Google Maps Makes it Easier to Decide on a Restaurant With New Group Planning Feature

Google today announced a new group planning feature for Google Maps on iOS and Android, which aims to make it easier for a group of friends to decide on a place to eat.

To use the feature, open Google Maps and tap “Restaurants” on the Explore tab. Then long press on any location to add it to a shortlist, shown in a small floating bubble on the lower right side of the screen. Once you add a few places you can share the shortlist with friends through any messaging app, like iMessages, which will then let them browse the list and link them back to Google Maps.

Friends can then vote in Google Maps on their favorite restaurant in the shortlist, and every member in the group can add and delete places. Voting results are showed in Google Maps, and if a group member doesn’t have the app they can also view it on the web.

This may sound familiar: you and your friends are trying to pick a place for dinner, but no one wants to make the decision and you don’t know where to go. How do you decide on a place that your BBQ aficionado bestie, quinoa-loving sister, and wannabe foodie friend can all enjoy without scrolling through a ton of links in group text messages?

Starting today, you can use Google Maps to easily plan where to go as a group

At Google I/O in May, Google outlined numerous features coming to Google Maps throughout the year, including AR Street View, a “For You” Tab, and this week’s group planning feature. Recently, Google Maps on iOS also updated with an events section and elevation data, and introduced CarPlay support in iOS 12.

Group planning will start rolling out on iOS and Android this week.

Tags: Google, Google Maps
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To choose the best parenting blogs for your new parenting career!

Your baby brings splendid changes in your life. You both (you and your partner) start thinking about so many issues and concerns. To know about the good news of baby’s welcome is the best feeling in the world which can’t define in words. But soon your jocundity turns into worries as what should you do, what will be the best? Etc. It is genuine actually because each and every parent on the earth wants to serve the best for his/her kid.

Being new generation parents, the modern ones, start searching on different portals. They seek a proper guidance for their parenting career. In this reference, they have checked a number of relevant websites and a large number of parenting blogs as well. You can Check out One more Parenting blog from https://blog.kidgy.com

Parenting: a career

Yes! You may refer, parenting as a new career. It is a full-time job with lots of heavy duties. Parenting is not just about serving your kid physically or emotionally. It has a broad definition that can be hardly defined. To define it with few words will a kind of presumptuousness. It is an everlasting part of your life which starts with first breath of your baby.

The vast world of the internet serves a pile of parenting blogs. Your first duty is to select the most suited blog to refer your parenting. The proper selection of the most suited and trusted blog is as important as submitting your resume for the correct vacant position of the company. This is a citation that can join your thought again for a parenting career.

• Don’t rush for anything. It’s not going to complete in 1-2 hours. It will remain with you and for you. So, don’t let your joy turn into anxiety. Take time and give relaxation to your partner too.
• Consult doctors and elderly persons of the family for the best suggestions. If you are having any trouble while parenting, your doctor can’t always help you. As I told you before, that the term ‘parenting’ is a summary of all your activities related to your kids. Therefore, a minute talk with the experienced person may also minimize your troubles regarding your parenting.
• Now, come to the very important phase that can help you very well. You can search your parenting issues on the different parenting blogs, which are available on the Internet.

The most suited ones

While you are searching for the best one blog among the good one, you should remember about your priorities. Each and every path, to show the different parenting techniques is good in its own way. Your duty is to select the best suited for you and your child. Blogs are something which communicates with you.

Every person has different circumstances, a different set of conditions, so guide yourself accordingly. Don’t just follow anything blindly. This is your career, your parenting will be evaluated so don’t let anyone move it. It is your judgment that what should you follow. Allow the blogs to acknowledge you with the relevant information, and you can make them flexible enough accordingly.

Apple Removes Questionable Web Links From Siri Suggestions

Apple has removed a number of results from Siri Suggested Websites after BuzzFeed highlighted several examples of the feature offering up “debunked conspiracies, shock videos, and false information.”

Siri Suggested Websites is an optional feature in Safari that serves up auto-completed suggestions based on what the user starts typing into the browser’s search bar. Results are curated by Apple and can include links sourced from things like Wikipedia, YouTube, and the iTunes Store.

Basically, BuzzFeed News stoked controversy by pointing out that if users typed in, say, “Pizzagate,” the Siri feature would return links to YouTube videos by conspiracy theorist peddler David Seaman. From the article:

“Such results raise questions about the company’s ability to monitor for low-quality information, and provide another example of the problems platforms run into when relying on algorithms to police the internet.”

