ArduinoMania

On Wednesday, a group of contractors at YouTube Music voted to unionize with the Alphabet Workers Union-Communications Workers of America (AWU-CWA). Out of the 49 workers who were eligible to vote, 41 voted in favor of the action, with the remaining eight abstaining. As of last year, the workers were already paying AWU-CWA dues but were seeking bargaining rights. In March, the group won a landmark legal victory when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Google must bargain with them to ratify their union contract.

While Google vowed to challenge the ruling, the results of today’s vote could have significant implications for the company. Provided the NLRB’s decision stands, Google will need to collectively bargain with a group of its US employees for the first time in the company's nearly 25-year history. That’s something that could prompt other groups within the tech giant to pursue unionization.

“After months of union-busting by Google and Cognizant, our YouTube Music members have just won their NLRB union election in a blowout victory and are ready to bring both of their employers to the table to win their fair share,” the Alphabet Workers Union tweeted.

Although Wednesday's vote was months in the making, it comes after Google laid off 12,000 employees – or about six percent of its global workforce – in late January. This week, the company shared its Q1 earnings results, reporting a net income of $15 billion. It also announced a $70 billion stock buyback. In 2022, the year workers at YouTube Music Content Operations filed for union recognition with the NLRB, Google compensated CEO Sundar Pichai to the tune of $226 million.

Swiping and tapping on flat screens is something we’ve learned to deal with in smartphones, tablets and other touchscreen gizmos, but it doesn’t come close to the ease of typing on a hardware keyboard or playing a game with a physical controller. To that end, researchers Craig Shultz and Chris Harrison with the Future Interfaces Group (FIG) at Carnegie Mellon University have created a display that can protrude screen areas in different configurations. It’s a concept we’ve seen before, but this version is thinner, lighter and more versatile.

FIG’s “Flat Panel Haptics” tech can be stacked under an OLED panel to create the protrusions: imagine screen sections that can be inflated and deflated with fluid on demand. This could add a new tactile dimension for things like pop-up media controls, keyboards and virtual gamepads you can find without fumbling around on the screen. As Gizmodonotes, haptic feedback like Apple’s Taptic Engine produces natural-feeling vibrations but doesn’t help you find onscreen elements by touch alone. For activities like typing and playing games that require rapid-fire response time, a screen with pop-up elements could make things much less frustrating.

The Embedded Electroosmotic Pumps (EEOPs) are arrays of fluid pumps on a thin actuation layer built into a touchscreen device, like a smartphone or car display. When an onscreen element requires a pop-up button, fluid fills a section of the EEOP layer, and the OLED panel on top bends to take that shape. The result is a “button” that sticks out from the flat surface by as much as 1.5 mm, enough to feel the difference. When the software dismisses it, it recedes back into the flat display. The research team says filling each area takes about one second, and they feel solid to touch.

Future Interfaces Group at Carnegie Mellon

If the concept sounds familiar (and you’ve been following consumer tech long enough), this tech may remind you of Tactus’ rising touchscreen keyboard, which ultimately shipped as a bulky iPad mini case. FIG’s prototype can take on more dynamic shapes and sizes, and the research team says their version’s thinness sets it apart from similar attempts. “The main advantage of this approach is that the entire mechanical system exists in a compact and thin form factor,” FIG said in its narration for a demo video. “Our device stack-ups are under 5mm in thickness while still offering 5mm of displacement. Additionally, they are self-contained, powered only by a pair of electrical cables and control electronics. They’re also lightweight (under 40 grams for this device), and they are capable of enough force to withstand user interaction.”

The researchers see this as a tactile equivalent to the way pixels work on displays. “Much like LCD pixels, which modulate light from a common backlight, EEOPs draw from a common fluid reservoir and selectively modulate hydraulic pressure in and out of haptic cells.”

The pop-up buttons in their current form have a limited scope of shapes and sizes, reducing their versatility. But if they can eventually apply the same principle to a layer with more / smaller pop-up buttons (essentially “higher resolution” if we’re extending the “pixels” metaphor), it could open new doors for user interaction, including easier onscreen typing, gaming, in-car controls and even accessibility features like onscreen braille.

