theverge--2020-08-11--Android is becoming a worldwide earthquake detection network

Google is creating a worldwide , Android phone-powered earthquake alert system .
The first part of that system is rolling out today .
If you opt in , the accelerometer in your Android phone will become one data point for an algorithm designed to detect earthquakes .
Eventually , that system will automatically send warnings to people who could be impacted .
It ’ s a feature made possible through Google ’ s strengths : the staggering numbers of Android phones around the world and clever use of algorithms on big data .
As with its collaboration with Apple on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ car crash detection and emergency location services , it shows that there are untapped ways that smartphones could be used for something more important than doomscrolling .
Google is rolling out the system in small stages .
First , Google is partnering with the United States Geological Survey and the California Office of Emergency Services to send the agencies ’ earthquake alerts to Android users in that state .
Those alerts are generated by the already-existing ShakeAlert system , which uses data generated by traditional seismometers .
“ The server aggregates data from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one area , and determines if an earthquake is happening or not.
” “ It ’ d be great if there were just seismometer-based systems everywhere that could detect earthquakes , ” says Marc Stogaitis , principle Android software engineer at Google .
But , he continues , “ that ’ s not really practical and it ’ s unlikely to have global coverage because seismometers are extremely expensive .
They have to be constantly maintained , you need a lot of them in an area to really have a good earthquake early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third stages of Google ’ s plan will be powered instead by Android phones .
The company is proceeding fairly cautiously , though .
In the second stage , Google will show localized results in Google searches for earthquakes based on the data it ’ s detecting from Android phones .
The idea there is that when you feel an earthquake , you ’ ll go to Google to see if that ’ s what you felt or not .
Finally , once it has more confidence in the accuracy of the system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthquake warnings to people who live in areas where there are not seismometer-based warning systems .
Stogaitis says that the information collected as part of this program is “ de-identified ” from users and that Google only needs “ coarse ” location information for it to work .
Both the earthquake alerts and the detection system are opt-in , as well .
“ What we really need for this is just these little mini seismometers that are out there , ” Stogaitis says .
“ We don ’ t need to know anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending it because that doesn ’ t matter.
” An Android phone can become a “ mini seismometer ” because it has an accelerometer — the thing that detects if you ’ ve rotated it or not .
Android ’ s system uses the data from that sensor to see if the phone is shaking .
It only is on when an Android phone is plugged in and not in use , to preserve battery life .
“ We figured out [ Android phones are ] sensitive enough to detect earthquake waves .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re able to detect them and usually see both key types of waves , the P wave and the S wave , ” Stogaitis says .
“ Each phone is able to detect that something like an earthquake is happening , but then you need an aggregate of phones to know that for sure that it ’ s an earthquake happening.
” The P wave ( primary wave ) is the first and fastest wave sent out from the epicenter of an earthquake .
The S wave ( secondary wave ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Google ’ s system is able to detect both .
“ Often people won ’ t even feel the P wave because it ’ s just smaller , while the S wave tends to cause a lot more damage , ” Stogaitis says .
“ The P wave can be something that tells you to prepare for the S wave.
” That data is processed in classic Google fashion : using algorithms on the aggregated data from thousands of phones to determine whether an earthquake is happening .
Where traditional seismometers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cheap and numerous .
Google can use Bayesian filters and other algorithms to turn those numbers into earthquake data that ’ s accurate enough for sending out warning alerts .
Google says its system is capable of locating the epicenter and determining the strength of an earthquake .
Even so , the basic physics of those waves means that there are limits to what ’ s possible , he explains : That speed also means that Google ’ s Android-based warning system won ’ t have a human in the loop , since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple of seconds ” near the epicenter to 30 or 45 seconds on the outside .
“ We have many seismologists within the team who are literally just embedded with us , ” Stogaitis says .
That includes Richard Allen , “ who spent most of his career on earthquake early warning [ systems ] and who did a lot of the design of ShakeAlert system , and who ’ s also kind of built a phone-based earthquake detection system in the past as well.
” Allen ’ s MyShake app is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — but the difference now is that Google can build that detection directly into Android and it can do it at Google ’ s scale .
( Unlike Google ’ s system , MyShake works on iPhones . )
Google ’ s intention is to have differing levels of alerts for different earthquakes .
It has consulted with seismologists not only on the design of the core system but also on how the alerts should appear .
The goal is to “ convey information kind of as quickly as possible in a short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand that they need to react very quickly to an earthquake without reading a huge wall of text , ” Stogaitis says .
Over the long term , Google hopes to create an API based on its earthquake detection system .
It doesn ’ t plan on using this system on iPhones , but if the API comes out then Apple would be free to use it .
More interesting , though , is what other systems would benefit from an earthquake detection API .
For example , somebody could build something that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floor and opens the door so that people can get out before the wave comes .
And you can turn off gas valves automatically , you can have something that stops medical procedures , or open the door to fire stations ahead of time .
That ’ s a common problem in earthquakes where fires are a big deal and firefighters often just can ’ t get out .
So , you can build something that does that .
Airplanes can stop landing as they ’ re doing this , abort their landing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s an entire ecosystem that could be enabled by using this Android-based detection and having it sort of just publish server-side so that others can plug into it .
The stakes for such a system would be incredibly high — and the responsibility for maintaining that system would be equally high .
So that API is a long way off .
Google ’ s plan is to minimize false positives and tune the system right now .
Google also had to put in extensive effort to ensure its notifications wouldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ping to every Android phone all at once has the potential to clog up those airwaves .
“ The thing about earthquakes is they move really , really fast ...
So , we can ’ t really put a human in the loop.
” Google will be rolling this system out via Google Mobile Services , so it won ’ t require a full operating system update .
This means both the detection system and the alerts should work on the vast majority of Android phones in use today .
( It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be coming to China anytime soon , as Android phones in that country do not use Google ’ s services . )
Google is starting to provide earthquake alerts in California right away , using the existing seismometer network .
Earthquake data will also begin showing up in Google searches soon as well .
As for the warnings and alerts based on the data aggregated from Android phones , that will take a bit more time .
Google says that if a region has an existing earthquake detection and warning system , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the phone-based system .
“ Basically , there are hundreds of millions of people around the world that live near earthquake fault zones , ” Stogaitis says , “ and that ’ s something that we think we can help with .
”

Google is creating a worldwide, Android phone-powered earthquake alert system. The first part of that system is rolling out today. If you opt in, the accelerometer in your Android phone will become one data point for an algorithm designed to detect earthquakes. Eventually, that system will automatically send warnings to people who could be impacted.
It’s a feature made possible through Google’s strengths: the staggering numbers of Android phones around the world and clever use of algorithms on big data. As with its collaboration with Apple on exposure tracing and other Android features like car crash detection and emergency location services, it shows that there are untapped ways that smartphones could be used for something more important than doomscrolling.
Google is rolling out the system in small stages. First, Google is partnering with the United States Geological Survey and the California Office of Emergency Services to send the agencies’ earthquake alerts to Android users in that state. Those alerts are generated by the already-existing ShakeAlert system, which uses data generated by traditional seismometers.
“The server aggregates data from many phones, all of them in one area, and determines if an earthquake is happening or not.”
“It’d be great if there were just seismometer-based systems everywhere that could detect earthquakes,” says Marc Stogaitis, principle Android software engineer at Google. But, he continues, “that’s not really practical and it’s unlikely to have global coverage because seismometers are extremely expensive. They have to be constantly maintained, you need a lot of them in an area to really have a good earthquake early warning system.”
So the second and third stages of Google’s plan will be powered instead by Android phones. The company is proceeding fairly cautiously, though. In the second stage, Google will show localized results in Google searches for earthquakes based on the data it’s detecting from Android phones. The idea there is that when you feel an earthquake, you’ll go to Google to see if that’s what you felt or not.
Before the stage where it sends alerts, Google will start by simply putting earthquake information in search results. Image: Google
Finally, once it has more confidence in the accuracy of the system, Google will begin actively sending out earthquake warnings to people who live in areas where there are not seismometer-based warning systems.
Stogaitis says that the information collected as part of this program is “de-identified” from users and that Google only needs “coarse” location information for it to work. Both the earthquake alerts and the detection system are opt-in, as well. “What we really need for this is just these little mini seismometers that are out there,” Stogaitis says. “We don’t need to know anything about the person itself that’s sending it because that doesn’t matter.”
An Android phone can become a “mini seismometer” because it has an accelerometer — the thing that detects if you’ve rotated it or not. Android’s system uses the data from that sensor to see if the phone is shaking. It only is on when an Android phone is plugged in and not in use, to preserve battery life.
“We figured out [Android phones are] sensitive enough to detect earthquake waves. As an earthquake wave goes through, they’re able to detect them and usually see both key types of waves, the P wave and the S wave,” Stogaitis says. “Each phone is able to detect that something like an earthquake is happening, but then you need an aggregate of phones to know that for sure that it’s an earthquake happening.”
“There’s many factors that will impact how many phones you need. I think the key is we don’t need super precise information but we do need a decent amount of information.”
The P wave (primary wave) is the first and fastest wave sent out from the epicenter of an earthquake. The S wave (secondary wave) is slower but can be much bigger. Google’s system is able to detect both. “Often people won’t even feel the P wave because it’s just smaller, while the S wave tends to cause a lot more damage,” Stogaitis says. “The P wave can be something that tells you to prepare for the S wave.”
That data is processed in classic Google fashion: using algorithms on the aggregated data from thousands of phones to determine whether an earthquake is happening. Where traditional seismometers are expensive and precise, Android phones are cheap and numerous. Google can use Bayesian filters and other algorithms to turn those numbers into earthquake data that’s accurate enough for sending out warning alerts.
Google says its system is capable of locating the epicenter and determining the strength of an earthquake. Even so, the basic physics of those waves means that there are limits to what’s possible, he explains:
The biggest key thing is that the phones that are nearest to the earthquake can help users away from the earthquake know about it. One of the limitations of the system is that we can’t warn all users before an earthquake reaches them. The users closest to the epicenter of the earthquake just aren’t likely to get a warning in time because we’re not predicting earthquakes ahead of time.
That speed also means that Google’s Android-based warning system won’t have a human in the loop, since these warnings will range from “a couple of seconds” near the epicenter to 30 or 45 seconds on the outside.
“We have many seismologists within the team who are literally just embedded with us,” Stogaitis says. That includes Richard Allen, “who spent most of his career on earthquake early warning [systems] and who did a lot of the design of ShakeAlert system, and who’s also kind of built a phone-based earthquake detection system in the past as well.”
Allen’s MyShake app is an earlier example of a system like this — but the difference now is that Google can build that detection directly into Android and it can do it at Google’s scale. (Unlike Google’s system, MyShake works on iPhones.)
Google’s intention is to have differing levels of alerts for different earthquakes. It has consulted with seismologists not only on the design of the core system but also on how the alerts should appear. The goal is to “convey information kind of as quickly as possible in a short amount of time so that users can understand that they need to react very quickly to an earthquake without reading a huge wall of text,” Stogaitis says.
Google’s alerts will include very basic safety recommendations. Image: Google
Over the long term, Google hopes to create an API based on its earthquake detection system. It doesn’t plan on using this system on iPhones, but if the API comes out then Apple would be free to use it. More interesting, though, is what other systems would benefit from an earthquake detection API.
For example, somebody could build something that automatically stops an elevator at the next floor and opens the door so that people can get out before the wave comes. And you can turn off gas valves automatically, you can have something that stops medical procedures, or open the door to fire stations ahead of time. That’s a common problem in earthquakes where fires are a big deal and firefighters often just can’t get out. So, you can build something that does that. Airplanes can stop landing as they’re doing this, abort their landing. Trains can be slowed down. There’s an entire ecosystem that could be enabled by using this Android-based detection and having it sort of just publish server-side so that others can plug into it.
The stakes for such a system would be incredibly high — and the responsibility for maintaining that system would be equally high. So that API is a long way off. Google’s plan is to minimize false positives and tune the system right now. Google also had to put in extensive effort to ensure its notifications wouldn’t overwhelm cellular networks. Sending out a ping to every Android phone all at once has the potential to clog up those airwaves.
“The thing about earthquakes is they move really, really fast ... So, we can’t really put a human in the loop.”
Google will be rolling this system out via Google Mobile Services, so it won’t require a full operating system update. This means both the detection system and the alerts should work on the vast majority of Android phones in use today. (It also means that these services won’t be coming to China anytime soon, as Android phones in that country do not use Google’s services.)
Google is starting to provide earthquake alerts in California right away, using the existing seismometer network. Earthquake data will also begin showing up in Google searches soon as well. As for the warnings and alerts based on the data aggregated from Android phones, that will take a bit more time. Google says that if a region has an existing earthquake detection and warning system, its preference is to use that rather than the phone-based system.


