theverge--2020-09-04--Honor’s latest smartwatch is the ultra-rugged Watch GS Pro

Huawei sub-brand Honor has announced its first rugged smartwatch , the Watch GS Pro , at this year ’ s scaled-back IFA trade show in Berlin .
Alongside the new Watch GS Pro is a new fashion-focused smartwatch called the Watch ES .
The Pad 6 and Pad X6 Android tablets are also getting released outside of China , as is a trio of Honor laptops featuring AMD ’ s latest generation of Ryzen processors .
If you ’ re looking for an idea of how rugged the Watch GS Pro is meant to be , then Honor claims it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US military ’ s MIL-STD-810G procurement standards .
These include testing it to withstand high temperatures , low temperatures , rain , humidity , and low pressures at altitude .
For an idea of why you ’ d need a smartwatch that rugged , Honor ’ s list of its 100-plus supported workout modes gives you some idea .
It includes a new skiing mode , which tracks your exercise on the slopes as well as other high-octane activities like mountain climbing , swimming , and cycling .
The smartwatch , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system , has a heart rate monitor , and it supports blood oxygen tracking , sleep tracking , and even stress monitoring , according to Honor .
Other features include weather alerts , support for both GPS and GLONASS satellite positioning systems , and a “ route back ” mode that Honor says can track your journey and use it to guide you back along your original path .
However , there ’ s no maps support , nor is there any support for third-party apps like Strava .
In terms of specs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OLED display with a resolution of 454 x 454 , and the smartwatch is powered by a Kirin A1 chipset .
Battery life goes up to a maximum of 25 days , but run it in outdoor workout mode , and that drops to 100 hours or just 48 hours with GPS enabled .
The watch comes in black , white , and blue and will be available starting September 7th in the UK , France , Germany , Italy , and Spain for €249.99 .
Its more stylish counterpart , the Honor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as rugged , and its battery life only goes up to a maximum of 10 days .
However , it ’ s lighter and still supports a range of 95 workout modes , including six that Honor says it can automatically detect .
It ’ s got a 1.64-inch rectangular OLED display with a resolution of 456 x 280 , and it can track your heart rate , blood oxygen levels , sleep , stress , and , where appropriate , menstrual cycles .
It will be available from September 7th in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be available in more European markets later in the month .
Announced back in July for the Chinese market , Honor has now announced that its range of Ryzen 4000-powered laptops is getting a global release .
The MagicBook 14 and 15 are both powered by Ryzen 5 4500U CPUs paired with 8 or 16GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB of NVME storage .
The big difference is their displays , which measure 14 and 15.6 inches respectively .
The MagicBook 14 will be available on September 21st starting at €749.99 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany , while the MagicBook 15 will be available for €699.99 starting in October .
There ’ s also the MagicBook Pro , which has a more powerful Ryzen 5 4600H CPU , 16GB of RAM , 512GB of storage , and a bigger 16.1-inch display that will be available on September 7th for €899.99 in the UK , France , Germany , and other European markets .
Finally , Honor has also announced a pair of tablets , the Honor Pad 6 and the Pad X6 , which it announced for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feature 10.1 and 9.7-inch displays , respectively .
Both are powered by Huawei ’ s Kirin 710A and have 5-megapixel cameras on their rear and 2-megapixel selfie cameras .
The Honor Pad X6 comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage , while the Pad 6 has an additional 4GB / 64GB option .
Both tablets run Android 10 , but given Huawei ’ s ongoing presence on the US entity list , it will not ship with Google ’ s apps or services .
Pricing and release date information have yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 6:17AM ET : Updated with pricing and availability information for the MagicBook 15 .

Huawei sub-brand Honor has announced its first rugged smartwatch, the Watch GS Pro, at this year’s scaled-back IFA trade show in Berlin. Alongside the new Watch GS Pro is a new fashion-focused smartwatch called the Watch ES. The Pad 6 and Pad X6 Android tablets are also getting released outside of China, as is a trio of Honor laptops featuring AMD’s latest generation of Ryzen processors.
If you’re looking for an idea of how rugged the Watch GS Pro is meant to be, then Honor claims it meets as many as 14 of the US military’s MIL-STD-810G procurement standards. These include testing it to withstand high temperatures, low temperatures, rain, humidity, and low pressures at altitude. For an idea of why you’d need a smartwatch that rugged, Honor’s list of its 100-plus supported workout modes gives you some idea. It includes a new skiing mode, which tracks your exercise on the slopes as well as other high-octane activities like mountain climbing, swimming, and cycling.
The Honor Watch GS Pro is available in black, white, and blue. Image: Honor
The smartwatch, which is powered by Huawei’s LiteOS operating system, has a heart rate monitor, and it supports blood oxygen tracking, sleep tracking, and even stress monitoring, according to Honor. Other features include weather alerts, support for both GPS and GLONASS satellite positioning systems, and a “route back” mode that Honor says can track your journey and use it to guide you back along your original path. However, there’s no maps support, nor is there any support for third-party apps like Strava.
In terms of specs, you’re getting a 1.39-inch OLED display with a resolution of 454 x 454, and the smartwatch is powered by a Kirin A1 chipset. Battery life goes up to a maximum of 25 days, but run it in outdoor workout mode, and that drops to 100 hours or just 48 hours with GPS enabled. The watch comes in black, white, and blue and will be available starting September 7th in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain for €249.99.
The Watch ES is lighter and has a rectangular screen. Image: Honor
Its more stylish counterpart, the Honor Watch ES, isn’t quite as rugged, and its battery life only goes up to a maximum of 10 days. However, it’s lighter and still supports a range of 95 workout modes, including six that Honor says it can automatically detect. It’s got a 1.64-inch rectangular OLED display with a resolution of 456 x 280, and it can track your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, sleep, stress, and, where appropriate, menstrual cycles. It will be available from September 7th in the UK and Germany for €99.99. It will be available in more European markets later in the month.
Honor’s MagicBook Pro has been refreshed with AMD’s Ryzen 4600H processor. Image: Honor
Announced back in July for the Chinese market, Honor has now announced that its range of Ryzen 4000-powered laptops is getting a global release. The MagicBook 14 and 15 are both powered by Ryzen 5 4500U CPUs paired with 8 or 16GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB of NVME storage. The big difference is their displays, which measure 14 and 15.6 inches respectively.
The MagicBook 14 will be available on September 21st starting at €749.99 in the UK, France, and Germany, while the MagicBook 15 will be available for €699.99 starting in October. There’s also the MagicBook Pro, which has a more powerful Ryzen 5 4600H CPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a bigger 16.1-inch display that will be available on September 7th for €899.99 in the UK, France, Germany, and other European markets.
Finally, Honor has also announced a pair of tablets, the Honor Pad 6 and the Pad X6, which it announced for the Chinese market back in July. They feature 10.1 and 9.7-inch displays, respectively. Both are powered by Huawei’s Kirin 710A and have 5-megapixel cameras on their rear and 2-megapixel selfie cameras. The Honor Pad X6 comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, while the Pad 6 has an additional 4GB / 64GB option. Both tablets run Android 10, but given Huawei’s ongoing presence on the US entity list, it will not ship with Google’s apps or services. Pricing and release date information have yet to be announced.


theverge--2020-09-04--How Facebook’s new election rules sidestep the real problem

