You can no longer buy either print or Kindle Newsstand magazine and newspaper subscriptions from Amazon, as the company appears to implement yet another cost-cutting measure. The e-commerce giant announced that it was halting Newsstand subscriptions on March 9th (via The Verge) and that the change was going to take effect that very day. If you have an annual subscription, it will not be renewed, as well. 

You can continue managing your subscriptions — such as changing your delivery address — through Amazon until June 5th at 11:59PM PST. But after that, you'd have to get in touch with the publisher for any inquiry. Finally, Amazon will only be sending you the latest issues for your magazines and newspapers until September 4th. The good news is that you'll still be able to access all the digital issues that have already been delivered, and Amazon will send you a pro-rated refund for any undelivered issue. 

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Julia Lee told The Verge that the company looks at each of its businesses to see what it should change as part of its annual operating planning review process. Lee explained: "Following an assessment of our magazine and newspaper subscriptions and single-issue sales, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue these services. We don't take these decisions lightly and are winding down these offerings in a phased manner over several months. We will continue to support customers, sellers and publishers during that time."

Based on Lee's statement, the company wasn't making money from subscriptions, and they likely became a casualty that could be attributed to its cost-cutting efforts. Back in January, Amazon expanded its planned job cuts to cover 18,000 roles in the company after hiring thousands of new people to keep up with the heightened demand during the previous years' COVID lockdowns. Amazon also paused construction on its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and shut down several cashierless Go stores over the past few months. 

If you want to keep receiving the newest issues of your magazines and newspapers, you'll have to look at alternative subscription options from their publishers. Some of them, however, will still be available as part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service. 

Bandcamp has always been known as an artist-friendly alternative to streaming services like Spotify, where you can buy music directly from the musicians themselves. Now, workers at the Epic-owned online audio distributor want to ensure that they're treated as well as its creators by forming a union called Bandcamp United. According to Rolling Stone and TechCrunch, a majority of workers are in favor of unionizing, and all 62 of its non-managerial and non-supervisory personnel in the US will make up its bargaining unit. Those 62 workers are composed of support staff, designers, engineers, writers and other roles within the platform. 

Apparently, Bandcamp's personnel have been quietly working on their organizing efforts since last summer. They ultimately decided to join Tech Workers Union Local 1010 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which is the same group that helped full-time Kickstarter employees organize back in 2020. Based on the mission statement written on Bandcamp United's website, the group aims to fix pay disparities and promote "equitable conditions and economic stability." They want to make sure workers have access to paid time off and that their salaries "will grow to meet economic necessity."

Rolling Stone says they're also looking to address management's lack of transparency after Epic's takeover last year. Workers were reportedly asked to sign new employment contracts when the Fortnite developer acquired the platform, and they were given a limited amount of time to review its terms with no room for negotiations. 

Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp's CEO, told the publications that management is "aware that some... employees are seeking to organize a union and [is] reviewing the petition to understand their concerns." Bandcamp United has already filed for a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to administer a union election and will hold one to make things official once it gets approved. 

Back in February, TikTok revealed that it was testing a feature that will give you a way to reset the recommendations that pop up on your For You page. Now, the ByteDance-owned app is rolling out this "refresh" option to all users, so you can get rid of video recommendations that no longer feel relevant. If you enable it, the For You feed will look as if you've only just signed up for an account, and TikTok's algorithm will start surfacing content based on your newer interactions on the app. 

To give your feed a reset, head over to TikTok's Settings and Privacy menu, then scroll down until you find Content preferences. There, you'll find a new option that says "Refresh your For You feed." Take note that it's all what the new feature does — it won't change any of your settings or unfollow accounts you've previously followed. 

In addition to the new "refresh" feature, TikTok has also updated its efforts to reduce repetitive patterns of content that could be harmful. The app has been doing this for quite some time and has been applying limits to videos that don't exactly violate its policies but might have an effect on your viewing experience. Examples include videos that feature sadness or extreme dieting and exercise. Now, if its systems detect a repetition in those types of themes within a set of videos, it actively substitutes some of them with videos about a different topic. That way, it can further limit your exposure to content that could contain certain triggers.

These are but the latest updates TikTok has rolled out in a bid to improve its algorithm, which has been the subject of investigations and has been at the center of discussions on whether the app should be banned. TikTok's critics even call its user experience (as enabled by its algorithm) manipulative, designed to keep you glued to the app. 

It's no secret that the service has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, so it also doesn't come as a surprise that TikTok has been making an effort to demystify its algorithm and give you more control over the content you see. They will certainly give TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew more positive talking points when he tries to make authorities see the app in a positive light on March 23rd. Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee that day and is expected to discuss the app's privacy and data security, as well as its impact on kids and ties to China. 

