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Netflix picks up rights for a documentary on the 'Tinder Swindler'
Twitter loses its legal protections in India following government order
Urbanista’s Seoul earbuds include a low-latency mode for gaming
Bumble is opening a restaurant to help people date IRL again
Astronauts complete China’s first-ever tandem spacewalk
Post-pandemic gas revival may threaten climate change targets
Audacity sparks uproar over new data collection policy
Facebook, Google and Twitter threaten to leave Hong Kong over privacy law changes
Bugatti joins forces with electric hypercar maker Rimac
Researchers retrofit microscopes to take 3D images of cells in real-time
A nanofiber membrane could help solve the drinking water crisis
Final Fantasy VII Intergrade’s entertaining DLC should also be on PS4
The Morning After: The Boring company wants to take us to the beach

Netflix picks up rights for a documentary on the 'Tinder Swindler'

Posted: 06 Jul 2021 03:35 AM PDT

Netflix has purchased a documentary on the "Tinder Swindler," who tricked women he met on the dating app into giving him millions of dollars. The notorious con-man pretended to be Russian oligarch Simon Leviev, the son of Russian-Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev. He would take his victims — mostly Scandinavian women — on trips via private jets, stay with them in luxury hotels and treat them to expensive dinners. In truth, he's an Israeli man named Shimon Hayut, who fled to Europe twice to escape theft, forgery and fraud charges in his home country.

Online dating scams have been fairly common these past years, with con-artists using every available outlet into finding potential victims. According to the FTC, losses to romance scams reached a record $304 million last year. And that's just for the scams Americans reported to the agency. The Tinder Swindler hit the headlines for living a jet set lifestyle, though, with previous victims funding his efforts into wooing his current ones.

Hayut would spend months pretending to be in a relationship with his targets before he begins asking them for money, usually pretending to be in trouble to ask his current "girlfriend" for help. Norwegian publication VG spent six months tracking Hayut and got in contact with two of his most recent victims. One of the women it interviewed said she had to take out loans to help him out and ended up being scammed out of 2.1 Norwegian Krones (US$244,000).

Netflix's documentary will be produced by the makers of Three Identical Strangers and Don't F*** With Cats, both of which are also available on the streaming platform. It will also be directed by Felicity Morris of Don't F*** With Cats. Variety says it will follow the women Hayut conned as they "uncover his true identity and bring him to justice." The Tinder Swindler was arrested by Greek police back in 2019 and was extradited to Israel, but he was released last year after only serving five months of a 15 month sentence. Half a year later, in December 2020, he allegedly pretended to be a paramedic to get a COVID—19 vaccine shot early — and then posted a video of the event on Instagram.

Twitter loses its legal protections in India following government order

Posted: 06 Jul 2021 02:43 AM PDT

Twitter has lost its liability protections against user-generated content in India due to its failure to comply with the country's IT rules, the Indian government said in a court filing. The move could leave the company's executives vulnerable to criminal charges over objectionable material on its platform, according to TechCrunch.

Indian police have filed at least five cases against the company or its officials, including some related to child pornography and blasphemous content. A report was recently filed to police in the state of Uttar Pradesh against Twitter's head in India, Manish Maheshwari, over the publication of a map of India that showed the disputed region of Kashmir as a separate country.

Twitter has been in a standoff with the Indian government over its new internet regulations, called the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, announced in February. They dictate that social media companies must remove content within 36 hours of a legal notice and use automated processes to take down offensive material. Platforms must also appoint three full-time executives — who are required to be Indian residents — for compliances, grievances and coordination with law enforcement.

Twitter's resident grievance officer Dharmendra Chatur was the first casualty of the dispute. The exec stepped down from the post in late June. The company has previously stated that it needed more time to comply with the law. Meanwhile, Twitter has bowed to the government's demands to take down accounts with links to the farmers' protests that erupted in India last year. However, it has also drawn the ire of officials over its decision to label tweets by members of the ruling BJP party as "manipulated media."

