Echo Dot & Fire TV Stick Top Prime Day; Uber & Lyft-Paid Drivers To Pimp Gig Status; Twitter Web Refresh & Dark Mode Roll Out; Next Gen Tesla Roadster-Hidden Thrusters & More

Prime Day…which is really Prime 2-days now, has winners and still champs when it comes to devices. According to techcrunch.com, the top selling gear was again the Echo Dot entry level smart speaker (for the 3rd year in a row) and the Fire TV Stick (which won Prime Day overall in 2016.) As usual, Amazon hasn’t provided hard numbers, but claims ‘millions’ were sold. The Echo Dot was already on sale at a low of $24.99 before the sale started, but Amazon cut it to $22. The Fire TV Stick was slashed to $14.99 with Alexa Voice Remote. Loss leaders….it gets ‘em in the door (or in this case, into clicking mode!) If your finger is itching for a Dot, you can still get it for $22 today, but the Charcoal color is sold out…you will have to get it in Sandstone.

Uber and Lyft are still trying to quash workers’ attempts to gain employee status. Now, engadget.com reports that the companies basically bribed drivers to protest in favor of the company position. According to an email the LA Times got hold of, the companies promised drivers between $25 and $100 if they attended a rally outside the state Capitol last Tuesday, prior to a hearing on Assembly Bill 5. The rally was a demonstration in support of changing the bill to allow continuation of classifying drivers as independent contractors. The email went to drivers from the I’m Independent Coalition…a group funded by the California Chamber of Commerce…which assisted Uber and Lyft to organize the rally. The Coalition also paid drivers the cost of travel and expenses, and included a $15 in-app lunch voucher.

I have been using it for a while and like it, but now there’s no choice..Twitter is rolling out its new desktop design and dark mode options to everyone…with no option to revert back. 9to5mac.com says the process started yesterday. There are two dark modes to choose from…Dim and Lights out. I prefer the Dim, but your mileage may vary. The new look is nice and clean, with various choices on the left sidebar, a large center bar for your feed, and a right hand bar for trends and follow suggestions. Now, if only Facebook would add a dark mode….I’m nearly blinded when I switch from dark mode apps like Twitter back to the bright a**ed Facebook app!

‘To the Muskmobile, Robin!’ Elon Musk is revealing more about the next-gen Roadster. Bgr.com says the cold gas thrusters…which Musk claims will ‘dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking, and cornering,’ will be hidden behind the license plate. The car has already been touted as being capable of 250 mph, and a zero to 60 speed of 2.1 seconds (originally Musk said 1.9.) One huge selling point for the $200,000 Roadster: a 620 mile range before needing to hit a Tesla Supercharger for a recharge! Tesla plans to build about 10,000 of the high end sports coupes per year.