Facebook Limits Messenger Forwards & Will Ban New Political Ads Week Prior to Election; Amazon Day Delivery Option for Prime; Feds Can’t Ask Google for All phones Within 300 Meters; Court-NSA Bulk Phone Data Collection Unlawful

Facebook has now put a forwarding limit on Messenger. According to engadget.com, you will only be able to forward to 5 people or groups at a time. Facebook says this will slow the speed of viral misinformation and harmful content. (It will also slow the spread of spammy ‘chain letter’ crap and stupid videos some people insist on sending all the time.) Facebook owned WhatsApp introduced a similar rule in April, and saw a 70% decrease in forwarded messages.

In something that sounds better than it is, Facebook will now block NEW political ads a week before US elections, in an effort to protect voter integrity. They touted their support of election integrity in a post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The catch is, candidates and PACs will still be able to buy ads in the last week if their campaign started before October 27th. Facebook’s Zuckerberg claims that’s ok, as “Those ads will already be published transparently in our Ads Library so anyone, including fact-checkers and journalists, can scrutinize them.” Twitter has been blocking political ads since last November. Facebook has added a little box that appears under any post that mentions voting directing users to their Voter Information Center, which has “accurate, verified information and videos about how to vote.”

Amazon has introduced a new delivery option for Prime members….Amazon Day. The feature allows you to choose any day but Sunday to have all your current Amazon orders delivered to you at one time. Businessinsider.com notes that they give you the option to change your day preference at any time, too…as peoples’ schedules can change. You will still be able to choose same day, one day, two day, or no rush as before…this is an additional option. Amazon also says they will attempt to box up items in a single box or less boxes, cutting waste when people use this option.

The third time was not the charm, for the government. Courts in the Chicago area have now ruled 3 times that the government can’t get a warrant to make Google produce a list of smartphones near two specific commercial establishments during one of 3 45 minute periods. Arstechnica.com says the ruling was made last week, but was just made public. Google has complained of a huge increase in law enforcement use of this type of ‘geofence’ searches. In fact, it’s been a 1500% increase between 2017 and 2018, then another 600% from 2018 to 2019. That amounts to a 100-fold increase in two years. Google says last year it got 180 of the requests a WEEK! If this ruling is affirmed on appeal, it means law enforcement will have to be more particular and specific when they go to Google and other tech and broadband companies for location and other customer data.

The gears of the law grind slowly. Recall when Ed Snowden leaked about the NSA mass surveillance going on back in 2013? Now, Cnet.com reports that a federal appeals court has ruled that collection of bulk citizens’ phone records was illegal, and possibly Unconstitutional. The spy agency had tapped into the backbone of the internet in the US and cooperating countries, allegedly in the name of foreign surveillance. Congress ended the bulk collection program back in 2015 as part of the USA Freedom Act. The court’s ruling, written by Judge Marsha Berzon, held that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, didn’t permit bulk collection of phone users’ call records, as some had claimed. “The metadata collection exceeded the scope of Congress’s authorization,” she wrote.

Microsoft Launches ‘Deepfake’ Detector Tool; T-Mobile Promises Faster 5g at Thousands of Locations; Mandalorian Season 2 Date; Battery Free Gameboy Looks to Future

Just in time to assist in detecting fakes before the US election, Microsoft has launched a deep fake detector tool. Techcrunch.com reports that its called Video Authenticator. The tool gives ‘a percentage chance, or confidence score’ that the media has been artificially manipulated. This manipulation score works in real time on each frame as the video plays. Microsoft has partnered with the San Francisco based AI foundation to make the tool available to organizations involved in the democratic process this year — including news outlets and political campaigns.

T-Mobile beat its competitors out of the blocks with 5G, covering more than half the country with low band 600MHz signals early. The problem is, most of that coverage is barely faster than plain ol’ 4G (or LTE, as some call it.) Now, according to venture beat.com, T-Mobile has activated much faster 2.5GHz mid band 5G towers in some 90 cities and towns, and claims they will add thousands more by the end o 2021. Part of the delay was the merger with Sprint…they couldn’t repurpose the 2.5 Gig spectrum until the deal was done.

