| Today, the biggest news is that Microsoft announced its fall hardware event, and I have thoughts, which you'll find below. Mostly, I'd like to thank Microsoft for being up front about where and when the event is this far in advance. It's no surprise that the company that popularized digital calendars is better at transparent scheduling, but it's still nice. Now if it could only get together with Google to end Calendar spam, we'd all be happy forever. Thank you to everybody who emailed feedback on the format of the newsletter. Takeaways: you all hate the font, at least when there's a lot of text; most of you like the idea of a longer-form essay up top; and nobody asked for more puns. Fair! Today, I'm trying what I think might be my platonic ideal: a bunch of links with tweet-like commentary underneath. I'll still write a longer essay (about the Beeb voice assistant) for the site. But for this newsletter, I just have a small teaser. I appreciate everybody hanging with me as I poke at these formats, and I would love to hear what is and isn't working for you. I'm at dieter@theverge.com. On to the news! BBC plans 'Beeb' voice assistant for its apps and services As you read Jon Porter's story, you might be tempted to think, "Ugh, why? This isn't necessary." I don't. I think that it would be pretty great to have a variety of different voice assistants available on a variety of different devices, all specialized for a variety of things. We'll eventually build up some UX standards so you don't have to remember specific keywords and vocabulary. I'm not worried about that. I'm much more worried that ambient computing will be monopolized by big companies. I have a lot more to say about this, and I will write it up on The Verge soon, so keep an eye out for it! The BBC is producing its own in-house voice assistant called Beeb, which will integrate with the UK public broadcaster's website and iPlayer apps on smart TVs. The Guardian reports that the corporation currently has no plans to release its own smart speaker featuring the assistant, but will make the software available to other manufacturers who wish to build it into their speakers. Beeb is currently planned for launch next year. Microsoft announces Surface event on October 2nd in New York City Tom Warren predicts we'll see a dual-screen device at this event, and I am obviously very excited to see how Microsoft tackles that. But to tell the truth, what I will probably end up buying is a new Surface Pro (preferably with LTE, possibly with an ARM processor?). If you think about it, that scenario might be exactly why this dual-screen device needs to exist: it's a concept car that gets people like me into the showroom to buy the boring sedan. Then again, if the sedan doesn't have USB-C, I am going to flip out. Microsoft has been building a new dual-screen device, codenamed "Centaurus," for more than two years, and it's designed to be the hero device for a wave of new dual-screen tablet / laptop hybrids that we're expecting to see throughout 2020. Microsoft's Your Phone service was down just days after the Galaxy Note 10 release With a little more clarity and focus, Microsoft could really be onto something with its Android efforts. Hell, it is maybe a third of the way toward having what it needs to release an Android-based Surface phone, which could be fascinating. But, you know, the software has to work when the stakes are high (or even medium-low, as in this case). If I were Satya Nadella, I'd laugh anybody who suggests making an Android phone out of the room until these kinds of software bugs are completely ironed out. The timing of the outage is particularly unfortunate for Microsoft as Your Phone is a big part of the company's new partnership with Samsung. The new Galaxy Note 10 comes with a unique version of Your Phone, dubbed "Link to PC," built into the handset that went on sale last week. Nintendo Switch Lite hands-on: a budget handheld with a premium feel Chaim Gartenberg spent some time with the Switch Lite — definitely watch the video. For $199, this thing is going to sell like hotcakes. Maybe better, to be honest. I don't know that hotcakes are that big of a deal anymore. Anyway, don't assume that because this can't do all of the things a full-sized Switch can do that it won't sell well. GlobalFoundries sues TSMC, looks to ban US imports for Apple and Nvidia chips TSMC is the most important tech company you (probably) haven't heard of. There's no real way of knowing if this lawsuit is going anywhere. But if it does, you're going to hear a lot more about TSMC real quick because there's a 100 percent guarantee that the chips it makes are in the things you own. While the legal battle is in its early stages, if courts rule in favor of GlobalFoundries, it could have a massive impact on the consumer technology business: along with Apple, Google, and Nvidia, GF also calls out companies like Asus, Broadcom, Cisco, HiSense, Lenovo, MediaTek, Motorola, OnePlus, Qualcomm, and TCL that also rely on TSMC chips for their hardware as part of the lawsuits. Apple Puts 'Walkie Talkie' iPhone Project on Hold — The Information It is very hard to read this nice scoop by Aaron Tilley at The Information and not spend the next four hours daydreaming about the possibility (and perils) of fully mesh-networked internet that obviates the need for gigantic internet service providers. Apple was working with Intel on the technology that would have let people send messages from their iPhones directly to other iPhones over long-distance radio waves that bypass cellular networks, said two people familiar with the project. The technology would have functioned something like a walkie talkie for text messages, giving people the ability to communicate in areas unserved by wireless carriers. Fairphone updates its ethical smartphone for 2019 After all the foofaraw about modular phones a few years back (Project Ara? More like Project Wah-Wah!), I'm really happy to see the Fairphone keeping the dream alive. This is why modularity really could matter: sustainability and less impact on the environment. Plus, replaceable batteries! Dear Jeff Bezos: the Fire Phone bombed, but you could invest in this thing (please don't buy it tho) and give it the capital to not only offer this phone, but offer higher-quality components to draw in gear-heads like me. Yelp now offers personalized results based on your diet and lifestyle Yelp will let you tell it what you like and recommend stuff in that zone. Which, sure fine okay. But maybe don't use it? It's not a data privacy thing. (Maybe it should be, I don't know.) It's a filter bubble thing. You are already self-selecting who you hear from on social media, and your choices are reinforced by algorithms. I'd suggest that Yelp, which sends you out IRL to local businesses, shouldn't be yet another place where you limit yourself with a filter bubble. Go Forth And Try Weird Food, I say. Anyway, Dami Lee has a good story on the updates: "This is not just about an algorithm trying to listen to what you did and make biased decisions about who you are," Akhil Ramesh, Yelp's head of consumer product told The Verge. "What we built through personalization is an experience that gives the control to the user." Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga are getting Intel's latest 10th Gen chips I'm glad to see that Intel's new chips are hitting more laptops, and I hope a bunch of these are available for journalists to poke at during the IFA conference. But I will admit that I'm a little bummed that the X1 Yoga — my personal favorite ThinkPad — isn't getting the "Athena" label, which purportedly guarantees nine hours of battery life. Also, these laptops are pricey! How the composer of Deadpool and Mad Max is changing the way we score movies Dani Deahl profiles Tom Holkenborg for our Future of Music series. His process for making movies scores sounds intense, but honestly, anything that results in the following sentences is great in my book: Sure, he also works with orchestras, but he's not bound by their traditional sound. He can also make, as he describes the sounds of Deadpool, "Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Miami Vice, but then on acid." Belkin's cheaper water meter can detect usage and leaks anywhere in the home Growing up in Minnesota, leaving your house for more than 12 hours in January was like gambling with your entire financial future. It was like rolling the dice that your furnace would continue to work so your pipes wouldn't freeze and burst and destroy your entire house. You would never know if the gamble paid off until you got home. What I'm saying is that this gadget seems neat, and I would want one if I lived in the frozen north. |
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