Rocket Report: Blue Origin protests Starship, China launches space station by Eric Berger on 2021-04-30 11:00 (#5H8XZ) “The ability to refuel in space is critical to meeting NASA’s goals."
Does nuclear secrecy make us secure? New book offers counterargument by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-29 21:45 (#5H87Z) Historian Alex Wellerstein: "You could get rid of all the secrecy tomorrow and the world would not measurably become more dangerous."
Leaks: May 21 will be the launch day for the new iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-29 21:03 (#5H855) A prominent leaker, a UK retailer, and Apple itself all let the date slip.
Uber, Lyft stocks plunge after Biden official says drivers are employees by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-29 20:02 (#5H82M) Uber and Lyft argue treating drivers as employees would wreck their business.
Today’s best deals: Lots of video games, rechargeable batteries, and more by Ars Staff on 2021-04-29 19:47 (#5H82N) Dealmaster also has deals on Fitbit trackers and noise-canceling headphones.
FCC reveals sign-up date and website for $50-per-month broadband subsidies by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-29 18:33 (#5H7ZR) May 12 enrollment for people who have low incomes or lost income during pandemic.
A Chinese company has started charging for fully driverless rides by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-29 18:25 (#5H7ZS) China has the world's strongest self-driving industry after the United States.
Brazil rejects Sputnik V vaccine, says it’s tainted with replicating cold virus by Beth Mole on 2021-04-29 18:18 (#5H7ZT) Adenovirus-vector vaccines are supposed to be engineered so they can’t replicate.
Microsoft follows Epic’s lead, lowers its cut of PC game sales to 12% by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-29 17:31 (#5H7X2) But the move may not be enough to dislodge heavily entrenched competition.
Conspiracy theorist said death threats were “jokes”—but jury didn’t buy it by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-29 17:13 (#5H7X3) Brendan Hunt posted videos about murdering US elected officials.
Want to save an island’s coral reefs? Get rid of invasive rats by Ars Contributors on 2021-04-29 16:52 (#5H7T3) Rats drive off birds, setting off a cascade of ecosystem damages that spread offshore.
Verizon tries to sell Yahoo and AOL after spending $9 billion on fallen giants by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-29 16:21 (#5H7T4) After spending $9 billion combined, Verizon may sell units for $4 billion or so.
You can now teach the Google Assistant how to pronounce names by Ron Amadeo on 2021-04-29 16:08 (#5H7T5) Google can listen to you pronounce a name and learn from it.
Gas prices are expected to rise due to the truck driver shortage by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-29 15:37 (#5H7PK) Robotrucks aren't here to save us yet.
Returnal review: Roguelite arcade combat has never felt this epic—or hard by Sam Machkovech on 2021-04-29 12:00 (#5H7AA) Legendary dev Housemarque nails its most ambitious game yet, but beware its pitfalls.
This is the slightly sportier, slightly more efficient 2022 Honda Civic by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-29 01:15 (#5H6S8) The next Civic looks less like a starfighter, inside and out.
Facing uncharted waters, Apple reports 54% year-over-year revenue increase by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-28 22:54 (#5H6PK) Chip shortages and a waning pandemic might make growth unsustainable, though.
Office default Calibri will join Clippy, Internet Explorer in Windows retirement by Nathan Mattise on 2021-04-28 22:25 (#5H6PM) "Calibri in Office" could almost drive (15 years old), but a new sans serif will soon emerge.
Verizon “leads” all US carriers in mmWave 5G availability at 0.8% by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-28 21:59 (#5H6MP) Phones capable of using mmWave 5G access it less than 1% of the time.
Algorithms were under fire at a Senate hearing on social media by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-28 20:20 (#5H6JB) "Algorithms have great potential for good. They can also be misused."
Chipmaker says it will ramp up production of older 28nm chips by Financial Times on 2021-04-28 19:36 (#5H6FY) Fourth-largest contract chipmaker aiming at supply problems for carmakers, others.
Michael Collins, who piloted the Apollo 11 command module, has died by Eric Berger on 2021-04-28 17:45 (#5H6AC) "The nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration."
Epic deposition shows how differently Google and Apple treat messaging by Ron Amadeo on 2021-04-28 17:14 (#5H6AD) Apple considered fighting a Google/WhatsApp acquisition with iMessage on Android.
Play this Dreamcast Castlevania game 20+ years after it was canceled by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-28 16:29 (#5H675) Castlevania: Resurrection was briefly seen at E3 1999, then vanished for decades.
Toyota is entering a hydrogen-powered Corolla in a 24-hour race by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-28 15:42 (#5H63W) It's still internal combustion, not a fuel cell.
