Comma.ai cancels the Comma One following NHTSA letter

Renowned iPhone hacker turned entrepreneur George Hotz (aka geohot) has cancelled his autonomous driving startup’s first official product, the Comma One aftermarket add-on that would’ve allowed certain cars to gain Autopilot-like highway driving assistance abilities.

Hotz announced the news on the Comma.ai official Twitter account, noting that the decision to cancel was made after he received a letter from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA letter explained that given its mandate of ensuring safety on U.S. roadways, it needed to ensure the Comma One is compliant with regulations before it can be offered for sale.

NHTSA then issued a “special order” directed at Comma.ai, which insisted that the company provide detailed answers to 15 questions related to Comma One, its design, testing practices and information regarding safety trials, intended target vehicles and anticipated sales timeline. These appear to be fairly standard requirements for a device that purports to be able to take over operation of your car, even if only in limited circumstances.

Hotz tweeted from the official Comma.ai account that rather than providing the requisite response, the company would instead be cancelling Comma One entirely, and turning its attention to “other products and markets,” since Hotz says that the prospect of a life “dealing with regulators and lawyers… isn’t worth it.” Hotz noted that he was tweeting from Shenzhen, China, which could suggest he was in the process of working on some aspect of Comma One’s production.

The Comma One was unveiled for the first time at TechCrunch Disrupt SF this past September, when Hotz presented the product and announced that it would be shipping to early customers by the end of this year. On stage, I asked Hotz about safety issues and concerns, but he expressed confidence that Comma One wasn’t doing anything existing technology on the market doesn’t already offer.

Hotz had criticized competitors for not being able to actually ship autonomous or driver-assistance features on stage, and also detailed a series of exchanges between himself and Tesla CEO Elon Musk around a potential job offer for Hotz at the electric car company.

We’ve reached out to Hotz for more info on the Comma One cancellation and what kind of alternative products and markets Comma.ai is looking at next, but had not received a response in time for publication. The full NHTSA letter received by Comma.ai is embedded below.

This Is How The Microsoft Surface Dial Works (Video)

When Microsoft announced their new Surface PC they also announced the Microsoft Surface Dial which is a new way of controlling the PC.

Now a new video has been released which shows how the Microsoft Dial works and shows what ut can be used for, you can see the video below.

Surface Dial is a completely new way to interact with technology and create in the most natural, immersive way. Store, customize, access, navigate, and reimagine physical tools in the digital world – from concept to creation.

The Microsoft Dial will retail for $99.99 when it launches, the device is now available to pre-order and you can find out more details at the link below.

Source Microsoft

Filed Under: Technology News

Popular Geeky Gadgets Deals

T-Mobile Will Give You Up To $325 If Bring Your Own Google Pixel

Last week we heard that T-Mobile may be offering the Google Pixel on their network in the US, unfortunately the handset is exclusive to Verizon so T-Mobile has come up with a new idea to get you to use the device on their network.

T-Mobile has launched Bring Your Own Pixel and the company will pay you up to $325 if you bring the handset to their network.

Hey Pixel owners, we could whisper this in your ear, but that just wouldn’t be our style. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) is again shaking up the status quo — starting tomorrow, bring your Pixel, Phone by Google to T-Mobile and get up to 50 percent back off the retail price – that’s $325 – when you sign up for T-Mobile ONE. If you think you can only purchase and use the Pixel on Verizon… that’s simply not true!

“Don’t let the ‘exclusive’ advertisements fool you, the Pixel phone is tested and proven to be fantastic on our lightning fast network, and we want to help you get the best of both worlds!” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “I’m a huge fan of what Google has done with the Pixel and now consumers can use it the way it should be used – with truly unlimited data on the fastest 4G LTE network in America!”

You can find out more details about the T-Mobile bring your own Pixel over at their website at the link below.

Source T-Mobile

Filed Under: Android News

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Emporio Armani Connected Hybrid Smartwatch Launched

Fashion brand Emporio Armani has launched a new smartwatch range, the Emporio Armani Connected and there will be a number of different models in the range.

These new smartwatches will come with a range of functions including notifications, activity tracking, sleep tracking and more.

“Today, technology decisively influences our daily lives. There’s an app for everything, and I find that in many cases they’re inventions that actually improve our lives. I’m delighted to present a hybrid smartwatch, which marks the entrance of Emporio Armani — a brand always at the forefront of innovation — into the world of connected accessories. This line of timepieces combines stylistic research, high technological content, immediacy and ease of use,” commented Giorgio Armani.

You can find our more details about the new Emporio Armani Connected smart watches over at their website at the link below. The devices will worth with both Android smartphones and the iPhone.

Source Emporio Armani

Filed Under: Technology News

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Samsung Announces Six New Mobile Accessories

Samsung has announced a new range of mobile accessories, there are six devices in total and these include some speakers, headphones, a battery pack and more.

The devices include a Wireless Speaker Bottle, a Wireless Charger Tray, a Battery Pack Kettle, a Wireless Speaker Scoop, an some new in ear headphones.

Some of Samsung Electronics’ latest mobile and entertainment accessories, available exclusively online, will be rolled out in markets worldwide beginning in November.

The six accessories – currently available in Korea – range from wireless speakers and earphones to charging accessories. Designed with style, comfort and performance in mind, the exclusive items were created to both enhance users’ mobile experience and help them get more out of their devices.

You can find out more details about this new range of Samsung mobile accessories over at their website at the link below.

Source Samsung

Filed Under: Top News

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Apple’s New MacBook Pro Ditches The Startup Chime

Apple announced its new MacBook Pro range of notebooks last week, the devices comes with a number of upgrades including a new Touch Bar.

Apple’s iMacs, notebooks and other Macs have hard a startup chime when you turn the device on for years, Apple has ditched this chime on the new MacBook Pro.

When you open the new MacBook Pro the device will automatically turn itself on and you do not have to press the power button. The device will also turn on  automatically when the screen is open and you plug it into the power.

Apple has apparently removed their startup chime from all of the three MacBooks that it launched last week, so we can also expect this to happen on future Macs.

Source Pingie, Engadget

Filed Under: Apple

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DOOM Arcade Mode Demonstrated (video)

The latest free update to be released by games developer Bethesda for the awesome DOOM reboot brings with it an arcade mode which unlocks all guns and upgrades allowing players to concentrate on just accumulating the biggest score possible.

Bethesda explains a little more about what you can expect from the latest free update which adds Arcade mode, classic SnapMap modules and more. Check out the teaser trailer below.