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
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Programming note : The Interface will be off Monday for Labor Day .
After months of deliberations , Facebook gave its answer to the critics who have called for it to put new restrictions on political advertising .
The company said it would not accept new political ads in the seven days leading up to the Nov. 3rd US presidential election , but would allow those that had already been approved to continue running .
The move was framed as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use Facebook for get-out-the-vote efforts through Election Day , but they ’ ll lose the ability to test new messages .
As a result , it might be harder for candidates to spread misinformation in the final days of the campaign .
There ’ s a lot to say about the limits and implications of this approach .
But there ’ s also much more to Facebook ’ s announcement , which included a broad set of measures intended to limit the ability of , uh , someone to spread lies about election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimacy of the outcome .
I covered the announcements at The Verge , and it ’ s worth reading all of them .
The other big highlights include limiting forwarding in Messenger to five people per message ; promoting accurate voter information at the top of Facebook and Instagram through the election ; providing live , official election results through a partnership with Reuters ; and adding labels to posts that attempt to declare victory before the results are official , or try to cast doubt on the outcome .
Another notable dimension @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were announced .
They came not from the corporate blog but from CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself , in a Facebook post .
And he struck an unusually direct note of concern : “ The US elections are just two months away , and with COVID-19 affecting communities across the country , I ’ m concerned about the challenges people could face when voting , ” he wrote .
“ I ’ m also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalized , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil unrest across the country.
” “ This election is not going to be business as usual .
We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy.
” How far will Facebook ’ s announcements this week go to , as Zuckerberg says , protect our democracy ?
I think the moves will go a long way toward promoting voter registration and turnout .
The Reuters partnership will ensure that a huge number of Americans sees accurate , real-time information about the vote count .
And the various policies announced to remove or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dose of reality into the more unhinged conspiracy theories about the election that are now swirling in the fever swamps .
At the same time , as Steve Kovach notes at CNBC , the policies announced Thursday have some obvious limitations .
Misinformation in political advertising can continue right up until Election Day , so long as it has been running for at least a week .
By the time the new restrictions kick in , mail-in voting will have been underway for weeks .
And no label will be able to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , loudly and repeatedly .
Meanwhile , on Twitter , Zeynep Tufekci raises the larger point always lurking in the background of these discussions .
“ There are the details , ” she wrote , “ and there is this : Mark Zuckerberg , alone , gets to set key rules — with significant consequences — for one of the most important elections in recent history .
That should not be lost in the dust of who these changes will hurt or benefit.
” I think all of that is fair , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on an overall point of view on Facebook ’ s approach to regulating political speech .
The question I keep coming back to is : what exactly is Facebook trying to solve for ?
By now , almost everyone accepts that social platforms have a role to play in protecting our democracy — as do average citizens , journalists , and the government itself .
In 2016 , all four of those groups failed in various ways , and we ’ ve spent much of the intervening period litigating who was most at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done about it .
One way to view Facebook ’ s announcements on Thursday is as an acknowledgement that when it comes to protecting our democracy , in 2020 the US government can not be counted upon .
Just this week , the president effectively told voters in North Carolina to vote twice — sending in a mail-in ballot , then showing up at the polls to vote again .
He has sought to sabotage the post office to make voting by mail more difficult .
He won ’ t commit to leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ jokes ” about never leaving office , period .
None of these are issues a tech platform can solve .
But because of their perceived power , the platforms are under strong pressure to take decisive action in response .
And they are taking it seriously , Axios reported today , structuring a serious of war-game exercises to prepare for various election disaster scenarios : Meanwhile , the president continues to use the platforms in transparently anti-democratic ways .
On Thursday , while still under criticism for his remarks about North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all voters that they should both mail in a ballot and show up to vote in person .
The post appeared both on Twitter and on Facebook , and both companies left it up .
Twitter placed it under a warning label after determining the post could lead people to vote twice , and also prevented people from retweeting it or replying .
Facebook added a label underneath saying that mail-in voting has been historically trustworthy .
The basic idea here is to allow for a maximum of political speech , and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech , in the form of labels .
The platforms have offered no positive conception of what political speech should be or do there .
Instead , they police it as beat cops , running off the worst posts while writing speeding tickets for lesser offenses .
The idea rests upon a foundational belief that both parties are good-faith actors when it comes to political speech , all available evidence to the contrary .
And it ’ s this , more than anything else , that has resulted in Facebook ’ s strange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press critic and New York University professor Jay Rosen put it : “ The media ecosystem around one of our two major parties runs on made up claims and conspiracy theories .
Facebook has institutionally committed itself to denial of this fact .
It also says it has rules against spreading misinformation .
The two commitments are in conflict.
” It ’ s in such a world that Facebook can make a host of changes to its policies in response to the actions , both actual and predicted , of President Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ” at all .
Company executives clearly feel a moral obligation to act against a grave threat to American democracy — but they can not bring themselves to name the threat .
This posture of impartiality , which Rosen calls “ the view from nowhere , ” has long been the default stance of the American media .
But it has been in decline for some time now , and for good reason .
When you commit yourself to the view from nowhere , you will find , over and over again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s in this sense that the steps Facebook is taking today can be viewed as positive , and also in some larger sense as being beside the point .
If you are working at a big social platform and find yourself concerned about the degree to which it is enabling fascism , it ’ s not enough to simply adjust the boundaries of discourse .
You have to do something about the fascism .
A headline from Wednesday evening in The Daily Beast : “ Facebook ’ s Internal Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Step In.
” The story , by Maxwell Tani and Spencer Ackerman , recounts a controversy that broke out inside the company when one of its 50,000 employees posted a short essay to its internal Workplace forum titled “ In Support of Law Enforcement and Black Lives.
” The essay , which was posted on Monday , sought to defend police officers in the wake of Wisconsin cops shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back and leaving him paralyzed .
Tani and Ackerman write : On enterprise Facebook , just as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the controversial post generated much outrage and engagement .
It bubbled to the top of the feeds , and inspired many anguished comments .
Its polite , just-asking-questions tone , coupled with clear endorsement of a system that has terrorized Black Americans for centuries , put the company ’ s commitment to free speech in the workplace to the test .
If left unchecked , the post threatened to undermine faith in company leadership .
On consumer Facebook , the post would have stayed up even if it had been reported .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some reflection .
Zuckerberg wrote a note affirming that “ systemic racism is real , ” and chided “ some ” employees for not considering the full weight of their words on their Black colleagues .
( I obtained a copy . )
In response , he said , Facebook would soon move “ charged topics ” to “ dedicated spaces ” within Workplace , and added that these forums would have “ clear rules and strong moderation.
” “ You won ’ t be able to discuss highly charged content broadly in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ As you know , we deeply value expression and open discussion , but I don ’ t believe people working here should have to be confronted with divisive conversations while they ’ re trying to work.
” This is a view from somewhere .
It is a positive conception of how a discussion ought to take place .
Not just what words or symbols are allowed or disallowed , but how it should be constructed .
I have no doubt it will make Facebook a better place to work .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of us would not benefit from similarly decisive intervention .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending up : Google released a dataset of search trends for researchers to study the link between symptom-related searches and the spread of COVID-19 .
The goal is to help researchers understand where new outbreaks might occur .
( Google ) Trending up : Pinterest announced it will no longer show ads to users when they search for elections-related terms on the platform .
The company also said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
( Megan Graham / CNBC ) ⭐ The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month .
Attorney General William Barr overruled lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case against the tech giant , and underscored fears that the investigation has been tainted by politics .
Katie Benner and Cecilia Kang at The New York Times have the story : Facebook removed a video of the president ’ s remarks about North Carolina , citing its policies against voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share it if they do so to correct the record .
( Ashley Gold / Axios ) As part of Facebook ’ s study on how social media impacts democracy , the company is paying some users to log off of its products ahead of the 2020 US presidential election .
The payments range between $ 10 and $ 20 per week , as some users would be asked to deactivate for one week while others could be asked to leave the platform up to six weeks total .
( Makena Kelly / @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security stopped the publication of a memo that described Russian attempts to denigrate Joe Biden ’ s mental health .
The unusual move has prompted new scrutiny of political influence at the department .
( Zolan Kanno-Youngs / The New York Times ) Mark Zuckerberg said the company removed a militia event where people discussed gathering in Kenosha , Wisconsin , to shoot and kill protesters .
But in fact , the militia took down the event themselves the day after two people were killed .
( Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman / @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ban armed event listings in the wake of the Kenosha shooting .
They also called for a broad enhancement of Facebook ’ s moderation against extremism , including more automated tools for proactive enforcement and better systems for detecting event pages that promote violence .
( Russell Brandom / The Verge ) Facebook banned a member of India ’ s ruling party for violating its policies against hate speech .
The move reversed an earlier decision , led by Facebook policy executive Ankhi Das , not to punish the politician .
Das @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s business interests in the country .
( Newley Purnell and Rajesh Roy / The Wall Street Journal ) A Facebook video of an assault led to the arrest of seven men after it was found by the victim ’ s mother .
The video showed the men assaulted the 16-year-old while she was unconscious .
( Michael Levenson / The New York Times ) The Lafayette city government is suing the man behind a series of satirical antifa Facebook events that police responded to this summer .
The lawsuit says the hoaxes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man said he ’ s using satire as a form of activism and protest .
( Megan Wyatt / The Acadiana Advocate ) China emphasized its power in the TikTok sale , saying it has the right to approve or block the sale of technology abroad .
The government ’ s decision to add several artificial intelligence features to a list of export-restricted technologies has thrown a wrench in the TikTok deal .
( Bloomberg ) SoftBank is starting to put together a bid for TikTok in India .
The firm is said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and is actively looking for local partners .
( Pavel Alpeyev , Giles Turner and Sarah McBride / Bloomberg ) Amazon Flex drivers say they are not surprised the company has been spying on them in private Facebook groups .
“ ... We are watched to prevent any mass resistance , which could bother Amazon , ” said the admin of one group .
Amazon has now ended the social media monitoring program .
( Lauren Kaori Gurley / Vice ) ⭐ Apple will delay the enforcement of a controversial change to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how ads are targeted on iPhones and iPads .
The change in iOS 14 , the next version of Apple ’ s mobile software , will require developers to ask users to share their device ’ s unique identifier for advertising purposes through a prompt .
Here ’ s Alex Heath at The Information : Snapchat had its single largest month of first-time downloads since May 2019 in August amid TikTok uncertainty .
The app saw approximately 28.5 million new installs last month .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) Instagram launched a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two months after launching the feature .
Will this help the feature take off globally ?
( Anumeha Chaturvedi / The Economic Times ) Facebook released details about an experiment on “ perceptual superpowers ” — AR systems that figure out what you ’ re trying to hear , then amplify it and dampen background noise .
The project shows how sound could play a major role in augmented reality .
( Adi Robertson / The Verge ) Facebook ’ s streaming platform , Facebook Watch , has reached 1.25 billion monthly users @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of video as a user .
Which , come on .
( Todd Spangler / Variety ) Facebook Watch introduced a new feature called “ Your Topics ” that will allow you to further personalize your feed .
Sorry , I only watch Watch one minute per month .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) Send us tips , comments , questions , and the most controversial post inside Facebook right now : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Programming note: The Interface will be off Monday for Labor Day.
I. The announcements
After months of deliberations, Facebook gave its answer to the critics who have called for it to put new restrictions on political advertising. The company said it would not accept new political ads in the seven days leading up to the Nov. 3rd US presidential election, but would allow those that had already been approved to continue running. The move was framed as a compromise: campaigns can continue to use Facebook for get-out-the-vote efforts through Election Day, but they’ll lose the ability to test new messages. As a result, it might be harder for candidates to spread misinformation in the final days of the campaign.
There’s a lot to say about the limits and implications of this approach. But there’s also much more to Facebook’s announcement, which included a broad set of measures intended to limit the ability of, uh, someone to spread lies about election safety, voting procedures, and the legitimacy of the outcome.
I covered the announcements at The Verge, and it’s worth reading all of them. The other big highlights include limiting forwarding in Messenger to five people per message; promoting accurate voter information at the top of Facebook and Instagram through the election; providing live, official election results through a partnership with Reuters; and adding labels to posts that attempt to declare victory before the results are official, or try to cast doubt on the outcome.
Another notable dimension about the announcements is the way they were announced. They came not from the corporate blog but from CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself, in a Facebook post. And he struck an unusually direct note of concern:
“The US elections are just two months away, and with COVID-19 affecting communities across the country, I’m concerned about the challenges people could face when voting,” he wrote. “I’m also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalized, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country.”
He continued:
“This election is not going to be business as usual. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy.”
II. The reaction
How far will Facebook’s announcements this week go to, as Zuckerberg says, protect our democracy?
I think the moves will go a long way toward promoting voter registration and turnout. The Reuters partnership will ensure that a huge number of Americans sees accurate, real-time information about the vote count. And the various policies announced to remove or label problematic posts could inject a welcome dose of reality into the more unhinged conspiracy theories about the election that are now swirling in the fever swamps.
At the same time, as Steve Kovach notes at CNBC, the policies announced Thursday have some obvious limitations. Misinformation in political advertising can continue right up until Election Day, so long as it has been running for at least a week. By the time the new restrictions kick in, mail-in voting will have been underway for weeks. And no label will be able to stop Trump from declaring that he has won, loudly and repeatedly.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Zeynep Tufekci raises the larger point always lurking in the background of these discussions. “There are the details,” she wrote, “and there is this: Mark Zuckerberg, alone, gets to set key rules — with significant consequences — for one of the most important elections in recent history. That should not be lost in the dust of who these changes will hurt or benefit.”
I think all of that is fair, and yet I’ve struggled to land on an overall point of view on Facebook’s approach to regulating political speech. The question I keep coming back to is: what exactly is Facebook trying to solve for?
III. The solve
By now, almost everyone accepts that social platforms have a role to play in protecting our democracy — as do average citizens, journalists, and the government itself. In 2016, all four of those groups failed in various ways, and we’ve spent much of the intervening period litigating who was most at fault, and what ought to be done about it.
One way to view Facebook’s announcements on Thursday is as an acknowledgement that when it comes to protecting our democracy, in 2020 the US government cannot be counted upon. Just this week, the president effectively told voters in North Carolina to vote twice — sending in a mail-in ballot, then showing up at the polls to vote again. He has sought to sabotage the post office to make voting by mail more difficult. He won’t commit to leaving office should he lose the election — and “jokes” about never leaving office, period.
None of these are issues a tech platform can solve. But because of their perceived power, the platforms are under strong pressure to take decisive action in response. And they are taking it seriously, Axios reported today, structuring a serious of war-game exercises to prepare for various election disaster scenarios:
Facebook, Google, Twitter and Reddit are holding regular meetings with one another, with federal law enforcement — and with intelligence agencies — to discuss potential threats to election integrity. Between March 1 and Aug. 1, Twitter practiced its response to scenarios including foreign interference, leaks of hacked materials and uncertainty following Election Day.
Meanwhile, the president continues to use the platforms in transparently anti-democratic ways. On Thursday, while still under criticism for his remarks about North Carolina, he repeated his instructions to all voters that they should both mail in a ballot and show up to vote in person. The post appeared both on Twitter and on Facebook, and both companies left it up. Twitter placed it under a warning label after determining the post could lead people to vote twice, and also prevented people from retweeting it or replying. Facebook added a label underneath saying that mail-in voting has been historically trustworthy.
The basic idea here is to allow for a maximum of political speech, and to answer the most problematic speech with more speech, in the form of labels. The platforms have offered no positive conception of what political speech should be or do there. Instead, they police it as beat cops, running off the worst posts while writing speeding tickets for lesser offenses.
The idea rests upon a foundational belief that both parties are good-faith actors when it comes to political speech, all available evidence to the contrary. And it’s this, more than anything else, that has resulted in Facebook’s strange contortions on the subject. As the press critic and New York University professor Jay Rosen put it:
“The media ecosystem around one of our two major parties runs on made up claims and conspiracy theories. Facebook has institutionally committed itself to denial of this fact. It also says it has rules against spreading misinformation. The two commitments are in conflict.”
It’s in such a world that Facebook can make a host of changes to its policies in response to the actions, both actual and predicted, of President Trump, without ever saying the words “President Trump” at all. Company executives clearly feel a moral obligation to act against a grave threat to American democracy — but they cannot bring themselves to name the threat. This posture of impartiality, which Rosen calls “the view from nowhere,” has long been the default stance of the American media.
But it has been in decline for some time now, and for good reason. When you commit yourself to the view from nowhere, you will find, over and over again, that you are being played.
It’s in this sense that the steps Facebook is taking today can be viewed as positive, and also in some larger sense as being beside the point. If you are working at a big social platform and find yourself concerned about the degree to which it is enabling fascism, it’s not enough to simply adjust the boundaries of discourse.
You have to do something about the fascism.
IV. A parable
A headline from Wednesday evening in The Daily Beast: “Facebook’s Internal Black Lives Matter Debate Got So Bad Zuckerberg Had to Step In.”
The story, by Maxwell Tani and Spencer Ackerman, recounts a controversy that broke out inside the company when one of its 50,000 employees posted a short essay to its internal Workplace forum titled “In Support of Law Enforcement and Black Lives.” The essay, which was posted on Monday, sought to defend police officers in the wake of Wisconsin cops shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back and leaving him paralyzed. Tani and Ackerman write:
The post called into question the notion of racially disparate outcomes in the criminal-justice system, argued that racism is not a serious motivation in police shootings, railed against “critical race theory,” and claimed narratives about police violence often “conveniently leave out” other factors, including whether the victim was under the influence of drugs or complied with officers’ directives. [...] “My heart goes out to the Blake family,” the staffer wrote on Friday. “It also goes out to the well-intentioned law enforcement officers who have been victimized by society’s conformity to a lie.” The staffer continued: “What if racial, economic, crime, and incarceration gaps cannot close without addressing personal responsibility and adherence to the law?”
On enterprise Facebook, just as it might have on consumer Facebook, the controversial post generated much outrage and engagement. It bubbled to the top of the feeds, and inspired many anguished comments. Its polite, just-asking-questions tone, coupled with clear endorsement of a system that has terrorized Black Americans for centuries, put the company’s commitment to free speech in the workplace to the test. If left unchecked, the post threatened to undermine faith in company leadership.
On consumer Facebook, the post would have stayed up even if it had been reported. But on enterprise Facebook, the post occasioned some reflection. Zuckerberg wrote a note affirming that “systemic racism is real,” and chided “some” employees for not considering the full weight of their words on their Black colleagues. (I obtained a copy.) In response, he said, Facebook would soon move “charged topics” to “dedicated spaces” within Workplace, and added that these forums would have “clear rules and strong moderation.”
“You won’t be able to discuss highly charged content broadly in open groups,” he said. “As you know, we deeply value expression and open discussion, but I don’t believe people working here should have to be confronted with divisive conversations while they’re trying to work.”
This is a view from somewhere. It is a positive conception of how a discussion ought to take place. Not just what words or symbols are allowed or disallowed, but how it should be constructed. I have no doubt it will make Facebook a better place to work. And I wonder whether the version of Facebook the rest of us would not benefit from similarly decisive intervention.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔼 Trending up: Google released a dataset of search trends for researchers to study the link between symptom-related searches and the spread of COVID-19. The goal is to help researchers understand where new outbreaks might occur. (Google)
🔼 Trending up: Pinterest announced it will no longer show ads to users when they search for elections-related terms on the platform. The company also said employees will get paid time off to vote. (Megan Graham / CNBC)
Governing
⭐ The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month. Attorney General William Barr overruled lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case against the tech giant, and underscored fears that the investigation has been tainted by politics. Katie Benner and Cecilia Kang at The New York Times have the story:
A coalition of 50 states and territories support antitrust action against Google, a reflection of the broad bipartisan support that a Justice Department case might have. But state attorneys general conducting their own investigations into the company are split on how to move forward, with Democrats perceived by Republicans as slow-walking the work so that cases can be brought under a potential Biden administration, and Democrats accusing Republicans of rushing it out under Mr. Trump. That disagreement could limit the number of states that join a Justice Department lawsuit and imperil the bipartisan nature of the investigation. Some lawyers in the department worry that Mr. Barr’s determination to bring a complaint this month could weaken their case and ultimately strengthen Google’s hand, according to interviews with 15 lawyers who worked on the case or were briefed on the department’s strategy. They asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
Facebook removed a video of the president’s remarks about North Carolina, citing its policies against voter fraud. The company said people can share it if they do so to correct the record. (Ashley Gold / Axios)
As part of Facebook’s study on how social media impacts democracy, the company is paying some users to log off of its products ahead of the 2020 US presidential election. The payments range between $10 and $20 per week, as some users would be asked to deactivate for one week while others could be asked to leave the platform up to six weeks total. (Makena Kelly / The Verge)
The Department of Homeland Security stopped the publication of a memo that described Russian attempts to denigrate Joe Biden’s mental health. The unusual move has prompted new scrutiny of political influence at the department. (Zolan Kanno-Youngs / The New York Times)
Mark Zuckerberg said the company removed a militia event where people discussed gathering in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to shoot and kill protesters. But in fact, the militia took down the event themselves the day after two people were killed. (Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed)
Activists are calling on Facebook to ban armed event listings in the wake of the Kenosha shooting. They also called for a broad enhancement of Facebook’s moderation against extremism, including more automated tools for proactive enforcement and better systems for detecting event pages that promote violence. (Russell Brandom / The Verge)
Facebook banned a member of India’s ruling party for violating its policies against hate speech. The move reversed an earlier decision, led by Facebook policy executive Ankhi Das, not to punish the politician. Das said it could hurt the company’s business interests in the country. (Newley Purnell and Rajesh Roy / The Wall Street Journal)
A Facebook video of an assault led to the arrest of seven men after it was found by the victim’s mother. The video showed the men assaulted the 16-year-old while she was unconscious. (Michael Levenson / The New York Times)
The Lafayette city government is suing the man behind a series of satirical antifa Facebook events that police responded to this summer. The lawsuit says the hoaxes cost taxpayers a considerable amount. The man said he’s using satire as a form of activism and protest. (Megan Wyatt / The Acadiana Advocate)
China emphasized its power in the TikTok sale, saying it has the right to approve or block the sale of technology abroad. The government’s decision to add several artificial intelligence features to a list of export-restricted technologies has thrown a wrench in the TikTok deal. (Bloomberg)
SoftBank is starting to put together a bid for TikTok in India. The firm is said to be assembling a group of investors, and is actively looking for local partners. (Pavel Alpeyev, Giles Turner and Sarah McBride / Bloomberg)
Amazon Flex drivers say they are not surprised the company has been spying on them in private Facebook groups. “...We are watched to prevent any mass resistance, which could bother Amazon,” said the admin of one group. Amazon has now ended the social media monitoring program. (Lauren Kaori Gurley / Vice)
Industry
⭐ Apple will delay the enforcement of a controversial change to its mobile operating system that would upend how ads are targeted on iPhones and iPads. The change in iOS 14, the next version of Apple’s mobile software, will require developers to ask users to share their device’s unique identifier for advertising purposes through a prompt. Here’s Alex Heath at The Information:
Apple has positioned the new prompt as a pro-privacy move that puts users in control of their data. But the proposed change has caused panic among marketers and developers that rely on targeted ads to reach consumers. Mobile developers and advertisers who spoke to The Information said they’ve had little time to prepare for the change, announced in June of this year, and that Apple hasn’t provided a clear workaround that lets them target their ads without the IDFA. After this story was published Thursday, Apple confirmed that it would delay the enforcement of its IDFA prompt until 2021. Developers will still be able to ask users for permission to share their IDFA when iOS 14 is released this fall, though asking users through the prompt won’t be mandatory.
Snapchat had its single largest month of first-time downloads since May 2019 in August amid TikTok uncertainty. The app saw approximately 28.5 million new installs last month. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
Instagram launched a separate tab for Reels in India, two months after launching the feature. Will this help the feature take off globally? (Anumeha Chaturvedi / The Economic Times)
Facebook released details about an experiment on “perceptual superpowers” — AR systems that figure out what you’re trying to hear, then amplify it and dampen background noise. The project shows how sound could play a major role in augmented reality. (Adi Robertson / The Verge)
Facebook’s streaming platform, Facebook Watch, has reached 1.25 billion monthly users. If you count watching one minute of video as a user. Which, come on. (Todd Spangler / Variety)
Facebook Watch introduced a new feature called “Your Topics” that will allow you to further personalize your feed. Sorry, I only watch Watch one minute per month. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
And finally...
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theverge--2020-09-04--This Game Boy doesn’t need batteries, but shuts off every 10 seconds

