Thursday, 6 June 2019

Amazon drones, live-action Excel and life after iTunes

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, June 06, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

In the lull between WWDC and E3 (remember to tune in for Google’s Stadia announcement at noon ET), Amazon’s showing off new delivery drones, Uber Copter is ready to take flight and there’s some very exciting news about Microsoft Excel.

(View in browser.)

The company expects to have these in use within "months."

Amazon's new delivery drone is a helicopter-airplane hybrid

The new delivery drone Amazon showed off is a "hybrid design" that can take off and land vertically like a typical hexacopter drone, but it has aerodynamics (and thus efficiency) more like that of a fixed-wing aircraft. More importantly, it's safer -- and we're not just talking about the protective shroud that doubles as wings. Amazon is still aiming for drones with a 15-mile range and an ability to haul packages under 5lbs to customers within 30 minutes.

Who wants to go back to radio?

Spotify Stations is the Pandora alternative we need

Spotify made its Pandora-esque Stations app available in the US this week. The premise is simple: Lightweight software that breaks out Spotify's radio feature into a standalone app for easy access. Basically, it allows you to quickly fire up a music shuffle with minimal taps, instead of having to hunt through the full version to get to it. According to Billy Steele, it’s "surprisingly useful."

Hot, live spreadsheet action.

Microsoft Excel can provide real-time stock data

Microsoft has teamed with Nasdaq and market-info provider Refinitiv to bring real-time stock data to Excel spreadsheets in Office 365. Type in a stock symbol, click Stocks and you can fill cells with real-time data like the price, last trade times and 52-week highs or lows. They can be used in formulas, too.

Turn up the heat on Father's Day with the Heated Razor from GilletteLabs. Limited quantities available.

When style is just as important as sound.

A closer look at the Bose 700 noise-cancelling headphones

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 feature a newly designed stainless steel headband that gives them a more stylish and thinner look than the QuietComfort line. Bose says the wireless 700s were designed from the ground up, and, compared to the QC35 IIs, they also have all-new drivers, ear cushions and USB-C support.

There are eight microphones on the 700s, four on each earcup, and they work together to reject ambient noise around you as you move. The goal is to make your voice sound perfectly clear, especially when you're in a place with a lot of noise. They will launch June 30th with a price of $399.

Wondering how you’ll live without iTunes? We can explain.

Apple explains the future of iTunes on macOS Catalina

The new Apple Music app will serve as home to all the music you've imported or purchased, to all the music and smart playlists you've created in iTunes, as well as to the iTunes Store itself.

Nine years later, the acclaimed indie developer is back.

The magnificent reappearing act of Richard Hofmeier

Richard Hofmeier was an early superstar of modern indie games. In 2010, he released Cart Life, an unassuming, grayscale title that he described as, "a retail simulation for Windows." Cart Life became an underground hit and then a mainstream success. It landed on Steam in 2012, and in 2013 won three Independent Games Festival Awards over titles like Gone Home, Hotline Miami and FTL. Hofmeier was the first-ever winner of the Excellence in Narrative prize, plus he secured the $5,000 Nuovo award for innovation and the $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

And then, over the next few years, he vanished.

But wait, there's more...

1. Uber Copter's $200 flights launch in NYC on July 9th

2. 'Pokémon Sword' and 'Shield' come to Nintendo Switch on November 15th

3. LG's first 8K OLED TV is as big as it is expensive

4. Samsung's customizable refrigerator comes in nine colors and eight sizes

5. 19 million patient records were stolen from Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp

6. Cadillac adds 70,000 miles to its Super Cruise hands-free driving maps

7. Siri will play third-party audio apps in iOS 13

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.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.

Our mailing address is:
AOL
770 Broadway #4
New York, NY 10003

You are receiving this email because you opted in at engadget.com.

Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe from this newsletter.

Wednesday, 5 June 2019

Tech News Flash

Tech News Flash: Wednesday -- June 5, 2019

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

Headline Scan
Apple Highlights User Experience in New OS Lineup
Apple Spotlights Privacy, Big Iron at WWDC
AMD Slam-Dunks Intel at Computex and It's a Good Thing
Leveraging Live Video Streaming, the Great Democratizer

Message From Our Sponsor
Are Facebook and Google Ads Draining Your Budget?
A new department for Online Retailers is now open on ALL EC.
If you sell merchandise online get listed today to promote your
ecommerce business. Free membership available for companies of all sizes.
Check it out: https://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/?crid=10247/ALL_EC

Today's Story Highlights

Apple Highlights User Experience in New OS Lineup

Apple dangled the next versions of iOS, macOS and watchOS before
developers' eyes during the keynote event at its World Wide Developers
Conference in San Jose, California. In this round of operating system
upgrades, Apple seems focused on improvements. "They're polishing a
number of aspects of the operating systems, " said Ross Rubin, principal
analyst at Reticle Research.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86056.html

Apple Spotlights Privacy, Big Iron at WWDC

Privacy, a new muscular Mac Pro workstation, and the debut of iPadOS
were topline items at Apple's WWDC keynote. During its more than two-
hour presentation, Apple emphasized new features in its products aimed
at protecting users' data and privacy. "At Apple, we believe privacy is
a fundamental human right and we engineer it into everything we do,"
Craig Federighi told the enthusiastic crowd.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86054.html

