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Over 8,000 Uber, Lyft drivers fail new Massachusetts background check
More than 8,000 Uber and Lyft drivers have been denied licenses to operate in Massachusetts under a new, stricter state background check law, according to the Boston Globe. The most common reason? Issues with the driver's license status, including suspensions.
Giant murderbots will fight for their countries in August
Who's ready for a robot rumble? Back in 2015, we told you about MegaBots, a team of American engineers building a piloted combat robot to battle Kuratas, a 13-foot mech built by Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industries. Two years later, it looks like the big fight is finally happening. The Giant Robot Duel will take place this August, MegaBots today announced.
Major League Soccer gets its first eSports player
A number of European soccer teams have their own eSports players, but what about American clubs? Don't worry, they're catching up. New York City FC has signed Major League Sports' first eSports player, Christopher Holly, to represent the outfit in FIFA tournaments. He's definitely not a newcomer to the game -- Holly has been playing some form of FIFA on PlayStation systems for the past 12 years, and plays well enough that he was the top-rated FIFA Ultimate Team player on the planet in December.
WhatsApp's digital payments push will begin in India
Three years after buying WhatsApp, Facebook still hasn't quite figured out how to make money off of messaging service's massive user base. According to a report from India-based media company The Ken and confirmed by Bloomberg WhatsApp will be jumping into the digital payments space, starting with the service's 200 million users in India.
Germany backs fines for social networks that ignore hate speech
Germany is backing its crusade against online hate speech with some legal clout. The country's cabinet is backing a proposed law that would fine social networks up to €50 million (about $53.3 million) if they don't block or remove illegal hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about "obviously criminal content." The legislation wouldn't necessarily fine companies for individual infractions, but this theoretically discourages companies from taking a lackadaisical approach to pulling hateful material.
How Microsoft plans to make 3D building mainstream in Windows 10
Paint 3D was a surprise. Even longtime Microsoft watchers had no idea the company was working on a 3D spin on Paint, and it seemed like a left-field choice for most consumers. But after diving into Paint 3D in the Windows 10 Creators Update, I can say it actually makes complete sense for Microsoft. It's an ideal way to introduce a new generation to building and thinking in three dimensions. And according to Megan Saunders, Microsoft's head of 3D experiences in Windows, that's a skill that will be particularly useful with the rise of VR, AR and 3D printing.
Vote for Engadget R+D's 'Superhumans' series to win a Webby Award!
Engadget R+D's first documentary Superhumans debuted back in September and now the series is up for a Webby Award. The look inside the first cyborg games is nominated for a People's Voice award in the Technology Film & Video category, but we need your help. Head over to the voting page between now and Thursday, April 20th to cast your vote for us. We would certainly appreciate it! It's not the first time we've been up for the prestigious award, but we would like to add some more hardware to our mantle. If you need a refresher on the series, you can re-watch every episode at the show hub right here.
Deliveroo builds its own kitchens to help restaurants expand
Deliveroo's food delivery services are convenient provided your favourite restaurant is signed up and willing to cover your post code. All too often, you'll open the app only to find that what you really want to eat isn't available. Deliveroo's solution is 'Editions,' a network of small, delivery-only kitchens that can help restaurants to reach more people. Following a trial in London, the company is rolling out the concept nationwide. Thirty Editions will be available at launch, covering 200 restaurants and, Deliveroo claims, creating more than 1,000 jobs in the process.
Invisible infrared light reveals a hidden Alaska
Infrared photography isn't just for soldiers or police, it also gives photographers a tool for capturing what is normally unseen. A strong case in point is photographer, artist and Tron title designer GMUNK, aka Bradley G. Munkowitz. He trekked to Alaska's Tracy Arm Fjord last summer with a modified Fujifilm X-T1 IR full-spectrum camera in hand, transforming the already-dramatic landscape into a psychedelic exoplanet.
Use AI to turn your favorite film into a color palette
If you're seeking color inspiration from a distinctive-looking film like Grand Budapest Hotel, you could just "eyedrop" it in Photoshop or try an app like Adobe Color CC. Thanks to Vancouver-based developer Jack Qiao, though, there's now a slightly easier way. He came up with Colormind, an AI algorithm that uses films, video games, fashion and art to "generate color suggestions that fit the distinct visual style of those mediums," he says.