The original Game Boy from 1989 was an iconic handheld console but , as anyone who owned one will tell you , it required a steady stream of batteries to keep running .
Now , a team of researchers at Northwestern University and Delft University of Technology have developed a new take on the classic console , replacing its array of four AA batteries with a set of five rows of solar panels and buttons that harvest power as you play .
The Engage , as the team have called their device , is theoretically capable of being used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Game Boy , and it ’ s even got a slot on its back if you want to insert an original game cartridge .
It ’ s about the size of a paperback book , but as CNET reports , it only weighs half as much as the original handheld .
It also comes with a host of limitations .
It doesn ’ t have sound for one thing , and its LCD screen is absolutely tiny .
Oh , and it also tends to shut off every 10 seconds or so .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ power to stay on continuously , so the Engage is built to be able to shut down and come back to life with the mash of a button without losing any progress ( a surprisingly difficult feat ) .
The amount of time it can stay on for reportedly varies by game .
Tetris can survive a little longer than Super Mario Land , for example .
And apparently Pokémon Blue , with its larger memory requirements and minimal button presses to supply power , is a bit of a nightmare .
Suffice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be a great way to re-visit the Game Boy ’ s classic library of games , but that ’ s not really the point .
The Engage is instead meant as a research project : a way to explore how future games consoles could be made to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly .
Not only do consoles draw a lot of power , but modern batteries use lithium , a rare earth mineral which has significant environmental costs to mine .
“ We kind of need radical , crazy approaches , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-creators of the project , tells CNET , “ One of the radical things we could do is completely rethink how we build these devices by throwing the batteries away.
” The Engage is due to be unveiled on September 12th at the virtual UbiComp conference , after which its design , hardware , and firmware will all be open-sourced on GitHub .
You can read all about its development in a feature published by CNET .

