Tuesday, February 08, 2022

Tuesday Technology News and More

Technology News and More...




1KHow-To Geek / 15h
In the coming years, carmakers will begin to launch ultra-long-range EVs like the Lucid Air and Tesla Roadster. But a third, very strange Norwegian EV could also join the mix. Fresco is now showing off the Fresco XL, an “electric POD” that can travel 620 miles on a single charge. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



Frontier Spirit Airlines•
There’s some major consolidation coming to the ultra low cost airline industry in the United States, and this seemingly came out of nowhere. Spirit Airlines & Frontier Airlines merger details Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines have announced a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine, creating America’s largest ultra low cost carrier. It’s argued that: The airlines ha



4KGizmodo / 11h
Before Disney+ , the relationship between Marvel movies and Marvel shows was always a little weird . At first, shows like Agents of SHIELD or Jessica Jones would mention events in the movies. Sometimes they’d even base stories around them. But as the shows went on, those connections became less frequent, and when Marvel… Read more...

TODAY



TechCrunch / 4min
A lot of SaaS products are sold on flat-rate subscriptions. But there is a growing trend, especially among more price-conscious customers, to demand more granular pricing, and we now live in a world where a mix of data science, predictive analytics and cloud computing can make that feasible. Today, one of the companies building tools to meet that demand — a startup called m3ter — is coming out of



Booming in a depressed market, battery-powered vehicles are a plus for the climate but pose a big threat to carmakers and parts suppliers that are slow to change.



TechCrunch / 19min
French startup Silvr has raised a $20.6 million (€18 million) Series A funding round and has opened a $128 million (€112 million) debt line for its activities. Silvr wants to offer new credit opportunities for e-commerce and software-as-a-service companies. Essentially, it wants to bring the Pipe and Clearco experience to Europe. XAnge, Otium, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and ISAI are participating in toda
YESTERDAY



SoftBank Nvidia Arm•
Engadget / 54min
NVIDIA's has abandoned its plans to purchase ARM, the UK-based business that licenses chip technology used in most smartphones, NVIDIA and Softbank announced . The deal collapsed on Monday, a year and a half after NVIDIA revealed that it was purchasing the Softbank-owned chip business for cash and stock then valued at $40 billion. Based on NVIDIA's current stock prices, the deal would've been wor



SoftBank Nvidia Arm•
The sale of Cambridge-based Arm to Nvidia of the US has faced regulatory hurdles around the world.



SoftBank Nvidia Arm•
39TechCrunch / 2h
Nvidia’s deal to acquire Arm is off, the two companies and Arm’s owner SoftBank announced (PDF) tonight. SoftBank and Nvidia today agreed to drop their efforts to acquire Arm. With this, there is also a major leadership change at Arm. The company’s current CEO, Simon Segars, is leaving his post, effective today, with Rene Haas , the president of Arm’s IP group (and former Nvidia VP and general ma



Companies like Opendoor opened the door to a new way of buying and selling properties by inserting a strong middle player who could buy in houses or apartments and redevelop them at scale, and then sell them to new homeowners at a profit. Now Clikalia , another player in the so-called iBuyer space, has raised €75 million ($86 million) to take that model to markets in Europe and Latin America. The



TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to the Instoried AI content checker is on sale for £28.83, saving you 98% on list price. Anyone can write content for their business. But not everyone can write good content that actually converts. Injecting a little soul and feeling into your writing can go a long way in persuading folks to click through and learn more about your products and services. And that’s w



TL;DR: The Complete SEO Checklist Bundle is on sale for £36.23, saving you 88% on list price. Sick of hearing about SEO? We hate to break it to you, but its time in the spotlight is not over. It’s just changing. If you’re a business owner, marketer, writer, an influencer trying to make a name for yourself, or virtually anyone trying to sell anything online, SEO is still a vital part of your proce



SAVE 49%: fuboTV subscribers can stream the 2022 Beijing Olympics in 4K with no extra charge. Watch for free with a discounted subscription to ExpressVPN — 49% off for a limited time. The Winter Olympics takes place in Beijing in 2022, with the very best athletes going head-to-head from Feb. 4–20. The good news for fans is that fuboTV is streaming the 2022 Beijing Olympics in 4K, with no extra ch



Bluey Airbnb Heeler•
32Mashable / 3h
A real life recreation of the house from Bluey has been listed on Airbnb , packed with references to the beloved Australian children's cartoon. It looks like the perfect wholesome escape all of us could use right now. Following the titular six-year-old and her family of Australian Cattle Dogs, Bluey is like a window into an ideal yet still recognisable world. The bright show is full of warmth, hu



For years, open-source software in China was only attracting developers and was poorly understood by returns-seeking investors. But they are finally having a moment like their Western counterparts. The latest open source project to get funded in China is Taichi Graphics , a 10-month old startup that aims to make 3D content creation easier. It operates Taitopia, a cloud-based platform for 3D graph



SoftBank Nvidia Arm•
The deal, which was initially valued at $40 billion, encountered regulatory scrutiny, including an F.T.C. lawsuit.