theverge--2020-08-11--Google’s Lookout app update adds languages and a more accessible design

Google ’ s Lookout app on Android , which helps people who are blind or visually impaired identify their surroundings , is getting some new features to make it easier to read text on labels and signs , identify packaged foods by more than just their bar codes , and better identify currency notes .
The app will also now run on any Android device with at least 2G of RAM running Android 6.0 or later .
As part of the update , Google is introducing a more accessible design for the app that makes it more compatible with its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on feedback from the blind and low-vision community , according to Scott Adams , a product manager on Google ’ s accessibility engineering team .
Lookout now provides more space for the camera view , making it easier for the user to frame an object they want more information about .
“ Expanding this app to more people and devices is part of our commitment to make the world ’ s information universally accessible and to build helpful products with and for people with disabilities , ” Adams said in a blog post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year on Pixel devices , uses artificial intelligence and a smartphone ’ s camera , applying the same technology as Google ’ s AI-powered Lens app .
Lookout now has two new modes : scan document and food label .
The updated app also includes new navigation that requires fewer taps by making it possible to scroll between the modes at the bottom of the screen .
With the updated food label mode , the app guides the user to position the item where the camera can identify it , and then a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Scan document mode captures a snapshot of a document to be read aloud by a screen reader , and the quick read feature can read a piece of mail , even if it ’ s upside down , as well as other short documents .
Lookout ’ s currency identifier can distinguish between different denominations , identifying a $ 10 bill when folded for instance , as well as from the front and back of the bill .
The currency identifier only supports US dollars at the present .
In addition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , German , and Spanish .
It doesn ’ t yet support non-Roman alphabets like Cyrillic or Arabic , however .

Google’s Lookout app on Android, which helps people who are blind or visually impaired identify their surroundings, is getting some new features to make it easier to read text on labels and signs, identify packaged foods by more than just their bar codes, and better identify currency notes. The app will also now run on any Android device with at least 2G of RAM running Android 6.0 or later.
As part of the update, Google is introducing a more accessible design for the app that makes it more compatible with its Android screen reader, TalkBack, based on feedback from the blind and low-vision community, according to Scott Adams, a product manager on Google’s accessibility engineering team. Lookout now provides more space for the camera view, making it easier for the user to frame an object they want more information about.
“Expanding this app to more people and devices is part of our commitment to make the world’s information universally accessible and to build helpful products with and for people with disabilities,” Adams said in a blog post.
The app, which launched last year on Pixel devices, uses artificial intelligence and a smartphone’s camera, applying the same technology as Google’s AI-powered Lens app. Lookout now has two new modes: scan document and food label. The updated app also includes new navigation that requires fewer taps by making it possible to scroll between the modes at the bottom of the screen.
With the updated food label mode, the app guides the user to position the item where the camera can identify it, and then a screen reader can speak the description aloud.
Google’s Lookout app in improved food label mode. Image: Google
Scan document mode captures a snapshot of a document to be read aloud by a screen reader, and the quick read feature can read a piece of mail, even if it’s upside down, as well as other short documents.
Lookout’s Quick Read mode. Image: Google
Lookout’s currency identifier can distinguish between different denominations, identifying a $10 bill when folded for instance, as well as from the front and back of the bill. The currency identifier only supports US dollars at the present.


theverge--2020-08-11--Fantastical adds a $7.99 per month family plan for its subscription service

Apple-focused calendar app Fantastical has announced a new family plan for its Fantastical Premium subscription service , which lets up to five family members share a paid subscription at a cheaper cost .
The new Fantastical Premium for Families costs $ 7.99 per month , or $ 64.99 per year ( which is a more considerable annual discount than typically gets offered on services like this ) , and allows up to five users to get full access to Fantastical ’ s apps on Mac , iPhone , iPad , and Apple Watch .
Fantastical for cheaper — assuming you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ switched from paid apps to a monthly subscription model earlier this year , which costs $ 4.99 a month or $ 39.99 a year ( marking a substantial price increase over most of its apps , which previously sold for $ 4.99 for iPhone , $ 9.99 iPad , and $ 64.99 for Mac ) .
The family plan , on the other hand , might make that monthly fee a little more palatable to customers by dropping the price per user — assuming you have enough Fantastical users that are interested in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ labels this as a “ family ” plan , the company doesn ’ t seem to be putting any barrier that would prevent you from just using this deal with four other like-minded calendar enthusiasts . )
The new family plan option is available now through Flexibit ’ s website .
To sign up , simply log into your Fantastical account , select the new “ Family ” tab , and add the rest of your family members .

Apple-focused calendar app Fantastical has announced a new family plan for its Fantastical Premium subscription service, which lets up to five family members share a paid subscription at a cheaper cost.
The new Fantastical Premium for Families costs $7.99 per month, or $64.99 per year (which is a more considerable annual discount than typically gets offered on services like this), and allows up to five users to get full access to Fantastical’s apps on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Fantastical for cheaper — assuming you have four other interested family members
Fantastical switched from paid apps to a monthly subscription model earlier this year, which costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year (marking a substantial price increase over most of its apps, which previously sold for $4.99 for iPhone, $9.99 iPad, and $64.99 for Mac).
The family plan, on the other hand, might make that monthly fee a little more palatable to customers by dropping the price per user — assuming you have enough Fantastical users that are interested in the paid service. (While Fantastical labels this as a “family” plan, the company doesn’t seem to be putting any barrier that would prevent you from just using this deal with four other like-minded calendar enthusiasts.)


theverge--2020-08-11--Lucid Motors claims its all-electric Air sedan will have a range of 517 miles

