Waymo is one of the biggest players in the self-driving development race, but it’s not equipped to service its rapidly growing number of driverless vehicles. As the Google spinoff increases operations beyond its limited pilot programs in California, Arizona, and Michigan, it’ll need some help maintaining its fleet of autonomous vehicles. 

Today, the driverless car company announced a multi-year service agreement with national automotive retailer AutoNation, which will provide maintenance and repair support to extend Waymo’s vehicle lifecycles. 

AutoNation will initially be tasked with servicing Waymo’s Chrysler Pacifica minivans, but the agreement clearly states that the companies expect the fleet to grow. More automotive partners could add Waymo’s platform to their vehicles, and AutoNation’s new and used car dealerships across the U.S. will make expansion an even easier process for Waymo.  Read more…

More about Partnership, Autonomous Vehicles, Self Driving Cars, Waymo, and Tech

Source: Mashable | Waymo's latest partnership hints at major expansion

November is National Novel Writing Month and if you’ve been kicking a novel idea around for a while this is your official invitation to just write it already. If you’ve never written a novel before, though, it can be hard to know where to start. 

Online learning site Udemy has tons of courses to help first-time authors write like pros. Best of all, every course on Udemy is on sale for $15 for a limited time only (though they have these sales a lot so don’t sweat if you miss it.)  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Prep for National Novel Writing month with these online writing courses

In the modern lexicon, it’s obvs all about the abrevs. 

In all seriousness, brevity has its benefits, especially in today’s fast-paced, tech-infused society. Younger generations are enamored with acronyms, shorthand, and self-destructing content. These trends are part practicality (today’s communication tools enable faster, more colloquial online conversation) and part paradigm shift.

Internet culture is increasingly embracing the ephemeral. Presumably, this stems from a backlash to the permanence of (occasionally embarrassing) online content, social media sites that are oversaturated with said content, and “curated online personas” that ultimately come across as disingenuous.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | This new Breve smartphone champions self-destructing content

If you’ve ever smelt this fruit, you probably recall its lingering, pungent, meaty scent, whether you want to or not.

Maybe it evokes vomit-inducing memories you tried hard to suppress, or a sensory dream-come-true you never wanted to end.

There’s no fruit more fascinating or polarizing than the durian. Read more…

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Source: Mashable | This is the most fascinating fruit

TripAdvisor has apologized to a sexual assault survivor after an investigation revealed the website had deleted posts alleging assaults at resorts in Mexico. The belated apology comes seven years after the attack.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shared the story of Kristie Love, who had posted on TripAdvisor about her rape at an Iberostar resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Love said she had her post removed several times. 

“Since 2010, when the forum post was removed, our policies and processes have evolved to better provide information like this to other travelers. As a result, when recently brought to our attention, the victim’s initial forum post was republished by our staff,” TripAdvisor wrote in a statement.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | TripAdvisor scrutinized for deleting warnings of rape at Mexico resorts

The Bloodhound SCC Project is a global engineering adventure, aiming to build a car that can reach 1,000 mph and break the World Land-Speed Record set in 1997 and still stands at 763 mph. 

The team behind this project hopes to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | This supersonic car looks like a rocket on wheels

After Charlottesville, tech companies have taken a stronger stance against hate speech.

In the aftermath of the attack in Lower Manhattan, in which a former Uber and Lyft driver is accused of ramming his truck into pedestrians and cyclists, killing eight people and injuring 11 more, an outspoken rightwing commentator has been banned from both services for posting inflammatory tweets. 

Former Project Veritas activist Laura Loomer, a self-declared “Investigative Journalist”, tweeted: “Someone needs to create a non Islamic form of @uber or @lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver.” Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Uber and Lyft ban rightwing activist after racist tweets