Google Maps to show alternate transit and walking directions along with driving routes

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Google Maps to show alternate transit and walking directions along with driving routes
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In an effort to get users to take a bus or train to get to their destinations instead of driving or better yet, use their own two feet, Google Maps is going to have a new feature. Next to the app’s driving routes, Google Maps will show users public transit and walking alternatives that will get the user to his destination without having to grip a steering wheel. These alternatives will appear “if travel times are comparable and practical.” Google announced this today in a blog post.

The alternative public transit and walking suggestions will appear on the bottom of the screen in a card that says, “Also consider” which will include a preview of the alternative actions recommended. The card will also let the user know if any of these alternatives are faster than driving. The goal is to find alternatives that use lower amounts of carbon. The feature will be available in 15 cities around the world over the next few weeks including Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Montreal, Paris, Rome, and Sydney.

Red box shows alternative public transit suggestions on Google Maps - Google Maps to show alternate transit and walking directions along with driving routes

Red box shows alternative public transit suggestions on Google Maps

Google Maps is also getting a feature that will, in Search, help users find more information about long distance train and bus routes. For example, if you search for “Boston to Philadelphia train,” schedules and ticket prices will appear on the results page along with links that you can tap on to book your trip. This feature can be accessed for trains in 38 countries and for bus routes in 15 countries.

Looking up trains and buses on Google Search will show you schedules and pricin - Google Maps to show alternate transit and walking directions along with driving routes

Looking up trains and buses on Google Search will show you schedules and pricin

Last year, Google added train route suggestions when you look for flights on Search. In the upcoming months, you’ll see train route suggestions when you search for a flight using Google Flights. With the latter, you’ll also see the estimated emissions for almost every flight and you can filter the results to show you the flights with the lowest emissions first.

Google is trying to give people the information they need to choose the low-carbon alternative when traveling.


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TikTok confirms early beta testing of its photo-sharing app called TikTok Notes

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TikTok confirms early beta testing of its photo-sharing app called TikTok Notes
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Remember those rumors that were swirling about a TikTok photo-sharing app? It seems those were rooted in reality after all. The formerly unnamed app now goes by the name TikTok Notes, and it appears poised to take a direct shot at Instagram’s dominance as a photo-focused platform.

The battle between social platforms for users’ attention continues to heat up. Instagram, in a successful bid to counter TikTok’s meteoric rise, cloned TikTok’s video-centric feed and dubbed it Reels. Now, it seems TikTok is ready to strike back with TikTok Notes, a photo-focused experience.

While the unreleased (in the U.S.) app has a fresh name, the overall goal seems unchanged. Recently, the app’s updated icon and a linked website (notes.tiktok.com) was spotted, putting TikTok Notes squarely in the spotlight (via 9to5Mac). Shortly after, TikTok itself apparently had no choice but to confirm the app’s development, taking to its social media and confirming on X: “We’re in the early stages of experimenting with a dedicated space for photo and text content with TikTok Notes.”

TikTok Notes features | Source: TikTok (X)

So, there you have it. The company has begun limited testing and made TikTok Notes available for download in Canada and Australia. In an apparent nod to what it hopes are its future users, as well as its competition, TikTok shared: “TikTok Notes experience is designed for those who would like to share and engage through photo content.”

The launch of TikTok Notes signals a new phase of this competition, and users are the likely winners. Whether TikTok Notes can carve out a substantial niche where Instagram reigns supreme remains to be seen, but the fight is sure to be captivating.


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Plex becomes world’s largest free live channel streaming service

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Plex becomes world’s largest free live channel streaming service
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Plex has become the world’s largest free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) and advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) service, rivaled perhaps, only by YouTube. The platform announced it now cumulatively offers more than 1,100 live channels for free. 

