How “cosmetic” DLC became “pay to win” camouflage in some online shooters by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-20 16:17 (#5GV0T) COD: Warzone and Fortnite struggle to balance player style and gameplay visibility.
Minivans are better at daily life than SUVs, and it’s time for a comeback by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-20 16:08 (#5GV0V) They have a commanding view, three rows of seats, and even handle OK, too.
Elon Musk denies Autopilot was active before deadly crash in Texas by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-20 15:49 (#5GV0W) "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled," Musk tweeted.
Coal miners’ union lobbies for jobs in renewable energy by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-20 15:36 (#5GTX2) “We’ll take good paying jobs any way we can get them.”
HTC’s wireless Vive Air headset outed by a premature award by Sam Machkovech on 2021-04-20 13:37 (#5GTPE) All-in-one VR headset resembles a pair of running shoes. That could be good HTC news.
Google Play apps steal texts and pepper you with unauthorized purchases by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-20 11:42 (#5GTH3) Google removes eight apps after receiving report from researchers.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 will (finally) enter the 64-bit world by Jim Salter on 2021-04-20 10:45 (#5GTH4) Next year's upgrade—out for preview later this summer—looks like a doozy.
Marvel drops first teaser for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-19 23:28 (#5GSZG) Simu Liu stars as a gifted martial artist seeking to escape his dark family history.
More J&J troubles: Vaccine manufacturing halted and more possible clot cases by Beth Mole on 2021-04-19 22:36 (#5GSXW) CDC advisory committee will meet Friday to decide the fate of the troubled vaccine.
Parler re-platformed as Apple allows social network back into App Store by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-19 20:48 (#5GST8) "Free speech" social media network reportedly revamped its moderation approach.
Millions of web surfers are being targeted by a single malvertising group by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-19 20:08 (#5GSQR) Tag Barnakle is using infected ad servers to go "straight for the jugular," firm says.
Sony reverses course, keeps legacy PlayStation online stores open by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-19 19:29 (#5GSN2) PS3 and Vita stores will remain available, but PSP will sunset as planned.
Missing Arctic ice fueled the “Beast of the East” winter storm by Ars Contributors on 2021-04-19 19:11 (#5GSN3) Less ice means more moisture in the air, but connecting it to weather is difficult.
Cops “almost 99.9% sure” Tesla had no one at the wheel before deadly crash by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-19 18:41 (#5GSN4) Car was reportedly traveling at a "high rate of speed" in a residential area.
Denisovans may have met us in the Pacific by John Timmer on 2021-04-19 17:55 (#5GSK2) Different island populations also intermingled in complex ways.
Dishy McFlatface to become “fully mobile,” allowing Starlink use away from home by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-19 17:35 (#5GSK3) Musk: Starlink customers will be able to use their dishes "anywhere" by year-end.
Fitbit announces new style-focused Luxe smartband by Corey Gaskin on 2021-04-19 17:00 (#5GSFP) The Luxe is the Fitbit's first attempt at a stylish fitness tracker.
“Chrome Memories”—an early look at Google’s UI update to History by Jim Salter on 2021-04-19 16:58 (#5GSFQ) The new view is hidden behind a feature flag that defaults to "off" for now.
Years after Google and Apple, Samsung finally gets eSIM working in the US by Ron Amadeo on 2021-04-19 16:03 (#5GSCK) If you have the Note 20 and T-Mobile, you can finally ditch your plastic SIM card.
Amazon’s first Internet satellites will not launch on Blue Origin rockets by Eric Berger on 2021-04-19 16:00 (#5GSCM) "ULA is a fantastic partner that’s successfully launched dozens of missions."
Cracking the case: New study sheds more light on the “Brazil nut effect” by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-19 15:41 (#5GSCN) Shape and orientation of a given Brazil nut is the key to its upward movement.
Nintendo sues Bowser (not that one) over Team Xecuter’s Switch hacks by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-19 15:25 (#5GS9A) Civil suit seeks monetary damages following Bowser's October arrest.
NASA has flown a helicopter on Mars, and it went brilliantly [Updated] by Eric Berger on 2021-04-19 11:10 (#5GQHK) This is all experimental, but Ingenuity pulled it off.
Who will win the self-driving race? Here are eight possibilities by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-19 11:00 (#5GRY1) The state of the self-driving industry, from Argo to Zoox.
This electric fastback is the next Audi A6 e-tron, due in late 2022 by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-19 05:00 (#5GRMN) It's the first car to use the new Premium Platform Electric architecture.
The humble shrub that’s predicting a terrible fire season by WIRED on 2021-04-18 11:00 (#5GQYK) Chamise is kind of a crystal ball for understanding how badly California might burn.