We’re unleashing more DOOM content with Free Update 4, available now! This update includes the much-anticipated Arcade Mode, which transforms DOOM’s critically-acclaimed campaign into a competitive fast-paced, score-based challenge.

Play every level with all guns, Runes and equipment upgrades fully unlocked. Customize your DOOM Marine’s gear, guns and Praetor suit before each run to see what combinations will give you an edge. Compete against friends and players worldwide for the highest score by attacking demons quickly, avoiding their attacks and grabbing multipliers along the way.

For those long-time fans, Free Update 4 also brings Classic DOOM modules to SnapMap. You’ll now be able to __play and build new maps using assets based on the original games. This update also adds two new multiplayer modes to DOOM. Possession mixes things up, adding a Prowlers vs. Marine mode that puts a team of marines up against several player-controlled Prowler demons. The second new mode is Bloodrush, which adds a twist to free-for-all modes by forcing players to manage their Bloodrush meter in order to respawn.

miniStack External Storage System Unveiled by OWC

Hardware manufacturer OWC has this week unveiled a new external storage system it has created called the miniStack, to provide users with high performance in a small form factor device which can be expanded as required.

miniStack is the same size as an Apple Mac Mini and is compatible with both Mac and PC systems offering a variety of different storage options from 1 TB up to 6 TB to $349.

Jen Soulé, President of OWC explains a little more about the new external storage.

The OWC miniStack is an exciting new addition to our external storage lineup. Its footprint is identical to 2010 and later Mac mini, so it’s a perfect external drive and Time Machine backup for our customers who use a Mac mini as a home computer, or with their home entertainment system. We designed the miniStack to be our most convenient, stackable external storage solution-and we think our customers who use a Mac at home are going to love its compact and stylish design.

– Perfectly stacks with Mac mini computers or other miniStack drives to save space
– USB 3.1 Gen 1 port
– Read: Up to 211 MB/s
– Write: Up to 208 MB/s
– Up to 6.0 TB capacity with 7200RPM drives
– Also offered as 0 GB build-your-own-drive kit
– Durable aluminum enclosure
– Ultra-quiet MagLev cooling fan
– Mac & PC compatible
– Three-year OWC Limited Warranty including award-winning technical support
– Includes power supply and a 36-inch (1m) USB 3.0 cable

The OWC miniStack external storage is now available to purchase from authorised OWC resellers in seven stackable configurations:

1.0 TB (7200RPM) – $139.99
2.0 TB (7200RPM) – $169.99
3.0 TB (7200RPM) – $198.99
4.0 TB (7200RPM) – $249.99
5.0 TB (7200RPM) – $278.99
6.0 TB (7200RPM) – $348.99

Add Your Own Drive enclosure kit – $77.99

DIY Raspberry Pi Night Vision Camera

If you are looking for a new Raspberry Pi project to keep you busy one weekend, you may be interested in this new DIY Raspberry Pi night vision camera which has been created by Hack A Day member Wesley Archer.

Using a Raspberry Pi Model B mini PC together with a Raspberry Pi NoIR Camera Module anda unique lighting accessory in the form of a Lisiparoi, Wesley has created a self-contained night vision CCTV camera system powered by the Raspberry Pi.

Wesley explains a little more about the project :

Having bought the original Raspberry Pi Model B when it was launched back in 2012, I wanted to make sure it was still put to use and not abandoned in favour of the newer, faster 2 and 3 models. Using the fantastic MotionEye OS, I created a quick and dirty night-vision CCTV hack whilst making use of the relatively unknown Lisiparoi accessory sold by Cyntech.co.uk.

For full instructions on how to create your very own Raspberry Pi night vision camera jump over to the Hack A Day website via the link below.  If you enjoy building Pi projects you might be interested in our comprehensive list of Raspberry Pi displays, HATS and small screens.

VR Game, Star Trek Bridge Crew, Launch Delayed Until March 2017 (video)

Star Trek fans also equipped with virtual reality headsets who were looking forward to playing the new Star Trek Bridge Crew game next month. Will be a little disappointed to learn that the games developer Ubisoft has pushed back its release date until March 14th 2017.

The Star Trek Bridge Crew game has been developed by Ubisoft to provide a way of gamers to enjoy the same immersive virtual reality experience and take the helm of the latest Star Trek Federation Starfleet ship, with each participant being responsible for a certain section of the ship.

Watch as Star Trek alums Levar Burton, Jeri Ryan, and Karl Urban reveal and __play Star Trek: Bridge Crew for the first time and discover the immersive Star Trek experience in Virtual Reality (VR). Developed specifically for VR, Star Trek: Bridge Crew is the only game to offer a true-to-life level of immersion in the Star Trek universe, where- as officers of the Federation- every action and decision you make together will determine the fate of your ship and crew.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew puts you and your friends in the heart of a starship, where- as officers of the Federation- every action and decision you make together will determine the fate of your ship and crew. Developed specifically for VR, Star Trek: Bridge Crew is the only game to offer a true-to-life level of immersion in the Star Trek universe.

In Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the Federation dispatches you and your crew to command the new vessel U.S.S. Aegis as part of a critical initiative. Your mission: explore a largely uncharted sector of space known as The Trench, in hopes of locating a suitable new home world for the decimated Vulcan populace. The Trench contains stunning beauty and undiscovered wonders, but also strange anomalies and dangers yet unknown. The Klingon Empire is also active in the region, and their purpose is undoubtedly a threat to the Federation’s plans. It’s up to you and your crew to chart the sector to determine the Klingons’ aims, and to secure a peaceful Federation presence.

Step into a 3D replica of a crime scene

Image Caption: A truck like this one delivered beer without a human at the wheel

Astronauts return after 115-day mission on International Space Station

Image Caption: Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi rest outside the Soyuz MS space capsule

A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying NASA's Kate Rubins, Japan's Takuya Onisihi and Russian Anatoly Ivanishin landed in a remote region near Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan on Sunday morning.

Their journey home from space took around three-and-a-half hours from undocking until landing.

The craft landed upright allowing the astronauts to be removed from the capsule fairly swiftly.

Image Caption: US astronaut Kate Rubins is helped out of the craft

They sat on the treeless Central Asian steppes as they readjusted to the forces of gravity after nearly four months in weightless conditions.

They were then taken to a nearby medical tent for initial examination.

Molecular biologist Rubins and Onishi were both returning from their first missions in space, while flight commander Ivanishin undertook a five-month mission at the ISS five years ago.

