Lidar startup goes public, makes founder a billionaire by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-04 20:49 (#5B8A8) Luminar used a special purpose acquisition company to avoid a traditional IPO.
Rusty but intact: Nazi Enigma cipher machine found in Baltic Sea by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-04 20:37 (#5B8A9) Enigma device stymied Allied intelligence until Alan Turing cracked it.
NASA is about to have double Dragons at its space station by Eric Berger on 2020-12-04 19:35 (#5B879) Also, NASA has agreed to fly on a Falcon 9 that has already been used three times.
Samsung finally starts its Android 11 rollout, three months after release by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-04 19:05 (#5B87A) Android 11 brings a new media player, new one-time permissions, and more.
“Demand will probably exceed supply”: Nvidia explains RTX 30 shortages by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-04 17:51 (#5B81F) It's not just wafer shortages at Samsung, though that's a factor.
McConnell pushes Trump nominee toward vote that would deadlock Biden FCC by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-04 17:38 (#5B81G) Cloture motion could end debate and advance nominee to Senate vote next week.
All-out war breaks out in San Francisco’s Chinatown in Warrior S2 finale by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-04 17:34 (#5B81H) Ars chats with showrunner Jonathan Tropper about building on S1's success.
Here’s what happens when a bee stings you directly in your eyeball by Beth Mole on 2020-12-04 16:33 (#5B7YM) You think 2020 is pretty horrible, but it could always be worse.
Google parts with top AI researcher after blocking paper, faces blowback by Financial Times on 2020-12-04 16:02 (#5B7W3) Timnit Gebru’s exit reignites debate over diversity and free speech at tech group.
Rocket Report: Billionaire backs Scottish spaceport, Relativity bags a bundle by Eric Berger on 2020-12-04 12:00 (#5B7JF) “Fatigue fracture surfaces were confirmed in the apertural area.”
Win laptops, smartwatches, and more in the 2020 Ars Technica Charity Drive by Kyle Orland on 2020-12-04 12:00 (#5B7JG) Help yourself to prizes by helping us raise money for good causes.
Android apps with millions of downloads are vulnerable to serious attacks by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-04 11:30 (#5B7JH) Flaw allows malicious apps to steal credentials, private messages, and much more.
New RISC-V CPU claims recordbreaking performance per watt by Jim Salter on 2020-12-04 11:15 (#5B7GQ) Micro Magic's new CPU offers decent performance with record-breaking efficiency.
Eldritch terrors come forth in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina S4 trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-04 00:01 (#5B710) The Netflix supernatural horror series will conclude its run on December 31, 2020.
Feds say Facebook broke US law, offering permanent jobs to H-1B workers by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-03 23:20 (#5B6Z7) Under US immigration law, employers must give preference to US workers.
BioWare studio GM and Dragon Age lead are both leaving company by Kate Cox on 2020-12-03 22:30 (#5B6Z8) Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises both still alive and well, execs promise.
Google Maps gets building numbers, cross walks, a bunch of other features by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-03 22:20 (#5B6X3) There’s also a new bookmarks tab and a new Street View capture mode.
Warner Bros. will release entire 2021 film slate in theaters and on HBO Max by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-03 19:45 (#5B6R6) That roster includes Dune, Matrix 4, and Godzilla vs. Kong, among other titles.
CBP’s warrantless use of cell phone location data is under investigation by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-03 19:40 (#5B6R7) Inspector general audits purchases of data that would otherwise require warrants.
Google illegally spied on and retaliated against workers, feds say by Kate Cox on 2020-12-03 19:30 (#5B6R8) Employees are allowed to talk amongst themselves about their workplace.
A good day for UltraHD: HBO Max, The Lord of the Rings will stream in 4K HDR by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-03 18:25 (#5B6HN) Wonder Woman 1984 will be the first film on HBO Max in UltraHD.
NSF releases footage from the moment Arecibo’s cables failed by John Timmer on 2020-12-03 18:18 (#5B6HP) Two different cameras, with one capturing a close-up of the cables snapping.
Verizon has been leaking customers’ personal information for days (at least) by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-03 18:05 (#5B6HQ) A bug in a customer chat feature shows transcripts of other people's chats.
Audi and BMW to both leave Formula E—here’s why that’s OK by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-12-03 17:14 (#5B6DX) New manufacturers will take their place.
Meet Ravn X—a fully autonomous, air-launched rocket for small satellites by Eric Berger on 2020-12-03 17:00 (#5B6DY) “Our aircraft is a first stage because it actually contributes delta V.”
