Volvo brings semi-autonomous driving to 2017 XC90 model

Autonomous driving takes a step forward for Volvo as the company brings its Pilot Assist II technology as a standard feature for its 2017 XC90 model. Pilot Assist II is a semi-autonomous driving system that helps control acceleration, braking, and steering to follow traffic flow on well-marked highways. It can run on speeds of up to 81mph or 120 km/h and it doesn’t need a lead car to work as have other Volvo systems before. But you can override it anytime, all you need to do is deactivate cruise control using the brake, cancel/off button, accelerating, or turning the steering wheel. If you let go of the wheel for a few seconds, it will deactivate the system, too. What doesn’t deactivate the system is if you use the turn signal and wheel to make a lane change.

The 2017 XC90 is also getting PowerPulse for the diesel variant, which is said to get rid of turbo drag, and an update to Volvo’s City Safety, which adds large animals to its standard collision avoidance system. The updates coming to the XC90 will also be carried over to the S90 sedan and V90 wagon.

Source: Gizmag

Store your book thoughts on Shelf

A new iOS app makes it easier for you to keep your thoughts on the books you read in an app. And yes, you don’t even have to share it with other people. Shelf is a simple notepad of sorts to keep those thoughts in one place. It comes with a built-in book search engine. When you enter the book you’re currently reading you get a nice big image of the book you’re reading and then you can just add all the thoughts you want to add on it. Now, we wish this free app makes its way to Android, too.

Source: Lifehacker | Download: Apple App Store (Free)

Instagram closes off access to apps that let you ‘be’ other users

A recently launched app for Instagram called Being let users see the Instagram feed of any public user. What this means is you could see the app through the eyes of a celebrity. You could see who they follow and help that curate your list. But it seems Instagram isn’t happy with that as the app has lost access to Instagram’s API. The popularity of the app as it gained over 40,000 users since it launched around eight days ago might have brought Instagram to the app’s purpose and that might have caused its downfall. The company won’t say though if the loss of access to Instagram’s API is intentional.

Source: The Verge

WhatsApp to drop support for BlackBerry and other old platforms

If you use WhatsApp, the time has come to finally let go of that old BlackBerry or Symbian device. By the end of 2016, WhatsApp will only support Android 2.3+, iOS, and Windows Phone 8.1+. Those who use BlackBerry devices, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Phone 7.1, Android 2.1, and Android 2.2 won’t be supported after that. WhatsApp didn’t say if they were taking the apps out of the app stores or will just halt support for the apps. What’s clear though is it might be best to get a newer device.

Source: The Next Web