Month: April 2020

Even high-level executives might have had access. Amazon’s policies forbid it from using sellers’ data to undermine their own products, but the practical reality might be very different. Wall Street Journal sources say Amazon employees have been using proprietary seller data to help design and price in-house products, including decisions to enter certain categories. To develop a car trunk … Continue reading Amazon allegedly used sellers’ data to make competing products Continue Reading →

Spot is allowing healthcare workers to remotely triage potential cases. We’ve seen Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robot navigate an office, hold the door for a friend, pull a rickshaw and haul a box truck, but its most impressive feat yet might be protecting healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Boston Dynamics announced that its Spot robots are allowing healthcare … Continue reading Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is chipping in to help COVID-19 patients Continue Reading →

Advertising is coming to WhatsApp, but maybe not anytime soon. Facebook hasn’t abandoned its plans to put ads in WhatsApp. The Information reports that Facebook will push ahead with ads in WhatsApp in the future, once it’s completed its plan to unify its messaging apps. The new details come after the Wall Street Journal reported in January that the company had put WhatsApp advertising … Continue reading Facebook still plans to put ads in WhatsApp Continue Reading →

SpaceX asks FCC to approve lower orbits to boost coverage, minimize space debris.   SpaceX will start testing Starlink broadband service in a private beta in about three months and make it available in a public beta about six months from now, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter yesterday. The first beta trials will occur … Continue reading SpaceX to offer Starlink public beta in six months, Musk says Continue Reading →

After being called out by the US Public Interest Research Group. After being called out by the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), more ventilator manufacturers are sharing critical repair information. Last month, the PIRG asked device manufacturers to release all repair documentation for essential medical equipment being used to diagnose and treat COVID-19. Since then, GE, … Continue reading Ventilator companies are opening up critical repair documents to the public Continue Reading →

It could sanitize both hard and soft surfaces. A team of engineering professors from the University of Michigan have created a plasma jet wand that they believe could quickly and easily disinfect hospital rooms. The ion-emitting device looks something like a Ghostbusters’ proton packs, and its plasma beam can destroy bacteria and viruses in just seconds. The device produces … Continue reading Portable ‘cold plasma’ wand prototype could destroy germs in seconds Continue Reading →

Other Mustang drag racers have gone that fast, but none as quietly.     The battery-powered Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype is purpose-built and projected to deliver over 1,400 horsepower and over 1,100 ft.-lbs. of instant torque to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments.  Ford   … Continue reading Ford builds a 1,400hp electric Mustang drag racer Continue Reading →

The voice AI will be able to better identify the user engaging with it. Google is making it easier to get personalized results from Assistant even if you share a device with multiple users. The tech giant has upgraded Assistant’s Voice Match feature so that your device can more accurately identify the person speaking to it. Voice … Continue reading Google Assistant tweak boosts its ability to recognize your voice Continue Reading →