US diplomats’ brain injuries may be from covert microwave attack, experts say by Beth Mole on 2020-12-10 11:45 (#5BFJ7) Data from Russian experiments on pulsed RF energy offers best explanation.
Chloë Moretz battles gremlins on a plane in Shadow in the Cloud trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-10 02:06 (#5BF45) “It’s not critters who cause accidents. It’s careless airmen.”
So, it turns out SpaceX is pretty good at rocketing by Eric Berger on 2020-12-10 00:19 (#5BF2W) “Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!”
Cruise says it has started driverless testing—I’m skeptical by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-09 23:29 (#5BF0N) Rival Waymo has been offering driverless rides to the public since October.
COVID-19 vaccine data has been unlawfully accessed in hack of EU regulator by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-09 21:19 (#5BESH) Hack of the European Medicines Agency affects vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.
Company claims solid-state lithium-metal battery breakthrough by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-12-09 21:05 (#5BESJ) It would offer much higher energy density and much faster charging.
Watch live: SpaceX is fueling its Starship for a high-altitude flight [Updated] by Eric Berger on 2020-12-09 20:10 (#5BEG5) The weather in South Texas is again rather nice.
FTC, 47 states file suits to break up Instagram and WhatsApp from Facebook by Kate Cox on 2020-12-09 19:46 (#5BEP3) It's almost certainly going to be a long and ugly legal fight.
Google’s secretive Fuchsia OS is open for contributions by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-09 19:37 (#5BEP4) Fuchsia has been in development for four years now.
COVID data manager investigated, raided for using publicly available password by Kate Cox on 2020-12-09 18:29 (#5BEG2) Not only does the whole state share one password, but it’s posted publicly.
Pornhub blocks uploads and downloads in crackdown on child-sexual-abuse videos by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-09 18:13 (#5BEG3) Pornhub will only allow uploads by verified users, bans downloads of most videos.
Physicists solve 150-year-old mystery of equation governing sandcastle physics by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-09 18:00 (#5BEG4) “This came as a big surprise. I expected a complete breakdown of conventional physics.”
Two allergic reactions to Pfizer vaccine lead to warning in UK by Financial Times on 2020-12-09 17:33 (#5BEG6) People with “significant” history of allergies told to avoid jab.
Xbox cloud gaming service hits iOS, Windows PCs in spring 2021 by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-09 17:17 (#5BECN) The iOS version will run in a Web browser, just like Google’s Stadia.
YouTube bans videos claiming Trump won by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-09 17:01 (#5BECP) The electoral college is set to confirm Joe Biden’s victory next Monday.
“A damn stupid thing to do”—the origins of C by Ars Contributors on 2020-12-09 12:30 (#5BE0E) Today, C may be a lingua franca among programmers. This is its (abridged) history.
A promising start to new human gene-editing trials by John Timmer on 2020-12-09 11:45 (#5BDXX) Treatments involve adding a new gene, or using CRISPR to edit one.
High-end SATA SSD shootout: Samsung 860 Pro vs. Kingston DC500M by Jim Salter on 2020-12-09 11:30 (#5BDXY) Kingston’s DC500M is a lesser-known drive but a great value for business.
GOP clinches 2-2 deadlock for Biden FCC as Senate approves Trump nominee by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-08 22:11 (#5BD8E) Senate confirms “wholly unqualified” Republican to prevent Democratic majority.
Premiere security firm FireEye says it was breached by nation-state hackers by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-08 22:08 (#5BD8F) The FBI, normally mum on such matters, says it is investigating the hack.
Cloudflare, Apple, and others back a new way to make the Internet more private by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-08 21:29 (#5BD5K) New DNS technique separates address lookups from the people making them.
Apple Fitness+ launches this coming Monday at $9.99 per month by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-08 21:10 (#5BD5M) The workout video subscription service is also available as part of Apple One.
Vice President Mike Pence is set to name a cadre of Artemis astronauts by Eric Berger on 2020-12-08 20:50 (#5BD30) "This will probably end up making a splash."
Strange object recaptured by Earth is 1966 booster rocket from Surveyor 2 by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-08 20:39 (#5BD31) 1966 Surveyor 2 mission crashed into the Moon, but its spent rocket came home to Earth.
After years of fighting it, Nest will work with Samsung’s SmartThings by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-08 19:20 (#5BCZY) After killing the Works with Nest ecosystem, Google is now open to cross-compatibility.
Florida police raid home of former state coronavirus data manager by Kate Cox on 2020-12-08 18:51 (#5BCX5) “Doing this to me will not stop me from reporting the data. Ever.”
