theverge--2020-07-24--The tech antitrust hearing is shaping up to be one for the ages

This newsletter was sent out on Thursday afternoon before it was reported that the hearing would likely be delayed so lawmakers can attend Rep. John Lewis ’ s funeral .
The hearing is now expected to take place the following week .
On Monday at noon ET , one of the more notable Congressional hearings in Silicon Valley history is set to take place .
The 15-member House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee will ask questions of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos , Apple CEO Tim Cook , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , and Google CEO Sundar Pichai .
The event is what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : members of Congress are gathering evidence as part of a 13-month investigation into competition and digital marketplaces .
The outcome could be legislation that seeks to rein in the market power of these giants , limiting their ability to create monopolies .
Or it could turn out to be one more theatrical tech hearing in a series of them , where members of Congress look to score points with gotcha-style questioning as CEOs furrow their brows and promise that a member of their teams will follow up on that later .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while Amazon , Apple , Facebook , and Google share some broad characteristics , they are also very different companies .
( Scott Rosenberg has a nice , concise overview of their similarities and differences in Axios . )
It is difficult to imagine a single antitrust remedy that applies equally to all four companies and restrains their power in the same way .
When I try to imagine what this hearing will be like , I think of 15 prosecutors trying four murder cases simultaneously ... on Zoom .
( That said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a panel of industry CEOs to appear together before Congress . )
On the other hand , each of the companies operates one or more marketplaces .
Amazon sells real goods ; Facebook and Google sell ads ; Apple sells apps .
Each of them has successfully aggregated hundreds of millions of people or more into world-scale user bases that sometimes resemble nation-states unto themselves as much as they do traditional corporations .
They are not alone in this — Microsoft is conspicuously absent from Monday ’ s proceedings , as Ben @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four murder cases simultaneously is crazy , five would have been even crazier .
So what will Congress ask about on Monday ?
In Protocol , Issie Lapowsky and Emily Birnbaum make their best guesses .
And they make this salient point about how good these CEOs have it , all things considering : For Amazon , expect questions about how the company uses data from the independent businesses who sell their products on Amazon to decide which products to build and sell under its own labels — while also giving them much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Congress it was not doing this , but then it turned out that they are .
At that point Amazon ’ s explanation pivoted to “ Hey , that ’ s not supposed to happen .
We ’ re going to look into it !
” But the European Union plans to sue the company over it anyway .
In any case , this will be the first time Jeff Bezos has ever testified before Congress , and given how little he has said publicly during a year of crisis for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to it .
Apple ’ s antitrust problems are centered on its App Store .
The company extracts a 30 percent cut of revenue from apps selling digital goods , including from apps that it competes with directly .
Apps like Spotify , which it challenges with Apple Music , or Basecamp ’ s Hey , which competes with Mail and iCloud .
Apple ’ s response to this has been that these apps are doing fine , the app ecosystem is doing fine , and taking a 30 percent cut of everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Information reports that Cook is extremely annoyed at having to appear at this hearing , in part because he has spent so much time sucking up to the Trump administration .
Christopher Stern writes : Alas , Congress is a separate branch of government .
For now !
Facebook ’ s purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp , and aggressive cloning of Snap , led to a period of relative stagnation among social apps in the United States while cementing a dominant position alongside Google in digital advertising .
It has also acted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ users from finding their Facebook friends on the app once Vine started to get traction .
That ’ s why the company is currently under separate investigations for antitrust issues from the Department of Justice , the Federal Trade Commission , and state attorneys general .
The promise of this hearing for Facebook watchers is that it could unearth new documents pointing to how executives talked about these issues internally when it was making the decisions in question .
I ’ m excited for this part !
As for Google ?
That company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of antitrust action .
The Justice Department is reportedly planning to file a case against Google this summer .
Two separate investigations by the nation ’ s attorneys general are also underway — one led by Google ’ s home state of California , and the other comprising most other states .
At issue are longstanding questions around how Google promotes its own products over rivals in search results , as I wrote about here last week .
Protocol notes that other issues under investigation include Google making its search engine the default @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be the default search engine on the iPhone , and buying up major digital advertising networks to build its half of the digital advertising duopoly .
It ’ s hard to read about everything at stake here and not wish that each of these companies had been called to attend separate , more focused hearings .
And not just because it would likely result in more revealing questions being asked — but also because it could give room for CEOs to give more complete , meaningful answers .
But given the somnambulant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States over the past 20 years , I ’ ll take what I can get .
Whatever happens on Monday , it seems likely that the hearing will be one we talk about for a long time to come .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
⬆ Trending up : TikTok launched a $ 200 million fund to pay creators directly for their content .
The fund is meant to support ambitious creators who “ are seeking opportunities to foster a livelihood ” on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Verge ) ⬇Trending down : On Wednesday Facebook said it would create a panel devoted to studying racial bias in its algorithms .
A story from NBC News today helps explain why : internal research showed that Black users of Instagram were 50 percent more likely to have their accounts disabled by the company ’ s systems .
The company reportedly shut down further research into the issue .
( Olivia Solon / NBC News ) ⭐ President Trump ’ s campaign is locked in a battle with AT & T , Verizon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blast millions of cell users with unsolicited texts .
Jared Kushner called the CEOs of the companies to complain after they blocked a mass campaign text to voters .
Here ’ s Tom LoBianco at Business Insider : ⭐ Multiple states are investigating Apple for potentially deceiving consumers .
The company is already facing antitrust investigations from US House lawmakers and the European Union .
Here ’ s Margaret Harding McGill at Axios : Most Americans think social media companies have too much influence in politics today .
Roughly 82 percent of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too much power , compared to 63 percent of people who lean Democratic .
( Pew Research Center ) Tim Bray , a former vice president at Amazon , is calling on the company to separate its retail business from its lucrative cloud computing unit .
Bray resigned in May for what he called “ a vein of toxicity ” running through Amazon ’ s culture .
( Karen Weise / The New York Times ) Startup founders are accusing Amazon of meeting with them on the pretense of investing in their companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put their business at risk .
In some cases , Amazon went through with the investment , but still developed competing products on the side .
Something else for the subcommittee to ask about Monday !
( Dana Mattioli and Cara Lombardo / The Wall Street Journal ) TikTok founder Zhang Yiming is racing to address US national security concerns before the White House issues a possible ban .
The company is considering selling TikTok to US investors , or splitting off the US business .
This piece does a good job of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Huang and Katie Roof / Bloomberg ) To cybersecurity experts , the case for banning TikTok isn ’ t black and white .
They say concerns about national security are likely rooted not in xenophobia , but in the fact that the Communist Party of China has a track record of surveillance , censorship , and data theft .
( Rebecca Jennings / Vox ) Facebook agreed to pay $ 650 million in a class action lawsuit over the company ’ s unauthorized use of facial recognition .
The settlement covers any Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the site after 2011 .
( Jeff John Roberts / Fortune ) Facebook is facing a reckoning from some employees who are questioning whether the social giant is doing more harm than good .
New documents , including internal message threads and recordings of CEO Mark Zuckerberg , show how Facebook workers are grappling with the company ’ s recent decisions .
( Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed ) Content moderators working for Facebook via third-party companies in India and the Philippines are not part of the lawsuit between the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject of a preliminary $ 52 million settlement .
They report grueling working conditions , but won ’ t receive the same support for the often traumatic work that their American coworkers will get .
( Vittoria Elliott and Tekendra Parmar / Rest of World ) Steve Wozniak is suing YouTube for allowing scammers to use his name and likeness in scammy bitcoin giveaways .
The lawsuit claims YouTube is aware of these scams but has nonetheless not taken the videos down .
He ’ s the latest in a line of well-connected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other option , have sued YouTube over impersonation scams .
( Monica Chin / The Verge ) Twitter said the hackers behind last week ’ s unprecedented attack accessed the direct message inbox of an elected official in the Netherlands .
The revelation comes as part of the company ’ s ongoing investigation .
( Jay Peters / The Verge ) The Twitter hackers also viewed the DMs of 36 other accounts involved in last week ’ s attack .
Twitter did not disclose who the accounts belonged to beyond the elected official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ / BBC ) Also : here ’ s the email that Twitter is sending hacking victims .
( Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / Vice ) Nearly three months after Google and Apple announced their contact-tracing API , contact-tracing apps have quietly taken a backseat in the fight against COVID-19 .
Pandemic apathy in the US is partly to blame , but the technical failures of the apps may have been an even bigger factor .
( Chas Kissick , Elliot Setzer , Jacob Schulz / Lawfare ) ⭐ Twitter is actively exploring a subscription model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its users .
The move comes as Twitter suffers a sharp decline in its core advertising business .
Brian Fung at CNN has the story : Twitter reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations on revenue .
The company said ad revenue is down 23 percent year over year , although user growth is up .
( Lauren Feiner / CNBC ) Amazon launched a sports category on Twitch .
The standalone sports category will include streams from soccer clubs like Arsenal and Real Madrid , with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain set to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Verge ) Facebook announced a new feature that lets users live broadcast video calls with up to 50 participants .
The move means competition for Zoom , which allows paid users to livestream video calls to services like Facebook , YouTube and Twitch .
As someone who has tried and failed to stream Zoom to YouTube , I find this new competition extremely welcome !
( Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC ) Facebook is testing a new design for Facebook Pages that gets rid of the “ Like ” button .
The test also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and makes it easier for those who operate Pages to actually use and manage them .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) Facebook is simulating the actions of bad actors using AI-powered bots .
The new method is meant to help them identify users spreading spam , scamming others , or buying and selling weapons on the platform .
Is it possible that we are living in one of these simulations ?
I can ’ t be the only person asking this .
( James Vincent / The Verge ) While the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from experts , some critics are pointing out clear issues around bias .
Researchers at OpenAI noted in the paper introducing GPT-3 that “ internet-trained models have internet-scale biases.
” ( Bryan Walsh / Axios ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Watch a departing Facebook engineer ’ s video about why he left .
After nine years at Facebook , Max Wang reflects on why he became disillusioned .
It ’ s a brainy , literate video about Hannah Ahrendt and how Facebook ’ s ideological fervor around “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the erosion of personal social interactions in favor of political expression , making many of us feel alienated and more vulnerable to authoritarian ideologies .
I ’ m going to be thinking about this video for a long time .
Learn how to take a Quibi screenshot .
It ’ s very special .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and what question you would ask in the antitrust hearing if you were on the subcommittee : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