A brief, but highly awaited announcement from Disney + today….the start date for streaming season two of The Mandalorian! Engadget.com says you can begin enjoying Mando and Baby Yoda’s continuing saga on the most popular show from Disney + October 30th! Disney didn’t tell us if they are going to follow last year’s format of releasing an episode per week, or if they will make them all available at once, so you can binge clear through Halloween. The Mandalorian snagged 15 Emmy nominations for its 1st season. We’ll know what it may have won when the Primetime Emmy Awards airs on September 20th.

It’s not something coming to stores or websites, but a cool proof of concept looking to less battery reliance in the future. Cnet.com reports that a fellow from the Netherlands named Jasper de Winkel has converted Nintendo Gameboys to run battery free. The Dutch computer scientist has powered the rigs with a combination of solar panels and kinetic energy recycled from punching the buttons during gameplay. He and other computer scientists have been working on the concept for over a year. It looks pretty much like a classic Gameboy, but weighs half as much sans battery pack. It isn’t just a Gameboy without battery, though. The scientists are running modern processing power and what you see is really an emulator. This early iteration only runs about 10 seconds on solar, then you have to mash a button, but expect more of this sort of thing in the future.

Samsung Shows Galaxy Z Fold 2; Apple-Split iPhone Release Dates; Apple- Two Watch Models; Walmart + Launches in 2 Weeks

Samsung rolled out its updated Galaxy Z Fold2 model today. Androidpolice.com reports that main features are a more durable design, a folding glass & polymer display, faster chipset, and bigger screens…both inside and out. It still commands a heart-stopping price…$1999! Preorders start at midnight, and it will be available on September 18th. The interior screen features a much smaller pinhole selfie cam, and it increases to 7.6 inches. The secondary outside screen grows, too…to a much more useable 6.2 inches. The phone has 256 gigs of storage, and a hefty 4500 mAh battery. Outside cams are 12Mp and there is a wide angle and a telephoto shooter. The selfie cam is 10 Mp. If you trade in last year’s Fold Z, they will credit up to $800, and up to $650 for other phones. Colors? Just two…Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black.

Apple may ship the two expected lower cost iPhone models earlier than the two Pro models. According to macrumors.com, the top tier of phones may not be available until November. This happened before, with the iPhone X, so it’s not unheard of. Also, a couple of leaks show the glass back panel of the iPhone Pro, and the square bump does indeed have 5 holes….3 for the cameras, one for the flash, and another that is widely expected to be a LiDAR scanner like the iPad Pro has. The LiDAR scanner is to ease depth and improve AR experiences on the phones. It is still unclear if Apple will hold their event in September, or bump it to October, but we should know very soon.

In other Apple news, it appears that they will change things up with the Watch. Last year, Apple dropped the prior year’s flagship Watch and kept the Watch 3 as a cheaper model. Businessinsider.com notes that the 3 may not be able to run the latest software, so it looks like Apple will release a Series 6 top line watch, and a cheaper Watch that they hope will compete with the likes of Fitbit. The top tier Watch is rumored to have the ability to measure blood oxygen levels and have better water resistance. It may have a new sleep tracking feature, but that hasn’t been as widely rumored, so is more iffy.

Walmart is launching Walmart + on September 15th. The new service will offer same day delivery, gas discounts, AND cashierless checkout for an annual feel of $98 a year. According to techcrunch.com, 2700 Walmart stores will offer delivery. One can also sign up for $12.95 on a month to month basis. There is a 15 day free trial period. Walmart says there will be over 160,000 items available for same day delivery with no per-delivery fee on orders over $35.

Amazon Adds E-Vans; Netflix Teases Non-Subscribers With Freebies; Next iPad-More like Pro; Samsung Claims Mobile Memory Breakthrough

We have reported here, as have many others, on Amazon’s deal with EV startup Rivian. Amazon apparently still intends to buy 100,000 e-vans from the maker, starting next year. In the meantime, according to mashable.com, Amazon has signed up for 2,000 new Mercedes e-vans. The Mercedes-Benz rigs will include 1200 eSprinter vans and 600 eVito vans. The smaller eVito van just has a 93 mile range. No range was given on the Sprinter models. When Rivian rolls out its e-vans, they are claiming they will have a 400 mile range.

