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Unofficial.
URI # Nikola Stops Work on Electric Watercraft and ATV Projects
Zero-emission trucking company Nikola has shuttered its so-called Powersports
division and is pausing work on an electric personal watercraft and off-road
vehicle first announced in April 2019. From a report: Nikola stopped work on the
projects as part of a larger push to focus on getting its first hydrogen-powered
ruck out the door, following a number of stumbles in 2020. "We still own the
NZT and WAV rights and have put the projects on pause. We may consider moving
forward with them at a later time," a spokesperson tells The Verge. "Right now
we are focusing on commercial trucking and hydrogen infrastructure." Nikola
started pursuing an electric watercraft back in 2017 after it bought up one of
he more promising startups working on the idea. The off-road vehicle was a
hybrid of sorts, mixing dune buggy styling with the kinds of comforts found in
passenger cars, like air conditioning. Nikola was promising the so-called NZT
vehicle would get 590 horsepower and 150 miles of range. It was supposed to come
o market this year at a starting price of $80,000.
URI # Smart TVs Running Google TV Will Have a 'Basic' Option
An anonymous reader shares a report: If you go out and purchase a new TV today,
it's going to have smart TV features allowing access to streaming services and
he internet. However, if that new TV is running on the Google TV platform,
it's possible to easily disable all the smart features during setup. The
option to make your TV dumb was spotted by 9To5Google. During the setup of a
TV running Google's smart TV platform, multiple features are offered including
he ability to run apps, receive content recommendations, and enable Google
Assistant. That's alongside the core options you'd expect from a TV: the ability
o watch live broadcasts through an aerial and having access to attached devices
via its HDMI ports. [...] However, Google decided to offer a more user-friendly
way of doing this. As part of the setup process you can select "Set up basic
TV." What this does is allow your TV to receive live broadcasts and access the
HDMI ports, but nothing else. There's no apps, no Google Assistant, and no
content recommendations. You also have the option to go back into the setup
process and enable these smart features whenever you like.
URI # Valve Has To Provide Some Steam Sales Data To Apple, Judge Says
A US magistrate judge has ordered Valve to provide sales data to Apple in
response to a subpoena issued amid Apple's continuing legal fight with Epic
Games. From a report: In addition to some aggregate sales data for the entirety
of Steam, Valve will only have to provide specific, per-title pricing and sales
data for "436 specific apps that are available on both Steam and the Epic
Games Store," according to the order. That's a significant decrease from the
30,000+ titles Apple for which Apple originally requested data. In resisting the
subpoena, Valve argued that its Steam sales data was irrelevant to questions
about the purely mobile app marketplaces at issue in the case. Refocusing the
request only on games available on both Steam and the Epic Games Store makes it
more directly relevant to the questions of mobile competition in the case, Judge
Thomas Hixson writes in his order.
"Recall that in these related cases, [Epic] allege that Apple's 30% commission
on sales through its App Store is anti-competitive and that allowing iOS apps
o be sold through other stores would force Apple to reduce its commission to
a more competitive level," Hixson writes in the order. "By focusing... on 436
specific games that are sold in both Steam and Epic's store, Apple seeks to take
discovery into whether the availability of other stores does in fact affect
commissions in the way [Epic] allege." The California judge overseeing Apple's
attempts to drag Valve into an ongoing beef with Epic Games admitted that Apple
"salted the Earth with subpoenas, so don't worry, it's not just you."
URI # Google Pledges Changes To Research Oversight After Internal Revolt
Alphabet's Google will change procedures before July for reviewing its
scientists' work, according to a town hall recording heard by Reuters, part
of an effort to quell internal tumult over the integrity of its artificial
intelligence (AI) research. From a report: In remarks at a staff meeting last
Friday, Google Research executives said they were working to regain trust after
he company ousted two prominent women and rejected their work, according to an
hour-long recording, the content of which was confirmed by two sources. Teams
are already trialing a questionnaire that will assess projects for risk and
help scientists navigate reviews, research unit Chief Operating Officer Maggie
Johnson said in the meeting. This initial change will roll out by the end of the
second quarter, and the majority of papers will not require extra vetting, she
said.
Reuters reported in December that Google had introduced a "sensitive topics"
review for studies involving dozens of issues, such as China or bias in its
services. Internal reviewers had demanded that at least three papers on AI be
modified to refrain from casting Google technology in a negative light, Reuters
reported. Jeff Dean, Google's senior vice president overseeing the division,
said Friday that the "sensitive topics" review "is and was confusing" and that
he had tasked a senior research director, Zoubin Ghahramani, with clarifying the
rules, according to the recording.