Netflix's overly simplified thumb ratings are here
The rumors are true: Netflix is dropping its star-based rating system in favor of "Thumbs," a new way for you to vote up (like) or down (don't like) on movies and TV shows that show up on your feed. As Variety reported earlier this month, the streaming service began testing this feature in 2016, but only with a small number of subscribers. Starting today though, Netflix will start rolling it out to all users on its site, mobile apps, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Facebook helps you prevent the spread of revenge porn
Revenge porn is difficult to fight. Even if you successfully get the photos pulled, it's all too easy for someone with local copies to upload them again. Facebook thinks it can help. The social network is launching tools designed to keep revenge porn offline and prevent an already bad situation from getting worse. You can report photos shared without permission, of course, and Facebook will both remove them and (typically) disable the accounts that posted them. However, the most important part is what follows next: Facebook uses photo matching to prevent people from sharing the shots again, including on Instagram and Messenger. You won't have to constantly police Facebook to make sure the images stay down.
YouTube Go beta offers data-savvy streaming in India
Google has today begun beta-testing its India-specific YouTube Go app. YouTube Go is primarily designed to help save users data, aiming to help keep down mobile bills while recommending videos that are tailored for Indian audiences. While India's online infrastructure is steadily growing thanks to initiatives like Google Station, many across the region are still left either relying purely on public WiFi or spotty 2G connections.
Disqus wants to help rid the web of toxic commenters
In recent years, commenting services have come and go, but one has maintained a consistent presence on some of the world's biggest websites: Disqus. It's spent the past ten years helping brands and news media develop their own communities, while simultaneously amassing hundreds of millions of users of its own. The service is big enough that its commenting tools have been deployed on websites that host unsavory content, which it has, in turn, become associated with. Disqus has said it has no tolerance for hate speech but continues to host discussions on websites that promote toxicity. Now, it says, it wants to do more about it.
The Morning After: Wednesday, April 5th 2017
Welcome to the middle. Apple is sorry about its Mac Pro, and promises something big next year, while in other mea culpa news, the makers of Mass Effect: Andromeda will release a bunch of fixes both this week and in the coming months. Rounding it off, we took a closer look at Sonos' new Playbase speaker -- possibly the only speaker you'll need in your living room.
FX reel shows how 'Ghost in the Shell' developed its visual style
By most accounts, the movie adaptation of Ghost in the Shell didn't live up to the visionary manga and anime it's based on, but it did create some stunning visuals. The film's holo-saturated neon cityscape was designed in major part by digital creative Ash Thorp, who recently put together a highlight reel of concepts and animations created for the film.
Web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee wins computing's highest award
World Wide Web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee just chalked up another accolade, and it's one of his greatest yet. The Association for Computing Machinery has given him the 2016 Turing Award, frequently considered the Nobel Prize of the computing industry. He's receiving the award not just for inventing the basics of the web, but designing them in an elegant way. His concepts for links (URLs and URIs) were simple and easy to implement, while making HTML the heart of the web helped anyone publish info in a practical format.
Kanye West album is the first to go platinum from streaming alone
Kanye West's The Life of Pablo may have had excessive hype between the initial Tidal exclusive, the expansion to other services and the changing tracklist, but it's definitely a commercial success. The RIAA has confirmed to Engadget that Pablo was recently certified platinum, making it the first-ever album to get the honor based solely on listens through streaming-only services. While it's not exclusively a streaming album (Kanye sells it as a download on his site), its 1.5 billion US streams were enough to achieve platinum status by themselves. Downloads represented less than 0.1 percent of Pablo's performance back in May 2016, and it's safe to say they didn't climb higher without availability in iTunes and other download stores.
Send Starbucks lattes to your lover with iMessage
Saying "I love you" with a Grande Soy Latte just got a little easier. Starbucks updated its iOS app with its first iMessages offering which allows you to send anyone you chat with a Starbucks gift card without interrupting the flow of your conversation. The Starbucks app update also includes enhanced push notifications, a new mobile ordering interface and new filtering options for locating a nearby location.
Bipartisan bill aims to curb warrantless phone searches at the border
The Trump administration revealed its "extreme vetting" procedures on Tuesday and hoo boy, are they draconian. They'll require foreign visitors -- even close allies like France and Germany -- to potentially reveal passwords, phone contacts and even financial records in order to enter the country. Americans are being searched as well, with Border Patrol forces increasingly demanding the same information from US citizens as they cross the border, but a newly introduced bicameral bill could help safeguard their privacy.
