Caddis fly larvae are now building shelters out of microplastics by WIRED on 2020-05-08 20:43 (#537XM) Caddis fly larvae typically construct protective cases out of sand grains and silk.
Trump admin, focused on “reopening,” sidelines COVID-19 experts by Kate Cox on 2020-05-08 19:34 (#537TV) Administration's efforts to minimize talk of COVID-19 don't minimize its effects.
These streamliners are the world’s most aerodynamic cars by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-08 18:02 (#537MR) Inspired by VW's ARVW concept, we look at the cars with tiny drag coefficients.
Fired scientist back to peddling anti-vaxx COVID-19 conspiracy theories by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-05-08 17:50 (#537MS) YouTube, Facebook crack down on two viral videos for spreading medical misinformation.
Office for iPad is getting trackpad support later this year by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-08 17:34 (#537MT) Microsoft's all-in-one Office app will pick up iPad mouse support sometime this year.
US military is furious at FCC over 5G plan that could interfere with GPS by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-08 16:37 (#537HS) FCC accuses military of “baseless fear-mongering” in fight over Ligado network.
Google unifies messenger teams, plans “more coherent vision” by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-08 16:09 (#537EH) One person is now in charge of Google’s six messaging apps.
China’s new spacecraft—which resembles a Crew Dragon—just landed by Eric Berger on 2020-05-08 14:28 (#537B9) China now has a capsule potentially capable of returning from the Moon.
ZFS 101—Understanding ZFS storage and performance by Jim Salter on 2020-05-08 12:00 (#53739) Learn to get the most out of your ZFS filesystem in our new series on storage fundamentals.
Rocket Report: Military space plane returns to pad, SLS engine costs soar by Eric Berger on 2020-05-08 11:00 (#53712) LauncherOne to cap eight years of development with upcoming flight.
Researchers engineer photosynthetic bacteria to produce hydrogen by John Timmer on 2020-05-07 22:39 (#536FG) A solar-driven hydrogen-producing machine that makes more copies of itself.
“Disquisting whores”: Document reveals GirlsDoPorn plans to harass victims by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-07 22:19 (#536FH) Typo-ridden document shows defendants calling victims while posing as journalists.
A mistake at Facebook broke Spotify, Venmo, TikTok, and other iPhone apps by Samuel Axon on 2020-05-07 22:08 (#536DA) It's not the first time Facebook has wreaked havoc on iOS, either.
CDC guide to reopening was trashed by the Trump admin. It just leaked by Beth Mole on 2020-05-07 21:50 (#536DB) Trump admin allegedly told CDC its reopening guide would "never see the light of day."
Incredible video shows Hayabusa2 pogo-bouncing off asteroid by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-05-07 20:20 (#536AS) A new paper analyzes what we know about the sample the probe grabbed last year.
IndyCar follows NASCAR’s lead, plans June 6 race in Texas without fans by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-07 19:56 (#53684) Race personnel will be screened for symptoms before entering Texas Motor Speedway.
Roku’s 4K HDR Streaming Stick+ is on sale for $39 today by Ars Staff on 2020-05-07 19:20 (#53685) Dealmaster also has deals on Kindles, our top Thunderbolt 3 dock, and more.
Comcast resists call to open home Wi-Fi hotspots, cites potential congestion by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-07 19:08 (#5364Q) "Comcast's excuse simply does not add up," three US senators say.
Bored highschoolers at home? Have them design a race car for the Moon by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-07 19:00 (#5364R) The plan is to take two 5kg robot race cars onboard the Nova-C lander in 2021.
LG takes the wraps off its “Velvet” smartphone, priced in Korea at $738 by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-07 18:35 (#5364S) It has a Snapdragon 765G, a headphone jack, water resistance, and wireless charging.
Co-mingling with COVID? Harvard expert weighs in on safe reopening options by Beth Mole on 2020-05-07 17:25 (#532Q7) Dr. Joseph Allen studies where building design meets health—he took our questions for 30min.
Twitter failing to curb misinformation “superspreaders,” report warns by Financial Times on 2020-05-07 16:47 (#535Y2) Posts from high-profile accounts tout questionable virus therapies and cures.
Wink smart hub users get one week’s notice to pay up or lose access by Kate Cox on 2020-05-07 16:31 (#535Y3) Devices will stop working for users who don't want to pay the new monthly fee.
FCC fines Sinclair $48M, refuses to revoke its broadcast licenses by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-07 16:21 (#535Y4) Pai rejects call to revoke licenses, accuses critics of political agenda.
Microsoft shows off 13 “launch window” games for Xbox Series X by Kyle Orland on 2020-05-07 15:49 (#535T3) Majority of titles will be available across generations with “Smart Delivery.”
