Yet again, it shows the ride-hailing Übermensch doesn’t really prioritize its drivers. It’s classic poor form from Uber, and I’m going to explain why. As the Chronicle points out, last year, Uber began letting its drivers see ride destinations and pricing information before accepting rides. In reality, this was a thinly veiled attempt to make it seem like the company was giving its workers some kind of independence and control over how they operate....

The seminal ride-hailing firm also warned that its revenue for Q1 2020 will shrink by anywhere from $17 to $22 million, and by an estimated $60 to $80 million in Q2. [Read: Uber launches a ‘Work hub’ to help drivers find alternative jobs as rides slow down] This was due to initiatives it recently launched to ease the effects of the pandemic, including a financial assistance program for Uber drivers and delivery people....

Uber’s software will power on-demand public transport services through a new deal in California with the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) and the bus agency Marin Transit. Although Uber already displays public transport data in its app and has enabled ticket purchases in some locations, this move represents its first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tie-up with a public transport agency. Shin-pei Tsay, Director of Policy, Cities and Transportation at Uber, told Cities Today: “We’re always looking for ways we can complement public transit agencies and cities through our technology....

According to the outlet’s sources, Uber is in advanced stages of talks to close the deal; UberEats is said to be valued at roughly $400 million, and its parent company will invest between $150 million and $200 million for a stake in Zomato. The move is likely a measure for Uber to cut losses, as it’s bled billions of dollars each quarter this year, and aims to become profitable by 2021....

From this week, UK users who ask Alexa health-related questions — “Alexa, what are the symptoms of flu?” — will be provided with answers vetted by NHS health professionals. The UK’s Department of Health (DoH) said the move will reduce the pressure on NHS professionals in the country, giving users an easy way to access authoritative medical advice. The NHS also said it’s up for similar collaboration with other tech companies....

According to Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the matter, the CFTC is looking into whether BitMEX broke the rules by allowing American customers to trade on the platform, which is not registered with the agency. The probe is ongoing and it’s worth noting that the regulator’s investigations don’t always lead to allegations of misconduct. The CFTC declined to comment, Bloomberg says. It comes after BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes said in an interview in January that the cryptocurrency exchange removed anyone who disregarded company rules barring US residents and nationals....

We all know the struggle. You’re watching a show, or a video, but you also really want to get work done or do some browsing, so you flip to other Chrome tabs. You’ll be able to hear your video, but not see it. It’s a compromise we’ve all made from time to time — but you don’t have to make it. Chrome actually has a built-in (albeit somewhat hard-to-find) picture-in-picture mode that lets you watch your videos while on other tabs....

The so-called “Rome Call for AI Ethics” promises to develop technologies that protect the planet and all its people by honoring six principles: transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality, reliability, and security and privacy. These noble values are already common in corporate AI ethics initiatives, including Microsoft’s own. But critics argue that these programs are designed to avoid government regulation by showing that tech giants can police themselves through volunteering to follow codes of practice that they’ve come up with themselves....

It’s not just me that feels this way — tech companies have been trying to create a universal translator forever. And it’s no surprise. Just think of how it amazing it was when you first used Google Translate, but imagine that on the fly. Well, you don’t have to any longer, because the latest in the long line of universal translators is here. So, one and all, say hello to the WT2 Plus....

I remember the very moment where it all fell into place and I no longer saw the person as a character, but someone going through the same emotional struggles as me. It felt as if the game held up a mirror and fundamentally shifted how I perceived myself. I had been harboring this constant need for social validation and the desire to find meaning when sometimes there just isn’t any....

This week Virgin Hyperloop released a new explainer video on Twitter. While the company sounds excited to get you onboard its ultra-fast trains, you’re in for a long wait before you can strap in for your first ride. Here’s why. According to Virgin Hyperloop, it starts with a “near-vacuum environment inside a tube” that facilitates high speeds and low power consumption by reducing aerodynamic drag. People and goods will travel in pods that use “proprietary magnetic levitation and propulsion” to lift and guide pods on a track, and allow several pods to depart per minute across different routes....

The deal was announced last year, but as a result of that partnership, the X60 series is launching today globally. The Chinese manufacturer is launching three phones: the X60, the X60 Pro, and the X60 Pro+ (it’s a tongue twister). Apart from having Zeiss-powered lenses, the company has also included gimbal support — which it introduced with the X50 Pro last year — for the Pro and the Pro+ model....

We already know second screens bolster productivity, but buying a full secondary monitor to spread out your laptop workspace might not be terribly practical. While it’s tempting to think about how much faster you could work or how much more efficiently you could accomplish multiple tasks at once with a second laptop monitor, you may also not be in a position to drop $200 or so right now to make that happen....

While vehicles are getting better, many EVs can charge from zero to 80% in under an hour now, there’s still room for improvement when it comes to infrastructure. Many moons ago, the idea of battery swapping was a thing. Way back in 2013, Tesla proposed the idea of a 90-second battery swap shop. If anyone had been able to make the idea stick, it probably would have been Tesla, but no dice....

Did the Pixel 4 range have a battery that was that bad? How has this evolved across different devices? Well, we made some graphs to find out. Because, well, yes, I’ve got little better to do. And what of it? [Check this out: Most mobile apps suck — here’s how to fix them] First though, the methodology. How we compared the battery life of Google Pixel phones Our data on battery life is from GSMArena, as it has the broadest information on this topic....

Although a lot of time has passed since then, robotics, natural language processing, and computer vision remain some of the hottest research areas to this day. One could say that we’re focused on teaching AI to move like a human, speak like a human and see like a human. The case for doing this is clear: With AI, we want machines to automate tasks like driving, reading legal contracts or shopping for groceries....

When DeepCrawl closed its $19 million Series B led by Five Elms in March, it marked another significant step in its transatlantic journey. Having worked with the leadership team at DeepCrawl since 2017, I have seen a business take these challenges in its stride, building its own successful approach to international expansion and reaping the substantial rewards that America can offer a scaling company. Founded in London in 2010, DeepCrawl sought to help companies grapple with the increasing complexity of website architecture....

What is bi-directional charging? Bi-directional charging is the ability for your car battery to receive energy from the electricity grid and be also able to share the power it generates. There are two main categories: Vehicle-to-grid (V2G): energy is exported from the EV charger to support the electricity grid. Vehicle-to-home or (V2H): energy is used to power a home or business. Remind me how EV charging works? When you charge an EV, the alternating current (AC) it receives from the electricity grid needs to be converted into direct current (DC) to make it the correct format to power a car battery....

In the simplest terms, bitrate is an expression of the amount of data a file produces each second. For example, you may see something like “320kbps.” This literally means 320 kilobits per second, which is how much data is being produced. To make things easier, we’ve put this into a handy image for you: You’re most likely to see bitrate attached to lossy files, like MP3, OGG Vorbis, or AAC....

Later, at TED 2022 in Vancouver, the Tesla CEO said that his intention to take over Twitter isn’t driven by economic motives. At the same time, Twitter’s board of directors is considering its options to counter Musk’s bid. A lot’s been going on in the Twitter-Musk universe in the past week, and things are moving at a frantic pace, so we’ll try to break down what’s happened till now, and what are the possibilities going forward....