URI # Facebook Is Considering Facial Recognition For Its Upcoming Smart Glasses
Facebook is discussing building facial recognition into its upcoming
smart glasses product and has been weighing the legal implications of the
controversial technology, Buzzfeed News reported citing remarks from executives
at an internal meeting Thursday. From a report: During a scheduled companywide
meeting, Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's vice president of augmented and virtual
reality, told employees that the company is currently assessing whether or
not it has the legal capacity to offer facial recognition on devices that are
reportedly set to launch later this year. Nothing had been decided, he said, and
he noted that current state laws may make it impossible for Facebook to offer
people the ability to search for others based on pictures of their face.
"Face recognition ... might be the thorniest issue, where the benefits are so
clear, and the risks are so clear, and we don't know where to balance those
hings," Bosworth said in response to an employee question about whether people
would be able to "mark their faces as unsearchable" when smart glasses become a
prevalent technology. The unnamed worker specifically highlighted fears about
he potential for "real-world harm," including "stalkers."
URI # Electronic Arts Cancels 'Gaia' Game After Years in Development
Video game publisher Electronic Arts has canceled a game that was in development
at its Montreal office for nearly six years, Bloomberg reported Thursday,
citing people familiar with the matter. From a report: The game, code named
Gaia, was first hinted at in 2015, but was never officially announced or
given a title. Since then, EA executives have released a drip feed of
information, sharing tidbits every few years on what it described as a brand new
franchise. Last summer in a video showcasing future games, EA provided a few
seconds of footage from Gaia, describing it as "a highly ambitious, innovative
new game that puts the power and creativity in your hands." The cancellation
is part of a recent resource shift by the company as it evaluates projects and
decides which ones will move forward. Earlier this month, the publisher reviewed
in-progress games including Gaia and a new iteration of the poorly received
online game Anthem, which was also canceled. Gaia's development was turbulent
and the game went through at least one major reboot, which may have been a
factor behind its demise, according to the people, who requested anonymity
because they weren't authorized to talk to the press.
URI # Amazon Gives Code.org $15 Million To 'Reimagine' Advanced Placement CSA
heodp writes: Amazon on Wednesday announced it has lined up the support of
Governors and State School Superintendents from five 'key states' for a pilot
hat aims to reimagine the Java-based Advanced Placement Computer Science A (AP
CS A) course taken by high school students for college credit. By doing so,
Amazon indicated it hopes to address "the diversity gaps in today's technology
workforce." From the press release: "Amazon's signature computer science
education program, Amazon Future Engineer, is trying to help close those gaps
by donating $15 million to Code.org over three years. The money will support
he creation of the new equity-minded curriculum and other initiatives designed
o reach more students from underrepresented groups. The initiatives aim to
increase student awareness of academic and career pathways in computer science
as well as equip them to be successful in college-level computer science and
beyond. Working together, we have our eyes set on an ambitious goal of doubling
he participation of students from underrepresented groups in AP CSA within five
years of the course's launch." After CEO Jeff Bezos came under fire [PDF] last
summer for the company's continued resistance to making its EEO-1 diversity
regulatory filing public, Amazon finally agreed to publicly disclose its race,
gender and ethnicity workforce data sometime in 2021.
URI # PlayStation is Winding Down Sony Japan Studio
Sony is winding down original game development at its oldest first-party
developer, Japan Studio, game news outlet VGC reported, citing sources. From the
report: The iconic developer behind Ape Escape, Gravity Rush and Knack has seen
he vast majority of its development staff let go, the sources said, after their
annual contracts were not renewed ahead of the company's next business year,
which begins April 1. Localisation and business staff will remain in place and
ASOBI Team -- the group responsible for the Astro Bot games -- will continue as
a standalone studio within Sony Japan, it's claimed. Some Japan Studio staff
will join ASOBI, we were told, while others have followed Silent Hill and
Gravity Rush director Keiichiro Toyama -- who left Japan Studio last year -- to
his new studio Bokeh. It's not entirely clear if the restructure has affected
he studio's External Development Department, which collaborated on games such
as last year's Demon's Souls, but one person VGC spoke to suggested it would
continue.
