More of Today’s Parent-Teacher Meetings are Happening Virtually

Monica Chin / The Verge:
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5-inch) review: strong single-core performance, thin and light, and 3:2, but 720p camera, few ports, and average battery life  —  Microsoft made a few updates to the Surface Laptop, and I’m very sad about one of them … I’m a big fan of Microsoft’s laptop hardware …

Monica Chin / The Verge:
Framework and Google partner to launch the $999 Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition, a user-upgradeable model running Chrome OS, shipping in early December  —  Framework and Google have announced the new Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition.  As the name implies, this is an upgradable …

Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Texas AG sues Google for allegedly using features in Photos, Assistant, and Nest devices to collect facial- and voice-recognition data without proper consent  —  State alleges tech giant didn’t obtain user consent for biometric-data use  —  The Texas attorney general sued Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG 2.32%▲ …

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Reliance, the parent firm of India’s largest mobile operator Jio, launches JioBook, a ~$190 4G-enabled laptop running a custom Android-based OS called JioOS  —  Jio Platforms has quietly launched its first laptop, entering into a new product category as the Indian telecom giant aggressively expands its offerings.

The Verge:
Sources: Google canceled the next version of its Pixelbook laptop slated for 2023 and dissolved the team building it, as part of recent cost-cutting measures  —  Google is getting out of the laptop game  —  Google has canceled the next version of its Pixelbook laptop and dissolved the team responsible for building it.

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon updates its Fire TV lineup with a new $140 Fire TV Cube media player, Fire TV Omni QLED Series starting at $800, and a new $35 Alexa Voice Remote Pro  —  Amazon today introduced two new Fire TV devices designed to cater to customers seeking a more premium experience.