Travel

By now, SpaceX is quite famous for launching rockets that land safely back on earth to be reused again. Last Sunday, however, it let a Falcon 9 rocket explode and actually got congratulated for it. That's really because the expensive rocket wasn't the focus of the launch. Instead, SpaceX was testing the Crew Dragon's escape system that could hopefully save even more precious lives when the capsule does make its first manned flight in a few months.

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A man decided to play a video game on a monitor at an airport in Portland yesterday, January 16, 2020. This was not a particularly forward-thinking idea, given the forever-volatile nature of airports in general here in the USA for the past couple of decades. But he did it anyway. He decided that his best course of action for staving off boredom at the airport at 4:40 AM was to "hijack" an official airport TV screen.

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Boeing is already under a lot of heat for technical problems with its beleaguered 737 Max plane and the last thing it needs is a PR disaster caused by its own ranks. Unfortunately for the company, that is exactly the case thanks to documents coming from Boeing itself as part of its required disclosure about the design and development of the plane. Suffice it to say, some people inside the company knew exactly about the problems that would tragically cost 346 lives later on.

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It wasn't that too long ago, in fact just April last year, that the New York City's transport system started supporting Apple Pay. This was done particularly to push New York's One Metro New York (ONMY) contactless payment system which works perfectly with Apple's own mobile payment system. Perhaps too perfectly, even, as there are now a handful of reports claiming they get charged by simply being near one such OMNY reader.

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Smart e-moped maker NIU yesterday announced its launch in the US consumer market and it has more to say beyond mopeds. Joining the growing number of voices shouting "5G", the Chinese company is revealing two new electric motorcycle lines that are embracing the current trends in mobile and automotive industries. While the RQi-GT and TQi-GT have different forms and slightly different features, both are joined by a common thread, what NIU calls "5G IoT", that keeps the vehicles connected to NIU's cloud, whether you like it or not.

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Boeing may be setting its sights on space to be one of if not the first to carry humans back and forth the stars but it is currently facing almost insurmountable problems back here on earth. Its new 737 Max has been feared and loathed for the software problems that have cost lives. Even as the company scrambled to address those issues, it now appears that the plane may have other problems, including possible wiring and engine issues.

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This week artist Banksy revealed a new piece of art that is both tiny in scale and large in concept. In the past, Banksy became well-known due to his large-scale artworks in the streets - graffiti works of many sorts. If you only know Banksy from his early years in street art, it's a good time to take a look at his accomplishments of late. Most recent of these is a nativity scene called Scar of Bethlehem.

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Boeing announced a change in leadership this morning amid ongoing crisis in the company. Hundreds of victims were killed earlier this year in a pair of crashes of the Boing 737 Max. The same airplane model crashed in two separate events, likely due to a single piece of anti-stall software placed on the craft. The CEO Dennis Muilenburg was not mentioned in the press release for this change in leadership.

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There is no shortage of people trying to create ways for mankind to fly on their own. Pretty much like the Wright Brothers, these people are both admired and ridiculed. These days, however, it's no longer a dream nor a fantasy nor science fiction with inventions and stunts from the likes of Yves Rossy, better known as "Jetman" who makes taking off vertically look almost too easy.

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Facial recognition is slowly but surely becoming the focal point of the next tug-of-war on privacy as more and more companies and governments are embracing the technology for their own needs. While an effective tool in safeguarding phones and computers, it is also feared to be a more subtle but more intrusive way to monitor people without their knowledge. It is against that backdrop of uncertainty that the US Homeland Security is proposing that face recognition checks in all US airports be done on all travelers, including the country's own citizens.

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Uber may have helped start a new industry but it has quickly become the object of scorn over a multitude of issues and accusations. In addition to questionable business and labor practices, the ride-sharing company that started it all has come under fire for its failure to keep both passengers and even drivers safe, sometimes from each other. That is why it is testing a new safety feature that will provide needed evidence and safety incentives by potentially violating privacy in audio recording trips.

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Google gets a lot of flak when it comes to privacy and monopolistic practices but it remains unchallenged because of the almost indispensable services and products it provides. Google Maps has long changed the way we get around places, both locally and abroad, while Google Translate grows more accurate and helpful every year. Now Google is bringing these two products closer together to save you from the most harrowing travel experience: trying to get around a foreign country.

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