Technology

The New York Times is reporting on a new wrinkle in the story of how the Trump administration’s Department of Justice used Big Tech to spy on two members of the House Intelligence Committee in an attempt to track down leaks to the press — namely, that Apple didn’t fight it, perhaps never had a chance to fight it, because the company rubberstamped the request. Apple didn’t even know it was handing over the records of Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), then the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, it told the publication. In a statement, Apple said it didn’t know what the investigation was about, and couldn’t have known unless it dug through user accounts itself. So it was handled like the vast majority of the 250 requests the company received from the government each week: appro...

Darnella Frazier — the teen who used her smartphone to film the video of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 that sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests worldwide, which culminated in the murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin — will receive a special citation from the Pulitzer Board. Frazier was given the citation for “courageously recording the murder of George Floyd, a video that spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists’ quest for truth and justice,” the Pulitzer Board said (PDF). Frazier’s video, which was viewed by millions, ignited one of the biggest protest movements in American history and demonstrated how a smartphone with a camera can be a powerful tool to document police brutality ...

Kitty Hawk, the air taxi company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, is buying what’s left of one-time DJI competitor 3D Robotics. As part of the acquisition, 3D Robotics co-founder Chris Anderson will become Kitty Hawk’s chief operating officer. The acquisition was first reported by Forbes, which published a detailed look at the current state of Kitty Hawk and its new focus on developing a remote-piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on Friday. Anderson will serve under CEO Sebastian Thrun, a former Google executive who founded the company’s self-driving car project (before it became standalone company Waymo) and launched its famous “X” moonshot division. Kitty Hawk is shifting its focus after recent turmoil 3D Robotics was, for a short while, the lone America...

Internet access is, according to New York’s Eastern District Judge Dennis R. Hurley, a “modern necessity.” Unfortunately, Judge Hurley wrote those words in an injunction, filed today, to stall a piece of progressive legislation which would have mandated affordable internet availability to all living in New York State — and which would have come into effect early next week. The bill, known as the Affordable Broadband Act, would have required ISPs serving more than 20,000 households to offer two low-cost plans: one offering speeds of 25 Mbps down for no more than $15 per month, and another offering 200 Mbps down at no more than $20 monthly. It was passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Cuomo back in April, and would have gone into effect on June 16th. According to state Assem...

Facebook has acquired yet another developer of a popular virtual reality game, announcing on Friday that BigBox VR, makers of the battle royale VR title Population: One, will be joining Oculus Studios. “POP: ONE stormed onto the VR scene just nine months ago and has consistently ranked as one the top-performing titles on the Oculus platform, bringing together up to 24 people at a time to connect, play, and compete in a virtual world,” Mike Verdu, the VP of content at Facebook Reality Labs, wrote in a blog post. “And while social is bringing players into POP: ONE, the quirky humor, continual updates, and pure fun of the environment keeps them coming back time and time again — we’ve even seen players scheduling time to meet in-game for a synchronous social experience.” Population: One has be...

In 2019, facing down extensive investigations by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that showed Apple’s App Store clearly and consistently ranking its own apps ahead of competitors, Apple claimed it had done nothing wrong — a secret algorithm containing 42 different variables was working as intended, top executives told the Times, insisting that Apple doesn’t manually alter search results. Why do I bring this up? An intriguing email chain has surfaced during the Epic v. Apple trial where it sure looks like Apple did the exact opposite — seemingly admitting it manually boosted the ranking of its own Files app ahead of the competition for 11 entire months. “Who green lit putting the Files app above Dropbox in organic search results?” “We are removing the manual boost and the sear...

Ubisoft and Netflix on Friday shared a first look at a new series based on Far Cry and announced that another is set to debut on the streaming service. One Far Cry series is an anime based on the cyberpunk-themed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, called Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. Variety describes the show as “an original anime featuring alter egos of Ubisoft characters in a highly-referenced homage to the early 80s.” Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix has been given a six-episode order, according to Variety. You can get a look at it in the tweets below from creator and executive producer Adi Shankar. Thank you Hugo, Helene, Gerard, and Claire for allowing this Elseworlds inspired craziness to happen. Thank you @Netflix for seeing the potential in a cyberpunk dystopia set in 1992...

Razer announced the Opus X, a new set of over-ear wireless headphones that offer active noise cancellation for just $100. Based on the small amount of differences and seemingly no major compromises compared to the pricier Opus headphones it launched last year, these could be a solid option if you have a little less money to spend on wireless headphones. It’s available to purchase now on Razer’s site. Overall, the design appears to be similar to the Opus. It’s tough to tell from images how build quality or materials might have changed given the price reduction. This model comes in one of three new colors — green, pink, and white — which are a bit louder and more divisive than the black or midnight blue colors of the standard Opus. The button layout has been crammed onto the rim of the right...

China has released new images from its Zhurong rover, which began wheeling its way around Mars in late May. One of the photos is a lovely selfie of Zhurong posed next to its landing platform. The “touring group photo,” as the China National Space Administration calls it in a blog post, was taken with a small wireless camera that the rover placed on the surface before scooting back to line up for the shot like an excited parent. Zhurong also took a photo of the landing platform by itself, showing the ramp the rover drove down, the Chinese flag, and if you look closely to the left of the flag, the mascots for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Zhurong’s landing platform.Image: CNSA There are more photos in the Twitter thread below, linked here, including a panorama that shows the Red Planet’s hori...

Here is my philosophy on great coffee: drink it if you can get it, and don’t be a snob if you can only get something basic. But I have my limits on what I’ll accept, and those limits are well above what’s usually available in the little basket in your typical American hotel room. I am currently sitting in my first hotel room in over a year and figure a few of you might be doing the same soon, so here’s my guide for how to make the best coffee. The obvious option is to locate the nearest coffee shop where you’re traveling, but that would necessitate leaving your hotel room, and the whole point of coffee is to build up the wherewithal to face the world in the first place. Instead, I prefer to make the coffee myself in the most convenient way given the limitations and options usually availabl...

In 2016, Lily Chen started a competition to rewrite the building blocks of encryption. With her team of mathematicians at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chen reached out to academic and industry cryptographers around the world to find algorithms that could resist new threats posed by quantum computers. Five years later, the project is almost complete. After three rounds of elimination, Chen and her team have now narrowed the 69 submissions down to a final seven algorithms, with several winners to be named at the end of the year. If things go according to plan, the result will be a new set of NIST-certified algorithms — and a new measure of protection against the chaos of a fully operational quantum computer. “Cryptosystems in devices and communication systems will n...

Finding a webcam during the early stages of the pandemic was borderline impossible. That’s not the case anymore. Most models are in stock, and sometimes, they’re even cheaper than their original prices, like Razer’s unique Kiyo webcam that has a ring light built in to make you look a little more lively during video calls. Normally $100, it’s $75 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. This webcam supports 1080p at 30 frames per second, or 720p resolution at 60 frames per second. Those aren’t cutting-edge specs, but there’s a good chance that it’s better than your laptop’s webcam. The $200 Kiyo Pro released in early 2021 with support for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, but it doesn’t have the built-in ring light. Razer Kiyo $75 $100 25% off Prices taken at time of publishing. Razer’s Ki...