After months of threats, the Indian government has now officially declared that Twitter has lost its immunity against user-generated content. In a filing dated July 5th, the IT Ministry told the High Court in New Delhi that its decision was a result of Twitter's breach of the IT act. We have reached out to Twitter for comment.

India's information and technology minister Ravi Shankar recently praised other US tech giants for abiding by the rules. As part of their respective compliance reports, Facebook claimed to have taken action against 30 million pieces of content between May 15th and June 15th; its subsidiary Instagram took down about two million posts during the same period; and Google said it had removed 59,350 objectionable posts.

Nice to see significant social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram following the new IT Rules. First compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts published by them as per IT Rules is a big step towards transparency. pic.twitter.com/FhzUv4pHUp
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) July 3, 2021

Urbanista’s Seoul earbuds include a low-latency mode for gaming

Posted: 06 Jul 2021 01:00 AM PDT

No stranger to trying new things, audio brand is introducing its first-ever pair of gaming-focused Bluetooth earbuds. The highlight feature of the company's new Seoul earbuds is a mode toggle that Urbanista claims reduces Bluetooth latency to about 70ms. A dedicated latency toggle isn't something we've seen on a lot of true wireless headphones. Most gaming-oriented earbuds use Qualcomm's aptX Bluetooth codec to get latency as low as possible.

With the codec's low-latency variant, Qualcomm claims you get that number down to about 40ms. The downside of aptX is both your earbuds and phone need to support the codec. That's not a problem with most Snapdragon devices since Qualcomm makes those too, but you won't find the codec supported on Apple devices. That's what makes the Seoul earbuds interesting. They give you a device agnostic way to get a low-latency mode.

Aside from that feature, the Seoul earbuds are about what you expect from a pair of mid-range true wireless earbuds in 2021. At $89.90, they feature a claimed eight hours of battery life on a single charge, with the included case allowing you to get another 32 hours of playtime before the entire unit needs to recharge. At that point, you can charge them using either a USB-C cable or Qi charging pad. They're also IPX4-certified, come with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and feature both Google Assistant and Siri integration. Urbanista will sell the Seoul earbuds in four colors: black, blue, purple and white.

For those looking for something more affordable, Urbanista also announced its new Lisbon earbuds. At $49.90, they're the company's cheapest true wireless earbuds to date. Looking at the spec sheet Urbanista sent over, they look decent too. Battery life comes in at a claimed nine hours on a single charge. With the included charging case, you can get a total of 27 hours of playtime from them. They don't feature waterproofing, but you do get Bluetooth 5.2 support and USB-C charging, as well as Google Assistant and Siri integration. They'll come in five colors: pastel red, beige, pink, green and black.

Bumble is opening a restaurant to help people date IRL again

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 08:00 PM PDT

With more and more people getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19, many single folks are ditching virtual dates for in-person ones. Those looking for love in New York City will soon have a new spot where they can meet up for dates, a café/restaurant/wine bar from dating app Bumble.

Bumble Brew is scheduled to open for breakfast service on July 24th. Lunch and dinner service will start at the Nolita spot in the coming weeks. Along with an 80-seat dining room, there will be a cocktail bar, patio dining and private dining space.

The restaurant, which is decked out in the app's recognizable shade of yellow, can be used for events as well. It has an Italian-inspired menu with pickup and delivery options, and the music is primarily from female artists.

The new venture builds on the Bumble Hive pop-up community spaces where people can hang out, eat and drink and meet others. Bumble Brew doesn't have a direct tie-in with the Bumble app, at least for now. Still, it's easy to imagine Bumble adding a reservation system that pops up when NYC users try to arrange a date.

Astronauts complete China’s first-ever tandem spacewalk

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:00 PM PDT

On early Sunday morning, two Chinese astronauts completed work outside of their country's Tiangong space station. The event was the second-ever spacewalk in China's history. As The Guardian points out, it's also the first time its astronauts have completed a tandem extravehicular activity (EVA).

