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Light Start: VW’s minibus goes green, Uber starts getting clean, marathon Twitch stream is still keen and watch out for this Android hack (it’s mean)

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Check out the ID Buzz, Volkswagen’s electric minibus

If you’re anything like us, then you’ve no doubt been tempted to pack your life into a Volkswagen minibus, ditch modern society and live on the road. Soon you’ll be able to do all that and feel even greener thanks to the VW’s new ID Buzz, a completely electric minibus which is adorable. Announced back in 2017, the ID Buzz has been confirmed to launch (in the US) in 2023, back a year from the original launch window. Both commercial and passenger versions will be made available but whether either makes it to our shores is currently unknown.

The ID Buzz isn’t just cute though, there’s some power underneath that adorable exterior. The standard rear-wheel drive version will generate 200 horsepower while a potential all-wheel version would generate 300 horsepower. You’ll be paying out of your nose if you want to get in on one of these (and that’s without all the import fees) but there’s something undeniably appealing about being a tech-focused hippie.

Source: The Verge

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Uber adds all-electric vehicles as ride option in London

If there’s ever a way to legitimise all-electric cars, it’s through the ride sharing apps that have become dominate throughout the world. Uber is pushing to introduce more users to the magic that are EVs, with a feature that will allow passengers to specify that they want to be collected exclusively by all-electric cars. The new service is called Uber Green and marks the company’s first step in establishing an all-electric presence in London by 2025.

“We continue to partner with drivers to help them make the switch to electric and today we are excited to start offering riders the option to select an electric vehicle at no extra cost, allowing everyone using Uber to play their part in cleaning up urban transport,” said Uber’s EU general manager Jamie Heywood in a statement. While Uber still has a long way to go to attain their goal by 2025, every journey starts in first gear, right?

Source: Engadget

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This Twitch streamer has been live for two weeks and probably won’t stop any time soon

Streaming yourself live for the world to see can be an incredibly daunting prospect, even if people are throwing money at you to do it. Yet Twitch streamer Ludwig has been live for almost two weeks now and, from the looks of things, won’t be going offline any time soon. The mad lad vowed that he would broadcast himself live on the streaming platform as long as people kept subscribing to his channel. Back on 14 March, he said that every subscription would extend the stream for 20 seconds, which isn’t a lot of time. And yet he’s still going!

While it’s cool to see the streamer still going, Ludwig has placed some constraints on the stream. Since his stream shows no sign of slowing down, he’s reduced the time to 10 seconds per sub, limited the amount of subscriptions people can gift to 100 and has confirmed that the stream will end on 31 March no matter. Still, it’s cool to see how Twitch’s users rally together to both give someone cash and make their life as stressful as possible.

Source: The Verge

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Be on the look out for this Android malware that looks like a System Update

 

It’s so easy to accidentally stumble into a spot of terrible malware if you’re not ever-vigilant. But when the virus is hidden as an essential update, then you can be forgiven for falling for its trick. According to Zimperium zLabs, there’s a new piece of malware circulating Android devices that disguises itself as an important system upgrade when it’s actually siphoning off user data and handset information. The virus will throw up a notification that your system needs to be updated but… well, that’s not the case.

If you go along with the update, then the virus can access loads of your personal information such as contact lists, call logs, GPS data, images and videos and even record audio, amongst other things. It’s a sophisticated virus so in future just be very cautious about updating your system. Maybe search for recent software updates through settings than basing it entirely on a notification. Stay safe, people!

Source: ZDNet

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