The original Game Boy from 1989 was an iconic handheld console but, as anyone who owned one will tell you, it required a steady stream of batteries to keep running. Now, a team of researchers at Northwestern University and Delft University of Technology have developed a new take on the classic console, replacing its array of four AA batteries with a set of five rows of solar panels and buttons that harvest power as you play.
The Engage, as the team have called their device, is theoretically capable of being used to play any game made for the original Game Boy, and it’s even got a slot on its back if you want to insert an original game cartridge. It’s about the size of a paperback book, but as CNET reports, it only weighs half as much as the original handheld.
“We kind of need radical, crazy approaches”
It also comes with a host of limitations. It doesn’t have sound for one thing, and its LCD screen is absolutely tiny. Oh, and it also tends to shut off every 10 seconds or so. It’s difficult to harvest enough power to stay on continuously, so the Engage is built to be able to shut down and come back to life with the mash of a button without losing any progress (a surprisingly difficult feat). The amount of time it can stay on for reportedly varies by game. Tetris can survive a little longer than Super Mario Land, for example. And apparently Pokémon Blue, with its larger memory requirements and minimal button presses to supply power, is a bit of a nightmare.
Suffice it to say that this wouldn’t be a great way to re-visit the Game Boy’s classic library of games, but that’s not really the point. The Engage is instead meant as a research project: a way to explore how future games consoles could be made to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Not only do consoles draw a lot of power, but modern batteries use lithium, a rare earth mineral which has significant environmental costs to mine.
“We kind of need radical, crazy approaches,” Josiah Hester, one of the co-creators of the project, tells CNET, “One of the radical things we could do is completely rethink how we build these devices by throwing the batteries away.”


theverge--2020-09-04--Sega Dreamcast darling Shenmue is becoming an anime series

I ’ ve often heard that Shenmue set the standard for a living , breathing open world in video games when it was released on Sega Dreamcast in 1999 .
It was followed by some of the most highly anticipated video game sequels ever made , and Shenmue III set a record for the most-funded Kickstarter game in 2015 .
Now , AT & T ’ s Crunchyroll has announced that Shenmue is getting its own anime series .
According to Deadline , it ’ ll air on Adult Swim ’ s Toonami in the United States , not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game protagonist Ryo Hazuki in his quest to become a martial artist and avenge his father ’ s murder .
Other than that rough outline , the image above , and the fact that Crunchyroll has ordered 13 episodes , we don ’ t have much more to share .
Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki will have an executive producer credit , and it ’ ll be directed by Chikara Sakurai whose IMDB profile you can browse here .
Shenmue III wound up being something of a disappointment since the game ’ s 20-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward to the modern day , but perhaps the story will carry itself as a focused anime series .
Personally , I ’ m a huge fan of what have often been dubbed Shenmue ’ s spiritual successors : the Yakuza games .

I’ve often heard that Shenmue set the standard for a living, breathing open world in video games when it was released on Sega Dreamcast in 1999. It was followed by some of the most highly anticipated video game sequels ever made, and Shenmue III set a record for the most-funded Kickstarter game in 2015.
Now, AT&T’s Crunchyroll has announced that Shenmue is getting its own anime series.
According to Deadline, it’ll air on Adult Swim’s Toonami in the United States, not just on Crunchyroll itself, and will follow game protagonist Ryo Hazuki in his quest to become a martial artist and avenge his father’s murder.
Other than that rough outline, the image above, and the fact that Crunchyroll has ordered 13 episodes, we don’t have much more to share. Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki will have an executive producer credit, and it’ll be directed by Chikara Sakurai whose IMDB profile you can browse here.
Shenmue III wound up being something of a disappointment since the game’s 20-year-old reputation for innovation couldn’t carry forward to the modern day, but perhaps the story will carry itself as a focused anime series.


theverge--2020-09-04--Today I learned my baby’s Fisher-Price gamepad accepts the Konami Code

My wife bought a toy game controller for our baby girl .
I couldn ’ t have been prouder .
Our six-month old already loved to drum her feet on my DualShock 4 — a born gamer .
So I started absentmindedly fiddling with the so-called “ Fisher-Price Game & Learn , ” impressed by how many sounds they ’ d managed to cram into one toy .
Then , a funny idea struck me .
I started pressing the buttons in that infamous sequence — the one that ’ s become such a must-have easter egg in the gaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into practically any game to see if developers decided to pay respects .
Up .
Up .
Down .
Down .
Left .
Right .
Left .
Right .
B .
A .
By the time I got halfway through , I ’ d convinced myself it was folly .
The controller ’ s audio wasn ’ t keeping up with my taps .
Then , I noticed the last button in the sequence — you ’ re supposed to end it by pressing “ Start ” — didn ’ t even exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hunting in vain .
That ’ s when the controller erupted into sound .
A Mario jump .
A Mario mushroom power-up .
A Mario coin .
“ You Win !
” it declared .
When I hopped on the internet , of course , I quickly discovered my discovery wasn ’ t remotely new — several people spotted it back in 2018 , which appears to be the same year Fisher-Price introduced the toy .
But it was new to me .
Perhaps it ’ s new to you ?
And it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hashimoto ’ s easter egg lives in a practically indestructible gadget designed to bring babies joy .
He was the original programmer of the Konami Code , and he died earlier this year .

