First Look Media launches Topic, to provide a more meaningful streaming service
Topic from First Look Media officially went live on Thursday, and it’s not your average streaming service. Here, you’ll find thoughtfully curated content as an additional component to your entertainment life: Everything from three-minute shorts, to documentaries, monologues, original series, and more.
Trump asks Apple to build out 5G in U.S. That’s not how it works
In a recent visit to Apple’s Mac Pro manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, President Donald Trump asked Apple CEO, Tim Cook, to help build 5G in the U.S…even though Apple is not a cellular carrier. Trump tweeted about his visit to the facility and how Apple should get involved with building 5G connection.
Forget about buying business supplies, Amazon’s happy to restock for you
Amazon wants you to be able to restock office supplies more efficiently with its new Dash Smart Shelf. The shelf is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart scale that has weight-sensing technology to track inventory. The shelf tracks the stock for a product, and once it senses that item is running low, it re-orders it for you.
Scientists want to send a $2 billion flagship-class mission to Venus
Scientists are hoping to convince NASA to send a flagship mission to Venus in order to learn more about the planet’s past and if how habitable it could have been. The flagship mission is most expensive class of a NASA project, and scientists want to go deeper into the research of habitability on Venus.
Amazon looks to expand its cashier-free Go tech to supermarkets, pop-up stores
Supermarket cashiers would be a thing of the past at Amazon Go’s new supermarkets and popup stores slated to open next year. Amazon is reportedly expanding from its Go convenience stores to enter the supermarket realm and is looking to license out its technology to expand to even more retailers.
Uber thinks you’ll trade privacy for greater safety with new recording feature
Your Uber rides will soon be audio recorded as part of a new security feature aimed at increasing riders’ safety. Uber will begin to pilot the audio-recording feature in cars in Latin America starting in December, with the feature eventually rolling out to U.S. riders pending state-by-state approval.
Clean-energy startup backed by Bill Gates hopes to replace fossil fuels
A startup backed by Bill Gates has found a way to combine artificial intelligence and solar energy to create extreme heat, essentially replacing the need for fossil fuels. Heliogen used A.I.-powered mirrors that can generate extreme heat -- more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit -- for the first time commercially.
New York sues Juul for allegedly ‘glamorizing vaping’ and targeting teens
Adding on to the extensive list of lawsuits, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a new lawsuit against Juul. The lawsuit alleges that Juul illegally sold its vaping products to underage smokers, and that the company’s advertising campaign does not mention that its products contain nicotine.
NASA discovers water vapor — and maybe more — on Jupiter’s moon Europa
NASA has confirmed that one of Jupiter’s 79 moons, Europa, has water vapor above its surface, and possibly even a liquid water ocean, providing more evidence that the moon has the ingredients necessary for life. Scientists say that above the surface of Europa, there are plume-like configurations of water vapor.
Disney adds disclaimer to movies on Disney+ with racist caricatures
Disney+ debuted with all the classic Disney animated movies you know and love like Dumbo, Fantasia, and more. Since its launch on Tuesday, subscribers are noticing certain films’ descriptions come with a disclaimer added on by Disney. The disclaimer reads that "It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
Tesla gets permit to start production in Chinese factory
Tesla received a permit to begin production of Model 3 sedans at its “Gigafactory” in Shanghai. The factory will be the first plant in China that’s owned by a foreign carmaker, and it will be Tesla’s first factory outside of the U.S. The Shanghai Gigafactory is one of four facilities that Tesla has running/in the works.
Disney+ already has more than 10 million subscribers since launch
Disney+ may have launched with a few technical hiccups, but the company said that the new streaming service had 10 million sign-ups since its launch on Tuesday. The 10 million figure only counts subscribers who signed up since the November 12 launch date, including free trials.
Google will offer checking accounts as latest tech company to enter finance
Google is the latest tech company to enter the financial world by offering checking accounts starting next year. Google’s financial project, dubbed as Cache, would have accounts run by Citigroup. The financial institutions would be the main focus on Cache, rather than Google creating a separate financial brand.
Elon Musk says Tesla will build a European Gigafactory outside of Berlin
Tesla is adding another engineering and design center location, as well as another “Gigafactory,” in Berlin, Germany. The latest Gigafactory joins other facilities in Nevada and New York, as well one in Shanghai that's currently under construction. Musk said it would be located near a Berlin airport.
The Simpsons is in the wrong aspect ratio on Disney+ and it’s cutting off jokes
Disney+ debuted Tuesday with nearly every episode of The Simpsons available to binge, but not everyone is happy with the fact that the show's early seasons can only be streamed in widescreen. A majority of the episodes have been cropped for that aspect ratio, cutting out some of the show's visual gags.
Libra Lite? Facebook Pay is the social network’s latest foray into finance
Facebook introduced a new payment system called Facebook Pay that would be accessible with Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Facebook Pay is meant to make in-app purchases and transfer payments from person to person, make purchases on select pages or businesses, as well as on Facebook Marketplace.
