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Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Twitter will remove misleading COVID-19-related tweets that could incite people to engage in ‘harmful activity’
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter has updated its COVID-19 policies to require users remove tweets making unverified claims that “incite people to action and cause widespread panic, social unrest or large-scale disorder.”
The changes come as COVID-19 misinformation has spread across social media that has incited people to act rashly. For example, people have set British 5G towers on fire because of conspiracy theories that falsely link the spread of COVID-19 to the rollout of 5G — which is probably why Twitter specifically mentions that tweets inciting people to damage 5G infrastructure are included in the new guidance.
We have broadened our guidance on unverified claims that incite people to engage in harmful activity, could lead to the destruction or damage...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231956/twitter-remove-covid-19-tweets-call-to-action-harm-5g
Google Duo video calls are about to look a whole lot better
Image: Google
Google’s Duo video chatting app is about to get a big bump in call quality, thanks to a new video codec technology the company plans to roll out in the next week. The codec, called AV1, is the product of an industry-wide consortium called the Alliance for Open Media. AV1 is the successor to VP9 and can produce significantly higher data compression rates than prior standards, which makes it great for mobile video applications like streaming TV shows and live video calling.
Google says all Duo calls with now use AV1, making even low-bandwidth video calls appear much higher quality than before. The codec change will also help with video call stability, too. In addition to the AV1 update, Google is also releasing a new photo mode for Duo...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231959/google-duo-update-video-call-quality-av1-codec
Verizon extends 15GB of extra data deal to customers through May
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Verizon announced today that it’s extending its pledge to provide an additional 15GB of high-speed data to customers with a wireless plan through May 31st due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Verizon notes that customers will not have to perform an additional action to opt into the extended offer as it intends to automatically add the additional data to both consumer and small business accounts. Verizon is not waiving data caps, though, so if you max out your data plan, your internet speeds can still be reduced. In late March, Verizon announced it would provide additional data to mobile customers at no extra cost through April 30th.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world, many communications companies have made pledges...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231803/verizon-extends-15gb-of-extra-data-deal-to-customers-through-may
Nikola gets $4 million pandemic loan, as patent lawsuit against Tesla continues
Image: Nikola
Electric big rig startup Nikola received a $4.1 million loan from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) meant to help small businesses keep people employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 15th filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s at least the third EV startup to receive money from the PPP, following Faraday Future (which got a $9.1 million loan) and Workhorse (which got a $1.1 million loan).
The loan, which can be forgiven as long as Nikola hangs on to most of its employees, comes a little more than one month after the startup received a $525 million investment and became a publicly traded company. That move made gave founder Trevor Milton a net worth of more than...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231758/nikola-sba-loan-pandemic-tesla-patent-lawsuit
Samsung’s blood pressure measurement on smartwatches still a have long way to go
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2 has taken another big step toward offering blood pressure monitoring, a feature Samsung has been promising since the original Galaxy Watch Active was released in 2019. This week saw Samsung’s Health Monitor app get regulatory approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the first government agency to do so — but there’s a whole lot of caveats that bring to question how useful Samsung’s measuring will really be.
The first hurdle is that the app has only been approved in South Korea, meaning that users in other countries will still have to wait for it to be approved by their own governmental agencies. And even in South Korea, Samsung says that the app won’t be available until the...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21229314/samsung-smartwatches-galaxy-active-2-blood-pressure-app-south-korea-regulatory-approval
US vaccine expert says he was forced out of position for resisting hydroxychloroquine hype
Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Federal researcher and vaccine development expert Rick Bright says he was removed from his position in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after objecting to the agency’s efforts to push the use of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.
“I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,” he said in a statement to The New York Times.