As hard to believe as it may be, there are still plenty of people who don’t have Netflix. Now, in a new push to woo some of those folks into subscribing, Netflix is offering some original movies and TV shows without a subscription. Cnet.com reports that the deal will be available on browsers on computers and Android, but that iOS browsers aren’t supported…at least at this time. The original movies are available in their entirety, but for series…including ‘Stranger Things,’ you only get the first episode for free. Naturally, at the end of each show, there is a pitch to get you to sign up for Netflix!

The next generation iPads will pick up both design cues and features from the iPad Pro lineup, according to some leaked design schematics. Appleinsider.com says we should see thinner bezels, sensors for Face ID, and support for the Magic Keyboard. The 7th generation iPad bowed last September, and got the bigger 10.2 inch display and support for the full-sized (and not cheap) Smart Keyboard. The leak shows a 10.8 inch display, slimmer bezels, and no home button for Touch ID. As another leak indicated that Touch ID might be migrated to the power button, its unclear if the next iteration will have that or Face ID, since this later leak shows the Face ID sensors. The new iPads may roll out with the iPhone 12 series in September or October, so could be available for the holiday selling season.

Samsung is no shrinking violet when it comes to touting their progress in electronics, but here’s one that is a real first. According to engadget.com, Samsung has started mass production of 16 gig LPDDR5 mobile RAM chips, and they are saying its the first time extreme ultraviolet lithography has been used to etch the silicon. Samsung says after clearing environmental hurdles, the new 6.4 Gbps bandwidth chip will be 16% faster than the previous 12 gig chips and the new models are about 30% thinner, too. This could mean thinner phones (or more room for bigger batteries and cameras!) Besides smartphones, Samsung is also aiming at the car tech market with the new generation of chips.

TikTok May Announce US Sale in Days; Amazon’s Halo Fitness Band; Apple Newsroom Makeover; FBI Helped Block Tesla Ransomware Attack

TikTok may be announcing sale of its US assets in the next few days. According to cnbc.com, the most likely buyers are still Microsoft and Oracle. Walmart has also apparently expressed interest, but since they don’t have their own cloud tech, they are probably a non-starter with the US government. Twitter had also expressed interest, but like Walmart, doesn’t really have the powerful cloud and back end tech to support TikTok free of its Chinese owner. It is believed that TikTok is valuing its US, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand operations at between $20 and $30 billion.

Amazon has jumped into the health market, with Halo, a fitness band and app…joining Fitbit, Apple, Google, and others. Theverge.com reports that…unlike the Apple Watch or even the entry level Fitbit, the Amazon Halo band has NO screen! The companion app has the usual set of fitness tracking features, along with a couple of innovative ones…that may be a bit unsettling. First is using your camera to create 3D scans for body fat…and on top of that, listening for the emotion in your voice! The Halo band is $99.99, and the service (which is required for advanced features) will set you back $3.99 a month. Amazon has launched an invite-only early access program today with an introductory price of $64.99 and free service for a few months. Halo is NOT part of Amazon Prime.

Apple has freshened its Newsroom, putting more weight on featured stories. Macrumors.com says the also did a feature profile on a teacher from Alabama. The profile is a nice touch, but also touts the use of Apple ed tools like Everyone Can Code and the Clips app to assist in remote learning. The teacher featured, Portice Warren, took part in Apple’s virtual coding academy earlier this summer, along with 500 other educators. Many teachers are finding that they are doing basically triple work right now…planning 100% virtual, planning mixed virtual and in person, and planning 100% in-class at the same time.

