Technology

Amazon workers claim they weren’t all properly alerted as what they thought was smoke filled the third floor at a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse on Friday, according to a report from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) (via Input). While workers on the third floor were told to clock out, go on unpaid voluntary time off, and evacuate, employees on the other floors were allegedly left to continue working as an unidentified vapor spread throughout the facility. The “smoke” was later found to be vaporized oil from a malfunctioning compressor. According to the RWDSU’s timeline of events, workers on the third floor evacuated around 1:30PM. Hours later, workers on the first floor started seeing the smoke-like substance and didn’t evacuate until 5:45PM. They reportedly received n...

LaiFen Tech is looking to take aim at Dyson and Roidmi with its new high-speed hairdryer. The hairdryer sees a familiar vortex-style jet design where the handle houses a brushless motor that spins at 110,000 RPM for airspeeds of 22m/s — this is almost 6x the air pressure of traditional hairdryers. Weighing less than the competitors at 407g, the LaiFen Dryer features a magnetic two-stage filter, 59 dB operational noise, negative ion protection, and LED temperature indicators. Each heat setting is also thermo-controlled and monitored 100 times a second to prevent extreme heat. Those in need of a new hairdryer can back the project now over at Indiegogo for a price of $119 USD. In other home appliance news, Solo Stove’s “Pi” pizza oven features its Camp Stove and Fire Pit technology. Read Full...

The Academy Awards return this weekend to celebrate a standout year of film releases. With vaccinations now widely available, theaters saw record-breaking ticket sales as moviegoers seemed more willing to return to auditoriums to watch highly anticipated releases. But theaters haven’t completely edged out streamers — Netflix swept up a dozen nominations for its critically acclaimed drama The Power of the Dog and several more for its doomsday comedy Don’t Look Up. Folks with traditional cable bundles or an antenna are already teed up to watch the event live on ABC when it airs this evening. But if you’re short the hardware or a cable box, several services will carry the coverage as well. Who is hosting the Oscars? Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer are hosting the 94th Academy Awards...

Apple is reportedly planning to release an iPad Pro with the rumored M2 chip sometime between September and November of this year, according to Apple tracker Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter. Gurman expects Apple to issue a major update for the upcoming generation of iPad Pros, which will supposedly include support for MagSafe charging. As Gurman points out, Apple last gave the iPad Pro a significant update in 2018, when Apple introduced a design with harder corners, an edge-to-edge display, and a USB-C connector. This update came about a year and a half after the release of the iPad Pro 10.5 in 2017. The new iPad Pro is also rumored to have a glass backing Apple is on track to repeat the same pattern this year, as it launched the most recent generation of M1-equipped iPad Pros in May 202...

Apple Pay will no longer support Russian card payment system Mir, closing a loophole that let Russians continue to use the service amid economic sanctions put on the country, according to a report from Reuters. “Apple has informed NSPK [Russia’s National Payment Card System] that it is suspending support of ‘Mir’ cards in the payment service Apple Pay,” a translated announcement on Mir’s site reads. “Since March 24, uploading new ‘Mir’ cards to the service has been unavailable.” The company also notes any Mir cards previously added to Apple Pay will stop working over “the next few days.” Apple Pay first added support for Mir cards last year. Many Russian users have already been cut off from Apple Pay and Google Pay According to The Guardian, Mir is owned by the Central Bank of Russia and w...

The US Federal Communications Commission has added Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab to its list of entities that pose an “unacceptable risk to US national security,” according to a report from Bloomberg. This is the first time a Russian company has been added to the list, which is otherwise made up of Chinese companies, like Huawei and ZTE. Businesses in the US are barred from using federal subsidies provided through the FCC’s Universal Service Fund to purchase any products or services from the companies on the list. In addition to Kaspersky, the FCC also added China Telecom and China Mobile International USA to its list on Friday. Kaspersky says the decision was “made on political grounds” “I am pleased that our national security agencies agreed with my assessment that China Mo...

Now that Samsung’s new Frame TVs are available for preorder, the 2021 model is selling at a new all-time low in multiple configurations until April 5th (or while supplies last). Typically $1,499.99, Woot is selling the HDR-compatible, 55-inch QLED TV for $899.99, which is $100 cheaper than the previous low we saw during Black Friday and in the run-up to the Super Bowl. The 65-inch model is also on sale for $1,399.99 instead of $1,999, and both TVs come with a one-year warranty from Samsung. While the 2021 model lacks the matte, anti-reflective display found on this year’s model, they’re both designed to display artwork when not in use, allowing them to blend in more easily with your home’s decor. When turned on, they function as Alexa-equipped, 4K TVs that support a 120Hz refresh rate and ...

Uber has secured a 30-month — or two-and-a-half-year — license to keep its ridesharing services up and running in London, according to a report from the BBC. This marks the close of a lengthy battle with the city’s transportation agency, Transport for London (TfL), over Uber’s safety protocols. We’re delighted to announce @TfL has granted Uber a new 30 month licence in London. TfL rightly holds our industry to the highest regulatory and safety standards and we are pleased to have met their high bar. — Uber UK (@UberUK) March 26, 2022 “We’re delighted to announce @TfL has granted Uber a new 30 month licence in London,” Uber announced in a tweet on Saturday morning. “TfL rightly holds our industry to the highest regulatory and safety standards and we are pleased to have met their high bar.” ...

Collecting satellite data for research is a group effort thanks to this app developed for Android users. Camaliot is a campaign funded by the European Space Agency, and its first project focuses on making smartphone owners around the world part of a project that can help improve weather forecasts by using your phone’s GPS receiver. The Camaliot app works on devices running Android version 7.0 or later that support satellite navigation. The way satellite navigation works, phones or other receivers look for signals from a network of satellites that maintain a fixed orbit. The satellites send messages with the time and their location, and once it’s received, the phones note how long each message took to arrive, then use that data to figure out where on Earth they are. Android’s support for ra...

If you’ve got a pet, it’s likely you have something cool that you use to either feed the pet, amuse the pet, watch the pet, track the pet, or travel with the pet. Well, the folks here at The Verge are no different: many have animal companions whom they feed, pamper, worry about — even obsess about — and totally enjoy. We asked our co-workers to tell us about some of the techie (and not-so-techie) gadgets that they use to keep their pets clean, fed, and amused — along with portraits of the much-loved dogs and cats. We’ve got some great photos to show you. Enjoy. Aslan Mitchell Clark, news writer AslanPhoto by Mitchell Clark / The Verge We got the WOPET automatic feeder after our vet informed us that our cat Aslan needed some kitty liposuction. We had been letting him eat whenever he wanted ...

Amazon Games studio head Mike Frazzini is stepping down from his role to focus on family, according to a report from Bloomberg. Frazzini has helped lead Amazon’s game division since 2009 and played a role in building the company’s game studio. “Mike was there at the beginning of Amazon Games, and his leadership and perseverance helped build the games business from the ground up,” Amazon spokesperson Ryan Jones said in a statement to Bloomberg. “Our recent successes with New World and Lost Ark are the result of the long-term, customer-focused vision for games he helped establish. We are very grateful for all his contributions, and wish Mike the very best.” Amazon didn’t immediately reply to The Verge’s request for comment. Amazon Games has faced a number of issues under Frazzini’s leadershi...