The murmurs of an iPad Pro with wireless charging are growing louder. 9to5Macsources claim Apple is moving forward with an update to its pro tablet that would include MagSafe wireless charging, but not necessarily how you'd expect. Rather than using a previously reported all-glass back (like most recent iPhones), the new iPad Pro could instead charge through an enlarged glass Apple logo built into a metal back. It would charge more quickly than an iPhone (expected given the iPad's added power draw) and carry stronger magnets to keep the charger in place.
The refreshed iPad Pro would include some more universal improvements, including a larger battery and an iPhone 13-style camera array. There would also be a "brand new chip" 9to5 presumed would be the M2 also expected for a new MacBook Air. Earlier rumors suggested the M2 would have eight cores like the M1, but would run them faster and tout more graphics cores.
There was no mention of a specific timeframe for the iPad Pro update. While talk has circulated of a spring event, there are no guarantees Apple will launch any new iPads in that time frame. Don't be shocked if there is a new Pro, though. The M1-based iPad Pro was as much a chance for Apple to flex its silicon prowess as it was a functional upgrade — an M2 sequel would keep that momentum going, and MagSafe support would help tie the Pro into Apple's wider ecosystem.
If the efforts of the 10,000-plus people who developed and assembled the James Webb Space Telescope are any indication, the age of the independent scientist are well and truly over. Newton, Galileo, Keppler, and Copernicus all fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of our place in the universe, and did so on their own, but with the formalization and professionalization of the field in the Victorian Era, these occurences of an amatuer astronomer using homebrew equipment all the more rare.
In his new book, The Invisible World: Why There's More to Reality than Meets the Eye, University of Cambridge Public Astronomer, Matthew Bothwell tells the story of how we discovered an entire, previously unseen universe beyond humanity's natural sight. In the excerpt below, Bothwell recounts the exploits of Grote Reber, one of the world's first (and for a while, only) radio astronomers.
Oneworld Publishing
Excerpted with permissionfrom The Invisible Universe by Matthew Bothwell (Oneworld 2021).
The Only Radio Astronomer in the World
It’s a little strange to look back at how the astronomical world reacted to Jansky’s results. With hindsight, we can see that astronomy was about to be turned upside down by a revolution at least as big as the one started by Galileo’s telescope. Detecting radio waves from space marks the first time in history that humanity glimpsed the vast invisible Universe, hiding beyond the narrow window of the visible spectrum. It was a momentous occasion that was all but ignored in academic astronomy circles for one very simple reason: the world of radio engineering was just too far removed from the world of astronomy. When Jansky published his initial results he attempted to bridge the divide, spending half the paper giving his readers a crash-course in astronomy (explaining how to measure the location of things in the sky, and exactly why a signal repeating every twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes meant something interesting). But, ultimately, the two disciplines suffered from a failure to communicate. The engineers spoke a language of vacuum tubes, amplifiers and antenna voltages: incomprehensible to the scientists more used to speaking of stars, galaxies and planets. As Princeton astronomer Melvin Skellett later put it:
The astronomers said ‘Gee that’s interesting – you mean there’s radio stuff coming from the stars?’ I said, ‘Well, that’s what it looks like’. ‘Very interesting.’ And that’s all they had to say about it. Anything from Bell Labs they had to believe, but they didn’t see any use for it or any reason to investigate further. It was so far from the way they thought of astronomy that there was no real interest.
After Jansky had moved on to other problems, there was only one person who became interested in listening to radio waves from space. For around a decade, from the mid-1930s until the mid-1940s, Grote Reber was the only radio astronomer in the world.
Grote Reber’s story is unique in all of twentieth-century science. He single-handedly developed an entire field of science, taking on the task of building equipment, conducting observations, and exploring the theory behind his discoveries. What makes him unique is that he did all of this as a complete amateur, working alone outside the scientific establishment. His job, designing electric equipment for radio broadcasts, had given him the skills to build his telescope. His fascination with the scientific literature brought him into contact with Jansky’s discovery of cosmic static, and when it became clear that no one else in the world seemed to care very much, he took it upon himself to invent the field of radio astronomy. He built his telescope in his Chicago back garden using equipment and materials available to anyone. His telescope, nearly ten metres across, was the talk of his neighbourhood (for good reason – it looks a bit like a cartoon doomsday device). His mother used it to dry her washing.
