Sunday, December 5, 2021

Engadget RSS Feed

Engadget RSS Feed

Apple takes Russia to court over App Store ruling

Posted: 05 Dec 2021 12:56 PM PST

Apple is still fighting Russia over alleged App Store abuse. Both 9to5Mac and RT report Apple is asking for a judicial review of a Federal Antimonopoly Service warning from August that allows developers to mention alternatives to the App Store's in-app payment system. FAS gave Apple until September 30th to alter its policies, but the company declined to change its rules despite the threat of a fine.

The opposition parallels Apple's legal battles in the US. The judge in Epic's lawsuit against Apple ordered the tech firm to let App Store developers point to other payment systems, but Apple appealed the injunction in hopes of a delay. The court denied Apple's request, and the company will have until December 9th to let app makers point to other options. Apple will make exceptions to its policy for some media apps in 2022.

Pushbacks like those in the US and Russia aren't surprising. Apple still makes most of its money through hardware sales, but its services business is growing. Easier third-party alternatives could theoretically hurt App Store revenues, not to mention increase the chances of rogue apps pointing users to malicious sites. The iPhone maker might not have much choice, however. Regulators are concerned Apple's approach stifles choice and competition, and they're unlikely to let the matter slide.

eBay banned some users by mistake

Posted: 05 Dec 2021 10:41 AM PST

Twitter isn't the only big-name internet company to have accidentally banned users this week. As The Vergereports, eBay has confirmed it suspended a "small number" of users by mistake on December 3rd. The company didn't provide a cause or reveal the extent of the problem, but said it had fixed the slip-up and notified those affected.

There may have been a significant number of victims. Reddit users devoted a large thread to the bans, noting that there weren't any potential red flags for at least some of the accounts. People were suspended even if they had excellent buyer and seller histories or hadn't used eBay for years. Those who contacted eBay were denied appeals and, at least once, told they put eBay users "at risk."

While it's not always clear what prompts unintentional bans, incidents like these underscore the limits of moderating internet services. Companies often have to lean on automated moderation to handle the sheer scale of content, and those human moderators that are available can still make mistakes. Gaffes like this are rare, but might be difficult to avoid without double-checking decisions.

Google's mail-in Pixel repair service reportedly compromised photos and accounts

Posted: 05 Dec 2021 09:53 AM PST

Rogue repair staff aren't limited to any one company. According to The Verge, author and developer Jane McGonigal said her internet accounts were compromised after she mailed her Pixel 5a to Google for service. The intruder accessed Google services, Dropbox and another email account, McGonigal said, and activity logs indicated access to semi-revealing photos in an apparent attempt to "find nudes."

McGonigal noted that this happened long after her phone seemingly vanished from Google's facility, and despite efforts to wipe the phone and lock it using Google's system. She couldn't turn the phone on as she normally would to perform a reset. The perpetrator, meanwhile, took pains to cover their tracks by marking Google security alerts as spam and even deleting those notices in backup email accounts.

Google has confirmed that it's "investigating" the claim. McGonigal heard the same through unofficial sources, but hadn't been contacted as of this writing. This is the second such report in two weeks.

The allegation highlights the problems with mail-in service. You can't always trust that technicians will respect your privacy, and it's not always certain that you can scrub your data. Retail support is no guarantee, either. Short of knowing a technician you can trust, the only surefire solution is to fix a device yourself — and that isn't practical for many people.

Fitbit's Charge 5 tracker is back on sale for a record-low $130 at Amazon

Posted: 05 Dec 2021 08:40 AM PST

Don't worry if you missed out on a Fitbit during Black Friday sales — there are now some big deals to help you stay in shape during the holidays. The Charge 5 has returned to a record-low price of $130 at Amazon, or $50 below its usual sticker. That could make it a solid bargain if you're looking for a high-end, fitness-focused activity tracker from a well-known name. The Inspire 2 is also down to $60 (normally $100) if you're happy with the essentials.

Buy Charge 5 at Amazon - $130Buy Inspire 2 at Amazon - $60

The Charge 5 ticks many of the boxes if you're determine to stay in shape. The extensive fitness and health tracking features help, particularly if you get the advanced data from Fitbit Premium. You can optimize your workout performance and understand your sleep quality, for instance. You can track your stress in addition to heart rate and blood oxygen level, and you'll have perks like GPS, Fitbit Pay and multi-day battery life.