"Everybody is feeling wonderful," said Ivanishin, who emerged first from the craft.

Their journey back to Earth marks the first complete mission to and from the orbital lab for a new generation of Soyuz spacecraft with upgraded features.

Image Caption: Specialists stand around the Soyuz space capsule after it lands in Kazakhstan

Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhykov of Russia and NASA astronaut Robert Shane Kimbrough remain on board the space station.

They arrived there on 22 October following a two-day voyage.

Technical mishaps have complicated plans to extend the periods during which the ISS is fully staffed with six astronauts.

The space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000kmph (17,000 miles per hour) since 1998.

Space travel is one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the West.

Image Caption: US astronaut Kate Rubins is helped out of the craft

Image Caption: Specialists stand around the Soyuz space capsule after it lands in Kazakhstan

Britain falling behind mobile phone coverage targets

Image Caption: Consumers are at risk of large exit fees, the report reveals

A report by a group of backbench MPs reveals mobile coverage has not improved significantly since 2014 and there are at least 525 areas that suffer from poor network coverage or none at all.

Some 17 million mobile phone owners have poor reception at home and a plan to deliver 90% coverage of the country by 2017 is now not expected to be met.

Image Caption: Many phone users are struggling to find sufficient coverage, the report says

Chairman of the British Infrastructure Group (BIG), Grant Shapps, said: "It is unacceptable that areas in Britain continue to have such poor mobile connectivity, and that overseas visitors can expect better mobile coverage than Britons stuck with a single provider. 

:: New mobile phone coverage checker launched

"The time for excuses from the mobile sector is over. The Government must make a better call for Britain and bring national mobile coverage policy into the 21st century." 

If a network operator fails to deliver a high standard of service, consumers should be able to terminate their contract free of charge, BIG suggests.

The report continues: "Consumers are at risk from being hit with large exit fees if they decide to terminate their contract, even if it is due to poor quality mobile service.

"BIG argues that Ofcom should establish a minimum service obligation to define consumer rights. These reforms should now be included in the Digital Economy Bill."

The study follows independent research in April by Which? that revealed mobile phone customers in the UK are only able to connect to a high-speed 4G signal 53% of the time.

Hamish MacLeod, director of Mobile UK, which represents mobile network operators told Sky News: "We fully accept the main thrust of the report that customers in the UK want better coverage in the UK."

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "We know how frustrating poor mobile coverage can be, which is why we made it a legal requirement for each of the mobile network operators to provide coverage to at least 90% of the UK by the end of next year.

"We are taking further action through the Digital Economy Bill currently going through Parliament, which will give the regulator Ofcom the power to issue hefty fines to mobile phone companies who fail to deliver improvements."
 

Image Caption: Many phone users are struggling to find sufficient coverage, the report says

This Amazing Little Bird Can Fly for Nearly a Year Straight

Birds Image Credit

Image: flickr.com / sbern

Bird lovers, let's hear it for the little guy. Researchers have just discovered evidence that common swifts (a small type of bird) can spend 10 continuous months per year in the air without landing-a world record for sustained flight in nature.

The birds are extremely common in Europe, where they land for two months to breed, spending nights roosting in the nests they build themselves. After breeding, they fly off to Africa, where no one has ever discovered roosting areas, and now we finally know why.

Biologists at the University of Lund, led by Anders Hedenström, made the discovery that common swifts are able to stay aloft for at least 10 months by capturing some in southern Sweden, where they nest, and attaching micro-data loggers onto the birds. The team of researchers has reported their findings in Current Biology.

The research was enabled by new miniature electronics that allow scientists to track smaller creatures. The devices themselves weigh less than four hundredths of an ounce, so animals like swifts, which weigh about one and a half ounces, are able to carry them without any issues.

"Three of them never reached the ground for 10 months," said Hedenström in a New Scientist report. "The others did land briefly, for a few nights, but never for more than half a per cent of the total time of their migratory periods."

The crazy part is we still don't fully understand how they sleep. If you assume that like every other animal on the planet swift's require some sleep, then logically, scientists have concluded, they must sleep while in the air. One possible way they'd be able to do this is like dolphins, who are able to turn off parts of their brain to "sleep" while their bodies remain active.

There's also a very slim chance any animal will ever be discovered that flies longer than the common swift. Currently, the second longest flight of any animals belongs to the alpine swift, which flies for six months at a time and is a different species of swift that migrates much farther south in Africa.

So let's all raise a glass to the often overlooked, but super capable common swift. It's tiny little body and wings make it one of the best fliers in the world, and we love it.

Did Twitter steal the MacBook's thunder at the Apple event yesterday?

Twitter Image Credit

The futuristic MacBook Pros weren't the only OMGs in yesterday's Apple event. Twitter somehow managed to sneak in and hogged quite a bit of the limelight.

Twitter which has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons pulled a surprise at all of us. Apple CEO Tim Cook invited Twitter's Product Manager Ryan Troy to demo the Twitter app for Apple TV. And Twitter dropped a bomb of an app, that is surely going to make all the disappointed investors look up to the microblogging site once more.

But they will be surprised once more when they realize Twitter has stopped being only a microblogging site since yesterday. The Twitter Apple TV app revealed the company's seriousness to get on board live streaming live content. The demo was of a live NFL sports game (y'know, what 'Mericans call football) being streamed on the Twitter app on a big TV screen. And right beside the streaming window is the live feed of intense Twitter discussions about the game. You join in to the conversation straight on your TV, with the Siri remote, instead of whipping out your phone and firing away your micro-opinion for the masses to see and appreciate and troll.

Twitter played it smart with this move. 140 characters was becoming too constricted a space for Twitter to really flourish. It thought, if people are using the platform to rant about what's going in their television screen, why not just jump right into the television screen and make it all the more easier!

If there weren't enough tweets about every mundane occurring in the world, this new feature will take it over the roof. And no one will be happier more than Twitter itself. The app was a runaway success in the social media platform when it first launched in 2006 but over time its growth started dwindling. Heck, the force was strong over rumors of it being up for sale to the highest bidder. Top execs were giving up on the platform. Every other day, news about layoffs topped the news charts. But hopefully, all that might change after yesterday's unveiling.

The pivot happened when Twitter acquired the rights to broadcast the US Presidential Debates of the ongoing helluva election season. And now, Twitter is aiming for the global masses with streaming rights for sports content.

