Google Assistant and Google Pay are making navigating New York City a little easier this month thanks to new subway and bus integrations with the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Starting today, millions of NYC residents and tourists can ask Google Assistant when the next subway and bus is coming. We tried it out and have some thoughts below.
And, starting May 31, Google notes that the MTA will launch its contactless payment system, OMNY (short for One Metro New York), at certain bus and metro stations. This will let users skip the time-consuming MetroCard kiosk.
Google Maps will play a part, too, letting you know which accept stations accept Google Pay in addition to offering the usual real-time tracking of trains and buses.
We tested it out already
We just asked our Google Home speaker, “Okay, Google, when is the next 7 train coming.” It told us the wait time for the next two trains in each direction.
That’s infinitely more helpful when you’re getting ready in the morning or running out the door for work. It should make a long New York City commute a little easier.
While this helpful Google Assistant assist launched today, we have to wait until May 31 to test out the contactless Google Pay portion of today’s announcement.
Even when it does launch, it won’t immediately cover the whole MTA network and is designed for one-off pay-per-ride commuters. It’s a pilot program designed for select subway stations and on Staten Island buses.
The initial subway stations on the list are on the 4-5-6 lines between Grand Central and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center. We plan to be first in line to test it out anyway.
Global expansion and feature expansion
New York City is joining a list of over 30 cities getting similar features. Those cities include London, Singapore, and Moscow. It’s also joining other cities that already have these features, such as Chicago (the first 5G city in the US).
All of this goes a little further toward cementing Google’s position as an all-in-one solution for getting around. Beyond driving, walking, and cycling directions, Google has also included details on ride sharing services and is even working on a feature to locate Lime electric bikes and scooters.
Being able to use Google Assistant know when trains are coming, and then to pay with Google Pay, just further rounds out the package the search giant has on offer.
Nvidia already launched its Turing graphics lineup over the last eight months or so, but it looks like something new and ‘super’ is on the way.
Ahead of Computex 2019, it looks like Nvidia has a new graphics card in store, likely something that will compete with the AMD Navi cards rumored to be revealed next week.
This comes by way of a cryptic video that appeared seemingly out of nowhere today. It’s just a few seconds long, but Nvidia is certainly trying to build up the hype.
But, what is it? The video doesn’t drop any hints this time around – instead it just looks like a closeup on an engraving of a ‘Super’ logo, in the same style as what the Nvidia RTX Founders Edition cards feature. So, is this a new graphics card – it’s on the GeForce YouTube channel, so we know it’s a gaming product.
This is just speculation, but it could be Nvidia teasing ‘super’ variations of its existing RTX lineup, said to feature faster VRAM to better compete with AMD’s Navi cards. Nvidia Turing Founders Edition cards already get hot under load, so we might see improved coolers on any overclocked parts.
Either way, Computex is quite literally around the corner at the time of writing, so we’re sure we’ll find out what this ‘Super’ graphics card is during the show.
Nintendo will be at E3 2019, once again opting to host a special Nintendo Direct E3 livestream rather than holding a live press conference.
Last year saw Nintendo dropping big announcements, such as the official reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Mario Party, alongside news that Fortnite was coming to the Nintendo Switch. And we’re expecting the House of Mario to have a bigger and better livestream at E3 2019.
But we’re also hoping there’s a few unannounced titles on the way too, third- and first-party alike. If we’re being really optimistic, there could even be news about the new Nintendo Switch – but it’s not super likely given the lack of concrete rumors.
Nintendo’s livestream usually lasts between 45 minutes and an hour, but that’s not much time to cram our entire wishlist in. So we’ve gathered together a list of the things we would most like to see from Nintendo at E3 2019.
Nintendo has already announced that Pokémon Sword and Shield will be hitting the Nintendo Switch in late 2019, with the next generation of Pokémon games seeing players traversing the brand new region of Galar (based on Britain).
While we already know the new core Pokémon games will bring with them fresh Pokémon to train, we don’t know much about these outside of the starter options. We also don’t know much about the game’s new features (or which will be making a return) or how Sword and Shield will differ, if at all.
Therefore, we’re hoping Nintendo will fill in all these details during E3 2019, including providing us with a firm release date for the games.
Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch
Animal Crossing (Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo has remained pretty tight-lipped since announcing last year that Animal Crossing will be coming to Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019.
While we did get a lovely trailer to accompany the announcement, it didn’t actually give any details of new gameplay mechanics, or even which characters would return from previous games.
Now that we’re halfway into 2019, we think it’s about time that Nintendo spilled the beans on Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch – and it probably will. We’re expecting Nintendo Direct at E3 2019 to offer a heap of details about the upcoming Animal crossing game, as well as a firm release date for the highly-anticipated title.
