Posts Tagged: starts
Uber starts showing more US drivers how much they will earn on potential trips
Uber has launched a couple of features designed to improve the experience of and increase transparency for drivers. A few months ago, the ride-hailing giant started piloting a feature called “Upfront Fares” in a handful of cities. Now it’s expanding its availability and rolling it out to most of the US over the coming months. When they get access to the features, drivers will see how much they’ll earn and where they’re going for a trip on the request screen before they accept the booking.
According to the Help page explaining how Upfront Fares work, Uber calculates the amount it shows using several factors, “including base fares, estimated trip length and duration, pickup distance and surge pricing.” Uber will also show drivers the cross streets closest to the pick up and drop-off points to help them make a decision. In addition, Uber will also expand the availability of “Trip Radar,” a feature that shows drivers a list of possible trips nearby, along with Upfront Fares. They’ll still get individual trip requests, but now they can pick another booking that might suit them better.
Uber is positioning these new features as a way to support its drivers, but as Axios notes, the impact they may have on customers remains unclear. They could end up being misused and lead to the increase of rider and trip discrimination if drivers look at them as tools to avoid specific neighborhoods. That said, the features could also prevent canceled trips, because they allow drivers to make a conscious decision when accepting trips.
The company has also launched a new Uber Pro debit card that will enable drivers to earn cashbacks for getting gas at select stations. Back in March, Uber added a fuel surcharge to rides and deliveries, as well, to help drivers keep up with skyrocketing gas prices.
Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G starts from $449 in the US with pre-orders getting free Galaxy Buds Live
We’ve already seen the previously leaked but now official infographics for the Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 and now the two handsets have been officially unveiled by Samsung. The Galaxy A53 5G is Samsung’s new mid-range champion, gaining a performance bump and improved cameras with prices starting from $ 449 in the US and £399/€369 in […]
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Niantic’s ‘Pikmin Bloom’ mobile game starts rolling out
Pokémon Go's creator has a new augmented reality mobile game, and this time, it's all about Pikmin. Niantic is now rolling out Pikmin Bloom worldwide, starting with Singapore and Australia where it's already live. Similar to Pokémon Go, you'll have to go out and interact with the real world enjoy the game. It's really more of a fun and colorful companion for daily walks or hikes, though, since it doesn't have battles and doesn't have the incentive of catching rare monsters like Pokémon Go does.
In Pikmin Bloom, you'll find seedlings when you walk that you can pick up and grow into plant-like creatures that'll follow you around. The more you walk, the more Pikmin you can pluck and the more Pikmin will follow you around. Onscreen, you're depicted as a Mii avatar, with a bunch of creatures walking behind you and making more flowers bloom along your path. You'll also be able to collect items on your walks, including clothes Pikmin can wear and fruit you can feed your creatures to make flowers bloom on their heads.
Niantic CEO John Hanke said in the game's video announcement that the flowers the Pikmin make can be viewed by other players, so you can create shared gardens with your neighbors. Pikmin Bloom is now live for Android and iOS in Singapore and Australia, and it will be arriving in more countries and regions "shortly."
Google starts licensing Stadia tech to other companies
When Google shut down its internal Stadia game development studios earlier this year, Stadia general manager Phil Harrison said the company planned to "work with partners seeking a gaming solution all built on Stadia’s advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools." We're starting to see that strategy in action, as Google is now licensing Stadia tech to other companies.
As first reported by 9to5 Google and confirmed by IGN, AT&T is using the tech to offer wireless subscribers the chance to stream Batman: Arkham Knight (which isn't available on Stadia proper) for free. Customers can play the game for a limited time at up to 1080p through Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
"This is being powered by the Stadia technology," an AT&T spokesperson told IGN. "For this demo AT&T created a front end experience to enable gamers to play Batman: Arkham Knight directly from their own website and the game is playable on virtually any computer or laptop."
Oddly enough, subscribers can't take advantage of this offer on a smartphone, despite it seeming like a solid opportunity for AT&T to show off its network capabilities. AT&T even offered six months of Stadia Pro access to 5G and fiber internet customers this year.
Harrison said in February that offering game streaming tech to other companies (without Stadia branding in this case) was "the best path to building Stadia into a long-term, sustainable business that helps grow the industry." Although Google isn't making its own games for Stadia anymore, it has continued to add third-party games to the store.
