If your account is set up properly and you have a phone that supports it, Google will automatically enroll you in its two-step verification system. On iOS and Android, it sends a prompt to your phone, just to make sure it's really you logging in. It's easier to use than generating a code or carrying around a physical key, and more secure than sending a text message. If you hadn't already set up the prompt, expect to see it soon.
According to internal emails from the Epic vs. Apple court case.
Before Netflix dropped in-app purchases on the iOS Store, Apple really tried to convince the streaming company to keep the option. Netflix abandoned in-app iOS Store purchases in December of 2018, but that decision was still in the planning stages when the emails circulated in early 2018. Netflix was concerned that users who signed up for Netflix on iOS had a tendency to cancel more often than when they joined on Netflix's website or other ways — not to mention that 30 percent cut that Apple was taking.
By July 2018, Apple had created a presentation meant to sway the streamer in favor of keeping in-app purchases. It highlighted all of the promotion work it did for Netflix and noted its advertising had boosted downloads by up to seven percent. But Netflix dropped in-app subscriptions anyway. Continue reading.
It also took some knocks about its own Xbox Store restrictions.
And Epic and Apple's legal battle continues to offer insights into cross-company interactions. Microsoft testified at the trial yesterday, as a witness for Epic, and explained how iOS rules essentially blocked its xCloud gaming service. Microsoft argued that other apps, like Netflix and Shadow (a Windows 10 PC simulator), offered similar "interactive" functionality to xCloud, yet were not barred from the store. It eventually gave up on getting xCloud on the App Store and instead released an iOS web browser version in beta. However, Microsoft's business development head, Lori Wright, noted that on iPhones all the gameplay is through the App Store and that people rarely play games on the browser on an iPhone. Continue reading.
After narrowing down a list of 12 finalists, The Strong National Museum of Play has inducted four new titles to its World Video Game Hall of Fame. In order of release, they are 1982's Microsoft Flight Simulator, 1985's Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, 1998's StarCraft and2001's Animal Crossing. They beat the likes of the original Call of Duty, Portal, Guitar Hero and FarmVille this year. Anyone can nominate a game, but a panel of journalists and video game historians helps the museum make its final decision each year. Both Flight Simulator and Animal Crossing have experienced recent boosts in popularity, with new titles expanding each series — and attracting new fans. Continue reading.
Twitter just introduced its long-rumored in-app tipping feature. Some users can now add a tip jar to their profile, so other users can pay them without leaving the app. Twitter says for now it's making the feature available to "a limited group of people around the world who use Twitter in English," including creators, journalists, nonprofits and other influential users.
Accounts can be connected to Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, PayPal and Venmo. And, notably, Twitter doesn't take a cut from users' tips. Continue reading.
Facebook is introducing several new features to its suite of messaging apps. There are now inbox-seen states in Instagram, so you'll know if the person you recently messaged has seen your DM, making it easier to find out if your friend — or online crush — is ghosting you.
Some of the updates are even simpler, like swipe to archive gestures in Messenger to make hiding old chats easier. The next time you send a voice memo to a friend over Messenger, you won't have to hold the record button. Instead, all you need to do is tap the mic icon. This will also, eventually, come to Instagram, too. Continue reading.
Both versions come with an integrated cockpit for your phone.
Cowboy's fourth-generation urban electric bike has landed, and this one comes in two frames. While the standard Cowboy 4 looks like its predecessors, the C4 ST version is a step-through model with an upright riding position meant to attract a broader audience looking for a more comfortable ride. In short, a lower top tube makes it easier to mount.
Both models have 50 percent more torque than their predecessors. A new integrated cockpit has an easy smartphone mount, so you can use the company's app or any other navigation app. Docking your phone in the cockpit will wirelessly recharge it, too, using the bike's battery, perfect for extended map app use. The C4 and C4 ST both have a range of 70 KM (around 43 miles) and are now available for pre-order from Cowboy's website, with shipping due in September. Continue reading.