Lucid Motors may have a “ range anxiety ” killer on its hands .
The Newark , California-based startup announced that its forthcoming all-electric sedan , the Lucid Air , will have an eye-popping range of 517 miles .
That means that when the Air eventually goes on sale — a production version is expected to make its debut in September , but customer deliveries aren ’ t scheduled until early 2021 — Lucid claims it will be “ the longest range electric vehicle to date.
” Currently , that title is held by the aptly named Tesla Model S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Environmental Protection Agency-certified distance of 402 miles on a single charge .
Most electric vehicles on the market today have a range that falls between 200-300 miles , while some have less than that .
The upcoming crop of EVs is aiming to have a range of 300-400 miles .
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the next-generation Tesla Roadster , which is expected to go into production in 2021 , will have a range of 620 miles .
Tesla has also promised 500 miles of range for its Semi trucks , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So it would be a pretty big feather in its cap for Lucid Motors , a startup that first revealed its prototype back in 2016 , to release an EV with over 500 miles of range .
Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson , who led development of the Model S when he worked for Elon Musk , has said the Air will outmatch Tesla in terms of interior luxury , accelerate from zero to 60mph in 2.5 seconds , and start at more than $ 100,000 .
The company said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ range verification ” was done by a company called FEV North America , an automotive powertrain and engineering company based in Auburn Hills , Michigan .
FEV works in the design and development of engines , and it provides testing and instrumentation to auto manufacturers .
The company ’ s verification process “ closely follows ” the EPA ’ s standard testing procedure , Lucid says .
Electric vehicle range is typically determined independently by the EPA , as well as Europe ’ s Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure ( WLTP ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the EPA .
In a statement , Rawlinson called it “ a landmark in the history of EV ” and thanks the company ’ s engineering team .
“ I believe that our 900-volt architecture , our race proven battery packs , miniaturized motors and power electronics , integrated transmission systems , aerodynamics , chassis and thermal systems , software , and overall system efficiency has now reached a stage where it collectively sets a new standard and delivers a host of ‘ world ’ s firsts , ’ ” Rawlinson said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of EV ” Lucid was planning to unveil the Air at the New York International Auto Show in April , but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Since then , the company has been releasing tidbits of information about the all-electric sedan as it builds to a virtual unveiling event in September .
It published photos of its factory under construction in Arizona and released videos of the Air being put through winter testing as well as making the 400-mile journey between San Francisco and Los Angeles on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ details about its LIDAR-powered advanced driver assist system , DreamDrive .
The Verge first got to experience the Air in prototype form in 2016 .
Like many other EV startups , Lucid Motors almost ran out of money as it tried to bring the sedan to production , and it took on loans from a hedge fund and a Chinese bus company to stay afloat , as The Verge previously reported .
The company ultimately received a massive $ 1 billion lifeline from Saudi Arabia ’ s Public Investment Fund just a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed .
“ Range anxiety ” is often defined as a nebulous dread some customers may have that an electric vehicle may not be able to handle all the driving they want to do before running out of power .
It ’ s often held up as a barrier to widespread EV adoption .
More people would buy EVs , the reasoning goes , if they had greater confidence in the charging infrastructure or the range of the vehicle .
As such , there is a bit of an international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can make an electric vehicle that can travel the farthest on a single charge .
There have been a host of startups clamoring for a battery breakthrough that will improve the range of their vehicles while also extending their life spans .
And all eyes are sure to be on Tesla , which is planning on hosting a “ battery day ” in September to outline its advances in battery tech .

Lucid Motors may have a “range anxiety” killer on its hands.
The Newark, California-based startup announced that its forthcoming all-electric sedan, the Lucid Air, will have an eye-popping range of 517 miles. That means that when the Air eventually goes on sale — a production version is expected to make its debut in September, but customer deliveries aren’t scheduled until early 2021 — Lucid claims it will be “the longest range electric vehicle to date.”
“the longest range electric vehicle to date”
Currently, that title is held by the aptly named Tesla Model S Long Range, which can travel an Environmental Protection Agency-certified distance of 402 miles on a single charge. Most electric vehicles on the market today have a range that falls between 200-300 miles, while some have less than that. The upcoming crop of EVs is aiming to have a range of 300-400 miles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the next-generation Tesla Roadster, which is expected to go into production in 2021, will have a range of 620 miles. Tesla has also promised 500 miles of range for its Semi trucks, though the 18-wheeler has yet to enter production.
So it would be a pretty big feather in its cap for Lucid Motors, a startup that first revealed its prototype back in 2016, to release an EV with over 500 miles of range. Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson, who led development of the Model S when he worked for Elon Musk, has said the Air will outmatch Tesla in terms of interior luxury, accelerate from zero to 60mph in 2.5 seconds, and start at more than $100,000.
The company said that the Air’s “independent range verification” was done by a company called FEV North America, an automotive powertrain and engineering company based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. FEV works in the design and development of engines, and it provides testing and instrumentation to auto manufacturers. The company’s verification process “closely follows” the EPA’s standard testing procedure, Lucid says.
Electric vehicle range is typically determined independently by the EPA, as well as Europe’s Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). WLTP estimates are typically more optimistic than the EPA.
In a statement, Rawlinson called it “a landmark in the history of EV” and thanks the company’s engineering team. “I believe that our 900-volt architecture, our race proven battery packs, miniaturized motors and power electronics, integrated transmission systems, aerodynamics, chassis and thermal systems, software, and overall system efficiency has now reached a stage where it collectively sets a new standard and delivers a host of ‘world’s firsts,’” Rawlinson said.
“a landmark in the history of EV”
Lucid was planning to unveil the Air at the New York International Auto Show in April, but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, the company has been releasing tidbits of information about the all-electric sedan as it builds to a virtual unveiling event in September. It published photos of its factory under construction in Arizona and released videos of the Air being put through winter testing as well as making the 400-mile journey between San Francisco and Los Angeles on a single charge. The company also released details about its LIDAR-powered advanced driver assist system, DreamDrive.
The Verge first got to experience the Air in prototype form in 2016. Like many other EV startups, Lucid Motors almost ran out of money as it tried to bring the sedan to production, and it took on loans from a hedge fund and a Chinese bus company to stay afloat, as The Verge previously reported. The company ultimately received a massive $1 billion lifeline from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund just a few weeks before the Kingdom had Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed.
“Range anxiety” is often defined as a nebulous dread some customers may have that an electric vehicle may not be able to handle all the driving they want to do before running out of power. It’s often held up as a barrier to widespread EV adoption. More people would buy EVs, the reasoning goes, if they had greater confidence in the charging infrastructure or the range of the vehicle.


theverge--2020-08-11--Hyundai’s autonomous vehicle project with Aptiv will now be called Motional

Hyundai ’ s autonomous vehicle joint venture with Aptiv has a new name : Motional .
The company , which plans to test fully driverless vehicles for ride-hailing services later this year , said the new name is meant to evoke the “ motion ” of transportation as well as the “ emotion ” of the decision to get somewhere safely .
The joint venture was first announced in March 2020 , when Hyundai said it would spend $ 1.6 billion to catch up to its rivals in the autonomous vehicle space .
Aptiv , a self-driving technology company that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplier Delphi , owns 50 percent of the venture .
Karl Iagnemma , the former CEO of self-driving startup NuTonomy that was acquired by Delphi in 2017 , is now president and CEO of Motional .
In an interview , he said the company ’ s fleet of vehicles that are operating in Las Vegas , Singapore , and Seoul will soon be rebranded with the “ Motional ” brand .
“ Whether we like it or not these days transportation decisions are emotional decisions , ” Iagnemma said .
“ Choosing how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that ’ s an emotional decision .
So Motional will keep that insight central to every product we develop.
” While its name may be new , Iagnemma contends that the Motional team has been hard at work on getting cars to drive themselves for a long time .
Through NuTonomy , and then Delphi , and then Aptiv , and now Motional , the company ’ s engineers were responsible for the world ’ s first robotaxi pilot in Singapore , as well as the first cross-country New York to San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two years , Aptiv ’ s fleet of safety-driver monitored autonomous taxis in Las Vegas ( in partnership with Lyft ) have completed over 100,000 trips .
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a gear in the wrench of many autonomous vehicle projects .
Public testing in the US and other countries was halted for months .
And experts now believe the virus will make shared autonomous vehicles as taxis a more difficult sell for hygiene conscious consumers .
The collapse of Uber and Lyft ’ s ride-hailing business in the US seems to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developers will face convincing passengers to ride in their cars .
But Iagnemma sees it differently .
He cited a survey that Motional recently conducted that found one in five people more interested in autonomous vehicles as a result of the pandemic .
“ What we ’ re doing feels more important and more relevant than ever , ” he said .
Hyundai isn ’ t a complete stranger to self-driving cars .
The company worked with a Chinese company called Pony.ai to test self-driving cars as taxis in Irvine , California last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driverless ; a safety driver and an engineer rode in the driver and passenger seats of each vehicle .
But the joint venture is a more significant financial contribution from the South Korean automaker .
Hyundai along with Kia Motors will collectively contribute $ 1.6 billion in cash and $ 400 million in research and development resources and others , valuing the joint venture $ 4 billion .
Unlike some of its competitors , Hyundai receiving financial support from the government of South Korea to boost its efforts in both autonomous and electric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spend 1.7 trillion won ( $ 1.4 trillion ) between 2021 and 2027 on self-driving technology .
As a condition of receiving the backing , though , Hyundai agreed to launch a fully autonomous fleet of vehicles for customers by 2024 and for the general public by 2027 .

