Kalakshar US

As promised, Apple has expanded its iPhone 14 Emergency SOS satellite feature to France, Germany, Ireland and the UK after launching it in the US and Canada. To remind you, the new iPhones have a built-in satellite connection that people can use to send emergency SOS messages in places where there’s no available cellular signal. The service is available to all iPhone 14 users on iOS 16.1 in supported countries and is free for two years following purchase. 

“It means that many more people will be able to contact 112 when they have no mobile coverage and need urgent assistance,” said European Emergency Number Association CEO Gary Machado. “We are confident that this will save many lives and offer significant help to emergency services dealing with these often very complicated rescues.”

Emergency SOS via Satellite is activated by a long press on the power and volume buttons, or rapidly pressing the power button five times. The interface guides you on the best direction to point your iPhone for the best signal. Once connected, you can open a message interface with emergency service providers, and the phone will also communicate your location. If everything goes to plan, you’ll receive a message that responders have been notified, and to stay where you are. 

You can also share your location with family members in a non-emergency using the Find My app. Users simply open the Me tab, swipe up to see My Location via Satellite, and tap Send My Location. It also works with iPhone and Apple Watch Crash and Fall Detection features. There’s even a demo mode that lets you practice using Emergency SOS so you can act quickly if a real emergency arises. 

The feature could be a godsend to hikers, skiers and others lost in the Alps or other remote parts of Europe. Support for more countries will arrive next year, Apple said. 

 

Following his arrest in the Bahamas, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried with “defrauding investors,” it announced. It alleges that Bankman-Fried “concealed his diversion of FTX customers’ funds to [the] crypto trading firm Alameda Research while raising more than $1.8 million from investors.” 

At the same time, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against Bankman-Fried in parallel actions, according to the SEC. 

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

The SEC alleges that since at least May 2019, FTX raised $1.8 billion from equity investors, including $1.1 billion from 90 US investors alone. Bankman-Fried promoted the exchange as a safe trading platform with “sophisticated, automated measures to protect customer assets,” it said. In reality, though, Bankman-Fried orchestrated a fraud to conceal the diversion of customer funds to his privately-held crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. 

That fund was given special treatment, “including an unlimited ‘line of credit’ funded by the platform’s customers and exempting Alameda from certain key FTX risk mitigation measures,” the commissioner added. And finally, customers were exposed to undisclosed risk from FTX’s exposure to Alameda holdings of “overvalued, illiquid assets such as FTX-affiliated tokens.” It further alleges that Bankman-Fried used commingled FTX customer funds to make “undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases and large political donations.” 

Bankman-Fried was set to be testifying today in Congress, but that may not happen now. In a draft transcript of his testimony seen by Forbes, he would have led by saying “I fucked up.” Later in the transcript, Bankman-Fried claims Alameda’s position on the platform was twice as large as displayed on FTX’s dashboards due to “a historical accounting quirk”, as opposed to any malfeasance. He also planned to say that FTX’s US business is fully solvent and could pay back customers immediately. Among other statements, he notes that he was pressured into filing for Chapter 11, and that ultimately the Chapter 11 documents were filed against his wishes.

The SEC is seeking injunctions including barring Bankman-Fried from future securities dealings, seizing alleged ill-gotten gains, a civil penalty and an officer and director bar. “FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy,” said SEC enforcement director Surbir S. Grewal. “But as we allege in our complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent.”

 

All I want for Christmas is for my glasses not to fog up. And Swiss scientists might deliver on that wish. ETH Zurich researchers have developed a gold nanocoating that heats glass by up to 46 Fahrenheit by absorbing a large amount of infrared radiation − and keeps your glasses fog free. Most protective treatments merely spread water around using hydrophilic molecules, but this nano-thin layer can stop the condensation from even forming.

The research group believes the layer could also reduce fog on car windshields, and future implementations could work on mirrors, windows and more. The coating lays gold between layers of titanium oxide, which amplifies the heating effect through refraction and protects the gold against wear – titanium is much tougher. And while gold is pricey, the amount needed is so small it shouldn’t add much to the price of your glasses if the tech makes its way into mainstream spectacles.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Xiaomi’s 13 Pro is an early look at 2023’s flagship phones

With Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon processor and a 1-inch camera sensor.

