Technology

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey imagines a future where you get to choose what you see on social media by picking out your favorite recommendation algorithm, rather than relying on a single controlling company to get it exactly right. On a call with investors today, Dorsey expanded on his vision of how a decentralized social network might work — and why Twitter would want to create a network that’s beyond the control of itself or any other company. Dorsey said Twitter would benefit by having access to “a much larger corpus of conversation” from which it can surface relevant content to users. “That’s where we will be competitive,” he said. “That is something that not only we can host but we can participate in.” Dorsey said Twitter is “excited to build” features that will give people more choice ove...

Satechi has launched a double-sided charger that can wirelessly charge an Apple Watch or AirPods — but not both at once — while hopefully saving you from the added clutter of extra cables. The Satechi USB-C Watch AirPods Charger features a Qi charging pad shaped like an AirPods Pro charging case on one side, and a charging “puck” for an Apple Watch on the other. The charger is available now, exclusively from Apple for $49.95. Satechi’s new charger has an aluminum build, white finish, and a small charging indicator light that fits right in with Apple’s minimalist product design. Because of the reversible nature of USB-C, switching between Apple Watch and AirPods charging only requires pulling the charger out, flipping it over, and plugging it back in. It can’t charge both your Watch and Air...

Apple has launched a new, free battery replacement program for 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros that won’t charge past one percent. The issue affects “a very small number of customers,” according to Apple. If your battery is affected, you’ll see a “Service Recommended” message when checking the battery health status. “If the status indicates that your battery is Normal, your battery is not affected by this issue,” Apple says. To get the battery replacement started, contact Apple support. The company will examine your Mac prior to servicing it to “verify that it is eligible for the free battery replacement,” Apple says. Earlier on Tuesday, Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.2.1, which is also intended to help fix charging issues with some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros. Apple recommends updating your co...

Apple is bringing accident, hazard, and speed check reporting to Apple Maps. The feature is currently only available to users with the iOS 14.5 beta, and is similar to user-reporting features found in Waze and Google Maps. When you’re using the feature, you (or preferably a passenger) can press a new Report button in the bottom tray, and select what type of incident or hazard you’re reporting. You can even do this using Siri: I was also able to say “there’s a speed trap here” or “there’s something on the road.” MacRumors shows that the interface is available on the CarPlay version of Maps, too. Apple Maps will give you a confirmation that your report has been submitted.Screenshot: The Verge This user-centric reporting feature is now something that all the major maps app either have, or hav...

South Africa announced this week that it’s stopping the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine after a small study found that it wasn’t effective against mild and moderate disease. Other vaccines are also less effective in South Africa, where a variant of the virus with mutations that can dodge antibodies is circulating widely. The AstraZeneca-Oxford product appears to be the worst of all, and it fell down to less than 50 percent effective (the benchmark health agencies set for COVID-19 vaccines). It’s another hit for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which has been dogged by shaky relationships with regulators and limited transparency for months. But it’s also a confusing result: the small trial wasn’t able to figure out if the vaccine could protect against severe disease and death,...

CBS All Access is set to transform into Paramount Plus on March 4th, but you won’t be able to watch it if you own a second- or third-generation Apple TV. The company announced that it won’t update its app for those devices when the streaming service relaunches next month, as spotted by MacRumors. Image: MacRumors The announcement makes CBS All Access / Paramount Plus the latest service to end support for the set-top box. YouTube announced that it will drop support starting next month, while HBO dropped the aging streaming boxes last year. The second-gen Apple TV is over a decade old (it launched in 2010), while the third-generation version was released in 2012, so it’s understandable that we’re starting to see a wave of deprecated apps. Users will still be able to stream Paramount Plus to ...

Cloud computing company Salesforce is joining other Silicon Valley tech giants in announcing a substantial shift in how it allows its employees to work. In a blog post published Tuesday, the company says the “9-to-5 workday is dead” and that it will allow employees to choose one of three categories that dictate how often, if ever, they return to the office once it’s safe to do so. Salesforce will also give employees more freedom to choose what their daily schedules look like. The company joins other tech firms like Facebook and Microsoft that have announced permanent work-from-home policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “As we enter a new year, we must continue to go forward with agility, creativity and a beginner’s mind — and that includes how we cultivate our culture. An immer...

Tesla just gave bitcoin a big boost that’s likely to result in more greenhouse gas emissions from the energy-hungry cryptocurrency. After Tesla purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin and announced that it will accept bitcoin as payment in the future, the price of bitcoin reached an all-time high. The price of bitcoin reached an all-time high “It’s hard to imagine, frankly a more credible endorsement than one coming from folks like Elon [Musk] who are inventing the future,” says Garrick Hileman, head of research at crypto asset company blockchain.com and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. When prices are high, bitcoin “mining” — creating new coins by verifying transactions — ramps up. But even though that mining happens virtually, it results in greenhouse gas emissions that fuel ...

Huawei has asked a court to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s designation of it as a national security threat. The Chinese telecom argues that the FCC overstepped its authority in December 2020, finalizing a ban supported by former President Donald Trump. “The order on review potentially impacts the financial interests of the telecommunications industry as a whole,” Huawei’s request says, including network operators the FCC locked out of buying Huawei components. The Biden administration’s FCC reiterated its support for the decision, however. “Last year the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a national security threat based on a substantial body of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous US national security agencies. We will continue to defend that deci...

Instagram’s newest guidance for creators makes one thing clear: the platform wants people to stop posting recycled TikToks to Reels. Today, Instagram says it’s making changes to its algorithm and how it recommends Reels to users. Along with that, it’s issuing new best practices on its @creators account to give Instagram users tips on how to make content that’s likely to be seen and promoted. The team now recommends that Reels users post vertical videos that use music found in Instagram’s library or sounds that they find on Reels. They also suggest “starting a trend” that others can participate in, like dance crazes, as well as “entertaining” and “fun” content. Reels that are mostly covered by text, are blurry, have a watermark or logo, or have a border around it won’t be recommended as fre...

Audi has announced the E-Tron GT, an expensive new high-performance electric sedan built on technology developed for Porsche’s first EV, the Taycan. Due out this spring in Europe, the E-Tron GT will start at €99,800 with a top-spec RS version starting at €138,200. It will then come stateside in the summer, with the base GT starting at $99,900 and the RS beginning at $139,900. For all of that money, buyers will get the most performance that Audi has squeezed out of an electric car to date. The standard E-Tron GT can output 350kW of power, or roughly 470 horsepower, while the RS version boasts 440kW, or about 590 horsepower. In overboost mode, those numbers jump to 522 horsepower and 637 horsepower, respectively. With overboost and launch control, the E-Tron GT can sprint to 100 kilometers p...