As part of Lenovo's big spring laptop refresh, the company today unveiled a new generation of Slim clamshell laptops in the US (which confusingly share the 'Slim' branding with older, unrelated models). These include the Slim 9i, the Slim 7i and Slim7i Pro X, the Slim 7i Carbon and the Slim 7. The last of those come with an AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processor rather than the Intel chips inside its sisters, while the Slim 9i claims to be carbon neutral. While the improvements aren’t dramatic, the new line offers decent boosts in performance, longevity and screen quality. 

Lenovo’s Slim 9i is a 14-inch laptop with WiFi 6 and three Thunderbolt 4 ports. It's also supposedly carbon-neutral, which makes this a solid bet if you're eco-conscious. The display includes an option to upgrade to a 4K OLED Puresight touchscreen display, which will no doubt make for sharper visuals and more immersive gaming. It also includes the IdeaPad’s infrared webcam, which means it will have facial recognition abilities. It also features 12th-gen Intel Core processors. The laptop starts at $1,799 and will be available in US stores starting in June.

Both the Slim 7i Pro X and Slim 7 Pro X are 14-inch laptops; the former offers 12-gen Intel Core processors and the latter includes an AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processor. You can expect up to 32 GB of RAM and the option of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU. At 3.5 pounds, both machines are also very lightweight, especially for ones with dedicated graphics cards. The 7i Pro X starts at $1,699 and the 7 Pro X starts at $1,499.

The Slim 7 features a 16-inch screen and is outfitted with an AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processor, and starts at $1,499. The Slim 7i is available in either 14 or 16-inches and includes 12th-gen Intel Core processors. It is priced starting at $1,199 or $1,599, respectively.

For those in the market for a lightweight laptop that also won’t weigh down their carry-on bag, a decent option may be Lenovo’s 13-inch 2.2 pound Slim 7i Carbon. As the name implies, it saves weight by having a carbon frame. It includes 12th-gen Intel Core processors and self-adjusting fan and power speeds to save battery life. The 7i Carbon is available as either a 13-inch laptop or an upgraded model that features a 13.3-inch Lenovo Puresight touchscreen. The price starts at $1,299, and will be available in the US this June.

For those afraid of losing their laptops while on the go (or heaven forbid, their machine getting stolen), Lenovo will be offering its Smart Lock program in North America, starting in June. The cloud-based security program includes an app and browser version and essentially allows users to track and find their machines, as well as remotely lock or wipe any personal data from them.

Part-time employees at RaterLabs — an AI vendor whose only known client is Google — are campaigning to qualify for the $15 hourly minimum wage the tech giant promised to its "extended workforce" back in 2019.

Yahoo Financereported that the quality raters whose sole job is evaluating Google’s search and ad results for accuracy don’t qualify for sick leave, PTO or other benefits the company provides for its TVCs (temporary workers, vendors and independent contractors). Google increased base pay following critical reporting of its treatment of TVCs in 2018 — the same year it was revealed the majority of Google's workforce was not directly employed by the company.

A number of RatersLabs employees believe the work they do is vital enough to Google that they should receive the higher pay and benefits of their peers. Christopher Colley, who has worked for the Google vendor since 2017, told Yahoo Finance that he only earns $10 an hour, and hasn’t qualified for a raise over the five years he’s worked at RaterLabs. Colley is also part of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA), a subgroup of the Communications Workers of America focused on organizing full-time and part-time workers of Alphabet.

“The raters work from home, use their own devices, can work for multiple companies at a time, and do not have access to Google’s systems and/or badges,” a Google spokesperson told Engadget. “As noted on the policy page, the wages and benefits policy applies to Alphabet’s provisioned extended workforce (individuals with systems and/or badge access to Google)."

Among the hurdles workers need to jump in order to qualify for the pay bump afforded to some TVCs is a minimum 30-hour workweek. As AWU-CWA was quick to point out, RaterLabs contractors are capped at only 26 hours.

Employee accounts on RatersLabs’ Indeed profile describe low morale, low pay and an unclear feedback process. “Reviews are monthly, with one bad review potentially costing you the job [...] Guidelines can change the week before the review and you can be 'graded' based on them despite doing the work way before," wrote a former RatersLab employee in January 2022. "The job is very flexible, pay is mediocre, and you have no chance for advancement.”

This isn’t the first time that Google’s army of raters have spoken out about low pay, no opportunities for advancement and subpar working conditions. In fact, RatersLabs was formed by the CEO of Leapforce, a company that also hired raters for Google search and ad products. Back in 2017, Leapforce raters spoke out about chaotic working conditions, resulting in at least three contractors being fired, two of whom claimed their separations from the company were acts of retaliation. As Ars Technicanotes, a number of Leapforce workers filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board which were eventually resolved via settlement. Appen — which acquired Leapforce in May of 2017 — is also the parent company of RatersLabs.

Employees at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland sent a letter to CEO Tim Cook today informing him of their bid to unionize, reportedThe Washington Post. The group, which has deemed itself the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, or AppleCore for short, represents the third Apple retail outfit reported to be in the the process of unionizing. One Apple store in Atlanta is scheduled to hold a union vote in June, and another location in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal is collecting signatures. Earlier this year The Post reported that a number of other Apple stores are quietly exploring a potential union campaign, but have yet to make their efforts public.

