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Waymo will test its self-driving taxis on employees in California

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There are some restrictions, of course. Waymo can’t charge for these rides, and every vehicle must have a safety driver behind the wheel. Interestingly, the CPUC will allow Waymo to contract out its safety driver operations to a third party — a decision prompted by Waymo’s assessment that operating and scaling a “meaningful pilot” requires a large group of drivers who are “more efficiently engaged.” They will still go through Waymo’s proprietary driver training program.

This isn’t the first milestone for Waymo in its bid to roll out a nationwide service — the company launched its first commercial ride-hailing offering last year in Arizona, where there’s less regulatory red tape for companies to deal with. Nor is this the first permit of its kind to be issued in California — Zoox scored that accolade in December last year. Nonetheless, the news represents an important advance for Waymo’s efforts in the state, where the race is perpetually on to achieve firsts in what is essentially the tech capital of America.

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Android notifications arrive on Windows 10 ‘Your Phone’ app

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The feature was a much-hyped update to the Your Phone app, which also allows you to respond to messages and do other chores. On top of that, Microsoft will eventually roll out something called “notification chasing” for the app that will allow you to click on your Android notifications from Windows 10. It’ll then mirror your phone’s screen on the desktop and let you respond and take other actions, according to Thurrott.

The feature has been in Insider testing since April. The rollout has already reached about half of PCs, and should be complete in a week. If you want to give it a shot, you’ll need the Windows 10 April 2018 update or later, and you can download the latest Your Phone app here.



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Apple’s new iOS 13 feature corrects your gaze during video calls

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A video call is a great way to connect with friends and family when you can’t physically be together. But even if you’re staring directly at your loved one’s face, there’s still something a little off about the whole process. The way your phone’s screen display and camera lens sync up means you’re never quite able to look your conversational partner squarely in the eye. Until now, that is. Apple is allegedly working on a new feature that subtly adjusts your gaze during video calls, so it appears as if you’re looking into the camera when you’re actually looking at the screen.

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Logitech G teases Blue gaming headphones on the way

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Late last year Logitech acquired Blue Microphones, and a tweet indicates their next combo project is for gamers. We’ve already seen the debut of the Blue Ember XLR microphone for streamers, but it seems likely that this Logitech G product will actually be a new set of Blue-designed headphones for the gaming lineup. All we can see is a logo that’s probably located on an ear cup — that bears little resemblance to the older A Logitech G933 gaming headset pictured above — but what they’ll sound like is what matters, and Blue has come through on that front before.

Expect them to be unveiled July 9th — the usual set of streamers and influencers are already touting the unveiling date on their Twitch channels and social media profiles — when we should find out how these will help you get more kills and/or talk to the folks in the stream chat a little more clearly.



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US lawmakers tell Facebook to halt the launch of its Libra cryptocurrency

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“We write to request that Facebook and its partners immediately agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on Libra — its proposed cryptocurrency and Calibra — its proposed digital wallet,” the committee wrote. “It appears that these products may lend themselves to an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intends to rival US monetary currency and the dollar. This raises serious privacy, trading, national security and monetary policy concerns for not only Facebook’s over 2 billion users, but also for investors, consumers and the global economy.”

Facebook launched Libra last month as a way to “make it easy for everyone to send and receive money just like you use our apps to instantly share messages and photos,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote. The plan is to eventually cede control to an independent consortium of over 100 companies, with players like MasterCard, Visa, Uber and Spotify already having tentatively signed on.

However, the launch of the Libra and Calibra was immediately met with extreme skepticism, especially considering the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other user privacy issues. Critics pointed out that Calibra’s terms of service indicate that Facebook could use it to share user information and account data in certain circumstances. And given Facebook’s billions of users, it could make the company a key player in digital payments, increasing its already enormous sway in society.

Facebook said that Libra “will be regulated like other payment service providers” and firewalled off from Facebook itself. However, neither the House Financial Services Committee, led by Democrats, nor the Republican controlled Senate Banking Committee, are convinced.

