Новости за 08.02.2022

Meta has “absolutely no desire to withdraw from Europe.” The company issued the statement in a blog post it published on Tuesday after some media outlets published reports claiming it had “threatened” to pull Facebook and Instagram from the continent amid uncertainty over whether the US and European Union would agree to replace a scrapped transatlantic privacy agreement.

Douglas Trumbull, the visual effects mastermind behind Blade Runner, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey and numerous others, died on Monday at age 79. His daughter Amy Trumbull announced the news on Facebook, writing that her father’s death followed a “two-year battle” with cancer, a brain tumor and stroke.

Instagram is making it a whole lot easier to remove posts, comments and other activity from the platform. The photo sharing app is rolling out new account controls that allow users to bulk delete comments and posts, and review past interactions and search activity.

Google's decision to enable two-factor authentication by default appears to have borne fruit. The search firm has revealed that account breaches dropped by 50 percent among those users where 2FA (two-step verification in Google-speak) was auto-enabled. The plunge was proof the extra factor is "effective" in safeguarding your data, Google said, although it didn't disclose the exact number of compromised accounts.

The Perseverance rover is a capable machine, but one thing it can't do is send rock, sediment and atmospheric samples from Mars back to Earth by itself. NASA hopes to retrieve some of those through its Mars Sample Return Program, and it's taken another step forward in the project. The agency has chosen Lockheed Martin to build the first rocket to be fired off another planet.

The Department of Justice has seized approximately $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 hack of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. At the time, the incident was the second-largest heist of its kind, with a hacker stealing 119,756 units of Bitcoin, then valued at approximately $63.7 million. On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced the seizure of more than 94,000 Bitcoins and the arrest of the duo who allegedly tried to launder the fortune.

Disney+ dipped its toes into the world of livestreaming for the first time in the US with a broadcast of this year's Oscar nominations, offering a glimpse of a possible direction for the platform. "We performed a test for livestreaming capabilities on Disney+ in the US with this morning’s Academy Award nominations," a Disney+ spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. "We are pleased with the results and will continue to test as part of our ongoing and iterative approach to deliver the best user... Читать дальше...

Just a few short months after debuting it for the European market, Kia has announced on Tuesday that the 2023 PHEV (plug-in hybrid) variant of its venerated Sportage line of SUVs will be made available for sale in America as well. When the Sportage PHEV arrives in Q3 of this year, it will offer a 66.9 kW electric motor backed by a 13.8 kWh battery in addition to its 1.6-liter, 177-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

Some jurisdictions are looking into ways of boosting semiconductor production amid the global chip shortage that's impacting all kinds of sectors. The European Union, for one, wants to become a bigger player in the field and it announced a $49 billion plan to help it get there. The EU's executive branch has revealed the European Chips Act, which, in part, aims to reduce the bloc's reliance on components from Asia.

Ever found yourself immersed in a web search, only to lose track after an interruption? Google thinks it can help. It's introducing a previously teased Journeys feature (shown above) in the latest release of Chrome for desktop that lets you resume searches based on topics. Type a related word or visit the Chrome History Journeys page and you'll see the option to resume your research, complete with associated links and search terms. Return to a vacation search, for instance, and you might see the... Читать дальше...

The rumors of direct iPhone contactless payments were true. Apple has revealed Tap to Pay on iPhone, an upcoming feature that will let businesses accept payments just by bumping handsets (and the Apple Watch). Stores won't need dongles, terminals or other hardware to take your money.

From musicians pulling their music to a high-profile podcaster pausing their exclusive show, Spotify is under attack from all sides. Furore over Joe Rogan’s podcast and Spotify’s subsequent misinformation policies and actions has come both internally and externally. Much of the backlash is warranted as Spotify hasn’t been up front about the content of Rogan’s podcast, or misinformation in general. And the lack of transparency is why the company’s current issues are much bigger than one massively popular creator. Читать дальше...