Hyundai’s autonomous vehicle joint venture with Aptiv has a new name: Motional. The company, which plans to test fully driverless vehicles for ride-hailing services later this year, said the new name is meant to evoke the “motion” of transportation as well as the “emotion” of the decision to get somewhere safely.
The joint venture was first announced in March 2020, when Hyundai said it would spend $1.6 billion to catch up to its rivals in the autonomous vehicle space. Aptiv, a self-driving technology company that is an offshoot of global auto parts supplier Delphi, owns 50 percent of the venture.
Karl Iagnemma, the former CEO of self-driving startup NuTonomy that was acquired by Delphi in 2017, is now president and CEO of Motional. In an interview, he said the company’s fleet of vehicles that are operating in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Seoul will soon be rebranded with the “Motional” brand.
“Transportation decisions are emotional decisions.”
“Whether we like it or not these days transportation decisions are emotional decisions,” Iagnemma said. “Choosing how to get from A to B safely, that’s an emotional decision. So Motional will keep that insight central to every product we develop.”
While its name may be new, Iagnemma contends that the Motional team has been hard at work on getting cars to drive themselves for a long time. Through NuTonomy, and then Delphi, and then Aptiv, and now Motional, the company’s engineers were responsible for the world’s first robotaxi pilot in Singapore, as well as the first cross-country New York to San Francisco autonomous trip. Over the last two years, Aptiv’s fleet of safety-driver monitored autonomous taxis in Las Vegas (in partnership with Lyft) have completed over 100,000 trips.
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a gear in the wrench of many autonomous vehicle projects. Public testing in the US and other countries was halted for months. And experts now believe the virus will make shared autonomous vehicles as taxis a more difficult sell for hygiene conscious consumers. The collapse of Uber and Lyft’s ride-hailing business in the US seems to presage some of the difficulty autonomous vehicle developers will face convincing passengers to ride in their cars.
But Iagnemma sees it differently. He cited a survey that Motional recently conducted that found one in five people more interested in autonomous vehicles as a result of the pandemic. “What we’re doing feels more important and more relevant than ever,” he said.
Hyundai isn’t a complete stranger to self-driving cars. The company worked with a Chinese company called Pony.ai to test self-driving cars as taxis in Irvine, California last year. The cars were not fully driverless; a safety driver and an engineer rode in the driver and passenger seats of each vehicle.
But the joint venture is a more significant financial contribution from the South Korean automaker. Hyundai along with Kia Motors will collectively contribute $1.6 billion in cash and $400 million in research and development resources and others, valuing the joint venture $4 billion.


theverge--2020-08-11--Boeing 747s still get critical updates via floppy disks

Boeing ’ s 747-400 aircraft , first introduced in 1988 , is still receiving critical software updates through 3.5-inch floppy disks .
The Register reports that security researchers at Pen Test Partners recently got access to a British Airways 747 , after the airline decided to retire its fleet following a plummet in travel during the coronavirus pandemic .
The team was able to inspect the full avionics bay beneath the passenger deck , with its data center-like racks of modular black boxes that perform different functions for the plane .
Pen Test Partners discovered a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to load important navigation databases .
It ’ s a database that has to be updated every 28 days , and an engineer visits each month with the latest updates .
While it might sound surprising that 3.5-inch floppy disks are still in use on airplanes today , many of Boeing ’ s 737s have also been using floppy disks to load avionics software for years .
The databases housed on these floppy discs are increasingly getting bigger , according to a 2015 report from Aviation Today .
Some airlines have been moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but others are stuck with engineers visiting each month to sit and load eight floppies with updates to airports , flight paths , runways , and more .
The 10-minute video tour of the 747 ( above ) is a fascinating insight into the parts of the plane you never get to see , particularly on a decades-old airliner .
The tour is part of this year ’ s virtual Def Con conference , the US ’ largest hacker conference .
As modern planes rely upon ever more sophisticated technology , security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevent passengers from interfering with flights .
Security is particularly relevant when it comes to in-flight entertainment systems .
A cybersecurity professor discovered a buffer overflow exploit onboard a British Airways flight last year .
The professor was able to use a USB mouse to input long strings of text into an in-flight chat app , crashing the entire in-flight entertainment system for his seat .
Security researchers are still hunting for vulnerabilities that would allow them to communicate with flight systems from publicly accessible parts of planes .
A focus on security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aircraft .
Modern planes like Boeing ’ s 777X and 787 use fiber networks , where all the avionics plug into this network and are controlled by a pair of computers that run flight critical software .
It ’ s more of a traditional network like you ’ d find inside an office building , and some of the latest airliners even receive software updates over the air .
The software that powers modern aircraft isn ’ t always reliable , though .
Boeing only just resumed production of its troubled 737 Max @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew members .
Despite modern technology being available , it hasn ’ t stopped floppy disks from persisting in other industries .
The US Defense Department only ended the use of 8-inch floppy disks for coordinating the country ’ s nuclear forces in October , and the International Space Station is full of floppy disks .

Boeing’s 747-400 aircraft, first introduced in 1988, is still receiving critical software updates through 3.5-inch floppy disks. The Register reports that security researchers at Pen Test Partners recently got access to a British Airways 747, after the airline decided to retire its fleet following a plummet in travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The team was able to inspect the full avionics bay beneath the passenger deck, with its data center-like racks of modular black boxes that perform different functions for the plane.
Pen Test Partners discovered a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive in the cockpit, which is used to load important navigation databases. It’s a database that has to be updated every 28 days, and an engineer visits each month with the latest updates.
While it might sound surprising that 3.5-inch floppy disks are still in use on airplanes today, many of Boeing’s 737s have also been using floppy disks to load avionics software for years. The databases housed on these floppy discs are increasingly getting bigger, according to a 2015 report from Aviation Today. Some airlines have been moving away from the use of floppy discs, but others are stuck with engineers visiting each month to sit and load eight floppies with updates to airports, flight paths, runways, and more.
The 10-minute video tour of the 747 (above) is a fascinating insight into the parts of the plane you never get to see, particularly on a decades-old airliner. The tour is part of this year’s virtual Def Con conference, the US’ largest hacker conference. As modern planes rely upon ever more sophisticated technology, security researchers are increasingly interested in how planes prevent passengers from interfering with flights.
Boeing’s 747 floppy disk drive. Aerospace Village (YouTube)
Security is particularly relevant when it comes to in-flight entertainment systems. A cybersecurity professor discovered a buffer overflow exploit onboard a British Airways flight last year. The professor was able to use a USB mouse to input long strings of text into an in-flight chat app, crashing the entire in-flight entertainment system for his seat. Security researchers are still hunting for vulnerabilities that would allow them to communicate with flight systems from publicly accessible parts of planes.
A focus on security is even more important on the latest aircraft. Modern planes like Boeing’s 777X and 787 use fiber networks, where all the avionics plug into this network and are controlled by a pair of computers that run flight critical software. It’s more of a traditional network like you’d find inside an office building, and some of the latest airliners even receive software updates over the air. The software that powers modern aircraft isn’t always reliable, though. Boeing only just resumed production of its troubled 737 Max airplane after software glitches led to two fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew members.


theverge--2020-08-11--Apple is still tending its walled garden

Apple has released public betas for the next big Apple Watch and Mac software updates .
On the Mac , Big Sur ( as the OS is called ) has a ton of visual differences that I think will grow on you — they make macOS look just a little more like iOS .
It also does a weird new thing with links — which also makes the Mac feel just a little more like iOS , too .
The link behavior popped up on Twitter yesterday : if you ’ re an Apple News Plus subscriber , clicking links @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subscription bundle will take you to the Apple News app instead of your browser .
iOS 14 will do the same thing .
If you ’ re paying for Apple News Plus , this may be exactly what you want to happen .
Instead of opening a page with a paywall , you just get the article you clicked on .
Yes , the Apple News app itself is about as capable as Internet Explorer 3 compared to your browser with its tabs and such , but at least you don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paste dance .
I do find the behavior a little weird .
If you click a link in Safari , it opens Apple News .
If you click a link in Chrome , it stays in Chrome .
If you click a link in some other app like Slack , it opens in Apple News — even if your default browser is Chrome .
That ’ s odd simply because it ’ s not clear how Big Sur knows that it should redirect some websites but not others .
Is it checking in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Is that list stored locally or is it checking in with Apple ?
Whatever the answer , the point is that what happens when you click a link is inconsistent .
Maybe it opens a browser , maybe it opens Apple News .
Apple is allowing you to uncheck an option for this in the preferences for the Apple News app , at least .
Apple also sent this statement to me : I followed up with Apple to ask how Big Sur knows which links should go where and Apple declined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person who brought all this up on Twitter , and he further pointed out that it means that publishers who do offer a direct subscription option will lose out on that chance with people going directly to Apple News , which pays much less .
Haile , you should know , is the CEO of a company called Scroll that competes with Apple News in setting up partnerships with publishers .
( I ’ ve written about it before , here . )
So he isn ’ t an impartial observer .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Vox Media has partnerships with both Apple News and Scroll .
That ’ s the thing about the decline of the web : suddenly it ’ s a lot harder to ignore the transactions that happen when you click a link .
Anyway , there are much larger storylines you could plug this weird new link behavior into .
There ’ s the fear that Apple is beginning to compromise user experience in the name of its services revenue .
There ’ s the storyline that Apple actively distrusts the web and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apps than inside browsers .
If browsers are used less , that means fewer intrusive ads ( win ) , less tracking ( win ) , and less money for competitors like Google ( triple bonus ! )
.
Sometimes a company ’ s incentives line up with its values I am not hunting for a conspiracy here , though .
Sometimes a company ’ s incentives line up with its values .
I think it ’ s also fair to just read it as Apple finding that its users are hitting paywalls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because they ’ re already paying for Apple News Plus .
Now to me , clicking on a link with “ http ” in front of it should take you to a web browser , but that ’ s just what I ’ m used to .
Nobody said links are the exclusive domain of the web .
My overall vibe on seeing this behavior in Big Sur was a big ... sure , whatever .
But to bring it all the way back around : preferencing Apple News over the otherwise normal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just a little more like the iPhone , where until iOS 14 Apple rigidly controlled the default apps for everything .
Even in iOS 14 , only the email and browser apps can be changed .
The same “ values and incentives ” thing is coming for in-app ads on iOS 14 .
Third-party apps will need to ask users for permission to track on an app-by-app basis — but Apple ’ s own ad network apparently has a default opt-in for “ Personalized Ads.
” Apple legitimately is a thousand percent less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ad ecosystem , but that doesn ’ t mean Apple itself won ’ t benefit .
It ’ s both .
While we are on the subject of iOS , it ’ s been at the center of another controversy .
Apple has reasserted that cloud gaming services like xCloud and Stadia violate App Store guidelines .
It provided a repeat of a statement it had given Mark Gurman this past March , saying that “ gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including submitting games individually for review , and appearing in charts and search.
” Microsoft and Facebook issued fiery counter-statements , but I expect Apple will stand firm .
It values reviewing apps for content and security too much and its Apple Arcade incentives happen to align with those values .
Of course , I could be wrong : this could all just be a bunch of negotiation posturing as it was with Amazon .
Bottom line : Apple won ’ t allow Stadia or xCloud on the iPhone or iPad anytime soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far without using the obvious cliché : “ walled garden.
” There it is , though .
The thing about clichés is that they come from somewhere .
It ’ s a good reminder that even hackneyed phrases can still have explanatory power .
Walls are only there because people built them — I just wish they ’ d put more effort into building some doors , too .
Reviews and first looks ┏ Acer Chromebook Spin 713 : the Chromebook to buy .
If I were buying a Chromebook today , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advice and get this one .
Acer continues to just dominate Chromebooks .
┏ Sony WH-1000XM4 review : the best noise-canceling headphones get better .
Chris Welch had a double feature on headphone reviews : ┏ The best part of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is its screen .
Dan Seifert on the best thing about this tablet ( the worst thing , of course , is that Android is not good on tablets ) : ┏ The new 27-inch iMac ’ s webcam isn ’ t just better ; it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my look at the new 2020 iMac .
┏ Toshiba is officially out of the laptop business .
RIP .
┏ E Ink demos a folding e-reader that can also take notes .
I ’ ve seen a lot of prototypes from E Ink , which is the company that officially makes screens that are proper E Ink and not just “ e-paper ” or whatever .
Also an inside baseball note : if you are a tech blogger and mess any of the above up , E Ink will definitely be letting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole bag is to promote E Ink , after all .
ANYWAY !
I would love to see something like this in a smaller form factor .
There ’ s something I love about holding a book open at an angle ; it ’ s a scratch that regular e-readers don ’ t itch .
┏ Google has already discontinued the Pixel 4 and 4 XL .
┏ Google ’ s Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A 5G could be available to preorder on October 8th .
┏ The US declared war on TikTok @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truth .
Sarah Jeong zooms out from the back and forth news stories to talk about the larger context .
Must read : ┏ The big legal questions behind Trump ’ s TikTok and WeChat bans .
Adi Robertson : ┏ Huawei says it ’ s running out of chips for its smartphones because of US sanctions .
Kim Lyons : More from The Verge ┏ Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates .
Incredible story by James Vincent : ┏ Computer scientist Frances Allen , known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at 88 .
Kim Lyons : ┏ The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is Samsung ’ s big promise that it can fix its foldable future .
Chaim Gartenberg : ┏ Microsoft and Samsung need each other now more than ever .
Jon Porter :

