropdown menu, and you’ll see activities that your fellow teachers created. If you want to create your own activities, you can share them with the Seesaw community as well.

Seesaw allows you to send announcements to students and parents—that way, families can gain insight on their child’s education. While you could use team communication apps like Slack to send updates, keeping both your messages and student progress in one app will help you stay organized.

You can also use Seesaw to track students’ progress in specific areas, but that’s only available in the premium version.

Download: Seesaw for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

6. TrackCC

Keeping track of student attendance and grades on paper isn’t always the most reliable. The grid-style grade books aren’t easy on the eyes, and there’s always a chance that you might spill coffee all over your papers. Instead of penciling in grades and attendance records, you should try using the TrackCC app instead.

TrackCC lets you keep track of student attendance with the click of a button. You can check the students off if they’re present, input an excused or unexcused absence, mark tardiness, and note if a student left early. The app also calculates attendance statistics so you can get a better idea of each student’s attendance rate.

TrackCC supports grading as well. Add grades for homework assignments, quizzes, exams, or projects, and view the statistics and overall grade for each student from the app. In addition to all these helpful features, TrackCC lets you connect parents to send them attendance notifications.

Download: TrackCC for Android | iOS (Free)

7. Kahoot

Kahoot engages your classroom with fun and educational games. You can create your own quizzes or “Kahoots” by developing your own questions and adding pictures. As soon as your quiz is ready, you’ll receive a custom game PIN that you give to your students. From there, students type the PIN into the app on their own device and can start playing.

If you’re short on time, search Kahoot for games made by other educators. You can also use Kahoot for homework—assign your students a Kahoot instead of having them fill out a quiz on paper. Whether you create your own games or not, Kahoot can help capture your students’ attention and make learning fun. Consider supplementing Kahoot with subject-specific educational apps for even better results.

Download: Kahoot for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

Technology Belongs in the Classroom

Since the new generation of students loves playing on smartphones and tablets, using teacher apps in the classroom can allow you to establish a better connection with your students. Technology can help you and your students stay organized, and also allows for quick communication with your students’ parents.

If you notice that your students are struggling to study effectively, you might suggest that they start taking advantage of study planner apps.

Read the full article: The 7 Best Apps for Teachers to Use in the Classroom

Read Full Article

What Is Microsoft Power Query for Excel? 5 Reasons to Start Using It

Microsoft Excel is powerful and popular spreadsheet software that makes working with data simple. Over time, Microsoft has developed some pretty innovative ways to work with your data.

If you’re looking for a powerful new way to manage data, Microsoft Excel for Windows now has powerful software built in to help: Microsoft Power Query is a new tool that gives you more control over your spreadsheets than ever before.

What Is Microsoft Power Query?

Power Query (known in Microsoft Excel 2016 as “Get & Transform”) is a data transformation tool built right into Microsoft Excel. It allows you to import data from many different sources, make changes, and load the data right into your Excel workbooks.

If you’re just starting out, it would be good to learn about the basics of Microsoft Excel.

When you import into Power Query it creates a connection to your data. Using this connection, you can work with your data in the editor and make all your changes before you save to a workbook.

Power Query will save your changes as steps in a file known as a “Query”, which can be used any time. Think of it just like macros in VBA programming, if you’re familiar.

Becoming comfortable with Power Query can take your Excel skills to the next level. If you regularly work with data, here are some great reasons to start using it.

1. Microsoft Power Query Is Built Into Excel

Power Query is simple. If you have Excel 2016 or later on your PC, you already have Power Query. You don’t need to download any additional software or have any programming knowledge to begin using it.

To work with Power Query, simply open your workbook, select the Data tab in the ribbon, and click on Get Data to choose one of many different places to grab data from. You’re now up and running in seconds with Power Query.

Note: For programmers, Microsoft did develop a new language for Power Query known as “M”. Advanced users can code scripts using “M”, which is a higher-level concept but provides extra power and value for expert users.

2. Easy to Use Editor

Power Query provides a simple interface for working with your data. Once you upload your data you can make changes inside of the editor, no programming required.

If you’re already familiar with Excel, it’s that much easier since the editor looks very similar to a window in Excel.

