Meta’s Quest Pro is no breakthrough metaverse device, but it does enable better remote work experiences

The company formerly known as Facebook announced its next-generation VR headset, the Meta Quest Pro at its Connect developer conference on Tuesday.

Meta says the device “enables the metaverse,” but the new features in Quest Pro seem focused on more practical things, namely remote work and productivity.

The Quest Pro—which is available for pre-order today, and will ship on October 25th—is also Meta’s answer to many of the shortcomings and

The Labor Department’s new proposal would be a huge win for gig worker advocates

The Labor Department unveiled a proposal on Tuesday that would impose additional barriers on companies trying to claim workers as independent contractors rather than employees, which some believe could overhaul the business models of rideshare and delivery giants.

The new rule would essentially take the form of a test, which would weigh how much control a worker has over their job as well as the permanency of their role. Workers who may have less control, for example, would likely

Fitbit integrates new technology linking people in recovery to caregivers

Boston-based behavior analytics company Pretaa announced Tuesday a partnership with Fitbit to give people battling drug addiction a data-driven support tool on their wrist.

Pretaa has worked with Fitbit, the Google-owned wearables company, to build special support features into Fitbit’s products, such as the ability to call out to a clinical caregiver (or a friend, support group sponsor, or family member) if the user feels they’re in danger of relapsing.

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Google launches its AI-driven Translation Hub as a cloud service

Today Google announced a new cloud service called Translation Hub, which allows companies to translate documents on a self-service basis.

An employee can input their document in the Hub and select all the languages for which they’d like translations. The Hub then quickly spits out the translation, even preserving the formatting of the original document (if it’s a Google Doc or Slide, PDF, or Microsoft Word doc). Google says the Hub also offers management controls so t

Delta Air Lines and Joby Aviation want to fly you to the airport before your flight

Joby Aviation, the venture-backed California company that engineers electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), may finally be nearing its inaugural flight.

Today, it’s unveiling a partnership with Delta Air Lines to bring Joby’s futuristic air taxis to New York and Los Angeles within the next few years. The specifics of the partnership, including the timeline for its rollout, are still up in the air, but the deal will pioneer eVTOLS on the consumer marke

The future of the metaverse hinges on interoperability

The term “metaverse” is overused, and we all feel it. It’s buzzy, pigeonholing, and doesn’t encompass how the underlying technologies could change everything, from meeting to playing, working to shopping, and the overall ways we experience life. It is therefore imperative that we are careful about how we even refer to the metaverse. Its potential offerings have yet to emerge in the market, and companies are fearful of overpromising and hype that could contribute t

Scoop: Redesign Health lays off 67 employees a month after raising $65 million

Redesign Health, a company that builds other healthcare startups, laid off 67 employees, or about 20% of its workforce, Fast Company has learned. The cuts come roughly a month after Redesign raised $65 million in Series C funding.

A spokesperson for Redesign confirmed the layoffs, calling the cuts a “restructuring move.” “This move by Redesign was not financially driven—or was something that was related, connected to, or a requirement of the recent round

Equifax breach settlement email: What to know about the upcoming payments

Victims of the massive Equifax breach that rocked the consumer credit-scoring industry five years ago are finally beginning to receive updates about their forthcoming settlement payments. In emails sent to consumers last week and this week, the claims administrator overseeing the class-action settlement notified recipients of their eligibility and let them know about their payment options. If you received one of these emails recently, here’s what to know:

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6 useful transcription tools for turning audio and video into text

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Record and transcribe in-person interviews

Alice is a voice recording and transcription app made for journalists. I like that you can use it without looking; just open the app and tap the screen to start recording. Tap to bookmark an interesting comment. Or swipe right to pause the recording. To test the quality, visit

Former presidential science adviser: here are the many challenges Arati Prabhakar faces as she takes over in Biden’s science policy office

Arati Prabhakar has been sworn in as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and assistant to the president for science and technology after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, two months following her nomination by President Joe Biden. As the director of OSTP and assistant to the president, she now serves as the confidential science adviser to the president and is also accountable to Congress. Prabhakar is both the first woman and first person of color to hold


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