Apple Watch Walkie Talkie Temp. Disabled; Close to 10% of Tesla Autopilot Team Bails; Former Tesla Employee Uploaded Autopilot Code to iCloud; Amazon Retraining Workers As Automation Takes Tasks

Apple has temporarily killed the Walkie Talkie app on the Apple Watch due to a vulnerability discovered. Techcrunch.com reports that it could allow a person to listen to another’s iPhone without consent. The Walkie Talkie feature works like the push to talk (PTT) button on older cell phones. They haven’t given a time frame, but say they will patch the bug and restore the app to operation as soon as possible.

Issues at Tesla….close to 10% of the Autopilot software team has reportedly exited after a shakeup. According to arstechnica.com, at least 11 members of that team have left in the last couple months…starting with the removal of the group’s leader Stuart Bowers around the first of May.

Meanwhile, in a court filing this week, former Tesla engineer Guangzhi Cao admitted to uploading zip files containing Autopilot source code to his personal iCloud account in late 2018 when he still worked at Tesla. The company sued Cao earlier this year for allegedly stealing trade secrets and taking them to Chinese EV startup Xiaopeng Motors, also called Xmotors, or XPeng. That firm is backed by tech giant Alibaba. Cao is now ‘head of perception’ at XPeng, where is is working on autonomous driving tech.

In a candid admission that automation is taking jobs, Amazon is launching a $700 million dollar initiative to retrain its US workforce. Geekwire.com reports that the company will spend the money over the next 5 years to ‘upskill’ almost 100,000 employees…that’s about 1/3 of their US workforce. It will help workers transition into hot new areas like data mapping specialist, data scientist, solutions architect, and business analyst. Although $700 million is a hell of a lot of money, it only amounts to a tenth of 1% of Amazon’s cumulative net sales the past 5 years! The company will drop $800 billion just this quarter as they switch from 2 day to one day Prime shipping!

MacBook Air & Pro Refresh, Price Drop; Facebook Takes Cut-Fan Subscriptions; Prime Day Warehouse Strike; Tesla NOT Working on Model S or X Refresh

Apple has updated the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The new Air will have a TrueTone display. Also, according to cnbc.com, the renewed entry level Pros not only have the TrueTone Display, but also get the Touch Bar and Touch ID. Best of all The MacBook Air drops to $1099, but will be offered to college students for $999. The configurations stay the same…128 Gigs of storage. Apple has also updated the much maligned keyboard design (which already showed up on the MacBook Pro in May.) A 13 inch MacBook Pro will now cost $1299 ($1199 for college students.) The entry level one gets a quad core processor and better graphics performance. Touch ID now comes on all 13 inch MacBook Pros. You can order up to 2TB of storage, too.

In 2018, Facebook rolled outran subscriptions. The program allows creators to charge their fans $4.99 a month, with the fans getting exclusive content and a fan badge. Up to now, that money has all flowed to the creators…but not anymore. Techcrunch.com is reporting that Facebook will start taking a 30% cut off the top, starting the 1st of next year. Happy New Year from Facebook! Apple has charged off the top for years on apps and the like, and google also has for mobile subscriptions, so this just follows along with them. Actually, Apple’s 30% and Google’s 30% for YouTube are less than the 50% fee collected by Amazon owned Twitch. Note: any subscribers a creator already has will still be at the no-fee rate.

Prime Day is coming, and is a huge, huge sales time for Amazon. Now, a fly has appeared in the ointment. Geekwire.com says warehouse workers at Amazon’s Shakopee, Minnesota warehouse plan a strike for 6 hours on July 15th…the 1st day of Prime Day. The workers are calling for Amazon to convert more temp workers to full time employees, plus reduce the brutal pressure for meeting quotas Amazon is infamous for.

there have been rumors flying around for weeks that Tesla is working on a refresh of the Model S and Model X. Engadget.com is reporting that Elon Musk has quashed those rumors today in a Tweet.

There is no “refreshed” Model X or Model S coming, only a series of minor ongoing changes. Most significant change in past few years was to use high efficiency Model 3 rear drive unit as S/X front drive unit. That went into production 3 months ago.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2019

FBI & ICE Grab Driver License Photos for Facial Recognition; Apple Tests Biometric iCloud Sign-Ins With FaceID and TouchID; Pixel 4 May have 16MP Telephoto; Toyota-Solar Cell e-Car Tests; Plane Lands Autonomously For First Time; Russia Plans Bomb Carrying Drones for Soldiers

The FBI and ICE have been snagging pictures from state DMV records to use for facial recognition…without the knowledge or permission of drivers. Georgetown Law researchers, teaming with the Washington Post, have obtained facial recognition requests, documents, and email which have revealed the process of getting then using the photos for facial recognition. ZDnet.com says neither Congress nor any state legislature has authorized such use! Apparently, the FBI conducts 4,000 such searches a month. At least 21 states permit the FBI to scan license photos. Washington state is the toughest…they at least require a court order first.