He spent years scanning the sky with his homemade machine. He observed with his telescope all night, every night, while still working his day job (apparently he would snatch a few hours of sleep in the evening after work, and again at dawn after he was finished at the telescope). When he realised he didn’t know enough physics and astronomy to understand the things he was seeing, he took courses at the local university. Over the years, his observations painted a beautiful picture of the sky as seen with radio eyes. He detected the sweep of our Milky Way, with bright spots at the galactic centre (where Jansky had picked up his star-static), and again towards the constellations Cygnus and Cassiopeia. By this time he had learned enough physics to make scientific contributions, too. He knew that if the hiss from the Milky Way was caused by thermal emission – heat radiation from stars or hot gas – then it would be stronger at shorter wavelengths. Given that Reber was picking up much shorter wavelengths than Jansky (60 cm, compared to Jansky’s fifteen-metre waves), Reber should have been bombarded with invisible radio waves tens of thousands of times more powerful than anything Jansky saw. But he wasn’t. Reber was confident enough in his equipment to conclude that whatever was making these radio waves, it had to be ‘non-thermal’ – that is, it was something different from the standard ‘hot things glow’ radiation we discussed back in chapter 2. He even proposed the (correct!) solution: that hot interstellar electrons whizzing past an ion – a positively charged atom – will get sling-shotted around like a Formula 1 car taking a tight corner. The cornering electron will emit a radio wave, and the combined effect of billions of these events is what Reber was detecting from his back garden. This only happens in clouds of hot gas. Reber was, it turns out, picking up radio waves being emitted by clouds containing new-born stars scattered throughout our Galaxy. He was, quite literally, listening to stars being born. It was a sound no human had ever heard before. To this day, radio observations are used to trace the formation of stars, from small clouds in our own Milky Way to the birth of galaxies in the most distant corners of the Universe.
In many ways, Reber’s story seems like an anachronism. The golden age of independent scientists, who could make groundbreaking discoveries working alone with homemade equipment, was hundreds of years ago. With the passing of the Victorian era, science became a complex, expensive, and above all professional business. Grote Reber is, as far as I know, the last of the amateur ‘outsider’ scientists; the last person who had no scientific training, built his own equipment in his garden, and through painstaking and meticulous work managed to change the scientific world.
Google may have to rethink its non-disclosure agreements following a long-running lawsuit from an anonymous worker. According to The Washington Post, a California Superior Court judge has ruled that Google's employee confidentiality agreements violate state labor laws. Terms banning the employee from discussing his job with potential employers amounted to a non-compete clause and were thus illegal in the state, the judge said.
The internet company originally persuaded a judge to toss out most of the worker's claims in the belief federal law overrode California legislation. An appeals court overturned that decision, however, noting that state laws did more to protect free speech rights that included work experience. Google has declined to comment on either the verdict or any plans to appeal.
The outcome wouldn't let Google employees discuss trade secrets if it was upheld. It would let people discuss work experience, though, and could make it easier for job-seekers to switch roles without fear of lawsuits. It might also provide more opportunities for sexual assault and harassment victims to discuss their reasons for leaving a company, although California legislation has already tackled non-disclosure agreements that bar victims from talking about incidents.
This ruling might also have wider repercussions for California's tech sector. QH Law partner Ramsey Hanafi told the Post that many large tech companies have similar gag rules. Like it or not, Silicon Valley firms might have to revamp their agreements and accept that it will be easier for staff to leave or identify toxic work cultures.
Tesla has once again quietly pushed back its Cybertruck's release to next year, according to Reuters. The automaker will reportedly begin the electric truck's production by the end of the first quarter of 2023 instead of this year. While Tesla has yet to formally announce the delay, the Cybertruck's order page removed a previous reference to production in 2022. The design section of the page previously read "You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in 2022." Now, the sentence ends after the word "nears."
Back in November, somebody on Twitter asked company chief Elon Musk for an update on the Cybertruck. Musk responded that Tesla has been grappling with a "supply chain nightmare," and that he'll provide more updates during the company's next earnings call scheduled for January 26th.
Oh man, this year has been such a supply chain nightmare & it’s not over!
I will provide an updated product roadmap on next earnings call.