Link’s Awakening Remake
Link’s Awakening Remake (Image credit: Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake was announced during a Nintendo Direct earlier this year. Nintendo revealed we’ll see the remake of the 1993 GameBoy classic on Nintendo Switch in late 2019 but, once again, didn’t confirm a solid release date.
Apart from dropping an announcement trailer (that sees Link and friend’s rejigged into 3D), Nintendo didn’t give any more details about the remake. What will be the same? What will be different? We don’t know yet, but we’re hoping Nintendo will use E3 2019 to reveal all the juicy details.
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Luigi’s Mansion (Image credit: Nintendo)
Luigi just doesn’t learn his lesson when it comes to haunted houses – and we’re very glad. Nintendo announced last year that Luigi’s Mansion 3 will be hitting the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
No solid details about the spooky new installation of Luigi’s flagship franchise have been released as of yet. However the announcement trailer showed Luigi creeping through a haunted mansion with ghosts bursting out from behind cleaning supplies as he battles them with his trusty new Poltergust G-00.
Much like with Pokémon Sword and Shield and Link’s Awakening, we’re expecting Nintendo to confirm the release date for Luigi’s Mansion 3 at E3 2019 as well as offering up a few more details about what we can expect from the long-awaited sequel.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Image credit: Nintendo)
We’ve already seen Piranha Plant and Persona’s Joker added to Smash’s roster as part of DLC, but who is next on the cards? We’re pretty in the dark about which character will join Smash’s lineup yet, but we’re expecting Nintendo to shed some light on this at E3 2019.
While we’re hoping for Doom’s Doomslayer, Banjo Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot, we’re not holding out hope…
More third-party games
L.A. Noire (Image credit: Team Bondi)
More and more third party games are emerging on Nintendo’s hybrid console, and we’re expecting even more to be on the way. This will likely be in the form of some indie favorites, AAA titles and even newly announced games fresh from E3 2019.
Skyrim and LA Noire were examples of ports done right, making last-generation games feel fresh thanks to some interesting Switch control integration and the sheer novelty of playing them on the go. We’d like to see some more beloved games make their way to Switch this year – a Grand Theft Auto title seems to be a popular request that we can get on board with.
Nintendo Switch 2?
Nintendo Switch (Image credit: TechRadar)
Color us optimistic, but we’re hoping Nintendo will announce the new Nintendo Switch at E3 2019. It is very, very unlikely but we can always hope.
New Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Switch Pro, Switch Mini, or a pair of new Switch consoles – whatever the new handheld from Nintendo is called, there’s going to be at least one other Switch model coming down the line at some point soon. Not necessarily at E3 2019, but maybe.
Mostly all we have to go on at the moment is rumors but, with the PS5 and next Xbox on the horizon, a Nintendo Switch 2 announcement at E3 could really steal this year’s show – and Nintendo is pretty good at surprise announcements…
Metroid Prime 4
Metroid Prime 4 (Image credit: Nintendo)
Metroid Prime 4 has had a rocky development road since it was announced back at E3 2017 with a logo and little else. A brand new Metroid Prime title for the Switch got fans hyped, but they were disappointed to find out Metroid Prime 4 is even further away than initially expected as Nintendo scrapped the project and decided to start again with the help of developer Retro Studios.
We’ve not heard anything about Metroid Prime 4 since then, so we’re expecting Nintendo to provide a development update during its Nintendo Direct at E3 2019 – even if it’s just a short one.
Winter is coming. Well, so is something “super” from Nvidia.
Not to be left out of the news cycle, Nvidia on Thursday teased, well… something, with a mysterious YouTube video that pretty much just featured the word “Super” in the style of the metallic logo used on its popular graphics cards.
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Nvidia’s teaser isn’t a new tack of course. The company has long been known for building hype around upcoming product launches by engaging consumers with puzzles and challenges.
The big question is, what exactly is the Super that’s coming and when?
The lazy guess is that it’s a new brand to put on the rumored upgraded GeForce cards with faster memory. Those cards are expected to be a clap back at AMD’s upcoming Navi cards, likely to come at Computex or E3.
But could Super be something more? A mic-drop of epic proportions like, say, 7nm-based GeForce cards? Or maybe a new Shield Console? Everyone’s guess is as good as ours.
The timing on Super is also open for speculation. With the Taipei-based Computex trade show set to kick off next week with major announcements from AMD and Intel, Nvidia could be attempting to pull focus with a surprise showing of this so-called “super” thing. Nvidia CEO Jenson Huang has been known to drop new GPUs out of the blue. For example, in 2015, Huang shocked gamers by giving Epic Game’s Tim Sweeney an unannounced GeForce Titan X on stage.
