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We may not yet know exactly what Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter means for the platform, but one Twitter alternative is already booming as a result of the news. Mastodon, the open-source social media service which bills itself as the “largest decentralized social network on the internet,” has been "exploding" since Musk's acquisition, according to its founder.

News of Twitter's buyout has rattled Twitter employees and users, as Musk has indicated he plans to take a much more hands-off approach to content moderation. As is often the case when Twitter makes a controversial change, some users have threatened to leave the platform, while critics have pushed #RIPTWITTER to trend.

In this case, at least some disgruntled users are apparently turning to Mastodon as a potential alternative. Hours after the Twitter acquisition was announced, Mastodon said it saw “an influx of approx. 41,287 users.” Of those, about 30,000 were new users, Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko wrote in a blog post.

“Funnily enough one of the reasons I started looking into the decentralized social media space in 2016, which ultimately led me to go on to create Mastodon, were rumours that Twitter, the platform I’d been a daily user of for years at that point, might get sold to another controversial billionaire,” he wrote. “Among, of course, other reasons such as all the terrible product decisions Twitter had been making at that time. And now, it has finally come to pass, and for the same reasons masses of people are coming to Mastodon.”

Mastodon’s official iOS and Android apps are also seeing an uptick in users, according to data provided by analytics firm Sensor Tower. The apps have been downloaded roughly 5,000 times “or nearly 10% of its lifetime total” downloads since Monday, according to the firm. The app is currently ranked No. 32 on the App Store charts for social media apps.

It’s not the first time Mastodon has benefited from issues at Twitter. The company was briefly popular in 2017, following outrage over Twitter’s decision to remove user handles from the character limit for @-replies (back when Twitter changed its product so infrequently even mundane changes were fodder for mass outrage). Mastodon saw another uptick in 2019, when users in India were angry over moderation policies. 

While Mastodon has been in the spotlight as a potentially viable Twitter alternative in the past, it has yet to reach the mainstream. But its current popularity comes at a moment when Twitter is also exploring how it could become an open-sourced protocol — much like Mastodon.

Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is not a single, centralized service. Though the interface looks similar to Twitter — it has a 500-character limit but otherwise will be mostly recognizable to Twitter users — it runs on an open-source protocol. Groups of users are free to create and maintain their own “instances” with their own rules around membership, moderation and other key policies. Users are also able to take their followers with them between instances.

Mastodon operates its own instances, mastodon.social and mastodon.online, but those are apparently overloaded, according to Rochko, who suggests that new users sign up via the official apps and join other communities on the service. And, because it’s open source, Mastodon makes its code available on GitHub, an idea Musk has also endorsed with regards to Twitter’s algorithms.

But all that also comes with extra complexity for new users who may not easily understand Mastodon’s unique structure or how it works. But those who stick around long enough may see some significant new features. Rochko said that end-to-end encrypted messaging is in the works, as well as “an exciting groups functionality.”

Facebook is reportedly unable to account for much of the personal user data under its ownership, including what it is being used for and where it’s located, according to an internal report leaked to Motherboard.

Privacy engineers on Facebook’s Ad and Business Product team wrote the report last year, intending it to be read by the company’s leadership. It detailed how Facebook could address a growing number of data usage regulations, including new privacy laws in India, South Africa and elsewhere. The report’s authors described a platform often in the dark about the personal data of its estimated 1.9 billion users.

The engineers warned that Facebook would have difficulty making promises to countries on how it would treat the data of its citizens. “We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data, and thus we can’t confidently make controlled policy changes or external commitments such as ‘we will not use X data for Y purpose,’" wrote the report’s authors. "And yet, this is exactly what regulators expect us to do, increasing our risk of mistakes and misrepresentation.”

Facebook’s main obstacle to tracking down user data appears to be the company’s lack of “closed-form” systems, the report states. In other words, the company’s data systems have “open borders” that mix together first-party user data, third-party user data and sensitive data. To describe how difficult it is to track down specific Facebook’s data, the report’s authors came up with the metaphor of pouring a bottle of ink into a lake… and then trying to get it back in the bottle:

“This bottle of ink is a mixture of all kinds of user data (3PD, 1PD, SCD, Europe, etc.) You pour that ink into a lake of water (our open data systems; our open culture) … and it flows … everywhere. How do you put that ink back in the bottle? How do you organize it again, such that it only flows to the allowed places in the lake?”

More succinctly, a former Facebook employee who spoke anonymously to Motherboard said the question of where data goes inside the company is "broadly speaking, a complete shitshow."

