The Tech Landscape #130 đ
The all-electric Lotus Evija is stated to be the worldâs most powerful production car, with almost 2,000 combined horsepower in its motors. It will launch in 2021 with an estimated ÂŁ2m price tag, and only 130 will be made.
If I didnât write this late on a Sunday night I might have something more interesting to say here.
Contract for the Web
World-wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee announced the âContract For The Webâ, a set of principles aimed at improving the openness of the web. With my pessimistic hat on, this is just a way for big organisations to virtue signal and will run into opposition with business models.
theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/24/tim-berners-lee-unveils-global-plan-to-save-the-internet
Mozilla seems to agree with me as itâs said it wonât sign the contract unless it introduces accountability measures.
blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/11/28/mozilla-and-the-contract-for-the-web/
XR
Facebookâs Spark AR Studio got a big update, with image target tracking and slider-adjustable effects for Instagram, and new tools to make life easier for developers.
sparkar.facebook.com/blog/introducing-new-spark-ar-studio-features-and-ar-capabilities-instagram/
Facebookâs Oculus Studios has acquired the team who make one of VRâs few breakthrough hits, Beat Saber. Oculus says that Beat Saber will continue to be independent and cross-platform.
oculus.com/blog/welcoming-beat-games-to-facebook/
Snap(chat) and US carrier Verizon announced a partnership to collaborate on 5G and AR experiments. The partnership will also see Snapchat pre-installed on some phones, and Verizon sponsorship in some Snapchat content.
telecoms.com/501041/verizon-and-snap-ink-5g-ar-deal/
Animated movie Scoob! is the first to release promotional AR lenses in YouTube. Viewers of the trailer will see a âtryâ button which opens three selfie filters. The tech has previously only been used for virtual makeup try-ons.
adweek.com/digital/warner-bros-adds-an-ar-component-to-the-youtube-trailer-for-scoob/
Assistants & Voice
Alexa gained new âemotionalâ speaking styles, with developers able to mark text to be expressed as disappointed or excited (in US English). Alexa can also use speciality styles of speaking: news and music.
developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/2019/11/new-alexa-emotions-and-speaking-styles
Alexa can now give medication reminders and re-order prescription medications by voice. A limited trial with a single pharmacy chain so far, but no doubt coming more broadly soon.
techcrunch.com/2019/11/26/amazon-launches-medication-management-features-for-alexa/
Android showed off a video of Ambient Mode, a proactive Assistant feature available when select devices are chargingâessentially, turning phones and tablets into limited Nest Hubs.
twitter.com/Android/status/1199069874766721030
Fast food chain Chipotle rolled out a voice ordering system in its 2,500 US stores, and created an Alexa skill to reorder favourites for delivery.
newsroom.chipotle.com/2019-11-21-Chipotle-Announces-Alexa-Reordering-Skill-By-Giving-Away-Echo-Dots-To-Rewards-Members-Named-Alexa
Social
Facebook is experimenting with a âclose friendsâ feature which lets users send Stories via Messenger to a selected list of friends. Instagram already has a similar feature, and itâs another example of social moving away from the public feed and into smaller groups.
techcrunch.com/2019/11/22/facebook-favorites/
Tumblr launched a new discovery and community feature, Tag Pages, which lets users more easily find content from their interests. There are promising signs of life from Tumblr since the Automattic acquisition.
staff.tumblr.com/post/189292675735/some-personal-news-its-now-easier-than-ever-to
Snapâs Bitmoji can now be more customised through the option to choose individual items of apparel rather than whole outfits. This is, I would say, in advance of branded apparel becoming available to buy.
engadget.com/2019/11/25/bitmoji-mix-and-match/
Retail
Amazon offered selected goods for Black Friday in China through a temporary store in social retailing app Pinduoduo. Amazon previously had their own Chinese site but pulled out earlier this year.
abacusnews.com/china-tech-city/amazon-brings-black-friday-deals-china-through-pinduoduo/article/3039163
Alibaba launched its âLocal Services Operating Systemâ, an app and services to give online extras, such as delivery, loyalty, and supply chain, to small local businesses.
alizila.com/new-alibaba-os-local-services/
China
China has published new regulations against the use of fake media. Any video or audio using âdeepfakeâ or synthetically generation must be clearly labelled or face punishment.
reuters.com/article/us-china-technology/china-seeks-to-root-out-fake-news-and-deepfakes-with-new-online-content-rules-idUSKBN1Y30VU
A new law now in force in China requires anyone signing up for a new mobile plan to submit to a facial recognition scan to prove their identity.
qz.com/1759108/china-launches-mandatory-face-scans-for-mobile-users/