Apple is rolling out updates to its iWork suite of Keynote, Pages and Numbers on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The next time you deliver a presentation with Keynote, you'll be able to include live video feeds directly in the slides. You can resize the video feed and change the look with masks, frames, drop shadows and reflections.

With the Mac version of Keynote, you can add feeds from multiple external cameras, and share a connected iPhone or iPad screen, which could prove useful for interactive demos. There are more collaboration features too. A new multi-presenter function lets anyone control a shared slideshow and advance slides remotely using a Mac, iPhone or iPad. This could come in handy for group presentations.

The changes to Pages are largely iPhone-focused. The Screen View feature arranges text, images and other aspects of the document into a single-column view. Apple has increased the text size, while images are sized to fit your phone's screen. You can also view tables by scrolling left and right. Users will still be able to edit documents as usual when Screen View is active. You don't need to do anything to set up the feature, and it works with all word processing documents. Apple says you can toggle off Screen View so you can see the proper layout before you're ready to share or print the document.

As for Numbers, you can now get to grips with pivot tables across Apple devices. You'll be able to summarize, group and rearrange data to spot and study trends and patterns. There are options to visualize the pivot tables with charts and to share pivot data without disclosing the source data. You can also import pivot tables from and export them to Microsoft Excel.

Elsewhere, there's a new chart type called radar charts. Apple says this "makes it easy to visually compare multiple variables with similarities shown as overlapping areas, allowing differences and outliers to really stand out." There are new filters you can use to highlight unique entries or duplicate data.

All three apps now support Apple's new translation tools on iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey. The latest versions of Keynote, Pages and Numbers are now available on the App Store and Mac App Store.

Apple

Renault unveiled the Megane E-Tech Electric at the IAA Munich Motor Show on Monday. While the specs seem decent enough, it's the safety functions that are the most eye-catching aspect of this electric vehicle.

The Fireman Access feature stems from a partnership between Renault Group and French firefighters that stretches back for over a decade. The EV includes special access to the battery for rescue teams. Renault claims this can allow first responders to put out a battery fire in five minutes, compared with between one and three hours for most EV battery blazes. There's also a switch under the rear bench that lets rescue teams disconnect the battery.

In addition, Renault put a QR code on the windscreen. The idea is that rescue teams can scan the code to see details about the car's structure. They can find out the locations of the battery and airbags, as well as information about where it's safe to cut into the vehicle. Renault says this information can help first responders save up to 15 minutes when attempting to free a crash victim, which could help save lives.

No two EVs are built the same, and first responders won't necessarily know the intricacies of each vehicle. So, providing information about the Megane E-Tech Electric's structure using a QR code is a smart move that it'd be nice to see more automakers adopt. The same goes for easy access to the battery to help put out fires faster.

The latest iteration of the Megane line is built on Renault's CMF-EV platform. For the body, designers took inspiration from the Morphoz concept the company showed off last year. There are two powertrain options, as CNET's Roadshow notes: a base model with 130 horsepower and a more advanced alternative with 215 hp and 221 pound-feet of torque.

You can choose between two battery packs as well. The 40 kWh option has a range of 186 miles (300 km), and the 60 kWh pack should get you up to 292 miles (470 km) of driving on a single charge, according to Renault. The company based the estimates on the European WLTP testing procedure. Plug the Megane E-Tech Electric into a 130 wW fast charging station, and you can add up to 186 miles of driving range in 30 minutes of charging time.

Elsewhere, the OpenR infotainment system is based on Android Automotive OS, so you'll have access to Google apps and Google Assistant. While you're on a longer trip, the system can help you locate charging stations that minimize your journey time, Renault says. The Megane E-Tech Electric orders open in February 2022, and sales start the following March.

When Tesla began building a secretive 100-megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas, a town some 40 miles south of Houston, there were questions about what the company planned to do with the facility. Now we know.

Per an application filed by the company with the state’s Public Utility Commission, Tesla wants to sell electricity directly to consumers in Texas. Tesla Energy Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the automaker, made the move in mid-August, according to Texas Monthly. If approved, the company could start selling electricity to residents as early as November.

Tesla has built utility-scale energy storage projects in various parts of the world, including South Australia and California, but has so far avoided selling electricity stored in those facilities directly to consumers. Instead, it has tended to work with providers by helping them with their storage needs.

But that was before a cold snap in February left much of Texas without electricity for days on end. When the power grid failed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who by that point had recently left California for the Lone Star State, took to Twitter to mock the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). “Not earning that R,” he said of the nonprofit group, which manages approximately 90 percent of the Texas power grid. 