Apple is testing out biometric sign into iCloud on iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and MacOS Catalina. The system would use Face ID or Touch ID on later model iPhones and iPads, as well as Macs. The system will show you a pop up box asking if you’d like to sign-in using your Apple ID with biometrics. It’s possible Apple may be doing this in conjunction with the rollout of Sign in with Apple. The biometrics are not only fast and easier, but are more secure than manually entering your info.

Geeks digging into the code for Google Camera’s Super Res Zoom have spotted code that indicates the Pixel 4 may have a 16MP telephoto lens! According to 9to5google.com, this may not be set in stone…the code is in the Android Q beta, and lots of times features are still being tested in a beta that don’t make it to the final product. The Pixel 4 should drop in October, so we will know for sure then.

Toyota is now testing new, high-efficiency solar cells on electric cars that may be able to extend range by 35 miles or so. Electrek.co says the original Prius had an optional solar cell pack, but it was a 50 watt panel that helped run the AC and other accessories. These new cells can convey power at a 34% rate, which is quite good. They say if the hood, roof, and deck lid are covered, it should actually generate about 860 watts.This may or may not make it into production…in hail country, solar cells all over the top of the car would make for expensive repairs in a storm with golf ball or larger hail!

Researchers at the Technical University in Munich have successfully landed a plane autonomously. Engadget.com says it uses a combination of GPS and computer vision powered by both visible light and infrared cameras. This would enable it to get a sense of both the plane’s position and the runway, even in fog or rain. Most lager airports have glidescope indicators that allow airliners to essentially land automatically with the help of a radio signal (ILS), but most smaller airports don’t have those systems. Besides landings at smaller airports, this tech could pave the way for pilotless aircraft or air taxis in the future.

It sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi movie, but the Russians are working on drones with small bombs that soldiers can carry and launch. Engadget.com reports that the idea is iffy…drones are quick, but only can stay up about 15 minutes…and haven’t fared well so far against shooters or counter-drone tech. Also, if the soldier gets hit by a round or shrapnel, it might blow up right on him! Let’s hope this plan doesn’t get traction.

Galaxy Fold Allegedly Fixed; Alexa Doesn’t Purge Your Data; China Installs Snoopware-Tourist Phones; Apple iOS 13 Re-Aims Your FaceTime Gaze

Samsung has allegedly redesigned the Galaxy Fold in an effort to take care of screen durability issues that sunk the launch of the pricey folding phablet/phone. Theverge.com reports that no release date has been set, but it looks like the Fold will be out this year yet…but is unlikely to bow at next month’s Galaxy Note 10 event in New York. Samsung says it has found a way to make the screen’s protective film ‘flow into the bezels so it would be impossible to peel off by hand.’ Some reviewers peeled off the film, thinking it was just a protective feature for transit, but destroyed the screens in doing so. Samsung has also re-engineered the hinge…some of which bulged and broke the OLED screens. The new hinge is flush with the display. If the Fold makes it out for the 4th quarter holidays, better save your pennies….it is apparently still almost 2 grand!

in 1984, Big Brother may have been watching, but today, every ‘assistant’ is always listening. According to cnet.com, Amazon has responded to a letter from Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware). He demanded to know how long Alexa kept voice recordings and transcripts. The answer from Amazon’s VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman— Alexa keeps transcripts and voice recordings indefinitely, and only removes them if they are manually deleted by users. Just another way whatever goes into the cloud stays permanently…

If you are planning a trip to China, be aware that officials there (at least in the Xinjiang region) are requiring tourists to install what amounts to a malware app at the border. Businessinsider.com says the app grabs all the text messages and scans for a variety of files liked to Islam…including extremist content, academic research, and even music! It also hoovers up all the calendar entries, contacts, and call logs, and uploads them to a server. This is a new level of snooping, even for perhaps the most intrusive surveillance state on earth.

Here’s one you didn’t see coming…in iOS 13, Apple has a feature called FaceTime Attention Correction…engadget.com reports that it uses advanced image manipulation to re-aim your eyes at the camera instead of the screen, to make eye contact look more natural. Now, you uber narcissists will be able to bat your eyes and look right into the soul of everyone with a little AI help from Apple. The feature only works on the iPhone XS and XS Max, BTW.

