Thursday, March 10, 2022

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Nine women accuse Sony of systemic sexism in a potential class-action lawsuit

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 04:37 PM PST

In November, former PlayStation IT security analyst Emma Majo filed a lawsuit against Sony, claiming the company discriminated against women at an institutional level. Majo alleged she was fired because she spoke up about gender bias at the studio, noting she was terminated shortly after submitting a signed statement to management detailing sexism she experienced there. 

Majo later filed the paperwork to turn her case into a class-action lawsuit, and just last month Sony attempted to have the whole thing thrown out, claiming her allegations were too vague to stand up to legal scrutiny. Plus, Sony's lawyers said, no other women were stepping forward with similar claims.

Today, eight additional women joined the lawsuit against Sony. The new plaintiffs are current and former employees, and only one of them has chosen to remain anonymous. One plaintiff, Marie Harrington, worked at Sony for 17 years and eventually became a senior director of program management and chief of staff to senior VP of engineering George Cacciopo.

"When I left Sony, I told the SVP and the Director of HR Rachel Ghadban in the Rancho Bernardo office that the reason I was leaving was systemic sexism against females," Harrington said in a court statement. "The Director of HR simply said, 'I understand.' She did not ask for any more information. I had spoken with the Director of HR many times before about sexism against females."

Harrington claimed women were overlooked for promotions, and said that during annual review sessions, Sony Interactive Entertainment engineering leaders rarely discussed female employees as potential "high performers." She said that in their April 2019 session, only four of the 70 employees under review were women, and while all of the men in this group were marked as high performers, just two of the women were. 

"Further, when two of the females were discussed, managers spent time discussing the fact that they have families," Harrington's statement reads. "Family status was never discussed for any males."

The remaining women shared similar stories in their statements, with the common theme being a lack of opportunity for female employees to advance and systemic favoritism toward male employees. The plaintiffs claimed male leaders at Sony made derogatory comments including, "you just need to marry rich," and, "I find that in general, women can't take criticism." 

One plaintiff alleged that while on a work trip to E3, her superior tricked her into having drinks with him at the hotel bar, hit on her even after she declined, and told other employees that "he was going to try to 'hit that.'" Another plaintiff shared a story about a gender equality meeting at Sony that had a five-person panel, all of them men.

The lawsuit against Sony comes at a time of reckoning for many major video game studios, including Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Riot Games. Activision Blizzard is facing a lawsuit and multiple investigations into claims of institutional sexism, sexual harassment and gender discrimination, while Ubisoft has long faced similar allegations from former and current employees. Riot Games paid $100 million in December to settle a class-action lawsuit over workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

Sony has not yet responded to the latest movement in the class-action lawsuit, though it denies Majo's claims of gender discrimination. The company has requested the lawsuit be dismissed, and that will be decided in a hearing in April.

Ukraine may move its top-secret data and servers abroad

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 04:13 PM PST

Fears that Russia could steal top-secret government documents has caused Ukrainian authorities to explore potentially moving its data and servers to another country, reportedReuters. While the original plan is still to protect the country's IT infrastructure, moving the most sensitive data to another location is a viable Plan B, Victor Zhora— the deputy chief of Ukraine's information protection arm—told the news service.

Ukraine has already faced a litany of aggressive cyberattacks from the neighboring nation, including last month's penetration of its military and energy networks. Russia also attempted to interfere with Ukraine's 2014 presidential election and regularly launches attacks on Ukraine's power grid, leading to outages that last for days. 

The Ukrainian government made the precautionary move of migrating its computer systems in Kyiv in 2014, following Russia's occupation of Crimea. Ukrainian cyber teams have developed plans to disable infrastructure and transfer back-ups if its networks become compromised, Zhora told Politico.

But the fact that Ukraine's most sensitive data is centralized in Kyiv presents a problem if Russia's military occupies the capital. At the time of publication, Russian troops are currently encircling Kyiv, and experts estimate they could attack the city within days. Ukraine is already moving some sensitive data and servers to remote areas, out of Russia's reach. 

