Roku’s 4K HDR Streaming Stick+ is on sale for $39 today by Ars Staff on 2020-05-07 19:20 (#53685) Dealmaster also has deals on Kindles, our top Thunderbolt 3 dock, and more.
Comcast resists call to open home Wi-Fi hotspots, cites potential congestion by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-07 19:08 (#5364Q) "Comcast's excuse simply does not add up," three US senators say.
Bored highschoolers at home? Have them design a race car for the Moon by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-07 19:00 (#5364R) The plan is to take two 5kg robot race cars onboard the Nova-C lander in 2021.
LG takes the wraps off its “Velvet” smartphone, priced in Korea at $738 by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-07 18:35 (#5364S) It has a Snapdragon 765G, a headphone jack, water resistance, and wireless charging.
Co-mingling with COVID? Harvard expert weighs in on safe reopening options by Beth Mole on 2020-05-07 17:25 (#532Q7) Dr. Joseph Allen studies where building design meets health—he took our questions for 30min.
Twitter failing to curb misinformation “superspreaders,” report warns by Financial Times on 2020-05-07 16:47 (#535Y2) Posts from high-profile accounts tout questionable virus therapies and cures.
Wink smart hub users get one week’s notice to pay up or lose access by Kate Cox on 2020-05-07 16:31 (#535Y3) Devices will stop working for users who don't want to pay the new monthly fee.
FCC fines Sinclair $48M, refuses to revoke its broadcast licenses by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-07 16:21 (#535Y4) Pai rejects call to revoke licenses, accuses critics of political agenda.
Microsoft shows off 13 “launch window” games for Xbox Series X by Kyle Orland on 2020-05-07 15:49 (#535T3) Majority of titles will be available across generations with “Smart Delivery.”
Entry-level doesn’t mean spartan with the 2021 Kia Seltos by Jim Resnick on 2020-05-07 13:59 (#535JF) Style, interior panache, and it also inches beyond the entry level in size.
Astronomers have discovered closest black hole yet in trinary star system by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-05-07 11:46 (#535CH) Just 1,000 light years from Earth, its two companion stars are visible to the naked eye.
COVID-19 wallops meat plant workers; shortages hit shelves, fast food by Beth Mole on 2020-05-06 20:58 (#534N4) Consumers are starting to see meat shortages after thousands of workers fall ill.
Union rep apparently threatens coronavirus infections to stop clean energy rule by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 20:49 (#534N5) "There will be no social distancing in place," union rep wrote to city leaders.
Trump admin’s botched pandemic response detailed in whistleblower complaint by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-06 20:25 (#534N6) Ex-official alleges cronyism, says warnings about supply shortages were ignored.
The Sonos Arc is the long-awaited Playbar update with Dolby Atmos support by Jeff Dunn on 2020-05-06 20:00 (#534JB) Arc brings a new design and feature set, while the Play:5 is now just the Five.
Prince of Persia concept video appears—and confirms why series has been dormant by Sam Machkovech on 2020-05-06 19:16 (#534FV) PoP: Redemption video has hid in plain sight since 2012, elicits former devs' response.
The 500-year-old bones of African slaves tell a traumatic story by Kiona N. Smith on 2020-05-06 18:50 (#534FW) They are among the earliest enslaved African people brought to the Americas.
Volvo plans cars with lidar and “eyes off” highway driving by 2022 by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 18:22 (#534FX) High-end lidar once cost $75,000. Luminar says its lidar costs less than $1,000.
The preprint problem: Unvetted science is fueling COVID-19 misinformation by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-06 17:39 (#534CN) Peer review moves to Twitter, muddling public health information.
Google delays Android 11 Beta, announces I/O replacement event for June 3 by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-06 17:00 (#53495) Google I/O isn’t happening this year, but we’ll get all the normal info next month.
“There’ll be more death,” Trump says, urging economic reopening by Kate Cox on 2020-05-06 16:48 (#53496) A majority of Americans don’t want to go out now even if businesses do open.
Beyond emulation: The massive effort to reverse-engineer N64 source code by Kyle Orland on 2020-05-06 16:33 (#53497) It's about much more than just enabling PC ports.
Uber lays off 3,700 people as its ride business craters by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-06 14:57 (#53427) Uber’s ride business has reportedly fallen by 80 percent from a year earlier.
We don’t know yet whether a mutation has made SARS-CoV-2 more infectious by John Timmer on 2020-05-06 14:22 (#53428) A mutation in the virus seems to be getting more common, but we don't know why.
NASA planning to launch an integrated Lunar Gateway in 2023 by Eric Berger on 2020-05-06 14:06 (#533Y9) NASA has already assessed the viability of the Falcon Heavy for the task.