If you were left cold by the PlayStation 5-themed sneakers that broke cover earlier this week, maybe you need Adidas' 3D-printed 4DFWD, the latest model from its running division. Created in partnership with 3D printing company Carbon, Adidas' 4D bowtie-lattice pattern is designed to turn the vertical forces of your feet into forward motion.
The company says it should generate "three times as much forward motion under vertical loading." Energy savings for you, and at least a little environmental savings in the process: The lattice is made of 39-percent bio-based material, while the fabric Primeknit upper is recycled polyester. It might not be as good as Adidas' Parley sneakers (with an upper made of 95 percent ocean plastic), but it's at least a little better.
Elon Musk took time out of 'Saturday Night Live' prep to tweet about the 'nominal' landing.
The last Starship high-altitude test went to pieces before the vehicle started its return to the ground, but the SN15 prototype launched, flipped in the air and landed — all without exploding. It's the first of SpaceX's prototypes to clear that bar, and while there was a small fire visible after it landed, the fact that it is still standing is more than enough. Continue reading.
Mobile devices with 2nm-based processors could have batteries that last four times longer.
IBM says it has squeezed 50 billion transistors on a chip the size of your fingernail. The architecture can help processor makers deliver a 45 percent performance boost with the same amount of power as current 7nm-based chips — the same level of performance using 75 percent less energy, according to IBM. Continue reading.
But says the indefinite suspension was outside of Facebook's power.
Facebook's Oversight Board, formed to rule on issues around moderation policy, has decided to offer qualified support for the suspension handed down to former US President Donald Trump. In a statement, the board said it was "justified" in restricting access to his account, but the "indeterminate and standardless penalty" was not. It said Facebook can't simply decide to permanently ban a user without a policy explaining why.
The Oversight Board also called for Facebook to conduct a "comprehensive review" of its contribution to the narrative of electoral fraud. It added: "This should be an open reflection on the design and policy choices that Facebook has made that may allow its platform to be abused." Continue reading.
Peloton has agreed to voluntary recalls for the Tread and Tread+ treadmills in the US and Canada. The company reached the agreements with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) following injuries and a death.
The recall of Tread+ devices (Peloton's first treadmill) follows more than 70 incidents of people, pets and/or objects being pulled under Tread+, according to CPSC. Those include 29 reports of injuries to children, such as second- and third-degree abrasions and broken bones. The recall for the newer Tread machines has been issued because the touchscreen can detach and fall, possibly causing injury.
In a statement, Peloton CEO John Foley said "I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize." Continue reading.
Nintendo sold 4.73 million Switch consoles last quarter, almost doubling its own forecasts. It ended up shipping 28.83 million consoles over the last year, beating its own expectations by over 2 million. In short, the Switch is doing very, very well.
It has now outsold the lifetime sales of the Game Boy Advance and should surpass the Wii next year. Well, as long as supply chain wrinkles don't ruin its run. Nintendo says that semiconductor shortages could create "obstacles to the procurement of parts." And remember, there's that next-gen Switch approaching. Continue reading.
He estimated that 60 percent of employees will work onsite a few days a week.
In an expansion of a pilot that started in December, most Google employees will spend approximately three days working out of the office and the other two "wherever they work best." How that split works out in practice will depend on a worker's product focus and the team they're a part of.
Additionally, Google will offer more opportunities for employees to move around. By mid-June, it will introduce a process to allow staff to apply to work from a different office. What's more, all employees will have the chance to work up to four weeks away from their assigned office. Google also plans to develop more remote roles and even teams made entirely of people in different places.
In a blog post, Pichai also mentioned Google's work "testing new multi-purpose offices and private workspaces, and working with teams to develop advanced video technology that creates greater equity between employees in the office and those joining virtually." Continue reading.
