Category: Technology

Over the last decade, Meta has done all it can to establish each part of its business as a separate but equal contributor to its bottom line. After all, that’s why part of Facebook’s brand identity is little icons denoting Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Plus, you know, it helps to deflect from any suggestion it’s operating a sprawling digital monopoly owning a big chunk of the internet.

But now, nine years after Facebook cleaved its Messenger product into a standalone mobile app, the pair are to be reunited. Facebook head Tom Alison said in a blog post the company is testing the ability to access Messenger from within the Facebook app. This is, of course, all part of its attempts to claw back relevancy from TikTok, with Alison saying the big blue app is pivoting to become a platform for entertainment and discovery.

– Dan Cooper

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The biggest stories you might have missed

Google begins rolling out its new look for Docs and other Workspace apps

The iPhone 14 now comes in yellow

‘Hogwarts Legacy’ release on PS4 and Xbox One delayed again until May 5th

Japan’s H3 rocket self-destructs in space during failed launch

GM’s Ultra Cruise system will debut on the Cadillac Celestiq later this year

reMarkable launches a gorgeous, if expensive, Type Folio for its e-paper tablet

It’s a niche accessory for a niche product, but you can’t help but love it.

A few years after launching an updated version of its e-paper writing slate, reMarkable is adding a keyboard folio. It’s a pricey add-on to the device but one, I think, makes the right compromises. I found it pretty easy to use as a distraction-free writing machine. But given reMarkable’s intentionally limited writing slate is already a niche proposition, this can only ever appeal to a niche inside a niche.

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Sonos is betting big on spatial audio with the $450 Era 300 speaker

And it’ll offer support for Apple Music’s spatial audio.

Sonos has unveiled the most dramatic update to its speaker line in some time, replacing both the One and Five with the Era 100 and Era 300. It’s the latter that’s more interesting, since it’s designed to support spatial audio, offering more nuance to your music. And, shortly after the pair arrived, Apple let it be known the Era 300 would support spatial audio from Apple Music, giving would-be purchasers one big reason to try it out.

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Hyundai’s revamped Kona EV offers more room and a longer range

It’s the first clean-sheet Kona EV, with all the benefits.

Hyundai’s Kona was a popular and well-reviewed EV, offering a heady mix of affordability, decent range and equipment. Now, the company has shown off its replacement, a clean sheet redesign with a WLTP-rated range of 304 miles. It’s also more spacious and has a lot more kit, and while the company hasn’t yet announced US pricing, it’s likely to be cheaper than the Ioniq 5.

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YouTube reverses course on controversial swearing and monetization policy

Now you can do a naughty word in the opening moments of a video.

YouTube’s interesting approach to colorful metaphors, the sort you’d never see used in a respectable technology newsletter, is changing. Last November, the company said any shocking utterances in the initial moments of a clip would render it ineligible for monetization. Now, officials have walked that back slightly, saying only strong profanity will see a clip marked for limited adverts, while milder, sub-f-and-s-word utterances will probably be OK.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-messenger-is-coming-home-to-facebook-121508699.html?src=rss 

NASA’s Perseverance rover might be out there on Mars since 2021, collecting rock samples and finding hints of water, but that doesn’t mean its predecessor has already retired from its explorations. In fact, the Curiosity rover has been observing Martian clouds during twilight to build upon its previous survey on night-shining clouds. And on February 2nd, Curiosity captured a rare sight on camera, making it the first time we’ve seen crepuscular rays (or “sun rays”) this clearly from the Martian surface.

The clouds in the photo above are located at a higher altitude than most Martian clouds, which sit around 37 miles above the ground and are made of water ice. Since the clouds in the photo are higher up where it’s especially cold, NASA thinks they’re made of frozen carbon dioxide — or dry ice, as we call it — instead. They agency says that observing clouds on Mars can help scientists learn more about the planet’s atmospheric conditions, temperatures and winds. 

For this particular survey, which started in January and will conclude mid-March, Curiosity mostly uses its colored Mast Camera or Mastcam. The equipment allows the rover to take images that would show scientists how cloud particles glow over time. To create the panorama you see above, NASA stitched together 28 images taken by the Mastcam. In 2021, though, Curiosity mostly relied on its black-and-white navigation cameras that provided us a detailed look at clouds’ structure as they move. 

