Technology

New York City’s mayor-elect Eric Adams said in a tweet Thursday that he wants his first three city paychecks paid in Bitcoin, in a bid to show up the mayor of Miami and indicate his hopes that New York will be a place where the cryptocurrency industry is welcome. To put it lightly, the feasibility of Adams actually getting paid in Bitcoin seems dicey. (Is the city’s payroll even set up for that? How will this work with the fluctuating price of Bitcoin? My goodness, what’s the tax situation going to be like?) Whether it actually happens or not, though, he’s sending a clear message about his intended plans as a mayor — you probably wouldn’t say something like that if you’re going to ignore cryptocurrency and Bitcoin completely. In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THRE...

One of the most anticipated drone releases is finally out. Actually, it’s two drones. Today, DJI has released the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Cine. There are a few big headline features shared between both of the new drones, but let’s start with the one reserved for the $4,999 Mavic 3 Cine. The Cine model is capable of filming Apple ProRes 422 HQ footage at 5.1K up to 50FPS, and it has a built-in, but not user-replaceable, 1TB SSD. The cheaper $2,199 Mavic 3 doesn’t come with ProRes or a built-in SSD but shares the same dual-camera system powered by a 4/3 CMOS sensor. Both drones are capable of filming in 4K at up to 120fps and capturing 20MP photos. In addition to the main 24mm lens, there is also a hybrid zoom lens capable of 28x digital zoom. In focal length terms, that equates to 162mm at f/4....

Between being affected by supply chain delays, global microchip shortages and increased interest in cryptocurrency mining, demand for graphics cards has skyrocketed, with secondary market prices soaring. Unfortunately, in light of this, some have resorted to crime, and now a truckload of NVIDIA graphics cards has been stolen. The news broke on EVGA’s own forum, where product manager Jacob Freeman revealed that at the end of October, a shipment of its GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards had been stolen during a truck delivery run from San Francisco to the company’s Southern California distribution center. While no specific number has been provided as to how many GPUs were actually stolen, Freeman did point out that due to increased demand for the cards, each of them had an estimated retail...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially given Boeing the authorization to place 147 satellites into orbit for its broadband internet constellation. This feat places Boeing in direct competition with SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb who have also announced that they are building their own broadband structures. According to reports, Boeing first proposed the constellation back in 2017, however it has taken about four years for the FCC to finalize the technicalities and confirm the plan surrounding the satellite build. Boeing is planning to launch the satellites 640 miles from Earth as it circles the planet. 15 of the satellites will be at higher altitudes between 17,000 and 27,500 miles. Boeing will have to comply with FCC’s requirements to launch half of its satellites by 2027 a...

Uber is preparing to relaunch its carpooling service as a way to combat price increases, officials said in a call with investors. Uber Pool was shuttered in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained so even as vaccines became widely available and customers returned to the app. But that could soon change, according to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who hinted that a new shared rides product could be released soon. Along with its rival Lyft, Uber has been struggling to recover from the pandemic, as drivers fled the platform, wait times increased, and the cost of rides soared. “We are launching an Uber shared pool product,” Khosrowshahi said. “We have been investing for years in a high-capacity product, which is looking more and more attractive as it relates to a unit economic...

Apple’s new iPhone 13 lineup might pack a lot of new features, but they now have a major restriction that makes it much harder for independent repair shops to replace broken screens. If you try to swap the screen, Face ID just won’t work — that is, unless you know how to microsolder and can successfully move a tiny microcontroller from the original screen to a new one, as detailed in an article from iFixit. The change makes a very common replacement much more difficult for independent repair shops that may rely on screen repairs as a significant part of their business. Authorized Apple shops apparently don’t run into the problem, as they have access to software that “can make an iPhone 13 accept a new screen with a few clicks,” according to iFixit. But many indie shops aren’t part of Apple...

High-end Italian brake manufacturer Brembo announced in October its plan to release Sensify, an AI-enhanced braking system that promises both “driving pleasure and total safety” when it rolls out via an unnamed manufacturer in 2024. Going beyond anti-lock brakes, traction, and stability control, it replaces hydraulic controls with electronic ones for design flexibility and, potentially, more precise control. Incorporating AI into vehicles isn’t new, as algorithms control playlists, maps, driver assistance, and even “self-driving” to various degrees. AI-based brake systems, however, are enough to raise eyebrows about how exactly they will work or enhance safety. “They’re only as good as the training data you have” “As you start to deal with artificial intelligence and neural networks, they’...

Today let’s talk about how two of the world’s most important social networks settled an ancient grudge, and what it tells us about the prospects for a more open internet as tech giants work to build a metaverse. On Wednesday, Instagram delivered an announcement nine years in the making. Since 2012, Instagram photos shared to Twitter have appeared only as plain text links. From now on, Instagram links will include a preview of the image — just as they did before Instagram sold to Facebook, and competitive pressures and professional rivalries combined to worsen our collective user experience. “They said it would never happen,” Instagram tweeted Wednesday. And indeed, this reversal was one that few saw coming. The path to peace involved wine, pizza, and backyard dealmaking — but to really app...

New York City‘s incoming mayor Eric Adams has pledged to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin as a show of support for the digital coin. Adams, who was elected this week, wrote on Twitter that when he officially takes office on January 1, he will accept his first three checks in Bitcoin. “NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries!” he wrote. In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait! — Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) November 4, 2021 Adams, who will be replacing current NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, was responding to a tweet from Miami Mayor Fran...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it is investigating a scam involving a Squid Game-inspired digital coin called SQUID, which stole millions from its investors. Last week, a cryptocurrency based on the popular Netflix K-drama surfaced on decentralized exchange platform PancakeSwap. According to Binance, the coin quickly gained traction among users who assumed the coin was linked to the series. Despite red flags noted by some users, the coin quickly shot up in value before its developers liquidated and ran off with the accumulated funds. Binance said that its security team has since launched an investigation into the matter “as a way to show our support for the wider crypto community.” Steps the platform is taking include working to identify and blacklist crypto addresses a...

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled against Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company in its bid to win a NASA space contract worth $2.9 billion USD. Blue Origin filed an appeal in August against NASA’s decision to award rival aerospace company, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, with a major lunar exploration contract. Part of the space agency’s Artemis program, the winning company will get to develop the first commercial human lander that will eventually land two humans on the moon. NASA is planning an uncrewed test launch in preparation for this trip in February 2022. On Thursday, Judge Richard A. Herling ruled against Blue Origin’s appeal. In a tweet announcing the outcome, Bezos said he respected the decision. “Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and w...