Trump admin. overrules CDC director on extending ban on cruises by Beth Mole on 2020-09-30 17:54 (#58NRM) Health officials once again point to political interference in public health policy.
Greenland is about to lose ice faster than any time since the last ice age by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-09-30 17:38 (#58NQD) And it’s been over 7,000 years since it was even close.
SpaceX Starlink brings Internet to emergency responders in wildfire areas by Jon Brodkin on 2020-09-30 16:56 (#58NQE) Starlink is fast and easy to set up, Washington emergency division IT chief says.
Cyberpunk studio breaks promise, forces overtime on developers by Kyle Orland on 2020-09-30 15:46 (#58NPD) Developers will reportedly work six-day weeks to squash game's final bugs.
Mercedes-Benz’s newest electric city bus uses solid-state batteries by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-09-30 15:39 (#58NPE) The new technology has 25-percent greater energy density than lithium-ion.
Delta IV Heavy rocket delayed again, raising concerns of aging infrastructure by Eric Berger on 2020-09-30 13:56 (#58NMJ) “These scrubs will no doubt frustrate other range users.”
Senator asks DHS if foreign-controlled browser extensions threaten the US by Dan Goodin on 2020-09-30 13:00 (#58NKF) State-sponsored hackers have used extensions to spy before. Will they do it again?
HP G2 Omnicept: Enterprise-grade VR whose sensors can read “cognitive load” by Sam Machkovech on 2020-09-30 12:00 (#58NJG) G2 Omnicept coming “Spring 2021.” No price yet, but it sure has a lot of sensors.
Conservative unease with science is global, but extreme in the US by John Timmer on 2020-09-30 10:45 (#58NHJ) A new Pew project looks at the perception of scientists in 20 countries.
Intel, Heidelberg University team up to bring Radeon GPU support to AI by Jim Salter on 2020-09-30 10:30 (#58NGB) The new collaboration puts teeth into Intel’s promises of hardware-agnostic AI.
Trailer: Disney’s Marvel’s 616 docu-series explores lesser-known Marvel stories by Samuel Axon on 2020-09-29 22:35 (#58N90) Each of the eight episodes will be directed by a noted actor or filmmaker.
Flouting all standards, Russia plans to release early COVID-19 vaccine data by Beth Mole on 2020-09-29 21:49 (#58N83) It's extremely early to release trial data, but in line with Trump's favored timeline.
Facebook needs to enforce misinfo rules against Trump, Biden campaign says by Kate Cox on 2020-09-29 21:38 (#58N73) Trump campaign posts violate Facebook rules, Biden says, so why are they still up?
How Internet-connected voter check-in devices can create election chaos by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-09-29 21:24 (#58N74) Voting machines aren't the only digital devices to worry about on November 3.
Studying clay-pot residues could help scientists recreate ancient recipes by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-09-29 20:50 (#58N75) Ceramic pots retained remnants of last meal cooked, plus clues as to earlier meals.
D-Wave releases its next-generation quantum annealing chip by John Timmer on 2020-09-29 18:13 (#58N3Q) What's it take to make a chip with over a million Josephson junctions?
Man refused to disband party that violated COVID order, gets year in jail by Jon Brodkin on 2020-09-29 16:32 (#58N1A) Maryland man guilty of violating governor's emergency ban on large gatherings.
Google announces crackdown on in-app billing, aimed at Netflix and Spotify by Ron Amadeo on 2020-09-29 16:09 (#58N1B) Google gives developers one year to stop ignoring its in-app billing rules.
Lenovo swings for the fences with unusual Tiger Lake laptop designs by Jim Salter on 2020-09-29 11:48 (#58MWM) X1 Nano is ultra lightweight at just under two pounds—but X1 Fold, well, folds.
Roku’s big announcements today: A new Ultra player, soundbar, and AirPlay 2 support by Samuel Axon on 2020-09-28 22:19 (#58MJK) Roku finally supports Dolby Vision in the new Ultra player.
Apple v. Epic hearing previews a long, hard-fought trial to come by Kyle Orland on 2020-09-28 21:55 (#58MJM) Judge Rogers has strong words for both sides in the iOS Fortnite battle.
“Joker”—the malware that signs you up for pricey services—floods Android markets by Dan Goodin on 2020-09-28 21:21 (#58MHK) Dozens of malicious apps, some available in Play, found in the past couple months.
Another look at possible under-ice lakes on Mars: They’re still there by John Timmer on 2020-09-28 20:59 (#58MHM) It can be tough to spot water under an ice cap from orbit.
New data on a volcanic eruption that scattered ash across Maya lands by Kiona N. Smith on 2020-09-28 19:56 (#58MGF) A recent study suggests the 431 CE eruption affected only a small region.
Verizon, AT&T to pay $127M for allegedly overcharging government agencies by Jon Brodkin on 2020-09-28 19:35 (#58MDR) $127 million settlement in lawsuits that said carriers violated gov't contracts.
