Technology

The US Department of Transportation launched a new voluntary program to collect and share data from autonomous vehicle operators. Companies testing AVs on public roads are invited to submit information to the government, which will then publicize it online. But given the voluntary nature of the program, safety advocates say the effort is likely to fall short of providing useful data to the public. There is currently no federal rule requiring AV companies to submit information about their testing activities to the government. Instead, a patchwork of state-by-state regulations govern what is and isn’t disclosed. California has the most stringent rules, requiring companies to obtain a license for different types of testing, disclose vehicle crashes, list the number of miles driven, and the fr...

Apple on Monday touted the findings of a new study from economic consulting firm Analysis Group that says the App Store was responsible for $517 billion in estimated total billings and sales of both physical products and services and digital goods in 2019. Of that amount, Apple says it takes a 30 percent cut of just $61 billion of those sales, as that’s the portion of total billings that constitutes digital-only goods. That includes the biggest category, mobile games, as well as in-app purchases, subscriptions, and unit sales of paid apps. In-app advertising, also largely dedicated to mobile gaming, makes up another $45 billion. Of everything else — from ride-hailing software to food delivery apps to mobile retail shops from Best Buy and Target — making up the remaining $413 billion, Apple...

It might not look like much of a video game, but Akili Interactive’s EndeavorRX, formerly Project EVO, may go down in history: it’s the first video game that can legally be marketed and prescribed as medicine in the US. That’s the landmark decision from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is authorizing doctors to prescribe the iPhone and iPad game for kids between ages eight and 12 years old with ADHD, after it underwent seven years of clinical trials that studied over 600 children to figure out whether a game could actually make a difference. [embedded content] According to the company’s favorite of the five studies, the answer is yes: one-third of kids treated “no longer had a measurable attention deficit on at least one measure of objective attention” after playing the obstac...

Apple has released a Mac version of its Apple Developer app, a week before its Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off. Apple initially launched the app in late 2019, but it was only available to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users. Much like the iOS version, the macOS version of the Developer app provides various resources from developer-related news to videos showcasing new features for Apple operating systems. The update also adds a new interface to search for previous WWDC sessions, as well as the ability to download and favorite content you are interested in viewing later. The app is also another option for those to tune in to the upcoming WWDC event, which Apple announced will be online-only this year, with the event set for June 22nd through June 26th. Apple’s WWDC is held annually a...

Peloton announced today that users now have the option to select nonbinary as their gender, as part of the company’s broader commitment to Pride Month. Nonbinary users will appear as “NB” on the leaderboard, where they compete against other people using the app. Users will still be able to filter the leaderboard by age and gender. Nonbinary gender options are still uncommon in many tech products, although Peloton’s move could push other companies to make the option standard across platforms. Facebook has supported nonbinary gender designations since 2014, and a number of dating apps have already introduced the feature, including Tinder, OkCupid, and Grindr. Even emoji now have nonbinary options, with both Google and Apple releasing gender inclusive icons last year. Apple introduced 328 emo...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said Monday that the platform is taking steps to “better support the black community” and will review how it recommends content and deals with harassment and verification. Mosseri didn’t provide specifics about what the Facebook-owned photo sharing app will do, but he laid out some key areas where Instagram has heard complaints from black users about bias. “The irony that we’re a platform that stands for elevating Black voices, but at the same time Black people are often harassed, afraid of being ‘shadowbanned’, and disagree with many content takedowns, is not lost on me,” Mosseri said in a statement. Mosseri said Instagram is “hearing concern” about whether it suppresses black voices and if it treats everyone equally in its products and policies. “This is a mome...

Ferrari has released a six minute video called Le Grand Rendez-Vous, a modern spin on C’était un Rendez-vous, the classic 1976 single-take short film that features a driver recklessly tearing through the dawn-lit streets of Paris. While there was zero chance Ferrari was going to recreate that rogue run through the City of Lights, the homage — which takes place in Monaco and features F1 star Charles Leclerc — is already being criticized for its soullessness. The thing that really kills it, though, is how smooth the footage is. This may seem counterintuitive, as stabilized footage is typically a cinematic hallmark. And the original C’était un Rendez-vous was filmed by a gyroscopically stabilized camera mounted to the front of the Mercedes-Benz that was used to make the mad dash through Paris...

Lego’s Mindstorms Robot Inventor kit is a new set that lets kids build and design robots. You get 949 pieces as part of the kit, which includes a color sensor, distance sensor, four motors, and Lego’s Bluetooth-enabled “Intelligent Hub.” It’s designed as a way to teach children basic STEM skills, including programming, and it’s the first new entry in the Mindstorms lineup in seven years. The kit comes with instructions for five robots. Blast looks like the most impressive of the bunch, and Brothers Brick notes that it uses every hub, motor, and sensor that comes with the kit. It’s able to sense its environment and fire darts, Lego says. There’s also Charlie, a smaller robot that’s more about dancing and giving out high-fives, and Tricky, a “sporty” robot capable of playing basketball, socc...

Apple’s back-to-school promotion for 2020 is an especially good one if you’re in need of some headphones. At Apple’s education store, students and educators can get a free set of second-generation AirPods when purchasing the $899 MacBook Air or $479 iPad Air (both prices listed reflect the educational discount). What’s also cool is that Apple is giving you the option to upgrade to the AirPods with the wireless charging case for an extra $40, or all the way up to AirPods Pro for $90 out of pocket. The iPad Air and MacBook Air are the entry point for the deal, and of course, more expensive items are eligible to get you the free headphones, like the MacBook Pro of any size or either size of the 2020 iPad Pro. There are exclusions for this deal, namely the Mac Mini desktop and any iPad less th...

The Food and Drug Administration is withdrawing emergency authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for COVID-19, the agency announced today. Recent clinical trials showed that the drugs were not effective against the disease. The medications are still FDA-approved for diseases like malaria and lupus, so they remain on the market. Because they are approved for other diseases, doctors could technically still prescribe them for COVID-19 patients under off-label use. Clinical trials focusing on the drugs can also continue. This decision, though, indicates that the FDA is no longer confident that the drug would benefit COVID-19 patients. “We now believe that the suggested dosing regimens for [chloroquine] and [hydroxychloroquine] … are unlikely to produce an anti...

I don’t think of streaming services as heroes, mostly because streaming services are not real people, and most of them are owned by multibillion-dollar conglomerates with no interest in saving the world. But AT&T and WarnerMedia want to change that by fashioning their new platform HBO Max as a superhero team. A new comic book launched by DC Comics in partnership with WarnerMedia, To The Max will “feature stories about ordinary people achieving their maximum potential when they transform into extraordinary superheroes with the help of another new character, ‘Max the dog.’” An important note: WarnerMedia phrases the new comic book as a partnership in the press release, but WarnerMedia owns DC Comics and AT&T owns WarnerMedia, making this less a “partnership” and more a perfect exampl...

Niantic has announced more information about this year’s Pokémon Go Fest, which is shifting to an online event because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets go on sale today for $14.99 through an in-app purchase. In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Niantic says it will be donating half of the proceeds to black AR creators and half to US NPOs working on rebuilding local communities, with a minimum donation of $5 million. While in-person Pokémon Go events have often been difficult to get tickets for, there’s no limitation on the number of attendees for this year’s online fest, and tickets cover the whole weekend rather than a single day. The event will run over the weekend of July 25th and 26th from 10AM to 8PM wherever you are; day 1 features an exclusive Special Research story, rota...