Nation-state backed hackers going after COVID vaccine supply chain by Financial Times on 2020-12-03 16:03 (#5B69W) Sophisticated operation is well-researched and well-placed, aimed at EU.
One of the Internet’s most aggressive threats could take UEFI malware mainstream by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-03 11:00 (#5B5XG) New feature targets the most critical component of all modern-day computers.
Lupin trailer offers a fresh retelling of classic French gentleman thief by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-03 01:10 (#5B5ET) Omar Sy stars as a master thief inspired by the French equivalent of Sherlock Holmes.
Microsoft’s latest Game Pass Ultimate deal gives new users 3 months for $1 by Ars Staff on 2020-12-02 23:00 (#5B5AN) Dealmaster also has tons of leftover tech deals from Cyber Monday.
Apple’s MagSafe Duo charger finally shows up in online stores by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-02 21:28 (#5B576) The accessory was announced back in October alongside the iPhone 12.
It’s happening: Starship may fly to 15km as early as Friday by Eric Berger on 2020-12-02 20:36 (#5B552) For this test, Starship will ascend above nearly 90 percent of the atmosphere.
Physics is somewhat less broken, but still not quite right by John Timmer on 2020-12-02 19:21 (#5B525) Measurements of the proton’s charge radius still disagree, but by less.
Senate rushes to confirm Trump FCC nominee in order to hinder Biden admin by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-02 18:58 (#5B526) Democrats fight nomination, hoping for 2-1 FCC majority when Biden is sworn in.
EU throws shade as UK approves COVID-19 vaccine after 10-day review by Beth Mole on 2020-12-02 18:51 (#5B527) "The idea is not to be first but to have a safe and effective vaccine."
Trump to Congress: Repeal Section 230 or I’ll veto military funding by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-02 18:30 (#5B4YP) Section 230 gives broad immunity to online platforms for third-party content.
High-energy X-rays reveal the secrets of ancient Egyptian inks by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-02 17:42 (#5B4YQ) Analysis involved 12 papyri fragments from the Tebtunis Temple, southwest of Cairo.
Fortnite’s Nexus War event could expose Twitch streamers to DMCA problems by Kyle Orland on 2020-12-02 16:30 (#5B4RP) Epic Games and Twitch warn over 100,000 streamers of potential music rights issues.
China releases a super-clear image of the Moon taken by Chang’e 5 probe by Eric Berger on 2020-12-02 15:47 (#5B4RQ) There’s also video showing the descent of the spacecraft.
Teardown of “Dishy McFlatface,” the SpaceX Starlink user terminal by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-02 15:21 (#5B4MP) "It's rare to see something of this complexity in a consumer product."
Qualcomm’s new flagship SoC is the Snapdragon 888 by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-02 15:00 (#5B4MQ) It’s built on 5nm with a Cortex X1 core, Wi-Fi 6E, and onboard 5G.
Space balloon company raises funds, will conduct first test flight next year by Eric Berger on 2020-12-02 14:00 (#5B4HD) No ticket price has been revealed, but it likely will be on the order of $125,000.
Everything we know about Hyundai and Kia’s new electric vehicle platform by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-12-02 13:33 (#5B4EW) Modular chassis design, 800V architecture, and the first cars are due in 2021.
CDC experts voted: Here’s who should get the first COVID-19 vaccine doses by Beth Mole on 2020-12-02 05:20 (#5B429) Frontline health workers and long-term care facility residents are first in line.
iPhone zero-click Wi-Fi exploit is one of the most breathtaking hacks ever by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-02 02:34 (#5B3Z3) Before Apple patch, Wi-Fi packets could steal photos. No interaction needed. Over the air.
Exterminate! BBC drops trailer for Revolution of the Daleks special by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-01 23:18 (#5B3S2) John Barrowman returns, and we'll also bid farewell to a couple of cast members.
Salesforce strikes deal to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-01 22:37 (#5B3S3) Slack will become “the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360.”
OpenZFS 2.0 release unifies Linux, BSD and adds tons of new features by Jim Salter on 2020-12-01 21:57 (#5B3PW) Persistent L2ARC finally makes "SSD read cache" an effective ZFS reality.
Yes, the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was bad—but was it really that bad? by Eric Berger on 2020-12-01 20:41 (#5B3MD) The United States saw a total of 12 landfalls. Louisiana, alone, experienced five.
Amazon Web Services adds macOS on bare metal to EC2 by Jim Salter on 2020-12-01 20:26 (#5B3ME) EC2's new mac1.metal EC2 type isn't virtualized—it's actual Mac minis.
Nikola stock plunge continues as insider lockup period ends by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-01 20:17 (#5B3HX) Nikola's stock price has nose-dived for four straight trading days.