Weekend In Tech Trends

Tech Trends- Nov 14-15

Before I give you the Weekend In Tech Trends, I wanted to take a moment to address the tragedy that took place in Paris over the weekend. Here at PassKit, our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone who was struck by this terrible tragedy. Please know that I write this article with Paris in my prayers. I also write this article to show that we as a world will keep going despite people trying to destroy us. I hope you enjoy this Weekend In Tech Trends and that it provides some light in the midst of darkness. So without further ado, a Google car gets pulled over, tech companies provide aid, a mirror that takes better selfies and more in this week’s Weekend in Tech Trends.

Tech Trends 1) Tech companies provide aid admit tragedy in Paris

As the tragedy unfolded on Friday night in Paris, major tech companies were able to enter disaster response mode and offer a helping hand. Facebook enabled Safety Check so that users could let family and friends know that they were safe. AirBnB contacted all hosts in Paris asking if they could take in stranded people around the city. Google, Verizon, Skype, and Sprint allowed free calls to Paris. And Uber turned off surge pricing for the entire weekend so that Uber rides would be cheaper.
I commend these companies for stepping up and doing the right thing. These companies are in a very important position when it comes to disaster response efforts because of the speed of which they can act and it is important that they use their services to help people in the midst of a disaster. So thank you to all of the companies that used their services to help the victims of this tragic attack.

Tech Trends 2) Self driving Google car gets pulled over for going too slow

Google has previously bragged about how their driverless cars have driven over 1.2 million miles and have never received a speeding ticket. We now know why that is. 3 days ago, Zandr Milewski posted a photo of a Google car being pulled over in Mountain View California, where Google has recently been approved to test their driverless vehicles.
Apparently, the Google car is not allowed to go over 25 mph, even within a 35 mph speed limit zone. So when a police officer noticed a huge amount of traffic behind a slow moving vehicle he decided to pull it over. This vehicle was one of Google’s self driving cars doing 24 mph in a 35 mph zone. Milewski reportedly spoke to the rider of the Google car whom said some police officers are confused by the concept of self-driving cars, and that this isn’t the first time one has been pulled over for driving too slow. It looks like Google needs to be careful about flaunting the no ticket statistic. Even if they haven’t received any tickets, it is incredibly dangerous to have a car on the road going 10 mph under the speed limit. Not to mention that it pisses everybody off.

Tech Trends 3) Selfie mirror helps you take the perfect hands free selfie

Ever want to take a mirror selfie but hate having to have your phone a part of the picture? Well one company is looking to solve your problem with their Selfie Mirror. Smart Ltd, the company behind the Selfie Mirror, wants to enable people to take perfect hands free selfies by giving them a mirror equipped with a camera as well as the ability to post the picture directly to social media.
Despite focusing a lot on the selfie aspect of the mirror, the smart mirror can actually do a lot more than just take your picture. It can upload that picture to social media sites, it has built in 2 way home surveillance, it can even manage all your other smart home devices. So for people who have a lot of smart devices in their home, the Selfie Mirror is a great addition. Which makes me wonder why the emphasis is on selfies rather than its other features. But hey, gotta seperate your product somehow. The mirror comes in two different sizes, small and normal, and you can preorder the small for $199 and the normal for $250. Check out the video below to see all of the Selfie Mirrors features in action.

Source: DigitalTrends

Tech Trends 4) Apple shutting down Beats Music

Apple will shut down Beats Music on November 30th. All subscriptions will be cancelled and subscribers will most likely be moving to Apple Music, where many of Beats Music’s features have been incorporated. This moves comes 6 months after the release of Apple Music, which leaves me wondering what took them so long? Sure, some users may be upset, but with Apple Music and other alternatives, Beats Music days were numbered anyway.