Start Up No.2695: how Android phones warned of Venezuela’s quakes, lessons from the RAM shock, Google rations Gemini, and more

Obliging providers of new car parks to cover them with solar panels seems a smart idea. Yet the UK government has rejected it, without explanation. CC-licensed photo by ATIS547 on Flickr. You can sign up to receive each day’s Start Up post by email. You’ll need to click a confirmation link, so no spam. A selection of 9 links for you. Hot in herre. I’m @charlesarthur on Twitter. On Threads: charles_arthur. On Mastodon: https://newsie.social/@charlesarthur. On Bluesky: @charlesarthur.bsky.social. Observations and links welcome. How phones alerted millions before earthquakes shook Venezuela • The New York Times Amy Graff and Martín González Gómez: » Jose Flores was driving with his family to see “Toy Story 5” on Wednesday in Caracas, Venezuela, when a loud earthquake alert went off on his wife’s Google Android phone. Six seconds later, he felt the earth starting to shake. Venezuela does not have a national early warning system of its own, but people with Android phones received alerts…