Incidentally, the link didn’t actually work because YouTube previously removed the video for violating YouTube’s terms of service. So whichever way you look at it, Apple’s algorithm-driven suggestions aren’t doing their job very well.

BuzzFeed informed Apple of this and several other “low quality” Siri Suggestions highlighted in the article, and Apple has since removed them. The company also provided the site with the following statement:

“Siri Suggested Websites come from content on the web and we provide curation to help avoid inappropriate sites. We also remove any inappropriate suggestions whenever we become aware of them, as we have with these. We will continue to work to provide high-quality results and users can email results they feel are inappropriate to applebot@apple.com.”

The questionable Siri Suggestions are reportedly caused by a “data void,” which is what happens when a term doesn’t have “natural informative results” and manipulators capitalize upon it. “Many of the sites surfaced by the Siri Suggested feature came from conspiracy or junk sites hastily assembled to fill that void,” BuzzFeed concludes.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Safari
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Chrome 70 Will Allow Users to Opt-out of Controversial Automatic Sign-in Feature

Google says it is willing to make changes to its new Chrome auto-login feature, following heavy criticism from privacy-conscious users.

In previous versions of the browser, it was left up to the user whether they wanted to log in to Chrome while they used the app.

However in Chrome 69, released earlier this month, if you sign in to a Google site like Google Search, Gmail, or YouTube, you also get logged into Chrome automatically, and there’s currently no way around it.

Google originally claimed the feature was introduced to prevent data from leaking between accounts on shared computers, but the move has been criticized for its potential to make it theoretically easier for Google to upload users’ browsing history. Google responded to the criticism in a blog post:

“We want to be clear that this change to sign-in does not mean Chrome sync gets turned on,” said Chrome product manager Zach Koch. “Users who want data like their browsing history, passwords, and bookmarks available on other devices must take additional action, such as turning on sync.”

Despite clearing that up, the blowback has apparently been vehement enough for Google to tweak Chrome 70, due in October, which will offer users a clear opt-out for the auto-login feature.

While we think sign-in consistency will help many of our users, we’re adding a control that allows users to turn off linking web-based sign-in with browser-based sign-in – that way users have more control over their experience. For users that disable this feature, signing into a Google website will not sign them into Chrome.

In addition to the change, Google says it will update the Chrome interface to make a user’s account sync state more obvious. Google says the way Chrome handles authentication cookies is also going to be tweaked to make sure they don’t hang around once the user has successfully signed in.

Tags: Google, Chrome
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Apple Watch Series 4 Expected to Gain Second Manufacturer Following ‘Much Better Than Expected’ Demand

Taiwanese manufacturer Compal Electronics will begin mass production of Apple Watch Series 4 models in November, according to industry sources cited by supply chain-focused publication DigiTimes.

Compal will share orders with fellow Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, which has reportedly reached its maximum capacity for Apple Watch Series 4 production following “much better than expected demand” for the latest models, according to Apple analyst extraordinaire Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo also said Compal will be added as a second supplier of Apple Watch Series 4 models, which entails final assembly of the wearable.

Kuo believes Apple Watch shipments from suppliers to Apple will fall between 18 million and 19.5 million units in 2018. Apple does not disclose Apple Watch sales, grouping the device under its broad “Other Products” category in its earnings reports, alongside the Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, and so forth.

Apple Watch is the world’s most popular smartwatch by many metrics, including market share and revenue. In fact, Apple says the Apple Watch is the world’s most popular watch of any kind, having surpassed Rolex.

Many models of the Apple Watch Series 4 ordered on Apple.com today are estimated to be delivered in late October in the United States, lending credence to strong demand, limited supply, or some combination of the two. With a second supplier coming on board in November, availability should improve.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5Tag: digitimes.comBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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This is surely the coolest way yet to solve a Rubik’s Cube

When it comes to solving the Rubik’s Cube, the focus is usually on speed rather than on how it’s actually achieved.

So how about this super-cool video showing a Rubik’s Cube solving itself. Now that’d be something to pull out at a party.

Created by Japanese YouTuber Human Controller, the self-solving Rubik’s Cube is built around a custom 3D-printed core and powered by a series of servo motors, with its smarts delivered via an Arduino board.

Human Controller recently posted several videos showing the cube solving itself. One shows it moving across a table with every turn as the jumble of colors re-align on each side. The best video, however, shows Human Controller holding the cube at one of its corners as the motors diligently turn the sides until the puzzle is solved.

