Technology

Facebook will require its US employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they return to the office, the company confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday. “As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our US campuses to be vaccinated,” Facebook’s vice president of people Lori Goler said in a statement. “How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations. We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves. We continue to work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s health and safety.” Facebook expects to reopen offices in the US fully in October. COVID-19 rates are increasing across much of t...

In May, I wrote here that the child safety problem on tech platforms is worse than we knew. A disturbing study from the nonprofit organization Thorn found that the majority of American children were using apps years before they are supposed to be — and fully a quarter of them said they have had sexually explicit interactions with adults. That puts the onus on platforms to do a better job in both identifying child users of their services and to protect them from the abuse they might find there. Instagram has now made some promising moves in that direction. Yesterday, the company said that it would: Make accounts private by default for children 16 and younger Hide teens’ accounts from adults who have engaged in suspicious behavior, such as being repeatedly blocked by other children Prevent a...

Twitter on Wednesday announced that it is testing a new feature that allows users to shop and purchase products through an in-app window. Dubbed, “The Shop Module,” the pilot offers a dedicated space at the top of a profile where businesses can clearly list their products in a carousel. Upon visiting a profile with an enabled Shop Module, users can tap through the products to learn more information, view pricing details and make a purchase seamlessly through the app. The feature will first be available to a small group of brands in the U.S., including GameStop, Arden Cove, and approximately 10 other brands. The Shop Module will be available to users in the U.S. who use Twitter in English on iOS devices beginning Wednesday. “With this pilot, we’ll get to explore how our engaged, responsive ...

Valve president Gabe Newell has given a rare interview to IGN, where he talks about why the company’s upcoming Steam Deck handheld exists and the philosophy the company had when designing it. The interview is worth a watch to see Newell and developer Pierre-Loup Griffais discuss the motivation behind creating an “open” device (with Newell mentioning that you could hook up an Oculus Quest to it if you wanted), along with what discussions inside Valve led to the system’s development. IGN also has a write-up summarizing the interview if you’d rather read than watch. Newell also discusses the obvious comparison between the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch, saying Valve has chosen different trade-offs when creating its portable gaming system. The interview covers more topics, like the future ...

Boeing, once a major player in space, has suffered a string of setbacks, failures, and legal challenges in recent years that have chipped away its dominance in the space industry. The company’s space unit has been lapped by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and left to watch on the sidelines as other companies have moved ahead with ambitious programs, from sending astronauts to the International Space Station to returning humans to the surface of the Moon. On Friday, Boeing will try to mend its reputation during an uncrewed test of its Starliner astronaut capsule to the ISS. This will be the second launch for the capsule, coming a year and a half after its first attempt failed to reach the space station. Eighteen months of grueling technical investigations and a string of leadership shake-ups has brought...

United Airlines announced a new option for passengers to preorder food, snacks, and beverages online up to five days before their scheduled flight. Orders can be made either on United’s website or through the airline’s mobile app. United claims that it is the “first and only” carrier to allow economy customers this option. Previously, only premium customers on certain eligible flights could preorder their food and drinks. Now, United is extending the option to all ticket-holders. To start out, only passengers on flights from Chicago to Honolulu; Orange County, CA; Sacramento, CA; and San Diego will be eligible to preorder food and drinks. But by early fall, United says it will extend the option to passengers of all flights over 1,500 miles. United has been adding amenities and eliminating ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has, for years, talked about opening up his company’s vast Supercharger network to other electric vehicles. But earlier this month, Musk tweeted that Tesla plans to do this “later this year,” and this week, he finally offered some details about how it might work. It will be “real simple,” Musk claimed on an investor call Monday. Owners of other EVs will be able to charge at a Supercharger station by using the Tesla app — which, right now, is geared toward people who’ve purchased the company’s products. That’s about all Tesla will have to do to make this possible in Europe and China, where there are standardized charging cable connectors, Musk said. (Tesla has already committed to opening up the network in Norway.) But Tesla has a proprietary connector in North America, ...

Sonos products are an easy sell, at least when the price is right. Like most products in the Sonos lineup, the Sonos Arc features a clean design and excellent sound quality, the latter of which is evident while listening to everything from Dolby Atmos movies to the lush sounds of The National’s most recent album, I Am Easy to Find. What’s more, the all-in-one soundbar includes built-in support for Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as Apple’s AirPlay 2. Granted, you’ll need a recent TV that supports Atmos over HDMI ARC to truly unlock the Arc’s potential, but if you have one, it’s a great way to future-proof your home theater setup. Normally $800 and rarely discounted, the white iteration of the Sonos Arc is currently on sale at Wellbots for $50 off with promo code DADMUSIC. Read our revi...

Sony has now sold more than 10 million PS5 consoles. That’s up more than 2 million sales from the 7.8 million Sony previously revealed in April, and it means the PS5 continues to outpace sales of the PS4, making it the fastest-selling console in Sony’s history. The PS5 may be selling well, but supply is constrained and it’s still difficult to purchase a console right now thanks to a global chip shortage. “While PS5 has reached more households faster than any of our previous consoles, we still have a lot of work ahead of us as demand for PS5 continues to outstrip supply,” says Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “I want gamers to know that while we continue to face unique challenges throughout the world that affect our industry and many others, improving inventory...

YubiKey 5C NFC If you’re going to college, where trying to break into people’s accounts is a spectator sport, it’s not a bad idea to secure your online stuff as much as possible. Using a 2FA security key can help. Price: ~$45 to $55 Amazon Yubico Google Chromecast It’s okay to watch a video on your laptop, but if you’re looking for the big-screen experience, you can use a Google Chromecast to send it to a TV. The 4K streamer also features a robust library of apps and allows for hands-free voice commands via Google Assistant. Price: ~$30 Amazon Google Best Buy FinalStraw This is the reusable straw recommended by The Strategist. It’s colorful, collapsible, and comes with a carrying case you can attach to your keys so it’s never far from reach. Price:...

More than 250 million people use Snapchat’s built-in map to see where their friends are in the world. The map interface was recently upgraded to a main tab inside the app, and today, Snap is adding a new feature that’ll surface popular places it thinks you may want to visit. Snap Map users will also start seeing lists of places, such as bars or restaurants, they’ve either tagged in past posts or favorited to check out. The “Popular” tab at the bottom center of the Snap Map will show recommendations for places to go based on factors like your current location, friend activity on the map, and the kind of places you’ve saved as favorites. “This new algorithm in our Popular Tab sets Snap Map apart as a highly personalized discovery platform, and is a first-of-its-kind feature for Snapchat, ove...

Last year’s Axon 20 5G from ZTE was the world’s first commercially-available phone to put a front-facing camera underneath its display. It was an impressive step forward for phone technology but there was one big problem: the camera sucked. It took lousy pictures and the module distorted the display in certain settings. Now, ZTE is trying again with the updated Axon 30, which seems to offer some improvements over its predecessor. First, a little spec dump. The Axon 30 has a 6.92-inch AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution, all powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 5G chipset. There’s a four-camera array on the rear of the device, with a 64-megapixel main, 8-megapixel 120-degree wide-angle, 5-megapixel macro lens, and an additional depth-of-field lens. The battery has a 42...