“If products and services like these are left improperly regulated and without sufficient oversight, they could pose systemic risks that endanger U.S. and global financial stability,” Maxine Water wrote. “Because Facebook is already in the hands of over a quarter of the world’s population, it is imperative that Facebook and its partners immediately cease implementation plans until regulators and Congress have an opportunity to examine these risks and take action.”

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Apple reveals how often governments request App Store takedowns

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Meanwhile, Russia sent in 10 requests specifying 11 apps and Norway sent in one requesting the removal of 37 apps related to illegal gambling investigations. Saudi Arabia also just sent Apple one request, but it called for the removal of 25 apps that reportedly violated its privacy law. In all, Apple granted 75 of the 80 requests and took down 634 applications.

In addition, as TechCrunch noted, Apple has published five of the National Security Letters — administrative subpoena issued in the name of national security — it received from the US government for the first time. The non-disclosure orders have lifted for all five, allowing the tech giant to reveal its contents. Apple has also divulged that it received 29,183 requests seeking the details of customers associated with devices or device connections to Apple services in all. The highest number of device-based requests came from Germany (12,343), followed by the US (4,680).

TechCrunch says Apple promised to make its transparency reports even more comprehensive in the future. The next report due in mid-2020 will apparently include governments’ response to app-removal demands from localized app stores, as well.

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Chrome auto-fills your credit card details even without syncing browsers

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In a way, Chrome can enable your impulse buying habits by automatically filling out your payment details when you shop online. You used to have to sync your browser to access those details on all your devices, though — until now, that is. So long as you’re logged into a Google account when you first type out your payment details on Chrome, you’ll be able to access those details across devices (and anywhere Google Pay is accepted) even if you don’t switch on the browser’s sync feature.

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Uber Eats dine-in option lets you pre-order your food

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“We want to enable restaurants to focus on what they’re best at — making amazing food and providing top-notch service,” an Uber spokesperson wrote in a statement to Eater. “By allowing customers to order and pay in the app, we streamline the experience for both the customers and the restaurant.” Given that there are no drivers involved, diners aren’t charged a service or delivery fee for using the dine-in option. Uber does charge restaurants a fee for participating in the dine-in feature, but it’s less than the fee it charges for delivery.

It’s unclear exactly what kind of customer base Uber Eats is targeting with this feature — the truly time-strapped would probably just order delivery or at the very least, order for pick-up. It’s more likely that the dine-in feature is a way for Uber to make easy cash from restaurants that partner with its platform, without sacrificing any of its earnings to delivery drivers. For restaurants, the dine-in feature could be a way to fill empty tables. Finally, it could yield data on customer’s dining habits that will no doubt be valuable to Uber down the line.

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Galaxy Fold redesign is complete

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Still waiting for Samsung’s first foldable phone? Bloomberg cites anonymous sources saying that Samsung has completed a redesign of the Galaxy Fold in just two months. The protective film now covers the entire screen and stretches into the bezel so people can’t pull it off by accident, and hopefully reduce the appearance of a seam in the middle. Also, the hinge has reportedly undergone tweaking to make it flush with the display, and pushing the film up when the device is opened.

In case you’ve forgotten, the nearly $2,000 device was supposed to be on the market by now. But after multiple testers had problems with their review units in April, Samsung delayed its planned launch and the device has been in a holding pattern ever since.

Assuming that’s all accurate, and reworked parts will soon head to Vietnam for mass production, don’t expect to hear about a new launch date just yet. The Galaxy Note 10 will be revealed at Samsung’s Unpacked event in Brooklyn on August 7th, but the same sources said we won’t get a new date for the Fold at that time. All we know for now is that it’s intended to be ready for launch ahead of the holiday season.

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Tiny ‘walking’ motor could help robots build other robots

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It’s powerful, too. The initial design can lift seven times its own weight, but you can add more components for extra strength or to handle complex movements. And notably, you can scale the size of the parts to tackle very large or very tiny projects. Until now, you typically needed specialized methods to make motors work at either extreme.

While this is is just a “first step,” MIT sees vast potential. It could lead to standardized part sets that help assemble task-specific robots without needing to design new manufacturing bots every time. You could also see more extra-small robots capable of working in tight spaces. Either way, this could help robots transition from expensive, niche machines into something relatively commonplace.

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