AMD Slam-Dunks Intel at Computex and It's a Good Thing

Like a lot of folks, I'm a tad sick of Intel. Last month we learned of
its second big security scandal in as many years. Once again, the
company not only neglected to disclose the problems in a timely way but
also lacked a plan to recall the failed parts. Once again, buyers likely
will have to cripple their Intel processors if they want to use them
safely.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86048.html

Leveraging Live Video Streaming, the Great Democratizer

When live streaming first started to roll out across multiple social
media platforms, it remained pretty unclear how this new technology
would interface with Internet users. More often a source for friends to
include one another on events they're missing out on, frequent uses of
live video streaming felt experimental in nature. What was it all about?
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86050.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!
http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/?crid=2202/News_Alerts

How to Advertise in This Newsletter
To advertise in this newsletter or elsewhere on ECT News Network,
please call our sales department toll-free at (877) 328-5500, or view
our online media kit at
https://www.ectnews.com/advertising/

Subscribing and Unsubscribing
You are receiving the Tech News Flash in response to your request
on the TechNewsWorld Web site for our daily newsletter. If you wish
to make changes to your newsletter subscription, or if you wish to
receive other free newsletters from the ECT News Network, please click
here: Newsletter Management Wizard

If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you wish to subscribe to
this FREE newsletter, please use our newsletter sign-up wizard:
http://www.ectnews.com/perl/newsletter_registration.pl/

Feedback
We welcome your feedback. Contact us online at
https://www.ectnews.com/perl/contact_form.pl?to=editorial

Follow Us

WWDC reactions to iOS, macOS and an expensive monitor stand

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Wednesday, June 05, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

We’re not done with WWDC yet. Now that Apple showed off some new toys, we’re ready to walk through its updated software and discuss whether or not we’re impressed by the expensive new hardware.

(View in browser.)

The Touch Bar, the trash can and now this.

A $999 monitor stand is everything wrong with Apple today

Here's the thing: The Pro Display XDR stand seems nice. Devindra Hardawar explains what the crowd at WWDC was thinking when it heard the price of Apple’s latest attempt "to upsell attractive tech that ultimately doesn't do much for users."

And they didn’t think to call it Axe-box?

Xbox body wash is a necessary and terrible idea

Microsoft is partnering with body-wash maker Lynx -- an alternate brand name used by Axe in some countries -- to create an Xbox-branded collection of personal-care products. The lineup will include a body spray, deodorant and shower gel.

Blurring the line between Mac and iOS.

macOS Catalina first look: Sidecar, Project Catalyst and Voice Control

In this video, we’ll take a look at macOS Catalina and three of its more notable features: Sidecar (for using an iPad as a secondary display); Project Catalyst (allowing developers to easily port over iOS apps to the Mac) and Voice Control (allowing people with limited mobility to fully navigate the operating system with voice commands). Obviously, we'll be back this summer with a preview of the beta, followed by a full review of the complete and final software in the fall.

Turn up the heat on Father's Day with the Heated Razor from GilletteLabs. Limited quantities available.

Spend five minutes with the iPhone’s next big update.

iOS 13 first look: Dark Mode, Maps and more

The upside to sticking around WWDC after the keynote is that we got to spend a little time seeing how some of the update's biggest enhancements work. While we couldn't actually fiddle with the software, we did get a pretty solid sense of what really matters in iOS 13 -- that dark mode is seriously easy on the eyes, and the ability to sign into apps and services with your Apple ID seems like it could be a game-changer for people who care about their privacy.

Finally, software that lives up to the tablet’s hardware.

iPadOS first look: Desktop-class browsing, better multitasking and more

Rather than dig into every single feature that's going into iPadOS -- we're still trying to sort through all of them -- we cooked up a handy video primer to walk you through some of the update's most important features. That new home screen is nice and all, but improved multitasking, a new approach to file management and a much-improved web browsing experience in Safari go a long way in making the iPad feel like a machine worth using for work and play.

Now you and a friend can dodge traffic, curbs and pedestrians together.

Bird is adding a shareable electric motorcycle to its fleet

The Bird Cruiser is described as a "seated electric vehicle" that can carry up to two adults at a time. You'll get a padded seat, a choice of pedals or pegs for your feet and hydraulic disc brakes to ensure safe stopping. What could possibly go wrong?

There are still some tough questions that need to be answered.

Experts weigh in on Apple's private sign-in feature

Can Apple truly handle privacy better than Google and Facebook? To find out, we spoke to security and privacy experts about Sign in with Apple, most of whom believe the feature could be a game-changer for protecting consumers' privacy. According to U of M professor Florian Schaub, “The ability to easily generate random email addresses and Apple handling the management of those credentials will make it much easier for consumers to protect their personal information when interacting with mobile apps and online services.”

The first tests will occur on Chevy Bolt EVs in Michigan later this year.

GM and Michelin will bring airless tires to passenger cars by 2024

A mix of composite rubber and resin embedded fiberglass lets Michelin’s Uptis operate at highway speeds -- earlier options tend to work only when you're slowly putting around. They're not as visually appealing as conventional tires, but Michelin claims they're just as comfortable.