I'd give anything to watch my weekly Premier League matches side by side with reading the best reactions about Manchester United's woeful league run on my giant-ass television screen. We all will. It makes our lives so much easier. Even smartphone companies will breathe a little easy with all that battery being saved by not taking out our phone and tweeting every second about the match. Twitter knows it. And Twitter has gone ahead and done something about it.

Good job, Twitter. Rest a li'l easy now. Also, you really didn't have to murder Vine in such a gruesome way.

Clinton's Inner Circle: Whoever Told Hillary to Use Private Server Should Be 'Drawn and Quartered'

wikileaks Image Credit

John Podesta, Neera Tanden, Hillary Clinton | Image: Getty

Here's the latest gem from the Wikileaks dump of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's private correspondence. According a newly leaked email, one close Clinton ally was so alarmed by the revelation that the former Secretary of State used a private email server, she characterized the situation as "fucking insane."

"Do we actually know who told Hillary she could use private email?" wrote Neera Tanden, who now co-chairs Clinton's transition team, in July of last year. "And has that person been drawn and quartered? Like the whole thing is fucking insane."

Fucking insane indeed.

Just a few month earlier, The New York Times first revealed that Clinton had used the private server in violation of government policy. Not long afterward, Tanden apparently asked Podesta why Clinton's private emails weren't automatically sent to the National Archives, in accordance with record-keeping rules. "i [sic] guess I know the answer," Tanden wrote in the following email. "they [sic] wanted to get away with it."

So who told Clinton to use a private server? Who knows if it even went down in a such a manner. The Clinton campaign has, however, long tried to scapegoat Colin Powell for this. Other hacked emails reveal Colin Powell wrote to a confidant, "Sad thing, HRC could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me to it."

[H/T Katharine Nowak on Twitter]

Soylent Halts Powder Sales After Even More Customers Get Sick

Vomit Image Credit

Two weeks ago, meal replacement company Soylent stopped all sales and shipments of its Food Bars after some customers reported stomach problems that included severe stomach pain, intense vomiting and "uncontrollable" diarrhea. Now, it appears that Soylent's flagship Powder is also making people ill.

http://gizmodo.com/soylent-halts-...

In a blog post Thursday evening, the company announced that it was pulling the powder from shelves after a "handful" of users experienced symptoms similar to those of Food Bar customers. Having tested the products for toxins, pathogens and outside contamination, Soylent said it is now investigating if an ingredient specific to the latest formulation of the Powder is triggering a food intolerance.

"We are going to continue to look into this further and share our findings with the FDA so that they can do their own evaluation," said the company. "Fitting with our desire to err on the side of caution, we are reformulating Bar and Powder 1.6 to remove the likely ingredients. Turnaround should be fairly quick. We expect both will available in early Q1 2017, if not before."

While Soylent previously advised customers to discard any remaining Food Bars, the company was less strict regarding remaining powder.

"If you have used Powder 1.6 without incident, we see no reason to stop enjoying it," said Soylent. "But if you have had any sensitivities, we suggest discarding whatever is left and letting us know at info@soylent.com."

According to company, Soylent Drink and Coffiest customers have not reported similar complaints.

You will now need yet another dongle to connect iPhones to the new MacBook Pros

Apple Image Credit

Apple is a sneaky little fellow. First it introduced new charging cables for the iPhones and the iPads, effectively making the cables unique to Apple devices and different from the generic Android USB cables. Now, it changed the way its new MacBook Pros connect with devices, to well, the generic USB cables everybody uses. Once again, effectively making the iPhone users scramble for an adapter to connect to the mothership.

Yes, the new MacBook Pros come with four Thunderbolt 3 ports that also double up as USB-Type C ports. Apple made us really excited when it announced all the four ports can be used to charge the MacBooks. But then it soon dawned upon people that their beloved iPhones doesn't support USB Type-C. How the hell will they connect the iPhones to iTunes? In case you missed it, the iPhone now only installs a software update if it's connected to iTunes on a computer if there is limited storage space, making the change all the more lucrative for Apple.

In terms of grabbing a business opportunity, kudos to Tim Cook and his gang of greedy execs for making iPhone users buy yet another adapter for something as essential as connecting the smartphones to the MacBooks.

And Apple has been making these adapters for quite some time now. It was aimed for the wayward Windows user who had drifted too far into Apple's territory to go back to using his proletariat OS. But it wasn't enough for Apple. It also had to make the loyalists shell out some moolah.

It seems it is slowly becoming the trend to bamboozle the iPhone with a multitude of dongles. First the headphone jack was removed and an adapter was crammed inside the box to connect our earphones. And now a dongle to connect the iPhone to the Macs. While everyone else is trying to get rid of these pesky wires, Apple is dumping more of them on its devices. All for the sake of courage, eh?

Apple also did a u-turn with the whole headphone jack removal thingy with the MacBook Pros. Surprisingly, after all that talk about being brave enough to let it go, it retained the 3.5mm headphone jack. And thereby, essentially made the new Lightning EarPods incompatible with the new MacBook Pros. Has Apple gone mad? It's carefully constructed walled garden is turning hostile on itself. Go see a therapist ASAP, Apple.

I'm not an iPhone user and I believe in the universal vision Android dreams of. I even somewhat believe in Microsoft's Continuum project. And I am compelled to shout a big emoji-laden LOL at Apple users now.

It's all about the new Touch Bar with the new Apple MacBook Pro

Apple Image Credit

25 years after the Powerbook, Apple's first category-defining notebook, Apple unveiled the MacBook Pro. With each generational update, Apple has redefined what the notebook can do, and tonight as Tim Cook said, Apple did it again.

We have among ourselves a new generation of the MacBook Pro. A new design makes the new MacBook Pro the thinnest and lightest MacBook pro ever. The 13-inch Macbook Pro is 23 per cent smaller in volume and weighs half a pound less than the previous version. The 15-inch Pro is just 15.5 mm thin, 14 per cent thinner and 20 per cent smaller in volume than the previous variant and weighs just 4 pounds. And that makes the new MacBooks thinner than even the MacBook air.

The new MacBook Pro comes with an all new ForceTouch track pad which is also two times larger and comes with a capacitive glass surface and its own Taptic engine. The keyboard also comes with a new Butterfly mechanism. As for the Function keys, Apple thinks they are now obsolete and went ahead and replaced them with a customizable mini Retina display. It is multi-touch and responds to gestures. Apple calls it, the Touch Bar.



