Google expands AI calling service Duplex to Australia, Canada, and the UK

Google’s automated, artificial intelligence-powered calling service Duplex is now available in more countries, according to a support page updated today. In addition to the US and New Zealand, Duplex is now available in Australia, Canada, and the UK, reports VentureBeat, which discovered newly added phone numbers on the support page that Google says it will use when calling via Duplex from a distinct country. Duplex launched as an early beta in the US via the Google Assistant back in late 2018 after a splashy yet controversial debut at that year’s Google I/O developer conference. There were concerns about the use of Duplex without a restaurant or other small business’ express consent and without proper disclosure that the automated call was being handled by a digital voice assistant and not a human being. Google has since tried to address those concerns, with limited success, by adding disclosures at the beginning of calls and giving businesses the option to opt out of being recording and speak with a human. Duplex now has human listeners who annotate the phone calls to improve Duplex’s underlying machine learning algorithms and to take over in the event the call either goes awry or the person on the other end chooses not to talk with the AI. Google has also expanded the service in waves, from starting on just Pixel phones to iOS devices and then more Android devices. The service’s first international expansion was New Zealand in October 2019. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the Duplex expansion.

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Study finds damaged fertilized egg sends signal that helps mother live a longer healthy life

There is plenty of scientific evidence that the health of a mother can impact the health of her child. Now a Northwestern University study flips that relationship around: Researchers have discovered the health of the fertilized embryo determines the functional health of the mother, which has implications for healthy aging, stress resilience and suppression of protein damage. Essentially, a bad egg does good by protecting the mother from cellular stress, ensuring she lives longer and is healthy enough to produce the next generation. Led by molecular biologist Richard I. Morimoto and postdoctoral fellow Ambre J. Sala, the research team studied maternal health span using a popular research tool, the transparent roundworm C. elegans. This animal, whose cellular properties and protective mechanisms are similar to that of humans, is used by scientists to better understand aspects of human biology, such as aging and neurodegenerative disease. Using the power of a genetic screen, the researchers discovered that if the eggshell of a fertilized egg is damaged, a molecular signal is sent to the mother that protects her from the negative effects of a human protein associated with neurodegeneration. They found that this signal also protects the mother from environmental stress, allowing her to better survive adverse conditions. This gives her a longer functional health span so she has more time to produce healthy eggs. "The success and future of any species is about the quality of its progeny," Morimoto said. "Now we know that progeny quality ensures maternal health." Morimoto is an expert on how organisms sense and respond to physiologic and environmental stress on the molecular and cellular level in biology, aging and neurodegenerative disease. He is the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Molecular Biosciences and director of the Rice Institute for Biomedical Research in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. This communication between child and parent is about protein quality control. Specifically, the researchers found that when the eggshell's vitelline layer is damaged, that's when the fertilized egg sends a signal that restores stress resilience and protein homeostasis, or proteostasis, in the mother. The vitelline layer, found in all metazoans that use eggs, including humans, is the extracellular coat that surrounds and protects the developing embryo. Proteostasis is the processes by which cells maintain protein health, keeping important proteins folded and functional, for good overall health. The study was published online recently by the journal Genes and Development. It also will appear in the May 2020 print issue of the journal. Morimoto is the corresponding author, and Sala is the first author.

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Facebook Launches 'Tuned' Messaging App for Couples

Facebook has quietly released Tuned, a new messaging app designed to provide a "private space" for couples to connect, reports The Information. Designed by NPE, an experimental group within the company that was established last year, the app encourages couples to share messages, notes, cards, voice memos, photos and Spotify songs with each other, thereby creating a "digital scrapbook" of their relationship. As described on the App Store: A private space where you and your significant other can just be yourselves. With Tuned, you can be as mushy, quirky, and silly as you are together in person, even when you're apart. Creatively express your love, share your mood, exchange music, and build a digital scrapbook of your special moments. The free-to-use app connects couples using their phone number and doesn’t require a Facebook account, although it does conform to Facebook's data policy, which means the information provided in the app could be used for ad targeting. According to Facebook, the Tuned app was released under a separate brand "to help set the appropriate expectations with users that NPE Team apps will change very rapidly and may be shut down if we learn that they're not useful to people." ...