Twitter users who have had the scarlet letter of a checkmark pinned to their profile against their wishes may soon be able to have it removed. They may soon see a page telling them how to cancel the subscription.

According to researcher Nima Owji, the company is set to add a page to its app that tells affected users they can contact Twitter support to cancel Blue. Twitter no longer has a communications team that can be reached for comment.

As it had long been promising, Twitter last week finally removed checkmarks from all of the accounts that were verified through the previous system because of their notability if they hadn't already subscribed to Blue. However, Twitter and its owner Elon Musk added blue checkmarks back to certain accounts anyway, namely ones that belong to celebrities (including some dead folks) or have more than a million users.

The likes of Lil Nas X, Bette Midler and Stephen King said they didn't pay for Blue even though they had a checkmark. The icon appeared on the accounts of several dead celebrities as well. Musk suggested that he was trolling some users by putting the checkmark back on their accounts.

However, some users suggested that, in doing so, Twitter and Musk may have violated the Lanham Act, a US federal law that prohibits false endorsement. It could be argued that by having a checkmark on their account without paying for Blue, users may tacitly appear to be endorsing it.

Offering clear directions to users who never wanted Blue in the first place on how to cancel their subscription may come as small comfort, especially for those who've found themselves on the wrong side of the #BlockTheBlue trend. Still, it remains unclear how deceased celebrities like Norm Macdonald, Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant are supposed to have the checkmark removed, unless their families check their Twitter account settings on the regular.

Amazon is shutting down its Halo division. In an email the company sent to users on Wednesday, it said it would stop supporting all devices under the health brand, including the recently released Halo Rise sleep tracker, on July 31st, 2023. As part of the shutdown, Amazon is also laying off an unspecified number of employees. The company did not immediately respond to Engadget's comment request.    

“We have made the difficult decision to wind down the Halo program, which will result in role reductions,” Melissa Cha, the company vice-president of smart home and health, told staffers in a memo obtained by The Verge. “More recently, Halo has faced significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic environment. Although our customers love many aspects of Halo, we must prioritize resources and maximize benefits to customers and the long-term health of the business.”

In its email to Halo users, Amazon said it would fully refund all Halo device and accessory purchases made in the last 12 months. The company will also refund any unused prepaid Halo subscription fees. If you were paying month-to-month for service, you won't be charged any additional subscription fees. Come August 1st, the Halo companion app will stop functioning, as will all Halo devices. If you wish to download or delete your data, you can do so from the software's Settings menu. Amazon will erase all remaining data on August 1st. You can send your soon-to-be potatoes to the company for disposal through the Amazon Recycling Program. 

The demise of the Halo brand shouldn't come as a surprise. Last month, Amazon announced it would lay off 9,000 employees. That's in addition to the 18,000 jobs it cut at the start of the year. Amazon was also late to the health and fitness segment. It announced the first product in the family, the Halo Band, in mid-2020, and it arrived without much fanfare, in part due to the fact some of its features were controversial. 

Acclaimed developer Young Horses just dropped four free games on Steam as part of a collection it's calling the Free Range initiative. The team behind the beloved PS5 launch title Bugsnax is known for making off-kilter takes on traditional game formulas, and these four titles look like they carry on that proud tradition.

These are not bigwig releases, as they were mostly developed as side projects and at various game jam events. The strangest one of the four, and therefore the most intriguing, is called Antbassador, which was originally developed for the Ludum Dare game jam. Have you ever wanted to control a giant finger in a tophat as you try to accommodate the needs of a bustling ant colony? Now’s your chance.

If you haven’t had your fill of picnic ruiners, there’s IndependANT. The 3D open-world platformer casts you as an ant trying to locate a missing queen. This is a new and original title that did not begin life as a game jam, but rather as a tech demo to show off the newly-implemented Unreal 5 engine.

