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Samsung’s 2019 ‘Unpacked’ event by the numbers
Welp, that's 90 minutes we're never getting back. In a lackluster announcement event held in San Francisco on Wednesday, Samsung execs stumbled their way through repeated applause breaks to tell the world about the company's newest needless mobile device: the Samsung Fold -- a phone that expands into a tablet and costs more than a phone and tablet put together. The company also unveiled new additions to its Galaxy S line, some derivative wireless earbuds and a wearable fitness tracker. Sorry, Galaxy Home fans, you're going to have to wait until at least April for updates.
Samsung's Galaxy S10 and S10+ arrive on March 8th starting at $900
To the surprise of literally no one, Samsung just announced the Galaxy S10 and S10+, the company's latest pair of flagship smartphones. While last year's S9 was a rather iterative update, the Galaxy S10 series is notably different than what we've seen the last two years. As we've seen in a host of leaks over the last few months, the S10 series sports a cut-out in the screen for the front-facing camera, rather than the notch that Apple and so many other manufacturers have used. A commercial that hit the internet the other day basically confirmed the three cameras on the back, with two more up front on the larger S10+ (the smaller S10 only has one front-facing shooter). That extra second camera is for improved depth-sensing for selfies; it doesn't actually shoot pictures.
Trump signs directive explaining his 'Space Force'
Following weeks of speculation, Donald Trump signed the Space Policy Directive 4 during a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, a document which explains how his administration will establish his Space Force. "Just as we've done in ages past, the United States meet the emerging threats on this new battlefield," Vice President Pence said during a speech last August. "The time has come to establish the United States Space Force." Under the plan signed today, the Pentagon would form a sixth branch of the armed services under the Air Force, then recruit a civilian administrator to act as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space (a position appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate), before building or acquiring the satellite technology necessary to engage in space-based combat missions. This differs from Trump's initial plan released last June that would have seen the Space Force operating on "separate but equal" footing with the Air Force. Trump's pet NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, has already thrown his support behind the plan. However the administration may not see the same enthusiasm from Congress, especially the Democrat-controlled House, which must approve the plan and grant funding before it can move forward. How much funding will be needed is, unsurprisingly, not well established. Trump's Acting Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, initially quoted a price of less than $5 billion in order to establish the new branch. The Air Force, conversely, figures it will need at least $13 billion to get the USSF off the ground. "There's a thousand now decisions that have to be made to be able to work through the intricate details of how we move forward in establishing the service within the Department of the Air Force," General David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, told reporters during a press conference at the Brookings Institute on Tuesday. Despite the numerous hurdles that will need to be cleared before the Space Force actually comes into existence, the President remains confident in the program's ultimate success. "I'm very proud that during my administration we're doing so much in space. We need it," Trump said during the signing ceremony.
ESPN+ tops 2 million subscribers following first UFC Fight Night
There doesn't seem to be much that can stop entertainment juggernaut built by Disney, especially now that the company is getting into "combat sports content." After inking a five-year, $1.5 billion blockbuster deal with the UFC last May, Disney and its streaming subsidiary ESPN+ have already begun reaping the rewards, according to company reps during the quarterly earnings call on Tuesday.
'Stranger Things' season three arrives July 4th
While we rang in 2019 on the East Coast, Netflix decided it was time to drop a new detail about one of its most-anticipated series, Stranger Things. An 80s-era rendition of Dick Clark's New Year's Eve broadcast turns Upside Down, revealing a premiere date for the show's third season: July 4th, 2019. Since you've probably seen the show you can expect that celebrations won't go exactly according to plan, while key art and the teaser trailer drop in a "One summer can change everything" tag line. See you on Independence Day!
Facebook's headquarters evacuated due to bomb threat (updated)
Tonight the police in Menlo Park, CA are on the scene near the 200 block of Jefferson Ave where the headquarters of Facebook and Instagram are located. According to local news stations KRON4 and NBC Bay Area, an anonymous tip came in to the NYPD, who forwarded it to local officers. In a tweet around 6 PM local time, Menlo Park PD said "The building has been evacuated and the bomb unit is on scene." The events bring to mind the shooting at YouTube earlier this year, and even if it's a hoax, we've also seen how quickly "swatting" pranks can end tragically. A company spokesperson confirmed via email that everyone is safe, a few buildings were evacuated and they are investigating. Update 12/11 11:55 PM ET: According to the latest update from police, they did not find any device or suspicious package. Facebook spokesperson Genevieve Grdina provided the following statement: Late this afternoon, we received a bomb threat and took swift action to evacuate several buildings at our Menlo Park campus. We take the safety and security of our people at Facebook extremely seriously and are glad that everyone is safe. We are working closely with local authorities to investigate this threat and further monitor the situation.
USPS patches API flaw that exposed data on 60 million users (update)
The United States Postal Service reportedly patched an API exploit on Wednesday that would allow anyone with a USPS.com account to view other users' account details. The security flaw impacted some 60 million USPS users.
Facebook experienced a rare outage earlier today (updated)
Facebook users are awakening to a startling sight Monday, as it appears that the social network is currently offline according to reports from Downdetector. 50 percent of DD users are reporting a complete lockout from the site itself while another 30 percent report that, while they can view the site, they aren't able to successfully log in. Engadget has confirmed amongst its editors in both the US and the UK that the platform is unavailable on either desktop or mobile.