Ukraine hasn't released details on where it might attempt to relocate its sensitive governmental data, but shifting it to an allied nation might provide more than just physical distance from Russian's military. Reuters reported that cyberattacks against said data, were it stored within the borders of an ally nation, might trigger NATO's collective defense clause, which requires all member nations to respond if one is attacked.

For now, Ukraine's Parliament still has to give its seal of approval before the nation's sensitive data can be moved.

'The DioField Chronicle' is a new strategy RPG that looks like 'Final Fantasy Tactics'

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 03:19 PM PST

In 1997, Square Enix released one of the finest games of the original PlayStation era in Final Fantasy Tactics. Outside of a handful of remasters and spinoffs, however, the company has been reluctant to return to the genre in a meaningful way. And while we may never get a proper sequel to Tactics, the good news is Square Enix is working on a new tactical RPG. 

During Sony's most recent State of Play on Wednesday, the publisher announced The DioField Chronicle. And if what you loved about Final FantasyTactics was its sprawling story and iconic art by Akihiko Yoshida, you're in luck because DioField looks to have both on offer. You'll lead the forces of the Kingdom of Alletain, a neutral island nation that gets dragged into a conflict with the sinister Trovelt-Schoevian Empire. Instead of a turn-based battle system, engagements play out in real-time and it appears you can control more than one character at a time.    

Square plans to release The DioField Chronicle later this year on PlayStation 4 and PS5.

Toddlers can get their frag on with VTech’s baby gamer chair

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 03:00 PM PST

Kids love to imitate the adults in their lives. That's why you can find such odd items in the toy aisle as baby-sized irons, mops and vacuums. Now you can add more weirdo item to that list, one that has some members of the Engadget staff howling with laughter: A baby gamer chair. Yes, you read that right. Baby. Gamer. Chair.

VTech, long-time purveyor of kiddie tablets and educational toys is now selling a tiny gaming chair for budding streamers and future Fortnite players. The $50 Level Up Gaming Chair is a plastic simulacra of bigger leather seats made for adults, complete with slick black armrests and a molded back with two cut-out sections for air flow. However, instead of wheels, the chair rests on four boot-like blue feet, so your baby won't be tipping over while they're pretending to curse out other players on the included headset. The tiny non-functional headset even has a tiny non-functional mic to complete the look.

Because this is VTech after all, the Level Up Gaming Chair has some interactive electronic parts, namely a light-up keyboard that kids can play with to learn numbers and letters and even piano keys — which we admit, is actually a step up from traditional mechanical gaming keyboards. The keyboard console can be detached for on-the-go play, and the tray it normally rests on can be used for snack time as well so kids never have to leave their gaming throne when it goes on sale this fall. (We recommend pairing it with Fisher Price's Laugh and Learn Controller.)

'Returnal' gets a free co-op mode on March 22nd

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 02:49 PM PST

Sony's State of Play livestream today was short on major news, but there was one surprising nugget: Returnal is getting a beefy update on March 22nd. Returnal: Ascension adds co-op capabilities and a new survival mode to the game, and it'll be completely free. 

Returnal is a PlayStation 5 exclusive developed by Housemarque. It's a roguelike shooter where players are trapped in a time loop on a hostile alien planet, and it gets a lot of things right, including massive enemies and a punishing reward system. As a PS5 exclusive, Returnal makes good use of the DualSense controller's haptics and Sony's 3D audio tech.

Ascension will be Returnal's 3.0 update. The game's 2.0 update in October 2021 added photo mode and a suspension option that allowed players to save their progress mid-run, but only under certain conditions. It is a roguelike, after all.

'Heardle' is like 'Wordle' for the musically inclined

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 02:35 PM PST

Even before its acquisition by The New York Times at the start of the year, Wordle had inspired countless imitators. In the weeks since then, the offshoots have only multiplied. Want to compete with 98 other players for bragging rights? There's a Wordle clone for that. How about one that asks you to solve 16 puzzles at the same time? Look no further than Sedecordle.

