Tech Roundup: Facebook Explore Feed Test, Google Pixel 2 Problems & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

Alphabet/Google:

• Turns off top touch functionality in Google Mini smart speaker permanently (that was meant to be used to activate the speaker instead of uttering a hotword like "OK Google") after Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii makes a troubling discovery that the speaker activated the feature on its own, inadvertently recording everything that was being said 24x7.
• Finds its hardware strategy questioned after Pixel 2 smartphones suffer from a string of problems ranging from OLED display burn-in to grainy backgrounds in low light to strange clicking and whining noises to supply chain constraints.
• Acquires Relay Media, a company founded by ex-Googler David Gehring in May 2016 that focussed on technology to convert webpages to AMP format.
• Adds basic antivirus features to Chrome for Windows.
• Launches Pay with Google, a unified Payments interface to help ease out mobile payments on Android via apps and mobile web; unveils native addons for Gmail.
• Announces redevelopment of 12 acres of land in Toronto's Eastern Waterfront to rebuild the city as part of its Sidewalk Labs initiative.
• Brings Instant Apps to Play Store; lets users try out Android apps without having to install one. 
• Deploys LTE balloons over storm-ravaged Puerto Rico "to bring balloon powered internet to the island."

Amazon:

• Unveils new waterproof Kindle Oasis on ebook reader's tenth anniversary; gives its Kindle app for Android and iOS a big facelift with entrenched Goodreads integration. (But you still can't buy books directly from Amazon via the app on iOS!)
• Follows the footsteps of Google Home smart speaker; Alexa gains ability to recognize individual voices and dole out personalised responses.
• Launches Business Prime Shipping for businesses in the U.S. and Germany to allow any user with a Amazon Business account enjoy two-day shipping for office and medical supplies.
• Reportedly entering into sportswear business by enlisting vendors used by GAP, Uniqlo and others, reports Bloomberg.

Apple:

• Ordered to pay VirnetX US$ 439.7 million in damages an year later after it lost a patent infringement lawsuit over its use of patents related to FaceTime, iMessage, and VPN.
• Faces a new lawsuit in China from chipmaker Qualcomm seeking an iPhone ban in the country for employing the company's patents without paying for them, as the legal battle turns bitter.
• Sued by Tokyo-based company emonster Inc. for pilfering its Animoji name for a feature in iPhone X; app developer Enrique Bonansea alleges companies working on behalf of Apple tried to the buy the trademark from him ahead of the iPhone X unveil, and when he refused, eventually proceeded to file a trademark cancellation petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Said to be slashing iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus production orders by half, citing weaker demand for the new phones after they receive mixed-bag reviews ahead of much-anticipated iPhone X launch.

Facebook wants to do better! Not sure how to answer this one though!

Facebook:

• Officially rolls out alternative News Feed called Explore Feed in an attempt to discover more content across the social network based on what it thinks users might like (the recommendations aren't necessarily from the friends and pages you follow); media outlets in Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Bolivia, Guatemala and Cambodia report substantial drop in organic traffic after Facebook moves non-promoted posts altogether out of News Feed and to Explore Feed in new controversial trial.
• Opens Stories for all pages, including brands, news publishers, athletes, entertainers and non-profits, after it fails to gain enough traction on the social network.
• Allows users to place order for food from within the app/website across the United States by partnering with services like Delivery.com, DoorDash, ChowNow, Zuppler, EatStreet, Slice, and Olo — but not Seamless. (Is there anything the app cannot do? It has slowly become a bloated, cluttered mess!)
• Acquires tbh, an anonymous teen-focussed positivity app built around multiple choice questions; will let it run independently within Facebook like Instagram and WhatsApp.
• Adds support for live location sharing on WhatsApp; lets users add guests to live video streams on Instagram, in addition to copying Pinterest Boards on Facebook by making it possible to group status updates, photos and videos and share them with friends and followers as a themed collection.
• Begins allowing developers to add in-app purchases as well as interstitial and rewarded video ads as part of its latest monetisation strategy for instant games; starts testing paywalls and subscriptions for Instant Articles (only on Android).

Microsoft:

• Brings voice assistant Cortana to instant messaging service Skype.
• Rolls out Windows 10 Fall Creators Update with Windows Mixed Reality, updated Photos app, contacts integration among other improvements; introduces new Cortana Collections feature for Windows that allows users to save interesting items in Pinterest-like Boards.

Twitter:

• Rolls out a new feature that lets users bookmark tweets with a 'save for later' option.
• Promises to crack down on abuse, hate speech and non-consensual nudity on the platform; announces new measures to improve transparency of its ads, including details about who paid for the ads and the groups being targeted.

In other news:

• Forest fires in Brazil and Indonesia contributed to a record loss in global tree cover in 2016, equivalent to the size of New Zealand, according to Global Forest Watch.
• Israel agrees to share a key biometric database with U.S. government as part of a visa waiver for Israelis who wish to enter the United States.
• Snapchat introduces Context Cards, a new way to discover more information about the snap shared, providing access to contact information of businesses, restaurant reviews, ride hailing and more.
• Two of China's largest Bitcoing exchanges, OKCoin and Huobi, shut down to comply with Chinese regulations; Bitcoin price falls as new cryptocurrency fork Bitcoin Gold is launched.
• OnePlus agrees to scale back its data collection practices following revelations that the company's version of Android (aka OxygenOS) collects detailed usage analytics without user permission for purposes for software-tuning and after-sales support, sparking widespread privacy concerns.
• Former Android-centric OS startup Cyanogen gives up on building an open flavour of Android; rebrands as Cyngn and changes course to autonomous driving technology.
• Social bookmarking site Pinterest admits it became a repository for Russia-linked posts during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections; lawmakers urge internet companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to "disclose who is buying political advertisements on their platforms and maintain those records after elections."
• CEO and Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Oh-Hyun Kwon announces he is leaving the company in March 2018.
• Ride hailing startup Uber says it will remain in Quebec after new rules that require drivers to complete 35 hours of training and undergo background checks go into effect.