We move from insects to reptiles with the hilariously-titled Snakedate. As the name suggests, you are a snake at a club looking for dates. This mostly involves swiping right on a snake-based dating website and then, uh, wrapping your slithering body around any creature that catches your fancy.

Finally, there’s Octodad: Student Edition. This is the original version of the standout hitOctodad: Dadliest Catch, first created when many key developers at Young Horses were still in college. It's a bit rough around the edges, as it's more than 12 years old, but this is Octodad through and through. This is the OG design that fueled a Kickstarter frenzy and started it all for the company.

All four titles are available for download right now, but only via the Steam Store. Octodad: Dadliest Catchfinally launched for the Switch some years back, but it looks like these four games are all PC exclusives for now.

Following a limited test that began in late February, Microsoft has begun rolling out iPhone support within its Phone Link app to the wider Windows 11 user base. The software, for the uninitiated, allows you to sync your calls, messages and contacts to your PC. Microsoft has offered Phone Link (in various forms) on Android devices since as far back as 2015. Microsoft expects to roll out iOS support to all Windows 11 users by mid-May.

Once you have access to the feature, the easiest way to link your devices together is to type “Phone Link” into Windows 11’s search bar. Coincidently, that’s also the best way to find out if you have access to the feature too. If you’re like me, you will probably see the option to add an iPhone grayed out, with the icon noting it’s “coming soon.” Once the feature does arrive, it’s also worth noting there are some limitations. As with the Insider test, you can’t use the app to send images and videos from your Windows machine. Group messaging also isn’t supported. Additionally, the software works on a session basis, so your latest messages will only come through when your iPhone and PC are connected. 

Still, even when you consider all those limitations, iPhone-carrying Windows users are sure to appreciate the integration offered by Phone Link, particularly since most people might not be familiar with options like Unison and AirDroid.

Palantir already sells its domestic surveillance services to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, so it should come as no surprise that the company founded by billionaire Peter Thiel is working to make inroads into the Pentagon as well. On Tuesday, the company released a video demo of its latest offering, the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). While the system itself is simply designed to integrate large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's GPT-4 or Google's BERT into privately-operated networks, the very first thing they did was apply it to the modern battlefield.

In the video demo above, a military operator tasked with monitoring the Eastern European theater discovers enemy forces massing near the border and responds by asking a ChatGPT-style digital assistant for help with deploying reconnaissance drones, ginning up tactical responses to the perceived aggression and even organize the jamming of the enemy's communications. The AIP is shown helping estimate the enemy's composition and capabilities by launching a Reaper drone on a reconnaissance mission in response the to operator's request for better pictures, and suggesting appropriate responses given the discovery of an armored element. 

“LLMs and algorithms must be controlled in this highly regulated and sensitive context to ensure that they are used in a legal and ethical way,” the video begins. To do so, AIP's operation is based on three "key pillars," the first being that AIP will deploy across a classified system, able to parse in real-time both classified and non-classified data, ethically and legally. The company did not elaborate on how that would work. The second pillar is that users will be able to toggle the scope and actions of every LLM and asset on the network. The AIP itself will generate a secure digital record of the entire operation, "crucial for mitigating significant legal, regulatory, and ethical risks in sensitive and classified settings," according to the demo. The third pillar are AIP's "industry-leading guardrails" to prevent the system from taking unauthorized actions. 

A "human in the loop" to prevent such actions does exist in Palantir's scenario, though from the video, the "operator" appears to do little more than nod along with whatever AIP suggests. The demo also did not elaborate on what steps are being taken to prevent the LLMs that the system relies on from "hallucinating" pertinent facts and details.

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill that seeks to protect kids from the potentially harmful effects of social media. The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would set 13 as the minimum age for using social media platforms, in line with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the current terms of many major services. Those aged between 13 and 17 would need parental consent to use social media apps, while platforms would not be allowed to use algorithms to recommend content to under 18s.

Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz and Chris Murphy introduced the bill alongside their Republican counterparts Tom Cotton and Katie Britt. The proposed legislation seeks to employ age verification technology, though it would prevent companies from using age verification data for other purposes. Were it to become law, the bill would establish a pilot program to offer platforms a government-provided age verification system. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general would have jurisdiction over the bill's provisions.

"Studies have shown a strong relationship between social media use and poor mental health, especially among children," the senators said in a press release. "With this clear evidence, the US Surgeon General has warned that 13 is too early for social media use and suggested that 16, 17, or 18 may be as well."

"The alarm bells about social media’s devastating impact on kids have been sounding for a long time, and yet time and time again, these companies have proven they care more about profit than preventing the well-documented harm they cause," Murphy said. "In particular, these algorithms are sending many down dangerous online rabbit holes, with little chance for parents to know what their kids are seeing online.”

This is hardly the first time that federal legislators have introduced bills in an attempt to protect children as they use online services. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal last year introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, which aimed to block platform holders from offering algorithmic recommendations to under 16s. Such companies would have been required to disable "addictive" features and offer kids tools to help them protect their data. The bill didn't make it out of committee before the end of the last congressional session.

Blumenthal and Sen. Dick Durbin introduced a bill in February that would give people the right to delete details of their internet activity that companies collected before they turned 13. In a related case as part of an FTC settlement related to COPPA, Epic Games last year agreed to delete Fortnite players' personal data unless they claimed to be 13 or older.

The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act follows similar efforts at state level. Last month, Utah became the first state to require parental consent for under-18s to use social media. The legislation grants parents full access to their children'' accounts, including private messages. The laws are set to take effect next March, but it's not yet clear how they'll be enforced.

LG has officially launched the SuperSlim, the new Gram laptop the company is calling the “thinnest LG Gram ever.” This is not just advertising hyperbole, as the SuperSlim is .43-inches thick and weighs two pounds. That definitely places the laptop in the realm of the ultra-portable. As a comparison, the 2022 Macbook Air is 0.44-inches thick and weighs 2.7 pounds.

The laptop was first teased at this year’s CES, back when it was called the Ultraslim. Not a lot has changed since the original announcement, aside from the name. The SuperSlim boasts decent specs, with an Intel Evo 13th Gen processor and Intel Iris Xe GPU. There is also a 15.6-inch anti-glare OLED display and LG touts a 100 percent DCI-P33 color gamut and VESA DisplayHDR True Black integration. It is worth noting that Apple is rumored to be launching its own 15-inch ultra-portable laptop in the near future. 

LG says the SuperSlim has passed seven tests to ensure military-grade durability, which is a good thing as we have noted some issues with previous Gram laptops surrounding flexibility and build quality. Other standout features include a more compact power adapter than previous Gram laptops, a full HD camera with integrated microphones and a trio of USB-C ports, two of which support Thunderbolt 4 connections.

This emaciated wonder is available now in two SKUs. You can purchase one with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $1,700 or a model with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for $2,000. As a bonus, LG is throwing in a free Gram +view portable monitor with every purchase until May 14th.

Following a three-year hiatus, Netflix revealed on Wednesday that Black Mirror’s latest season will begin streaming in June. In an interview on the Tudum blog, series creator Charlie Brooker claimed Black Mirror’s latest episodes would surprise fans. “Partly as a challenge, and partly to keep things fresh for both me and the viewer, I began this season by deliberately upending some of my own core assumptions about what to expect,” he told the blog, adding the new season would tackle tropes he “previously sworn blind the show would never do.”

If nothing else, season six will feature Black Mirror’s most stacked cast to date. Some of the actors that lent their talents to the production include Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Kate Mara (House of Cards), Rory Culkin (Columbus) and Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida), among many others. 

News that Netflix was working on a new Black Mirror season first surfaced nearly a year ago. At the time, it was rumored the anthology’s newest episodes would be more cinematic in scope, something the teaser trailer appears to confirm. After the past two seasons left critics and fans feeling the anthology had lost much of its incisive edge, it has a lot to prove.