Apple’s Sidecar feature only works on newer Macs

On Monday, Apple released macOS Catalina, the latest major update to its desktop operating system. Going into the update, a lot of Mac owners were excited for a feature called Sidecar. If you haven't following the development of Catalina, Sidecar all...

OnStar is helping GM plan for an autonomous-car future

General Motors has been on a tear lately. The automaker recently invested $500 million in Lyft and acquired both self-driving startup Cruise and ride-share company Sidecar. And that's all since January. But there's one thing that GM has had for years...

This Motorcycle Has a Beer Barrel Sidecar

Drinking and driving don’t mix, except when all of the drinking is done and you make a sidecar for your motorcycle out of the beer barrel that’s left over. Then it’s all good. That’s what this motorcycle is rocking.

beer_sidecar_1zoom in


It’s called The Beer Engine for obvious reasons and it belongs to The Hogs Back Brewery in Tongham, Surrey, UK. They commissioned this custom motorcycle to draw the attention of crowds at festivals and other public events and generally advertise their brewery.

The sidecar is a beer keg, complete with a spigot, while the gear shift lever is a beer tap lever. It’s a shame it doesn’t actually dispense beer, but you can’t have it all. The Duff beer guy should really have one of these.

[via Recyclart via Neatorama]

California regulator sets rules for ridesharing companies

Lyft car

The California Public Utilities Commission approved ridesharing companies early this year, but it offered only a few temporary guidelines while it worked on a formal rule set. Today, the regulator has published those definitive rules. Companies like Lyft, SideCar and Uber now have to get a CPUC license to operate under a new Transportation Network Company category. To maintain that license, they'll have to run background checks, train drivers, hold a minimum level of insurance, inspect cars and drop employees who abuse alcohol or drugs. The requirements won't necessarily eliminate tension with Los Angeles and other cities that believe they have jurisdiction over taxi-like services. However, the CPUC's move gives California ridesharing companies a degree of comfort -- they can keep operating in many cities without fear of being shut down.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: California Public Utilities Commission (PDF)

Los Angeles puts ridesharing companies on notice, demands local permits

Los Angeles puts ridesharing companies on notice until they get licenses

Someone didn't get the memo, apparently. Despite California's Public Utilities Commission giving ridesharing services the all clear on a statewide level, Los Angeles' Department of Transportation has sent cease-and-desist warnings to Lyft, Sidecar and Uber, claiming that all three are breaking local laws by operating without city permits. Drivers could face arrests and lose their cars if they keep serving customers, according to the notices. Not surprisingly, the ridesharing firms have a very different opinion. Uber tells Engadget that it's operating a limousine-like service which only needs PUC permission to operate, and Lyft says it's talking with the Mayor's office to resolve what it believes is a "state issue." For now, we're at an impasse -- let's just hope that Los Angeles follows in New York's footsteps and tries to reach a happy medium.

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Via: AllThingsD

Source: SCPR

Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS metering

Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS meteringTaxi and car-sharing apps which quote for journeys based on GPS data could find themselves outlawed by regulators. Transport authorities across fifteen US and Canadian cities are looking at a set of rules that would prohibit anything except physical metering to calculate the cost of a trip. The proposals would also put the kibosh on demand pricing, whereby quotes automatically rise when more people are making bookings, and also on the use of drivers who don't have proper taxi licenses. Some of these practices are already banned in a number of states, and in fact three online transport services -- Zimride, SideCar and our old friend Uber -- were fined in California this week precisely for allowing unqualified hands to take the wheel. If the current proposals are adopted, the role of smartphones would likely be restricted to hailing regular taxis or putting electric money into traditional cabbies' pockets.

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Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS metering originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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