At least, unlike Game of Thrones’ “Winter is coming” foreshadowing, we won’t have to wait six seasons for answers. Let’s hope Nvidia’s “Super” will be more satisfying than GOT’s finale to boot.
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No matter how good your playlist is, a bad Bluetooth speaker can kill ruin your Memorial Day party. But Amazon’s got a great price today on one of our favorites: the Anker SoundCore Boost Bluetooth speaker is just $51Remove non-product link when you check the coupon box in the listing, down from a list price of $80 and the lowest price we’ve seen.
This small speaker is discreet enough to slide into any room’s decor, but still brings a solid sound profile, especially when it comes to bass. It’s also water-resistant, with an IPX5 rating, and features a pretty decent battery life; in our review, we noted that it ran for about 11 hours while playing quietly with the bass boost on, so it shouldn’t have a problem lasting through your cookout. You can also use this speaker to take calls with the help of its built-in microphone.
In our review, we gave the SoundCore Boost 4 stars out of 5, and noted, “For pure sound, the SoundCore Boost is definitely among the best IPX5 water-resistant speakers [we’ve] heard—especially at lower volume. For the price, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better speaker.” And this discount makes that price even sweeter.
The UK government is aiming for a Paperless NHS by 2020 but new research from OpenText has revealed that many NHS Trusts are falling behind with only one in ten (12%) being fully digitized.
The company obtained this new data by issuing a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to 74 NHS Trusts across the UK, thought only 52 responded.
Back in January, the UK government announced its new NHS Long Term Plan with the intention of addressing the healthcare system’s lack of interoperability in hopes to improve the quality of patient care and healthcare outcomes in the UK. Under the plan, all secondary healthcare providers are required to transition to digital records by 2023 to ensure that clinicians can access and interact with patient records and care plans no matter where they are.
However, the new data obtained by OpenText shows there is still progress to be made with just 37 percent of responding Trusts stating that over half of their patient records have been digitized. Surprisingly, only 23 percent of NHS Trusts confirmed that 76-99 percent of their patient records, including scans, letters, notes and results, are currently digitized.
Digitizing patient records
Under the FoI request, respondents were asked to confirm the number of paper-based patient records they collected in Q4 2018. Of the 52 NHS Trusts surveyed, 69 percent were unable to provide an answer to this question and only 16 Trusts (31%) were able to provide this information. During Q4 2018, these NHS Trusts alone created over 1.7m paper-based records.
However, the majority (62%) of these Trusts, do have plans to digitize all patient records with 12 percent already fully digitized and a further 21 percent aim to become fully digitized within the next one to two years.
Additionally one in five (21%) Trusts plan to become paperless within the next three to four years in accordance with the new government guidelines.
Head of UK public sector at OpenText, Tracey Lethbridge explained how a one patient, one record environment can help NHS Trusts manage digital patient data, saying:
“With new Government guidelines in place, the ultimate goal is to empower healthcare organisations to evolve working practices and provide better patient care whilst reducing costs. One way to achieve this is to take a digital approach to information management. Through the creation of a “one patient, one record” environment, NHS clinicians can easily access the necessary information – regardless of where it is and in what form – to more effectively commission and monitor services that reflect the needs of patients. Ultimately, accurate and timely patient data is at the heart of delivering quality care and will ensure all front-line care staff can access this information where and when it is needed, boosting their productivity and enabling them to help more patients, more quickly.”
Memorial Day sales are officially here, and Walmart has discounted a variety of best-selling tech items. A standout deal from the sale event is the Apple Watch 3 that’s currently on sale for $199. That’s an $80 discount and the lowest price we’ve seen for the Apple smartwatch.
The Series 3 watch is a health-focused smartwatch that also functions as an iPhone. The Apple Watch tracks calories and activities and measures workouts like running and yoga to help meet your fitness goals. The waterproof watch includes GPS technology so you can also track how far you’ve gone and monitor progress made. The smartwatch offers heart rate monitoring and will notify you when an unusually high or low heart rate is detected. The Apple Watch also lets you stay connected with the ability to make calls, send messages, and receive notifications.
Like we mentioned above, this is the lowest price we’ve seen for the Series 3 watch and a fantastic deal if you’ve wanted to snag an Apple smartwatch. The Apple Watch 4 is also currently on sale for $350, which makes the $199 price tag on the Series 3 extremely attractive.
If you’re interested in Apple’s latest smartwatch, Amazon has the Apple Watch 4 on sale for $349. The Series 4 watch offers an upgraded design and additional health features such as a built in ECG, fall detection and emergency SOS.
Shop more deals with our roundup of the best Memorial Day sales of 2019.
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