HANDLER TECHZ

The father of the Oculus creates a 'startup' to build the Trump Wall

Palmer Luckey wants to contribute his technological knowledge to improve the surveillance system on the border with Mexico

   In 2014, Palmer Luckey's bank account began adding zeros at almost the same speed that was spread among the media that Facebook bought for $ 400 million Oculus Rift.

This helmet of virtual reality was developed by Luckey and also by John Carmack in 2012. The father of the Oculus returns to the media stage three months after leaving the social network and the development of virtual reality technology for the company by Mark Zuckerberg.

   This small break has served to launch a new 'startup' dedicated to the development of surveillance technology at the borders. The United States needs a new type of defense company, one that saves citizens tax dollars, but is capable of developing superior technology to keep our troops and citizens safer, Luckey said in a statement to the New York Times.

The 'startup' of the Oculus father works on the expansion of the LIDAR sensors used by autonomous vehicles. This system is capable of detecting distance and ambient light based on a set of cameras and infrared sensors.

Luckey is betting that the devices that integrate its technology could be placed on telephone poles, and he is convinced that his system can be more efficient and cheaper than the wall on the Mexican border that Trump wanted to build.

Despite seeing this new startup California, Luckey and would have gone through the White House, according to several American media. Last April he had a meeting with Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior of the United States Government. According to Zinke's spokesperson, the secretary had a very brief meeting in which he heard Mr. Luckey talk about technology at the border, and referred him to the Department of Homeland Security.

Apparently, in the first round of financing of the company would appear as investor Peter Thiel, current adviser to Trump on technological issues. Luckey hopes to raise enough money to install his security device in certain potentially vulnerable areas.

According to the plans of the father of the Oculus with its network of sensors could detect the presence of drones or the movement of people or objects in mobility in large tracts of land.

The Luckey-Trump connection is not new. Last January, Luckey donated $ 100,000 to the inauguration of Trump's presidency through one of his companies.

The autonomous driving will generate 7,000 million dollars

Intel foresees the creation of a "passenger economy" to cover the free time drivers will earn by not having to keep an eye on the steering wheel

   Artificial intelligence is learning to drive. Companies such as Google, Apple, Uber and major automakers are working to start their autonomous vehicles, although according to the INRIX Research study carried out on Britons, Germans, French, Americans and Italians, drivers still do not trust these new cars.

However, a Strategy Analytics study commissioned by Intel suggests that companies should start thinking immediately about their strategy for autonomous driving, explains the company's CEO, Brian Krzanich.

   And the study coined the term Passenger Economy to describe its prediction of explosive economic growth, from $ 0.8 trillion in 2035 to $ 7 trillion in 2050.

The report commissioned by Intel stresses that autonomous driving and intelligent city technology will generate a new type of economy that will end with the collaborative and will pass to the passenger, reconfiguring some sectors and inventing new ones.

Autonomous driving will drive change in a wide range of sectors and will lead to a new panorama, whose first outbreaks will begin to appear in the B2B sector. The first driverless vehicle options will emerge in developed markets and reinvent the parcel and long distance transport sectors, explains Harvey Cohen, co-author of the report.

Intel stresses that autonomous cars will create around 250 million hours a year used in journeys or traffic jams. The report examines the value of economic opportunity from the point of view of both consumers and companies and begins to develop usage scenarios designed to facilitate the development of viable change strategies by decision makers.

Sony boasts mobile to watch series and movies

The Xperia XZ3 incorporates for the first time an OLED screen and the Japanese company highlights the change of trend in the use of the smartphone by the user

   Sony seems to have put the batteries in the market of Smartphones. And today it has presented in society the Xperia XZ3 , a high-end terminal with which it intends to re-launch its market share and compete in a growing battle with Samsung, Huawei and Apple. It boasts an infinite screen , one of the most important components at present. The outstanding changes when consuming content through mobile is what the Japanese company has emphasized during the presentation of its new flagship.

It is clear that the way we use the mobile has changed and an upward trend is the viewing of series and movies through the screen . That's why Sony has made an effort that the XZ3 serves in the best way for it.

    A study by Ditrendia ensures that the favorite content of smartphone users is video, with 78% of Spaniards saying they use it for such. Similarly, another Kantar report says that 50% of people who access the Internet in Spain consume series in the mobile.

