Google readies their platform for kids under 13 with a new initiative, US details plans for car-to-car communications, the Windows laptop built for Linux users & much more!

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U.S. details plans for car-to-car safety communications

After more than a decade of research into car-to-car communications, U.S. auto safety regulators took a step forward today by unveiling their plan for requiring cars to have wireless gear that will enable them to warn drivers of danger.

These vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmitters and software won’t be cheap, costing an estimated $341 to $350 per vehicle in 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a report.

Just two of the possible features that rely on V2V technology — one that warns drivers if they don’t have enough time to make a left turn and another that urges them to stop if another car is about to run a red light — could prevent 25,000 to 592,000 crashes and save 49 to 1,083 lives annually when the entire U.S. vehicle fleet has the technology, according to today’s report.

The current V2V system is set up in such a way that that cars swap messages 10 times per second about their position in space, which direction they are headed and how quickly they are moving in that direction. If two cars are on a collision course, the driver can be presented a warning.

Google Is Planning to Offer Accounts to Kids Under 13

Google GOOGL +1.52% plans to offer accounts to children under 13 years old for the first time, a move that will take the world’s largest Internet search provider into a controversial and operationally complex new market.

Google and most other Internet companies tread carefully because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. The law imposes strict limits on how information about children under 13 is collected; it requires parents’ consent and tightly controls how that data can be used for advertising. (Companies are not liable if customers lie to them about user ages).

The company’s new effort is partly driven by the fact that some parents are already trying to sign their kids up to the company’s services. Google wants to make the process easier and compliant with the rules, the person said.

Hello, HP Stream 14: A $199 Windows laptop aimed squarely at the Chromebook market

The HP Stream 14 itself shares many other features with Chromebooks: It has a 1366 x 768 display, for example, which is nearly ubiquitous on Chrome OS laptops. An energy-efficient AMD chip powers the Stream 14, combined with 2 GB of memory and either 32 or 64 GB of flash storage as well as an SDXC card slot. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a trio of USB ports, HDMI out and a webcam make up the rest of the package. Like the Android SlateBook 14 that HP also sells, the HP Stream 14 will have four speakers and support Beats Audio.

The 3.9-pound laptop runs Windows 8.1

• HP Stream: 199 dollar notebook comes with 14-inch display, AMD platform & 100 GB OneDrive – all details | Mobilegeeks.de | Network / Ultrabooks

LG flaunts curved 21:9 monitor, plus a display for gamers – CNET

The 34-inch 34UC97 curved monitor has a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio and in-plane switching. It boasts a massive resolution of 3,440×1,440 pixels. The display packs two Thunderbolt 2 connections for connecting to Macs and for daisy-chaining other monitors.

Adam Carolla Settles With Podcasting Patent Troll – Slashdot

Personal Audio has been trying to assert patents they claim cover podcasting for some time now; in March Adam Carolla was sued and decided to fight back. Via the EFF comes news that he has settled with Personal Audio, and the outcome is likely beneficial to those still fighting the trolls. From the article: Although the settlement is confidential, we can guess the terms. This is because Personal Audio sent out a press release last month saying it was willing to walk away from its suit with Carolla. So we can assume that Carolla did not pay Personal Audio a penny. We can also assume that, in exchange, Carolla has given up the opportunity to challenge the patent and the chance to get his attorney’s fees. … EFF’s own challenge to Personal Audio’s patent is on a separate track and will continue … with a ruling likely by April 2015. … We hope that Personal Audio’s public statements on this issue mean that it has truly abandoned threatening and suing podcasters. Though a press release might not be legally binding, the company will have a hard time justifying any further litigation (or threats of litigation) against podcasters. Any future targets can point to this statement. Carolla deserves recognition for getting this result.