But if words aren't your thing, your options have been comparatively limited until now. Enter Heardle, a Wordlelike that puts your knowledge of popular music to the test. Like with Wordle, you have six tries to answer correctly. The twist is that you'll only hear about one second of the song you need to identify on your first couple of guesses. The game will eventually give you an extra two, three, four and five seconds on subsequent attempts to help you secure the win.

I wish I could tell you just how fun Heardle is, but it seems to have gained so much popularity in a short time that its website is having a hard time keeping up with all the traffic.

Capcom's 'Exoprimal' isn't 'Dino Crisis' and that's OK

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 02:23 PM PST

Just when you thought video games were getting too serious comes Capcom with Exoprimal, an entirely new IP that will see you and your friends facing off endless waves of dinosaurs that fall from the sky. 

In an absolutely bananas trailer the publisher showed off during Sony's State of Play presentation on Wednesday, we saw a game that looks like a mix of Anthem, Dino Crisis and Dynasty Warriors. Exoprimal is both a co-op and competitive game. In the game's main mode, Dino Survival, you'll team up with four other players to take on hordes of dinosaurs and an opposing team of five players. If you've played Destiny 2's Gambit mode, the setup will sound familiar. Each exosuit features a different suite of abilities, and you'll need to work as a team to defeat both the cold- and warm-blooded killers out for your neck. Capcom said it plans to release Exoprimal in 2023 on PlayStation 4 and PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Steam.

California can once again set its own emissions rules, EPA says

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 02:10 PM PST

California can now set its own emission standards under the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced today. The decision puts an end to a feud that began when automakers pushed the Trump administration to revisit fuel efficiency rules, which eventually led the former president to revoke California's waiver to declare its own standards in 2019. California is known for pushing stricter emissions requirements than the federal government, standards which have also been adopted by 16 other states and Washington, D.C. 

"Today we proudly reaffirm California's longstanding authority to lead in addressing pollution from cars and trucks," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. "Our partnership with states to confront the climate crisis has never been more important. With today's action, we reinstate an approach that for years has helped advance clean technologies and cut air pollution for people not just in California, but for the U.S. as a whole."

The EPA also confirmed that other states can once again adopt California's standards. As the LA Times reports, the EPA decision means that California can continue with its plan to ban sales of gasoline vehicles by 2035. In January, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $10 billion plan to accelerate EV adoption, with a focus on making EVs more accessible for low-income consumers, building out more charging infrastructure and electrifying the state's fleet of vehicles.

Judge rules voting machine maker Smartmatic can proceed with its lawsuit against Fox News

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 01:45 PM PST

A judge has ruled that voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic can proceed with a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Rudy Giuliani. The company has accused them and others of making false claims that it rigged votes in favor of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Fox News parent Fox Corp, anchor Maria Bartiromo, former anchor Lou Dobbs, The Five host Jeanine Pirro and ex-Donald Trump lawyer Sidney Powell all tried to have Smartmatic's claims against them dismissed. Justice David Cohen of New York State Supreme Court dismissed the claims against Pirro and Powell, though rejected the bids from Fox Corp, Bartiromo and Dobbs.

Smartmatic claimed Fox News made up a story about helping Biden to steal the presidency from Trump to boost ratings. A lawyer for the company said Fox News caused "catastrophic damage" to Smartmatic's business and reputation, according to Reuters.

Cohen ruled that Fox News "turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about [Smartmatic], unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth." He also said Giuliani accused Smartmatic of rigging elections in Venezuela and claimed it engaged in "old tricks" in the presidential election, which provided grounds for Smartmatic to proceed with some of its claims against the former Trump lawyer.

Fox News called Smartmatic's claims "baseless." It plans to appeal Cohen's decision and countersue Smartmatic for fees and costs.

In December, a judge dismissed an attempt by Fox News to toss out a lawsuit by another voting machine maker. Dominion Voting Systems has accused Fox News of defamation in its $1.6 billion suit.

Sony halts PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 01:25 PM PST

Sony is joining Microsoft in stopping Russian sales following the country's invasion of Ukraine. CNBCreports Sony has halted all PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia, and has cut access to the digital PlayStation Store. The company called for "peace in Ukraine" and said it would donate $2 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as Save the Children.

