Cryptocurrency cleaned up its act this week as spot Bitcoin ETFs made their Wall Street debut in January. The digital tokens are looking almost unrecognizable from what the industry represented just a few years ago, leading to the question, is Bitcoin still crypto?
DoorDash customers in NYC will notice a new fee tacked onto their bill when they purchase food for delivery through the app. The company has started charging users $2 more for deliveries in NYC as a response to the city’s new minimum wage law, a spokesperson has confirmed to Business Insider. It warned users back in December that the new minimum pay rate, which it called “ill-conceived” and “extreme,” will have “significant consequences for everyone” who uses its platform and will “force [it] to raise fees for orders.” Other major cities implementing a minimum pay rate for app-based deliveries will also be affected. Seattle customers, for instance, were recently hit with new fees worth 10 cents to $3.40 order.
Under the new regulations, services like Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub will have to pay workers at least $18 an hour. DoorDash has chosen to pay drivers $29.93 for every active hour only, which means they’re unpaid for the time they spend waiting for orders to come in. When the company published its response to Seattle’s new rules, it said it was going to reduce the suggested tip amount for each purchase “in order to better balance the impact of these new costs and provide the best experience for consumers.”
Customers can still tip any amount they want, but they may be less inclined to tip as much as before due to the added fees. That’s one possible direct impact to drivers, since as DoorDash notes in its announcement, they get 100 percent of customers’ tips. That hasn’t always been the case. Back in 2019, news reports exposed the company’s practice of pocketing tips and using that money to pay for drivers’ guaranteed fees, which should’ve come from DoorDash itself. The food delivery service only introduced a new earnings and tipping policy that ensures drivers are getting their tips shortly after those reports came out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/doordash-increases-nyc-delivery-fees-following-new-minimum-wage-rules-105051707.html?src=rss
AI-generated voices mimicking celebrities and politicians are making it harder for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight robocalls. FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel wants the commission to recognize calls that use AI-generated voices as artificial, making the use of voice cloning technologies in robocalls illegal.
Under the FCC’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), artificial voice or recording calls to residences are against the law. If AI-generated voice calls are recognized as illegal under the existing law, it’ll give state attorneys general offices nationwide “new tools” to crack down on scammers.
The FCC’s proposal comes shortly after some New Hampshire residents received a call impersonating President Joe Biden, telling them not to vote in their state’s primary. A security firm performed a thorough analysis of the call and determined it was created using AI tools by a startup called ElevenLabs. The company subsequently banned the account responsible for the message.
— Mat Smith
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
Snap is recalling its Pixy drone after battery fire
Google reveals another text-to-image generative AI tool, ImageFX
Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to Apple Vision Pro
Meta Quest headsets get spatial video playback, just in time for the Apple Vision Pro launch
Hulu is the latest streaming service to crack down on password sharing
Elgato introduces its first-ever HDMI 2.1 capture cards
Comcast is discontinuing its Xfinity 10G Network branding to describe its internet service after a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel found the term could mislead consumers into thinking that Comcast’s cellular and broadband services would offer much faster speeds than current-generation networks.
Google is adding generative AI to Maps. The feature’s in early access and only available in certain areas and for select Local Guides members. It allows you to speak to the app using natural language to discover new places. Ask the app what you’re looking for, like a specific kind of restaurant, and the company’s large-language models will analyze information from all of its listings, along with insights from community members.
The recommendation engine will also recall what you’ve asked in the past, hopefully honing future suggestions.
After threatening to do so earlier this week, Universal Music Group (UMG) is pulling the catalogs of performers it represents, including Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and others. There are no longer tracks listed in the profiles of some of the world’s most notable artists, and any UMG music featured in TikTok videos will be muted going forward. Universal had previously said TikTok wanted to pay a “fraction” of the rate paid by other social media sites.