Sony incorporates for the first time an OLED screen with HDR technology that grows up to six inches and that make it enter the top five of the best terminals to watch series and movies next to the iPhone XS Max, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, the LG V30 or the OnePlus 6.

Inside it adds the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor and unlike other manufacturers, maintains its commitment to a unique camera of great quality. The battery is 3,300 mAh and the price, as previously announced, will be 799 euros.

Facebook wants to access the banking data of its users

The company, accused of leaking data with a political purpose, negotiates with the large US entities to access the balance of the account and card transactions of users

Facebook has asked major US banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, including data on credit card transactions and current account balances, justifying their request in the social network's efforts to offer new services to their users, according to reveals the newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal' citing knowledgeable sources.

The revelation once again puts the focus on the problem of users 'personal data, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, accused of collecting data from Facebook users and using it for political purposes without the users' consent, a controversy over that the Zuckerberg was charged by filtration and had to testify before the United States Senate .

In this regard, the newspaper notes that in the last year the social networking giant contacted entities such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and US Bancorp to discuss potential offers for customers of the entities available through Facebook Messenger, although one of the large banks contacted would have withdrawn from the talks due to privacy concerns. «Facebook has spoken about a function that would allow users to consult the balance of their accounts», the consulted sources told the newspaper.

As part of the proposed agreements, Facebook asked the entities for information on where their users are buying, regardless of the purchases made using Facebook Messenger, the newspaper adds. Messenger has 1.3 billion active users per month, according to Facebook's operations director, Sheryl Sandberg, during the presentation of the accounts for the second quarter.

Google and Amazon also want the data

The social network would have indicated to the entities that this information about the clients could be used to offer services that would lead them to spend more time using Messenger and would have assured that they would not use the data for advertising purposes or to share them with third parties.

"We do not use purchasing data from banks or credit card companies for advertising," said social network spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana, adding that Facebook "has no special relationships, no partnerships or contracts with banks or credit card companies. to use the data of its clients for advertising purposes ».

"Like many other companies, we routinely talk with financial institutions about how we can improve people's business experiences," Diana added, stressing that an essential part of these efforts is to keep people's information secure.

According to sources consulted by the newspaper, other technology companies such as Alphabet or Amazon.com would have asked the bank to share this kind of data if they decided to collaborate with them in order to offer basic banking services through applications such as Google Assistant and Alexa.

The scientist who discovered thanks to Google Earth a hidden forest more than 8,000 kilometers away from his home

In the north of Mozambique, on a steep hill that can only be reached by climbing a 125-meter high wall, there was a forest that had remained unexplored and hidden from science. Until, more than 8,000 kilometers away, a British biologist found it on his computer.

Julian Bayliss has been scrutinizing the African continent for years through Google Earth in search of remote territories that house ecosystems to discover.

This is how this professor at the University of Oxford came across Mount Lico and the kilometer-long forest that extends over it.

"What struck me about Mount Lico (on the computer screen) was that you have a mountain like paper, with the base intact and a forest of good quality, surrounded by land with many crops," Bayliss explained by telephone. BBC World.

"That is weird because, if there are many crops along the base of the mountain, one assumes that the forest has been altered in some way because people need resources ... But the fact that it looked intact, made me think that maybe nobody had climbed . "


Forests that have not been exploited by man offer science a world of opportunities. But, in 21st century Africa, it is difficult to find one.

However, from a desk in the United Kingdom, Bayliss has already found two and has another in his sights that he still does not want to reveal.

The Forest Google

While Monte Lico is its most recent discovery, it is not the first refuge of nature to which Bayliss arrives thanks to Google Earth.

During his doctorate at the university where he now teaches, the expert studied remote detection tools that he then applied to the conservation of hard-to-reach areas.

"You can explore large areas that are mostly inaccessible but you are viewing them from above, obviously using satellite imagery and, in this case, free as Google Earth, it's much cheaper than hiring an aircraft ... With them I can see a whole province of Mozambique. "

As part of one of these conservation projects, in 2005, he inspected satellite images of Google Earth when a greener spot than usual caught his eye.


The spot turned out to be the largest rain forest in southern Africa , on top of Mount Mabu, also in Mozambique. A place that, until then, only local people knew.

He visited it several times in the following years on visits that led to the discovery of several species of plants and animals.



"It is one of the first cases of uses that were given to Google Earth," said Bayliss. The technological giant documented the feat of Bayliss in a video. Hence, many refer to Mount Mabu as the "Google Forest" .

