Technology

The Italian Competition Authority, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato or AGCM, has fined Apple €10 million (around $12 million) for making misleading claims about the waterproofing of its iPhones, Reuters reports. Affected iPhone models go back to 2017’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. In a press release, the AGCM criticized Apple for not being clear enough about its water resistance claims. It said that claims about iPhones being water resistant for up to 30 minutes at depths of up to four meters only apply in certain circumstances like controlled lab tests with pure water. The regulator also criticized Apple’s disclaimer that said water damage is not covered as part of the iPhone’s warranty, despite marketing the phones’ water resistance. This latest fine comes a little over two years...

Elago AW5 AirPods Case for AirPods It can be a little overwhelming to see the same white AirPods cases lying around and having to wonder which pair is yours. This Game Boy-inspired case by Elago will allow your friend or relative to know which case is theirs. Also, it looks really cool. Price: ~$15 Walmart Hades video game All the fun of a good-looking, fast-paced roguelike about Greek mythology, minus a lot of the frustrating feeling of getting stuck with no progress, thanks to a fun narrative and characters you just want to hang out with. One of the best games of the year so far. Price: ~$25 Epic Games Logitech G733 gaming headset The Logitech G733 is a rare breed of wireless gaming headsets: it isn’t too expensive, yet sounds great and is comfortable to wear. Better yet, you can g...

Two of the year’s most anticipated public listings — DoorDash and Airbnb — will seek higher than expected valuations for their IPOs, new filings show. Each company has seen its fortunes affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with DoorDash surging and Airbnb seeing its business drop off sharply. But both have priced their IPOs in roughly the same range. Food delivery platform DoorDash is seeking to raise $2.8 billion in its IPO, at a valuation of up to $30 billion. Its most recent valuation pegged it at $16 billion, following a fundraising round of $400 million in June. DoorDash will list 33 million shares priced between $75 and $85. DoorDash’s star has risen during the pandemic, as restaurants closed to in-person dining. Its IPO prospectus showed it had $1.9 billion in revenue for the nine ...

The UK government is banning the installation of new Huawei 5G equipment from September 2021 as part of its plans to phase out the Chinese firm’s technology by 2027, The Financial Times reports. The decision follows the government’s announcement in July that firms would be barred from buying new equipment from January 2021 over national security concerns. The announcement means that any telecoms companies who have stockpiled Huawei equipment ahead of the January cutoff will now not be able to use this for long-term 5G rollouts. The Financial Times reports that some companies have been stockpiling this equipment since summer. Firms will still be allowed to maintain old equipment after September, according to BBC News. Firms have reportedly been stockpiling Huawei’s equipment New legislation...

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 5G and Z Flip 5G are available in a pair of new colors in the US starting today, the company has announced. The Note 20 5G is now available in red, while the Z Flip 5G is available in white. Both colors are being produced in “limited quantities,” Samsung says, and there’s no difference in specs or pricing between these and the original models. For those keeping track, these are the fourth and third colors for the Note 20 5G and the Z Flip 5G, respectively. The Note 20 5G is currently available in copper, green, and gray, while the Z Flip 5G is available in copper and gray. Although they’re not getting the new colors, the Ultra version of the Note 20 is also available in white and black, while the 4G version of the Z Flip comes in black, purple, and gold. The red No...

Universal Studios Japan has announced an opening date for its long-awaited Nintendo-themed area. The Super Nintendo Land zone will open at the Osaka theme park on February 4th, 2021. That’s actually a little earlier than expected — last month Nintendo said that the project would open in spring. A themed cafe and merchandise store have already opened in the larger Universal Studios Japan park. USJ and Nintendo have also provided details on what is sure to be one of the park’s flagship attractions: a Mario Kart-themed rollercoaster. It’s housed inside a reconstructed Bowser’s castle and makes use of AR and projection mapping technology, with riders donning AR headsets shaped like Mario’s cap: Bloomberg got an early look at Super Nintendo World, including the Mario Kart ride, and noted that t...

I would like to discuss my THOUGHTS about the Netflix movie Happiest Season with you all but I don’t want to spoil the ending if you have not seen it. Suffice to say it could have used 100 percent more of both Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy. The ending was… disappointing. Like VERY. It’s fine, but man I was hoping a Hallmark-esque LGBTQ rom-com might go with a more unexpected ending. K-Stew deserved better. So as not to become too ensconced in holiday rom-com land, I just started The Undoing. Gotta keep those streaming algorithms guessing. Before we get to the latest new trailers, in honor of the original Darth Vader, David Prowse, who died this weekend, let’s watch the original trailer for The Empire Strikes Back. [embedded content] The Empire Strikes Back I know better than to try to ar...

The Utah monolith has now disappeared almost as abruptly as it was discovered. The Utah Bureau of Land Management released a statement that the “illegally installed structure” had been removed from its public lands by an unknown party, likely on November 27th, after receiving national and international attention. “The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered private property,” according to the statement posted to the agency’s Facebook page. “We do not investigate crimes involving private property which are handled by the local sheriff’s office.” The 10- to 12-foot steel object was first discovered by the Utah Department of Public Safety during a sheep-counting expedition in the Utah desert on November 18th. There was “no obvious indication” where it came from or who put it ther...

A trade union has called on workers at an Amazon warehouse in Germany to hold their second strike in a week in an effort to disrupt Black Friday order processing, Reuters reported. Some 500 workers took part in a three-day strike that started Thursday and ended Saturday, according to trade union Verdi, with the next strike set to begin Monday night and end Tuesday night. Germany is Amazon’s second-biggest market after the US. Amazon workers at six sites across Germany struck in June to protest safety at its logistics centers, where dozens of workers had become infected with the coronavirus. Warehouse workers in Germany have struck against Amazon several times in recent years to protest workers’ pay and conditions. The strikes in Germany are separate from a larger, international protest by ...

Cyber Monday is upon us. The big finale of the busy shopping weekend will officially happen Monday. But if you’ll be busy with work or whatever else, there’s some good news today: You can get a lot of the best Cyber Monday deals early. More and more retailers have lifted the veil on their new deals earlier than ever, and we’re focused on adding them here. As you’re expecting, there are some great deals on TVs, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, video games, and much more. We’ll be doing our best to keep this post updated ahead of Cyber Monday, and we’ll be back all of next week to give you as many chances as possible to get everything on your holiday wish list. Latest deals Sony’s WF-1000XM3 wireless noise-canceling earbuds are down to $152 at Walmart, which is the lowest price we’ve seen yet...

David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars films, has died, the Associated Press reported. He was 85. George Lucas asked Prowse to audition for Star Wars after seeing the 6-foot-6 actor in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. Prowse had his choice of playing Chewbacca or Vader, and opted for the latter because, as he told the BBC, “you always remember the bad guy.” Plus, he added, he didn’t fancy wearing Chewbacca’s fur suit. Prowse played Luke Skywalker’s erstwhile father in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, but famously, his voice didn’t make it into the films. He said all Vader’s lines, but the voice of James Earl Jones was later dubbed in. RIP David Prowse, 85.The man behind the Darth Vader mask and suit in STAR WARS....