Innholdsfortegnelse for #494 i Techlife News

The tiny red hearts that appear under Instagram photos of kids, kittens and sandwiches can be a source of stress for many users, an insidious way of measuring self worth and popularity. Now Facebook says it’s going to test out — again — an option for users to hide those “like” counts to see if it can reduce the pressure of being on social media. Instagram, which Facebook owns, will soon allow a small group of random users to decide whether or not they want to see the number of likes their posts and those of others receive. The social media giant says it’s also exploring the feature for Facebook. Comments will still be available for people who chose to hide likes — they just won’t see whether it was…

The Google Earth app is adding a new video feature that draws upon nearly four decades of satellite imagery to vividly illustrate how climate change has affected glaciers, beaches, forests and other places around the world. The tool unveiled Thursday is rolling out in what is being billed as the biggest update to Google Earth in five years. Google says it undertook the complex project in partnership with several government agencies, including NASA in the U.S. and its European counterpart, in hopes that it will help a mass audience grasp the sometimes abstract concept of climate change in more tangible terms through its free Earth app. Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald believes that mission may be accomplished. “This is amazing,” she told The Associated Press after watching a preview…

Newly vaccinated and armed with $1,400 stimulus checks, Americans went on a spending spree last month, buying new clothes and going out to eat again. Retail sales surged a seasonally adjusted 9.8% in March after dropping about 3% the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The increase was the biggest since May of last year, when stores reopened after closing at the start of the pandemic. It was also much larger than the 5.5% increase Wall Street analysts had expected. Thursday’s report, which covers about a third of overall consumer spending, is the latest sign that the economy is improving as vaccinations accelerate, business restrictions are relaxed and more people are willing to head out to shop or eat. Employers, for example, added 916,000 jobs last month, the most…

President Joe Biden has selected two former senior National Security Agency officials for key cyber jobs in his administration, the White House said in moving to fill out a team whose role has grown more urgent after two major hacks that have consumed the government’s attention. Chris Inglis, a former NSA deputy director, is being nominated as the government’s first national cyber director. Jen Easterly, a former deputy for counterterrorism at the NSA, has been tapped to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security. The two officials are expected to work closely with Anne Neuberger, the administration’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. The cyber director position, a job established by federal law and long championed by lawmakers and outside experts,…

As the U.S. economy rebounds from its pandemic slump, a vital cog is in short supply: the computer chips that power a wide range of products that connect, transport and entertain us in a world increasingly dependent on technology. The shortage has already been rippling through various markets since last summer. It has made it difficult for schools to buy enough laptops for students forced to learn from home, delayed the release of popular products such as the iPhone 12 and created mad scrambles to find the latest video game consoles such as the PlayStation 5. But things have been getting even worse in recent weeks, particularly in the auto industry, where factories are shutting down because there aren’t enough chips to finish building vehicles that are starting to look…

New vehicles are brimming with technology that can enhance convenience, connectivity and driver safety. But the tech can also be unfamiliar to car shoppers, especially those who haven’t purchased a vehicle in the past five years or more. This poses a problem when it comes to the traditional test drive. It’s one thing to evaluate familiar vehicle attributes such as acceleration or seat comfort. But how can you evaluate these new gadgets in the typical 15- to 20-minute test drive if you don’t quite know what they do or what to look for? With this in mind, experts share some of their car technology evaluation techniques and show you how to safely learn and test these features during your test drive. ASK FOR MORE TIME During a dealership test drive,…

The U.S. recommended a “pause” in use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, setting off a chain reaction worldwide and dealing a setback to the global vaccination campaign. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced that they were looking into unusual clots in six women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died. The acting FDA commissioner expected the pause to last only a matter of days. But the decision triggered swift action in Europe and elsewhere as the drugmaker, regulators and providers moved to halt the use of the J&J vaccine, at least for now. J&J said in a statement that it was aware of the reports of…

Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company, Grab Holdings, said this week that it plans to merge with U.S.-based Altimeter Growth Capital in a deal that would value it at nearly $40 billion and allow it to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market. That would make it the largest SPAC merger ever, more than double current record-holder United Wholesale Mortgage’s $16 billion merger in January. The deal is the latest milestone in the booming business of SPACs, as investors race to find the next hot, young company when stock prices of big, established companies are already at records. SPAC stands for “special purpose acquisition company,” but they are often better known as “blank-check companies.”With a SPAC, investors plug in cash and then wait for it to find a privately held company to…

Nintendo’s late president Satoru Iwata oversaw the video-game maker’s global growth as Super Mario and Pokemon became household names. “Ask Iwata” was published after his death from cancer in 2015 at age 55. This month, VIZ Media is publishing the English translation of the book, which came out in Japanese in 2019. “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer,” Iwata once said, one of many quotes that stand out in the book. Throughout the book, Iwata outlines his vision for Nintendo Co., which was to offer entertainment that everyone in the family could enjoy, regardless of age, gender and game playing skills. The company culture he fostered encouraged individual game creators, showing…

Coinbase made a rousing debut on Wall Street Wednesday, with shares of the digital currency exchange rising as high as $429, briefly giving it a market value over $100 billion. Coinbase Global Inc.’s initial public offering happened with cryptocurrency chatter seemingly everywhere, even at the U.S. Federal Reserve. Digital currencies are being incorporated into business plans and accepted for payment by major corporations like Tesla, PayPal and Visa. The San Francisco-based company’s listing on a public stock exchange is seen by some as an inflection point for digital currencies, as Coinbase’s fortunes are closely tied to Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s price topped $64,000 on Wednesday, up from $29,000 at the start of the year, and Coinbase said recently that first-quarter revenue should total around $1.8 billion, exceeding its…

Right down to its production design, the Oscars have not always felt like the most welcoming place for the disabled. “I’ve always seen that stage with its stairs as a symbol that they don’t expect people who had mobility issues to be nominated or to win an award,” said Jim LeBrecht, the co-director and costar of the Oscar-nominated documentary “ Crip Camp.”“It’s always been this kind of negative tacit statement.” This year shows signs of change. LeBrecht, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, will attend the April 25 ceremony. So will Robert Tarango, the deaf-blind star of the nominated short, “ Feeling Through.” The victors’ podium will be accessible for both. And LeBrecht hopes that will become a permanent change, both literally and figuratively. The two films, along…

Delta Air Lines lost $1.2 billion in the first quarter, more than expected, but executives said Thursday that the airline could be profitable by late summer if the budding recovery in air travel continues. CEO Ed Bastian said Thursday that ticket sales have been stronger in the last two weeks than at any time since the pandemic hit the U.S. last year. So far most of the people boarding planes are vacationers booking trips to mountains, beaches and resorts. The increase in passengers, combined with lower costs for labor and fuel, helped Delta generate $4 million in cash per day in March after burning cash for the past year. “It’s clear that our business is turning the corner and we’re moving into an active recovery phase,” Bastian said in an…

Over the past decade, Apple has revolutionized personal technology with the iPhone and iPad, but the Mac range has seen stunted growth as a result. As the giant pivots towards its personal computing arm once more with the launch of the M1 chip, it’s time to prepare for innovations that could change the way you work for years to come. CHANGING TIMES FOR THE MAC For the fiscal year that ended September 26, 2020, Apple posted a net profit of $57.4 billion on revenue of $274.5 billion, meaning the company managed to maintain an average sales growth of 23 percent over almost two decades. Fueled by the launch and success of the iPhone as well as the iPad and more recently Apple Watch, the company has taken a major change…

Facebook is showing different job ads to women and men in a way that might run afoul of anti-discrimination laws, according to a new study. University of Southern California researchers who examined the ad-delivery algorithms of Facebook and LinkedIn found that Facebook’s were skewed by gender beyond what can be legally justified by differences in job qualifications. Men were more likely to see Domino’s pizza delivery driver job ads on Facebook, while women were more likely to see Instacart shopper ads. The trend also held in higher-paying engineering jobs at tech firms like Netflix and chipmaker Nvidia. A higher fraction of women saw the Netflix ads than the Nvidia ads, which parallels the gender breakdown in each company’s workforce. No evidence was found of similar bias in the job ads…