In addition to our first clear view of the Martian sun rays, the rover has also taken photos of other interesting cloud formations since the current survey began. One image from January 27th (below) shows an iridescent cloud that’s shaped like a feather. Apparently, the color transitions brought about by iridescence tell scientists how the cloud is evolving and about how its particle size is changing across the structure. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/curiosity-rover-captures-first-clear-view-martian-sunbeams-105136342.html?src=rss 

 There are certain colors you see and have an immediate association. For gamers, one of the most iconic might be that warm medium green seen on Yoshi and, most notably, Xbox. The latter has long used green as a core part of its branding. Yet, Microsoft hadn’t outright sold an official darker green Series S/X wireless controller — until now. It’s official name is velocity green and it’s on sale for $65. 

Almost the entire front is green with black accents courtesy of the hybrid D-pad and controller buttons. The triggers and bumpers are also black while the back case is a clean white. The controller offers up to 40 hours of battery life and includes textured grips on areas such as the triggers and back case. It houses a dedicated Share button to share screenshots or gameplay videos of games with friends and can also pair with PCs and mobile devices.

Microsoft has offered custom controller colors through the Xbox Design Lab but this new option is perfect for players who want (mostly) all green, all the time. Plus, it’s $5 cheaper. Not much, but hey you can put it towards a new game. 

Anyone looking for an entire velocity green look can also get a matching Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for $40. Plus, Microsoft is leaning fully into its signature color with a velocity green Xbox hoodie for $65. It even includes a little four-leaf clover stitched on the sleeve for extra gaming luck.

Not a big green fan? Microsoft has already rolled out a slew of other wireless controllers in the colors Electric Volt, Deep Pink, Shock Blue, and Pulse Red. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-xbox-new-velocity-green-controller-112518870.html?src=rss 

If you’ve ever created or joined a WhatsApp group chat for a single event, then kept forgetting to delete it for years afterwards, there’s an upcoming feature you may appreciate. WhatsApp is testing something called “Expiring Groups” that will let you set an expiration date for group chats, according to a new iOS beta spotted by WaBetaInfo. 

According to a screenshot, the Expiring Groups option will appear within a group’s settings, letting you choose options like a day, week, or custom date. You’ll also have the ability to cancel an expiration if you need to keep the chat intact. Any expiration dates set will only apply to yourself and not other participants, apparently — so the group might continue to exist, just not with you in it. 

It appears that WhatsApp won’t just delete a group without telling you, as the description states that “you will be prompted to clean up groups on the expiration date.” Still, much like disappearing messages, it should help reduce clutter in your account and save some device storage space

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-will-soon-let-users-choose-when-group-chats-expire-085500703.html?src=rss 

Visiting Twitter’s Tor onion website will now show you a warning that its certificate has expired, and pushing forward will just send you to an error page. The Tor Project, the non-profit org responsible for maintaining software for the Tor network, has confirmed to The Verge that Twitter’s onion site “is no longer available seemingly with no plans to renew.” Pavel Zoneff, the group’s communications director, said: “The Tor Project has reached out to Twitter to look into bringing the onion version of the social media platform back online. People who rely on onion services for an extra layer of protection and guarantee that they are accessing the content they are looking for now have one fewer way of doing so safely.” It’s worth noting, however, that you can still access Twitter on a Tor browser. 

Twitter launched its Tor service in 2022, shortly after Russia blocked its people’s access to the website. A Tor service allows you to circumvent censorship and gives you the capability to visit an online destination even when it’s supposedly restricted in your country. It also protects you from surveillance, thanks to its anonymization features that encrypt your traffic. You can use it anywhere, but it is perhaps especially helpful to people living in countries with more stringent censorship laws, including North Korea and China. 

The company has yet to announce whether it has any plans on reviving its Tor service. Alec Muffett, who helped Twitter’s engineers adopt Tor services last year, told The Verge that the people within the company he interacted with “are all gone.” He added that he’s pretty sure it’s going to stop working totally “unless Elon [Musk] takes an interest.”

