We have a winner in the world’s first quantum chess tournament by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-13 19:23 (#5BKKV) It’s like playing in a multiverse “but the different boards are connected to each other.”
Phosphorus equivalent of graphene makes reconfigurable transistors by John Timmer on 2020-12-13 14:00 (#5BKBY) May be useful for security, as it’s hard to tell how the circuitry might execute.
VR meetings are weird, but they beat our current reality by WIRED on 2020-12-13 12:26 (#5BKA0) VR app called Arthur lets you, distant colleagues collaborate within a 3D meeting space.
Zodiac Killer cipher is cracked after eluding sleuths for 51 years by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-12 16:11 (#5BJMS) Northern California serial murderer sent encoded messages that went uncracked until now.
Oracle joins Silicon Valley’s Texas exodus by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-12 15:30 (#5BJMT) Elon Musk revealed he had moved to Texas earlier this week.
Copyright law is bricking your game console. Time to fix that by WIRED on 2020-12-12 15:00 (#5BJK8) Op-ed: An exemption to the DMCA could make DIY console repairs possible—and legal.
The Christchurch shooter and YouTube’s radicalization trap by WIRED on 2020-12-12 11:50 (#5BJF9) Researchers say YouTube's policies and algorithms are still too opaque.
FDA has authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine [Updated] by Beth Mole on 2020-12-12 04:25 (#5BHYN) FDA head had been told to submit his resignation if vaccine wasn’t approved Friday.
Apple is full-steam ahead on replacing Qualcomm modems with its own by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-11 20:56 (#5BHYP) SVP Johny Srouji told Apple employees that development kicked off this year.
Apple’s app store is an illegal monopoly, rival Cydia claims in suit by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-11 20:15 (#5BHW3) Apple argues the iPhone and its app store are part of the same product.
Where do I go now that CentOS Linux is gone? Check our list by Jim Salter on 2020-12-11 20:10 (#5BHW4) CentOS was the most famous "RHEL rebuild" by far—but there are others.
Facebook says hackers backed by Vietnam’s government are linked to IT firm by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-11 19:43 (#5BHW5) Group is known for its robust, custom-made malware. IT firm says the link is a mistake.
Boston Dynamics sells to Hyundai Motor Group in $1.1 billion deal by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-11 19:17 (#5BHSQ) Boston Dynamics gets access to Hyundai's serious manufacturing supply chain.
The Expanse S5 review: The show is bigger, bolder, and better than ever by Kate Cox on 2020-12-11 18:48 (#5BHSR) The board is set, the pieces moving, and the show's fifth season is devastatingly good.
“Mass Effect Will Return:” Teaser trailer sets a new (old) direction for the sequel by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-11 17:49 (#5BHQ7) Players are not going all the way out to Andromeda this time.
We’ve got our first real look at Loki as Disney drops lengthy teaser trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-11 17:29 (#5BHMZ) It was just one of a smorgasbord of offerings presented at Disney's Investor Day.
Wormable code-execution flaw in Cisco Jabber has a severity rating of 9.9 out of 10 by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-11 12:43 (#5BH9M) The company failed to adequately fix the vulnerability before, so it’s trying again.
Working from home at 25MHz: You could do worse than a Quadra 700 (even in 2020) by Ars Contributors on 2020-12-11 12:30 (#5BH7T) Famously, Apple's Quadra 700 once helped track dinosaurs. Is it stuck in amber nowadays?
Rocket Report: SN8 meets its fate, SLS Green Run tests to resume next week by Eric Berger on 2020-12-11 12:00 (#5BH7V) “We’re not going to have big issues that cause us to stand down.”
More Disney 2021 plans: Kate McKinnon as Elizabeth Holmes, Y: The Last Man on FX by Nathan Mattise on 2020-12-11 11:10 (#5BH5S) Wait... they got Mahershala Ali to revive Blade, too?
Visa and MasterCard ban Pornhub over abusive videos by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-11 03:20 (#5BGTG) New York Times columnist Nick Kristof inspired increased scrutiny of Pornhub.
Disney+ drops Andor teaser, announces gazillion other Star Wars projects by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-11 02:20 (#5BGSC) Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy introduced them all at Disney's Investor Day.
FDA advisers give thumbs up to Pfizer vaccine, paving way for authorization by Beth Mole on 2020-12-10 22:54 (#5BGJG) If the FDA signs off on the recommendation, vaccine distribution could begin in days.
US House passes bill to tear down judiciary’s paywall by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-10 22:00 (#5BGG3) Bill would require judiciary to overhaul PACER site and make it free by 2025.
