Elon Musk sends another notice to Twitter to kill 44 billion deal

San Francisco, Sep 10 (IANS) Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shot off a third notice to Parag Agrawal-led Twitter, aimed at terminating the $44 billion takeover deal.

In the latest letter submitted with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk's legal team cited Twitter's multi-million dollar severance payment to former security chief and whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko.

According to The Verge, the notice was sent to Twitter's chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde.

"On June 28, 2022, Twitter entered into a separation agreement with Peiter Zatko under which Twitter made severance payments to Zatko and his counsel totaling $7.75 million," the notice said.

Musk's lawyers cited this as yet another reason to terminate the deal.

The Tesla CEO is also trying to buy more time from the court to kick off the Twitter trial, set for October 17, citing the upcoming testimony by Zatko.

Musk's legal team has proposed a new timeline that would push the week-long trial to late November.

Zatko is set to testify at the US Congress on September 13 about allegations he levelled against the micro-blogging platform.

The former Twitter security head alleged that Twitter misled regulators about its security practices and actual number of bot accounts.

Zatko also received a subpoena from Musk's legal team to appear for a deposition on September 9 in the ongoing lawsuit between Twitter and Musk.

Musk has said that the testimony of the Twitter whistleblower justifies his termination of the $44 billion deal to buy the micro-blogging platform.

(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)

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Android 13s new feature will give you the option to cut background noises during calls

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Google has released a new "clear calling" feature in the first beta for the Android 13 quarterly release that reduces background noises during calls.

The "clear calling" feature works on most mobile networks but is "not available for Wi-Fi calling.

According to a Twitter user Mishaal Rahman who first spotted the feature, "content from your call is not sent to Google" in the new feature.

Tech giant Google last month started rolling out Android 13 with many new features, including improved privacy controls, language settings and more, starting with Pixel devices.

Google said Android 13 will roll out to Samsung Galaxy, ASUS, HMD (Nokia phones), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo, Xiaomi and more later this year.

The company is also likely to start rolling out Android 14 Beta for its Pixel devices in April 2023, as the quarterly platform release (QPR1) beta for Android 13 starts this month.

Google originally stated the Android 13 QPR betas would run until June 2023.

The company now says that the "Android 13 Beta has concluded with the stable public release of Android 13 in August 2022", stressing that the QPR1 beta starts next month.

The beta releases are scheduled to "continue through March 2023," and there will likely just be two QPRs: T1B (stable in December) and T2B, reports 9to5Google.

Afterwards, Android 14 beta releases start, presumably in April with UPB builds for the Pixel.

Android 13 Beta 1 was released a month before the annual Google I/O developer conference this year.

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Instagram to soon test new repost feature with select users

San Francisco, Sep 9 (IANS) Meta-owned photo and video-sharing platform Instagram has confirmed that it will soon give users the ability to repost other users' posts.

Although the company has not yet released the repost feature publicly, however, it plans to begin testing it with select users soon, reports TechCrunch.

"We're exploring the ability to reshare posts in Feed - similar to how you can reshare in Stories - so people can share what resonates with them, and so original creators are credited for their work," a Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying in an email.

"We plan to test this soon with a small number of people," the spokesperson added.

The new feature was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, who posted a screenshot that showcases a Reposts tab. The tab will likely be home to all the posts that users have reshared on their accounts.

As per the screenshot, the Repost tab will appear on users' profiles alongside the posts, reels and tagged photos tabs.

Instagram users who want to repost posts occasionally do so using third-party apps because there isn't a direct way to do so right now.

Last month, the platform announced that it will limit sensitive content for new teen users by default on the platform.

Instagram said that the Sensitive Content Control has only two options for teens -- "Standard" and "Less".

(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)

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NASA eyes Sep 23 for Artemis next launch opportunity

New York, Sep 9 (IANS) NASA has announced that it is considering two dates, September 23 or September 27, to attempt the launching of Artemis I into the space.

