Technology

NASA announced today that the Perseverance rover has captured audio from a Martian dust devil for the first time. But the clip not only treats us to the novelty of hearing an extraterrestrial vortex; it could also help scientists better understand how dust might affect future Mars missions. The rover’s microphones picked up the dust … Read more

In one of his first all-hands meetings after taking over the company in October, Elon Musk told Twitter employees the website’s financial position was dire, warning bankruptcy was “not out of question.” Since then, it appears the situation at Twitter has become more fraught. The New York Times reports the company is taking drastic steps to cut … Read more

American politicians aren’t just restricting access to TikTok — they now hope to ban it outright. Members of the House and Senate have introduced matching bills that would block transactions from any social media company in or influenced by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Venezuela. The ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act (Averting the National Threat … Read more

Boom has revealed more details about Symphony, the engine for the Overture jet with which it aims to bring back commercial supersonic air travel after the retirement of Concorde. Most importantly, the company has secured a new partner to develop the engine after it parted ways with Rolls-Royce in September.  FTT, a division of Kratos … Read more

Apple is reportedly preparing to open iOS to competing app stores. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company’s software and services teams are redesigning the platform to “open up key elements.” That effort is likely to end in Apple giving iPhone and iPad users the option to download third-party apps without going through the App … Read more

IMDb announced today that entertainment professionals can now choose whether to display their age and other demographic information on their profiles. Screen performers’ union SAG-AFTRA had pushed for the change for years, viewing it as a front in the war on ageism in Hollywood. The new policy lets anyone with an IMDb page claim their … Read more

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today delayedHogwarts Legacy yet again, but the most demanding versions of the game are spared. Instead, the postponement pushes the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions back to April 4th, 2023, with the Nintendo Switch variant arriving on July 25th. Previously, the last-gen versions were scheduled to launch on February 10th … Read more

Netflix has added two more titles to its (very good) stable of mobile games: Kentucky Route Zero and Twelve Minutes. They’re the first Annapurna Interactive titles to join the lineup. They’re available now for all subscribers, including those on the ad-supported plan, on iOS and Android. It’s been a while since Netflix first said it … Read more

Apple is finishing 2022 by releasing major software updates for its devices. The upgrades are headlined by iOS 16.2, which should be particularly useful for the security-conscious. The new version adds an Advanced Data Protection option that brings end-to-end encryption to more of your iCloud data, including device backups, Messages content, notes and photos. And … Read more

iPadOS 16 launched a little later this year than its predecessors, and a few key features weren’t quite ready. With iPadOS 16.2, which just arrived this afternoon, I think Apple has caught up with what it planned. There are two major new features on board here. First, Stage Manager multitasking now works across an external … Read more