All system settings are now easily accessible. Brightness volume and playback controls are now just a tap and a slide away. Open Safari and the Touch Bar refreshes to pop up your favorite websites. Open the Photos app, the Touch Bar shows you settings to tweak the photo. Start typing and word suggestions will pop up.

The Touch Bar is a chameleon in disguise. Opening a new app transforms the Touch Bar with application specific shortcuts. Formatting controls, word suggestions based on how you communicate, and even emojis will pop up on the Touch Bar when you are typing.

Use the Touch Bar to scroll through your photos. Rewind and fast forward and preview videos. Edit your photos using radial controls.

The Touch Bar can be customized with your favorite system controls, apps and settings.

As for the display, Apple has upgraded the display on the MacBook Pro with the brightest ever screen seen in the notebooks. It is now 67 per cent brighter, has 67 per cent higher contrast ratio and 25 per cent wider color gamut.

On the inside, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro features a sixth generation Intel Core i7 clocked at 2.6Ghz processor with AMD Polaris Radeon Pro 450 graphics with 4GB VRAM, 16GB of RAM and a superfast 256GB SSD with a speed of 3.1GB/s which can be expanded up to 2TB. The hardware inside is cooled down with a new thermal architecture which Apple claims disposes heat more efficiently and quietly. There is also a new dynamic range, high-fidelity, room-filling speaker.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with a sixth generation Intel Core i5 clocked at 2.9GHz, Intel Iris Graphics which is two times faster, 8GB of RAM and a new superfast 256GB SSD which is also two times faster than the previous generation.

Apple also unveiled a base model for the 13-inch MacBook Pro that retains the Function keys and comes with sixth-generation Intel i5 processor clocked at 2.0GHz, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. And also, it seems with the 13-inch base model, Apple has rested the 13-inch MacBook Air which has now been rendered redundant after what Apple did to the dimensions of the new MacBook Pro.

However, Apple retained the 12-inch original MacBook in the new lineup.

Beside the Touch Bar is the Touch ID which is integrated into the power button. It is the second generation TouchID sensor made from sapphire crystal. Rest your finger on the TouchID panel and you're in your MacBook in an instant. It is powered by the new Apple T1 Chip which enables contactless payment through Apple Pay straight from the MacBook pro.

The TouchID can also remember and recognize your fingerprint. If someone else who has their fingerprint saved, a tap on the TouchID will quickly switch to his profile, in a snap.

The MacBook comes with four Thunderbolt 3 ports that can used for connecting just about anything. The ports also double up as USB Type-C ports which enables charging the MacBook Pro using any of the four ports. You can connect up to two 5K displays. There's HDMI and VGA input/output and USB. Also, the headphone jack has been retained.

Apple wasted no time to show how creators including Photoshop users, FinalCut Pro users, and even DJ apps like the DJ Pro, can embrace the power of the new Touch Bar in the MacBook Pro and frankly, it's exciting how easy it makes handling operations with it. Even Microsoft's Office Suite will offer complete support for the Touch Bar.

The MacBook runs on the new macOS Sierra and offers up to 10 hours of battery life. The new MacBook Pros come in two color variants- Space Grey and Silver. Unfortunately no Jet Black variant.

And this pitches the MacBook Pro directly against the Surface devices, which Microsoft took a lot of pain to position for the creators and designers.

The 13-inch base model costs $1499 (roughly Rs 1,00,250) and will start shipping in the US from tonight. The other 13-inch and the 15-inch MacBook Pro are priced at $1799 (roughly Rs 1,20,350) and $2399 (Rs 1,60,450). The 13-inch and the 15-inch are up for pre-orders starting today and will ship in 2-3 weeks.

Why Are Apple and Microsoft Using Such Old Processors in Their New Computers?

Processors Image Credit

Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo

Yesterday, Apple finally revealed a new MacBook Pro, a full 527 days after the last refresh. The Touch Bar was fancy and bright; the gorgeous display wowed eye sockets; and the price made my wallet pucker. But there was also a conundrum.

It took Apple a year and a half to update one of its best selling laptops. And when the update finally arrived, the processor that the Cupertino crowd decided to put in the brand new laptop was Intel's year-old Skylake microarchitecture-not the newer Kaby Lake architecture. This move would normally be both astounding and annoying, except if Microsoft did the exact same thing two days earlier with its newly announced Surface Studio.

What's up with that?

Back in September, Intel surprised everyone with a new processor microarchitecture, dubbed Kaby Lake. It's faster than the Skylake design launched last year, uses less energy, and works on the same CPU socket. Theoretically, Kaby Lake is an improvement in every way, and many of Microsoft and Apple's competitors have already begun incorporating the new microarchitecture into their computers. Dell, Razer, Lenovo, and even boutique laptop makers like MSI have Kaby Lake machines.

So Kaby Lake's absence from the hottest new Apple and Microsoft devices is conspicuous. The new Surface Studio, the updated Surface Book, and all three MacBook Pro's will have Skylake inside.

Why?

In the case of the new 15-inch MacBook the answer is simple. "The Kaby Lake chip doesn't exist yet," an Apple rep told Gizmodo.

Kaby Lake is being rolled out relatively slowly, and it's only available in a few forms and wattages. The 15-inch MacBook Pro uses a quad-core processor that has no Kaby Lake equivalent currently. That particular laptop really does have the fastest processor available. The same goes for the Microsoft Surface Studio and updated Surface Book-both also use a quad-core Skylake processor with no Kaby Lake counterpart.

But the Studio and Surface Book are also using much older video cards from the Nvidia 900 series. Nvidia has much faster and less power-hungry chips (the 1000 series) available based on the Pascal architecture. Microsoft's reasoning for going with older video cards is nearly identical to Apple's for going with a slower processor in its 13-inch MacBook Pro: the Nvidia 1000 series came out too late.

I asked reps from both companies why they'd elected to go with older CPUs and GPUs when the new ones should have been able to slot into their devices with relative ease. The reps explained how they'd begun to design these devices long before Kaby Lake or Pascal were even a twinkle in Intel and Nvidia's eyes.

The major intimation was that Kaby Lake and Pascal came so late in the design process that it would have delayed the final products if they'd chosen to use them. New technology, no matter how amazing an upgrade it might be, still requires considerable testing before it can be shipped to consumers. One minor bug, particularly in a system as engineered as the Surface Studio or MacBook Pro, can turn catastrophic if not engineers aren't careful.