Apple has released public betas for the next big Apple Watch and Mac software updates. On the Mac, Big Sur (as the OS is called) has a ton of visual differences that I think will grow on you — they make macOS look just a little more like iOS. It also does a weird new thing with links — which also makes the Mac feel just a little more like iOS, too.
The link behavior popped up on Twitter yesterday: if you’re an Apple News Plus subscriber, clicking links to publications that are part of that subscription bundle will take you to the Apple News app instead of your browser. iOS 14 will do the same thing.
If you’re paying for Apple News Plus, this may be exactly what you want to happen. Instead of opening a page with a paywall, you just get the article you clicked on. Yes, the Apple News app itself is about as capable as Internet Explorer 3 compared to your browser with its tabs and such, but at least you don’t have to go though a copy and paste dance.
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I do find the behavior a little weird. If you click a link in Safari, it opens Apple News. If you click a link in Chrome, it stays in Chrome. If you click a link in some other app like Slack, it opens in Apple News — even if your default browser is Chrome. That’s odd simply because it’s not clear how Big Sur knows that it should redirect some websites but not others. Is it checking in with a pre-approved list of participating publisher sites (if so, at least it’s offline)? Is that list stored locally or is it checking in with Apple? Whatever the answer, the point is that what happens when you click a link is inconsistent. Maybe it opens a browser, maybe it opens Apple News.
Apple is allowing you to uncheck an option for this in the preferences for the Apple News app, at least. Apple also sent this statement to me:
Apple is committed to creating the best experience for Apple News+ subscribers. This change offers subscribers seamless access to the content that is part of their News+ subscription right in the News app or publisher app, as well as providing publishers with increased engagement and revenue opportunities on Apple News. News+ subscribers can set their link preference in their News settings.
I followed up with Apple to ask how Big Sur knows which links should go where and Apple declined to comment.
Tony Haile is the person who brought all this up on Twitter, and he further pointed out that it means that publishers who do offer a direct subscription option will lose out on that chance with people going directly to Apple News, which pays much less.
Haile, you should know, is the CEO of a company called Scroll that competes with Apple News in setting up partnerships with publishers. (I’ve written about it before, here.) So he isn’t an impartial observer. And as long as I’m disclosing, Vox Media has partnerships with both Apple News and Scroll. That’s the thing about the decline of the web: suddenly it’s a lot harder to ignore the transactions that happen when you click a link.
Anyway, there are much larger storylines you could plug this weird new link behavior into. There’s the fear that Apple is beginning to compromise user experience in the name of its services revenue. There’s the storyline that Apple actively distrusts the web and would like more activity to happen inside apps than inside browsers. If browsers are used less, that means fewer intrusive ads (win), less tracking (win), and less money for competitors like Google (triple bonus!).
Sometimes a company’s incentives line up with its values
I am not hunting for a conspiracy here, though. Sometimes a company’s incentives line up with its values. I think it’s also fair to just read it as Apple finding that its users are hitting paywalls when they don’t need to because they’re already paying for Apple News Plus.
Now to me, clicking on a link with “http” in front of it should take you to a web browser, but that’s just what I’m used to. Nobody said links are the exclusive domain of the web. My overall vibe on seeing this behavior in Big Sur was a big ...sure, whatever.
But to bring it all the way back around: preferencing Apple News over the otherwise normal behavior for links makes the Mac work just a little more like the iPhone, where until iOS 14 Apple rigidly controlled the default apps for everything. Even in iOS 14, only the email and browser apps can be changed.
The same “values and incentives” thing is coming for in-app ads on iOS 14. Third-party apps will need to ask users for permission to track on an app-by-app basis — but Apple’s own ad network apparently has a default opt-in for “Personalized Ads.” Apple legitimately is a thousand percent less creepy than the rest of the app ad ecosystem, but that doesn’t mean Apple itself won’t benefit. It’s both.
While we are on the subject of iOS, it’s been at the center of another controversy. Apple has reasserted that cloud gaming services like xCloud and Stadia violate App Store guidelines. It provided a repeat of a statement it had given Mark Gurman this past March, saying that “gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search.”
Microsoft and Facebook issued fiery counter-statements, but I expect Apple will stand firm. It values reviewing apps for content and security too much and its Apple Arcade incentives happen to align with those values. Of course, I could be wrong: this could all just be a bunch of negotiation posturing as it was with Amazon.
Bottom line: Apple won’t allow Stadia or xCloud on the iPhone or iPad anytime soon.
I’ve made it this far without using the obvious cliché: “walled garden.” There it is, though. The thing about clichés is that they come from somewhere. It’s a good reminder that even hackneyed phrases can still have explanatory power. Walls are only there because people built them — I just wish they’d put more effort into building some doors, too.
Verge Deal of the day Apple’s AirPods Pro are $30 off at Amazon Normally $250, the Apple AirPods Pro wireless earbuds are down to $220 at Amazon. Compared to the standard AirPods, these feature better sound quality and noise cancellation. We’ve seen these drop a bit lower in price before, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy . Prices displayed are based on the MSRP at time of posting.
Reviews and first looks
┏ Acer Chromebook Spin 713: the Chromebook to buy. If I were buying a Chromebook today, I’d follow Monica Chin’s advice and get this one. Acer continues to just dominate Chromebooks.
If you’re deciding between the Spin 713 and the $1,000 Galaxy Chromebook or the $849 i5 model of the Pixelbook Go, I would say you need a pretty good reason not to choose the Spin.
To be very clear, these earbuds let in a significant amount of outside noise at all times. That’s intentional and where I think the “Live” part of the name comes from. These aren’t going to drown out your co-workers when we get back to the office someday, nor are they going to be your preferred airplane companions. Samsung says it designed the Buds Live to eliminate very low frequencies — think the persistent hum of an air conditioner or the rumbling of an Amtrak — and you can hear some of that ambient sound get sliced off when you turn on active noise cancellation.
┏ Sony WH-1000XM4 review: the best noise-canceling headphones get better. Chris Welch had a double feature on headphone reviews:
But to fend off its rivals, Sony has returned with the new $349.99 1000XM4 headphones, available for preorder today and shipping later this month. They address the two main downsides of the previous product: you can now pair to two devices simultaneously, and updated mics should make for clearer calls.
┏ The best part of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is its screen. Dan Seifert on the best thing about this tablet (the worst thing, of course, is that Android is not good on tablets):
Unsurprisingly, the absolute best thing by far about the Tab S7 Plus is its display. This 12.4-inch OLED panel is bright, vibrant, and pixel-dense. Colors practically jump off the screen, and the blacks are as inky and deep as they are on the LG OLED TV hanging in my living room. Topping it off is the 120Hz refresh rate, which makes every interaction buttery smooth. Yes, the iPad Pro has had this feature for three years, but it’s just as much of a delight here as it is on Apple’s tablet. In fact, given that this is an OLED panel, I might even argue that this is the nicest screen I’ve ever seen on a mobile device.
┏ The new 27-inch iMac’s webcam isn’t just better; it’s smarter. And here’s my look at the new 2020 iMac.
Tech News
┏ E Ink demos a folding e-reader that can also take notes. I’ve seen a lot of prototypes from E Ink, which is the company that officially makes screens that are proper E Ink and not just “e-paper” or whatever. Also an inside baseball note: if you are a tech blogger and mess any of the above up, E Ink will definitely be letting you know. The company’s whole bag is to promote E Ink, after all. ANYWAY! I would love to see something like this in a smaller form factor. There’s something I love about holding a book open at an angle; it’s a scratch that regular e-readers don’t itch.
┏ Microsoft signals renewed interest in Windows with latest reshuffle. Tom Warren:
Now, Microsoft is moving parts of Windows development back under Panos Panay’s control. Specifically, that means the Windows fundamentals and developer experience teams have been returned to what we traditionally call the Windows team. It’s an admission that the big Windows split didn’t work quite as planned. We’ve seen plenty of evidence of that with a messy development experience for Windows 10, delayed Windows updates, a lack of major new features, and lots of Windows update issues recently.
TikTok and China
┏ The US declared war on TikTok because it can’t handle the truth. Sarah Jeong zooms out from the back and forth news stories to talk about the larger context. Must read:
I call this ideology information-nationalism. Here’s how I would describe its assumptions:
1. When your country acknowledges human rights abuses, you are made weak
2. You can weaken rival nation-states by exposing their human rights abuses
There’s at least one major wrinkle in both cases: while sanctions are nothing new, the ByteDance and Tencent orders ban Americans from accessing a piece of software and (at least in theory) the content on its network. This is unusual and could raise First Amendment questions that don’t apply in other IEEPA cases — including arguments that apps like TikTok are protected speech, or that banning them would infringe on users’ ability to engage in it.
An iPhone without WeChat is effectively not a phone at all for the hundreds of millions of Chinese users that rely on the service — customers on which Apple’s entire iPhone business model relies. If Apple can’t offer WeChat on the iPhone due to Trump’s ban, then much of its Chinese business will almost certainly evaporate overnight.
[Trump’s order] prevented foreign manufacturers of semiconductors who use American software and technology in their operations from shipping their products to Huawei unless they first obtained a license from the US. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, reportedly halted orders for Huawei’s HiSilicon unit in May following the new US rule.
More from The Verge
┏ Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates. Incredible story by James Vincent:
There are tens of thousands of genes in the human genome: minuscule twists of DNA and RNA that combine to express all of the traits and characteristics that make each of us unique. Each gene is given a name and alphanumeric code, known as a symbol, which scientists use to coordinate research. But over the past year or so, some 27 human genes have been renamed, all because Microsoft Excel kept misreading their symbols as dates.
Allen helped build an experimental compiler for IBM’s Advanced Computing system, and from 1980 to the mid-1990s, she headed a research team at IBM working on the new concept of parallel computing, which became widely used in personal computers. She also helped develop software for IBM’s Blue Gene supercomputer project.
It’s a message focused on selling customers a phone based on the things that it isn’t — too small, too awkward, too prone to breaking — rather than the things that it is. It also puts a lot of pressure on the upcoming Z Fold 2.
┏ Microsoft and Samsung need each other now more than ever. Jon Porter:
It’s not a new partnership, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella even personally appeared at Samsung’s Note 10 event last year. But it’s more important than ever before, as the industry hurtles toward the next big ecosystem battle between iOS and Android. It’s no longer just about the phones themselves but about how these phones interact with the other computers in your life, whether they’re laptops, desktops, or even game consoles. And Samsung’s deepening partnership with Microsoft is essential to its approach.