According to Reuters' source, Tesla will have a limited production of the Cybertruck at first before increasing its output. The company unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019 at a big event, wherein Musk said that production was slated to begin in late 2021. During the company's January 2021 earnings call, he said Tesla only expects a few deliveries in 2021 and for volume production to start in 2022. Later that year, though, the company delayed the vehicle's release to 2022.
Delays with Tesla releases don't come as a surprise anymore, seeing as Musk is known for announcing timetables that are a bit too optimistic. Supply chain and component shortages brought about by the pandemic may have also contributed to the delay, if Reuters' report turns out to be true. We'll find out for sure when Tesla reveals its updated product roadmap before the month ends.
If you made the resolution to tidy up more regularly in 2022, a robot vacuum can help with that. And for those that hate cleaning, investing in a robot vacuum with self-emptying functionality can make it so you rarely have to interact with the machine. Two of iRobot's higher-end models with clean bases are on sale at Wellbots right now when you use the code ENGADGET250 at checkout — both the Roomba s9+ and the Roomba j7+ will be $250 off, bringing them down to $850 and $600, respectively. Those are great deals, especially considering the prices are better than we saw during Cyber Monday at the end of last year.
The Roomba j7+ is the latest robo-vac from iRobot and it has new AI-driven computer vision technology the helps it detect objects and move around them as it cleans. It's thanks to this feature that the company calls the j7 a series of "poop-detecting" devices because they should be able to successfully avoid a robot vacuum's arch nemesis — your pet's accidents. iRobot's Pet Owner Official Promise (or P.O.O.P. for short) ensures that you'll get a new vacuum if the robot fails to avoid a run in with poop during your first year of ownership.
Otherwise, the j7 series sits right under the s9 series in iRobot's lineup, meaning it has a number of advanced features like 10x the suction power of a standard Roomba, dual multi-surface rubber brushes and Imprint Smart Mapping, the latter of which lets you direct the vacuum to clean only certain rooms. The "plus" part of the j7+ refers to the clean base, or an extended part of the dock into which the vacuum will empty its debris after every job. So instead of emptying the dustbin yourself after every cleaning, you'll only have to empty the base about once every two months. Combine that with the smart controls in the iRobot mobile app and you may only have to interact with the Roomba every so often — the app lets you do things like remote start the device, set cleaning schedules and more.
The s9+ is the most advanced device that iRobot makes and it has a few differences from the j7 series. It has 40x the suction power of iRobot's standard series of vacuums and a design that helps it clean corners better. It also has a 3D sensor that helps it detect and clean around objects, although the technology is slightly different than that in the j7 series. Both are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and the Google Assistant, too, so you can control the robo-vacs with voice commands if you wish.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Apple is once again honoring regulations requiring it to allow alternative payment options in the App Store, although this one is highly specific. As Reutersreports, Apple confirmed it would comply with orders from the Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets forcing it to allow third-party payment systems in Tinder and other locally-offered dating apps. The regulator determined on December 24th that Apple had abused its market power by requiring its in-app purchasing platform, and gave Apple until January 15th to make the change if it wanted to avoid fines.
Like with past decisions, Apple wasn't happy. It contended that allowing third-party options would "compromise the user experience" while posing new privacy and security threats, and reminded developers they (or their payment partners) would be responsible for handling refunds and similar issues. Apple is appealing the ACM's decision.
The order doesn't affect other apps available in the Netherlands. However, it reflects growing regulatory opposition to Apple's App Store business model in multiple countries, including South Korea and the US. Officials are increasingly convinced Apple is using its in-app purchasing requirement to stifle competition, and it won't be surprising if other countries follow suit before long.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a game-changer for animated films. It blended 2D and CG masterfully, creating a new vision for what movies could be. As we venture into 2022, there's a massive slate of films that will continue to push boundaries — including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One).
An email app sends and receives email more like you would snail mail: once per day. Could subversive projects like this provide relief from the instant interaction Big Tech has transformed our lives into? And if they do, will we be content with the results?
Amazon was providing on-site COVID-19 testing at its facilities during the pandemic, but with cases surging to all-time highs, the company's workforce is struggling to get what they need to clock in safely.