This is the perfect picture for this story. Reality Labs, Meta’s division for AR, VR and the metaverse, generated more than $1 billion in revenue during the final quarter of 2023, thanks to its Quest headsets and the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The division, however, still lost $4.6 billion in the quarter and more than $16 billion in 2023. Legs are expensive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-fcc-wants-to-make-ai-voiced-robocalls-illegal-121559520.html?src=rss
This weekend, and the month of February, began on a down note with the news of Carl Weathers’ passing. The 76-year-old athlete-turned-actor has been in Hollywood for decades, and like the late Lance Reddick, has been one of those actors you’re glad to see pop up in things.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 phones are all about AI, but how do they compare against Google’s AI tech? This week, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss what works and doesn’t about Samsung’s ambitious new smartphones, and why it may be a good thing for the Korean giant to directly compete with Google. Also, Senior Editor Karissa Bell joins to discuss the social media CEO Senate hearing, which, unsurprisingly, doesn’t really amount to much.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra reviews: AI with mixed results – 0:47
Senate gathers social media CEOs over online child safety – 15:15
Graphic images of Taylor Swift on X prompts U.S. bill to let people sue over sexual deepfakes – 28:11
Universal Music Group pulls songs from TikTok during talks on a new music rights deal – 33:05
Delaware court denies Elon Musk’s “unfathomable” Tesla payday – 38:31
Neuralink claims to have implanted its first chip in a human test subject – 40:32
Google reveals new text-to-image generative AI tool, ImageFX – 41:46
Working on – 47:00
Pop culture picks – 51:29
Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Karissa Bell
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-samsung-galaxy-24-reviews-133002731.html?src=rss
Cryptocurrency cleaned up its act this week as spot Bitcoin ETFs made their Wall Street debut in January. The digital tokens are looking almost unrecognizable from what the industry represented just a few years ago, leading to the question, is Bitcoin still crypto?
Thanks to a sale on Amazon right now, you can pick up a few extra Apple AirTags at a discount. A four-pack of the Bluetooth trackers is $20 off the normal price of $99, dropping them down to just $79. It’s the best price for a pack of AirTags we’ve seen yet this year. For iPhone owners, there’s no better option than AirTags for keeping track of your things, as they’re able to make use of Apple’s massive Find My network to help pinpoint lost objects.
AirTags’ ability to use crowd-sourced location information from the millions of Apple devices currently in operation means you have a really good shot at tracking whatever it is that’s gone missing. But we often lose items somewhere within our own homes, too, and Find My has a Precision Finding feature on compatible iPhones for those instances where the object is somewhere close by. Using the Find My app, you can ping the tracker so it plays a sound, and the app will lead you to the lost item with directional arrows, even showing you about how many feet away it is.
The battery in the tracker lasts roughly a year, so you generally don’t need to worry about it running out. Once it is ready to be changed, it only takes one CR2032 coin battery. There is one downside to the AirTags design, though — there’s no built-in key loop or method of attaching to another item, so if you want to clip it onto something, you’ll need to buy an accessory. And there are plenty of great AirTags accessories out there.
AirTags are IP67 rated for dust and water resistance, and you can use them to track as many as 32 items in the Find My app. You just need to have an Apple device to make use of their tracking capabilities.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-is-back-on-sale-for-79-155353925.html?src=rss
Cryptocurrency cleaned up its act this week as spot Bitcoin ETFs made their Wall Street debut in January. The digital tokens are looking almost unrecognizable from what the industry represented just a few years ago, leading to the question, is Bitcoin still crypto?
The cancellation of Westworld in 2022 came as a shock for multiple reasons. HBO’s marquis lineup of prestige dramas have generally gotten to end on their own terms, and the sci-fi show seemed like it was hoping for one last season to tie everything together. Instead, we’re left with questions about how things could’ve…
According to a document leaked on X, Google is planning to introduce some major changes to its Bard AI tool as soon as this coming week. The plans, which have not been publicly confirmed, reportedly include changing the Bard name to Gemini. It would make sense for Google to do so, if only for simplicity’s sake — the company introduced its new multimodal AI model, Gemini, at the end of 2023 and has begun integrating it into some of its products, including Bard.
The changelog shared by Android app developer Dylan Roussel is dated February 7, and also notes that the paid Gemini Advanced tier will become available at this time. It mentions a Gemini app for Android is “coming soon,” as well.
Google added a new changelog for Bard, and — oh boy — it’s a big one!
The availability in Canada is awesome! That said I don’t really understand the limitations with the app. That’s disappointing as someone who lives in Europe.
Oh by the way… https://t.co/xM2snHVYJ9 is real. pic.twitter.com/QKgKrRjmM4
— Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) February 3, 2024
Per the document, Gemini Advanced will give users access to the Ultra 1.0 model of Gemini, which is “far more capable at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions, and creative collaboration.” It’ll be available in over 150 countries and optimized for the English language at the start. The changelog also says Gemini will expand to Canada with this release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-reportedly-rebranding-bard-to-gemini-and-plans-to-launch-a-dedicated-app-204442265.html?src=rss
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