4 major browsers are getting hit in widespread malware attacks by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-10 21:21 (#5BGDR) Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Yandex are all affected in widespread ad-injection campaign.
R.I.P. Henri, le Chat Noir, angst-ridden feline YouTube star for the ages by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-10 21:09 (#5BGDS) Will Braden, aka the "thieving filmmaker," announced Henri's passing on Facebook.
Ex-Apple employees say company ignored China labor-law violations by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-10 20:52 (#5BGDT) A dispatch-worker law led to studies, debate within Apple—but not enough action.
AT&T sells Crunchyroll to Sony for $1.2B amid “streamlining” efforts by Kate Cox on 2020-12-10 18:58 (#5BG8G) Sony will be by far the biggest US player in this rapidly growing market.
Google breaks SMS on many Android phones, is rolling back changes now by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-10 18:44 (#5BG8H) Android’s Carrier Services app, which has over a billion downloads, is on the fritz.
Brave browser-maker launches privacy-friendly news reader by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-10 17:00 (#5BG2H) By design, Brave Today doesn't let the company or third parties build user profiles.
Orbex raises $24 million in new funding, can now scale up for orbital launch by Eric Berger on 2020-12-10 16:21 (#5BFZ1) “We’re very focused on being capital efficient, which is another word for cheap.”
PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 now features an epilepsy warning by Kyle Orland on 2020-12-10 16:16 (#5BFZ2) CD Projekt Red promises “a more permanent solution” to come.
What to expect from today’s big FDA meeting on the Pfizer vaccine by Beth Mole on 2020-12-10 15:45 (#5BFZ3) The vote for authorization is scheduled for later this afternoon.
CentOS Linux is dead—and Red Hat says Stream is “not a replacement” by Jim Salter on 2020-12-10 13:21 (#5BFPN) CentOS Stream, founded in 2019, is “a rolling preview of what's next in RHEL.”
US diplomats’ brain injuries may be from covert microwave attack, experts say by Beth Mole on 2020-12-10 11:45 (#5BFJ7) Data from Russian experiments on pulsed RF energy offers best explanation.
Chloë Moretz battles gremlins on a plane in Shadow in the Cloud trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-10 02:06 (#5BF45) “It’s not critters who cause accidents. It’s careless airmen.”
So, it turns out SpaceX is pretty good at rocketing by Eric Berger on 2020-12-10 00:19 (#5BF2W) “Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!”
Cruise says it has started driverless testing—I’m skeptical by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-09 23:29 (#5BF0N) Rival Waymo has been offering driverless rides to the public since October.
COVID-19 vaccine data has been unlawfully accessed in hack of EU regulator by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-09 21:19 (#5BESH) Hack of the European Medicines Agency affects vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.
Company claims solid-state lithium-metal battery breakthrough by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-12-09 21:05 (#5BESJ) It would offer much higher energy density and much faster charging.
Watch live: SpaceX is fueling its Starship for a high-altitude flight [Updated] by Eric Berger on 2020-12-09 20:10 (#5BEG5) The weather in South Texas is again rather nice.
FTC, 47 states file suits to break up Instagram and WhatsApp from Facebook by Kate Cox on 2020-12-09 19:46 (#5BEP3) It's almost certainly going to be a long and ugly legal fight.
Google’s secretive Fuchsia OS is open for contributions by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-09 19:37 (#5BEP4) Fuchsia has been in development for four years now.
COVID data manager investigated, raided for using publicly available password by Kate Cox on 2020-12-09 18:29 (#5BEG2) Not only does the whole state share one password, but it’s posted publicly.
Pornhub blocks uploads and downloads in crackdown on child-sexual-abuse videos by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-09 18:13 (#5BEG3) Pornhub will only allow uploads by verified users, bans downloads of most videos.
Physicists solve 150-year-old mystery of equation governing sandcastle physics by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-09 18:00 (#5BEG4) “This came as a big surprise. I expected a complete breakdown of conventional physics.”
Two allergic reactions to Pfizer vaccine lead to warning in UK by Financial Times on 2020-12-09 17:33 (#5BEG6) People with “significant” history of allergies told to avoid jab.
Xbox cloud gaming service hits iOS, Windows PCs in spring 2021 by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-09 17:17 (#5BECN) The iOS version will run in a Web browser, just like Google’s Stadia.
YouTube bans videos claiming Trump won by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-09 17:01 (#5BECP) The electoral college is set to confirm Joe Biden’s victory next Monday.
“A damn stupid thing to do”—the origins of C by Ars Contributors on 2020-12-09 12:30 (#5BE0E) Today, C may be a lingua franca among programmers. This is its (abridged) history.