This year’s Academy Awards nominations have been revealed, and Apple TV+ execs will surely be pleased. The service’s films received six Oscar nods overall, up from two last year. Most significantly, Apple has broken through in the Best Picture category. CODA is the first Apple Original movie to receive a nomination for the top prize.

Nintendo is ready to hold its first Direct livestream of 2022, and it promises to start the year in grand fashion. The company has revealed plans for a 40-minute Direct on February 9th at 5PM ET that will "mainly" focus on Switch games debuting in the first half of 2022.

Amazon's budget-friendly alternative to Google's Nest thermostats has returned to its all-time-low price for the first time since December. The company's smart thermostat, which it debuted last year, is 20 percent off and down to $48. As indicated by its low price tag, you won't get as many features with Amazon's gadget as you would with something like a Nest thermostat, but it's a good place to start if you're building up a smart home on a budget.

Meta and its Oversight Board are frequently at odds, but this time they're working in concert. The Oversight Board has recommended Meta implement stricter anti-doxxing policies on Facebook and Instagram after the social media giant requested the Board's advice on sharing private addresses and images. Most notably, the Board asked Meta to remove an exception letting people share private residence info when it's considered "publicly available." That data usually requires effort to obtain from public records... Читать дальше...

Every healthy relationship is built on compromise. Which is why there probably isn’t room in my boyfriend’s apartment for both my slow cooker and Instant Pot. Before we met, I had been living in my studio for almost eight years – plenty of time to accumulate all manner of cooking gadgets, tools and appliances. I purchased the slow cooker first, with a clear sense of what I wanted to make: soups, chili, maybe some bolognese. 

Jabra announced its Enhance Plus earbuds back in August, debuting a model that offers assistance to people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. At the time, the company also announced that it would sell it directly to customers as a FDA-cleared self-fitting hearing aid. Later this month, Jabra will do just that. On February 25th, the company says you'll be able to purchase the Enhance Plus from select hearing care clinics for $799. 

There's still some room for over-the-top electric scooters, apparently. Jeep is partnering with Razor on the RX200, an adult e-scooter designed expressly for off-road use. It's not the fastest machine of its kind with a 12MPH top speed, but the combination of a wide design with 8-inch, air-filled pneumatic tires promises a comfortable and grippy ride on trails — at least, those trails that don't ban vehicles.

Along with the other Amazon devices we saw go on sale yesterday, the company's entire Fire tablet lineup has been discounted. Fire tablets are already pretty affordable, but if you're looking for a new tablet for your kid or an inexpensive couch device, it's best to wait for a sale like this one when they're up to 50 percent off. Of note are the Fire HD 8, which is half off and down to $45, the Fire HD 10, which is 27 percent off and down to $110, and the entire lineup of Kids Pro tablets.

Tesla has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2021, according to Reuters and CNBC. The automaker has revealed the information in a financial filing, noting that the agency, in particular, is seeking information on its "governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement, as amended." November's subpoena was issued shortly after company chief Elon Musk asked his followers on Twitter if he should sell 10 percent of his stake in Tesla. The automaker's shares slid sharply following that tweet. Читать дальше...

With the US labor market getting tighter and employees changing jobs or quitting in droves, Amazon has made a big move to become more competitive. The company has boosted its maximum base pay from $160,000 to $350,000, in response to what it calls a "particularly competitive labor market," The Washington Post has reported.

TikTok is beginning to test ways to age-restrict some types of content in its app amid a push to beef up safety features for teens. The work is in an early stage, but the company says the goal is to shield younger users from mature content or other potentially inappropriate videos.

Just ahead of Samsung's Unpacked event set for tomorrow, a press release for Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 lineup has been revealed by leakmeister Evan Blass, The Verge has reported. It confirms many key specs from earlier leaks, including the existence of an "Ultra model," the screen sizes, charging capacity and more.

Tinder says it will no longer charge older users more to use Tinder+, following a new report questioning the dating app’s practice of charging older users “substantially more.”