With so much attention on Elon Musk’s bizarre Twitter adventures, it’s easy to forget how fast SpaceX’s Starlink project has been moving. In just the past six months, the service has launched service in nine new countries, a new service for vehicles, and a new premium tier. There’s even a spectrum fight quietly bubbling in… Continue reading How Starlink and other satellite services are changing the shape of the internet
Author: The Verge Online News
BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month
BMW is now selling subscriptions for heated seats in a number of countries — the latest example of the company’s adoption of microtransactions for high-end car features. A monthly subscription to heat your BMW’s front seats costs roughly $18, with options to subscribe for a year ($180), three years ($300), or pay for “unlimited” access… Continue reading BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month
Amazon’s new smart shopping cart looks like it has a pair of eyes peering at your groceries
Amazon has announced an updated version of its smart Dash Cart — a shopping cart that lets users scan and pay for their purchases as they shop to avoid waiting in checkout lines. The original Dash Cart launched in 2020 and Amazon has been slowly rolling them out (ho ho) to its Fresh grocery stores… Continue reading Amazon’s new smart shopping cart looks like it has a pair of eyes peering at your groceries
This remote keyfob hack may leave the past decade of Hondas vulnerable
Security researchers and The Drive’s Rob Stumpf have recently posted videos of themselves unlocking and remotely starting several Honda vehicles using handheld radios, despite the company’s insistence that the cars have security protections meant to stop attackers from doing that very thing. According to the researchers, this hack is made possible because of a vulnerability… Continue reading This remote keyfob hack may leave the past decade of Hondas vulnerable
Rivian reportedly considers laying off 700 employees
Electric automaker Rivian is considering laying off around 5 percent of its 14,000 employees, or around 700 people, according to a report from Bloomberg. The report notes that, while nothing has been officially decided or announced yet, the company is mainly looking to remove jobs that were added as it scaled up and that aren’t… Continue reading Rivian reportedly considers laying off 700 employees
watchOS 9 preview: all about fitness and personalization
For the last couple of years, Apple’s had a clear purpose for each iteration of watchOS. For instance, watchOS 7 introduced several features to make pandemic living easier. watchOS 8 focused on giving people tools to chill out and adding features that make use of the Series 7’s larger screen. That trend continues with watchOS… Continue reading watchOS 9 preview: all about fitness and personalization
Apple Car project reportedly still running into roadblocks — and nearly a jogger
Apple’s development of a self-driving car has proven arduous and massively challenging for the company. The Information today published an extensive chronology of the project so far. It covers some familiar ground for anyone who’s been following Project Titan over the years, like a revolving door of leadership, high turnover across the team, and shifting… Continue reading Apple Car project reportedly still running into roadblocks — and nearly a jogger
How the ride-sharing revolution failed passengers with disabilities
It’s the year 2022, and Henry Claypool still has trouble getting ride-sharing companies to send a wheelchair-accessible car to his home. Smartphone apps like Uber and Lyft were supposed to democratize transportation for marginalized groups — but for wheelchair users like Claypool, this was always a false promise. “I live in Arlington, Virginia, still inside… Continue reading How the ride-sharing revolution failed passengers with disabilities
Uber leaks reveal how it spread ‘fucking illegal’ ride-sharing globally
A trove of internal Uber documents leaked to The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), as well as dozens of other news outlets, outlines its strategies for global expansion — even if the company had to bend some rules. The leak, collectively dubbed the Uber Files, consists of over 124,000… Continue reading Uber leaks reveal how it spread ‘fucking illegal’ ride-sharing globally
Ford recalls more than 100,000 Mavericks, Escapes, and Corsairs over fire risk
Ford is recalling certain models of the 2020 to 2022 Escape, Maverick, and Corsair due to the risk of under-hood fires, according to reports from Reuters and CNBC. The recall affects over 100,000 vehicles in the US, all of which come with a 2.5-liter hybrid / plug-in hybrid (HEV / PHEV) engine. In the case… Continue reading Ford recalls more than 100,000 Mavericks, Escapes, and Corsairs over fire risk