Hashtag Trending, June 4, 2021- Twitter Blue launches in Canada; Self-driving trucks make progress; Survey says workers will quit without hybrid work model

With files from Samira Balsara

Twitter launches a new subscription service, self-driving trucks are slowly hitting the roads, and employees are considering quitting their jobs if employers aren’t flexible about remote work.

It’s all the biz/tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending!  It’s Friday, June 4 and I’m your host Alex Coop.

Twitter’s new subscription service ‘Twitter Blue’ has launched in Canada and Australia. On Thursday, Twitter users had the opportunity to purchase the service to access features like the ‘undo button,’ bookmarks and reader mode. The limited launch is designed to help gage a better understanding of what users want, says Twitter. Twitter Blue will cost CAD$3.49. Features will include customizable app icons for the phone home screen, and of course, a treasured “undo Tweet” button. Twitter will be monitoring how customers respond to this new service. No date has been released for when the service will launch in other countries. [BBC]

Self-Driving Truck Completes 950-Mile Trip 10 Hours Faster Than Human Driver from technology

The rubber is hitting the road when it comes to fully automated trucks. Last month, a self-driving long-haul truck transported a load of watermelons from Arizona to Oklahoma. According to a post by SingularityHub, 80 per cent of the journey was driven automatically, and the other 20 per cent was driven with a human at the wheel. The trip took around 10 hours less than it would with a human driver. The company in charge of this latest development is TuSimple, a transportation company which is focusing on driverless technology for trucks. The company is in the process of developing Level four fully autonomous driving solutions for heavy-duty trucks using AI to help trucks operate nearly continuously, and to consume less fuel than manually driven trucks. [Interesting Engineering]

Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home from technology

As more people across the globe get vaccinated, and offices prepare for a hybrid work environment, a survey reveals that nearly 40 per cent of adults would consider quitting if their employers weren’t flexible about remote work. The survey included 1,000 U.S. adults and the results revealed that responses were different depending on the generation. 49 per cent of millennials and Gen Z respondents said they would consider quitting. Some people have already quit. For example, two IT workers handed in their resignation letters in April, according to the survey report, after employers told them they had to return to the office. Remote working is looking more attractive to many due to no commute and cost savings. Respondents like the fact that they have more control over their time. For now, most employers are being pretty lenient about working from home as return to office plans remain in early stages. [Bloomberg]

That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Friday at 3 pm. Thanks for listening.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada
Alex Coop
Alex Coophttp://www.itwc.ca
Former Editorial Director for IT World Canada and its sister publications.

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