Technology

dimanche 23 octobre 2022

Facebook warns it could block news in Canada over proposed legislation

Nick Barclay / The Verge

Facebook might ban news sharing in Canada if the country passes legislation forcing the company to pay news outlets for their content (via The Wall Street Journal). In a post shared on Friday, Facebook parent company Meta says Canada’s proposed Online News Act falsely presumes that it “unfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers.”

First introduced in April, the Online News Act compels online platforms like Facebook and Google to share revenue with the publishers they aggregate their news from. The goal of the bill is to ensure news outlets are fairly compensated for their work. Canada’s House of Commons Heritage Committee held a meeting about the legislation last week, but Meta says it wasn’t invited.

If this type of law sounds familiar, it’s because Australia introduced a similar one last year, called the News Media Bargaining Code, which also requires Facebook and Google to pay for news included on the platforms. Although Australia eventually passed the law, it wasn’t without significant pushback from Facebook and Google. Facebook switched off news sharing in the country in response, and Google threatened to pull its search engine from the country.

While Google later walked back on its plans after striking deals with media organizations, Facebook reversed its news ban only after Australia amended its legislation. Facebook's temporary ban not only affected news outlets but also ripped down posts from government agencies, like local fire and health departments. Earlier this year, a group of Facebook whistleblowers claimed the move was a negotiation tactic, alleging Facebook used an overly broad definition of what’s considered a news publisher to cause chaos in the country. The company maintains the disorder was “inadvertent.”

Now Facebook’s prepared to put a block on news in Canada if the country doesn’t change its legislation. Meta says posts with links to news stories make up less than three percent of the content on users’ Facebook feed, adding that the content “is not a draw for our users” nor is it a “significant source of revenue.”

“If this draft legislation becomes law, creating globally unprecedented forms of financial liability for news links or content, we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content on Facebook in Canada as defined under the Online News Act,” Meta states.

Meta also claims news outlets benefit from putting their stories on Facebook, and not the other way around. In May, Meta says registered news publishers in Canada received over 1.9 billion clicks over the past 12 months, bringing in an estimated $230 million CAD in value. Google also spoke out about the legislation during last week’s meeting, saying it “will make it harder for Canadians to find and share trusted and authoritative news online,” and that publishers already benefit from the traffic they receive through Google.

Pablo Rodriguez, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, said in a statement obtained by the WSJ that Facebook continues “to pull from their playbook used in Australia.” “All we’re asking the tech giants like Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work,” Rodriguez explains.

PopGrip JumpStart review: what if a battery bank were also a PopSocket?

Photo of someone holding an iPhone, with the PopGrip JumpStart between their fingers. — *PopSocket’s battery bank isn’t a small accessory.* | Image: Mitchell Clark / The Verge

We’re smack in the middle of new phone season and getting close to the time when some of us are going to have to start worrying about wish lists and stocking stuffers, so I want to look at an accessory that may be on some people’s radar: the PopGrip JumpStart, a $35 battery bank that attaches to your phone via PopSocket’s quick release mechanism and provides around a 50 percent charge via a built-in Lightning or USB-C cable.

When I first heard about it, I hoped that the JumpStart would be both a good battery bank and a good way to hold my phone. Unfortunately, I found that it was relatively mediocre at the first job and worse at the second, making it a bit unclear who exactly this product is for.

I will say a few nice things before I really dig in, though. The JumpStart is a very nice object, made of a textured plastic shaped into a little ovular puck with the classic PopSocket sleeve on the back. On the top of the puck is a single button, which you click to start charging and which has a light that acts as a power indicator.

When you attach it to PopMount 2 products (aka the ones with the replaceable tops), it clicks into the mount with a satisfying sound. However, once you pop it out, it spins freely, so the puck can end up perpendicular to your phone. I couldn’t figure out any use for it doing this; it’s far too prominent to act as a kickstand, and it doesn’t really change the experience if you’re holding your phone in landscape instead of portrait. The only thing the spinning did was annoy me and occasionally detach the JumpStart from the phone.

Image showing the JumpStart’s integrated Lightning cable, which has been slightly removed from its holder. — *The integrated cable is about as good as it could be.*

The integrated Lightning or USB-C cable (you buy it with one or the other) is around seven inches long and feels surprisingly sturdy. I’d expected that it would come loose and flop out of its slot, but that didn’t turn out to be the case at all. If anything, it’s almost a bit too difficult to deploy; I really had to dig my nails in and pull. But while I’m happy PopSockets is using a good cable, I really wish the JumpStart just used wireless charging, like other mountable battery banks from Anker, Otterbox, and Apple.

In theory, the built-in cable would make the JumpStart more convenient than having to carry around an external battery bank and corresponding cord, but I honestly found myself wishing I had gone with the latter solution whenever I was just trying to use my phone. The JumpStart’s bulk made it difficult to get my phone in and out of my pocket (a problem that’s even worse when you’ve got the cable plugged in), and it made the phone very uncomfortable to hold, even when I was using it like a massive PopSocket.

The obvious solution is to just take the JumpStart off when I’m not using it and put up with the worse ergonomics while I’m charging. The problem with that is that it seriously cuts down on the convenience factor because it means I have to carry the JumpStart around with me in either a pocket, bag, or purse if I want to use it when I find myself running low on juice. And if I have to carry something external around anyways, I’d probably want to go with something that could provide a bit more power.

According to PopSockets’ website, the JumpStart has approximately 2,200mAh of capacity. In my testing, that was enough power to take my phone from around 15 percent charge to around 80 percent (there was one outlier where it only managed to boost my phone by 40 percent, but that was a worst-case scenario where I was using GPS while charging in the cold). Your mileage may vary, though, because my iPhone Mini 12 has an itsy-bitsy battery. I don’t expect you’d get as many percentage points with a larger phone.

To be clear, that’s definitely enough power to get you out of a jam if you suddenly find yourself with a dead battery. But personally, it's just not worth the annoyance of either having to keep track of the JumpStart or trying to use my phone with a bulky spinny thing on the back. That’s especially true since my phone supports MagSafe, meaning I could use Anker’s $50 wireless charging battery bank with over double the capacity — there’s even a version with a built-in PopSocket, though that does cost more.

Image of the JumpStart’s USB-C port, with the accessory extended into the holding position. — *I appreciate the USB-C and passthrough charging — but I don’t appreciate how much the JumpStart swivels around when I’m trying to use it.*

I do think the combination of too much bulk to be comfortable while not being bulky enough to really charge up your phone is kind of a shame because PopSockets clearly put some effort into this thing. No matter which version you get, you charge the JumpStart via USB-C, a boon for anyone who’s annoyed at Apple for sticking with Lightning on its phones. It also supports passthrough charging, meaning it can charge your phone while it's plugged into the wall — I have two dedicated power banks from Anker and Mophie that don’t have that feature.