Baidu, China's search engine giant, has unveiled its answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT service. It's the latest version of the company's ERNIE (Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration) Bot that it has been developing over the past decade and was first launched back in 2019. In a press event, Baidu CEO Robin Li said this version of ERNIE Bot has capabilities close to GPT-4, the latest iteration of OpenAI's large language model released just a couple of days ago. 

The chatbot apparently has 550 billion facts in its knowledge graph, but they're mostly focused on the Chinese market. So while it will be able to list Chinese idioms for you, it may not be able to answer as many questions for certain subjects outside the region. ERNIE Bot has the capability to answer a user with audio responses in different Chinese dialects, though, and it can also generate images and videos out of Chinese text.

During its demo at the event, the chatbot was able to summarize a Chinese sci-fi novel and give suggestions on how to continue writing the book if it were to be expanded. It was also able to name the actors in its film adaptation, compare their heights and conclude who was taller between the two of them. In another demo, it was able to suggest names for a high-tech service company catering to small and mid-size enterprise, write slogans for it and even generate a newsletter with a specified word count.

Li said that 650 companies have already signed up to use ERNIE Bot's technology, but he also admitted that it's not ready for a public debut. Baidu has merely unveiled it early due to market demand brought about by ChatGPT's meteoric rise in popularity. For now, the Chinese tech giant will only grant access to those who've already received invites, though more companies can apply for the ability to embed the chatbot into their products via Baidu's cloud platform.

Google will no longer sell its Glass AR smart glasses for enterprise starting on March 15th, and it will only support the device until September 15th this year. The tech giant has posted those details with a notice that says "Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership" on the official Glass website, as first reported by 9to5Google. This marks the end for the company's augmented reality wearable, which had its beginnings as a consumer product that piqued early adopters' interest but never quite captured the market. 

Around four years after it first became available, Google launched a rebooted version of the Glass for enterprise, targeting businesses whose workers could use augmented reality's help to accomplish their tasks. It was designed to be more comfortable to wear and with the ability to "withstand the rigors of work environments." It also had a bigger display, a foldable design and a speedier processor. Then, in 2019, Google released the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 eyewear, which looked mostly the same as its predecessor but came with more powerful hardware and software. 

Google says existing units will continue working after September 15th, but it will no longer roll out any software updates after that. The company will also only replace devices until that date, and the pre-installed Meet on Glass app — Google's videoconferencing service on the eyewear — might stop working anytime after September 15th, as well. 

Last year, Google started testing its next-gen augmented reality glasses that it teased during its I/O developer conference. It's not quite clear if those glasses will ever be released, but company spokesperson Patrick Seybold told The Verge that Google remains "deeply committed to AR" and that it's "been building AR into many [of its] products."

Starlink for RVs has been officially rebranded as Starlink Roam, now that you can opt for a global roaming package and take your terminal anywhere with you in the world where the service is available. In SpaceX's announcement, it said the option is meant for people "traveling to locations where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable." The global roaming option will set you back $200 a month instead of the $150 a month its regional counterpart costs. Starlink's service for RVs was originally priced at $135 a month, but it raised its prices this February.

Further, if you look at the Starlink website, you'll see that global roaming is only available with the $599 portable hardware. That's the service's terminal that does not provide you with internet connectivity while your vehicle is in motion. If you want to be able to use Starlink on a vehicle that's on the move, you'll have to purchase the $2,500 Flat High Performance terminal. But again, you can only get it with a regional subscription that's "geo-fenced to work on land within the same continent as [your] registered shipping address." Take note that if you use Starlink in a foreign country for more than two months, you may be required to change your registered address altogether. 

Starlink started sending out emails about an upcoming global roaming option last month. It said back then that global roaming services are "contingent on regulatory approvals," because it still doesn't have the authority to offer internet connectivity in some countries like India. Starlink also said that you might experience "brief periods of poor connectivity, or none at all" while it's working to expand its satellite network for more coverage. 

NASA has chosen Axiom Space's proposal yet again for the third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The two parties have already signed a mission order, and they're hoping to launch sometime in November 2023 and beyond from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A more specific date will be announced later, since it will depend on the timing of other flights to the ISS, as well as on in-orbit activity planning. 

Before Axiom Mission 3 launches, Axiom Mission 2 will have to head to the space station first. It's also a crew mission that's operated by the company, and it's expected to launch in the second quarter of 2023. As you can guess from its name, it's not the company's first astronaut mission to the orbiting lab: NASA also picked it for the first commercially operated crewed flight to the station. Axiom Mission 1 launched in April 2022 and was docked with the ISS for 15 days. 

At the moment, Ax-3 is still in its very early stages. The private space company will still have to submit four proposed crew members and two back up crew to the agency for review, with the mission commander being a flown NASA astronaut. (Ax-2, for instance, was headed by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Annette Whitson.) Under the parties' agreement, NASA may ask the commander to perform certain tasks or science experiments while onboard. Meanwhile, Axiom Space astronauts will be able to use NASA cargo and other in-orbit resources for daily use. 

