VW and Rivian launch joint venture, Elon Musk to lead ‘DOGE’


Volkswagen Group (VW) and Tesla rival Rivian have launched a joint venture, with the German car giant increasing its investment in the partnership. The two companies say the deal is now worth $5.8bn (£4.55bn) – up from an initial pledge from VW of $5bn. Shares in the US electric vehicle (EV) maker jumped more than 9% in after-hours trading following the announcement. The tie-up will see the firms sharing critical technology at a time of slowing global demand for electric cars and increased competition from Chinese rivals. BBC 

For months now, there have been rumors about a smart home display Apple is supposedly working on. Now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the display will be wall-mounted and control smart home devices, attend video calls, and more, similar to the Amazon Echo Hub, and works on its own but requires an iPhone to complete the initial setup. The iPad-like device, which will reportedly be available as soon as next March, has a six-inch display with thick edges, a built-in camera, a rechargeable battery, and speakers, according to Gurman. The Verge

Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Donald Trump said on Tuesday. Despite the name, the department will not be a government agency. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.” The Guardian

 

The number of Brits visiting fake online shops created by fraudsters increased by more than a third in October, as cybercriminals take advantage of the busy shopping season, according to a new report by NordVPN. Analysis of NordVPN Threat Protection data shows online shopping scams targeting UK consumers surged 35% in a month, blocking 13.4 million attempted fraudulent connections in October — up from 9.9 million in September. Tech Digest 

Philips has announced that it will enter the professional projector market with its latest ProPix projectors, and it’s doing so with a light source technology that’s celebrating its 30th birthday. Developed by Screeneo Innovation, which licenses the Philips brand, the ProPix 650 and ProPix 850 leverage an advanced Ultra High Performance (UHP) lamp light source first developed by Philips in 1994. With a claimed luminance of 4000 lumens and a lamp life of up to 10,000 hours in eco mode, this duo of ProPix projectors certainly look to impress where brightness is concerned. WhatHiFi

Fortnite has been through multiple changes when it comes to its overall design, UI, gameplay and even the core modes Epic caters to its player base. From the leap of graphics in Unreal Engine 5.1 using Nanites and Lumen, to the change in locker system and Battle Pass progression, players have been quite vocal about the said modifications made to the game.  Now one feature is something that players have been asking for from Epic ever since it was leaked in Creative mode and that’s a First Person View or First Person Camera in the game. Video Gamer 

Chris Price