At the top, I said I’m not quite sure who this is for. The one exception is someone absolutely dedicated to the PopSocket lifestyle who can’t live without a grip on the back of their phone and who either doesn’t want to use MagSafe or has a phone without it (aka the Android phones PopSockets targets with the USB-C version of the accessory). But I think anyone else will probably want to look at other, more traditional battery banks or go with the even newer magnetic tech.

Best podcasts of the week: What it’s like to lose your unvaccinated father and brother to Covid

In this week’s newsletter: We Were Three, from the makers of Serial, delves into a story of strained family relationships brought to a head by the pandemic – and vaccine misinformation

Don’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article here

Surviving El Chapo: The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug Lord
Widely available, episodes weekly
From high-flying cocaine dealers to government informants, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and journalist Charlie Webster tell the story of identical twins Jay and Peter Flores, who were responsible for taking down Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, one of the world’s most dangerous drug barons. After 14 years in prison, the twins speak out for the first time to tell this thrilling, high-wire tale. Sammy Gecsoyler

samedi 22 octobre 2022

Revealed: how coyotes and scammers use TikTok to sell migrants the American dream

The video platform has become a place for migrants to seek and share information, but experts fear exploitation is on the rise

Read the new Guardian series exploring the increasing power and reach of TikTok

The TikTok video starts like most other travel snaps on the platform do, with selfie shots showing the user* and his companions sitting on a plane and walking through the airport.

But unlike the highly curated images of hotels and tourist attractions typical of this genre on TikTok, the video quickly takes an uncharacteristic turn, showing the user sleeping in camps, at one point traveling by horseback and ultimately scaling what he calls “la famosa frontera de la muerte” or “the famous border of death” between the US and Mexico.

Early access for Kerbal Space Program 2 lifts off on February 24th

A stock photo with a render of Kerbal Space Program 2 — *The Kerbals prepare for liftoff*

After several delays, Kerbal Space Program 2 is finally entering early access on February 24th, 2023. Developer Intercept Games initially announced that it was working on KSP2 back in 2019, but only revealed the early access release date for the Kerbal Space Program sequel last week, outlining its expectations in a roadmap leading up to the eventual 1.0 release. KSP2 is currently available to wishlist on Steam and will also be available on the Epic Games Store, and will cost $49.99

The original Kerbal Space Program is a brutal, rewarding, and occasionally hilarious simulation of the complexities of space flight that allows you to construct your own rockets, shuttles, rovers, and other interstellar vehicles. All manned by the ambitious Kerbals, little green people whose unbridled enthusiasm towards space flight adds some much-needed levity to your failures.

An in-game photo of the Kerbals — *These Kerbals don’t care that I’ve marooned them in orbit, they’re just happy to be here.*

While a big part of the KSP experience centers around experimentation and getting things wrong, Intercept Games recognizes some of the pain points of the original KSP, and is working to smooth over some of its rougher parts with the sequel. Currently, with the upcoming early access release, players can expect a drastically improved user experience with a revamped UI, in addition to a new catalog of parts to experiment with, and perhaps most importantly, new tutorials and onboarding systems to get new players up to speed.

A timeline of the Early Access roadmap for Kerbal Space Program 2, detailing features like interstellar travel and multiplayer options — *The Early Access roadmap for Kerbal Space Program 2 highlights some cool new features to expect*

The list of features expected at launch is only a small part of the expansive vision surrounding KSP2. Post-launch updates are set to include off-world colony construction, interstellar travel, and multiplayer options.

Lovingly described by Astrophysicist and Kerbal expert Scott Manley as “a gateway drug to physics,” KSP has a way of teaching you what words like “delta-V” and “apoapsis” mean without you realizing it. The game allows you to make tons of mistakes and learn from them, a parallel that Intercept Games creative director Nate Simpson is keenly aware of as the studio prepares for early access. “We’re going to get some things wrong,” he says “we’re going to fail out loud, and there’s nothing more Kerbal than that”.

As a fan of both early and ongoing space exploration, I’ve spent a good chunk of time creating (and crashing) my own creations in the original KSP. While it is occasionally frustrating, I’m willing to admit that I audibly cheered when I finally managed to perform my first high-orbit intercept, and I can’t wait to send an ambitious new generation of little green people careening into the cosmos.

Republicans sue Google over ‘discriminatory’ spam filtering practices

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is suing Google for allegedly sending “millions” of campaign emails to users’ spam folders (via Axios). According to the lawsuit filed in California’s Eastern District Court on Friday, the RNC accuses Google of “throttling its email messages because of the RNC’s political affiliation and views.”

For months, the RNC has been complaining about Google’s alleged spam filtering bias, claiming it disproportionately puts Republican-backed political emails in spam folders when compared to messages sent by Democrats. The RNC’s frustration was only exacerbated by a North Carolina State University study that suggested Google was sending RNC emails to spam folders more frequently, leading a group of Republicans to introduce a bill that would prevent email providers like Google from filtering political emails using algorithms.

To address the RNC’s concerns, Google rolled out a pilot program in September that’s supposed to help prevent political emails from getting marked as spam. However, as The Verge’s Makena Kelly reported pointed out last week, Republicans haven’t been taking advantage of the program, which would’ve required it to follow security requirements and best practice standards when sending out emails in bulk.

As noted by the lawsuit, the RNC claims Google has continued to send RNC emails “en masse” to users’ spam folders during “pivotal points” for gaining supporters and fundraising for the upcoming midterm elections. It goes on to state that Google’s alleged filtering occurs “at approximately the same time at the end of each month,” and that the end of October is one of the most crucial fundraising periods for Republicans, who have been struggling to meet their fundraising goals in the months leading up to the midterm elections.

“This discrimination has been ongoing for about ten months — despite the RNC’s best efforts to work with Google,” the lawsuit states. “Throughout 2022, the RNC has engaged with Google month after month to obtain an explanation and a solution. But every explanation has been refuted and every solution has failed.”

And while the lawsuit doesn’t explicitly mention the pilot program put in place by Google, it does say the company provided the organization’s digital department with a training session on email best practices on August 11th — the same day the Federal Election Commission approved Google’s spam-proofing pilot. “Despite the RNC following Google’s best practices,” the lawsuit states, “the filtering reoccurred.”

“As we have repeatedly said, we simply don’t filter emails based on political affiliation. Gmail’s spam filters reflect users’ actions,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in a statement to The Verge. “We provide training and guidelines to campaigns, we recently launched an FEC-approved pilot for political senders, and we continue to work to maximize email deliverability while minimizing unwanted spam.”

The RNC claims Google hampered its ability to communicate with voters and cost the organization over $75,000 in lost donations, with alleged long-term losses totaling “in the millions of dollars.”

