Technology

The US Army Corps of Engineers has closed a permit application for a proposed expansion of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas — a potential snag in the company’s plans to add new launch and landing pads to the area, as well as substantially grow the site. In a letter viewed by The Verge, the Corps cited SpaceX’s failure to provide requested follow-up information about the proposed changes as a reason for closing the permit. Among other things, the Corps wanted more details about what mitigation measures the company would take to limit the loss of water and wetlands surrounding the site. SpaceX first purchased land in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2012, with the intention of creating a facility to launch its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. But the company has substantially expanded ...

Ford and Chevrolet are reportedly halting production on their respective flagship performance cars, the Mustang and the Camaro, for a week thanks to supply chain issues (via Jalopnik). While the pauses probably won’t make it that much harder to get a muscle car, they are just the latest in a string of automotive delays caused by shortages of chips and other supplies. According to WXYZ Detroit, Ford is explicitly citing the chip shortage as the reason it’s not producing cars at its Flat Rock assembly plant where Mustangs are made. This isn’t the first time the company has struggled with supply issues — it’s had to cut back on the production of the F-150 and other vehicles multiple times, and earlier this year, it started selling Explorers that were missing minor features, reportedly due to ...

Twitter has begun testing out an edit button allowing users to alter published tweets. The company revealed the news on Tuesday, saying that it’s been “working on an edit feature since last year.” Twitter went on to clarify that it didn’t get the idea from a poll, a reference to its newest stakeholder Elon Musk, who recently posted a poll asking users if they want an edit button. While the decision isn’t entirely up to Musk, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal retweeted his poll and added that “the consequences of this poll will be important.” The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully. https://t.co/UDJIvznALB — Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022 In a different thread, head of consumer product Jay Sullivan shared that an edit button has been the most requested Twitter ...

We may have just seen the Bitcoin hardware wallet that Jack Dorsey’s Block (the company formerly known as Square) is working on, a device to help people “safely own and manage their Bitcoin,” according to the company. Block’s hardware lead, Jesse Dorogusker, tweeted an image showing several devices on Wednesday, all seemingly including fingerprint readers and USB-C charging ports — both things Block said its hardware wallet would include in a blog post last month. Dorsey announced his company’s work on the crypto wallet in June 2021, and since then, we’ve gotten a few details on it. The company said the hardware wallet would be just one component in its crypto storage system and that it would have a corresponding mobile app for your phone. Block also provided a breakdown of the potential r...

Meta won’t be holding its F8 developer conference in 2022, the company announced Wednesday. “Similar to years past, we are taking a brief break in programming and will not hold F8 in 2022 while we gear up on new initiatives that are all tailored towards the next chapter of the internet, and the next chapter of our company too: building the metaverse,” Meta’s Diego Duarte Moreira said in a blog post. “Similar to the early stages of the web, building the metaverse will be a collaborative effort at every stage — with other companies, creators and developers like you.” Connect is still on for “later this year” In lieu of F8, Moreira pointed to Meta’s “inaugural business messaging event,” dubbed Conversations, which will take place on May 19th. Moreira also said there will be another Connect ev...

Though the original Orphan Black series seemingly brought the story of Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) and her sprawling family tree of sister clones to a close, AMC’s gearing up to return to their world with an all-new live-action series. Per The Hollywood Reporter, AMC Networks has tapped Fear The Walking Dead supervising producer Anna Fishko to write and showrun Orphan Black: Echoes, a new series set in the near future of the original. The new show, which is set to be executive produced and directed by John Fawcett, will follow the lives of a new group of women who gradually begin to realize how deeply interconnected their origins are — despite the fact that none of them know one another. Given how the original Orphan Black came to a close, it’s unclear whether Echoes will see Maslany r...

The best thing about the Steam Deck has nothing to do with its specs. Rather, its carrying case is my favorite non-feature feature that vastly improves the Deck’s esteem in ways its technical capabilities haven’t yet. My first delightful surprise was the arrival of the case itself. I did not expect to get a carrying case when my Steam Deck arrived last week. For all that’s been said about the Deck’s technical performance — we wrote two reviews — there hasn’t been much discussion of the case. I therefore thought, like with a Nintendo Switch or 3DS, that cases were available but sold separately. The case is hard-shelled with a soft velvety interior and a molded form for the Deck to sit inside so it’s not bouncing around while zipped up in its case. The case’s zippers are special too. While I...

Today, let’s talk about what Elon Musk means for the future of Twitter. To say the relationship between the Tesla CEO and the social network is changing rapidly is an understatement. On Sunday, as far as the world was concerned, Musk was simply one of Twitter’s most famous users. On Monday, it was revealed that over the past month he has become its largest individual shareholder. On Tuesday, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced that Musk now has a seat on the board. Here are Kate Conger and Mike Isaac at the New York Times: Mr. Musk had ideas for reshaping social networks that dovetailed with those of Mr. Agrawal and Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder, according to their public exchanges. All three have floated the notion of radically shifting the power in social networking to users and away...

Ask anyone with a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, and they’ll probably be able to attest that AirDrop is often a lifesaver. The ability to wirelessly and easily transfer files between Apple devices takes the friction out of sharing. You don’t have to figure out how to email large files (like videos) you’re trying to send to someone — and there’s no need to upload anything to some cloud service. With AirDrop, Apple creates a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection between the two devices in an AirDrop exchange. These devices communicate directly and aren’t required to be using the same internet connection. To use AirDrop, you must: Be using a Mac introduced in 2012 or after that’s running macOS Yosemite or later. Have the two devices within 30 feet of each other — with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled on both. Near...