Ransomware has been a pretty lucrative scam, hitting businesses and cities, and locking down their systems until they pay up…or refuse and start from scratch (or hopefully, uncontaminated backups.) This week, the FBI arrested a Russian national who had traveled to the US after connecting with a Russian speaking non-citizen working at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. Engadget.com reports that the employee ratted the guy out to Tesla that the Russian national wanted him to deliver malware to the company’s computers. The FBI was called, and they were able to nail the Russian in a sting. Egor Kriuchkov was busted in LA as he attempted to leave the US. Apparently, the FBI found that thee have been previous attacks in the US by associates of the Russian. One that hit CWT Group in July cost that firm $4.5 million.

Apple Allegedly Working on AR Content for Apple TV+; Facebook Moves Further from Oculus Brand With its AR/VR Division; Palintir Prospectus- Never Profits So Far; Bird Deaths Drop 70% After Painting Wind Generator Blades

Apple is said to be developing augmented reality content for Apple TV+. Cnet.com reports that the move has a couple of goals: stoking interest in AR tech, and attracting more subscribers to the streaming service. Apparently, the AR feature would display elements of a TV show in the room where the viewer is watching it — like a lunar rover traversing the coffee table during For All Mankind, Apple’s alternate-history series about the space race of the 1960s. Apple has been moving to roll out a bundled service with one price, putting Apple TV+, Apple Music and the Apple Arcade game platform together in the bundle. The bundle deal could premiere in October. Apple is known to be working on AR glasses, which may be out in 2022, and possibly some AR goggles next year.

Facebook ha taken more steps to distance from the Oculus brand. According to techcrunch.com, they are changing the name of the VR division to ‘Facebook Reality Labs,’ which will cover their AR/
VR products under the Oculus, Spark, and Portal brands. In addition, Oculus Connect, the virtual reality developer conference, is renamed Facebook Connect, and it will be held entirely virtually on September 16th.

According to a prospectus filed with the government in preparation for taking the company public, data mining firm Palantir hasn’t made a profit since it was founded back in 2003. Theverge.com says the company intends to bow with a direct listing rather than selling shares in an IPO. Slack did this last year, and Spotify did it in 2018. According to the S-1 filing, Palantir lost $580 million in 2019, and is $175 million in the red for the 1st half of 2020. The filing further shows the company had 125 customers in the first half of this year, “including some of the largest and most significant institutions in the world,” the filing states, and its software “is used by customers across 36 industries and in more than 150 countries.” They plan to trade on the NY Stock exchange under the symbol PLTR.

No, there’s never been ‘windmill cancer,’ despite the rant of one ill-informed president…but there have been worrisome bird kills over the years. Now, arstechnica.com reports that a little touch of black paint on a single blade of wind turbines drops bird deaths by 70%. This comes from a study from Norway that started in 2013. They apparently found that there is some variation in bird deaths depending on the season…less of them in spring and autumn. The deaths seemed stable in winter, but did increase during summer months. The scientists are looking to do more long term studies in other areas, but this result is encouraging.

Court Protects Unreal Engine-But not Fortnite; Google Discover-Short Vids Like TikTok; Tesla Major Construction at Battery Facility in Fremont; Nintendo- 4K Capable Switch in 2021

Epic games got a split decision from a court on their temporary restraining order against apple. Theverge.com reports that the court ruled that Apple can’t retaliate against the company by terminating the developer account used to support the company’s Unreal Engine. In the same ruling, the judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held that Apple is not required to bring back Fortnite to the App Store. Because keeping Epic from supporting the Unreal engine could affect others besides the parties, the court said “Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders.” The ruling today is only temporary and limited in scope unit the court can hear more detailed arguments concerning a preliminary injunction. That hearing is on the docket for September 28th.

With TikTok under the gun to be banned from the US if it doesn’t sell its US assets to an American company, a number of firms have been in talks to pick up those assets. Meanwhile, according to 9to5google.com, Google Discover has been testing TikTok like ‘short videos’. Discover has appeared to the left of most Android home screens or in the Google app. Now, there is also a carousel of the short videos. The videos open in your device’s default browser. There are controls to un/mute and share, and you also see a progress indicator. YouTube is also working on a TikTok competitor called ‘Shorts’ that is slated for later this year. It will likely also appear in the new Discover carousel.