In addition to choosing Axiom Space for these private launches, NASA also picked the company to develop the moonwalking spacesuit for its Artemis program. The agency will unveil the suit today in an event, which will be livestreams on NASA's website.

Volkswagen pinned its future on electric vehicles and announced its plans to put 30 new EVs on the road shortly after its $18.2 billion emissions scandal. Now, the automaker has revealed that it plans to spend $193 billion on different areas of its electrification efforts over the next five years. According to The New York Times, Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume said at a press event that two-thirds of that budget will go towards manufacturing batteries, developing software and sourcing critical and raw materials for its vehicles. 

Blume's revelation comes after the automaker's announcements that its subsidiary PowerCo will build its first North American battery cell factory in Canada and that it will build electric pickups and SUVs in South Carolina. The company is already producing its ID.4 electric vehicles in the US after repurposing its Chattanooga, Tennessee factory in 2022. But Volkswagen's electrification efforts are still behind its biggest competitors', and it's aiming to establish a stronger foothold in North America, as well to become more competitive in China. The company considers those regions as its two most important markets — ones it will have to conquer if it wants to reach its goals. Volkswagen previously said that it wants electric vehicles to account for about 55 percent of its sales in the US by 2030. 

For now, the automaker will continue making gas vehicles while it's working to expand its EV offerings with more models, including affordable ones that cost around $26,000. Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen’s chief financial and operating officer, talked about the path the company has to take going forward, though: "We must transform ourselves into a technology and mobility services group. We need to focus on our platforms, such as our hardware for battery-powered electric vehicles, a unified software stack, batteries, mobility, autonomous driving."

So this is apparently what the Google Pixel 7a will look like. Vietnamese website Zing News (via The Verge) has shared photos of what it says is a prototype of the upcoming midrange phone that programmers were using as a test device. After its owner leaked photos of it online, Google reportedly locked the phone remotely, but not before they were able to check that it was running Android 13 and had a 90 Hz screen option in the Settings app. They were also able to confirm that the device has 8 GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

As you can see, the phone comes with a camera bar like its predecessors, but it's metal with a matte finish unlike the Pixel 6a's glass bar and the Pixel 7's polished aluminum one. It seems to have two 12-megapixel cameras — one standard and one super wide angle — like the Pixel 6a, as well.

The case itself is composed of two glass sides with a metal frame that has cutouts for the speakers and the USB-C charging port at the bottom. Along its edges, there's a slot for the SIM tray that can accommodate a single physical SIM card. The owner, who reportedly purchased the device from an acquaintance, wasn't able to confirm whether it has eSIM support. On the front with with its screen switched on, it's easy to see that it still has the 6a's thick bezel and a rather large front cam cutout. 

These new images and details confirm information from previous leaks, which included renders that showed a phone that looks similar to the Pixel 6a. Older photos also showed a device with a "Smooth Display" capability, allowing users to adjust its refresh rate from 60Hz to 90Hz, which is a first for the A-series line.

Google has yet to announce the Pixel 7a, but it has historically introduced its Pixel A devices at its annual I/O event. This year, the keynote for the developer conference will take place on May 10th. 

Uber and Lyft don't have to worry about reclassifying its workers in California for now. An appeals court has just ruled that gig workers, such as rideshare drivers, can continue to be classified as independent contractors under Proposition 22. 

If you'll recall, California passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) in September 2019 that legally obligates companies to treat their gig workers as full-time employees. That means providing them with all the appropriate benefits and protections, such as paying for their unemployment and health insurance. As a response, Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash poured over $220 million into campaigning for the Prop 22 ballot measure, which would allow them to treat app-based workers as independent contractors. It ended up passing by a wide margin in the state.

In 2021, a group of critics that included the Service Employees International Union and the SEIU California State Council filed a lawsuit in 2021 to overturn the proposition. The judge in charge of the case sided with them and called Prop 22 unconstitutional. He said back then that the proposition illegally "limits the power of a future legislature to define app-based drivers as workers subject to workers' compensation law." 

The three appeals court judges have now overturned that ruling, though according to The New York Times, one of them wanted to throw out Prop 22 entirely for the same reason the lower court judge gave when he handed down his decision. While the appeals court upheld the policy in the end, it ordered that a clause that makes it hard for workers in the state to unionize be severed from the rest of the proposition. That particular clause required a seven-eighths majority vote from the California legislature to be able to amend workers' rights to collective bargaining. 

David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union in California, told The Times in a statement: "Every California voter should be concerned about corporations’ growing influence in our democracy and their ability to spend millions of dollars to deceive voters and buy themselves laws." The group is now expected to appeal this ruling and to take their fight to the Supreme Court, which could take months to decide whether to hear the case.