If you need to modify your data, you can do so right in the editor. Simple changes are made easy. Some examples you can do are:

• Add or remove columns in your table
• Filter your data by columns
• Combine or join two tables together
• Sort your data using Excel filters
• Rename columns
• Remove errors from your table

Once you’re done with changes, simply export the results right onto your Excel workbook. It’s very easy to work with multiple sheets, without having to open every single one and make changes.

3. Makes Repetitive Tasks Simple

A common chore when working with Excel workbooks is having to make the same set of changes to different worksheets.

For example, let’s say you are given a report that shows sales numbers for the month of July and you need to make changes. You open your table, make your changes, and save. Simple, right? Then a month later, you are given a new report for the month of August.

With Excel, you would have to open the workbook and make all those changes again just to get the same result. Depending on the number of changes, this can be a lot of time! Power Query solves this problem.

When you connect to a workbook using Power Query and make changes, those changes are saved as “steps”. Steps are just directions you give Excel to change data (i.e. “Delete this column” or “Sort this table by color”).

All your steps are saved together, creating a neat little package. You can apply this set of steps to a new worksheet in one click, instead of making your changes all over again.

4. You Don’t Need Programming Knowledge

Excel is programmable using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but that’s a lot to learn. You can also use other programming languages with Excel, but that requires a lot of set up.

Not everyone’s a programmer. Fortunately, you don’t have to be one to use Power Query. The editor is graphical and easy to use. Any change you want to make is as simple as clicking on the interface. The editor looks very similar to Excel, so you’ll feel right at home.

5. Collect Data From Different Sources

We’ve talked a lot about Excel workbooks, but Power Query can get your data from a lot of other places. If you want to work with data from a webpage, you can import just as easily. Power Query can also pull data from various sources such as:

• CSV Files
• Text Files
• SQL Databases
• XML Files
• Mircosoft Access Databases

There are many more sources you can use, but don’t get overwhelmed. As you become more comfortable using Power Query you may have a use for some, or all, of these uses.

Why Not Just Use Microsoft Excel?

Excel is pretty powerful as is, no doubt about it. But if you’re an expert user working with many different sheets your workflow can be a lot to manage.

It’s important to think of Power Query not as a spreadsheet, but as a control panel through which you can work with data. The layout is similar to Excel to make it easier to work in. You can be very productive by combining the strengths of Excel and Power Query.

Empower Your Microsoft Excel Skills

There are a lot of great reasons to start using Power Query to manage your spreadsheets. If you master the basics of this program, you can create tables and work with data much easier.

Go further and build up your Microsoft Excel expertise with our articles on creating graphs from data in Microsoft Excel and analyzing data using Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel.

Read the full article: What Is Microsoft Power Query for Excel? 5 Reasons to Start Using It

Read Full Article

Is Grammarly Premium Worth It? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

If you do a quick Google search for writing tools to improve your reports, articles, or essays, you are bound to come across Grammarly Premium.

What is Grammarly? An online word checking tool that identifies spelling typos and grammar errors in a text. Grammarly comes in two flavors: Grammarly Free and Grammarly Premium, where the only difference is that Grammarly Premium contains additional features such as plagiarism detection for $29.95/mo.

How Easy Is It to Start Using Grammarly?

To use the Grammarly editor, follow these steps:

1. Visit grammarly.com
2. Click on Add to Chrome, or whichever web browser you use if not Chrome.
3. Wait for the redirect to the Sign Up page
4. After signing up, you get to see the Grammarly Menu.

Navigating the Grammarly Menu is simple:

My Grammarly

Another name for the Grammarly home page. It shows all existing documents previously edited on the app. It also offers a prompt to upload or start writing in new material.

Account

Here, you can customize your Grammarly page. It has the following subsections: Account Settings, Customize, Notifications, Subscription, and Security.

The Customize subsection allows for the inclusion of words into a personal dictionary. Such words may not be in a standard dictionary. You can also set your language preference between American English, British English, Canadian English, and Australian English.

Apps

Here, you can use platforms on which Grammarly is available for download.

Log Out

Option to sign out of the application.

Grammarly Premium

This menu item only shows when you’re on Grammarly Free, and leads to the page where you can upgrade to Grammarly Premium.

Grammarly Free vs. Grammarly Premium

The main difference between Grammarly Free and Grammarly Premium lies in the editor. Here, we’ll be using a short written essay to highlight the various features between the two options.