Update October 22nd, 10:50AM ET: Updated to add a statement from a Google spokesperson.

Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad is on sale at Woot for its lowest price ever

A photo of the Apple Magic Trackpad 2 on a wooden surface — *Apple’s second-gen trackpad is compatible with Windows or Apple devices via Bluetooth* | Image: The Verge

Happy Saturday, everybody! Everyone on the Verge Deals team is enjoying their weekend and we hope you are, too. If you were looking to engage in a little retail therapy or do a little window shopping, we’ve collected a handful of deals we think you’ll want to check out.

Normally $129.99, you can currently pick up Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad at Woot right now with a 90-day warranty for just $84.99, which matches the peripheral’s lowest price to date. The clever trackpad makes for an excellent addition to any desktop or laptop setup thanks to its comfortable glass surface, which provides you with more real estate than the trackpad found on MacBooks and brings multi-touch gesture controls and Apple’s Force Touch technology to your desktop. Sadly, it still charges via a Lightning connection, but it does last up to a month on a single charge. Here’s hoping the recent rumors are correct and Apple actually brings USB-C to Mac accessories sooner rather than later.

If you’re constantly misplacing all the important things in your life, it might be time to invest in a set of Bluetooth trackers. Right now, you can pick up a four-pack of Tile Pro trackers from Tile for just $49.99 ($50 off), the lowest price we’ve seen for the bundle to date. The Tile Pro is Tile’s most powerful tracking fob, with a range of up to 400 feet and a louder ring than its smaller counterparts. Just like other Tile trackers, the Pro is also water-resistant, works with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and is compatible with both Android and Apple devices — something that can be said of Apple’s AirTags.

If you’re in the market for a new Xbox controller or a solid controller for your PC, you can currently get the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 Core with a copy of Watch Dogs: Legion for the Xbox Series X/S at eBay for just $119.99 via Antononline. While the going rate for an Xbox copy of Watch Dogs: Legion is around $12, the Elite 2 Core normally costs $129.99 all by its lonesome, meaning you save around $22 off the combined price of both items.

The Xbox Elite 2 Core bears a striking resemblance to the more expensive Elite Series 2 but doesn’t come packaged with the additional D-pad, the charging case, back paddles, or thumbsticks. The Core still supports these components with the same swappable design, however, the extra accessories must be purchased separately. Otherwise, the Core is functionally the same controller as the standard Elite 2, offering custom profiles, adjustable tension thumbsticks, three-point trigger stops, and custom button mapping.

The Anker 615 USB Power Strip is a smarter power strip that knows how to keep things tidy. Normally $69.99, you can currently pick up the 65W strip at Amazon for $48.99 when you clip the on-page coupon before checkout. The charging station comes equipped with a pair of AC outlets, two USB-C ports, and a single USB-A port, allowing it to top off a variety of devices. Just note that while you can technically charge five devices at once, this may delay charging depending on the power needs of your devices.

Perhaps the best part of the charging station, however, is the integrated cable management solution hidden under the charger’s silicon “skirt,” which allows you to hide any unsightly slack in the cable and neatly pack it up if you need to stash it in your bag. The 615 Power Strip is also part of Anker’s latest lineup of GaNPrime charging accessories, which gives it increased efficiency over the older lithium-ion models.

A couple more weekend deals

A slick-looking power strip may not be at the top of your wishlist, but just in case it is, Amazon is selling the versatile Anker 525 Charging Station for 25 percent off when you clip the on-page coupon, reducing its price to $44.99 at checkout. This power strip is equipped with a trio of AC outlets in addition to a pair of USB-A and USB-C outlets. It even provides surge protection and will alert you if it isn’t grounded.
If you’re in the market for some new cables for your new charging station, you can currently get a two-pack of six-foot USB-C cables from Anker for $15.99 (normally $19.99) at Amazon when you clip the on-screen coupon. The durable, braided cables can support up to 100W of throughput and support fast charging for compatible devices.

TiVo is making its case as a smart TV platform

A TV running TiVo OS. — *TiVo OS looks like other interfaces you might be familiar with.* | Image: Xperi

Remember TiVo? It still exists, even if you probably haven’t used a TiVo device in quite awhile. (Unless you’re one of the few who tried the company’s Android TV dongle.) Even though the vast majority of people have since moved to TV software that is built into their device or runs on a dedicated piece of hardware like the Apple TV, TiVo owner Xperi is getting into the TV software game with TiVo OS.

Yes, that means there will be yet another company vying to run the software that powers your TV. But TiVo’s angle with TiVo OS is to be a “first-of-its-kind neutral platform,” which means in part that equipment manufacturers will have more control over the experience.

Right now, the US TV software market is largely dominated by Roku, which said at the beginning of this year that it’s the top-selling smart TV OS in the country for the second year running. Roku hasn’t been shy about actually being an advertising company, which means that it earns a lot of money from customers who see advertising on its OS and in the ad-sponsored Roku channel while watching things on a TV by a vendor like TCL or Hisense. And companies like Samsung and LG have their own software platforms that they use with their own TVs, so they own that customer relationship from beginning to end.

With TiVo OS, Xperi wants to give more power back to the equipment manufacturers (or at least the ones that aren’t on the level of a Samsung or LG. “You’re at a huge disadvantage competitively if you’re not participating in shaping the experience and retaining some level of customer ownership during the life of the product,” Geir Skaaden, Xperi’s executive vice president and chief products and services officer, said in an interview with The Verge. “So our platform allows them to brand the experience, retain the customer relationship, and have a rev share on the monetization on the platform.” For consumers, TiVo OS will also offer an alternative to software made by companies like Roku, Apple, or Amazon.

The thing is, TiVo still seems a long way from making that vision a reality. You can’t actually buy a TiVo OS-equipped TV yet, as there aren’t any on the market right now. Vestel, which makes TVs sold under licensed brands like Toshiba and JVC, is the first OEM that has committed to shipping TVs with TiVO OS, but those won’t be released until 2023, and they’re coming to Europe first. Xperi hasn’t announced a launch date for TiVo OS in the US, but that’s “definitely on the roadmap,” according to Skaaden.

Xperi expects to announce more TiVo OS hardware partners before or around the Consumer Electronics Show (which takes place in early January), according to Skaaden. But it’s unclear when those might hit the market or how many offerings there will be. And even if more TiVo OS devices are announced and actually come out next year, I just don’t think many people are chomping at the bit to switch over.

Roku is immensely popular, Samsung is licensing its Tizen smart TV OS, and big tech companies like Amazon and Google use their TV software in smart TVs as well. Xperi does tout TiVo OS’ integration with linear content, so perhaps that could be an advantage over those other platforms, which prefer to focus on streaming. “A TV Powered by TiVo can deliver better viewer engagement with an unbiased content-first user experience where live hybrid TV and streaming services are fully integrated,” Xperi said in a press release in August. But since we can’t actually use TiVo OS yet, we’ll have to wait and see if the promises of a neutral platform turn into a compelling argument for TV buyers.