Plex offers 1,112 live-streaming channels for free

After including the NFL Channel in the United States, Plex has become the world’s largest ad-supported streaming service, announced Keith Valory, CEO of Plex,

“Our aim for Live TV on Plex is to have something for ALL of our users’ television tastes all over the world. While this ever-growing library of free-to-stream entertainment drives Plex toward this goal of offering any entertainment a consumer may want, we are also diligently focused on providing advertisers with unparalleled reach and the transparency that should come with it.”

Not all of the 1,100+ channels are available in the United States. The Plex app currently offers 847 free streaming channels in the USA.

The Plex app works on most hardware, including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and a large number of smart devices attached to a display.

Plex claims it now has the largest global selection of free ad-supported TV channels. Its free service is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and Germany.

Needless to say, not all of the 1,100+ channels are available in all of the regions where Plex is available. Still, the sheer number of streaming channels on the platform puts it ahead of its competitors, especially on a global scale.

Stream for free with ads, or pay for an ad-free experience?

No doubt streaming services are trying to wow subscribers. However, there’s an ever-growing list of platforms. Moreover, desired or popular content is now spread out across several platforms. This forces subscribers to either pay a hefty subscription price every month or pick and choose services.

This is where Plex shines with its vast content library from some of the biggest content producers. Plex has Fox, NBC, Scripps, Hallmark, AMC, A+E, BBC, Euronews, ​​Lionsgate, Banijay, Fremantle, and PBS. The platform reportedly welcomed CBC News (Canada), BBC News, MLB Channel, CBS Sports HQ, Golazo Network, CBS News, and 15 CBS channels in the U.S.

Currently, Plex offers a wide variety of live TV channels and even movies. It is, however, important to note that Plex is an ad-supported platform. Todd Hay, VP of Revenue & Engagement at Plex, has stated,

“Our platform optimizes each ad break for impactful reach for advertisers and for the best possible user experience – from real-time loudness leveling of creatives to de-duping and competitive separation within ad breaks. We aim to put advertisers’ messages in front of the right viewers in the best possible light. This makes it a win for all, as it should be.”

What this essentially means is that Plex will insert ads in between the content users stream. Its competition. on the other hand, offers ad-free subscriptions.


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Amazon denies its AI-powered Just Walk Out tech was run by humans

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Amazon denies its AI-powered Just Walk Out tech was run by humans
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Amazon has insisted that its “Just Walk Out” platform isn’t powered by human workers. The company hasn’t claimed that its contactless payment and cashier-less technology was entirely devoid of human technicians or manual review.

Amazon “Just Walk Out” didn’t have backend remote workers?

Amazon has been gradually deploying stores that didn’t have attendants and cashiers. The company had installed multiple cameras and sensors that could read customers’ shopping carts and charge them automatically. Artificial Intelligence or AI was supposed to be powering the Just Walk Out technology.

However, earlier this month, several reports suggested Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology wasn’t truly AI-powered. They suggested Amazon had been employing around 1000 workers in India to do the heavy lifting.

This backend staff essentially watched people shop inside Amazon’s Just Walk Out stores, these reports claimed. These remote workers allegedly reviewed the purchases manually. Some of the reports added Amazon’s workers had to review about 70% or 700 of every 1,000 transactions in 2022.

This may suggest Amazon wasn’t truly relying on AI. However, the e-commerce giant insists these reports are “erroneous”. The company isn’t denying the presence and use of actual humans in the technology.

Amazon has claimed that human workers helped with annotating AI-generated and real shopping data. The manual labor helped improve the Just Walk Out system, not run it entirely.

Dilip Kumar, the vice president of AWS Applications has stated that human labor helped improve and train the AI that powered the Just Walk Out technology.

Amazon Dash Cart is the future?

Amazon Dash Cart is the company’s smart shopping cart, which has cameras, sensors, and scanners. This bundle of technology allows shoppers to quickly ring up their purchases and save time.

Amazon insists the Just Walk Out tech is merely an advanced version of the Amazon Dash Cart. “It uses the same advanced, computer vision technology as Just Walk Out,” claimed Dilip.

