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Huawei teams with Devialet on a $300 smart speaker for China

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It’s also got one-touch control, Huawei’s HiLink smart home control, Huawei’s “Xiaoyi” voice assistant and support for Huawei music. The speaker was unveiled at the same time as Huawei’s iPad Pro-like MatePad Pro tablet. Huawei already has a couple of smart speakers, including one that strongly resembles (wait for it) Apple’s HomePod.

Devialet said the Sound X represents its “first partnership in Asia,” and noted that China is its “second-largest region worldwide in terms of sales.” The company has done a number of alliances elsewhere, however, including a surround sound TV speaker for Sky, the Altice Amplify smart speaker from Altice USA, Renault’s crazy Symbioz self-driving car and an unusual set-top box with internet provider Free in France.

Huawei’s Sound X will only be sold in China, but it’s now on pre-order for a relatively low sum — at least, considering the Devialet angle — of 1,999 yuan (around $285). It doesn’t appear that the product will be coming to any western markets, however.

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Huawei’s answer to the iPad Pro is the 10.8-inch MatePad Pro

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As we mentioned before, the MatePad Pro does strongly resemble an iPad Pro, especially with the keyboard attached. On top of that, Huawei elected to digress from its regular MediaPad tablet naming scheme, going with the MatePad laptop moniker instead.

It weighs about the same as the 11-inch iPad Pro (460 grams), but it’s a bit thicker at 7.2mm compared to 5.9mm. Other specs include Huawei’s Kirin 990 processor and Android 10-based EMUI 10, so it likely wouldn’t have the Google Play store for international versions. It’s got a 13-megapixel main camera, 7,250 mAh battery with 40W wired fast charging (15W wireless charging), quad Harman Kardon speakers, and a 5-microphone array.

With 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage, it’ll start at 3,299 yuan (about $470) in a metallic version (no stylus and keyboard), and will cost 4,999 yuan ($710) with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, with the stylus and keyboard included. There’s no word yet on whether it’ll come to the US or Europe.

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The Morning After: Over 200,000 Tesla Cybertruck deposits

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A much-improved follow-up to last year’s Elite 65t true wireless earbuds.
Jabra Elite 75t review: The leap from good to great

Jabra’s latest true wireless earbuds are significantly smaller and last 2.5 hours longer than 2018’s Elite 65t. They also sound better, but they don’t have active noise cancellation or a wireless charging case (yet). However, they’re still cheaper than most of the competition and very compelling for the price. And there’s never been a better time to make the leap to wireless audio.

But will people commit to buying the electric pickup?
Tesla already has over 200,000 deposits for its Cybertruck

Despite how it looks, Tesla’s Cybertruck appears to have a healthy number of potential buyers waiting in the wings. Elon Musk has revealed that more than 200,000 people have placed deposits for the electric pickup already. The cheapest, $39,900, single-motor truck is actually the least popular model so far. Just 17 percent of customers have put money down for the entry model, while 42 percent have picked the dual-motor version and 41 percent want the speedy tri-motor variant. It’s also important to stress that these are deposits, not absolute commitments to buy the Cybertruck. Years ago, Tesla wound up refunding a significant percentage of Model 3 deposits from customers that either didn’t want to wait or lost interest.

It even led to a trending Twitter hashtag.
TV reporter’s sick-call email sparks horrific reply-all chaos

The reply-all email is the bane of corporate existence. For Kansas City’s Nick Vasos, however, his reply-all mistake led to a whole mess. When the Fox 4 TV reporter inadvertently sent a sick-call email to all of Nexstar Media Group, he not only triggered an epic reply-all email chain, he sparked a social media sensation.

Vasos explained that he’d texted his manager to indicate that he was sick but turned to email to be safe when he didn’t get a reply. His mistake was to assume that the email auto-complete feature would use his manager’s — and not a company-wide — address.