And that being said, Xperi is aiming TiVo OS more at OEMs that don’t already have a smart TV platform that they rely on. “We do not expect people that have their own operating platform to switch to ours,” he said, but Xperi does expect that TiVo OS will win marketshare among OEMs that “are not developing their own platform.”

In addition to TiVo, Xperi owns brands including the DTS audio compression technology, HD Radio, and the IMAX Enhanced standard. Xperi’s recent split separated its patents business into a separate company called Adeia.

Who Gets the Last Word on Steve Jobs? He Might.

Who Gets the Last Word on Steve Jobs? He Might. When Laurene Powell Jobs unveiled a website dedicated to the story of her late husband, historians wondered if it could change how influential people burnish their legacies.

vendredi 21 octobre 2022

Belkin’s MagSafe Continuity Camera mount is an easy webcam upgrade

And you might actually want to keep it on your phone, solving the issue of having to carry it around and remember it

Belkin’s iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Notebooks has a bad name but is a very good accessory. It lets you clip your iPhone onto your laptop so you can make use of macOS Ventura and iOS 16’s Continuity Camera feature, which turns your phone into a webcam that absolutely crushes pretty much anything that’s built into MacBooks these days. And if that was all it did, I’d still be happy with it — but its design and features are what truly make it worth considering, even though there’s already a flood of other accessories meant to do the same job.

Using the mount to turn your phone into a webcam is easy: you magnetically snap it on, flip out a little foot with Belkin’s logo on it, and rest it on top of your computer. Then you just choose your iPhone as the camera in whatever video chat app you’re using. It’s a pretty simple mechanism that works well, and because the mount is circular, you can attach your phone in either portrait or landscape mode.

Photo of an iPhone mounted vertically onto the top of a laptop’s screen. — *Portrait mode actually isn’t great with the current version of Continuity Camera, but I’ll leave those impressions for a more in-depth look at the software.*

Its versatile shape does, however, mean that there’s not that extra stabilizing magnet at the bottom like some other MagSafe accessories have. That probably won’t cause a strength problem; my iPhone 12 Mini never slid off Belkin’s mount or anything, even when I tested it without a case, and none of my colleagues who have used the mount with bigger phones noted any issues. But it does mean that you may have to spend a second twisting the mount a tiny bit to make sure your video doesn’t end up slightly crooked.

Where the mount really shines is its build quality and bonus kickstand / grip ring (unfortunately, the kickstand can’t really be used if you want to prop your phone’s camera up on a table instead of your computer; it’s just not in the right place). The whole thing feels very smooth and solid, like a rock that’s been polished by moving water. It’s also coated in a sort of grippy rubber, which feels great and is very unobtrusive. When I’m using it with my phone on, the low-profile dome fits pretty much perfectly into my palm, and I barely notice it’s there. If you actually want Continuity Camera to be useful, you have to make sure you’ve always got a mount with you. The Belkin is nice enough that I want to keep it on my phone, which means I won’t forget it when I leave the house.

With that said, I don’t think this mount and Continuity Camera are going to revolutionize my casual FaceTimes or Discord calls with friends and family for one simple reason: when my laptop is actually on my lap, putting a phone at the top of the lid makes it very tippy, even with my mini phone. When I was using it with my legs crossed, it my laptop would easily fall over and yeet my phone across the room if I didn’t catch it. Even if I’ve got my arm on the palm rest, it only takes the slightest bump for the weight of the phone to pull my 13-inch MacBook Pro’s screen back to its maximum open position, usually resulting in a very unflattering angle (and perhaps an uncomfortable amount of force on my display?).

Gif of the iPhone being mounted to a laptop with the Belkin accessory, and the laptop falling over. — *Be careful using this accessory with your laptop on your lap.*

To be clear, this probably won’t be a problem on a desk unless you’re using the diminutive 12-inch MacBook. One of my co-workers said that his MacBook Air was perfectly stable when sitting on a table with an iPhone 13 attached to it, and the same was true for another co-worker who used the mount with a Pro Max and 16-inch MacBook Pro. But it does mean that I’ll probably only use this accessory for more formal video calls where I’ll be at a desk or counter rather than the far more frequent ones that I do from the couch. That’s not Belkin’s fault; it’s just physics, and really, I don’t think my mom or sister are going to mind seeing me in fuzzy 720p (or, at least, I haven’t gotten any complaints in the past few years).

Gif of a MacBook Pro’s display leaning back under the weight of the iPhone attached to it. — *No, it’s not the force of my stare that’s pushing the laptop down. But hey, points to the Belkin mount to keeping my iPhone attached through the bump.*

Even with this limitation, I still feel like the Belkin mount is worth its $29.95 price tag for anyone who cares what they look like on video, has an iPhone, and plans on upgrading to macOS Ventura when it comes out on Monday (and who doesn’t want the hassle of setting up a dedicated camera / tripod / light).

However, if you mostly work from a desk with a monitor, it may be worth waiting for the desktop version, which Belkin says will let you tilt your phone to reframe the shot. That version is “coming soon,” according to Belkin’s press release, though it doesn’t mention whether it’ll feature some sort of power delivery that’s more elegant than just plugging your phone in using a Lightning cable. That sort of feature wouldn’t make sense on the portable version, but it’d probably be a nice add for those who are in meetings all day long.

Ahead of Midterms, Disinformation Is Even More Intractable

Ahead of Midterms, Disinformation Is Even More Intractable Ahead of the midterm elections, the proliferation of alternative social media sites has helped cement false and misleading information as a defining feature of American politics.

Bayonetta 3 developer reiterates support for replacement voice actor after controversy

A press image of Bayonetta 3. — *Bayonetta 3 is scheduled for release on October 28th.* | Image: PlatinumGames / Nintendo

Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames has responded to the controversy that’s embroiled its upcoming game after it replaced longtime protagonist voice actor Hellena Taylor with Jennifer Hale. The studio published a statement saying, “We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta,” and asking people to “please refrain from any further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any of the other contributors to the series.”

The studio also says that it agrees with a statement recently posted by Hale herself. The actor, who is best known for voicing the female version of Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series, recently posted a tweet emphasizing her support for the right of actors to be properly paid. She asked for people to keep an “open mind” about the forthcoming game, which she says was created by “an entire team of hard-working, dedicated people.”

