Tech Digest daily roundup: Speed camera app developers face abuse
The developers of a new app that uses AI to estimate the speed of a passing car say they have been forced into anonymity by the vicious response from drivers. The app, Speedcam Anywhere, is the product of a team of AI scientists with backgrounds in Silicon Valley companies and top UK universities. Its creators hope it will encourage police to take speeding more seriously and enable residents, pedestrians and cyclists to document traffic crimes in their area. But since it launched in March, the vitriol levied at the team is such that they are afraid of sharing their real identities. “We’re getting quite abusive emails,” said Sam, the app’s founder, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s a Marmite product – some people think it’s a good idea, some people think that it turns us into a surveillance state. Guardian
Elon Musk, Twitter’s biggest shareholder, has put forward a host of changes to the social media giant’s premium subscription service – including cutting the price and allowing users to pay with the dogecoin cryptocurrency. Twitter Blue launched in July 2021 and is the site’s first subscription service, currently available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The service, which costs $2.99 (£2.30) per month, gives users a 30-second edit function to revise tweets, the ability to bookmark folders, and a “reader mode” for condensing long threads. But now the Tesla founder, just days after he disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter, has proposed several changes, including cutting the price and allowing users to play with dogecoin and local currency. Sky News
Twitter employees will have the opportunity to hear from Elon Musk about his vision for the platform in a staff question-and-answer session. It follows Musk’s purchase of 9.2% of the social media company – for $3.7bn – and his appointment to the board. In an email on Thursday, staff were invited to quiz the Tesla founder and billionaire over his intentions. There has been speculation over what changes Musk would like to see made to the social network. The company-wide meeting, known as a town hall or ‘all hands’, are typically run by the chief executive or a senior member of the executive. BBC
Google and iFixit have announced a partnership to supply spare parts for Pixel smartphones. In blog posts, the pair explain that the initiative will begin later this year for the Pixel 2 series onwards, including last year’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Google promises to provide parts to iFixit for ‘future Pixel models’, too. While Google has not commented on what its next Pixel devices will be, the Pixel 6a is expected to land first, possibly at Google I/O 2022. Additionally, Google is rumoured to have scheduled Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel Watch releases for October; a launch date for the first foldable Pixel smartphone remains unknown at this stage. NotebookCheck
Britain’s information watchdog is investigating claims that Apple was able to access personal information on workers’ phones after a privacy complaint was lodged by a whistleblower. Ashley Gjøvik, a former senior Apple engineer, has filed a 54-page privacy complaint against the iPhone maker alleging unlawful data collection and invasion of employee privacy over “years and multiple countries”. In the filing, which has been lodged with the UK Data Protection Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and its counterpart in Brussels, Ms Gjøvik claimed that she publicly expressed concerns about Apple “pressuring its employees to participate in invasive data collection procedures, including scans of ears/ear canals”. Telegraph
