Friday, 20 April 2018

The Morning After: Bad news for MoviePass and Silicon Valley's scooter scourge

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Friday, April 20, 2018.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

To all those celebrating a holiday, we salute you and offer a few recommendations. For everyone, we’ve got some very expected news about Google and messaging, along with a possible end to Silicon Valley’s scooter infestation.

We're upgrading Engadget's daily newsletter and want to hear from you.

Tell us exactly what you think by emailing us at themorningafter(at)engadget.com.

Allo must die so that RCS-powered texting can live.

Google will plug 'Chat' into Android to compete with iMessage

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Google is planning another mobile messaging push. According to The Verge, it’s preparing to push “Chat,” which isn’t an app but is a brand name for the RCS technology that’s almost ready to replace SMS for carrier messaging. It will live in the Android Messaging app (or other texting apps built into your phone), ready to enhance your missives with iMessage-like extra features as long as the person you’re talking to has a compatible carrier/device.

Happy Earth Day.

Nest Power Project will give away smart thermostats to low-income families

This Earth Day, Nest Labs, Inc. will launch a new initiative called The Power Project that will help get Nest E thermostats in the hands of one million lower- and middle-income Americans. If you’d like to help, it will also match donations to participating organizations in your area.

The champ is here.

Motorola aims to keep the cheap phone crown with the G6 and G6 Play

Once again, Motorola has refreshed its value-priced G line. While the G6 Plus isn’t coming to the US this time around, the standard $250 G6 holds the line with its 18:9 5.7-inch display, 1.8GHz octa-core CPU, dual-lens rear camera and 32GB or 64GB versions. The $200 G6 Play brings a larger battery, lower-res screen and slower CPU that emphasizes efficiency over power.

Too good to last?

MoviePass’s finances don’t paint a pretty picture

Another shocker here: MoviePass’ plan to buy tickets at full price for subscribers that pay $9.95 per month to watch unlimited flicks has left an outside auditor with “substantial doubt” about the company’s health.

Just add a flat surface.

Play ‘Star Wars’ holochess in augmented reality on your iPhone

With an ARKit-powered update to the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app on iOS, you'll be able to play iconic holochess on any flat surface -- now without a headset -- and still enjoy the holographic visual trickery that wowed audiences of the original movie back in 1977.

But wait, there's more...

1. The Moto E5 Plus is Motorola's biggest budget phone yet

2. Bill Gates, SoftBank and Airbus back EarthNow live stream satellite plan

3. Silicon Valley's scooter scourge is coming to an end

4. Now Apple Watch can unlock August smart locks

5. Google's Grasshopper app teaches you how to code in Javascript

6. Qualcomm will lay off 1,500 workers to cut expenses

7. Meet Apple's newest iPhone recycling robot, 'Daisy'

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Thursday, 19 April 2018

E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Thursday -- April 19, 2018

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Amazon, Best Buy Unite on Smart TV Strategy
Planned Apple News Subscription Service Could Address Fake News, Pay Walls
Closing the Enterprise Security Skills Gap
Demandbase Debuts ABM Analytics for Optimal Marketing Performance

Message From Our Sponsor
If you have an online store there are many trends to pay attention to:
where people shop, reasons for cart abandonment, actions taken to
qualify for free shipping, return preferences, and more. Check out
this Infographic about where the industry is, where it's headed,
and how to navigate the e-commerce landscape.
http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/?crid=10118/ecommerce_infographic

Today's Story Highlights

Amazon, Best Buy Unite on Smart TV Strategy

Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer for Amazon's next generation of
Fire TV Edition smart TVs in the U.S. and Canada, under a new multiyear
partnership. Best Buy will carry more than 10 4K and HD Fire TV Edition
models starting this summer. The new smart TVs will feature the Fire TV
experience built-in, allowing viewers to enjoy live TV programming as
well as streaming content.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85288.html

Planned Apple News Subscription Service Could Address Fake News, Pay Walls

Apple plans to launch a news subscription service within the next year.
The new service reportedly will combine features from its recent Texture
acquisition and Apple's existing news app. Texture's technology and its
employees will be integrated into the Apple News team, which will build
the new service. The company will split revenues with publishers.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85287.html

Closing the Enterprise Security Skills Gap

The security skills gap has become a topic of acute interest among
practitioners responsible for building security teams for their
organizations -- and keeping them running smoothly. It impacts
everything from how they staff, how they cultivate and develop their
workforces, and how they train, to the operational controls they put in
place, and potentially numerous other things.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85285.html

Demandbase Debuts ABM Analytics for Optimal Marketing Performance

Demandbase officially announced ABM Analytics during its annual ABM
Innovation Summit. The new tech, part of the company's account-based
marketing platform, leverages its account identification technology to
help marketers analyze performance from advertising to pipeline and
revenue figures. "AI gives B2B marketers a clear view into the behavior
of their target accounts," said CMO Peter Isaacson.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85284.html

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Tech News Flash

Tech News Flash: Thursday -- April 19, 2018

TechNewsWorld -- All Tech - All The Time
http://www.TechNewsWorld.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
The Electronics Industry: A Pawn in the US vs. China Chess Game
34 Firms to Join Cybersecurity Tech Accord
Vulnerabilities Abound in Popular Android Apps: Report
Swedish Sounds, Cool Phones, and Smart Switches

Message From Our Sponsor
If you have an online store there are many trends to pay attention to:
where people shop, reasons for cart abandonment, actions taken to
qualify for free shipping, return preferences, and more. Check out
this Infographic about where the industry is, where it's headed,
and how to navigate the e-commerce landscape.
http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/?crid=10118/ecommerce_infographic