theverge--2020-08-11--Google is re-adding a Calendar app to Android Auto so you can see how to get to your next appointmen

Google is re-adding a Calendar app to Android Auto so you can see how to get to your next appointment

Google is releasing a new update to Android Auto that allows the car software to regain some of its smarts .
This includes bringing back the Calendar app , which allows you to view information on your next appointment and get driving directions if you ’ d added a location to the calendar entry .
Google previously removed the Calendar app from its last redesign in 2019 , replacing it with a button that simply read your appointments out loud using the Google Assistant instead of showing you anything on the screen .
The new update also adds relevant shortcuts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you need to pick up a birthday cake , for instance , you will have the option to either call the bakery or pull up directions to get there .
Apple introduced a similar calendar feature in 2019 that allowed its CarPlay users to pull up directions and see appointments as part of its iOS 13 update .
Aside from bringing back the smarts to its Calendar app , Google also announced today that it is working with “ early access partners ” to help create new apps and categories for Android Auto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electric vehicle charging .
Google has not said how those apps will be distributed .
If the tests are successful , Google will make those APIs publicly available , so other software developers can start building new apps for its car software .

Google is releasing a new update to Android Auto that allows the car software to regain some of its smarts. This includes bringing back the Calendar app, which allows you to view information on your next appointment and get driving directions if you’d added a location to the calendar entry. Google previously removed the Calendar app from its last redesign in 2019, replacing it with a button that simply read your appointments out loud using the Google Assistant instead of showing you anything on the screen.
The new update also adds relevant shortcuts to the Calendar app — so if you need to pick up a birthday cake, for instance, you will have the option to either call the bakery or pull up directions to get there. Apple introduced a similar calendar feature in 2019 that allowed its CarPlay users to pull up directions and see appointments as part of its iOS 13 update.
Apple introduced a similar calendar feature in 2019


theverge--2020-08-11--Pinterest’s former COO is suing for gender discrimination and retaliation

The former COO of Pinterest is suing the company for gender discrimination .
Françoise Brougher says she was paid less than her male peers , repeatedly left out of important meetings , and given gendered feedback , according to her legal complaint .
She was fired after speaking out about these concerns , the lawsuit says .
Brougher , who previously worked as the Global Business Lead at Square and as a VP on the advertising team at Google , according to her LinkedIn , learned of the salary inequalities when Pinterest was preparing to go public in 2019 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and her equity vested at a slower rate .
After bringing this to the attention of Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann , she still had to fight to be fairly compensated .
The news was first reported by The New York Times .
Brougher also says she was excluded from board meetings after the IPO — a situation that might not have been unusual , except that other members of her team were asked to attend .
“ When you are brought in as a No .
2 , you are expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New York Times in an interview .
“ But when you are not in the meeting where the decisions are made and don ’ t have the context , it makes your job harder.
” When Brougher was able to attend board meetings , which happened when she first joined the company , she noticed the board members rarely pushed back , according to her 4,400-word blog post on Medium .
“ Invariably , the board would be cordial , nodding their heads at my proposals and rarely asking difficult questions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to , ” she wrote .
When she asked Silbermann about why the board didn ’ t challenge them , she says he responded “ I chose them.
” Brougher wrote that the management team at Pinterest was “ riven by backstabbing and gossip.
” She remembers one colleague saying “ the only way we get things done here is hiding things.
” The behavior flew in the face of Pinterest ’ s values which , in early 2019 , came to include “ care with candor.
” In reality , Brougher writes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was still dangerous at Pinterest.
” Brougher ’ s lawsuit also lays out alleged discrimination on the part of chief financial officer Todd Morgenfeld .
According to the complaint , Morgenfeld asked Brougher “ what is your job anyway ?
” in front of their colleagues in January 2020 .
Morgenfeld also gave Brougher a performance review that “ demeaned Ms. Brougher ’ s many significant accomplishments as COO , ” the lawsuit says .
When Brougher raised her concerns about this treatment to Silbermann , he suggested she approach the situation with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an old couple fighting over who would make coffee.
” In April , she was fired .
Brougher ’ s complaint follows criticism of the company from two Black employees who spoke out about mistreatment on Twitter .
Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks , who worked on Pinterest ’ s public policy team and helped lead some of the company ’ s lauded initiatives against health misinformation and racist content , say they were underpaid and subject to racist comments from their manager , according to The Washington Post .
Both women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming forward about their mistreatment .
The new lawsuit is the most high-profile gender discrimination suit in Silicon Valley since Ellen Pao took the investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to court in 2012 .
Brougher is being represented by the same law firm that represented Pao : Rudy , Exelrod , Zieff & Lowe .
Pinterest did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Update , 8:29PM ET : This story was updated to include information from Brougher ’ s blog post on Medium .

