Report- Facebook Shaky on Civil Rights; Samsung Unpacked Date; Apple-QR Code for Apple Pay; AC Building e-Cobra

CEO Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg met with boycott organizers earlier this week…and those organizers didn’t come away satisfied with actions promised by Facebook, and now a report has dropped that says the social net has made improvements to its platform, but also has made “painful decisions over the last nine months with real world consequences that are serious setbacks for civil rights.” The report team was ed by civil rights experts Laura Murphy and Megan Cacace. Cnet.com reports that the study gives Facebook credit for a number of positive and consequential steps, but that the report authors concluded that the social net isn’t doing near enough to combat hate speech. Sandberg replied in response to the study via a blog post “There are no quick fixes to these issues — nor should there be. What has become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go.”

If you are one of those hardcore Galaxy Note fans (and I have a couple friends who would almost sell their dog rather than give theirs up), you will be happy to know that Samsung has announced an Unpacked event for August 5th, and it’s expected that they will roll out the new Note 20 then. According to 9to5google.com, as with other tech firms, it will stream the event online. The stream will go live at 10am Eastern, 7am Pacific. The teaser ad has a splash that alludes to the leaked new ‘Mystic Bronze’ color. Besides the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, there will probably be freshened versions of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Galaxy Tabs.

Apple has dropped a 2nd developer beta of iOS 14, with an interesting little nugget hiding within. 9to5mac.com says code indicates it will apparently allow for users to use QR Codes with Apple Pay. Users will be able to point the iPhone cam at a QR code or traditional barcode and pay for things with a card registered with Apple Pay. In a bit of a prestige hit, Apple has been passed up by Amazon as the world’s most valuable brand.

If you have always lusted for the amazing AC Cobras from the 60’s, but don’t have millions to drop on the rare supercar, you might be able to pick up an EV version that AC is building. According to electrek.co, such a ride will set you back less than $180 grand! Better hurry, though…AC will only make 58 of ‘em! The e-Cobra will be more like a regular AC, and not quite so muscular as Carroll Shelby’s version with the monster Ford engine. It will have the equivalent of 308 horses, and 369 ft-lb of torque…no slouch…enough to get you from zero to 60 in 6.7 seconds. Not exactly up there with a Tesla Model S using Ludicrous Speed, but plenty quick. The AC has a 54kWh battery pack, and that should be good for about 150 miles between charges.