Grammarly Free Features

First thing, we did was upload the essay onto Grammarly.

After loading for a few seconds, the editor assistant popped up showing the score of the article and corrections needed.

Two things stood out: the two menus under Hide Assistant showing Overall score and Goals.

Goals

We felt that this option in the Grammarly tool was quite useful, in the sense that we were able to communicate with the software about the type of content written.

Here, you can choose the Audience you wish to address, the type of Language, the Tone of the article, and the Intent of the material. However, one option which is only available for Grammarly Premium is Domain where you choose the purpose of the article.

Performance

The overall performance score of the uploaded article was based upon the Word count, Readability, and Vocabulary Use.

The areas which affected the performance of the article were highlighted under alerts which were divided into Correctness, Clarity, Engagement, and Delivery.

We could only access the alerts for Correctness which were spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks. Gaining access to the other alerts requires upgrading to Grammarly Premium.

Grammarly Premium Features

After upgrading to Grammarly Premium, we had a blue flag appear with a new menu showing our Subscription billing period.

The layout of the premium version is pretty much the same as the free option. The significant difference lies in what you have access to.

Below is a picture of the alerts from the free option:

We uploaded the same essay to the Premium editor, and the following happened:

Goals

The goals widget is the first thing to pop up. However, this time around, we were able to gain access to set the Domain.

The screenshot shows our selection for the article:

Grammarly Premium Tools

From the free option, we noted that there were 8 Premium alerts, and this is the breakdown of each:

Correctness (4 alerts): All relating to the use of commas before the conjunction. This can be helpful for those who get confused as to where a comma or colon is needed or not needed.

Clarity (1 alert): We were informed that our sentence might have been too wordy. That is, containing words that do not necessarily hamper the information being passed across.

Engagement (3 alerts): Apparently, we made use of certain words a bit too much in the test article, and as such, the editor suggested replacing them with synonyms.

Plagiarism

We decided to put the article through the plagiarism test and found out that the article had 3% plagiarism. However, when this same content was passed through Copyscape, another plagiarism checking tool, there were no results.

Human Proofreader

If the results displayed by the Grammarly editor were not to your satisfaction, Grammarly Premium also offers you the opportunity to get a human proofreader. However, this comes at an additional cost.

Grammarly Premium vs. Grammarly Free: Summary

On the one hand, you can use basic features in Grammarly Free, including:

• Spelling edits
• Grammar corrections
• Punctuation suggestions

If you pay for Grammarly Premium, you unlock these features:

• Contextual spelling correction
• Grammar and punctuation edits
• Sentence structure and style suggestions
• Plagiarism detection
• Alternative word phrasings

Is Grammarly Premium Worth It?

For any individual who works with words a lot (e.g. students, writers, professors, etc.), Grammarly is one of the best analytical writing tools to have. Why? Because political correctness in your grammar off the top of your head isn’t as easy as it seems.

With the Grammarly Premium tool, you can focus more on being creative while the app helps refine the outcome.

But every good thing has its downsides.

Although Grammarly is compatible with a lot of apps, it still has a long way to go in terms of integration with the likes of Google Docs. At the moment, only the Beta version can do that, so you can’t enjoy the Premium features while using Google Docs.

The monthly subscription price of Grammarly Premium ($29.95/mo) is a bit on the heavy side as well. For less than that, you can get 100 credits on Copyscape to run plagiarism tests on your articles. You can also make use of the free Hemingway app to check the readability of your essay, then use Grammarly Free to brush up the gaps.

The bottom line is there are other grammar and plagiarism checking tools that offer what Grammarly does at little to no cost.

Also, one thing we noticed was that the Grammarly tool missed out on some possible vocabulary enhancements. Therefore, the tool is not to be 100% relied on. But this should not be a significant problem as the creators believe Grammarly exists to make you a better writer. It’s expected that after a while, you can go on to create written content without needing Grammarly.

Proofreading Is Just as Important as Writing

The main reason why you should consider getting Grammarly Premium is to improve your writing. This ensures you can deliver the best information to your audience.

However, Grammarly is not the only editing tool you can rely upon. Check out our article on other clever writing tools to proofread your documents.

Read the full article: Is Grammarly Premium Worth It? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Read Full Article

Cell Phone Functions

Cell Phone Functions