New Alexa devices, ransomware attacks, COVID maps, iOS 14, Smart Delivery Box, new Pixel phones, astronauts and Vincent Price. Thanks to a lot of new product announcements, we have an extra big week of news. Read through the list of headlines below and click on a headline to read the full story.

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Electronics

• This light-up keyboard teaches you how to play piano
• Amazon redesigns Fire TV, introduces new Fire TV Stick and low-cost Fire TV Stick Lite
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• Amazon redesigns the Echo line with spherical speakers and swiveling screens
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• Alexa for kids: Amazon’s Echo Dot gets a kid-friendly mode and cute animal design
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• Amazon’s Alexa gets a new brain on Echo, becomes smarter via AI and aims for ambience
• Ring made a security drone that flies around inside your home
• Eero 6 mesh routers unveiled: Amazon upgrades to Wi-Fi 6 for the work-from-home era
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• Amazon Echo: 6 best new features and how to use them
• Amazon’s new Ring camera is actually a flying drone — for inside your house
• How the Xbox Series X and Series S fits into the most popular Ikea furniture
• Roku Ultra gets Dolby Vision HDR and Wi-Fi upgrades, stays at $100
• Chromecast with Google TV is the streaming device’s biggest upgrade yet: Hands-on

Privacy and Security

• Mobile security: These seven malicious apps have been downloaded by 2.4m Android and iPhone users
• UHS hospital network hit by ransomware attack
• Suspicious logins reported after ransomware attack on US govt contractor
• Ransomware is your biggest problem on the web. This huge change could be the answer
• Microsoft: Some ransomware attacks take less than 45 minutes
• Nevada school district refuses to submit to ransomware blackmail, hacker publishes student data
• QNAP tells NAS users to update firmware to avoid new type of ransomware
• How a Chinese malware gang defrauded Facebook users of $4 million

Coronavirus / COVID-19

• Software developers were very productive through the Covid crisis, which is no surprise to software developers
• Google Maps adds a COVID-19 layer
• Alexa is more vital than ever during coronavirus, and Amazon knows it
• Microsoft has a brilliant new idea for working from home. You may not like it

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Software

• Windows XP source code leak sheds light on Microsoft’s OS history
• Google to crack down on Play Store billing policy and make it easier to use other app stores on Android
• Google adds background noise filtering to Meet on Android, iOS
• iOS 14 review: Finally rid of the grid
• The best free graphic design software
• 8 of Android’s best hidden features and where you can find them
• Google Photos for Android has a powerful new editor
• More inclusive emoji will come to iPhones in iOS 14.2

Technology

• A closer look at Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service
• Amazon Sidewalk is coming to your neighborhood. Here’s what you should know
• Alexa can now immediately delete your voice recordings
• ‘Alexa, I’m getting pulled over’: Ring debuts dashcam with Traffic Stop mode
• Tesla lays out ‘Battery Day’ plans that lead to a $25,000 electric car
• Yale Smart Delivery Box is ready to battle porch pirates
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• Amazon One lets you pay at stores by scanning your palm
• Thunderbolt 4 products fix a big USB-C problem

Phones

• Make your iPhone home screen ‘aesthetic AF’: How to change your app icons in iOS 14
• Updating to iOS 14 may remove Fortnite from your iPhone, Epic warns
• Why 5G on the iPhone 12 probably won’t be as great as people think
• iPhone 12 rumors: Apple likely to launch new 5G iPhone in October
• Google unveils two new phones: The Pixel 4A 5G and Pixel 5
• 7 Android 11 features you need to use right away on any phone

Fun Stories

• 11 Secrets of Astronauts
• From Ear to Eternity: When Mike Tyson Bit Evander Holyfield
• Found: The Wreck of a Ship That Carried Enslaved Maya from Mexico to Cuba
• 6 Fascinating Facts About Vincent Price
• Incredible Back to the Future deepfake is better than a remake
• Why Do Dogs Like to Bury Things?
• Did the Northern Lights Play a Role in the Sinking of the Titanic? A New Paper Says It’s Possible
• Want to Fall Asleep Faster? Try This Breathing Technique
• Hitting the Books: The invisible threat that every ISS astronaut fears
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• Why Does the Season Before Winter Have Two Names?
• A Map of the Last Remaining Flying Saucer Homes
• James Cameron confirms Avatar 2 and 3 live action almost complete
• Scientists have figured out why some tarantulas are bright blue
• The Rise and Fall of North Carolina’s National Hollerin’ Contest
• The Cheapskate’s 6 ways to win Prime Day 2020
• Scientists find evidence of multiple underground lakes on Mars
• The Archaeologists Who Unlocked Cold War Spy Photos of Israel
• How a Secret Map Brought Down a Pirate Alliance on the Irish Coast

If you see some important tech news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Photo by Ramón Salinero