While Samsung wasn't mentioned, the horror show that's been the Note 7's launch and subsequent recall can't be ignored in this context. The now famous screw up involved a huge company that reportedly rushed a product to market, only to see it literally blow up in its customers' faces. Microsoft and Apple, both victims of similar missteps in the past, would prefer to __play it safe.

In the case of Microsoft, it's frustrating, because that old GPU is significantly slower than the Pascal GPUs available. The gorgeous Surface Studio appears hamstrung as a consequence. It will __play games and render 3D work with aplomb, but the knowledge that something faster is out there will be maddening to some users.

It's a little less frustrating in Apple's case, largely because of the old processor microarchitecture that Apple elected to shove into its new 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple went with a new Skylake dual core processor that draws a lot of power-more so than any Kaby Lake processor available. It then uses all that extra power to ramp up the speeds of the processor. Which means it is capable of pulling off speeds that can actually match those of the fastest Kaby Lake processor out there.

The only downside to this decision is battery life. Apple's CPU choice draws more power, which means it needs a larger battery and power supply that competitors like the Razer Stealth and the Dell XPS 13.

If you can suffer the additional weight of more battery, and the knowledge that your $1,800-plus laptop has a year old processor in it, then Apple's new laptops aren't actually that behind the times. Even the old GPU in the Surface Studio isn't a complete deal breaker. It's just a poke in the eye to any spec nerd out there. But personally, I'd rather a poke in the eye than a brand new device blowing up in my face.

Microsoft and Apple are convinced that their feats of computer engineering will outweigh our needs for the fastest computers. I'll be curious to see how that plays out for them.

Microsoft Will Pay You Not to Use a MacBook

Apple Image Credit

In the lead-up to the holiday season, Microsoft is throwing down the gauntlet. Got an Apple-branded laptop? The tech giant will give you up to $650 to part ways with it, just as long as you spend that cash on a shiny new Surface Pro 4 or a Surface Book.

Microsoft's "trade in and trade up" laptop program is yet another campaign in the company's buyback war against Apple. Microsoft runs a buyback service for businesses that includes lot of different Apple gadgets. If you own an iPad of any shape or size, for instance, that's worth up to $455 towards a Windows tablet. You can also trade in an iPhone 7 Plus for a measly $580 in Microsoft credit. However, the new MacBook campaign is open to any soon-to-be-former Apple user.

Image: Microsoft.com

It's not a terrible deal, actually. The MacBook Air I'm typing this on is worth $450 in Microsoft credit. That's a little over $1,000 away from being able to buy a Surface Book Pro. So it's not a terrible deal, but it's not an even trade either. What it really is, however, is sassy little PR move for Microsoft to announce this new MacBook trade-in program just a couple hours before Apple revealed its new MacBooks.

[PC World]

The Cheapest Way to Buy the New MacBook Pro

Apple Image Credit

Image: AP

If you're in the market for a new laptop, there's a good chance you're already considering the new MacBook Pro. It looks fantastic with that curious Touch Bar right above the keyboard, and the machine's specs are finally (almost) up-to-date. The new MacBook Pro is also even more expensive than its predecessor. But lucky for your bank account, the sales have already started.

http://gizmodo.com/i-just-stroked...

You can now order an entry level 13-inch MacBook Pro (without the Touch Bar) from Amazon at a significantly discounted price. There's a silver one for $1,139 and a space grey one for $1,299. That amounts to a $200 to $360 discount, depending on which model you want. A price cut like this is basically an unprecedented move for a brand new Apple product, so this is probably the cheapest price you'll see on the new MacBook Pro for quite some time. The only downside with ordering these two models is that they don't ship immediately. (Amazon doesn't have any in stock.) But still, the deal might be worth the wait.

http://gizmodo.com/the-best-stuff...

Amazon is also selling a more high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar and Touch ID) at a reduced price of $1,799. That's about $200 cheaper than you'll find in the Apple Store. This keeps costs under $2,000 for one of the nicest laptops on the market.

There are other bargains you can find at authorized retailers, but none of them are shaving as much off the price as Amazon. Shops like B&H and MacMall are also cutting costs on the new computers. For example, MacMall is taking up to $35 off of any new MacBook Pros sold, and B&H will only charge tax in a few states.

http://gizmodo.com/apple-is-final...

Buying the new MacBook Pro isn't the only expense. You'll probably want to insure it, and luckily, there are deals in that arena, too. You can save $50 on AppleCare through Amazon or B&H when you're purchasing the 15-inch MacBook Pro. You'll also want to consider buying a new USB-C to lightning cable, so you can charge your iPhone 7 from your MacBook Pro. Legit Apple cables are about $15 cheaper on Amazon than they are in the Apple Store.

All of these deals and sales are extremely unusual for Apple products, especially for a product that was only announced one day ago. We're not sure how long these deals are going to last, so if you're really serious about buying a MacBook Pro, you should act fast. Or you could just buy 12 Chromebooks instead.

Why an Entire Population of Geckos Is Trapped on One Building

Science Image Credit

Giraglia island. Photo Courtesy Michel-Jean Dealugerre.

The island of Giraglia is a windswept pile of rocks that sits within eyeshot of the northern tip of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea. Humans never lived here, but two types of geckos do. One runs free; the other's a prisoner-and their story may help unravel a longstanding evolutionary mystery.

Giraglia island has just three man-made structures: a lookout tower, built in 1573 to keep watch for pirates, a lighthouse, built in the 1800s to assist with shipping navigation, and a power plant, built in the 1950s to house the generator that replaced the guy who once ran the lighthouse.

With the power plant came the Moorish geckos-big, armored, desert-hardy things native to western Europe and northern Africa, which gecko biologist Anthony Russell of the University of Calgary describes as "vigorous colonizers and vicious predators." Moorish geckos engage in fierce territorial disputes, and have a knack for outcompeting (and devouring) other geckos everywhere they're introduced.

A Moorish gecko on prasinite. Photo Courtesy A. Leoncini.

But in the 60-odd years that Moorish geckos have been on Giraglia island, there has been no pillaging, conquering, or wholesale slaughter of the natives to speak of. (A population of smaller, European leaf toed geckos also lives on the island.) In fact, the Moorish geckos have yet to leave the power plant, and they probably never will. They're being held hostage, thanks to an unfortunate clash between geology and evolution.

It was Michel-Jean Delaugerre, a biologist with the Marine Conservancy in Corsica, who first noticed something odd about life on Giraglia island, during his routine field surveys: a small population of Tarentola mauritanica, better known as Moorish geckos, seemed confined to a single, concrete structure. Meanwhile, Euleptes europaea, the European leaf toed gecko, has the run of the island, unperturbed by its reclusive neighbors.

