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No More Desserts, Android Q Is Android 10

Google announced new branding and an end to Android code names based on tasty treats.
As the Google Blog explains, for this latest version of Android the mobile operating system is adopting new branding that should be "as inclusive and accessible as possible." Part of the branding change is to drop the use of desserts in alphabetical order to represent each new version. The feedback showed these names could be confusing for Android's global community. Android Lollipop (5.0) is a good example, as some languages don't easily distinguish between L and R when spoken. With that in mind, Android Q will be known as Android 10 when it reaches smartphones, nothing more.

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Russia launches 'floating Chernobyl' plant across Arctic

Russia on Friday launched a controversial floating nuclear reactor on a nearly 3,100-mile voyage across the Arctic Sea from the port of Murmansk.
Loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov with three tug vessels is set to reach the port of Pevek in 4 to 6 weeks. But the maiden voyage comes amid concerns from environmentalists that have only heightened after a recent botched missile test which led to a radiation spike in a town in the same northern region as Murmansk. Lomonosov is part of a plan to bring electric power to one of Russia's most remote regions. The 144-meter (472 feet) long platform, painted in the colors of the Russian flag, is going to supply electricity to settlements and companies extracting hydrocarbons and precious stones in the Chukotka area. A larger agenda is at work, too: aiding President Vladimir Putin's ambitious Arctic expansion plans, which have raised concerns about a larger geopolitical contest. Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom which is in charge of the project, said at a ceremony in Murmansk that Lomonosov will "amount to a significant contribution to creating an Arctic future that is both sustainable and prosperous."

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Amazon fires: France and Ireland threaten to block EU trade deal

France and Ireland say they will not ratify a huge trade deal with South American nations unless Brazil does more to fight fires in the Amazon.
French leader Emmanuel Macron said President Jair Bolsonaro had lied to him about his stance on climate change. There are currently a record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest - a major source of oxygen for the world. Environmental groups say the fires are linked to Mr Bolsonaro's policies, which he denies. European leaders have also expressed dismay over the fires, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying he is "deeply concerned" about "the impact of the tragic loss of these precious habitats". German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the fire an "acute emergency... shocking and threatening not only for Brazil and the other affected countries, but also for the whole world".

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Report: Apple will unveil overhauled MacBook Pro, “Pro” iPhones this fall

The iPad Pro, iPad, HomePod, AirPods, and Apple Watch will also see updates soon
Apple has already had a busy year with the launch of the Apple Card and the reveal of the above-pictured Mac Pro, but it's about to get much, much busier. A new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu—who have reported reliably on Apple's plans in the past—details numerous upcoming product announcements from Apple. Citing people familiar with the situation, the report mentions three iPhones, a MacBook Pro, an Apple Watch, iPad Pros, an entry-level iPad, a higher-end iteration of AirPods, and a more affordable alternative to HomePod.

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Unsweetened: Android swaps sugary codenames for boring numbers

Android gets a new logo, and it looks like a final release is coming any day now.
We usually get a fun codename to go along with each big new Android release. The names are based on sugary snacks that started with the letter C in Android 1.5 and have been working their way down the alphabet. Over the history of Android, we've had 1.5 Cupcake, 1.6 Donut, 2.0 Eclair, 2.2 Froyo, 2.3 Gingerbread, 3.0 Honeycomb, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.1 Jelly Bean, 4.4 KitKat, 5.0 Lollipop, 6.0 Marshmallow, 7.0 Nougat, 8.0 Oreo, and Android 9 Pie (this last one dropped the decimal point!). Usually these names are a big deal. There are jokes and guesses made about them all year, Google often commissions a statue, and sometimes there are media events and huge cross-company, brand-sharing initiatives with companies like Nestle or Nabisco. This year's Android Q is one of the harder letters to come up with a snack codename for, so today Google has announced it's not going to do snack names anymore. Android is getting a branding rework, and in addition to new logos and colors, the snack-based codenames are dead. Android Q is official as "Android 10" and just Android 10, with no extra names whatsoever. Google says the codename system was fun, but it wasn't "always understood by everyone in the global community:"