T-Mobile misled state regulators about its planned CDMA network shutdown to gain approval for its 2020 merger with Sprint, according to a ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). As first reported by Ars Technica, the watchdog ordered the carrier on Friday "to show cause why it should not be sanctioned by the commission" over providing "false, misleading, or omitted statements."

One of the main ways T-Mobile won regulatory approval for its $26 billion acquisition of Sprint was by agreeing to sell Boost Mobile to a competitor. In 2020, Dish paid $1.4 billion to acquire the Sprint prepaid brand from the carrier. As part of the deal, T-Mobile agreed to provide 4G LTE and 3G CDMA service to Boost customers while Dish worked on moving them over to a 5G network it was building on its own. Initially, T-Mobile said it would support those customers until 2023, but the carrier's current CDMA plan will see it shut down that part of its network on January 1st, 2022. That's in 137 days as of the writing of this article.

The CPUC lists five contradicting claims from T-Mobile, one of which involves a statement the carrier made that Dish would have up to three years to migrate Boost Mobile customers. The watchdog can fine T-Mobile up to $100,000 per offense. While that's unlikely to hurt the carrier, it could lead to additional scrutiny from the CPUC. "The discrepancy between information in T-Mobile's testimony and information provided in its response is so serious that it warrants further investigation by this commission," the watchdog said. T-Mobile will have a chance to answer the CPUC's allegations during a hearing on September 20th.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert responded to the ruling in a lengthy blog post the carrier published last week. "Listen, this is a manufactured crisis, orchestrated by Dish, and it is about money, not customers," he said. "If Dish was really concerned for customers, they would simply take real action and get their customers new phones on time, before the network upgrade happens, just as T-Mobile is doing for affected Sprint customers."

To that point, Dish has said the number of customers involved, in combination with the ongoing global chip shortage, makes it impossible to migrate them all to a 5G device before T-Mobile shuts down its CDMA network early next year. "A forced migration of this scale under this accelerated time frame is simply not possible and will leave potentially millions of Boost subscribers disenfranchised and without cell service come January 1st, 2022," the company said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission back in April.

We've reached out to both T-Mobile and Dish for additional comment.

The CPUC ruling follows a recent July 9th letter the Department of Justice sent to T-Mobile and Dish. The agency said it had "grave concerns" over the impending shutdown and the possibility that a significant number of Boost Mobile customers would be left without service on January 1st, 2022. The DoJ said it expected both companies "to take all available steps" to remedy the situation.

Google has long run an Android Auto beta program, but joining it was almost impossible before today. Those who tried to take part often got an error message that said the program was maxed out. Thankfully, that's no longer the case. Google is expanding the program, giving anyone with an Android device and a willingness to put up with bugs the opportunity to test the platform's latest features before they're available to the public.

"As a beta tester, you can help us build a better version of Android Auto. You can test how well new features work with your specific phone and vehicle in your part of the world," Google says of the initiative on a support page. "When you share your feedback, we'll use it to help plan improvements for future releases."

You can join the program by visiting the beta opt-in page Google has set up. Click the "Become a tester" button, and then download the beta version of Android Auto from the Play Store. If you eventually decide using unstable software isn't all it's made out to be, you can leave the program.

With Google inching closer to the official release of Android 12, the company likely wants to avoid a repeat of last year's Android 11 release. While the operating system was buggy as a whole at release, Android Auto suffered from some particularly rough bugs. There were numerous audio issues and missing apps. In some instances, the software was also known to 'soft-brick' devices like the Pixel 3 XL. So it's no surprise Google wants more help testing the software.

While Bird is best known for its electric scooters, it recently expanded into the bikeshare market and is now also moving into the accessibility space. With help from Scootaround, a company that specializes in wheelchair and mobility scooter rentals, the startup is piloting a new program. It’s adding a dedicated interface within its app that allows those with mobility issues to reserve and rent one of three different electric vehicles.

Rentals can vary between one and 14 days in length, and you can decide where you want to pick up your ride and drop it off. With each rental, Bird will provide an in-person tutorial to answer any questions you might have about the EV you’re about to rent. The company will also have a toll-free number customers can call to ask about the entire process.

One of the vehicles Bird will allow people to drive is the Whill Model Ci2 (pictured above). We got a chance to test the first Ci variant back at CES 2018, driving it across the Vegas show floor at a brisk five miles per hour. The program will come first to New York City, with other cities to follow throughout 2021 depending on how the pilot pans out.