Technology

A new bill introduced in the North Dakota Senate might have far-reaching consequences for app store operators. The bill, Senate Bill 2333, seeks to ban stores like Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store from mandating developers only use those app stores and their respective in-app payment systems. It also bans retaliation against developers in the event they choose an alternative distribution channel or payment system. “The purpose of the bill is to level the playing field for app developers in North Dakota and protect customers from devastating, monopolistic fees imposed by big tech companies,” said Sen. Kyle Davison (R-Fargo), who introduced the bill before a Senate committee on Tuesday, told reporters in a press conference yesterday, as reported by The Bismarck Tribune. Davison sa...

HP announced today that it has refreshed its Pavilion x360 line of 14- and 15-inch convertible laptops, making them smaller, lighter, and more geared toward streaming entertainment. The 15-inch version is available today. With an 11th Gen Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage, it starts at $750. The 14-inch version will be available later this spring; no pricing was available. In view of marketing to “Gen Z” during a streaming-heavy pandemic, HP says it has optimized the new line for entertainment. The bezels have been reduced — something you’ll likely appreciate when watching videos — and HP has included a simplified version of its Omen Gaming Hub, which allows you to customize your keystrokes, lighting, and other features. The two new Pavilion x360 laptops also hav...

Twitter has refused an order from the Indian government to block certain Twitter accounts, including ones from politicians, activists, and journalists that were critical of the government’s response to a protest carried out in the country’s capital in January. In a blog post on Wednesday, Twitter explained that, while it has started blocking some accounts, it has “not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians” because it believes doing so would “violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law.” Starting at the beginning of February, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sent orders to Twitter to block a number of accounts and hashtags connected to mass protests that have gripped ...

The latest absurd YouTube video to do the rounds is that of a lawyer named Rod Ponton who accidentally attended a civil hearing on Zoom wearing a cat filter (and couldn’t figure out how to turn it off). While we’re not absolutely sure where Mr. Ponton’s filter came from (according to an article from the BBC, it’s an old app called Live Cam Avatar that used to be preinstalled on some Dell computers), there is at least one app out there called Snap Camera that will let you turn yourself into a variety of on-camera creatures. While it doesn’t provide the exact cat head the lawyer found himself wearing, it does let you add a wide range of effects, backgrounds, and distortions, some of which are downright nightmarish. (My favorite is the one that places a restive cat on top of your head.) Once ...

Nearly five months after it was announced, a proposed hosting deal between Oracle and TikTok is on permanent hold, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The deal has been “shelved indefinitely” pending a broader review of the Trump administration’s China policy, says the Journal, citing sources familiar with the situation. Oracle announced in September that it was planning to take over as TikTok’s “trusted tech partner” for the United States as part of a broader arrangement by the Trump White House. But the deal was widely criticized as a “glorified hosting deal” that did little to resolve underlying concerns about Chinese government influence over the platform. The Trump White House had pushed hard for a deal between TikTok and some US corporation, beginning with a legally dub...

Update February 10th, 10:31AM ET: The bullet list at the bottom now reflects that Gigabyte has updated all of its product pages with the required information about the RTX 30-series graphics chips its laptops use. Nvidia is now requiring, not just encouraging, companies selling laptops with its new RTX 30-series graphics chips to be more transparent about the kind of power people can expect. Nvidia tells The Verge these companies will have to disclose specific clock speed stats and total graphics power on online product pages — all of which tells people everything they need to know about a laptop’s graphics potential, for better or worse. However, companies won’t have to mention that these chips are Max-Q variants because, according to an Nvidia spokesperson, “Max-Q is no longer part of th...

Starting at $329, Apple’s most affordable iPad model comes at a very attractive price — but if you have been holding off in the hopes of buying it at an even better price, your patience has paid off. At Amazon and Walmart (in select colors), you can buy a 32GB model for $299; you can also get it for $300 at Best Buy. This is the lowest price we have seen for this model to date. If you need a little bit more storage, you can grab the 128GB model at Best Buy for $380. While its design looks similar to its predecessor, the 2020 iPad model features a faster A12 Bionic processor. Apple iPad (2020, 32GB, Wi-Fi only) $299 $329 10% off Prices taken at time of publishing. Apple’s new eighth-generation iPad with 32GB of storage looks exactly like the previous iteration, but it has a faster A12 Bioni...

Apple is working with TSMC to develop ultra-thin and energy-efficient micro OLED displays for its upcoming augmented reality devices, Nikkei Asia is reporting. The R&D project is said to be in a trial production stage, focusing on displays that are smaller than one inch in size and “several years” away from commercialization. Apple is also said to be developing MicroLED displays at the same Apple lab in Taiwan. According to Nikkei, the micro OLED displays in development are able to be so thin and compact because they’re built directly onto chip wafers, rather than glass like traditional OLED or LCD screens. News of the project follows reports that Apple has both VR and AR headsets in development. It could release its first VR headset (codenamed N301) as early as next year, while a more...

Who needs an Apple car when you’ve got one with four legs? Hyundai, which recently acquired a controlling stake in robot maker Boston Dynamics, rolled out a new version of its four-legged “walking car” concept that it first unveiled in 2019. Hyundai is calling it TIGER, which stands for “Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot.” It’s the second vehicle to come out of the automaker’s Ultimate Mobility Vehicles studio in Silicon Valley, and the first designed to be fully autonomous, with no space for drivers or passengers. It’s like a real-life Transformer, but without the “bent on world domination” vibe. It’s like a real-life Transformer, just without the “bent on world domination” vibe. In fact, Hyundai actually thinks its four-legged vehicles have the potential to make the world a...

Last August, the routine story of a trademark opposition captured the world’s imagination, when Apple declared that Super Healthy Kids (yes, that’s the real name of a company) shouldn’t be allowed to trademark its pear logo because it might “cause dilution of the distinctiveness” of Apple’s own famous fruit-shaped intellectual property. Six months later, the case is now settled, and it seems Apple didn’t actually have a pear-shaped problem after all — because Super Healthy Kids has agreed to change the shape of the leaf atop that pear, and Apple has agreed that’s good enough to let the trademark go forward. Prepear’s new logo has a half-moon shaped leaf, instead of the pointed oval.USPTO Apple has already consented to the settlement, according to documents filed at the USPTO. “Prepear is p...

Nintendo has announced the next SNES and NES games coming to its Switch Online service. Depending on your perspective, the selection shines a light on some underappreciated gems or demonstrates that you probably shouldn’t expect any more big-name third-party titles to appear in the library. Possibly both. Here’s the list of games: Psycho Dream (1992, SNES, Telenet Japan) Doomsday Warrior (1992, SNES, Laser Soft) Prehistorik Man (1995, SNES, Titus France) Fire ‘n Ice (1992, NES, Tecmo) Not exactly big hitters, then: three fairly obscure SNES side-scrollers and an NES puzzle game. Fire ‘n Ice might be the most recognizable title for many, and only then if you know that it’s the North American name for Solomon’s Key 2. Psycho Dream is a pretty neat addition. It’s a visually impressive action ...