Shenzhou-12 astronaut Boming Liu left the station at 8:11 PM ET on July 3rd and was later joined by crewmate Hongbo Tang. Meanwhile, Haisheng Nie, the mission's commander, stayed inside the Tianhe "Harmony of the Heavens" crew module to support them.

The two astronauts went out to do work on the module's robotic arm while wearing China's next-generation Feitian EVA suits. The entire time they were about 380 kilometers (236 miles) above the surface of Earth. The components they installed will assist future missions as China looks to complete its new space station sometime in 2022. Liu and Tang went back into Tianhe at approximately 2:57 AM ET, making the entire spacewalk around seven hours.

"The safe return of astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module marks the complete success of the first spacewalk in our country's space station construction," China's Manned Space Agency said in a statement.

The last time a Chinese astronaut left their craft was back in 2008 when Zhigang Zhai put China in the history books as the third-ever country to complete a spacewalk. In the past year, the country successfuly landed its first-ever rover on Mars and retrieved rock and soil samples from the Moon. The country's space agency plans a second spacewalk before the Shenzhou-12 crew returns to Earth later this year.

Post-pandemic gas revival may threaten climate change targets

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 04:00 PM PDT

The pandemic recovery might not be all positive, at least not for the environment. Reutersreports that the International Energy Agency has warned that a post-pandemic resurgence in gas demand could threaten a goal of reaching net zero emissions worldwide by 2050. A projected 3.6 percent increase in gas use for 2021 could not only negate the 2020 decline but "even grow further," according to the IEA.

Demand is expected to taper off to 1.7 percent between 2022 and 2024, but that would still be too steep to stay on track, the IEA said.

This doesn't mean the Paris agreement and other goals are lost causes, however. The IEA believed that projects approved or underway before the pandemic could rein in those emissions. The agency also suggested that the gas industry could help by cutting down on methane leaks that contribute to climate change.

There are positive signs. Renewable energy is outpacing fossil fuels in some countries, and car manufacturers are increasingly committing to all-electric lineups in the next several years. Still, the IEA report lends a sense of urgency to those actions. Humanity might need to temper its eagerness to reestablish normalcy and refocus on green tech, at least if it wants to avoid replacing one global problem with another.

Audacity sparks uproar over new data collection policy

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 02:00 PM PDT

Recent changes to the Audacity privacy policy have led to some users calling the audio-editing app spyware. The open-source software is now collecting user data for "app analytics" and "improving our app" as well as "for legal enforcement."

The privacy policy was updated on July 2nd, following Muse Group's acquisition of Audacity in April — Muse Group also owns Ultimate Guitar and notation app MuseScore. As reported by Foss Post, the policy notes Muse Group is collecting details about users' operating system version, processor, country based on IP address, crash reports and non-fatal error codes and messages. According to the policy, processing that data is in the "legitimate interest" of the company "to offer and ensure the proper functioning of the app."

The data it collects on law enforcement grounds is more vague. The policy says Muse Group will capture "data necessary for law enforcement, litigation and authorities' requests (if any)." It may share personal data with "any competent law enforcement body, regulatory, government agency, court or other third party where we believe disclosure is necessary." Data may be shared with potential buyers too.

Users' personal data is stored on servers in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, Muse Group is "occasionally required to share your personal data with our main office in Russia and our external counsel in the USA." Muse Group noted that whenever personal data is "transferred outside the EEA to countries that are not deemed adequate by the European Commission, your Personal Data receives an adequate level of protection in accordance with [the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation]."

The policy states users' IP addresses are "stored in an identifiable way" for a day before they're hashed. That leaves users open to identification through law enforcement or government data requests.

Several other points in the privacy policy have raised some eyebrows, including a ban on under-13s using Audacity. That, as Foss Post notes, violates the license under which Audacity is distributed. The General Public License prohibits restrictions on software use. Engadget has contacted Muse Group for comment.

All is not lost for Audacity users who value their privacy and pre-teens who tinker with audio in the app. Some users have been calling for a fork of the software, a new version of the app based on the source code. It wouldn't be surprising to see the community take Audacity in that direction.

