Tech Roundup: Google RCS, Instagram Shopping & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• New Zika virus study in male mice found to shrink testicles and lower sperm count levels.
• Mobile web browsing overtakes desktop for the first time ever.
• Australia's Productivity Commission proposes a draft plan that will allow consumers take greater control of their personal data online over the corporations that hold them.
• Turkey blocks access to Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook as a "security measure".
• Google officially announces support for richer messaging features (like group chats, higher-resolution photo sharing, and read receipts) in SMS for Android (aka RCS); to work with more mobile carriers worldwide in the coming months. (Thanks Google for one more chat app! Now I will have to just use Messenger, Hangouts, Allo and Duo.)
• Facebook tried to unsuccessfully buy Asian Snapchat clone Snow for US$ 3 billion, reports TechCrunch.
• Twitter rolls out bot-like customer service in direct messages as it grapples with new ways to make money.
• Ride-hailing service Uber's self-driving truck makes the world's first-ever commercial delivery (it was Budweiser beer!) in Colorado.
• Apple's new MacBook Pro models come under unprecedented criticism for having only USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports, necessitating the need to buy adapters to get existing peripheral devices to work; Apple slashes prices of USB-C adapters on its Store in response.
• Tesla unveils Solar Roof tiles for homes, but keeps mum on its cost.
• Creators of now-shuttered Vine announce Hype, a new live-streaming app.
• Instagram takes on Pinterest with new shopping features that allows users to purchase products straight from photos posted on the social photo sharing service.
• Facebook has another blockbuster quarter bolstered by record ad revenues; spooks investors with a warning that it has hit peak ad loads on the social network, adding it plans to increase spending in 2017.
• Read-it-later service Instapaper goes completely ad free post Pinterest acquisition back in August.
• Flow, Microsoft's take on IFTTT task automation, opens to all users.
• Chinese handset maker Xiaomi seriously considering U.S. smartphone launch in two years, says Global VP and former Googler Hugo Barra.
• Google's Android operating system captures a record 87.5 percent market share of the worldwide smartphone market as of September 2016 as challenges (too many manufacturers but few making money, compounded by Google's own entry with Pixel phone) continue to persist.
• Google gives cash transfer service Google Wallet for web a Material Design makeover.
• YouTube gains options for pinned comments and blacklisting words and phrases in a bid to grant more control to creators over comments section.
• Amazon physical bookstores raise book prices for non-Prime subscribers.
• Adobe is working on new audio editing software (codenamed VoCo) with capabilities to insert words not found in the original audio file.
• South Korean chaebol Samsung recalls 2.8 million top-loading washing machines in the United States over explosion risk.
• AT&T-Time Warner $85.4 billion deal invites regulatory scrutiny over net neutrality concerns, reports Wall Street Journal.
• Alcatel announces new Windows 10 VR-equipped smartphone Idol 4S for US$ 470.