The former COO of Pinterest is suing the company for gender discrimination. Françoise Brougher says she was paid less than her male peers, repeatedly left out of important meetings, and given gendered feedback, according to her legal complaint. She was fired after speaking out about these concerns, the lawsuit says.
Brougher, who previously worked as the Global Business Lead at Square and as a VP on the advertising team at Google, according to her LinkedIn, learned of the salary inequalities when Pinterest was preparing to go public in 2019. She made less than her male peers, and her equity vested at a slower rate. After bringing this to the attention of Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann, she still had to fight to be fairly compensated. The news was first reported by The New York Times.
Brougher also says she was excluded from board meetings after the IPO — a situation that might not have been unusual, except that other members of her team were asked to attend. “When you are brought in as a No. 2, you are expected to advise the CEO,” she told the New York Times in an interview. “But when you are not in the meeting where the decisions are made and don’t have the context, it makes your job harder.”
When Brougher was able to attend board meetings, which happened when she first joined the company, she noticed the board members rarely pushed back, according to her 4,400-word blog post on Medium. “Invariably, the board would be cordial, nodding their heads at my proposals and rarely asking difficult questions. This was not something I was used to,” she wrote.
When she asked Silbermann about why the board didn’t challenge them, she says he responded “I chose them.”
Brougher wrote that the management team at Pinterest was “riven by backstabbing and gossip.” She remembers one colleague saying “the only way we get things done here is hiding things.”
The behavior flew in the face of Pinterest’s values which, in early 2019, came to include “care with candor.” In reality, Brougher writes, “saying what you really thought was still dangerous at Pinterest.”
“what is your job anyway?”
Brougher’s lawsuit also lays out alleged discrimination on the part of chief financial officer Todd Morgenfeld. According to the complaint, Morgenfeld asked Brougher “what is your job anyway?” in front of their colleagues in January 2020. Morgenfeld also gave Brougher a performance review that “demeaned Ms. Brougher’s many significant accomplishments as COO,” the lawsuit says.
When Brougher raised her concerns about this treatment to Silbermann, he suggested she approach the situation with curiosity and compared the situation to “an old couple fighting over who would make coffee.” In April, she was fired.
Brougher’s complaint follows criticism of the company from two Black employees who spoke out about mistreatment on Twitter. Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, who worked on Pinterest’s public policy team and helped lead some of the company’s lauded initiatives against health misinformation and racist content, say they were underpaid and subject to racist comments from their manager, according to The Washington Post. Both women also say they were retaliated against after coming forward about their mistreatment.
The new lawsuit is the most high-profile gender discrimination suit in Silicon Valley since Ellen Pao took the investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to court in 2012. Brougher is being represented by the same law firm that represented Pao: Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe.
In a statement emailed to The Verge, a Pinterest spokesperson said: “We remain committed to advancing our culture to ensure that Pinterest is a place where all of our employees feel included and supported, which is why there is an ongoing independent review regarding our culture, policies, and practices. We’re reviewing the complaint filed. Our employees are incredibly important to us and we take all concerns brought to our attention seriously.”
Update, 8:29PM ET: This story was updated to include information from Brougher’s blog post on Medium.


theverge--2020-08-11--Tesla’s planned five-way stock split will make its shares much more affordable

Tesla has announced a new five-way stock split to take effect on August 28th , which will make the company ’ s shares cheaper for buyers .
The electric car maker ’ s stock closed on Tuesday at $ 1,374.39 a share , close to its July all-time high and at a total market valuation of more than $ 256 billion .
But at prices that high , it ’ s difficult for individuals — especially retail traders using platforms like Robinhood — to own more than fractional shares of the company .
If you own Tesla stock by August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ additional shares of common stock on the date of the split .
Starting August 31st , Tesla says it will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis .
Tesla ’ s stock is nearly $ 1,400 a share right now Stock splits are typically neutral events for investors — you used to own one share and now you own five , but the value remains the same .
However , the split makes it easier for individuals — such as those Robinhood-using retail investors that love to get in on fast-growing tech stocks — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it helps defend against claims its stock price is inflated by reducing the total cost of one share by 80 percent and giving the company the appearance of having more affordable and accessible shares .
There are also plenty of other , somewhat arbitrary reasons why a company , like Apple or Tesla , may want to split their stock , as laid out in this explainer by Bloomberg ’ s Matt Levine .
Some reasons include not being able to move fractional shares between brokerages as easily as full ones and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liquidity .
But in some cases , it ’ s just good for appearances to have a lower-priced , more accessible stock , especially when it ’ s easier than ever for your average smartphone owner to throw some money into Robinhood and start trading .
Already , Tesla stock is up nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading following news of the decision .

Tesla has announced a new five-way stock split to take effect on August 28th, which will make the company’s shares cheaper for buyers.
The electric car maker’s stock closed on Tuesday at $1,374.39 a share, close to its July all-time high and at a total market valuation of more than $256 billion. But at prices that high, it’s difficult for individuals — especially retail traders using platforms like Robinhood — to own more than fractional shares of the company.
If you own Tesla stock by August 21st, you’ll receive four additional shares of common stock on the date of the split. Starting August 31st, Tesla says it will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis.
Tesla’s stock is nearly $1,400 a share right now
Stock splits are typically neutral events for investors — you used to own one share and now you own five, but the value remains the same. However, the split makes it easier for individuals — such as those Robinhood-using retail investors that love to get in on fast-growing tech stocks — to become official shareholders. For Tesla, it helps defend against claims its stock price is inflated by reducing the total cost of one share by 80 percent and giving the company the appearance of having more affordable and accessible shares.
There are also plenty of other, somewhat arbitrary reasons why a company, like Apple or Tesla, may want to split their stock, as laid out in this explainer by Bloomberg’s Matt Levine. Some reasons include not being able to move fractional shares between brokerages as easily as full ones and concerns that a high-priced stock may reduce liquidity. But in some cases, it’s just good for appearances to have a lower-priced, more accessible stock, especially when it’s easier than ever for your average smartphone owner to throw some money into Robinhood and start trading.


theverge--2020-08-11--How to get rid of that irritating Meet tab in Gmail for Android and iOS

I have nothing against Google ’ s Meet videoconferencing platform — I ’ ve even used it a couple of times with relatives — but I can ’ t help being annoyed when the feature is pushed at me via other apps .
Specifically , Gmail .
Meet first appeared on the desktop Gmail app last spring , but it did not take up much space and was reasonably easy to ignore ( or remove from your screen , if you so wished ) .
Now , however , Meet is making its way onto the mobile Gmail app via @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they haven ’ t already ) at the bottom of your screen : one labeled “ Mail ” and one labeled “ Meet.
” The problem here isn ’ t only that you ’ re being pushed to use a particular videoconferencing app while all you want to do is check your email , but it also takes up space , expanding the bottom margin of the app and giving you approximately three fewer lines to work with .
If you plan to use Meet regularly , you may not mind .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you want to get rid of the excess tabs , here ’ s how you do it .
These instructions apply to the Gmail app on both Android and iOS .
• Select the three-line “ hamburger ” icon in the upper left corner , scroll down , and tap on “ Settings.
” • Select the Gmail account you want to change .
• Scroll down to the “ Meet ” category and uncheck “ Show the Meet tab for video calling.
” And that ’ s it !
You ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and can now use Zoom or whatever videoconferencing app you prefer without having to be constantly reminded of Meet .

I have nothing against Google’s Meet videoconferencing platform — in fact, I’ve used it a few times — but I can’t help being annoyed when the feature is pushed at me via other apps. Specifically, Gmail. Meet first appeared on the desktop Gmail app in the spring of 2020, but it did not take up much space and was reasonably easy to ignore (or remove from your screen, if you so wished).
A few months later, however, Meet made its way onto the mobile Gmail app via two tabs at the bottom of the screen: one labeled “Mail” and one labeled “Meet.” The problem wasn’t only that I was pushed to use a particular videoconferencing app while all I wanted to do was check my email, but it also took up space, expanding the bottom margin of the app and giving me approximately three fewer lines to work with.
And then, in mid-2021, Google added two additional icons for its Chat and Spaces apps.
Gmail with the Meet, Chat, and Spaces icons. Remove the icons for extra email space.
Now, it may be convenient for some people to have those tabs at the bottom of their Gmail pages. That’s fine. But if you want to maximize your email space, you can easily get rid of all three tabs (the email tab, which appears with them, will disappear automatically).
Here’s how. These instructions apply to the Gmail app on both Android and iOS.
Select the three-line “hamburger” icon in the upper left corner, scroll down, and tap on “Settings.”
Select the Gmail account you want to change.
Scroll down to Chat and uncheck “Show the chat and spaces tabs.”
Once you do that, Gmail will take you back to your main screen. Go back to the Settings page for that same account, scroll down to the “Meet” category, and uncheck “Show the Meet tab for video calling.”
You can uncheck Chat to remove that icon. You can also uncheck “Show the Meet tab.”
And that’s it! You’ve reclaimed some space on your Gmail app.
Related The best free apps for video calling
Update July 28th, 2021, 1:50PM ET: This article was originally published on August 11th, 2020. The introductory text has been tweaked, and a screenshot has been replaced to reflect a change in Gmail’s interface.


theverge--2020-08-11--Watch Steve Wozniak’s celebrity-packed 70th birthday celebration tonight at 8PM ET

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak turns 70 years old today , and you can celebrate by attending his celebrity-studded virtual birthday party that ’ s happening in just a few hours at 8PM ET .
Today ’ s party also kicks off an “ 11 Days of Wozdom ” social media contest offering Woz-autographed Apple products as prizes .
The party isn ’ t just an excuse to celebrate an important figure in American technology history , however .
It ’ s also a fundraiser to support Jewel ’ s Inspiring Children Foundation ( yes , as in the Grammy-nominated singer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tonight ’ s festivities , which will feature a huge number of singers , actors , comedians , and other notable celebrities .
It ’ s a seriously impressive ( and honestly , rather eclectic ) mix , of which the following is just a small sample : Carlos Santana , Chris Rock , Emmylou Harris , George Takei , John Sculley , Kristi Yamaguchi , Mark Cuban , Nancy Pelosi , Rafael Nadal , Richard Branson , Shaquille O ’ Neal , and William Shatner .
Despite leaving Apple in 1985 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company Wozniak got his start as an engineer at HP , where he says he was turned down five times to make a personal computer .
While at HP , he met Steve Jobs and went on to design Apple ’ s first computers , the Apple I and Apple II .
Wozniak has since become a very public figure , and despite leaving Apple in 1985 , he is still closely associated with the company he co-founded ( and could even be found waiting outside an Apple Store for the launch of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of us ) .
He also isn ’ t afraid to speak out against Apple or even other technology companies .
If you want to watch Wozniak ’ s birthday party tonight , you can tune in on the birthday party ’ s website , Twitch , or Twitter , and the festivities begin at 8PM ET .
Update , 9:34PM ET : While the stream has had some technical difficulties , you can watch a replay of the whole show right here on Vimeo .