This newsletter was sent out on Thursday afternoon before it was reported that the hearing would likely be delayed so lawmakers can attend Rep. John Lewis’s funeral. The hearing is now expected to take place the following week.
On Monday at noon ET, one of the more notable Congressional hearings in Silicon Valley history is set to take place. The 15-member House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee will ask questions of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The event is what’s known as an evidentiary hearing: members of Congress are gathering evidence as part of a 13-month investigation into competition and digital marketplaces.
The outcome could be legislation that seeks to rein in the market power of these giants, limiting their ability to create monopolies. Or it could turn out to be one more theatrical tech hearing in a series of them, where members of Congress look to score points with gotcha-style questioning as CEOs furrow their brows and promise that a member of their teams will follow up on that later.
A weird thing about the hearing is that while Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google share some broad characteristics, they are also very different companies. (Scott Rosenberg has a nice, concise overview of their similarities and differences in Axios.) It is difficult to imagine a single antitrust remedy that applies equally to all four companies and restrains their power in the same way. When I try to imagine what this hearing will be like, I think of 15 prosecutors trying four murder cases simultaneously ... on Zoom. (That said, it’s not that unusual for a panel of industry CEOs to appear together before Congress.)
On the other hand, each of the companies operates one or more marketplaces. Amazon sells real goods; Facebook and Google sell ads; Apple sells apps. Each of them has successfully aggregated hundreds of millions of people or more into world-scale user bases that sometimes resemble nation-states unto themselves as much as they do traditional corporations. They are not alone in this — Microsoft is conspicuously absent from Monday’s proceedings, as Ben Thompson has noted — but if trying four murder cases simultaneously is crazy, five would have been even crazier.
So what will Congress ask about on Monday? In Protocol, Issie Lapowsky and Emily Birnbaum make their best guesses. And they make this salient point about how good these CEOs have it, all things considering:
In facing these questions together, the four CEOs are getting off easy. Their testimony will be virtual, for one thing, eliminating the bad optics of having them stand before the committee in suits, hands in the air as they swear to tell the truth. And by testifying as a group, not only will they share the brunt of the committee’s contempt, they’ll also benefit from the fact that, given the time constraints and the number of witnesses, lawmakers will never be able to probe all of the potential antitrust violations these companies are individually accused of.
Apple’s antitrust problems are centered on its App Store. The company extracts a 30 percent cut of revenue from apps selling digital goods, including from apps that it competes with directly. Apps like Spotify, which it challenges with Apple Music, or Basecamp’s Hey, which competes with Mail and iCloud. Apple’s response to this has been that these apps are doing fine, the app ecosystem is doing fine, and taking a 30 percent cut of everything is simply the industry standard.
The Information reports that Cook is extremely annoyed at having to appear at this hearing, in part because he has spent so much time sucking up to the Trump administration. Christopher Stern writes:
Cook’s mixture of low-key charm and savvy political maneuvering have also played a role in cultivating ties in Washington. He has built a rapport with Trump and his family, joining the president for private dinners while sitting by his side during White House events (including one last year in which Trump referred to Cook as “Tim Apple”). Cook seems to have stayed on Trump’s good side partly by keeping his mouth shut. Last year, Cook led Trump on a tour of a Texas factory that makes high-end Mac computers, later taking credit for “opening” the plant as part of a push to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Despite the fact that the plant had opened six years earlier, long before the start of Trump’s presidency, Cook didn’t correct him.
Alas, Congress is a separate branch of government. For now!
Facebook’s purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp, and aggressive cloning of Snap, led to a period of relative stagnation among social apps in the United States while cementing a dominant position alongside Google in digital advertising. It has also acted in arguably anticompetitive ways, like blocking Vine users from finding their Facebook friends on the app once Vine started to get traction. That’s why the company is currently under separate investigations for antitrust issues from the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general. The promise of this hearing for Facebook watchers is that it could unearth new documents pointing to how executives talked about these issues internally when it was making the decisions in question. I’m excited for this part!
As for Google? That company probably faces the most serious near-term consequences of antitrust action. The Justice Department is reportedly planning to file a case against Google this summer. Two separate investigations by the nation’s attorneys general are also underway — one led by Google’s home state of California, and the other comprising most other states. At issue are longstanding questions around how Google promotes its own products over rivals in search results, as I wrote about here last week. Protocol notes that other issues under investigation include Google making its search engine the default on Android devices, paying Apple billions to be the default search engine on the iPhone, and buying up major digital advertising networks to build its half of the digital advertising duopoly.
It’s hard to read about everything at stake here and not wish that each of these companies had been called to attend separate, more focused hearings. And not just because it would likely result in more revealing questions being asked — but also because it could give room for CEOs to give more complete, meaningful answers.
But given the somnambulant state of antitrust regulation in the United States over the past 20 years, I’ll take what I can get. Whatever happens on Monday, it seems likely that the hearing will be one we talk about for a long time to come.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
⬆ Trending up: TikTok launched a $200 million fund to pay creators directly for their content. The fund is meant to support ambitious creators who “are seeking opportunities to foster a livelihood” on the app. (Julia Alexander / The Verge)
⬇Trending down: On Wednesday Facebook said it would create a panel devoted to studying racial bias in its algorithms. A story from NBC News today helps explain why: internal research showed that Black users of Instagram were 50 percent more likely to have their accounts disabled by the company’s systems. The company reportedly shut down further research into the issue. (Olivia Solon / NBC News)
Governing
⭐ President Trump’s campaign is locked in a battle with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile over an effort to blast millions of cell users with unsolicited texts. Jared Kushner called the CEOs of the companies to complain after they blocked a mass campaign text to voters. Here’s Tom LoBianco at Business Insider:
The cellphone companies viewed the texts as a possible violation of federal anti-robocall laws and Federal Communications Commission rules that come with hefty fines, the two Republicans told Insider. The Trump campaign countered that the cellphone companies were stifling its ability to reach voters. It said the texts did not violate a 1991 law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which set strict limits on telemarketing and robocalling and formed the basis of anti-spamming measures ruled on by the FCC. And the campaign points to a June 25 FCC ruling, which it argued loosened the rules on what counted as spam.
⭐ Multiple states are investigating Apple for potentially deceiving consumers. The company is already facing antitrust investigations from US House lawmakers and the European Union. Here’s Margaret Harding McGill at Axios:
The Texas attorney general may sue Apple for violating the state’s deceptive trade practices law in connection with a multi-state investigation, according to the document, obtained by the Tech Transparency Project through a public records request and shared with Axios Thursday. The Texas AG’s Consumer Protection Division “initiated this investigation for enforcement purposes. If violations are uncovered, CPD will initiate enforcement proceedings. Accordingly, the OAG anticipates litigation in this matter,” the document reads.
Most Americans think social media companies have too much influence in politics today. Roughly 82 percent of people who lean Republican think these companies have too much power, compared to 63 percent of people who lean Democratic. (Pew Research Center)
Tim Bray, a former vice president at Amazon, is calling on the company to separate its retail business from its lucrative cloud computing unit. Bray resigned in May for what he called “a vein of toxicity” running through Amazon’s culture. (Karen Weise / The New York Times)
Startup founders are accusing Amazon of meeting with them on the pretense of investing in their companies, only to develop competing products that put their business at risk. In some cases, Amazon went through with the investment, but still developed competing products on the side. Something else for the subcommittee to ask about Monday! (Dana Mattioli and Cara Lombardo / The Wall Street Journal)
TikTok founder Zhang Yiming is racing to address US national security concerns before the White House issues a possible ban. The company is considering selling TikTok to US investors, or splitting off the US business. This piece does a good job of laying out his options. (Zheping Huang and Katie Roof / Bloomberg)
To cybersecurity experts, the case for banning TikTok isn’t black and white. They say concerns about national security are likely rooted not in xenophobia, but in the fact that the Communist Party of China has a track record of surveillance, censorship, and data theft. (Rebecca Jennings / Vox)
Facebook agreed to pay $650 million in a class action lawsuit over the company’s unauthorized use of facial recognition. The settlement covers any Facebook user in Illinois whose picture appeared on the site after 2011. (Jeff John Roberts / Fortune)
Facebook is facing a reckoning from some employees who are questioning whether the social giant is doing more harm than good. New documents, including internal message threads and recordings of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, show how Facebook workers are grappling with the company’s recent decisions. (Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed)
Content moderators working for Facebook via third-party companies in India and the Philippines are not part of the lawsuit between the company and its US moderators that is the subject of a preliminary $52 million settlement. They report grueling working conditions, but won’t receive the same support for the often traumatic work that their American coworkers will get. (Vittoria Elliott and Tekendra Parmar / Rest of World)
Steve Wozniak is suing YouTube for allowing scammers to use his name and likeness in scammy bitcoin giveaways. The lawsuit claims YouTube is aware of these scams but has nonetheless not taken the videos down. He’s the latest in a line of well-connected executives who, for lack of any other option, have sued YouTube over impersonation scams. (Monica Chin / The Verge)
Twitter said the hackers behind last week’s unprecedented attack accessed the direct message inbox of an elected official in the Netherlands. The revelation comes as part of the company’s ongoing investigation. (Jay Peters / The Verge)
The Twitter hackers also viewed the DMs of 36 other accounts involved in last week’s attack. Twitter did not disclose who the accounts belonged to beyond the elected official in the Netherlands. (Leo Kelion / BBC)
Nearly three months after Google and Apple announced their contact-tracing API, contact-tracing apps have quietly taken a backseat in the fight against COVID-19. Pandemic apathy in the US is partly to blame, but the technical failures of the apps may have been an even bigger factor. (Chas Kissick, Elliot Setzer, Jacob Schulz / Lawfare)
Industry
⭐ Twitter is actively exploring a subscription model as a way to make money from its users. The move comes as Twitter suffers a sharp decline in its core advertising business. Brian Fung at CNN has the story:
“You will likely see some tests this year” of various approaches, Dorsey told analysts on an investor call held to discuss the company’s second quarter earnings results. Dorsey said he has “a really high bar for when we would ask consumers to pay for aspects of Twitter,” but confirmed that the company is seeking to diversify its sources of revenue in what are “very, very early phases of exploring.” Earlier this month, rumors flared about a paid Twitter option after the company posted a job opening focused on building a subscription platform codenamed “Gryphon.” Twitter’s stock surged at the time, signaling investor appetite for the company to find new revenue streams.
Twitter reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations on revenue. The company said ad revenue is down 23 percent year over year, although user growth is up. (Lauren Feiner / CNBC)
Amazon launched a sports category on Twitch. The standalone sports category will include streams from soccer clubs like Arsenal and Real Madrid, with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain set to follow. (Tom Warren / The Verge)
Facebook announced a new feature that lets users live broadcast video calls with up to 50 participants. The move means competition for Zoom, which allows paid users to livestream video calls to services like Facebook, YouTube and Twitch. As someone who has tried and failed to stream Zoom to YouTube, I find this new competition extremely welcome! (Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC)
Facebook is testing a new design for Facebook Pages that gets rid of the “Like” button. The test also offers a cleaner and more readable layout, and makes it easier for those who operate Pages to actually use and manage them. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
Facebook is simulating the actions of bad actors using AI-powered bots. The new method is meant to help them identify users spreading spam, scamming others, or buying and selling weapons on the platform. Is it possible that we are living in one of these simulations? I can’t be the only person asking this. (James Vincent / The Verge)
While the AI tool GPT-3 has earned ecstatic reviews from experts, some critics are pointing out clear issues around bias. Researchers at OpenAI noted in the paper introducing GPT-3 that “internet-trained models have internet-scale biases.” (Bryan Walsh / Axios)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Watch a departing Facebook engineer’s video about why he left. After nine years at Facebook, Max Wang reflects on why he became disillusioned. It’s a brainy, literate video about Hannah Ahrendt and how Facebook’s ideological fervor around “giving people a voice” led to the erosion of personal social interactions in favor of political expression, making many of us feel alienated and more vulnerable to authoritarian ideologies. I’m going to be thinking about this video for a long time.
Learn how to take a Quibi screenshot. It’s very special.
And finally...
Talk to us