Cyberpunk 2077 could trigger seizures in photosensitive players [Updated] by Kyle Orland on 2020-12-08 17:24 (#5BCT3) Epilepsy charity urges: “A disclaimer warning at the beginning isn’t enough.”
GE puts default password in radiology devices, leaving healthcare networks exposed by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-08 17:00 (#5BCT4) Fixing the critical vulnerability isn’t straightforward and comes with its own risks.
Trump to hold “Vaccine Summit” today—no vaccine-makers agreed to come by Beth Mole on 2020-12-08 16:49 (#5BCNW) Pfizer, Moderna won’t attend event, largely seen as a PR stunt.
Apple’s new AirPods Max over-ear headphones cost $549 by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-08 15:30 (#5BCJQ) The headphones' controls take design cues from the Apple Watch.
Test pilot Chuck Yeager dead at 97 by Lee Hutchinson on 2020-12-08 15:24 (#5BCJR) 1947 supersonic flight broke speed records, changed aviation forever.
Tesla plans to raise another $5 billion as value soars above $600 billion by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-08 15:16 (#5BCJS) Tesla could end the year with $20 billion in the bank.
It’s time—after myriad ground tests, SpaceX will let its Starship fly free by Eric Berger on 2020-12-08 15:01 (#5BCJT) Today may determine the fate of SN8.
Google promises “spectacular” city GPS improvement with 3D building data by Ron Amadeo on 2020-12-07 22:45 (#5BBNT) Android GPS will work better in cities thanks to Google Maps' 3D building data.
Grand theft GPU: $340,000 worth of RTX 3090s “fell off a truck” in China by Jim Salter on 2020-12-07 22:25 (#5BBNV) Make a list: ✔ Check it twice: ✔ Don't really care who's naughty or nice: ✔
Uber abandons dreams of self-driving domination, sells self-driving unit by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-07 22:07 (#5BBNW) Uber is pumping $400 million into a startup led by a Google self-driving veteran.
Quantum device performs 2.6 billion years of computation in 4 minutes by Chris Lee on 2020-12-07 20:10 (#5BBHJ) Photons explore quantum maze faster than possible for any classical computer.
NSA says Russian state hackers are using a VMware flaw to ransack networks by Dan Goodin on 2020-12-07 19:19 (#5BBF5) Multiple VMware products are exploited in attacks that access Windows active directory.
Senate invites fringe, unscientific medical group to testify about COVID by John Timmer on 2020-12-07 19:04 (#5BBF6) The latest conservative flirtation with a group that’s both libertarian and deranged.
SpaceX gets $886 million from FCC to subsidize Starlink in 35 states by Jon Brodkin on 2020-12-07 18:43 (#5BBCJ) Charter also wins big; FCC fund will bring service to 5.2M homes and businesses.
Pornhub under investigation by Visa, MasterCard amid abuse allegations by Kate Cox on 2020-12-07 18:34 (#5BBCK) Payment processors want to know what kind of transactions they're a part of.
New report reveals Apple’s roadmap for when each Mac will move to Apple Silicon by Samuel Axon on 2020-12-07 18:27 (#5BBCM) High-end Macs could have as many as 32 performance cores to the M1's four.
Cyberpunk 2077 is equal parts beautiful and messy by Kyle Orland on 2020-12-07 17:00 (#5BB9Z) 20 hours in, Night City is a majestic masterpiece with a lot of rough edges.
Rudy Giuliani hospitalized with COVID-19 in latest Trump-sphere infection by Beth Mole on 2020-12-07 16:19 (#5BB60) At least 40 others in Trump's inner circle have been infected since September.
Despite the pandemic, SpaceX is crushing its annual launch record by Eric Berger on 2020-12-07 15:54 (#5BB2X) The Block 5 variant has been a true workhorse.
This Arizona college student has taken over 60 driverless Waymo rides by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-12-07 13:18 (#5BAYQ) Human drivers are pretty safe, making it hard to prove driverless tech is safer.
Two very different approaches to restoring vision by John Timmer on 2020-12-06 14:00 (#5B9VN) Reprogramming nerve cells and hardware implants both add to visual acuity.
The incredible journey of the electronic plastic bottle by WIRED on 2020-12-06 11:30 (#5B9QY) Researchers loaded containers with trackers and let them float away.
Superkids must battle an alien invasion in We Can Be Heroes trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-06 00:52 (#5B9FK) It’s Director Robert Rodriguez’s standalone sequel to his 2005 3D kids’ film.
Review: Freaky is a familiar-but-fun riff on the classic body-swap concept by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-12-05 20:25 (#5B99H) Latest horror/comedy from Christopher Landon spoofs Friday the 13th, Freaky Friday.