Weekend In Tech Trends

Tech Trends- Feb 6-7

Twitter uproar, summoning a Tesla, wireless charging for driverless cars and more in this week’s Weekend in Tech Trends.

Tech Trends 1) Rumors of Twitter changing their news feed causes uproar

Twitter may change, and people are not happy. Reports surfaced on Friday from Buzzfeed news that Twitter may be releasing their algorithm based news feed as early as this week. The timeline will reorder tweets based on what Twitter’s algorithm thinks people most want to see, which differs from the current feed’s reverse chronological order.
As soon as this hit the news, Twitter erupted. The hashtag #RIPTwitter began trending and people expressed their feelings over the new feed in a non-accepting sort of way. Jack Dorsey, Twitters CEO, then took to Twitter to address the hashtag, “Hello Twitter! Regarding #RIPTwitter: I want you all to know we’re always listening. We never planned to reorder timelines next week.” He also tweeted “Twitter is live. Twitter is real-time,” Dorsey wrote. “Twitter is about who & what you follow. And Twitter is here to stay! By becoming more Twitter-y.” and his last tweet read “Twitter can help make connections in real-time based on dynamic interests and topics, rather than a static social/friend graph. We get it.”
So as of now I think it’s safe to say that your Twitter feed will remain the same for at least a little bit longer. But in the end, we could see some major changes to how our Twitter feed looks.

Tech Trends 2) Summon your Tesla with your Apple Watch

Awhile ago I wrote about the Tesla update that allowed people to summon their Teslas using their smartphones. Now, you can summon it using your watch. While the app is not an official Tesla App, it gets the job done. The third-party app called Remote S for Tesla also allows Tesla owners to see some basic info including charging status, speed, position and temperature, and it also lets them perform some basic tasks, such as starting the car or unlocking it.
According to Wong’s release notes, you can use Summon even if your key fob is not near your car (normally, there’s a 39-feet range limitation). According to 9to5Mac, this only works if you press the “Keyless Start” button before using Summon. Check out the video below to see it in action.

Source: Mashable

Tech Trends 3) Google may have their driverless cars charge wirelessly

Google is looking to leave no stone unturned when building their driverless cars. In an FCC filing discovered by IEEE, it appears that Google is “testing wireless charging systems for its electric self-driving cars.”
According the the documents, Google is looking into two wireless charging companies, Hevo Power and Momentum Dynamics. These companies use plates embedded in roads and driveways to send power to the receivers found in the underbellies of cars. If Google does manage to pull this off, it will change transportation forever. It will make electric cars truly the car of the future since it could eliminate the need to ever “refuel”. Time is the only thing that will tell us exactly what Google is up to.

Tech Trends 4) Amazon befriends Square and gives out free credit card readers

After recently discounting their payment processing service, Amazon looks to be joining forces with Square. Amazon is currently offering free Square credit card readers to business owners who had previously bought an Amazon Local Register. Even though the reader only cost a mere $10, it shows that Amazon is now choosing to promote Square over other competitors.
When a Square spokeswoman was asked about the company working with Amazon she said, “The only thing better would be if they delivered the Square Readers by drone.”