The authors state that Facebook previously had "the 'luxury' of addressing [new privacy regulations] one at a time," like the EU’s GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act. But subsequent years brought more data protection legislation from all over the world, including India, Thailand, South Africa and South Korea. The document casts doubt on if Facebook has been able to comply with such legislation, and if it's equipped to weather the "tsunami" of new laws that make similar restrictions. (A Facebook spokesperson denied to Motherboard that the company is not currently complying with privacy regulations.)

“Considering this document does not describe our extensive processes and controls to comply with privacy regulations, it's simply inaccurate to conclude that it demonstrates non-compliance," the spokesperson told Motherboard. New privacy regulations across the globe introduce different requirements and this document reflects the technical solutions we are building to scale the current measures we have in place to manage data and meet our obligations,”

Earlier this month, Verizon retail workers at locations in Lynnwood and Everett, Washington successfully voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Now the company has fired Jesse Mason, a worker at the nearby Seattle Northgate and Aurora Village locations. He contends his sudden separation from the company was an illegal attempt to prevent more stores from organizing, and has, with the help of the CWA, filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.

Mason, who previously worked with AT&T (which is unionized under CWA), started at Verizon in August and had received no prior disciplinary actions — in fact, he told Engadget, he was one of the top Specialists at his branch. It wasn't until his annual review that he started to wonder if maybe unionization could be a path toward making Verizon more equitable. 

"They were like, 'Well, you're newer to Verizon, therefore because you're new your raise for the whole year is going to be 1 percent. It is not negotiable," he told Engadget. Performance notwithstanding, 1 percent did little to offset the cost of living in the greater Seattle area, or the country's soaring 8 percent inflation rate. "When you're giving people a 1 percent raise, that's the same thing as giving them a pay cut," he said. 

What solidified his decision to reach out to CWA was seeing the nationwide push by Starbucks workers to organize. In specific, attending a rally in his area sometime in February.

"A week after the Everett and Lynnwood vote went public, that they pulled me aside and told me that they were launching an investigation," Mason said, though he was unable to go into details on the nature of the investigation pending his ULP, "But it was about something very minor and easily correctable." What made this stranger, was the speed and lack of adherence to internal processes in his case. "There's some progressive discipline, like verbal warning, and a written warning and a final, final warning," he said "With me, the next shift that I worked after I was at the watch party to celebrate those stores unionizing, they said that the result of the investigation was my immediate separation from Verizon." 

Mason claimed to have never been given any of the documentation related to the investigation. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.

In between the union drive going public a few miles away at his sister stores and Mason's firing, he also claimed Verizon flew in several company higher-ups — something a worker at the Lynnwood and Everett locations also alleged happened after going public. One manager, according to Mason, pushed misinformation regarding the cost of union dues to CWA, despite such contracts being publicly available. 

CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens has called Mason's firing "a clear tactic meant to intimidate other workers,” and it's difficult to argue that Verizon's actions may have a chilling effect on organizing efforts in the area. Still, Mason said he's fully confident the NLRB will find in his favor and reinstate his job with backpay. But the among of rigamarole in the meantime shows the limits of the agency's power.

"I think that this case really shows some of the weaknesses of the NLRB currently, not just being understaffed, but that even if I do get my job back, it's not like one of those lawsuits where someone slips and falls and they get millions of dollars in settlements," Mason said. "There's no real consequence for this kind of retaliatory union busting." He added wryly, "I think it's a bad idea, because it's only going to have me work on union stuff full time until I'm back there."

In response to fraudulent legal requests, companies like Apple, Google, Meta and Twitter have been tricked into sharing sensitive personal information about some of their customers. We knew that was happening as recently as last month when Bloombergpublished a report on hackers using fake emergency data requests to carry out financial fraud. But according to a newly published report from the outlet, some malicious individuals are also using the same tactics to target women and minors with the intent of extorting them into sharing sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

It’s unclear how many fake data requests the tech giants have fielded since they appear to come from legitimate law enforcement agencies. But what makes the requests particularly effective as an extortion tactic is that the victims have no way of protecting themselves other than by not using the services offered by those companies. Law enforcement officials and investigators Bloomberg spoke to told the publication they believe the use of the tactic has become “more prevalent” in recent months.

All the companies that commented on Bloomberg’s reporting, including Google and Snap, said they have policies and teams in place to verify the legitimacy of user data requests.

"We review every data request for legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Engadget. “We block known compromised accounts from making requests and work with law enforcement to respond to incidents involving suspected fraudulent requests, as we have done in this case."