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Hong Kong protests: Cathay Pacific staff speak of climate of fear

Cathay Pacific employees say they fear losing their jobs if they express support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Employees of the airline told the BBC that staff feared working routes to mainland China. Some are considering bringing decoy mobiles with them in case their phones are checked on arrival in the mainland. It comes weeks after China demanded the airline suspend staff involved in the protest movement. Protesters have been taking to the streets of Hong Kong for the past 11 weeks. The demonstrations were originally against an extradition bill but have now evolved into a wider pro-democracy movement.

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Is Instagram Making Your Photos, Messages Public? No, Dummy

US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was among the public figures who re-posted a fake message warning about a purported privacy policy change at Instagram. It was a hoax in 2012 and it's still fake in 2019.
Will Instagram make all your photos and messages public as part of a privacy policy change? No. That didn't stop a number of celebrities and US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry (you know, the guy responsible for the nukes) from falling for a years-old hoax that falsely claims Facebook's photo-sharing app will change its rules so that Instagram "can use your photos" starting today. "Everything you've ever posted becomes public today. Even messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed," the post reads. The fake message claims that posts and messages can be used against Instagram users in court. It then encourages users to re-post the same message, which concludes with an all-caps message that says Instagram does not have the user's permission to share photos or messages.

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Pompeo praises ‘US ally’ Denmark after Trump cancels visit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has praised Denmark amid a public row over Greenland that saw President Donald Trump cancel a visit to the country.
In a phone call with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, Mr Pompeo "expressed appreciation for Denmark's co-operation" as a US ally. Mr Kofod welcomed the "frank, friendly and constructive talk".It came after Mr Trump said Denmark's prime minister had been "nasty" when rebuffing his idea of buying Greenland.Mette Frederiksen had called his ambitions of buying the autonomous Danish territory "absurd". She said she was "disappointed and surprised" that he had cancelled his visit.The trip was scheduled to take place on 2 September, at the invitation of Denmark's Queen Margrethe II.

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Tesla sued by Walmart over solar panel fires

US supermarket chain Walmart is suing Tesla's energy division, after solar panels on seven of its stores caught fire.
It alleges that the firm was negligent in how it installed the panels on the roofs of the stores.
Court documents describe a string of fires that occurred between 2012 and 2018 at Walmart locations in Ohio, Maryland and California. Tesla has not yet responded to the claims. The lawsuit alleges that the first fire occurred at a Walmart store in Long Beach, California in 2012. Another in Beavercreek, Ohio, in March 2018 saw customers evacuated and the store closed for eight days. Walmart is asking Tesla to remove solar panels from all its stores and to pay damages. It alleged that Tesla deployed individuals to inspect the solar systems who "lacked basic solar training and knowledge".

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Intel’s line of notebook CPUs gets more confusing with 14nm Comet Lake

Comet Lake looks good, but it seems like a confusing digression from Ice Lake.
Today, Intel is launching a new series of 14nm notebook CPUs code-named Comet Lake. Going by Intel's numbers, Comet Lake looks like a competent upgrade to its predecessor Whiskey Lake. The interesting question—and one largely left unanswered by Intel—is why the company has decided to launch a new line of 14nm notebook CPUs less than a month after launching Ice Lake, its first 10nm notebook CPUs. Both the Comet Lake and Ice Lake notebook CPU lines this month consist of a full range of i3, i5, and i7 mobile CPUs in both high-power (U-series) and low-power (Y-series) variants. This adds up to a total of 19 Intel notebook CPU models released in August, and we expect to see a lot of follow-on confusion. During the briefing call, Intel executives did not want to respond to questions about differentiation between the Comet Lake and Ice Lake lines based on either performance or price, but the technical specs lead us to believe that Ice Lake is likely the far more attractive product line for most users.