Technology

The US Patent Office issued utility patent number 11 million today, granting the milestone number to a patent entitled “repositioning wires and methods for repositioning prosthetic heart valve devices within a heart chamber and related systems, devices and methods.” Even without understanding exactly what that means, it just screams progress, doesn’t it? Prosthetic heart valves? Surgery? This truly is the future that the patent system enables. There have, however, been accusations that the patent office cherry-picked which invention would get the most notable number in years (patent 10 million was awarded back in 2018), aiming to give it to something exciting, rather than bland like, say, a soybean. Could it really be true? To see if that was the case, I looked at the patents that were gra...

Ever get a text message informing you that you’ve won a prize — from Amazon itself? I certainly have, and I’ve even known a person or two who fell for those scams. Now, Amazon is attempting to hunt those scammers down, with a new lawsuit aimed at unmasking 50 unknown defendants in federal court. Here’s the text message I received the other day from one such scammer: And here’s where it took me when I clicked: Screenshot: Sean Hollister / The Verge According to Amazon’s legal complaint, which you can read in full below, the scam uses Amazon’s logos, web design, and meaningless “surveys” to trick people into buying products (ones that aren’t actually from Amazon), seemingly for cheap. The scammers aren’t necessarily the ones selling those products, either — but because they’re acting as refe...

Another huge NFT sale was made at Christie’s tonight: a collection of nine CryptoPunks was purchased for $16.9 million. It’s likely the second-largest NFT purchases ever made, behind Beeple’s $69 million sale in March (though with the notable caveat that this sale included nine separate works). CryptoPunks were one of the earliest NFT projects, and they’ve become increasingly valuable as collector’s items. The project, created by Larva Labs in 2017, offered 10,000 small pixel-art portraits of people, zombies, aliens, and apes. Each one was algorithmically generated and features different attributes, like their hairstyle, glasses, or hat. Some traits are rarer than others, and those tend to make for more valuable CryptoPunks. This sale of nine CryptoPunks comes from Larva Labs itself. The g...

Last week, the judge in Epic v. Apple asked whether Epic really had an antitrust case against Apple, or whether it just wanted to help kids make impulse purchases. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was talking about the importance of where and how people pay for their apps, and today she continued that line of questioning to the point of suggesting a kind of App Store policy change that Epic never originally put on the table. Epic sued Apple for banning Fortnite from iOS over a direct payment system for V-Bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency. Epic called that unfair and monopolistic. But Apple argued that it lets developers sell in-app purchases through its Safari browser, even at a discounted price — so there’s no lockout. And while Epic itself has focused on explaining why web apps aren’t a goo...

The FCC has approved $7.17 billion in funding to help students, school staff, and library patrons access hotspots and connected devices to use at home. The Emergency Connectivity Fund Program will allow schools and libraries to purchase equipment to be used off-site — and to get reimbursement for equipment already purchased to address remote learning needs during the pandemic. The new fund will use processes already in use by the E-Rate program, which currently helps schools and libraries pay for broadband internet. Qualifying schools and libraries will be able to purchase hotspots, routers, tablets, and computers, among other devices necessary for remote learning (though smartphones don’t qualify). Students and patrons can take them home and use them, rather than huddle outside of a Taco ...

Wyze, maker of $20 smartwatches and $30 video doorbells, has announced a new pair of wireless earbuds that include active noise cancellation and a Qi wireless charging case for only $60 (via Phandroid). They’re called the Wyze Buds Pro and come in at an incredibly low price when compared to the competition: you could buy four pairs of these for the price of Apple’s AirPods Pro, which have similar features. For comparison: Anker’s $60 earbuds come without ANC or wireless charging (instead using Micro USB, where the Wyze buds also include a USB-C port). Wyze’s announcement video takes a decidedly self-aware bent, but while it does mention the sweat resistance, transparency mode, and wind noise reduction, it doesn’t mention one of the funniest things about the product’s name: it’s called “Pro...

The first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US just got the green light from the Biden administration. The approval has the potential to dramatically grow the nation’s wind energy sector after years of regulatory limbo for proposed offshore projects. Big ambitions for offshore wind The Interior Department (DOI) granted the Vineyard Wind project permission to install up to 84 turbines off the coast of Massachusetts. Once completed, the project will be able to generate up to 800 megawatts (MW), enough electricity for 400,000 homes. That’s a dramatic scaling up of existing offshore wind capacity in the US. There are currently only two small developments off the East Coast and those can only generate a combined 42 megawatts of electricity. The Biden administration has big ambitions...

Samsung and Lenovo representatives won’t show up in person to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year, according to statements obtained by Reuters and The Verge, respectively. Samsung says it has “made the decision to withdraw from exhibiting in-person” and will instead attend remotely to prioritize the health and safety of its customers and employees. A Lenovo spokesperson told The Verge that the company will attend virtually instead of in person and that it informed the GSM Association, which organizes the event, about its plans on Friday. Neither company has announced what its remote presence will look like. The in-person event is still scheduled to happen in June, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties with vaccination availability outside the US. The GSMA also fou...

T-Mobile promised its $26 billion merger with Sprint would add new jobs to the economy literally every single day, but a report from The Wall Street Journal confirms the newly combined company actually employs fewer people now than it did before the merger. Here’s how specific T-Mobile’s promise was: So, let me be really clear on this increasingly important topic. This merger is all about creating new, high-quality, high-paying jobs, and the New T-Mobile will be jobs-positive from Day One and every day thereafter. That’s not just a promise. That’s not just a commitment. It’s a fact. “Jobs-positive” would not be how I’d describe T-Mobile’s employment practices. The company employed 5,000 fewer people by the end of 2020 than it did before the merger, the Journal writes. And before you blame ...

Microsoft is introducing a new “Console Purchase Pilot” program that will give selected Xbox Insider members the chance to register to reserve an Xbox Series X or Series S console directly from the company through their existing Xbox One consoles. The new program is only rolling out in the US for now, and even if you are given the chance to sign up, it doesn’t mean that you’ll actually be selected to buy one of the highly in-demand consoles. Today we’re introducing the Console Purchase Pilot, allowing US #XboxInsiders on Xbox One to register for a chance to reserve an Xbox Series X|S console. Check the Xbox Insider Hub on Xbox One for details. Limited space is available and not all who register will be selected. pic.twitter.com/MBkQmbSDWc — Xbox Insider (@xboxinsider) May 11, 2021 Cu...

Blizzard has been relatively quiet of late when it comes to Overwatch 2. The developer teased some new character designs in February at Blizzcon, but there hasn’t been much news about the core game. It looks like that’s about to change, though: on May 20th, Blizzard will hold a two-hour-long live stream focused on the player-versus-player elements of Overwatch’s sequel. Blizzard says that the stream will feature “a first look at player-versus-player changes coming to Overwatch 2.” The stream will also include appearances by Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller — who recently took over for Jeff Kaplan — along with lead hero designer Geoff Goodman and associate art director Dion Rogers. “From new maps to major gameplay updates, we’re reinvigorating the core Overwatch experience,” Blizzard ...