Tesla has been doing some major construction at its Tera battery manufacturing facility on the campus of its Fremont, CA plant. Electrek.co says this revolves around the company’s secret ‘Roadrunner’ project…Tesla’s in-house designed battery cell manufacturing system which is expected to increase production and reduce cost. There is already a pilot manufacturing line up and running, and new machinery developed in-house will be used. Tesla applied to expand its pace at the facility in June. and also applied to increase electrical consumption to almost 92,800 MWh/year, up from 72,800 MHh/yr. Right now, the plan is to hold their ‘Battery Day’ event at the facility…unless it has to be delayed again due to the coronavirus.

Both Microsoft and Sony have shown off their 4K ready consoles that will be out later this year….the PS 5 and Xbox Series X, so what about Nintendo? Engadget.com notes that they are cooking up an upgraded version of the Switch with support for 4K. It’s also believed that a number of new games from both Nintendo and outside studios will drop, too.

Whole Foods May Get Amazon Go Tech Next Year; TikTok Sues US Over Ban; Foxconn & Others Look to Mexico for Factories; DoorDash Launches Grocery Delivery

Amazon may be putting in its cashless tech from the Go convenience stores at Whole Foods locations as soon as next year. Theverge.com reports that the installations could start in the 2nd quarter of 2021. Amazon has used the tech in their Go stores since 2016…albeit for employees only at first, but since 2018 for the general public. The cashierless model is cool…walk in, buy the goods, and just walk out. The dark side is that it could allow a massive loss of retail jobs if widely adapted. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union calls it “a direct threat to 16 million American retail jobs and is part of a ruthless strategy to eliminate as many good jobs as possible.”

As expected, TikTok has filed a suit against the Trump Administration over its plans to ban the popular service who’s parent company is criticized as being too much under the control of the Chinese government. According to the AP, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, has insisted it is not a national security threat and that the US is acting without evidence or due process. The suit was filed in federal court in California against the Commerce Department, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and President Donald Trump. It seeks to prevent the government from ‘impermissibly banning’ the app. Trump issued two executive orders this month relating to the situation, and giving ByteDance 45 days before they take effect. He then ordered them to sell assets used to support TikTok in the US. The app has over 100 million US users. ByteDance has held talks with Microsoft, Twitter, and Oracle so far with regards to selling off those assets involved.

Foxconn and Pegatron, both based in Taiwan, are now eyeing Mexico as a site for new factories in light of the ongoing disruption from the US-China trade war. Reuters.com says such factory plans would inject billions into Latin America’s 2nd largest economy over the next several years. According to two different sources, Foxconn would use a factory in Mexico to build iPhones for Apple. They are set to pull the trigger or not by early next year on such a deal. Foxconn just started building top line iPhones last month in India. Foxconn unit Sharp is already building TVs in Mexico. Pegatron would mainly assemble chips and other electronic components in Mexico.

DoorDash is ratcheting up its on demand delivery efforts with the rollout of grocery delivery, starting with select chains in California and parts of the Midwest. According to theverge.com, they will initially only be working with Smart & Final, Meijer, Fresh Thyme, and Hy-Vee. Smart and Final will only serve California customers in the Bay Area, LA, Orange County, Sacramento, and San Diego. Customers in Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee will have access to Meiher and Fresh Thyme, with support for Hy-Vee stores coming at a later date. To help get the new service off the ground, DoorDash is even enrolling grocery delivery into its DashPass subscription service, which means those who pay the $9.99 monthly fee can get free delivery.

Update-Apple Event September 20? Uber & Lyft Set for California Shut Down; Google Pixel Buds Alert for Sirens, Babies, & More

Apple may have had its usual secrecy penetrated a bit today, as a user on Twitter put up a shot of what looks like a scheduled live stream on the Apple iPhone account for September 20th. According to cnet.com, it has already been pulled down. This may be the date for the unveiling of the new iPhones. It is worth noting that the 20th is a Sunday, however. Apple most often holds events on Monday or Tuesday, but with everything virtual in the age of COVID-19, they may figure they can get more eyeballs (and pre-sales) by posting a slick recorded event on a Sunday. Stay tuned, as we say.