The decision comes a week after Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on Microsoft and Sony to block Russian players, and a few days after Microsoft stopped all sales in the country. Nintendo put its Russian eShop in "maintenance mode," but that may have been due to a payment service freezing processing for purchases made using rubles.

Numerous Western game developers have stopped selling their work in Russia, including Ubisoft, Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, EA, Activision Blizzard and Epic. However, Sony's move might be the most damaging yet. Russian gamers will have a much harder time expanding their game libraries, and they can forget about buying the already-elusive PlayStation 5. Sony may feel the sting when it dominates Russian console sales (according to IDC data), but there might not be much practical choice when there's so much industry pressure to take a stand on the Ukraine war.

Italy slaps facial recognition firm Clearview AI with €20 million fine

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 01:25 PM PST

Italy's data privacy watchdog said it will fine the controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI for breaching EU law. An investigation by Garante, Italy's data protection authority, found that the company's database of 10 billion images of faces includes those of Italians and residents in Italy. The New York City-based firm is being fined €20 million, and will also have to delete any facial biometrics it holds of Italian nationals.

This isn't the first time that the beleaguered facial recognition tech company is facing legal consequences. The UK data protection authority last November fined the company £17 million after finding its practices—which include collecting selfies of people without their consent from security camera footage or mugshots—violate the nation's data protection laws. The company has also been banned in Sweden, France and Australia.

The accumulated fines will be a considerable blow for the now five-year old company, completely wiping away the $30 million it raised in its last funding round. But Clearview AI appears to be just getting started. The company is on track to patent its biometric database, which scans faces across public internet data and has been used by law enforcement agencies around the world, including police departments in the United States and a number of federal agencies. A number of Democrats have urged federal agencies to drop their contracts with Clearview AI, claiming that the tool is a severe threat to the privacy of everyday citizens. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Sens. Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Ayanna Pressley urged regulators to discontinue their use of the tool.

"Clearview AI reportedly scrapes billions of photos from social media sites without permission from or notice to the pictured individuals. In conjunction with the company's facial recognition capabilities, this trove of personal information is capable of fundamentally dismantling Americans' expectation that they can move, assemble, or simply appear in public without being identified," wrote the authors of the letter.

Despite losing troves of facial recognition data from entire countries, Clearview AI has a plan to rapidly expand this year. The company told investors that it is on track to have 100 billion photos of faces in its database within a year, reportedThe Washington Post. In its pitch deck, the company said it hopes to secure an additional $50 million from investors to build even more facial recognition tools and ramp up its lobbying efforts.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' trailer teases Pike's stint on the Enterprise

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 12:53 PM PST

Today is a good day for sci-fi and space fantasy lovers. Paramount+ has shared a teaser trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, its offshoot of Discovery. The video provides a brief but telling glimpse of Captain Christopher Pike's tenure aboard the USS Enterprise, including his return to service and (what else?) the worlds his crew will see. There's a clear attempt to recreate the wonder you might have felt watching early Star Trek as you encountered new aliens and planets for the first time.

There isn't much to see of the cast beyond Pike (Anson Mount), but you'll see Ethan Peck return as Spock while Rebecca Romijn once again serves as Number One. Celia Rose Gooding plays Uhura, Jess Bush will assume the role of Nurse Chapel and Babs Olusanmokun is Doctor M'Benga.

Strange New Worlds premieres in May. As indicated, the show's appeal may come as much from its format as its focus on the Enterprise. Unlike Discovery and Picard, SNW is expected to rely more on the single-episode storylines that defined the original series and much of the pre-streaming Star Trek franchise. Whether or not it reproduces those glory days is another matter, but Paramount+ at least appears to know its target audience.

Twitter begins rollout of alt text badges for greater accessibility

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 12:25 PM PST

Twitter has begun testing two new features the company promises will improve the alt text experience on its platform. The company said it would spend about a month trialing the features, which add easy-to-access descriptions to images, before rolling them out globally at the start of April. As Twitter notes, adding a description or "alt text" to an image allows people with low vision or a cognitive disability to "fully contribute" to the platform. They're also useful if you don't have the fastest internet connection.

