Tech Digest daily round up: Berlin’s IFA technology show cancelled again
One of Europe’s largest annual technology shows has cancelled its plans to hold an in-person event this year because of ongoing “uncertainties” around Covid-19. The IFA trade show is normally held in Berlin each year and attracts around 200,000 visitors across its four days. A scaled-down version of the convention took place in 2020 and mostly online, but plans to hold an in-person show in 2021 have been called off, with organisers confirming the event will instead return in 2022. Messe Berlin, which hosts the event, and organisers gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, said the pace of global vaccine rollouts and the resumption of international travel had not happened as quickly as they had hoped, while concerns also remained over the spread of new Covid-19 variants. Yahoo!
The Google Photos Memories feature can be nice way to be reminded of fun times, but it can also frequently jab you in the ribs with a painful memory too – so Google is bringing some new controls to help it become a bit less tone-deaf. While the Memories feature – which appears at the top of your Photos feed with reminders of photos from previous years – does already let you hide photos of particular people or time periods, Google says it’ll be making these controls easier to find from “later this summer” (so sometime between June-September). During Google I/O, it showed off some new controls – which can be brought up by hitting the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner of a memory – to help you quickly hide a painful memory or erase it completely. Tech Radar
One of Twitch’s most popular streamers said the livestreaming service has cut her off from advertising revenue, even though she has not broken any rules. Amouranth – pictured above – is known for her video streams from a hot tub. They’ve become a divisive topic among Twitch users in recent months. But swimwear is explicitly permitted under Twitch’s own rules. Amouranth alleged she had been “targeted” because her content “is not advertiser friendly”. It is the latest landmark in a long-running row over so-called “hot tub streamers” and their high profile on Amazon-owned Twitch, which traditionally focused on game-streaming content. BBC
Google will prompt users of its software to write in non-gendered language to ensure they do not offend colleagues or friends. When writing in a shared Google Docs file, the online word processing tool will suggest edits if someone types a word it does not deem to be “inclusive”. If an employee writes “chairman”, for example, it will show a pop-up which suggests changing the word to “chairperson” or “mail carrier” instead of “mailman”. Google will also make other stylistic suggestions like avoiding passive voice or offensive language. The changes, announced at Google’s I/O Developer conference in Mountain View, California on Tuesday, follow several embarrassments for the technology giant thanks to its predictive algorithms. Telegraph
Apple’s vision of having in-house silicon in its entire product line by the end of 2022 is getting closer to fruition. Next-generation silicon is already in mass production. Several new MacBook Pros and a MacBook Air are lined up to get the upgraded chips before the year’s end. Last month, rumors from insiders indicated that the first allotments of the M2 (or whatever Apple decides to call it) would be ready by this summer, with new laptops coming equipped sometime in the latter half of the year. On Tuesday, Bloomberg’s Apple correspondent Mark Gurman reported the company is setting up to unveil the refreshed MacBook Pros with a redesigned chassis early this summer. Gurman says his sources told him Apple is readying the launch of 14- and 16-inch versions of the M2 MacBook Pro. Techspot