With the 13 and 13 Pro, Xiaomi is the second manufacturer to use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, following Vivo’s X90 Pro and IQOO 11 series. The 13 Pro’s camera is the main highlight: It packs a 50-megapixel (MP) f/1.9 main camera with a Type 1-inch sensor (it’s really only 8.8 x 13.2mm, but it’s still significantly larger than most smartphone imaging sensors). It has a 50MP 3.2x zoom camera (75mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a floating lens. And there’s also a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (14mm equivalent) because lots of camera sensors is a trend that’s going nowhere. Prices start at 4,999 yuan ($720) for the Xiaomi 13 Pro and 3,999 yuan ($570) for the Xiaomi 13. But, you won’t be able to buy them in North America.

Continue reading.

‘Forspoken’ hands-on: Fun, but frantic

It’s a lot of fun, but also just… a lot.

After multiple delays, Square Enix’s next big game is almost here. Forspoken is the first title to come from the team that made Final Fantasy XV – a game from 2016. While we know the magical attacks in Forspoken are spectacular, a one-on-one battle with Sila, the Tanta of Strength, made the biggest impression during our preview session – and the best showcase for all the attacks and moves you can master. Once you’ve read our preview, be sure to check out the demo to test the spells and magical parkour for yourself.

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Netflix and HBO Max led streaming services in the 2023 Golden Globes nominees

Each received 14 television nods, while ‘The Rings of Power’ and Will Smith were shut out.

Streaming services once again dominated TV categories for this year’s Golden Globes nominees. Netflix and HBO Max had the best showings among streamers, tallying 14 television nods. Netflix’s The Crown received four nominations: Best Drama Series, Best Television Actress – Drama Series (Imelda Staunton), Best Supporting Actress – Television Series (Elizabeth Debicki) and Best Supporting Actor – Television Series (Jonathan Pryce).

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story also received four: Best Limited Series – Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture and acting nominations for Evan Peters, Niecy Nash and Richard Jenkins. HBO’s The White Lotus picked up four nominations, but I haven’t started season two, so no spoilers, please.

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This modular Chromebook may be worth the $1,000

Framework’s take on ChromeOS is expensive but well thought out.

Framework released its first modular laptop last year, and the company now offers it with ChromeOS. It’s not the most exciting laptop, but it’s extremely well designed, upgradeable and flexible. You can easily swap out ports, add RAM and replace any parts that might break over time. Couple that with an excellent screen and keyboard and you have a quality device that should last years longer than the average Chromebook, even if its $999 price is pretty high.

Continue reading.

 

If you’d been meaning to catch up on Westworld even though it was cancelled before its fifth and final season, you may want to do so soon. The show is leaving the streaming service just over a month after it was cancelled, according to Deadline and Variety. The Nevers, the sci-fi series Joss Whedon created for HBO, has also been cancelled and will be removed from the streaming platform before the second half of season one could debut next year. 

As Variety notes, HBO Max owner Warner Bros. Discovery is saving money with this move, as it will no longer have to pay residuals to cast and crew. That, of course, on top of the money it’s saving by discontinuing the shows’ production. Chief Executive David Zaslav promised investors that the company would find a way to cut $3.5 billion in costs after the $43 billion WarnerMedia and Discovery merger was finalized earlier this year. The company has been cutting down on spending since then and has cancelled shows other than these two. 

Deadline says, however, that it’s possible for both Westworld and The Nevers to come back as offerings on another one of the company’s platforms. Zaslav previously talked about entering the free ad-supported TV streaming space, and the sci-fi shows could apparently be offered on a future service with that business model. If that does happen, the second half of The Nevers — a show set in Victorian London that follows a group of women who manifest abnormal abilities — will debut on that service. It remains to be seen if we’re going to see the ending Westworld’s showrunners envisioned for it. The show’s fifth season didn’t get the chance to start production, unlike The Nevers that’s already done shooting the back half of its first season.

