Google will delete everything it knows about users’ previously visited locations, the company has said, a year after it committed to reducing the amount of personal data it stores about users. The company’s “timeline” feature – previously known as Location History – will still work for those who choose to use it, letting them scroll back through potentially decades of travel history to check where they were at a specific time. But all the data required to make the feature work will be saved locally, to their own phones or tablets, with none of it being stored on the company’s servers. The Guardian
A group of UK retailers are suing Amazon for damages of up to £1.1 billion, over claims it misused their data and pushed them out of the market to inflate its own profits. The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) said it was the biggest collective action ever launched by UK retailers. The claim is being filed by the group, on behalf of UK retailers, at a specialist London tribunal on Thursday. Bira alleges that Amazon’s UK marketplace illegally used data belonging to competing sellers to market rival products for a cheaper price. Standard
Volvo is set to become the first electric vehicle manufacturer to offer a battery passport on its new $76,695 /£95,400 /AU$155,00 EX90 electric SUV, which will offer information on the raw material components, the amount of recycled content and the overall carbon footprint of the battery pack. Similar to the information provided by some fashion brands, such as Nudie Jeans and outdoor clothing specialist Rab, the battery passport is designed to create greater product transparency and educate the buyer on its sustainability credentials. Tech Radar
Mike Lynch, the British technology tycoon, has been cleared of fraud over the multibillion-dollar sale of his software company Autonomy. A San Francisco jury acquitted Mr Lynch on Thursday in a remarkable redemption for the entrepreneur, who has been plagued by legal problems since the company’s sale 13 years ago. The decision came after an 11 and a half-week trial in which jurors heard that Mr Lynch had masterminded a “multi-year, multi-layered fraud” to inflate Autonomy’s value before its $11bn (£7bn) sale to Hewlett Packard in 2011. Telegraph
I’ve just spent the past few days with the latest gadget billed as being able to take on the smartphone: the Rabbit R1. I wanted to see if I could imagine this portable, artificial intelligence (AI) digital assistant one day becoming what my phone is now – something I can’t live without. You can see the thinking behind it: millions of people have played with AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Given that success with software, it seems the Next Big Thing for the tech giants is to do the same with hardware, and find ways to physically embed AI tools. BBC
SpaceX’s Starship has splashed down for a “soft landing” in the Indian Ocean – a success after previous attempts ended in spectacular explosions. Elon Musk‘s company upgraded software and made other changes for this fourth attempt, which blasted off from Texas for a half lap around the planet. The billionaire posted on social media: “Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” Sky News
Slow motion liftoff of Starship on Flight 4 pic.twitter.com/9itFbrfxW7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
Chris Price
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