Новости за 13.05.2022

Hours after Elon Musk said his Twitter buyout is temporarily on hold, Twitter’s CEO has said he still expects the deal to close, but “we need to be prepared for all scenarios.” In a series of tweets, Parag Agrawal didn’t directly address Musk’s earlier comments but he weighed in on yesterday’s leadership shakeup, which resulted in the firing of two senior Twitter executives.

The Biden administration has formally started its $45 billion effort to bring affordable and reliable high-speed broadband internet access to everyone in the US by 2030. The Internet for All funding is part of the $65 billion earmarked for broadband in the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Starting today, states and other entities can apply for funding from three Internet for All programs.

Apple may be about to change the iPhone's charging port. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is testing new iPhones and adapters with USB-C, which is what MacBooks and iPads already use, not to mention a plethora of devices outside the Apple ecosystem. We've reached out to Apple for confirmation and have yet to receive a response.

Peloton is still busy expanding its connected fitness lineup despite its ongoing financial woes. The company has teased plans to introduce its first rowing machine, promising a mix of cardio and strength training. The company didn't go into detail during its Homecoming 2022 event, but a sneak peek video (below) shows that it's largely what you'd expect — a minimalist rower with a large screen to show classes and stats.

Scientists from the University of Florida have completed a world (and lunar) first by growing plants in soil from the Moon. The researchers used samples obtained by the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions, but they didn't have much to work with.

This week brought a slew of deals online on some of our favorite gadgets. Apple's latest 4K set-top box is down to a record low, while the Mac Mini returned to the cheapest price we've ever seen it. Samsung's Galaxy S22 smartphones all dropped to new lows, while SanDisk's 1TB Extreme Pro SSD is 42 percent off and under $200. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Federal agencies are the latest to alert companies to potential bias in AI recruiting tools. As the APnotes, the Justice Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have warned employers that AI hiring and productivity systems can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. These technologies might discriminate against people with disabilities by unfairly ruling out job candidates, applying incorrect performance monitoring, asking for illegal sensitive info or limiting pay raises and promotions. Читать дальше...

TikTok and parent company ByteDance have been accused of negligence after the death of a 10-year-old who allegedly attempted a challenge she saw on the app. According to the wrongful death suit, Nylah Anderson was found unconscious in her bedroom in Pennsylvania on December 7th. She was taken to hospital but died after five days in pediatric intensive care.

If your childhood gaming was defined more by Kirby than Mario, don't worry — Nintendo has you covered. As VGCreports, Nintendo is making Kirby 64: The Crystal Shardsavailable through the Switch Online Expansion Pack on May 20th. The Nintendo 64 title was the first 3D Kirby game, although it was really more of a "2.5D" platformer — you set out to reassemble a shattered crystal by copying and combining your enemies' powers.

Even smart rings aren't immune to patent wars. Wareablenotes Oura has sued fledgling rival Circular for allegedly violating patents covering both ring design and biometric data collection. Circular's upcoming wearable allegedly copies Oura's work by both stuffing electronics into a cavity and gathering info to generate an overall energy score.

Samsung's chip foundry clients will soon have to pay considerably more for the company's services. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant is already in talks with its clients about charging around 15 to 20 percent more to manufacture their chips, depending on how sophisticated their products are. Samsung is only the latest company in the industry to raise its prices in an effort to keep up with the growing costs of procuring materials in the midst of the global supply chain crisis. 

OnePlus fans have the chance to get the company's latest flagship plus an extra perk from Amazon today. The online retailer includes a $100 gift card when you buy a OnePlus 10 Pro, so while you're not getting a discount on the handset itself, you are getting an extra $100 to use on future purchases. If you'd prefer to buy directly from OnePlus, you'll find a different promotion there: today only, you can get a free OnePlus Watch with the purchase of a 10 Pro. That's actually a bigger discount of sorts since the Watch costs $159... Читать дальше...

The iPod's death has been a long time coming. Somehow, it's already been eight years since Apple discontinued the iconic iPod classic. Nonetheless, the news this week that Apple is discontinuing its last iPod, the touch is significant: This officially marks the official end of a product that set up the company for two decades of success.

Alexa has introduced "Shopping List Savings" to the Alexa App, letting you scan receipts on eligible products from any store to gain cashback rewards, TechCrunch reported. It won't cost you a thing to use it and you'll get cash back to your Amazon gift card to use on any item on Amazon. The catch is that the system will provide Amazon with a ton of valuable data on your shopping habits, even when you're not shopping on its site.

This week, Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham joins Cherlynn and Devindra to dive into everything announced at Google I/O. There were plenty of new devices, of course, but Google also showed off how its improved AI tech is making maps, translation and more features even smarter. Also, Cherlynn discusses her exclusive feature on Microsoft’s Adaptive Mouse, as well as the company’s new Inclusive Tech Lab. And in other news, we bid farewell to the iPod and reminisce about the early days of MP3 players. Читать дальше...

EA is releasing the remake of Dead Space on January 27th, 2023. Motive, the EA studio behind the game, made the announcement at the company's Crafting the Tension Art Developer Livestream. The classic sci-fi horror survival game is being rebuilt from the ground up using EA's Frostbite game engine and will be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

When it comes to retro portable gaming, even the better handhelds usually only emulate the original PlayStation and N64 era. But if you’re a fan of the GameCube or PS2 libraries (and you should be), the number of handhelds capable enough, well-made enough and reasonably priced enough is small.

Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is "temporarily on hold" pending confirmation that spam and fake accounts do represent less than 5 percent of users, he tweeted. Attached to the tweet was a Reuters link reporting that Twitter estimated in a regulatory filing that those types of accounts represented 5 percent of its monetizable daily active users during the first quarter of 2022.

Starlink's internet service is now available in 32 countries around the world, the Elon Musk-owned company tweeted. Countries and regions marked on its map as "available," including parts of Australia, Brazil, Chile, the US, Canada and most of Europe, can have their equipment shipped "immediately." The service has steadily expanded since exiting beta last year, with availability in 12 countries as of September 2021 and 25 countries last February.

As workers at some of its Stores attempt to unionize, Apple is giving talking points to managers to tamp those efforts down, Vice has reported. It's telling employees that they could lose career opportunities, personal time off and work flexibility, adding that the company will pay "less attention to merit" in union stores. 

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference will still mostly be virtual this year, but it will hold an in-person event for a limited number of people at Apple Park. Now, the tech giant has started sending out invites for the one-day special on June 6th, where attendees will be able to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos on-site. While Apple's last two developer conferences were pure online experiences due to the pandemic, it doesn't come as a surprise that it's offering a hybrid experience... Читать дальше...

US Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) wants to establish a federal watchdog that would focus on overseeing digital platforms and tech giants. The lawmaker has introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act (PDF) in Congress in hopes of establishing a five-person federal body appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. They would be experts in relevant fields, including computer science, software development and technology policy.

Spotify has promoted The Ringer’s Bill Simmons to a new role as head of global sports strategy, reported Deadline. Simmons has worked under the streaming service’s umbrella since it bought his sports and culture podcast network The Ringer back in 2020. In his new role, we’ll likely see Simmons expand upon the current lineup of NBA, MLB and NFL-focused podcasts and dive into international territory. We’ve already gotten a hint of that with shows like The Rugby Pod with Andy Goode, Big Jim Hamilton and host Andy Rowe. Читать дальше...