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Tesla releases impressive look inside Gigafactory Shanghai, with its hundreds of robots

Tesla has released a video with an impressive look inside Gigafactory Shanghai, which is currently Tesla’s only vehicle factory in operation. The timing of Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai couldn’t have been better for the automaker. Not only did they manage to build the entire factory and start production within about a year, but the production also started before Tesla was forced to shut down Fremont factory due to the coronavirus pandemic. It resulted in Tesla at least being able to produce some cars during the shutdown at its main plant. This wouldn’t be possible without Tesla managing to turn what was an agricultural field into a complex factory on an incredible timeline. We’ve covered the construction through drone videos posted by locals, but we’ve rarely had the chance to take a look inside the plant — where the really impressive work happens. Today, we get our best look inside the factory, thanks to Tesla releasing an official video in China: When Tesla started production at the plant late last year, it was mainly making the body of the Model 3 and the final assembly at Gigafactory Shanghai. But the automaker has since been increasing its production capacity to be able to produce more of the Model 3 locally. The new video shows the extent of Tesla’s production capacity now with what appears to be hundreds of robots working on the production lines. ...

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Sanders quits Democratic race for president; Biden is party's apparent nominee

April 8, 2020, 12:24 PM -03 / Updated April 8, 2020, 7:11 PM -03 By Jane C. Timm, Allan Smith and Gary Grumbach Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign, he announced on Wednesday, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden as the apparent Democratic presidential nominee. "I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful, and so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign," Sanders told supporters in a livestream, saying he wished he could provide supporters with "better news" but "I think you know the truth." "We are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden and the path to victory is virtually impossible," he said. Sanders, I-Vt., called Biden "a very decent man who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward." Calling the decision "difficult and painful," Sanders said he had to make an "honest assessment of the prospects for victory." He added that he understands some supporters who want him to fight on through the convention, but he could not "in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour" as the COVID-19 outbreak grips the nation. He pledged to have significant influence over the party platform this summer, as he did during the 2016 convention. He pointed to policies like a $15 minimum wage, which has been picked up in some states and cities since he first began campaigning for it at the presidential level five years ago, as evidence that his progressive platform is winning. In a conference call with staffers earlier Wednesday, Sanders thanked his team for its "extraordinary work." Biden released a lengthy statement on Medium after Sanders' departure from the race, saying he "has put his heart and soul into not only running for president, but for the causes and issues he has been dedicated to his whole life." "I know how hard a decision this was for him to make — and how hard it is for the millions of his supporters — especially younger voters — who have been inspired and energized and brought into politics by the progressive agenda he has championed," Biden said. "Bernie has done something rare in politics. He hasn’t just run a political campaign; he’s created a movement. And make no mistake about it, I believe it’s a movement that is as powerful today as it was yesterday. That’s a good thing for our nation and our future." The apparent Democratic nominee also praised Sanders during a virtual town hall later in the day, saying he's "always been a passionate voice for progress and he put his heart and soul, not only into running for president, but also the causes and issues he has been dedicated to his whole life." ...

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New York Gov. Cuomo says state won’t return to ‘normal’ as daily coronavirus deaths reach new high

