Pioneering Xerox PARC computer researcher David Boggs has died at 71, The New York Times has reported. He was best known for co-inventing the Ethernet PC connection standard used to link PCs in close proximity to other computers, printers and the internet — over both wired and wireless connections. 

The Xerox PARC research lab in Palo Alto developed much of the PC tech we tech for granted today like the graphic user interface, mouse and word processor. Boggs joined the team in 1973, and started working with fellow researcher Bob Metcalfe on a system to send information to and from the lab's computer. 

In about two years, they had designed the first version of Ethernet, a link that could transmit data at 2.94 Mbps over a coaxial cable. It borrowed in part from a wireless networking system developed at the University of Hawaii called ALOHAnet, tapping into Boggs' passion for HAM radio. "He was the perfect partner for me," Metcalfe told the NYT. “I was more of a concept artist, and he was a build-the-hardware-in-the-back-room engineer.”

Xerox PARC

At this point, a networking system called Arpanet already existed, but was designed for connections over longer distances. Ethernet beat out competing technologies for near-proximity connections thanks to its clever packet technology. That allowed data to be sent over wires or wirelessly, and it would continue to work even if some packets were lost. 

Metcalfe eventually founded the Ethernet networking giant 3Com, while Boggs stayed at PARC as a researcher. He later moved to mini-computer giant DEC, then started an Ethernet company called LAN Media.

Ethernet became the standard protocol for wired devices in the '80s and is the foundational tech used for WiFi that first proliferated in the 1990s. Nearly 50 years later, it has never been replaced and is ubiquitous in nearly all digital devices. So why did it survive and thrive? "Seems Ethernet does not work in theory, only in practice," Boggs once said, Metcalfe told the NYT.

Major crypto exchanges including Coinbase and Binance are refusing a request by Ukraine to freeze all Russian accounts, saying that doing so would harm civilians and be counter to their ideals. "To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists,” a Binance spokesperson told CNBC. 

In a tweet, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov asked major crypto exchanges to freeze all Russian and Belarus accounts, not just the accounts of sanctioned oligarchs. "It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users," he said. 

Such a move would be in line with US and European Union sanctions against Russian banks and leadership designed to cripple the nation's economy. However, freezing crypto holdings could directly impact regular Russian citizens.

Coinbase said it's already sanctioning any persons or entities in Russia as required by law, but won't go any further. "A unilateral and total ban would punish ordinary Russian citizens who are enduring historic currency destabilization as a result of their government’s aggression against a democratic neighbor," it told Motherboard. Binance similarly stated that it wouldn't "unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts." 

Binance, on the flip side, said it has committed to donate at least $10 million in humanitarian aide to Ukraine and launched a fundraiser with the goal of raising $20 million. The company is also currently under investigation by the US government for alleged money laundering and insider trading.

Other exchanges including KuCoin also said they wouldn't go beyond anything required by law. Kraken exchange CEO Jesse Powell said that such a move would violate the company's "libertarian values." 

One exception is Dmarket, a Ukraine-based platform that allows people to trade NFTs and virtual in-game items. The company said in a tweet that it had cut "all relationships with Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine." 

Toyota has reportedly halted vehicle production at all its plants in Japan following a cyberattack against a major supplier, Nikkei has reported. "Due to a system failure at a domestic supplier (Kojima Industries Corporation), we have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at 14 plants in Japan on Tuesday, March 1st," Toyota wrote on its global website. 

Kojima supplies both exterior and interior parts, including components used in its air-conditioning system and steering wheel. The parts weren't affected but Kojima was reportedly unable to communicate with Toyota or monitor production. The issue affected Toyota's "just in time" manufacturing system that requires parts be delivered just before they're installed so they don't have to be stocked. 

Toyota didn't mention a cyberattack on its website, but Kojima confirmed the issue. "It is true that we have been hit by some kind of cyberattack. We are still confirming the damage and we are hurrying to respond, with the top priority of resuming Toyota's production system as soon as possible," a Kojima official told Nikkei. 

Two other Toyota partners were reportedly hit, including truck manufacturer Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor. The origins of the cyberattack, type of malware and other details have not been revealed. Toyota didn't say when it expects to restart the manufacturing lines, but the Japanese government is reportedly involved in the investigation. 

Earlier this month, Amazon announced that vaccinated warehouse workers (but not unvaccinated ones) were no longer required to wear masks. Now, the company is making face masks optional at its operations facilities across the US regardless of vaccination status starting today, according to a notice sent to workers seen by CNBC. "[This] is an exciting step in our path to normal operations," the letter states.

Workers will still have to mask up in states that mandate mask usage at work regardless of vaccination status, including Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. Other states like California only require unvaccinated individuals to wear masks. 

The move comes amid a steep drop in Omicron COVID-19 infections across the US. Amazon confirmed that the notice was real, but told CNBC it still strongly recommends that unvaccinated employees continue to wear masks. 