Bright directed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at HHS, which focuses on developing drugs for emergency situations like...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231746/federal-vaccine-expert-ousted-hhs-nih-hydroxychloroquine-trump
Joe Biden looks to shore up climate credentials for Earth Day
John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Joe Biden won key environmental endorsements this week as the 50th anniversary of Earth Day focuses attention on climate change. Longtime proponents of climate action Al Gore and Jay Inslee announced today that Biden has their endorsement. The League of Conservation Voters endorsed Biden on April 20th, potentially unlocking tens of millions of dollars in funding if the group continues the big spending it’s put into previous elections. And more than 80 prominent scientists penned an open letter giving Biden their backing ahead of Earth Day. It’s a major show of institutional support for Biden, but it remains to be seen whether these endorsements will help Biden win over voters concerned about climate change, who have emerged as a key...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231757/biden-climate-change-environmental-endorsements-earthday-gore-inslee
Viral texts about coronavirus lockdown were amplified by Chinese operatives, US officials say
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Chinese operatives helped amplify a viral text message that falsely claimed President Trump was going to instate a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, reports The New York Times. US officials said the operatives were engaging in disinformation tactics similar to the ones Russia used in 2016.
The rumor, which gained traction around mid-March, claimed to be coming from someone close to the White House. It said Trump was doing to lock down the country to stop the spread of COVID-19. “Please be advised,” one version of the text message began. “Within 48 to 72 hours the President will evoke what is called the Stafford Act. Stock up on whatever you guys need to make sure you have a two week supply of everything. Please forward to your...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231497/coronavirus-lockdown-viral-text-messages-chinese-operatives-disinformation
Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland is working on a new Star Wars show for Disney Plus
Photo by Ethan Miller/FilmMagic
Russian Doll co-creator and showrunner Leslye Headland is reportedly working on a new Star Wars TV series for Disney Plus, according to a new report from Variety. The series is said to be a “female-centric” show set in a different part of the timeline than other current Star Wars projects, although there aren’t too many details on what the premise of the show will actually be.
Headland is best known for her work as the co-creator, showrunner, and co-writer for the popular Netflix series Russian Doll. According to Variety, Headland will serve in a similar showrunner / writer role for the new Star Wars show, too.
The show would be the fifth confirmed Star Wars show in development for...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231732/russian-doll-leslye-headland-star-wars-tv-show-disney-plus-report
Netflix promises subscribers it won’t run out of new content while people are stuck at home
Image: Netflix
The most pressing issue entertainment companies around the world are facing is what the rest of their year looks like. Production on sets around the world has completely stopped, movies are being delayed on a weekly basis as theaters remain closed and shelter-in-place orders from government bodies remain. Some analysts and industry insiders have already called 2020 a total write-off for nearly every company, except one — Netflix.
While Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, Paramount, and others continue futzing around with their schedules to try to salvage part of the year — even moving certain titles from theatrical releases to digital exclusives — Netflix is carrying on as usual. The company is confident it has enough content to last...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231023/netflix-tv-shows-movies-new-2020-pandemic-production-disney-universal-warner-bros-sony
Facebook will start telling you where page posts are coming from
Facebook
Facebook says today, it’s going to display the location of “high-reach” Facebook pages and Instagram accounts on every post the owners share in order to give people “more information to help them gauge the reliability and authenticity of the content they see in their feeds.” The company didn’t say what it considers a high-reach page or account.
The change is first coming to accounts based outside of the US that reach large audiences primarily in the US. The company says the feature is aimed at keeping election messaging honest.
“These changes are part of our broader efforts to protect elections and increase transparency on Facebook and Instagram so people can make more informed decisions about the posts they read, trust and share,” the...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231632/facebook-instagram-account-page-location-post-update
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip gets a new split-screen YouTube experience
Left: YouTube when unfolded / Right: split-screen when folded | Image: Samsung
YouTube has released a new update to take advantage of the Galaxy Z Flip’s “Flex Mode,” allowing the app to split the screen in two.
While watching a YouTube video on Samsung’s new flip phone while the phone is partly unfolded, the top and bottom of the screen will now switch into separate displays. The top of the screen shows the actual video, and the bottom portion of the screen displays the YouTube interface, including comments and other videos you can browse through.