Vietnam YC App Infina•
37TechCrunch / 6h
Retail investment apps in Southeast Asia attracted a lot of funding last year , and the trend looks set to continue with Vietnam-focused Infina announcing that it has added $4 million to its seed funding. Along with the $2 million it announced in June, this brings the round’s total to $6 million. Investors include Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program, Y Combinator, Saison Capital, Starling Ventu



Chris Davies/SlashGear All good things come to an end, they say, but sometimes those things come to an end too soon and with little reason. After three years in service, the Pixel 3 and its larger sibling, the Pixel 3 XL, are getting their very last maintenance update, one that’s arriving a bit later than expected. Unfortunately, the end of software updates … Continue reading



Gizmodo / 6h
Apple recently acquired AI Music, a startup that creates soundtracks by using artificial intelligence to piece together sounds from royalty-free music. The purchase of the London-based company was reportedly completed in recent weeks, according to unnamed sources speaking with Bloomberg . Read more...



The photo widget on iOS is perfect for anyone who enjoys the chaos of shuffling their liked songs in public. One moment you're listening to Idles and looking at a picture of your niece and the next thing you know, Ed Sheeran is blasting through the speakers and you're watching a series of blurry photos of food you don't remember taking. Apple's ‌Photos‌ widget allows you to have a few rotating "f



Samsung Galaxy Watch 4•
Samsung has today announced a new update for its Galaxy Watch 4 wearable line, with a number of fitness and wellness upgrades arriving simultaneous to the company's anticipated Unpacked 2022 event (Feb 9), where we also expect to see the launch of the Galaxy S22 lineup . The update will bring "body composition insights" to Samsung Health, powered by Centr – an app with fitness regimes curated by



SoftBank Nvidia Arm•
100+Ars Technica / 7h
Enlarge (credit: Arm ) SoftBank’s $66 billion sale of UK-based chip business Arm to Nvidia collapsed on Monday after regulators in the US, UK, and EU raised serious concerns about its effects on competition in the global semiconductor industry, according to three people with direct knowledge of the transaction. The deal, the largest ever in the chip sector, would have given California-based Nvidi



Moderna Omicron Booster•
Enlarge / A vial of the current Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Ivan Romano ) In a small group of monkeys, an omicron-specific version of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine did not protect against the omicron variant better than Moderna's current, highly effective booster. This finding casts doubt on whether a switch to variant-specific doses is necessary. The study was led by researchers at t




27TechCrunch / 7h
Bruce Dahlgren Contributor Bruce Dahlgren is CEO of MetricStream , a risk management (IRM) and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) company. Browsing travel options on Google Flights, you may have noticed that airlines have begun to incorporate carbon emissions data into their offerings to consumers. As a frequent flyer, all things — including price — being equal, I’ll always choose the more car



Amanda Seyfried Holmes•
Amanda Seyfried stars as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu's new original series, The Dropout . Regular Ars readers have no doubt been following our ongoing coverage of the Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial. The disgraced Theranos founder's meteoric rise and equally rapid fall has already been the subject of a 2018 nonfiction book and the HBO documentary feature, The Inventor: Out for Blood in



Ford Production Chip•
Chris Davies/Shutterstock The global chip shortage is hitting Ford’s production numbers, the automaker has revealed, forcing it to temporarily reduce the number of select models it produces. Among the vehicles impacted by the shortage is the Ford F-150, the most popular pickup truck in the United States, as well as the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco SUV. According to Reuters, the production change … C



Gizmodo / 7h
Here’s what you need to know about the new TV show Sunny : Rashida Jones . Robot. Plane crash mystery . Seriously, what more do you need to know? Read more...



I didn’t have much interest in streaming Paramount+ but there’s a lot of content. My wife, daughter or I will certainly watch it once in the next 18 months making it worthwhile. I’ve set a calendar reminder to cancel before the service renews (and I also used a credit card that expires before that happens). Continue reading ...



Indie games developers are nervous they will be squeezed out if the big firms' dominance grows.



detroitluv : Looks like it should be a poster 📷: @joeydpics #detroit #detroitlove #detroitness #detroitpics #detroiters #motown #motorcity #puremichigan #thebrakeman #detroitfoodie #detroitbars (at Detroit, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZsVlRzvPUk/?utm_medium=tumblr



Porn Sites Verify UK•
Users may be asked to prove they own a credit card or confirm their age, under new UK rules.



Selina UK $150M Equity•
21TechCrunch / 8h
For many of us, our home is by far our biggest asset, and in the world of fintech, that’s led to a logical extension: when you need money, borrow against that biggest asset. Today, a London fintech called Selina , which provides flexible capital to consumers on five-year terms against up to 85% of the value of their homes — so-called Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) loans — is announcing $150 m



Morai , which provides autonomous vehicle developers with automotive simulation tools to verify the safety and reliability of self-driving systems, announced today it has raised $20.8 million (25 billion KRW) in a Series B funding round as it wants to increase its global presence, specifically into the U.S., Germany, Japan and Singapore. The fresh capital was led by Korea Investment Partners alon



Samsung Unpacked Metaverse•
Electronics giant Samsung announced that its upcoming Unpacked event , to be aired this Wednesday, will be accessible in both virtual reality and actual reality. Metaverse-minded fans can watch the event at 837X, a recreation of Samsung’s flagship New York City store location, recreated within virtual reality platform Decentraland . What makes Samsung’s venture into the metaverse so interesting i



100+Gizmodo / 8h
I’ve found myself, even in this impending flood of more new Star Trek than ever, returning to Voyager recently. No matter how many times I’ve seen the show in its entirety, it still surprises me just how much of its first season immediately dives into the well of the titular ship’s crew seemingly finding a way to… Read more...



insta_photos/Shutterstock The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its latest COVID-19 vaccination numbers on February 7, 2022, revealing more than 75-percent of people in the US have received at least one vaccine dose. As well, the agency’s data tracker shows 90 million people have received the COVID-19 booster shot and more than half of kids ages 5 and … Continue reading