A Message from PlatinumGames pic.twitter.com/5ym1JxtBBn
— PlatinumGames Inc. (@platinumgames) October 21, 2022

The controversy originally erupted after Hellena Taylor, who voiced protagonist Bayonetta across the series’ first two games, called for a boycott of the upcoming Bayonetta 3 over the “insulting” pay offer she was given to reprise her role. “The final offer, to do the whole game as a buyout, a flat rate, was $4,000,” said Taylor in a video posted to Twitter. “This is an insult to me, for the amount of time that I took to work on my talent and everything that I have given to this game and to the fans.”

PlatinumGames hasn’t responded directly to Taylor’s claims. Prior to Taylor calling for a boycott, game director Yusuke Miyata told Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything) that “various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role.”

However, sources speaking to Bloomberg have disputed Taylor’s version of events, and claimed that she was instead offered $3,000 to $4,000 per session for at least five sessions. Negotiations reportedly fell apart when Taylor asked for a “six-figure sum” and residuals, after which Platinum offered to pay her for one session as a cameo. Taylor told Bloomberg that this account was “an absolute lie.”

About Bayonetta 3: pic.twitter.com/e4VrclEQIm
— Jennifer Hale (@jhaletweets) October 17, 2022

In response to the criticism directed at Hale for taking on the role, other voice actors within the industry have rallied to her defense. Perhaps most notably, David Hayter, who voiced Metal Gear Solid protagonist Solid Snake until he was unceremoniously replaced with Kiefer Sutherland in MGS5, tweeted that “to put the blame on another actor is unjust. And Jennifer Hale is the absolute best of us.”

If nothing else, the incident has shown how voice actors who bring characters to life in bestselling games can earn relatively small feels of just a few thousand dollars (and no residuals). “Some people might think that getting paid $4,000 to do a game sounds amazing,” John Schwab, a voice actor from the Witcher series of games, told The Guardian. “But the commitment that it takes to get a game done – we’re talking dozens and dozens of hours of recording. And on top of that, the travel that nobody pays for, the agents’ fees, the tax … People think you show up, work for two hours and a game comes out. Absolutely not.”

jeudi 20 octobre 2022

Instacart Is Said to Pull Plans to Go Public This Year

Instacart Is Said to Pull Plans to Go Public This Year The food delivery company had been moving toward a public offering, but the window for such deals is shutting amid market turmoil.

Elon Musk plans to cut 75% of Twitter staff if he takes over company – report

The news comes at a difficult time for the company, which had announced hiring freezes and has seen low employee morale

Elon Musk told prospective investors that he plans to eliminate nearly 75% of Twitter’s staff as part of his deal to take over the social media company, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Job cuts are expected in the coming months no matter who owns the company, according to the report, which cited interviews and documents.

Tesla is now taking votes for its next Supercharger locations

Tesla Superchargers — Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The next Supercharger station location is up to Tesla owners.

The all-electric automaker put out the invitation to vote on new locations via its Tesla Charging Twitter account but had originally announced its intention to democratize Supercharger station expansion last month. Tesla owners can log in to participate via their user accounts and can vote for up to five locations in the list of 183 possible sites. There’s even a page where you can suggest a location that’s not on the list yet.

Vote for a Supercharger ⚡️ https://t.co/PFYek5I7sm
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) October 20, 2022

Currently, Lake Okeechobee, Florida, is in the lead with 558 votes (at the time of writing). The town of about 5,000 people doesn’t have any Supercharging station, with the closest one being 32 miles east in Fort Pierce. There aren’t any Tesla Level 2 destination charging in town, either, according to PlugShare.

Lake Okeechobee does, however, have a DC fast charging station near the center of town that plays nice with all other EV manufacturers. Tesla customers in the US can buy an adapter to convert CHAdeMO plugs, and Tesla recently released a CCS Combo 1 adapter as well, but not all cars can support the latter without a Tesla service upgrade. In that regard, Lake Okeechobee seems to be a good candidate for a new Supercharging station.

*With no Supercharging stations around, PlugShare user William charged their Model S with a CHAdeMO adapter at this Okeechobee, FL FPL EVolution station.*

In fourth place, we have Starbase, Texas, at 451 votes at time of writing. That is SpaceX’s spaceport in Boca Chica, where the company produces rockets like the Falcon Heavy and has many fans living nearby to observe everything SpaceX is doing. Other big votes include: Big Bear Lake, California, with 537 votes; Bolzano, Italy, with 454 votes; Laguna Beach, California, with 379 votes; Princeton, New Jersey, with 286 votes; and Philadelphia with 295 votes — which I’ll personally vote for only because the Eagles are undefeated.

Tesla owns and operates one of the largest EV charging networks in the world, consisting of 4,283 Supercharging stations and 38,883 connectors in total, according to its Q3 2022 earnings report this week. The chargers are only available to Tesla owners, though it has started to accept EVs from other companies in Europe. And Tesla is planning to do the same in the US, but it might need to alter some of the stations to work with the North American CCS1 connector standard.

It’s an easier task to open up Superchargers in Europe and Asia to non-Tesla EVs since there is a standard EV connector. In North America, however, Tesla still uses a proprietary connecter to charge its cars.

Hopefully, as the Supercharger network grows, Tesla will start adding stations that support other EVs in the US soon. It’s at least warming up to the idea; Tesla just started selling a new version of its at-home Level 2 Wall Connector charger that has the widely used J1772 plug.

Cherry’s latest mechanical keyboard switch is inspired by the community

Several keyboard switches in rows. — *Cherry’s new MX Ergo Clear switch.* | Image: Cherry

For its latest mechanical keyboard switch, German manufacturer Cherry has taken inspiration from a popular modification of one of its existing switches. The new MX Ergo Clear was announced by the company in a press release this week, but the design dates back to a DIY mod posted to the mechanical keyboard forum GeekHack way back in 2011.

The original, community-made Ergo Clear is what’s known as a “frankenswitch,” where users mix and match components of different switches to create new and interesting typing feels. The original Ergo Clear mod combined the stem of a Cherry MX Clear with the spring of a Cherry MX Black switch. It meant that it inherited the satisfying tactile bump of the MX Clear (which is far more pronounced than the bump of Cherry’s other tactile switch, the MX Brown), but with a lighter spring that makes it far easier to press.

As keyboard-focused YouTuber Glarses points out in his review of the Ergo Clear mod from last year, it’s subsequently become more common for modders to use the lighter springs found in Cherry MX Blue, Brown, or Red switches, rather than the MX Black spring listed in the original GeekHack post. But either way the principle remains the same — combining a big tactile bump with a lighter spring.

That brings us to Cherry’s announcement this week. In a press release, the company says that producing its own official version of the MX Ergo Clear switch will “save less experienced users from having to modify it manually.” But being an official switch means that the new Ergo Clear has gone through Cherry’s quality control process, which allows it to guarantee that the switch will survive 50 million actuations “without any loss of typing feel.” The company says it’s using “high-performance grease” to lubricate its official version of the MX Ergo Clear, rather than the PTFE lubricant used in the original mod, which it claims results in “reliable long-term lubrication.”