Amazon had previously dropped mask restrictions toward the end of the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak, but was forced to revive them in December as Omicron began to surge. Unlike Google and other tech companies, Amazon never required vaccinations for workers. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance last week allowing around 70 percent of Americans to remove face coverings in areas where COVID-19 hospitalizations were low. However, some medical professionals are still concerned about protection for the elderly, immunocompromised and other vulnerable individuals. 

TCL's affordable 30-series smartphone family has just grown considerably with no less than five new models, making for a total of seven. The new devices start at just €139 for the TCL 30 E and go up to €249 for the TCL 5G, while offering some nice features like 50-megapixel triple cameras on all models, along with AMOLED displays and 5,000 mAh batteries. Along with the phones, TCL introduced the NXTPAPER MAX 10, the latest and largest tablet using its full color paper-like display. 

The new smartphone models are the TCL 30 5G (€249), TCL 30+ (€199), TCL 30 (€179 ), and TCL 30 SE (€149 ) and TCL 30 E (€139). They share some common features, with all models having a 50-megapixel main rear camera setup and 5,000 mAh minimum batteries. All but the TCL 30 E have rear triple AI cameras as well, with the 30 E packing having a dual rear cameras. The TCL 30 5G, TCL 30+, and TCL 30 also have slightly bigger 5010mAh batteries and support 18W fast charging. 

The top-end TCL 30 5G is the only model with 5G capability, and also offers an ultrawide front camera. You also get a 6.7-inch 60 Hz FHD+ AMOLED screen, MediaTek Dimensity 700 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. 

TCL

The next two models, the TCL 30+ and TCL 30 have similar features, but lack 5G support and have lower-end MediaTek Helio G37 chipsets. The TCL 30+ has an ultrawide front camera like the 5G model, but that's missing on the TCL 30. Finally, the TCL 30 SE and 30 E (above) step things down another notch, as it were, with smaller 6.52-inch mini-notch displays, slightly smaller batteries with no fast charging and MediaTek G25 chipsets.

As the prices imply, all the models are set to be launched in Europe. Given that the first two 30-sieres models came to the US, we can hope that some or all of the models might be sold here too — but TCL has yet to say which other regions will get them. 

TCL

On top of the smartphones, TCL launched another tablet that uses its color paper-like screen, the NXTPAPER MAX 10 (above). It follows last year's 8.88-inch NXTPAPER and uses the same low-power reflective LCD that “reuses natural light" so there's no need for backlighting, according to TCL. However, it packs a larger 10.36-inch display with an 83% screen-to-body ratio. 

Other features include 4G or WiFi connectivity, a MediaTek MT8788 chipset, 13-megapixel rear/8-megapixel front cameras and an 8,000 mAh battery. It goes on sale starting in Asia from mid Q2 2022 and will be available starting from €269 in Europe, but again, TCL didn't say where else it would be sold. 

The UK government is introducing a bill that will require Facebook, Google and other tech platforms to verify the identities of users. The measure is part of the government's Online Safety Bill announced last year and is ostensibly designed to help users block anonymous trolls online. 

“Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms,” said UK digital Minister Nadine Dorries in a statement. “People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms.”

Tech firms would need to decide how to carry out the checks when users create social media accounts. Some options proposed by the government include facial recognition via profile pictures, two-factor authentication and government-issued ID. The UK's media regulator Ofcom would be in charge of laying out the rules. 

Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms.

The government has also proposed measures that would force companies to filter out "legal but harmful" material. That would allow parents, for instance, to apply settings stopping their kids from receiving search results about certain topics, or putting "sensitivity screens" over them. 

Tech firms in violation could face fines of up to 10 percent of their global annual revenues, which could be in the billions with companies like Google and Facebook. The government could also block services from being accessed in the UK under the proposed rules, which would need to be approved by parliament to become law.  

“We are reviewing the details of the new proposed duties,” a Twitter spokesperson told CNBC. “Our focus remains on a safe internet for all — whether or not someone is able to or chooses to verify themselves.” It add that it sees anonymity as “a vital tool for speaking out in oppressive regimes."

The UK government said it would introduce online safety rules back in 2018, and the idea has gained impetus following recent racial abuse of Black England soccer players by anonymous trolls. On top of that, a petition in favor of the idea has gained nearly 700,000 signatures. However, critics of identity verification have said that anonymity can help protect LGBTQ+ and other oppressed minorities, whistleblowers and critics of oppressive regimes. 

HTC has teamed up with a company called Holoride to let you use its Vive Flow VR headset to transform your car into an amusement park — without making you carsick. The idea is that when you don the headset, you'll appear inside a roller coaster or other experience, but the motion will match up perfectly with the movement of the car. 

