United

Today I learned BMW charges extra for a ‘don’t blind other people’ software update

When you typically think of luxury car features, do you envision rich leather seating and extravagant trim? Advanced cruise control and intelligent self-parking? Whatever you’re imagining, I’m betting “dim my headlights so I don’t blind other people” isn’t it. But not only has BMW used its “High Beam Assistant” as an upsell for well over… Read more

Vaccines are changing how we interpret COVID-19 numbers

It’s never been possible to know for sure how many people in the United States are sick with COVID-19 at a particular time. Instead, we combine all of the metrics — the percentage of tests run that come back positive, the number of new cases reported each day, people coming to the emergency room sick… Read more

Amazon keeps trying to troll US Congress members in perplexing new PR strategy

Amazon is intensifying its bizarre online public relations strategy of picking increasingly petty and unhinged fights with sitting US Congress members, with the company’s Amazon News account on Friday shifting from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). “You make the tax laws @SenWarren; we just follow them…. Read more

Tesla has to tell Elon Musk to delete a 2018 tweet, labor board rules

Tesla must tell CEO Elon Musk to delete an anti-union tweet from 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided Thursday. The order came as part of Tesla’s appeal of a 2019 ruling by an administrative judge in a years-long legal battle between the company and the United Auto Workers union. Below is Musk’s tweet… Read more

Motorola phones will now include endangered languages from the Amazon

Motorola has added support for two new indigenous languages spoken in the Amazon as part of a larger effort to make technology more accessible. Beginning today, Kaingang and Nheengatu will be among the language options available on Motorola Android devices. Any Motorola phone updated to Android 11 will be able to access the new language… Read more

Sonos gets hi-res audio with Qobuz first to enable 24-bit streaming

Home News (Image credit: Sonos) Qobuz has beaten Tidal to become the first music service to bring 24-bit hi-res audio streaming to Sonos speakers. It’s quite a coup for Qobuz – and welcome news for Sonos owners who have been waiting patiently for the chance to stream higher quality audio. You’ll need a subscription to… Read more

Adjusted AstraZeneca data shows COVID-19 vaccine 76 percent effective

AstraZeneca released updated data on its COVID-19 vaccine, saying a more recent analysis shows the vaccine is 76 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19. It’s a slight drop from the 79 percent the company touted in an announcement earlier this week. That number was based on outdated data, US health officials said in an unusual public… Read more

It’s your last chance to get Disney Plus at its current subscription price

You have just two days left to lock in Disney Plus at its current price. Beginning on March 26th, Disney Plus subscribers based in the United States will have to pay $7.99 a month or $80 per year to access the robust library of movies and TV shows available on the streaming service. The company… Read more

US officials publicly question AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine data

In a highly unusual statement issued early this morning, United States health officials said that the data released by AstraZeneca on its COVID-19 vaccine may include “outdated information.” The announcement, which came from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), comes less than a day after the pharmaceutical company said its vaccine was… Read more

You can now tell the FCC just how broken the internet is for you

It’s not at all controversial to say that internet service sucks in the United States. As part of its plan to update coverage maps in the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in a break from tradition, is finally asking average Americans to report which internet services are actually available where they live. In the… Read more

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 79 percent effective in US study

A fourth COVID-19 vaccine has shown that it can protect people against the worst effects of the disease in a large United States-based trial. Two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine were 79 percent effective at preventing people from developing symptomatic COVID-19, according to a press release from the company today. No one in the US trial… Read more

YouTube Shorts arrives in the US to take on TikTok, but the beta is still half-baked

YouTube Shorts, the company’s short-form answer to TikTok, is launching in beta in the United States starting today. The short video format has already been available for several months in India, but today marks its debut stateside (along with the addition of several new features). For the beta launch, YouTube Shorts will feature all the… Read more

Conspiracy theorists and white supremacists want to ‘incite fear’ by targeting cell towers

Cellphone towers are being increasingly targeted by conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists who wish to “incite fear, disrupt essential services, and cause economic damage,” according to an internal New York Police Department report seen by The Intercept. The report, issued on January 20th by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, cites a number of recent attacks… Read more

Why Facebook is getting in the newsletter game

Today let’s talk about platforms’ growing interest in building newsletter tools — and whether Facebook, against all conventional wisdom, might have an opportunity there. I. Newsletters made headlines today after Facebook announced a plan laying out some of its intentions in the space. In a blog post entitled “Supporting independent writers,” the company explained its… Read more

Nvidia CMP 30HX Mining GPU Hits The Market For $723

Home News Palit Nvidia GeForce CMP 30HX (Image credit: Microless) One of the first Nvidia CMP 30HX models (via momomo_us) has emerged at Microless, a retailer in Dubai, for $723.84. The graphics card is part of Nvidia’s latest Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) lineup that’s suppose to convince cryptocurrency miners to lay off GeForce gaming graphics… Read more