theverge--2020-07-24--Garmin hit by massive outage after possible ransomware attack

Garmin fitness devices have been left disconnected for nearly a day after the company suffered a major outage , possibly caused by a ransomware attack .
The outage first reported by Garmin over 20 hours ago , as of this writing , affects Garmin wearables and apps , as well as Garmin call centers .
“ We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect .
This outage also affects our call centers , and we are currently unable to receive any calls , emails or online chats , ” wrote the company on Twitter and its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the service that allows owners of Garmin devices like Forerunner smartwatches to obsessively track their running performance , for example .
ZDNET reports that flyGarmin , the navigation service that supports Garmin ’ s aviation devices , has also been down affecting some pilots .
According to ZDNET , Garmin was forced to shut down a number of crucial services after a ransomware attack locked some of the company ’ s production systems on its internal network .
Although the company hasn ’ t confirmed the attack , ZDNET notes that a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , claim the attack used a strain of ransomware called WastedLocker .
An internal memo reportedly from Garmin ’ s IT staff in Taiwan has been published by iThome , saying Garmin ’ s Taiwan factories will be down for two days of maintenance to deal with the issue .
The memo did not cite a cause , but sources speaking to iThome said the company was responding to a “ virus .
”

Garmin fitness devices have been left disconnected for nearly a day after the company suffered a major outage, possibly caused by a ransomware attack. The outage first reported by Garmin over 20 hours ago, as of this writing, affects Garmin wearables and apps, as well as Garmin call centers.
“We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats,” wrote the company on Twitter and its Garmin Connect website.
The outage as seen from the Garmin Connect app.
Garmin Connect is the service that allows owners of Garmin devices like Forerunner smartwatches to obsessively track their running performance, for example. ZDNET reports that flyGarmin, the navigation service that supports Garmin’s aviation devices, has also been down affecting some pilots.


theverge--2020-07-24--Top Gun and A Quiet Place sequels delayed again

A Quiet Place Part 2 and Top Gun : Maverick are both delayed once more , as Paramount attempts to preserve their cinematic releases despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , Variety reports .
Both films are now planned for release in 2021 , with A Quiet Place Part 2 releasing on April 23 and Top Gun : Maverick on July 2 .
They had been due to release on September 6 and December 23 of this year , respectively , following previous coronavirus-related delays .
The two are just the latest in a slew of movies to have their release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus pandemic .
Just this week Christopher Nolan ’ s Tenet and Disney ’ s live-action Mulan remake were delayed indefinitely , and other films including the new James Bond and Peter Rabbit 2 have also had their release dates shifted .
“ We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres ” As the pandemic has upended the cinema industry , film studios have seemingly faced a tough decision : delay their films or forgo their cinematic releases in favor of releasing on streaming services .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of its films including Artemis Fowl and Hamilton , which have gone straight to Disney Plus , but Paramount ’ s presidents of domestic and international theatrical distribution , Chris Aronson and Mark Viane , said the company wanted to preserve the cinematic movie-going experience .
“ We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres , ” Aronson and Viane said in a statement reported by Variety .
However , with an estimated production cost of over $ 150 million for the Top Gun sequel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have undoubtedly played a part in Paramount ’ s decision , as it has for other studios .
Many cinemas are yet to reopen their doors after closing due to health concerns .
After initially hoping to reopen in July , AMC Theatres in the US this week said that it now hopes to open its theaters in August , CNN reports .

A Quiet Place Part 2 and Top Gun: Maverick are both delayed once more, as Paramount attempts to preserve their cinematic releases despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Variety reports. Both films are now planned for release in 2021, with A Quiet Place Part 2 releasing on April 23 and Top Gun: Maverick on July 2. They had been due to release on September 6 and December 23 of this year, respectively, following previous coronavirus-related delays.
The two are just the latest in a slew of movies to have their release plans thrown into disarray due to the coronavirus pandemic. Just this week Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Disney’s live-action Mulan remake were delayed indefinitely, and other films including the new James Bond and Peter Rabbit 2 have also had their release dates shifted.
“We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres”
As the pandemic has upended the cinema industry, film studios have seemingly faced a tough decision: delay their films or forgo their cinematic releases in favor of releasing on streaming services. Disney has taken the latter approach for some of its films including Artemis Fowl and Hamilton, which have gone straight to Disney Plus, but Paramount’s presidents of domestic and international theatrical distribution, Chris Aronson and Mark Viane, said the company wanted to preserve the cinematic movie-going experience.
“We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres,” Aronson and Viane said in a statement reported by Variety. However, with an estimated production cost of over $150 million for the Top Gun sequel, holding out for lucrative ticket sales will have undoubtedly played a part in Paramount’s decision, as it has for other studios.


theverge--2020-07-24--A new Oculus Quest has seemingly leaked from every angle, and it might launch soon

Earlier this week , we got our first look at what appeared to be a new Oculus Quest virtual reality headset thanks to an apparent marketing image shared on Twitter .
Since then , more images — including ones of the device in the wild , and a rumored release date — have appeared online , indicating the headset could launch soon .
The new images posted on Friday reinforce that this new Quest may look pretty similar to its successor but could come in a black-and-white color scheme .
Take a look for yourself at these images shared on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which appear to be some kind of testing devices , suggests the device could come out sooner rather than later .
That sooner timeframe was reinforced by Twitter leaker WalkingCat , who shared the first marketing image that appeared this week and has shared credible leaks in the past .
They posted what appear to be more marketing images on Twitter , and in one of their tweets , mentioned a mysterious September 15th date , which could indicate when Facebook-owned Oculus plans to launch this rumored new Quest : Facebook declined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rumored launch date .
The company released the first Oculus Quest in May of last year , and Adi Robertson said that it had a convenient tetherless design but was less powerful than wired headsets in her review .
Facebook has continued to add to the Quest ’ s capabilities since its release , though , and my colleague Sam Byford declared it “ the VR headset to get ” in May of this year ( though they ’ re tough to find in stock ) .

