Innholdsfortegnelse for #533 i Techlife News

More than 80 fact checking organizations are calling on YouTube to address what they say is rampant misinformation on the platform. In a letter to CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday, the groups say the Google-owned video platform is “one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide.” YouTube’s efforts to address the problem, they say, are proving insufficient. “What we do not see is much effort by YouTube to implement policies that address the problem,” the letter says. “On the contrary, YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and fundraise themselves.” The problem, these groups said, is especially rampant in non-English speaking countries and the global south. The fact checkers are all members of the International…

Honda expects its factories to make more vehicles this year despite a computer chip shortage and supply chain troubles. But because it’s starting the year with so few vehicles at dealers, the company expects U.S. sales to fall below last year’s numbers. The company expects U.S. new vehicle prices to ease a bit from the record of more than $46,000 in December as automakers increase production, but Executive Vice President of National Operations Dave Gardner said prices won’t fall to where they were before the pandemic. A shortage of new vehicles brought on by the global chip shortage has forced Honda and other automakers to cut factory production at a time when demand is strong. That has crimped the supply of new vehicles, in some cases driving prices higher than…

During the first several months of the pandemic in the U.S., Dina Levy made her young daughter and son go on walks with her three times a day. They kicked a soccer ball around at the nearby high school. The children, then 11 and 8, created an obstacle course out of chalk and the three timed each other running through it. They also ate all their meals together. Levy is among scores of parents who indicated in a new survey from the U.S. Census Bureau that they spent more time eating, reading and playing with their children from March 2020 to June of 2020, when coronavirus-lockdowns were at their most intense, than they had in previous years. “With school and work, you split up and go your own way for…

The company that plans to develop a nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota has made a major supply deal with Tesla, the electric vehicle maker. Tesla has committed to purchasing 75,000 metric tons of nickel concentrate over six years from Talon Metals’ planned mine in Tamarack, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Duluth. Talon hopes to open the mine by January 2026, but has not yet started the permitting process. Nickel is a key ingredient of electric vehicle batteries. “This agreement is the start of an innovative partnership between Tesla and Talon for the responsible production of battery materials directly from the mine to the battery cathode,”Talon’s CEO, Henri van Rooyen, said in a statement. Tesla would claim more than half of the mine’s production of nickel concentrate,…

2021 was an unusual year for the automotive industry. While customer demand for new cars rebounded from the economic uncertainty of 2020, automakers found themselves unable to meet that demand because of semiconductor chip shortages and supply chain problems. So what should car shoppers expect for 2022? Much of the same, unfortunately. “Competition for new vehicles will be fierce as inventory shortages persist in 2022,” said Ivan Drury, senior manager. Shoppers today must contend with a limited selection, dealership markups, little to no discounts, and a greater sense of urgency to move quickly on a deal. With this in mind, here are five ways that car buying has changed, along with a few tips on how to manage it. ONGOING VEHICLE SHORTAGE MEANS HIGHER PRICES Vehicles that make their way…

Streaming services such as Apple Music and Tidal, both of which have been present since 2015, are well-known for the exclusive content they offer. The average listener, though, may not know so much about the two platforms. For that reason, we’re comparing them. OFFLINE LISTENING AND LIBRARIES All premium subscriptions to Apple Music and Tidal provide you access to a massive song catalog. No matter which service offers more content (Apple Music has 50 million songs, whilst Tidal customers have access to over 57 million), both allow you to build up a substantial music library. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PLANS If you live in the United States, you’ll pay $9.99 per month for an individual Apple Music subscription. You then have access to all of Apple’s music and video content, new releases,…

It’s always a little suspect when too much is made of a big action movie being “female-fronted.” Unfortunately, Hollywood has decided lately that in course correcting for decades of gender inequity in certain genres that it’s not enough to just make an action-packed movie starring more than one woman: They must let the audience know that they know that this is A Girl Power Moment. And frankly, whether it’s the lady Avengers assembling in “Infinity War,” a montage of Girls Doing Sports and Science in the latest “Charlie’s Angels,” or all of “Ocean’s 8,” it’s never not insulting to its purported audience. There have been subtler, cleverer and just plain better efforts at bringing women to the forefront of so-called male genres (from “Widows” to “Spy”), but it’s hard not…

NASA’s new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday (08), the final step in the observatory’s dramatic unfurling. The last portion of the 21-foot (6.5-meter) mirror swung into place at flight controllers’ command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope. “I’m emotional about it. What an amazing milestone. We see that beautiful pattern out there in the sky now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, chief of NASA’s science missions. More powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, the $10 billion Webb will scan the cosmos for light streaming from the first stars and galaxies formed 13.7 billion years ago. To accomplish this, NASA had to outfit Webb with the largest and most sensitive mirror ever launched — its “golden eye,” as scientists call it. Webb is so big that…