“As our store approaches its 20th year anniversary we think about the history of this company and how we have always been different; because we have always thought differently. Today we are asking you to do the same and to pledge not to use your resources to engage in an anti-union campaign to dissuade us,” AppleCore’s members wrote in the letter. Last month, The Vergereported that Apple contracted the major anti-union law firm, Littler Mendelson, which union organizers saw as a likely attempt to nip union efforts in the bud.

The Towson group claims to have the support of around 65 percent of eligible workers, giving them a supermajority of the store’s employees. A workplace only needs signatures from thirty percent of its employees to hold an NLRB union election, but a majority of workers must support unionization in order for a campaign to be successful. As with the other Apple stores which have gone public with their intentions to unionize, Towson workers cited a lack of flexibility in scheduling, concerns around covid safety as well as stagnating pay. Lagging pay seems particularly rankling, as Apple has posted huge gains over the pandemic, even while the economy at large slumps towards a potential recession.

In a statement to The Post, an Apple spokesperson responded to the letter. “We are fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple. We are pleased to offer very strong compensation and benefits for full-time and part-time employees, including health care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock grants and many other benefits.”

The Towson store plans to file paperwork later this month with the National Labor Relations Board. Employees at this specific store, located in the Towson Mall, are coordinating with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a labor union that mostly represents the aerospace and defense industry.

Warcraft fans can look forward to a new mobile game in 2022. Blizzard today released the trailer for Warcraft Arclight Rumble, a free-to-play, single-player strategy game that is due later this year. The game features collectible Warcraft Minis that players will be able to control in order to defeat evil leaders in the Warcraft universe.

The game’s Google Play store description states that players will have the choice of building armies with five playable families: Alliance, Horde, Beast, Undead and Blackrock. Players can opt for single-player mode or going head-to-head in PvP battles. Arclight Rumble will feature multiple modes, including Conquest, Dungeons, Raids and Co-Op. The game features over 60 Warcraft Minis and characters in total, with the ability to unlock new skills and upgrade the characters as you level up. The game’s website features even more details on the upcoming title, including the option to pre-register for more details (including the release date, which hasn’t been announced yet).

With Activision’s ongoing workplace sexual harassment lawsuits aside, it’s been a mixed couple of years for the Warcraft universe. As PC Gamer notes, the Shadowlands expansion had problems that left some devoted WoW fans in a tizzy. Last month’s trailer on the Dragonlandsexpansion let down some fans too. But a new mobile game offers up a fresh opportunity for fans to get excited about Warcraft again with relatively low stakes. You can watch the trailer for Arclight Rumble below:

It only took about 15 years, but Amazon’s Kindle will finally support the ePub format. First spotted by Good E-Reader, Amazon updated its Kindle section with the news that the Send to Kindle function will convert ePub files to a format that can be opened on the e-reader. The update is scheduled to occur in late 2022.

It’s a change that — at first glance — seems rather minor, but in truth solves a lingering problem in the ebook industry. Amazon’s Kindle Store is a major ebook seller and ePub is the most widely-used ebook format. But up until now, Kindle devices couldn’t read the ePub format. For Kindle owners who’ve had to grapple with manually converting their ebook library to a more Amazon-friendly format with an app like Calibre, this will be a welcome change.

But another upcoming change is that Kindle will finally lose the ability to support MOBI, an older French file format that was Amazon’s proprietary ebook format for a while. Amazon acquired the company Mobipocket in 2005, and subsequently rebranded MOBI to AZW. If you already own ebooks in either format on your Kindle, you can still access them. The update only applies to new ebooks.

Netflix is tightening its purse strings after a drop in subscribers. Deadline reported that the streaming platform canceled production on Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle, before it was even finished. The project was a part of a multi-year production deal that Markle and Prince Harry signed with Netflix back in 2020. The animated family series followed a 12-year girl as she learned about influential women throughout history. The show is only the latest casualty in a recent series of cost-saving measures by the streamer, including firing most of the writing staff for its fan site project and canceling the show Space Force. It also axed two other animated children’s series, Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, reportedPeople.

Netflix confirmed to CNBC that the cancellation of Pearl is a part of strategic decisions it is making around animated series. The platform has invested heavily in animation since 2018, and was projected by Loup Ventures to spend $5 billion on original animated content this year. But the company’s boomtown mentality appears to have shifted, at least for now.

The company’s market value dropped a staggering $60 billion after a disappointing first-quarter earnings call last month. The streamer lost roughly 200,000 subscribers in the first few months of 2022, its first decline in nearly a decade. A number of factors led to the drop, including competition from rival platforms like Disney+ and Hulu, halting service to Russia and widespread password sharing.

Deadlinereported that a number of projects through Archwell Productions — the production company owned by Markle and Prince Harry — are still in the works, including a docuseries on the Invictus Games.

