AT&T’s “headcount rationalization”—i.e. job cuts—hits thousands more workers by Jon Brodkin on 2020-06-17 17:24 (#54PWH) AT&T network operations take big hit—thousands of contract workers lose jobs too.
PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter: “Our equipment started the fire.” by Kate Cox on 2020-06-17 16:11 (#54PS0) PG&E’s “gross negligence” led to massive 2018 Camp Fire, district attorney said.
Rockstar stops hackers from spawning KKK members in Red Dead Online by Kyle Orland on 2020-06-17 15:38 (#54PS1) But other widespread cheating problems still persist.
Tesla reportedly shipping Model Ys with significant manufacturing defects by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-06-17 14:55 (#54PQ3) Electrek and pro-Tesla subreddits are full of refused deliveries due to defects.
Over 21 years later, Pokémon Snap is coming back on Switch by Kyle Orland on 2020-06-17 14:04 (#54PNQ) No public release date yet for New Pokémon Snap, which will be made by Bandai Namco.
Lawsuit vs. Western Digital wants to end any use of SMR in NAS drives by Jim Salter on 2020-06-17 10:30 (#54PHD) The hits keep coming against Western Digital's much-loathed SMR Red disks.
Formula E returns in August, will run six races in nine days in Berlin by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-06-17 08:15 (#54PGC) There will be three double-headers with different track layouts, but no spectators.
Apple is reopening a bunch of stores in the US and Canada… again by Samuel Axon on 2020-06-16 22:55 (#54P8D) 70 stores will reopen this week, but they'll continue to focus on appointments.
Homeopaths sell injections containing strychnine, lead, mercury. Seriously by Beth Mole on 2020-06-16 22:25 (#54P8E) Don’t inject yourself with poison—regardless of what homeopaths say.
HTC’s first 5G smartphone is packing a big 5,000mAh battery by Ron Amadeo on 2020-06-16 22:06 (#54P76) HTC returns to the smartphone market with a midrange, ~$640 device.
Multiple “CIA failures” led to theft of agency’s top-secret hacking tools by Dan Goodin on 2020-06-16 21:06 (#54P5P) Vault 7, the worst data theft in CIA history, could have been avoided, report finds.
As COVID-19 cases increase, Pence blames prevalence of testing by Kate Cox on 2020-06-16 19:55 (#54P3Z) Yes, more testing means more proof of cases—but there's far more to it than that.
Mutation may be helping the coronavirus spread more readily by John Timmer on 2020-06-16 19:35 (#54P40) A mutation that's becoming common seems to boost infectivity in cultured cells.
Over 500 free, downloadable demos are now live at Steam Summer Festival by Sam Machkovech on 2020-06-16 19:09 (#54P2E) Seven-day event includes a few biggies, plus former Epic Games Store exclusives.
T-Mobile’s outage yesterday was so big that even Ajit Pai is mad by Jon Brodkin on 2020-06-16 17:19 (#54P0Y) But Pai's FCC has a history of letting carriers off easy.
COVID-19 death rate cut by cheap steroid, according to unpublished data by Beth Mole on 2020-06-16 17:06 (#54NYY) Researchers have yet to release data on the trial, but many are optimistic.
Talking Tiberium: Command & Conquer dev on LAN mode, going open source, and more by Sam Machkovech on 2020-06-16 17:00 (#54MF2) Watch Remastered Collection's lead producer take your questions for 30-plus minutes.
Report faults NOAA leaders’ response to president’s Sharpie moment by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-06-16 16:40 (#54NYZ) Report finds problems but can’t talk to the people who ordered a key statement.
Apple’s AirPods Pro are down to a new low price on Amazon today by Ars Staff on 2020-06-16 16:26 (#54NZ0) Dealmaster also has deals on Switch games, tons of Amazon devices, and more.
Nintendo issues cease-and-desist for Switch modchip installation service by Kyle Orland on 2020-06-16 16:17 (#54NZ1) “All I’m doing is putting the solder on,” says installer, who doesn’t sell the chips.
Boomshakalaka: How the original NBA Jam caught fire through chaos by Sam Machkovech on 2020-06-16 15:10 (#54NRK) Former Midway titan Mark Turmell talks rubber-banding, “on fire,” Michael Jordan.
Tesla cuts Model S price by $5,000, bumps range to 402 miles by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-06-16 14:13 (#54NPA) The American EV maker wants to spur interest in its oldest model.
EC opens antitrust probe into Apple Pay, Apple’s App Store by Financial Times on 2020-06-16 14:09 (#54NPB) App Store and Apple Pay face scrutiny amid competition concerns.
Georgia shows why November’s election could be chaos by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-06-16 11:00 (#54NFE) Coronavirus and voting-technology glitches led to hours-long waits for voters.