 

Twitter has dissolved its Trust and Safety Council via email and less than an hour before its members’ Zoom meeting with the company’s executives, according to The Washington Post and NPR. The council was reportedly supposed to discuss recent developments and changes on the website under Elon Musk, but the email said that the members’ help is no longer needed. Its members were apparently informed that Twitter is “reevaluating how best to bring external insights” and that the council is no longer “the best structure to do this.”

The company disbanded the group just a few days after three members resigned from their voluntary positions. In their letter, they said the well-being of Twitter’s users is on the decline despite Musk’s claims and that the executive should not be allowed to define digital safety. In a response to the news of their departure, Musk tweeted: “It is a crime that they refused to take action on child exploitation for years!” After that tweet, NPR said some remaining members sent a letter to Twitter demanding the company to stop misrepresenting the council’s role, as attacks against former and current advisors continued to grow worse. 

The Trust and Safety Council members aren’t employees handling moderation on the website, and they have no power to make decisions or to review banned accounts and specific tweets. They’re a group of external advisors from expert and anti-abuse organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, YAKIN (Youth Adult Survivors & Kin in Need), the Samaritans and GLAAD, volunteering their time to help Twitter figure out how to fight hate and harassment. When Twitter formed the council in 2016, it said the group’s purpose is to make the website a less toxic place so that “anyone, anywhere can express themselves safely and confidently.” 

More members were on the verge of resigning before the group was dissolved, Larry Magid, chief executive of Silicon Valley nonprofit ConnectSafely, told The Post. He said: “By disbanding [the council], we got fired instead of quit. Elon doesn’t want criticism, and he really doesn’t want the kind of advice he would very likely get from a safety advisory council, which would likely tell him to rehire some of the staff he got rid of, and reinstate some of the rules he got rid of, and turn the company in another direction from where he is turning it.”

Musk said in October that he will form a “moderation council” made up of members with “widely diverse viewpoints” before he reinstates banned accounts. But in an interview in November, he admitted that he will still have the final say in making decisions. Twitter has yet to introduce a moderation council, but Musk has already reinstated previously banned accounts’, such as Donald Trump’s and Andrew Anglin’s, the neo-Nazi creator of The Daily Stormer. 

 

Looks like embattled FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried won’t be testifying (virtually) before Congress after all. The Bahamas Attorney General’s Office announced Monday that Bankman-Fried has been arrested there and is likely to be extradited in short measure back to the US to stand trial. The AG’s office noted that his arrest came after, “receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF and is likely to request his extradition.”  

The news of SBF’s arrest should come as little surprise given that last Friday the Department of Justice came out and said that it was “closely” examining his role in the multi-billion cryptocurrency exchange’s recent collapse, which is expected to harm more than a million individual investors. Justice Department officials made those statements while meeting with the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy team to discuss whether FTX had improperly moved hundreds of millions of dollars just ahead of its declared bankruptcy last November.

Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify before Congress at the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. However, as United States Attorney Damian Williams explained in a Tweet Monday, Bankman-Fried has been taken into custody “based on a sealed indictment,” which will be revealed and explained in the morning.

“Clearly, I made a lot of mistakes. There are things I would give anything to be able to do over again,” Bankman-Fried recently tried to explain to the New York Times. “I did not ever try to commit fraud on anyone.” 

The Bahamian government is also being accused of collusion — not by the DoJ, but rather FTX itself. Attorneys for the company asserted on Monday (ahead of the arrest news) that the Bahamas as a governing entity had colluded with Bankman-Fried to help move the ill-gotten funds from all those suspicious transactions that took place right before bankruptcy into crypto-wallets controlled by Bahamian regulators.  

Bankman-Fried stepped down from his role of CEO at FTX in November and was replaced by John J. Ray III, an executive who was also helmed Enron through its own bankruptcy proceedings. In his prepared remarks for Tuesday’s now-postponed congressional hearings, Ray painted a bleak picture of FTX’s late stage management and operations. 