There are limitations. Fitbit doesn't share activity data with Apple Health or Google Fit, and you can't steer music from the tracker's screen. There's also the matter of competition: you can find some close-enough alternatives from companies like Amazfit, Xiaomi and Amazon itself that will cost less (at least up front) if you can do without some frills. Fitbit's experience in the field matters, though, and the sale price makes the Charge 5 considerably more tempting.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

'Fortnite' Chapter 3 officially debuts with a new island and revamped gameplay

Posted: 05 Dec 2021 07:24 AM PST

It didn't take long for Epic to confirm Fortnite Chapter 3 details. The developer has officially released a trailer that outlines what to expect both in Chapter 3 and its first season, "Flipped." The new island is the star, with the flip from the Chapter 2 finale leading to a complete landscape overhaul that includes chaotic weather. However, the gameplay changes are arguably more important — you'll have to rethink your tactics.

The sliding and swinging mechanics should help you move (and dodge) faster than before. Camps help your squad heal and store items that persist between matches. You can also earn XP beyond battle royale, and hold on to a Victory Crown if you keep winning. Epic is clearly hoping to both foster a non-combat metaverse and keep its top-tier players coming back.

And yes, there are new characters. Spider-Man is well-suited to the new swinging mechanic, but you can also play as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Fortnite character The Foundation, or Gears of War's Marcus and Kait. Think of them as the poster children for Chapter 3. They may help draw you in, but it's the fresh gameplay that might keep you playing in the long run.

Clearview AI will get a US patent for its facial recognition tech

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 02:23 PM PST

Clearview AI is about to get formal acknowledgment for its controversial facial recognition technology. Politicoreports Clearview has received a US Patent and Trademark Office "notice of allowance" indicating officials will approve a filing for its system, which scans faces across public internet data to find people from government lists and security camera footage. The company just has to pay administrative fees to secure the patent.

In a Politico interview, Clearview founder Hoan Ton-That claimed this was the first facial recognition patent involving "large-scale internet data." The firm sells its tool to government clients (including law enforcement) hoping to accelerate searches.

As you might imagine, there's a concern the USPTO is effectively blessing Clearview's technology and giving the company a chance to grow despite widespread objections to its technology's very existence. Critics are concerned Clearview is building image databases without targets' knowledge or permission, and multiple governments (including Australia and the UK) believe the facial recognition violates data laws. The tech could theoretically be used to stifle political dissent or, in private use, to stalk other people. That's not including worries about possible gender and race biases for facial recognition as a whole. 

Ton-That maintained Clearview has no plans to sell to anyone besides government clients, and that it was "important" to have unbiased systems. However, the patent left the door open to non-government purposes, like learning more about a dating partner or business client. Clearview is aware of the problematic path its technology might take, even if it doesn't intend to head in that direction.

Leaked 'Fortnite' Chapter 3 trailer shows a new island and Spider-Man

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 01:31 PM PST

Fortnite Chapter 2 has only just come to an end, but that isn't preventing sleuths from finding out what Chapter 3 will hold. As Kotakulearned, the game's official Polish YouTube channel briefly shared a Chapter 3 trailer revealing many of the planned changes to the battery royale brawler. You can expect a new island (and new characters, including Gears of War's Marcus and Kait as well as Spider-Man — there even appears to be web-swinging like you've seen in Insomniac's Spider-Man games, not to mention locales like the Daily Bugle.

Chapter 3 will add some new mechanics on top of fresh weapons and items. You can slide (seen in the Chapter 2 finale), and set up camps to both heal your squad and stash items you can carry over to future matches. And there's even a degree of star power: The Foundation, a character voiced by Dwayne Johnson, will carry over from the Chapter 2 shutdown.

It's not clear when Chapter 3 debuts. However, Epic wasn't afraid to repeat history and kick players out of Fortnite as the previous chapter came to an end. Chapter 2 closed in dramatic fashion, with The Foundation helping to defeat a Cube Queen invasion and flipping the entire island upside-down. If you stuck with the event, you were left treading water and with no option but to quit the game. Clearly, Epic is betting this dramatic ploy will work a second time.

Twitter mistakenly suspended users after extremists abused its private image policy

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 12:31 PM PST

If you were worried people might abuse Twitter's new policy banning non-consensual image sharing, your fears were well-founded. The social network toldThe Washington Post it suspended the accounts of 12 journalists and anti-extremism researchers by mistake after far-right activists and white supremacists sent a "coordinated and malicious" flurry of bogus reports attempting to silence critics. It wasn't clear how many reports had been sent beyond a "significant amount."

The company said it was already reversing bans and had begun an internal review to make sure the policy was used "as intended." More data on the volume of false accusations would come later. Some of the extremists' targets were still banned as of the Post's story.