83Futurism / 8h
Wizard Fingers Ready to shoot magic energy bolts out of your fingers? Of course you are! And you can, mostly, with an awesome new iPhone-based augmented reality experiment that game enthusiast and HoloForge Interactive CTO Olivier Goguel created and posted this morning. “Welcome to my ‘Let’s all be Wizards’ experiment!” Goguel captioned his video on LinkedIn . In the 53-second clip Goguel shared,



Union Pacific Wabtec•
100+Futurism / 8h
All Aboard President Joe Biden really loves trains. Like, really loves trains . So it’s no surprise he was smiling broadly while announcing Union Pacific’s new purchase of 20 battery-powered locomotives in a video published in late January . According to a UP press release issued last month, the purchase is the largest-ever investment in battery electric technology by a major railroad. Biden said



Three Walk Implant•
100+Futurism / 8h
For the first time ever, an app-based electrical implant has allowed a paralyzed person to walk again. As NBC News reports , Swiss researchers used electrical implants connected to a tablet app to help Michel Roccati become the first person to walk again after a severe spinal injury that he suffered during a 2017 motorcycle accident. Though this is the first time the tech has been used on a paral



Samsung Galaxy 4 Google•
All eyes might be on Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, but the tech giant hasn’t forgotten about folks who wear its signature smartwatch every day. Samsung announced Monday that a new wellness-centric software update for the Galaxy Watch 4 will roll out on Feb. 9, the same day as the Galaxy Unpacked event where the company is expected to reveal the Galaxy S22 line of phones. There are a few new



Amazon's latest sale is slashing the price on the best-selling Kindle and Fire tablets with up to 50% off in savings and prices starting at just $34.99 . Today's massive sale is the perfect opportunity to grab Amazon's best-selling devices at a record-low price. Amazon's Fire tablets allow you to watch all your favorite movies and TV shows from apps like Netflix, Hulu, and more, or you can cozy u



28TechCrunch / 9h
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PST, subscribe here . Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for Monday, February 7, 2022! Welcome back to the working week, team. Here’s hoping you got some sleep over the weekend because we’re still in a busy tech cycle. That means lots of news from technology companies big and small. But



Samsung Galaxy 4 Google•
Samsung Samsung today announced a new update for the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup, and it seems to be all over the place in terms of new features. Not only will watches in the Galaxy Watch 4 series get new body composition features presented by a familiar celebrity face, but they’ll also receive sleep coaching geared toward helping wearers get better sleep. … Continue reading




Peter Thiel Facebook Meta•
Gizmodo / 9h
It’s the end of an era at Meta. Just last week, the company’s stock buckled after Facebook reported its first decline in daily active users in the company’s history. Now, the company formerly known as Facebook has parted ways with Peter Thiel, one of its longest-serving and most controversial board members. Read more...



For a luxurious, wellness-themed escape from New York City or Boston , folks know that Miraval Berkshires, part of World of Hyatt, is one of the best options in New England — and it’s about to get a little bigger. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter . Miraval Berkshires (located in Lenox, Massachusetts) is one of three outposts of the wellness



Samsung Galaxy 4 Google•
Gizmodo / 9h
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 was an exciting development in Android smartwatches because it brought Samsung and Google together to make Google’s watch software platform better. But, weirdly, the best Android watch lacked a major Android feature: Google Assistant. Samsung today said that’s about to change. Read more...



Your friendly neighborhood Max Q welcomes you to the week of February 7! This past week saw some strong signs that the big boom in commercial space for the foreseeable future is going to land in Earth observation. It’s not like this has been an ignored market in the past: GPS is basically a type of EO. But changes in market dynamics, as well as cost and availability of related technologies (not t



40Gizmodo / 9h
A few years ago we compiled a list of nerdy romantic (or at least thematically relevant) movies to stream on Valentine’s Day , including titles like 13 Going on 30 and My Bloody Valentine . (We did that a few times , actually .) Those recommendations still stand, but if you need a fresh list of sweet (and bittersweet)… Read more...



Congress US FCC Huawei ZTE•
The US government’s bill for removing and replacing telecom equipment made by Chinese vendors could be billions more than previously thought. Chinese vendors have largely been excluded from the US market due to ongoing concerns about security, with major carriers opting to use radio equipment from Ericsson, Nokia, and others. However, several smaller providers still use kit from the likes of Huaw



100+Ars Technica / 9h
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Ars Technica ) All too often, digital ads wind up improperly targeting the most vulnerable people online, including abuse victims and kids . Add to that list the customers of several digital-medicine and genetic-testing companies, whose sites used ad-tracking tools that could have exposed information about people's health status. In a recent study from researchers



Amazon Q4 AWS•
26TechCrunch / 9h
When we think about Amazon, it’s usually about some aspect of its vast retail and logistics operation that allows customers to order just about anything and receive it relatively quickly. But with a market cap of $1.6 trillion, it’s actually a conglomerate of multibillion-dollar businesses. That diversification means it doesn’t have to rely on a single revenue stream, even one as large as its pub



February 2022 Pixel•
Don't expect to receive more updates for your Pixel 3 . Esper's Mishaal Rahman has learned Google is delivering one last security update to the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. The company previously said the Pixel 3 would get one last update in the first quarter of 2022, and confirmed to Engadget this represents the device's last hurrah. It's not certain what the patch fixes. However, DarkPlayer noted the buil