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak turns 70 years old today, and you can celebrate by attending his celebrity-studded virtual birthday party that’s happening in just a few hours at 8PM ET. Today’s party also kicks off an “11 Days of Wozdom” social media contest offering Woz-autographed Apple products as prizes.
The party isn’t just an excuse to celebrate an important figure in American technology history, however. It’s also a fundraiser to support Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation (yes, as in the Grammy-nominated singer Jewel). She will be hosting tonight’s festivities, which will feature a huge number of singers, actors, comedians, and other notable celebrities. It’s a seriously impressive (and honestly, rather eclectic) mix, of which the following is just a small sample: Carlos Santana, Chris Rock, Emmylou Harris, George Takei, John Sculley, Kristi Yamaguchi, Mark Cuban, Nancy Pelosi, Rafael Nadal, Richard Branson, Shaquille O’Neal, and William Shatner.
Despite leaving Apple in 1985, Wozniak is still closely associated with the company
If you want to watch Wozniak’s birthday party tonight, you can tune in on the birthday party’s website, Twitch, or Twitter, and the festivities begin at 8PM ET.


theverge--2020-08-11--TikTok collected device identifiers for over a year in violation of Android policies

TikTok ’ s Android app collected users ’ MAC addresses for 18 months in violation of the platform rules , as discovered by a Wall Street Journal investigation on Tuesday .
The addresses would have served as a unique identifier for each user ’ s device , making them valuable for both advertising and potentially more invasive forms of tracking .
By 2015 , both iOS ’ s App Store and the Google Play Store had banned the collection of MAC addresses as a matter of policy , but TikTok was still able to obtain the identifier through a loophole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that nearly 350 apps on the Google Play Store had taken advantage of a similar loophole , generally for ad-targeting purposes .
TikTok discontinued the practice in November of last year , a shift in policy the Journal attributes to mounting political pressure from Washington .
The revelation comes at a delicate time for TikTok , which is facing difficult questions from the White House over its Chinese parent company ’ s level of access to US user data .
Last week , the White House issued an executive order to cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , beginning September 20th , if it is not able to complete a sale of its US operations by that time .
The company is currently in talks with Microsoft , but it is unclear how far the deal will proceed .
The Journal findings cut against the best argument in TikTok ’ s defense , that the system doesn ’ t collect any more data than a standard mobile app .
While most often used for ad tracking , collecting MAC addresses is among the more invasive forms of the practice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it had discontinued the practice .
“ We constantly update our app to keep up with evolving security challenges , and the current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses , ” a representative said .
“ We always encourage our users to download the most current version of TikTok.
” Update 8:10PM ET : Updated with statement from TikTok .

TikTok’s Android app collected users’ MAC addresses for 18 months in violation of the platform rules, as discovered by a Wall Street Journal investigation on Tuesday. The addresses would have served as a unique identifier for each user’s device, making them valuable for both advertising and potentially more invasive forms of tracking.
By 2015, both iOS’s App Store and the Google Play Store had banned the collection of MAC addresses as a matter of policy, but TikTok was still able to obtain the identifier through a loophole. A study cited by the Journal found that nearly 350 apps on the Google Play Store had taken advantage of a similar loophole, generally for ad-targeting purposes.
TikTok discontinued the practice in November of last year, a shift in policy the Journal attributes to mounting political pressure from Washington.
The revelation comes at a delicate time for TikTok, which is facing difficult questions from the White House over its Chinese parent company’s level of access to US user data. Last week, the White House issued an executive order to cut off all US transactions with the company, beginning September 20th, if it is not able to complete a sale of its US operations by that time. The company is currently in talks with Microsoft, but it is unclear how far the deal will proceed.
The Journal findings cut against the best argument in TikTok’s defense, that the system doesn’t collect any more data than a standard mobile app. While most often used for ad tracking, collecting MAC addresses is among the more invasive forms of the practice.
Reached for comment, TikTok emphasized that it had discontinued the practice. “We constantly update our app to keep up with evolving security challenges, and the current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses,” a representative said. “We always encourage our users to download the most current version of TikTok.”


theverge--2020-08-11--Reddit bans racist subreddit after co-founder Alexis Ohanian calls it out on Twitter

Reddit has banned another community dedicated to posting racist remarks on its platform — but only after co-founder Alexis Ohanian decided to report the subreddit .
And not by actually reporting it to Reddit , but instead calling it out in a Twitter thread .
Ohanian tweeted out his disgust for the subreddit to his nearly 340,000 Twitter followers after multiple users on Twitter brought it to his attention , with Ohanian expressing that the subreddit should be banned for violating Reddit ’ s content policy guidelines .
Ohanian flagging toxic content via Twitter like he ’ s an ordinary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he co-founded Reddit and likely has contacts still working there , even though he resigned from Reddit ’ s advisory board in June .
He could have likely contacted someone working at Reddit and pointed out the violation .
Motherboard staff writer Samantha Cole visited the subreddit after reading Ohanian ’ s tweet and found that r/DegradeEbonyThots featured racist and / or sexist remarks targeted at Black women .
The subreddit ’ s gone now , but we managed to find some screenshots , which give you an idea what type of content @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story about the subreddit being banned roughly two hours after Ohanian ’ s tweet , so it ’ s not clear whether the tweet or Cole ’ s communication with Reddit led to the ban .
If you visit the subreddit now , you ’ ll see it was banned for violating rule number one of its content policy , which reads that Reddit is “ a place for creating community and belonging , not for attacking marginalized or vulnerable groups of people.
” Reddit ’ s history with racist content dates back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Poverty Law Center pointed out that many racist subreddits were popular .
In 2018 , when The Verge asked Reddit CEO Steve Huffman if “ obvious open racism ” was against the site ’ s rules , he said “ no.
” In June , following the death of George Floyd , more than 800 moderators on Reddit signed an open letter demanding the company add a policy regarding hate speech .
Later that month , Reddit announced that it had expanded its content policies while also banning more than 2,000 subreddits that @ @ @ @

Reddit has banned another community dedicated to posting racist remarks on its platform — but only after co-founder Alexis Ohanian decided to report the subreddit. And not by actually reporting it to Reddit, but instead calling it out in a Twitter thread.
Ohanian tweeted out his disgust for the subreddit to his nearly 340,000 Twitter followers after multiple users on Twitter brought it to his attention, with Ohanian expressing that the subreddit should be banned for violating Reddit’s content policy guidelines. Ohanian flagging toxic content via Twitter like he’s an ordinary internet user is interesting — mainly because he co-founded Reddit and likely has contacts still working there, even though he resigned from Reddit’s advisory board in June. He could have likely contacted someone working at Reddit and pointed out the violation.
Motherboard staff writer Samantha Cole visited the subreddit after reading Ohanian’s tweet and found that r/DegradeEbonyThots featured racist and / or sexist remarks targeted at Black women. The subreddit’s gone now, but we managed to find some screenshots, which give you an idea what type of content was posted there. Motherboard published its story about the subreddit being banned roughly two hours after Ohanian’s tweet, so it’s not clear whether the tweet or Cole’s communication with Reddit led to the ban.
Reddit’s history with racist content dates back years


theverge--2020-08-11--Facebook bans blackface and anti-Semitic stereotypes in hate speech update

Facebook has expanded its ban on racist writings and imagery , with new rules specifically prohibiting depictions of blackface and statements or images suggesting that Jewish people control the world or major institutions .
Facebook already has a broad ban on hate speech , but the company also maintains a detailed list of prohibited language ( like comparing a group of people to “ insects ” ) and protected characteristics ( like physical appearance ) to tell users what isn ’ t allowed .
“ This type of content has always gone against the spirit of our hate speech policies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s head of policy management , said on a call with reporters this afternoon .
But it can be difficult for reviewers around the world to identify hate speech without these explicit examples , Bickert said .
While Facebook has long banned hate speech , the company ’ s moderation rules have at times led to some troubling results .
In 2017 , ProPublica reported on how Facebook ’ s rules offered protections for “ white men ” but not “ Black children ” due to how the company interpreted subsets of protected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now established teams inside both Instagram and Facebook to help the products feel “ fair and inclusive.
” “ We ’ ve made progress combating hate on our apps , but we know we have more to do to ensure everyone feels comfortable using our services , ” Guy Rosen , Facebook ’ s VP of integrity , writes in a blog post .
Today ’ s policy update came alongside the release of Facebook ’ s sixth Community Standards Enforcement Report .
As part of the report , the company revealed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of “ harmful ” coronavirus misinformation on Facebook and Instagram between April and June .
That includes posts about fake cures or preventive measures .
The company also put warning labels on 98 million pieces of misinformation about coronavirus that didn ’ t rise to the level of a ban .

Facebook has expanded its ban on racist writings and imagery, with new rules specifically prohibiting depictions of blackface and statements or images suggesting that Jewish people control the world or major institutions. Facebook already has a broad ban on hate speech, but the company also maintains a detailed list of prohibited language (like comparing a group of people to “insects”) and protected characteristics (like physical appearance) to tell users what isn’t allowed.
“This type of content has always gone against the spirit of our hate speech policies,” Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of policy management, said on a call with reporters this afternoon. But it can be difficult for reviewers around the world to identify hate speech without these explicit examples, Bickert said.
While Facebook has long banned hate speech, the company’s moderation rules have at times led to some troubling results. In 2017, ProPublica reported on how Facebook’s rules offered protections for “white men” but not “Black children” due to how the company interpreted subsets of protected classes. The company says it has now established teams inside both Instagram and Facebook to help the products feel “fair and inclusive.”
“We’ve made progress combating hate on our apps, but we know we have more to do to ensure everyone feels comfortable using our services,” Guy Rosen, Facebook’s VP of integrity, writes in a blog post.