Technology

Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images Boeing’s 747-400 aircraft, first introduced in 1988, is still receiving critical software updates through 3.5-inch floppy disks. The Register reports that security researchers at Pen Test Partners recently got access to a British Airways 747, after the airline decided to retire its fleet following a plummet in travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The team was able to inspect the full avionics bay beneath the passenger deck, with its data center-like racks of modular black boxes that perform different functions for the plane. Pen Test Partners discovered a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive in the cockpit, which is used to load important navigation databases. It’s a database that has to be updated every 28 days, and an engineer visits each… Continue re...

Microsoft is allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to try its new game streaming feature (xCloud) early tomorrow, August 11th. The software giant will launch a new version of the Xbox Game Pass beta app for Android, which includes game streaming. While the game streaming feature, known previously as xCloud, will be officially available on September 15th, anyone can grab the beta app from the Google Play Store and try it early from tomorrow onward. “As we approach the launch of cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, we’re entering a limited beta period to ensure a smooth transition of the cloud gaming experience to the Xbox Game Pass app on Android,” explains a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge…. Continue reading… You Deserve to Make ...

In-flight internet provider Gogo is trying to sell its commercial airline business as it continues to lose money during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Monday. CEO Oakleigh Thorne said on a conference call that the company has had “extensive discussions with multiple parties” and that he “feel[s] optimistic that a deal may happen.” A sale would be a huge change of course for Gogo, which pioneered in-flight connectivity. But the attempted sale comes as Gogo, like many other businesses in the air travel industry, is struggling. The company, which provides in-flight connectivity to major airlines like Delta, United, and Alaska, lost $86 million on $96 million in revenue during the second quarter of 2020. Its sessions per… Continue reading… You Deserve to Make Mone...

Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images A California judge ruled that Uber and Lyft must classify their drivers as employees in a stunning preliminary injunction issued Monday afternoon. The injunction is stayed for 10 days, however, giving Uber and Lyft an opportunity to appeal the decision. Uber said it planned to file an immediate emergency appeal to block the ruling from going into effect. Uber and Lyft are under increasing pressure to fundamentally alter their business models in California, the state where both companies were founded and ultimately prospered. At issue is the classification of ride-hailing drivers as independent contractors. Uber and Lyft say drivers prefer the flexibility of working as freelancers, while labor unions and elected officials contend this… Continue...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is going to let you use Chrome apps for a little while longer, as the company on Monday announced an extension to its planned timeline to end support for the software (via 9to5Google). If you aren’t familiar with Chrome apps, they’re apps that you install in Chrome that work similarly to apps that you’d launch from your desktop — like this one for read-it-later app Pocket. But they aren’t widely adopted — Google said that “approximately 1 percent of users on Windows, Mac, and Linux actively use Chrome packaged apps” all the way back in August 2016 when it first announced plans to wind down support for the platform. Chrome apps will work on Windows, Mac, and Linux until June 2021 In January, Google said Chrome apps would stop… Continue re...

Nreal The Nreal Light mixed reality glasses are shipping in Korea alongside Samsung’s newly announced Galaxy Note 20. LG Uplus will sell the glasses as a standalone device for 699,000KRW (around $586), and it’s bundling them with the Galaxy Note 20 or LG Velvet and a 5G data plan for 349,500KRW (around $295). Preorders open on August 11th, and the headsets will be available in stores on August 21st. The Nreal Light (also referred to as “U+ Real Glass”) is a light sunglasses-style headset that tethers to a separate computing device — in this case, the Galaxy Note 20. It uses spatial tracking and projected images to overlay apps onto the real world, and Nreal pitches it as a more spacious alternative to a smartphone when you’re watching videos,… Continue reading… You Deserve to ...

Photo by Christopher Polk / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images A new analysis by Bloomberg finds that the net worth of Apple CEO Tim Cook has passed the $1 billion mark, officially making him a billionaire. It’s certainly an impressive number, but assuming it’s just over $1 billion, he’s got a long way to go before he catches up to the other CEOs on the Bloomberg Billionaires list. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, tops the list at $187 billion, followed by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates at $121 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook at $102 billion. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is only No. 10 on the list, but even he is well ahead of Cook at $68.7 billion. Yes, these are obscene amounts of money, and it’s difficult to comprehend how wealthy Bezos is (especially during a pandemic with a 10 percent ...

The Anker PowerCore Play 6K is one of many controllers without buttons you’ll find on Amazon | Anker Ask almost anyone you know and they’ll probably agree: all good controllers have at least one button. Who might disagree with that? No one you should trust — plus the several manufacturers, including well-known brands like Anker and HyperX, that have started making controllers for your phone that don’t have any buttons at all. These strange new gadgets won’t make controlling games via on-screen controls any easier, though they’re not completely pointless for people who play PUBG and some other mobile hits that don’t have official controller support. They’re mostly power banks with controller grips attached Anker’s PowerCore Play 6K controller is essentially a $36 6,700mAh power bank that’s ...

ABC In November 2017, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris wrote an episode of his Emmy-award winning ABC comedy titled “Please, Baby, Please” that tackled racism in America, ranging from the Charlottesville protests to kneeling in the NFL. Just a week before it was set to air in 2018, Disney shelved it. Now, the episode will finally see the light of day on Disney’s general entertainment streaming service, Hulu. “We were one year post-election and coming to the end of a year that left us, like many Americans, grappling with the state of our country and anxious about its future,” Barris wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Those feelings poured onto the page, becoming 22 minutes of television that I was, and still am, incredibly proud of. ‘Please,… Continue reading… You Deserve to Make ...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is adding Chromebook support to Minecraft: Education Edition, offering another way for schools to teach virtually this upcoming school year. Designed specifically for a classroom setting, Minecraft: Education Edition provides tools for educators like virtual chalkboards and a Classroom mode that allows teachers to communicate with their students and view where they are throughout the game world. Educators can find user-created lessons on the Minecraft: Education Edition website that cover subjects including history and math. The lessons have players exploring the game’s map, like one that has students going on a scavenger hunt to learn the elements of the periodic table, that help kids learn by playing the game. Minecraft:… Continue reading… You Dese...

David Dobrik TikTok announced the first wave of recipients for its new Creators Fund, a $200 million venture that will pay popular personalities for their content. There are 19 creators in total, including David Dobrik, Brittany Tomlinson, Cheyenne Jaz Wise, Justice Alexander, Michael Le, Marissa Ren, and Ross Smith. While many of the recipients already came from full-time entertainment backgrounds — including Dobrik and Smith, who are popular YouTube creators — many of the selected TikTokers came from non-media backgrounds but were able to build substantial followings on the app. Dr. Fayez (@lifeofadoctor), an emergency medicine doctor, has amassed more than 500,000 followers on the app since starting TikTok in 2019 and is known for “mythbusting… Continue reading… You Deserve...