My wife bought a toy game controller for our baby girl. I couldn’t have been prouder. Our six-month old already loved to drum her feet on my DualShock 4 — a born gamer.
So I started absentmindedly fiddling with the so-called “Fisher-Price Game & Learn,” impressed by how many sounds they’d managed to cram into one toy.
Then, a funny idea struck me. I started pressing the buttons in that infamous sequence — the one that’s become such a must-have easter egg in the gaming community, it’s worth punching into practically any game to see if developers decided to pay respects.
Up. Up. Down. Down. Left. Right. Left. Right. B. A.
By the time I got halfway through, I’d convinced myself it was folly. The controller’s audio wasn’t keeping up with my taps. Then, I noticed the last button in the sequence — you’re supposed to end it by pressing “Start” — didn’t even exist. No Start button. I was hunting in vain.
That’s when the controller erupted into sound. A Mario jump. A Mario mushroom power-up. A Mario coin. “You Win!” it declared.
The Konami Code worked.
When I hopped on the internet, of course, I quickly discovered my discovery wasn’t remotely new — several people spotted it back in 2018, which appears to be the same year Fisher-Price introduced the toy.
But it was new to me. Perhaps it’s new to you?


theverge--2020-09-04--Doom and Doom II get official widescreen support, 27 years later

Doom is the game that just won ’ t die , no matter how many times you blast those demons away — and owner Bethesda has seen fit to give the 27-year-old original quite a number of upgrades this year .
After adding 60fps support and community-made add-ons in January , the re-released Doom and Doom II are now getting official 16:9 widescreen support as well .
According to a Bethesda blog post ( via Polygon ) the company has actually modified the original Doom renderer to natively provide 16:9 without letterboxing , giving you a wider field of view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ugly borders or simply stretching out the existing image .
The lack of letterbox should be particularly handy for owners of the Nintendo Switch , iPhone and Android versions of the game , since those big borders will no longer cut into their already tiny screens — and on Android , the games ( Doom , Doom II ) now support 90Hz and 120Hz devices as well .
That ’ s not all : the engine now supports DeHackEd mods , gyro aiming on the Nintendo Switch and PS4 ( or with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support on iOS and new touch controls , a 120Hz mode on iOS ( presumably just for the iPad Pro ) , an adjustable FPS limiter on PC , and much more .
It feels like Bethesda ’ s building up a lot of goodwill with these Doom re-releases , after originally releasing them with a particularly weird piece of DRM that it quickly decided to delete .

Doom is the game that just won’t die, no matter how many times you blast those demons away — and owner Bethesda has seen fit to give the 27-year-old original quite a number of upgrades this year. After adding 60fps support and community-made add-ons in January, the re-released Doom and Doom II are now getting official 16:9 widescreen support as well.
According to a Bethesda blog post (via Polygon) the company has actually modified the original Doom renderer to natively provide 16:9 without letterboxing, giving you a wider field of view on the original game instead of big ugly borders or simply stretching out the existing image.
The lack of letterbox should be particularly handy for owners of the Nintendo Switch, iPhone and Android versions of the game, since those big borders will no longer cut into their already tiny screens — and on Android, the games (Doom, Doom II) now support 90Hz and 120Hz devices as well.
That’s not all: the engine now supports DeHackEd mods, gyro aiming on the Nintendo Switch and PS4 (or with a DualShock 4 on PC), controller support on iOS and new touch controls, a 120Hz mode on iOS (presumably just for the iPad Pro), an adjustable FPS limiter on PC, and much more.
It feels like Bethesda’s building up a lot of goodwill with these Doom re-releases, after originally releasing them with a particularly weird piece of DRM that it quickly decided to delete.


theverge--2020-09-04--Amazon takes down a five-star fraud in the UK

Amazon ’ s top reviewers in the UK appear to have engaged in fraud , leaving thousands of five-star ratings in exchange for money or free products .
The company took down 20,000 product reviews following an investigation by the Financial Times .
Justin Fryer , the number one Amazon reviewer in the UK , left a five-star rating once every four hours on average in August , according to the FT ’ s analysis .
Many of these reviews were for products from random Chinese companies .
Fryer then seems to have resold the products on eBay .
a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average Scams like these typically start on social networks and messaging apps such as Telegram , where companies can meet potential reviewers .
Once the connection is made , the reviewer chooses a free product , then waits a few days to write a five-star review .
After the review is posted , they get a full refund , and , at times , an extra payment .
Amazon has a specific rule against posting reviews in exchange for “ compensation of any kind ( including free or discounted products ) or on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 10 top reviewers in the UK seem to have broken that guideline , engaging in suspicious activity .
The 20,000 reviews that were removed were written by seven of the top 10 reviewers .
The company was alerted to Fryer ’ s activity in early August .
At least one Amazon user reported the man ’ s questionable ratings to CEO Jeff Bezos .
This user was told the company would investigate , although it failed to take action until today .
Fryer maintains that he definitely did not get paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says that his eBay listings for “ unused ” and “ unopened ” products were extras , according to the Times .
Regardless , his activity is not overly surprising .
Fake reviews have been an issue on Amazon for years .
In July , The Markup found sellers were engaged in a variety of tactics aimed at manipulating their ratings on the platform , including “ review hijacking ” where old ratings were attached to new , often unrelated products .
During the coronavirus pandemic , as more people shop online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In May , 58 percent of products on Amazon in the UK seemed to have fake reviews , according to Fakespot , a firm that analyzes ratings fraud .
“ The scale of this fraud is amazing , ” Fakespot CEO Saoud Khalifah told the Financial Times .
“ Amazon UK has a much higher percentage of fake reviews than the other platforms.
” In a statement emailed to The Verge , an Amazon spokesperson said the company analyzes reviews before they go public , processing 10 million submissions every week .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with confidence knowing that the reviews they read are authentic and relevant , ” they said .
“ We have clear policies for both reviewers and selling partners that prohibit abuse of our community features , and we suspend , ban , and take legal action against those who violate these policies.
” Update , 7:21PM ET : This story was updated to include a statement from Amazon .

Amazon’s top reviewers in the UK appear to have engaged in fraud, leaving thousands of five-star ratings in exchange for money or free products. The company took down 20,000 product reviews following an investigation by the Financial Times.
Justin Fryer, the number one Amazon reviewer in the UK, left a five-star rating once every four hours on average in August, according to the FT’s analysis. Many of these reviews were for products from random Chinese companies. Fryer then seems to have resold the products on eBay.
a five-star rating once every four hours on average
Scams like these typically start on social networks and messaging apps such as Telegram, where companies can meet potential reviewers. Once the connection is made, the reviewer chooses a free product, then waits a few days to write a five-star review. After the review is posted, they get a full refund, and, at times, an extra payment.
Amazon has a specific rule against posting reviews in exchange for “compensation of any kind (including free or discounted products) or on behalf of anyone else.” But nine of the 10 top reviewers in the UK seem to have broken that guideline, engaging in suspicious activity. The 20,000 reviews that were removed were written by seven of the top 10 reviewers.
The company was alerted to Fryer’s activity in early August. At least one Amazon user reported the man’s questionable ratings to CEO Jeff Bezos. This user was told the company would investigate, although it failed to take action until today.
Fryer maintains that he definitely did not get paid to post fake five-star ratings, and he says that his eBay listings for “unused” and “unopened” products were extras, according to the Times.
Regardless, his activity is not overly surprising. Fake reviews have been an issue on Amazon for years. In July, The Markup found sellers were engaged in a variety of tactics aimed at manipulating their ratings on the platform, including “review hijacking” where old ratings were attached to new, often unrelated products.
During the coronavirus pandemic, as more people shop online, the problem has only gotten worse. In May, 58 percent of products on Amazon in the UK seemed to have fake reviews, according to Fakespot, a firm that analyzes ratings fraud. “The scale of this fraud is amazing,” Fakespot CEO Saoud Khalifah told the Financial Times. “Amazon UK has a much higher percentage of fake reviews than the other platforms.”
In a statement emailed to The Verge, an Amazon spokesperson said the company analyzes reviews before they go public, processing 10 million submissions every week. “We want Amazon customers to shop with confidence knowing that the reviews they read are authentic and relevant,” they said. “We have clear policies for both reviewers and selling partners that prohibit abuse of our community features, and we suspend, ban, and take legal action against those who violate these policies.”


theverge--2020-09-04--This suspected Apple Watch prototype is disguised as a tiny iPod