Earlier this week, we got our first look at what appeared to be a new Oculus Quest virtual reality headset thanks to an apparent marketing image shared on Twitter. Since then, more images — including ones of the device in the wild, and a rumored release date — have appeared online, indicating the headset could launch soon.
The new images posted on Friday reinforce that this new Quest may look pretty similar to its successor but could come in a black-and-white color scheme. Take a look for yourself at these images shared on Reddit:
The existence of these units, which appear to be some kind of testing devices, suggests the device could come out sooner rather than later.
That sooner timeframe was reinforced by Twitter leaker WalkingCat, who shared the first marketing image that appeared this week and has shared credible leaks in the past. They posted what appear to be more marketing images on Twitter, and in one of their tweets, mentioned a mysterious September 15th date, which could indicate when Facebook-owned Oculus plans to launch this rumored new Quest:
Facebook declined to comment on the images or the rumored launch date.


theverge--2020-07-24--Apple’s Macs might get Face ID, as potentially revealed by code in macOS Big Sur

Many iPhone and iPad models let you unlock your device with your face using Face ID , but on a Mac , you still need to type in your password , set up your Apple Watch to auto unlock your Mac , or , depending on what model of Mac you have , use your fingerprint with Touch ID .
But code reportedly discovered in the latest beta of macOS Big Sur by 9to5Mac suggests that Face ID could be coming to Macs at some point in the future , too .
The code in the beta apparently references Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to 9to5Mac .
The TrueDepth camera is what enables Face ID in Face ID-capable devices like the iPhone 11 and the iPad Pro , but no Macs currently available have one .
The code reportedly also has snippets mentioning the terms “ FaceDetect ” and “ BioCapture , ” which seems to point to biometric facial recognition of some kind .
If the facial recognition technology does make its way to Macs , it seems possible it could be used for unlocking your device and with augmented reality apps that map @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zoom trend will become fun Zoom masks instead of Zoom backgrounds . )
And Face ID on the Mac could come in handy if you ’ re using the next version of Safari , which is set to ship with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur , as that new version will let you log in to websites without a password just by using Touch ID or Face ID , as long as websites support the feature .
However , it ’ s unclear which Macs might be getting Face ID , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they do at all , so we ’ ll just have to wait and see if Apple eventually brings the technology to its computers .

Many iPhone and iPad models let you unlock your device with your face using Face ID, but on a Mac, you still need to type in your password, set up your Apple Watch to auto unlock your Mac, or, depending on what model of Mac you have, use your fingerprint with Touch ID. But code reportedly discovered in the latest beta of macOS Big Sur by 9to5Mac suggests that Face ID could be coming to Macs at some point in the future, too.
The code in the beta apparently references Apple’s codename for the TrueDepth camera, according to 9to5Mac. The TrueDepth camera is what enables Face ID in Face ID-capable devices like the iPhone 11 and the iPad Pro, but no Macs currently available have one. The code reportedly also has snippets mentioning the terms “FaceDetect” and “BioCapture,” which seems to point to biometric facial recognition of some kind.
If the facial recognition technology does make its way to Macs, it seems possible it could be used for unlocking your device and with augmented reality apps that map your face. (Perhaps the new Zoom trend will become fun Zoom masks instead of Zoom backgrounds.) And Face ID on the Mac could come in handy if you’re using the next version of Safari, which is set to ship with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, as that new version will let you log in to websites without a password just by using Touch ID or Face ID, as long as websites support the feature.


theverge--2020-07-24--Some Nest thermostats can no longer connect to the internet, so Google is replacing them

Some users of Nest thermostats can no longer control the devices remotely , and the issue is forcing Google to replace the devices entirely if otherwise standard troubleshooting fails .
The issue , which began popping up on Nest forums as early as last November and racking up more than 200 responses , is known as the “ w5 error , ” and it disables remote control of the company ’ s thermostats .
Controlling the temperature of your home with your smartphone when you ’ re out of the house or away from the physical device is pretty much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thermostat .
So that makes this a pretty serious issue , even if you still can manually adjust the temperature on the device itself .
Google says it ’ s aware of the problem and that it ’ s now offering replacements to owners of the device who can not solve the issue through standard reset procedures .
“ A very small number of Nest thermostat users are experiencing a known issue with the Wi-Fi chip that causes remote connectivity issues .
This does not affect the thermostat ’ s ability to control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system in the home , but does impact the user ’ s ability to manage the thermostat remotely , ” a Google spokesperson tells The Verge .
“ If a user sees this error and it can ’ t be resolved through troubleshooting , they are prompted to contact customer support for assistance and will be issued a replacement device.
” It ’ s still not entirely clear where the issue comes from .
Some users in the forum threads have said Google ’ s support channel is pointing the figure at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Wi-Fi chip , but Google itself isn ’ t saying .
Either way , the company is downplaying the severity of the w5 error by suggesting standard troubleshooting can solve it , when in reality it sounds as if some devices are just plain broken now and can longer make use one of Nest ’ s hallmark features .
The fact that Google has to outright replace some of these thermostats is a bit concerning , considering a thermostat is not something you typically want malfunctioning .

Some users of Nest thermostats can no longer control the devices remotely, and the issue is forcing Google to replace the devices entirely if otherwise standard troubleshooting fails. The issue, which began popping up on Nest forums as early as last November and racking up more than 200 responses, is known as the “w5 error,” and it disables remote control of the company’s thermostats.
Controlling the temperature of your home with your smartphone when you’re out of the house or away from the physical device is pretty much the sole selling point of the Nest thermostat. So that makes this a pretty serious issue, even if you still can manually adjust the temperature on the device itself. Google says it’s aware of the problem and that it’s now offering replacements to owners of the device who cannot solve the issue through standard reset procedures.
“A very small number of Nest thermostat users are experiencing a known issue with the Wi-Fi chip that causes remote connectivity issues. This does not affect the thermostat’s ability to control the customer’s heating and cooling system in the home, but does impact the user’s ability to manage the thermostat remotely,” a Google spokesperson tells The Verge. “If a user sees this error and it can’t be resolved through troubleshooting, they are prompted to contact customer support for assistance and will be issued a replacement device.”


theverge--2020-07-24--Faraday Future founder’s bankruptcy spiked a potential deal in the Middle East

