The fall hasn't been kind to Disney's streaming ambitions. Disney+ added just 2.1 million subscribers in its fourth quarter, giving it a total of 118.1 million customers. That's in line with the company's already cautious estimate (in the "low single-digit millions") and 60 percent more total customers than a year earlier, but well below what some analysts expected. CNBCnoted that StreetAccount predicted 9.4 million new users this quarter.

Disney's streaming-oriented Direct-to-Consumer division also lost $630 million (versus $374 million a year earlier) due in part to extra spending on production, marketing and "technology costs." These were expected due to the growing service, but they suggest Disney+ isn't yet a net positive for Disney two years after launch. During an earnings call, company chief Bob Chapek was still confident the company would hit subscriber targets (over 230 million users by September 2024) and turn a profit.

The media giant had warned of "headwinds." While it didn't initially shed much light on the problems, we'd note that Disney+ had a relatively quiet summer for shows, with series like What If...? and Monsters at Work shouldering the load. The company did stream two blockbuster movies, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise, but original films weren't a strong point.

Things are looking brighter for the fall. Disney+ is streaming Shang-Chi on November 12th, launching shows like Hawkeye and The Book of Boba Fett, and expanding into countries like South Korea. All of those could boost subscribers and viewership. The issue is whether or not there's enough ongoing content and expansions to return Disney+ to form — particularly when the company is returning to theater-first movie premieres.

The US Department of Justice has sued Uber for allegedly discriminating against passengers with disabilities. In a complaint filed with the US District Court for Northern California, the agency claims Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by implementing a policy that has seen the company charge “wait time” fees to passengers who, as a result of their disabilities, need more time to enter a car. The law prohibits discrimination of individuals with disabilities by private companies.

According to the Justice Department, the policy has been in place since 2016 when Uber implemented it in a number of US cities before eventually expanding its use nationwide. Anytime a passenger needs more than two minutes to enter an UberX car or more than five minutes in the case of an Uber Black or SUV vehicle, the company charges that individual a wait time fee. Uber contends most users pay, on average, less than $0.60 when that’s the case. However, passengers with disabilities, including those with wheelchairs and walkers, often need more time to enter a vehicle than those without.

“People with disabilities deserve equal access to all areas of community life, including the private transportation services provided by companies like Uber,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

A spokesperson for Uber called the lawsuit “surprising” and “disappointing.” The full statement reads:

Wait time fees are charged to all riders to compensate drivers after two minutes of waiting, but were never intended for riders who are ready at their designated pickup location but need more time to get into the car. We recognize that many riders with disabilities depend on Uber for their transportation needs, which is why we had been in active discussions with the DOJ about how to address any concerns or confusion before this surprising and disappointing lawsuit.

It has been our policy to refund wait time fees for disabled riders whenever they alerted us that they were charged. After a recent change last week, now any rider who certifies they are disabled will have fees automatically waived. We fundamentally disagree that our policies violate the ADA and will keep improving our products to support everyone’s ability to easily move around their communities.

The company also pointed to the fact it does not, by default, charge a wait time fee when someone requests a wheelchair accessible or Uber Assist ride. This isn’t the first time Uber has been sued for allegedly violating Title III of the ADA. In 2017, disability advocates in New York City filed a class action complaint against the company. At the time, the group said Uber was inaccessible to 99.9 percent of people with mobility disabilities.

After a few delays, SpaceX is finally (hopefully) ready to start its Crew-3 mission. SpaceX and NASA expect to lauch the Crew Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral at 9:03PM Eastern, and you can watch the livestream either here using the company's YouTube channel, through the SpaceX website or NASA TV. Live coverage starts at 4:45PM ET.

This is an instantaneous launch window, so any faults or weather issues will prompt officials to delay Crew-3 liftoff to a "backup" on November 11th at 8:40PM ET. SpaceX and NASA pinned previous setbacks on weather, a minor crew medical issue and the desire to make way for Crew-2's (since successful) return.

This is SpaceX's fifth crewed spaceflight. If all goes well, mission commander Raja Chari and crew members Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer (the latter from the ESA) will dock with the International Space Station on November 11th at 7:10PM ET. They'll conduct science and otherwise participate in station activities until April 2022.

Apple has bolstered its iCloud for Windows app, with the latest version now offering support for the ProRes video and ProRAW photo formats. As such, you'll now be able to access those files on a Windows device through iCloud. The owner of a shared file or folder can now let others add or remove people too.

Apple

Back in August, Apple added a password manager to iCloud for Windows, and it works with Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome extensions. Now, in version 13, there's an option to generate strong passwords through the iCloud Passwords app.

This should prove a useful update for folks with a Windows PC and an iPhone. They'll have better access to their photos and videos. What's more, iCloud Keychain will be a more viable cross-platform password manager for them.

Congress is making its biggest push ever to stop drunk driving with President Biden's huge infrastructure bill. As we previously reported, one of the provisions included a mandate for anti-drunk driving technology in new cars. Now, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has passed Congress with the measure intact, Autoblog (AP) reports, and it's expected to be signed by the President soon. As part of the legislation, carmakers will have to include technology to detect and stop drunk drivers by as early as 2026.

First, though, the Department of Transportation will have to determine the best solution to curtail intoxicated drunk driving. Specifically, the bill requires something that will “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.” That sounds similar to infrared camera solutions already used today by GM, Nissan and others, Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Insights, tells the AP. It goes without saying that we'd need something more advanced than breathalyzers, which are already used as a punishment for convicted drunken drivers.

Around 10,000 people die every year in the US from drunk driving accidents, the NHTSA says. Now that we have smarter sensors and plenty of camera technology to monitor driver behavior, it makes sense to explore solutions that could help prevent those sorts of accidents. Within a decade, it should feel as commonplace as seatbelts. 