Apple removes Like Patrol’s Instagram ‘stalking app’ from the App Store
The Like Patrol app that alerts you when your Instagram followers like or comment on a photo has been removed from Apple’s App Store for violating its guidelines. Like Patrol has received criticism as a stalking app since it lets its subscribers see every move that the people they follow make.
Disney+ problems: Demand crashes service just hours after debut
On the much-anticipated debut day of Disney+, many subscribers are experiencing glitches with the service and are unable to properly connect to the platform. Many subscribers are reporting an error message that says “unable to connect," while other users are unable to see the Disney+ app in Apple’s App Store.
Juul discontinues sales of its mint-flavored pods
Juul is discontinuing its sales of mint Juul pods, citing studies released from different surveys. The announcement comes a week after a lawsuit claims Juul shipped out one million batches of contaminated mint e-liquid. The company said that all sales of mint-flavored Juul pods would cease both online and in stores.
Boeing wants to get to the moon in as few steps as possible
Boeing submitted a proposal to NASA for a human lander concept that would deliver astronauts to the moon in the fewest steps possible. The proposal is part of NASA’s Artemis program and is meant to reduce the number of segments that need to be sent into orbit—from 11 mission-critical events to five.
Ring doorbell security flaw opened the door to hackers
Amazon Ring has fixed a security vulnerability in its Ring doorbell that could have potentially allowed hackers to get Wi-Fi passwords and access homeowners’ networks to organize a larger attack on the network. Bitdefender found the vulnerability when the Ring doorbell is first configured to a Wi-Fi network.
Airbnb to verify every single listing by end of 2020 to bolster guests’ safety
Airbnb announced a new safety initiative for its customers that will verify every single Airbnb listing around the globe. The safety updates include 100% verification of listings, a guest money-back guarantee, a 24/7 Neighbor Hotline, and risk scoring. The company said it hopes to bring back trust to its community.
Documents show Facebook used user data as bargaining chip against competitors
Leaked documents show that Facebook used user data as a bargaining tool for its advertising partners and leveraged the data against its competitors. Facebook would whitelist or blacklist companies from using valuable user data based on advertising spending or if the company was a direct competitor of Facebook.
At $2 million per launch, SpaceX’s Starship brings cost of space down to earth
SpaceX’s much-anticipated Starship rocket could only cost $2 million per mission. Elon Musk said that the reusable passenger spaceship would cost $900,000 worth of fuel per launch, which added in with other costs, comes out to about a $2 million price tag -- a drop in the bucket in terms of space dollars.
Some Samsung smart TVs won’t be compatible with Netflix starting in December
Netflix subscribers with certain Samsung smart TVs won’t be able to stream their favorite binge-worthy shows on the streaming service beginning December 1. Samsung attributed the removal of Netflix from specific devices to “technical limitations."
Tesla reaches settlement with Walmart to bring solar panel suit to an end
Walmart announced it dropped its lawsuit against Tesla over malfunctioning solar panels manufactured by the company that resulted in fires. A Walmart spokesperson said that a settlement has been reached between the two companies and the stipulation of dismissal has been filed with the court.
Facebook wants you to take a selfie in order to verify your identity
Facebook is reportedly working on facial-recognition software that would verify the identities of users trying to access the app. Jane Manchun Wong tweeted out a prototype of Facebook’s facial-recognition identity login, which asks users to take a selfie by looking in different directions.
Disney+ will run an ad at launch, but it won’t interrupt your movies
Disney+ and ESPN+ subscribers will have to see some display ads in order for Disney to buy back the rights to some of its TV shows and movies, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The ads will reportedly prompt subscribers to sign up for Starz. Disney will run the ads on its streaming service and ESPN+.
Artificial intelligence can now identify a bird just by looking at a photo
A new A.I. tool can identify up to 200 different species of birds just by looking at one photo. The technology comes from a team from Duke University that used over 11,000 photos of 200 bird species to teach a machine to differentiate them. The goal is to use the tech to classify areas in medical images
Facebook’s fact-checkers think the platform’s political ads should be vetted
One of Facebook’s content moderators plans to ask the social network to change its policies on political ads to allow for them to be fact-checked. The fact-checking organization Lead Stories will urge Facebook in a meeting next week to start fact-checking political ads by a nonpartisan panel.
ACLU sues government organizations over facial-recognition software
The ACLU is taking action against facial-recognition software by suing the DOJ, the DEA, and the FBI. The ACLU recently filed a complaint against the three federal organizations over their failure to release requested records and policies on facial-recognition software use.
Disney+ streaming service reportedly already has over 1 million subscribers
Even though Disney+ doesn’t launch until November 12, it reportedly already has a lot of subscribers. New data from Jumpshot reveals that over one million people were tracked on the Disney+ sign-up page and made a purchase through the site between August 25 and October 14.