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The next BMW 7 Series lineup will include an all-electric car

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Zipse told attendees that BMW’s long-term goal is to have different drive technologies coexist alongside one another. By 2023, the company is hoping to be able to offer 25 kinds of electric vehicles, possible including the electrified 7 Series. It’s also gearing up for the launch of the all-electric iX3 crossover, which won’t be coming to the US, and the i4 electric sedan.

According to Autoblog, the zero-emission 7 Series model will be powered by BMW’s fifth-generation electric technology — the same one that’ll power the i4. The next 7 Series cars don’t have a solid launch date yet, but since the current generation won’t go out of production until 2022, we’ll still have to wait a few more years.

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Senators ask Alphabet how it will protect COVID-19 screening site data

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The senators are concerned that any shortfalls in protection could leave people vulnerable to “identity theft, negative credit decisions, and employment discrimination,” pointing to data breaches at companies like Equifax as an example of what can go wrong. They also asked who exactly was in charge, with “specific concerns” about Google given its extensive access to health data through Project Nightingale.

Pence and Pichai have until March 30th to answer the letters. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is effectively the lead for the request, but was joined by senators Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown and Kamala Harris.

The White House hasn’t commented on the matter. A Verily spokesperson stressed that Google was “not collecting or retaining” user data. Verily was only using Google platforms to “safely store and protect” Baseline’s health data, the representative said. Any collected info was “stored separately” and wouldn’t be tied to any Google products, including ads.

This won’t necessarily address every concern about the COVID-19 site, and there’s no guarantee politicians will take concrete action if the answers aren’t satisfactory. It might, however, remind Verliy and Alphabet that politicians still expect data protections even in the midst of a global health crisis.

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NYSE will temporarily move to all-electronic stock trading

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Intercontinental wouldn’t commit to a specific time frame for reopening the physical floors, instead indicating that would “monitor events” before resuming in-person trades.

It’s not a surprising move, and might be crucial as officials rush to eliminate any large gathering that could rapidly spread the coronavirus at the heart of the outbreak. At the same time, it could also serve as a giant experiment. What happens if one of the world’s largest stock exchanges suddenly went all-digital? While many trades are already electronic, this could make a case for reduced dependence on traditional floors even after life returns to normal.

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Watch Sony’s PS5 deep dive in under 10 minutes

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Today Sony revealed a ton of information and specs about the upcoming PlayStation 5. Everything from its speedy SSD, details on the clock speed of its CPU and GPU and plans for 3D audio are now revealed. If you tuned in for the hour-long livestream then you’ve probably heard everything, but if you’d prefer to cut out any filler or just get a quick replay then we have the solution.

Besides a rundown of known PS5 specs compared to the Xbox Series X, we have this ten minute video that brings just the parts you need from Sony’s presentation. It’s the fastest way to get caught up on how Sony’s next box will “shape the future of games.”

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TikTok names experts who will help shape its content policies

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What’s not clear is just how much influence this advisory council will ultimately have, or if their involvement will help diffuse criticism of the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. As TikTok’s popularity in the US has skyrocketed, the app has been accused of censoring content critical of the Chinese government. TikTok has also been met with suspicion by US government officials, some of whom believe it poses a national security risk and have sought to ban the app from federally-issued devices.

The new content advisory council is just one way TikTok has tried to address these issues. The company announced last week that it would open a “transparency center” in the US, and that it would allow outside experts to examine the app’s source code and advise on content moderation and other policies.

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The next ‘Overwatch’ hero is an AI robot with an important story link

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Blizzard describes Echo as “an evolutionary robot programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence.” In the origin video the studio shared, we find out Dr. Mina Liao, one of the six founders of the Overwatch organization and the creator of the omnics, built Echo. It also turns out Echo features the same voice, as well as ideals and mannerisms, as her creator.

As the video nears its end, we hear them sync up. “All I needed was to help them all,” the two say in unison. From that moment on, there’s only a single voice in the mix. “And so she created me,” says Echo. “Her legacy. Her promise. Her echo.”

We don’t know how Echo will play yet, but now that her origin video is out, Blizzard will likely add her to the game’s public test servers soon. At that point, we’ll see what Echo’s kit adds to Overwatch.

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Google pauses Chrome updates to limit issues while teams work remotely

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Last week, Google told all of its North American employees to work from home until at least April 10th, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. With its teams scattered and working remotely, the last thing Google needs is to push a Chrome or Chrome OS update only to have bugs pop up. And with so many people across the country working and learning from home, any disruption to Chrome or Chromebooks would be especially frustrating.

Google says it will prioritize updates related to security and that those will be included in Chrome 80. Typically, Chrome releases occur fairly consistently. If nothing else, this is a reminder that, under normal circumstances, those releases are something we take for granted.



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Android 11 developer preview offers more control over robocalls

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DP2 is better-suited to modern hardware, too. Games and other apps can set a preferred refresh rate if you happen to have a phone with a speedy screen, like the Galaxy S20 or Pixel 4. Android 11 will also support hinge sensors so that foldable phones can react to an open phone’s specific angle.

As always, you’ll want to avoid installing a developer release on your main phone or any other device you need to work reliably. This isn’t even a public beta, let alone a polished release. It’s more of a peek at the near future of Android, particularly for subtler features that could have a larger effect on your daily life.

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Facebook adds coronavirus ‘information center’ to News Feed

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Like similar efforts the company has undertaken on Instagram, the messages will provide users with accurate and up-to-date news about coronavirus in an effort to reduce misinformation. But in addition to sources like the CDC and World Health Organization, Zuckerberg said it will also include Facebook posts from local officials and celebrities encouraging users to cooperate with social distancing efforts.

“We’re designing it to be very adaptive so that on a day-to-day basis the messages … vary from location to location,” Zuckerberg said during a call with reporters announcing the update. He noted that while many people are aware of the threat posed by coronavirus, “a lot of what needs to happen is people need to be convinced” to take social distancing seriously.

The information center will also offer statistics tracking confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses, and include information on school closures, according to screenshots of the feature. Another section, titled “Why You Should Stay Home,” links to articles about the importance of social distancing amid the pandemic.

The information center is the latest, and perhaps most aggressive, step Facebook has taken in the wake of the pandemic. The social network also created a news hub aimed at WhatsApp users, given free advertising to the WHO and other organizations, and taken ramped up fact checking to beat back coronavirus hoaxes.

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Logitech’s latest iPad keyboard cases add trackpads to non-Pro tablets

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You can detach the keyboard for those times when you just want to use your iPad as a pure tablet, and there’s a holder for your first-generation Pencil if you’re a budding artist. The case doesn’t ‘float’ your iPad like Apple’s does, but there is a Surface-style kickstand to help you get the right viewing angle.

The Combo Touch won’t be available until May. It should, however, cost the same whether you’e buying for the base iPad or the iPad Air. And while $150 isn’t trivial, that’s still half of what Apple is asking — combine that with the savings on the tablet itself and you could spend hundreds less than you would on a comparable iPad Pro configuration.

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