Virtual Reality can now let you work out on top of a scenic mountaintop when you’re at home. A new VR-based fitness programme on Oculus Quest takes you to mountaintop and tropical lagoon to exercise.
A newly launched payments app in Africa allows consumers to transact in cash and cryptocurrency.
Advertisers who want to sell their ads on Google’s platform should now give proof of identity.
Apple is making its own chipset for its Mac laptops. This could have a significant impact on Intel as Apple currently buys its processors from the chipmaker.
McDonald’s and Starbucks are part of China’s digital yuan project.
Google wants advertisers to give proof of identity
In an effort to be more transparent on who is advertising on its platform, Google wants advertisers to submit personal identification papers to buy ads from it.
As part of this initiative, advertisers will need to submit personal identification, business incorporation documents or other information that reveals who they are and which country they operate in, Google said in a blog post.
This information will be an addition to Google’s Ad Settings features. Under the feature, users were able control their ad preference. The ‘why this ad?’ feature explained why a particular add was shown to the user.
The information collected from advertisers will be disclosed to users under a new ‘about the advertiser’ feature.
“This change will make it easier for people to understand who the advertiser is behind the ads they see from Google and help them make more informed decisions when using our advertising controls,” John Canfield, Director of Product Management, Ads Integrity said.
Google started cleaning up ads on its platforms after it was discovered that websites spreading fake news during the 2016 presidential elections in US were making money from their ads.
In 2018, the search giant announced a policy that made advertisers selling political ads to confirm their identify. The new proof of identity policy is an extension of that identification policy.
McDonald’s, Starbucks to test China’s Digital Yuan
Starbucks and McDonald’s are among 19 restaurants and retail outlets that will test China’s central bank digital currency, according to a report by Coindesk .
The Reformation and Development Commission of the Xiong’An district in China’s Hebei province convened a meeting between representatives from government agencies, China’s four state-owned banks, Ant Financial, Tencent and 19 other restaurants, entertainment and retail stores.
The meeting focused on the rollout of the pilot for China’s digital yuan initiative, a local news agency reported on Thursday, citing government document.
The report does not specify when the test will begin, or how long it will last.
Apart from McDonald’s and Starbucks, Subway and JD Supermarkets in Xiong’An district are part of the pilot testing.
It was reported last week that Agricultural bank of China has developed a test user interface of Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DC/EP). The wallet has features on how the digital yuan can be transacted.
People’s Bank of China last Friday confirmed that tests are ongoing, but they don’t mean that “the digital yuan has been launched officially,” Coindesk report said.
A new way to stay fit, with Virtual Reality headset
A new VR-based fitness programme Supernatural allows users to work out in pristine locations without stepping outdoors.
Supernatural offers workouts that transports users to Machu Picchu, in Peru, Yuanyang, in China, or Baikal lake, in Russia with an Oculus Quest VR headset.
Without any wires attached to the headset or to the pair of controllers, you can now workout using your hands and legs freely.
And, if there are any objects nearby your workout area, Oculus’ guardian system marks off boundaries and remembers it when you’re playing or exercising.
Supernatural’s coaches assist users fine tune their posture and movement while they squat, lunge or swing their arms.
“In Supernatural, you’re not looking at yourself, you're not faced with comparing yourself to another body around you,” Leanne Pedante, coach, said.
“Instead, you are immersed in a beautiful environment and just focused on yourself and your workout.”
The VR experience is designed to make each movement rewarding and fun. It is also customised to user’s ability and shifts difficulty and targets in real-time to keep them comfortably challenged as their hear rate goes up.
“The special effects, quality of destinations and the songs, and that you’re beating down obstacles and paces and rhythms gives an almost action hero kind of feeling, Jared Rodriquez, another coach on Supernatural, said.
Supernatural offers a 30-day free trial, and $19/month thereafter. This will include daily fitness routines, dynamic coaching, and post-workout analysis.
It can also be paired with smartwatches and heart rate monitors.
Apple plans to sell Macs with own chips
Apple is aiming to sell Mac books with its own CPUs by 2021, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources.
The company is working on three of its own Mac processors based on A14 processor that will be used in the next iPhone.
The Cupertino-based company is preparing to launch at least one Mac with its own chip next year.
Apple building its own chip means that the company wants to gain control over the performance of its products and differentiate from rivals.
It currently buys processors from Intel Corp, and this move could significantly hurt the chipmaker’s future market share.
“This news has negative longer-term implications for Intel, in-line with our concerns around Intel’s future market share,” Brad Gastwirth, chief technology strategist at Wedbush Securities, wrote in an investor note.
Apple’s supplier for iPhone and iPad, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, will manufacture the new Mac chips.
Africa’s new payment app that accepts cash and crypto
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has launched a new payments app for Africa.
Bundle, founded by Yele Bademosi, a director at Binance Labs, allows users to request, send and receive cash and cryptocurrencies.
App users can buy, sell and store digital currencies such as BNB, BTC, and ETH, as well as deposit and withdraw digital currencies and local fiat, the exchange said in a statement.
The transactions on the app can be processed through cards, bank transfers, mobile money, or be stored in Bundle’s wallet.
Bundle will be rolled out to over 30 African countries, and it primary targets young and digitally savvy consumers with spending power.
“We built Bundle with the digitally native African user in mind. They prefer their financial services delivered digitally via mobile apps as opposed to visiting brick and mortar bank branches,” Bademosi said.