A Discord spokesperson said the company validates all data requests to ensure they come from a “genuine” source. “We are continuously investing in our Safety capabilities to address emerging issues like this one,” the spokesperson added.

Part of what has allowed the fake requests to slip through is that they abuse how the industry typically handles emergency appeals. Among most tech companies, it’s standard practice to share a limited amount of information with law enforcement in response to “good faith” requests related to situations involving imminent danger.

Typically, the information shared in those instances includes the name of the individual, their IP, email and physical address. That might not seem like much, but it’s usually enough for bad actors to harass, dox or SWAT their target. According to Bloomberg, there have been “multiple instances” of police showing up at the homes and schools of underage women.

The issue of fake data requests is reportedly prompting companies to think of new ways to verify legitimate ones. It has also pushed US lawmakers to weigh in on the issue. “No one wants tech companies to refuse legitimate emergency requests when someone’s safety is at stake," said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon last month. "But the current system has clear weaknesses that need to be addressed."

Subaru has detailed pricing for the Solterra SUV, and it's clearly costlier (if easier to pronounce) than its Toyota bZ4X sibling. The company's first EV will start at $44,995 in its Premium trim before the $7,500 federal tax credit and a $1,225 destination fee. This base model includes an eight-inch infotainment system (with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto) as well as driver assists that include rear camera detection, blind spot monitoring and safe-exit door alerts.

Spend $48,495 for the Limited tier and you'll get a 12.3-inch infotainment system, a 360-degree camera view, a wireless phone charging dock, parking assistance, rear cross-traffic warnings and phone-based digital key support. You can also expect more conventional upgrades like a Harman Kardon audio system, LED fog lights and a power rear door. The $51,995 Touring variant adds a digital rear-view mirror with HomeLink support, a panoramic moonroof, footwell lighting and ventilated front seats.

Regardless of model, you're largely paying for Subaru's better off-road capabilities versus Toyota's EV. All Solterra models come with all-wheel drive (optional on the bZ4x) and a dual-motor setup with 215HP, 249lb/ft of torque and up to a 228-mile range. You'll also find an "X-Mode" feature to adjust for dirt and snow, while grip and downhill control features help you maintain a steady course.

Sales are still poised to begin sometime in 2022. Reservations are available, though, and will include offers like EVgo charging credit or money toward a Level 2 home charger.

The starting price is higher than the $39,000 some expected. It's not far from VW's all-wheel ID.4 Pro ($44,440) or Ford's Mustang Mach-E Select ($43,895), though, and may represent a better value than those if you're likely to take your EV camping — and don't mind the slightly reduced range compared to those alternatives.

DARPA’s RACER program has been developing off-road autonomous combat vehicles that can travel as fast as crewed systems. The agency has now selected Intel to develop a simulation platform for these off-road AVs. The aim of the project, known as RACER-Sim, is to create computer models that mimic the type of rugged, unstructured terrain that these vehicles commonly encounter. Intel Labs will work with the Computer Vision Center in Barcelona and the University of Texas at Austin to craft these simulation tools.

“We brought together a team of renowned experts from the Computer Vision Center and UT Austin with the goal of creating a versatile and open platform to accelerate progress in off-road ground robots for all types of environments and conditions,” said Intel’s Autonomous Agents Lab director German Ros in a statement.

Developing AVs that can operate on backroads, hilly areas and other types of rough terrain have been a major challenge for the industry. Traditional lidar and camera sensors are designed for predictable settings like roads and highways. Off-the-road AVs must operate in a much more challenging environment, driving on extreme terrain with rocks, debris and vegetation.

Over the next two years, Intel will work on speeding up the process of designing off-the-road combat AVs. During the first phase, it will create new simulation platforms and map generation tools that can mimic off-the-road environments. Intel during the second phase will implement the new algorithms without relying on robots, a measure designed to cut costs and time.

The Pentagon for many years has been working on autonomous technologies for the U.S. military, including unmanned underwater vessels, pilotless fighter jets and more. But the cybersecurity and safety risks of such systems pose a real challenge to their everyday use.

You can watch a preview of what RACER-Sim will look like in the video below:

Sifu has been a critical and commercial success for Sloclap, but the developer isn't resting on its laurels. The studio has revealed a roadmap of updates for the notoriously tough beat-'em-up, which includes the imminent addition of difficulty modes.