Today's Story Highlights

The Electronics Industry: A Pawn in the US vs. China Chess Game

Rising tensions between China and the United States have led to growing
concerns that a tariff war will have a negative impact on the
electronics industry. Amazingly, the industry has been spared thus far,
and with good reason. However, even if tariffs aren't imposed, there is
a silent battle between the two countries that already has impacted the
global electronics ecosystem.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85290.html

34 Firms to Join Cybersecurity Tech Accord

Microsoft, Oracle and Facebook, along with 31 other companies, have
signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an agreement aimed at defending
against cyberattacks, whether coming from rogue hackers or nation-
states. The 34 tech firms committed to stronger defenses, no offensive
attacks, capacity building and collective action. Security remains a
major issue in the tech world.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85283.html

Vulnerabilities Abound in Popular Android Apps: Report

About 20 percent of the most popular Android Apps available through the
Google Play Store contain open source components with known security
vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers, according to a report
Insignary will release next week. The findings are the result of the
company's recent comprehensive binary code scan of the 700 most popular
Android Apps on the Google Play Store.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85286.html

Swedish Sounds, Cool Phones, and Smart Switches

Not quite content with furnishing every other aspect of our homes, IKEA
has continued its push into smart home territory with its first
Bluetooth speaker. The Eneby comes in two sizes: 8 x 8 and 12 x 12
inches. You can use it as a portable speaker with up to 10 hours of
battery life with the optional $20 battery, and there's a handle for
added portability.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85279.html

News Alerts From ECT News Network
Get the day's top business and technology news delivered
to your inbox as stories break. Sign up today -- it's free!
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How to Advertise in This Newsletter
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The Morning After: TESS takes off and Russia battles Telegram

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, April 19, 2018.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Twitch has a tiny Russian problem, and Intel has pulled the plug on its smart glasses. We also have an update on what Pornhub is (not) doing about deepfake videos and everything you need to know about last night’s SpaceX launch.

We're upgrading Engadget's daily newsletter and want to hear from you. Tell us exactly what you think by emailing us at themorningafter(at)engadget.com.

Just two years late.

Paul Allen’s massive Stratolaunch may finally take off this summer

With a wingspan measuring 385 feet, the 500,000-pound, twin-fuselage Stratolaunch is the largest plane in the world. And at the 34th Space Symposium, its makers revealed they’re planning its first test flights. First, though, it will need to hit 80 and then 138 MPH during on-ground taxi tests.

And Twitch gets caught in the crossfire.

Russia stops at nothing to silence Telegram

In order to block Telegram's access in the country, Russia has indiscriminately blocked the better part of two million IP addresses owned by Google and Amazon, which means other services that use the same hosts are also at risk of disruption. Amazon-owned Twitch has noticeably felt the effects, and until the situation with Telegram is resolved, VPNs may be the best way for Russian viewers to tune in.

Lack of investment.

Intel cancels its subtle smart glasses project

When Intel showed off its Vaunt smart glasses (aka Superlight, internally) back in February, we had high hopes for a new wave of wearable tech that wouldn't turn us into Borgs. Alas, according to The Information's source, word has it that the chip maker is closing the group responsible for wearable devices, which, sadly, included the Vaunt. This was later confirmed by Intel in a statement, which hinted at a lack of investment due to "market dynamics." Indeed, Bloomberg had earlier reported that Intel was looking to sell a majority stake in this division, which had about 200 employees and was valued at $350 million.

It’s a frantic first-person account of losing a sibling in a terrorist attack.

‘The Loss Levels’ is a game about shock, grief and powerlessness

It isn't beautiful or challenging, competitive or replayable. The Loss Levels isn't even fun. The game, commissioned for London’s Games Festival, puts the player in the aftermath of last year’s Manchester Arena bombing and tells the personal story of developer Dan Hett, who lost his brother in the terror attack that claimed 23 lives, including that of the bomber.

The Kepler successor is on its way to orbit.

SpaceX launches NASA's planet-finding spacecraft, TESS

NASA's new planet-hunting Kepler successor, TESS, is on its way to orbit. SpaceX has successfully launched the spacecraft with its Falcon 9 rocket. The TESS spacecraft will remain in an elongated orbit of the Earth, 67,000 miles away, at the very least, to keep it well outside of the Van Allen radiation belts. While it can keep an eye on an area 400 times greater than Kepler's field of view, it will focus on finding planets from nearby systems.

If there was any will, there'd be a way.

Our democracy is broken. Why can't technology fix it?

Turnout for presidential elections hasn't topped 65 percent of the eligible population in the past 100 years nor has it even come close to cracking 50 percent for midterms over the same period. During the 2016 election, just 63 percent of the US civilian voting-age population showed up at the polls, according to the US Election Assistance Commission, with just five states -- Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Oregon -- managing to break 70 percent participation. Aside from allowing early and absentee votes, little of our electoral system has changed in 118 years. Tech could help. If people wanted it to.

Mid-game AI coaching.

Alexa can help improve your skills in ‘Call of Duty: WWII’

Beside recapping NBA and NHL scores, Amazon’s Alexa can now summarize how you did in your last Call of Duty: WWII match, too. The new skill, in beta, will use AI and machine learning to give personalized tips to improve your play in, of course, a soldier-sounding voice. Ten hut.

The skill considers several factors, like accuracy, movement, engagement distance, relationship distance and the all-important kill-death ratio, to make custom recommendations. Users can ask for them in the middle of a match or simply as a performance summary at the end. It’s like a robotic pro-gamer buddy with patience.

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