The AI research paper was real. The “co-author” wasn’t by WIRED on 2021-02-21 11:50 (#5EF38) An MIT professor found his name on two papers with which he had no connection.
New malware found on 30,000 Macs has security pros stumped by Dan Goodin on 2021-02-20 15:10 (#5EEDB) With no payload, analysts are struggling to learn what this mature malware does.
As coronavirus variants spread, the US struggles to keep up by WIRED on 2021-02-20 13:00 (#5EEAD) Without federal strategy or enough funding, US sequencing superpowers don't work.
What’s new in the first Android 12 Developer Preview by Ron Amadeo on 2021-02-19 23:30 (#5EDVK) Lots of hidden features, and hints that the leak from the other day is true.
Diablo II Resurrected tops BlizzCon announcement flurry by Sam Machkovech on 2021-02-19 22:59 (#5EDST) Expected announcements for Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone, more.
Study blames Earth’s magnetic field flip for climate change, extinctions by John Timmer on 2021-02-19 22:46 (#5EDSV) Study suggests that one magnetic event caused everything from extinctions to art.
Bitcoin’s value just passed $1 trillion by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-02-19 22:28 (#5EDQ4) Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto may have mined 1M bitcoins worth $55 billion.
Pfizer vaccine doesn’t need ultra-cold storage after all, company says by Beth Mole on 2021-02-19 21:47 (#5EDQ5) The pharma giant and partner BioNTech have asked FDA to revise the vaccine's label.
NASA releases “exhilarating” image of Mars rover just above the planet by Eric Berger on 2021-02-19 21:12 (#5EDMS) "It is exhilarating. It is absolutely exhilarating."
Apple faces development hurdles with MagSafe battery pack accessory by Samuel Axon on 2021-02-19 19:17 (#5EDFE) Development ran into a hitch when software falsely reported overheating.
It took a year, but Gwyneth Paltrow figured out how to exploit the pandemic by Beth Mole on 2021-02-19 18:50 (#5EDFF) Paltrow treats her long COVID with $8,600 hiking necklace, $112 mocktail glass.
Comcast reluctantly drops data-cap enforcement in 12 states for rest of 2021 by Jon Brodkin on 2021-02-19 17:26 (#5ED9Q) ISP grants reprieve in Northeast but still caps users in most of its US territory.
UK Supreme Court says Uber drivers are not independent contractors by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-02-19 17:14 (#5ED9R) Uber's "gig economy" business model is under attack around the world.
Valve gets dragged into Apple and Epic’s legal fight over Fortnite by Kyle Orland on 2021-02-19 17:06 (#5ED9S) Apple seeks vast troves of Steam sales data; Valve says it's irrelevant to the case.
New browser-tracking hack works even when you flush caches or go incognito by Dan Goodin on 2021-02-19 12:54 (#5ECXA) At least 4 top browsers affected by "powerful tracking vector," researchers say.
Burning Crusade Classic leaks ahead of BlizzCon by Sam Machkovech on 2021-02-19 02:29 (#5ECDH) BlizzCon leak includes vague "2021" release window, offers option to stay "vanilla."
Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers stole source code for 3 products by Dan Goodin on 2021-02-19 02:20 (#5ECCD) The company said it found no indication the breach allowed customers to be hacked.
Perseverance on Mars: Where it is, and what the next steps are by John Timmer on 2021-02-19 00:57 (#5ECBA) NASA's first chat about its newest rover talks about the landing and what's next.
Robinhood says GameStop volatility was a “1 in 3.5 million” black swan by Kyle Orland on 2021-02-19 00:45 (#5ECBB) CEO Tenev tells House committee quicker trade settlements would prevent a repeat.
The Land Rover Defender—rugged, charming, but drinks like a fish by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-02-18 22:49 (#5EC7B) Off-road utility is paid for at the gas pump.
Tech groups sue Maryland to block new digital-ad tax from going into effect by Kate Cox on 2021-02-18 21:46 (#5EC55) The countdown to lawsuit o'clock basically started the second legislators voted.
Microsoft Office 2021 is on its way by Jim Salter on 2021-02-18 21:25 (#5EC2V) Dark mode is the new hotness.
Perseverance rover has landed safely on Mars by John Timmer on 2021-02-18 21:08 (#5EC2W) Only the second time NASA's skycrane has placed a rover on Mars' surface.
“Shameful and inhumane”: DeSantis threatens to withhold vaccine amid criticism by Beth Mole on 2021-02-18 20:15 (#5EBZS) Pop-up vaccination site serves "whitest demographic, the richest demographic."
Let them fight! Mortal Kombat red-band trailer gives fans what they want by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-02-18 19:51 (#5EBZT) Reboot of popular franchise finally emerges from development hell.
Apple is already working on developing 6G wireless technology by Samuel Axon on 2021-02-18 19:20 (#5EBX7) 6G is still many years away, but Apple doesn't want to depend on Qualcomm again.