Artemis I is NASA's uncrewed flight test which will provide a foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

On September 3, NASA attempted to launch Artemis I, however, it was called off after detecting a liquid hydrogen leak. The team is trying to work through a leaky fuel problem with the rocket, called the Space Launch System or SLS.

While the rocket is still on the Launch Pad, engineers are repairing the area where the leak was detected.

They have constructed a tent-like enclosure around the work area to protect the hardware and teams from environmental conditions.

Teams will check the new seals under cryogenic, or supercold, conditions in which the rocket's core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage will be loaded with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to validate the repair under the conditions it would experience on launch day.

Meanwhile, NASA has submitted a request to the Eastern Range for an extension of the current testing requirement for the flight termination system.

"NASA is respecting the range's processes for review of the request, and the agency continues to provide detailed information to support a range decision," the US space agency said in a statement.

It is also evaluating and adjusting launch opportunities and alternate dates based on progress at the pad and to align with other planned activities, including DART's planned impact with an asteroid, the West Coast launch of a government payload, and the launch of Crew-5 to the International Space Station.

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Battlefield Campaign in the Works at EA, Headlined by New Studio Ridgeline Games

Battlefield will soon get a narrative campaign. EA has established Ridgeline Games, a new studio dedicated to the Battlefield franchise, that will focus on creating a proper campaign mode. The studio is headlined by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, and will try correcting the course for future Battlefield entries.

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Microsoft to help create more personalised home screen experience for Xbox users

San Francisco, Sep 9 (IANS) Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it is rolling out new experiments to learn how to create a more personalised home screen experience for Xbox users.

The company said that it is focused on making it faster and easier for users to play the games they love and find their next favourite game.

"We know the Xbox homepage is where our gamers spend a lot of their time, and it is a space that is very personal. We also know we can always be listening and learning how we can do better here while keeping your experience fast and familiar," Ivy Krislov, Senior Product Manager Lead, Xbox, said in a blogpost.

The company said that starting this week, a random subset of Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring will see layout, design, and ease of access changes as we experiment with different approaches.

"In addition, we are exploring options for new game channels and collections when you scroll down that include content that's curated for you based on things like the games you have played or how to make the most out of your Game Pass subscription," Krislov said.

The key update in this first round of preview updates is that the new "Jump back in" row gives users quick access to their most recently played games and apps.

Users can easily access essential system apps like Settings, Store, Search and My Games and Apps with their own dedicated tiles on Xbox Home.

"We want to ensure this experience is the best it can be, and we know getting it right will take some time which is why we will be rolling it out slowly and iterating throughout the process," Krislov said.

"With your input, we are looking forward to launching this new, better Home experience in 2023. Please share your feedback and be patient as we add, remove, and change features to optimize the experience," Krislov added.

(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)

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YouTube to make educational content more accessible, interactive

San Francisco, Sep 9 (IANS) Google-owned YouTube is introducing new products that will allow learners to explore subjects they are passionate about and creators to provide structured learning content.

The platform is announcing updates to make educational content more accessible and interactive for learners while helping learning creators thrive on YouTube.

"To improve the YouTube experience in educational environments, we are launching YouTube Player for Education -- a new YouTube embedded player that shows content on commonly used education apps without distractions like ads, external links or recommendations," Jonathan Katzman, Director of Product Management, YouTube Learning, said in a blogpost.

YouTube said, to start, it is partnering with established edtech companies in the US, including EDpuzzle, Purdue University and Purdue Global.

YouTube Player for Education will also improve the existing YouTube embedded player in Google Classroom for an even better YouTube experience.

"Next year, qualified creators can begin offering free or paid Courses to provide in-depth, structured learning experiences for viewers," the platform said.

"Viewers who choose to buy a Course can watch the video ad-free and play it in the background. Courses will arrive first in the US and South Korea in beta before expanding to more countries," it added.

YouTube said it is also introducing Quizzes -- a new way for creators to help viewers test their knowledge.

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