President Joe Biden faces a steep path to achieve his ambitious goal of slashing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, amid legislative gridlock that has stalled a $2 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives. Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which contains $550 billion in spending and tax credits aimed at promoting clean energy, was sidetracked by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who said just before Christmas that he could not support the legislation as written. Democrats insist they are moving forward on the sweeping package, which also would bolster family services, health care and other programs. Manchin signaled in recent days that climate-related provisions were unlikely to be a deal-breaker, but the bill has taken a back seat to voting rights legislation and other Democratic…

Amazon plans to open a new warehouse in central Indiana this year that the online retail giant says will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area. Amazon is leasing the 510,000-square-foot (47,380-square-meter) warehouse along Interstate 65 in Franklin, about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) south of Indianapolis. The Seattle-based company said Wednesday in a news release that the new sorting and shipping warehouse will bring operations close to area customers and create “hundreds” of jobs in Franklin. Mayor Steve Barnett said the exact number of expected jobs has not yet been shared with the city, the Daily Journal reported. City officials said the warehouse will receive inventory and workers will sort and ship orders. The average starting wage will be $18 per hour, said Kyle DeGiulio, regional economic development manager…

The Biden administration said it will hold its first offshore wind auction next month, offering nearly 500,000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey for wind energy projects that could produce enough electricity to power nearly 2 million homes. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the Feb. 23 auction in the New York Bight region will allow offshore wind developers to bid on six lease areas, the most ever offered in an auction for offshore wind energy projects. “The Biden-Harris administration has made tackling the climate crisis a centerpiece of our agenda, and offshore wind opportunities like the New York Bight present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fight climate change and create good-paying, union jobs in the United States,” Haaland said. The auction comes after the administration announced a…

Boeing finished 2021 far behind European rival Airbus in deliveries of new aircraft, but sales bounced back after two dismal years caused by the 737 Max crashes and the pandemic. Boeing said that it delivered 38 commercial planes in December and 340 for all of 2021, nearly double the total for 2020. However, Airbus reported that it made 611 deliveries in 2021, topping Boeing for a third straight year. Boeing was hindered by production flaws that prevented shipments of its 787 Dreamliner for most of 2021. Deliveries are bigger than bragging rights — they are an important source of cash for the companies because airlines typically pay a large portion of the purchase price when they take possession of a new plane. Boeing also said that orders jumped to their…

Cyberthreats and the growing space race are emerging risks to the global economy, adding to existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum said in a report this week. The Global Risks Report is usually released ahead of the annual elite winter gathering of CEOs and world leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, but the event has been postponed for a second year in a row because of COVID-19. The World Economic Forum still plans some virtual sessions next week. Here’s a rundown of the report, which is based on a survey of about 1,000 experts and leaders: WORLD OUTLOOK As 2022 begins, the pandemic and its economic and societal impact still pose a “critical threat” to the world, the report said.…

A federal labor board said that Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, will vote by mail next month in a re-run election to decide whether or not to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board said that the ballots will be mailed out Feb. 4 and must be returned before the counting starts on March 28. The move comes roughly a month and a half after the board ordered a new union election for Amazon workers based on objections by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union to the first vote that took place in April. The move was a blow to Amazon.com Inc., which spent about a year aggressively campaigning for warehouse workers in Bessemer to reject the union, which they ultimately did by a wide margin. In a 20-page decision,…

The Oscar race may be missing in-person glitz this year, but it doesn’t lack for star power. Will Smith, Lady Gaga and Ben Affleck landed individual nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday, while the casts of “Belfast” and “CODA” were among those nominated for the guild’s top award, best ensemble. The nominees were announced Wednesday by actors Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson on Instagram Live. While the nominations were conducted virtually due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the streamed announcement still represented one of the most meaningful mornings in an awards season largely snuffed out by the pandemic. Joining Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast” and the coming-of-age drama “CODA” for best ensemble were the casts for Ridley Scott’s true-tale, high-camp “House of Gucci,” Adam McKay’s apocalypse…

The third straight Pixar feature film will go straight to Disney+, the Walt Disney Co. announced. “Turning Red” will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on March 11, the studio said. Kareem Daniel, chairman of distribution for Disney, cited the pandemic and the slower recovery for family films at the box office. “Given the delayed box office recovery, particularly for family films, flexibility remains at the core of our distribution decisions,” said Daniel in a statement. The last two Pixar releases, “Soul” and “Luca,” also went straight to streaming during the pandemic. Before that, “Onward” launched in theaters in early March 2020, just as the pandemic forced theaters closed. It soon after began streaming to Disney+. Disney describes “Turning Red” as the story of “a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her…

Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. A family of four, for instance, could be reimbursed for up to 32 tests per month. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be fully covered by insurance with no limit. President Joe Biden faced criticism over…

