Technology

Amazon-backed electric vehicle startup Rivian will install more than 10,000 fast chargers across the US and Canada by 2023, the company announced. The Rivian Adventure Network is designed to allow quick recharges along highways and also includes Level 2 charges at more remote locations near parks and other destinations. Rivian described the network in a blog post: Each site will have multiple chargers and will be conveniently located on highways and main roads, often by cafes and shops. These DC fast chargers will be for Rivian owners only, with details on pricing and associated programs coming soon. The company also is installing waypoint Level 2 AC chargers, each with a 11.5 kW charging speed, to add about 25 miles of range every hour for Rivian’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV. These chargers w...

The artist Derek Laufman woke up last weekend to a couple emails from his followers, who had a question for him. They wanted to know if he’d started selling NFTs — non-fungible tokens — of his art. But it wasn’t just email. People had DMed him on Instagram and Twitter, too. “I just replied, that’s 100 percent not me,” Laufman says when I reach him by video call. On Rarible, a site where people can purchase NFTs, a verified profile had appeared that alleged to be from him — which means that someone took the time to impersonate him all the way through the platform’s verification process. “I was basically kind of annoyed that somebody had, quote, unquote, verified me as on that platform,” Laufman says. “I dealt with having my art stolen for years. And I’m sort of numb to that. But when somebo...

TikTok says it has “aggressively banned” numerous accounts and devices in Myanmar, in an attempt to curb misinformation and the spread of violent videos on its platform. Rest of World reported that government soldiers in Myanmar have posted hundreds of videos to TikTok since its military seized power in February. The videos ranges from traditional pro-government propaganda, to misinformation meant to confuse protesters, to threats from soldiers with weapons. TikTok removed some of the videos earlier this month after media reports about the rise in hate speech and threats in the southeast Asian nation. But Rest of World reports that the short-form video platform admitted it had not moved swiftly enough to stop the spread of the threatening videos and other violent content. As demonstrators ...

Millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines currently sitting in United States warehouses are now destined for vaccination sites in Mexico and Canada, according to the White House. The donation marks one of the US’ first steps into the dawning — and deeply contentious — world of late-stage pandemic vaccine diplomacy. The neighborly gesture is reportedly a loan — the US expects that they will return the favor and hand over some vaccine doses in the future. The US can certainly afford to be generous with these doses. The AstraZeneca vaccine that it’s donating hasn’t been authorized in the US. The country reserved doses just in case it is eventually given the green light by the FDA, but the vaccine is still being tested in the US. Results from that trial are expected soon, but functionally, the US...

You can switch from your old phone to a new Google Pixel, or you can close your eyes, breathe, and then mindfully switch to a new Google Pixel. Sorry, I’m trying to force myself into the higher plane of existence that the narrator of this new ad-meets-ASMR meditation session from Google is on, and the edibles haven’t kicked in yet. The video above guides you through the process of getting all of your data onto a new Pixel, with meditative advice laid atop a slideshow of gorgeous vistas. It’s relaxing at first, but don’t take it too seriously. The chill vibes eventually give way to a cutting line of existential dread that then pivots the video completely into cringey meme territory. Just a snippet of one-liners from the video to quickly get you in the zone in case you don’t have time to wat...

It’s hard to believe it’s only been seven months since Apple booted Fortnite off the App Store and Epic Games sprung its antitrust trap, but you won’t have to wait much longer before the behind-the-scenes legal machinations give way to courtroom drama — and, it seems, until Apple and Epic’s top executives take the stand. In a legal filing Friday evening, Apple revealed that CEO Tim Cook, SVP Craig Federighi, and former marketing chief and current App Store boss Phil Schiller intend to testify live and in person in the courtroom, among many other tentative witnesses. Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney and VP Mark Rein should be there as well, plus Facebook’s VP of gaming, a Microsoft VP of Xbox business development, and quite a number of directors on both sides. Schiller is expected to spend the m...

