theverge--2020-09-09--Trump’s latest attack on Section 230 is really about censoring speech

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One aspect of the 2020 presidential campaign that isn ’ t much discussed is the fact that both candidates want to end the internet as we know it .
Both President Trump and Joe Biden have called for the end of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , which protects tech companies in most cases when their users post something illegal on their platforms .
Trump brought the subject up today when a Twitter account with fewer than 200 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate Majority Mitch McConnell dressed up in Soviety military garb , with the caption reading “ Moscow Mitch.
” “ Why does Twitter leave phony pictures like this up , but take down Republican/Conservative pictures and statements that are true ?
” the president wanted to know .
“ Mitch must fight back and repeal Section 230 , immediately .
Stop biased Big Tech before they stop you !
” He then tagged Republican senators Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley , who reliably step up to lodge baseless complaints about systematic bias against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , they introduced something called “ the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act ” on Tuesday , the point of which seems to be to stop social networks from doing so much moderating . )
The reason Twitter ( usually ) leaves phony pictures like that up is that the United States permits its citizens to speak freely about politicians — even to say mean things about them .
Repealing Section 230 would likely have no impact on the tweet in question , because the Twitter user ’ s speech is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might , however , make Twitter legally liable for what its users post — which would lead the company to remove more speech , not less .
Whatever repealing Section 230 might achieve , it would not be what the president seems to want .
Anyway , all of this is well known to followers of the long-running Section 230 debates and seemingly impenetrable to everyone else .
But if there ’ s one important lesson from 2020 , it ’ s that long-running debates over expression can sometimes result in clumsy but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so it ’ s worth spending a few more minutes talking about what smarter people say ought to be done about Section 230 .
As it so happens , there ’ s a sharp new report today out on the subject .
Paul Barrett at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights looks at the origins and evolution of Section 230 , evaluates both partisan and nonpartisan critiques , and offers a handful of solutions .
To me there are two key takeaways from the report .
One is that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Section 230 reform , even though they ’ re often drowned out by bad tweets that misunderstand the law .
To me the one that lands the hardest is that Section 230 has allowed platforms to under-invest in content moderation in basically every dimension , and the cost of the resulting externalities has been borne by society at large .
Ellen P. Goodman , a law professor at Rutgers University specializing in information policy , approaches the problem from another angle .
She suggests that Section 230 asks for too little — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the benefit it provides .
“ Lawmakers , ” she writes , “ could use Section 230 as leverage to encourage platforms to adopt a broader set of responsibilities.
” A 2019 report Goodman co-authored for the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago ’ s Booth School of Business urges transforming Section 230 into “ a quid pro quo benefit.
” The idea is that platforms would have a choice : adopt additional duties related to content moderation or forgo some or all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Stigler Center report provides examples of quids that larger platforms could offer to receive the quo of continued Section 230 immunity .
One , which has been considered in the U.K. as part of that country ’ s debate over proposed online-harm legislation , would “ require platform companies to ensure that their algorithms do not skew toward extreme and unreliable material to boost user engagement.
” Under a second , platforms would disclose data on what content is being promoted and to whom , on the process and policies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This approach continues to enable lots of speech on the internet — you could keep those Moscow Mitch tweets coming — while forcing companies to disclose what they ’ re promoting .
Recommendation algorithms are the core difference between the big tech platforms and the open web that they have largely supplanted , and the world has a vested interest in understanding how they work and what results from their suggestions .
I don ’ t care much about a bad video with 100 views .
But I care very much about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So whose job will it be to pay attention to all this ?
Barrett ’ s other suggestion is a kind of “ digital regulatory agency ” whose functions would mimic some combination of the Federal Trade Commission , the Federal Communications Commission , and similar agencies in other countries .
Nothing described here would really resolve the angry debate we have once or week or so in this country about a post that Facebook or Twitter or YouTube left up when they should have taken it down , or took down when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But it could pressure platforms to pay closer attention to what is going viral , what behaviors they are incentivizing , what harms all of that may be doing to the rest of us .
And over time , the agency ’ s findings could help lawmakers craft more targeted reforms to Section 230 — which is to say , reforms that are less openly hostile to the idea of free speech .
Moscow Mitch will continue to have to take his lumps .
But the platforms — at last — will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending down : A video of a man shooting himself with a gun started circulating on TikTok Sunday night , despite the company ’ s attempts to take it down .
Creators warned that the clip was being hidden in innocuous videos and shared across the site , making it harder to avoid .
( Julia Alexander / The Verge ) ⭐The Trump campaign is betting on YouTube as a primary way to reach voters ahead of the November election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from the Facebook strategy that helped propel him to victory in 2016 .
Alex Thompson at Politico tells the story : ⭐ The 2020 US election will likely spark violence and a constitutional crisis , according to experts who gamed out possible November scenarios .
Unless Biden wins in a landslide , the experts predict significant unrest .
Gulp .
( Rosa Brooks / The Washington Post ) The Trump campaign launched a series of Facebook ads featuring a manipulated photo of Joe Biden edited to make the former vice president appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest examples of Trump sharing content that has been deceptively altered to attack Biden .
( Jesselyn Cook / HuffPost ) Joe Biden ’ s campaign is taking over a popular Instagram account created by a teen supporter .
Formerly a fan account , @ VoteJoe account will now serve as the campaign ’ s primary point of grassroots outreach on Instagram .
( Makena Kelly / The Verge ) Also : Joe Biden is partnering up with the celebrity video platform Cameo to allow celebrities to earmark payments for his campaign .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Burgess , Dulé Hill , and Melissa Etheridge are lending their support to the campaign on the platform starting this week .
( Makena Kelly / The Verge ) Oracle ’ s closeness with the Trump administration could prove helpful in its bid to buy TikTok .
Oracle founder Larry Ellison is a prominent Trump supporter .
( David McCabe / The New York Times ) TikTok and WeChat are being lumped together in the Trump ’ s administration ’ s attempt to crack down on national security threats from China .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vital communication channel for the Chinese diaspora , is also a global conduit of Chinese state propaganda , surveillance and intimidation .
( Paul Mozur / The New York Times ) Facebook ’ s ban on political ads the week before the US election will muzzle important political speech and disproportionately burden challenger campaigns , this article argues .
That could benefit incumbents who have large organic reach on social media platforms .
( Daniel Kreiss and Matt Perault / Slate ) Also : Facebook ’ s political ad ban could threaten the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about how to vote .
( Jeremy B. Merrill / ProPublica ) Facebook ’ s decision to leave up Trump ’ s post urging people to vote twice angered employees , who called the move “ shameful ” and “ unconscionable.
” ( Craig Silverman and Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed ) Facebook took down an image posted by GOP congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene , a QAnon conspiracy theorist , showing her holding a rifle next to a photo of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez .
The company said the post violated its policy on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Relman / Business Insider ) Misinformation campaigns are likely going to come to online multiplayer games like Animal Crossing .
Today , no online multiplayer game has a publicly available policy specifically related to medical or political disinformation in the US .
( Daniel Kelley / Slate ) Amazon said it plans to continue protesting the Department of Defense ’ s decision to award the JEDI contract to Microsoft .
The DoD recently affirmed its decision , but Amazon said not all the relevant information about the “ politically corrupted contract ” has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wait !
( Amazon ) Apple is doubling down on its legal battle against Epic Games .
The company filed counterclaims alleging Epic breached its contract and seeking an unspecified amount in damages .
( Todd Haselton / CNBC ) Apple didn ’ t commit to stop processing requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities in the wake of a national security law imposed by Beijing .
Now , the company is opening up about what kinds of data requests it receives .
( Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch ) The Australian Competition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Apple App Store and Google Play .
The commission is looking at competition between the two app stores and how they share data .
( Tegan Jones / Gizmodo ) Italy ’ s competition authority opened an investigation into cloud storage services operated by Apple , Dropbox and Google .
The move comes in response to complaints about how the companies collect user data for commercial purposes .
( Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch ) ⭐ TikTok has been building a vocal contingent of young supporters amid growing uncertainty about the app ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company is working behind the scenes to turn creators in the US into superstars , arming them with brand deals and introductions to Hollywood power brokers .
Here ’ s Sarah Frier at Bloomberg : ByteDance is giving TikTok employees a half-month ’ s salary bonus in an attempt to calm the workforce as the company continues to negotiate a sale .
The company said the money is meant to reward employees at a time of unprecedented economic and social upheaval .
( Zheping Huang / Bloomberg ) Fan armies are harassing gay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it out , fan armies !
( Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times ) A Facebook engineer quit today , saying they could “ no longer stomach contributing to an organization that is profiting off hate in the US and globally.
” It ’ s the latest resignation to come amid rising discontent within the company .
( Read the resignation letter . )
( Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin / The Washington Post ) Facebook will now notify third-party developers if it finds a security vulnerability in their code .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll have 21 days to respond and 90 days to fix the issues .
( Zack Whittaker and Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) Facebook gave employees with children extra time off to care for their kids during the pandemic .
Some employees without kids thought it was unfair .
( Daisuke Wakabayashi and Sheera Frenkel / The New York Times ) Tech companies are changing up their perks to account for remote working conditions .
Some are mandating people take time off , and offering childcare support and mental health resources .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced plans to expand to 25,000 workers in Bellevue , Washington .
In a blog post the company said new leases and office-tower development would increase its projected headcount by 10,000 .
( Matt Day / Bloomberg ) Twitter reenabled the ability to download archives of “ Your Twitter Data , ” nearly two months after shutting off the feature as a precaution against hacking .
The data could give you insight into what teen hackers could have stolen during the notorious bitcoin scam in July .
( Sean Hollister / The Verge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 20 and $ 60 to respond to viral tweets with a mention of their company .
The move sends people to their sites without having to pay higher fees to advertise on Twitter .
( Michael Tobin / Bloomberg ) People are streaming chess games on Twitch .
The game might seem like an unlikely contender for the digital era , but it ’ s captured peoples ’ attention .
( Kellen Browning / The New York Times ) The Social Dilemma , a docu-drama that debuts on Netflix this week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of social media platforms .
It treats social media as a totally unprecedented threat , dismissing comparisons with radio , television , or any previous mass medium .
( Adi Robertson / The Verge ) The pandemic is exacerbating discrimination in the school system , particularly as it relates to suspensions and other disciplinary action .
Experts are worried about an uptick in Zoom suspensions .
( Aaricka Washington / The New York Times ) Send us tips , comments , questions , and Section 230 reforms : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ @ @

One aspect of the 2020 presidential campaign that isn’t much discussed is the fact that both candidates want to end the internet as we know it. Both President Trump and Joe Biden have called for the end of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech companies in most cases when their users post something illegal on their platforms.
Trump brought the subject up today when a Twitter account with fewer than 200 followers posted an obviously doctored image of Senate Majority Mitch McConnell dressed up in Soviety military garb, with the caption reading “Moscow Mitch.”
“Why does Twitter leave phony pictures like this up, but take down Republican/Conservative pictures and statements that are true?” the president wanted to know. “Mitch must fight back and repeal Section 230, immediately. Stop biased Big Tech before they stop you!”
He then tagged Republican senators Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley, who reliably step up to lodge baseless complaints about systematic bias against their party whenever called upon. (In fact, they introduced something called “the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act” on Tuesday, the point of which seems to be to stop social networks from doing so much moderating.)
The reason Twitter (usually) leaves phony pictures like that up is that the United States permits its citizens to speak freely about politicians — even to say mean things about them. Repealing Section 230 would likely have no impact on the tweet in question, because the Twitter user’s speech is protected under the First Amendment.
It might, however, make Twitter legally liable for what its users post — which would lead the company to remove more speech, not less. Whatever repealing Section 230 might achieve, it would not be what the president seems to want.
Anyway, all of this is well known to followers of the long-running Section 230 debates and seemingly impenetrable to everyone else. But if there’s one important lesson from 2020, it’s that long-running debates over expression can sometimes result in clumsy but decisive actions — ask TikTok! And so it’s worth spending a few more minutes talking about what smarter people say ought to be done about Section 230.
As it so happens, there’s a sharp new report today out on the subject. Paul Barrett at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights looks at the origins and evolution of Section 230, evaluates both partisan and nonpartisan critiques, and offers a handful of solutions.
To me there are two key takeaways from the report. One is that there are genuine, good-faith reasons to call for Section 230 reform, even though they’re often drowned out by bad tweets that misunderstand the law. To me the one that lands the hardest is that Section 230 has allowed platforms to under-invest in content moderation in basically every dimension, and the cost of the resulting externalities has been borne by society at large.
Barrett writes (PDF):
Ellen P. Goodman, a law professor at Rutgers University specializing in information policy, approaches the problem from another angle. She suggests that Section 230 asks for too little — nothing, really — in return for the benefit it provides. “Lawmakers,” she writes, “could use Section 230 as leverage to encourage platforms to adopt a broader set of responsibilities.” A 2019 report Goodman co-authored for the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business urges transforming Section 230 into “a quid pro quo benefit.” The idea is that platforms would have a choice: adopt additional duties related to content moderation or forgo some or all of the protections afforded by Section 230. The Stigler Center report provides examples of quids that larger platforms could offer to receive the quo of continued Section 230 immunity. One, which has been considered in the U.K. as part of that country’s debate over proposed online-harm legislation, would “require platform companies to ensure that their algorithms do not skew toward extreme and unreliable material to boost user engagement.” Under a second, platforms would disclose data on what content is being promoted and to whom, on the process and policies of content moderation, and on advertising practices.
This approach continues to enable lots of speech on the internet — you could keep those Moscow Mitch tweets coming — while forcing companies to disclose what they’re promoting. Recommendation algorithms are the core difference between the big tech platforms and the open web that they have largely supplanted, and the world has a vested interest in understanding how they work and what results from their suggestions. I don’t care much about a bad video with 100 views. But I care very much about a bad video with 10 million.
So whose job will it be to pay attention to all this? Barrett’s other suggestion is a kind of “digital regulatory agency” whose functions would mimic some combination of the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and similar agencies in other countries.
It envisions the digital regulatory body — whether governmental or industry-based — as requiring internet companies to clearly disclose their terms of service and how they are enforced, with the possibility of applying consumer protection laws if a platform fails to conform to its own rules. The TWG emphasizes that the new regulatory body would not seek to police content; it would impose disclosure requirements meant to improve indirectly the way content is handled. This is an important distinction, at least in the United States, because a regulator that tried to supervise content would run afoul of the First Amendment. [...] In a paper written with Professor Goodman, Karen Kornbluh, who heads the Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, makes the case for a Digital Democracy Agency devoted significantly to transparency. “Drug and airline companies disclose things like ingredients, testing results, and flight data when there is an accident,” Kornbluh and Goodman observe. “Platforms do not disclose, for example, the data they collect, the testing they do, how their algorithms order news feeds and recommendations, political ad information, or moderation rules and actions.” That’s a revealing comparison and one that should help guide reform efforts.
Nothing described here would really resolve the angry debate we have once or week or so in this country about a post that Facebook or Twitter or YouTube left up when they should have taken it down, or took down when they should have left it up. But it could pressure platforms to pay closer attention to what is going viral, what behaviors they are incentivizing, what harms all of that may be doing to the rest of us.
And over time, the agency’s findings could help lawmakers craft more targeted reforms to Section 230 — which is to say, reforms that are less openly hostile to the idea of free speech. Moscow Mitch will continue to have to take his lumps. But the platforms — at last — will have to take theirs, too.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔽 Trending down: A video of a man shooting himself with a gun started circulating on TikTok Sunday night, despite the company’s attempts to take it down. Creators warned that the clip was being hidden in innocuous videos and shared across the site, making it harder to avoid. (Julia Alexander / The Verge)
Governing
⭐The Trump campaign is betting on YouTube as a primary way to reach voters ahead of the November election. It appears to be a move away from the Facebook strategy that helped propel him to victory in 2016. Alex Thompson at Politico tells the story:
Many digital strategists say YouTube’s algorithm is more likely to recommend to viewers channels that are updated regularly with new content. “The name of the game with algorithms is to flood the zones,” said Eric Wilson, a veteran Republican digital operative. “The Trump campaign is putting on a master class in advertising according to algorithms — it just rewards the side that will produce more content.” [...] The Trump campaign’s YouTube strategy is also the latest example of it becoming its own news publisher, bypassing the established media. Many of the campaign’s videos are short news clips or snippets of the press secretary’s daily briefing.
⭐ The 2020 US election will likely spark violence and a constitutional crisis, according to experts who gamed out possible November scenarios. Unless Biden wins in a landslide, the experts predict significant unrest. Gulp. (Rosa Brooks / The Washington Post)
The Trump campaign launched a series of Facebook ads featuring a manipulated photo of Joe Biden edited to make the former vice president appear older. It’s among the latest examples of Trump sharing content that has been deceptively altered to attack Biden. (Jesselyn Cook / HuffPost)
Joe Biden’s campaign is taking over a popular Instagram account created by a teen supporter. Formerly a fan account, @VoteJoe account will now serve as the campaign’s primary point of grassroots outreach on Instagram. (Makena Kelly / The Verge)
Also: Joe Biden is partnering up with the celebrity video platform Cameo to allow celebrities to earmark payments for his campaign. Andy Cohen, Mandy Moore, Tituss Burgess, Dulé Hill, and Melissa Etheridge are lending their support to the campaign on the platform starting this week. (Makena Kelly / The Verge)
Oracle’s closeness with the Trump administration could prove helpful in its bid to buy TikTok. Oracle founder Larry Ellison is a prominent Trump supporter. (David McCabe / The New York Times)
TikTok and WeChat are being lumped together in the Trump’s administration’s attempt to crack down on national security threats from China. But WeChat, in addition to being a vital communication channel for the Chinese diaspora, is also a global conduit of Chinese state propaganda, surveillance and intimidation. (Paul Mozur / The New York Times)
Facebook’s ban on political ads the week before the US election will muzzle important political speech and disproportionately burden challenger campaigns, this article argues. That could benefit incumbents who have large organic reach on social media platforms. (Daniel Kreiss and Matt Perault / Slate)
Also: Facebook’s political ad ban could threaten the ability of election officials to spread accurate information about how to vote. (Jeremy B. Merrill / ProPublica)
Facebook took down an image posted by GOP congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon conspiracy theorist, showing her holding a rifle next to a photo of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. The company said the post violated its policy on “violence and incitement.” (Eliza Relman / Business Insider)
Misinformation campaigns are likely going to come to online multiplayer games like Animal Crossing. Today, no online multiplayer game has a publicly available policy specifically related to medical or political disinformation in the US. (Daniel Kelley / Slate)
Amazon said it plans to continue protesting the Department of Defense’s decision to award the JEDI contract to Microsoft. The DoD recently affirmed its decision, but Amazon said not all the relevant information about the “politically corrupted contract” has been made public. Can’t wait! (Amazon)
Apple is doubling down on its legal battle against Epic Games. The company filed counterclaims alleging Epic breached its contract and seeking an unspecified amount in damages. (Todd Haselton / CNBC)
Apple didn’t commit to stop processing requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities in the wake of a national security law imposed by Beijing. Now, the company is opening up about what kinds of data requests it receives. (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opened an investigation into the Apple App Store and Google Play. The commission is looking at competition between the two app stores and how they share data. (Tegan Jones / Gizmodo)
Italy’s competition authority opened an investigation into cloud storage services operated by Apple, Dropbox and Google. The move comes in response to complaints about how the companies collect user data for commercial purposes. (Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch)
Industry
⭐ TikTok has been building a vocal contingent of young supporters amid growing uncertainty about the app’s future in the US. the company is working behind the scenes to turn creators in the US into superstars, arming them with brand deals and introductions to Hollywood power brokers. Here’s Sarah Frier at Bloomberg:
The effort has given TikTok growing influence over American culture, which is not an accident, says Brett Bruen, who served as the White House director of global engagement in the Obama administration. He believes China and ByteDance are playing the long game. “It’s all a localization strategy, which allows you to not only achieve relevance but respect,” he said. “The most effective advocates for your company and for policy decisions are those local influencers and local partners.” U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. TikTok assets and he has threatened to ban the app if a deal doesn’t happen in coming weeks. Embedding the business deeply in society, while providing a livelihood for thousands of rising American stars will make it harder to uproot the app from the country. Creators say they haven’t been asked to make public statements in support of the app, but it comes naturally to some.
ByteDance is giving TikTok employees a half-month’s salary bonus in an attempt to calm the workforce as the company continues to negotiate a sale. The company said the money is meant to reward employees at a time of unprecedented economic and social upheaval. (Zheping Huang / Bloomberg)
Fan armies are harassing gay and trans people on TikTok. Cut it out, fan armies! (Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times)
Facebook will now notify third-party developers if it finds a security vulnerability in their code. After a third-party developer is notified, they’ll have 21 days to respond and 90 days to fix the issues. (Zack Whittaker and Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
Facebook gave employees with children extra time off to care for their kids during the pandemic. Some employees without kids thought it was unfair. (Daisuke Wakabayashi and Sheera Frenkel / The New York Times)
Tech companies are changing up their perks to account for remote working conditions. Some are mandating people take time off, and offering childcare support and mental health resources. (Arielle Pardes / Wired)
Amazon announced plans to expand to 25,000 workers in Bellevue, Washington. In a blog post the company said new leases and office-tower development would increase its projected headcount by 10,000. (Matt Day / Bloomberg)
Twitter reenabled the ability to download archives of “Your Twitter Data,” nearly two months after shutting off the feature as a precaution against hacking. The data could give you insight into what teen hackers could have stolen during the notorious bitcoin scam in July. (Sean Hollister / The Verge)
Brands are paying Twitter users between $20 and $60 to respond to viral tweets with a mention of their company. The move sends people to their sites without having to pay higher fees to advertise on Twitter. (Michael Tobin / Bloomberg)
People are streaming chess games on Twitch. The game might seem like an unlikely contender for the digital era, but it’s captured peoples’ attention. (Kellen Browning / The New York Times)
The Social Dilemma, a docu-drama that debuts on Netflix this week, has a simplistic view on the evils of social media platforms. It treats social media as a totally unprecedented threat, dismissing comparisons with radio, television, or any previous mass medium. (Adi Robertson / The Verge)
The pandemic is exacerbating discrimination in the school system, particularly as it relates to suspensions and other disciplinary action. Experts are worried about an uptick in Zoom suspensions. (Aaricka Washington / The New York Times)
And finally...
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theverge--2020-09-09--Xbox Game Pass for PC is doubling its price next week