The main character of Oliver Hermanus’ shattering “Moffie,” set in 1981 South Africa, is a handsome, white 18-year-old. In the country’s system of apartheid, he is a member of the ruling class, but he’s no insider. Shy, timid and closeted, Nicholas van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) is conscripted into the army as part of regulated military service for white males over 16. There, the film’s title — an Afrikaans’ anti-gay slur — isn’t directed at him but it’s hurled all around — an ever-present threat of ostracism and abuse. In brutal basic training, it’s as if bullets are already flying perilously close to Nicholas. But “Moffie,” which opens in theaters and on-demand Friday, is more than a coming-of-age story about a young gay man in an unprogressive society. In…

Uber is offering sign-up bonuses and other incentives for drivers as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery. The San Francisco ride-hailing company said that total monthly bookings, including food delivery and passenger service, reached an all-time high in March. In a government filing, the company said demand for ride-hailing, which plunged during coronavirus lockdowns last year, has recovered more quickly than expected as daily COVID-19 vaccinations exceed 3 million per day in the U.S. Some people are still avoiding public transportation out of infection fears, potentially boosting demand for services like Uber and Lyft further. Passenger bookings last month reached the highest level since last March, when spiking infection rates began to shut the country down. Bookings last month hit an annual run rate of $30 billion.…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attacked YouTube and its parent company Google, accusing the tech giant of censorship for its decision last week to remove from its platform video of a coronavirus discussion he organized where his panel criticized lockdowns and some mask wearing as ineffective. DeSantis said YouTube’s contention that video of the March 18 panel violates its ban on the posting of disinformation is an attempt to stifle dissent against the federal government’s pandemic response. That discussion included Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist who was a coronavirus adviser to former President Donald Trump, and other physicians who support DeSantis’ decision to open Florida’s economy with few restrictions. The attack is part of a bigger war DeSantis and other Republicans are waging against social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter,…

In line with its ambition to make Europe a greener place, the European Union wants to drastically reduce gas emission from transport by 2050 and promote electric cars. But according to a report from the bloc’s external auditor, it is lacking the appropriate charging stations. “Last year, one in every ten cars sold in the EU was electrically chargeable, but charging infrastructure is unevenly accessible across the EU,” said Ladislav Balko, the member of the European Court of Auditors in charge of the report published Tuesday. “We think that the Commission should do more to support EU-wide network coverage, and ensure that funding goes where it is most needed.” Transport accounts for about 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. The bloc has set itself the goal to…

Walmart and some institutional investors have joined the latest investment in Cruise, bumping the capital influx into the General Motors autonomous vehicle subsidiary from over $2 billion to $2.75 billion. Walmart and Cruise announced a partnership last fall to launch a self-driving delivery test in Phoenix. “The investment will aid our work towards developing a last mile delivery ecosystem that’s fast, low-cost and scalable,”Walmart CEO John Furner said in a statement. Honda and Microsoft are among other investors with a a stake in Cruise. Furner said Cruise’s fleet of all-electric vehicles will help Walmart reach a goal of zero emissions by 2040. San Francisco-based Cruise said the investment brings its valuation to over $30 billion. Some investment analysts have encouraged GM to spin off the majority-owned subsidiary as a separate…

Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation.” The letter, published Wednesday in The New York Times and The Washington Post, was signed by companies including Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Bank of America, and individuals such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, plus law firms and nonprofit groups. It was the largest group yet to join protests against Republican efforts to change election rules in states around the country. “Voting is the lifeblood of our democracy and we call upon all Americans to join us in taking a nonpartisan stand for this most basic and fundamental right of all Americans,” the letter reads. “We all should feel a…

