Block may have hit a snag in its rebranding effort. Per The Wall Street Journal, H&R Block is suing the company formerly known as Square. In a federal complaint filed on Thursday, the tax-prep firm said the name change could hurt its brand. It wants Jack Dorsey’s payments outfit to stop using the name and a logo it contends is “nearly identical” to its own.

“The goodwill that Block has so carefully created and nurtured over the past six decades is now under attack by a Silicon Valley fintech company,” it said. We’ve reached out to Block, the other one, for comment.

Square changed its name to Block at the start of December. At the time, the company said it wanted a name that better reflected the expansion of its business beyond payments and the growing importance of blockchain technologies to its identity. Since its founding in 2009, Block’s business has expanded to include stock and crypto trading, money lending and even music streaming.

Where things may get tricky in terms of a trademark infringement complaint is that Block bought Credit Karma's tax-prep business in 2020. It plans to offer tax returns through its Cash App. In trademark cases, a court will look at similarities between the products and services two companies offer. It will also consider how the two may compete against one another in the future. Jack, if you're reading this: it's never been a better time to rebrand the company to "Tesseract."

Spot and the rest of the Boston Dynamics family may get all the attention, but Hyundai has a robotics division separate from the firm it acquired earlier in the year. This week, the automaker unveiled the Mobile Eccentric Droid or MobED, a new mobility platform for taking on even the trickiest surfaces and uneven ground.

The company’s Robotics Lab says it developed MobED to overcome the limitations of existing indoor and service robots. Each of the robot’s wheels features independent power and steering control systems that allow it to rotate in place and move in any direction. It also has an eccentric drive system, hence the name, that allows it to independently adjust the height of each of its wheels. As you can see from the video, that means it can provide a stable platform for something as delicate as glass.  

MobED can expand its wheelbase up to about 25 inches when it needs as much stability as possible. It can also contract to about 17 inches when it finds itself in more complex environments. All told, the platform is approximately 26 inches long, 23 inches wide and 13 inches tall. A 2 kWh battery allows the robot to drive for approximately four hours on a single charge.

Outside of working as a service robot, Hyundai envisions MobED helping out in places like the movie industry where film crews could mount their equipment to the platform. It could also be used for deliveries and other purposes where stability is essential. We’ll get a chance to see more of the robot when Hyundai demos it at CES 2022 next month. However, the company hasn't said if it plans to commercialize MobED. 

With the 2021 holiday shopping season in its final stretch, Google is adding a handful of features to Chrome to help you find last-minute deals. In the US, the Android version of the browser now includes an updated tab interface that makes it easier to see the price of something when you're switching between open web pages. The company suggests the feature will help you spot a price drop without constantly refreshing a page. Handy that.

The next time you use Chrome on your iPhone or Android device, you'll also notice a newly added Google Lens icon in the search bar. You can use it to conduct visual searches. Tap the icon and point your phone's camera at something. The company suggests Lens integration in Chrome mobile could be helpful when you're out window shopping.

As previously announced, Lens is also coming to the Mac and Windows versions of Chrome. Once it's available, you'll have the option to right-click on an image, tap "Search images with Google Lens" and draw an outline around something to see if you can find more information about what's in front of you. 

Lastly, if you're someone who tends to leave purchases incomplete, you'll see a new "Your carts" card when you open a tab. It will show you all the websites where you have open carts. The company announced this feature at I/O 2021, and now it's rolling out in the US. Google notes some of its retail partners may even offer you a discount to complete a purchase if they notice you abandoned a cart. Is it on the pushy side? Definitely, but some people could also find it helpful. All the 

Ken Block’s Gymkhana series is ready to go electric. On Wednesday, the rally driver showed off his new Audi S1 Hoonitron, a purpose-built EV the automaker designed specifically for Block. Audi didn’t share many details on the prototype, but as you can see from the photo above, it pulls more than a few design cues from the company’s iconic Sport Quattro S1. That’s not by accident; it was that car that inspired Block to pursue his career.