Alongside an influx of next-gen console news , Microsoft also confirmed today that it will raise its pricing for Xbox Game Pass for PC from $ 4.99 per month to $ 9.99 a month starting on September 17th .
Existing members on the introductory price will still pay the same rate through the next billing cycle , so if you subscribe before September 17th , Microsoft will not change the price on you abruptly .
A price increase for any subscription service is never fun , but even at $ 9.99 a month , Xbox Game Pass for PC still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buck .
The service includes access to any game developed by Microsoft for free the day it ’ s released , plus a slew of third-party games from publishers such as Bethesda , Sega , and Deep Silver , and you can step out of your comfort zone and try games you ’ d likely never buy previously .
Not to mention later this year , Xbox Game Pass PC will also include EA Play as part of the subscription , meaning members will soon have access to a range of games published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mass Effect , and The Sims 4 , plus 10-hour trials for new releases like FIFA 21 .
But if you own both an Xbox One and a gaming PC , perhaps you should invest in an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription .
For $ 14.99 a month , it adds Xbox Game Pass for console as well , giving you access to over 200 titles for the Xbox One .
You ’ ll also get Xbox Live Gold , which is required to use key online services on Xbox One such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Plus , if you own an Android device you can use Microsoft ’ s cloud gaming service xCloud .

Alongside an influx of next-gen console news, Microsoft also confirmed today that it will raise its pricing for Xbox Game Pass for PC from $4.99 per month to $9.99 a month starting on September 17th.
Existing members on the introductory price will still pay the same rate through the next billing cycle, so if you subscribe before September 17th, Microsoft will not change the price on you abruptly.
A price increase for any subscription service is never fun, but even at $9.99 a month, Xbox Game Pass for PC still offers a lot of bang for your buck. The service includes access to any game developed by Microsoft for free the day it’s released, plus a slew of third-party games from publishers such as Bethesda, Sega, and Deep Silver, and you can step out of your comfort zone and try games you’d likely never buy previously.
Not to mention later this year, Xbox Game Pass PC will also include EA Play as part of the subscription, meaning members will soon have access to a range of games published by Electronic Arts, including Battlefield V, Mass Effect, and The Sims 4, plus 10-hour trials for new releases like FIFA 21.


theverge--2020-09-09--A year later, Amazon’s voice assistant alliance still hasn’t attracted any of its rivals

Last September , Amazon announced a voice assistant alliance ahead of its yearly fall event with the goal to ensure smart devices are compatible with multiple digital assistants concurrently .
Nearly a year later , the coalition has over 70 companies pledging support , including Facebook , Garmin , and Xiaomi , which recently joined .
Yet , Amazon ’ s biggest rivals in the voice assistant space — Apple , Google , and Samsung — have yet to join .
Amazon ’ s Voice Interoperability Initiative ’ s goal is to have companies create smart devices that support multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But without Apple , Google , and Samsung ’ s voice assistants ( Siri , Google Assistant , and Bixby ) , the biggest competitors to Alexa , the idea feels empty .
They ’ ve got 70+ companies on board , but it seems like they ’ re missing the ones that matter ?
The announcement of the three new members don ’ t seem that big of a deal for Amazon ’ s initiative , either The announcement of the three new members don ’ t seem that big of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , either , as each company already supports Alexa : • Xiaomi has an Alexa skill that allows the voice assistant to connect and operate its smart devices Oddly enough , Apple and Google have no issues collaborating with Amazon to work on an open-source smart home platform , which is expected to launch next year .
But that initiative doesn ’ t require Apple and Google to potentially let additional assistants like Alexa onto their smartphones .
( Amazon hasn ’ t had a lot of luck with phones in the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also announced today that it had released new guidelines to help manufacturers create new devices that support more than one voice assistant .

Last September, Amazon announced a voice assistant alliance ahead of its yearly fall event with the goal to ensure smart devices are compatible with multiple digital assistants concurrently. Nearly a year later, the coalition has over 70 companies pledging support, including Facebook, Garmin, and Xiaomi, which recently joined. Yet, Amazon’s biggest rivals in the voice assistant space — Apple, Google, and Samsung — have yet to join.
Amazon’s Voice Interoperability Initiative’s goal is to have companies create smart devices that support multiple voice assistants like Alexa or Cortana concurrently. But without Apple, Google, and Samsung’s voice assistants (Siri, Google Assistant, and Bixby), the biggest competitors to Alexa, the idea feels empty. They’ve got 70+ companies on board, but it seems like they’re missing the ones that matter?
The announcement of the three new members don’t seem that big of a deal for Amazon’s initiative, either
The announcement of the three new members don’t seem that big of a deal for Amazon’s initiative, either, as each company already supports Alexa:
Facebook’s Portal devices have Alexa integration
Garmin’s GPS devices include Amazon Alexa
Xiaomi has an Alexa skill that allows the voice assistant to connect and operate its smart devices
Oddly enough, Apple and Google have no issues collaborating with Amazon to work on an open-source smart home platform, which is expected to launch next year. But that initiative doesn’t require Apple and Google to potentially let additional assistants like Alexa onto their smartphones. (Amazon hasn’t had a lot of luck with phones in the past, either).


theverge--2020-09-09--The Lucid Air is a luxury electric sedan with the speed and power to rival Tesla