Until that fork arrives, privacy-conscious users might want to find alternative software, or at least block Audacity from accessing the internet. After all, it's a desktop app that doesn't have any tangible online functions.

Facebook, Google and Twitter threaten to leave Hong Kong over privacy law changes

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 12:00 PM PDT

Tech companies are already at odds with the Hong Kong government, and that tension appears to be on the rise. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the Asia Internet Coalition, a tech alliance including Facebook, Google and Twitter, has quietly warned Hong Kong that companies would stop operating in the territory if officials move forward with data protection law amendments that could hold companies liable for doxxing campaigns.

The tech giants are worried that staff could face criminal investigations or even charges if users share personal info online, even if they didn't mean any harm. That would be a "completely disproportionate and unnecessary response" and could chill free speech, the Coalition wrote. The alliance instead suggested that Hong Kong narrow the scope of violations.

Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data acknowledged the letter's existence, but said that new measures were needed after doxxing pushed the "limits of morality and the law." The Commissioner also insisted that the changed laws would "not have any bearing" on freedom of speech, and wouldn't deter outside investment in the Hong Kong region.

The amendments could be approved by the end of the legislative year.

The concern, as you might guess, is that pro-China officials might abuse the updated laws to silence dissent. Pro-democracy activists doxxed police officers and others frequently during the 2019 protests, and there's a worry that the revised laws could be worded loosely enough that merely sharing a photo of someone in a public space could get both sharers and tech companies in trouble. It could be harder to hold police accountable for violence, or to criticize officials for anti-democratic policies.

Bugatti joins forces with electric hypercar maker Rimac

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 11:00 AM PDT

Electric hypercar company Rimac is taking control of Volkswagen's supercar brand Bugatti as part of a joint venture with Porsche (which VW owns). Bugatti and Rimac will share resources and expertise but remain separate brands with their own production and distribution setups as part of the new company, which will be called Bugatti Rimac.

Once the joint venture is up and running, which is expected to happen later this year, Bugatti will be able to harness Rimac's EV knowhow and perhaps carry on its legacy of making electric vehicles. Rimac, meanwhile, can tap into the knowledge of Bugatti, which makes the second-fastest street-legal car on the planet in the Bugatti Veyron.

Rimac will own 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac and Porsche will hold the remainder. As of March, Porsche directly owns 24 percent of Rimac, following an initial investment for a 10 percent stake in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Rimac Group is creating a new company, Rimac Technology, to handle "development, production and supply of battery systems, drivetrains and other EV components."

Bugatti Rimac's headquarters will be in Zagreb, Croatia, where Rimac is based. A 200 million Euro ($237.3 million) Rimac Campus is scheduled to open in 2023 and it will be the research and development hub for both Rimac and Bugatti hypercars.

"We are combining Bugatti's strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac's tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electromobility," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement. "Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organizational approaches."

Researchers retrofit microscopes to take 3D images of cells in real-time

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 10:00 AM PDT

There's a limit to what you can learn about cells from 2D pictures, but creating 3D images is a time-intensive process. Now, scientists from UT Southwestern have developed a new "simple and cost-effective" device capable of capturing multi-angle photos that can be retrofitted onto existing lab microscopes. The team say their solution — which involves inserting a unit of two rotating mirrors in front of a microscope's camera — is 100 times faster than converting images from 2D to 3D.

Currently, this process involves collecting hundreds of photos of a specimen that can be uploaded as an image stack into a graphics software program, which then performs computations in order to provide multiple viewing perspectives. Even with a powerful computer, those two steps can be time-consuming. But, using their optical device, the team found they could bypass that method altogether.

What's more, they claim their approach is even faster as it requires only one camera exposure instead of the hundreds of camera frames used for entire 3D image stacks. They discovered the technique while de-skewing the images captured by two common light-sheet microscopes. While experimenting with their optical method, they realized that when they used an incorrect amount of de-skew the projected image seemed to rotate.