“Just Walk Out technology detects when a shopper’s hand interacts with a product on the shelf. When that happens, Machine Learning (ML) algorithms make sure the correct item is added to the shopper’s virtual cart—all without any specific knowledge about the person.”

The human element, which Amazon has admitted is part of the Just Walk Out technology, helps with labeling and annotation steps. These remote workers, “don’t watch live video of shoppers to generate receipts,” Amazon has stated.

It seems, as with most of the AI and ML algorithms, Amazon too uses human reviewers. It is a fact that the majority of AI projects have a human element. In fact, in several cases, humans are mandatory to ensure the AI is doing its job correctly.

Amazon claims customers prefer Amazon Dash Cart, and it will start embedding the technology in third-party retailers and all Amazon Fresh stores. The company had recently indicated it would ditch the technology, at least in the US. However, it had stated that “data concerns” were holding the technology back.


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Apple plans to add some cool new features to the Notes app in iOS 18

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Apple plans to add some cool new features to the Notes app in iOS 18
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Everyone is excited about June 10th when Apple will introduce iOS 18 during the WWDC 2024 Keynote. We expect to see the company discuss its new AI initiatives which are expected to help users with everyday tasks and take digital assistant Siri to a new level. The iOS 18 update is being tipped as the largest ever made in the history of iOS. Per AppleInsider, iOS 18 will also include a more powerful Notes app.

The report says that the new Notes app will have more capabilities with support for audio recording. The feature will be similar to the Voice Memos app but will be integrated into Notes. Users will be able to record, play, and save voice recordings from the Notes app and this should be available right away with the release of the first iOS 18 public beta. Users will be able to include descriptions to help add context to a note.

The UI of the Voice Memos app will be used for integrated voice recording in the new Notes app - Apple plans to add some cool new features to the Notes app in iOS 18

The UI of the Voice Memos app will be used for integrated voice recording in the new Notes app

With this feature, students will be able to record classes or lectures and add screenshots of the blackboard or add comments and have it appear in one note in the app. The audio of business meetings could also be captured along with a photo of the whiteboard. And again, this would all appear in a single note. Those traveling could make an audio recording of a guided tour and add images of the areas being mentioned. The new UI for the audio recording feature in Notes will look very much like the UI used on the Voice Recorder app

A pre-release version of the software refers to a new feature called “Math Notes” that will allow the new Notes app to access the native iOS calculator app. Information from the calculator can be integrated into the new Notes app and support mathematical notation. It is used in math, science, and engineering to represent “complex concepts.” And the inclusion of the new Notes app with “Math Notes” might be important enough to Apple to finally lead the tech giant to include (are you sitting down?) a native calculator app for the iPad!

The Notes app dates back to the Stone Age. Well, at least back to the original iPhone in 2007. Improvements have been made over the years and Apple is hoping that with the latest new additions, it can compete with the iOS version of Microsoft’s OneNote which already features in-app recording and the ability to solve mathematical equations.


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Google Chrome for Android readies tab group sync

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Google Chrome for Android readies tab group sync
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Google plans to bring tab group syncing to Chrome for Android. The feature, already available on the desktop, lets you access your saved tab groups on other devices. The sync function for the mobile browser is currently in development and may take a while to roll out to the public.

Google Chrome will support tab group syncing on Android

Introduced last year, tab group syncing on the desktop version of Google Chrome is a manual process where you have to first save a tab group for it to show up on other desktop devices signed in with the same Google account. Right-clicking on a tab group gives you the option to save it. Once saved, it is marked with a circular sync icon and added to the left of your bookmark bar.

You can access a saved tab group from this bar on other devices. Chrome automatically syncs any new tabs you add to a saved group or when you remove existing tabs. While tab groups are also available on Chrome for Android, the save and sync option is missing. Google is now working on this support, making the Chrome experience consistent across all types of devices.

