Technology

Samsung has submitted paperwork to Texas officials, requesting a billion dollars in tax incentives to make Austin the future home of the company’s $17 billion chip factory, as noted by Bloomberg and reported last month by the Austin American-Statesman. In the documents, which were filed in January, the company says it plans on bringing 1,800 permanent jobs to the factory over the first 10 years, with an average starting salary around $66K. In return, Samsung is asking for a break on its property taxes: it’s looking for a 100 percent break on its payments to Travis County for 20 years, which the company estimates would save it roughly $718 million, and a 50 percent break on the taxes to the City of Austin for five years, with an estimated $87 million. It also wants the state to subsidize it...

Peak Design, a maker of fine bags and accessories, has a problem: Amazon appears to have copied its popular bag, the $99.95 Everyday Sling, with its own $32.99 Amazon Basics Camera Bag. It was even called Everyday Sling until Peak Design’s video. Rather than do anything drastic, yet, Peak Design decided to make a video about what customers “gain” by purchasing Amazon’s version. The video presents Peak’s case clearly: the bags are similarly shaped, with pockets, labels, and straps in the exact same places. As someone unfamiliar with Peak Design’s bags, if I wasn’t paying attention or didn’t read “Peak Design” on the label, I’d probably mix them up. The Amazon Basics Everyday Sling on the left and Peak Design’s Everyday Sling on the right.Image: Peak Design Peak presents all of this humorous...

SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype successfully landed on Wednesday for the first time after carrying out a high-altitude test flight in Texas — but exploded minutes later on its landing pad. The rocket, an early test version called SN10, demonstrated a few complex dances in mid-air before clinching a soft touch down, aiming to nail a key milestone in Elon Musk’s campaign to build a fully reusable rocket system. After aborting an initial launch attempt earlier in the day, the prototype lifted off at 6:14pm ET and soared 6 miles above SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas facilities. Unlike the last two tests with SN8 and SN9, which launched successfully but exploded on their landing attempts, SN10 stuck a lopsided landing on a slab of concrete not far from its launchpad, appearing to survive its dari...

Microsoft’s newest Garage app, the company’s brand for more experimental apps, is Group Transcribe, which lets groups of people capture real-time collective meeting transcriptions using their phones. It’s available for free right now on iOS. “This app uses a multi-device approach to provide real-time, high quality transcription and translation, so users can be more present and productive during in-person meetings and conversations,” Microsoft’s Lainie Huston said in a blog post. Here’s how it works. Everyone who wants to participate in the group transcription needs to download the Group Transcribe app. Then, one person kicks off a transcription, and they can invite others to join by sharing a five-letter conversation code, a QR code, or by joining the group transcription with nearby sharin...

It was taking staff all day to wrangle rapid test results at assisted living facilities like Via Elegante in Tucson, Arizona. The facility doesn’t normally run medical tests, but this year, it turned into a makeshift lab. Starting in August, staffers were doing hundreds of COVID-19 tests a week in the hopes of preventing a catastrophic outbreak. The tests they use are fast; they only take about 15 minutes to report if someone is positive or negative for the coronavirus. But counting the results and reporting them to the state and local health departments was a long, arduous process each day, says Zach Briefer, the chief financial officer for the facilities. COVID-19 is a reportable disease, so public health officials have to be told about every new case. But Via Elegante and other places l...

Ford has finally shed some light on the scale of the delays it’s experiencing in rolling out its first mass-market electric car, the Mustang Mach-E SUV. After the company announced on Wednesday that it shipped 3,739 Mustang Mach-Es in February — the first full month of deliveries — it told The Verge in a statement that some 4,500 customers will have to wait longer than expected to receive the electric SUV. The automaker didn’t say specifically what’s causing the delay, just that it’s holding back the electric Mustangs “as part of our commitment to deliver a quality vehicle to customers.” Ford previously said in January it was delaying the delivery of “several hundred” of them for quality checks. To help make up for the delay, Ford is giving affected customers an extra 250kWh of free chargi...

