OnePlus snubs Google’s Wear OS, announces $159 smartwatch by Ron Amadeo on 2021-03-23 17:38 (#5FPTM) Wear OS is so bad that OnePlus has cooked up a custom OS for its budget smartwatch.
Report: Microsoft in talks for $10 billion acquisition of Discord by Kyle Orland on 2021-03-23 16:13 (#5FPN6) Gaming-focused chat service has 140 million users across 6.7 million servers.
Firefox 87 is out today, adds Smart Block for improved private browsing by Jim Salter on 2021-03-23 15:42 (#5FPN7) An improved referrer policy also trims URLs from embedded images and scripts.
Dark web bursting with COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine passports by Tim De Chant on 2021-03-23 15:13 (#5FPJR) Researchers saw listings increase 300% in the last three months.
OnePlus 9 Pro Review—Keeping the slightest lead in front of Samsung by Ron Amadeo on 2021-03-23 15:00 (#5FPJS) OnePlus' $969 price is only $30 cheaper than a Galaxy S21 Plus.
Review: Why Zelda fans should seriously consider Monster Hunter Rise on Switch by Sam Machkovech on 2021-03-23 15:00 (#5FPJT) Transformative controls, mostly steady 30 fps combat make this a must-own on Switch.
Unpaid environmental damages from fossil fuels are a $600B annual subsidy by John Timmer on 2021-03-23 13:53 (#5FPGJ) Consumers get most of the benefits of unpaid costs, but companies get a slice, too.
The secret to a successful wine pairing? Fats have an affinity for tannins by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-03-23 10:45 (#5FPAF) Tannins interact at molecular level with fat globules in cheeses, meats, and oils.
Report: The next Nintendo Switch will deliver 4K on TVs via Nvidia’s DLSS by Sam Machkovech on 2021-03-23 08:23 (#5FP4S) Also claims a jump in general specs—but how exactly will DLSS' wizardry be toggled?
Judge grants class-action status to MacBook butterfly-keyboard suit by Kate Cox on 2021-03-22 20:03 (#5FNJ9) Apple phased out the design after 2019, but older models still have issues.
YouTuber Patrick (H) Willems has thoughts on movies—lots of thoughts by Nathan Mattise on 2021-03-22 18:51 (#5FNFY) In this edition of "Personal History," we talk with Willems about his YouTube comments.
Richard Stallman returns to FSF 18 months after controversial rape comments by Jon Brodkin on 2021-03-22 17:57 (#5FND7) Stallman quit in 2019 after emails about Jeffrey Epstein and age-of-consent laws.
AstraZeneca vaccine: 79% effective and no rare blood clots in US trial by Beth Mole on 2021-03-22 17:08 (#5FNA6) The trial results seem positive, but the vaccine may continue to raise doubts.
Hardcore F1 fans might feel short-changed by Drive to Survive season 3 by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-03-22 16:12 (#5FN66) The documentary gives short shrift to some of the biggest stories from 2020.
Jury orders Apple to pay $308 million in royalties for DRM patent by Tim De Chant on 2021-03-22 15:49 (#5FN67) FairPlay DRM used in iTunes and Apple Music infringed on small company's patent.
Europe is starting to freak out about the launch dominance of SpaceX by Eric Berger on 2021-03-22 15:24 (#5FN2W) The Falcon 9 has come to dominate commercial satellite launches.
Super Seducer 3 ban highlights Steam’s fuzzy “adult content” rules by Kyle Orland on 2021-03-22 15:11 (#5FN2X) "Sexually explicit images of real people" not allowed on the service, Valve says.
Samsung Galaxy S21 US sales have reportedly tripled compared to last year by Ron Amadeo on 2021-03-22 14:58 (#5FN2Y) The Galaxy S21 line is $200 cheaper this year, and Samsung is seeing results.
Stabbing, crucifixion, eaten by eels: Learn all about murder the Roman way by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-03-21 20:59 (#5FM77) Emma Southon discusses her new book, A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
New York lawmaker wants to ban police use of armed robots by WIRED on 2021-03-21 11:15 (#5FKRQ) Use of Boston Robotics' Digidog intensifies concerns about police militarization.
Mouse embryos grow for days in culture, but the requirements are a bit nuts by John Timmer on 2021-03-20 15:49 (#5FK1H) And human embryos now get to the earliest state of development in a dish.
Facebook finally explains its mysterious new wrist wearable by WIRED on 2021-03-20 11:10 (#5FJWZ) Will we be able to trust it with a new form of personal data? (Probably not.)
Apple bent its rules for Russia—and other countries will take note by WIRED on 2021-03-20 10:05 (#5FJVM) Russian iPhone buyers soon to see prompts to install software developed in Russia.
Hackers are exploiting a server vulnerability with a severity of 9.8 out of 10 by Dan Goodin on 2021-03-19 23:29 (#5FJJJ) As if the mass-exploitation of Exchange servers wasn't enough, now there's BIG-IP.
