Almost three years after it first declared plans to roll out digital driver’s licences, the NSW government has finally announced that it will introduce legislation into parliament to allow the state’s drivers to display their licences using a smartphone app.
According to NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Victor Dominello, despite the delay this is still an Australian-first, although South Australia technically introduced the optional use of digital licences in November last year.
“Smartphones have become de facto wallets and we’re using cutting edge technology so that drivers can use a digital licence in everyday scenarios,” Dominello said in a statement.
Digital driver’s licences will be availble on the Service NSW app starting next year
Tried and tested
The introduction of the legislation comes after a large-scale trial was conducted in Dubbo, with 1,400 drivers participating, between October 2017 and February 2018, resulting in 83% customer satisfaction.
Dominello added that the trial was “a big success and drivers gave it the thumbs up”.
The trial aimed to test how well both drivers and authorities who check licences responded to a purely digital version.
The first seeds of going digital were sown way back in 2015, when the then NSW government made an election promise to roll out the first batch of digital licences in 2016.
NSW Photo ID will also be rolled out
Improved services
Digital driver’s licences will be offered through the Service NSW app starting in 2019, but a specific launch date has yet to be confirmed.
According to the NSW government, the digital licences will improve security and reduce fraud compared to their physical counterparts, and will allow users to provide proof of identity and age to gain entry into pubs and clubs, or when pulled over for roadside checks.
NSW residents who use a physical photo ID instead of a driver’s licence as proof of identity will also be able to opt for a digital version on the NSW Services app when the rollout happens next year.
While digital versions will be made available, the use of them is optional and physical cards will still be issued.
Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars continues to grow as the tech giant now has 55 autonomous vehicles on the road, according to data gathered from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
The DMW revealed to MacReports that Apple’s permit to test autonomous vehicles in the state currently covers 55 self-driving cars and 83 drivers.
Apple’s driverless car corps started with just three vehicles in 2017 before jumping to 45 earlier this year. Now, Apple counts over 55 autonomous cars in its fleet.
The iPhone X maker doesn’t yet have a permit to test self-driving cars without a human operator behind the wheel – no word yet on Apple’s plans on that front.
What’s also impressive about Apple’s self-driving car growth is that it has the second largest autonomous car fleet on the road, behind GM Cruise and its 104 cars.
After Apple comes Google’s Waymo with 51 cars (and 338 drivers). Tesla and its 39 vehicles and Drive.AI with 14 cars round out the top five.
Unlike Waymo and Uber’s self-driving car programs, Apple has kept relatively quiet about its plans to put driverless cars on the road, with much of the information on the program coming from the DMW.
However, sharp eyes have spotted Apple’s autonomous cars driving around. The question is, when will Apple lift the veil on whatever it’s been working on?
Microsoft, as ever, continues to support Windows 10 with major overhauls, and now that the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, previously known as Redstone 4, has been released, Microsoft has shifted its attention towards working on Redstone 5.
Just like the previous Windows 10 updates, Windows 10 Redstone 5 will bring a large number of new and exciting features to the operating system, and we’ll collect all the information we know about the upcoming update right here in this article – so make sure you bookmark it.
We’ll also speculate on the release date for Windows 10 Redstone 5, and we’ll constantly update this article as new information emerges.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next major update for Windows 10
When is it out? Possibly around October 2018
What will it cost? As with previous major Windows 10 updates, it will be free
Windows 10 Redstone 5 release date
So, when will Windows 10 Redstone 5 grace our computers? While Microsoft hasn’t given us a definitive date, it’s pretty much expected that it’ll come out at the end of 2018, likely around September or October.
This would follow Microsoft’s pattern of releasing a major Redstone update for Windows 10 in those months, and then another Redstone update in March or April.
The Windows 10 April 2018 Update launched (just barely) in April, so we can be pretty confident about its follow up coming later in the year.
As Microsoft has been releasing early versions of Redstone 5 to some of its users who have signed up for the Windows Insider program, we’re able to keep an eye on how things are progressing with the update, and it appears to be on track for a release later on this year.
However, Microsoft did have trouble getting the April 2018 Update out on time, so we may see the release date for its successor slipping back as well.
So, we may be in for another ‘Fall Update’ variant. However, while we expected Redstone 4 to be called the ‘Spring Creators Update’, it ended up being called April 2018 Update. So maybe Redstone 5 will be called October 2018 Update, or something similar, instead.
Windows 10 Redstone 5 confirmed features
Because of the extensive testing process of Windows 10 Redstone 5, we have a good idea of some – but not all – of the features coming in the update. These are the features we know about so far.
Improvements to Windows 10 Fluent Design
Microsoft introduced elements of the Fluent Design user interface with the April 2018 Update, and at its Build 2018 event, it showed off more effects and features that will come in Redstone 5.
So, expect more apps, including standard Windows programs, using the Fluent Design interface, and there will be some eye-catching 3D effects for Mixed Reality experiences.
Intelligent multitasking with Sets
One of the most anticipated upcoming features, which many expect to arrive properly in Redstone 5, are Sets. These should make multi-tasking in Windows 10 better than ever.
The basic idea is to bring the concept of tabs from the web browser to the entire interface of the OS in general, so you can have windows with tabs that contain web pages, apps, folders – a mix of everything essentially.
At Build, Microsoft showed off more about the potential of Sets in Windows 10, showing how you can have an open document, and clicking a web link will open the web page in a tab next to the document, with everything you open organized in that Set.
You’ll then be reminded with prompts while your working about the tabs, which should give you intelligent help when working across a variety of documents, apps and websites.
They will look and behave more like standard Windows 10 apps thanks to an improved interface, and Microsoft also revealed that you’ll be able to download the apps directly from its Edge web browser.
Improved Your Phone app
Microsoft is making a big deal of having Windows 10 work with all manner of devices, and with Redstone 5, we should see a radically improved Your Phone app that will allow you to easily interact with your smartphone through Windows 10.
You’ll be able to read and reply to text messages from your Windows 10 device, as well as easily share files, photos and more between your PC and your phone.
Cloud clipboard
A new feature spotted by people using an early version of Redstone 5 is the cloud clipboard, which will allow users to copy and paste across different devices thanks to the new cloud-powered clipboard. User can trigger the new function by simply hitting Windows Key + C.
The copied content will then be available in other Windows 10 devices, and in the future Android and iOS devices as well.
Improved search previews
Another feature due to arrive with Windows 10 Redstone 5 is improved search previews. These now support apps, documents and other files, and should make searching Windows 10 even easier.