They are going to take their ball and go home, starting tonight. Reuters.com reports that both Uber and Lyft are about to shut down ride hailing operations in California in the ongoing dispute over AB5, and classifying drivers as employees. Lyft will shut down tonight at midnight, according to a blog post from the company. Uber had posted Tuesday they they plan to temporarily shut down unless the appeals court intervenes, but didn’t give a specific date and time. Uber Eats is not impacted by the shutdown, and apparently DoorDash and Instacart will be able to continue for now under the contractor model. The 5 companies: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates have dropped $110 million in support of a November ballot measure called Prop. 22 which would set into law what they call their ‘third way’…that would effectively overwrite the state’s gig worker law.

[[ Lyft and Uber were granted an emergency stay by the California Court of Appeals, averting their planned shutdown. The companies will now have until October to convince the court to toss out an order that they classify drivers as employees. In a statement, Lyft hailed the ruling as a victory, but said it would continue to push for a ballot measure that would allow it to continue classifying drivers as independent contractors.]]

As you see people from time to time…less in the age of the pandemic….walking around with those ubiquitous ear buds, and often staring at their phones, instead of where they are going, you have to wonder how more haven’t been run over by oncoming vehicles, or had other lesser mishaps happen to them. Venturebeat.com says Google is now using AI to help alert users of Google Pixel Buds to alert you to the sound of a siren from an emergency vehicle, and even to a baby crying or a dog barking. the buds will play a chip to alert you during music or a conversation. The feature is called Attention Alerts, and it’s an experimental feature being added to Google’s flagship earbuds in a firmware update. Amazon Echo speakers already have the ability to detect sounds that may be important in a home setting, like alarms, breaking glass, or sounds indicating someone is in your home when you’re away.

Zoom Coming to Amazon, Google, & Facebook Smart Speakers; Google Maps Gets Accuracy Boost; Walmart e-Commerce $ Jumps; Oculus to Require Facebook Account

Zoom for Home is coming soon to the Amazon Echo Show devices, as well as Google smart displays and the Facebook Portal line. According to engadget.com, people should be able to take Zoom meetings on such devices by year’s end. You will be able to say ‘Alexa, join my Zoom meeting’ and the like, and if your calendar is integrated into your Alexa system, software can even start your scheduled meeting automatically if you want. With the working from home explosion since the pandemic, Zoom has ‘zoomed’ from 10 million daily users last December to over 300 million by this past April.

Google is updating Maps to correctly reflect what’s actually happening on the ground with color. Thenextweb.com reports that previously, you might see an area marked as a park that didn’t show up that way…in some cases, something might be indicated as a park and actually be a desert! The update will green up parks, show deserts as a beige-type color, and snow pack areas in white. The new color algorithm can even tell the difference between dense vegetation and forest. It will be available in all 220 countries and territories supported by Google Maps.

There has been plenty reported about how Amazon has cashed in on the pandemic, as people shelter in place and order online. Now, we have information about Walmart’s growth, and it’s pretty stunning. Geekwire.com says Walmart’s e-commerce business in the US grew 97% in the company’s 2nd quarter, which ended July 31st. As for dollars, Walmart’s haul was over $110 billion for the quarter from online sales, taking e-commerce to over 11% of the company’s over all net U sales. They are now a real competitor to Amazon, although have a lot of ground to make up…Amazon reported at total net sales of $88.9 billion…that was up 40% in the quarter.

Before long, anyone using Oculus headsets will be required to sign up with a Facebook account. According to theverge.com, support for separate Oculus accounts will be pulled in October, although you will be able to use it until the end of the year. Developers will be able to keep using headsets with no Facebook account, but without any social functionality. Oculus for Business will continue with a separate login that will not be changed. Facebook says all future Oculus devices will require a Facebook login.