SpaceX Tonga Elon Musk•
How do you provide internet access to a country still reeling from a major disaster? A volcanic eruption has left the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga with limited internet access since Jan. 15. But SpaceX is now working to bring emergency broadband service to the region with the help of Starlink , its satellite internet service. SpaceX plans to establish a gateway ground station on Fiji, which is



Chris Davies / SlashGear Genesis may have been late to the SUV party, but the GV80 showed it wasn’t coming unprepared. Now, it’s the turn of the 2022 Genesis GV70 to demonstrate the larger model was no fluke, and that Hyundai’s luxury arm really does have the magic touch when it comes to SUVs – compact or otherwise. While the top-spec trims are unsurprisingly … Continue reading



63Futurism / 9h
AI-generated images have always been creepy , but one artist’s neural network-guided interpretation of BuzzFeed headlines takes it to a whole new dimension. It appears that these otherworldly images created by generative artist Somnai, whose real name is Max Ingham, were prompted by an interaction with Max Woolf, a BuzzFeed data scientist. While quote-tweeting some of the artist’s “needlepoint” w



Insects Scientists•
87Gizmodo / 10h
Researchers have documented a remarkable behavior among wild chimpanzees: chimps applying insects to wounds on themselves or others, perhaps as a sort of first aid. Little is still known about the practice, but the researchers suspect it to be the latest example of altruistic behavior in nonhuman animals. Read more...



Australia will once again welcome foreign tourists and other visa holders this month as its borders reopen after almost two years . For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter . From Feb. 21, 2022, vaccinated travelers will be allowed to enter Australia with relatively few restrictions, provided that they have proof of full vaccination. At present in A



Nearby Share Chromebooks•
Gizmodo / 10h
One of the reasons people use Apple devices is because they work so seamlessly together. You can easily hand off web-browsing from your iPhone to your Mac, AirDrop photos to friends, or share wifi passwords between devices. Google’s Nearby Share aims to replicate that seamlessness on the Android side, letting you… Read more...



A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips. Continue reading ...



Peter Thiel Facebook Meta•
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced today that board member Peter Thiel will not seek reelection to his post, effectively ending his tenure in the top echelon of the social media company’s leadership. The move is not an enormous surprise. Thiel has been increasingly publicly involved with political activities, including backing several congressional candidates . Given the importance o



Mashable / 10h
When it comes to rituals, few are appreciated more than the daily dose of coffee. Whether it's giving us life first thing in the morning, providing us with a very necessary midday pick-me-up, or just a reason to have our friends to stay a little bit longer after dinner, a lot of us need coffee like we need water and air. It is a nonnegotiable bottom rung in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Getting yo



Pokémon Legends Arceus•
62Gizmodo / 10h
For nearly 26 years, Pokémon games have been predicated on a singular, combative formula: catch Pokémon , train them, fight them, collect badges, be the very best Pokémon trainer there ever was. You can do all that in Pokémon Legends Arceus , but it’s not really the focus. Instead, it asks you to reconsider how you… Read more...



Peter Thiel Facebook Meta•
Engadget / 10h
Peter Thiel is leaving the board of Meta, more than 16 years after becoming one of Facebook's earliest investors. In a statement, Mark Zuckerberg said that “we've always known that at some point he would devote his time to other interests.” The New York Times reported that those interests include “influencing” the upcoming November midterm elections and "backing candidates who support the agenda




Samsung Unpacked Metaverse•
Why shouldn't the most eagerly anticipated Android phone, most likely called Samsung Galaxy S22 , also launch in the most-talked-about virtual space: the Metaverse. When Samsung officially shows off its nifty Android gadgets on February 9 at 10am ET, it'll do so online, in a YouTube video, on social media, and in a virtual re-creation of its downtown New York City location called 837X (the physic



Apple iPhone March•
It’s heavily rumored that Apple’s readying another March event to launch a slew of new gadgets - a new iPhone SE, iPad Air , and possibly new Macs - that’s no surprise, but it could herald one of the most impressive iPhones ever made. Despite Apple’s spring launch not being an annual thing, the wonderfully-named ‘Spring-loaded’ event last year didn’t feel out of the blue - but there did seem to b



SlashGear / 10h
Microsoft Getting a slight head start on February 8th’s Safer Internet Day 2022, Microsoft and Mojang have unveiled a new world for Minecraft: Education Edition that aims to teach kids about staying safe online. The new single-player world, called “CyberSafe: Home Sweet Hmm,” is described as an hour-long way for kids ages 7-12 to learn about online safety and privacy, as … Continue reading



Wordle Nintendo Game Boy•
Engadget / 10h
Even vintage gaming platforms aren't immune to Wordle 's cultural dominance , it seems. Kotaku notes security researcher Stacksmashing has ported the hit word game to the Game Boy. The 1989-era handheld's ROM size prevented him from including the full word list, but he used a (somewhat inaccurate) filter to help the console determine if you're using one of the 8,000 most common English words. The



59Gizmodo / 10h
Well here’s something you don’t see everyday: A discarded Falcon 9 second stage booster that’s going to slam into the Moon. This inevitable impact, predicted for March 4, won’t be visible from Earth, but tomorrow will be our last chance to see this 4-ton chunk of space junk before it permanently drifts away from view. Read more...