Musk, who purchased Twitter later in 2022, has laid off thousands of workers since he took over, including employees who supported his vision for the website. CNBC reported back in January that only 1,300 personnel were left from the 7,500 people who were working for Twitter before it changed hands. Seeing as Musk seems to be focusing on monetizing Twitter at the moment, and there are barely any employees left at the company, its Tor service may remain unavailable for a long time, if not for good. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-tor-service-no-longer-working-063541843.html?src=rss 

Google’s annual developer conference will return on May 10th. The search giant announced the date on Tuesday afternoon after internet users quickly solved the teaser puzzle Google shared in the morning. As with last year’s conference, I/O 2023 will take place in front of a “limited live audience” at the historic Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Google has not held an I/O anyone can pay to attend since before the pandemic. In 2020, the conference was canceled, like many other in-person events that were scheduled to take place that year. One year later, Google held the event at its Mountain View campus, with the in-person audience mostly limited to company employees.              

The good news is that Google will publicly steam the event. I/O 2023 will open with a keynote from CEO Sundar Pichai, followed by on-demand developer sessions that will be available to watch on YouTube and the I/O website. More so than in past years, there will be a lot at stake at I/O 2023. It’s likely Google will spend a significant portion of the event playing up its latest AI advances and innovations, and with good reason. The recent announcement of Bard did not go according to plan after the chatbot shared incorrect information about the James Webb Space Telescope. Google needs to show it won’t be outdone by rivals like OpenAI.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-io-2023-takes-place-on-may-10th-in-front-of-a-limited-in-person-audience-232154501.html?src=rss 

The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up its investigation into some of Twitter’s most controversial decisions since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. That includes the company’s mass layoffs and the launch of Twitter Blue, as well as the company’s dealings with journalists involved with the so-called “Twitter Files,” according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.

At issue, is Twitter’s 2022 settlement with the FTC over its use of “deceptive” ad targeting. Along with a $150 million fine, the company at the time agreed to a “comprehensive privacy and information security program,” as well as other strict measures meant to protect users’ privacy. But there’s been widespread concern from lawmakers and others that Twitter has not adhered to those requirements under Musk’s leadership.

Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that the FTC has sent at least a dozen letters to Twitter since last fall in an effort to get more information about the company’s handling of layoffs, Twitter Blue, the “Twitter Files” and other issues. The agency is also reportedly trying to depose Musk as part of the inquiry. The House Judiciary Committee also released a report about the FTC’s inquiries to Twitter.

The report isn’t the first suggestion that Twitter may have run afoul of the regulator since Musk’s takeover. The FTC previously said it had “deep concern” following the departures of key privacy and security executives. Lawmakers and others have also raised concerns about the hasty rollout of Twitter Blue, which reportedly launched without a proper privacy or security review, a requirement of Twitter’s FTC settlement.

Likewise, as Bloomberg pointed out last year, the settlement also requires Twitter to limit internal access to Twitter users’ data. Security experts have questioned whether Musk’s decision to hand over reams of internal documents and grant journalists access to internal systems could violate its obligations with the FTC.

In a tweet, Musk called the FTC’s actions “a shameful case of weaponization of a government agency for political purposes and suppression of the truth.” Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee also criticized the agency’s investigation as “harassment.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-investigating-elon-musks-handling-of-twitter-blue-and-the-twitter-files-233539305.html?src=rss 

Biometric technology may make it easy to unlock your phone, but democratic lawmakers have long cautioned against the use of facial recognition and biometrics by law enforcement. Not only have researchers documented instances of racial and gender bias in such systems, false positives have even led to real instances of wrongful arrest. That’s why lawmakers have re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act. This actually marks the third time the bill was introduced to the Senate — despite being introduced in 2020 and 2021, the act was never advanced to a vote.