The infrastructure bill also includes other safety measures, like rear seat reminders that could notify parents about children left in carseats. Additionally, Congress will also require automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings, features that many new cars already offer. It's unclear when true self-driving cars will be a reality, but until then, at least human drivers can look forward to more ways to prevent accidents. 

Valve has delayed the launch of Steam Deck by two months. The handheld PC will now start shipping sometime in February 2022 — instead of December of this year, as previously announced. The company blamed the delay on the ongoing global semiconductor crunch that has affected everything from GPU prices to car production. 

"We’re sorry about this — we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates," Valve said.

If you pre-ordered a Steam Deck before today, you will keep your current place in the reservation line, but the date when your Steam Deck will ship is moving back. Valve said it would update shipping estimates shortly after today's announcement. While any delay stings, the timing of this one at least aligns with the release of major games like Elden Ring and Dying Light 2.

The US and China are at odds on many fronts, but climate change might not be one of them. The Washington Postreports the two countries have issued a joint pledge at COP26 to limit global warming during the 2020s. Both nations said they recognized a gap between current actions and the Paris agreement target of keeping that warming below 2C, and ideally no higher than 1.5C.

The exact terms weren't available as of this writing, but US climate envoy John Kerry said China committed to reducing methane emissions and coal use "as fast as is achievable." China wouldn't, however, join a US-Europe initiative to cut methane emissions by a third no later than 2030.

Whether or not this translates to meaningful action is far from clear. China has made some efforts to promote electric vehicles and reduce coal dependence, but it's still the largest contributor to emissions and hasn't radically reduced its harmful output. It also hasn't had much of a presence at COP26, with President Xi Jinping declining to show up where US President Joe Biden was happy to attend.

The US isn't immune to problems, either. While the Biden administration has promised to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and spur EV adoption, there's no guarantee it can pass legislation needed to honor its side of the pledge. That's also assuming the next White House doesn't undo previous environmental efforts.

It's still rare to see the US and China agree on climate change issues, though, and the very existence of the pledge represents progress for China. The country hadn't previously acknowledged the impact of methane on global warming, for instance. That suggests China is at least aware of the scope of the problem, even if there's a long way to go before it addresses that problem.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S debuted one year ago this month, and today we're hosting a joint birthday party for them. The main attraction is a 20-minute video conversation about the pros, cons and future of the consoles, hosted by PS5 enthusiast and Engadget senior editor Jessica Conditt, and Xbox Series X fan and senior editor Devindra Hardawar. There's also cake! (There is no cake. Seriously, you should know this by now.)

This isn't about deciding which console is winning an invisible war, or determining which company is churning out the most or best games. Instead, it's a candid conversation about what each console is doing well, where it's falling short, and what we hope to see from each ecosystem in the coming year. And then there's cake! (No, there isn't. Come on now.)

For a more technical breakdown of how the consoles have fared during their debut year, check out our six-month report card. If you're a PS5 or Xbox Series owner, let us know how the systems have been treating you in the comments below.

Twitter has established a dedicated crypto team. Dubbed Twitter Crypto, the company describes the division as “a center of excellence for all things blockchain.” It will set the “strategy for the future of crypto at (and on) Twitter,” the company said in a press release it shared with Engadget.

It has also hired Tess Rinearson to lead the effort. Rinearson joins Twitter having led engineering teams at cryptocurrency startups like Interchain, Tendermint and Chain. She’ll report to Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal, who will help set the direction of the team.

As a first step, Twitter sees Rinearson’s team exploring three primary areas of interest. First, it will look at how the company can continue to support cryptocurrencies as a way for creators to be paid. Related to that, it will explore how blockchain technologies can create an additional way for creators to earn a living. Lastly, with help from Bluesky, it will lead the company’s efforts to decentralize social media.

“There’s massive and growing interest among creators to use decentralized apps to manage virtual goods and currencies – Tess will focus here, with a long term goal of exploring how ideas from crypto can help us push the boundaries of what’s possible with identity, community and more,” Twitter said.

It’s not a surprise to see Twitter get more serious about crypto. It recently started allowing users to send and receive Bitcoin tips. It’s no secret where the interest comes from either. CEO Jack Dorsey has long been a vocal proponent of the technology, particularly over at Square. The other company where Dorsey is CEO recently announced it would build a Bitcoin hardware wallet. It’s also “considering” building a Bitcoin mining system.

Instagram is acting on its promise to encourage healthier social media habits. Social network head Adam Mosseri has revealed that Instagram started testing its hinted-at "Take a Break" feature this week. Opt in and the app will remind you to do something else after 10, 20 or 30 minutes, whether it's a to-do list item or just listening to your favorite tune.

You'll see the option in the "coming days" if you're part of the test. Mosseri hoped to launch the feature for everyone in December. He stressed that Instagram would "take feedback" and refine the design, so you might not have to worry if it doesn't function as you'd hoped.

There may already be room for improvement. Like a previous time limit feature, Take a Break doesn't strictly enforce the pauses. You can simply tap "done" and continue scrolling. You'll have to turn to digital health or parental control features like iOS' Screen Time or Android's Digital Wellbeing to force yourself or a child to do something else.

This is still an improvement, though, and may help if you just need a gentle reminder to put down your phone. Not that Instagram or its parent Meta have much choice. The company is under pressure from regulators and whistleblower Frances Haugen, both of which have accused Meta of focusing too much on hooking users and not enough on caring for them. Take a Break is a step toward more that more responsible approach — it's just a question of whether or not that step is large enough.