Futurism / 10h
Grim Reaper After accruing even more dust during a recent storm, NASA scientists believe that the InSight Mars lander may finally be on its last legs. SpaceNews reports that although the InSight lander has recovered following a huge January dust storm on the red planet, the gradual-yet-significant accumulation of detritus on the craft’s solar panels is drastically reducing its power levels to the



IRS Facial Recognition•
37Ars Technica / 10h
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | imaginima) The Internal Revenue Service is dropping a controversial facial recognition system that requires people to upload video selfies when creating new IRS online accounts. "The IRS announced it will transition away from using a third-party service for facial recognition to help authenticate people creating new online accounts," the agency said today . "The tr



Apple iPhone March•
20Ars Technica / 10h
Enlarge / The 2020 iPhone SE. (credit: Samuel Axon) Once again, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has published a predictive report . This time, Bloomberg's sources have shared details on Apple's upcoming Spring event. The report claims that Apple will host this year's event on March 8, which is a little earlier than usual. And the report names four major announcements expected at the event. In contrast to



Tobii Sony PlayStation•
SlashGear / 10h
Iren Key/Shutterstock Swedish company Tobii has revealed it is negotiating with Sony to potentially serve as its eye-tracking tech partner. Assuming the two reach a business agreement, Tobii says it’ll provide the eye-tracking tech for the Playstation VR2, Sony’s next-generation virtual reality headset. Tobii announced the business talks in a very brief announcement on February 7, 2022, noting th



Peter Thiel Facebook Meta•
The tech billionaire, who has been on the board of the company formerly known as Facebook since 2005, is backing numerous politicians in the midterm elections.



Microsoft Office Macros•
34Ars Technica / 11h
Enlarge (credit: Microsoft ) In the interest of combating ransomware and other malware, Microsoft is planning a major change in how its Office software handles macros : when files that use macros are downloaded from the Internet, those macros will now be disabled entirely by default. Current versions of the software offer an alert banner on these kinds of files that can be clicked through, but th



Matrix HBO Max TMR•
Engadget / 11h
The co-producer of The Matrix Resurrections , in a new lawsuit, is blaming the film’s lackluster box office numbers on a same-day streaming release. According to The Wall Street Journal , Village Roadshow Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit today against Warner Bros., the owner of streaming platform HBO Max. The suit alleges that both the same-day release of The Matrix Resurrections and pushing u



Compared to previous generations, millennials are less likely to own a home with a family of their own . This might have a little something to do with the fact that the average millennial is burdened with nearly $93,000 in debt . And according to CNBC , houses aren’t about to get much more affordable; we can expect to… Read more...



The IRS announced that it would require facial recognition through ID.me to pay taxes. Needless to say, this upset a lot of people, which actually led to the IRS backtracking and announcing that it would no longer be required. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Microsoft Office Macros•
When Microsoft introduced VBA macros to Excel in 1993, the feature was met with overwhelming praise from both individuals and businesses. Macros let you automate tasks within Office documents, but unfortunately, they’re also a vehicle for ransomware. To mitigate the problem, Microsoft will disable macros for all Office files that you download from the internet. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



Channel 4 Paralympics•
68Mashable / 11h
In a step toward even greater representation in the sports world, Channel 4's Paralympic coverage will use a team of presenters and pundits made up entirely of people with disabilities . The 2022 Paralympics Games coverage will include live commentary, a highlights show, and reporters on the ground in Beijing, all led by people and former athletes with disabilities. Channel 4 will also air all ev



China Electric Vehicle•
Mashable / 11h
No gas. No hybrids. Just pure electric. That's the lofty goal of many legacy carmakers that have been making gasoline-powered vehicles for decades. The switch from gas to electric is part of an industry-wide effort to contribute fewer emissions. The U.S. transportation sector alone is responsible for 28 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA . At least 10 automakers are pro



IRS Facial Recognition•
30Mashable / 11h
Activism, it turns out, still gets results. That's the takeaway following a Monday morning announcement that the IRS intends to shift away from requiring Americans use a private facial-recognition service to verify their identities on the IRS website. The about face comes after sustained criticism from privacy experts, grassroots activists, and even elected officials. "This is big," wrote Senator



The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 was released in April 2021, and though it’s an excellent machine in its own right, some might claim it’s more of a refresh of the Surface Laptop 3 than a new machine in its own right. But with the Surface Laptop 5 more likely releasing sometime in 2022, it’s an opportunity for Microsoft to introduce new features and updates that would make the Laptop 5 feel like a t




IRS Facial Recognition•
45TechCrunch / 11h
The IRS announced plans Monday to back away from a third-party facial recognition system that collects biometric data from U.S. taxpayers who want to log in to the agency’s online portal. The IRS says it will abandon the technology, built by a contractor called ID.me, in the coming weeks. The agency says it will instead swap in an “additional authentication process” that doesn’t collect facial im



33Gizmodo / 11h
A new center established by the International Astronomical Union is seeking to protect the interests of astronomers as the number of satellites in Earth orbit continues to climb. Read more...



32Gizmodo / 11h
Give me a moment to put on some noise-canceling headphones so I can block out the latest AirPods Max chatter, because a new rumor going around suggests Apple might nix one of the device’s best features. Read more...



76Lifehacker / 11h
My good friend (and regular Lifehacker contributor) A.A. Newton changed my entire relationship to tofu when she introduced me to pre-fried tofu puffs. If you’ve never had them, they are worth a dedicated trip to your local Asian market. ( Grab some miso while you’re at it.) Read more...



