Technology

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that California’s net neutrality law can remain in place, upholding a lower court decision. California’s 2018 law is the toughest in the country, and was signed into law a year after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the federal Open Internet Order. That 2015 order put into place strict net neutrality rules barring internet providers from blocking or throttling legal apps and websites. It also banned prioritization of paid content by ISPs. California’s law also bars throttling and speed lanes, and not long after the law was passed, the Department of Justice under former President Trump sued the state, arguing that the law was pre-empted by the FCC’s 2017 repeal of the federal law. That lawsuit and other legal challenges prevented t...

A good gaming headset is practically a necessity these days. Clean and precise audio is essential for competitive gaming, allowing you not just to pinpoint your enemies, but communicate effectively with your teammates. Moreover, recent developments in spatial audio and virtual surround sound have allowed headsets to meet — and occasionally surpass — more expensive audio setups, allowing even the most budget-conscious gamer to obtain a competitive edge at a fraction of the price. While you could always invest in a massive pair of speakers, they’re likely to earn you the dubious distinction of the worst roommate of the decade. Thankfully, the right headset will allow you to keep the running and gunning to yourself, which is why we’ve rounded up a collection of the best deals you can currentl...

Life360, a safety and tracking service that helps its users to keep tabs on the whereabouts of family and friends who also use the app, is scaling back its user data sales business to just two partners: Allstate Arity and Placer.ai (via The Markup). This news comes after the company announced a deal to acquire the item tracker Tile in November and a December report from The Markup said Life360 was the source of precise location data to as many as a dozen data brokers. That report cited sources within the industry who called Life360 one of the largest sources of data. Life360 says Tile data will “never” be monetized or sold At the time, CEO Chris Hulls pushed back on that assertion, saying that “with approximately 30 million active users, we account for a very small portion of the overall m...

Epic Games may have largely lost its major lawsuit against Apple, but it’s not going out without a fight — and it has some major support in its corner. Soon after the Epic Games v. Apple ruling was issued, Epic appealed, and over the past two days, a large number of organizations have filed amicus briefs in support of Epic’s battle, including a coalition of 35 state attorneys general, Microsoft, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). (The original ruling has since been put on hold after an appeals court granted a stay.) During the fight, Epic was trying to make the case that Apple has a monopoly in mobile gaming with the App Store, and in so doing, force Apple to take a smaller percentage of all the transactions that go through that store. If it were successful in pushing Apple to a...

While I’m waiting for the adapter that’ll turn my DeWalt power tool batteries into a powerful laptop charger, I thought I might introduce you to another intriguing USB-C trend. You can now buy $20 USB-C cables that come complete with their own wattage meter, letting you see just how fast they’re charging your devices. I bought mine a month ago — it took its sweet time getting here — but so far, I’m impressed! For the past couple of days, I’ve been plugging it into everything to see how much it draws: 18W for my V2 Nintendo Switch, 30-31W for my DJI Mini 2 drone, 2.5-3W for one of my PS5’s DualSense controllers, 54-65W for my XPS 15, all the way up to 99W for a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro or a Skydio 2 drone. Or, down to 0.5W while trickle-charging the Wyze Buds Pro. Why a leaf? It was there, it...

There have been some exciting features announced for the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 15.4, including the ability to use Face ID with a mask and to access some snazzy new emoji. If you can’t wait, you can test them in the first available public beta right now — assuming you’re willing to risk encountering possible bugs. Here, we walk you through the steps for installing the software. Before we get started, here’s the usual word of warning about installing unfinished beta software: these releases may seem stable for general use, but they could contain some bugs. Your experience may differ from others, depending on the apps you use. And finally, if you do decide to install, we suggest backing up your device’s data in case things go badly. In addition, some of the new ...

I’ve written many times that multipoint support has been a signature feature of Jabra earbuds for a long time now. So it was a little disappointing when the company’s Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active buds were released last year without the ability to connect to two audio sources at once. Jabra had promised all along that it would eventually enable multipoint by way of a firmware update, and today’s the day that new software is making its way to customers. If you own either set of Jabra’s premium 2021 earbuds, you can now head into the Sound Plus app for Android or iOS and update the earbuds to gain multipoint support and a few other new features. Early indications are that multipoint is working as expected. Jabra says the latest firmware also brings Google Assistant certification to the Eli...

Regulators, carriers, and the airline industry seem to be figuring out the details surrounding the rollout of C-band 5G and its potential effects on air travel. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s latest statement, “through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service.” Carriers “have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments,” according to an FAA statement released on Friday, which you can read in full below. Before AT&T and Verizon launched their upgraded cell tech last week, the...

While Pokémon Arceus is revealing all new things about the franchise’s past, artist Daniel Arsham’s next collaboration with The Pokémon Company is all about a ruined, fossilized future. Building on the larger themes of his previous two Pokémon projects, “Relics of Kanto Through Time” and “Time Dilation,” Arsham’s upcoming “A Ripple in Time” exhibition opening in Tokyo will feature a variety of Pokémon works of art meant to evoke the passage of time. In addition to paintings, drawings, and Arsham’s signature Pokémon statues inspired by architecture and the concept of fictional archaeology, “A Ripple in Time” will also feature an “animated work” produced by Arsham and Kunihiko Yuyama, former general director of the Pokémon anime who now acts as creative supervisor. According to a press relea...

Tesla has introduced a new microphone for in-car karaoke that will be exclusively available for purchase in China. The automaker unveiled the new accessory, officially dubbed the TeslaMic, as part of a Chinese New Year software update. The microphone will automatically pair with Tesla’s system, according to the brand. Priced at roughly $188 USD, the TeslaMic arrives in a pack of two in order to support duets in a multi-user experience. The aforementioned update added a new karaoke platform called Leishi KTV to the brand’s infotainment systems. The integration builds on Tesla’s existing “Caraoke” feature that was first made available in 2019 with a much more limited range of music. TeslaMic is currently only available in China, and it remains unknown whether the automaker will sell the acce...

Rock n’ Roll photographer Henry Diltz has teamed up with SuperRare to debut his first-ever collection of NFT collectibles, titled “On Stage with Henry Diltz.” The exclusive pack of items include Diltz’s legendary lens capturing rare music moments from rock stars including Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Costello, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and others. Diltz – the official Woodstock music festival photographer – will mint each photograph only once, and has animated each one to add a new dimension. The first round of the project will include Cobain’s 1993 Los Angeles concert performance – which has been gif-animated – where he’s caught in a mid-air guitar riff with a winged stage sculpture slowly moving behind him. After the sale of the Cobain piece, SuperRare will then make other Diltz concert images av...