"This was the aha! moment," said Reto Fiolka, assistant professor at the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern. "We realized that this could be bigger than just an optical de-skewing method; that the system could work for other kinds of microscopes as well."

Using their modified microscope, the team imaged calcium ions carrying signals between nerve cells in a culture dish and looked at the circulatory system of a zebrafish embryo. They also rapidly imaged cancer cells in motion and a beating zebrafish heart. They also applied the optical unit to additional microscopes, including light-sheet and spinning disk confocal microscopy.

A nanofiber membrane could help solve the drinking water crisis

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 08:00 AM PDT

Korean scientists claim a new desalination technique makes sea water fit to drink in minutes. The researchers used a membrane distillation process that resulted in 99.9 percent salt rejection for one month. If commercialized, they say the solution could help alleviate the drinking water crisis exacerbated by climate change. More than 3 billion people worldwide are affected by water shortages, with the amount of fresh water available for each person plunging by a fifth over two decades, according to the UN.

The new study details a way to purify sea water using a a nanofiber membrane as a salt filter. While scientists have used membrane distillation in the past, they kept encountering a massive obstacle that slowed down the process. If the membrane became too wet, or flooded, it could no longer reject the salt. Needless to say, this was a time-draining process that forced scientists to either wait for the membrane to dry or come up with additional solutions, like using pressurized air to release trapped water from its pores.

To overcome this challenge, the Korean team turned to a nano technology known as electrospinning to create their three-dimensional membrane. In scientific terms, they used poly vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene as the core and silica aerogel mixed with a low concentration of the polymer as the sheath to produce a composite membrane with a superhydrophobic surface. In essence, this created a filter that had a higher surface roughness and lower thermal conductivity, allowing it to desalinate water for up to 30 days. The full report was published in the Journal of Membrane Science.

"The co-axial electrospun nanofibre membrane has strong potential for the treatment of seawater solutions without suffering from wetting issues and may be appropriate for real-scale membrane distillation applications," Dr Yunchul Woo, a materials scientist at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, said. He added that the membrane may be appropriate for "pilot-scale and real-scale membrane distillation applications."

Currently, the main method of purifying sea water is through reverse osmosis at the roughly 20,000 desalination plants around the world. But these facilities require vast amounts of electricity to operate and also create concentrated brine as a waste product, which is typically dumped back in the sea. Therefore, it's no wonder scientists are exploring new solutions that aren't as counter-productive.

Final Fantasy VII Intergrade’s entertaining DLC should also be on PS4

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:00 AM PDT

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is a little confusing, if the name didn't give it away. It's Final Fantasy 7 Remake, remade (or at least polished up) for the PlayStation 5. It also includes new original content called "Intermission." This is a two-chapter run completely separate to the main game, following the once-optional character Yuffie arriving into Remake's main setting, Midgar, and bringing her own fight to the evil Shinra corporation. Sadly, you can only play Intermission with a PS5.

In Remake, each character had a unique playstyle in battle, and that's still true in Intermission. Yuffie's battle style switches between long- and close-range fighting. She'll hurl her oversized shuriken at enemies, and then either close the distance for melee attacks, or launch magical elemental attacks from afar, with the shuriken acting as a sort of lightning rod.

As a young, out-of-town ninja, Yuffie also brings a healthy dose of sass and attitude to a game (and characters) that can take everything a little too seriously. The results are often hilarious. When you take on secondary characters from Remake in Fort Condor mini-games, she'll talk smack to the likes of Jessie, Roach and Kyrie. At points, it's borderline tone-deaf: Jessie may have just sent her friends, part of anti-Shinra group Avalanche, to their deaths. But from the perspective of Yuffie, she doesn't know that, and when she crushes the anxious Avalanche member in a board game, the ninja doesn't hold back.

Soon into the first chapter, Yuffie is joined by a new character, Sonon. He acts as a close-range tank, distracting enemies from Yuffie who's more easily damaged. While he's an uncontrollable support character, and will choose his own movement and enemies to attack, you can still order him to attack with skills or equipped magic from the battle menu.