Holoride is backed in part by Audi with the aim of creating "an entirely new media category for passengers by connecting Extended Reality (XR) content with data points from the vehicle in real time," according to the press release. The Vive Flow, meanwhile, is a lightweight (189 gram or 0.42 pounds), $499 VR headset built specifically for entertainment and wellness. 

It's not just amusement parks you'll be able to visit virtually, but also "virtual worlds" along with 2D content on a "virtual, motion-synchronized cinema screen," Holoride notes. In other words, it sounds like it'll also let you watch movies or other content without barfing as you normally might on a regular screen. 

Holoride is not exactly reinventing the wheel here, as I had a similar experience back in 2017 with Renault's Symbioz concept EV, that drove me 80 MPH while I wore a VR headset. The experience was surprisingly seamless, even back then, as the virtual environment matched up perfectly with the vehicle's movement on the autoroute (freeway) — keeping me from feeling sick. Audi, Volvo and other automakers have also played with VR headsets that synchronize visuals with vehicle movement. We previously tested out Holoride on a larger VR headset (above).

Holoride will operate on what is perhaps a more practical and lightweight headset, though it's not exactly cheap at $499. It offers decent visuals with two 1.6K, 75 Hz displays with a 100-degree field of view. However, one downside for this purpose is that it doesn't have as many motion sensors as more classic VR headsets, so it requires a mirror-mounted dongle to help track vehicle motion. 

A headset also isn't very social, but it could be useful on long trips if you or the driver want to take a conversation break. There's no word yet on when the experience might arrive, but Holoride will be showing it off at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona from February 28th to March 3rd. 

With Amazon's Staten Island warehouse facing a vote to unionize next month, police have arrested labor organizer Christian Smalls at the facility for allegedly trespassing, Reuters has reported. Two other individuals that reportedly worked at the facility were also arrested, and Smalls was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing. 

A former employee, Smalls said that he was "literally a visitor" delivering food to other employees, and that Amazon was trying to "increase the intimidation factor" via his arrest. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Reuters that Smalls "has repeatedly trespassed despite multiple warnings." 

The three arrests were captured on video by Motherboard, which reported that the NYPD handcuffed the organizers who wore bright red shirts with the slogans "Amazon Labor Union." Smalls was fired in March 2020 after he led a protest outside the warehouse demanding better safety and health protections. 

A vote to unionize the Staten Island facility is set to start on March 25th, and a successful one would make it the first union Amazon warehouse. Another vote is set to be counted next month from the same Alabama warehouse that voted against unionizing. 

After the first Alabama vote, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) organizing it accused Amazon of violating the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreed and ordered a second vote in early February, with counting to start on March 28th. 

OnlyFans is facing a pair of lawsuits over claims it conspired with Facebook to disable adult entertainer accounts by placing their content on a terrorism database, the BBC has reported. One was launched earlier this week by a rival platform called FanCentro, and the other is a class action lawsuit made on behalf of three adult entertainers. Both Facebook and OnlyFans were named as defendants in the latter complaint. 

The class action suit claims performers' content was placed on the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) website despite not being terrorist in nature. That reportedly led to a decline in traffic to websites that compete with OnlyFans. Similar claims were made by FanCentro in its lawsuit. Both say that the problem is happening on Instagram more than any other platform. 

OnlyFans told the BBC that the legal claim has "no merit," while Facebook parent Meta said "these allegations are without merit and we will address them in the context of the litigation as needed." A GIFCT spokesperson said: "We are not aware of any evidence to support the theories presented in this lawsuit between two parties with no connection to GIFCT."

OnlyFans is best known for hosting pornography, but it was in the news last summer after saying it would ban "sexually explicit conduct." It said the request was made by "banking partners and payout providers," but it subsequently backtracked after receiving "secured assurances" required to support its adult creators.

However, the move shook the trust of some sex workers and other OnlyFans creators, since a potential ban threatened a key source of their income. Some likely decided to move to rival sites, only to now be allegedly facing a shadow-ban on social media.  

The much-lauded action-RPG NieR: Automata is being developed into an anime series, Square Enix has announced. A teaser trailer shows a potential glimpse of how it will look (and not much else), and the developers also tweeted an image of the lead character 2B and her Pod companion robot. 

It appears that the story will closely follow the plot of the original game. "The stage is a distant future in which human beings are routing to the moon in front of the overwhelming force of 'machine life forms' that aliens unleash," according to the developer's blog post. "The '2B' belonging to the newly organized android unit 'Yorha' will put himself into a fierce battle to recapture the Earth."

The first game didn't make money, according to director Yoko Taro, but the follow up was a hit that received general praise for the stunning, trippy graphics, frenzied gameplay and highly original ideas. In other words, it seems like a perfect game to get the anime treatment. It will be produced by Square Enix and Aniplex, the studio behind Fullmetal Alchemist and Sword Art Online, but there's no other information to speak of. Given that Sony owns Aniplex, though, it's reasonable to assume it might appear on Crunchyroll or Funimation.