Photos posted by the cube’s creator, together with a video showing him take it apart, reveal how the electronics and other components have been squeezed into a tiny space, enabling the Rubik’s Cube to retain its original size.

In fact, a video posted 18 months ago reveals that the project has been in the workshop for some time, with an older version of the self-solving cube much larger than the final design. Shrinking all of the technology has clearly been a major challenge, but he’s achieved exactly that and the results are impressive, to say the least.

Now, if Human Controller will be so kind as to apply his self-solving technology to the tangled web of global disputes and conflicts, his work will truly be done.

Rubik’s Cube speed demons

The fastest time for a human to solve the Rubik’s Cube is a mere 4.22 seconds. This robot, however, can solve it faster than you can say, “what the…” — taking just 0.38 seconds. You have to watch it in slow motion to see it happening, otherwise you might suspect some video trickery taking place. What makes it all the more astonishing is that the 0.38 seconds includes the time it takes the robot to assess the position of the colors on the cube and work out how the hell it’s going to solve it.

The famously frustrating puzzle was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik, though it wasn’t until 1980, when Ideal Toy Company licensed the puzzle, that it found global fame. It’s since sold more than 350 million units worldwide, making it the most successful toy ever.

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This is surely the coolest way yet to solve a Rubik’s Cube

When it comes to solving the Rubik’s Cube, the focus is usually on speed rather than on how it’s actually achieved.

So how about this super-cool video showing a Rubik’s Cube solving itself. Now that’d be something to pull out at a party.

Created by Japanese YouTuber Human Controller, the self-solving Rubik’s Cube is built around a custom 3D-printed core and powered by a series of servo motors, with its smarts delivered via an Arduino board.

Human Controller recently posted several videos showing the cube solving itself. One shows it moving across a table with every turn as the jumble of colors re-align on each side. The best video, however, shows Human Controller holding the cube at one of its corners as the motors diligently turn the sides until the puzzle is solved.

Photos posted by the cube’s creator, together with a video showing him take it apart, reveal how the electronics and other components have been squeezed into a tiny space, enabling the Rubik’s Cube to retain its original size.

In fact, a video posted 18 months ago reveals that the project has been in the workshop for some time, with an older version of the self-solving cube much larger than the final design. Shrinking all of the technology has clearly been a major challenge, but he’s achieved exactly that and the results are impressive, to say the least.

Now, if Human Controller will be so kind as to apply his self-solving technology to the tangled web of global disputes and conflicts, his work will truly be done.

Rubik’s Cube speed demons

The fastest time for a human to solve the Rubik’s Cube is a mere 4.22 seconds. This robot, however, can solve it faster than you can say, “what the…” — taking just 0.38 seconds. You have to watch it in slow motion to see it happening, otherwise you might suspect some video trickery taking place. What makes it all the more astonishing is that the 0.38 seconds includes the time it takes the robot to assess the position of the colors on the cube and work out how the hell it’s going to solve it.

The famously frustrating puzzle was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik, though it wasn’t until 1980, when Ideal Toy Company licensed the puzzle, that it found global fame. It’s since sold more than 350 million units worldwide, making it the most successful toy ever.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best PS1 games of all time
• The best shows on Amazon Prime right now (September 2018)
• The 20 best tech toys for kids will make you wish you were 10 again
• Volvo wants to build a future in which you can’t wait to commute to work
• Spirit animals: 9 revolutionary robots inspired by real-world creatures

Report Claims Apple News Brings Publishers Higher Traffic But a Lot Less Ad Revenue

An extensive new report by Slate has revealed the challenges publishers are facing when it comes to profiting from Apple News despite the platform’s growing readership.

According to the report, page views on Apple News have roughly tripled since September 2017, and the app has now surpassed Facebook as a driver of readership.

Unlike Google and Facebook however, Apple News hosts content within the app instead of sending readers to the original website, depriving publishers of ad revenue.

In a stark example, Slate revealed that it earns more money from an article that gets 50,000 page views on its own site than it does from 54 million views on Apple News.

Apple News has so far offered publishers few opportunities for generating ad revenue, although Apple recently added support for Google’s industry standard ad-serving tool DoubleClick.

Still, Apple’s privacy policy ensures limitations: Google’s ad manager can serve traditional banner ads including animated GIF ads, but it can’t yet be used to serve HTML5-based ads or pre-roll video ads.