Microsoft unveils a ton of new Surface devices, including the Surface Book 3 by Jeff Dunn on 2020-05-06 13:00 (#533T8) Surface Book 3 gets more RAM, Surface Go 2 gets a bigger display, and more.
Caddy offers TLS, HTTPS, and more in one dependency-free Go Web server by Jim Salter on 2020-05-06 12:56 (#533T9) We put Caddy 2.0.0 head to head against a ranking heavyweight, Apache 2.4.41.
How Animal Crossing’s fake industries let players afford real rent amid COVID-19 by Ars Staff on 2020-05-06 11:30 (#533QS) Amid quarantine, New Horizons provides an outlet for creativity and commerce.
SpaceX has fired Starship’s Raptor engine, and the vehicle still stands by Eric Berger on 2020-05-06 03:00 (#533A9) The Raptor rocket engine burned for about 4 seconds.
Hacker buys old Tesla parts on eBay, finds them full of user data by Dan Goodin on 2020-05-05 22:58 (#5335J) Data can be retrieved even after owners perform a factory reset, researcher says.
FDA: Makers of coronavirus antibody tests must now show tests actually work by Beth Mole on 2020-05-05 22:46 (#5335K) Regulatory “flexibility” was never meant to allow fraud, agency says.
California sues to make Uber and Lyft drivers employees by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-05 22:06 (#53337) The lawsuit could force Uber and Lyft to rethink their business models.
This is Nissan’s cheapest new car (and also one of its better ones) by Jonathan M. Gitlin on 2020-05-05 21:18 (#5330F) There's nothing wrong with cheap and cheerful—it starts at just $14,730.
Frontier will charge up to $89 for social distancing on flights by Kate Cox on 2020-05-05 19:12 (#532TJ) Because the airline industry can monetize literally anything, apparently.
Google Meet, Google’s Zoom competitor, gets wider Gmail integration by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-05 19:03 (#532TK) Consumer Gmail users are seeing a "Google Meet" section in the sidebar.
A bunch of Amazon Fire, Kindle, and Echo devices are on sale today by Ars Staff on 2020-05-05 18:57 (#532TM) Dealmaster also has deals on the Roku Streaming Stick+, Apple iPad, and more.
Boots on the Moon! Netflix drops official Space Force trailer by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-05-05 18:41 (#532TN) Think Veep meets The Office and Parks and Recreation.
CenturyLink still hasn’t met 2019 FCC deadline, now faces pandemic roadblocks by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-05 18:15 (#532Q5) Pandemic disrupts broadband progress as cities halt construction.
Microwave thruster makes for clean-burning jet by Chris Lee on 2020-05-05 17:36 (#532Q6) Air-burning plasma thruster may be competitive with jet engines.
Apple’s online-only WWDC 2020 starts June 22 by Samuel Axon on 2020-05-05 17:01 (#532MQ) The company also announced a Swift coding competition for students.
UK car sales plunged 97 percent in April, making Tesla number one by Timothy B. Lee on 2020-05-05 16:27 (#532MR) Car sales in Spain, Italy, and France all declined by 90 percent or more.
Generating Game of Thrones characters in Skyrim’s character creator by Lee Hutchinson on 2020-05-05 15:13 (#532DW) Watch a professional (non-gaming) illustrator adapting to a new medium.
China’s largest rocket takes flight with its next-generation spacecraft by Eric Berger on 2020-05-05 12:50 (#53280) China has sought to use human spaceflight for its soft power.
X-rayed artifacts from famed shipwreck shed light on secrets of Tudor armor by Jennifer Ouellette on 2020-05-05 11:51 (#5325N) University of Warwick scientists also confirmed effectiveness of conservation methods.
The Galaxy A51, Samsung’s $399 iPhone SE fighter, gets a wide US release by Ron Amadeo on 2020-05-04 21:22 (#531H9) Will a modern design and more cameras keep customers from the iPhone SE?
Here’s how Apple, Google will warn you if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 by Dan Goodin on 2020-05-04 21:13 (#531EJ) Here’s what notifications for iOS and Android COVID-19 tracing will look like.
US projects 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, 3,000 daily deaths by June by Jon Brodkin on 2020-05-04 20:34 (#531EK) Leaked gov’t document predicts rise in deaths as Trump aims to “open up America.”
The Half-Life effect on PC-VR is the biggest Steam has ever seen by Sam Machkovech on 2020-05-04 20:20 (#531EM) A big jump, but if you were expecting a jolt that would “save” the PC-VR space, well...
Coronavirus Monday update, May 4 by John Timmer on 2020-05-04 19:03 (#53190) An overview of some of the developing stories of the past week.
Antivaxxers spearhead protests against lockdown orders, demand “freedom” by Beth Mole on 2020-05-04 18:18 (#53191) “These groups all ultimately have the same message: We want you to get sick.”