Is this an actual prototype Apple Watch in one of those covert “ security cases ” that companies sometimes use when they ’ re testing gadgets in broad daylight ?
We can ’ t say .
Either way , this tiny iPod is perversely adorable — and quite the in-joke if it ’ s real .
You see , the sixth-generation iPod nano inspired quite a few people to try using the tiny square as a watch , including The Verge ’ s own editor-in-chief Nilay Patel .
( Note : this was a decade ago . )
When the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designers flipped the idea on its head with iPod-shaped shells for the Apple Watch , some of which you could actually buy .
And this April , we learned that the very first Apple Watch prototype actually was an iPod nano strapped to a wristband .
Apple had been along for the ride all this time .
So if these photos are legit and current , the joke ’ s still alive and well inside Apple HQ — and we ’ re looking at an homage , of sorts , to the original @

Is this an actual prototype Apple Watch in one of those covert “security cases” that companies sometimes use when they’re testing gadgets in broad daylight? We can’t say.
Either way, this tiny iPod is perversely adorable — and quite the in-joke if it’s real.
You see, the sixth-generation iPod nano inspired quite a few people to try using the tiny square as a watch, including The Verge’s own editor-in-chief Nilay Patel. (Note: this was a decade ago.) When the Apple Watch actually came out, some designers flipped the idea on its head with iPod-shaped shells for the Apple Watch, some of which you could actually buy.
And this April, we learned that the very first Apple Watch prototype actually was an iPod nano strapped to a wristband. Apple had been along for the ride all this time.


theverge--2020-09-04--How to turn off autoplay videos on Facebook, Twitter, Firefox, and more

You ’ ve probably been caught off guard by videos that play automatically on Facebook , Twitter , or just across the internet in general .
They begin playing as soon as you load a page or ( if they ’ re more deviously implemented ) when you start scrolling through a page .
Automatic video play is a feature that , while nice to have when it ’ s surfacing content that ’ s related to your interests , can be pretty annoying .
Autoplay videos can be harmful , too , exposing you to violent , offensive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have to see by default .
Whether you just want to put an end to autoplay videos on social media platforms or are looking for a more comprehensive fix , we ’ ve got some tips .
Keep in mind that you ’ ll need to adjust these settings for every device that you use , since your preferences on , say , your phone do not automatically push to your PC .
If you ’ re using Facebook on your browser , you can turn off autoplay videos this way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the top right of the page .
• Look for the “ Videos ” listing on the left-hand menu .
Inside of that option is a toggle where you can turn off autoplaying videos .
Facebook has similar options available for its iOS and Android apps : • Click the menu button on the bottom of your screen .
• Once you ’ re there , tap “ Settings & Privacy , ” then “ Settings.
” • Scroll down until you find “ Media and Contacts , ” then tap “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once you find “ Autoplay , ” you can turn off the feature .
• Click the menu button at the top right of your screen .
• Once you ’ re there , scroll down and tap “ Settings & Privacy , ” then “ Settings.
” • Scroll down until you find “ Media and Contacts ” and tap on it .
• Tap on “ Autoplay ” and set it to “ Never Autoplay Videos.
” • Click on “ More ” in the left-hand menu , and then on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the “ Autoplay ” setting .
You can then switch off the autoplaying of videos on your feed .
Using the iOS and Android apps • Click the profile picture at the top of your phone screen .
• Select “ Settings and privacy ” in the menu .
• Navigate to “ Data usage , ” tap on “ Video autoplay ” and set it to “ Never.
” The Instagram app doesn ’ t allow for autoplay videos to be turned off , so you ’ ll have to tread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ autoplay if you use Instagram on your browser , but since almost all of the service ’ s users are using it on mobile devices , there ’ s currently no way around it .
Reddit , like most sites that host video , autoplays videos by default .
However , it ’ s pretty easy to turn it off .
• Click your username in the upper-right corner and select “ User settings ” in the menu .
• Select the “ Feed settings ” tab at the top of the page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media ” switch .
• Click “ Preferences ” next to your username in the top right of the window .
• Under “ Media , ” look for and uncheck “ Autoplay Reddit videos on the desktop comments page.
” • You ’ ll need to hit “ save options ” at the bottom of the screen to put the changes through .
• Tap the icon next to the search bar , then hit “ Settings.
” • You ’ ll see “ Autoplay ” near the top of the page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn it off .
There are a variety of desktop browsers out there — some of which let you turn off video autoplay and some of which don ’ t .
If you use Google Chrome and want to turn off video autoplay — you can ’ t .
There used to be an experimental command-line flag that allowed you to turn them off ( you can find the flags by typing chrome : //flags/ into Chrome ’ s address field ) , but it ’ s disappeared .
Interestingly , Microsoft ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on the Chromium open-source design , does let you turn off — well , at least , limit — video autoplay : • Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select “ Settings.
” • In the left-hand column , click on “ Site Permissions , ” and then scroll down to and select “ Media autoplay.
” You can either allow audio and video to play automatically or limit it .
According to the instructions , whether autoplay will work or not will depend on “ how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether you interacted with media in the past.
” Firefox has a similar feature that lets you turn off autoplay , for the most part .
• Click on the three lines in the upper right corner of the browser and select “ Preferences.
” • In the left-hand column , click on “ Privacy & Security.
” • Scroll down to the section headed “ Permissions ” and look for “ Autoplay.
” Click on the button marked “ Settings.
” A drop-down menu will let you allow audio and video , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video .
You can also specify sites that you want to differ from your defaults — for example , if you block audio and video as a default , but you want to allow it for , say , The Verge .
Safari makes it simple to disable autoplay .
In fact , it assumes that you want the feature disabled to begin with .
However , if it hasn ’ t been disabled — or if you want to make some exceptions to the rule — here ’ s what you do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to Safari > Preferences in the top menu .
• Click on “ Websites ” in the top menu .
• Look for and select “ Auto-Play ” in the side menu .
• Look for the drop-down menu at the bottom right of the window and select “ Never Auto-Play.
” As with Firefox , you can whitelist any sites that you want to be an exception to the rule .
Update September 4th , 2020 5:11PM ET : This article was originally published on March 15th , 2019 .
Most @ @ @ @ @ @ @

You’ve probably been caught off guard by videos that play automatically on Facebook, Twitter, or just across the internet in general. They begin playing as soon as you load a page or (if they’re more deviously implemented) when you start scrolling through a page.
Automatic video play is a feature that, while nice to have when it’s surfacing content that’s related to your interests, can be pretty annoying. Autoplay videos can be harmful, too, exposing you to violent, offensive, or otherwise unwanted content that you shouldn’t have to see by default.
Whether you just want to put an end to autoplay videos on social media platforms or are looking for a more comprehensive fix, we’ve got some tips. Keep in mind that you’ll need to adjust these settings for every device that you use, since your preferences on, say, your phone do not automatically push to your PC.
Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge
Facebook
If you’re using Facebook on your browser, you can turn off autoplay videos this way:
Go to the drop-down menu at the top right of the page.
Select “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
Look for the “Videos” listing on the left-hand menu. Inside of that option is a toggle where you can turn off autoplaying videos.
Facebook has similar options available for its iOS and Android apps:
Using the iOS app
Click the menu button on the bottom of your screen.
Once you’re there, tap “Settings & Privacy,” then “Settings.”
Scroll down until you find “Media and Contacts,” then tap “Videos and Photos.”
Finally, once you find “Autoplay,” you can turn off the feature.
Using the Android app
Click the menu button at the top right of your screen.
Once you’re there, scroll down and tap “Settings & Privacy,” then “Settings.”
Scroll down until you find “Media and Contacts” and tap on it.
Tap on “Autoplay” and set it to “Never Autoplay Videos.”
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter
Click on “More” in the left-hand menu, and then on “Settings and privacy.”
Select “Accessibility, display, and languages” > “Data usage”
Click on the “Autoplay” setting. You can then switch off the autoplaying of videos on your feed.
Using the iOS and Android apps
Click the profile picture at the top of your phone screen.
Select “Settings and privacy” in the menu.
Navigate to “Data usage,” tap on “Video autoplay” and set it to “Never.”
Instagram
Instagram doesn’t allow for autoplay videos to be turned off, so you’ll have to tread carefully here. Videos won’t autoplay with sound if you use Instagram on your browser. Stopping autoplay on mobile devices is possible, but a little roundabout.
Using a mobile app
Go to your profile page and tap on the three lines in the upper right corner
Go to “Settings” > “Account” > “Cellular Data Use”
For Android: toggle the “Data Saver” on and tap on “High Resolution Media.” If you then select “Never,” then media such as videos won’t load in advance.
For iOS: toggle on “Use Less Data”
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Reddit
Reddit, like most sites that host video, autoplays videos by default. However, it’s pretty easy to turn it off.
Using the newest design
Click your username in the upper-right corner and select “User settings” in the menu.
Select the “Feed settings” tab at the top of the page, and toggle off the “Autoplay media” switch.
Using the legacy version
Click “Preferences” next to your username in the top right of the window.
Under “Media,” look for and uncheck “Autoplay Reddit videos on the desktop comments page.”
You’ll need to hit “save options” at the bottom of the screen to put the changes through.
Using the mobile app
Tap the icon next to the search bar, then hit “Settings.”
You’ll see “Autoplay” near the top of the page, and you can easily choose to turn it off.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Desktop browsers
There are a variety of desktop browsers out there — some of which let you turn off video autoplay and some of which don’t.
Using Google Chrome
If you use Google Chrome and want to turn off video autoplay — you can’t. There used to be an experimental command-line flag that allowed you to turn them off (you can find the flags by typing chrome://flags/ into Chrome’s address field), but it’s disappeared.
You can turn the sound off (which might help a bit):
Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner
Select “Settings” > “Site settings” > “Sound”
Toggle sound off. You can add exceptions for specific sites here.
Using Microsoft Edge
Interestingly, Microsoft’s Edge browser, which is also based on the Chromium open-source design, does let you turn off — well, at least, limit — video autoplay:
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select “Settings.”
In the left-hand column, click on “Site Permissions,” and then scroll down to and select “Media autoplay.”
You can either allow audio and video to play automatically or limit it. According to the instructions, whether autoplay will work or not will depend on “how you’ve visited the page and whether you interacted with media in the past.”
Using Firefox
Firefox has a similar feature that lets you turn off autoplay, for the most part.
Click on the three lines in the upper right corner of the browser and select “Preferences.”
In the left-hand column, click on “Privacy & Security.”
Scroll down to the section headed “Permissions” and look for “Autoplay.” Click on the button marked “Settings.”
A drop-down menu will let you allow audio and video, block audio, or block audio and video. You can also specify sites that you want to differ from your defaults — for example, if you block audio and video as a default, but you want to allow it for, say, The Verge.
Using Safari
Safari makes it simple to disable autoplay. In fact, it assumes that you want the feature disabled to begin with. However, if it hasn’t been disabled — or if you want to make some exceptions to the rule — here’s what you do:
While in the app, go to Safari > Preferences in the top menu.
Click on “Websites” in the top menu.
Look for and select “Auto-Play” in the side menu.
Look for the drop-down menu at the bottom right of the window and select “Never Auto-Play.”
As with Firefox, you can whitelist any sites that you want to be an exception to the rule.
Update September 4th, 2020 5:11PM ET: This article was originally published on March 15th, 2019. Most of the entries have been updated.