Trump likely overstepped authority with TikTok ban, judge rules by Kate Cox on 2020-09-28 19:15 (#58MDS) TikTok said the White House can't do that. The judge says TikTok is probably right.
Amazon Prime Day was just announced, and some deals have already started by Corey Gaskin on 2020-09-28 18:40 (#58MDT) Did you really think Amazon was going to let 2020 slip by without a Prime Day?
YouTube celebrates Deaf Awareness Week by killing crowd-sourced captions by Ron Amadeo on 2020-09-28 18:11 (#58MCN) 500,000 signatures aren't stopping YouTube from shutting down accessibility feature.
IRS may put cryptocurrency question at the top of 1040 to catch cheaters by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-09-28 16:36 (#58MBD) Virtual currency profits are taxable under US law.
The Audi e-tron Sportback is a stylish sophomore electric car by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-09-28 16:00 (#58KZT) It's a better drive than the first e-tron, but efficiency still lags rivals.
FarmVille—yes, the original—is finally meeting its demise by Kate Cox on 2020-09-28 14:28 (#58KWS) Yes, people are still playing—but only for three more months.
iOS and iPadOS 14 review: iPhone transformation, iPad iteration by Samuel Axon on 2020-09-28 13:15 (#58KVM) Yes, you can finally change your default email app.
Tiger Lake is coming in Dell XPS 13, XPS 13 DE, and XPS 13 2-in-1 by Jim Salter on 2020-09-28 13:05 (#58KVN) Tiger Lake CPUs bring a much-needed performance refresh to the XPS 13 lineup.
Xbox Series X hands-on: The big back-compat dive begins by Sam Machkovech on 2020-09-28 13:00 (#58KVP) Xbox Quick Resume impresses. Plus: New controller, auto-HDR, venting holes, and more.
Nikola founder bought truck designs from third party by Financial Times on 2020-09-27 16:55 (#58KDY) Company claims Trevor Milton personally developed vehicle images “in his basement.”
Judge grants TikTok a reprieve, ban will not go into effect tonight [Updated] by Kate Cox on 2020-09-27 15:46 (#58KD6) The ruling will come before the app metaphorically turns into a pumpkin at 12.
Feels Good Man, a film that truly gets how things are passed across the Internet by Nathan Mattise on 2020-09-27 14:00 (#58KBH) Exhaustively researched and reported, doc stays riveting no matter your Pepe familiarity.
Battle of the $350 laptops: Acer Swift 1 vs. Gateway Ryzen 3 3200U by Jim Salter on 2020-09-27 12:30 (#58KAP) Gateway's GWTN141-2 is the best under-$400 laptop we've seen so far.
When coffee makers are demanding a ransom, you know IoT is screwed by Dan Goodin on 2020-09-26 14:58 (#58JX9) Watch along as hacked machine grinds, beeps, and spews water.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion makes the megahit more accessible by Ars Staff on 2020-09-26 14:00 (#58JVQ) Put off by Gloomhaven's bulk? This could be for you.
Deep algebra for deep beats: The beautiful sounds of musical programming by Ars Staff on 2020-09-26 13:00 (#58JTY) The beauty of these projects comes as much from sonic textures as from elegant code.
The madness of Susanna Clarke, fairy princess by WIRED on 2020-09-26 12:45 (#58JTZ) After more than a decade away, the fantasy author is back with Piranesi.
Seismic sound waves crossing the deep ocean could be a new thermometer by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-09-26 11:30 (#58JT3) Sumatran earthquakes can be used to track the warming of the Indian Ocean.
Rare case of black licorice poisoning kills man in Massachusetts by Beth Mole on 2020-09-25 22:20 (#58JPE) The licorice plant naturally contains a toxin called glycyrrhizin.
FBI offers $10,000 reward for GirlsDoPorn mastermind Michael Pratt by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-09-25 20:50 (#58JP1) Pratt has been charged with sex trafficking and child pornography.
Alphabet, shareholders settle in lawsuits over sexual harassment at Google by Kate Cox on 2020-09-25 20:08 (#58JMW) Investors sued after one exec accused of misconduct was compensated $240M to leave.
Apple backs down on taking 30% cut of paid online events on Facebook by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-09-25 20:02 (#58JMX) Apple says the 30 percent Apple tax will return at the end of the year.
Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.7, possibly the last update before Big Sur by Samuel Axon on 2020-09-25 18:45 (#58JKV) There were also updates to Final Cut Pro X and iMovie.
Space Force says it will fly on a used Falcon 9 rocket for the first time by Eric Berger on 2020-09-25 18:10 (#58JJW) “We’re looking forward to this journey with SpaceX.”
Amazon Luna servers will run Windows games directly on Nvidia T4 GPUs by Kyle Orland on 2020-09-25 15:36 (#58JAT) No need for Stadia-style ports to Linux.