URI # Twitter Announces Paid Super Follows To Let You Charge For Tweets
Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features today: the ability for users
o charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to
create and join groups based around specific interests. From a report: They're
wo of the more substantial changes to Twitter in a while, but they also fit
snugly into models that have been popular and successful on other social
platforms. The payment feature, called Super Follows, will allow Twitter users
o charge followers and give them access to extra content. That could be bonus
weets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge
indicating your support. In a mockup screenshot, Twitter showed an example where
a user charges $4.99 per month to receive a series of perks. Twitter sees it as
a way to let creators and publishers get paid directly by their fans.
[...] Twitter also announced a new feature called Communities, which appear to be its take on something like Facebook Groups. People can create and join groups around specific interests -- like cats or plants, Twitter suggests -- allowing them to see more tweets focused on those topics. Groups have been a huge success for Facebook (and a huge moderation problem, too), and they could be a particularly helpful tool on Twitter, since the service's open-ended nature can make it difficult for new users to get started on the platform.
URI # Lawmaker Proposing 'Grand Theft Auto' Ban Says Video Game Contributes To Carjackings
Koreantoast writes: With the number of carjackings more than doubling in
he city of Chicago during 2020, one lawmaker knows who to blame: the video
game "Grand Theft Auto." According to Chicago ABC 7, Democratic State
Representative Marcus Williams believes the video game is causing the rise in
carjackings, stating that "Grand Theft Auto' and other violent video games
are getting in the minds of our young people and perpetuating the normalcy of
carjacking. Carjacking is not normal and carjacking must stop." He plans on
introducing a bill to ban sales of the game in the state of Illinois.
Some are skeptical of Rep. Williams claims however. Columnist Joe Jurado of
he Root points out that the franchise is hardly new and widely distributed,
with the latest iteration, GTA V, released eight years ago and having sold 130
million copies. He adds that attempting to ban the game would be incredibly
difficult writing, "Let me entertain this stupid-a** notion for a second. Say
hey're successful and get the game off store shelves in Illinois. What are you
going to do about digital sales? You're telling me that the state of Illinois is
willing to expend the time, money, and technical know-how to block the game off
of PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Epic Games, and the Rockstar storefront? I've
worked for the state government, and I know damn well those Windows XP-using
a**es ain't built for this life."
URI # Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter Face New Rules in India
India is establishing new rules to govern internet firms like Facebook, WhatsApp
and Twitter, [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source] a
fresh challenge for the American giants in a huge market that is key to their
global expansion. From a report: The new guidelines, unveiled Thursday, say that
in order to counter the rise of problematic content online like false news and
violent material, intermediaries must establish "grievance redressal mechanisms"
o resolve user complaints about postings and share with the government the
names and contact details for "grievance officers" at the firms. These officers
must acknowledge complaints within a day and resolve them within 15. Social
media firms must take down material involving explicit sexual content within 24
hours of being flagged. Firms must also appoint officers and contact people --
who live in India -- to coordinate with law enforcement agencies and address
complaints. Some firms must also help identify the "first originator" of some
messages, the rules say. "We appreciate the proliferation of social media in
India," Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's minister of electronics and information
echnology, said Thursday. "We want them to be more responsible and more
accountable," he said.
The rules are New Delhi's latest move to assert control over global tech
firms that have experienced breakneck growth in a country of more than 1.3
billion. The regulations also come during monthslong farmers' protests against
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which have sparked fierce debate on
social media. They have emerged as Mr. Modi's stiffest political challenge since
he assumed power in 2014. The rules say the government can implement a code of
ethics for digital media and so-called over-the-top platforms, a term applied to
video streaming services like Netflix.
URI # Australia Passes Law To Make Google, Facebook Pay for News
Australia's law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take
effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants
o strike media deals. From a report: The Parliament on Thursday passed the
final amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on
Tuesday. In return for the changes, Facebook agreed to lift a ban on Australians
accessing and sharing news. Rod Sims, the competition regulator who drafted
he code, said he was happy that the amended legislation would address the
market imbalance between Australian news publishers and the two gateways to
he internet. "All signs are good," Sims said. "The purpose of the code is
o address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have. Google
and Facebook need media, but they don't need any particular media company,
and that meant media companies couldn't do commercial deals," the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission chair added. The rest of the law had passed
in Parliament earlier, so it can now be implemented. Google has already struck
deals with major Australian news businesses in recent weeks including News Corp.
and Seven West Media.