Delta Air Lines lost $408 million in the final quarter of 2021, dragged down by a COVID-19 surge that rocked the airline in December, and the carrier predicted Thursday that it will suffer one more quarterly loss before travel perks up in spring and summer. CEO Ed Bastian said 8,000 employees have contracted COVID-19 over the last four weeks. Sick workers and winter storms have led to more than 2,200 cancelled flights since Dec. 24. Cancellations have dropped sharply in the past few days, but the spate of spiked flights cost the airline $75 million and the latest outbreak, caused by the omicron variant of the virus, is expected to push the industry’s recovery back by two months. “I don’t think we’re going to see a pickup in bookings or…

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the biggest contract manufacturer of processor chips, reported Thursday its quarterly profit rose 16.4% over a year earlier to $6 billion amid surging demand for chips for smartphones and other electronics. Revenue in the final three months of 2021 rose 21.2% to 438.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($15.8 billion), TSMC announced. Profit was 166.2 billion New Taiwan dollars. TSMC, headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, makes processor chips for major brands including Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. Chipmakers have benefited from demand for next-generation telecoms, high-performance computing and chips for use in products from cars to medical devices. TSMC announced plans last year to invest $100 billion over the next three years in manufacturing and research and development. Most semiconductors used in smartphones, medical equipment, computers and other…

2021 was a big year for Mac. With huge innovations across the iMac and MacBook range, Apple pushed ahead with its transition to custom silicon chips, offering record-breaking performance. The last piece of the puzzle is the 27-inch iMac, and with rumors suggesting Apple will give the device the Pro moniker, good things could be just around the corner. PUTTING THE PRO INTO THE iMAC Apple’s discontinued iMac Pro launched as a standalone product back in 2017, and although it sported a stunning space gray design that set the professional world alight, it failed to take off due to its excessive price tag - and as a result, the company discontinued the device last March. However, as the rumor mill begins to go into overdrive, many are suggesting that the…

Richard R. Buery Jr., is starting his first full year as CEO of Robin Hood. But he’s no stranger to New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. He first encountered the foundation 20 years ago, when Groundwork, the group he co-founded to support children in public housing developments in Brooklyn, received its first Robin Hood grant. Now, he is eager to bring his experience to lead the group that helps more than 500,000 New Yorkers each year. Buery, 50, replaced the popular Wes Moore — a combat veteran, Rhodes Scholar and now a candidate for Maryland governor — as Robin Hood’s CEO in September. “I hope to do the same as he did but in my own way,” said Buery, who has co-founded several nonprofits, including iMentor, Children’s Aid College Prep…

A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s revised antitrust suit against Meta, formerly known as Facebook, can proceed, shutting down the social media company’s request for a dismissal. In a revised complaint filed last August, the FTC argues that the company pursued a “buy or bury” strategy against rivals to suppress competition. This is the FTC’s second antitrust run at the company. A federal judge in June dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by the agency and a broad coalition of state attorneys general that were among multiplying efforts by federal and state regulators to rein in tech titans’ market power. The FTC is seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of Facebook’s popular Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services, or a restructuring of the company. U.S.…

Here are some good things about the fourth Hotel Transylvania movie: Kathryn Hahn, who is as evocative a voice actor as she is in live action; The monster sidekicks voiced by David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi and Brad Abrell; A joke about a single marshmallow (really); The revelation that the invisible man has been naked this whole time; The 94-minute runtime; And its easy accessibility on Amazon Prime Video starting on Jan. 14. But perhaps the best thing about “ Hotel Transylvania: Transformania ” is that it’s the end. The well of ideas on this particular property has apparently run dry and they have made the wise decision to show themselves the door. Though not wise enough to end on a particularly high note. What started as a clever…

Take-Two Interactive, maker of “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption,” is buying Zynga, maker of “FarmVille” and “Words With Friends,” in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $12.7 billion. The acquisition announced this week would wed a powerhouse in console gaming, Take-Two, with a mobile gaming company with an almost cult-like following. Zynga shareholders will receive $3.50 in cash and $6.36 in shares of Take-Two common stock for each share of Zynga outstanding stock at closing. The transaction is valued at $9.86 per share of Zynga common stock. “This strategic combination brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity,”Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a prepared statement. He will retain those…

“Space now,” was what Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa wanted to tweet for years. He finally really did it, from the International Space Station. “The space market holds so much potential,” he said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Tokyo, his first news conference in Japan after returning to earth before Christmas. Maezawa, who heads a company called Start Today, is preparing to invest in various businesses which may develop from the ongoing research by NASA, the Japanese equivalent called JAXA and others. But he wants first to recover from his recent celestial adventure: returning to life with gravity has proved heavier than he’d expected, he said. Maezawa, 46, blasted off in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with a Russian cosmonaut Dec. 8, becoming the first self-paying tourist to visit the…