MILESTONE

Disney Plus surpasses 100 million subscribers

Disney Plus has officially surpassed 100 million subscribers, less than a year and a half after the streaming service launched. Executives announced the milestone during Disney’s annual shareholders meeting, which is currently ongoing. The last time Disney gave an update on Disney Plus’ subscribers number was in February during its first quarter earnings, when it… Read more

NASA’s Perseverance rover scoots around on Mars for the first time

Perseverance, the car-sized rover NASA landed on Mars last month, has taken its first spin on the rocky surface of Jezero Crater, NASA announced today. The rover’s six wheels drove about 21 feet to carry out a key mobility test on Thursday, as engineers back on Earth prepare to execute the mission’s core science objectives…. Read more

Google is speeding up Chrome’s release cycle to every four weeks

Google says it will speed up how it releases Chrome updates. Starting with Chrome 94 in Q3, 2021, Google will release milestones of its browser every four weeks, instead of every six weeks. This is the first time Google has sped up its Chrome release schedule for more than a decade. “As we have improved… Read more

SpaceX lands Starship prototype for the first time — and then it blows up

SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype 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… Read more

Glitch workers sign tech’s first collective bargaining agreement

Glitch workers have signed a collective bargaining agreement with the company — a historic milestone for the tech industry. The contract, which was ratified overwhelmingly by union members, will last for 11 months. It’s the first agreement signed by white collar tech workers in the United States, according to a press release from the Communications… Read more

Vizio files to go public, has sold over 80 million TVs

Vizio today filed its S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as the TV and soundbar maker heads toward an initial public offering. “We envision the Vizio smart TV as the center of the connected home — where families play games together, where friends watch movies together, where work and learning happen, and where… Read more

Volkswagen ID 4 review: electric chill

Sometimes you just want an electric car with decent range, low-key technology, and not much else Once upon a time, affordable electric compact SUVs were very hard to come by. There were plenty of cheap electric hatchbacks and a whole mess of luxury sedans and SUVs, but you’d have to cough up $50,000 or more… Read more

ViacomCBS touts nearly 30 million global subscribers just before Paramount Plus launches

With CBS All Access morphing into Paramount Plus in just over a week, the company is announcing a new subscriber milestone for its streaming platforms: nearly 30 million global subscribers. The company also has 19.2 million subscribers domestically across its platforms, CBS All Access and Showtime. Pluto TV has 43 million monthly active users globally,… Read more

Pokémon’s League of Legends-style spinoff is getting an Android beta in March

If you are interested in testing out Pokémon Unite, a spinoff that has gameplay similar to League of Legends, you may be in luck. Today, the Pokémon Company announced it’ll host a regional beta test for Pokémon Unite in Canada next month. The beta test will be exclusive to Android users, and registration is available… Read more

Pokémon cards are selling so well the Pokémon Company is rushing to print more

Demand for Pokémon cards has been high the last few weeks as the series celebrates its 25th anniversary. To accommodate the high demand, The Pokémon Company announced today that it will be reprinting trading cards. The Pokémon Company released a statement on its support page that it is “aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties… Read more

After aborted SLS hot-fire test, NASA and Boeing will try, try again

NASA will make another attempt next month to test-fire its massive Space Launch System rocket after its first try was cut short, the agency said Friday night. The rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage will try to fire its four engines for eight minutes at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The attempt is the last milestone… Read more

Apple says there are now over 1 billion active iPhones

Apple says there are now more than 1 billion active iPhones, an enormous milestone for the company that speaks to the phones’ continued success and longevity. There are now 1.65 billion Apple devices in active use overall, Tim Cook said during Apple’s earnings call this afternoon. The milestone had been approaching for a while. Apple… Read more

HBO Max hits subscriber goal two years ahead of schedule

HBO Max has nearly 40 million US subscribers, AT&T disclosed in its first quarter earnings report on Wednesday. Combined with traditional HBO subscribers, the platform has surpassed a 41 million subscriber milestone the company says it didn’t expect to hit for two more years. Globally, AT&T says HBO now has more than 60 million subscribers…. Read more

Verizon plans to almost double its mmWave 5G coverage this year

Verizon has big 5G plans for 2021 after formally launching its next-gen network in October of last year, and close to the top of its list of priorities is expanding coverage of its ultra-fast mmWave coverage. That flavor of 5G is currently restricted to select areas within select cities in the US, and it’s highly… Read more

Renewable energy production beat fossil fuels in Europe

Renewable energy became the biggest source of electricity in the European Union in 2020, beating fossil fuels for the first time. Germany and Spain also hit that milestone individually last year — so did the UK, which officially left the EU in January 2020. Renewables powered 38 percent of electricity in the EU last year,… Read more