Innholdsfortegnelse for #536 i Techlife News

The FBI has confirmed purchasing NSO Group’s powerful spyware tool Pegasus, whose chronic abuse to surveil journalists, dissidents and human rights activists has long been established. It suggested its motivation was to “stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft.” The agency added in a statement that it obtained a limited license from the Israeli firm “for product testing and evaluation only,” never using it operationally or to support any investigation. But critics wondered why the premier U.S. law enforcement agency would need to pay for access to a notorious surveillance tool that has been extensively researched by public interest cyber sleuths if its interest was so limited. “Spending millions of dollars to line the pockets of a company that is widely known to serially facilitate widespread human rights abuses, possible…

Technology to hide a ship’s location previously available only to the world’s militaries is spreading fast through the global maritime industry as governments from Iran to Venezuela — and the rogue shipping companies they depend on to move their petroleum products — look for stealthier ways to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Windward, a maritime intelligence company whose data is used by the U.S. government to investigate sanctions violations, said that since January 2020 it has detected more than 200 vessels involved in over 350 incidents in which they appear to have electronically manipulated their GPS location. “This is out of hand right now,” Matan Peled, co-founder of Windward and a former Israeli naval officer, said in an interview. “It’s not driven by countries or superpowers. It’s ordinary companies using this technique.…

Under quarantine for COVID-19 exposure, Garret Bernal and his family missed a recent Sunday church service. So he strapped on a virtual reality headset and explored what it would be like to worship in the metaverse. Without leaving his home in Richmond, Virginia, he was soon floating in a 3D outer-space wonderland of pastures, rocky cliffs and rivers, as the avatar of a pastor guided him and others through computer-generated illustrations of Biblical passages that seemed to come to life as they prayed. “I couldn’t have had such an immersive church experience sitting in my pew. I was able to see the scriptures in a new way,” said Bernal, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. He’s among many Americans…

Federal safety regulators say they have cleared the way for Verizon and AT&T to power up more towers for new 5G service without causing radio interference with airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration said that it took the steps after receiving details from the telecommunications companies about the location of wireless transmitters. The FAA’s move will let the companies activate 5G cell towers closer to airports without hindering the ability of planes to land during poor weather. Verizon and AT&T declined to comment. Nick Ludlum, a spokesman for the telecommunications trade group CTIA, called it a “positive development that highlights the considerable progress the wireless industry, aviation industry, FAA and FCC are making to ensure robust 5G service and safe flights.” The trade group Airlines for America issued a similar statement.…

Samsung Electronics Co. said this week its operating profit for the last quarter rose by more than 53% from the same period last year as it continued to thrive during the pandemic while relying on its dual strength in parts and finished products. Samsung’s operating profit of to 13.9 trillion won ($11.6 billion) for the October-December period was its highest for a fourth quarter since 2017, growth the company attributed to robust demand for its computer memory chips and chip contract manufacturing. Samsung’s 76.6 trillion won ($63.7 billion) revenue for the period was a quarterly record, which it said was driven mainly by increased sales of finished products, including smartphones, TVs and home appliances. The company has steadily reported strong profit since the emergence of the pandemic, with demands for…

Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 cars and SUVs because their “Full Self-Driving” software lets them roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt. Recall documents posted this week by U.S. safety regulators say that Tesla will disable the feature with an over-the-internet software update. The “rolling stop” feature allows vehicles to go through intersections with all-way stop signs at up to 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) per hour. The recall shows that Tesla programmed its vehicles to violate the law in most states, where police will ticket drivers for disregarding stop signs. The Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices, said it is not aware of any state where a rolling stop is legal. Tesla agreed to the recall after two meetings with officials from the…

A federal appeals court has upheld California’s net neutrality law, rejecting an attempt by telecommunications industry groups to prevent the state from enforcing it. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling, which means the status quo stays and the state can continue to enforce the law. This means California can continue its ban on internet providers slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service. California’s net neutrality law was signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. That came after regulators during the Trump administration killed federal net neutrality rules designed to prevent AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other major internet providers from exploiting their dominance to favor certain services or apps over others. In response, seven states and Puerto Rico…

At one point in “The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild,” the twin heroes find themselves in a familiar place and voice what many in the audience are quietly thinking. “Have we been here before?” asks the slightly dim possum named Eddie. Replies his equally dim brother, Crash: “It does kinda look familiar.” Yes, we’ve been here before. This is the sixth “Ice Age” feature — not counting two TV specials — and it’s all alarmingly familiar even as it tries to refocus away from the original stars: Sid the sloth, Mannie and Ellie the mammoths, and Diego the saber-toothed tiger, none of whom are voiced by celebrities this time. Screenplay writers Jim Hecht, Ray DeLaurentis and Will Schifrin have reached back to recruit many old friends for this spin-off.…