The rule bars users from sharing private photos and videos without the subject's permission. It also forbids people from threatening to share that content or spurring others to leak it. There are exceptions for posts where the media might offer "value to public discourse." At least one of the banned targets was merely sharing public photos of known figures, however.

This misuse doesn't come as a complete shock. Critics were already concerned the measure was too vaguely worded to prevent misuse. It might stifle amateur investigators sifting through readily available data, for instance. While Twitter might not want to overhaul its policy, it wouldn't be surprising if there were clarifications or tweaks to limit potential abuses going forward.

Spotify pulls top comedians' albums amid royalty dispute

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 10:00 AM PST

If you've wondered where your favorite comedy album went on Spotify, you're far from alone. The Wall Street Journalreports Spotify has pulled hundreds of comedians' albums after it and rights administration company Spoken Giants stalled on a deal for written-word royalties. The missing albums come from stars like Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and John Mulaney.

As with earlier songwriter disputes, this latest fight revolves around compensating more than just the performance. Spoken Giants wants its artists to receive royalties as the joke writers, not just for their time behind the microphone. The rights firm started talking to online services in the spring, but learned just before American Thanksgiving that Spotify would pull comedians' work until there was an agreement.

Spotify defended itself in a statement to the Journal. The company said it paid a "significant" amount of money for the comedy material and would "love" to keep paying, and that distributors and labels also had a say regarding payouts. Some material remains from those comedians on Spotify as of this writing, but much more of it is available through rivals like Apple Music.

It's not surprising that Spotify would clash with Spoken Giants. If Spotify also had to pay writing royalties, the service would either have to pay more overall (clearly Spoken Giants' ideal outcome) or set aside some of the existing share for distributors and labels. Either could hurt Spotify's bottom line, and it doesn't have much breathing room when its average revenue per person was about $4.91 last quarter.

At the same time, though, the dispute and removal come at a particularly sensitive time. With live standup still far from what it was before the pandemic, some comedians are still highly dependent on albums and other digital releases. They're clearly eager to improve that income, and may feel some extra pain when they lose the support of a streaming heavyweight.

ICYMI: We check out Android 12’s visual refresh

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 09:00 AM PST

This week, in addition to covering all the Cyber Week deals we could find, we also reviewed some unique gadgets. Steve Dent and a licensed drone pilot toured the French countryside with the help of the DJI Mavic 3 drone, while Terrence O'Brien played with the Animoog Z app, a sequel ten years in the making. Also, Cherlynn Low played around with Android 12 to check out its new Material You design.

The Mavic 3 is the easiest DJI drone to fly

DJI Mavic 3
Steve Dent/Engadget

Steve Dent spent some time with the DJI Mavic 3 and a licensed drone pilot in the French countryside to see what the new device is capable of. He reports that not only is the Mavic 3 the easiest DJI drone to fly, but the large 4/3 sensor and dual camera system produce incredible footage – and the 46 minutes of range is double the time that the previous model could capture. He tested the standard model in the $3,000 Fly More combo package, which includes three batteries, a charging hub, one set of ND filters and a carrying bag. The Mavic 3 is also available in a Cine mode with a built-in 1TB SSD and Apple ProRes 422 HQ video support.

While the Mavic 3 was easier to maneuver thanks to its improved obstacle avoidance, it was also easy to fold the 899-gram drone into a more compact size for storage and travel. Steve says the camera and video specs are impressive: the primary camera was built in collaboration with Hasselblad and has a 24mm f/2.8-f/11 lens with a color profile for accurate hues. The video camera can shoot 5.1K at 50fps or 4K at 60fps; Steve says the larger sensor provides better low light performance, more detail and great dynamic range. However, there are some downsides – namely the price, but also that the additional features that DJI promised (like ActiveTrack5 and QuickShots) aren't available now but will be released in January. Overall, Steve says the Mavic 3 delivers, but is best for professions and prosumers.

Google's Material You design gives Android 12 a much-needed visual update

Android 12
Google

Cherlynn Low knows that the many versions of Android make a review of the core features a bit difficult, but the upgrades on the operating system's most recent release make for a refreshing experience and provide more transparency over data and privacy. That's largely thanks to the new Material You design that has decluttered the UI and enlarged buttons and sliders, among other things. Cherlynn particularly liked the Privacy Dashboard that informs users when their camera and mic are activated, along with which apps require them. Android 12 also has new indicators for when the camera or mic are actively being used.

