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Theranos settlement means it could have a lab again in 2019
Theranos has been headed toward disaster for a while through its questonable blood testing methods, but it might have just avoided the worst possible outcome. The biotech outfit has reached a settlement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that should end the legal and regulatory fights between the two. In return for Theranos dropping appeals of both its 2-year lab ban and sanctions on its Newark lab, CMS has decided against revoking Theranos' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certificates and reducing the civil financial penalty to $30,000. Theranos is voluntarily giving up the certificates, as it's not running labs that would need them.
Facebook reviews reporting process following livestream confession
On Sunday a man posted a video to Facebook detailing his intent to kill another man. Two minutes later he posted another video of the murder. That video was available on the social media site for over two hours before the suspect's account was disabled and the video was no longer visible. Today Facebook says it is reviewing its reporting flows in order to help people inform the site about content like this.
YouTube opens up mobile livestreams to more users
It hasn't been that long since YouTube rolled out livestreaming for those who want to broadcast directly from their phones. The caveat was that you had to have at least 10,000 subscribers to enable the feature. Today, however, the video service has made live video available to YouTubers with a smaller subscription base. If you've got at least 1,000 subscribers to your channel, you can go live on the go.
Google quietly takes on LinkedIn with its own job listings site
Google has a new job listings portal coming online soon, adding yet another site you'll need to upload your resume to. You can even visit the Google Hire site now, though it won't let you sign in, yet. According to Axios, Hire will enable companies to post job listings and individuals to search for and find their next job.
NYC taxi commission wants Uber to add in-app tipping
Uber has long had a complicated relationship with tips. As the company said last year, tipping is not "expected or required" when you take an Uber, and the app still does not provide an option to do so. That might change in New York City before long, though. Today, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) announced it was supporting a petition from the Independent Driver's Guild that would require ride-hailing apps like Uber to include a tipping feature.
Go back to 1984 with Internet Archive's Macintosh collection
Not content to sit on the sidelines, the Internet Archive recently resurrected something, too. This time, it's a swath of apps, games and software from the original Macintosh circa 1984. That means stuff like Lode Runner, MacOS System 7.0.1, Microsoft BASIC 2.0 and Space Invaders are on offer in their pixelated, black-and-white glory. Just like the old days. Except, you know, these run in a browser window. The Archive says this collection of stuff from 1984 to 1989 is just the first set of emulations from the machine, so it might not be too long before more apps are available.
Hotels pressure the government to crack down on Airbnb
There's no doubt that the hotel industry hates Airbnb -- the home sharing service lures many would-be customers away through lower rates and the perks that come from staying in someone else's abode. So how does it fight back? By pushing the government to crack down. The New York Times has learned that the American Hotel and Lodging Association has been conducting a "multipronged, national" lobbying and research campaign to have politicians impose or toughen restrictions, selectively collect taxes and draw attention to the negative side-effects of home sharing. Reportedly, the AHLA is partly responsible for at least some of the higher-profile regulatory moves against Airbnb in the past year.
The Morning After: Monday, April 17th 2017
Hey, good morning! While we consumed our body weight in chocolate, the US Navy banned vaping on its entire fleet and EA detailed the sequel to Battlefront. There's also a drone that can spy on fish, some stealth iPad upgrades and a potentially life-saving AI.
Cleveland police seek suspect in murder streamed on Facebook
The Cleveland Police Department has confirmed it's looking for a suspect, Steve Stephens who committed a homicide and streamed the crime on Facebook Live. Sadly, this isn't the first homicide broadcast on the platform, however, in this case, it was intentional. According to Heavy.com, the video showed Stephens speaking to an elderly man before shooting him through the window of a car. On the stream, Stephens claimed to have killed others and threatened to continue. Police report that he is armed and dangerous and are warning people not to approach if they see him.
Internet and computing pioneer Robert Taylor dies
The technology world just lost one of its most prominent innovators. Robert Taylor, best known as the mastermind of ARPAnet (the internet's precursor), has died at 85. As the director of the US military's Advanced Research Projects Agency from 1965 until 1970, he helped pioneer the concept behind shared networks -- he was frustrated with constantly switching terminals and wanted to access multiple networks from one system. While a lot of the credit goes to his team for implementing ARPAnet, he both pushed hard for the project and wrote a legendary 1968 essay that foretold the internet's future: a vast, decentralized grid of connected devices that would reshape communication at just about every level.