Fox News host and right-wing commentator Dan Bongino won't be able to upload anything to his YouTube channel for a week, according to Forbes and The Hill. The website has temporarily suspended his account over COVID-19 misinformation, specifically for saying masks are useless in preventing the coronavirus' spread. YouTube updated its rules in 2020 to prohibit "content about COVID-19 that poses a serious risk of egregious harm." It doesn't permit videos with medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities, such as the World Health Organization.
The organization considers wearing masks "a key measure to reduce transmission and save lives." That's why YouTube explicitly states that videos containing claims that wearing masks have negative side effects and that they don't play a role in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19 go against its policy. The website has suspended several creators for COVID-19 disinformation in the past, including Sky News Australia, One American News Network and Senator Rand Paul.
Bongino is only getting a week-long suspension, because it's his first strike under the policy. If he gets another strike within 90 days, he'll get another two-week suspension. His channel will only be removed if he gets a third strike within three months. In addition to suspending his uploads, YouTube has also demonetized his channel for "repeatedly violating [its] Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines on harmful and dangerous acts." He will, however, be able to re-apply for the Partner Program after 30 days.
That said, it looks like Bongino has plans to keep on breaking YouTube's COVID-19 rules. The Bongino Report website's Twitter account posted a copy of his email to YouTube, which tells the customer service rep that he will "immediately post content on why masks have been totally ineffective in stopping this pandemic" after his suspension is over. He dared YouTube to do something about it. Bongino also called the website (and, by extension, Google) a "tyrannical, free speech-hating, bullshit, big tech shithole."
Yet another service has kicked sex workers off its platform. According to Motherboard, Linktree, a tool that allows you to share multiple links with one URL online, has given sex workers the boot overnight and without warning. Banned users have taken to social networks like Twitter to announce that their accounts were banned "for inappropriate use" and didn't even get an email or any kind of notice about it. Some were reportedly billed for the service, which costs $9 per months for the Pro tier, but weren't refunded when their account was canceled.
Marlene Bonnelly, Head of Trust & Safety at Linktree, told the publication that the accounts that were banned shared a URL that violated its Community Standards. Bonnelly's statement reads:
"Per our company's policies, the Linktree accounts banned stemmed from sharing a URL which violated Community Standards by sharing advertisements for the sale of real-life sexual services."
Sex workers make use of tools like Linktree, because some platforms don't allow linking out to adult websites such as OnlyFans directly. Perhaps more importantly, they have to diversify make use of several websites, because they'll never know when a service will suddenly decide to ban adult content.
Financial services like PayPal, Visa and MasterCard, have long been known to close the accounts of people in the business of sex. Patreon banned content of a sexual nature back in 2017, and the number of services that decided not to host sex workers and their content have only grown since the US government passed FOSTA-SESTA a few years ago. Even OnlyFans, which has become synonymous with adult content, tried to ban "sexually explicit conduct" in 2021 until it suspended its planned policy change.
Linktree's Terms of Service states that a user must not "include any sexually explicit material (including pictures and language) on your Page itself or your account itself." However, it's vague and not entirely clear if linking to websites like OnlyFans has always been against its rules. It's also unclear why Linktree suddenly started banning sex workers when they'd been using the service without issue for quite some time, but people in the business of sex may want to find another link-sharing tool they can use.
The hacker behind the ransomware attack that took down the Colonial Pipeline last year has been apprehended by Russian authorities, according to US officials.
Russia’s FSB intelligence agency said Friday that 14 people associated with the REvil ransomware group had been arrested, according toThe Wall Street Journal. The group has taken responsibility for numerous cyberattacks in the US. Officials in the US believe the hacker behind the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline last spring was among those arrested, according to an unnamed administration official who spoke to CNN.
Last year’s cyberattack, which was attributed to a ransomware gang, caused a significant disruption to the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies nearly half of the fuel for the entire east coast of the US. The temporary shutdown of the pipeline incited mass panic buying at gas stations in and around the east coast of the US, which resulted in shortages in at least 11 states.
As CNN notes, the arrest comes after a week of diplomatic talks between the United States and Russia regarding Russia’s buildup of troops near the border with Ukraine. The Biden official told the network that it believes the arrest was “not related” to the situation. But some analysts have suggested otherwise, noting that this is the first first US investigation Russia has cooperated on in eight years.