theverge--2020-09-04--The Pentagon says Microsoft should still get its $10B JEDI contract following an investigation

Following an investigation by the Pentagon , the Department of Defense says it is standing by its decision to award a $ 10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft , not Amazon , the latest in an ongoing legal battle over the lucrative infrastructure project .
On Friday , the Department of Defense said in a statement that it had completed its investigation into the awarding of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure ( JEDI ) contract , an investigation it pursued to determine whether there were discrepancies in the procurement process .
The Defense Department said it had “ determined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represent the best value to the Government , ” adding that “ contract performance will not begin immediately.
” That ’ s because , in February , a judge issued a temporary injunction against the contract after Amazon sued , claiming it was shut out of the contract due to President Trump ’ s perceived animosity toward CEO Jeff Bezos .
Amazon argued that the process of granting the contract had “ clear deficiencies , errors and unmistakable bias.
” The contract will provide the Pentagon with cloud services that include basic storage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machine learning , and the ability to process mission-critical workloads .
The government awarded the contract to Microsoft in October 2019 , but President Trump said last July that he was looking into the contract following complaints about the bidding process , which prompted concerns about political influence in the decision .
IBM and Oracle also bid on the contract but were eliminated from the process in April 2018 .
Oracle had challenged the decision in court and lost its latest legal appeal earlier this week .
In an email to The Verge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company was ready to get to work on the project .
“ We appreciate that after careful review , the DoD confirmed that we offered the right technology and the best value , ” the spokesperson said .
A Friday post on Amazon Web Services ’ public sector blog said the company strongly disagreed with the decision , calling the Defense Department ’ s reevaluation of the contract “ nothing more than an attempt to validate a flawed , biased , and politically corrupted decision.
” Amazon will continue to pursue a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” of the process , the post states , adding , “ The question we continue to ask ourselves is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of the Department of Defense to pursue his own personal and political ends ?
”

Following an investigation by the Pentagon, the Department of Defense says it is standing by its decision to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft, not Amazon, the latest in an ongoing legal battle over the lucrative infrastructure project.
On Friday, the Department of Defense said in a statement that it had completed its investigation into the awarding of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, an investigation it pursued to determine whether there were discrepancies in the procurement process.
The Defense Department said it had “determined that Microsoft’s proposal continues to represent the best value to the Government,” adding that “contract performance will not begin immediately.” That’s because, in February, a judge issued a temporary injunction against the contract after Amazon sued, claiming it was shut out of the contract due to President Trump’s perceived animosity toward CEO Jeff Bezos. Amazon argued that the process of granting the contract had “clear deficiencies, errors and unmistakable bias.”
The contract will provide the Pentagon with cloud services that include basic storage and power, artificial intelligence processing, machine learning, and the ability to process mission-critical workloads.
The government awarded the contract to Microsoft in October 2019, but President Trump said last July that he was looking into the contract following complaints about the bidding process, which prompted concerns about political influence in the decision. IBM and Oracle also bid on the contract but were eliminated from the process in April 2018. Oracle had challenged the decision in court and lost its latest legal appeal earlier this week.
In an email to The Verge on Friday, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company was ready to get to work on the project. “We appreciate that after careful review, the DoD confirmed that we offered the right technology and the best value,” the spokesperson said.
A Friday post on Amazon Web Services’ public sector blog said the company strongly disagreed with the decision, calling the Defense Department’s reevaluation of the contract “nothing more than an attempt to validate a flawed, biased, and politically corrupted decision.” Amazon will continue to pursue a “fair, objective and impartial review” of the process, the post states, adding, “The question we continue to ask ourselves is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of the Department of Defense to pursue his own personal and political ends?”


theverge--2020-09-04--Read Apple’s commitment to freedom of expression that doesn’t mention China

On Friday , Apple published a new human rights policy committing to “ freedom of information and expression ” after facing years of criticism over the company ’ s willingness to follow mainland China ’ s censorship laws .
As first reported by the Financial Times on Friday , Apple ’ s four-page policy document commits to “ respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch — including our employees , suppliers , contractors , and customers.
” But it does not cite any particular country , like China , where the company has been asked to ban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before .
According to Apple ’ s policy document ( PDF ) , this approach is based on the United Nation ’ s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights .
Apple says that it will continue to follow censorship laws in countries where they exist .
“ We work every day to make quality products , including content and services , available to our users in a way that respects their human rights , ” Apple writes in the document .
“ We ’ re required to comply with local laws , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward.
” Apple ’ s willingness to bow down to censorship rules in China could stem from its significant Chinese customer and manufacturing base .
Almost all of its critical manufacturing takes place in the country .
The company has previously revealed that it removed apps from its App Store in China after the Beijing government demanded it do so .
In a letter to Congress in 2017 , Apple revealed that it removed 674 VPN apps from its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are commonly used to evade censorship in countries like China .
In 2019 , Apple removed an app called HKmap.live , a crowdsourced mapping app used by Hong Kong residents to mark the locations of police .
And in August 2020 , Apple removed thousands of games from its Chinese App Store .

On Friday, Apple published a new human rights policy committing to “freedom of information and expression” after facing years of criticism over the company’s willingness to follow mainland China’s censorship laws.
As first reported by the Financial Times on Friday, Apple’s four-page policy document commits to “respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch — including our employees, suppliers, contractors, and customers.” But it does not cite any particular country, like China, where the company has been asked to ban apps that allow users to circumvent censorship before. According to Apple’s policy document (PDF), this approach is based on the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
“We’re required to comply with local laws”
Apple says that it will continue to follow censorship laws in countries where they exist. “We work every day to make quality products, including content and services, available to our users in a way that respects their human rights,” Apple writes in the document. “We’re required to comply with local laws, and at times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward.”


theverge--2020-09-04--T-Mobile details its plan to give free internet to 10 million students at home

Last year , T-Mobile announced a plan to provide 10 million low-income households free broadband internet to close what then-CEO John Legere called “ the homework gap , ” pitching it as one of the reasons that the company should be allowed to merge with Sprint .
The company has now revealed that it has allocated $ 10.7 billion for that “ Project 10Million ” program over the next decade , with the goal of making it available to K-12 students who participate in the national school lunch program for low-income families .
“ Even before the pandemic , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 56 million school-age kids did not have access to reliable internet , and could not complete after-school assignments , ” the company said in a news release , suggesting that existing gap leaves many kids at risk of falling behind in school .
With so many students learning remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic , the need for home internet may be even more important than it was last year .
School administrators can apply for the program by providing ZIP codes for their students in the school lunch program , and parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools then distribute the hotspots and devices , with T-Mobile providing assistance for setup and technical support .
Households can get a free hotspot and 100GB of data over a single year , or they can pay $ 12 monthly for 100GB of data each month .
Those data limits may not meet all the needs of students using Zoom , YouTube , and loads of other video-streaming platforms for their online classes and entertainment , and T-Mobile is still limiting those video streams to a low-resolution 480p .
There ’ ll be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too , with T-Mobile allocating more each year .
In addition , the fine print says that the free plan will end after 100GB or 365 days , whichever comes first , suggesting that students ’ internet may get abruptly shut off .
( That ’ s different than a typical “ unlimited ” cellular plan , where you have some low level of internet access even after you hit a data cap . )
Still , this is definitely better than having kids sit outside fast food restaurants to access Wi-Fi hotspots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Last year, T-Mobile announced a plan to provide 10 million low-income households free broadband internet to close what then-CEO John Legere called “the homework gap,” pitching it as one of the reasons that the company should be allowed to merge with Sprint. The company has now revealed that it has allocated $10.7 billion for that “Project 10Million” program over the next decade, with the goal of making it available to K-12 students who participate in the national school lunch program for low-income families.
“Even before the pandemic, more than 9 million of America’s 56 million school-age kids did not have access to reliable internet, and could not complete after-school assignments,” the company said in a news release, suggesting that existing gap leaves many kids at risk of falling behind in school.
With so many students learning remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the need for home internet may be even more important than it was last year.
School administrators can apply for the program by providing ZIP codes for their students in the school lunch program, and parents can also volunteer their schools. The schools then distribute the hotspots and devices, with T-Mobile providing assistance for setup and technical support. Households can get a free hotspot and 100GB of data over a single year, or they can pay $12 monthly for 100GB of data each month.
Many caveats apply
Those data limits may not meet all the needs of students using Zoom, YouTube, and loads of other video-streaming platforms for their online classes and entertainment, and T-Mobile is still limiting those video streams to a low-resolution 480p. There’ll be a limited number of hotspots available, too, with T-Mobile allocating more each year.
In addition, the fine print says that the free plan will end after 100GB or 365 days, whichever comes first, suggesting that students’ internet may get abruptly shut off. (That’s different than a typical “unlimited” cellular plan, where you have some low level of internet access even after you hit a data cap.)


