Google Maps' Voice Guidance feature helps people with impaired vision

Just in time for World Sight Day, Google introduces more detailed spoken directions into Google Maps. The feature was developed to help people with visual impairments by providing them with alerts as they navigate their route to their destination. The app now has more detailed voice guidance and new kinds of verbal announcements for walking trips. So Google Maps can inform users when they need to turn or let them know when a big intersection is coming up. When they move away from their route, they will be notified by the app, and it'll re-route them.

The feature is rolling out first to the United States (in English) and to Japan (in Japanese), but according to Google, it'll support additional languages and countries soon. To access the feature, head to Google Maps' settings and select Navigation. From there, scroll to the bottom of the list and locate Walking options. You will see the Detailed voice guidance option there.

Apple picks up 'A Christmas Carol' remake with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds for Apple TV+

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Apple adds one more original feature film into its Apple TV+ catalogue. The company picked up a reimagining of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol with Will Ferrell and Reynolds. The movie doesn't have a title yet, or what roles Ferrell and Reynolds will play. But the film will be directed by Sean Anders and John Morris, who worked with Ferrell on the Daddy's Home films.

Multiple studios were said to be bidding for the film, but Apple reportedly got rights to the movie because it "moved aggressively as it seeks to make an impact in the original features space."

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Lost and found with new TILE devices and features

The average person spends 10 to 15 minutes a day looking for stuff. Keys, wallets, and phones are ones that immediately come to mind.Over a course of lifetime that adds up to a year’s worth of time spent searching for everyday items.  It’s a universal problem that we all can relate to. When TILE, the small finding device was introduced a few years ago, I attached one to my keys and gave one to my son for his keys. It proved to come in handy when he misplaced his house keys and activated the TILE to locate them—a kilometre away at a friend’s house in a backpack.

Since then, TILE has become an essential device to my daily life and beyond. Just think about travel. According to Sita, an international IT provider to the travel industry that monitors luggage handling, there were approximately 24.8 million pieces of luggage that went astray in 2018. TILE would be useful in helping to locate these lost items. We can also talk endlessly about the aging demographic as well as the kids who are constantly misplacing items including things that are irreplaceable and much loved.

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Bourne Universe-based 'Treadstone' series to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in January 2020

Amazon just released a new teaser video for the action-thriller Treadstone, which will premiere on its Prime Video service in January 2020. The series is set in the "Bourne" universe, and it's produced by the team behind the famous action movie franchise. Treadstone focuses on the origin story and present-day activities of Operation Treadstone. Those familiar with the books and movies will know what the name stands for. It refers to the covert CIA Black Ops program that used behaviour modification to turn recruits into these superhuman assassins of sorts. The series will follow these sleeper agents around the world as someone wakes them up to continue with their deadly mission.