Starting on May 3rd, you'll be able to select from student, disciple and master difficulty options, which could help more folks finish the game and give returning players an even more challenging experience. Sloclap will also add an advanced training option and outfit selection features next week.

Over the summer, Sifu will receive an advanced scoring system, as well as some more outfits and intriguing gameplay modifiers. Those include a one-health-point option (good luck with that), stronger enemies, a way to unlock all skills and a bullet time mode.

More outfits and modifiers will be added over the rest of the year, as well as a replay editor in the fall and an all-new arenas mode in winter. All of these will be free updates.

Sifu arrived in February on PlayStation 4, PS5 and PC. Though it debuted just a few days before the all-conquering Elden Ring, it still sold a respectable one million copies in just three weeks.

You might be disappointed if you were planning an Ubisoft-themed nostalgic gaming session. Kotakureports Ubisoft has shut down online services for 91 games. Many of them are ancient, or versions for old (and sometimes defunct) platforms. You aren't about to play Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood using the long-dead OnLive service, for instance. However, there are some games you could still play on current hardware, or might have good reason to revisit.

The first two Far Cry games have lost online support for PC, for instance, and Blood Dragon won't connect on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Just Dance fans may need to stick to newer games. While it isn't surprising that Ubisoft dropped support for PS3, Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360 versions of Just Dance 2018 and before, PS4 and Xbox One players might not enjoy losing access to the songs from Just Dance 2014 or 2015.

Other classics you might miss include Beyond Good & Evil, the original Ghost Recon, multiple Rainbow Six games, older Settlers titles and certain Splinter Cell releases (including Chaos Theory and Conviction). Games that used Ubisoft Connect won't let you earn Units, and you can't unlock content on any platform or access it on PCs.

Ubisoft isn't exactly rushing to leave some players in the dark — it's just now shutting off Rainbow Six Lockdown support for PS2, GameCube and original Xbox owners. All the same, you probably won't be thrilled if you've kept an old console around to play the games of your youth.

Since 2019, Ableton’s Learning Synths website has been a fun and free way to learn all the cool things you can do with synthesizers. If you don’t know what oscillators, filters and envelopes do, the company will teach you. Best of all, you don’t need anything other than a modern web browser to start. And if you want another excuse to check it out, Ableton just rolled out a new update.

The latest version of the website allows you to export whatever you create with the included Playground soft synth to Ableton Live. It’s now also possible to capture up to 60 seconds of audio, allowing you to record the synth as you experiment with it. On the interface front, Ableton has added an “Open in Playground” button that enables you to jump directly to the soft synth from a lesson. Additionally, the synth includes a new configurable XY pad adding to the amount of experimentation possible. Oh, and there’s a dark mode now too, and the addition of Turkish, Finnish and Portuguese language support. All of that should make the tool accessible to even more people.

The electric pickup truck market is now truly competitive. Ford has started "full" production of the F-150 Lightning at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, roughly four months after it stopped taking reservations. The company will start shipping the base Pro model in the "coming days," Ford said at an event (below). It's not certain how many Lightnings will reach customers this year, but Ford expected output to scale to 150,000 trucks per year in 2023.

The automaker capped reservations at 200,000 and has stopped taking orders for the 2022 model year. About three quarters of these potential adopters don't currently drive Ford vehicles, the company said. The firm added that "many" are first-time EV or truck buyers, but didn't provide figures.

The electric F-150 promises usual EV benefits like acceleration (0-60MPH in 4.5 seconds with an extended battery) and strong, near-instant torque (775lb/ft) with up to a 320-mile range. However, it also has a few uncommon perks. The front trunk is unusually cavernous at over 14 cubic feet, and owners can power their homes, work tools and (eventually) the electrical grid.

Ford

The main allure, however, remains the price. While the $39,947 base Pro model won't satisfy some (you'll have to pay $72,474 to get an XLT with the extended battery), that makes it the most affordable electric pickup available and within reach of many conventional F-150 buyers. Rivian's R1T starts at $67,500. Tesla originally quoted a $39,900 entry point for the Cybertruck, but it stopped listing prices. Chevy doesn't deliver its $39,900 starter Silverado EV until 2024.

This isn't the first electric pickup in the US. Rivian began production in September. As Ford is keen to point out, though, the F-150 is still the best-selling passenger vehicle in the US. While the Lightning is unlikely to outsell its conventional sibling in the near future, its familiar name could draw in EV newcomers who were wary of smaller brands, or even the Mustang Mach-E. At the least, it puts pressure on Chevy, Rivian and others hoping to challenge Ford's cargo hauler.