Technology

Yesterday, we wrote how Microsoft’s Windows 11 won’t technically leave millions of PCs behind — the company told us it won’t actually block you from installing Windows 11 on a PC with an older CPU, so long as you download and manually install an ISO file all by yourself. But it turns out even that technicality has a technicality. Microsoft is now threatening to withhold Windows Updates from your copy of Windows 11 — potentially even security updates — if you take that route. We’re not sure why the company didn’t mention it in our original briefing, but Microsoft has since told The Verge that unsupported PCs won’t be entitled to receive Windows Updates, and that even security and driver updates may be withheld. CYA or genuine threat? It’s quite possible this is just a cover-your-ass measure...

With just a few days left until Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes faces criminal fraud charges at trial, newly unsealed court documents (via NPR) reveal evidence that her lawyers may cite in her defense. If you don’t remember the details from the scandal as described in a book, documentary, and more than one podcast series, Theranos told investors it developed revolutionary blood test technology capable of amazing results based on just a few small drops. Theranos had been valued at as much as $9 billion before reports exposed its inaccurate results and use of modified machines by other companies to perform crucial testing instead of its own Edison device. The company folded in 2016, and federal prosecutors charged Holmes and Balwani (pdf) two years later for wire fraud, listing investors a...

An antitrust lawsuit filed against Google and its Play Store by several state attorneys general echoed the Epic vs. Apple battle, and a new document highlights how and why Google’s app store is so similar. MLex senior correspondent Michael Acton points out the new complaint, which arrived Friday night from lawyers appointed to represent consumers (that’s us) in a potential class-action lawsuit that joins the states and Epic Games in accusing Google of abusing its monopoly power and of anti-competitive behavior. Image: MLex, CONSOLIDATED FIRST AMENDED CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT, CASE NO. 3:20-CV-05761-JD – 42 Perhaps most telling is a mention that popular subscription services like Spotify, Netflix, and Tinder have tried to find ways around Google Play Billing and that 30 percent cut. Thi...

Apple made waves this week by announcing a $100 million settlement with small app developers who sued the company. But despite the changes announced yesterday, nothing is really changing for developers — the App Store is too big and too reliant on in-app purchase fees for that to happen. Apple’s settlement includes several new policies that it says “clarif[y]” the App Store’s rules. Developers can now contact customers about alternative payment methods using data collected from their app (so long as the notification itself is done outside their apps), which they had previously been barred from doing. Apple promises to keep the App Store Small Business Program, which reduces Apple’s revenue cut down to 15 percent for developers who make less than $1 million a year, in its current state for ...

The ecosystem of MagSafe chargers for the iPhone 12 might not be very expansive, but it’s hard to go wrong with Apple’s base magnetic wireless charger — especially when it’s discounted to $30 at Amazon. The magnetic puck can provide the iPhone 12 Mini with up to 12 watts of power or the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro with up to 15 watts, so long as you use a 20-watt power brick. It can also top off other iPhones that support wireless charging without magnets. In fact, it can power up any device that supports Qi charging, including AirPods. Apple MagSafe Charger $30 $40 26% off Apple’s wired MagSafe Charger is nothing short of convenient. While slow, the magnetic device can still juice an iPhone 12 to 40 percent within an hour. It also offers Qi support, meaning it can charge older iPhone models and ...

At times, Twitter can be a bad place, amplifying some of the worst opinions and people on the internet. But on some days, the platform can remind us there are still decent humans doing good work to make the world a better, less shitty place. Long ago, an Xbox user who goes by Noukon on Twitter purchased a Pac-Man ghost avatar for a dollar. Over the years, as the Xbox user interface underwent changes and iterations, Noukon’s avatar got smaller and smaller until it was little more than a tiny blue square lost in the endless gray sea of the Xbox avatar display. Dismayed yet defiant, Noukon shared his problem on Twitter but expressed resolve to keep the cherished avatar. “I bought this gamerpic for 80 Xbox Points in 2006,” Noukon tweeted. “And I’ll be fucked if it won’t remain the best dollar ...

Demand for oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients is spiking during the latest pandemic surge, leaving liquid oxygen in short supply for other uses, including water purification and rocket launches. As supplies get redirected to hospitals, other industries are scrambling to figure out alternatives. “We’re actually going to be impacted this year with the lack of liquid oxygen for launch,” Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, said earlier this week. “We certainly are going to make sure the hospitals are going to have the oxygen that they need, but for anybody who has liquid oxygen to spare, send me an email.” “anybody who has liquid oxygen to spare, send me an email” While oxygen is extremely common in the atmosphere, hospitals need high concentrations of it to treat patients with damaged respir...

Paramount Plus has ordered a new documentary-style comedic series titled Players that will delve into a fictional professional League of Legends esports team. The series is co-created and executive produced by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the comedic minds behind Netflix’s critical breakout American Vandal, which memorably gave us a pair of riveting — albeit disturbed — mysteries about fictional crimes involving dick vandalism and the mastermind behind an explosive diarrhea incident. Players, also a mockumentary, will follow an esports team gunning for a championship after years of misfortune. The series will involve a clash of egos between a 17-year-old rookie, the team’s “prodigy,” and a veteran 27-year-old. What could possibly go wrong? [embedded content] Yacenda, who directed FXX com...

Apple has announced a service program to fix failing receivers on iPhone 12 and 12 Pros (via 9to5Mac). The company says that non-Mini or Max phones made between October 2020 and April 2021 may have an issue where no sound comes out of the earpiece when making or receiving calls, and that it’ll fix the issue for free as part of the new program. According to Apple, the problem is caused by a component in the receiver module failing. Apple’s page says that only a “very small percentage” of devices may be affected. While it can be hard to tell what Apple means by “small percentage” (it infamously used the phrase when describing the number of butterfly keyboards that experienced issues), it doesn’t appear that the earpiece issue is widespread — searching for reports of failing receivers on Redd...

Elon Musk on Friday took to Twitter to call out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos after Amazon’s satellite broadband company, Kuiper Systems, urged the FCC to dismiss SpaceX‘s plans for more Starlink satellites. Musk, CEO of SpaceX, wrote, “Turns out Bezos retired in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against Space X …” Bezos officially stepped down as CEO of Amazon on July 5. Turns out Besos retired in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against SpaceX … — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2021 In its submission to the FCC, SpaceX proposed launching almost 30,000 additional satellites into space as part of its second-generation Starlink, which would join the 1,740 already in orbit. Kuiper protested the plan in a letter to the FCC, stating that SpaceX violated codes by ...

Peloton has said that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have subpoenaed it for documents and information related to its reporting on injuries caused by its Tread Plus treadmill (via ABC News). The company released this information in its annual 10-K form, citing the investigations by the agencies, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as risks to be disclosed to its investors. You can read excerpts of the document below. [A]s previously disclosed, we have received reports of a number of injuries associated with our Tread+ product, one of which led to the death of a child. In April 2021, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) issued a warning to consumers about the safety hazards associated with the Tread+ and is co...