Anyone who flies with Southwest Airlines knows about its fun deals. If you’re looking for an impromptu getaway this weekend, this discount could be for you. Southwest is offering 25% off of flights on select routes in the U.S. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter . (Screenshot courtesy of Southwest) To get this offer use the promotional code 25G



300+Gizmodo / 11h
The release of The Matrix Resurrections was predictably divisive among fans , but apparently the rifts go even deeper than that. Village Roadshow, a co-producer on the film , is suing Warner Bros over a breach of contract regarding the release, citing it as the latest example in a larger plot to distance the companies… Read more...



Meta Horizon Worlds•
45Ars Technica / 11h
Enlarge / In the metaverse the actual boundaries will be invisible, but the results will be the same. (credit: Meta ) In the real world, the idea of personal space is ingrained from a young age and enforced mainly by unspoken interpersonal contract and subtle social pressure. In the world of virtual reality, on the other hand, Facebook parent Meta is now using software enforce a four-foot zone of



Enlarge / This song sparrow would be a better parent if the ravens would just shut up. (credit: Reed Kaestner / Getty Images ) On paper, predators and prey have a pretty straightforward relationship when it comes to population totals. A lion kills a zebra, so there's one less zebra in a herd. However, new research suggests that predators might have a deeper, longer-lasting effect on their prospec



SlashGear / 11h
A9 STUDIO/Shutterstock A set of not-yet-public Windows 11 features have just been discovered in the latest version of the operating system. Although Microsoft hasn’t made this latest set of pre-release features official in announcement form just yet, they’re too exciting not to share — and who knows, they may make it into Windows 11 soon enough. The rumored features include desktop stickers, … Co



Nvidia MX550 GPU Vega•
It seems that the Nvidia GeForce MX550 , Nvidia’s latest low-end discrete GPU for laptops, might not be worth its space in a laptop. Despite the laptop GPU being based on a Turing GPU, it just barely beats out AMD 's Ryzen 9 5900HS Vega iGPU. A leaked Passmark result was spotted by known leaker TUM_APISAK on Twitter, and sees the GPU score 5,014 points. On the G3D Mark test, the Ryzen 9 5900HS Ve



Mashable / 11h
In our Love App-tually series, Mashable shines a light into the foggy world of online dating. After a friend was thrown off by seemingly benign "kudos" on her recent bike ride post on Strava, I saw how the popular workout tracking tool has become more than a place to post personal fitness achievements. The Strava equivalent of a "like," the kudos showed her that a toxic relationship she was tryin



400+Gizmodo / 11h
In a major reversal, the Internal Revenue Service says it will transition away from using ID.me’s controversial facial recognition identity verification software following weeks of public controversy and criticism from privacy groups. Read more...



300+Futurism / 11h
The next time your gym bro asks you about your sick gains, you can tell ’em that you’re only pumping iron for three seconds per day. If it sounds too good to be true, just wait — your new muscular mentorship comes courtesy of scientists who released a study last week in the Scandanavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports demonstrating that even just three seconds of lifting every day is enou



Nintendo Switch 2 Years•
Futurism / 11h
No matter how great a new Nintendo console is, the first iteration can almost always be considered a beta. Upon its first release, the Game Boy Advance still ran on batteries and didn’t even have a backlight. The bulky original Nintendo DS looks practically primitive when compared to the far sleeker Nintendo DS Lite. Early adopters help Nintendo in working out the kinks before a shinier option ma



Israeli Spinal Cord•
500+Futurism / 11h
Nearly every paralyzed mouse scientists operated on in a new experiment were able to walk normally after receiving spinal cord implants. But will it work for humans? Researchers released a new study in the journal Advanced Science this morning, and they’re saying the work may indeed have implications in human medicine. “If this works in humans, and we believe that it will, it can offer all paraly



SlashGear / 12h
Nadezda Murmakova/Shutterstock Every generation has a tragic moment from its childhood that is unforgettable. For the Baby Boomers who were school-aged when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and for the millions of Millennials who bore witness to the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, there is no question that each one has a story about those horrific moments in United States … C



Cash-back credit cards have received quite the hype over the past two years. With many people changing their travel habits, individuals have started to prefer padding their wallets with cash instead of points. Up until a few years ago, the average cash-back card offered 1% to 1.5% cash back — nothing worth writing home about, but some return nonetheless. Now, there are actually several cards that



When you create a numbered list in Google Docs, you might want something different at the start of each list item. You can customize the list to use a prefix before the number or suffix after it, here’s how. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



IRS Facial Recognition•
Engadget / 12h
It didn't take long for the Internal Revenue Service to respond to pressure to drop facial recognition . The agency has told Senator Ron Wyden it plans to back away from using facial recognition for verification purposes. Wyden cautioned the transition would "take time," but he saw this as evidence the Biden administration knew privacy and security weren't "mutually exclusive" concepts. The New Y



ExpressVPN has revealed it is now offering ten times more money to anyone able to uncover security bugs. The company announced, via Bugcrowd’s Bug Bounty program, that it will reward anyone who is able to find and demonstrate a “critical security bug” on ExpressVPN’s in-house technology, TrustedServer, with $100,000. The company’s previous top reward was $10,000. Monitoring user traffic A “critic




February isn't traditionally a big time for GoPro news, but this year's been an exception thanks to the action-cam king's recent earnings call. Unusually, GoPro made some big predictions about its plans for the year ahead – including a pledge to branch out into new "types" of action camera . In a revealing earnings call, transcribed by financial website The Motley Fool , GoPro CEO Nick Woodman sa