Samsung Confirms August 7th Unpacked; Facebook Downranks Misleading Health Info; Apparent Big Amazon Retail Space in Seattle; Tim Cook Blasts Jony Ive Report

It appears that Samsung will show off the Note 10 during their Unpacked event August 7th in New York. According to cnet.com, the event will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The invite shows a stylus and what looks like a camera lens. There is a rumor that the new S Pen may have a cam of its own, and another that claims the new Note 10 might have 4 rear cams. Yet another rumor touts a swivel selfie cam like the Galaxy A80. Although the Note line doesn’t sell like the Galaxy S handsets, the Note has always had a rabid fan base.

Facebook is taking a baby step when it comes to preposterous miracle cures and other bogus health info. The social network won’t be banning or blocking these crazy posts, but will be using their News Feed algorithm to downlink them, and other clickbait and low quality content. Techcrunch.com reports that Facebook explained “Posts with sensational health claims or solicitation using health-related claims will have reduced distribution. Pages should avoid posts about health that exaggerate or mislead people and posts that try to sell products using health-related claims. If a Page stops posting this content, their posts will no longer be affected by this change.” Note that this applies to pages, and doesn’t affect crazy content spread by individuals or ‘social selling’ like MLM pitches. Again….a baby step.

Amazon is apparently working on a new store taking up the 1st flor of a Capitol Hill apartment complex. Geekwire.com says all the windows are covered as crews work inside the building. They note that it is a much larger space than an Amazon Go store would require, and is in what is essentially a residential area. Geekwire has tracked down permitting that names an Amazon construction coordinator as the ‘client’ for the project. There are drawings showing space for entry and exit kiosks like could bee for scanning a QR code on the Amazon Go app. There is a large general sales area. It may be a bigger Amazon Go, or possibly a checker-less mini-grocery store. It looks like it might have around 7000 square feet of shoppable space. Amazon Go stores generally have 1500 to 3000 square feet.

After reports that Jony Ive was leaving apple due to Tim Cook’s focus on operations rather than design, Cook has fired back. In an email to NBC News, Cook called the story ‘absurd’ and said that such conclusions ‘don’t match with reality.’ From Cook’s email:

‘The story is absurd. A lot of the reporting, and certainly the conclusions, just don’t match with reality. At a base level, it shows a lack of understanding about how the design team works and how Apple works. It distorts relationships, decisions and events to the point that we just don’t recognize the company it claims to describe.

The design team is phenomenally talented. As Jony has said, they’re stronger than ever, and I have complete confidence that they will thrive under Jeff, Evans, and Alan’s leadership. We know the truth and we know the incredible things they’re capable of doing. The projects they’re working on will blow you away.’ At any rate, it had already been announced that Ive’s new design firm would continue to work on projects for Apple.

Ive Leaves Apple ‘Dispirited’; Chrome OS Adds Useful Settings; Fake Noise on EU Electric Cars; 2018 MacBook Air-Few Have Logic Board Issue & Apple Will Replace

Jony Ive was apparently ‘dispirited’ that Tim Cook showed little interest in product development, and that ultimately has led to his decision to exit Apple for his own design house. According to businessinsider.com, and other reports, Ive had just been showing up at the office twice a week of late. Ive and his team designed the majority of some of the most iconic electronic devices at Apple or anywhere else over the course of his 27 years there. Apple has announced that they will continue to work directly with Ive at his new design firm on exclusive projects.

Google is bringing a couple of new features you may find pretty useful to the Chrome OS. In the settings menu, when the Canery release goes live, you will be able to check Bluetooth battery levels. 9to5google.com reports that the feature has been available on Android for some time, but now makes it to Chrome. Also, a new section for parental controls with ties to the Family App from Google is appearing. Previously, you had to hunt for it, but now it’s right there in the settings menu.

All new models of electric cars sold in the EU must now make artificial noise under certain conditions. Theverge.com says Acoustic Vehicle Systems will have to be put into new models of hybrid and electric cars from this day forward, and be in all existing models by July 2021. The fake noise will be required when a vehicle is moving at under 12 mph, or backing up. The EU pointed out that virtually silent electric cars can be a danger to blind or partially sighted people. The Guide Dogs charity pointed out in 2017 that electric vehicles and hybrids grew 40% more likely to be involved in an accident that causes injury to pedestrians. The way a lot of people walk around and cross streets with their noses in their smartphones, the fake noise will probably also alert numerous people who are sighted, but dangerously inattentive to traffic.

Apple has announced that there is a very small number of 2018 MacBook Air 13 inch laptops that have a Logic Board Issue. According to MacRumors.com, Cupertino will email owners with the serial numbers affected, so they can bring the laptops in and get the Logic Board replaced free of charge. So far, Apple hasn’t provided any specifics as to what the issue is with the faulty boards.