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the coronavirus outbreak could “stabilize” within weeks if the state maintains its strict social distancing policies. But he also announced that 779 people in his state had died of the virus – the highest daily death count yet. “I don’t think we return to normal. I don’t think we return to yesterday,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Albany. “I think if we’re smart, we achieve a new normal.” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the coronavirus outbreak could “stabilize” within weeks if the state maintains strict social distancing policies, even as he announced the highest daily death count yet and said life for New Yorkers will never be the same. “I don’t think we return to normal. I don’t think we return to yesterday,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Albany. “I think if we’re smart, we achieve a new normal.” The governor offered a glimmer of hope that the state’s stringent policies — closing nonessential businesses and requiring residents to stay home — are helping to slow down the spread of the virus. Those social distancing measures are working, he said: “It is flattening the curve.” If those rules are maintained, he said, there’s reason to believe the health “system should stabilize over these next couple of weeks.” The coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer the Empire State, new figures showed. New York reported 10,453 new cases Wednesday, comprising 4,927 positive tests in New York City and 5,526 in the rest of the state. Half of all tests in two New York City boroughs – Queens and the Bronx – came back positive, the state reported. Cuomo said the state appears to be flattening the curve of the outbreak, referring to a line chart that projects the growth in new cases over time. But he quickly added that would only last if people continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines. “If we stop what we are doing, you will see that curve change,” Cuomo said. The bad news, he said, “isn’t just bad. The bad news is actually terrible.” Cuomo announced that 779 people had died from the virus since the last count, marking the state’s highest daily death toll yet. New York is the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, with 140,386 confirmed cases and more than 5,489 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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CDC weighs loosening guidelines for some exposed to virus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering changing its guidelines for self-isolation to make it easier for those who have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus to return to work if they are asymptomatic WASHINGTON -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering changing its guidelines for self-isolation to make it easier for those who have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus to return to work if they are asymptomatic. The public health agency, in conjunction with the White House coronavirus task force, is considering an announcement as soon as Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence said. Under the proposed guidance, people who are exposed to someone infected would be allowed back on the job if they are asymptomatic, test their temperature twice a day and wear a face mask, said a person familiar with the proposal under consideration. The person described the proposal on the condition of anonymity because the draft had not been finalized. The new policy is aimed in particular at workers in critical jobs. But it also comes as the Trump administration is eyeing what it calls a “stabilization” in infection rates and looks toward rolling back some of the restrictive social distancing guidelines and restarting the nation's stalled economy. The proposed guidance would follow recommendations made by the CDC that eased self-isolation requirements for front-line medical workers who were exposed to the virus. Under CDC guidance, medical workers who have been exposed to the virus without protective equipment but who have no symptoms can return to work with a mask and temperature checks after 14 days. Dr. Deborah Birx, a leader on the White House's coronavirus task force, called the upcoming CDC guidance "a very important piece.” “It looks at degree of exposure and really making it clear that exposure occurs within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes, so really understanding where you shouldn’t be within 6 feet of people right now," Birx told CBS on Wednesday. "But if you’re in a work situation where you have to be, there will be a series of recommendations that if you had had a significant exposure of what specifically to do, and if you’ve had a less exposure what to do.” Pence on Tuesday said the White House is focusing on the “point of need” for the current situation but also is operating on another track to consider future recommendations for the public. “Some of the best minds here at the White House are beginning to think about what recommendations will look like that we give to businesses, that we give to states, but it will all, I promise you, be informed on putting the health and well-being of the American people first,” Pence said. ...

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TEXAS TEEN ARRESTED AFTER POSTING SNAPCHAT VIDEOS CLAIMING TO HAVE CORONAVIRUS AND 'WILLFULLY SPREAD

teenager in Texas was arrested after she posted a series of videos on social media in which she claimed to be intentionally spreading the new coronavirus, police said. Lorraine Maradiaga, 18, was charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony, for the content she posted on Snapchat, Carrollton Police said in a news release. On Sunday, police issued an appeal to the public for help in locating Maradiaga, who they said was "claiming to be COVID-19 positive and wilfully spreading it." Police added that they had "no confirmation tithe Maradiaga is actually a threat to public health," but said they were "taking her social media actions very seriously."

We have identified the woman seen on social media claiming to be COVID-19 positive as 18-year-old Lorraine Maradiaga and are charging her with Terroristic Threat, Texas Penal Code 22.07.

