Technology

Amazon might be working on its own smart fridge, according to a new report from Insider. “Project Pulse,” as the project is titled internally, is reportedly being developed by the same Amazon “physical-stores unit” that worked on the company’s high-tech Amazon Go stores. Project Pulse “is designed to track your inventory and purchase habits, predict what you want, and have it delivered,” Insider writes. The fridge could also track expiration dates, suggest recipes based on the products in your fridge, and offer an easy way to order more food from an Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods grocery store. Amazon already introduced a microwave — why not a fridge? Amazon’s foray into fridges has apparently been in the works for at least two years, Insider sa...

When I cook, I typically just Google a recipe or try one out on the fly. But in the future, it’s possible artificial intelligence might help me concoct a meal or assist a chef as they write their next cookbook or design a menu. In today’s Vergecast AI episode, we explore the world of AI product design — how far could AI go in helping humans design smells and tastes? For that discussion, we chat with Frederik Duerinck, the founder of ScentTronix, which is part software, part hardware and attempts to make customizable perfumes based on individual people. We also talk to Michael Spranger, COO at Sony AI, about how Sony is helping chefs design recipes and maximize flavor. Finally, we take it a step further and ask whether it’s even possible for a computer to eventually smell and taste. We all ...

Facebook is adding co-streaming to Facebook Gaming, a useful feature the Twitch competitor has lacked since it launched in 2018. Additionally, while Twitch’s version of a co-streaming feature — “Squad Stream” — requires you to be a Twitch Partner, Facebook is making co-streaming available to everyone. “With co-streaming, we aim to increase discoverability for creators, encourage collaboration between creators and elevate the overall viewing experience,” Facebook explains. In short, streaming the same game alongside someone else is mutually beneficial. Actually starting a stream involves tagging up to three other creators during stream setup or after you’re live. If the other creators tag you back, then your audience is launched into a “co-streaming viewer experience,” according to Facebook...

Weeks before Virginia’s gubernatorial election, the campaign for Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe is reaching out to an unexpected constituency: Taylor Swift fans. On Tuesday, the McAulliffe campaign launched a series of Facebook, Instagram, and Google search ads highlighting his opponent Glenn Youngkin’s role in the controversial purchase of Taylor Swift’s master recordings in 2019. The buyout of Swift’s masters has been a point of bitter contention for the singer and her fans and could be an unexpected liability in the upcoming race. Last year, Youngkin — the Republican nominee for Virginia governor — retired as co-CEO of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group before launching his 2021 gubernatorial bid. At Carlyle, Youngkin worked with the media executive Scooter Braun to acquire...

Apple is commemorating its co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs’ death with a new short film and a personal statement from the visionary tech executive’s family. Jobs passed away 10 years ago on October 5th, 2011, after a difficult battle with pancreatic cancer. The short film — which has currently taken over Apple’s landing page — commemorates Jobs’ life in photos, videos, and some of his most iconic quotes, from “the computer is a bicycle for the mind” to the introductions of the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone. Apple also published a statement from Jobs’ family, shared below: For a decade now, mourning and healing have gone together. Our gratitude has become as great as our loss. Each of us has found his or her own path to consolation, but we have come together in a beautiful place of lo...

Waymo is working on self-driving taxis, which is a huge deal. Ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have remade cities, allowed people to give up their cars, and generally connected the buttons you push on your phone to real things happening in the world more directly than almost any other app. Just this week, Bank of America’s trading desk sent out an investor note saying Uber was the most transformational thing to happen to the phone in the past decade. But simply getting a car to show up where you want isn’t the endgame. The endgame is to make a robot show up to your house — a self-driving car. Self-driving cars promise to even more radically remake cities and suburbs, decrease overall car ownership, and let commuters take back hours of their time as they travel. It’s a big dream, and we...

Hello again, welcome to the first week of October. I’m loving the spooky vibes and strong pumpkin energy the fall has wrought, although it was a little steamy here in NYC this past weekend. Summer’s last gasp. But I’m not complaining! I put the heat on in my car for approximately three minutes last week and was sad. Enough about my SAD, though, and more on audio. In today’s newsletter we discuss the fan reaction to Spotify’s latest exclusive move, along with Patreon looking to make its own original podcasts, and more. Off we go. Gimlet’s Heavyweight is becoming a Spotify exclusive, and the fans are mad Heavyweight, one of the longest-running Gimlet Media shows, is becoming a Spotify exclusive next month, five years after it began and two years after the Spotify / Gimlet acquisition. Host J...

In May, Google announced plans to enable two-factor authentication (or two-step verification as it’s referring to the setup) by default to enable more security for many accounts. Now it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Google is once again reminding us of that plan, saying in a blog post that it will enable two-factor for 150 million more accounts by the end of this year. In 2018, Google said that only 10 percent of its active accounts were using two-factor authentication. It has been pushing, prodding, and encouraging people to enable the setting ever since. Another prong of the effort will require more than 2 million YouTube creators to turn on two-factor authentication to protect their channels from takeover. Google says it has partnered with organizations to give away more than 10,...

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 8 has a gorgeous 120Hz display and updated internals, but it’s really the new Surface Slim Pen 2 that has caught my attention. Microsoft has added haptics features to its stylus for the first time, thanks to a new custom chip inside. It has transformed inking on the Surface Pro 8. I thought the haptic feedback would be a gimmick until I started testing it this weekend. In the Sketchable Windows app, you can select from a variety of drawing tools, like brushes, pencils, markers, inking nibs, and even chalk. They all feel totally different now, thanks to the haptics in the Surface Slim Pen 2. Apps like Sketchable support the new Surface pen. This isn’t the buzzy haptic feedback you’re probably used to from a phone, the haptics are more subtle here and adjust to gi...

A jury in California has ordered Tesla to pay $137 million in damages to a Black former elevator operator after he experienced a hostile work environment, including racial harassment and discrimination, at the company’s Fremont plant. Owen Diaz worked at the plant between June 2015 and May 2016 as a contractor, reports CNBC and The Washington Post. Diaz told the court that “daily racist epithets” were used in the plant, including the n-word; that racist graffiti and cartoons appeared in his workspace and the toilets; and that he was told to “go back to Africa” by colleagues. Supervisors failed to consistently intervene in these issues, said Diaz, and the stress of the situation caused him to suffer weight loss and “sleepless nights.” As reported by Bloomberg News, he told the jury: “Some d...

Google is giving away a free Stadia Premiere Edition kit if you purchase a regular Stadia game. This hardware bundle includes a Chromecast Ultra and Stadia controller, and you’ll need to buy a full price game ($59.99 or above) to qualify for the offer. Google’s free offer will run until 11:59PM PT on October 10th, and codes will be distributed by October 20th. The free Stadia Premier Edition offer will run in the US, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland. Google usually sells its Stadia Premiere Edition for $79.99. Google has been giving away free Stadia hardware over the past year This isn’t the first time that Google has given away free Stadia hardware. In November Google started gifting Stadia Premier...