Rocket Report: Long March 7A fails, rising SLS costs put Congress on notice by Eric Berger on 2020-03-20 11:00 (#51019) "Shows value of having 9 engines!"
Tesla says it will shut down its Fremont factory—next Monday by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-20 01:47 (#50ZPK) "Danger of panic far exceeds danger of corona," Elon Musk tweeted on Monday.
Facebook’s new design turns your PC into an enormous phone by Jim Salter on 2020-03-19 21:50 (#50Z96) It's hard to like most of the new layout—but having a dark mode is nice.
Game Developers Conference plans postponed SF gathering for Aug. 4-6 by Kate Cox on 2020-03-19 20:50 (#5016C) New schedule announced even as San Francisco remains in a state of emergency.
Charter employees beg for work-from-home rights during pandemic by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-19 20:19 (#50Z97) "Good people at a bad company": employees describe breeding ground for germs.
Senators push to allow remote Senate votes during emergencies by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-19 20:10 (#50Z98) Congressional leaders have resisted calls to allow remote voting.
Android 11 Preview 2 hands-on: More polish and a new install method by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-19 18:30 (#50YZ8) We get yet another notification panel redesign and lots of tiny changes.
DirectX 12 Ultimate brings Xbox Series X features to PC gaming by Jim Salter on 2020-03-19 18:10 (#50YZ9) DX12U will bring DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, and more to Windows PCs.
You can save $10 on Doom Eternal today before it officially launches by Ars Staff on 2020-03-19 17:43 (#50YZA) Physical copies only. Dealmaster also has deals on Fire TV streamers and more.
American Amazon warehouse worker gets COVID-19 by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-19 16:13 (#50YMJ) The Queens warehouse is operating again after a deep cleaning, Amazon says.
Comcast aggressively moves to work-from-home during pandemic by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-19 15:49 (#50YMK) Comcast embraces remote work while Charter resists employee complaints.
ASCII art + permadeath: The history of roguelike games by Ars Staff on 2020-03-19 15:00 (#50YMM) Everything from Rogue to the Binding of Isaac.
Another port bites the dust: Xbox Series X drops S/PDIF audio by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-19 14:58 (#50YMN) Infrared TV remote functions also won't be supported on upcoming hardware.
Elon Musk says Tesla and SpaceX could build ventilators by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-03-19 14:41 (#50YMP) However, the billionaire downplayed the seriousness of COVID-19.
Review: Bloodshot is the solid escapist fare we could use right now by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-19 11:44 (#50YBQ) Too bad all the theaters are closed. But you can buy it on March 24 for home viewing.
Windows Subsystem for Linux is making inroads with developers by Jim Salter on 2020-03-19 10:45 (#50Y65) With Redmond—and large gatherings in general—a no-go, WSLconf went virtual.
Apple will update iWork suite with trackpad support and iCloud folder sharing by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-18 19:31 (#50X6H) On top of iCloud Folder Sharing, new templates are coming to Pages and Keynote.
Detroit automakers will reportedly shutter factories—but not Tesla by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-18 18:39 (#50X6J) News of two coronavirus cases among US autoworkers may have hastened shutdowns.
Android surveillanceware operators jump on the coronavirus fear bandwagon by Dan Goodin on 2020-03-18 18:19 (#50X6K) An 11-month-old surveillance campaign is the latest to exploit pandemic fears.
7.5-inch e-ink display is powered completely by NFC by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-18 17:54 (#50X6M) $70 display sips just enough power from an NFC data transfer to flip e-ink pixels.
Steam’s new slew of 59 free demos is a perfect quarantine “game expo” by Sam Machkovech on 2020-03-18 17:42 (#50X6N) Thanks to GDC's cancellation, you have five days to enjoy 59 free indie game demos.
Sony details PS5’s fast SSD, variable clock rates, 3D audio tech [Updated] by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-18 17:23 (#50X6P) Cerny goes nitty-gritty on M2 expansion support, backward compatibility, and more.
Pandemic “will last 18 months or longer,” leaked US gov’t report warns by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-18 16:20 (#50WWW) Gov't report warns of medical-supply shortages and "multiple waves" in pandemic.
This new sensor is how F1 plans to stop teams from cheating in 2020 by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-03-18 15:45 (#50WWY) If the season ever gets started, this is how the fuel flow rules will be enforced.
Alameda County Sheriff pressures Tesla to shut down Fremont factory by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-18 15:32 (#50WWZ) Tesla stock is down 11 percent from Tuesday's close.
Apple’s new iPad Pro has trackpad support, lidar, and an 8-core GPU by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-18 15:17 (#50WX0) Mouse and trackpad support are coming to all iPads on March 24 with iPadOS 13.4.