"In 2005, Google Earth was still relatively new," said the expert in African ecology, who said that, since then, this tool of satellite images has become a very useful program for scientists.

Over the years, the resolution of the images has improved, allowing us to study the terrain in more detail. For example, Bayliss said that when he found Mount Mabu in Google Earth, he could not see Mount Lico, which is much smaller, on the screen. It was years after he found him.

An expedition of height

Last year, Bayliss was finally able to visit that mountain that looked like paper he had seen on his computer screen.


He carried out two reconnaissance missions to Mount Lico, but could not get closer than six kilometers due to the difficult geography that surrounds it and the lack of infrastructure in the area. He had to just fly his drone close to him and take pictures.

If getting to the base of the mountain is already difficult, climbing up to the forest seems impossible without professional climbing equipment and the knowledge necessary to use it.

But last May, after years of searching for time and money, the biologist managed to put together an expedition of 28 people, including the prestigious British climbers Jules Lines and Mike Robertson, who were responsible for opening the way for scientists and Teach them to climb the steep slopes of Mount Lico.

For Bayliss, "Monte Lico is unique because there were no humans living in it and it was practically intact", something that, he explained, will allow studying phenomena such as the effect of climate change without the influence of man.

"Practically intact," says the scientist, because during his exploration of the forest three ancient pots were found near a stream. "It's hard to believe that someone could have gone up there without material like that," said Bayliss.

Tests are still underway to determine the age of the vessels, but the biologist believes that they must have been part of a tribute to the gods made by a shaman to ask for rain, a common rite in that area, he said.




For the moment, he is satisfied with the new species of butterfly that he found in that hidden forest, which he plans to name in his honor: Lico. He and other scientists of the expedition are waiting for the "verdicts" that will confirm if other of the species of animals that they found in the mountain were also unknown, among them, two antelopes that they captured with video cameras.

Google Earth helped Bayliss to find remote areas of study that he might never have known without this type of technology, but having satellite images to support his object of study did not facilitate the search for funding, a task that remains very complicated for scientists.

The alternative route to rediscover Madrid by car

Exhibitions, shops, or trendy neighborhoods ... we tour the capital at the wheel of the Range Rover Evoque, the Land Rover compact SUV designed to explore the city

Do not leave home to break the daily routine. The city is in constant transformation and every day a new place arises to discover: a fashionable restaurant, the opening of a gallery or a neighborhood that you must visit.


There are always many things to see; Sometimes, you just have to change the perspective. We have developed an urban guide to rediscover Madrid. But do it well, in a car capable of facing the unexpected and challenges posed by the capital, driving a sporty and off-road model like the Range Rover Evoque . The SUV of the British firm retains all the capacity and the wild spirit of Land Rover in a compact size, designed to explore the city.

STARTING WITH ENERGY

We all need extra help to start the day, especially when it's time to get in front of the wheel. Resorting to coffee with milk when the asphalt burns, perhaps is not the best option. It's time to try something more refreshing, like a cold brew . Although the name evokes millennial modernity - and none would reject one - this infusion of cold coffee has been a success in the United States.


 At Misión Café (Calle de los Reyes, 5) they serve a sparkling nitro cold brew and at Pum Pum Café(c / Tribulete, 6) merge it with orange. Do not be afraid to get lost in the streets of the center, thanks to its sporty and compact style, Range Rover Evoque allows you to adapt to the most difficult spaces and conditions with complete peace of mind.

EMPATHE OF ART

There is nothing more itinerant than the cultural agenda of Madrid. Drive to any of the exhibitions offered by the capital and let yourself be transported to other worlds. Until the end of the month, the Palacio de Gaviria (Calle Arenal, 9) hosts the exhibition Duchamp, Magritte, Dalí: twentieth-century revolutionaries , a tribute to all those artists who broke the rules in favor of creativity.

Also the aristocracy, avant-garde and Hollywood icons await you at the Canal Foundation (Calle Mateo Inurria, 2). Cecil Beaton. Myths of the 20th Centurycollects more than one hundred portraits of one of the photographers of the time. Get out of the car for a second and get soaked in culture. With the Range Rover Evoque InControl system - a technology designed to improve user connectivity and entertainment - it will be easy to find a parking space.