Rocket Lab is trying something different during today’s launch of Electron, its reusable rocket. The space company will attempt a mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage as it plummets back to Earth. In order to do this, Rocket Lab is deploying a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, a twin-engine helicopter that can seat 19 people and is often used for military or presidential purposes. While recovery missions for rocket stages are uncommon — most end up on the ocean floor — the company’s goal is to create a truly reusable rocket that will allow for more frequent launches.

Rocket Lab has recovered boosters three times in the past, first in November 2020 with a parachute, followed by two sea recoveries in May and November 2021. But this will be the first mid-air retrieval of a booster with a helicopter. Space X — the only other space company that has successfully recovered its boosters— usually relies on drone ships.

Electron is scheduled for lift-off on May 2st at 6:35PM ET from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, Roughly two and a half minutes after launch, the first and second rocket stages will separate. The first stage, outfitted with a parachute and a heat shield to protect it from the harsh forces of the atmosphere, will then descend back to Earth. The helicopter at this point will then hook on to the parachute and recover the booster.

You can watch a live webcast of the launch (and hopefully, the subsequent recovery) below on Rocket Lab’s YouTube channel. 

The union working to organize Activision Blizzard workers — the Communications Workers of America — filed a complaint today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the video game company of forbidding workers from discussing ongoing sexual and workplace harassment lawsuits. This isn’t the first time Activision has been accused of shutting down workplace dissent. Last September, CWA accused Activision of union-busting and intimidating workers who engaged in walkouts and other protests.

CWA filed its latest complaint after an incident in which an Activision worker posted a link to an article on their departmental Slack channel about an ongoing California Department of Fair Housing and Employment lawsuit against the company. The union shared no details about whether the worker was fired or reprimanded. Engadget has reached out to CWA for more information about the incident and will update when we hear back. Under federal law, employees have the right to discuss matters relating to wages, hours and working conditions.

Former Blizzard test analyst Jessica Gonzalez said Activision used “similar tactics” during her time at the company after she spoke out about workplace sexual harassment. “It is unfortunate that Activision continues to take the low road, but my hope is that everyone in the video game community understands how having a union on the job can encourage a workplace free from harassment and discrimination, which translates to better video games,” said Gonzalez in a statement.

Beijing is paving the way for driverless robotaxis. China’s capital city granted permits to auto startup Pony.ai and Chinese internet giant Baidu to offer self-driving car services to the general public, both companies announced today. Both operations will start out small — Baidu’s fleet will consist of 10 cars and Pony.ai will run four cars, reported CNBC. Eventually both companies plan to expand operations in the city.

The Beijing government is requiring a staff member to be onboard each driverless vehicle to make sure things go smoothly. But the employee isn’t required to be in the driver’s seat. Both firms had already been testing driverless taxis in Beijing and other major cities in China, but were required to have safety drivers behind the wheel.

The permits are a big step forward for the driverless taxi industry in Beijing, which set a goal for 70 percent of new cars sold in 2030 to have at least Level 2 self-driving technology installed.

An added perk for Beijing residents is that driverless car rides will be free, at least for now. The companies are still awaiting approval from the government to charge for the service. Until then, prospective riders can hail a ride through either Pony.ai’s PonyPilot+ app or Baidu’s Apollo Go app. There’s one caveat, though. Rides are currently restricted to a 23.1 square mile area in Yizhuang, a suburb of Beijing. There’s also no door-to-door pick-up service. Riders will instead be asked to choose from a number of public pick-up and drop-off locations, including subway stations, parks and stadiums.

Pony.ai ran into a number of challenges while testing its self-driving technology in the US. California suspended the Chinese company’s testing permit last year after a reported collision due to a glitch in Pony.ai’s AV software. No people were harmed in the crash and no other vehicles were involved. The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a recall of all vehicles involved in the crash, which Pony.ai has complied with.

Watching TV with hearing aids is about to get a little easier for Amazon Fire TV Cube owners. The second generation of the Fire TV Cube will now support Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) for compatible Bluetooth-enabled Starkey hearing aids. While the ability to stream TV audio to hearing aids has been around for a while, it normally requires an additional third-party device. Not all smart TVs support Bluetooth, so many hard-of-hearing users are forced to connect their hearing aids to their smartphone or a special adapter. But Fire TV will now allow users to directly pair their hearing aids with the streaming box.

ASHA (which is a Google-led initiative) has been available for Bluetooth devices since 2020. Fire TV Cube will be the first streaming device in the US to support ASHA, but it’s a safe bet to say more platforms will be on board in the future.

In order to pair their hearing aids to their Fire TV Cube, users should select “Settings” from Fire TV’s home screen. Users should then select “Accessibility”, followed by “Hearing Aids” and follow the on-screen instructions to pair them.

One drawback to relying on Bluetooth is viewers must remain within a 10-feet distance to still pick up Fire TV’s signal. Amazon recommends that viewers connect over their hearing aids over a 5Ghz wifi network, within 10 feet and in line of sight to Fire TV Cubes. Viewers with 2.4GHz wifi can still connect to Fire TV, but should keep in mind that the strength of their signal will vary depending on spectrum congestion.