Microsoft, on an accelerated growth push, is buying speech recognition company Nuance in a deal worth about $16 billion. The acquisition will get Microsoft deeper into hospitals and the health care industry through Nuance’s widely used medical dictation and transcription tools. Microsoft will pay $56 per share cash. That’s a 23% premium to Nuance’s Friday closing price. The companies value the transaction including debt at $19.7 billion. Shares of Burlington, Massachusetts-based Nuance surged about 16% in Monday trading. Nuance has been a pioneer in voice-based artificial intelligence technology and was instrumental in helping to power Apple’s digital assistant Siri. It has since shifted its focus to health care, including a product that listens in on exam room conversations between physicians and patients and automatically writes up the doctor’s recommendations, such…

President Joe Biden used a virtual meeting with corporate leaders about a global shortage of semiconductors to push for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, telling them that the U.S. should be the world’s computer chip leader. “We need to build the infrastructure of today, not repair the one of yesterday,” he told the group of 19 executives from the technology, chip and automotive industries. “China and the rest of the world is not waiting and there’s no reason why Americans should wait.” He said the country hasn’t made big investments to stay ahead of global competitors, and it needs to step up its game. Biden made an appearance at the meeting between administration officials and company leaders held to discuss developing a stronger U.S. computer chip supply chain. The meeting…

Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board said this week that it will start letting users file appeals over posts, photos, and videos that they think the company shouldn’t have allowed to stay on its platforms. The board said it will accept cases from users who object to content posted by others and who have already exhausted Facebook’s appeals process. Until now, users could only appeal to the Oversight Board when their own content was taken down by Facebook. The company is able to refer cases on its own to the board. “Enabling users to appeal content they want to see removed from Facebook is a significant expansion of the Oversight Board’s capabilities,” Thomas Hughes, director of the Oversight Board Administration, said in a statement. Facebook set up the oversight panel last year…

The most surprising thing about “ Voyagers,” a scifi thriller about a group of young adults who have been tasked with travelling to and repopulating a new planet, is that it isn’t based on a Young Adult book series. Writer and director Neil Burger, who was also behind the “Divergent” films apparently decided to cut out the Intellectual Property middleman and make his own YA statement. That said, it does borrow heavily from quite a few other sources, with shades of “Lord of the Flies,”“The Giver,”“Ender’s Game,”“Euphoria” and any number of space madness films. With a cast including Lily-Rose Depp, Tye Sheridan, Fionn Whitehead, Chante Adams, Archie Madekwe and Quintessa Swindell, nice-looking production design and a fast-moving plot, it’s a very watchable film. It also unfortunately suffers from the same…

Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said this week they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one company to move ahead with plans to manufacture batteries in Georgia. President Joe Biden called it “a win for American workers and the American auto industry.” The agreement between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation ended the need for Biden to intervene in a case closely watched for its implications on Biden’s clean-energy agenda, which includes a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles as part of his plan to address climate change, following a ruling in February by a trade commission. The companies said in a joint statement that SK will provide LG Energy with a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. They agreed…

In 2020, I was looking forward to leaving Los Angeles for a socially distanced vacation in San Diego. I had stocked up on food, hand sanitizer, wipes and masks. To stay safe and distant, I had booked two cottages near the beach with my travel credit card. My friend and his significant other would stay in one, and my roommate and I would take the other. That was the plan, until one friend tested positive for the coronavirus and had to isolate at home. When the unexpected happens, a credit card’s trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance may help you recover the cost of nonrefundable expenses. In my case, trip cancellation insurance saved me $1,388. As you make travel plans in the vaccination era, get to know how these benefits…

Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators for anticompetitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China’s biggest internet companies, which are expanding into finance, health services and other sensitive areas. The party says antimonopoly enforcement, especially in tech, is a priority this year. Alibaba was fined for “abusing its dominant position” to limit competition by retailers that use its platforms and hindering “free circulation” of goods, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced. It said the fine was equal to 4% of its total 2019 sales of 455.712 billion yuan ($69.5 billion). “Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination,” the company…