Share All sharing options for : The Lucid Air is a luxury electric sedan with the speed and power to rival Tesla Lucid Motors unveiled its first vehicle , the Lucid Air electric sedan , at a virtual event from the company ’ s Silicon Valley headquarters .
The sedan will get up to 517 miles of range , can hit a quarter-mile in under 10 seconds , packs over 1,000 horsepower , and will have a base price of “ under $ 80,000 ” ( as long as the federal government sees fit to continue to give out tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lucid Air is over a decade in the making .
Founded as Atieva in 2007 , the company got its start making high performance batteries for all the Formula E racing teams .
It changed its name to Lucid Motors in 2016 with the promise to to make a midsized sedan that feels like a massive , roomy flagship vehicle .
The vehicle was supposed to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show earlier this year , but got delayed by the coronavirus pandemic .
the Lucid Air is no Model S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Model S lead engineer Peter Rawlinson — then Lucid Motors ’ CTO , now its CEO — there is a sense in the automotive world that Lucid has the internal knowledge and technical chops to tease Tesla ’ s grip as maker of the ultimate electric luxury sedan .
Now we ’ ll finally find out whether that ’ s true .
It seems as if every electric vehicle that ’ s released these days is inevitably held up against Tesla for a comparison .
But few electric vehicles have actually Tesla DNA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Air is one of those vehicles .
That ’ s not to say the Lucid Air is some Model S knockoff .
Far from it , as the Air seems to outperform the Model S in a variety of categories ( range , acceleration , charging time ) .
What it means is that the Air was designed by people who claim to have intimate knowledge of Tesla ’ s path to global EV domination .
It ’ s a familiarity that is sure to intrigue customers with big bank accounts and extra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much as it appears to annoy Tesla CEO Elon Musk .
( Musk huffed on Twitter late Tuesday that “ Rawlinson didn ’ t design Model S. ” ) Unlike other so-called “ Tesla killers , ” though , Lucid Motors has wealthy backers and global reach to successfully challenge Musk .
And now , with its first production car out in the open and the announcement that it is officially working on an SUV as a followup , Rawlinson ’ s plan to steal customers from his former employer will finally be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Lucid Air ’ s specs have been announced .
The company ’ s media strategy has been to release a new tidbit every week for the past month leading up to the actual unveiling .
That way , instead of one story about a new car containing all the relevant information , you get nearly a dozen , each about its own separate feature .
It feels as if we already know a lot about this car even though today is its official public debut .
Heck , The Verge went for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2017 .
But in case you haven ’ t been following that closely , here ’ s the rundown : • 20-miles of range per minute of charging ( DC fast charger ) • nearly 60 percent of range in 20 minutes of charging • price range of $ 80,000- $ 169,000 before incentives , depending on the configuration Trim level and pricing are some of the newest bits of information , so let ’ s dive into that for a moment .
There will be four versions of the Lucid Air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( minus tax credits ) ; Air Touring for $ 95,000 ; Air Grand Touring at $ 139,000 ; and Air Dream Edition at a whopping $ 169,000 — each with its own range , performance specs , and charging estimates .
Like many EV makers , Lucid is hoping to replicate Tesla ’ s strategy of selling a lot of really expensive cars in the hopes of making enough money to eventually produce something more mass-market .
Another new feature is Amazon ’ s Alexa voice assistant will be natively integrated into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to use Alexa to control the vehicle ’ s navigation , answer calls , change radio stations , and even link up with their Echo device at home .
Robust voice recognition is more than just a novelty , though .
It can be a key element in reducing driver distraction .
Being able to toggle between the directions , temperature , and Spotify while keeping my eyes on a road made me a better driver and reduced the likelihood that I ’ d swerve or let my attention wander .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of scrolling or tapping are obvious distractions , and tech companies need to come up with better ways to mitigate that problem .
The most striking thing about the Air is that it ’ s a sedan The most striking thing about the Air is that it ’ s a sedan .
The US auto market is currently drowning in big , hulking vehicles , with SUV sales making up nearly 50 percent of all vehicles purchased in 2019 .
By 2025 , experts predict light trucks and SUVs will make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Lucid isn ’ t going after those car buyers — at least not yet .
( More on that later . )
Lucid isn ’ t the only EV maker to lead with a sedan .
Volvo offshoot Polestar recently began delivering its impressively minimalist Polestar 2 sedan to customers in the US .
But most new electric vehicles being released are in that light truck and SUV segment , from legacy automakers like Nissan and Cadillac , to new players like Rivian .
Lucid will obviously compete with the Model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Tesla is not the company ’ s primary target .
The Lucid Air is for “ someone who has an S-Class Mercedes who says : ‘ Ten years ago , I wouldn ’ t have been that interested in electric .
Tesla has piqued my interest , I love what Tesla is doing with electric , but I ’ m not getting out of my Mercedes for a Model S , ’ ” he told Bloomberg in a recent interview .
Mercedes just released an updated version of its flagship S-Class , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advanced version of its voice assistant and partially automated driving systems .
But the S-Class still runs on good old fashioned dinosaur sludge , and Mercedes notes that S-Class customers are exactly clamoring for an electric drivetrain .
So it remains to be seen whether Rawlinson ’ s bid for Mercedes ’ crown will succeed .
Like many electric vehicle startups , Lucid Motors has experienced ups and downs .
The Lucid Air was supposed to go into production in 2018 , but the company ran into trouble lining up funding required to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Arizona .
It spent much of 2017-2018 languishing until Saudi Arabia ’ s Public Investment Fund came along .
To help with the cash crunch , Lucid Motors entered into two separate agreements in 2017 where it used its intellectual property as collateral for loans , as The Verge originally reported .
The company has since broken ground in Arizona in the next few months .
Most media outlets make note of Saudi Arabia ’ s $ 1 billion investment in Lucid Motors .
But the full extent of the kingdom ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported by The Verge , the company gave up majority ownership to Saudi Arabia ’ s sovereign wealth fund in exchange for the $ 1.3 billion investment it closed last year .
That said , it remains unclear exactly what kind of voting rights the various shareholders of the company have .
Saudi Arabia first announced the deal in September 2018 — just weeks before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed .
Khashoggi ’ s death caused an international uproar and forced some companies ( like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virgin Orbit ) to walk away from taking the Kingdom ’ s money .
But Lucid Motors has remained partnered with Saudi Arabia ever since , despite the deal not officially being approved by the US government ’ s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States until April 2019 .
In an interview with The Verge last year , Rawlinson said he believes he can successfully navigate the partnership despite the nation ’ s record of human rights abuses .
“ I think that we can be part of a movement which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s what I see , ” Rawlinson said .
“ We have a partnership — which is very aligned — a partnership with the PIF .
It ’ s a strategic partnership .
They ’ re committed to help us make this change to benefit all mankind .
And it will benefit Saudi society.
” It ’ s unclear whether Lucid Motors ’ association with Saudi Arabia will help or hurt sales .
Clearly Elon Musk ’ s long history of controversial actions and statements haven ’ t dented his company ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accepting refundable reservations for the Air — $ 1,000 for the base model , $ 7,500 for the Dream edition — and will begin making deliveries starting in spring 2021 .
The vehicles will presumedly roll off the assembly at Lucid ’ s still-under-construction 820,000 square foot factory in Casa Grande , Ariz .
But the company is already working on its next vehicle , an SUV .
( The Verge was first to report this possibility last year . )
The push to develop a second car is coming , in part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people familiar with the company ’ s plans .
Sales of larger cars and trucks are through the roof , and major automakers like Audi , Mercedes-Benz , have followed Tesla ’ s lead in developing all-electric SUVs .
An SUV is probably the least shocking next move for Lucid .
Based on its price , the Lucid Air is bound to be a niche vehicle , sought by customers who likely already own an electric vehicle ( or two ) .
In order to break out and achieve true Tesla-levels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focus on bringing its prices down in order to make its vehicles accessible to a broader group of customers .
A Lucid Motors take on the Model 3 ... now that would be something to see .

