New Year, new news. We\u2019re kicking off 2017 with a nod to CES, where I\u2019ll be for the remainder of this week checking out more gadgets than you can shake a stick at. I don\u2019t know why you\u2019d want to do that but here we are. Check out The Daily Crunch for January 1, 2017.
1. CES is this week
CES is this week, and it\u2019s easily the world\u2019s biggest consumer electronics expo. If you follow any journalists on Twitter, you may know that it\u2019s considered one of the most gruelling stretches of work in the entire year, but it\u2019s also pretty fun (the less thorny of us will admit to that begrudgingly).
In Las Vegas, around 200,000 people swell the city to its transportation bursting point, and everyone comes to show off what they\u2019ve been up to in consumer gadgets Expect a lot of AI this year, including tons of intelligent automobiles. Hopefully a Herbie the Love Bug or two.
2. SpaceX wants to go back to space next week
SpaceX has been grounded since an explosion destroyed one of its Falcon 9 rockets on September 1. Now, the company says it\u2019s satisfied its investigation into the cause, and resulting countermeasures, are ready. Mars isn\u2019t getting any younger, so hopefully it can get back to shooting stuff beyond the atmosphere at a steady clip.
3. Tesla Autopilot update for latest cars begins rolling out
Tesla made good on its promise to return Autopilot features to so-called \u201cHW2\u201d equipped vehicles. CEO Elon Musk said that it\u2019s being deployed to a small group of initial test users first, with a larger rollout planned if that goes well. The highway commute relief is in site, you pampered Tesla owners you.
4. Another Twitter eyed flies the coop
Twitter\u2019s executive turnover continues, with its head of business in China the latest to depart. She only joined seven months ago, but basically it\u2019s made the China-specific position obsolete with a restructuring of its Asia business.
5. Get the DL on VPN
If you weren\u2019t exactly sure what a VPN is, Romain has you covered. Basically it\u2019s a tunnel escape for car chases where you have to evade the helicopter. It makes sense, just go read it.
6. Fiat and Google put Android in cars
Android in the car is better than Android Auto, or so hope Fiat Chrysler and Google. The two are teaming up to make Android a more integral part of a car\u2019s infotainment system, handling everything from radio to cabin comfort. It\u2019s a big bet on being closer to where Google wants to be as cars become more autonomous and more a site for actual computing, and it\u2019s very smart.<\/p>\n