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Tesla delays Semi electric truck to 2021

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Whatever the causes, the Semi delay was a setback in a first quarter that was otherwise upbeat for Tesla. It continued a streak of year-over-year surges in revenue ($5.98 billion) and profit ($1.23 billion). Deliveries didn’t reach the record high from the fall, but the 88,496 cars that reached customers were a distinct improvement over the 63,019 that reached buyers a year earlier. Most of those, 76,266 of them, were either the Model 3 or the surprisingly early Model Y.

Not that Tesla is about to cheer too loudly. Apart from some setbacks in China, the full weight of COVID-19 hadn’t hit the company’s business in the first quarter. The automaker’s Fremont factory will have been closed for several weeks or more during the second quarter, and it’s unclear how sales have been hurt by customers who have to stay at home and might be facing economic hardship. Tesla might not be in dire straits after the second quarter, but it could easily be facing a rough patch.

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AI can’t be legally credited as an inventor, says USPTO

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The USPTO wasn’t buying it. The agency noted that US patent law uses pronouns and language such as “whoever” to refer to inventors. It wrote that “only natural persons may be named as an inventor in a patent application” as the law stands. The UK Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office previously rejected AIP applications on similar grounds, despite their belief that the devices were patent-worthy.

There was no suggestion, however, that DABUS itself might obtain any patents. Thaler himself was the applicant. “Machines should not own patents,” the AIP says on its website. “They do not have legal personality or independent rights, and cannot own property.”

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Serato DJ makes its computer-only mixing tools free for a limited time

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Play expansion pack keyboard controls

Jon Turi / Engadget

Even the full Serato DJ Pro software pack is usually limited without an add-on controller plugged in, but with the Play expansion pack you get the full DJ experience, as long as you’re fine using a mouse or keyboard to perform. The layout includes multiple decks, filter controls and waveform views. That means you can prep sets and make mixes when you move away from your DJ setup to take some time on the couch, or soon enough even somewhere outside of your home entirely.

Serato’s free Play expansion pack offer is only available during the month of May for DJ Pro or DJ Lite users. After that, it returns to its normal price of $29. You can also visit the company’s “keeping busy” landing page for how-to guides, giveaways and other special offers.

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Facebook usage soars during coronavirus pandemic

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At the same time, the company warned of “a significant reduction in the demand for advertising” in a statement that echoed similar remarks from Google a day earlier. Facebook had previously advised that ad revenue would take a hit, despite a surge in usage around the world. 

“Our business has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, like all companies, we are facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty in our business outlook,” the company wrote in a statement. “We expect our business performance will be impacted by issues beyond our control, including the duration and efficacy of shelter-in-place orders, the effectiveness of economic stimuli around the world, and the fluctuations of currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.”

We’ll be listening to Facebook’s call with investors and will update with any new information.

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Microsoft says COVID-19 had ‘minimal’ impact on its business

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Revenue for Microsoft’s corporate and consumer Office products increased by 13 and 15 percent, respectively. Its Surface and Windows also benefited from the increased demand for remote work and learning tools, though due to supply issues in China, they didn’t grow nearly as much. The company says Windows OEM sales (what computer manufacturers pay) remained flat over the last year, while Surface revenue increased only by 1 percent.

Not surprisingly, search advertising revenue was negatively impacted by COVID-19, something the media industry is seeing on a larger level. Still, that segment still grew by 1 percent. Once again, everything is coming up Microsoft.

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‘Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’ is set in the Viking Age

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Following a full-day livestream, we now have a better idea of when and where the next game in Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed franchise will take place. In Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, you’ll play an assassin at some point during the Viking Age, which took place between 793 and 1066 CE.

Publisher and developer Ubisoft picked the unconventional route of announcing the new game through a Photoshop livestream. An artist slowly and painstakingly built out the image you see above while fans speculated about the setting and classic songs from the series like “Ezio’s Family” played in the background. At one point in the stream, more than 50,000 people across Twitch and YouTube tuned in to watch artist Kode Abdo work his craft.



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Twitter unlocks tools to help researchers study COVID-19 tweets

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The new COVID-19 stream endpoint will allow researchers and developers to access the millions of tweets about the coronavirus in real-time. Though use of the API is free, interested developers will need to apply in order to gain access. Twitter says it will screen applicants, who must have experience working with Twitter data, as well as “the necessary infrastructure in place to process, store, and analyze the many millions of Tweets being generated every day.”

Studying tweets related to the coronavirus pandemic could help researchers better understand a range of issues related to the pandemic, including misinformation, crisis management and how an increased reliance on automated content moderation affects conversations.

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Windows 10 preview adds COVID-19 info to the search box

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This preview build isn’t all about coronavirus, though. Another new feature will allow you to control your music and audio apps with the Your Phone app. You’ll be able to play, pause and skip the songs playing on your phone through your desktop, and tracks will remain synced across your phone and PC. You can even switch between multiple sources using a dropdown menu in the app.

Microsoft is releasing the build to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring today, but some changes won’t go into effect until later this week. Of course, the next big Windows 10 update for the public is just around the corner. It’s expected in May.

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Save $300 on the Roomba i7+ vacuum robot at Best Buy

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Buy iRobot Roomba i7+ at iRobot – $700

The i7+ is iRobot’s top-of-the-line vacuum robot. In addition to including the company’s Imprint Smart Mapping technology, which allows the robot to classify and remember all the rooms in your home, the i7+ comes with a charging station that automatically empties its dust container into a disposable bag. Each bag can hold up to 30 loads of dust and debris. And while you’ll still need to change the bags yourself, there’s less to fuss over. 

Additionally, the i7+ is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing you to instruct it to clean specific rooms in your home. With the iRobot Home app, you can also create a custom cleaning schedule.  

Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar gave the i7+ an 87, declaring it “iRobot’s best vacuum robot yet.” He praised the improvements the company made to its mapping algorithm and said the vacuum featured excellent cleaning performance. He was less enthusiastic about the i7+’s price tag and how much you have to spend on its proprietary bags. But with this sale, at least the cost of the vacuum itself is more manageable.     

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iRobot suspends plans to launch its robotic lawn mower

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The company originally committed to launches in Germany and the US, but it hadn’t set a date or a price. Based on the competition (Husqvarna’s Automower 435X costs £4,400, or around $5,500), it probably would have been pretty pricey. Now, we may never know.

In its first-quarter financial report, iRobot revealed that its revenue fell 19 percent, about $45 million, compared to the first quarter of last year due to the pandemic. As a result, the company has eliminated 70 positions and furloughed another 14 workers. It expects its near-term revenue to be “challenged” as retailers work down existing inventory, prioritize essential products and face reduced hours and foot traffic, as well as temporary store closures.

Despite the setbacks, iRobot has managed to donate thousands of masks from its manufacturing facilities to healthcare workers. It also participated in a project to repurpose Roomba filters for use in personal protective equipment and supported a third-party effort to retrofit Roomba in Italian hospitals with a tripod and phone to connect patients and their families.

If there is any silver lining to Terra’s suspension, it’s that you’ll probably have plenty of time to mow your lawn this summer because you won’t be able to leave home. Plus, mowing the lawn can be great exercise, which we’ll all need more of in the coming months.



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