10 Ways Drones Are Changing Your World

Drones have been a hot topic in the news for some time. Depending on what you’ve read, they’re devastatingly effective weapons of war, the next big threat to personal privacy, a revolutionary leap in video technology, or hazardous toys capable of chopping your fingers off.To be fair, there’s a measure of truth to all those statements. But you might be surprised to learn that drones will soon affect our everyday lives in a host of useful ways. People are already using them to deliver fast food to hungry teens in Virginia, improve the productivity of Midwestern farms, and even protect rhinos and elephants in Africa from poachers.In the next year, almost 2.3 million of the unmanned aircraft will be sold, according to market analysis firm Skylogic Research. And the vast majority will be the multi­rotor models embraced by apple farmers, wedding photographers, and search-and-rescue workers.“This is one of the few technologies that could revolutionize the way the world appears,” says Mark Blanks, who oversees the test site at Virginia Tech University where air-­traffic-­control concerns related to drones are being studied.

In Case You Missed It: Live at DJI Headquarters

I recently visited DJI headquarters to go Behind the Brand of one of the hottest drone makers and OEMs developing tools for filmmakers and video creators.The highlight was definitely the new Mavic Pro. It's is a small yet powerful drone that turns the sky into your creative canvas easily and without worry, helping you make every moment an aerial moment. Its compact size hides a high degree of complexity that makes it one of DJI’s most sophisticated flying cameras ever. Twenty-four high-performance computing cores, an all-new transmission system with a 4.3-mile range, five vision sensors and a 4K camera stabilized by a three-axis mechanical gimbal are at your command with just a push of your thumb or a tap of your finger.
Helping you fly farther.

Inside the Mavic’s pocket-sized remote controller is DJI’s brand-new OcuSync transmission technology, with a range of 4.3 miles and full HD 1080p video streaming.No bumps and scapes.

An unprotected drone could hit obstacles during long-distance flight or when descending from an inadequate height in "Return to Home" mode. The Mavic uses FlightAutonomy technology to sense obstacles up to 49 feet away. It can then bypass these obstacles or brake to hover, reducing accidents even when flying beyond visual range.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro review

DJI’s phantom is often called “the iPhone of drones” — and that’s a fair description. It’s one of the most popular drones on the planet, it’s packed with high-end features and functionality, and the latest models are always at the top of their class. On top of that, DJI also releases new models at a steady rate, packing even better features into a nearly identical form factor. Case in point? The stellar new Phantom 4 Pro.

As an evolution of the original Phantom 4, the Pro boasts a number of small but significant improvements. Many of the original Phantom 4’s design attributes, electronic components, and features have been ported over to the pro model, while others have been upgraded, and a few new features have been added.
The first and most obvious addition is the Pro’s new 5-direction obstacle avoidance system. Whereas the P4 only featured forward facing sense and avoid, the new and improved version has sensors on its front back, left, right, and underside. These sensors actively scan the environment around the drone and allow it to autonomously avoid things like trees, buildings, and anything else you might encounter during flight.

Fox Invades Comic-Con With Drones

Comic-Con, the 2014 iteration of which kicks off Thursday in San Diego, has seen an increasing amount of outlandish stunts over the years — stadiums full of zombies, entire pop-up houses devoted to movies.

But Fox is set to kick it up a notch this year by bringing along a bunch of drones to promote the show 24 — and giving attendees instructions on how to pilot them. (What could possibly go wrong?)

We're told that the drone promotion, revealed exclusively to Mashable, includes lessons from a FAA-licensed drone pilot. Each DJI Phantom Vision 2+ quadrocopter comes equipped with a camera that will record the flight. Participating pilots will be encouraged to share the resulting video on social media.

"Should any drones go missing, we have received reports that Jack Bauer will be in the area to recover them," a Fox rep told us.

The drone flight lessons will be available at Petco Park in downtown San Diego Thursday through Saturday. The whole promotion ties in to the upcoming release of 24: Live Another Day on DVD and Blu-Ray.

