Techlife News #350

Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a way for you to access an array of exciting new software features on your Apple devices months before most Apple customers? Indeed, there is a way: joining the Apple Beta Software Program. This lets you test-drive the next major versions of iOS, macOS and tvOS months before their expected arrivals to mainstream audiences this fall. However, joining the beta program carries both benefits and caveats that are worth heeding before you go ahead. MAPPING OUT THE ISSUES THANKS TO APPLE MAPS Unlike many Apple services which we now take for granted, such as iTunes, iMessage and iCloud, the Apple beta testing program didn’t originate from Steve Jobs’ tenure at the Apple helm. Instead, it was a case of fruit, an apple or otherwise, growing…

Electric car producer Tesla will build its first factory outside the United States in Shanghai under an agreement signed this week, becoming the first wholly foreign-owned automaker in China. Tesla Inc.’s announcement comes amid mounting U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and follows Beijing’s April promise to end restrictions that required foreign automakers to work through local partners. Tesla said construction would begin in the near future, once official permits are obtained. It said production would begin two to three years after that and eventually increase to 500,000 vehicles annually. No financial details were announced. A city government statement said the factory would be the biggest foreign investment to date in Shanghai, a base for joint ventures between General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG and a state-owned automaker. The signing ceremony was attended by Tesla chairman…

Electric vehicle producer Tesla Inc. says it will build its first factory outside the United States in Shanghai. The step is logical for a company that looks to China as its No. 2 market. But Tesla faces growing competition from Chinese and foreign brands that are developing dozens of electric models. And its announcement said nothing about how it will pay for the venture. Here are five things to know about Tesla’s China plans: WHY NOW? The announcement comes amid an increasingly bitter U.S.-Chinese tariff battle. But the Palo Alto, California-based company has been talking with the Shanghai city government since last year about a possible factory. The timing appears to be driven by Beijing’s April announcement that it would end restrictions that required foreign automakers to work through local partners. Other automakers including…

Uber is getting into the scooter-rental business. The ride-hailing company said that it is investing in Lime, a startup based in San Mateo, California. “Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one-stop shop for all your transportation needs,” Rachel Holt, an Uber vice president, said in a statement. Uber will add Lime motorized scooters to the Uber mobile app, giving consumers another option for getting around cities, especially to and from public transit systems, Holt said. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Lime co-founders Toby Sun and Brad Bao wrote in a blog that Uber’s “sizable investment” is part of a $335 million fund-raising round led by GV, the venture-capital arm of Google parent Alphabet Inc. They said Alphabet is among several new investors. The…

Twitter says it will begin removing suspicious accounts it has locked from its counts of users’ followers. Twitter users are likely to see a reduction in their follower counts in the coming days. For many, this will amount to a reduction of four followers or less. But large accounts of celebrities and public figures could see bigger drops. An account that’s been locked can’t tweet, like or retweet posts, and it won’t be shown ads. The company said Wednesday that the move will not affect its number of monthly or daily active user figures. In the first three months of the year, it had 336 million active users. Twitter has been working to remove fake accounts, bots and abusive posts from its service.…

I like to imagine what King Kong, as a popcorn-chomping moviegoer, might make of “Skyscraper,” the latest summer actioner staring Dwayne Johnson. Would he, watching a goliath ascend the exterior of a high-rise with helicopters and klieg lights swirling, woundedly mumble, “Hey, that’s my gig.” But in Rawson Marshall Thurber’s thriller, there is Johnson steadily — and without too much trouble, really — swinging up a 100-story-high crane to then leap across a mammoth chasm and land in an open window on the burning 220-story tower where his wife and twin kids are trapped. It goes without saying that if you’re the sort to scoff at a tale’s implausibility, “Skyscraper” may not be the movie you’re looking for. Experts in fields including physics, thermodynamics and screenwriting should proceed cautiously. But then again,…