Entry-level doesn’t mean spartan with the 2021 Kia Seltos by Jim Resnick on 2020-05-07 13:59 (#535JF) Style, interior panache, and it also inches beyond the entry level in size.
Astronomers have discovered closest black hole yet in trinary star system by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-05-07 11:46 (#535CH) Just 1,000 light years from Earth, its two companion stars are visible to the naked eye.
COVID-19 wallops meat plant workers; shortages hit shelves, fast food by Beth Mole on 2020-05-06 20:58 (#534N4) Consumers are starting to see meat shortages after thousands of workers fall ill.
Union rep apparently threatens coronavirus infections to stop clean energy rule by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 20:49 (#534N5) "There will be no social distancing in place," union rep wrote to city leaders.
Trump admin’s botched pandemic response detailed in whistleblower complaint by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-06 20:25 (#534N6) Ex-official alleges cronyism, says warnings about supply shortages were ignored.
The Sonos Arc is the long-awaited Playbar update with Dolby Atmos support by Jeff Dunn on 2020-05-06 20:00 (#534JB) Arc brings a new design and feature set, while the Play:5 is now just the Five.
Prince of Persia concept video appears—and confirms why series has been dormant by Sam Machkovech on 2020-05-06 19:16 (#534FV) PoP: Redemption video has hid in plain sight since 2012, elicits former devs' response.
The 500-year-old bones of African slaves tell a traumatic story by Kiona N. Smith on 2020-05-06 18:50 (#534FW) They are among the earliest enslaved African people brought to the Americas.
Volvo plans cars with lidar and “eyes off” highway driving by 2022 by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 18:22 (#534FX) High-end lidar once cost $75,000. Luminar says its lidar costs less than $1,000.
The preprint problem: Unvetted science is fueling COVID-19 misinformation by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-06 17:39 (#534CN) Peer review moves to Twitter, muddling public health information.
Google delays Android 11 Beta, announces I/O replacement event for June 3 by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-06 17:00 (#53495) Google I/O isn’t happening this year, but we’ll get all the normal info next month.
“There’ll be more death,” Trump says, urging economic reopening by Kate Cox on 2020-05-06 16:48 (#53496) A majority of Americans don’t want to go out now even if businesses do open.
Beyond emulation: The massive effort to reverse-engineer N64 source code by Kyle Orland on 2020-05-06 16:33 (#53497) It's about much more than just enabling PC ports.
Uber lays off 3,700 people as its ride business craters by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 14:57 (#53427) Uber’s ride business has reportedly fallen by 80 percent from a year earlier.
We don’t know yet whether a mutation has made SARS-CoV-2 more infectious by John Timmer on 2020-05-06 14:22 (#53428) A mutation in the virus seems to be getting more common, but we don't know why.
NASA planning to launch an integrated Lunar Gateway in 2023 by Eric Berger on 2020-05-06 14:06 (#533Y9) NASA has already assessed the viability of the Falcon Heavy for the task.
Microsoft unveils a ton of new Surface devices, including the Surface Book 3 by Jeff Dunn on 2020-05-06 13:00 (#533T8) Surface Book 3 gets more RAM, Surface Go 2 gets a bigger display, and more.
Caddy offers TLS, HTTPS, and more in one dependency-free Go Web server by Jim Salter on 2020-05-06 12:56 (#533T9) We put Caddy 2.0.0 head to head against a ranking heavyweight, Apache 2.4.41.
How Animal Crossing’s fake industries let players afford real rent amid COVID-19 by Ars Staff on 2020-05-06 11:30 (#533QS) Amid quarantine, New Horizons provides an outlet for creativity and commerce.
SpaceX has fired Starship’s Raptor engine, and the vehicle still stands by Eric Berger on 2020-05-06 03:00 (#533A9) The Raptor rocket engine burned for about 4 seconds.
Hacker buys old Tesla parts on eBay, finds them full of user data by Dan Goodin on 2020-05-05 22:58 (#5335J) Data can be retrieved even after owners perform a factory reset, researcher says.
FDA: Makers of coronavirus antibody tests must now show tests actually work by Beth Mole on 2020-05-05 22:46 (#5335K) Regulatory “flexibility” was never meant to allow fraud, agency says.
California sues to make Uber and Lyft drivers employees by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-05 22:06 (#53337) The lawsuit could force Uber and Lyft to rethink their business models.
This is Nissan’s cheapest new car (and also one of its better ones) by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-05 21:18 (#5330F) There's nothing wrong with cheap and cheerful—it starts at just $14,730.
Frontier will charge up to $89 for social distancing on flights by Kate Cox on 2020-05-05 19:12 (#532TJ) Because the airline industry can monetize literally anything, apparently.