If you have access to the test, you can add alt text to an image by tapping the "Add description" button that appears after you upload a picture. As a rule of thumb, you want to be concise but descriptive when writing alt tags. You'll then see an "alt" badge appear at the bottom left corner of the image you can tap to read the description. Twitted noted it's also working on a feature that will remind people to add descriptions to images, and said it would have more to share about that functionality "soon."

Comprehensive support for alt tags shows just how much Twitter has come along on the accessibility front. In 2020, the company famously introduced a voice note feature that didn't come with accessibility tools like closed captioning. The company eventually apologized for its actions and went on to establish two dedicated accessibility teams. "We know these features have been a long time coming," the company said Wednesday, alluding to that history. "We're grateful for your patience."

It takes two pounds of extra cooling to keep the M1 Ultra Mac Studio from frying

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 12:08 PM PST

Did you wonder why Apple's Mac Studio weighs a full two pounds more (7.9lbs versus 5.9lbs) when you choose the M1 Ultra model instead of the baseline M1 Max version? There's a simple explanation for it — and no, it's not that the extra silicon weighs more. Apple explained to The Verge that the M1 Ultra variant uses a larger and heavier copper cooling system where the M1 Max can make do with an aluminum heatsink. The 370W power supply and other components weigh virtually the same.

The cooling is crucial to the Mac Studio's small form factor. Much of the internal space is devoted to the thermal module and the vents it needs to expel heat — the choice of metal could make a big difference in the ability to transfer that heat away from sensitive electronics. Copper isn't necessarily better than aluminum (the design also plays a large role), but it's frequently used in more aggressive PC cooling setups and could help Apple spin fans less often.

You probably won't worry about this much unless you're routinely carting your Mac Studio around. However, the weight difference also helps explain why you won't see a MacBook Pro with an M1 Ultra any time soon. As the Ultra is effectively two M1 Max chips linked together, it generates considerably more heat in addition to its greater power demands. Even if battery life was unaffected, Apple would likely need a bulkier (and possibly noisier) cooling module to keep the laptop's temperatures in check.

Amazon suspends shipments and Prime Video access in Russia

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 11:45 AM PST

Amazon is taking an even stronger stance against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The company announced today that it will suspend shipments of products in Russia and Belarus, as well as halt access to Prime Video in Russia. Additionally (though perhaps less impactful), Amazon also won't be taking more orders for its MMO New World in Russia. 

"Unlike some other U.S. technology providers, Amazon and AWS have no data centers, infrastructure, or offices in Russia, and we have a long-standing policy of not doing business with the Russian government," the company said in a blog post.

Yesterday, Amazon also said that it won't be accepting new AWS subscribers in Russia and Belarus. The company's stronger stance isn't too surprising, as many other tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have also taken actions against Russia. While Russia's ecommerce industry has seen explosive growth over recent years, it's mostly dominated by local retailers like Wildberries.ru and Ozon.ru, whereas Amazon is still struggling to compete.

Xbox Series X/S users can now pin games to resume quickly

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 11:25 AM PST

The March Xbox update is rolling out, and it brings a few useful features to Microsoft's consoles. Xbox Series X/S players can now pin two games to the Quick Resume group.

That could be useful if you're the type of person who, say, likes to play a quick round of Halo Infinite multiplayer or enjoy a Forza Horizon 5 race if you need a break from an Elden Ring boss. Pin a couple games to Quick Resume (by pressing the menu button when you highlight a game tile) and it should be easier to hop between them.

Games you pin to the group will stay there unless you remove them manually or they have a required update. If you already have two pinned and want to add another, the console will ask which one you want to replace.

The Xbox dashboard, showing the Groups section. The Quick Resume group includes two tiles with a pin icon.
Xbox

If you don't tend to use the Share button often, you might get more out of it if you change its function. You can reassign a different action to the button, such as muting the volume, opening your friends list or achievements or bringing up the search menu. Microsoft says there are more actions available for Elite Series 2 Controllers, Xbox Adaptive Controllers and other devices too via the Xbox Accessories app. There's also a Xbox controller firmware update, which should improve performance on Xbox One controllers with Bluetooth support, among other things.