For teachers at a middle school in New Mexico’s largest city, the first inkling of a widespread tech problem came during an early morning staff call. On the video, there were shout-outs for a new custodian for his hard work, and the typical announcements from administrators and the union rep. But in the chat, there were hints of a looming crisis. Nobody could open attendance records, and everyone was locked out of class rosters and grades. Albuquerque administrators later confirmed the outage that blocked access to the district’s student database — which also includes emergency contacts and lists of which adults are authorized to pick up which children — was due to a ransomware attack. “I didn’t realize how important it was until I couldn’t use it,”said Sarah Hager, a…

Newly renamed Meta is investing heavily in its futuristic “metaverse” project, but for now, relies on advertising revenue for nearly all its income. So when it posted sharply higher costs but gave a weak revenue forecast late Wednesday, investors got spooked — and knocked almost $200 billion off the valuation of the company formerly known as Facebook. Meta’s shares fell 22.9% to $249.05 in after-hours trading. If the drop holds until the market opens Thursday, the company’s overall value, known as its market capitalization, is on track to drop by a figure greater than the size of the entire Greek economy, based on data from the World Bank. The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described…

Drivers, beware: Speed cameras could be on their way to a location near you thanks to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law. Under new federal guidance issued this week, states can now tap billions of federal highway dollars for roadway safety programs such as automated traffic enforcement. They are being told that cameras that photograph speeding vehicles are an established way to help bring down rising traffic deaths. It’s all part of the Transportation Department’s new national strategy to stem record increases in road fatalities with a broad-based “safe system” approach that promotes better road design, lower speed limits and more car safety regulations. The guidance by the Federal Highway Administration cites speed cameras in particular as a proven enforcement tool against hazardous driving. The Federal Highway Administration’s goal “is to…

Toyota is working with Japan’s space agency on a vehicle to explore the lunar surface, with ambitions to help people live on the moon by 2040 and then go live on Mars, company officials said. The vehicle being developed with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is called Lunar Cruiser, whose name pays homage to the Toyota Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle. Its launch is set for the late 2020’s. The vehicle is based on the idea that people eat, work, sleep and communicate with others safely in cars, and the same can be done in outer space, said Takao Sato, who heads the Lunar Cruiser project at Toyota Motor Corp. “We see space as an area for our once-in-a-century transformation. By going to space, we may be able to develop…

Neil Young vs Joe Rogan seems like the strangest of cultural clashes. Yet the 76-year-old rock star’s protest over coronavirus-related content on Rogan’s popular Spotify podcast has ignited a hot debate over misinformation and free speech, bruising a streaming service that has become the central way that millions of people around the world experience music. “Rockin’ in the Free World”? Not on Spotify. Not anymore. Here’s what’s going on. WHY IS YOUNG UPSET? His protest came after dozens of doctors and scientists wrote an open letter to Spotify, complaining about Rogan’s decision to have a podcast discussion with Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist who has been banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation on COVID-19. Malone has become a hero in the anti-vaccination community. Saying Spotify was complicit in…

Ohio offered Intel Corp. incentives worth roughly $2 billion to secure a new $20 billion chipmaking factory that the company says will help alleviate a global shortage and create a new technology hub in the Midwest. The state’s development director said that the combination of tax breaks and incentives are likely the largest ever offered by Ohio for what state leaders say is the biggest economic development deal in its history. Santa Clara, California-based Intel, the world’s second biggest chipmaker, announced 2 weeks ago it had selected a site outside Columbus for two new chip manufacturing facilities. The complex could grow much larger and more quickly, Intel executives said, if Congress approves a $52 billion bill that would invest in the chip sector and help ensure more production in the…

Autonomous vehicle taxis are up and running in San Francisco and the public has been invited to try one out. Employees of General Motors and its autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise have been testing out the service for weeks, but this week Cruise posted a signup page for anyone to reserve a free ride in one. The cars each have unique monikers, including “Tostada,”“Disco” and “Sourdough.” In a blog post, Interim Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said the company is the first to offer driverless taxis in a major U.S. city and that the milestone triggered an $1.35 billion investment from Softbank, which had already put $900 million into the company. Vogt said the additional capital will allow the company to grow its work force and scale up the driverless technology in…

American Airlines said that it plans to exercise options to buy 30 more Boeing 737 Max jets while delaying delivery of Boeing 787s, larger jets that are being plagued by production flaws. The airline expects to receive half the 737 Max 8 jets next year and the other half in 2024, as it seeks to rebuild from the pandemic. Financial terms were not disclosed. For Boeing, the orders from a major customer builds on a huge order for passenger and cargo planes that Qatar Airways announced earlier this week. At the same time, however, American said it will delay delivery of an undisclosed number of two-aisle 787 jets that were scheduled to begin last month. Those deliveries fell through because of problems on the production line, and American said they…

When Gen Xer Amy Rottier went shopping for her young children two decades ago, she drove to a mall and browsed for what she needed. Her millennial daughter, Helen, who is studying for a doctorate and doesn’t have children, buys anything she needs with a click on her iPad. The women, ages 50 and 25, respectively, illustrate the pace of change from one generation to the next in what people do in an average day. The changes were revealed in a study released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Generation X women were more likely to do housework, care for children, read for pleasure and do lawn work, the study found. Millennial women were more inclined to exercise, spend leisure time on computers, take care of their…

