Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto ) Apple has surprised iOS app developers by announcing a plan to charge 27 percent commissions on third-party payments—nearly as high as Apple’s standard in-app payment cut of 30 percent. While Apple is applying the 27 percent commission only to dating apps in the Netherlands in order to comply […]
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) Twitter, long known for its slow and careful evolution of its core product, the tweet, is rolling out a worldwide test that would allow users to downvote replies, the feature that could significantly change how the service works. The concept of downvoting posts and comments has been a […]
Enlarge / Gigi Sohn testifies during a Senate committee hearing on June 21, 2012. (credit: Getty Images | Alex Wong ) Although the Senate Commerce Committee was scheduled to vote yesterday on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission, it didn’t happen. The vote on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Sohn was […]
Enlarge / The proposed replacement USPS mail truck got a lot of attention for its odd looks, but the real crime is a pathetic 8. 6 mpg fuel efficiency—barely any improvement on the current vehicles. The United States Post Office’s plan to replace its aging delivery vehicles has been heavily criticized by the Environmental Protection […]
Enlarge / A worker picks up trash in front of the new logo in front of Meta’s headquarters on October 28, 2021, in Menlo Park, Calif. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) If last year was bad for Meta, this year might be worse. The company’s earnings call last night painted a dismal picture. Its flagship Facebook […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | spxChrome) A whistleblower has accused Pegasus spyware-maker NSO Group of offering “bags of cash” to security company Mobileum in exchange for access to cellular networks in 2017. According to reports yesterday by The Guardian and The Washington Post , former Mobileum VP Gary Miller made his allegations in a complaint […]
Enlarge (credit: iStock) The European Union says it wants to “prevent greenwashing” among investors, but a new proposal may end up encouraging the behavior it wants to banish. The European Commission put forward a plan today that defines what counts as a “sustainable investment, ” something that’s all but required in order to manage a […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | metamorworks) Senate Republicans are crying foul over a Biden administration plan to fund broadband deployment in regions that are already served with 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds. The US Treasury Department’s recently issued final rule for distributing American Rescue Plan money eliminated an interim requirement that blocked broadband funds […]
Enlarge / Solar power and habitat preservation are likely to conflict, but only in some areas. (credit: Zhi Hao ) Compared to fossil fuel plants, renewable energy facilities cover a lot of ground. That ground can be put to additional uses; many wind farms are also farms, and even solar plants can work well with […]
Enlarge / Spotify is in the middle of a transformation—it just may not realize it. (credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images) Spotify probably didn’t realize it, but it ceased being a tech company a few years ago. It was excelling at all the tech startup things—attracting users and losing money—but like most businesses, it eventually wanted to […]