Elsewhere, there's a new audio setup wizard for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. You'll find it under the "volume and audio output" area of the general settings. It should help you find the optimal settings for your speaker setup.

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' teaser trailer reveals a Jedi on the run

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 11:13 AM PST

Disney+ has finally offered a good peek at its Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The streaming service has released a teaser trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi that documents the Jedi's life on Tatooine as he avoids the Empire and protects a young Luke Skywalker. As the clip makes clear, it won't be easy — Imperial forces are turning to Sith who'll look for "weaknesses" like compassion to track down the remnants of the Jedi order.

The limited-run series debuts May 25th, or 45 years to the day after the premiere of the original Star Wars movie. Ewan McGregor reprises his role as the titular Obi-Wan Kenobi, while Hayden Christensen returns as a younger Darth Vader. The Mandalorian alumnus Deborah Chow is directing the show.

Obi-Wan will arrive several months after The Book of Boba Fett, and represents a growing wave of Star Wars originals for Disney+ that will include Ahsoka, Andor and The Acolyte. Shows like this aren't rare, one-off projects — they represent a cornerstone of the Disney+ strategy.

Patient dies two months after groundbreaking pig heart transplant

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 10:32 AM PST

David Bennett, the first human to successfully undergo a heart transplant involving a genetically modified pig heart, has died, according to The New York Times. He was 57. It's unclear if his body rejected the organ doctors implanted in January. "There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death," a spokesperson for the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the hospital that performed the procedure, told the outlet. Physicians plan to carry out a full evaluation before publishing their findings in a peer-reviewed journal.

When Bennett's transplant was first announced, doctors treated the news with cautious optimism. And for a time, it looked like that feeling was warranted. Not only did Bennett's body not immediately reject the organ, but he was also able to take part in physical therapy and spend time with his family. And while he was never discharged from the hospital, he did survive two months with the genetically modified organ beating in place of his human heart.

Even if doctors determine the cause of death was organ rejection, that's no small milestone. Stephanie Fae Beauclair, one of the most famous patients to undergo a xenotransplantation procedure, survived for 21 days before her body rejected her adopted baboon heart. Part of the reason doctors were hopeful the procedure would work is that there's a dire organ shortage in the US and many others parts of the world. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, about 17 Americans die every day waiting for an organ transplant.

Volkswagen officially unveils its ID.Buzz EV, the hippie bus reborn

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 10:10 AM PST

The Microbus is back, baby! Nearly 75 years since the first Volkswagen Type 2 rolled off its assembly line and into the annals of Americana as an icon of 1960s counterculture, VW is re-releasing the emblematic vehicle — this time as a full EV.

VW ID.Buzz interior
VW

VW executives took to the livestreaming stage on Wednesday ahead of SXSW 2022's kickoff to debut the ID.Buzz, which will be available as both a people mover and a cargo van (dubbed the ID.Buzz Cargo) beginning this year. The ID.Buzz will appear in Europe first — arriving later in 2022 — and will be available with a number of options their American-market cousins will lack, including short-wheelbase and commercial-grade variants. There's even a Level 4 self-driving version that will begin its Shared Riding Model pilot program in Hamburg in 2025. The American iterations will debut in 2023, Scott Keogh, CEO of VW America promised during the stream, and are slated to arrive in American showrooms in 2024.

ID Buzz California
VW

Volkswagen only had the European model to show off Wednesday, but Keogh noted that the US version would be "more stylized for the American marketplace" but has "no doubt that it will be worth the wait," while teasing a California camper edition. The US version will have a slightly longer wheelbase and offer three rows of seating to the European version's two. With its comparatively shorter wheelbase, the European model's turning radius is a scant 11 meters, on par with the Ioniq 5 or the VW Golf.

ID Buzz beach
VW

The ID.Buzz is built atop VW's modular electric drive matrix (MEB if you say it in German), and is actually the largest model to date developed for the platform. MEB is the same base Ford plans to use for one of its European market vehicles in 2023. 