Google’s updated WiFi router starts at $99, or $199 for a 3-pack
Just because Google released a Nest WiFi router last year doesn’t mean it’s retiring the one it launched back in 2016. In fact, the tech giant has given the original Google WiFi router a refresh and a new price point for those looking to boost their…
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Facebook’s redesigned website finally starts rolling out to everyone
After the better part of a year, Facebook has started rolling out its redesigned desktop website to all of its users. The company announced today it plans to complete the rollout over the "next few weeks." Moving forward, "The New Facebook" will be t…
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AT&T starts showing pause ads with motion and sound on DirecTV
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Scrolling lyrics for Spotify starts coming to Google Smart Displays
If you own a Google Smart Display and you’re still hanging on to Google Play Music, you might have seen lyrics scroll on your screen while listening to music. That’s been a pretty limited feature so far, but considering Google isn’t keeping Play Music around long-term, it’s time to bring other music services in to […]
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Alphabet’s Wing starts drone deliveries to US homes
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Dark mode starts to (partially) show up in Google Maps
Dark mode has been slowly creeping up in most of Google’s apps. Sometimes we randomly get an update that adds dark mode, but sometimes we just see bits of the UI themed for dark elements without the full blown toggle happening. Google Maps looks like it’s next on the list, but it’s taking the latter […]
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NASA starts accepting kids’ name suggestions for its Mars 2020 rover
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Ads galore: Google starts to push the “Photo book store” in Google Photos
Google is, at its heart, an advertising company. They have their hands in many, many different projects, products, and services, but fundamentally they’re all different ways to serve up ads to users. That’s not a bad or nefarious thing, either; it allows Google to craft up some remarkable products and let the whole world use […]
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FaceTime bug lets you listen in before a call starts (updated)
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Twitter starts rolling out simplified web interface to some users
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Android Pie stable update starts to roll out to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9
Just days ago another One UI beta update hit Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9, and apparently the company was immediately very happy with the state of the software. Now the finalized, stable version of Android Pie has started to roll out to the Note 9 in a few countries around the world, which should kick open […]
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Amazon’s 12 Days of Deals promotion starts December 2nd
With the craziness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday out of the way, you’ll no doubt be excited to learn that Amazon contrived to come up with yet another way to separate you from your hard-earned money. The online retailer has unveiled its 12 Days of Deals promotion that predictably runs for twelve days starting December […]
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Facebook starts rolling out Messenger’s ‘unsend’ feature
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Android Oreo starts a limited rollout on BlackBerry KEYone
Over the past couple days, an update to Android 8.0 Oreo started rolling out to a subset of BlackBerry KEYone devices. That subset of devices is limited to those in the Canadian market. For owners in Canada, one bit of good news is that the update is hitting both unlocked and carrier devices. For everyone […]
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YouTube Music starts rolling out today: 6 reasons you’re gonna like it
Last week we announced the new YouTube Music. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out early access of the new YouTube Music in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. To be the first to know when it’s available for you, head to music.youtube.com/coming-soon.
Here are six reasons we think you’re gonna like it:
- It’s ALL here. Not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube.
- Recommendations built for you. A home screen that dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on what you’ve played before, where you are and what you’re doing. At the gym workin’ on that fitness? Escaping during your commute? The right music is right here, built just for you.
- Thousands of playlists across any genre, mood or activity. Try “Blogged 50” to discover new music or “Indie Under Pressure” to get the heart rate going.
- Smart search so we’ll find the song, even if you can’t remember what it’s called. “That rap song with flute”? We got you. You can also search by lyrics (even if they’re wrong). It’s “Starbucks lovers,” right?
- The hottest videos. We’ll keep you on top of what’s hot! The hottest videos in the world right now are right there, on their own dedicated Hotlist screen. Today in the U.S., it features Anderson.Paak, Jessie Reyez, and G-Eazy.
- No internet? No problem. Paid members can download music and listen ad-free and in the background. Plus, your Offline Mixtape automatically downloads songs you love just in case you forgot to.
To the Google Play Music users out there, nothing will change – you’ll still be able to access and add to all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music just like always. For additional information on what we announced last week, be sure to check out our blog.
We can’t wait for music fans across the globe to get their hands on YouTube Music! If you’re interested in learning more and getting access, head to music.youtube.com/coming-soon.
Elias Roman, Product Manager, YouTube Music, recently played “Miranda Lambert – Little Red Wagon.“
Facebook starts telling users if Cambridge Analytica had their data
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Udacity’s ‘flying car’ engineering course starts next month
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Twitter Lite picks up steam, starts to roll out in more countries
Twitter has recently been testing a Twitter Lite mobile app as a way to get more users involved in the platform, especially those in parts of the world without consistently high-speed data connections. The results? Actually pretty good. Twitter has seen a 50% growth in tweets from Twitter Lite since April, and they’ve been hard […]
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Microsoft starts testing Windows 10’s built-in Eye Control
The latest Insider preview build for Windows 10 is rolling out, and it's bringing that eye-tracking support Microsoft recently mentioned. Users with a compatible eye tracking device (which right now means certain hardware from Tobii) can control thei…
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Work starts on a massive underground neutrino experiment
Neutrinos are notoriously difficult to understand, but work is underway to know them a little better. Researchers have officially broken ground on the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, the home to the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experimen…
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PlayStation Vue drops its cheapest packages, now starts at $40
Until now, in some areas, PlayStation Vue offered "Slim" versions of its streaming TV packages that dropped local TV channels and cost $ 10 less than the standard options. Now, as it's rolled out local broadcasts from more networks and in more places…
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Construction starts on the world’s largest optical telescope
After several years of planning and no shortage of financial anxiety, construction has officially started on the Extremely Large Telescope. Contractors are now building the main structure and dome of the Chile-based observer ahead of its initial ser…
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T-Mobile starts shipping the Samsung Galaxy S8
Ready for Samsung’s 2017 flagship? Many of you have eagerly been waiting for the Galaxy S8 to start shipping, but there’s still one week until the official release date. Unless you’re a T-Mobile customer, of course. The phone is already shipping to people on the magenta-colored network. T-Mobile sent out alerts earlier this week that […]
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Xaomi’s Redmi 3S starts at only $106 and is bound for China
Xiaomi is releasing a variant of its Redmi S phone, the Redmi 3S, for the Chinese market in June. The budget handset starts at an attractive $ 106, and its attractive price point and all-metal construction put it neck-and-neck with the competition.
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Time warp: This week’s solar eclipse starts on Wednesday, but ends on Tuesday
Thanks to the International Date Line, a nearly Pacific-wide total eclipse of the sun will actually begin on March 9, but end on March 8.
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Office 2016 starts rolling out on September 22
Microsoft's next major Office update is now only a few weeks away: the software giant just announced that it will start rolling out Office 2016 starting on September 22. While it's not nearly as exciting as new hardware, it's still a significant re…
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