A spokesperson for the company did not respond to specific questions about the exact weight of the spring used in the new MX Ergo Clear switch, but it’s listed with 40cN of actuation force (the amount of force needed to get a key to register a press), and 55cN of operating force (the amount needed to push past the tactile bump). For reference, Cherry’s MX Brown has slightly higher 45cN of actuation force, but the same 55cN of operating force. The pre-existing MX Clear has 55cN of actuation force and 65cN of operating force.

Diagram of MX Ergo Clear switch. — *A cross-section of the MX Ergo Clear switch showing its stem (the white block in the middle) and spring.*

Although Cherry argues that offering the official Ergo Clear switch will save users the hassle of performing the mod themselves, the fact is that many people were already avoiding it by buying one of the many third-party Ergo Clear-style switches that have cropped up over the years to capitalize on demand. One notable early imitator was the Zealio, which was manufactured by Cherry competitor Gateron. Numerous manufacturers now produce switches based on Cherry’s MX switch design after the company’s patent expired.

With its official version of the MX Ergo Clear, Cherry appears to finally be responding to the demand for a tactile switch that, until now, has only been available via DIY modifications or competing manufacturers. Cherry’s press release doesn’t list exact pricing or a release date for the new switches (we’ve followed up for more details and will update this story if we hear back) but notes that they’ll be available from “official distributors” as well as being built directly into upcoming off-the-shelf keyboards. The switch will be available in both RGB and non-RGB varieties, as well as in three and five-pin versions.

Antony Blinken’s visit to Silicon Valley underscores US cybersecurity concerns

The secretary of state was meeting tech executives to discuss national security even as US public is increasingly skeptical of industry

The US secretary of state visited Silicon Valley this week, on a trip that experts say highlights the Biden administration’s growing concerns over cybersecurity and officials’ push to collaborate more closely with the US’s powerful tech industry.

Antony Blinken on Monday spoke at Stanford University and was scheduled to meet with tech executives to “highlight the key role for technology diplomacy in advancing US economic and national security”, according to the state department.

Ceefax is dead, long live Ceefax! Meet the fans resurrecting the ingenious service

101, 102, 103, 104 … It wasn’t fast, but it was breathtakingly revolutionary, and Ceefax still has its share of devotees, 10 years after it was turned off. They explain how they are keeping the newsfeed alive

It is 10 years since Ceefax ceased to be, at 23:32:19 BST on 23 October 2012, when the last analogue TV signal was switched off in Northern Ireland. It seems longer ago than that – probably because most of us had stopped using it years earlier. With its pixelated graphics and agonisingly slow rolling screens, it had long since been usurped by new media.

But if Ceefax was a relic by the end, it’s easy to forget that its birth was an information revolution, and a breathtaking technological accomplishment. It was a precursor to the world wide web, only without the porn and arguments. In his eulogy to the service, Guardian columnist Barney Ronay pithily referred to it as “the horse-drawn internet”.

Best podcasts of the week: What it’s like to lose your unvaccinated father and brother to Covid

In this week’s newsletter: We Were Three, from the makers of Serial, delves into a story of strained family relationships brought to a head by the pandemic – and vaccine misinformation

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mercredi 19 octobre 2022

M3gan’s serving Small Wonder with a side of murder in its first trailer

A tight shot of a very lifelike but decidedly off-putting and unsettling doll made to look like a young girl with abnormally large eyes that are piercing blue. The doll is making a visibly judgmental face and is flanked on either side by regular stuffed animals. — M3gan the doll sitting among her fellow playthings. | Universal Pictures

The poster alone for Universal’s upcoming horror M3gan, from director Gerard Johnstone, was enough to make it seem like the feature might be worthy of a spot in the great killer doll canon. But watching the movie’s trailer, it’s clear that M3gan’s going for a very of-the-moment kind of madness that owes just as much to Tesla’s totally real and almost functional robots as it does the Child’s Play franchise and classics like Small Wonder.

Written by Akela Cooper and co-producer James Wan, M3gan tells the tale of Gemma (Allison Williams), a roboticist whose work and personal life collide when her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is suddenly orphaned after a car accident. Though Gemma’s not exactly keen on raising a child herself, in Cady, she sees an opportunity to test out M3gan (voiced by Jenna Davis), a sophisticated android she and her fellow engineers built to be the ultimate friend and companion to lonely children.

Though M3gan very much becomes that for Cady in the new trailer, it isn’t long before the robot’s pleasantries are overridden by her prime directive to protect her human charge and she starts acting more like one of those mechanical dogs Boston Dynamics swears it’ll never weaponize. M3gan’s definitely got the whole creepy doll thing down, and it looks like the movie’s sense of humor’s going to contrast well with the sheer amount of gore it’ll feature. But we won’t know just how M3gan stacks up against the likes of true legends like Annabelle until the movie hits theaters next year on January 6th. It was originally scheduled for release on the 13th, but Deadline reports it has been moved up a week.

Update, October 19th, 7:30PM ET: Updated to note a new release date.

I Tried the $1,500 Quest Pro and Saw the Best of the Metaverse

I Tried the $1,500 Quest Pro and Saw the Best of the Metaverse It’s not what Mark Zuckerberg promises.

Report Finds Biometric Data Threatened by Social Media

biometric authenication of fingerprint on smartphone

The Trend Micro report cited, as an example, the #EyeMakeup hashtag on Instagram, which has nearly 10 million posts, and #EyeChallenge on TikTok, with more than two billion views, exposing iris patterns good enough to pass iris scanners. The post Report Finds Biometric Data Threatened by Social Media appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

SpaceX’s satellite internet service is coming to planes with Starlink Aviation

A plane equipped with Starlink’s Aero Terminal. — *Internet is provided via the Aero Terminal, seen on top of the aircraft.* | Image: SpaceX

SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink will soon be available on select airplanes with the official launch of Starlink Aviation next year, the company has announced. It claims the service will offer internet speeds of up to 350Mbps to each plane equipped with its Aero Terminal, which it says is fast enough for video calls, online gaming, “and other high data rate activities.”

It’s certainly a big leap up from the typical speeds offered by most in-flight Wi-Fi. OneZero reports that most flights either use air-to-ground systems which top out at around 10Mbps per flight (and only work while flying over land), while current satellite systems typically offer between 30Mbps and 100Mbps. Since these speeds are per plane, actual speeds can vary depending on the number of passengers using the internet in each flight.

