NEWSWORTHY
Listen closely. The podcast wars are heating up. After buying a couple of podcasting companies earlier this year, Spotify is adding a personalized playlist of the short audio shows to every user's library. Called "Your Daily Podcasts," the list will include both new and old shows that might appeal to the user.
Burn, baby, burn. A startup called Heliogen, backed by Bill Gates and famed VC Bill Gross, left stealth mode on Tuesday to reveal a new solar technology that could replace the manufacturing process for industrial materials like cement, coke, and steel with one that produces far less pollution. The company uses A.I. vision systems to concentrate solar energy and reach temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius, almost double the heat of other solar systems.
Uncovering the truth. The 2018 accident in which an Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian in Arizona was due to a distracted human backup driver, not flawed software. Uber had disabled an automatic braking system and relied on human backup in emergencies, a report by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded on Tuesday. Separately, Uber said it will begin making audio recordings of some rides in Latin America for safety (riders can opt out, if they desire).
Chatterbox. A single number disclosed by Microsoft crushed the stock of Slack, again. Microsoft said its competing Teams app has 20 million users, 67% more than its rival, sending Slack's stock down 8%. Slack's stock suffered a similar hit in July, when Microsoft said Teams had 13 million users.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We have to be careful in journalism not to make too much of anecdotal evidence. Sometimes a good story is just a story about one person's experience. But other times a trail of anecdotes reveals a trend. That's what happened with the reporting on Apple's problematic butterfly keyboard. Jennifer Elias at CNBC is onto another anecdote-based story after she noticed that some people are dropping Fitbit and deleting their fitness data from the company because of the pending Google takeover. Is it a real trend? We'll have to wait and see. Here's a sampling:
"I only recently got it and now I'm thinking I don't need Google watching literally my every step or my every heart beat," said Dan Kleinman, who said he is getting rid of his Fitbit Versa.
Some people cited Google's 2014 acquisition of Nest Labs, which, at the time consisted of smart home thermostats. Since then, the company has tied Nest's technology, branding and device accounts to its digital assistant and smart speakers.
"I use a lot of Google services and think they do a decent job, but I'm not interested in adding my health data to their systems," said Fredrik Matheson who got rid of his Charge 3 after the announcement.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Big Tech's Bugs Beg the Question: Should You Cover Your Smartphone Camera? By Alyssa Newcomb
IBM: The Fight Against A.I. Bias Is Never Over By David Meyer
Robinhood Expands Across the Pond, With Plans to Launch Fee-Free Stock Trading in the U.K. By Adrian Croft
Big Tech's Favorite Legal Shield Is in Danger By Jeff John Roberts
One Issue Bringing Democrats and Republicans Together? Banning Big Tech From Banking By Nicole Goodkind
Google Partners With Media Outlets to Launch an Audio News Service for Assistant By Jeff John Roberts
Apple Is Staging a December Press Event, But Its Products Won't Be in the Spotlight By Don Reisinger
BEFORE YOU GO
Were you a fan of Pizza Rat, the New York City rodent who famously dragged a slice of 'za down a subway staircase in a viral video a few years ago? (It has 11 million views so far!) Well, he or she is not alone. The New York Times has compiled a bunch of wacky and unlikely animal photos from around the city. Check out English Sparrow and fries, murder cat, and the remarkably patient owl.
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