Two US doctors in critical condition with COVID-19, dozens more infected by Beth Mole on 2020-03-18 15:02 (#50WX1) “This virus is dangerous, and its impact is still unfolding.â€
Apple’s new MacBook Air brings the price down and the specs up—plus a new keyboard by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-18 14:47 (#50WX2) Configuration options include Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 CPUs and double the old storage.
How China built facial recognition for people wearing masks by Financial Times on 2020-03-18 13:45 (#50WM6) Hanwang says its technology has reached 95% accuracy in identifying mask wearers.
Falcon 9 launches safely, but suffers an early engine shutdown [Updated] by Eric Berger on 2020-03-18 11:15 (#50Q1C) Engine failure likely contributed to the loss of first stage during landing attempt.
Reputable sites swept up in FB’s latest coronavirus-minded spam cleanse [Updated] by Sam Machkovech on 2020-03-18 00:06 (#50VVY) Facebook acknowledges issue, which could sow distrust in urgent crowdfunding efforts.
A tech bro opts for a digital afterlife in first trailer for Amazon’s Upload by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-17 23:54 (#50VVZ) It's the latest comedy series from the man behind The Office, Parks and Recreation.
Buzz Aldrin has some advice for Americans in quarantine by Eric Berger on 2020-03-17 22:12 (#50VW0) "We looked at this one crack in the floor, and there were ants crawling in and out."
LG’s new consumer 2020 OLED TVs will cost up to $6,000 by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-17 22:06 (#50VJX) The cheapest is the new 48-inch CX model at $1,500.
Inside the model that may be making US, UK rethink coronavirus control by John Timmer on 2020-03-17 21:47 (#50VJY) An Imperial College report considers whether anything short of a vaccine will help.
Amazon hiring 100,000 warehouse workers amid coronavirus boom by Kate Cox on 2020-03-17 21:08 (#50VJZ) At least five workers in Amazon's EU warehouses have contracted COVID-19 so far.
Study ranks the privacy of major browsers. Here are the findings by Dan Goodin on 2020-03-17 20:08 (#50VK0) Upstart Brave browser gets the highest ratings. Chrome, Firefox and Safari fall between.
Charter engineer quits over “reckless” rules against work-from-home by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-17 17:58 (#50V8H) Charter workers apparently face choice in pandemic: work in the office or resign.
Google strips location sharing from Google Hangouts by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-17 17:48 (#50V8J) Google seems determined to kill its best messaging app.
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 tablet is back down to its lowest price ever today by Ars Staff on 2020-03-17 17:42 (#50V8K) Dealmaster also has offers on Doom Eternal, Nvidia and Roku streamers, and more.
Going for speed: The load-busting, lag-limiting tech of the Xbox Series X by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-17 17:29 (#50V8M) Prettier graphics are nice, but we're most excited about opening gaming's bottlenecks.
Uber is shutting down Uber pool to “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-17 16:32 (#50V8N) Shutdown starts in US and Canada, other markets on a case-by-case basis.
NASA spent a decade and nearly $1 billion for a single launch tower by Eric Berger on 2020-03-17 16:08 (#50TY7) "NASA exacerbated these issues by accepting unproven and untested designs."
Firm wielding Theranos patents asks judge to block coronavirus test [Updated] by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-17 14:20 (#50TY9) Legal expert calls it "the most tone-deaf IP suit in history."
Doom Eternal is a masterful twitch shooter symphony with one sour note by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-17 14:00 (#50TYA) Almost uniformly excellent, fast-paced action is hampered by one pace-breaking flaw.
Plot Against America: HBO’s alternate-history series is too stuck on the present by Ars Staff on 2020-03-17 10:45 (#50TN7) Philip Roth's novel, interpreted by ex-The Wire writers, got our hopes up. Alas.
AMD’s 7nm Ryzen 4000 laptop processors are finally here by Jim Salter on 2020-03-17 10:30 (#50TN8) Ryzen 4000 brings the Zen 2 architecture to mobile form factors.
As US fumbles COVID-19 testing, WHO warns social distancing is not enough by Beth Mole on 2020-03-16 22:14 (#50T2F) The US is still struggling to ramp up testing as disease continues to spread.
Tesla surprises everyone by delivering the Model Y ahead of schedule by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-16 21:13 (#50SSQ) Model Y is built on the Model 3 platform, saving time and development costs.
The Internet is drowning in COVID-19-related malware and phishing scams by Dan Goodin on 2020-03-16 21:02 (#50SSR) Emails and websites promise info about the pandemic. In reality, they're shams.