The Arizona House of Representatives just passed landmark app store legislation in a 31-29 vote on Wednesday that could have far-reaching consequences for Apple and Google and their respective mobile operating systems. The legislation, a sweeping amendment to Arizona’s existing HB2005, prevents app store operators from forcing a developer based in the state to use a preferred payment system, putting up a significant roadblock to Apple and Google’s ability to collect commissions on in-app purchases and app sales. It will now head to the state senate, where it must pass before its sent to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. The amendment specifically prohibits stores exceeding 1 million downloads from requiring “a developer that is domiciled in this state to use a particular in-application payments sys...

If you need compact external storage that can connect to game consoles, PCs, phones, and other devices, there are some options you can get a deal on today. One of them is Western Digital’s latest 1TB My Passport model, available at Best Buy and Amazon. This capacity usually costs $190, but you can get it for as low as $140. You can also save on Crucial’s X8 1TB USB-C SSD, which is $125 at Amazon (usually $140). For context, Western Digital and Crucial each claim up to 1,050MB/s read speeds, but only Western Digital is public with its write speeds of 1,000MB/s. Both of these models also offer a drop-proof build, so your decision might come down to design preference. WD My Passport 1TB USB-C SSD $140 $190 27% off Prices taken at time of publishing. The latest My Passport model from Western D...

Sony’s latest gaming console, the PS5, is one of many gaming gadgets that are hard to find in stock right now due to mostly online-only sales. If you are trying to get your hands on one, Amazon has restocked both the PS5 Digital Edition and the PS5 consoles right now, while supplies last. PlayStation 5 Prices taken at time of publishing. Sony’s flagship next-gen console, starting at $399.99. The biggest difference between both models is the Digital Edition can only play digital games, while the $500 PS5 includes a disc drive, allowing you to play both digital and physical games. Once you obtain your PS5, there are a few items you’re going to want to pick up for your console. Some of the most popular PS5 exclusives right now include Demon’s Souls Remake by Bluepoint Games. Additionally, Fin...

Last week, AT&T announced it would be spinning off its TV business — including DirecTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse — in a deal it claimed would greatly benefit the company’s customers, employees, and shareholders. The deal provides AT&T with a $7.8 billion cash infusion to pay down debt and recent wireless spectrum purchases, and a 70 percent stake in the “new” DirecTV. But it also values the entire operation at around $16.25 billion, a massive loss from the $67 billion AT&T paid just a few years earlier for just DirecTV alone. “It’s fair to say that some aspects of the transaction have not played out as we had planned,” AT&T said of the deal, trying to put a good face on a more than $50 billion loss, “such as pay TV households in the US declining at a faster pace across the ...

Microsoft is adding four sports games to Xbox Game Pass in March and April. Madden NFL 21 arrives today as part of EA Play for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and Football Manager 2021 will arrive tomorrow for both Xbox consoles and PC. NBA 2K1 will also launch on Xbox Game Pass tomorrow and will be available on xCloud game streaming, too. The fourth and final sports addition will be NHL 21 in April, arriving for Xbox console owners with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Sports games aren’t the only new additions this month, though. Star Wars: Squadrons is coming in March for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Microsoft offers three different versions of Xbox Game Pass, and each will provide different levels of access to games. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier at $...

Twitter has opened its audio chat room, Spaces, to Android users, the company tweeted Tuesday. Twitter introduced a limited version of the Clubhouse competitor on iOS in January. While any users of Twitter’s iOS app can join and listen to Spaces, only a few can host them at the moment. Twitter said it was giving Spaces to “a very small feedback group” to start, with women and people from other marginalized groups given priority. Now, users of Twitter’s Android app can join and listen to Spaces as well. Android folks, our beta is growing! starting today you will be able to join and talk in any Space. SOON you’ll be able to create your own but we’re still working out some things. keep your out for live Spaces above your home tl — Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) March 2, 2021 The announcement tweet d...