URI # Nvidia Made $5 Billion During a GPU Shortage and Expects To Do It Again in Q1
Nvidia has shared its Q4 2021 earnings, and despite the company's GPUs being
in extremely low supply, it didn't seem to hurt how much money the company
made. From a report: In fact, it reported a record $5 billion in revenue, which
is up 61 percent year-over-year. What's more impressive is that Nvidia expects
o make another $5 billion in revenue during Q1 2022. This positive outlook is
surprising given that Q1 is generally slower than other quarters, even for the
biggest tech companies, as it follows the rush of people buying lots of products
during the holiday period. It's generally a slower period in general for product
releases across tech and gaming. Also, let's not forget the GPU shortage is
still happening. Nvidia reiterated that sparse supply will continue through the
next quarter, but that's likely factored into its rosy revenue prediction.
Nvidia says it expects most of that $5 billion revenue estimate in Q1 2022 to
come from the gaming market, despite being the segment it's currently having the
oughest time serving. Since the launch of the RTX 30-series desktop graphics
cards, leading with the RTX 3080, 3090, 3070, and followed by other products,
Nvidia hasn't been able to meet the demand -- though it's not the only company
affected. AMD has also struggled, perhaps more than Nvidia, to keep a steady
stock of graphics cards heading to retailers.
URI # iRobot Says It'll Be a Few Weeks Until It Can Clean Up Its Latest Roomba Software Update Mess
iRobot, maker of the robotic Roomba vacuums, has confirmed that a software
update has been causing issues for some users of its i7 and s9 robots and that
it's working on another one to prevent future issues. The catch? It might be
a bit before things get sorted out, with iRobot expecting the update to roll
out "over the next several weeks." From a report: According to users on Reddit
and Twitter, the recent 3.12.8 firmware update has been causing navigation
issues. One user described their robot cleaner as acting "drunk" after the
update: spinning itself around and bumping into furniture, cleaning in strange
patterns, getting stuck in an empty area, and not being able to make it home to
he dock. What's more, some other users are reporting that the environment maps
heir Roombas made were wiped out by the update.
URI # Toshiba Unveils World's First FC-MAMR HDD: 18 TB, Helium Filled
Toshiba this week announced the industry's first hard drive featuring
flux-control microwave-assisted magnetic recording (FC-MAMR) technology. The
new MG09-series HDDs are designed primarily for nearline and enterprise
applications, they offer an 18 TB capacity along with an ultra-low idle power
consumption. From a report: The Toshiba MG09-series 3.5-inch 18 TB HDD are
based on the company's 3rd generation nine-platter helium sealed platform that
features 18 heads with a microwave-emitting component which changes magnetic
coercivity of the platters before writing data. The HD disks are made by Showa
Denko K.K. (SDK), a long-time partner of Toshiba. Each aluminum platter is
about 0.635 mm thick, it features an areal density of around 1.5 Tb/inch2 and
can store up to 2 TB of data. The MG09 family also includes a 16 TB model which
presumably features a lower number of platters (based on the same performance
rating).
For modern enterprise and nearline 3.5-inch HDDs, Toshiba's MG09-series drives
uses a motor with a 7200-RPM spindle speed. The HDDs are also equipped with
a 512 MB buffer and are rated for a 281 MB/s maximum sustained data transfer
rate. Unfortunately, Toshiba has not updated the random access performance
of the new products, though it is likely that their per-TB IOPS performance
is lower when compared to predecessors. The manufacturer will offer its new
drives both with SATA 3.3 (6 Gbps) and SAS 3.0 (12 Gbps) interfaces as well as a
selection of logical data block length.
One of the noteworthy things about Toshiba's MG09-series FC-MAMR HDDs is their
power consumption. In active idle mode, they typically consume 4.16/4.54 Watts
(SATA/SAS models), which is considerably lower when compared with Seagate's Exos
X18 as well as Western Digital's Ultrastar DC HC550. As far as power consumption
efficiency at idle (large hard drives could spend plenty of time idling) is
concerned, the 18 TB MG09 is an undeniable champion consuming just 0.23 Watts
per TB (in case of the SATA version). Meanwhile, the new drives are rated for
8.35/8.74 Watts (SATA/SAS SKUs) during read/write operations, which is higher
when compared to the DC HC550 as well as predecessors from the MG07 and the
MG08-series.