If passed, the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act would outright ban any use of facial recognition or biometric surveillance by the federal government unless that use is explicitly approved by an Act of Congress. That approval itself would be pretty limited: It would need to define who was allowed to use biometric surveillance, the exact type of biometric surveillance they would be using and the specific purpose it would be used for. Approval would also have the burden of further restrictions, such as adhering to minimum accuracy rates that would hopefully avoid false positives in the rare instances when use of the technology is approved.

The bill also hopes to encourage local and state governments to follow its lead, including a clause that would tie some federal funding for local law enforcement to complying with a “substantially similar” ban on facial recognition and biometrics.

While the bill hasn’t had much luck making it to the floor of either chamber of congress, some states and local governments have been banning facial recognition technology on their own. In 2020, Portland Oregon put strict guardrails on the use of facial recognition technology. New York State and Massachusetts have also put restrictions on the use of biometrics. Even the IRS walked back plans to use facial recognition for identity verification purposes.

That sounds encouraging for the re-introduced bill, but that momentum isn’t universal: Law enforcement still sees biometrics as a useful tool for investigating crime, and the TSA has been testing systems that compare travelers to the photo on their passport or driver’s license.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/legislation-to-ban-government-use-of-facial-recognition-hits-senate-for-the-third-time-194547733.html?src=rss 

It’s not just House representatives that want the federal government to ban TikTok. A bipartisan alliance of senators has introduced a bill that would give the Commerce Secretary the authority to ban TikTok and other foreign technology perceived as a national security threat. The would-be law would be limited to tech emerging from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.

The group is led by senators Mark Warner and John Thune. It includes high-profile politicians from both parties, including Joe Manchin and Mitt Romney.

The move comes just days after the House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a bill, the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act, in a partisan vote. A House vote is expected later in March. That measure is more targeted and meant to prevent Americans’ data from falling into the hands of the Chinese government. In December, a section of an omnibus spending bill banned TikTok on federal government devices following similar restrictions in multiple states.

In all cases, the concern remains the same. Critics are concerned the Chinese government might use TikTok to collect data on Americans and spread propaganda. TikTok has repeatedly denied cooperation with Chinese officials, and has tried to assuage fears by moving data and traffic to US-based servers. Oracle, which runs the US servers, has been reviewing TikTok’s algorithms and moderation systems.

There’s no certainty the Senate will pass its bill and reconcile it with a House equivalent. The Commerce Secretary also isn’t guaranteed to exercise the power if granted. However, the introduction of the bill adds pressure to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew as he testifies before the House on March 23rd. He’ll be fighting a Congress that’s even more determined to limit his company’s business.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/senate-bill-would-give-commerce-secretary-the-power-to-ban-tiktok-as-a-security-threat-202139609.html?src=rss 

Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s pick to serve as the critical fifth vote on the Federal Communications Commission, is withdrawing from her nomination to the telecom regulator. On Tuesday, Sohn said she recently asked President Biden to appoint someone else to the FCC. The Biden administration originally announced Sohn’s nomination in October 2021, only for her to go on to face intense resistance from Republicans and moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. 

Sohn’s failure to win her confirmation is a major setback for the Biden administration and its bid to reshape US internet policy after a wave of deregulation under former President Donald Trump. The regulator has been mired in a two-to-two deadlock since the departure of former Chairman Ajit Pai, preventing current Chair Jessica Rosenworcel from moving forward on a host of policy issues, including the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections.         

“Unfortunately, the American people are the real losers here,” Sohn said in a statement. “The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes.”

During her confirmation hearings, Republicans cast Sohn as an extreme partisan. She also faced resistance from industry players, including organizations like the Directors Guild of America. Conservative groups spent large sums of money campaigning against her confirmation. One organization, the Center for a Free Economy, spent $200,000 on Facebook ads opposing the nomination. Sohn pointed to those campaigns in explaining her decision. 

“When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies,” she said.

It’s possible Democrats could have advanced Sohn to the FCC despite opposition, but the likelihood of that happening significantly diminished after Senator Joe Manchin came out against her nomination. “Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that,” he said in a recent statement. Per The Washington Post, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, as of Tuesday, the Biden administration did not have news to share on a new nominee.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/public-internet-advocate-gigi-sohn-withdraws-from-fcc-consideration-201020427.html?src=rss