Новости за 03.02.2022

Democrats in Congress on Thursday renewed a push to hold tech companies accountable for bias in their algorithms. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with House representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced an updated version of a bill that would require audits of AI systems used in areas such as finance, healthcare, housing, education and more. First introduced by Wyden in 2019, the Algorithmic Accountability Act has never passed the committee level in either the House or Senate. Читать дальше...

Quantum computing is still rare enough that merely installing a system in a country is a breakthrough, and IBM is taking advantage of that novelty. The company has forged a partnership with the Canadian province of Quebec to install what it says is Canada's first universal quantum computer. The five-year deal will see IBM install a Quantum System One as part of a Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator project tackling scientific and commercial challenges.

Motorola is once again kicking off a new year with a new Moto G Stylus, and this one still offers solid value — if you're willing to make a couple of sacrifices. The newly introduced Moto G Stylus 2022 model still has a 6.8-inch 1080p display (albeit with a centered hole-punch camera) and an otherwise mostly fmiliar design, but makes the leap to a faster 90Hz refresh rate. You also won't be hurting for longevity with a sizeable 5,000mAh battery in place of last year's 4,000mAh pack.

A bill targeting Apple and Google's app store restrictions has taken a step forward. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 20-2 to advance the Open App Markets Act, with only Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis opposing. The vote showed once again that there's bipartisan support for the bill.

The Joe Rogan Experience was problematic long before Spotify paid a reported $100 million for exclusive rights to the show in 2020. Rogan’s tendency to let guests disseminate hideous and demonstrably false viewpoints has attracted criticism before, but as with many things, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the controversy to new heights in recent weeks. On December 31st, Spotify published an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience in which virologist Dr. Robert Malone likened the belief that vaccines... Читать дальше...

Last October, Adidas partnered with Swedish headphone maker Zound, best known for its work with Marshall, to announce three sets of new true wireless earbuds. One of those was the FWD-02 Sport earbuds, which were supposed to launch last year. Following a delay, however, they’re finally available starting this month.

Just like it did last year, Netflix will release at least one movie a week in 2022. There are currently more than 70 films on the docket for this year, and the company offered a peek at some of them in a teaser.

Need proof Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a disconcertingly large fortune? Just ask Rotterdam. Rijnmond and The Washington Post have learned the Dutch city has agreed to temporarily dismantle part of the historic Koningshaven Bridge (often called De Hef) to let his upcoming superyacht, Y721, pass through this summer. City spokeswoman Frances van Heijst didn't yet have a cost estimate, but stressed that shipbuilder Oceanco would cover the costs rather than the city.

As reports suggested last month, GameStop is getting into NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The company has partnered with Immutable X to build a marketplace for NFTs, which they expect to open up later this year. 

The Biden administration is determined to eliminate combustion engine vehicles from federal fleets, and it's not thrilled that one agency might be holding it back. According to The Washington Post, the Environmental Protection Agency and White House Council on Environmental Quality have sent letters to the US Postal Service urging it to rethink a proposal to mostly buy gas-powered next-gen delivery trucks in a project worth up to $11.3 billion. The current strategy is a "lost opportunity" to more... Читать дальше...

The EARN IT Act is a piece of legislation, first introduced in 2020 by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. Its sponsors, of which there are many, say that the bill will tackle the proliferation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) posted online. Its critics say that the bill uses an emotive subject as cover to force tech companies to further erode online privacy protections and curtail freedom of speech. Much like FOSTA/SESTA before it, the bill’s key... Читать дальше...

After Sony released the A7 III way back in 2018, I wondered if Canon and Nikon could ever catch up to its autofocus and other technology. With the launch of the 24-megapixel EOS R3, however, it’s Canon that’s on the cutting edge with its “eye control” AF that lets you focus on a subject just by looking at it.

Due to the delay of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, we’re getting two installments of the international games in quick succession. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begin this week, bringing all of the excitement of cold-weather sports to the warmth of your living room. Every event will be available to watch or stream, and we’re here to help you find them.