A recent change in the Chromium Gerrit page reveals this upcoming feature. Spotted by X user @Leopeva64, the new entry confirms that a flag to enable tab group syncing is coming soon to Chrome Canary on Android. Canary is an early build of Google’s browser app. It is mainly for developers to test new features, APIs, and changes. While the app is mostly stable, new features may not always work properly.

The same applies to tab group syncing. Since Google is currently developing this feature, there may be some inconsistencies. You can still install Chrome Canary on your device to try new features, including this one, early. You don’t have to remove the stable version to use the Canary version. We will let you know when this feature arrives on the stable version of Chrome for Android.

Tab group customization is also on the way

Google is also readying new tools to customize tab groups on Chrome for Android like on the desktop. When creating a group, you get a dialog box to customize its name and choose a color for it. The company may bring both of these tools to the stable version in a few weeks. Make sure to keep the app updated so you don’t miss out on new features. You can check for updates on the Google Play Store.


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Stability AI opens up Stable Diffusion 3 API to developers

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Stability AI opens up Stable Diffusion 3 API to developers
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Stability AI has announced expanded access for developers to its next-generation text-to-image generator, Stable Diffusion 3, with the release of the latest API for developers. This move underscores the company’s commitment to open-source generative AI, with plans to release the model weights for self-hosting in the near future.

According to The Verge, Stable Diffusion 3 uses an architecture called the Multimodal Diffusion Transformer. This architecture allows the model to effectively combine textual input with its visual understanding, resulting in more realistic and coherent image generation.

Powerful text-to-image generation now within reach for developers

Previously available only through limited channels, Stable Diffusion 3 is now widely accessible through Stability AI’s Developer Platform API. This grants developers the ability to integrate the powerful model into their applications. Stable Diffusion 3 has received praise for its exceptional performance over similar models, particularly in its ability to accurately translate text prompts into high-quality images.

Stability AI’s press release highlights the model’s strengths in three key areas: typography, adherence to prompt, and text comprehension. These allow developers to create images that precisely match their descriptions, even when those descriptions include intricate elements like specific fonts or styles. Stability AI even claims that Stable Diffusion 3 equals or outperforms other leading text-to-image generators like OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 and Midjourney v6 in these areas.

A new “Stable Assistant Beta” platform is also coming

In addition to the API release, Stability AI has introduced Stable Assistant Beta, a new platform designed to streamline content creation. Described as a “friendly chatbot,” Stable Assistant Beta allows paying subscribers to interact with Stable Diffusion 3 and other AI models conversationally. Users can simply describe their desired image, request written content, or even have the model find matching text descriptions for existing photos.

Overall, the release of Stable Diffusion 3 through the Developer Platform API is a significant development in the field of generative AI. By empowering developers with access to this powerful new model, Stability AI unlocks the potential for groundbreaking applications that push the boundaries of creative expression.


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Google Messages will now let you record a selfie GIF, but not everyone has it yet

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Google Messages will now let you record a selfie GIF, but not everyone has it yet
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Google Messages is getting a fun upgrade with the rollout of three-second Selfie GIFs. This new feature lets you inject a bit more personality and visual flair into your conversations, but unfortunately, it hasn’t rolled out widely yet.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the feature has reached many users yet. I am currently on the latest version of the Google Messages beta and also running Android 15 Beta 1 (I like to live on the wild side) and I am not seeing this feature activated for me yet. This suggests that the rollout could be server-wide or simply one of those rare features that rolls out in the stable version of messages before it does in the beta.

In either case, in its instructions, Google outlines the process in these simple steps:

  1. Open up a conversation in Google Messages.
  2. Long-press the camera icon located in the text field.
  3. You may also see a prompt within the conversation suggesting you record a selfie GIF. If you see that prompt, tap it.
  4. Get ready, as you’ll have a short countdown before the recording magically starts and stops. Want more control? Tap the red button to manually start the recording, with the option to restart if needed.
  5. Once you’ve captured your three-second selfie GIF, it will be automatically saved to your camera roll for easy sharing.
Google Messages will now let you record a selfie GIF, but not everyone has it yet

Selfie GIF taking process | Image via TheSpAndroid.blogspot.com

If you’re a Google Messages user, keep an eye out for the Selfie GIF feature landing on your device soon. And once it does, get ready to add some animated fun to your chats.