Samsung says it worked collaboratively with Google’s engineers to develop Flex Mode and that the split-screen feature can be integrated into other apps. In February, Google confirmed that the Flex Mode was not exclusive to Samsung and that other foldable phones could...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231132/galaxy-z-flip-flex-mode-youtube-update-split-screen
AT&T adds 5G to 90 new markets, nearly doubling its coverage
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
AT&T is nearly doubling the number of markets in which it offers its 5G network, with coverage in 90 new areas starting today. The new additions bring AT&T’s total number up to over 190 markets covering more than 120 million people.
New cities on the list include Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Madison. For the full list, check out AT&T’s announcement here. For now, the new cities are just getting access to AT&T’s low-band 850MHz network, not its faster (but shorter-range) mmWave network.
AT&T’s low-band 5G network launched in December 2019, and it has been steadily expanding since then, although today’s news marks the biggest expansion for the network so far. AT&T’s mmWave network — which launched for consumer access b...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231573/att-5g-new-markets-double-coverage-cities-network
Apple’s default Mail app for the iPhone has a severe security flaw, researchers claim
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Security researchers say the iPhone has a severe flaw in the native iOS Mail app that makes it vulnerable to hackers, according to a report published on Wednesday by San Francisco-based firm ZecOps.
The flaw had not previously been disclosed to Apple, making it extremely valuable to a variety of bad actors. ZecOps says it believes “with high confidence that these vulnerabilities... are widely exploited in the wild in targeted attacks by an advanced threat operator(s).”
ZecOps believes that at least six high-profile targets were victims of the exploit, including an executive from a mobile carrier in Japan and “individuals from a Fortune 500 company in North America.” ZecOps is...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231454/apple-iphone-zero-day-exploit-security-flaw-mail-app-ios-zec-ops
Nuro is using delivery robots to help health care workers fighting COVID-19
Nuro, the autonomous vehicle startup founded by two ex-Google engineers, is using its small fleet of road-legal delivery robots to transport medical supplies around two California stadiums that have been converted into treatment facilities for people stricken with COVID-19.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced self-driving car companies in California to temporarily shutdown their operations and ground their fleets, thanks to “shelter-in-place” orders that ban nonessential transportation. But Nuro realized it could still play a role in delivering goods for health care workers by using its R2 prototype vehicles. These lightweight electric vehicles are built from the ground up to be completely driverless and, with slight alterations, could...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231466/nuro-delivery-robot-health-care-workers-food-supplies-california
Who should you be while you’re streaming?
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
If there’s anything I’ve learned from working on the internet, peddling writing for a number of years, it’s that the content must flow. Or maybe it’s better to say that content will flow because its creation is a foregone conclusion. No matter what your feelings on the issue are, there will always be more of it. And while the word used to be deployed as a synonym for low-quality art, the kind that’s relatable and snackable and draws in huge undiscerning audiences, in recent years, it’s come to encompass all creation. Content is a unit of measure, not necessarily a work itself.
That shift, I think, is one of the more quietly radical changes in how we conceptualize creative production because it already implies that the creation — the...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231128/streaming-persona-camgirl-facebook-youtube-twitch-mixer
The jury is still out on Zoom trials
Courts are moving online due to COVID-19. No one is sure if that’s a good thing.
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21230022/jury-zoom-trials-court-hearings-justice-system-virtual-transparency
Deck out your Switch with (not) an Animal Crossing skin that is (not) copyright infringement
A Nintendo Switch is hard to come by these days; the limited Animal Crossing edition, even harder. Players who failed to snag the island-themed console can either fight over marked-up consoles from resellers or turn to customization options — like Dbrand’s (not) Animal Crossing skins for the system’s Joy-Cons and dock.