SitRep: Is the F-35 officially a failure? by Sean Gallagher on 2021-04-28 14:43 (#5H5ZY) Cost overruns, other issues prompt Air Force to look for "clean sheet" fighter.
These concept interiors for an electric Lexus are thought-provoking by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-28 13:50 (#5H5W9) Untreated leather, translucent silicone cushions, and granite steering wheels.
New Pokémon Snap is a welcome take on the “first-person shooter” by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-28 13:00 (#5H5SA) Plenty of secrets and adorable moments make for the perfect relaxation game.
Ransomware crooks threaten to ID informants if cops don’t pay up by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-28 12:04 (#5H5Q1) The FBI is investigating claim hackers obtained 250GB of police department data.
Nestlé threatened with cease-and-desist over alleged illegal water use by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-28 10:45 (#5H5MH) Company's claims hinge on how much water early-1900s rail cars carried.
High-bandwidth wireless BCI demonstrated in humans for first time by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-28 10:30 (#5H5MJ) BrainGate device complements Neuralink's successful test of wireless BCI in monkey.
Lyft is getting out of the self-driving business by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-27 22:26 (#5H52P) Lyft will save about $100 million without its self-driving project.
FCC lets SpaceX cut satellite altitude to improve Starlink speed and latency by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-27 20:05 (#5H4XZ) Rival satellite companies opposed change that cuts altitude in half, to 540 km.
To entice vaccine-hesitant, Biden touts maskless activities for vaccinated by Beth Mole on 2021-04-27 19:54 (#5H4VE) Biden: "This is another great reason to go get vaccinated—now, now."
Report: Apple’s M2 chip has entered production and will ship as soon as July by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-27 19:29 (#5H4VF) The timeline in this report suggests new Macs might be introduced at WWDC.
Today’s best deals: Sony noise-canceling headphones, Fitbit trackers, and more by Ars Staff on 2021-04-27 19:05 (#5H4VG) Dealmaster also has deals on the latest Super Mario game and Echo Dot speaker.
Contractor that ruined 15M doses of J&J vaccine is holding up vaccine to India by Beth Mole on 2021-04-27 17:35 (#5H4P5) India is in crisis, but US can’t yet ship stockpiled AstraZeneca vaccine doses.
CentOS replacement distro AlmaLinux gets commercial support options by Jim Salter on 2021-04-27 17:18 (#5H4P6) This CentOS replacement seems to be "getting there firstest with the mostest."
Amazon’s 11th-gen Fire HD 10 tablet starts at $149.99 by Ron Amadeo on 2021-04-27 16:59 (#5H4P7) There's a Plus and non-Plus model, two kids' versions, a keyboard, a charging dock...
Tesla posts another record quarterly profit—and Wall Street shrugs by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-27 16:37 (#5H4JZ) Tesla has $17 billion in the bank.
Cable-chewing beavers take out town’s Internet in “uniquely Canadian” outage by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-27 16:27 (#5H4K0) Beavers dug 3-foot hole, chewed through fiber conduit and the cable itself.
Ford is setting up a new EV battery center in southeast Michigan by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-27 16:00 (#5H4FZ) It will be called Ion Park and will work with Ford's Allen Park test lab.
EU to charge Apple with anticompetitive behavior this week by Financial Times on 2021-04-27 14:25 (#5H4CD) Case began two years ago and is one of several involving the iPhone maker.
Archaeologists found the site of Harriet Tubman’s family home by Kiona N. Smith on 2021-04-27 13:49 (#5H49E) The site was found on federal land recently acquired for marshland conservation.
A freshly flush Lotus Cars readies four new vehicle architectures by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-27 13:06 (#5H49F) The next Lotus will also be the last one to use internal combustion engines.
Actively exploited Mac 0-day neutered core OS security defenses by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-27 11:49 (#5H45V) Apple fixes macOS vulnerability hackers exploited to suppress security warnings.
Legislation would mandate driver-monitoring tech in every car by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-27 10:45 (#5H412) Distracted driving claimed more than 3,000 lives in the US in 2019.
Linux kernel team rejects University of Minnesota researchers’ apology by Jim Salter on 2021-04-26 23:03 (#5H3HB) UMN researchers probed for weaknesses in patch approval—Greg K-H wasn't amused.
Apple releases iOS 14.5, the biggest update since iOS 14 first launched by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-26 22:36 (#5H3HC) Read for screenshots, update notes, and changes aplenty.
Pentagon explains odd transfer of 175 million IP addresses to obscure company by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-26 21:00 (#5H3DX) Something weird happened minutes before Trump left—US says it was security research.