We have not located her yet. Tips: (972) 466-3333 or CrimeTips@CityofCarrollton.com. pic.twitter.com/KySDDXL2RH

— Carrollton TX Police (@CarrolltonTXPD) April 5, 2020

She was taken into custody after she turned herself in on Tuesday, police said. Maradiaga told police she tested negative for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and police said they have no proof she previously tested positive. She was arraigned and her bond was set at $20,000 and was taken to the Denton County Jail. As a condition of her bond, Maradiaga will be ordered to quarantine for 21 days after she is released from jail as a precaution, police added. If convicted, Maradiaga faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. News of Maradiaga's arrest was met with a flood of comments on the Carrollton Police Department's Facebook, with several commenters thanking officers for taking action to protect the community. "Thank you for taking this seriously and hopefully she will learn a lesson," Sarah Riise commented. "Prank or no prank, what she did was not okay. Her family must be so embarrassed." Vinh Lee added: "My mom freaked out because of this. She's afraid of picking up mail and she refuses to buy food because of people like this. Thank you." Texas has 8,262 confirmed cases of COVI-19 and 154 deaths, according to the latest figures from the Texas Department of State Health Services. More than 1,200 people were hospitalized in thee state because of the virus as of Tuesday. Across the U.S., there are almost 400,000 confirmed cases—the most of any country by far—and more than 12,900 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 22,000 people have recovered.

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How Hoop hit #2 with its Tinder for Snapchat

Snapchat’s developer platform is blowing up as a gateway to teen social app users. Hoop is the latest Snap Kit blockbuster, rocketing to No. 2 on the overall App Store charts this month with its Tinder -esque swiping interface for discovering people and asking to message with them over Snapchat. Within a week of going viral, unfunded French startup Dazz saw Hoop score 2.5 million downloads. The fact that such a dumbfoundingly simple and already ubiquitous style of app was able to climb the charts so fast demonstrates the potential of Snap Kit to drive user lock-in for Snapchat. Because the developer platform lets other apps piggyback on its login system and Bitmoji avatars, it creates new reasons for users to set up a Snapchat account and keep using it. It’s the same strategy that made Facebook an entrenched part of the internet, but this time it’s for a younger crowd. In the first-ever interview about Hoop, Dazz’s 26-year-old co-founders Lucas Gervais and Alexi Pourret reveal that the idea came from watching user patterns in their previous experiment on the Snap Kit platform. They built an app called Dazz in 2018 that let users create polls and get anonymous answers from friends, but they noticed their 250,000 users “always ended up adding each other on Snap. So we decided to create Hoop, the app to make new Snap friends,” Gervais tells me. Gervais and Pourret have been friends since age two, growing up in small town in France. They met their two developers in high school, and are now marketing students at university. With Hoop, they say the goal was to “meet everyone’s needs, from connecting people from different cultures to helping lonely people to feel better to simply growing your Snapchat community.” ...

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Nvidia GeForce Now Finally on Beta; What Makes it Stand Out Over Stadia?

