Google has a new plan to promote Android apps outside of its Play Store. It was launched last week at its Google I/O 2024 developer conference, where the company spoke of a plan to re-engage users with apps they already have installed on their devices, as well as new ones, by giving developers a place to showcase their content in a unique way. Already, the company has more than 35 developer partners on board to test the new offering, including Spotify, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok and Shopify
Category: News and Views
How to turn off Google AI Overviews | Mashable
I’ll get straight to the point: there’s no “off” button for Google’s new AI Overviews feature. There is instead a “Web” button, buried in the “More” section of Google’s familiar row of buttons that look sort of like folder tabs, alongside things like “Images” and “News.”
Searching the new “Web” tab will get you the sort of results page you’re used to, with no AI-written summary of Google’s findings — just some links.
There’s a more elaborate, but much more complete solution to your problem as well, and I’ll go into that below. Using the Web option, however, is the simplest way out of the mess you’ve found yourself in.
OpenAI and Google’s latest AI announcements make one thing clear: They’re officially rivals. | Mashable
At Google I/O earlier this week, generative AI was unsurprisingly a major focal point.
In fact, Google CEO Sundar Pichai pointed out that “AI” was said 122 times, plus two more times by Pichai as he closed out the event.
The tech giant has injected AI features into seemingly all of its products and services, including Search, Workspace, and creative tools for videos, photos, and music. But arguably the biggest news of the day was how Google’s announcements compared to those from OpenAI. Just a day before Google I/O, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o, a “natively multimodal” model that can process visuals and audio in real-time, which ostensibly ramped up the burgeoning rivalry.
The backbone of America’s economy was just dealt a serious blow | CNN Business
US consumers could be reaching their breaking point. After dealing with elevated inflation and the highest interest rates in decades, they’re starting to rein in their spending.
Last month, retail sales were unchanged from March, when spending increased by a downwardly revised 0.6%, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.
April spending missed the 0.4% increase that economists had projected, according to FactSet. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.
By comparison, a year ago, retail sales surged by 3%. Stripping away auto sales, April retail sales were up by 0.2% last month, matching economists’ expectations.
Uber will now let you book a shuttle to the airport | CNN Business
Uber wants to make it cheaper to get a ride to the airport, concerts or sporting events.
The rideshare company on Wednesday announced the launch of Uber Shuttle, an offering that will let users book up to five seats in a shuttle from a central location to an event or the airport – for less than the cost of a regular Uber ride. The cost of the shuttle rides won’t be affected by surge pricing, a common affliction when lots of people are looking for rides at the same time.
Riders can book their space on the shuttles, which will hold between 14 and 55 seats, up to a week in advance and will receive a QR code ticket to board. Uber plans to partner with local shuttle companies with commercially licensed drivers to facilitate the offering, but users will be able to rate and tip drivers within the Uber app like with any other ride.
OpenAI unveils huge upgrade to ChatGPT that makes it more eerily human than ever | Live Science
A new version of ChatGPT can read facial expressions, mimic human voice patterns and have near real-time conversations, its creators have revealed.
OpenAI demonstrated the upcoming version of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, called GPT-4o, in an apparently real-time presentation on Monday (May 13). The chatbot, which spoke out loud with presenters through a phone, appeared to have an eerie command of human conversation and its subtle emotional cues — switching between robotic and singing voices upon command, adapting to interruptions and visually processing the facial expressions and surroundings of its conversational partners. During the demonstration, the AI voice assistant showcased its skills by completing tasks such as real-time language translation, solving a math equation written on a piece of paper and guiding a blind person around London’s streets.
Sun launches strongest solar flare of current cycle in monster X8.7-class eruption | Live Science
The sun has just spat out the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle, which began in 2019, according to a breaking report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.
The monster flare is a category X8.7, making it considerably stronger than the X2.2 flare that erupted from the sun last week — triggering radio blackouts and widespread auroras on Earth that were visible as far south as Mexico.
However, the latest flare is unlikely to result in any geomagnetic storms or aurora activity, as the sunspot group responsible for the blast is located at the very edge of the visible side of the sun, according to NOAA. However, high-frequency radio blackouts are still likely on Earth.
How Paris Became a 15-minute city | Fast Company
Four years ago, Paris embraced the idea of the 15-minute city—the concept that you should be able to live a short walk or bike ride from work, school, stores, and other aspects of daily life.
Since then, the city has radically changed. There are now 746 miles of protected bike lanes, and more Parisians bike than drive. Empty offices have been redeveloped with housing, coworking spaces, gyms, shops, and other uses under one roof. The mayor recently said that 2025 would be the year of “hyper-proximity,” with even more focus on bringing services to each neighborhood so people don’t have to get in the car every time they need to run an errand.
Tesla may be floundering—but Ford’s EV sales tell a different story | Fast Company
Tesla, you may have heard, is going through a rough patch, and the company represents a large enough share of U.S. electric vehicle sales that its problems could lead to a down year for the entire market.
But that hasn’t happened—at least not yet—partly because several other brands’ EV sales have risen to take the sting out of Tesla’s decline.
Ford is looking especially good, with year-to-date sales through April of 28,252 EVs, an increase of 97% from the same period last year. That makes Ford the country’s second-leading EV brand, although Tesla still outsells Ford’s EVs at a rate of about seven to one.
The Rising Trend of Generational Tobacco Bans in Massachusetts | Small Biz Trends
New laws on the books in Massachusetts are threatening the future of some historic local tobacconist businesses.
Following a landmark decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, several Greater Boston towns are adopting something known as a generational tobacco ban.
As reported by Cigar Aficionado, the legislative actions are setting a precedent that could influence broader state and national tobacco regulations. Often with local governments, one board of councilpersons gets their ideas from another – a monkey-see, monkey-do scenario.
In March 2023, the court upheld a bylaw in the Boston suburb of Brookline that prohibited the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in the 21st century. The ruling catalyzed similar policies across neighboring towns, each with the goal of a “Nicotine-Free Generation.”
Other towns in Massachusetts like Stoneham, Wakefield and Melrose have quickly enacted or are considering similar bans – all set to take effect by January 2025.
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