Lucid Motors unveiled its first vehicle, the Lucid Air electric sedan, at a virtual event from the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. The sedan will get up to 517 miles of range, can hit a quarter-mile in under 10 seconds, packs over 1,000 horsepower, and will have a base price of “under $80,000” (as long as the federal government sees fit to continue to give out tax credits to EV buyers).
The Lucid Air is over a decade in the making. Founded as Atieva in 2007, the company got its start making high performance batteries for all the Formula E racing teams. It changed its name to Lucid Motors in 2016 with the promise to to make a midsized sedan that feels like a massive, roomy flagship vehicle. The vehicle was supposed to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, but got delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
the Lucid Air is no Model S knockoff
Under direction of the former Tesla Model S lead engineer Peter Rawlinson — then Lucid Motors’ CTO, now its CEO — there is a sense in the automotive world that Lucid has the internal knowledge and technical chops to tease Tesla’s grip as maker of the ultimate electric luxury sedan.
Now we’ll finally find out whether that’s true. It seems as if every electric vehicle that’s released these days is inevitably held up against Tesla for a comparison. But few electric vehicles have actually Tesla DNA running through their bloodstream. The Lucid Air is one of those vehicles.
That’s not to say the Lucid Air is some Model S knockoff. Far from it, as the Air seems to outperform the Model S in a variety of categories (range, acceleration, charging time). What it means is that the Air was designed by people who claim to have intimate knowledge of Tesla’s path to global EV domination. It’s a familiarity that is sure to intrigue customers with big bank accounts and extra space in their driveway — just as much as it appears to annoy Tesla CEO Elon Musk. (Musk huffed on Twitter late Tuesday that “Rawlinson didn’t design Model S.”)
Unlike other so-called “Tesla killers,” though, Lucid Motors has wealthy backers and global reach to successfully challenge Musk. And now, with its first production car out in the open and the announcement that it is officially working on an SUV as a followup, Rawlinson’s plan to steal customers from his former employer will finally be put to the test.
Most of the Lucid Air’s specs have been announced. The company’s media strategy has been to release a new tidbit every week for the past month leading up to the actual unveiling. That way, instead of one story about a new car containing all the relevant information, you get nearly a dozen, each about its own separate feature.
It feels as if we already know a lot about this car even though today is its official public debut. Heck, The Verge went for a ride in an engineering prototype back in 2017.
But in case you haven’t been following that closely, here’s the rundown:
113 kWh battery pack
517 miles of range under perfect conditions
20-miles of range per minute of charging (DC fast charger)
nearly 60 percent of range in 20 minutes of charging
1,080 horsepower
0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds
a quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds
price range of $80,000-$169,000 before incentives, depending on the configuration
280-liter frunk (front trunk)
32-sensor advanced driving assistance system, including cameras, radar, ultrasonic, and LIDAR
Trim level and pricing are some of the newest bits of information, so let’s dive into that for a moment. There will be four versions of the Lucid Air: the base Air for $80,000 (minus tax credits); Air Touring for $95,000; Air Grand Touring at $139,000; and Air Dream Edition at a whopping $169,000 — each with its own range, performance specs, and charging estimates.
Like many EV makers, Lucid is hoping to replicate Tesla’s strategy of selling a lot of really expensive cars in the hopes of making enough money to eventually produce something more mass-market.
Lucid Air lineup at a glance Model Price (USD) Est. EPA range (up to) Horsepower 0-60 (seconds) Quarter mile (sec) / speed (mph) Top speed (mph) Charging (miles/time via DC fast charging) Peak charging speed Availability Air $80,000 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 300/20 mins 1200 mph 2022 Air Touring $95,000 406 miles 620 3.2 11.4/123 155 300/20 mins 1200 mph Q4 2021 Air Grand Touring $139,000 517 miles 800 3 10.8/133 168 300/20 mins 1200 mph Q2 2021 Air Dream Edition $169,000 465 miles (21" AeroDream wheels); 503 miles (19" wheels) 1,080 2.5 9.9/144 168 300/20 mins 1200 mph Q2 2021
Another new feature is Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will be natively integrated into the Air. That means drivers will be able to use Alexa to control the vehicle’s navigation, answer calls, change radio stations, and even link up with their Echo device at home.
Robust voice recognition is more than just a novelty, though. It can be a key element in reducing driver distraction. Being able to toggle between the directions, temperature, and Spotify while keeping my eyes on a road made me a better driver and reduced the likelihood that I’d swerve or let my attention wander. Smartphones and digital infotainment systems that invite a lot of scrolling or tapping are obvious distractions, and tech companies need to come up with better ways to mitigate that problem.
The most striking thing about the Air is that it’s a sedan
The most striking thing about the Air is that it’s a sedan. The US auto market is currently drowning in big, hulking vehicles, with SUV sales making up nearly 50 percent of all vehicles purchased in 2019. By 2025, experts predict light trucks and SUVs will make up over three-fourths of the US market. But Lucid isn’t going after those car buyers — at least not yet. (More on that later.)
Lucid isn’t the only EV maker to lead with a sedan. Volvo offshoot Polestar recently began delivering its impressively minimalist Polestar 2 sedan to customers in the US. But most new electric vehicles being released are in that light truck and SUV segment, from legacy automakers like Nissan and Cadillac, to new players like Rivian.
Lucid will obviously compete with the Model S. But to hear Rawlinson say it, Tesla is not the company’s primary target. The Lucid Air is for “someone who has an S-Class Mercedes who says: ‘Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been that interested in electric. Tesla has piqued my interest, I love what Tesla is doing with electric, but I’m not getting out of my Mercedes for a Model S,’” he told Bloomberg in a recent interview.
Mercedes just released an updated version of its flagship S-Class, with updated technology, including a more advanced version of its voice assistant and partially automated driving systems. But the S-Class still runs on good old fashioned dinosaur sludge, and Mercedes notes that S-Class customers are exactly clamoring for an electric drivetrain. So it remains to be seen whether Rawlinson’s bid for Mercedes’ crown will succeed.
Like many electric vehicle startups, Lucid Motors has experienced ups and downs. The Lucid Air was supposed to go into production in 2018, but the company ran into trouble lining up funding required to build its planned $700 million factory in Arizona. It spent much of 2017-2018 languishing until Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund came along.
To help with the cash crunch, Lucid Motors entered into two separate agreements in 2017 where it used its intellectual property as collateral for loans, as The Verge originally reported. The company has since broken ground in Arizona in the next few months.
Most media outlets make note of Saudi Arabia’s $1 billion investment in Lucid Motors. But the full extent of the kingdom’s involvement often goes unmentioned. As reported by The Verge, the company gave up majority ownership to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in exchange for the $1.3 billion investment it closed last year. That said, it remains unclear exactly what kind of voting rights the various shareholders of the company have.
Saudi Arabia first announced the deal in September 2018 — just weeks before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed. Khashoggi’s death caused an international uproar and forced some companies (like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit) to walk away from taking the Kingdom’s money.
But Lucid Motors has remained partnered with Saudi Arabia ever since, despite the deal not officially being approved by the US government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States until April 2019. In an interview with The Verge last year, Rawlinson said he believes he can successfully navigate the partnership despite the nation’s record of human rights abuses.
“I think that we can be part of a movement which could catalyze change for good. That’s what I see,” Rawlinson said. “We have a partnership — which is very aligned — a partnership with the PIF. It’s a strategic partnership. They’re committed to help us make this change to benefit all mankind. And it will benefit Saudi society.”
It’s unclear whether Lucid Motors’ association with Saudi Arabia will help or hurt sales. Clearly Elon Musk’s long history of controversial actions and statements haven’t dented his company’s financial success.
Lucid is now accepting refundable reservations for the Air — $1,000 for the base model, $7,500 for the Dream edition — and will begin making deliveries starting in spring 2021. The vehicles will presumedly roll off the assembly at Lucid’s still-under-construction 820,000 square foot factory in Casa Grande, Ariz.
But the company is already working on its next vehicle, an SUV. (The Verge was first to report this possibility last year.) The push to develop a second car is coming, in part, from Saudi Arabia, according to the people familiar with the company’s plans. Sales of larger cars and trucks are through the roof, and major automakers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, have followed Tesla’s lead in developing all-electric SUVs.
An SUV is probably the least shocking next move for Lucid. Based on its price, the Lucid Air is bound to be a niche vehicle, sought by customers who likely already own an electric vehicle (or two). In order to break out and achieve true Tesla-levels of success, the company will need to focus on bringing its prices down in order to make its vehicles accessible to a broader group of customers.


theverge--2020-09-09--Google’s Waze lays off 5 percent of its workforce, closes offices in Asia and Latin America