Nvidia's big game-streaming competitor to Google Stadia and Microsoft Project xCloud, GeForce Now, is officially out of beta today and is available for users in Europe and North America. GeForce Now lets you play PC video games, with minimum fuss, on any PC, MacOS, or Android device. Want to play Overwatch to your Samsung cellphone or Red Dead Redemption 2 for your MacBook Air? The idea is, you log in and go. GeForce Now vs. Competitors: What's the Difference? Some people ask this question: What makes GeForce Now stand out from its other game-streaming competitors? GeForce Now is a service that connects into your existing game stores accounts such as Blizzard, Epic, GoG, and Steam. So, if the service ever dies, you'll still have your games kept-though you could lose saves in case you don't have cloud saves enabled for every respective carrier. This updated service now feels more stable compared to Stadia and Project xCloud, which both have a fewer game selection and require specific controllers. Nvidia's GeForce Now has a significantly more massive games library than Google's Stadia. Microsoft's Project xCloud game streaming app could also make the same claim. ALSO READ: All Xbox Games Will Be Playable On xCloud Streaming Service - Yes, All Generations Of Xbox Brief History of Ndivia's GeForce Now However, GeForce Now has been "a little inconsistent." A similar provider called GeForce Now allowed you to play a selection of video games offered by using Nvidia or streamed without delay out of your PC. The service was launched as Nvidia Grid lower back in 2013. The game-streaming application turned into rebranded GeForce Now in 2015, and the beta became available on Nvidia's Android set-top box, the Nvidia Shield. A new provider was released into beta in 2017 with an identical name. The users could play any game they have in other PC gaming stores instead of playing a small selection of games offered by Nvidia. GeForce Now Allows Cross-Playing with PC, Mac, Chromebooks, Android Smartphones, Nvidia shield. The GeForce Now has progressed over the years as the current version no longer has connectivity issues. You could smoothly play with your games through GeForce Now by log in to your account. You will be able to play games on a wide variety of devices - including mobile devices, the Nvidia Shield media streaming device for TVs, Macs, and PCs. However, Nvidia has not mentioned whether GeForce Now will work with Apple iPhones. GeForce Now gamers, unlike other game streaming applications, are not limited to other players who are also playing games on GeForce Now. For example, the users could be playing a game on GeForce Now while playing against someone running a game locally on their PC. ...

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk teases possible new Texas gigafactory

Tesla has been on a tear lately, and it looks like CEO Elon Musk is trying to think of new ways to spend some money. Tonight he dropped a hint that, in addition to current gigafactory projects in China and Germany, Tesla is considering one in Texas. Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory is already up and running with a current capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. Tesla plans to expand it more this year, including adding local Model Y production for the China market. And the purchase contract has been signed on Tesla’s gigafactory in Germany, with construction beginning on access roads, despite some local protests. Tesla has also announced plans to open design centers in both Germany and China. Tesla’s current design center is in Hawthorne, California. Finally, Tesla has another factory in Buffalo, New York. This factory is mainly focused on “Tesla Energy” products, and was part of Tesla’s SolarCity merger. The original gigafactory got that name to denote its massive size. “Giga” is the metric prefix for “billion,” and it seemed that Tesla wanted to signify that their battery factory would reach the capacity to produce a billion cells. Tesla’s first gigafactory in Nevada is one of the largest buildings in the world by floor area and footprint. The gigafactory name took off, and now Tesla is just calling everything a gigafactory, whether it be for batteries or otherwise. For a while Tesla named all these factories sequentially — gigafactory 1, 2, 3, 4. But that started to get confusing as Tesla added more factories, so Tesla is now using the naming convention “Giga (area).” So these have been renamed Giga Nevada, Giga New York, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Berlin. Now those four might get another addition in Giga Texas. Tesla CEO Elon Musk put up a poll today, asking simply, “Giga Texas?” As of press time, people seem pretty excited about the idea: Texas has been in Musk’s thoughts recently. On Monday, he announced an AI hackathon amid a recruiting effort for Tesla’s autopilot team, stating that Tesla is also looking for “world-class” chip designers to join Tesla’s team in Palo Alto, California, or Austin. The Texas capital has become quite a tech hub recently, attracting a lot of young tech talent who are looking for somewhere to get away from Silicon Valley’s insanely high cost of living. While Musk didn’t specify where Giga Texas would be, we could imagine that somewhere near Austin would work well, to take advantage of the growing tech industry there. Musk also did not specify what products would be made in Texas (beyond the note about chip designers), so we’ll have to wait for more news on that. That said, Texas also currently bans Tesla from selling their cars in the state, and even recently tried to stop the company from even servicing cars in-state. That effort thankfully failed, but Texas has not yet rolled out the welcome mat for Tesla. We’ll see if that changes with this talk of a possible factory.