Today’s best tech deals: Nintendo Joy-Cons, Apple’s M1 Mac mini, and more by Ars Staff on 2021-02-18 19:07 (#5EBX8) Dealmaster also has deals on Roombas, gaming keyboards, and the iPad Air.
What to expect from the dramatic Mars Perseverance landing [UPDATED with livestream] by Eric Berger on 2021-02-18 18:45 (#5EAD6) This mission brings a lot of new hardware and science to the red planet.
Uber: Bankrupt engineer Levandowski is hiding millions from creditors by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-02-18 18:12 (#5EBSR) Judge views Levandowski's financial antics with an "incredibly jaundiced eye."
House Republicans propose nationwide ban on municipal broadband networks by Jon Brodkin on 2021-02-18 18:04 (#5EBSS) GOP claims ban would "promote competition by limiting government-run networks."
Google announces the Android 12 Developer Preview by Ron Amadeo on 2021-02-18 18:00 (#5EBST) Google promises a revamped notification UI, lots of other changes.
Facebook news ban is “arrogant,” Australia will not be “intimidated,” PM says by Kate Cox on 2021-02-18 16:49 (#5EBNZ) Deploying a blunt instrument on a whole nation is going just as well as you'd guess.
Deep in the heart of Texas’ collapsing power grid by John Timmer on 2021-02-18 15:57 (#5EBJ9) Everything in Texas went wrong at once.
Acting NASA chief says 2024 Moon landing no longer a “realistic” target by Eric Berger on 2021-02-18 13:10 (#5EB8K) "We are reviewing the program for the most efficient path forward.”
Latest Nintendo Direct event led by Zelda: Skyward Sword HD remaster by Sam Machkovech on 2021-02-17 23:39 (#5EAM2) Splatoon 3, Fall Guys, a Ninja Gaiden 3D trilogy collection, new Mario Golf, more.
The world’s second-most popular desktop operating system isn’t macOS anymore by Samuel Axon on 2021-02-17 22:27 (#5EAJG) Chrome OS's rise in market share has been swift and decisive.
Steam developer gets banned for “Very Positive” review trickery by Kyle Orland on 2021-02-17 22:10 (#5EAFW) Steam UI made it hard to tell if "Very Positive" games had "Very Positive" reviews.
Egyptian royal mummy shows pharaoh wasn’t assassinated—he was executed by Kiona N. Smith on 2021-02-17 21:59 (#5EAFX) An earlier X-ray had suggested that the king might have been murdered in his sleep.
Facebook goes nuclear, banning all news posts in Australia by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-02-17 21:43 (#5EAFY) Facebook says Australia "fundamentally misunderstands" its relationship to news.
Google’s older Pixel cameras are failing at an accelerating rate by Ron Amadeo on 2021-02-17 20:55 (#5EAD7) Users of the Pixel 2, 3, and 4 are reporting nonfunctional cameras.
Xbox takes back-compat to new extremes, tricks old games to run faster by Sam Machkovech on 2021-02-17 19:29 (#5EA7Q) "FPS boost" skips code injection, delivers doubled performance—for some weird games.
Citibank just got a $500 million lesson in the importance of UI design by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-02-17 18:59 (#5EA7R) Citibank was trying to make $7.8M in interest payments. It sent $900M instead.
Apple M1-native malware has already begun to appear by Jim Salter on 2021-02-17 18:31 (#5EA7S) Security researcher Patrick Wardle discovered M1-native malware targeting macOS.
Mobile World Congress will proceed without vaccination requirements by Samuel Axon on 2021-02-17 18:15 (#5EA43) "It would be great if the world was vaccinated, but we can’t rely on that."
Ex-Stadia developers dish on Google’s mismanagement and poor communication by Ron Amadeo on 2021-02-17 18:13 (#5EA44) Former Stadia developers "shocked" by surprise shutdown of Google's game studio.
Million-year-old mammoth DNA rewrites animal’s evolutionary tree by John Timmer on 2021-02-17 18:10 (#5EA45) The oldest DNA yet sequenced shows how the genus split off into new species.
Fortnite fight expands as Epic claims Apple broke EU competition law by Kate Cox on 2021-02-17 17:51 (#5EA46) In the US, Epic is taking Apple to court; in the EU, it's heading to regulators.
Volta Truck’s city delivery trucks will use Proterra batteries by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-02-17 17:00 (#5EA08) Testing begins this year, with production scheduled for 2022.
Big Tech opens wallet for publishers as Australian news code looms by Financial Times on 2021-02-17 14:44 (#5E9RT) Google and Facebook strike deals in effort to stymie rules on paying for content.
Two visionaries: Marie Curie forged a friendship with dancer Loïe Fuller by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-02-17 11:45 (#5E9GK) Liz Heinecke on her new book Radiant, a parallel biography of two extraordinary women.