The ID.buzz will come equipped with a 77-kWh battery pack (slightly smaller than the 82kWh pack in the ID.4, which is also MEB-based) with a 170 kw charging capacity powering a 150 kw rear motor. It will be capable of bidirectional charging, at least in the European model, enabling V2H (vehicle-to-home) energy transfers. 

The passenger model will seat five with 1.21 cubic meters (39.5 cubic feet) of cargo space while the Cargo will offer 3.9 cubic meters (137.7 cubic feet) by replacing the rear seats with a partition behind the front row. For the interior, VW designers took inspiration from the aesthetics of the Microbus, pulling style elements from the T1 generation of vehicle and matching seat cushions, dash panels and the door trim to the vehicle's exterior paint color of which buyers will have their pick of seven solid-color options and four two-tone schemes (white + another color).

VW Buzz seats
ingo barenschee

The European version showcased a number of impressive autonomous driving features including Active Lane-Change Assist and Park Assist Plus as well as V2X data sharing, meaning the ID.Buzz can share road hazard information with both the enabled vehicles around it and the surrounding traffic infrastructure. OTA updates will be standard on the Buzz as well.     

ID Buzz interior
VW

The Cargo version will offer a number of customizable aspects including the choice between bench and bucket seats, as well as a tailgate vs twin swing-out rear doors vs double sliding side doors. Furthermore, VW will be offering a number of conversion options for the Buzz, which should allow service providers of all stripes to customize the vehicle to their specific needs. In terms of carrying capacity, the Cargo can haul up to 600 kg of stuff inside with another 100 kg of gear affixed to its roof. 

ID Buzz rear
VW

VW also noted during the presentation the extensive work it put into lessening environmental impacts arising from the ID.Buzz's production. The interior upholstery is made completely animal-free — the steering wheel may be made of polyurethane, but VW executives swear that it has the same look and feel as leather. The seat covers, floor coverings and headliner are all similarly composed of recycled goods like marine plastic and old water bottles. Using these materials emits 32 percent less carbon than similar products would, according to the company. Overall, VW hopes to ​​cut its carbon emissions in Europe by 40 percent by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality as part of its Way to Zero plan by 2050.

'Gotham Knights' is scheduled to arrive on October 25th

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 10:05 AM PST

Gotham Knights at last has a firm release date. The open-world co-op RPG will hit PC, PlayStation and Xbox on October 25th. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment initially planned to release Gotham Knights in 2021, but announced last March it would be delayed until this year.

Developer WB Games Montreal (which also made Batman: Arkham Origins) offered a first look at Gotham Knights at DC FanDome in August 2020. You can play as Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl or Red Hood as you try to take down the Court of Owls, a group of criminals that pulls the strings on Gotham's elite from the shadows. You'll also battle Mr. Freeze and the Penguin following the apparent death of Batman.

Rocksteady, which developed the other games in the Batman: Arkham series, has a Batman-adjacent title of its own in the works. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is also expected to arrive in 2022.

Substack's new iOS reading app helps you follow subscriptions

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 09:31 AM PST

You no longer have to read Substack articles on the web. As 9to5Macnotes, Substack has released its first mobile reading app for iPhone and iPad. The software will help you follow your subscriptions, with notifications when a favorite writer publishes a new story. You'll find all media formats in a single place, too. The app will also help you discover new writers if you're eager for more.

Android users will have to be patient. You can sign up for a waiting list, but it's not clear when Substack's app will be available for Google's platform.

The iOS app should be helpful if you're an avid Substack reader who'd rather not fire up a web browser just to catch up — it's arguably overdue when rivals like Medium have offered mobile apps for years. It may be just as relevant for writers, for that matter. They won't have to worry so much that you might miss an email alert, or skip a piece when you're away from your desk.

Bumble suspends service in Russia and Belarus

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 09:17 AM PST

Bumble has joined a growing list of American companies pulling out of Russia amid the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, the company announced it was discontinuing operations in Russia and removing its family of dating apps from the Apple and Google app stores in Russia and Belarus.