Cherlynn did note some aspects that disappointed her, namely the default way to summon the Google Assistant, and the confusing charts and graphs in the battery and privacy dashboards. She was also excited to try the audio-coupled haptic feedback, but wasn't able to find any apps that supported it. Overall, she said that the visual updates in Material You and increased privacy tools made the system feel drastically different — in a good way.

The Animoog Z app is a proper sequel that took ten years to make

Moog Animoog Z
Terrence O'Brien/Engadget

Terrence O'Brien was looking forward to testing out Animoog Z, the follow up to Moog's original software instrument which used wavetable synthesis. This sequel to the app has largely the same core Anisotropic Synth Engine, consisting of dozens of waveforms that you can choose from, ranging from samples of analog saw waves to more digital sounds. However, the new release adds a third dimension to the X/Y axis of the original — a Z axis that notes can move along.

Terrence says this gives the new app a bit more depth and room to evolve. He found that certain presets took advantage of the additional modulation path to make more complex and unique sounds. There's also a new effects section with a looper, delay, filter and an arpeggiator, plus MPE support. Additionally, Terrence says the redesigned look that the new app has makes it feel more modern and easier to navigate. After testing, he declared the Animoog Z a worthy successor to the groundbreaking original. A limited version is available as a free download, with the full featured version going for a flat $10.

NASA will give SpaceX more crewed flights to cover for Boeing's delays

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 08:45 AM PST

Boeing's continued Starliner delays have prompted NASA to hedge its bets. SpaceNewsreports NASA plans to order as many as three more crewed SpaceX flights to ensure "uninterrupted" US trips to the International Space Station as soon as 2023. The company's Crew Dragon is the only system that meets partner country and safety requirements in the necessary time window, the agency said. In other words, NASA doesn't want to be without a ride to the ISS if Boeing isn't ready.

NASA was happy Boeing was focusing on "safety over schedule" for Starliner after it delayed a second orbital test to investigate an oxidizer isolation valve problem. However, that still left the administration in a bind. It was "critical" to obtain additional flights now to maintain a US foothold on the ISS, associate administrator Kathy Lueders said.

This doesn't put Boeing's capsule in danger. NASA still wanted two different crew systems to guarantee redundancy, and it planned to alternate between Crew Dragon and Starliner once both were available. Officials also stressed that the deal didn't prevent NASA from changing the contract to obtain additional flights.

Even so, the intended purchase is a blow for Boeing. Starliner plays a key role in Boeing's commercial spaceflight program and, unofficially, serves as proof the transportation veteran can compete with a fast-moving 'newcomer' like SpaceX in the private space race. The Crew Dragon backup plans reflect some lost confidence in Boeing, even if the move is only temporary.

Hitting the Books: How the interplay of science and technology brought about iPhones

Posted: 04 Dec 2021 08:30 AM PST

Scientific research and technological advancement have gone hand-in-hand since the invention of the wheel. Without research, we lack the knowledge base to advance the state of technology and, without technological advancement we lack the functional base for further scientific exploration. In their new book, The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions, Harvard University Professor of Technology and Public Policy, Venkatesh Narayanamurti, and Sandia National Laboratories Senior Scientist, Jeffrey Y. Tsao, explore the symbiotic relationship between these two concepts and how their interaction might be modulated to better serve the rapidly accelerating pace of 21st century technoscientific discovery.

Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions
Harvard University Press

Excerpted from THE GENESIS OF TECHNOSCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS: RETHINKING THE NATURE AND NURTURE OF RESEARCH by VENKATESH NARAYANAMURTI AND JEFFREY Y. TSAO, published by Harvard University Press. Copyright © 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Network Is Hierarchical: The Nesting of Questions and Answers

The way in which scientific and technological knowledge are hierarchical stems from the nesting discussed in the last chapter, both of scientific facts and explanations and of technological functions and the forms that fulfill them.

fig 2-1
Harvard University Press

In science, at the top of the hierarchy are facts — raw patterns in observed phenomena. These patterns can be thought of as questions: Why does a particular pattern occur? Why when one releases a ball does the ball fall and fall faster the farther it has fallen? Explanations of those raw patterns come a level below in the hierarchy, and can be thought of as answers to those questions: Galileo's sixteenth-century explanation of the observed distance-versus-time pattern was that the velocities of falling balls increase linearly with time. But this answer, or explanation, becomes itself another question: Why do the velocities of falling balls increase linearly with time? This question begs a deeper explanation, a deeper answer: Newton's explanation was that gravity is a force, that uniform forces cause uniform acceleration, and that uniform acceleration causes linear increases in velocity. Scientific understanding is always incomplete, of course, so there is always a point at which we have no deeper explanation. This in no way detracts from the power of the explanations that do exist: science seeks proximate whys but does not insist on ultimate whys. The general theory of relativity explains Newton's laws of gravity, even if its own origin is yet to be explained.