Block promised to show off what the EV can do in a future video tentatively called “Elektrikhana.” It’s unclear if Travis Pastrana will join with a custom-built Solterra from Subaru. If you’ve not seen a Gymkhana event, they involve some of the most skillful driving you’ll see on a closed course. The S1 Hoonitron could significantly change how Block tackles the annual series. 

The instant torque of an EV should help with the constant drifting that’s involved in Gymkhana courses. The lower center of gravity could also make cornering a lot tighter. One thing we’ll have to see is if the S1 Hoonitron replicates the sound a rev limiter makes in a traditional internal combustion engine car. After all, that sound is part of the fun of watching rally car driving.

The wait is over. Following an announcement at WWDC 2021, Apple has released Swift Playgrounds 4.0. The update is a significant one for the app, which both kids and adults can use to learn the company’s Swift programming language. For the first time, the software allows you to build both iPhone and iPad apps directly on your iPad. You can now also use your tablet to upload your creations to the App Store.

Additionally, Swift Playgrounds 4.0 comes with a host of quality-of-life enhancements. For instance, you can preview changes to your app as you make them in real-time. And speaking of previews, you can now see how they look in full-screen mode. Apple has also added inline suggestions to help users write code quickly and accurately. The project search feature is more robust too since it can now find results across multiple files. Rounding out the list of improvements is a feature for moving your projects between Playgrounds and Xcode and back again.

All told, the update looks well-worth checking out. Once you’ve installed iPadOS 15.2 on your tablet, head to the App Store to download Swift Playground 4.0.

Meta has released a new software update for Ray-Ban Stories that enhances the voice capabilities of the smart glasses. After installing the software, you can use the built-in assistant to send texts and make voice calls over Messenger. Additionally, it can now read out messages someone sends you over the chat platform.

One other new feature is the ability to use your voice to control media playback. For instance, if you want to skip to the next song in a playlist, say, “Hey Facebook, next.” It’s also possible to adjust the volume of audio in this same way, as well as pause and resume a song or podcast. Oh, and you can ask the assistant for a battery life update.

Meta says it’s rolling out the update to the accompanying Facebook View app in phases and notes it expects the software to be available to everyone soon. Before you can download the update, you’ll need to install the latest firmware on your Stories glasses. While this release enhances one of the less compelling aspects of the Ray-Ban Stories, the company promised it will add more functionality in the new year.

As part of its recently announced 2022 lineup, Volvo subsidiary Polestar introduced a new single-motor variant of its Polestar 2 electric sedan. If you were waiting on an EPA estimate before reserving one, wait no more. You can expect to get about 270 miles of range on a single charge from the car’s 75 kWh battery, Polestar announced on Wednesday.

That puts the FWD model in the company of vehicles like the Volkswagen ID.4 and Model 3. With the entry-level models of those two cars, you can expect 249 miles and 263 miles of range, respectively. That’s not bad given the Polestar 2’s $47,200 starting price, but not nearly as good as the 303 miles of EPA-rated range Hyundai will offer with the $44,875 version of its Ioniq 5.

The automaker also announced today it’s rolling out an over-the-air update for all Polestar 2 vehicles. The new software allows you to schedule when you want your car to charge, so that you can take advantage of off-peak pricing. The update also includes refinements for the car’s driver-assist systems. In the coming months, Polestar plans to release a software upgrade that will allow owners of the dual-motor Polestar 2 to unlock additional torque and horsepower from their car for a fee.

Over the last few years, Samsung’s Tab A line has been one of the few options for those trying to find a budget Android tablet. Early next year, the company will release the Tab A8 in the US. It's not an exciting update, but it does offer a handful of enhancements over its predecessor. Samsung says the new model features an “expanded” 10.5-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 1,920 x 1,200 resolution TFT panel.  