Apple will stop reporting how many iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells
For Apple watchers, being able to look at how many devices Apple has sold in a given quarter can be a valuable way to gauge the company's performance, and those numbers can be helpful when trying to figure out if Apple's strategies are panning out. Those days are sadly over. At the end of his prepared remarks during the company's Q4 earnings call, CFO Luca Maestri said Apple would stop reporting sales of its devices — iPhones, iPads, Macs and all — as of the December quarter. In other words, Apple is done talking about how much hardware it sells completely, and it seems like this change is going to stick.
LG is bringing a rollable OLED TV to CES 2019
CES is still a couple of months away, but we're already hearing whispers of what to expect at the show in January. As usual, LG will be one of the manufacturers presenting a flood of new technology, and among them you should expect to see a rollable OLED TV. Engadget has seen internal documents highlighting intended topics for the presentation, and it appears that the prototypes we've seen in past years from LG Display are ready to take center stage, perhaps with an eye for launching it next year as a real product.
Google has fired nearly 50 employees for sexual misconduct since 2016
On the heels of Thursday morning's news claiming that Andy "Father of Android" Rubin forced one of his subordinates to perform a sex act and also received a $90 million golden parachute when the company found out about the sexual assault accusations, Google CEO Sundar Pichai admits that sexual harassment at the company goes beyond this one incident.
Tesla turns a profit in Q3 despite Musk
Tesla released its Q3 earnings at the close of trading on Wednesday and, despite a number of recent (and very public) gaffes from its CEO, the company managed to have an excellent financial quarter.
Facebook is banning misinformation about voting ahead of the midterms
Partisan fraudsters may have a tougher time disseminating misinformation to voters over the next 22 days, as Facebook has vowed to crack down the spread of such "fake news" ahead of November's midterm elections, Reuters reports.
Microsoft pulled the Windows 10 update that has been deleting files
Over the last couple of days, some users who went ahead and installed the Windows 10 October Update have complained that it deleted personal files in their documents folders. Microsoft hadn't started pushing the update automatically via Windows Update yet, and it looks like that may be delayed since, as noticed by Techdows, it has removed the update from its download site. Currently the newest version available to download is the old October update, and there's the following message on its support page. Microsoft: We have paused the rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) for all users as we investigate isolated reports of users missing some files after updating. Over on Reddit, posters have found that you can still download 1809 if you absolutely must have it for testing or just curiosity (make sure your backups are current first -- you are making regular backups, right?) from this link. This is a troubling trend for Microsoft, after it also experienced issues with the Spring update earlier this year.
CA governor signs net neutrality bill into law, Justice Department sues
A net neutrality bill that its sponsor Scott Weiner calls "the strongest in the nation" (after being restored to its original form) is now state law in California after being signed by governor Jerry Brown. SB 822 is intended to restore the protections put in place by a (now-rescinded) 2015 FCC Order, as well as closing "loopholes" that its backers said could have allowed anti-competitive forms of zero-rating. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai captained the effort to repeal those rules, and has called the bill "illegal," setting the stage for a squabble between the state and federal government. And just as quickly as the bill has been signed, the New York Times reports that the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against it. In a statement, the department claimed "Senate Bill 822, an Internet regulation bill signed into law earlier today by Governor Jerry Brown, unlawfully imposes burdens on the Federal Government's deregulatory approach to the Internet."
Facebook hack exposed info on up to 50 million users
Facebook announced on Friday that it has suffered a data breach affecting up to 50 million users. According to a report from the New York Times, Facebook discovered the attack on Tuesday and have contacted the FBI. The exploit reportedly enables attackers to take over control of accounts so, as a precaution, the social network has automatically logged out more than 90 million potentially compromised accounts.
Government sues Elon Musk for tweeting about taking Tesla private
The Securities Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday, as first reported by Bloomberg. The agency alleges that Musk's tweets in August about having "funding secured" for a potential bid to take the company private constitute fraud for being "false and misleading statements". What's more, the lawsuit seeks to ban Musk from serving as an officer of a public company.
LG V40 unveiled with all five of its cameras
We'll get our hands on the LG V40 ThinQ October 3rd, but in Korea the company has partially lifted the curtain on its latest V-series phone. While the line has grown more conventional since the release of the V10 a few years ago, this one separates itself from the pack by bringing the previously-rumored five cameras -- three in the back and two up front.
Chrome 70 will let users decline linking web, browser sign-in
Over the weekend professor and cryptographer Matthew Green noticed that in Chrome 69, signing into Google websites while using Chrome caused the browser to show him as signed in there as well. Concerned about the implications of tracking behavior across a browser session even though he had intentionally not signed into Chrome, he wrote about it. Google Chrome manager Adrienne Porter Felt explained that the change happened to remind users of who is signed in, and that it did not sync activity to the server under the Google profile unless additional steps were taken.
Instagram founders resign from Facebook
Just about six years after Facebook closed its $1 billion purchase of Instagram, both of the company's founders are resigning, according to a report from The New York Times and confirmed by a post on the company's blog. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger served as the company's CEO and CTO, respectively, after pivoting the app from a Foursquare-style check-in service called Burbn to focus on photography in 2010. Less than two years after launching an Instagram iOS app, Facebook announced plans to purchase the company. At the time it had around 30 million users and has since grown to over 800 million. Their departure brings to mind the path taken by the founders of (fellow Facebook acquisition) Whatsapp, Jan Koum and Brian Acton. Acton left a year ago and later tweeted "#deleteFacebook" during revelations over the company's privacy issues, while Jan Koum announced his departure earlier this year, reportedly due to clashes over how to handle user data. Update: The news has been confirmed in a blog post written by Systrom. There was no indication of any issues as he said that the two are "now ready for our next chapter."