Late last year , Faraday Future was supposed to meet with a Middle East sovereign wealth fund to discuss an investment that could have helped pull the struggling EV startup out of its perpetual financial nosedive .
But the wealth fund retracted the invite shortly after Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting filed for bankruptcy to resolve billions of dollars of personal debt , according to a previously unreported transcript of one of the Chinese tycoon ’ s Chapter 11 proceedings .
“ We were invited by a government entity to go to the Middle East to a sovereign fund , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chapter 11 case and it became clear the financial issues , Faraday was uninvited , ” Jia ’ s lawyer told a judge in December 2019 .
The lawyer for Jia who spoke during the hearing did not specify which Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund was interested , and a spokesperson for Faraday Future declined to comment .
Saudi Arabia ’ s Public Investment Fund already owns a majority stake in fellow EV startup Lucid Motors , and the UAE and Kuwait have even bigger sovereign funds .
Faraday Future ’ s communications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying “ [ t ] his is confidential information regarding investor discussions.
” Whoever it was , the Middle East ’ s interest in Faraday Future is just one of a number of revelations to surface during Jia ’ s bankruptcy process , which dragged on for seven months before getting approved by his myriad creditors and the court in May .
Here are a few others : Jia told his creditors that Faraday Future is drawing a lot of interest Despite its troubles , including losing a ton of talent to competitors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patented technology it developed since 2014 for the FF91 electric SUV is valuable .
The company has insisted that investors or partners would line up once the drama and Jia ’ s bankruptcy subsided .
While his bankruptcy did put a damper on deals , Jia told his many creditors in April as it was wrapping up that this was finally happening .
Jia says Faraday is still talking with investors in the Middle East , and governments in China According to a presentation , Jia ’ s legal team told the creditors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ venture discussions with several potential investors in the Middle East , ” that it is “ working with 20+ potential debt investors ” to provide short-term funding , and is even “ working to apply for US government loans.
” His team also said Faraday Future is “ in talks with the governments of three provincial capitals in China about setting up ” a Chinese headquarters , and that the startup is “ in close communication with two major OEMs in China about partnership.
” That there may be interest from serious players @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as The Verge first reported late last year , the company at one point held talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles .
Electric vehicle startups are also once again a hot target for investment deals of all sizes , with Rivian continuing to raise an incredible amount of money , zero-emission trucking company Nikola recently raising hundreds of millions of dollars in a reverse merger deal , Fisker Inc. lining up a similar route to go public , and even Karma Automotive pulling down $ 100 million .
“ I will confirm that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Faraday Future continues to progress towards the delivery of the FF91 , the nature and extent of the discussions are all confidential so I can not share any further details , ” Schilling said .
Faraday Future provided its new CEO with a multimillion-dollar home in LA Faraday Future started down a new path to legitimacy last September when Jia stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Carsten Breitfeld .
A former BMW executive , Breitfeld has lots of industry connections , and helped found another EV startup — China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 pandemic hit .
( Though he did not leave Byton on good terms . )
Breitfeld told The Verge last year that he told Jia he would only come to Faraday Future if he was made CEO .
But he got more than the title in exchange , because Breitfeld now lives in one of the multimillion-dollar homes owned by Jia ’ s associates , according to the bankruptcy case .
It ’ s unclear exactly which house , though .
Jia ’ s lawyers say that “ part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO position was that he would occupy one of the Marguerite Properties , ” referring to the multimillion-dollar coastal mansions on Marguerite Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes that Jalopnik and The Verge first reported on in 2017 .
Jia has used these mansions to house past Faraday Future executives , host parties , and take loans against when money is tight .
But Breitfeld recently tweeted an image from outside a $ 2 million home about a mile inland that ’ s owned by Faraday Future vice president Chaoying Deng .
In an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a “ property [ that ] is rented by FF and offered to executives for their stay as part of their relocation benefits.
” “ I burned all the bridges to the past.
” Breitfeld had previously lived in Silicon Valley and frequently traveled to Germany and China while working with Byton , but he told The Verge last year that he moved to Los Angeles for the Faraday Future job .
“ I burned all the bridges to the past .
I left my house in Munich , everything else I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just moved here with my son , and now I ’ m here , ” he said .
“ It ’ s so much better than Silicon Valley .
Silicon Valley , if you like technology , you meet a lot of technology people and that ’ s very exciting .
But the life , is boring .
Here you ’ re very close to the sea which I love very much , and the quality of living is so much better.
” Faraday Future has been cash strapped for much of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tight since it separated from a main investor , China ’ s Evergrande , in 2018 .
That split led to hundreds of layoffs and furloughs , and things eventually got so bad that Faraday Future sold its own headquarters in 2019 to generate some cash , as The Verge first reported last year .
And yet , Jia ’ s bankruptcy was funded by one of the main holding companies of Faraday Future , a Delaware LLC called Pacific Technology .
He borrowed $ 2.7 million from Pacific Technology at the beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a $ 6.4 million “ debtor in possession ” loan from the entity earlier this year as the case wound up .
Jia ’ s lawyers originally said this was because the Faraday Future affiliate offered the most forgiving terms ; in other words , other lenders unsurprisingly wanted better protections or more returns on any loans provided to a man who has billions of dollars of personal debt .
But they eventually admitted that Jia had nowhere else to turn .
“ Ultimately , Pacific Technology , an affiliate of the Debtor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... financing to the Debtor under the circumstances of the chapter 11 case , ” they wrote .
Jia ’ s lawyers claim this was all above board , and that the creditor committee — a group made up of representatives of some of the companies that are owed money in the bankruptcy — helped negotiate the terms .
The money also did not come directly out of Faraday Future ’ s nearly exhausted coffers , either .
Instead , these loans were largely made up of individual contributions from the members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” management team of executives .
Jia ’ s bankruptcy has been a clarifying event when it comes to untangling how all of his various companies interact .
Take the mansions , for example .
Jia originally purchased those houses through a company called Ocean View Drive , and even bought some with money borrowed from Faraday Future .
He says he no longer owns a stake in them , but Ocean View Drive now leases the houses to Jia , who started subleasing them to a company called Warm Time Inc. for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Warm Time Inc. — which lists the Faraday Future VP Deng ’ s home as its address in filings with the California Secretary of State — has since turned around and leased them to Faraday Future “ on a full service basis , including hospitality services ( i.e.
, food service , housekeeping , insurance , and utilities ) .
” Faraday Future has survived on borrowed money , and continues to be low on cash One of the main reasons Faraday Future has been able to stay around as long as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started working with “ bankruptcy legend ” Jack Butler , whose firm Birch Lake has extended multiple loans to the startup as it searched for funding .
The downside of this is that , according to filings in Jia ’ s bankruptcy case , “ [ s ] ubstantially all of [ Faraday Future ’ s ] tangible and intangible assets have been pledged as collateral.
” That means it could be even harder for the startup to take out new loans , and that it is at risk of losing those assets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the debt it ’ s been carrying .
In fact , Faraday Future had to ask Birch Lake for ( and was granted ) an extension on a $ 45 million loan that was due in October 2019 .
“ all of [ Faraday Future ’ s ] tangible and intangible assets have been pledged as collateral.
” Faraday Future recently told The Verge that it made good on that loan , and that appears to be the case , as Birch Lake has released its hold on the startup ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Secretary of State and the US Patent and Trademark Office .
However , the interest in the collateral Faraday Future pledged for the loan has since been transferred to a California LLC called “ Royod.
” Schilling says this is a “ current lender , ” but there is almost no information about who is behind it .
One address given by Royod in filings with the Patent Office is simply a Santa Monica PO box .
Filings with the Secretary of State show the LLC is managed by a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to be , or was once , an executive assistant at Faraday Future .
Faraday Future had to keep borrowing money because it had just $ 6.8 million in cash at the end of July 2019 ( the most recent data shared in Jia ’ s bankruptcy filings ) , having exhausted all $ 2 billion or so that Jia and Evergrande put in over the years .
In December , one of Jia ’ s lawyers told the judge he didn ’ t believe the startup had the “ financial wherewithal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that it was going to “ basically run out of cash.
” The same Global Partners group had to loan $ 16.5 million to Faraday Future in June 2019 “ to support FF ’ s daily operations.
” And the startup also received a $ 9.1 million loan from the COVID-19-related Paycheck Protection Program in April .
With Jia ’ s bankruptcy approved , Faraday Future has said it is now free to once again pursue those investments in the name of finally putting its luxury electric SUV into production .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ startups are suddenly getting money left and right , Faraday Future still has a long way to go .
Breitfeld has said that Faraday Future needs $ 850 million in order to get to production .
And in the near term , according to Jia ’ s bankruptcy , the startup has been trying to secure a $ 170 million loan “ to sustain its operations and engineering efforts , ” according to court filings .
If Faraday Future succeeds at pulling in new funding and getting into production , Jia ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when they approved his bankruptcy plan they agreed to swap their debt claims for stakes in a trust that will pay out if the startup IPOs or is sold .
In a letter published last month , Jia , ever the salesman , spun his many troubles as a positive .
“ I am firmly convinced that the past success and failure will be invaluable experience for FF ’ s future success , ” he wrote .
“ I have learned much from my past mistakes and I hope with this life knowledge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missteps again .
”