Novel hydrogels can safely remove graffiti from vandalized street art by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-17 18:39 (#5GQGF) Italian chemists successfully tested their hydrogels on actual street art in Florence.
At 38.5% vaccinated, US may be running low on people eager for a shot by Beth Mole on 2021-04-17 11:31 (#5GQ3S) Some worry the country can't keep up the current pace of vaccination.
DC’s Rorschach: A detective walks into a world shaped by squids and superheroes by Nathan Mattise on 2021-04-17 10:00 (#5GQ2E) During COVID-19, Rorschach has been something to look forward to each month.
NASA selects SpaceX as its sole provider for a lunar lander by Eric Berger on 2021-04-16 21:35 (#5GPME) "We looked at what’s the best value to the government."
21.5-inch iMac supply dwindles amid chip shortages, possible refresh by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-16 21:30 (#5GPMF) A new iMac landing next week is a real possibility.
Backdoored developer tool that stole credentials escaped notice for 3 months by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-16 20:07 (#5GPJ8) AWS credentials and private repository tokens could allow self-perpetuating attacks.
Arkansas House passes unconstitutional bill putting creationism in schools by John Timmer on 2021-04-16 19:40 (#5GPGD) Despite unanimous Democratic opposition, the bill moves on to the Senate.
Dogecoin has risen 400 percent in the last week because why not by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-16 18:56 (#5GPGE) Dogecoin rallied after Elon Musk tweeted a photo of "Doge Barking at the Moon."
Today’s best deals: Board games we like, indoor security cameras, and more by Ars Staff on 2021-04-16 18:10 (#5GPE5) Dealmaster also has deals on LG monitors, Amazon devices, and PC games.
Valve Anti-Cheat’s “permanent” bans now have one major exception by Kyle Orland on 2021-04-16 17:18 (#5GPC0) Bans older than five years no longer apply to Valve's CS:GO esports events.
Google loses “Location History” court battle in Australia by Ron Amadeo on 2021-04-16 17:02 (#5GPC1) Google's confusing privacy settings will earn it some kind of punishment in Australia.
Congressmen ask Biden admin to keep chip design software away from China by Tim De Chant on 2021-04-16 16:09 (#5GP8Z) And no fab should use American tools to sell advanced chips to China, they add.
NPD: PlayStation 5’s first 5 months are best ever for a US console launch by Sam Machkovech on 2021-04-16 15:21 (#5GP5X) Last month, PS5 throne was solely on "dollars" basis. Current Switch sales still lead.
Mercedes goes all out with its new electric luxury sedan, the EQS by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2021-04-16 14:59 (#5GP5Y) The S-Class is regularly ranked world's best luxury car. Can the EQS match that?
SARS-CoV-2 variant found in Brazil: More infectious, may limit immunity by John Timmer on 2021-04-16 14:25 (#5GP29) Some hints of greater lethality and lowered immunity, but a lot of uncertainty.
Google veteran pans Tesla Autopilot: “We were doing better in 2010” by Timothy B. Lee on 2021-04-16 11:41 (#5GNTA) Aurora more than doubled in size when it acquired Uber's self-driving project.
Almost everything we’d want in a gaming laptop—the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 by Jim Salter on 2021-04-16 11:15 (#5GNQQ) This year's ROG Zephyrus is a surprisingly well-behaved beast—but it is a beast.
Rocket Report: SpaceX to build huge launch tower, Branson sells Virgin stock by Eric Berger on 2021-04-16 11:00 (#5GNQR) "For us, it’s super important to have a launchpad in mainland Europe."
Resident Evil 4 VR announced for Oculus Quest 2 as a first-person remake by Sam Machkovech on 2021-04-15 23:03 (#5GN87) More information to come in next week's "Oculus Gaming Showcase."
99.992% of fully vaccinated people have dodged COVID, CDC data shows by Beth Mole on 2021-04-15 21:46 (#5GN6H) No vaccine is 100% effective. But the COVID vaccines seem pretty darn good.
Popular software development tool Docker gets Apple M1 support by Samuel Axon on 2021-04-15 21:39 (#5GN6J) Another one of the most popular development tools now supports the M1.
MIT scientists study spider web structure by translating it into music by Jennifer Ouellette on 2021-04-15 21:25 (#5GN6K) We may one day be able to communicate with spiders in "language" of web vibrations.
US government strikes back at Kremlin for SolarWinds hack campaign by Dan Goodin on 2021-04-15 20:17 (#5GN1M) Treasury Department says it's sanctioning 6 Russian firms for supporting the hacks.
Striking Charter workers build ISP where “profits are returned to users” by Jon Brodkin on 2021-04-15 18:32 (#5GMZ3) They built the Spectrum cable network—now they're building a wireless ISP in NYC.