US starts safety testing of coronavirus vaccine by John Timmer on 2020-03-16 20:36 (#50SSS) The vaccine relies on a novel technology that hasn't been used at scale yet.
Xbox Series X eschews storage standards for proprietary expansion “card” by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-16 20:29 (#50SST) USB hard drives can still be used for backup storage, though.
F1 drivers and other pros switch to esports in the age of the coronavirus by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-03-16 19:31 (#50SSV) Stars of F1, NASCAR, and IndyCar went digital on Sunday in three esports events.
Trump reportedly offered $1B to poach coronavirus vax for US use only by Kate Cox on 2020-03-16 18:28 (#50SFZ) A vaccine made in Germany would be "for the whole world," health minister said.
French antitrust watchdog hits Apple with its biggest fine ever: $1.2 billion by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-16 17:49 (#50SG0) Two wholesalers that worked with Apple were also fined. Apple plans to appeal.
Verily’s COVID-19 screening site goes live, is already over capacity by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-16 17:12 (#50SG1) There's an extremely simple three-question survey and only two testing sites.
The virus has gone global—so what happens to the launch industry? by Eric Berger on 2020-03-16 17:04 (#50SG2) "At this time, we do not expect an impact to the launch of AEHF-6."
Why is Meetup helping people organize meetings during a pandemic? by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-16 17:02 (#50SG3) Meetup could help save lives by suspending in-person meetings.
Microsoft Teams went down for two hours as Europe logged in by Jim Salter on 2020-03-16 16:30 (#50SG4) MS Teams seems unprepared for the unprecedented high number of remote workers.
Amid pandemic, T-Mobile gets emergency access to Dish’s 600MHz spectrum by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-16 16:15 (#50SG5) FCC grants 60-day access to 600MHz spectrum controlled by Dish and Comcast.
How do we stop people from blinding other drivers with aftermarket LEDs? by Ars Staff on 2020-03-16 14:06 (#50S6A) Good headlights make you safer, but bad ones actively hurt other road users.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons review: A quarantined life has never been cuter by Sam Machkovech on 2020-03-16 14:00 (#50S6B) Nintendo's answer to unfamiliar times is a very familiar, and very dense, sim game.
Stuck at home? Binge on some “War Stories” gaming videos! by Lee Hutchinson on 2020-03-16 13:10 (#50RXG) Beat those lockdown blues with some fascinating tales of game-design challenges.
The Powerbeats are the latest workout-friendly headphones from Beats (and Apple) by Jeff Dunn on 2020-03-16 12:00 (#50RXH) New exercise buds arrive on March 18 after extensive leaks.
What a WoW virtual outbreak taught us about how humans behave in epidemics by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-16 11:00 (#50RXJ) Revisiting a seminal 2007 paper modeling WoW's Corrupted Blood incident.
Westworld S3, episode 1: O brave new world, that has such hosts in it by Lee Hutchinson on 2020-03-16 02:30 (#50RJZ) Spoilers: A look at what we learned in the season premiere, and what might be yet to come.
Google and Verily clarify their roles in the US coronavirus response [UPDATED 3/15] by John Timmer on 2020-03-16 00:08 (#50PEZ) The portal, developed by a different Alphabet company, is not ready for national use.
Suddenly working at home? We’ve done it for 22 years—and have advice by Ars Staff on 2020-03-15 13:30 (#50QYN) Your productivity, your health, and your sanity: We have your home office covered.
How alternative Egyptology and scientific archaeology were born on the Giza Plateau by Ars Staff on 2020-03-15 13:00 (#50QSX) The analog world still has plenty of wonders in this excerpt from The Analog Antiquarian.
High-stakes security setups are making remote work impossible by WIRED on 2020-03-15 10:55 (#50QSY) Some staffers at power grids, intelligence agencies, and more can't work from home
What Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks can teach us about peer review by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-14 23:46 (#50QFS) Reducing the time it takes for peer review by 80 percent wouldn't affect funding levels.
Sea turtles think plastic smells like food by Cathleen O'Grady on 2020-03-14 14:00 (#50Q1D) New explanation for why sea predators are eating so much plastic
Review: The Hunt is every bit as bad and offensive as we suspected by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-14 13:00 (#50PWY) But at least it's an equal-opportunity offender. And Betty Gilpin is terrific.
Could we have already imaged a ringed exoplanet? by John Timmer on 2020-03-14 12:00 (#50PWZ) "Super puff" planets are either extremely low density, or just block a lot of light.
Comcast and T-Mobile upgrade everyone to unlimited data for next 60 days by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-13 23:18 (#50PF0) Comcast also opens Wi-Fi hotspots to all and T-Mobile boosts mobile-hotspot data.