This leaves Yuffie able to deal damage safely from a distance; she has the ability to mete out elemental attacks without having to equip the necessary materia (orbs that add magic and skills to characters), able to attack weak points without tinkering much with your loadout. You can also bolster Sonan with materia, making him a more tempting lure to enemies, or just amping up his hit points to ensure he survives more often than not. Sonon also has a convenient resurrection skill that triggers if Yuffie gets KOed, ensuring you'll center your fight strategies around letting Sonon draw the enemy's attacks, while Yuffie attacks weaknesses and shoots across the area for enemy crowd control.

I'm impressed Square Enix was able to eke out yet another completely different fighting style for this DLC chapter — and this bodes well for the subsequent four characters that were party members in the PSOne's Final Fantasy 7. In the original, barring stats and limit break attacks, characters were blank slates which you loaded out with materia to offer more attack options. In the Remake, they move and attack almost completely differently, demanding different playstyles when you switch.

There's a PS5 version of Remake, too. Given that FF7R was a recent exclusive to the PS4, the changes aren't groundbreaking but they're certainly noticeable. I took issue with the grainy land and skyscapes you'd see from the detailed areas in FF7R, and in Intergrade, the resolution has been increased and detail improved. Things that the internet went to town on, like those atrociously rendered doors, have been fixed.

In Intergrade, you can now switch between performance (60fps fixed) and graphics (4K, more graphical flourishes) modes. The former is a revelation during your battles across both the game and the Intermission chapters, as your team fluidly moves around enemies. It feels easier on the eyes and just more satisfying to play. The original Remake (I hate having to write that) didn't choke too often, but sometimes all the pyrotechnics and detailed boss battles did take its toll on framerates on the fourth-generation PlayStation. There's also a new photo mode in Intergrade, making it easier to captures some beautiful stills from what is a gorgeous game. I've added my favorite shots at the bottom.

There are some other PS5 upgrades, too. Yes, the DualSense' haptic feedback occasionally kicks in but you'll rarely notice it. I was only reminded of the difference during the motorcycle chase during the base game, where you can literally feel the texture of parts of your tarmac. Besides that and Cloud's occasional memory flashes, no other times really stood out where the controller was offering me any extra immersive rumbles. As you might also expect, the loading speeds are also hugely improved: loading your saved game, or hopping between chapters are both incredibly swift.

One of the big criticisms leveled at Intermission is that these new chapters are playable only on the PlayStation 5 — if you've been able to buy one. But do the environments, battles and rambunctious ninjas demand next-gen console hardware?

Only Square Enix knows for certain, but I don't think so. The PS4 would have struggled to keep up with Yuffie's battle style, which sees her shooting across the battlefield after her oversized shuriken. There are other parts, as you navigate levels, that seem to be there expressly to showcase how smoothly the PS5 can handle a ninja hurtling down a mechanized fire pole, with scaffolding, levels and items shooting past — all backed by a five-track jazz arrangement. I'm not joking.

Right at the start of the Intermission chapters, Yuffie gingerly steps through a gap — one of the in-game slow-downs familiar to anyone that's played Remake on the PS4. This seems to happen only once in the new parts of Midgar introduced in Intermission. It's almost a knowing nod that things are going to speed up. And they do: the second chapter takes a few darker turns, and at times turns into a gauntlet of punishing battles that are both challenging and entertaining. Complete the Intermission chapters, and a secret optional battle in the core game, too. I won't spoil it for you.

For those that haven't played FF7R yet, Intergrade is the definitive version, and the DLC is worth a playthrough, but it's a shame that the Intermission chapters aren't playable on the PS4. It turns what is a very polished piece of DLC into a slightly hollow cash grab.

The Morning After: The Boring company wants to take us to the beach

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 04:20 AM PDT

It's way too late for this Independence Day weekend (and even if it does happen, probably next year's), but the Boring Company wants to get you to the beach at Fort Lauderdale. That's according to the latest bid submitted by the tunneling company.