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Google Maps gets new features EV owners will love

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Google Maps gets new features EV owners will love
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Needless to say, we’re seeing more and more electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads these days. That is especially true for the US. Well, Google has decided to add some new features to Google Maps, that EV owners will love. That goes for both Android and iOS apps , and the web client. Google Search is also a part of the equation, though. More on that later.

One of the new Google Maps EV features are AI-powered summaries

These new features will help you find EV chargers on your journey so that you can plan ahead. Google says that, in the coming months, it’ll “start showing AI-powered summaries in Google Maps that describe a charger’s specific location based on helpful information from user reviews”.

Why is this important? Well, finding an EV charger is not always an easy job. It can be located in a specific part of a multilevel parking lot or something like that. This way, you’ll know exactly where to look for it.

Google Maps AI summaries

Google says that this is possible thanks to millions of reviews that users leave on Google Maps on a daily basis. That way, Google will be able to summarize the information for you to consume.

Google Maps charging station reviews

The company will also help you find the right charger for your vehicle

Google will also help you find the right charger for your vehicle. Google says that if you’re low on charge while on the road, you’ll be able to see nearby chargers on the in-car map. It will contain information including real-time port availability and charging speed. It’s also coming in the coming months, globally.

Google Maps nearby EV chargers

On top of all that, Google will show you suggested charging stops, forecasted energy consumption, and more. Last year, Google Maps started showing the best charging locations for vehicles with Google built-in. Now that is expanding to multi-stop trips. You can plan a multi-stop trip, and you’ll be able to see the suggested chargers along the way. This is also coming to everyone in the coming months.

Google Maps charging for multi stop trips

The company will also include an EV filter in Google Travel

Google will also include an EV filter on google.com/travel. That way, you’ll be able to find hotels that offer onsite EV charging, making your trips a lot less stressful, as you won’t need to hunt for chargers.


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Some iPhone users in the EU can now download apps from websites

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Some iPhone users in the EU can now download apps from websites
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Earlier in March, Apple released the iOS 17.4 version with support for sideloading apps, in compliance with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The update allowed iPhone users to install apps from alternative app marketplaces. Now, the company has released the iOS 17.5 beta 2 update. It allows developers to distribute their apps over the web as well.

iOS 17.5 beta users in the EU can now download apps directly from websites

The iPhone users in the EU running the iOS 17.5 beta 2 update can download apps directly from websites. This sideloading of apps on the iPhones is on top of the third-party app stores. So, iPhone users in the EU don’t need to go through the App Store or any other store to install apps. They can directly visit the qualified developer’s website to download their applications.

After pressing the install button on a website, the iPhone users will see a system sheet. It will show the app name, developer name, description of the app, and relevant screenshots. While installing they will need to grant permission for that developer to install apps. It’s worth mentioning that apps sideloaded from websites can also be backed up, restored, and updated, just like the App Store.

As of now, only iPhone users are allowed to download and install apps from the websites. Downloading apps from websites isn’t yet available on the iPads. Also, this functionality is limited for users in the European Union, not anywhere else in the world. The new feature will be available to all iPhone users in the EU with the stable iOS 17.5 update soon.

Developers need to meet specific criteria to offer their apps via websites

It’s worth noting that not all developers will be able to distribute their apps directly from websites. Only these apps that were downloaded more than one million times in the EU in the prior year are eligible. Also, the apps to be offered from the websites must go through Apple’s notarization process.

In addition, the app developers are required to be members of the Apple Developer Program for at least two continuous years. Thanks to the new policy, the developers will not be required to pay up to a 30 percent App Store fee. However, they will still need to pay for a Core Technology Fee of €0.5.


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