Waze , the Google-owned navigation and mapping service , will lay off 5 percent of its global workforce , or about 30 people out of 555 total employees , the company ’ s CEO said in an email to employees .
Waze will also close several of its offices in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions as it seeks to refocus its business on certain markets .
Waze said the layoffs were partly due to the coronavirus pandemic , which has emptied roadways around the world and sent many cities into lockdown .
As shelter-in-place and working from home become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using Waze for their daily navigation needs .
Fewer eyeballs on the app means less advertising revenue for the company .
Waze , which was acquired by Google in 2013 for a reported $ 1.1 billion , has seen a dip in both monthly active users , or the number of customers using the app each month , and driven kilometers , the metric by which the company measures how far its customers drive while using Waze .
Waze has seen a dip in monthly active users and kilometers driven In April , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just how severely some of those numbers are falling .
Globally , Waze customers drove 60 percent fewer miles in March , when lockdowns started going into effect , as compared to February .
Italy specifically saw the biggest drop at 90 percent .
The US was also down by about 60 percent .
But as the pandemic stretched on , those figures got worse .
Waze says that at one point during the lockdown , global weekly driven kilometers were down 70 percent .
Since June , Waze has begun to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work in countries where restrictions have been lifted .
Globally the company says it ’ s back to pre-COVID driving levels .
Waze will “ rethink priorities , ” CEO Noam Bardin said in the email , “ and we ’ ve decided to focus our resources on product improvements for our users , accelerate our investments in technical infrastructure , and refocus our sales and marketing efforts on a small number of high-value countries.
” Waze will “ rethink priorities , ” CEO Noam Bardin said in the email Waze Carpool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service , is also suffering .
With more people working from home , fewer people are using Waze Carpool to share rides with co-workers or other neighbors who work along a similar route .
As a result , Waze is shrinking the number of people who work on its standalone carpooling service .
Earlier this year , Waze was on track to cross 1 million monthly carpool trips globally , and now the company is no where near that , a spokesperson said .
Of the 30 people receiving pink slips , most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , marketing , and partnerships divisions .
But this won ’ t be a permanent reduction in headcount : Waze says it plans to hire a commensurate number of people for its technology and engineering teams in the months to come .
Waze is also closing offices in countries like Malaysia , Singapore , Colombia , Chile , and Argentina , as it seeks to bring more focus in countries where its business is growing .
That includes the US , the UK , France , Brazil , and Mexico .
Waze obviously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or even transportation company , to be hit by layoffs during the pandemic .
Uber , Lyft , Yelp , Mozilla , Kickstarter , Lime , Sonos , Glitch , and dozens of other companies have laid off workers during the pandemic .
Tens of millions of people are still out of work as the nation ’ s unemployment remains at 8.4 percent ( though the real figure is likely to be much higher ) .
Waze is aware that laying people off in the middle of a pandemic can be cruel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committed to providing those workers who are being laid off with a cushion , including severance , bonuses , and health insurance , into early 2021 .
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , many cities and countries have enforced travel restrictions to curb the spread of the disease , so it ’ s no surprise that our users are driving less ( or have stopped altogether ) , leading to a significant drop in kilometers driven ( KMDs ) , Carpools , and Ad revenue .
This has forced us to rethink priorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our resources on product improvements for our users , accelerate our investments in technical infrastructure , and refocus our sales and marketing efforts on a small number of high-value countries .
These investments ensure the long-term success of Waze and that we exit this pandemic stronger than we entered it .
I have always strived to maintain a transparent culture at Waze , so I want to share with you that in order to continue and accelerate our investment in Engineering and other technical positions , I have decided to close 30 roles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m sorry this email is coming over at such a late hour but I wanted to make sure we reached out to all impacted employees first .
At a high-level , these are the impacted areas : Ads Sales Team : The Ads team will pare back and focus on the key markets that drive 93 % of revenue and carry 95 % of the KMDs we sell in .
This means we will be closing the on-the-ground Sales offices in APAC ( Singapore , Indonesia , Philippines , Malaysia ) and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Chile ) .
We will continue servicing these countries via increased investments in Waze Local Starter , supported by our SMB teams in our main sales hubs .
Partnership Team : Uncertainty of back-to-work plans from our employer partners and with employees continuing to work from home means that we will be shrinking the Carpool Partnerships team .
Our narrowed product focus also means we ’ ll reduce our product partnerships and private & public sector teams .
Marketing Team : The focus on fewer markets and adjustments in our partnership investments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ size of the Marketing team .
Performance Marketing Team : We are making investments in Product to support our Growth efforts and are restructuring the Performance Marketing team to realign around these efforts .
Letting Wazers go is an extremely painful process for all of us .
I want to make it clear that these reductions are being made due to the constraints created by the pandemic and to support investments in our focus areas , and not because of anyone ’ s actions or performance .
The leaving Wazers were a critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it is important that we take care of those leaving as best we can .
Our goal is to try and help as much as possible and ease this process for them .
We ’ ve done our best to support those affected with a severance package that includes : Career Transition : The Google Internal Mobility teams have been working with us and will help all impacted employees search for opportunities within Google .
Outplacement Services : We will be offering outplacement services to all impacted employees from the date of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Financial : Given the circumstances of the year , we have worked closely with the internal HR teams to ensure that everyone has been taken care of through early 2021 and will be eligible for year-end bonuses .
Healthcare : We are giving each impacted employee as many continued benefits as possible , in accordance with local law .
I ask that we all help in any way we can and support our colleagues , both in highlighting internal roles at Google that we may know about and external opportunities we may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thank all of the impacted team members — Waze has become what it is because of your contributions .
These changes are happening due to a global pandemic , and none of this is your fault .
We have no doubt that you will bring your talents to a new team and help them become even better , as you ’ ve done at Waze .

Dear Wazers,
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many cities and countries have enforced travel restrictions to curb the spread of the disease, so it’s no surprise that our users are driving less (or have stopped altogether), leading to a significant drop in kilometers driven (KMDs), Carpools, and Ad revenue.
This has forced us to rethink priorities and we’ve decided to focus our resources on product improvements for our users, accelerate our investments in technical infrastructure, and refocus our sales and marketing efforts on a small number of high-value countries. These investments ensure the long-term success of Waze and that we exit this pandemic stronger than we entered it.
I have always strived to maintain a transparent culture at Waze, so I want to share with you that in order to continue and accelerate our investment in Engineering and other technical positions, I have decided to close 30 roles in other parts of Waze. I’m sorry this email is coming over at such a late hour but I wanted to make sure we reached out to all impacted employees first.
At a high-level, these are the impacted areas:
Ads Sales Team: The Ads team will pare back and focus on the key markets that drive 93% of revenue and carry 95% of the KMDs we sell in. This means we will be closing the on-the-ground Sales offices in APAC (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia) and smaller LATAM markets (Colombia, Argentina, Chile). We will continue servicing these countries via increased investments in Waze Local Starter, supported by our SMB teams in our main sales hubs.
Partnership Team: Uncertainty of back-to-work plans from our employer partners and with employees continuing to work from home means that we will be shrinking the Carpool Partnerships team. Our narrowed product focus also means we’ll reduce our product partnerships and private & public sector teams.
Marketing Team: The focus on fewer markets and adjustments in our partnership investments means that we will be reducing the size of the Marketing team.
Performance Marketing Team: We are making investments in Product to support our Growth efforts and are restructuring the Performance Marketing team to realign around these efforts.
Letting Wazers go is an extremely painful process for all of us. I want to make it clear that these reductions are being made due to the constraints created by the pandemic and to support investments in our focus areas, and not because of anyone’s actions or performance.
The leaving Wazers were a critical part of our growth up to now and it is important that we take care of those leaving as best we can. Our goal is to try and help as much as possible and ease this process for them. We’ve done our best to support those affected with a severance package that includes:
Career Transition: The Google Internal Mobility teams have been working with us and will help all impacted employees search for opportunities within Google.
Outplacement Services: We will be offering outplacement services to all impacted employees from the date of the notice through six month after employment.
Financial: Given the circumstances of the year, we have worked closely with the internal HR teams to ensure that everyone has been taken care of through early 2021 and will be eligible for year-end bonuses.
Healthcare: We are giving each impacted employee as many continued benefits as possible, in accordance with local law.
I ask that we all help in any way we can and support our colleagues, both in highlighting internal roles at Google that we may know about and external opportunities we may be aware of.
I want to thank all of the impacted team members — Waze has become what it is because of your contributions. These changes are happening due to a global pandemic, and none of this is your fault. We have no doubt that you will bring your talents to a new team and help them become even better, as you’ve done at Waze.
Thank you.
Noam


theverge--2020-09-09--Google’s Fundo lets creators get paid by hosting virtual meet-and-greets

Google ’ s Fundo — a service that allows creators to host paid , ticketed virtual meet-and-greet events — is expanding from a limited test into a full-fledged product that anyone can use starting today .
Developed by Google ’ s Area 120 incubator , Fundo ( which is not the name of an adorable floppy-eared dog ) was launched in a limited beta last summer for several hundred “ trusted testers , ” according to Variety .
It ’ s now available for anyone to use .
Fundo ( also not a wacky new artificial cheese product ) was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service .
Fans could wait in a digital line , chat briefly with the celebrity or creator , and get “ photos ” with them , just like a real-life meet-and-greet .
The service provides creators with an easy way to run these kinds of events , complete with video streaming , payment processing , and hosting , in exchange for which Google takes a 20 percent cut of the revenue .
Virtual meetings are a much bigger deal in 2020 The idea of offering an easy way for creators to offer paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more valuable , thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , which has forced many events online .
The company has seen events expand to include things like workout classes , cooking tutorials , and workshops .
Fundo ( also not a comic relief character from an ’ 80s sitcom ) allows for 30 users to be on-screen at the same time , with the goal being smaller events rather than giant digital seminars or concerts with hundreds of attendees .
Everything is done directly through the Fundo ( not a fun new kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , using a custom-built video chat system .
In addition to the broader launch , users will also now be able to search for events on the Fundo ( not a knock-off brand of big-headed collectible figures ) website and purchase scheduled one-on-one meetings with creators .

Google’s Fundo — a service that allows creators to host paid, ticketed virtual meet-and-greet events — is expanding from a limited test into a full-fledged product that anyone can use starting today.
Developed by Google’s Area 120 incubator, Fundo (which is not the name of an adorable floppy-eared dog) was launched in a limited beta last summer for several hundred “trusted testers,” according to Variety. It’s now available for anyone to use.
Fundo (also not a wacky new artificial cheese product) was originally meant as a virtual photo booth-style service. Fans could wait in a digital line, chat briefly with the celebrity or creator, and get “photos” with them, just like a real-life meet-and-greet. The service provides creators with an easy way to run these kinds of events, complete with video streaming, payment processing, and hosting, in exchange for which Google takes a 20 percent cut of the revenue.
Virtual meetings are a much bigger deal in 2020
The idea of offering an easy way for creators to offer paid, ticketed online events has become far more valuable, thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many events online. The company has seen events expand to include things like workout classes, cooking tutorials, and workshops.
Fundo (also not a comic relief character from an ’80s sitcom) allows for 30 users to be on-screen at the same time, with the goal being smaller events rather than giant digital seminars or concerts with hundreds of attendees. Everything is done directly through the Fundo (not a fun new kind of bread dough) website, too, using a custom-built video chat system.


theverge--2020-09-09--White House reportedly moves to eliminate COVID-19 security theater at airports