For $39.95, buyers can snag skins to redecorate their Switch, plus a microfiber cloth. The store is also selling scratch-proof tempered glass and a pro controller skin pack for an additional $9.95 and $12.95, respectively. “Take a close look at the design on the face of this Switch dock,” the site reads. “Is it copyright infringement? Lawyers we paid to say ‘no’ said ‘no.’ Lawyers not on our payroll disagree. That’s the...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231434/animal-crossing-switch-skin-nintendo-dbrand-copyright-price-design
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Call of Duty: Mobile is getting an esports tournament with $1 million in prizes
Call of Duty: Mobile has quickly grown to become one of the biggest games in the world, and soon it will have a competitive tournament to match. Today, Activision revealed the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship 2020 Tournament, a lengthy esports tournament that features more than $1 million in total prizes, which include both cash and in-game cosmetics.
Online qualifiers for the tournament kick off on April 30th and will run through May 24th, after which the tournament will begin. Details — like the structure of the tournament, how prizes will work, and where fans can watch — are slight at the moment, but you can find out how to qualify here.
The free-to-play, mobile Call of Duty spinoff became a breakout hit last year, racking up a...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231392/call-of-duty-mobile-esports-tournament-schedule-prize-money
Chinese EV startup Byton furloughs hundreds in the US
Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge
Chinese EV startup Byton is furloughing more than 200 workers at its North American headquarters in Santa Clara, California due to the coronavirus pandemic, and is reevaluating its plans to launch its first vehicle later this year.
“Given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and the hit that the auto industry is taking, we like others have had to take measures to weather the hard times ahead,” the company said in a statement to Electrek, which first reported the news. “Our production timeline will no doubt be impacted. We are evaluating that impact.”
Byton closed its factory in Nanjing, China earlier this year as the country attempted to stop the spread of the virus, though it says work picked back up in...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231344/chinese-ev-startup-byton-furloughs-us-employees
Westworld gets renewed for a fourth season on HBO
Photo: HBO
Westworld has been renewed for a fourth season, HBO announced today, meaning that the sometimes infuriatingly complicated science-fiction / Western series will continue to enthrall viewers with its violent delights for another season, via Variety.
The third season of the series was a reinvention of sorts, moving the action outside of the titular Westworld theme park and out into the “real” world, where the rebellious robots (namely, Evan Rachel Wood’s Delores) are working to ensure their ascension by eliminating mankind. Despite the new spin on the show, ratings for the series have plummeted compared to the previous two seasons, with viewers down 57 percent for the premiere this year compared to season 2.
Still, Westworld is one of...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231327/westworld-season-4-hbo-renewal-robots-tv-show
Google Meet’s Zoom-like gallery view is rolling out now globally
Google Meet’s new Zoom-like gallery view is rolling out across the globe “gradually” starting today, the company said in a blog post. Previously, you were only able to see four people on-screen at a time, but with Meet’s new tiled layout, you’ll be able to see 16 call participants at once. Google announced the feature was on the way last week.
Zoom’s gallery view is still able to show more participants than Meet’s — it’s possible to see the thumbnails of up to 49 people at once on Zoom, depending on how powerful your CPU is — but Meet’s jump to letting you see up to 16 people at once is a nice improvement.
Last week, Google also promised that Meet would let you present a single Chrome...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231294/google-meet-gallery-tiled-view-roll-out-globally-zoom
Pussy Riot, Idles to play Minecraft virtual festival ‘Block by Blockwest’
Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns
Punk acts like Pussy Riot and Idles will be logging into Minecraft on Saturday to play sets for the Block by Blockwest online music festival to raise money for novel coronavirus relief efforts.
The event is being organized by a group called the Courier Club, and it starts at 3PM ET. Around two dozen bands will play shows at the festival including Pussy Riot, Idles, Citizen, Nothing, Nowhere, Sir Sly, Cherry Glazerr, and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. All proceeds will go to the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit created by Congress to raise money for coronavirus relief.
Join us this Saturday, April 25th from 3PM ET for Block By Block West to raise funds for CDC's Covid-19 Response Fund. https://t.co/fS0rbNXcYv pic.twitter.com/QTJXikzSKA
— I D L...
source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231359/pussy-riot-idles-minecraft-festival-block-by-blockwest
