Huawei isn’t about to get a reprieve from the US trade ban any time soon. President Trump has extended until May 2021 the executive order barring American companies from buying and using telecom equipment that represents an “unacceptable” national security risk. The order was key to the Commerce Department adding Huawei to its Entity List and effectively banning the tech giant (along with rivals like ZTE) from operating in the country.
It’s not shocking that the order would carry on for a while longer. Trump and legislators have continued to kick Huawei out of US networks whenever possible, and tensions with China remain high. However, this still leaves Huawei and peers without many options. They’ll have to avoid dealing with US companies, of course, but this will also force them to go without Google apps on newer phones and otherwise jump through hoops to maintain some of their business. In short: don’t expect to buy a Huawei phone stateside any time soon.
The internet has no shortage of illegal media and verbiage. Social media companies do what they can to soften the blow, but unsavory (and downright criminal) images, videos and text inevitably break through. According to Reuters, France’s government has passed a strict law that will require companies like Facebook and Twitter to delete content related to pedophelia and terrorism within one hour of their being posted. If they don’t, the law stipulates that they’ll have to pay four percent of their global revenue. Meanwhile, other “manifestly illicit” content must be removed within 24 hours. The government hopes that this law will help to eliminate criminal imagery and reduce hate speech.
Various countries have expressed interest in similar laws, but a one hour window is a new — and eyebrow-raising — proposition. Companies like YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat already have employees and hordes of contractors to help moderate posts and uploads, and many even use automated systems to remove illegal content. It’s not clear how the French government expects these platforms to find and remove the images and text in question within 60 minutes, but the law calls for special prosecutors to keep an eye on how well they comply.
Uber plans to maintain the policy until the end of June, at which point it will reassess the situation. The company is also quick to note the new checklist feature won’t compare the selfie drivers and delivery people take against the company’s existing photo database. It also won’t process any biometric information.
In addition to the checklist feature, the company will suggest UberX drivers only transport a maximum of three passengers at any given time. It has also earmarked $50 million to purchase cleaning and safety supplies for its contractors.
The new rules come as Uber tries to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on its business. At the start of May, the company announced it would lay off 3,700 full-time employees. According to a recent report from The Information, ride requests are down by as much as 80 percent.
Facebook avatars are finally available in the US. Starting today, users can design digital recreations of themselves, and post them in comments and Messenger chats. These caricatures are similar to Snap’s BitMoji app, but have their own distinct look. The US rollout of Facebook Avatars — which comes nearly a year after the initial launch — coincides with the release of new clothing, hair and skin tone options.
To design an Avatar, Facebook or Messenger users can find the new “Make Your Avatar” option within the stickers menu in the comment composer. While avatars currently can only be used in comments, chat and Facebook Gaming profiles, the company says that text posts will eventually support the simulacra.
Google is introducing a new feature to Chrome that will have you asking how you lived without it before. Starting with the next version of the company’s browser, which the search giant will begin rolling out next week, you’ll be able to organize tabs together into customizable groups.
Google
The feature works almost exactly as you might imagine. To start sorting your tabs, right-click on a single one and press the “Add Tab to Group” option. When you create a new group, you can assign it a name and color to make it easily identifiable. If you feel like moving a tab to a different group afterward, you can do so by dragging and dropping it. Better yet, anytime you close and reopen Chrome, your groupings will load up automatically.
Here’s something we didn’t expect to see: a remaster of the often-overlooked Mafia series. Publisher 2K Games announced the Mafia: Trilogy on Wednesday with a short teaser on YouTube and promised to share additional details on May 19th at 12PM ET / 9AM PT.
The video doesn’t show much, but what we do know is that you’ll be able to buy the remastered trilogy on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC — via both Steam and the Epic Game Store. As Polygon notes, this will be the first time console owners will be able to play all three games on a single system. The original Mafia was releasedin 2002 on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Mafia 2then came out in 2010 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, with the latest game in the franchise, Mafia 3, following in 2016 on current generation consoles.
Dell says the XPS 17 was designed to be the “most powerful XPS laptop ever made,” and equipped it with the latest tenth-generation Intel Core processors, as well as up to NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2060 graphics with Max-Q design. The beefy notebook will require an effective heat dissipation system as well, and the company uses a patented dual opposite outlet fan for more airflow and improved temperatures. With so much power, most large laptops tend to have disappointingly short battery lives. Dell is “targeting up to 20 hours on FHD+,” but we’ll have to put this claim to the test in a full review to see if you need to remain chained to an outlet with this machine.
If a 17-inch screen is overkill for you, the redesigned XPS 15 might be more your speed. Dell makes a similar claim about it being the “smallest 15.6-inch performance class laptop,” and it looks just like you’d expect. Like the rest of the 2020 XPS series, the 15-inch version’s 16:10 screen is surrounded by a minimal bezel on all sides, including the bottom. You can get it with a Full HD+ screen or upgrade to the 4K UHD+ with similar specs to the 17-inch variant.