International travelers arriving in the United States will reportedly no longer go through enhanced health screenings at the airport .
The planned change in policy , first reported by Yahoo News , is expected to go into effect on September 14th .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) has been screening travelers coming into the US from certain countries since January when it started flagging anyone coming from or through Wuhan , China .
The screening involves a temperature check and symptom check .
Travelers are also expected to provide information that could be used for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposed to someone with COVID-19 .
The White House ordered the change in practice , according to Yahoo News .
US Customs and Border Protection told The Verge to contact the Department of Homeland Security about the policy , which referred The Verge to the CDC .
Airport screenings are designed to catch infected people traveling into the country so that they don ’ t continue to spread COVID-19 .
They don ’ t usually end up catching that many sick people , though .
Temperature checks alone aren ’ t going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aren ’ t showing symptoms yet or anyone who is asymptomatic .
Fever is a common symptom of COVID-19 , but some very sick people never develop one .
It ’ s also easily masked by medication .
Symptom screenings rely on people telling the truth and , again , won ’ t flag anyone who is pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic .
In February , US officials screened over 30,000 people in airports and did not find anyone infected with the virus .
One analysis found that airport screening would miss almost half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with COVID-19 were identified through airport screenings , a TSA official told CNN .
Catching people in airports is also most likely to be beneficial before transmission starts in earnest , when public health officials are still trying to contain any spread of a virus .
The US has the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks of any country in the world .
An international traveler is probably more at risk of catching the virus in the country than of bringing it in .
The reported moves to get rid of the airport checks line up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think about the pandemic .
Airport health screenings are , in many ways , security theater .
Governments use them to show the public that they ’ re doing something .
Eliminating them makes it look like things are back to normal .
It ’ s in line with with “ out of sight , out of mind ” approach the Trump administration seems to be taking with the COVID-19 outbreaks across the country .
Last month , officials pressured the CDC to change its testing recommendations and discourage people without symptoms from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to public health recommendations .
President Trump has repeatedly and falsely said that fewer tests would lower the caseload .
For months , Trump has publicly downplayed the significance of the virus that has killed around 190,000 people in the United States at the time of writing .
Since February , behind closed doors , he seemed clear on the danger of the virus , according to newly released interviews with journalist Bob Woodward .
Trump told Woodward in March that he intentionally minimized the risk .
“ I wanted to always play @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days after declaring a national emergency .
“ I still like playing it down because I don ’ t want to create a panic .
”

International travelers arriving in the United States will reportedly no longer go through enhanced health screenings at the airport. The planned change in policy, first reported by Yahoo News, is expected to go into effect on September 14th.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been screening travelers coming into the US from certain countries since January when it started flagging anyone coming from or through Wuhan, China. The screening involves a temperature check and symptom check. Travelers are also expected to provide information that could be used for contact tracing in the event they were exposed to someone with COVID-19.
The White House ordered the change in practice, according to Yahoo News. US Customs and Border Protection told The Verge to contact the Department of Homeland Security about the policy, which referred The Verge to the CDC.
Airport screenings are designed to catch infected people traveling into the country so that they don’t continue to spread COVID-19. They don’t usually end up catching that many sick people, though. Temperature checks alone aren’t going to catch people who caught the virus but aren’t showing symptoms yet or anyone who is asymptomatic. Fever is a common symptom of COVID-19, but some very sick people never develop one. It’s also easily masked by medication. Symptom screenings rely on people telling the truth and, again, won’t flag anyone who is pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic.
In February, US officials screened over 30,000 people in airports and did not find anyone infected with the virus. One analysis found that airport screening would miss almost half of infected travelers. Fewer than 15 passengers with COVID-19 were identified through airport screenings, a TSA official told CNN.
Catching people in airports is also most likely to be beneficial before transmission starts in earnest, when public health officials are still trying to contain any spread of a virus. The US has the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks of any country in the world. An international traveler is probably more at risk of catching the virus in the country than of bringing it in.
The reported moves to get rid of the airport checks line up with what the White House seems to think about the pandemic. Airport health screenings are, in many ways, security theater. Governments use them to show the public that they’re doing something. Eliminating them makes it look like things are back to normal.
It’s in line with with “out of sight, out of mind” approach the Trump administration seems to be taking with the COVID-19 outbreaks across the country. Last month, officials pressured the CDC to change its testing recommendations and discourage people without symptoms from getting COVID-19 tests, which runs counter to public health recommendations. President Trump has repeatedly and falsely said that fewer tests would lower the caseload.


theverge--2020-09-09--Verizon will let you watch NFL games for free with three of your friends

The 2020 NFL season kicks off tomorrow , despite the ominous threat of COVID-19 lurking around just about every corner .
( It remains to be seen whether the precautions the league has been taking will be effective . )
For fans who have been practicing social distancing , the season ’ s beginning might feel bittersweet : it ’ s great that football is back , but it does suck to not be able to safely watch games with your pals in person .
But that doesn ’ t mean you have to watch ‘ em alone .
Verizon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yahoo Sports app , called Watch Together , which will let you live-stream NFL games with up to three of your friends over video chat .
You won ’ t need to be a Verizon customer to watch games for free , but you will need to watch on a smartphone or a table .
( Streaming rights , you know ? )
It seems like a great deal .
And as Fast Company notes , the “ watch together ” idea has become a capital-T thing in the streaming industry .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have all launched co-watching features with text-based chat , while HBO has partnered with an outside company called Scener to launch both text and video chat , ” it notes .
I can ’ t imagine the concept will be any less popular when applied to actual , honest-to-god live sports .
Go team .

The 2020 NFL season kicks off tomorrow, despite the ominous threat of COVID-19 lurking around just about every corner. (It remains to be seen whether the precautions the league has been taking will be effective.) For fans who have been practicing social distancing, the season’s beginning might feel bittersweet: it’s great that football is back, but it does suck to not be able to safely watch games with your pals in person.
But that doesn’t mean you have to watch ‘em alone. Verizon is launching a new feature on its Yahoo Sports app, called Watch Together, which will let you live-stream NFL games with up to three of your friends over video chat. You won’t need to be a Verizon customer to watch games for free, but you will need to watch on a smartphone or a tablet. (Streaming rights, you know?)


theverge--2020-09-09--AMD’s next-generation Zen 3 CPUs and Radeon RX 6000 ‘Big Navi’ GPU will be revealed next month

Last week , Nvidia unveiled the $ 699 RTX 3080 , which promises double the performance of the RTX 2080 for the same price when it releases next Thursday .
Perhaps you ’ re already sold on that upgrade , but there is one reason you might want to wait : AMD will likely answer with its own competitor to the RTX 3000 series on October 28th .
AMD has confirmed that its new line of GPUs is part of the Radeon RX 6000 series , which uses AMD ’ s new RDNA 2 architecture that includes real-time , hardware-accelerated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Radeon RX 6000 series also shares the same graphics architecture with the PS5 as well as the next-gen Xbox consoles , Series S and Series X , which are set to release on November 10th .
Before October 28th , Nvidia will have already launched two of its new 3000 series of GPUs : the $ 699 RTX 3080 and the $ 1,499 RTX 3090 , launching on September 17th and September 24th , respectively .
The $ 499 RTX 3070 is slated to launch sometime in October .
Nvidia may also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GPU later this year , according to hardware insider kopite7kimi , who accurately predicted the specifications of the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 .
The computing company also plans to host another event on October 8th , focusing on its CPUs that use Zen 3 architecture .
AMD has not said what type of CPUs it will unveil ; we ’ ve been expecting the company to unveil the Ryzen 4000 series for desktop as a successor to the Ryzen 3000 , which used Zen 2 architecture .
We have already seen the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chips also use Zen 2 , not Zen 3 , architecture .

Last week, Nvidia unveiled the $699 RTX 3080, which promises double the performance of the RTX 2080 for the same price when it releases next Thursday. Perhaps you’re already sold on that upgrade, but there is one reason you might want to wait: AMD will likely answer with its own competitor to the RTX 3000 series on October 28th.
AMD has confirmed that its new line of GPUs is part of the Radeon RX 6000 series, which uses AMD’s new RDNA 2 architecture that includes real-time, hardware-accelerated ray tracing and variable rate shading. The Radeon RX 6000 series also shares the same graphics architecture with the PS5 as well as the next-gen Xbox consoles, Series S and Series X, which are set to release on November 10th.
Before October 28th, Nvidia will have already launched two of its new 3000 series of GPUs: the $699 RTX 3080 and the $1,499 RTX 3090, launching on September 17th and September 24th, respectively. The $499 RTX 3070 is slated to launch sometime in October. Nvidia may also be planning to launch an RTX 3060 GPU later this year, according to hardware insider kopite7kimi, who accurately predicted the specifications of the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080.


theverge--2020-09-09--Twitch brings custom esports competitions to streamers in closed beta

Twitch and esports go together like a dusting of salt on top of a chocolate chip cookie : the sweetness of victory etc.
, tempered by the saltiness of defeat .
Today , Twitch launches Versus — a suite of competitive tools that will let creators on the site organize and manage their own tournaments — which promises to bring those agonies and ecstasies to any streamer who feels like pubstomping their community .
While the feature is in closed beta for now , collegiate esports leagues , game devs , and Twitch Rivals competitors ( along with some other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
There is a waitlist you can join if you ’ re interested in trying out Versus for yourself .
Obviously , this isn ’ t Twitch ’ s first foray into esports .
Twitch Rivals has been hosting competitions between streamers and pros since last year , and in April , the company rolled out an esports directory to keep viewers updated on the latest tournaments .
What ’ s interesting about Versus is how it ’ s very similar to Facebook Gaming ’ s Tournaments .
Twitch is playing catch-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cool to see good ideas make their way further into the mainstream .