Tesla is once again grappling with large-scale software quality issues. The Associated Pressreports Tesla has issued a recall for 817,143 cars over a flaw in seat belt chime functionality. All Model 3 and Model Y cars, as well as 2021 and newer Model S and Model X cars, have a "software error" that prevents the chime from sounding on startup if the chime was interrupted and the seat belt wasn't fastened. You could run into the problem just by closing the door just after leaving the vehicle, according to the recall notice. Читать дальше...

The following contains minor spoilers for episode ten of 'Star Trek: Prodigy.'

The AirPods Pro may not have received the major update that the standard earbuds did last year, but they're still the model with the best sound quality. Plus, they now come with a MagSafe charging case, which is a great perk. Today only, you can grab a pair of AirPods Pro for $180, or 28 percent off their normal price. While not the all-time low we saw last Black Friday ($159), it's still a good deal for this time of year — and lower than Amazon's current going rate of $197.

Workers at LDJ5, an Amazon warehouse facility on New York's Staten Island, have filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board. It's the second facility Staten Island to make an attempt at forming a union after JFK8, and it's also seeking to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union, an independent group comprised of current and former company employees. According to CNBC, the ALU filed the petition on Wednesday. 

Google thinks it has a way to break the lock rivals like Microsoft have on the office landscape: let employees take (some) matters into their own hands. The company has introduced a free Workspace Essentials Starter Edition you can use just by signing up with your work email. You won't get Gmail services, but you will get access to Chat, Docs, Drive, Meet, Sheets and Slides.

While we’re all waiting for the Galaxy S22 to break cover, Samsung’s latest Fan Edition smartphone seems a little late to the party. The Galaxy S21 FE lands a full year after the original S21, with similar looks and specs — if a reduced price of entry. The camera isn’t quite as capable as the S21, but the FE has a bright 120Hz screen and decent battery life. You win some, you lose some.

Twitter increased its character limit over the years from 140 to 280 to give users more leeway with what they want to say. That's not always enough, though, which is why the term "tweetstorm" to indicate a series of interconnected tweets was coined. People also sometimes post images of lengthy statements instead. Based on a new discovery by Jane Manchun Wong, though, Twitter is working on a new feature that would cater to the needs of those who want to share their thoughts on the website in one lengthy article. Читать дальше...

A website called HitPiece that has been selling music-related NFTs has temporarily closed after artists accused it of appropriating their work without permission, Rolling Stone has reported. Outraged social media posts were issued recently from artists including Jack Antonoff, Eve 6, and Sadie Dupuis. "Any [Bleachers] NFTs are fake," Tweeted Jack Antonoff. "I do not believe in NFTs so anything you see associated with me isn't real."

While Sony's holiday console sales were down due to parts shortages, Nintendo managed to have a strong quarter with the Switch. Thanks to what it called a "good start" by the OLED Switch, it sold 10.67 million units in Q3 (October to December), far surpassing the 3.9 million PS5 units sold by Sony. That takes total Switch sales to 103.54 million since it launched in 2017, allowing it to surpass the Wii's lifetime sales of 101.63 million. 

The future of Microsoft's HoloLens is reportedly uncertain as the company struggles to put together a coherent mixed reality strategy. According to Business Insider, the tech giant has scrapped its plans for what would've been the HoloLens 3 in recent months. At least one of the publication's sources believes it's the end for the headset. In addition, the sources said Microsoft inked a deal to team up with Samsung to develop a brand new mixed reality device, which has caused an internal divide within the mixed reality division. Читать дальше...

Google has two lost prominent members of its Ethical AI research group, reports Bloomberg. On Wednesday, researcher Alex Hanna and software engineer Dylan Baker left the company to join Timnit Gebru’s Distributed AI Research Institute. Gebru founded the nonprofit in December following her controversial exit from the tech giant in 2020.

Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse pivot is off to slow start. The company now known as Meta lost just over $10 billion on its Reality Labs division in 2021, according to its fourth-quarter earnings report.