Just like on the bigger model, the XPS 15 is equipped with tenth-generation Intel Core processors (i5, i7 or i9), as well as up to NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1650Ti graphics. Dell is more ambitious with battery life estimates here, saying the new XPS 15 will last up to 25 hours on FHD+.
Other tunes are, shall we say, less than comforting. The song from runner-up Germany, Dadabots x Portrait XO’s “I’ll Marry You, Punk Come,” is about as disturbing as you’d expect from an AI trained on acapellas, death metal and a fake news generator — “extinction is the only way” isn’t exactly the feel-good lyric of the year. The Netherlands’ entry, Abbus’ “Can AI Kick it,” called for revolution. And last-place Switzerland’s team New Piano’s “Painful Words,” which relied the most on pure AI, lives up to its name with an atonal mish-mash of dialogue.
None of these tunes are likely to climb the charts any time soon, and it won’t be surprising if the AI Song Contest loses prominence if and when the flesh-and-blood Eurovision returns in 2021. Still, this is a good look at the current state of AI music generation. And look at it this way: at least here you know the outcome wasn’t skewed by political and cultural rivalries.
Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth noted that Vodacom is one of Africa’s largest carriers, providing service to tens of millions of people in multiple countries. “We view this as the first step to a larger partnership that will allow us to serve more of those users throughout Africa,” he said in a statement.
So far, Loon has landed deals to supply network to underserved regions in Puerto Rico, Kenya and Peru. The company recently created the HAPS alliance with telecoms and other firms including Deutsche Telekom, Softbank, Airbus, Nokia and Telefonica to promote the use of stratospheric balloons for internet services. The company teamed with AT&T earlier this month in a project to provide internet to crisis-hit regions.
In Mozambique, Loon and Vodacom must first install terrestrial infrastructure to connect the balloons to Vodacom’s core networks. Loon will also fly test balloons to learn the local stratospheric wind patterns and ensure that the final balloons remain in the service area. With all that complete, service can start sometime “in the coming months,” the companies said.
Looking for the ideal midrange smartphone? Xiaomi spin-off Poco might have the answer with its new F2 Pro. This $500 handset has a 6.67-inch screen with no notches, holes or other distractions, a pop-up front-facing camera, powerful Snapdragon 865 CPU and all the other bits you’d expect from a modern device with no filler.
Poco
The only problem, of course, is finding someone who will sell it in the US. There’s always something, isn’t there?
— Richard
YouTube Music will transfer your Google Play songs with one click
Google Play Music will shut down later this year.
YouTube Music
It’s been about two years since YouTube Music launched, and it’s finally ready to copy over every bit of music and data you may have collected in Google Play Music over the years. Once the transfer tool is ready for your account, a prompt will pop up in the GPM / YouTube Music app on your iOS or Android device. Once triggered, it will port over music you’ve uploaded, as well as playlists and “many” of the curated stations in Play Music.
Google said that Play Music is going away for good at some point later this year, but the good news for holdouts is that, according to Nathan Ingraham, “basically all the deal-breaking problems I originally encountered have been fixed.” Continue reading.
Remastered ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2’ game lands in September
Summer Game Fest
Vicarious Visions
Decades after they debuted, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games are coming back on modern consoles. Vicarious Visions is developing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1and 2, a single title that contains remastered versions of the classic games. It’s due out on September 4th, 2020, for PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro, Xbox One, Xbox One X and PC via the Epic Games Store.
The new title has modernized Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park modes, HD graphics and all of the levels, moves and pro skaters from the original games. The level editor has been modernized, and Vicarious Visions COO Simon Ebejer told Engadget “The animation system, the sound effects, it’s all brand new.” Continue reading.
PlayStation 4 sales pass 110 million
And the PS5 launch is still on schedule.
Sony
Sony’s PlayStation 4 has reached lifetime sales of 110.4 million. It’s impressive but makes it increasingly unlikely that the PS4 will take the ‘all-time best-selling console’ crown from the PlayStation 2, the pesky DVD-playing trojan horse. The PlayStation 4’s momentum has slowed, though — Sony is selling fewer consoles than this time last year.
Never mind: The company is scheduled to release the PS5 this year, which will undoubtedly boost hardware sales when it makes its appearance along with some games from the assorted PlayStation Studios.
If you’re lucky, you might not need to buy anything extra.
Engadget
Some (most?) webcams suck. The video quality is mediocre and camera placement is often not flattering — especially on some laptops. Why not use that fancy DSLR camera you have? Depending on the make and model, it might be as easy as downloading an app. You may require some new hardware and cables, but regardless, we’ve laid out all the options for wowing colleagues and/or family on your next video call. Continue reading.