Nintendo’s profit for the nine months through December slipped 2.5%, as shortages of computer chips hurt production, the Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises said Thursday. Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. recorded a 367 billion yen ($3.2 billion) profit for the period, down from 377 billion yen the previous year. Its sales in the same period fell 6% to 1.3 trillion yen ($11 billion). Game makers have reaped windfall profits from more people staying home during the pandemic. But sales of Nintendo Switch consoles had more momentum in the previous fiscal year, driven by its hit“Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Console sales are often driven by hit games, although the devices tend to sell better early on and then slowly decline in popularity. Nintendo cut its forecast for…

Last month, U.S. employers might have shed jobs for the first time in about a year, potentially raising alarms about the economy’s trajectory. Yet even if the January employment report coming Friday were to show a deep loss of jobs, there would be little mystery about the likely culprit: A wave of omicron infections last month that led millions of workers to stay home sick, discouraged consumers from venturing out to spend and likely froze hiring at many companies — even those that want to fill jobs. Reported omicron infections peaked at above 800,000 a day during the second week of January — precisely the period when the government measured employment for the month. A dismal jobs report would be a stark reminder that nearly two years after it began,…

One of the reasons why so many consumers and professionals choose to make the switch to Apple is the seamless integration between its ecosystems, from macOS and watchOS to iOS and iPadOS. A new Universal Control update takes these integrations to even greater heights offering a natural, initiative way to get more out of your devices at work and at home. INTRODUCING UNIVERSAL CONTROL When Apple announced macOS 12 and iPadOS 15 at last year’s WWDC, one of the most hotly anticipated features was Universal Control, and despite some delays due to COVID-19 and bug fixes, it’s now available as part of the macOS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 developer betas, with a public release expected in the coming weeks. The feature serves as a bridge between Macs and iPads,…

Apple shook off supply shortages that have curtailed production of iPhones and other popular devices to deliver its most profitable holiday season yet. The results posted last week for the final three months of 2021 help illustrate why Apple is looking even stronger at the tail end of the pandemic than when the crisis began two years ago. At that point, Apple’s iPhone sales had been flagging as consumers began holding on to their older devices for longer periods. But now the Cupertino, California, company can’t seem to keep up with the steadily surging demand for a device that has become even more crucial in the burgeoning era of remote work. “IPhone has never been more popular,” Apple CEO Tim Cook crowed during a conference call with analysts. The company’s…

Electric vehicles driving in Detroit could increase their charge by using an in-road charging system by 2023, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced this week. In 2021, Whitmer announced the state’s plan to build the first electric vehicle charging road in the U.S. The contract to build it was awarded to ElectReon, an Israel-based company that develops wireless charging infrastructure. The roadway would charge electric vehicles while they are in motion or stationary. ElectReon has contracts for similar roadways in Israel, Sweden, Italy and Germany. The contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation is an opportunity for the company to expand it’s presence in the U.S. the company’s CEO Oren Ezer said in a news release. “It’s exciting to start in the birthplace of the modern automobile industry,” Ezer said.…

A once-ambitious but now faltering Facebookbacked digital currency project known as Diem is dead, its assets sold to bank holding company Silvergate Capital. Silvergate and the Diem Association announced the sale on Tuesday. Meta, which owns Facebook, did not have a comment. A Faceboook spokesperson, however, pointed to tweets by Stephane Kasriel, head of Meta’s cryptocurrency wallet Novi, that said the decision to sell was not made by Meta, but by the Diem Association. “We hope that the Association’s sale of their assets to @silvergatebank will allow the project’s vision to live on. Because we still believe in the shared financial inclusion mission,” Kasriel wrote. Diem said it “became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead. As a result, the best path forward…

PlayStation-maker Sony is escalating its competition with Xbox-maker Microsoft by buying the video game studio behind one of Xbox’s hit games. Sony Interactive Entertainment said this week it would spend $3.6 billion to buy Bungie Inc., an independent game publisher based in Bellevue, Washington. Bungie makes the popular game franchise Destiny and was the original developer of Xbox-owned Halo. Microsoft bought Bungie in 2000, but later spun off the game studio in 2007 while retaining intellectual property rights to the Halo franchise. Sony is one of the world’s biggest video game companies, but Microsoft has been ramping up its gaming ambitions, most recently by announcing plans to buy high-profile game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Acquiring the owner of titles like Call of Duty and Candy Crush would immediately…

Late-night partying at clubs. Elbow-to-elbow seating in movie theaters. Going without masks in public, especially in Europe and North America: Step by step, many countries are easing their COVID-19 restrictions amid hopes the omicron wave may have passed its peak. The early moves to relax precautions, based on declining or flattening case counts in recent days, represent what could be another turning point in a nearly two-year pandemic that has been full of them. The extraordinarily contagious omicron has fueled more cases worldwide over the past 10 weeks — 90 million — than were seen during all of 2020, the outbreak’s first full year. But the World Health Organization this week said some countries can now consider carefully relaxing the rules if they have high immunity rates, their health care…