Despite the struggle, publishers are continuing to embrace Apple News in the hope that things will eventually change and given the huge opportunities for exposure that the platform offers. In countries that support Apple News, the app now comes pre-installed on all new Macs and iOS devices.

Apple has also reportedly urged major U.S. newspapers about adding their content to the Texture magazine app that Apple purchased in March, with a view to eventually integrating the subscription-based service into Apple News.

Tag: Apple News
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Delta tech issue grounds planes, tells travelers to check Wednesday flights

Delta Air Lines suffered nationwide disruption to its flights on Tuesday evening after its systems suffered what the carrier described as a “technology issue.”

The disruption, which had no effect on Delta’s operations outside of the U.S., began early evening ET and was considered serious enough for the carrier to stop all of its aircraft from departing U.S. airports. About an hour in, Delta flights were given permission to take off from all airports except JFK and LaGuardia in New York, and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

A short while later, the carrier announced it had resolved the issue and confirmed that all flight restrictions had been lifted.

The issue had been made worse by a problem with Delta’s website and Fly Delta app that prevented many of its customers from logging in to check the status of their flight. Delta says its website and app are once again up and running.

Knock-on disruption

In a statement issued by Delta after the incident, it said that despite the flight delays, it had managed to avoid canceling any of its flights.

But it added that the disruption could result in a knock-on effect for some flights on Wednesday morning, though it expected the impact on its schedule to be “minimal.” Nevertheless, it’s advising anyone flying with Delta on Wednesday to check their flight status on delta.com or on the Fly Delta app before they leave for the airport.

The airline, one of the world’s largest and which handles more than 160 million travelers a year, insisted there had been no impact on safety while the glitch was being fixed, and it apologized to its customers for any inconvenience suffered as a result of the ensuing disruption.

As is usual in the case of such incidents, many passengers stuck inside Delta planes that were about to take off vented their frustration on Twitter.

Sittings inside the airplane for 2 hours in NYC. Problems started at 5:45 so why would @delta keep boarding people knowing that planes can’t take off. #delta

— Jolanta T (@jrtibebu) September 26, 2018

Despite the problems, some managed to inject a bit of humor into their complaint:

Delta flights finally in motion. Waiting in a long line of #delta planes at JFK. Literally have been “driving” for 30min. It appears we will be driving the plane to Las Vegas.

— Brittany Finkle (@BrittFinkle) September 26, 2018

It’s not the first time Delta has been hit by technical issues that have led to widespread disruption. In 2017, computer issues that led to a systems outage forced the airline to cancel flights, and a year earlier, a computer meltdown at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia, saw flights canceled and grounded around the world.

And Delta isn’t the only U.S. airline to experience these troublesome issues, with other giants such as American and United having their fair share of incidents to deal with in recent years.

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Apple Pay to Be Available in 60% of U.S. Retail Locations by End of 2018

Apple Pay is expected to be available in 60 percent of retail locations in the United States by the end of the year, Apple’s VP of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey told Fortune today in an interview at the company’s Brainstorm Reinvent Conference.

Since Apple Pay’s 2014 introduction, Apple has worked to bring it to 24 countries around the world. Apple has to negotiate deals with each and every country where Apple Pay expands, so it’s been a slow process, but growth is strong even outside of the United States.

Apple has recently been focusing on expanding the usefulness of the Apple Wallet, which houses Apple Pay credit and debit cards. Apple Wallet is now being used for purposes like public transit, customer loyalty programs, student IDs (launching next week), and may soon expand to corporate access and hotel key cards. Apple’s own campus permits employees to enter using Apple Wallet.

“It’s a tremendous new area for us to focus on, which is really access,” Bailey said.

According to Bailey, when Apple Pay was first introduced, Apple didn’t approach the launch with the aim of disrupting the credit card industry. Instead, the goal was to work with credit card companies and introduce “great customer experiences.”

Apple was uninterested in pursuing a bank charter, necessary for introducing Apple Pay as a credit card replacement option, because it didn’t want to face regulation.

“When we thought about Apple Pay, we thought, there are a lot of payments out there that our customers already love and trust,” Jennifer Bailey, Apple VP of internet services and Apple Pay, said Tuesday morning during Fortune’s Brainstorm Reinvent conference in Chicago. “We don’t sit around and think about, ‘what industry should we disrupt?’–we think about, ‘what great customer experiences can we develop?’”

When asked if Apple makes money from Apple Pay transactions, Bailey answered the question with a “perhaps,” but said that other features in the Apple Wallet are about bringing more utility to customers and making sure people “love their iPhones.”

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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