Twitch and esports go together like a dusting of salt on top of a chocolate chip cookie: the sweetness of victory etc., tempered by the saltiness of defeat. Today, Twitch launches Versus — a suite of competitive tools that will let creators on the site organize and manage their own tournaments — which promises to bring those agonies and ecstasies to any streamer who feels like pubstomping their community.
While the feature is in closed beta for now, collegiate esports leagues, game devs, and Twitch Rivals competitors (along with some other Twitch streamers) will have access starting today. There is a waitlist you can join if you’re interested in trying out Versus for yourself.


theverge--2020-09-09--Former NSA chief Keith Alexander has joined Amazon’s board of directors

Gen. Keith Alexander is joining Amazon ’ s board of directors , the company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today .
( Alexander has also been added to the company board ’ s official site . )
A former director of the National Security Agency and the first commander of the US Cyber Command , Alexander served as the public face of US data collection during the Edward Snowden leaks , but he retired from public service in 2013 .
Alexander is a controversial figure for many in the tech community because of his involvement in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaks .
Those systems included PRISM , a broad data collection program that compromised systems at Google , Microsoft , Yahoo , and Facebook — but not Amazon .
Alexander was broadly critical of reporting on the Snowden leaks , even suggesting that reporters should be legally restrained from covering the documents .
“ I think it ’ s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents , the 50,000-whatever they have and are selling them and giving them out as if these — you know it just doesn ’ t make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2013 .
“ We ought to come up with a way of stopping it .
I don ’ t know how to do that .
That ’ s more of the courts and the policymakers but , from my perspective , it ’ s wrong to allow this to go on.
” Alexander ’ s board spot will also give Amazon new expertise in defense contracting , an area of particular focus for the company in recent years .
Amazon was a leading candidate for a recent $ 10 billion cloud computing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ultimately lost out to Microsoft .
The company is currently engaged in a lawsuit against the federal government in connection with the contract , alleging that President Donald Trump ’ s personal statements against Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos biased the process against Amazon .

Gen. Keith Alexander is joining Amazon’s board of directors, the company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today. (Alexander has also been added to the company board’s official site.) A former director of the National Security Agency and the first commander of the US Cyber Command, Alexander served as the public face of US data collection during the Edward Snowden leaks, but he retired from public service in 2013.
Alexander is a controversial figure for many in the tech community because of his involvement in the widespread surveillance systems revealed by the Snowden leaks. Those systems included PRISM, a broad data collection program that compromised systems at Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook — but not Amazon.
Alexander was broadly critical of reporting on the Snowden leaks, even suggesting that reporters should be legally restrained from covering the documents. “I think it’s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents, the 50,000-whatever they have and are selling them and giving them out as if these — you know it just doesn’t make sense,” Alexander in an interview in 2013. “We ought to come up with a way of stopping it. I don’t know how to do that. That’s more of the courts and the policymakers but, from my perspective, it’s wrong to allow this to go on.”


theverge--2020-09-10--Fortnite’s Marvel takeover continues with new Stark Industries location

Fortnite ’ s island is looking increasingly like a comic book come to life .
With a quick tour around the map , you can spot a graveyard of Sentinels from X-Men , an oversized Ant Manor , an impressive Black Panther statue , and now Stark Industries , home of Tony Stark .
The addition of Iron Man ’ s home base comes as part of a big update for the game that ’ s available now .
In addition to the new locale , which you can spot toward the northeast part of the island , there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the game , including superhero-themed powerups like Iron Man ’ s repulsor lifts .
There are also new enemies in the form of Galactus ’ drones , which double as weapons if you pick them up quickly after defeating them .
You can get a glimpse of all the new elements in action in the trailer above .
The Marvel takeover of Fortnite started at the end of August with the launch of the game ’ s latest season , introducing characters like Thor , Wolverine , and She-Hulk into the Fortnite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tie-in comic book .
Of course , season 4 isn ’ t available for everyone : due to the ongoing dispute between Apple and Epic , the iOS version of Fortnite is missing all of the latest additions .
( Epic says that , soon , Fortnite players won ’ t even be able to log in to the game using Apple ’ s sign-in system . )
Elsewhere in Fortnite , Epic will be kicking off a three-week-long concert series in party royale this week , starting with a Dominic Fike performance @ @ @

Fortnite’s island is looking increasingly like a comic book come to life. With a quick tour around the map, you can spot a graveyard of Sentinels from X-Men, an oversized Ant Manor, an impressive Black Panther statue, and now Stark Industries, home of Tony Stark. The addition of Iron Man’s home base comes as part of a big update for the game that’s available now.
In addition to the new locale, which you can spot toward the northeast part of the island, there are a handful of other notable features added into the game, including superhero-themed powerups like Iron Man’s repulsor lifts. There are also new enemies in the form of Galactus’ drones, which double as weapons if you pick them up quickly after defeating them. You can get a glimpse of all the new elements in action in the trailer above.


theverge--2020-09-10--The Winamp Skin Museum lets you relive the wonderful chaos of late-’90s computing

Every now and again , individuals of a certain generation ( my generation ) have a tendency to fall into a catatonic state whenever we remember Winamp skins .
There ’ s just something about them that instantly transports one back to the late ‘ 90s / early ‘ 00s , when user interfaces were truly customizable , and your music collection was an endless and engrossing battle against garbled filenames like LINKIN_PORK-IN % THE % END ( HQ ) .mp3 .
If any of that is triggering a nostalgic response , then you ’ ll probably enjoy the Winamp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endlessly scrolling collection of 65,000 Winamp skins , searchable and fully interactive .
There ’ s a default playlist ( which includes the “ Llama Whippin ’ Intro ” ) , and you can even load audio files into it from your computer , if you happen to have any lying around .
The skins were previously collected on the Internet Archive but assembled into this new accessible format by Facebook engineer Jordan Eldredge .
On Twitter , Eldredge notes he ’ s still taking collections for the project if you have any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he describes the collection as capturing “ an iconic moment in internet art history.
” He ’ s not wrong .
The taste on display in the Winamp Skin Museum is , in a word , stunning .
It has all of the artistic value of a national art gallery , but it focuses in on late- ’ 90s / early- ’ 00s aesthetics with enough raw energy to bring back nü metal .
On display , you can see anime skins , gaming skins , communist skins , sci-fi skins , skins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cornucopia of indescribable vibes in between .
The only disappointment is that the format of the museum doesn ’ t lend itself to supporting the stranger skins that transformed the size and shape of Winamp ’ s various elements .
But perhaps that would have been too much for today ’ s modern , sleek UIs to handle .
This is the weird thing about Winamp skins , though : they don ’ t just capture a visual aesthetic , but a mode of interaction with technology .
Personally , they remind me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had more control over my computer .
I could customize Winamp skins , sure , but also my whole desktop , down to my extremely carefully collated music collection .
There was also something about having to sort through files and dig up album art that encouraged a sort of engagement with music that feels , to me , very different to today ’ s streaming model .
Spotify , compared to Winamp , seems passive .
You ’ ll get your Discover playlist , and you ’ ll like it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ could argue that we ’ ve traded into this chaotic customization for convenience .
But was it worth it ?
Probably .
Perhaps all I ’ m really missing is a period of my life when I had time and energy to mess about with that sort of thing .
Arguably , computers are just as customizable , if you care to put in the effort .
But you see what I mean , now ?
Winamp skins , dude .
They really take you back .

Every now and again, individuals of a certain generation (my generation) have a tendency to fall into a catatonic state whenever we remember Winamp skins. There’s just something about them that instantly transports one back to the late ‘90s / early ‘00s, when user interfaces were truly customizable, and your music collection was an endless and engrossing battle against garbled filenames like LINKIN_PORK-IN%THE%END(HQ).mp3.
If any of that is triggering a nostalgic response, then you’ll probably enjoy the Winamp Skin Museum. It’s an endlessly scrolling collection of 65,000 Winamp skins, searchable and fully interactive. There’s a default playlist (which includes the “Llama Whippin’ Intro”), and you can even load audio files into it from your computer, if you happen to have any lying around.
The skins were previously collected on the Internet Archive but assembled into this new accessible format by Facebook engineer Jordan Eldredge. On Twitter, Eldredge notes he’s still taking collections for the project if you have any skins you want to donate, and he describes the collection as capturing “an iconic moment in internet art history.”
He’s not wrong. The taste on display in the Winamp Skin Museum is, in a word, stunning. It has all of the artistic value of a national art gallery, but it focuses in on late-’90s / early-’00s aesthetics with enough raw energy to bring back nü metal.
You can even load up visualizations.
This is the weird thing about Winamp skins, though: they don’t just capture a visual aesthetic, but a mode of interaction with technology. Personally, they remind me of an era when it felt like I had more control over my computer. I could customize Winamp skins, sure, but also my whole desktop, down to my extremely carefully collated music collection.
There was also something about having to sort through files and dig up album art that encouraged a sort of engagement with music that feels, to me, very different to today’s streaming model. Spotify, compared to Winamp, seems passive. You’ll get your Discover playlist, and you’ll like it. (And I do.) You could argue that we’ve traded into this chaotic customization for convenience. But was it worth it? Probably. Perhaps all I’m really missing is a period of my life when I had time and energy to mess about with that sort of thing. Arguably, computers are just as customizable, if you care to put in the effort.