Technology

Following in the footsteps of WWDC 2020 and 2021, Apple has now announced that WWDC 2022 will also be an all-online event. Slated to run from June 6 to 10, the conference will “showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, while giving developers access to Apple engineers and technologies to learn how to create groundbreaking apps and interactive experiences.” Aside from its usual keynote and State of the Union presentation, Apple will also be adding more information sessions, access to learning labs, and offer more digital lounges for attendee engagement. A select group of developers and students will also be able to visit Apple Park on June 6 to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos together. “At its heart, WWDC has always been a forum to create conn...

Even though you can no longer place tiles on Reddit’s r/Place canvas, which was a revival of an April Fools’ Day experiment, the platform has given us the chance to relive the experience. The company has provided a treasure trove of data, including a recap post that goes over numbers and statistics (things like which country placed the most tiles or which subs talked about r/Place the most), alongside an entire CSV dataset for people to tinker with if they’d like. But, as someone who watched the chaos unfold by checking in every hour or so (and placed a few tiles of my own), the coolest thing Reddit posted is a three-minute-long timelapse that shows how the canvas was shaped by users over four days. Watching it evolve is like staring into the heart of Reddit. You get to see communities fig...

Hours after announcing it would convert over 1,000 temporary and contract QA employees to full time and provide a minimum pay of $20 per hour, Activision Blizzard is stating that Raven Software QA workers will not be part of that deal. According to a report from Bloomberg, the QA testers at Raven Software who recently organized as the Game Workers Alliance will not be able to take advantage of the new pay minimum — something Activision Blizzard failed to mention upfront when it sent the initial news to media outlets. Excluding organizing employees from company-wide benefits seems to be Activision Blizzard’s latest move against the burgeoning labor movement going on at the company. In a statement to The Verge, Activision Blizzard spokesperson Jessica Taylor confirmed Bloomberg’s findings, s...

GM has resumed production of the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV and now has access to a supply of new battery packs that should be safe from fire hazards. This comes after the Chevrolet Bolt was recalled due to potential battery fires affecting all model years, which led to a complete production freeze on the Bolt EV and EUV vehicles since last August. “Our goal is to get back to and, quite frankly, exceed business metrics,” said Chevy’s VP of marketing Steve Majoros on a press call yesterday. The comeback plan for the Bolt includes catching up with new 2022 Bolt EV and EUV orders (2023 orders will begin in July), a new TV ad campaign coinciding with the opening day of Major League Baseball, and the “herculean task” of replacing all battery packs affected by the recall. A “herculean task” ...

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (or RWDSU) has filed objections against Amazon to the National Labor Relations Board, saying that the company has again interfered with its election in Bessemer, Alabama (via CNBC). In a press release, the union alleges that the company “threatened an employee with plant closure if the Union was voted in,” barred employees from posting pro-union literature, and “engaged in surveillance and / or created the impression of surveillance of employees engaged in protected concerted activities,” among many other things. The union is asking the NLRB to schedule a hearing on its objections to determine whether the results of the second Bessemer election should be set aside and a new election held. The complaint, which you can read in full below, is a...

Recent Chrome OS updates have broken the camera on some Chromebooks for some users, as reported by About Chromebooks. Some bug reports found by the publication list differing issues; one said the camera “simply does not work,” while another said the camera is “unable to focus properly.” People also reported problems across a few different updates, with at least one dating back to Chrome 97. (Chrome OS is currently on version 100.) There have been some reports of camera issues with the following devices, according to About Chromebooks: Acer Chromebook 14 HP Chromebook x2 11 Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook 5 Lenovo 10e Chromebook Google Pixelbook Go Acer Chromebook Spin 13 In a Reddit thread about recent camera problems with the Duet 5, a person with a “Verified Googler” tag said Tuesday that the c...

Twitter said Thursday that its ALT badge and improved image descriptions are now available globally, accessibility features that will make alt text descriptions more prominent for all users. Images that have text descriptions will get a badge that reads “alt,” and clicking on the badge will bring up the description. Twitter first announced changes were coming last month. “As promised, the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions go global today,” reads a tweet from Twitter’s Accessibility account. “Over the past month, we fixed bugs and gathered feedback from the limited release group. We’re ready. You’re ready. Let’s describe our images!” As promised, the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions go global today. Over the past month, we fixed bugs and gathered feedback from the limited rel...

Amazon is planning to object to the results of the election where workers at a New York warehouse voted to organize with the Amazon Labor Union, according to a deadline extension request the company filed with the National Labor Relations Board (or NLRB). In the document, which you can read in full below, Amazon says that it’s gathering evidence to show that the union “threatened employees to coerce them into voting yes,” “electioneered and interfered with employees waiting in line to vote,” and “threatened immigrants with the loss of benefits if they did not vote.” Amazon hasn’t yet filed its final, official objections, according to Kayla Blado, a spokesperson for the NLRB. It will have until 11:59PM ET on Friday to do so, though the company has until April 22nd to file the proof it claim...

Snap is launching a new Snapchat lens that can help you learn American Sign Language (ASL). It’s called ASL Alphabet Lens, and Snapchat is launching it in partnership with SignAll, a company that has built technology that can translate sign language. “Led entirely by Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing team members here at Snap called the ‘Deafengers’, the ASL Alphabet Lens teaches you to fingerspell your name, practice the ASL Alphabet, and play games that put new skills to the test,” Snap said in a blog post. Screenshots from the ASL Alphabet Lens app. You can try the lens from this link, which should open in Snapchat if you have the app on your phone. I played around for it for a few minutes and was pretty impressed. The lesson I tried taught me to fingerspell the alphabet. Holding my phone in one...

To get climate change under control, experts say, we’re going to have to start sucking a whole lot more planet-heating carbon dioxide out of the air. And we need to start doing it fast. Over the past decade, climate pollution has continued to grow, heating up the planet. It’s gotten to the point that not one but two major climate reports released over the past week say we’ll have to resort to a still-controversial new technology called Direct Air Capture (DAC) to keep our planet livable. Finding ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is “unavoidable,” a report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says. Finding ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is “unavoidable” We already have some direct air capture facilities that filter carbon dioxi...

Short of simply never even trying to make sequels, studios have no guaranteed way of keeping their cinematic franchises from sinking into sophomore slumps like director Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Taking ambitious chances on fresh ideas the way Sonic 2 does is an important part of how these kinds of ongoing narratives are able to evolve, though. And while the new movie is far from perfect, its flaws all play like the growing pains of a project that’s well on its way to becoming genuinely interesting. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 presumes that you remember most of the beats of its 2020 predecessor. But the movie more or less works as a standalone as it reintroduces a now-bald and markedly more chaotic Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who’s become obsessed with destroying Sonic (Ben Schwartz) afte...

Spotify announced Thursday it was adding the ability to respond to phone calls and other new features to its Car Thing infotainment system. Owners of the $90 device, which went on sale in February, also will now be able to add songs and podcasts to a queue, control other media, and use voice commands. Car Thing users will be able to see incoming calls and either answer them or dismiss them right in the Car Thing interface. They’ll also be able to switch between Spotify and other media using presets, voice, or tapping its screen. Spotify says the new “add to queue” feature is one of its most-requested for Car Thing; you can do it either by voice (using the “hey Spotify” prompt), touch, or the device’s dial. You can also ask Car Thing to create a personalized playlist by telling it what genr...