It proposes a tunnel loop that would link downtown and the beach. The Las Olas Loop would be an "innovative and unprecedented" way to manage traffic congestion and transit demands, Mayor Dean Trantalis claimed.

The City Commission will vote on the proposal later this week, and getting the bid accepted would be a big win for the Boring Company. This particular Musk-helmed company hasn't had much success so far when it comes to pitching cities on passenger loops and has even shifted some of its attention to larger freight tunnels. The only existing tunnel, in Las Vegas, launched in June.

But hey, who doesn't want to go to the beach?

— Mat Smith

iPadOS 15 beta preview

Widgets and Quick Notes create a new experience.

Apple has made a handful of significant changes and a host of smaller ones for its dedicated iPadOS update. According to Engadget's Nathan Ingraham, they all add up to an experience that makes the iPad more customizable and flexible than before. But don't worry, it still looks and feels like an iPad. In iPadOS 15, there are loads of new features to unpack, but he found that widgets and home screen updates (a lot of which iPhone users saw in iOS 14) make the biggest difference in this public beta. Continue reading.

Google removes popular Android apps that stole Facebook passwords

They had over 5.8 million downloads from the Play Store.

Google is trying to keep control of (and remove) Android apps that commit major privacy violations. Google has removed nine apps from the Play Store after Dr. Web analysts discovered they were trojans stealing Facebook login details. The malware had managed to make its way into over 5.8 million combined downloads and posed as easy-to-find titles like "Horoscope Daily" and "Rubbish Cleaner." There were five malware variants in the mix, but all of them used the same JavaScript code and configuration file formats to swipe information. Continue reading.

A 'Star Wars: Visions' anime anthology is in the works

It comes to Disney+ on September 22nd.

Lucasfilm and Disney have announced that the Star Wars: Visions anthology will be available on Disney+ on September 22nd and have offered a close look at the short films. You'll get nine shorts from seven studios, each with a very distinct take on the space fantasy — including more than a few nods to Japanese culture. Each seems to take a different approach to the rich Star Wars universe, and it might remind some of you of The Matrix's Animatrix spin-off, albeit more focused on anime art styles. Continue reading.

Tesla will figure out a way for its Cybertruck to counter the Hummer EV's Crab Mode

Rear-wheel steering will help the electric truck navigate tight spots.

Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla is adding rear-wheel steering to the Cybertruck to help the EV maneuver with "high agility." It's a rough answer to the Hummer's Crab Mode and Rivian's R1T's tank turns. Given the size of the Cybertruck — it's big even by truck standards — assistance with parking and manoeuvering out of tight spots could be welcome news. Continue reading.

DOJ investigates Overwatch League over salary caps

The lack of a players' union is at the heart of the inquiry.

The Department of Justice has launched an antitrust inquiry into Overwatch League soft salary caps meant to prevent teams from buying their way to victory. The investigation isn't criminal, according to the report from Dot Esports, but DOJ trial attorney Kathleen Simpson Kiernan is reportedly wondering about the lack of a players' union that would let the league claim the same labor exemptions you find in conventional unionized sports leagues. This investigation won't necessarily lead to a major shakeup of the Overwatch competitive scene. It does, however, indicate the growing stature of eSports in the US — and pro-gamers' salaries. Continue reading.

OnePlus is integrating its mobile operating system with Oppo's

The sub-brand is also promising extended Android software support.

Half a month after OnePlus announced it's becoming an Oppo sub-brand, it's revealed it's also merging its OxygenOS with its new parent company's ColorOS. The two brands have come to the decision to "best leverage [their] shared resources," which seems to translate to nixing one of them. OnePlus added you may not even notice a difference because the changes are happening behind the scenes.

OnePlus' OxygenOS will still be the operating system for OnePlus devices released globally. As 9to5Google notes, OnePlus phones released in China already run ColorOS and that will likely remain the case. There will be some benefits to these changes: OnePlus is also promising better and longer Android update support. The OnePlus 8 series and the brand's newer flagships will receive three major Android updates and four years of security updates going forward. Continue reading.