Support pages on SpaceX’s site claim that its internet connections will be available throughout taxi, takeoff, flight over both land and water, and landing, with latency as low as 20ms. “Starlink Aviation will have global coverage,” an FAQ reads. “Since the satellites are moving in low-earth orbit, there are always satellites overhead or nearby to provide a strong signal at high latitudes and in polar regions — unlike with geo-stationary satellites.” Deliveries are expected to start in mid-2023.

With Starlink, passengers will be able to access high-speed, low-latency internet from the moment they walk on their plane → https://t.co/bcn8jvpKgi pic.twitter.com/mDDQou1ZA3
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 19, 2022

On a recent test flight, Aviacionline reports that Starlink Aviation was able to offer 100Mbps internet speed onboard. The demonstration was conducted on a flight between Burbank and San José, California by JSX, which in April announced it would be one of the first air carriers to adopt the inflight internet service.

In September, JSX CEO Alex Wilcox said he expects to start making it available to passengers this month, and have each one of the company’s planes equipped with the system by the end of the year. Hawaiian Airlines also announced an agreement with Starlink in April, with installation expected to begin next year.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has long discussed the company’s plans to offer its Starlink internet service to planes. In March 2021, SpaceX filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to authorize Starlink to be used on moving platforms. “This is for aircraft, ships, large trucks & RVs,” Musk tweeted shortly afterwards. Since then, we’ve seen Starlink Maritime announced for boats and Starlink RV for mobile homes.

TechScape: Kanye’s dark twisted social media fantasy

The artist now known as Ye wants to buy the ‘free-speech’ social network Parler after being banned from major sites. But hopes for a rightwing splinternet, where anything goes, is not so easy

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Kanye West is buying rightwing social network Parler for an undisclosed sum. From our story:

The purchase by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” he said in a statement.

The Competition and Markets Authority told Meta in November that the only way to resolve competition concerns was to dispose of Giphy, the largest supplier of animated gifs to social networks such as Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter, which it acquired two years ago for $400m (£290m).

Meta appealed against the decision, which the regulator said would “protect millions of social media users” and stop Facebook “increasing its significant power in social media”, which was upheld by the Competition Appeal Tribunal on five of the six grounds challenged.

Lyft now lets you reserve parking spaces

A hand holding a mobile phone displaying the Lyft app. The person is sat in the drivers seat of a car. — The new Lyft parking feature allows users to search for and reserve parking spaces directly within the app. | Image: Lyft

Lyft users can now search, reserve, and pay for parking spaces from the app in cities across the US, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Drivers can access the new Lyft Parking feature by tapping the steering wheel icon located on the bottom-right corner of the Lyft app, according to Lyft’s website.

The parking reservation feature is made possible by a partnership between Lyft and SpotHero, a Chicago-based parking company, and is available through both the iOS and Android versions of the Lyft app.

The Lyft app parking feature being demonstrated, going through the process of finding and reserving a space. — The Lyft parking feature will show available spaces with pricing, much like a hotel reservation.

The SpotHero service is available in over 300 cities across the US and Canada but it’s unclear which cities are covered by the Lyft integration. Lyft only says that “Lyft Parking is currently available in select US markets.”

A demonstration of the new parking feature displays available parking spaces marked on a map with clearly labeled prices, much like an online hotel reservation. Users can search for available space at their final destination and then follow the in-app instructions and scan a QR code to reserve it. Those wanting to use the feature will need to add their license plate number and other car details to the app.

Logitech updates Crayon stylus with the USB-C port missing from the Apple Pencil

Logitech Crayon stylus. — *The Logitech Crayon, complete with USB-C charging port.* | Image: Logitech

Logitech has released an updated version of its Crayon stylus to coincide with the announcement of Apple’s new iPads. The new stylus costs the same as the old model, $69.95, but now features a USB-C charging port rather than Lightning — a helpful change given the 10th-generation iPad’s switch from Lightning to USB-C.

The change means that the Logitech Crayon arguably has a much more elegant charging mechanism than Apple’s first-party $99 Pencil when used with the base-level iPad. Logitech’s new stylus can charge using just the USB-C cable that comes with the tablet — no fiddly USB-C-to-Lightning adapter required. The wirelessly-charging second-generation Apple Pencil isn’t compatible with Apple’s new entry-level iPad.

Apple’s product page notes that the Crayon can go up to seven hours on a single charge, compared to 12 hours for the Apple Pencil. MacRumors also notes that Logitech’s stylus doesn’t have the pressure sensitivity of Apple’s first party model. But when you’re talking about an accessory for Apple’s most affordable tablet range, these kinds of budget-conscious tradeoffs could be worth it.

mardi 18 octobre 2022

‘They said: aren’t you that porn star?’ The woman hunting down image-based abuse

Mia Landsem, whose ex spread an intimate photo of her online, now spends hours each day helping others get images removed

“Faces of exes,” Mia Landsem read out loud, as she clicked on a link to a forum exposing intimate images of ex-girlfriends, her frowning brow illuminated by a three-screen computer. On the 25-year-old’s neck, underneath wisps of blond hair, are tattooed reminders in Norwegian to be “brave” and “don’t give a fuck.” An internet security expert by day, by night she has made it her mission to hunt down and report such images from her apartment in Oslo. “I try to focus on the worst ones,” she said. “I can maybe get a few groups removed in a day, but then 20 more appear.”

Digital image-based sexual abuse – a catch-all phrase that includes deepfake pornography, so-called “upskirting” and “revenge porn”, a term rejected by activists for implying the victim has done something wrong – is a global problem on the rise. Almost three out of four victims are women, according to a 2019 study by the University of Exeter. But there are male victims and female perpetrators.

Google TV now lets parents create watchlists for their kids

Image: Google

Google TV added kids profiles to the platform in 2021, giving young viewers their own portal designed to showcase only age-appropriate content. Today, the company is building upon kids profiles with new features, including parent-managed watchlists, recommendations on the homescreen, and supervised usage of the normal YouTube app. All of these software capabilities begin rolling out today and will continue to reach Google TV customers over the next several weeks.

Managed watchlists are exactly what they sound like: parents can add movies and TV shows to a universal watchlist that will appear on the child’s Google TV homescreen. This will make it easy for them to progress from one video to the next. Adding content to a kids profile is simple: just select a movie or TV show as you normally would, press the watchlist button, and choose the right account.

An image of Google TV’s new parent-managed watchlist. — *Parents can add age-appropriate content that’s easy for kids to access.*

Google is also bringing specific content recommendations directly to the homescreen for kids profiles. Until now, that homescreen has just displayed various kid-friendly streaming apps — but without the actual recs that appear on adult accounts. According to the company, these recommendations are “based on the apps you’ve added and the rating settings you’ve set.” Google notes it’s easy to hide anything you don’t want to appear on the homescreen again.