How this affects Huawei’s PCs isn’t clear.
Microsoft gets US license to resume selling software to Huawei

The US Commerce Department has granted Microsoft a license to “export mass-market software” to Huawei, according to a Microsoft statement to Bloomberg. The American company declined to say just what “mass-market” meant, but Windows and Office theoretically count — Huawei might not have trouble offering PCs like the MateBook X Pro in the US. Huawei’s footprint in PCs isn’t that huge, however. The Chinese company is likely to be chasing a return to Android phones with more urgency.

But wait, there’s more…

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Uber loses London license over ‘a pattern of failures’

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Uber could soon be banned from London. The city’s ride-hailing regulator, Transport for London (TfL), has denied the company a private hire operator license because it’s “not fit and proper” and allowed a number of uninsured, dismissed and suspended drivers to operate in the city, putting passengers at risk. “While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured,” Helen Chapman, director of licensing, regulation and charging at TfL said.

The decision is a critical blow in a long-running legal tussle between the two parties. Uber was stripped of its license in 2017 because TfL believed leadership had shown “a lack of corporate responsibility.” The ride-hailing giant appealed the decision, though, and was given a 15-month window to clean up its act. Uber was given another two-month license last September to further improve its culture and governance ahead of a final decision by TfL. At the time, the regulator said its earlier decisions — each of which added safety-focused conditions — had led to improved “culture and governance” at Uber.

TfL wanted a little more time, though, “to allow for scrutiny of additional information.” Today, we have clarity on what it was so concerned about. In a press release, the regulator said it had identified “a pattern of failures” and “several breaches.” The biggest problem was a loophole in Uber’s systems that allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photo to another driver’s account. That meant they could work through another driver’s profile without insurance or prior vetting by Uber. TfL said “at least least 14,000 trips” were carried out this way. “Another failure” allowed dismissed and suspended drivers to create an Uber account and work.

“TfL recognises the steps that Uber has put in place to prevent this type of activity,” the regulator said in its press release. “However, it is a concern that Uber’s systems seem to have been comparatively easily manipulated.”

The regulator said Uber had addressed some of its concerns. It wasn’t confident, though, that the company wouldn’t make similar mistakes in the future. “Safety is our absolute top priority,” Chapman said. “While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured.”

Uber has 21 days to launch an appeal and, like every decision prior, can continue operating while the appeal process is ongoing. Jamie Heywood, Regional General Manager for Northern & Eastern Europe, confirmed the company would take this course of action and “work with TfL to resolve this situation.” He added: “TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong. We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety. TfL found us to be a fit and proper operator just two months ago, and we continue to go above and beyond.”

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Huawei is suing French critics who say it’s tied to the Chinese state

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Huawei said it’s only suing over claims that it is controlled by the Chinese state and that is using its expertise to commit acts of espionage. “These statements are false,” it added. The claims come at a delicate time, however, as France recently enacted new legislation dubbed the “Huawei Law.” That will allow any company including Huawei to bid on 5G infrastructure in France, but will also give the government power to approve or reject them based on national security implications.

The US government has been pressuring EU allies to exclude Huawei from building 5G infrastructure. While France has hedged that by allowing Huawei to bid while reserving the right to reject it, Germany has said that it will allow Huawei to build and access its 5G networks. The US has told both Germany and Canada that it may cut back access to intelligence data if Huawei is allowed in.

Huawei has sued the US government for banning its equipment from 5G networks in the US, but using the courts against critics appears to be a new tactic. The US government lawsuit hasn’t stopped representatives from reiterating claims that Huawei would be forced to hand over data to the Chinese government if asked.

Huawei didn’t sue the broadcast networks, including TF1 and France 5, saying it wasn’t trying to attack the freedom of the press. However, Valerie Niquet, one of the experts who was sued said “I am surprised that Huawei decided to file a lawsuit against an expert who spoke in broadcast television programs, in her capacity as an expert on China.”

