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Europe's Self-Driving Cars Aren't Even at the Starting Line

Slashdot.org - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 10:33
Europe's self-driving car industry has fallen far behind the United States and China. Self-driving taxis developed by Tesla and Waymo have become commonplace in several American cities. Waymo overtook Lyft's market share in San Francisco in June. China operates a thriving robotaxi industry led by Baidu, WeRide and Pony AI. Europe has no established player and runs pilot projects in only a handful of cities. The most promising is Volkswagen-backed Moia in Germany. Markus Villig, chief executive of Estonian ride-hailing company Bolt Technology, told Brussels officials in mid-October that Europeans will move about their cities in American robotaxis by 2030 unless the European Commission acts quickly. He called for investment, regulatory clarity and restrictions on foreign competitors. Traffic laws governing self-driving tests vary at national and city levels across Europe. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a speech in Turin about AI adoption days before Villig's visit. Last week, Henna Virkkunen, the commission's technology chief, gathered carmakers and technologists to create a harmonized framework for self-driving cars. Waymo announced plans to provide driverless rides in the United Kingdom starting in 2026.

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Brazil Proposes a New Type of Fund To Protect Tropical Forests

Slashdot.org - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 09:45
Brazil is set to announce Thursday the establishment of a multibillion-dollar fund designed to pay countries to keep their tropical forests standing. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility would deliver $4 billion per year to as many as 74 countries that maintain their forest cover. The fund requires $25 billion from governments and philanthropies to begin operations. Private investors would contribute the remaining $100 billion. Brazil has committed $1 billion. Countries would receive around $4 per hectare of standing forest after using satellite imagery to verify forests remain in place. Nations with annual deforestation rates above 0.5% are ineligible for payouts. Indonesia, which has rapidly lost forests to palm-oil cultivation and mining, cannot participate. One-fifth of the payments are designated for forest communities. The World Bank is managing the fund.

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DRAM Costs Surge Past Gold as AI Demand Strains Supply

Slashdot.org - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 09:06
DRAM contract prices surged 171.8% year-over-year as of the third quarter of 2025. The increase now exceeds the rate at which gold prices have climbed. ADATA chairman Chen Libai stated that the fourth quarter of 2025 will mark the beginning of a major DRAM bull market. He expects severe shortages to materialize in 2026. Memory manufacturers have shifted production priorities toward datacenter-focused memory types like RDIMM and HBM. Consumer DDR5 production has declined as a result. A Corsair Vengeance RGB dual-channel DDR5 kit that sold for $91 dollars in July now costs a $183 dollars on Newegg. The pricing trend extends to NAND flash and hard drives. Analysts project the increases will persist for at least four years, matching the duration of supply contracts that some companies have signed with Samsung and SK Hynix.

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Google Maps navigation gets a powerful boost with GeminiGoogle Maps navigation gets a powerful boost with GeminiDirector of Product, Google Maps

GoogleBlog - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 09:00
Getting around is easier than ever thanks to Gemini capabilities and our trusted real-world information.Getting around is easier than ever thanks to Gemini capabilities and our trusted real-world information.
Categories: Technology

Drive with ‘Now You See Me’ on Waze.Drive with ‘Now You See Me’ on Waze.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 09:00
Prepare to take on traffic with the infamous illusionists, Atlas and Henley, from "Now You See Me: Now You Don’t" arriving to theaters November 14. Join two of the origi…
Categories: Technology

Google Maps navigation with Gemini is rolling out everywhere Gemini is available.Google Maps navigation with Gemini is rolling out everywhere Gemini is available.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 07:42
Google Maps is getting a Gemini upgrade that makes navigating smarter and easier.
Categories: Technology

Listen to the Brazilian rainforests and help contribute to AI researchListen to the Brazilian rainforests and help contribute to AI researchChief Scientist

GoogleBlog - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 07:00
Google Arts & Culture is launching a new Nature & AI experiment that invites people everywhere to listen to the sounds of the Brazilian rainforests to help monitor their…Google Arts & Culture is launching a new Nature & AI experiment that invites people everywhere to listen to the sounds of the Brazilian rainforests to help monitor their biodiversity health
Categories: Technology

Here's an update on our efforts to simplify the search results page

GoogleWebmasterCentral - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 05:00

We're constantly working to simplify the search results page, so that it's quick and easy to find the information and websites you're looking for. As part of this effort, we regularly evaluate all of our existing features to make sure they're still useful, both for people searching on Google and for website owners.

Categories: Web

Trump Re-Nominates Billionaire Jared Isaacman To Run NASA

Slashdot.org - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 05:00
President Trump has re-nominated tech billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, reversing his earlier withdrawal over concerns about Isaacman's political affiliations. CBS News reports: Mr. Trump nominated Isaacman to the Senate-confirmed post last year, but announced in late May he had decided to withdraw Isaacman after a "thorough review" of his "prior associations." Weeks after the withdrawal, the president went further in expressing his concerns about Isaacman's credentials. At the time, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he thought Isaacman "was very good," but had been "surprised to learn" that Isaacman was a "blue-blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before." [...] Mr. Trump made no mention of his previous decision to nominate and then withdraw Isaacman in his Tuesday evening announcement of the re-nomination on his Truth Social platform. "This evening, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA," Trump posted. "Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era."

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UK players, get ready. It’s time to hunt for treasure in Google Play’s Diamond Valley mini-game.UK players, get ready. It’s time to hunt for treasure in Google Play’s Diamond Valley mini-game.VP, Marketing UKI

GoogleBlog - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 04:00
Google Play’s Diamond Valley mini-game is live in the UK. Hunt diamonds to win prizes like Pixel devices, merch, and Play Points.
Categories: Technology

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