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WATCH | This is How 99 Phones Could Change Traffic Flow in Google Maps

Google Maps has modified how people navigate the world. However, Google's influence is merely going beyond just locating and navigating. A whole flood of latest businesses, experiences, and ideas have grown up around the ability to zoom and pan around only a virtual version of a map. However, with incredible power comes great responsibility. One "hack" showed how clear it turned into play Google's system and altered the flow. Although a few would possibly argue that Waze, which is also owned by way of Google now, does a higher job at navigating roads and displaying traffic information, Google Maps has, over time, incorporating a number of those into its very own app. The innovation enables human beings to catch up without having to switch between apps for specific information. German used 99 mobile phones to hack Google Maps Simon Weckert currently took gain of the opportunity with a "hack" - as he calls it - for Google Maps. To accomplish this, he loaded 99 smartphones right into a wagon and turned all of them onto Maps navigation. As he walks down an avenue, Google acknowledges the high awareness of "users" and the slow-moving "site visitors" and marks that street as having bad site visitors. Somewhat hilariously, this would virtually cause other drivers in the place using Maps to be rerouted to avoid the "visitors" resulting from this otherwise innocent prank. Weckert even took the collection of smartphones proper outside of Google's Berlin places of work to create the virtual visitors' jam.

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Hands-On With Salt's Apple TV Remote Replacement

The Apple TV 4K is a fantastic little set-top box that has an easy-to-use interface, an App Store, and options to watch all kinds of content, but there's one major flaw with the device - the Siri Remote. Apple unveiled its ¿Siri¿ (or ¿Apple TV¿) Remote with touch surface in 2015 alongside the fourth-generation ¿Apple TV¿, and it's never been a particularly popular accessory. With that in mind, Swiss company Salt created an alternative ¿Apple TV¿ Remote, which we managed to get our hands on. Salt is a Swiss telecommunications company that offers the ¿Apple TV¿ 4K in a broadband TV bundle for its customers. There's no way to order this remote in the United States or countries other than Switzerland - it's designed only for Salt customers. According to Salt, the Salt Remote was designed in close collaboration with Apple after the Salt TV customer base complained about the poor usability of the default remote that comes with the ¿Apple TV¿. Available for just under 20 Swiss francs, the Salt Remote looks more like a traditional remote than Apple's version, and it's made from a simple black plastic with buttons for controlling multiple functions. It is designed to connect to the ¿Apple TV¿ out of the box and requires no pairing to set up. It's both wider and longer than the ¿Siri¿ Remote, so it's harder to lose, which is probably a good thing for most people given how easy it is to misplace the ¿Siri¿ Remote. ...

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Pokémon GO Buddy Adventure: How to Increase Buddy Levels and Unlock Other Perks

In a December blog post, Niantic introduced an all-new feature on their hit AR video game: the Pokémon GO Buddy Adventure. Set to roll out worldwide in 2020, the Buddy Adventure feature lets Trainers explore the Pokémon GO universe side by side with their Buddy Pokémon like never before. "Since launching Pokémon GO, this might be the most collaborative feature we have had with The Pokémon Company," said Ryuta Hiroi, Niantic's lead product manager on the project. "Even with your phone in your pocket, you'll feel like your buddy is right beside you!" Lena Verstappen, their tech artist on the project, shared that they created each Pokémon in a "deeply respectful way." "It's almost as if each Pokémon were a family member!" she said. "How they eat, how they walk, and even where the Best Buddy Ribbon should be placed on each Pokémon's body-all of this and more was taken into account when crafting an as-immersive-as-possible experience." Buddy Adventure in a Nutshell In a press release published by the Pokémon GO Team, Buddy Adventure is an elevated bonding experience where Trainers and their chosen buddies can explore the world and grow side by side as they journey in a richer Pokémon world. Watch the promo video below: The Buddy Levels Here are the Buddy Levels you can unlock: Good Buddy: On this level, you'll see your buddy on the map following right behind you. Great Buddy: On this level, you'll be able to tap your buddy for help, like bringing your items in Pokémon encounters. Ultra Buddy: On this level, your buddy can point you to interesting places nearby and bring you Souvenirs. Best Buddy: On this level, you and your buddy will have a Best Buddy Ribbon. Your Best Buddy can get a CP boost in combat as long as they're assigned as your Buddy Pokémon. How to Increase Buddy Levels For starters, Trainers have to feed their buddies Berries to increase their Buddy Level to Good Buddy. You can increase your Buddy Level by doing the following: Playing With Your Buddy Pokémon Feeding Your Buddy Pokémon Treats Battling and Exploring With Your Buddy Pokémon How to Unlock Other Buddy Adventure Perks Your buddy has various moods. When you reach the highest mood (excited), you as a Trainer can unlock the following Perks: Cut the Distance It Takes for Your Buddy to Find Candy Double the Number of Hearts Earned per Action Earn Bonus Hearts Buddy Adventure Playing Tips Feed Your Buddy - To feed and interact with your buddy, click the Play button on the new buddy profile page. Play With Your Buddy - Apart from feeding them, you can also play with your buddies. Turn on your AR+ feature to see what your buddy does when you interact with it. Each Pokémon has its own quirks and ways to express itself, so watch closely to get acquainted with their expressions and movements. ...