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster, an enhanced version of the apocalyptic PlayStation 2 roleplaying game, will launch on May 25th, developer Atlus announced today. The game is coming to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Steam. Atlus first released Nocturne in 2003. The game follows a high school student in modern-day Tokyo after a catastrophic event has destroyed life as we know it. Much like other games in the SMT series, players ally and negotiate with demons in battle. The HD Remaster features updated visuals, an alternate story branch, new difficulty settings, and more. Although the original release was considered more of a niche hit, the popularity of the Persona series — a spinoff of SMT — has helped renew interest in Atlus’ older games. Atlus announced the remaster, alongside ...

Twitter is planning to review its policies regarding world leaders, and it’s seeking input on what those policies should look like. Twitter is running a survey from March 19th to April 12th, and it says, in general, it wants to know “whether or not [the public] believe[s] world leaders should be subject to the same rules as others on Twitter.” The survey gives you a hypothetical situation and a list of potential actions it should take. It also asks questions like whether leaders should face more, less, or the same amount of scrutiny as other accounts and if it’s okay for the platform to ban a sitting president or prime minister. A screenshot of the survey. Twitter’s current rules for world leaders were set in October 2019, but a lot has happened since then. In January 2021, Twitter banned ...

What day is it? Wednesday? Can someone please tell me? I don’t have a paper calendar, so there’s no way to know. And I can’t trust Dieter. What’s that? There are Twitter accounts and bots that can tell me the days of the week? Perfect, I never stop scrolling. INT. STUDIO APARTMENT — AFTERNOON A man stands at his desk in front of the cold light of a computer monitor. We HEAR anxious TYPING as the man MASHES the keys on his keyboard. His eyes DART back and forth as he searches for treasures hidden in the depths of the internet. Hours pass, and then… Huzzah! I found accounts that will tell me the days of the week! Well, mostly. Here they are: Monday Follow @justacaseofthe2, which posts this line from WandaVision every Monday morning. Tuesday When I first posted this story, I couldn’t fi...

The evidence is mounting that Twitter will be adding an “undo tweet” feature, but that those who want it will have to pay: app researcher Jane Manchun Wong has discovered a subscription screen tied to the feature. The ability to take back tweets has also shown up on a survey asking Twitter users about features they’d be willing to pay for, as well as in the code for the app, and CNET received confirmation today from Twitter that it is, in fact, being tested. When it will become widely available is unknown, but it’s understandable why Twitter could be considering reserving the feature for its potential subscription service: what’s a better lure than a “keep yourself out of trouble” button? For its part, Twitter hasn’t said if the feature will be limited to paying customers — it’s poss...

Gucci is diving into virtual luxury footwear with a new exclusively digital pair of sneakers called The Gucci Virtual 25 that can be “worn” in augmented reality (AR) or used in partnered apps like Roblox and VRChat. Surprisingly, the shoes are a lot less expensive than a typical Gucci piece: you can buy the Virtual 25s from Gucci’s app for $12.99, or $8.99 in the Wanna Kicks AR sneaker app. The Gucci Virtual 25 sneakers are designed by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele and feature a chunky, neon green and pink look that might not be for everyone. But they feel appropriately over-the-top for something that will never exist in real life. Like all Gucci clothing, the shoes also bear the iconic “GC” logo; in this case, it’s on the sole of the shoe and the inflatable (again, totally vi...

Sourdough bread is a tricky thing to get right. But Breadwinner, a new smart gadget in development from hardware designers (and bread lovers) Fred Benenson and Sarah Pavis, is looking to try to take a little bit of the mystery out of the yeast by offering an app-connected gadget that can track the volume and temperature of your starter and notify you when it’s ready to bake, via Laughing Squid. If you’ve never baked with a starter before, it’s very different from store-bought yeast. Your starter (mine, in case you were curious, is named Lancelot) needs to be fed frequently and rises and falls throughout the day as the yeast feeds on the sugars in the flour and creates bubbles of carbon dioxide — the same bubbles that help make your finished loaf of sourdough so fluffy and delicious. But fi...