"Jean Michel contacted me years ago, because he'd noticed these [Moorish] geckos were not able to leave this particular spot on the island, and he knew I worked on them," Russell tells me. "I think if this was taking place on a mainland, in a mosaic of environments, you'd never have noticed what was happening."

Close up of a Moorish gecko's toepads. Photo Courtesy A. Leoncini.

So, what was happening? Turns out, the same sticky toe pads that help Moorish geckos cling to concrete utterly fail when it comes to walking around on Giraglia, an island composed of prasinite, a crumbly schist rock thats coat everything in a thin layer of grime. "If you drag your finger over the rock, it gets covered in dust," Russell said.

Wide, adhesive strips composed of billions of tiny, hair-like structures, the Moorish geckos' toe pads are designed to be self-cleaning. But when tip-toeing around on Giraglia island, these pads quickly become saturated by microscopic crystals flaking off the rocks. At which point, the toe pads are a bit like a dirty swiffer rubbing about on a dirty surface. The geckos are not about this.

"They actually freak out," Russell says.

The European leaf-toed geckos, which are adapted to live on Giraglia island, sport smaller adhesives-just two little sticky spots located at the tip of each toe. When these pads are needed for climbing, the geckos can them. But when the going gets dusty, the toe pads roll up and the animals rely on their claws.

Moorish gecko hind foot on concrete. Photo Courtesy A. Leoncini.

The luckless Moorish geckos cannot use their claws and toe pads independently, and the only place they can keep their pads clean on Giraglia island is the concrete power plant they hitched a ride over on. It would seem there are enough insects and spiders here to keep them well-fed.

These two toe pad designs are not restricted to a single desolate, Mediterranean island. Each pattern is found worldwide, in countless species of geckos. Each is believed to have evolved independently at least five times. But until Russell and Delaugerre's work on Giraglia island, which is now published in the Journal of Zoology, we couldn't hazard a guess why one might be better than the other.

Russell suspects that the Moorish gecko's larger, toe-spanning pads make for better climbing in dust-free environments. But on a place like Giraglia island, it makes more sense to be light-footed and versatile. It's a hypothesis that can now be followed up on with controlled experiments, and that may have applications in designing better artificial adhesives, whether for sticking things to the walls of the International Space Station, or making sure those strapless bras stay up.

"We assumed these patterns repeat for a reason, but we haven't known what the performance advantage might be," Russell says. "I think we can take the message from the island, and move on to a lot of other things."

The Moorish geckos, however, will be staying put.

[Journal of Zoology]

FBI Kinda Sorta Almost Reopening Investigation Into Clinton Emails

Hillary Clinton Image Credit

Hillary Clinton campaigning in Florida (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The FBI just sent a letter to members of the House Judiciary Committee who were looking into Hillary Clinton's private email server. And how you feel about Clinton will likely determine your response. Republicans claim that the investigation has been "reopened." Democrats say it's just a fart in the wind.

Today's letter, signed by FBI Director James Comey, explains that the FBI has come across new emails that may or may not be important to the investigation into classified emails on Clinton's private server. The Director hedged and said that he doesn't know whether anything they've found is significant, but he wanted to keep the Committee up to date.

"In previous congressional testimony, I referred to the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton's personal email server. Due to recent developments, I am writing to supplement my previous testimony," Comey wrote in the letter.

"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation," Comey continued.

"Although the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work, I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony," the letter said.

Only time will tell if these new emails are important. But for the time being you can count on two things: Republicans will use this as political ammunition, and it will change precisely zero votes between now and Election Day. Unless the emails show Clinton emailing the nuclear codes to North Korea, it's hard to see this changing anyone's mind about whether her use of a private email server is forgivable.

What We Know About Why Soylent Products Are Making People Sick

Recalls Image Credit

Illustration: Sam Woolley

On Thursday evening, food replacement startup Soylent halted sales of its Soylent 1.6 powder amidst reports that it was making customers sick. Two weeks prior, the company paused sales of its latest product, the Food Bar, after Gizmodo reported that several customers had experienced nausea, vomiting, "uncontrollable diarrhea," and severe dehydration after consuming the bars. Some customers were admitted to the emergency room due to their symptoms.

In a blog post Thursday evening, Soylent revealed that while the company was reviewing what happened with Food Bars, it "noticed that a handful of consumers (less than 0.1%) who consumed Powder 1.6 over the past several months reported stomach-related symptoms that are consistent with what our Bar customers described."Although the company wouldn't say which ingredient is causing the illness, it has narrowed down its search, "given there are only a few ingredients that are specific to only [its] bars and Powder 1.6."

Soylent markets itself as "open source"-it is a tech company after all-meaning the full ingredient list of 1.5 and 1.6 products are on its website. The company claims that it did not see the same kind of complaints with Soylent 1.5, which suggests that some difference in the two formulas is what's causing people to get sick.

There are many, many differences between 1.5 and 1.6-so many that it's impossible to zero in on a problem without more information. That said, the most glaring one is the role algae plays in the formula. Since the company's inception, founder Rob Rhinehart has wanted to produce Soylent using algae, a super efficient source of nutrients. He told The New Yorker in 2014 that his ultimate goal was "to design a Soylent-producing 'superorganism': a single strain of alga that pumps out Soylent all day. Then we won't need factories."

The difference between Soylent 1.5 and 1.6 shows how much progress the company has made when it comes to using algae. Soylent 1.5 has only 2.2 grams of Algal DHA Powder, but is mostly comprised of High Oleic Sunflower and Canola Oil powdered with Maltodextrin. Soylent 1.6, on the other hand, has 176 grams of Algal and Canola Oil Powder.

But differences between the powder formulas doesn't necessarily account for the bars getting people ill. Soylent powder may be open source, but the bars are far more mysterious. The company does have nutrition facts available for the bars. Whole Algal Flour is the fifth ingredient listed.

Gizmodo first reported on the bars making people sick after finding many, many posts on r/Soylent and Soylent's own message boards complaining of getting violently ill after eating the bars. Originally, Soylent wrote off the complaints by attributing the illness to "a certain subpopulation of individuals" who "may have an allergy, intolerance or sensitivity to ingredients such as soy and / or sucralose." But after receiving so many reports, the company decided "to err on the side of caution and take [the] preventative step" of pulling the bars from the shelves, and offering refunds.