What's notable about Bumble's announcement is that the company details how the decision will affect its business. In addition to Bumble, it owns and operates two other dating apps, Badoo and Fruitz. Those two are popular in Europe and they're where Bumble anticipates it will see the most impact from its decision.

In 2021, approximately 2.8 percent of Badoo's revenue came from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. By contrast, users from those three countries contributed to less than 0.1 percent of the revenue Bumble earned through its main app that same year. The company anticipates it will lose about $20 million in fiscal 2022 due to the conflict. To put that in perspective, the company recorded $208.2 million in revenue in fiscal 2021. 

Facebook gives Group admins new tools to block misinformation

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 09:00 AM PST

Facebook is once again trying to stem the flow of misinformation within Groups. The social network is giving group admins new tools to help prevent misleading information from spreading.

With the update, group admins will be able to "automatically decline" posts that have been determined to be false or misleading by Facebook's third-party fact checkers. Admins who want to take an even tougher stance can use the feature to decline the post and block or suspend the user from future posts in the group.

Facebook has struggled to control misinformation and other problematic content in Groups for years. Though the company has imposed stricter penalties for Groups that repeatedly break its rules, Groups have been breeding grounds for election and COVID-19 misinformation.

Group admins can automatically reject posts that have been debunked by fact checkers.
Facebook

Still, the feature could considerably reduce the number of false claims being passed around in Groups, though it's up to admins to enable it. It's also not retroactive, so posts that are shared and then later debunked by fact-checkers will still be visible unless an admin or moderator opts to remove the post.

Facebook is also automating other aspects of managing Groups, including how requests by prospective members are handled. Admins will have the option to automatically decline or approve new members based on criteria like the age of their Facebook account and if they have friends already in the group.

Twitter tests in-app 'shops' for brands and businesses

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 09:00 AM PST

Twitter is launching another experimental shopping feature, with in-app storefronts for brands and businesses.

The feature, called Twitter Shops, builds on the "shop module" it launched last summer. But while the shop module only allows companies to showcase a handful of products on their profile page, the latest update gives the stores a dedicated, full-screen space for up to 50 items. A handful of businesses have already enabled the shops, though the features are currently available to "hundreds" of brands, according to Twitter. The shops are only viewable for US Twitter users who use the app in English for now.

twitter wants businesses to turn their profiles into shops.
Twitter

While Twitter is billing the feature as an "experiment," the company has hinted that it has much bigger ambitions in the space. The company said at its most recent analyst day presentation that it sees e-commerce as a major opportunity. Shopping also ties in nicely with Twitter's recent embrace of monetization features for creators, and the company has piloted shopping features in livestreams.

Updated with more details about how many businesses have access to shops.

Tinder now lets you background check your matches

Posted: 09 Mar 2022 08:51 AM PST

Tinder is giving users in the US a way to conduct a background check on a potential match. Through the safety center (you can tap the blue shield icon anywhere in the app to get there), you can visit the website of Garbo, a non-profit background check platform.

Garbo typically only needs a person's first name and phone number to surface information about them, as TechCrunch notes. It may ask for other details, such as the person's age, if it can't find anything about them at first.

The service will look for indicators of a history of violence. It has a database of more than a billion records of violent and harmful behavior, namely public records of arrests and convictions, as well as sex offender registry information. As part of its mission to create a more equitable background check platform, Garbo excludes some non-violent, non-harmful offenses, such as drug possession charges, loitering, curfew violations and minor driving tickets.

If a background check suggests the match has a history of violence, you'll be encouraged to report them to Tinder. Match Group doesn't allow anyone reported for violent crimes to use its dating services. Garbo will also offer users mental health resources and a way to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Tinder users will each be able to conduct up to two background searches for free (up to 500,000 across the entire US userbase). Beyond that, Garbo searches cost $2.50 as well as a processing fee. Tinder won't take a cut. Garbo's service is available via its own website for the same price.

The app's parent company Match Group invested in Garbo last March. It plans to integrate the platform into its other dating apps to bolster user safety.
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