Hey Siri, There's an Accident

Apple Maps gets new crowdsourced traffic reporting tools

FEBRUARY 11, 2021 It's February 11, 2021. Japan became the 4th country to put a satellite in orbit on this day in 1970. Kudos to all involved.     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 373 articles, 11 podcasts, 12 press releases, 470 tweets, and 8 YouTube videos 1. Apple Maps Beta Now Offers Traffic Reporting Apple apparently wants to have users share accident information to its Maps app system, something rival Waze has been doing for a while. With the latest iOS 14.5 beta, you can report an accident or slowdown easily (with your voice via Siri, too), which then shows up for everyone else using Apple Maps.  2. Instagram to Stop Promoting TikTok Videos in Reels If you can't beat 'em, join 'em lock them out of your competing platform. Instagram has decided to keep TikTok-watermarked videos out of its competing Reels by refusing to promote videos made on TikTok with its own algorithm. That'll show 'em! 3. Happy Meal Pokémon Cards Targeted By Scalpers Much like scalpers getting hold of PS5s and Xbox Series X/S consoles before you can, unscrupulous re-sellers are reportedly grabbing up all the Happy Meals that include special edition Pokémon cards in them. Capitalism, right? 🦑 Go Deeper Speaking of TikTok, a new deal with music publisher UMG has big implications for users of the viral video service. Joshua Hawkins takes a deeper look at how this will benefit TikTok-ers of all stripes.      🎱 By the Numbers We all could use some of that TikTok cash Data: CNBC This is why everyone talks about TikTok. The growth of the service, in terms of people that sign up and use it regularly, is immense.      🔥 Today's Hot Deal Save 25% (now only $120) on this 32 GB Kindle Paperwhite and enjoy all your favorite ebooks without the eyestrain of a typical tablet. Oh, and it's waterproof, too! Bath time reading FTW! Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "I'd be almost half my own age!" -Rob LeFebvre, Senior News Editor Space nerds can celebrate Martian New Year, as the red planet moves into its next 668 sols (Mars days). How old would you be in Mars years? Just divide your age by 1.88. That makes me 27 Mars years old. (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  Small footprint, big sound Image: Lifewire/Rob LeFebvre Lots of us are taking to our musical instruments to pass the time at home lately, and there's nothing more impractical than a massive guitar amp taking up space in our living rooms. This Yamaha THR10II Wireless desktop amp has all the sound you need without the spatial commitment.  🎮 Up-Down-A-B-Start Wake up, samurai, indeed. Cyberpunk 2077 is flawed for more than just technical reasons, says Kazuma Hashimoto over at Polygon. It suffers from the same "techno-Orientalism and xenophobia" that the genre has been saddled with since the beginning.      🗞 Extra! Extra! We've got you covered with the best in daily tech news! See the latest on our site or follow us on Google News. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Have something you'd like us to write about? We're always open for suggestions, too. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Tech Today newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here .   Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. A Dotdash Brand 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10036 2020 Dotdash • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.   [View in Browser]