Tech Roundup: Microsoft Surface Refresh, Twitter NFT & More

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

• Chinese tech giant WeChat, the ubiquitous social media platform operated by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, begins allowing links to its rivals to be shared in one-to-one chats to comply with new rules from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to encourage competition and curb monopolistic behaviour.
• Microsoft announces US$ 1,100 Surface Pro 8 notebook with with thinner bezels, a larger 13-inch touchscreen, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, US$ 1,600 Surface Laptop Studio (replacing Surface Book) that puts a hinge behind the middle of the screen, US$ 400 Surface Go 3 tablet with new Intel processors, US$ 1,500 Surface Duo 2 dual screen smartphone with support for 5G networks and a triple-lens camera system, US$ 900 Surface Pro X and US$ 130 Surface Slim Pen 2 with a custom Microsoft G6 chip, haptic feedback, and up to 15 hours battery life.
• Popular messaging platform Discord tests Watch Together with Google, a feature that lets members broadcast YouTube videos, after Google forced the shutdown of two popular music bots Groovy and Rythm on the service.
• Google announces new ad transparency tools that allows users to "see the ads a specific verified advertiser has run over the past 30 days" via advertiser pages on YouTube and Search; confirms it's trialling a new feature that lets desktop web users — limited to YouTube Premium subscribers — download videos on their browsers such as Chrome, Edge or Opera for offline viewing through October 19.
• Privacy-oriented web browser Brave rolls out new web-based encrypted videoconferencing tool Brave Talk with a subscription tier costing US$ 7 per month for premium features like group calls and call recording; says "many other video conferencing providers, including Zoom, monitor calls, metadata, and images, and the records of that data can be sold or shared without user consent, [adding] Brave Talk users can enable multiple layers of encryption on calls, so an eavesdropper cannot listen in on users' calls, and our servers don't save metadata, so calls, images, and activities are never recorded or shared without user consent."

• Ride-hailing giant Uber's online food ordering and delivery platform Uber Eats adds a new pickup map feature to its app that will allow users to search for nearby restaurants or merchants from within the app.
• Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi says it "has never and will never restrict or block any personal behaviours of our smartphone users, such as searching, calling, web browsing or the use of third-party communication software," following reports that the company's flagship devices come baked in with a censorship feature that blocks terms like "Free Tibet," "Long live Taiwan independence" and "democracy movement."
• Google's internal research and development division, Area 120, launches new initiative called Museletter, which enables users to publish a Google Drive file as a blog or newsletter to their public profiles or to an email list; launches Google Chat integration within Calendar and expands its Google TV (which replaces Play Movies & TV ) app beyond the U.S. to 14 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K. and Germany, and adds an in-app Android TV remote that can be paired with Android TV devices.
• The European Union proposes new legislation mandating USB-C charging for mobile devices, citing electronic waste, within 24 months; Apple says "We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world."
• South Korean electronics giant LG acquires Israeli startup Cybellum, which detects and assesses vulnerabilities in connected vehicles, for around US$ 240 million.
• Social audio platform Clubhouse debuts new feature called Wave that makes it easier to start private rooms with friends.
• Twitter integrates Strike's wallet to let users receive tips in bitcoin and rolls out Tips globally on iOS, as it announces plans to experiment with a feature that would allow users to authenticate and showcase their collections of NFT digital assets on the social network.