In it he says that FTX went on a $5 billion spending spree in late 2021 and early 2022, “buying a myriad of businesses and investments, many of which may be worth only a fraction of what was paid for them,” as well as making numerous loans and payments amounting to more than $1 billion, “to insiders.” Those funds were also co-mingled with money from Bankman-Fried’s other venture Alameda Research, which also used client funds to engage in high-risk margin trading. 

Depending on what the Southern District Attorney’s office unseals tomorrow, Bankman-Fried could be going away for a very long time. Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and COO Sunny Balwani just got 11 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the medical company’s massive fraud case. Ponzi Scheme king Bernie Madoff got 150 years for his shenanigans in 2009, and in 2006, Jeff Skilling was handed 24 years for his role in Enron’s downfall.   

Developing…

 

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the 2023 Golden Globes nominations today. Streaming services dominated television categories, while direct-to-streaming films were recognized as well. Netflix and HBO Max had the best showings among streamers, tallying 14 television nods.

Netflix’s The Crown received four nominations: Best Drama Series, Best Television Actress – Drama Series (Imelda Staunton), Best Supporting Actress – Television Series (Elizabeth Debicki) and Best Supporting Actor – Television Series (Jonathan Pryce). Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story also received four: Best Limited Series – Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture and acting nominations for Evan Peters, Niecy Nash and Richard Jenkins. Other Netflix series receiving nods include Ozark‘s three nominations (including Best Drama Series), along with a single nod each for Inventing Anna and The Addams Family spinoff Wednesday.

Netflix also did well in the film categories, with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery nominated for two awards (including Best Picture – Musical/Comedy) and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio picking up two more (including Best Picture – Animated). Additionally, three more Netflix movies received acting recognition: Ana de Armas (Blonde), Adam Driver (White Noise) and Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse).

The White Lotus was HBO Max’s top series, picking up four nominations, including Best Limited Series – Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture. The dark comedy anthology also picked up acting nods for Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza and 83-year-old F. Murray Abraham. Hacks was close behind with three, including Best Musical/Comedy Series and two acting noms (Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder). Finally, House of the Dragon’s three nominations (including Best Drama Series) brought the Game of Thrones franchise back to awards season.

Severance and Black Bird put Apple TV+ on the board. The former was nominated for Best Drama Series, along with acting recognition for Adam Scott and John Turturro. Black Bird was nominated for Best Limited Series – Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture, alongside acting noms for Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser.

Disney+ had a limited presence on this year’s list. Diego Luna picked up an acting nod for the title role in Andor while Turning Red was nominated for Best Picture – Animated. However, Hulu — Disney’s other streaming service — did very well, picking up noms for Pam & Tommy (four, including Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture), Only Murders in the Building (three), Elizabeth Holmes story The Dropout (two) and Under the Banner of Heaven (two).

As always, there were several high-profile omissions. Amazon’s budget-shattering epic, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, didn’t receive a single nomination. Meanwhile, whether because of Will Smith’s damaged reputation or the movie itself, Apple TV+ film Emancipation was also left out.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 Golden Globes ceremony on January 10th, starting at 8 PM ET. The show will air on NBC and Peacock with comedian Jerrod Carmichael as host.

 

Netflix’s penchant for live-action manga remakes isn’t going away any time soon. The streaming service has revealed that it’s partnering with Legendary Entertainment on a live action My Hero Academia movie. Anime and manga adaptation veteran Shinsuke Sato (Alice in Borderland, Bleach) will both direct and executive produce, while Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Joby Harold is writing the screenplay.

The manga and the anime it fostered both revolve around Deku, a boy who aches to join the UA High School and become a superhero despite missing the natural powers that most humans have by that point. Both the manga and the still-running anime offshoot have been successful, with the manga racking up over 65 million sales so far.

There’s no mention of casting or a release window for the Netflix project. Toho, which handles the anime, will distribute the movie to Japanese theatres. As IndieWireexplains, this comes four years after Legendary said a movie was in the works.