In technology, at the top of the hierarchy are human-desired functions. These functions present problems that are solved by forms below them in the hierarchy. Forms fulfill functions, but those forms present new problems that must be solved at successively deeper levels. Shifting from the problem-solution nomenclature to the equivalent question-answer nomenclature, we can say that the iPhone represented a technological question: How do we create an Internet-capable cellular phone with a software-programmable interactive display? A partial answer came in the form of multi touch capacitive surfaces, opening up a significant design space for user interaction when multiple fingers are used simultaneously. But the opaqueness of existing multitouch surfaces itself became a question: How do we make multi touch surfaces transparent so that the display is visible? The multi touch transparent surface display provided an answer.

In other words, science and technology are both organized into hierarchies of question-and-answer pairs, with any question or answer having two "faces." One face, pointing downward in the hierarchy, represents a question to an answer just below it in the hierarchy. The other face, pointing upward in the hierarchy, represents an answer to a question just above it in the hierarchy. We emphasize that our depiction of questions as "above" answers and answers as "below" questions is arbitrary — it does not signify relative importance or value but is simply intended to be consistent with common usage. In science, an explanation is deeper and more "foundational" than the fact it explains, especially if it generalizes to explanations of many other facts. Special relativity is, in that sense, deeper than the constancy of c because it answers the question of why c is constant; it also answers the question of how much energy is released during nuclear fission and fusion. In technology, forms are deeper and more "foundational" than the functions they fulfill, especially if they have been adapted to fulfill many other functions. The multi touch transparent surface display is more foundational than the iPhone because it not only helps answer the question of how to create the iPhone, but also helps answer the question of how to create human-interactive displays in general. Rubber is more foundational than a bicycle tire because it not only helps answer the question of how to create a bicycle tire, but also helps answer the question of how to create a myriad of other kinds of tires.

The Network Is Modular: Facilitating Exploitation and Exploration

Closely related scientific questions and answers are organized into what we might call scientific domains, which we will refer to as scientific knowledge modules. Closely interacting technological problems and solutions are organized into engineered components, which we will refer to as technological knowledge modules.

fig 2-2
Harvard University Press

Closely related scientific questions are often answerable within a scientific knowledge domain, or scientific knowledge module, drawing on multiple subdomains nested within the larger domain. A question related to some electron transport phenomenon in a particular semiconductor structure lies in the broad domain of semiconductor science but the answer might require an integrated understanding of both the subdomain of electron transport physics as well as the subdomain of the materials science of the synthesized structure. The subquestion associated with electron transport physics might require an integrated understanding of the subdomain of electrons in various kinds of structures (bulk materials, heterojunctions, nanostructures, coupled nanostructures) and of the sub-subdomains of interactions of electrons with phonons in those structures. The subquestion associated with the materials science of the synthesized structure might require an understanding of the sub-subdomains of substrates and epitaxy, thin films, or post materials synthesis fabrication. In other words, we can think of scientific knowledge domains as a modular hierarchy, and think of its subdomains as submodules and sub-submodules.

Closely related technological problems, likewise, are often solved by key technological components, or technological knowledge modules, perhaps integrating multiple subcomponents nested within the larger components. An iPhone is a component itself composed of many subcomponents, and each subcomponent is similarly subdivided. We can think of the "problem" of the iPhone as a component that is "solved" by its subcomponents — an enclosure, a display, a printed circuit board, a camera, and input / output ports. We can think of the "problem" of a printed circuit board as a subcomponent that is "solved" by sub-components that include low-power integrated circuit chips. Conversely, an iPhone is also a component that is itself nested in a hierarchy of use functions. An iPhone might be used as a solution to the problem of "running" a text-messaging app; a text-messaging app might be used as a solution to the problem of sending a mass text message to a friend group; the mass text message might be used as a solution to the problem of organizing the friend group into a protest in Times Square; and the protest in Times Square might be part of a solution to the problem of organizing a wider social movement for some human-desired social cause.

One might ask: Why is scientific and technological knowledge modular? They are modular because they are complex adaptive systems — systems sustained by and adapted to their environment by complex internal changes — and virtually all complex adaptive systems are modular (Simon, 1962). Complex adaptive systems both exploit their environments and explore their environments to improve that exploitation. Modularity enables efficiency, both in the exploitation of existing knowledge about the environment and exploration of that environment to create new knowledge.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)