Former chief vehicle engineer at Tesla comes back to Apple and its secretive self-driving car program

A recent hire (or re-hire) shows us that Apple might not be ready to give up on its self-driving car program just yet. Doug Field, the former vice president of Mac hardware, left Apple to join Tesla as its chief vehicle engineer. Now, Field is back with Apple and is working on the company’s “Project Titan” self-driving car program. He was in charge of Tesla’s vehicle production and engineering before CEO Elon Musk to over production after the company failed to meet its first-quarter goal for the Model 3. Field took a leave of absence in May and then left the company altogether.

Field’s return to Apple is an interesting move as reports claim that Apple has been scaling Project Titan back with hundreds of people leaving the division. Apple is reportedly focusing on finding carmakers to partner with to develop its self-driving software. With Field back, it could suggest that Apple might still be thinking of producing the cars itself. But, of course, this is something we won’t know until Apple confirms the news.

Source: The Verge

Spotify tests out skippable ads for free users

Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

In a move that might dissuade people from going Premium, Spotify is trying out a new feature in Australia that will let free users skip both audio and video ads as many times as they like. The music streaming service told AdAge that they think this move will result in better targeted ads. Spotify reasons that people will likely just skip ads they don’t care about and by doing so, will give them feedback on what ads to send their way. Danielle Lee, global head of partner solutions at Spotify, likens this to the Discover Weekly playlist but for ads and Spotify says advertisers will not pay for skipped ads. The feature is currently being tested now but the company has plans to launch it globally. We’re not sure how this would bode well though for Premium users who specifically pay so that they can avoid ads.

Google Play Store on Android informs users that ‘Fortnite’ won’t be downloadable there

It’s been all over the news how Epic Games will be skipping the Google Play Store when it launches Fortnite: Battle Royale on Android. Now, Google is making sure its users on the platform know they can’t find the game in the Play Store. This is ultimately helpful for users who might accidentally download fraudulent or malicious apps posing as the game. The message “Fortnite Battle Royal [sic] by Epic Games, Inc is not available on Google Play” appears when you search for the words “Fortnite” or “Fortnite Mobile.” Unfortunately, the message only appears when you search for the game on mobile and not when you’re browsing on the web version of the Play Store. We don’t know if Google plans to do this for the other apps as well. But it could be useful to avoid users from getting scammed by fake apps.

Source: NDTV

Marvel is celebrating its decade of hero movies with exclusive IMAX screenings

Marvel Studios is kicking off its 10th year anniversary with exclusive showings of all the Marvel hero movies which have been remastered to play back in glorious IMAX theatres.

The 10th Anniversary Film Festival will take place between August 30th and September 6th in select IMAX theatres in North America. Being a Canadian invention, IMAX theatres across Canada are expected to carry the movies. Some of the earlier movies like the first Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America: The First Avenger will be shown in IMAX sound and vision for the first time. This gives an opportunity for younger fans, who may have not been around during the initial movies, to enjoy them in the most immersive medium yet. Best to check nearby IMAX theatres for the appropriate schedules.