Besides possible allergic reactions or odd interactions caused by a combination of ingredients, it's worth noting that products like Soylent drinks and Food Bars are especially susceptible to food borne illness, like any product that requires such an intensive process to manufacture. Eric Newguard, a food scientist with a PhD in Biological Systems Engineering who currently works as an operations analyst at Raw All Natural Pet Food, told Gizmodo, "Every time a product is touched (moving or processing), there is a risk that a microbial contamination can occur." It's unclear where the powder is produced, but the bars are made at Betty Lou's factory in McMinnville, Oregon, so there's a possibility that there was some contamination there. Gizmodo previously reported that many of the bars that were making people sick all shared a common expiration date, July 14, 2017, and identifying numbers before and after the expiration date.

While BuzzFeed reported that Betty Lou's had not undergone a health inspection since 2014, the Oregon department of agriculture confirmed to Gizmodo that Betty Lou's underwent inspection earlier this year. In a message addressed to the factory's "valued customers and clients" sent to Gizmodo by an anonymous source, the factory claims the illness "did not originate from our facility." Betty Lou's also claims it passed its safe quality food desk audit "with a score of 100% compliance" and that the results of that inspection will be released on November 8. Betty Lou's has not responded to repeated requests for comment over the last several weeks.

It's also important to note that even though Soylent is marketed as a meal replacement, the government classifies the product as a dietary supplement, meaning it's regulated differently than food. The FDA's website emphasizes that the agency "is not authorized to review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed." Soylent says the company is investigating what went awry and will share its findings with the FDA. We have reached out to the FDA to ask whether the organization is currently investigating incidents of Soylent-caused illness.

This is just the latest dustup for the company, which has had its nutritional claims challenged since the release of its first powdered drink meal replacement in 2013. This also isn't the first time the company's been accused of being the source of health problems. Despite some early viral success owing to an aggressive publicity campaign, which claimed Soylent would allow you to give up food, experts were not convinced. Joy Dubost, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Time in 2013 that many of the company's claims about the nutritional benefits of Soylent "are not scientifically substantiated."

"The composition of what [Rhinehart] has made is not going to be nutritionally adequate. He has made a lot of assumptions, and it is not going to be sustainable by any means for a certain population or even for an individual," Dubost said.

https://gizmodo.com/more-details-e...

When Motherboard's Brian Merchant toured the company's factory in 2013 (manufacturing has since moved elsewhere), he spotted a bunch of rodents. He also reported that several packets "were infested with mold." A cursory search of "mold" in the subreddit reveals dozens and dozens of people who have found mold on all sorts of Soylent products, especially its 2.0 product, which the company continues to sell.

We have reached out to Soylent for comment and will update the story if we get a response.

Has Soylent made you sick? Have any theories about why? Or any other spicy Soylent scoop? Email eve@gizmodo.com.

Will Uber row slow the smartphone revolution?

Then again, so does the GMB union.

So this case, about whether Uber drivers are workers (with the rights that status entails, like minimum wages and paid holiday) or self-employed contractors, will run and run.

Both sides were always going to fight fiercely, because so much is at stake.

Uber has 40,000 drivers in the UK, whom they might have to pay a fair chunk of cash more.

But thousands more people work in the gig economy, where workers sign up for jobs through smartphone apps.

We used to call the gig economy the 'sharing' economy, before we realised what quite rapacious business it could be. But it's clear consumers and workers alike are flocking to it.

Both sides are sort of right, in this case. There should be more protection for people working in the gig economy. 

It's not enough to simply say that people are adults, and they can make their decisions. The law must stop unfair practices. I don't think Uber employs them, but there are a lot of companies in the gig economy, with more springing up every day: it's a wild west which could do with a bit more regulation and protection.

On the other hand, Uber clearly allows employees the benefit of its technology, and the flexibility to work where and when they want. That's a good thing.

The binary 'worker' and 'self-employed' choice is starting to feel ever more strained.

The smartphone revolution has created an entirely new category of work. So we need to come up with a new way of understanding it, both in law and in our society.

Technology races ahead, introducing new behaviours - tribunal decisions like this are our attempt to make sense of them. 

Uber drivers should get holiday pay and minimum wage, tribunal rules

The drivers claimed that the private hire firm acted unlawfully by denying them sick pay, a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and breaks. 

The London Central Employment Tribunal ruled in their favour, a decision which could affect thousands of other people who work for companies with similar business models.

Nigel Mackay, who represented the drivers, described the ruling as "a groundbreaking decision".

Uber said it would appeal the judgement.

Image Caption: Uber has two million users in London alone

The tribunal centred on whether drivers with Uber are employees.

Uber insists its 40,000 drivers are "partners" and self-employed, meaning they are not entitled to holiday pay and other benefits.

But drivers argue they are actual employees of the organisation, rather than independent operators running their own businesses.

Mr Mackay claimed Uber drivers work very long hours "just to earn enough to cover their basic living costs".

He said: "(The ruling) will impact not just on the thousands of Uber drivers working in this country, but on all workers in the so-called gig economy whose employers wrongly classify them as self-employed and deny them the rights to which they are entitled."

Image Caption: Deliveroo is another company embroiled in the row over workers' rights

The "gig economy", in which self-employed workers take on temporary positions, has boomed in the UK.

According to official figures, the number of people registered as self-employed rose to 4.8 million in August this year.

Uber has two million users in London who make around one million trips a week.

The GMB's legal director Maria Ludkin labelled the gig economy "old-fashioned exploitation under newfangled jargon".

She said: "Uber drivers and thousands of others caught in the bogus self-employment trap will now enjoy the same rights as employees. This outcome will be good for passengers too.

"Properly rewarded drivers are the same side of the coin as drivers who are properly licensed and driving well maintained and insured vehicles."

On the ruling, Uber's UK general manager Jo Bertram said: "The overwhelming majority of drivers who use the Uber app want to keep the freedom and flexibility of being able to drive when and where they want.

"While the decision of this preliminary hearing only affects two people we will be appealing it."

Uber has been accused of violating employment rights in other countries.

In April, drivers in California and Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company claiming they had been wrongly classified as independent contractors.

Before the case went to trial the firm offered to pay $100m (£82.1m) to the drivers to settle the lawsuit, but a court ruled the sum was "not fair, adequate or reasonable".

Image Caption: Uber has two million users in London alone

Image Caption: Deliveroo is another company embroiled in the row over workers' rights