Late last year, Faraday Future was supposed to meet with a Middle East sovereign wealth fund to discuss an investment that could have helped pull the struggling EV startup out of its perpetual financial nosedive. But the wealth fund retracted the invite shortly after Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting filed for bankruptcy to resolve billions of dollars of personal debt, according to a previously unreported transcript of one of the Chinese tycoon’s Chapter 11 proceedings.
“We were invited by a government entity to go to the Middle East to a sovereign fund, and the minute that we filed the Chapter 11 case and it became clear the financial issues, Faraday was uninvited,” Jia’s lawyer told a judge in December 2019.
The lawyer for Jia who spoke during the hearing did not specify which Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund was interested, and a spokesperson for Faraday Future declined to comment. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund already owns a majority stake in fellow EV startup Lucid Motors, and the UAE and Kuwait have even bigger sovereign funds. Faraday Future’s communications director John Schilling declined to comment, saying “[t]his is confidential information regarding investor discussions.”
Whoever it was, the Middle East’s interest in Faraday Future is just one of a number of revelations to surface during Jia’s bankruptcy process, which dragged on for seven months before getting approved by his myriad creditors and the court in May. Here are a few others:
Jia told his creditors that Faraday Future is drawing a lot of interest
Despite its troubles, including losing a ton of talent to competitors, Faraday Future has maintained that the patented technology it developed since 2014 for the FF91 electric SUV is valuable. The company has insisted that investors or partners would line up once the drama and Jia’s bankruptcy subsided. While his bankruptcy did put a damper on deals, Jia told his many creditors in April as it was wrapping up that this was finally happening.
Jia says Faraday is still talking with investors in the Middle East, and governments in China
According to a presentation, Jia’s legal team told the creditors that Faraday Future is “in joint venture discussions with several potential investors in the Middle East,” that it is “working with 20+ potential debt investors” to provide short-term funding, and is even “working to apply for US government loans.” His team also said Faraday Future is “in talks with the governments of three provincial capitals in China about setting up” a Chinese headquarters, and that the startup is “in close communication with two major OEMs in China about partnership.”
“I will confirm that we are in discussions with various organizations as Faraday Future continues to progress towards the delivery of the FF91, the nature and extent of the discussions are all confidential so I cannot share any further details,” Schilling said.
Faraday Future provided its new CEO with a multimillion-dollar home in LA
Faraday Future started down a new path to legitimacy last September when Jia stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Carsten Breitfeld. A former BMW executive, Breitfeld has lots of industry connections, and helped found another EV startup — China’s Byton — which nearly reached production before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. (Though he did not leave Byton on good terms.)
Breitfeld told The Verge last year that he told Jia he would only come to Faraday Future if he was made CEO. But he got more than the title in exchange, because Breitfeld now lives in one of the multimillion-dollar homes owned by Jia’s associates, according to the bankruptcy case.
It’s unclear exactly which house, though. Jia’s lawyers say that “part of the consideration for Dr. Breitfeld to accept the CEO position was that he would occupy one of the Marguerite Properties,” referring to the multimillion-dollar coastal mansions on Marguerite Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes that Jalopnik and The Verge first reported on in 2017. Jia has used these mansions to house past Faraday Future executives, host parties, and take loans against when money is tight. But Breitfeld recently tweeted an image from outside a $2 million home about a mile inland that’s owned by Faraday Future vice president Chaoying Deng.
In an email, Schilling said Breitfeld is living in a “property [that] is rented by FF and offered to executives for their stay as part of their relocation benefits.”
“I burned all the bridges to the past.”
Breitfeld had previously lived in Silicon Valley and frequently traveled to Germany and China while working with Byton, but he told The Verge last year that he moved to Los Angeles for the Faraday Future job.
“I burned all the bridges to the past. I left my house in Munich, everything else I had in the world, and I just moved here with my son, and now I’m here,” he said. “It’s so much better than Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley, if you like technology, you meet a lot of technology people and that’s very exciting. But the life, is boring. Here you’re very close to the sea which I love very much, and the quality of living is so much better.”
Faraday Future helped fund Jia’s bankruptcy
Faraday Future has been cash strapped for much of its existence. But money has been especially tight since it separated from a main investor, China’s Evergrande, in 2018. That split led to hundreds of layoffs and furloughs, and things eventually got so bad that Faraday Future sold its own headquarters in 2019 to generate some cash, as The Verge first reported last year.
And yet, Jia’s bankruptcy was funded by one of the main holding companies of Faraday Future, a Delaware LLC called Pacific Technology. He borrowed $2.7 million from Pacific Technology at the beginning of the process, and took on a $6.4 million “debtor in possession” loan from the entity earlier this year as the case wound up.
Jia’s lawyers originally said this was because the Faraday Future affiliate offered the most forgiving terms; in other words, other lenders unsurprisingly wanted better protections or more returns on any loans provided to a man who has billions of dollars of personal debt. But they eventually admitted that Jia had nowhere else to turn.
The bankruptcy process has helped clarify Jia’s tangled business interests
“Ultimately, Pacific Technology, an affiliate of the Debtor was the only party willing to provide ... financing to the Debtor under the circumstances of the chapter 11 case,” they wrote. Jia’s lawyers claim this was all above board, and that the creditor committee — a group made up of representatives of some of the companies that are owed money in the bankruptcy — helped negotiate the terms.
The money also did not come directly out of Faraday Future’s nearly exhausted coffers, either. Instead, these loans were largely made up of individual contributions from the members of Faraday Future’s “Global Partners” management team of executives.
Jia’s bankruptcy has been a clarifying event when it comes to untangling how all of his various companies interact. Take the mansions, for example. Jia originally purchased those houses through a company called Ocean View Drive, and even bought some with money borrowed from Faraday Future. He says he no longer owns a stake in them, but Ocean View Drive now leases the houses to Jia, who started subleasing them to a company called Warm Time Inc. for $43,810 per month in 2019. Warm Time Inc. — which lists the Faraday Future VP Deng’s home as its address in filings with the California Secretary of State — has since turned around and leased them to Faraday Future “on a full service basis, including hospitality services (i.e., food service, housekeeping, insurance, and utilities).”
Faraday Future has survived on borrowed money, and continues to be low on cash
One of the main reasons Faraday Future has been able to stay around as long as it has is that in early 2019 it started working with “bankruptcy legend” Jack Butler, whose firm Birch Lake has extended multiple loans to the startup as it searched for funding.
The downside of this is that, according to filings in Jia’s bankruptcy case, “[s]ubstantially all of [Faraday Future’s] tangible and intangible assets have been pledged as collateral.” That means it could be even harder for the startup to take out new loans, and that it is at risk of losing those assets if it can’t make good on the debt it’s been carrying. In fact, Faraday Future had to ask Birch Lake for (and was granted) an extension on a $45 million loan that was due in October 2019.
“all of [Faraday Future’s] tangible and intangible assets have been pledged as collateral.”
Faraday Future recently told The Verge that it made good on that loan, and that appears to be the case, as Birch Lake has released its hold on the startup’s intellectual property according to filings with California’s Secretary of State and the US Patent and Trademark Office. However, the interest in the collateral Faraday Future pledged for the loan has since been transferred to a California LLC called “Royod.” Schilling says this is a “current lender,” but there is almost no information about who is behind it. One address given by Royod in filings with the Patent Office is simply a Santa Monica PO box. Filings with the Secretary of State show the LLC is managed by a “Kai Dong.” Someone with that name appears to be, or was once, an executive assistant at Faraday Future.
Faraday Future had to keep borrowing money because it had just $6.8 million in cash at the end of July 2019 (the most recent data shared in Jia’s bankruptcy filings), having exhausted all $2 billion or so that Jia and Evergrande put in over the years. In December, one of Jia’s lawyers told the judge he didn’t believe the startup had the “financial wherewithal” to make it another 60 days, and that it was going to “basically run out of cash.” The same Global Partners group had to loan $16.5 million to Faraday Future in June 2019 “to support FF’s daily operations.” And the startup also received a $9.1 million loan from the COVID-19-related Paycheck Protection Program in April.
With Jia’s bankruptcy approved, Faraday Future has said it is now free to once again pursue those investments in the name of finally putting its luxury electric SUV into production. But even in a market where EV startups are suddenly getting money left and right, Faraday Future still has a long way to go. Breitfeld has said that Faraday Future needs $850 million in order to get to production. And in the near term, according to Jia’s bankruptcy, the startup has been trying to secure a $170 million loan “to sustain its operations and engineering efforts,” according to court filings.


theverge--2020-07-24--Beloved Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s tribute book is finally coming out in English

A tribute book for Satoru Iwata , the beloved president and CEO of Nintendo who died in 2015 , is getting an English release this spring , publisher VIZ Media announced today .
The book , Ask Iwata , is a translation of Iwata-San , which was first published in Japan last year .
“ In this motivational collection , Satoru Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks , how success breeds resistance to change , and why programmers should never say no , ” according to a summary of the book that VIZ Media shared with The Verge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Asks ’ series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware , and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of Earthbound Shigesato Itoi , Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership , development and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history.
” If you haven ’ t read any Iwata Asks interviews before , you actually don ’ t need to wait for Ask Iwata ’ s release to get started — they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ website .
( I highly recommend Iwata ’ s interview with Miyamoto about visiting the Louvre . )
And if you want a preview the conversations with Miyamoto and Itoi mentioned in VIZ Media ’ s blurb , IGN shared summaries of what was published in Iwata-San last year .
Iwata isn ’ t just remembered for his Iwata Asks interviews , though — he was a well-known face of Nintendo , especially for his charming appearances during Nintendo ’ s press conferences and Nintendo Directs , and was a key driver behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the DS .
If you want to learn more about him , my colleague Sam Byford wrote a great article remembering Iwata ’ s legacy at Nintendo and on the video game industry .

A tribute book for Satoru Iwata, the beloved president and CEO of Nintendo who died in 2015, is getting an English release this spring, publisher VIZ Media announced today. The book, Ask Iwata, is a translation of Iwata-San, which was first published in Japan last year.
“In this motivational collection, Satoru Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks, how success breeds resistance to change, and why programmers should never say no,” according to a summary of the book that VIZ Media shared with The Verge. “Drawn from the ‘Iwata Asks’ series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware, and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of Earthbound Shigesato Itoi, Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership, development and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history.”
If you haven’t read any Iwata Asks interviews before, you actually don’t need to wait for Ask Iwata’s release to get started — they’re available for free on Nintendo’s website. (I highly recommend Iwata’s interview with Miyamoto about visiting the Louvre.) And if you want a preview the conversations with Miyamoto and Itoi mentioned in VIZ Media’s blurb, IGN shared summaries of what was published in Iwata-San last year.


theverge--2020-07-24--How the world’s biggest general science society is tackling racism

The world ’ s largest multidisciplinary scientific society has decided to take on systemic racism .
The move by The American Association for the Advancement of Science ( AAAS ) , publisher of the esteemed Science journals , comes after Black scientists came forward to protest racism within academia and the sciences , and organized a strike on June 10th , that AAAS joined .
In a letter to its 120,000 members this month , AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh announced that the 172-year-old institution has come up with a plan to hold itself accountable for making itself and the sciences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will start sharing data on the diversity of its staff , fellows , and authors published in its journals .
The Verge spoke with Parikh , who said some of the initial numbers are “ encouraging ” while others are “ embarrassing.
” Ultimately , the demographic data will be a jumping-off point for ensuring that the makeup of the organization better reflects the public it serves .
Parikh also believes the actions AAAS is taking will create pathways — through its journals , fellowships , and awards — to jumpstart the careers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview has been edited for length and clarity .
Why did AAAS decide to participate in the # ShutDownSTEM strike to address anti-Black racism in June ?
A lot of the energy for that came from junior scientists , scientists who aren ’ t yet in the sort of firmament of the tenured and the senior academics .
In that moment when there was really a lot of fallout from the killing of George Floyd , it just felt like the right thing to do as an organization to take a day to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about and planning for what the organization should be doing in addressing systemic racism in the sciences .
We took all of our communications channels dark .
On our social media feeds we stopped putting up anything new .
And we just retweeted people who were tweeting about # shutdownSTEM day and hearing their thoughts .
We turned off our website and we just basically put up a suggestion box and said : look , we want to hear from our community .
We know that our community is hurting .
Tell us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinking in this moment .
Give us your suggestions .
I opened up my time for meetings with internal teammates to learn what they were feeling in this moment and what they ’ ve seen throughout the years .
It really felt like a moment to listen .
The first step of your plan is to release demographic data for AAAS and its programs .
What do you expect that data to reveal ?
As we held up a mirror to ourselves , we realized that we ’ re not as diverse as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and making it public going forward enables the community to hold us accountable .
It enables our members to hold us accountable .
It enables those communities who are underrepresented to hold us accountable .
So that ’ s why it felt like that was the right thing to do first .
Having looked at some of the preliminary data , some of it is encouraging .
Our board , some of our senior leadership is actually quite diverse and does have excellent representation that I think shows great mentorship .
Some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our diversity on our editorial teams , on the academic editors that we have .
It ’ s not very diverse .
What that ’ s led to is it limits the field of vision of what is important science .
How will that data be used to tackle systemic racism ?
When Science Magazine chooses a field and says this is important , it drives success .
If you are a scientist and publish a paper in Science , you are on your way to a career in academia because that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding , because if you publish in Science or you publish among other prestigious journals , then funding comes your way .
It ’ s a virtuous cycle when it works well .
That virtuous cycle can also be a wall for those who aren ’ t a part of it .
Our professional editors are the first ones to look at a paper , and that group of professional editors are the ones who say , yes , this is important enough to be in our journal Science .
Or they might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but you know what , it ’ s not exciting .
It ’ s not so important that it needs to be in the most prestigious journal , it should go somewhere else .
That group should be diverse , it should be representative .
When you have a representative group , you might have a bigger field of vision about what ’ s important .
“ I used to think of science as a refuge ” So for example , people get really excited about being able to see a black hole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s exciting .
It ’ s awe-inspiring .
But if there ’ s a paper that talks about how to reduce health disparities in the Mississippi Delta , that paper might have had a challenge earlier .
That scope is wider now , people realize that ’ s important .
But we want to have people that have enough field of vision to see that that ’ s an important piece of science , it can have incredible outcomes .
If we decrease the scope of health disparities in the Delta , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
In a letter to your members , you wrote , “ Some have told us that we should “ stick to the science ” — that issues of systemic racism are not in our purview and not worthy of our time and attention.
” What was your response to that ?
I grew up in North Carolina , I ’ m a second-generation Indian American .
I used to think of science as a refuge .
Science was a refuge away from bullying in school .
It ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s rationality .
It ’ s math .
It ’ s merit .
And that is true to a certain degree .
But science interacts with the world .
The folks who said that “ we should stick to the science ” are missing an opportunity for the greatest minds to go into science , the broadest number of those to go into science .
And it holds the sciences back because we ’ re going to need people who are the descendants of Native Americans , pilgrims , enslaved peoples , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to do the great things that we think we can do like cure COVID-19 or go to Mars .