Red Magic 5G gaming smartphone has 144hz display, internal cooling fan by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-13 22:40 (#50PF1) Plus it comes in some ridiculous color combinations.
Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board by Eric Bangeman on 2020-03-13 21:46 (#50P6R) Microsoft co-founder exits the board 45 years after starting the company.
Chelsea Manning is out of jail after almost a year by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-03-13 21:26 (#50P6S) Manning sought to challenge the legitimacy of the grand jury process.
COVID-19 is a national emergency, Trump declares by Beth Mole on 2020-03-13 20:46 (#50P6T) The declaration frees up $50 billion in response funding.
Italian cave makes sense of the change in Earth’s ice age rhythm by Scott K. Johnson on 2020-03-13 19:26 (#50P6V) About a million years ago, ice ages got much longer—what changed?
Scientists draw inspiration from shark skin for novel new smart material by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-13 18:05 (#50NW5) “Acoustic metamaterials†can mimic key components of a sound “computer.â€
After deregulatory blitz, FCC scrambles to prevent ISP abuse during pandemic by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-13 17:50 (#50NW6) ISPs agree to waive late fees and service disconnections, but data caps remain.
Ice Lake GPU underperforming? Put it in powersave mode. Wait, what? by Jim Salter on 2020-03-13 17:40 (#50NW7) Linux users discovered Ice Lake laptops were actually faster in powersave mode.
Why are U-2 jet pilots wearing Garmin satellite navigation smartwatches? by Ars Staff on 2020-03-13 17:15 (#50NW8) They're useful flight- and pilot-monitoring tools, says the Air Force.
Apple’s WWDC is happening this year after all—but it has a new format by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-13 17:07 (#50NW9) The company still plans to announce its slate of new features for iOS and macOS.
Pentagon to “reconsider” parts of controversial $10 billion JEDI contract by Kate Cox on 2020-03-13 16:05 (#50NJG) Amazon says it lost deal because Trump hates Bezos; DoD will now review.
Niantic updates Pokémon Go in effort to limit coronavirus spread by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-13 15:33 (#50NJH) Cheap incense, quick-hatching eggs, and more updates encourage less real-world wandering.
OLED-power link jumps from useless 50Mb/s to useful 1Gb/s by Chris Lee on 2020-03-13 13:34 (#50NJJ) Tuning tiny OLEDs' fabrication results in faster switching times.
Singapore was ready for COVID-19—other countries, take note by WIRED on 2020-03-13 11:00 (#50KVN) Singapore built a robust system for tracking and containing epidemics after SARS and H1N1.
AT&T waives data cap during coronavirus; Comcast keeps charging overage fees by Jon Brodkin on 2020-03-12 22:12 (#50MRP) We asked 10 ISPs if they'll waive caps as pandemic forces people to stay home.
Apple Music reaches new deals with major labels sans “Apple Prime” bundle agreement by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-12 21:59 (#50MFR) News+ publishers already agreed to a bundle, but music labels are holding out.
Coronavirus restrictions the final straw for ESA’s Mars Mission by John Timmer on 2020-03-12 21:42 (#50MFS) The mission had problems, and key people can no longer get together to sort them out.
New $1,800 TAG Heuer smartwatch is the price of four Apple Watches by Ron Amadeo on 2020-03-12 21:25 (#50MFT) It has the same terrible Snapdragon Wear 3100 SoC that all other Android watches have.
Pixar’s Soul trailer treads similar existential ground as Coco, Inside Out by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-03-12 20:49 (#50MFV) Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey star in this Peter Docter-directed animated film.
Microsoft delivers emergency patch to fix wormable Windows 10 flaw by Dan Goodin on 2020-03-12 20:35 (#50MFW) Attackers got a head start when critical SMBv3 flaw details leaked 2 days ago.
Apple plans to add a rear-facing 3D sensor to a new iPhone by Samuel Axon on 2020-03-12 20:06 (#50MFX) Like TrueDepth, it would enable new kinds of applications and more precise AR.
Space Center Houston now has a twice-flown Falcon 9 on display by Lee Hutchinson on 2020-03-12 19:49 (#50MFY) We were there, and here’s a bunch of pictures from the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Watch out for privacy pitfalls if your school is suddenly online-only by Kate Cox on 2020-03-12 19:01 (#50M5G) FERPA is probably not in anyone's top 100 concerns right now, but it still exists.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps review: A natural beauty by Kyle Orland on 2020-03-12 18:48 (#50M5H) Elegant 2D platformer is a graphical showcase, especially with an HDR display.
Add another year to your PlayStation Plus subscription for $40 today by Ars Staff on 2020-03-12 18:25 (#50M5J) Dealmaster also has the Echo Dot for $25, PlayStation Plus for $40, and more.