Today, only the top books get audio versions narrated by professionals given that recording is a time-consuming process that doesn’t necessarily scale to every published work. Google is now working on auto-generated narrators that turn any book into an audiobook.
This feature is intended to benefit the Google Play Books store by making many more audio titles, with their inherent convenience…
Android Auto expands to more countries in Europe, Indonesia, more — here’s the full list
December 4, 2020
Google’s Android Auto platform has become a standard part of many new cars, much to the benefit of users. Now, Google is expanding where Android Auto is officially available, opening the platform up to quite a few new countries across the continent of Europe and…
Daimler announces $85 billion investment, mostly toward accelerating electrification
December 4, 2020
Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, announced a new investment plan worth €70 billion ($85 billion USD) for the years 2021 through 2025.
The automaker says that most of the investment will be used “to accelerate the transformation towards electrification and…
Google has baked some very useful accessibility features into the Android operating system over the years, and one of the most recent is “Voice Access.” That feature was supercharged with the debut of Android 11, and now those additional features are being brought to older Android versions.
“Voice Access,” for those unaware, is an Android feature designed for users with motor-related…
Vote Solar, the Coalition for Community Solar Access, and solar provider Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN) conducted a study that found that if just a quarter of US households were powered by local rooftop and community solar and storage, Americans would benefit financially and…
Besides voice commands, the key aspect of Google Assistant headphones is having incoming notifications read aloud. Google now looks to have brought this Assistant feature to any pair of wired headphones, regardless of whether they’ve been optimized by the…
EGEB: Ford, HP, Amazon, others call for govt climate action
December 4, 2020
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
42 corporations release a letter to the US government urging ambitious climate policies.
The US would save billions if local solar powered 25% of homes, according to a new study.
Japan may ban sales of ICE cars by the mid-2030s.
UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar…
Google fully shuts down Play Music around the world
December 4, 2020
Google started shutting down its legacy streaming service around the world in October. Google Play Music is now officially dead for all users.
Visiting music.google.com or the Android and iOS app today will direct you to a “Google Play Music is no longer available”…
A new trademark for the eSR1 shows that Aprilia is likely developing an electric scooter, which would be the first electric vehicle under the brand’s name.
It wouldn’t be the first for its parent company, though.
Piaggio, which owns the Italian motorcycle manufacturer…
Israeli Navy welcomes new generation of German-made warships
December 4, 2020
HAIFA, Israel — Israel’s Navy on Wednesday welcomed the first of four German-made warships that will be at the vanguard of the country’s efforts to protect its coastline and growing natural gas industry.
The first missile boat of “Project Magen” docked at Israel’s Haifa port, with three more of the corvettes scheduled to arrive over the next two years.
“The Israel Navy has…