EAT IN ANOTHER CONTINENT

It may seem crazy, but the Usera neighborhood is the best example of transformation. The Airbnb platform included this 'Chinatown from Madrid' (as it is now known) in its list of neighborhoods with the greatest projection, a "place of retreat in the face of the usual madness of life in the city". Although the gastronomic offer is interesting, the Royal Cantonese restaurant (Olvido street, 92) deserves driving. For some it is the best Chinese restaurant in the city.

BUILD A CAPRICHO

"Fashion is a weapon to survive the routine." And nobody knew better than Bill Cunningham, who until the last day toured the streets of New York to portray the style of the big apple. In Madrid you can also draw a style map through its stores. Buy something nice or fill the trunk, there is room for everything in the Range Rover Evoque (has a capacity of 575 liters the model of 5 doors). Its cargo area has been designed with intelligence and the result is 575 liters of free space. Start filling it with Salesas, the new golden mile of the capital, thanks to exclusive boutiques such as SUUS (Argensola, 4) or VeSTIMENTA (Pelayo, 80), whose team of professionals is dedicated to traveling around the world to find special clothing . The Serrano neighborhood will always be a safe bet. Yusty (Serrano,


ENJOY A GOOD MOVIE

Outdoor cinemas are a classic every summer, any place is good to enjoy a good movie. The Film Festival at La Bombilla (Plaza San Antonio de la Florida, 1) is the most popular, with more than a hundred different titles. On the other hand, Autocine Madrid Race, near the Paseo de la Castellana, is the largest drive-in cinema in Europe. Just look for a good site in front of the screen, because the experience improves within Range Rover Evoque. Designed to drive comfortably, the seats incorporate massage function and the temperature can be regulated. Also, if you do not like what they put, you can use InControl technology and see one (or two) different on your Dual View screen .

In the fireball to the attic

A partner of Trump raises in Miami a tower in which cars access directly to housing

The Porsche Tower rises on the rubble of the financial collapse of 2008. Gil Dezer, its promoter, remembers the apocalypse lying on a sofa in the lobby. "I had diabetes, I started losing hair. The world was falling apart. Banks falling on all sides, bankers jumping through the windows. And I built four Trump- licensed towers in Miami and the Porsche project.

" Dezer, a 43-year-old New Yorker who speaks Spanish with a Buenos Aires accent - his ex-wife's inheritance - smiles thinking that he was able to escape unscathed from that massive infarct of capitalism. In Miami, one of the world capitals of ostentation, the Porsche Tower is, since it was inaugurated, one year ago, one of its wealth icons.

The first real estate development with the name of the legendary German car house is a black cylinder almost 200 meters high next to Miami Beach. On the outside it imposes, but its most spectacular secret is inside. There are three elevators in which residents can go up to the door of their apartments sitting inside the vehicle.

"It's a building designed for the crazy cars," says Dezer. The tower cost more than 400 million dollars and the elevator, in which worked thirty engineers from the United States and Germany, 40 million, including six that were spent in assembling in Chicago a small replica tower to make tests by demand of the Miami fire service, which had never given such an exotic license.


Dezer acts as a master of ceremonies to teach how an innovation works that "will mark the way to park cars in tall buildings in the future," he says. The driver does not have to do anything.

 Turn off the engine and a robotic platform is responsible for placing the car in its exact place. The process of accommodation takes a couple of minutes, but as soon as it starts, the climb is fast. The ears are plugged. Dezer, exultant, asks: "Is it cool or not?"

Who are the tenants? The constructor only gives clues. "Great executives, celebrities, some singer that you listen to all the time on the radio. There's a guy who is president of a drink you drink often, a video-shop mogul or an individual who had a Nike factory in Argentina, sold it to the company and retired. "

Upon reaching the penthouse - still for sale for 32 million dollars "negotiable" - the elevator stops in a room with direct entrance to the living room, a huge space with a window from floor to ceiling overlooking the turquoise sea of ​​Miami. "From the street straight to your house," sums up Dezer. "This is the idea. You can live like a hermit inside your sports car. "

The Porsche Tower combines the two attributes of the family. Gil's father, Michael Dezer, made his fortune in the Manhattan real estate market and has a collection of more than a thousand cars, including "all the batmovils, the DeLorean of Return to the future and one of James Bond", specifies his son, who has at the same time 30 sports. At the foot of the tower, he shows the Porsche that arrived yesterday from Germany, a copy of 372,000 dollars and 700 horses, to fulfill one of his greatest pleasures: "Accelerate it and feel how your eyes get embedded in your brain".