The show featured hackers who hijack combat drones — somewhat larger than these quadrocopters — and turn them into terrorist threats. We're hoping attendees won't take matters that far.

DJI Osmo+ Camera Mount Gets Zoom Lens

DJI's Osmo handheld camera stabilization system now comes with integrated zoom up to 7x.DJI tipped 3.5x optical and 2x digital lossless zoom (when shooting at 1080p), which gives it "a focal length ranging from 22mm to 77mm without sacrificing HD quality," the company says. "It is similar to,

but not interchangeable with, the new Zenmuse Z3 zoom camera recently launched for the Inspire 1 drone system.""The Osmo+ opens up entirely new capabilities for creators who love the Osmo's ability to deliver crisp, sharp and detailed handheld imagery," Paul Pan, senior product manager, said in a statement.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro+

DJI has released its latest Phantom drone in two versions. The Phantom 4 Pro ($1,499) works like previous models, with a remote control that leverages your smartphone or tablet to run the DJI Go app that controls the drone's camera and streams a live video feed. The Phantom 4 Pro+ ($1,799), meanwhile, includes a remote with an integrated Android tablet, but it costs more and the tablet has some drawbacks. The Phantom 4 Pro earns Editors' Choice honors, while the Pro+ stands as a strong option for users who don't own a smartphone, or for production companies that desire an integrated control solution.








By Jim Fisher

Donald Trump says Ivanka treated 'unfairly' by Nordstrom amid more retailers dropping her merchandise

President Donald Trump has come to his daughter Ivanka's defense after the First Daughter's clothing and accessories lines were dropped by Nordstrom last week.
The president tweeted, "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom" adding "She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!"

More retailers have followed Nordstrom's lead including Neimann Marcus and now TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
According to a note obtained by the New York Times ,T.J. Maxx and Marshalls parent company TJX instructed employees to "not to display Ivanka Trump merchandise separately and to throw away Ivanka Trump signs."
The retailers' decision to stop carrying Ivanka Trump's line came after the "Grab Your Wallet” campaign, which has been calling for a boycott of retailers that carry Ivanka or Donald Trump merchandise. Neiman Marcus took Ivanka merchandise offline late Thursday afternoon as well.
A Nordstrom spokesperson didn't say whether the decision to stop buying the brand was permanent, only that they make buying decisions each season. Nordstrom also said it offers thousands of brands and cuts about 10 percent each year based performance.

Share! NYC principal says Trump presidency is 'more troubling' than 9/11

The principal at a progressive Manhattan private school told parents in an email last week that the Trump presidency was more troubling than Vietnam, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the September 11 attacks and Watergate, The Post has learned.

Steve Nelson’s scorching missive managed to roil several parents at the $46,000 per year Calhoun School – no small feat considering the Upper West Side bastion’s blaring liberal bent.
“It was inappropriate, it was offensive, it was condescending,” said one parent. “This is a liberal school. So I guess that’s the approach. But this was too much. To compare this to 9-11 – I think that’s just too much.”
Nelson emailed a series of anguished ruminations on Donald Trump’s ascent to Calhoun parents, simultaneously calling for non-partisanship while skewering the billionaire’s policies.
In a message sent last week, Nelson, who also teaches journalism at the pre-K through 12 campus, noted his intimate familiarity with several recent catastrophes – including 9-11.
“I watched soot-covered New Yorkers grimly trudging north on West End Avenue on September 11, 2001,” Nelson wrote. “I am more troubled now.”
Elsewhere in the lengthy missive, Nelson acknowledged the theoretical need to avoid political bias in a school environment. “One in my position must be scrupulous in avoiding partisanship,” he said.
But he later asserted in the same message that “there are matters that transcend political diversity.”
“The ways in which equity and equality are now threatened are deeply troubling, including the constitutionally suspect and arguably discriminatory efforts to restrict or prohibit immigration based on religion and/or ethnicity,” he wrote.