Internally, the Tab A8 has an octa-core processor the company claims is 10 percent faster than the CPU on the Snapdragon 662 that came with its predecessor. Samsung will also offer a 4GB variant of the tablet, in addition to a 3GB base model. The faster processor should make the device feel snappier, particularly if you go for the model with more RAM. For photos and videos, the Tab A8 comes with an 8-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel selfie shooter.  

Samsung

As for storage, the Tab A8 comes with 32GB standard, though you can also configure the tablet with up to 128GB of internal storage, a first for the line. If you need more space, you can add up to 1TB of additional storage through an included MicroSD slot. Powering everything is a 7,040mAh cell. Samsung didn’t share a battery life estimate, but last year we found the Tab A7, with the same capacity battery, could go 11 hours and 30 minutes in a video rundown test. The Tab A8 supports up to 15W fast charging, but only comes with a slower 7.75W power adapter inside the box. It keeps the headphone jack found on last year's models and you can expect it to ship with Android 11.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 will hit store shelves in the US next month. Samsung will offer the tablet in three colors: Gray, Silver and Pink Gold. The company didn’t share pricing information. For context, the Tab A8’s predecessor started at $230 – though you could frequently find it on sale for less.

Twitter is taking another step toward becoming more accessible. On Tuesday, the company began rolling out automatic captions for videos. The feature is available on Android, iOS and its web client. On mobile, you’ll see captions appear automatically when you start watching a muted video. You can configure them to stay on even after you increase the volume on your device through the accessibility settings on your phone.

One thing to note is that only videos uploaded from today forward will include automatically generated captions. As The Verge points out, there’s also no way to report inaccurate captions currently. However, a Twitter spokesperson told the outlet it’s “always looking at ways to improve our accessibility features.”

The introduction of automatic video captions is a step forward for Twitter. As recently as last year, accessibility advocates criticized the company for introducing a feature like audio tweets without supporting them with accessibility tools. In the aftermath of the incident, the company established two accessibility teams. 

In the wake of Jessica Barraza’s lawsuit last month, six more current and former female employees have come forward to accuse Tesla of fostering a culture of rampant sexual harassment at its Fremont factory in California. In separate complaints filed on Tuesday with the Superior Court in Alameda County, the women said they were consistently subjected to catcalling, unwanted advances, physical contact and discrimination while at work.

Jessica Brooks, one of the women who sued Tesla, alleges she was harassed on her first day of orientation at the automaker. She claims a supervisor told his male subordinates to “check out the new girl.” Brooks says the harassment was so constant she eventually stacked boxes around her workstation to deter her coworkers from whistling at her. Brooks also claims she complained of the situation to Tesla’s HR department. The company allegedly responded by moving Brooks to a different part of the factory instead of addressing the situation directly.

“I was so tired of the unwanted attention and the males gawking at me I proceeded to create barriers around me just so I could get some relief,” Brooks told The Washington Post. “That was something I felt necessary just so I can do my job.”

When Jessica Barraza sued Tesla last month, she said she was subjected to “nightmarish” working conditions at the company’s Fremont plant. Barraza’s lawsuit described a factory floor that looked more like “a crude, archaic construction site or frat house” than the site of one of the most advanced EV makers in the country. Most of the seven women who have sued Tesla have linked the abuse they experienced to the behavior of CEO Elon Musk. “He would make 69 or 420 jokes … which caused the technicians to be even worse,” said one of the complaints.

The suit comes on the same day five former SpaceX employees accused Musk’s other company of doing little to stop sexual harassment. We’ve reached out to Tesla for comment. The automaker does not operate a public relations department. When a federal court recently ordered Tesla to pay $137 million to a Black worker who said they were subjected to daily racist abuse at the company’s Fremont factory, the company said: “We continue to grow and improve in how we address employee concerns. Occasionally, we’ll get it wrong, and when that happens we should be held accountable.”