Technology

Tim Cook sent out an email to employees this morning addressing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and explaining the actions Apple has taken in reaction to the events of the past two weeks. The email also tells employees that Apple will be matching donations they make to certain humanitarian relief funds two to one, and will do so retroactively for donations made since February 25th. A copy of this email was obtained by The Verge, and you can read it below in full (with the exception of an internal Apple email address being redacted): I wanted to take a moment to address the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. I know I speak for everyone at Apple in expressing our concern for all of those affected by the violence. With each new image of families fleeing their homes and brave citizens fighting for the...

Instagram has introduced automatic captions to videos in an ongoing effort to make content more accessible. Starting today, automatic captions will be turned on by default, though users can still opt to turn the feature off. The feature is similar to TikTok’s auto-generated captions, which were introduced last April. “It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri wrote on Twitter. “Videos on Instagram will noInstagramw have auto-generated captions, where you have the option to turn them off or on.” It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Videos on Instagram will now have auto-generated...

Just in time for the US copyright on Fritz Lang’s Metropolis to expire this December, Apple’s gearing up to produce a new streaming series inspired by the original 1927 classic. Today, Apple announced that it’s brought on Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail to write, direct, executive produce, and showrun a new Metropolis show for Apple TV plus as part of Esmail’s overall deal with Universal Content Productions. Word of a new Metropolis first broke back in 2016 when it was not yet clear which network or streamer might want to move ahead with the adaptation. In Lang’s original Metropolis — adapted from author Thea von Harbou’s novel of the same name — a futuristic and highly stratified megacity becomes the epicenter of a revolution when Freder, the son of a wealthy capitalist, discovers the horrif...

General Motors is selling its stake in Lordstown Motors, an electric vehicle startup that has struggled to produce its first vehicle. GM owned 7.5 million shares, or less than 5 percent of the company, with an initial equity value of $75 million. The news was first reported by the Detroit Free Press. The sale was made during the fourth quarter of 2021 following an undisclosed lock-up period. James Cain, a spokesperson for GM, confirmed the sale, while a spokesperson for Lordstown declined to comment. The stock sale signals the beginning of the end of GM’s relationship with Lordstown. The company traces its origins to GM’s announcement in 2018 that it would be closing down its Lordstown factory. Then-President Donald Trump assailed GM over the decision, leading to the automaker’s decision t...

Adam Lackman, the self-described “former pirate” behind the Kodi add-on repository TVAddons, has agreed to pay $19.5 million ($25 million CAD) to a group of Canadian telecom giants over copyright infringement, according to a report from TorrentFreak. As noted by TorrentFreak, TVAddons was still accessible up until last week before going offline (seemingly) for good. In its heyday, TVAddons was a site that allowed users to upload unofficial add-ons for Kodi, the open-source media library you can install on streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Google Chromecast. While Kodi itself is legal software, third-party apps, like TVAddons, can direct people to pirated content. Canadian telecom giants filed the lawsuit in 2017 A copy of the judgment (PDF) ruled that the Montreal-based L...

Google has begun rolling out a new fast emergency dialer (FED) feature designed to help users traveling internationally quickly access police, fire, and medical services, 9to5Google reported. The dialer was reportedly first seen last year through the Pixel’s emergency app, but Google confirmed to Android Police that FED is currently rolling out to a wider release. Accessing the Fast Emergency Dialer when your phone is unlocked will vary by device Though it’s designed for international traveling, anyone can use it at any location. According to the Google Support page, the emergency dialer will show options relevant to your location: Quick access: To call an emergency number with one action, use the slider. Automatic emergency numbers: Your phone finds emergency numbers automatically, even w...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said Tuesday the company is adding auto-generated captions to the videos in your feed. He acknowledged the captions have been “a long time coming” — rival TikTok introduced auto-captions last April — and said the captions will be on by default for creators on the platform. It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Videos on Instagram will now have auto-generated captions, where you have the option to turn them off or on. pic.twitter.com/DNyzcdiPSU — Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) March 1, 2022 Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, creators had to manually add captions to their videos using time-consuming workarounds, but the change makes the process seamless and makes Instagram more access...

Ahead of its release on March 25th, Ghostwire: Tokyo is getting a free visual novel, available now on PlayStation. Ghostwire: Tokyo – Prelude, will introduce players to KK, the deuteragonist of Ghostwire, and his squad of spirit detectives as they investigate paranormal disturbances throughout Tokyo. Players will be able to make different choices throughout the visual novel to unravel the story of Ghostwire’s world and the spirits who haunt it. Ghostwire: Tokyo is the latest game from The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks. Its slick and extremely unsettling gameplay trailer showcases a world overrun by apparitions that KK must banish with the help of Akito, the human KK possess and imbues with supernatural ghost-killing power. Ghostwire: Tokyo made a splash during its announcemen...

Sony reportedly started rolling out an update to enable variable refresh rate on its 2021 TVs with the Bravia XR processor almost a year after promising that the feature was coming, according to HDTVTest’s Vincent Teoh and posts on an owners’ forum. Variable refresh rate, or VRR, essentially lets your TV smooth out any stutters or frame rate drops that may happen while gaming, without the annoying screen artifacts or slight input lag that can come with other solutions. Somewhat ironically, Sony’s own PlayStation 5 doesn’t support VRR yet — the company promised it would add the feature via a software update, but so far there haven’t been any signs of it. The Xbox Series X and S, however, do support it, as will any gaming PC with a reasonably new graphics card (think GTX 10-series or later)....

Turtle Beach has announced the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max, a new $129.99 wireless headset that’s one of a few models out there that can work with Xbox and a myriad of other platforms. Typically, you get compatibility with Xbox or with other platforms like PlayStation, PC, and the Nintendo Switch’s dock, but not both. This headset’s included USB-A audio transmitter has a switch that can toggle wireless modes, ensuring compatibility no matter which system you’re on. It’s worth noting that SteelSeries offered a similar feature with its Arctis 1 Wireless headset back in early 2020 (albeit with a fancier USB-C dongle), but it’s still generally difficult to find a headset that can accomplish this feat. Outside of this functionality, the ins and outs of the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max are very similar to Tu...

Over the past decade, the biggest tech companies came to feel less like traditional corporations and more like quasi-states: borderless empires whose decisions increasingly had geopolitical consequences, to the growing frustration of the nation states in which they operate. During the rise of former President Trump and other authoritarians around the world, global attention sensibly focused on the worst aspects of this arrangement. As they grew, companies acquired a vast civic responsibility they were reluctant to accept. The platforms were motivated primarily by growth and profits, and many were structured to make their leaders unaccountable even to their own boards. In the meantime, platforms were exploited by adversaries — along with domestic politicians, led by Trump — spreading lies a...

Microsoft is finally allowing games from the Windows store to be installed to any folder that can be accessed freely. The software giant started testing this functionality last year, and it’s now rolling out in the Xbox all for all Windows 10 and Windows 11 users today. This will greatly improve the game install process from the Windows store, allowing PC gamers to install titles into any folder of their choice with unrestricted access to game files. It should address the many headaches of installing games from PC Game Pass, and Windows users should be able to backup game files and restore them in the future. The new install features on the Xbox app. Microsoft previously forced Windows users to install PC games from its app store into a dedicated WindowsApps folder at the root of a drive. ...