theverge--2020-09-04--Trump administration issues directive aimed at enhancing cybersecurity in space

Today , the Trump administration released its fifth Space Policy Directive , this one designed to come up with a list of best practices for the space industry on how to protect their spacecraft from cyber threats .
The goal is to encourage the government and space industry to create their space vehicles with cybersecurity plans in place , incorporating tools like encryption software and other protections when designing , building , and operating their vehicles .
Senior administration officials , speaking on background , claimed that focusing on cybersecurity in space is key right now , as there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adversaries .
“ These threats are diverse and complex , and robust public-private cooperation to enhance the security and resilience of an infrastructure is key to our efforts , ” one official said .
When asked what specific types of threats were of concern , the officials wouldn ’ t talk specifics .
“ Suffice to say that they do occur , and they occur with concerning regularity , such that this ... set of cybersecurity principles was important , ” an official said on background .
The officials pointed to a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and security developments within China over the last year .
The report outlined China ’ s growing space program , as well as the country ’ s efforts to develop weapons like satellite jammers and “ offensive cyber capabilities.
” “ Suffice to say that they do occur , and they occur with concerning regularity.
” To combat these threats , Space Policy Directive 5 lays out guidelines that companies should try to adhere to as they launch satellites and other vehicles to space .
The administration is recommending operators use various types @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they receive from their spacecraft is encrypted .
The directive also encourages companies to use trusted supply chains and oversee the safety of their ground systems — the facilities they use to send signals and retrieve data from their spacecraft .
The report also recommends protecting against jamming and spoofing of satellites .
“ Sometimes the jamming can be fairly crude ; other cases , some of the spoofing can be fairly sophisticated if somebody ’ s trying to get on board , ” one official said .
“ So there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to look at kind of end-to-end.
” Ultimately , the directive says that government agencies should work with commercial companies to further refine what these best cybersecurity practices should be , especially since many in the space industry already implement these strategies when building and launching vehicles .
“ I think it ’ s important to stress that we ’ re not trying to impose new government-driven top down requirements and standards but are in fact trying to work with and leverage the private sector , ” an official said .
SPD-5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration designed to shape the US space agenda .
Trump ’ s first directive instructed NASA to send humans back to the Moon , while other directives have focused on coming up with a way to oversee space traffic and streamlining regulations for space licenses .

Today, the Trump administration released its fifth Space Policy Directive, this one designed to come up with a list of best practices for the space industry on how to protect their spacecraft from cyber threats. The goal is to encourage the government and space industry to create their space vehicles with cybersecurity plans in place, incorporating tools like encryption software and other protections when designing, building, and operating their vehicles.
Senior administration officials, speaking on background, claimed that focusing on cybersecurity in space is key right now, as there are growing threats to space hardware from foreign adversaries. “These threats are diverse and complex, and robust public-private cooperation to enhance the security and resilience of an infrastructure is key to our efforts,” one official said.
When asked what specific types of threats were of concern, the officials wouldn’t talk specifics. “Suffice to say that they do occur, and they occur with concerning regularity, such that this... set of cybersecurity principles was important,” an official said on background. The officials pointed to a recent report from the Defense Department detailing military and security developments within China over the last year. The report outlined China’s growing space program, as well as the country’s efforts to develop weapons like satellite jammers and “offensive cyber capabilities.”
“Suffice to say that they do occur, and they occur with concerning regularity.”
To combat these threats, Space Policy Directive 5 lays out guidelines that companies should try to adhere to as they launch satellites and other vehicles to space. The administration is recommending operators use various types of software to ensure that the data they receive from their spacecraft is encrypted. The directive also encourages companies to use trusted supply chains and oversee the safety of their ground systems — the facilities they use to send signals and retrieve data from their spacecraft. The report also recommends protecting against jamming and spoofing of satellites. “Sometimes the jamming can be fairly crude; other cases, some of the spoofing can be fairly sophisticated if somebody’s trying to get on board,” one official said. “So there’s a whole range of things that you need to look at kind of end-to-end.”
Ultimately, the directive says that government agencies should work with commercial companies to further refine what these best cybersecurity practices should be, especially since many in the space industry already implement these strategies when building and launching vehicles. “I think it’s important to stress that we’re not trying to impose new government-driven top down requirements and standards but are in fact trying to work with and leverage the private sector,” an official said.


theverge--2020-09-05--The best Labor Day tech deals

The best Labor Day tech deals

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval , so if you 're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon , Walmart , Best Buy , Target , and more , this is the place to be .
Welcome to Labor Day weekend .
Whether you ’ re working during the US holiday on Monday , September 7th , or you have off , retailers have cut prices on several tech products .
For the discounts that are more limited in duration , I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will end .
It ’ s safe to assume that any deal that doesn ’ t list an end date will continue to be available well after Labor Day has passed .
• Satechi is offering a site-wide discount on its useful accessories ( like it ’ s USB-C Apple Watch charger , shown above ) through September 7th .
Whatever you end up adding to your cart , entering the code SATLDAY15 at checkout will take 15 percent off your purchase .
• There ’ s a good deal on Google ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now at Daily Steals .
It ’ s a brand-new kit that includes a router and two Points for $ 320 ( usually $ 340 ) .
To get this deal , enter the code VERGEGWIFI at checkout .
• Several HyperX accessories , including headsets , laptop and desktop RAM , gaming keyboards , and more are discounted at its site .
• Vizio ’ s latest 65-inch P-series Quantum 4K HDR television is down to $ 980 ( usually $ 1,200 ) at Best Buy .
If you aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ ll be $ 1,000 instead .
This deal will last through September 7th .
• Through Monday , Samsung ’ s 65-inch 8-series 4K HDR TV ( model RU8000FXZA ) is $ 600 , down from its usual $ 900 cost .
In a few ways it ’ s the preferable option over Samsung ’ s newer TU8000 TV .
It features four HDMI ports to three in the latest version , and it has a 120Hz refresh rate , while the new model is only 60Hz .
Additionally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s wall-mountable .
• BenQ ’ s GV1 wireless portable projector that ’ s compatible with Google Cast and AirPlay and has a slim profile is $ 300 ( usually $ 350 ) at Amazon and B & H Photo .
• At Newegg , you can get $ 5 off a digital copy of Marvel ’ s Avengers for Xbox One with the offer code EMCDRDH46 used at checkout .
• Doom Eternal ( PS4 , Xbox One ) is $ 30 ( usually $ 60 ) at GameStop until September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PS4 ) is $ 30 ( usually $ 60 ) at GameStop until September 7th .
• Resident Evil 3 ( PS4 , Xbox One ) is $ 30 ( usually $ 60 ) at GameStop until September 7th .
• Best Buy has knocked $ 20 off of must-play Nintendo Switch games , like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe , Splatoon 2 , Mario Tennis Aces , and more .
This deal brings them down to $ 40 each .
• Astro ’ s A40 TR gaming headset that includes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Daily Steals with the offer code VERGEASTRO .
The headset itself works with any platform , but the mixer is only compatible with Xbox One controllers .
This is an open-box retail unit that ’ s technically new , just not in its original packaging .
It has a 30-day warranty from Daily Steals , and this price is about $ 15 cheaper than other retailers .
• Razer ’ s Blade 15 gaming laptop with a FHD 144Hz refresh rate display , Intel ’ s Core i7-10750H processor , Nvidia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of RAM , and 512GB of fast storage is $ 1,600 instead of $ 1,800 .
It ’ s a 12 percent discount , and it ’ s not a bad price for such a well-built machine .
This deal lasts through September 5th .
• Apple ’ s latest iPad Air ( 2019 , 256GB ) is $ 550 ( usually $ 650 ) at Best Buy .
• Also , the 2019 Apple iPad Mini ( 64GB ) is $ 350 ( usually $ 400 ) at Best Buy .
• @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usually $ 300 ) at Best Buy and Amazon .
This matches the lowest price we ’ ve seen to date .
• Starting Sunday , September 6th and going through September 12th , Jaybird ’ s Tarah wireless earphones will be $ 40 ( usually $ 50 ) .
Its X4 wireless earphones will be $ 70 ( usually $ 130 ) , and its Vista truly wireless earbuds will be $ 160 ( usually $ 180 ) .
• Jabra ’ s Elite 75t true wireless earbuds are $ 120 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when you ’ re signed in with your account .
Make sure to apply the offer on the product page to get the discount .

Welcome to Labor Day weekend. Whether you’re working during the US holiday on Monday, September 7th, or you have off, retailers have cut prices on several tech products. For the discounts that are more limited in duration, I’ve made sure to note when those deals will end. It’s safe to assume that any deal that doesn’t list an end date will continue to be available well after Labor Day has passed.