The next time you download a Microsoft Office file, you’ll have one less thing to worry about, as Microsoft is blocking Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros by default in downloaded files. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



25Ars Technica / 12h
Enlarge / The atoms (center foreground) alter a laser so it extracts energy from a membrane (blue). (credit: Departement Physik, Universität Basel ) Way back when I was still working in the lab, there was a lot of buzz about something called "coherent control." The basic idea was to take the principles of traditional control theory—the same theory that makes things like cruise control work—and ap



Hyatt’s Miraval Berkshires property is going to be expanding in an interesting way this spring. Wyndhurst Mansion joins Miraval Berkshires It has just been announced that Miraval Berkshires will be expanding as of April 1, 2022. Specifically, Wyndhurst Manor’s Wyndhurst Mansion, three carriage houses, and a historic fine-dining restaurant (1894 Fireside Bistro & Bar), are all being added to the w



Read more...



Valentine’s Day: Love it or hate it, it’s upon us. Whether you are spoiling a significant other, a friend, your kids or yourself, it’s an opportunity to pick up some extra miles while making someone smile. Want more credit card news and travel advice from TPG? Sign up for our free daily newsletter . In This Post Earn up to 30 miles per dollar on flowers If you need to order flowers online to have



Ottawa is under siege from a protest by anti-vaccine mandate truckers. These are mostly non-violent protests, but also shutting down the city. Most of Canada is vaccinated. There's little incremental benefit to requiring this of truckers, who spend most of their work time alone. And truckers tend to do this by choice . Take people choosing to work solo, and try to make them do something, this is



48Gizmodo / 12h
The world’s leading companies are seriously overstating their plans to act on climate change, according to a report released Monday . In findings that should surprise no one, 25 firms, including Google, Unilever, and Walmart, are only on track to reduce emissions by an average of 40%—a far cry from what’s suggested by… Read more...



100+Futurism / 12h
Big Brain Bets Neuralink’s cofounder insists there’s no bad blood between him and his old company — but his investments might suggest otherwise. Max Hodak, the cofounder who left Neuralink in 2021 under mysterious circumstances , has become involved in at least two different rival companies since his departure. Last year, he secured $47 million in funding for a brain interface venture called Scie



Amanda Seyfried Holmes•
Mashable / 12h
"What if you could test your blood in your own home? And what if it wasn't a whole vial, but just a drop?" That was the idea behind Theranos, the health corporation headed by Elizabeth Holmes, whose recent trial became a Silicon Valley spectacle. Hulu's upcoming limited series The Dropout tackles Holmes's story, from her dropping out of Stanford to the founding of Theranos to the fraud that follo



SlashGear / 12h
Chris Davies / SlashGear SUVs and crossovers may have eaten a decent chunk of the sedan market, but there’s still a place for more sporting fare like the 2022 Audi S3. Positively diminutive – in American terms, at least – but, with north of 300 horses on tap, not short on power, the new S3 Sedan is the descendent of a four-door that arguably … Continue reading



200+Gizmodo / 13h
If, for some ungodly reason, you need more evidence of how superheroes have conquered mainstream pop culture, you can stop your search at the ongoing 2022 Winter Olympics . That’s because it’s the place where Joker and Harley Quinn took to the ice-skating rink to do an interpretative routine exploring their troubled,… Read more...



Spotify Daniel Ek Rogan•
31TechCrunch / 13h
In the latest installment of the Spotify-Rogan saga , CEO Daniel Ek sent out a company memo on Sunday addressing Joe Rogan’s use of harmful racial slurs in past episodes of his podcast. Over 70 of these past episodes have now been removed from Spotify. In the memo, which was published by The Hollywood Reporter , Ek declared that Spotify will invest $100 million in the licensing, development and m



Apple Dutch App Store•
21TechCrunch / 13h
The bill for Apple’s antitrust stand off in the Netherlands over dating apps’ payment methods has ticked up by another €5 million — and now stands at €15M, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) confirmed today. The penalty relates to an order by the competition authority requiring Apple to allow local dating apps to use third party payment providers for sales of digital content, rather th



31TechCrunch / 13h
Gary Little Contributor Prior to becoming CEO of Foursquare, Gary was MD of Raine, leading the technology practice with a focus on advisory assignments and principal investments in consumer internet, enterprise software and emerging technology. In the current environment, businesses are now tasked with balancing the push toward recovery and developing the agility required to stay on top of reemer



There’s no question that Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the most exciting new premium rewards card of the last couple of years. It has a huge up front bonus offer, strong points-earning, airport lounge access and a host of premium benefits. Here are the 19 things I’m loving about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Continue reading ...



Do you fancy a GIF on a website or in a message someone sent you? You can save that and any other GIFs to your iPhone’s Camera Roll, giving you quick access to them for viewing and sharing. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Despite its popularity, the Pixel 6 has been plagued by bugs since its launch. Google has been slow to resolve the phone’s many problems, and even delayed its important December update by a full month. But finally, Google has released a Pixel 6 update on schedule. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



One of the best parts about buying into the Apple ecosystem is AirDrop, the tool that lets you send files, photos, and Wi-Fi login credentials between iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Google has slowly added new features to its AirDrop clone, called Nearby Share, which could soon gain a very important time-saving feature. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



If you’re tired of building and releasing your application manually, it might be time to set up a CI/CD pipeline. Github Actions makes this process easy and free for most projects, and can save you time by automating your app’s building process. Read This Article on CloudSavvy IT ›




For a long time, many of us assumed that what we did directly before bed made the sole difference to how well we slept. But research is now showing us that how we start our day, and what we do in our waking hours, also plays a role in our ability to sleep at night. To unpick this further, we spoke to Anne-Sophie Fluri, neuroscientist and Head of Mindfulness at MindLabs , a new mental wellness app



Tornados are impressive and terrifying meteorological events born from large thunderstorms. The swirling wind that makes up these vortices can reach speeds up to 300 mph and destroy anything in its path. Deadly! Read more...