After Math: It's so hard to say goodbye
It's been a tough week for farewells. We've seen the NES Classic get canceled, Microsoft pull the plug on Vista, and the impending end of free registration for California's electric vehicles. Numbers, because how else would we know how much time we have left?
Uber is kicking restaurants off its UberRush service
When Uber launched UberRush in 2015, the company promised to deliver just about anything in minutes to clients in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. In addition to connecting regular users with couriers for small errands, the logistics platform also became the backend for a number of restaurants and retailers delivering everything from dry cleaning to flowers. According to a new report from Quartz, however, Uber is now scaling back UberRush and consolidating its portfolio of services as the company continues to bleed cash despite its rapid growth.
'Mystery Science Theater 3000' playfully skewers 'Stranger Things'
If you've been excited about the reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000, you aren't alone: To celebrate the new season's debut yesterday, Netflix let the show's wisecracking trio take aim at its own hit series from last year, Stranger Things. While the video is sadly only a few minutes, it packs in all the observational comedy you've missed from your favorite damned-to-watch critical crew of Joel, Crow and Tom Servo.
Italian court halts Uber injunction as Taiwan lifts ban
Uber doesn't have to pack its bags and leave Italy just yet. Another court in Rome has decided to suspend a lower court's rule banning the ride-hailing service from operating in the country completely. The judge has allowed it to continue its operations in Italy, at least until it's done appealing its total ban. An Uber spokesperson told Engadget that "drivers and riders... can now continue using the Uber app until the court's appeal ruling." Uber promises to "continue fighting this judgement in the hope that Italians will be able to enjoy the benefits of modern technology that provides reliable transportation at the push of a button."
David Bowie's musical is making the leap to VR
David Bowie's Lazarus had two short, completely sold out runs in New York and London. If you missed it, you're kind of SOL. But, if you're willing to settle for experiencing it in virtual reality, instead of real reality, you've got a second chance to see it at London's V&A Museum. The musical will be given a second life as part an exhibition called From VHS to VR, during the museum's Performance Festival on April 30th. Visitors will be able to strap on a headset and drop themselves into a 360-degree recording of Lazarus recorded during its King's Cross Theatre run.
Recommended Reading: Technology hasn't improved the airline experience
How Technology Has Failed to Improve Your Airline Experience Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times It hasn't been a great week for United, but that massive incident served as a harsh reminder that the airline industry has a long list of customer service issues. The New York Times' Farhad Manjoo details how technology has improved ride sharing, vacation rentals and more while the process of booking a flight and air travel still leaves a lot to be desired.
Uber saw rapid growth in 2016, but it still bled cash
Uber has revealed part of its financials for the first time, perhaps in effort to distract you from all the controversies it's involved with. The privately held ride-hailing company, which isn't required to publicize its earnings, has told Bloomberg that its sales growth is outpacing losses. Its gross bookings (or how much it collects from drivers) in 2016 apparently amounted to $20 billion, which is double the total from the year before. The company took home around $6.5 billion from that amount after adjustments.
The Morning After: Weekend Edition
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the weekend! We have news on the Microsoft Windows zero-days that weren't, and a teaser trailer for the next Star Wars movie.
Shadow Brokers release also suggests NSA spied on bank transactions
Besides a cache of potentially damaging zero-day exploits against many versions of Windows, another element of today's Shadow Brokers release is a folder titled SWIFT. Inside, it has documents listing the internal structure at EastNets, a Dubai-based bank and anti-money laundering organization. Banks use the SWIFT messaging system to transfer trillions of dollars every day, and if the documents released are accurate, it appears the NSA wanted access to monitor transfers between banks in the Middle East.
Facebook busts up international spam operation
While Facebook has spent significant time fighting fake news on its network, it continues to battle another plague to its social platform: Fake accounts. These are often used to spread low-quality content, so the internet titan has been ramping up its crackdowns. Hot on the heels of banning 30,000 profiles earlier this week, Facebook announced it has disrupted a massive international spam operation the network had been combating for the last six months.