The world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society has decided to take on systemic racism. The move by The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publisher of the esteemed Science journals, comes after Black scientists came forward to protest racism within academia and the sciences, and organized a strike on June 10th, that AAAS joined. In a letter to its 120,000 members this month, AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh announced that the 172-year-old institution has come up with a plan to hold itself accountable for making itself and the sciences more diverse. By September, it will start sharing data on the diversity of its staff, fellows, and authors published in its journals.
The Verge spoke with Parikh, who said some of the initial numbers are “encouraging” while others are “embarrassing.” Ultimately, the demographic data will be a jumping-off point for ensuring that the makeup of the organization better reflects the public it serves. Parikh also believes the actions AAAS is taking will create pathways — through its journals, fellowships, and awards — to jumpstart the careers of scientists from underrepresented communities.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did AAAS decide to participate in the #ShutDownSTEM strike to address anti-Black racism in June?
A lot of the energy for that came from junior scientists, scientists who aren’t yet in the sort of firmament of the tenured and the senior academics. In that moment when there was really a lot of fallout from the killing of George Floyd, it just felt like the right thing to do as an organization to take a day to reflect. People spent the day thinking about and planning for what the organization should be doing in addressing systemic racism in the sciences.
We took all of our communications channels dark. On our social media feeds we stopped putting up anything new. And we just retweeted people who were tweeting about #shutdownSTEM day and hearing their thoughts. We turned off our website and we just basically put up a suggestion box and said: look, we want to hear from our community. We know that our community is hurting. Tell us. Tell us what you’re thinking in this moment. Give us your suggestions. I opened up my time for meetings with internal teammates to learn what they were feeling in this moment and what they’ve seen throughout the years. It really felt like a moment to listen.
“We held up a mirror to ourselves”
The first step of your plan is to release demographic data for AAAS and its programs. What do you expect that data to reveal?
As we held up a mirror to ourselves, we realized that we’re not as diverse as we should be. Taking demographic data and making it public going forward enables the community to hold us accountable. It enables our members to hold us accountable. It enables those communities who are underrepresented to hold us accountable. So that’s why it felt like that was the right thing to do first.
Having looked at some of the preliminary data, some of it is encouraging. Our board, some of our senior leadership is actually quite diverse and does have excellent representation that I think shows great mentorship. Some of it is embarrassing, in terms of our diversity on our editorial teams, on the academic editors that we have. It’s not very diverse. What that’s led to is it limits the field of vision of what is important science.
How will that data be used to tackle systemic racism?
When Science Magazine chooses a field and says this is important, it drives success. If you are a scientist and publish a paper in Science, you are on your way to a career in academia because that is a prestigious journal. It also drives funding, because if you publish in Science or you publish among other prestigious journals, then funding comes your way. It’s a virtuous cycle when it works well. That virtuous cycle can also be a wall for those who aren’t a part of it.
Our professional editors are the first ones to look at a paper, and that group of professional editors are the ones who say, yes, this is important enough to be in our journal Science. Or they might say, it’s good science but you know what, it’s not exciting. It’s not so important that it needs to be in the most prestigious journal, it should go somewhere else. That group should be diverse, it should be representative. When you have a representative group, you might have a bigger field of vision about what’s important.
“I used to think of science as a refuge”
So for example, people get really excited about being able to see a black hole, and that is terrific. It’s exciting. It’s awe-inspiring. But if there’s a paper that talks about how to reduce health disparities in the Mississippi Delta, that paper might have had a challenge earlier. That scope is wider now, people realize that’s important.
But we want to have people that have enough field of vision to see that that’s an important piece of science, it can have incredible outcomes. If we decrease the scope of health disparities in the Delta, it raises the average for everyone across the country.
Sudip Parikh became the 19th chief executive of AAAS in its more than 170-year history this year. Image: AAAS / DIA Global
In a letter to your members, you wrote, “Some have told us that we should “stick to the science” — that issues of systemic racism are not in our purview and not worthy of our time and attention.” What was your response to that?
I grew up in North Carolina, I’m a second-generation Indian American. I used to think of science as a refuge. Science was a refuge away from bullying in school. It’s a place where, hey, it’s rationality. It’s math. It’s merit. And that is true to a certain degree. But science interacts with the world.


theverge--2020-07-24--The NBA is using Microsoft Teams to bring basketball fans courtside

The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is using Microsoft Teams ’ new Together Mode to place basketball fans courtside in a virtual experience during live games .
Microsoft only just revealed Together Mode for Teams earlier this month , and it uses AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you together with other people in a virtual space .
The NBA is using this new Microsoft Teams mode combined with 17-foot tall LED screens that will wrap around basketball arenas to put fans back next to players .
Fans will be able to react in real time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see and hear those reactions .
These virtual stands will include more than 300 fans using Together Mode to sit side by side with each other virtually in Microsoft Teams .
Fans will be able to watch a live feed of the game within Teams alongside a view of each other .
“ This new experience—the first to go live as a result of the NBA / Microsoft partnership — gives participating fans the feeling of sitting next to one another at a live game without leaving the comfort and safety of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head of Microsoft 365 .
“ Players , meanwhile , will experience their energy and support as they dribble down the court and see fans ’ real-time reaction .
And viewers tuning into the game from home will feel the crowd ’ s energy as well as they see the virtual stands filled with fans.
” There ’ s obviously a lot of potential for abuse if fans suddenly go rogue during the sessions .
Thankfully , the NBA will have members participating in the calls and will remove any participants who behave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ESPN and Turner Sports are also repositioning cameras to include new angles for fans watching at home , and microphones around the court will capture the sneaker squeaks and ball bounces we ’ re used to hearing .
Alongside the Microsoft Teams experience , fans will also be able to cheer virtually using the NBA app .
These virtual cheers will appear on video boards during games with animations .
The NBA ’ s work with Microsoft is all part of a strategic alliance that the pair formed earlier this year .
Microsoft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become the official AI , cloud , and laptop provider for the league .
This is the first big example of the deal , and we ’ ll also see the NBA using Microsoft ’ s Azure platform to broadcast live and on-demand basketball games , with personalized content .
The NBA season is set to resume on July 30th , after it went on hiatus in March due to the coronavirus pandemic .
This innovative use of Microsoft Teams is part of a number of ways that different sports around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiences .
Fox Sports is also bringing “ virtual fans ” to its Major League Baseball broadcasts on Saturday , replacing empty seats with CGI fans and fake crowd noises .
Update , July 24th 4:10PM ET : Article updated with additional details on the Teams meetings .