As with earlier adaptations, Netflix has multiple incentives to create a My Hero Academia title. It’s tapping into a large fanbase, sometimes for anime productions it already offers. This also gives it a way to reel in customers who would otherwise stick to anime-centric rivals like Crunchyroll, which recently lowered prices in some countries.

Whether or not it’ll be worth watching is another matter. Netflix doesn’t have the best track record for live action takes on manga and anime. The Cowboy Bebop series misunderstood its source material and generally struggled despite a top-tier cast and intriguing premise. There’s also the question of the format. A movie doesn’t allow as much room for story development as an episodic show, so My Hero Academia may have to rush through the narrative.

 

With the success of Souls games like Dark Souls III and Elden Ring, you’d think FromSoftware would incorporate some of the gameplay into other titles… right? Not so. From president Hidetaka Miyazaki told IGN in an interview that there’s no “conscious effort” to add Souls-style elements to Armored Core VI. Instead, the studio is eager to to stick what makes the Armored Core series “special” — that is, creating a custom mech and taking it into battle. There will still be a mission-driven structure, even if there are elements of exploration.

The new title is a “reboot” will take advantage of greatly expanded resources to build the game From “wanted to make,” Miyazaki said. The team’s Masaru Yamamura added that there will be a “fresh new story,”but that the game will remain challenging. While you’ll find a versus multiplayer mode like in earlier Armored Core projects, details of that are under wraps for now.

Armored Core VI is due in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It will be the first mainline game in the franchise since 2012. After its announcement at The Game Awards, creators like VaatiVidya speculated that the new battler would effectively be a Souls game with mechs. That’s clearly not happening, then.

Whether or not it’s a good strategy is another matter. Armored Core V had a mixed reception — this won’t be the follow-up to a much-loved predecessor like Bloodborne or the Dark Souls series. A lot has changed at From over the course of a decade, mind you, so it won’t be surprising if VI reflects some lessons learned.

 

When Lyft first pledged to go fully electric by the end of 2030, the company detailed a plan that involved an “extremely hard” push on incentives for drivers. Now, more than two years later, the company is rolling out a new EV bundle to encourage drivers to switch.

To start, drivers in California can earn an extra $150 every week through the end of 2024 by completing 50 weekly rides with their personal EVs. You can find more information on the EV Ride Challenge over on Lyft’s website, but important details include a December 31st, 2023, deadline to register and a total individual earnings limit of $8,100.

“Because California is currently Lyft’s largest EV market, the company is using it as a testing ground to understand the best ways to help drivers transition,” a Lyft spokesperson told NBC affiliate KXAN. “From there, Lyft can take learnings to other states across the country.”

To that point, the other incentives Lyft announced today are available nationwide. First, there’s a discount for drivers who charge their cars through EVgo. In select markets, Gold and Platinum drivers can get up to 45 percent off the company’s Pay As You Go rates starting this week. To begin taking advantage of the discounts, you’ll need to link your Lyft Rewards and EVgo accounts.

Drivers with Lyft Direct debit cards can get cashback at public charging stations. The amount will depend on the individual’s Lyft Rewards standing, with Platinum members entitled to a 7 percent return, while Gold and Silver drivers get a more modest 3 percent and 2 percent back. Everyone else can get 1 percent back at stations that accept Mastercard. Lastly, Lyft has partnered with Wallbox to offer drivers discounts on at-home Level 2 charging hardware. The company is also working with COIL to secure pre-negotiated rates for installation.

“We know many drivers on Lyft want to switch to EVs, which is why we’re focused on addressing the biggest barriers they face in transitioning: upfront costs and access to charging,” said Paul Augustine, Lyft’s director of sustainability. “These offerings are the latest in many steps we are taking to support drivers in switching to an EV on Lyft,”

On Monday, the company also announced it’s on track to add “thousands” of new EVs to its Express Drive rental program next year. Lyft previously announced it was aiming to only acquire electric vehicles for the program by 2026, and phase out any remaining internal combustion engine cars by 2028.