Tech Digest daily roundup: Some Twitter accounts get blue ticks back
Some Twitter accounts with more than one million followers have had their blue tick badges re-instated by Twitter without paying to subscribe. Beyoncé, Harry Kane, Richard Osman and Victoria Beckham are among those to have their blue tick back. The BBC News Twitter account also has its gold badge again, but has not paid for it. Before the platform was bought by Elon Musk, the blue tick was a badge of verification given for free by Twitter. It was originally used as a tool of authentication, designed to help stop fake accounts and the spread of misinformation. BBC
The publishers of a German magazine that ran an “interview” with Michael Schumacher generated by artificial intelligence have sacked the editor and apologised to the family of the Formula One legend. The seven-times F1 world champion, 54, has not been seen in public since December 2013 when he suffered a serious brain injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps. His family said this week that they were planning legal action against Die Aktuelle, a weekly magazine owned by Funke media group. Guardian
Mechanical engineers in the US say they have developed a humanoid robot that can walk faster than any other – and even play football. Standing at 142 cm and weighing about 38 kg, ARTEMIS (for Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability) is capable of walking on rough and unstable surfaces, and was designed with a particular focus on bipedal locomotion. ARTEMIS has been clocked walking at 2.1 m/s, which would make it the world’s fastest-walking humanoid robot, according to researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Euronews
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that smart speakers should just shut up. I don’t want to know when Siri / Alexa / Google has locked my front door — I just asked it to do that and I expect it to happen. (We’ll put a pin in the fact that it doesn’t always do this). So Google’s announcement this week that it’s taking more steps to stop its Google Assistant from chattering away to you every time you send a command to a Nest smart speaker is a welcome one. The Verge
iOS 17 will feature changes and improvements to the Wallet app and Find My, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
On The MacRumors Show podcast, Gurman said that he would compare iOS 17 to iOS 15 in so far as it will focus on updates to core system apps, rather than revolutionary changes or standout new features like iOS 14’s widgets or iOS 16‘s Lock Screen redesign. In addition to changes to the Wallet app, Gurman emphasized that there will be improvements to Find My amid a bigger push on location- and Find My-related features. He added that he has more to share on iOS 17 in the coming weeks. MacRumors
Tech enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for the launch of the Google Pixel Fold, the first foldable phone from the search giant, which is rumored to happen on May 10. Though Google has not officially announced any details regarding the device, leaks and rumors about the specifications of the phone have been circulating online. A recent leak by popular tipster Jon Prosser has revealed the Google Pixel Fold will come with a 5.8-inch OLED cover screen with a resolution of 2092 x 1080 pixels, a 17.4:9 aspect ratio, a 408 ppi pixel density, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