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Save $300 on a highly-recommended Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar this week

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This model doesn’t pack everything into just a soundbar, and the included sub is big and heavy. However, so is the sound. The speaker configuration on the ST5000 beams audio all around you, so it simulates immersive surround sound without forcing you to put a bunch of speakers all over your living room. It has all the connectivity you’ll need with one HDMI (ARC) output, three HDMI inputs, USB, Ethernet, analog (3.5mm aux), optical, Bluetooth and WiFi. Chromecast and Spotify Connect are also on the features list. Plus, the ST5000 works with Google Assistant, so voice control from a compatible smart speaker is an option here.

Buy Sony HT-ST5000 on Amazon – $1198

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AI determines how much help Shakespeare had writing a play

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True to longstanding theories, the AI determined that Fletcher wrote just under half of the play. However, it’s where he took over that might be surprising. If this is accurate, Fletcher didn’t just take over at the start of a new scene — he also pitched in near the ends of other scenes. There are also places where there’s mixed authorship. Shakespeare and his pal may have worked very closely at times, to put it another way.

The process also ruled out the involvement of another playwright, Philip Massinger.

This might not definitively solve authorial disputes in the future. It’s possible that Shakespeare or Fletcher imitated each other, for instance. There’s a lot of work left to make this truly useful. However, it’s easy to see the applications. In addition to answering historical questions, it could help spot plagiarism by recognizing a style that’s unlike a given author.

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Pennsylvania court rules suspect can’t be forced to provide his password

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Justice Debra Todd noted that revealing a password is testimonial as it’s a “verbal communication” that reveals your mind, not just a physical act like providing a blood sample. It also pointed to federal Supreme Court precedent where people couldn’t be forced to reveal the combination to a wall safe — in both cases, divulging the code was opening a “pathway” to incrimination.

The decision pleased advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which wrote a friend-of-the-court briefing in the case. It noted that people store a “wealth of deeply personal information” on their devices, and that the government shouldn’t force people into a “no-win situation” where they either have to reveal everything or resist a court order.

As Ars Technica observed, the Fifth Amendment isn’t a guaranteed shield against providing your password. It may depend on the particular circumstances of the case. So long as the ruling (along with expected ones in New Jersey and Indiana) stands, though, police may have to accept that they won’t always get a password — they may have to crack a device if they want to see what it contains.

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Astronomers create first global map of Saturn’s moon Titan

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Just shy of two thirds of the surface is dominated by flat plains, but 17 percent of it (mostly at the equator) is blanketed in dunes. Another 14 percent is hilly or mountainous, while 1.5 percent of it has a labyrinthine terrain shaped by erosion and rain. What you don’t see is just as important, too. Only 1.5 percent of Titan is covered in lakes (methane, not water), and the distinct lack of impact craters suggests the surface is comparatively young.

The map should help researchers address some of Titan’s mysteries, such as its seasonal changes and why certain features are located where they are. Its lakes may be dictated by Saturn’s elliptical orbit around the Sun, for instance. Moreover, the map could provide vital intelligence for the Dragonfly mission. NASA’s team may have a better sense of where the lander should go, not to mention a good idea of what to expect when it touches down.

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Microsoft gets US license to resume selling software to Huawei

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The Commerce Department has shown a willingness to bend on its stance in a few instances, offering temporary licenses to keep gear running. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has also hinted for a while that some companies would get approvals for licenses, although he also warned that many would likely be shot down.

Google hasn’t received a license so far, though, and that’s having an effect on Huawei’s business. Without that approval, Huawei has to ship Android phones without Google apps regardless of where they’ll be sold. That could easily be interpreted as a disadvantage for shoppers who expect Chrome, Gmail and other mainstay Google apps on their handsets.

Not that American officials are likely to sympathize. They’re primarily concerned about the potential for Huawei to aid China in spying on American cellular networks, and phones could theoretically contribute to that. The US hasn’t presented evidence of active Chinese surveillance, but the mere suspicion of it has guided American policies as of late. Unless Google and Huawei can convince officials that the phones aren’t threats, the two companies will be out of luck for the foreseeable future.

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