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Watch Ford F-250 Diesel 4x4 In Tug Of War Battle Against Tesla Model X

Can the diesel Ford-250 Super Duty out tug the Model X? While we wait for the official rematch between the Ford F-150 and Tesla Cybertruck, this tug of war challenge shows the Model X against Ford's F-250 four-wheel-drive diesel truck. The switch to a 250 instead of a 150 comes after news of the Cybertuck being classified as medium-duty surfaced. When Tesla debuted its Cybertruck, it released a video showing it beating a Ford F-150 in a tug-of-war contest. The challenge was not without controversy though and Tesla CEO Elon Musk agreed to repeat the test at a later time. Ford even chimed in and then the automaker backed down from the challenge. The official rematch has not taken place yet and perhaps it won't, but there's been no shortage of attempted retakes at pitting a Tesla against a Ford truck in some form or another. The video (skip forward to 3:30 for the tug of war action to begin) clearly shows us that this is indeed a four-wheel-drive Ford F-250 diesel truck. Perhaps even more importantly, the truck is put into 4-wheel-drive low, which provides it with the best chance of beating the Model X. Two tug-of-war challenges are shown in the video and each one has a different result. In the first tug off, the Model X, with its instant torque, wins the matchup. To make the second attempt a bit more fair (or unfair, as some will say), the diesel truck is revved up while holding the brake down. This puts the truck in its powerband. At go, the brakes are released and the F-250 easily takes the win. One win for the Tesla and one for the Ford. After watching the video it seems safe to conclude that the Cybertruck would likely beat the F-250 due to the fact that it should weigh considerably more than the Model X. At least that's how we see it, but let us know your thoughts in comments.

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Microsoft’s next Xbox is Xbox Series X, coming holiday 2020

Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox is officially called Xbox Series X. Microsoft revealed the name and console design on stage at the Game Awards today. The console itself looks far more like a PC than we’ve seen from previous Xbox consoles, and Microsoft’s trailer provides a brief glimpse at the new design. The console itself is designed to be used in both vertical and horizontal orientations, and Microsoft’s Xbox chief, Phil Spencer, promises that it will “deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way.” Microsoft used the Xbox Series X to showcase Hellbade 2, a new game from Ninja Theory that is being developed for its next Xbox console. While Microsoft has revealed the design here, the company isn’t revealing exact specs beyond what has been discussed previously. The Xbox Series X will include a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. Microsoft is also using an SSD on Xbox Series X, which promises to boost load times. Xbox Series X will also support 8K gaming, frame rates of up to 120 fps in games, ray tracing, and variable refresh rate support. Microsoft also revealed a new Xbox Wireless Controller today. “Its size and shape have been refined to accommodate an even wider range of people, and it also features a new Share button to make capturing screenshots and game clips simple,” explains Spencer. This updated controller will work with existing Xbox One consoles and Windows 10 PCs, and will ship with every Xbox Series X.

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