Technology

The Food and Drug Administration will allow people with compromised immune systems to get a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The agency amended the emergency use authorizations for each vaccine to allow this specific group of people to get an extra shot. Usually, the standard two doses are enough for a person to generate plenty of antibodies to fight off the coronavirus. But research done over the past few months shows that many immunocompromised people make too few antibodies or none at all. A third dose might give some of those patients the boost they need to produce antibodies. French officials have been recommending those patients get a third shot since April. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ...

Amazon has decided to produce its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series in the UK from the second season on. Although the first season was filmed in New Zealand, as with Peter Jackson’s movies, Amazon now says pre-production on season two will begin early next year in the UK while season one post-production continues in New Zealand through June. It’s not clear exactly where the series will be shot. Amazon is shipping the complex sets it built for the first season over to the UK and is currently booking stages for them, according to Deadline. The company films several Prime Video series in the UK already, including Neil Gaiman adaptations Good Omens and Anansi Boys. The move to the UK won’t be without controversy. Author J.R.R. Tolkien based Middle-earth’s Shire on his experiences living in ...

After the abuse from racists experienced by Black soccer players after England’s Euro 2020 loss, Instagram has rolled out safety features to prevent offensive comments in its community. The social media app has opened Limit to everyone globally – a feature that was meant for public figures and creator accounts to prevent unwanted messages. All users can now enable Limit from their privacy settings to automatically hide comments and DM requests from non-followers or recent followers. To avoid offensive comments in the community, the Facebook-owned app will trigger strong warnings when there are attempts to post offensive comments. Any offensive comments will be hidden or removed. The Hidden Words feature is also available to people to filter abusive DM requests. Instagram has expanded ...

WhatsApp and other apps are reportedly blocked in Zambia during ongoing general elections being held in the country Thursday, according to digital rights organization Access Now and internet monitor NetBlocks. The block, affecting state-owned internet providers and other private networks, could be cutting off voters from a vital form of communication during a contentious election. Lusaka Times, a local Zambian news organization, writes that officials from Zambia’s Ministry of Information and Broadcast Services considered shutting down internet access in the lead-up to election day, citing a desire to stop the spread of election misinformation. A dramatic decrease in election day internet traffic from WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook spotted by NetBlocks seems to confirm that the ...

The bipartisan infrastructure deal could unlock a new stream of private funding for climate tech — and Bill Gates wants in on the action. Gates’ climate investment fund says that if the infrastructure bill moves forward, it will match $1.5 billion in government funds and put that money toward projects that are developing green technologies. Breakthrough Energy, Gates’ climate fund, laid out four different uses for the money: developing green hydrogen fuels, sustainable aviation fuels, energy storage, and technologies that take carbon dioxide out of the air. It said on Twitter that the money could “fast-track” commercial demonstration projects across the US. “Scale them up to a pretty gigantic level” “Critical for all these climate technologies is to get the costs down and to be able to sca...

Following a high-stakes lawsuit over Disney’s day-and-date release of Marvel’s Black Widow on its Premier Access streaming platform and the company’s compensation of the film’s star Scarlett Johansson, the head of Disney today defended both the company’s payouts to talent as well as its decisions around various pandemic movie releases. During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Disney boss Bob Chapek explained the company’s multi-pronged approach to releasing its films throughout the pandemic, which included theatrical exclusives, straight-to-digital releases on Disney Plus, and a hybrid of both that saw films debut on Disney’s paid Premier Access platform the same day they premiered in theaters. Premier Access was chosen as the release model for several of its highly anticipated re...

The US Attorney won’t be filing any charges against Jake Paul, according to TMZ and a statement sent to The Verge by Paul’s lawyers. Paul was being investigated by the FBI, who raided his house, for his involvement in an incident that took place at an Arizona mall in May 2020. These particular legal troubles began when Paul was filmed in and around a mall in Scottsdale, AZ, which was being looted in the wake of police brutality protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Paul denied participating in the looting (and wasn’t seen doing so in the videos that circulated on social media), but was still charged with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly by the Scottsdale Police Department. According to police, the charges against Paul were then dropped to allow the FBI to carry out a fe...

NASA announced on Wednesday that an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building will fly dangerously close to Earth sometime in the 2100s. Yes, that is terrifying isn’t it? As if the myriad of problems back on the surface wasn’t already causing us an existential crisis — this, surely this, will seal the deal. But no need for alarm, all of us, including our children and grandchildren (perhaps another generation too) will be long gone. Additionally, there’s still a large probability we will be just fine. The asteroid, which has been named Bennu, has a 1-in-1,750 chance of hitting our planet, according to researchers from NASA. Bennu’s trajectory starts to get unclear in the year 2135 to 2182, where the half a diameter wide asteroid comes within 125,000 miles, which is about half the ...

Yesterday, Samsung unveiled its new folding smartphone, the Galaxy Z Flip 3. For the third-generation model, the tech company optimized the folding design, offering an improved and unique smartphone experience.  The phone made its debut at Samsung’s 2021 Unpacked event, which showcased two new folding phones and a number of accessories that are soon to hit the market. The Z Flip 3 features a sleek and compact design that makes it efficient for those constantly on the move. Additionally, the phone features enhanced camera functions and a cover screen that is four times larger than the previous model.  Perhaps the most important update to the folding phone is the updated construction, making it more durable. The Z Flip 3 has been built with a new armor aluminum casing and a Corning...

Specifically citing concerns about a rise in cases of the delta variant of COVID-19, Facebook confirmed a Bloomberg report that it has pushed back plans for US workers to return to the office until next year. Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office. Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the Delta variant, our teams in the US will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022. We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well. We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s safety. Just a few weeks ago, Facebook was still planning to have fully reopened offices by October with requirements for vaccination and masking. Now, ...