Sunday, May 21, 2023

Researchers reveal many low-cost Android phones and smart TVs from lesser-known brands, sold in the US and owned by millions, come with malware preinstalled (Dan Goodin/Ars Technica)

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers reveal many low-cost Android phones and smart TVs from lesser-known brands, sold in the US and owned by millions, come with malware preinstalled  —  The bane of low-cost Android devices is showing no signs of going away.  —  Overall, Android devices have earned a decidedly mixed reputation for security.



Service robots like Moxi, which delivers medicines in hospitals, and Jesper, which serves food in restaurants, are in high demand despite job loss concerns (Peter Funt/Wall Street Journal)

Peter Funt / Wall Street Journal:
Service robots like Moxi, which delivers medicines in hospitals, and Jesper, which serves food in restaurants, are in high demand despite job loss concerns  —  The pandemic may be over, but the demand for nonhuman workers in health care, food service and other fields is here to stay



Hands-on with Google's Duet AI writing aid: a stiff style, inaccurate information, inconsistent Docs and Gmail behavior, great at drafting complaints, and more (Paresh Dave/Wired)

Paresh Dave / Wired:
Hands-on with Google's Duet AI writing aid: a stiff style, inaccurate information, inconsistent Docs and Gmail behavior, great at drafting complaints, and more  —  I used Duet AI to send emails and plan my wedding.  Its writing can be stuffy and stereotyping—but it's a glimpse of the future of productivity apps.



An in-depth look at the executive team behind Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg)

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
An in-depth look at the executive team behind Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset  —  Apple is just a few weeks away from debuting its mixed-reality headset.  This past week, I gave an in-depth look at the device's development and features.  Now, here's a list of the key people involved in the project.



China says it found "relatively serious" cybersecurity risks in Micron products, warns country's key information infrastructure operators against buying them (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
China says it found “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in Micron products, warns country's key information infrastructure operators against buying them  —  China said it found “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in Micron Technology Inc. products that were sold in the country …



How Mobileye, Cruise, Waymo, and other self-driving system makers are simulating bad drivers, jaywalkers, and edge cases to train and test autonomous vehicles (Christopher Mims/Wall Street Journal)

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
How Mobileye, Cruise, Waymo, and other self-driving system makers are simulating bad drivers, jaywalkers, and edge cases to train and test autonomous vehicles  —  Call it the Mad Max driving test, a gantlet only a Hollywood director—or a mild-mannered engineer—could dream up



Russian cryptocurrency payment network A7 expands to Africa, as Moscow builds an alternative payments system amid western sanctions after its Ukraine invasion (Financial Times)

Financial Times : Russian cryptocurrency payment network A7 expands to Africa, as Moscow builds an alternative payments system amid weste...