And lastly, Google is trying to create a natural pipeline for moving young viewers up and onward from YouTube Kids and get them using the regular YouTube app — with adult supervision along the way. “If you have older kids in your home that are ready to move on from YouTube Kids, Google TV now supports a supervised experience on YouTube, so they can start exploring more of what YouTube has to offer with their Google TV kids profile,” Google TV product manager Saleh Altayyar wrote in today’s blog post. “This experience comes with content settings for pre-teens and older, adjusts the features your child can use, and lets you block channels and manage additional controls through the YouTube mobile app.”

Opening up the full YouTube vault to younger users seems like the biggest gamble of Google’s new steps, but there’s nothing forcing parents to take that step until they’re ready. These new kid-centric features come alongside a redesigned Family Link app that Google is introducing today. The new version makes it easier and quicker to find commonly used tools and features, and there’s now a Highlights tab that “shows a snapshot of your child’s app usage, screen time and recently installed apps.”

FedEx is shutting down its robot delivery program

An image of a white wheeled robot crossing the road. — *FedEx’s Roxo robot was able to navigate autonomously, but was overseen by human operators at all times.* | Image: FedEx

FedEx is stopping development of its last-mile delivery robot, Roxo. The news was first reported by Robotics 24/7, with FedEx confirming to the publication that the company would be shifting focus away from the bot to more “nearer-term opportunities.”

Roxo was announced in 2019 as a collaboration with DEKA, makers of the iBot wheelchair, which used multiple sets of wheels to “walk” up and down stairs, and raise its user from a sitting level to eye-height. Roxo also used multiple sets of wheels to climb steps and curbs. The robot had a top speed of 10mph, a cargo capacity of 100lbs (45kg), and was able to autonomously navigate around cars and pedestrians using cameras and LIDAR sensors. Human operators were used to oversee its movements and steer it manually if necessary.

A photograph of a delivery robot with a screen on the front saying “Stopped.” — *Roxo’s design included a screen to communicate information to passersby.*

Fedex’s chief transformation officer, Sriram Krishnasam, announced to staff this week that development of Roxo (part of an internal project named DRIVE) was shutting down.

“Although robotics and automation are key pillars of our innovation strategy, Roxo did not meet necessary near-term value requirements for DRIVE,” wrote Krishnasam, according to internal emails obtained by Robotics 24/7. “Although we are ending the research and development efforts, Roxo served a valuable purpose: to rapidly advance our understanding and use of robotic technology.”

Roxo had been trialled in various locations, including in the US, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan. FedEx said the robot was designed to travel in a three-to-five mile radius of local delivery centers, and previously said its “most advanced testing period” would be in 2021.

Roxo’s closure follows news earlier this month that Amazon is also stopping field tests of its last-mile delivery robot, Scout. Amazon said it’s not stopping development of the robot entirely but merely “scaling the program back.” The company said aspects of the program “weren’t meeting customers’ needs,” but didn’t go into detail as to why.

Nothing hikes price of Ear 1 earbuds by 50 percent

Nothing Ear 1 earbud. — *The Ear 1 earbuds released last year for $99.* | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Nothing is hiking the price of its debut Ear 1 earbuds from $99 to $149, the company’s CEO Carl Pei has announced. Citing “an increase in costs,” Pei said that the new price will come into effect on October 26th. No price changes were announced for Nothing’s more recently-announced Phone 1 smartphone.

In a followup tweet, Pei justified the price increase by noting the amount of development effort that’s gone into the earbuds since their original release last year. “When we started developing it, we only had 3 engineers,” the CEO said. “A year later, we have 185. During this time, the Ear 1 has received 15 firmware and tuning updates, and is a completely different product to when we launched it.”

When we started developing it, we only had 3 engineers. A year later, we have 185. During this time, the Ear (1) has received 15 firmware and tuning updates, and is a completely different product to when we launched it.
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 18, 2022

Inflation has become a significant problem across many of the world’s largest economies this year, and consumer tech has increasingly been caught in the crossfire. As a London-based company, it’s likely that Nothing has also been hit by the pound’s recent slump in value.

It’s an unfortunate price increase given that a lot of the appeal of the Ear 1 was the amount of functionality it offered at a relatively affordable price.

There’s lithium in them thar hills – but fears grow over US ‘white gold’ boom

The treasured mineral is critical for electric vehicles and could help slow global heating, but locals worry about the harmful extraction near tribal land

Deep in the parched landscapes of Nevada, there is a stirring boom. The mining of lithium holds the promise of a treasured resource that can help slow disastrous global heating.

Spurred by a growing demand for battery parts essential for electric vehicles, the US’s only major lithium mine, in Silver Peak, a remote outpost situated in desert scrub and nascent Joshua trees a three-hour drive north of Las Vegas, is doubling its production.

Noise cameras to be trialled in England to tackle ‘boy racers’

Government-backed scheme aims to crack down on road users who breach legal noise limits

Noise-detecting traffic cameras will be trialled in four areas in England in an attempt to crack down on “boy racers” who rev engines and use illegal exhausts, the Department for Transport has announced.

The so-called noise cameras will be installed on the roadside in Bradford on Tuesday, before a rollout in Bristol, Great Yarmouth and Birmingham over the next two months.

Fortnite’s Halloween update will turn you into a werewolf

Fortnitemares promotional art. — Image: Epic Games

Spooky season has arrived in Fortnite. The game’s most recent patch has ushered in Fortnitemares, the annual Halloween event, and it includes the ability to turn into a werewolf.

As part of the update, there’s now a DJ hanging out at the Reality Tree, and players can perform a ritual to get access to an item called “howler claws” that results in the werewolf transformation. (If you don’t play Fortnite, I promise that sentence actually makes sense.) With the claws equipped, you’ll have a sense ability to find other players, a new melee attack, and a double jump. It sounds similar to the wraith-like abilities from 2020.

Elsewhere, the update also brings a new Zero Build version of the classic horde rush mode, the return of Halloween-themed items like candy and a pumpkin launcher, and a handful of quests to unlock free in-game items. Fortnitemares runs from now until November 1st.

Fortnite kicked off its latest season a month ago, and it includes new features like a metallic substance that can turn you into a chrome blob. Throw in werewolves, and Epic’s battle royale is as strange as it’s ever been.

lundi 17 octobre 2022

Schneider Electric Ups the Ante on Smart Energy Management

Schneider Electric North America President Aamir Paul delivering a keynote at Innovation Summit 2022

Schneider Electric used Innovation World to announce four new solutions that provide companies with the apparatuses and assistance they need to strategize, digitize and decarbonize their daily operations, hasten sustainability goals and address the current energy calamity. These capabilities eliminate many of the globe's most potent greenhouse gases from energy-based infrastructures. The post Schneider Electric Ups the Ante on Smart Energy Management appeared first on TechNewsWorld.