It's amazing that the Star Wars juggernaut (enabled by the Disney industrial complex) has managed to ringfence one entire day each year to peddle new shows, movies, toys and the rest. If you survived yesterday without seeing Gandalf doing the Spock salute with some white text saying May The Fourth Be With You, you're living a better life than me.
Sneering aside, I got something out of May 4th — the briefest glimpse of a 'working' lightsaber that extends and retracts a blade of what looks like light. The device definitely looks far more expensive than my double-edged Dark Maul saber from 1999, and there doesn't appear to be a plastic tube in sight. Patents unearthed after Disney showed off the saber suggest the blade is composed of LED-illuminated plastic, bright enough to obscure the fact it isn't actually a laser that could cut a robot in half.
The saber will feature first in an immersive two-day hotel experience at the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser luxury hotel.
There are also Star Wars-themed Instant Pots on sale and our thoughts on the first episode of the new animated series, The Bad Batch. That should be enough until next year.
Apple has hired Google AI veteran Samy Bengio, who was among the company's most prominent employees to quit amid the fallout from its firing of two women researchers. Bengio will reportedly lead a new AI research unit at Apple. Bengio left Google last week after 14 years following the company's controversialdismissal of two ethical AI co-leads who reported to him. They had separately warned of the dangers of large language models and algorithmic bias. Bengio won't be alone as Google alumni: Apple has plucked several AI experts over the past few years, including John Giannandrea, who Bengio will report to. Continue reading.
There's no Google Store listing for the new buds, yet.
The official Android Twitter account just revealed some previously unannounced new audio hardware, by tweeting (and then deleting) a post about the Pixel Buds A-Series. The post itself didn't say much about the new earbuds other than they include Google's new fast Bluetooth pairing experience, which first appeared on Fitbit's Luxe wearable. (Fitbit is now owned by Google.) The last generation of Pixel Buds weren't particularly sluggish at pairing, so hopefully there are some other improvements — or perhaps that 'A' designation will mean a cheaper price. Expect to hear more at Google I/O, which kicks off May 18th. Continue reading.
Mere hours before Facebook's Oversight Board announced its ruling on whether or not it will allow the former president back on to its platform, Trump seized the initiative and unveiled a brand new communications platform of his very own. Take that, Big Social Media!
Behold the awesome golden glory of From the Desk of Donald J. Trump, a whole entire web page dedicated to giving Trump what he so desperately desires: somewhere on the internet to complain about how the rest of the internet is so mean and unfair to him. If you don't feel like clicking through, then know it's just like every other blog you've seen for the last 20 years, filled with tweet-length posts that Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey can't delete even if they wanted to. Continue reading.
The LA Clippers star wore them in a game on Tuesday night.
Following an Instagram leak in March, Paul George and Nike officially unveiled the white PlayStation 5 colorway of his PG 5 signature sneaker. Nike and Sony designers worked together to develop the shoe before the PS5 had been unveiled and without Nike actually seeing it.
As such, they relied on SIE Art Director Yujin Morisawa's "artistic vision and creative ethos" for the PS5 to inspire the shoes, which feature PlayStation shapes along the upper and references to the PS5's design on the upper and outsoles. In "select" global regions, you may be able to snag a pair starting on May 14th, and they'll be released in North America on May 27th. They will go on sale via Nike.com, the SNKRS app and at certain retail locations for $120. Continue reading.
After a lengthy four years of support for Android updates, Samsung's Galaxy S8 series (circa 2017) is being put out to pasture. What's notable is just how long Samsung has pumped out security updates for the phones, longer than even Google does for its own Pixel devices. If you're still carrying an S8 — and are cautious on security — it might be time to upgrade. Continue reading.
"Best Shape of My Life" leads YouTube's new original lineup.
Will Smith will helm a new YouTube original series about how he got fit mid-life, facing all the relatable struggles of keeping in shape when you're a wealthy celebrity with lots of money, free time and connections. Hopefully, Smith's charm should help assuage some of our cynicism. But probably not all of it. Continue reading.