100+The Points Guy / 13h
If you’re in the mood for fish and chips or some haggis, then this deal to the U.K. might be for you. American and Air Canada are offering round-trip fares to London, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland, from major U.S. cities. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter . (Photo by f11photo/Shutterstock.com) Deal basics Airlines: American Airlines, Air C



Amanda Seyfried Holmes•
Engadget / 13h
Hulu has dropped the first trailer for The Dropout, a miniseries about the failed blood-testing startup Theranos. Amanda Seyfried stars as its embattled former CEO , Elizabeth Holmes . The two-and-a-half-minute preview shows Holmes dropping out of Stanford to found Theranos. It includes snippets of the company's high points (it raised more than $700 million in investments) and hints at its very p



Ghostwire Tokyo 20•
Ghostwire: Tokyo is set to come out in a little over a month, and the developer has just released the system requirements for the PC version of the game. The system requirements are listed on the Ghostwire: Tokyo Steam page , and they're incredibly easy-going for a game that's only coming out on PS5 and PC. The game only has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 5500 XT listed as its minimum sp



200+Gizmodo / 13h
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has compelled Donald Trump to finally hand over a bunch of official government documents he decided were his personal property when he left office. Read more...



Super Bowl 2022 NFL•
SlashGear / 13h
Michael Zagaris/Getty Images The 2022 Super Bowl is just around the corner, and aside from an armful of snacks, it’s best to be prepared with its full schedule. Where to watch the 2022 Super Bowl, and when exactly is it? The event will take place this Sunday, February 13, 2022, and the kickoff time is around 6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific. However, there … Continue reading



Wi-Fi Wi 6E 7 2023•
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Wi-Fi 6E is the latest wireless tech standard, but due to components shortages, it wouldn't be surprising if you never end up with a Wi-Fi 6E router or other supported tech and instead jump straight to the next generation, Wi-Fi 7. Components shortages, which have hindered the availability of everything from graphics cards to Chromebooks, monitor panels, and integra



Apple Broadcom Caltech•
A US court has overturned a January 2020 ruling that ordered Apple and Broadcom to pay the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) $1.1 billion in damages over the alleged infringement of its intellectual property. CalTech had successfully argued that Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips used in the iPhone used innovations described in its patents related to data transmission technologies and Apple was to



PriceRunner Google•
200+Ars Technica / 13h
Enlarge / Let's see, you landed on my "Google Ads" space, and with three houses... that will be $1,400. (credit: Ron Amadeo / Hasbro) Google is being sued in the European Union again over anti-competitive shopping practices. The EU Commission ruled in 2017 that Google's preferential treatment of its own Google Shopping product in search results was illegal, and it slapped the company with a recor



American Express and Hilton have four co-branded credit cards , and the welcome offers for three of these cards have been improved considerably. These are by far the best bonuses I ever recall seeing on these cards, as they include both bonus points and free night reward certificates. Let’s go over the details of these incredible offers. Hilton Honors Amex cards get free night welcome offers Thre



Having elite status in Las Vegas can help you save money on parking and even resort fees . Luckily, several hotel loyalty programs partner with popular casino loyalty programs for reciprocal status matches. So, you may be able to easily get — and keep — elite status with one or more casino loyalty programs. In this guide, I’ll discuss the following two status match partnerships: World of Hyatt an



Years One Two Today•
200+Mashable / 13h
DC and HBO's Peacemaker has been one hell of a ride for audiences. The weekly superhero series follows John Cena's The Suicide Squad character as he joins a secret government task force for "Project Butterfly" — a name that means more and more as weekly episodes roll out. Among the team is Agent Emilia Harcourt, who is first introduced in The Suicide Squad and is played by Jennifer Holland. Ahead



100+Mashable / 13h
Lately, it seems I may be the only person in the world who hasn't watched HBO's Euphoria . Still, I've managed to piece together the show's essence: a drama-laden high-school, bold fashion choices, and skyrocketing emotions. There are themes of addiction, trauma, and family life, tied together in a taut and vital portrayal that has viewers hooked. These bits of information are threads pulled from



SlashGear / 13h
Apple Even though Face ID has become integral to the iPhone experience, we haven’t seen the technology make its debut on Apple’s Mac lineup yet. Given how big it is on iPhone, the expectation is that Face ID will eventually make its way to Mac, but if it does, which will be the first Mac to get it? While we continue … Continue reading



100+Futurism / 13h
Don’t Look Up People in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico got the lightshow of a lifetime over the weekend when what’s likely a SpaceX rocket fell to Earth in a spectacular fireball. Observers captured multiple videos of the event from the ground. While there seemed to be some initial confusion as to what was causing the fireball, many now suspect it’s likely an old SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage rocket launc



200+Futurism / 13h
First Class NASA just approved a crew of four private astronauts to fly up to the International Space Station with Axiom Space and SpaceX, on the first American mission of its kind. Though the rest of the crew are apparent novices, Michael López-Alegría, the mission’s command

Backblaze
Posted by at