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Amazon’s smart shopping cart knows what you’re buying

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According to Amazon, the Dash Cart is designed for “small- to medium-sized grocery trips and fits two grocery bags.” Upon arrival, customers will sign in using a QR code in the Amazon app and then place products into their own bags while shopping. The cart will beep when the product is correctly identified or flash orange if it needs to be re-added.

There’s a small display on the top that provides access to Alexa shopping lists, as well as a coupon scanner that will apply discounts while people shop. Once done, shoppers exit through one of the store’s Dash Cart lanes and the receipt will automatically be emailed to the address on file.

When Amazon announced it would roll out a new grocery store format in 2020, the company immediately posted recruitment ads for stock replenishment and food counter associates, suggesting that it wouldn’t veer too far away from the traditional supermarket layout. At 35,000 square-feet, the Woodland Hills location is roughly three times bigger than Amazon’s largest Go store, and was once home to a Toys ‘R’ Us.

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What's on TV: 'Paper Mario,' 'Psych 2' and 'Ghost of Tsushima'

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This week NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service launches on more platforms, bringing tons of archival content, new shows and a second movie for the old USA series Psych. For gamers, there’s Paper Mario: The Origami King on Switch, Death Stranding…

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Reuters: Google vows not to use Fitbit data for ads to avoid EU probe

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Google revealed that it was purchasing Fitbit for $2.1 billion back in November 2019, but the deal has yet to be finalized. One of the organizations the tech giant has to convince for the acquisition to go through is the European Commission, which gave Google until July 13th to offer concessions. EU regulators will decide on their stance on the 20th, and they could launch a full investigation if the companies fail to make a convincing case for themselves. Now, according to Reuters, Google has formally offered not to use Fitbit data for ad targeting to ward off an antitrust probe.

“This deal is about devices, not data. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the European Commission on an approach that safeguards consumers’ expectations that Fitbit device data won’t be used for advertising,” Google told Reuters in a statement.

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Ford’s 2021 Bronco SUVs offer 360-degree cameras for a ‘spotter view’

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After years of leaks and speculation, Ford is finally showing off the three 4x4s that will reintroduce its Bronco brand. The two- and four-door Broncos are “rugged” SUVs with removable roof panels and available 35-inch tires, while the “smaller sibling” Bronco Sport still promises off-road capabilities.

Pre-production versions of the all-new 2021 Bronco family of all-4x4 rugged SUVs, shown here, include Bronco Sport in Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat, Bronco two-door in Cyber Orange Metallic Tri-Coat and Bronco four-door in Cactus Gray.

Ford

Autoblog has more details on the engines and transmissions that will take owners up trails and over various obstacles, but inside there’s a lot of technology at work. In the larger SUVs, there’s a 12-inch LCD screen available that provides access to the Sync 4 system, as well as a look at the optional 360-degree camera made for providing a “spotter” view of your rock crawling progress without even getting out of the truck.

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Researchers made a medical wearable using a pencil and paper

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Moreover, the fact they used paper doesn’t seem to have limited the type of wearables they could create. The team says there’s the potential to make devices that monitor things like a person’s temperature and glucose level. What’s more, the sensors can work in real-time and provide robust data.

The benefits of a pencil and paper-based health monitors are two-fold. The first is that the materials needed to create them are inexpensive and readily accessible. Unlike plastic and some of the other things we currently make medical wearables from, they also degrade quickly. The researchers see a future in which people use the technology to get personalized home care. It could also help with remote research, especially during a crisis like we see now with the coronavirus pandemic. 

The usual caveats that accompany any recent research project apply here. It could be years before the team that invented the technology finds a way to commercialize it. They say their next step is to do more testing of the biomedical components.     

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Tech companies join lawsuit against Trump’s new student visa rule

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Facebook, Google, Microsoft along with several other tech companies have joined the US Chamber of Commerce in adding on to a lawsuit against the Trump administration, pushing back on a new rule that would force foreign students to leave the country if their colleges implemented online-only classes this fall.

A lot of US colleges are moving to online-only classes due to the pandemic, but the latest ruling from ICE states that the only way for foreign students to stay is to take in-person classes. Otherwise, they risk having their student visas revoked.

The lawsuit was first filed last week by Harvard and M.I.T. against the Department of Homeland Security. Harvard has stated it would have online-only classes over the next year, while M.I.T will employ a hybrid model, with most of its classes held online. Separately, attorneys-general from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit of their own to block the rule.

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You can now apply for your $25 iPhone ‘batterygate’ compensation

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According to the website’s FAQ, “Apple will provide a cash payment of approximately $25 per eligible device.” But before getting too excited about getting money from the company, keep in mind that Apple has agreed to pay a maximum of $500 million as part of the settlement. Depending on how many people file for a claim, you may get less than $25.

It’s also worth noting you can exclude yourself from the settlement. However, as The Verge points out, the only reason to do that is if you plan to sue Apple directly about the issue. Whatever decision you make, you have until October 6th to submit a claim. At that point, you can expect payment at some point after December 4th. That’s when a judge will sign off on the settlement, provided there aren’t any appeals. 

The iPhone throttling debacle dates back to 2017 when Apple admitted it intentionally down older devices with aging batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns. As an apology for its lack of transparency around the issue, the company temporarily reduced the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29. Approximately 11 million iPhone owners took advantage of the discount. The significant uptick in battery replacements ultimately led to Apple revising its first quarter 2019 earnings. 

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Twitch restores Donald Trump’s account after a two-week suspension

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Twitch also took issue with a rebroadcast of Trump’s 2015 speech in which he declared he was running for president. At the time, he referred to Mexican migrants as “rapists.”

It’s not clear why Twitch determined that a two-week suspension would be appropriate in this case. A spokesperson declined to comment further on the issue, pointing Engadget to the statement Twitch gave two weeks ago:

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”

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A Kinect mod for ‘Super Mario 64’ provides a fun pandemic workout

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What do you do when you’re in lockdown during a pandemic but still want to get some exercise? Well, if you’re YouTuber SuperLouis64, you’d make a Kinect mod and, together with a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, use your own body as a controller for Super Mario 64. The result is a hilarious yet surprisingly effective workout that looks a lot more challenging than Ring Fit Adventures. 

In the YouTube video (which you can see above), he uses a mini indoor trampoline as a way to control Mario’s jumps and the Joy-Con to manipulate objects. According to the video, he found the controls to be a little finicky at times, occasionally falling off bridges and cliffs. He also had some issues trying to ground pound a thwomp. One of the funnier parts of the video is him entering the water world thinking that it would be easy to swim through it, only to find out that “swimming” consists of jumping the whole time. 

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Star Wars animated series ‘The Bad Batch’ is coming to Disney+ in 2021

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars wrapped up its final season on Disney+ a couple of months ago, but there’s another animated series in the works from a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: The Bad Batch will premiere on the streaming service next year.

It’ll follow the Bad Batch (surprisingly enough), a group of experimental clones who debuted in The Clone Wars. Each of them has a unique skill, “which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew,” according to a Star Wars blog post. The Bad Batch will tackle missions as mercenaries while they seek a new purpose “in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War.”



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