Falcon & Winter Soldier series premiere: More of Disney+‘s slow-burn status quo by Sam Machkovech on 2021-03-19 21:20 (#5FJGP) Disney+'s latest won't unseat Justice League this weekend—but it belongs in your queue.
Zuckerberg: Facebook could be in “stronger position” after Apple tracking change by Samuel Axon on 2021-03-19 20:04 (#5FJFD) The change is expected to come with iOS 14.5 within just a few weeks.
Alkaline “Real Water” linked to liver failure in kids—and reports are rising by Beth Mole on 2021-03-19 19:24 (#5FJDQ) The FDA has warned not to drink or use the water.
LOL Garamond sux, say federal judges by Nate Anderson on 2021-03-19 17:09 (#5FJ9N) Garamond—it's just too small for the DC Circuit.
Victoria University of Wellington accidentally nukes files on all desktop PCs by Jim Salter on 2021-03-19 16:59 (#5FJ9P) "I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail!"—Michael Bolton
Cricut fully abandons plans to make device owners pay subscription fee by Kate Cox on 2021-03-19 16:52 (#5FJ9Q) The after-the-fact change was incredibly unpopular among device owners.
Amazon will spend $1 billion per year on NFL’s Thursday Night Football by Ron Amadeo on 2021-03-19 16:48 (#5FJ9R) New deal lets ESPN+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Tubi simulcast national games, too.
Under pressure, CDC drops school spacing to 3 ft in many classrooms by Beth Mole on 2021-03-19 16:34 (#5FJ77) 3 ft enough for elementary; 6 ft best for middle, high schools if cases are high.
Chinese military restricts use of Teslas over security concerns by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-03-19 16:00 (#5FJ78) Employees at sensitive facilities have been asked not to drive Teslas to work.
Here are five questions we would ask the nominee for NASA administrator by Eric Berger on 2021-03-19 14:39 (#5FJ1S) "If we can't do a rocket for $11.5 billion, we ought to close up shop."
The economics of covering California’s water system with solar panels by John Timmer on 2021-03-19 14:22 (#5FJ1T) Renewable power, less evaporation, lower maintenance, and more.
Rocket Report: Pegasus booster will fly again, hacking SpaceX telemetry by Eric Berger on 2021-03-19 11:00 (#5FHW2) "The RS-25 is a great program for us."
Sherlock Holmes takes a back seat to street kids in The Irregulars trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-03-19 01:40 (#5FHG2) New series modernizes Holmsian lore with diverse cast, supernatural elements.
NASA fired up its new rocket for 499.6 seconds on Thursday by Eric Berger on 2021-03-18 22:29 (#5FHCS) The Green Run test may give NASA a green light to proceed with a launch.
“Expert” hackers used 11 0-days to infect Windows, iOS, and Android users by Dan Goodin on 2021-03-18 22:18 (#5FHCT) The breadth and abundance of exploits for unknown vulnerabilities sets group apart.
Real-world Supercross tracks have been influenced by the sport’s video game by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-03-18 21:46 (#5FHCV) Ars talks to the sport's senior director of operations to learn about the whoops.
Sony acquires world’s largest fighting-game tourney series by Sam Machkovech on 2021-03-18 21:20 (#5FHBC) Next online event, coincidentally, will only include PlayStation games.
AT&T lies about Calif. net neutrality law, claiming it bans “free data” by Jon Brodkin on 2021-03-18 20:45 (#5FHBD) AT&T is angry that it must stop charging HBO Max rivals for data-cap exemptions.
Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM4 headphones are back down to their lowest price by Ars Staff on 2021-03-18 20:32 (#5FHBE) Dealmaster also has deals on the Nintendo Switch Lite, Dell monitors, and more.
One company wants to sell the feds location data from every car on Earth by Kate Cox on 2021-03-18 20:11 (#5FH93) Federal agencies already buy tons of user data; one vendor is now being sued.
The debate continues: ‘Oumuamua could be remnant of Pluto-like planet by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-03-18 18:55 (#5FH70) Secret to at least one aspect of object's unusual properties lies in solid nitrogen ice.
The next iPad Pro could have a Thunderbolt port by Samuel Axon on 2021-03-18 18:18 (#5FH4N) Report claims Mini LED is in the works, too.
Uber concedes UK drivers are workers—some drivers aren’t satisfied by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-03-18 17:27 (#5FH1G) Uber only wants to pay for "engaged time"—not time waiting for a new customer.
Chrome brings live-captioning to any web audio source by Ron Amadeo on 2021-03-18 16:37 (#5FH1H) Machine-generated captions are great for podcasts, livestreams, and more.
New PSVR controllers suggest PS5 headset won’t need external sensors by Kyle Orland on 2021-03-18 15:08 (#5FGST) Oculus Touch-style controllers bring DualSense-style haptic feedback, triggers.
Attackers are trying awfully hard to backdoor iOS developers’ Macs by Dan Goodin on 2021-03-18 13:00 (#5FGN9) XcodeSpy uses malicious Xcode project to install the EggShell backdoor.