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is using Microsoft Teams’ new Together Mode to place basketball fans courtside in a virtual experience during live games. Microsoft only just revealed Together Mode for Teams earlier this month, and it uses AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you together with other people in a virtual space.
The NBA is using this new Microsoft Teams mode combined with 17-foot tall LED screens that will wrap around basketball arenas to put fans back next to players. Fans will be able to react in real time, and players will be able to see and hear those reactions. These virtual stands will include more than 300 fans using Together Mode to sit side by side with each other virtually in Microsoft Teams. Fans will be able to watch a live feed of the game within Teams alongside a view of each other.
“This new experience—the first to go live as a result of the NBA / Microsoft partnership — gives participating fans the feeling of sitting next to one another at a live game without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes,” explains Jared Spataro, head of Microsoft 365. “Players, meanwhile, will experience their energy and support as they dribble down the court and see fans’ real-time reaction. And viewers tuning into the game from home will feel the crowd’s energy as well as they see the virtual stands filled with fans.”
Fans will sit together in a virtual experience. Microsoft
There’s obviously a lot of potential for abuse if fans suddenly go rogue during the sessions. Thankfully, the NBA will have members participating in the calls and will remove any participants who behave inappropriately or disrupt the experience.
Broadcasters ESPN and Turner Sports are also repositioning cameras to include new angles for fans watching at home, and microphones around the court will capture the sneaker squeaks and ball bounces we’re used to hearing. Alongside the Microsoft Teams experience, fans will also be able to cheer virtually using the NBA app. These virtual cheers will appear on video boards during games with animations.
The NBA’s work with Microsoft is all part of a strategic alliance that the pair formed earlier this year. Microsoft signed a multiyear deal with the NBA to become the official AI, cloud, and laptop provider for the league. This is the first big example of the deal, and we’ll also see the NBA using Microsoft’s Azure platform to broadcast live and on-demand basketball games, with personalized content.
The NBA season is set to resume on July 30th, after it went on hiatus in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. This innovative use of Microsoft Teams is part of a number of ways that different sports around the world are trying to create virtual fans experiences. Fox Sports is also bringing “virtual fans” to its Major League Baseball broadcasts on Saturday, replacing empty seats with CGI fans and fake crowd noises.


theverge--2020-07-24--Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the only movie that treats Batman like a complete person

Liking Batman : Mask of the Phantasm is a bit like being someone who is super into vinyl .
Tell people it ’ s your favorite movie take on Batman , and you run the risk of sounding like an incredible snob ; a contrarian that somehow feels the need to like something other than a bunch of very good live-action movies that lots of other people adore .
Regardless , it ’ s a movie worth celebrating — not because it is better than its live-action siblings , but because it ’ s maybe the most complete take on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Batman : Mask of the Phantasm , now on Netflix , was an attempt to leverage the Emmy-winning success of Batman : The Animated Series into a theatrical hit .
It didn ’ t quite take , bombing at the box office despite critical acclaim — but like a lot of cult favorites , it gained a strong fanbase in its home video release .
As an extension of the show , Mask of the Phantasm deftly walks a tightrope between standalone story and movie that enriches some stories from the TV show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murder mystery .
There ’ s a new cloaked vigilante in Gotham City , and they ’ re offing some of the town ’ s most prominent gangsters .
The eponymous Phantasm ’ s fondness for shadows and theatricality leads people to mistake them for Batman ( Kevin Conroy ) , who is then framed for murders he did not commit .
However , these dead gangsters all appear to be connected , and those connections go back to Bruce Wayne ’ s earliest days fighting crime , before he became the Batman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Phantasm dives into something that The Animated Series never did , by design : Batman ’ s origin .
And despite being tucked into a far-too-brief 75-minute film , it ’ s the most well-rounded portrayal of the character ’ s beginnings , because it ’ s willing to portray Bruce Wayne as earnest and corny , someone that ’ s a little ridiculous .
The Bruce Wayne of Mask of the Phantasm ’ s flashbacks isn ’ t taken seriously by criminals ; he ’ s overzealous in his vigilantism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ends up being more funny than intimidating .
It doesn ’ t shy away from the idea of Batman as something tragic and awful He ’ s also in love : a chance encounter with Andrea Beaumont ( Dana Delaney ) blossoms into full-blown romance , a relationship that makes him question his crime-fighting mission .
Beaumont is Mask of the Phantasm ’ s greatest addition to the well-worn Batman story , a tragic figure that suffers from a similar trauma as young Bruce Wayne and follows it down a different path @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children , Mask of the Phantasm is surprisingly complex in its characterization of its protagonist .
It doesn ’ t shy away from the idea of Batman as something tragic and awful for a human to be .
Like Christopher Nolan ’ s films at their best , it ’ s a story that views becoming Batman not as something noble , but something deeply tragic .
It also does this while doing all the other stuff The Animated Series was very good at in its portrayal of Batman : rendering him as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wry , a vigilante that could be grim or witty as he saw fit .
There isn ’ t exactly a shortage of Batman anywhere — he ’ s still among the most popular comic book superheroes in existence , with yet another new take in the works — but when it comes to movies , his portrayal is often quite narrow .
It ’ s a relatively flat depiction of a wonderfully complicated character , limited to a handful of emotions and story types when his comic book ( and TV !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ be far more elastic than that .
Batman : Mask of the Phantasm is a movie that has just about everything a person could like from the most popular live-action movies , and a little bit more .

Liking Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is a bit like being someone who is super into vinyl. Tell people it’s your favorite movie take on Batman, and you run the risk of sounding like an incredible snob; a contrarian that somehow feels the need to like something other than a bunch of very good live-action movies that lots of other people adore. Regardless, it’s a movie worth celebrating — not because it is better than its live-action siblings, but because it’s maybe the most complete take on Batman and Bruce Wayne on film.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, now on Netflix, was an attempt to leverage the Emmy-winning success of Batman: The Animated Series into a theatrical hit. It didn’t quite take, bombing at the box office despite critical acclaim — but like a lot of cult favorites, it gained a strong fanbase in its home video release. As an extension of the show, Mask of the Phantasm deftly walks a tightrope between standalone story and movie that enriches some stories from the TV show.
Mask of the Phantasm is a murder mystery. There’s a new cloaked vigilante in Gotham City, and they’re offing some of the town’s most prominent gangsters. The eponymous Phantasm’s fondness for shadows and theatricality leads people to mistake them for Batman (Kevin Conroy), who is then framed for murders he did not commit. However, these dead gangsters all appear to be connected, and those connections go back to Bruce Wayne’s earliest days fighting crime, before he became the Batman.
In following this thread, Mask of the Phantasm dives into something that The Animated Series never did, by design: Batman’s origin. And despite being tucked into a far-too-brief 75-minute film, it’s the most well-rounded portrayal of the character’s beginnings, because it’s willing to portray Bruce Wayne as earnest and corny, someone that’s a little ridiculous. The Bruce Wayne of Mask of the Phantasm’s flashbacks isn’t taken seriously by criminals; he’s overzealous in his vigilantism, so convinced of his own fierceness he ends up being more funny than intimidating.
It doesn’t shy away from the idea of Batman as something tragic and awful
He’s also in love: a chance encounter with Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delaney) blossoms into full-blown romance, a relationship that makes him question his crime-fighting mission. Beaumont is Mask of the Phantasm’s greatest addition to the well-worn Batman story, a tragic figure that suffers from a similar trauma as young Bruce Wayne and follows it down a different path.
Despite being a film primarily for children, Mask of the Phantasm is surprisingly complex in its characterization of its protagonist. It doesn’t shy away from the idea of Batman as something tragic and awful for a human to be. Like Christopher Nolan’s films at their best, it’s a story that views becoming Batman not as something noble, but something deeply tragic. It also does this while doing all the other stuff The Animated Series was very good at in its portrayal of Batman: rendering him as a presence that was both intimidating and wry, a vigilante that could be grim or witty as he saw fit.


theverge--2020-07-24--New leaks reveal Galaxy Buds Live name, noise cancellation, battery life, and $169 price

We ’ ve seen plenty of pictures of Samsung ’ s new bean-shaped earbuds , but an early update to Samsung ’ s Galaxy Buds companion app has confirmed nearly all the details about the upcoming headphones , including the official Galaxy Buds Live name and support for active noise cancellation .
The app also shows a brief guide on how to wear the uniquely shaped earbuds and shows that the earbuds will have touch controls ( set to toggle active noise cancellation by default ) , which can also be disabled if you don ’ t like touch controls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My Earbuds setting and equalizer options — standard features for headphones like this .
The app marks the most official reveal yet for the Galaxy Buds Live , which have already popped up in a leaked marketing video that shows the earbuds in action , along with plenty of images of the headphones and their charging case .
It ’ s not the only app from a Samsung app , either : instructional video found in Samsung ’ s Android APK from Ishan Agarwal on Twitter shows how to put in the Buds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lastly , WinFuture has even more details on the Galaxy Buds Live , including the $ 169 US price , details on the specs ( 4.5 hours of estimated battery life , 3 mics , and 12mm drivers ) , and even more pictures of the upcoming headphones .
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Buds Live at its upcoming Unpacked event on August 5th at 10AM ET , where the company is also expected to announce the Galaxy Note 20 lineup ( and possibly even a new Galaxy Fold model ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Additional details about the Galaxy Buds Live , including price and additional specs , have been added .

We’ve seen plenty of pictures of Samsung’s new bean-shaped earbuds, but an early update to Samsung’s Galaxy Buds companion app has confirmed nearly all the details about the upcoming headphones, including the official Galaxy Buds Live name and support for active noise cancellation.
The app also shows a brief guide on how to wear the uniquely shaped earbuds and shows that the earbuds will have touch controls (set to toggle active noise cancellation by default), which can also be disabled if you don’t like touch controls. The app shows off a Find My Earbuds setting and equalizer options — standard features for headphones like this.
The app marks the most official reveal yet for the Galaxy Buds Live, which have already popped up in a leaked marketing video that shows the earbuds in action, along with plenty of images of the headphones and their charging case. It’s not the only app from a Samsung app, either: instructional video found in Samsung’s Android APK from Ishan Agarwal on Twitter shows how to put in the Buds Live to ensure a proper fit.
Lastly, WinFuture has even more details on the Galaxy Buds Live, including the $169 US price, details on the specs (4.5 hours of estimated battery life, 3 mics, and 12mm drivers), and even more pictures of the upcoming headphones.
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Buds Live at its upcoming Unpacked event on August 5th at 10AM ET, where the company is also expected to announce the Galaxy Note 20 lineup (and possibly even a new Galaxy Fold model).