Chilling out: Physicists create exotic “fifth form of matter” on board the ISS by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-06-15 23:44 (#54N11) JPL built Cold Atom Lab to make so-called Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity.
Beijing reinstated lockdown as US officials warn the same could happen here by Beth Mole on 2020-06-15 23:02 (#54MZP) The pandemic is still with us, experts warn, and we need to be ready for upticks.
eBay execs sent roaches and “bloody pig mask” to harass journalists, feds say by Jon Brodkin on 2020-06-15 20:35 (#54MR0) Ex-execs arrested for alleged harassment of couple who run e-commerce news site.
US FDA pulls its emergency approval of chloroquine use for COVID-19 by John Timmer on 2020-06-15 20:09 (#54MR1) As evidence built, justification for using the drug was hard to come by.
Political groups use “deeply spooky” protester location data, report finds by Kate Cox on 2020-06-15 19:46 (#54MR2) Activists want demonstrators to stay active—but privacy implications abound.
More than 7 in 10 Americans won’t use contact-tracing apps, data shows by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-06-15 19:06 (#54MQA) That's a decline from April, when only 1 in 2 rejected the idea.
Paleolithic French didn’t let their dead rest peacefully by Kiona N. Smith on 2020-06-15 19:00 (#54MQB) The unusual burials hint at complex social structure and spiritual beliefs.
FCC Republican has “deep reservations” about Trump’s social media crackdown by Jon Brodkin on 2020-06-15 18:35 (#54MQC) FCC may have no authority to impose Trump’s Big Tech order, O’Rielly said.
Google is messing with the address bar again—new experiment hides URL path by Ron Amadeo on 2020-06-15 18:16 (#54MQD) New address-bar tweak would show only the domain name instead of the page URL.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro got a new GPU option that’s up to 75% faster by Samuel Axon on 2020-06-15 17:05 (#54MF1) Apple has also begun selling an SSD upgrade kit for the Mac Pro.
Living the Top Gun dream, on a budget by Ars Staff on 2020-06-15 16:20 (#54MF3) DIY kit planes that replicate classic warbirds have become (slightly) more accessible.
The PlayStation 5 looks to be the biggest game console ever made by Kyle Orland on 2020-06-15 15:21 (#54M6J) Contextual photo analysis suggests a 15-inch+ width, ~550-cubic-inch volume.
Intel will soon bake anti-malware defenses directly into its CPUs by Dan Goodin on 2020-06-15 13:00 (#54M4R) Control-Flow Enforcement Technology will debut in Tiger Lake microarchitecture.
The US military is getting serious about nuclear thermal propulsion by Eric Berger on 2020-06-15 12:18 (#54M4S) “Activity in cislunar space is expected to increase considerably in the coming years.”
An ancient Roman city has been fully mapped using ground-penetrating radar by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-06-14 21:27 (#54KZZ) Archaeologists have found a monument, market, temple, bath complex, and water pipes.
PSA: This year’s confusing, virtual E3, condensed in a single handy site by Sam Machkovech on 2020-06-14 17:45 (#54KYM) We, too, needed help sifting through over 250 game trailers and counting.
Neurons discovered that put mice in a hibernation-like state by John Timmer on 2020-06-14 13:00 (#54KX2) It’s not yet clear whether these neurons function the same way in other mammals.
Deepfakes aren’t very good—nor are the tools to detect them by WIRED on 2020-06-14 10:50 (#54KW8) Winning algorithm from a Facebook-led challenge missed one-third of altered videos.
Review: Artemis Fowl is a crushing disappointment by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-06-13 21:24 (#54KS0) Film gets titular character completely wrong. Did anyone involved even read the books?
Plate tectonics vs. erosion—what sets the height of a mountain range? by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-06-13 16:17 (#54KN1) Wish your mountain was a little bit taller? Blame plate tectonics.
Not a lot of sourdough starters: Our brief escapes amid continued COVID chaos by Ars Staff on 2020-06-13 13:30 (#54KHY) At least we're holding onto pandemic hobbies that require no human interaction or travel.
Spies can eavesdrop by watching a light bulb’s variations by WIRED on 2020-06-13 11:07 (#54KFB) Technique allows for real-time listening in on a room hundreds of feet away.
SpaceX launches its third rocket in two weeks [Updated] by Eric Berger on 2020-06-13 09:55 (#54JXZ) This is the first time the company has launched a Falcon 9 rocket without a static fire.
With theaters still closed, Warner Bros. shifts Tenet release to July 31 [Updated] by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-06-12 23:23 (#53S53) Instead, on July 17, the studio will re-release Inception for 10th anniversary screenings
After months of silence, CDC holds press briefing, issues new COVID advice by Beth Mole on 2020-06-12 20:45 (#54K42) CDC suggests rallies and other large in-person events are of the highest risk.
Plastic rain is the new acid rain by WIRED on 2020-06-12 19:20 (#54JY0) Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain.