The Federal Communications Commission told SpaceX and other companies on Monday that the billions in rural broadband subsidies it doled out last year can’t be used in already connected areas like “parking lots and well-served urban areas,” citing complaints. The commission, in an effort to “clean up” its subsidy auction program, offered the companies a chance to rescind their funding …
Nokia’s XR20 is a rugged 5G phone with three years of OS updates, Allison Johnson
HMD Global’s newest Nokia device is the XR20, a rugged phone with 5G connectivity that goes on sale in late August for $549. In addition to robust physical protection, the XR20 is well supported on the software side — a big focus for Nokia’s latest devices — as it ships with Android 11 and comes with three years of OS …
Samsung confirms Z Fold 3 S Pen support as Note line is in limbo, Dieter Bohn
Samsung isn’t looking to have many surprises at its August 11th Unpacked event. Leaks have already revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, a couple of new Galaxy smartwatches, and new Galaxy Buds 2. Now, Samsung mobile president TM Roh is continuing a recent tradition of publishing a pre-event blog post that confirms some news, sets expectations, …
Watch live Tuesday: Boeing, NASA briefing on Starliner OFT-2 launch to space station, ,
Boeing’s Starliner astronaut taxi is scheduled to attempt its second uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station on July 30. The mission, called Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2), will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on Friday (July 30) at 2:53 p.m. …
Tesla rewrote its own software to survive the chip shortage, Andrew J. Hawkins
Tesla is weathering the global chip shortage by rewriting its vehicle software to support alternative chips, CEO Elon Musk said during an earnings call Monday. The shortage has upended the auto industry at a time of historic demand for new cars, leading to factory shutdowns, longer wait times, and higher prices. “We were able to substitute alternative chips, and then …
New Samsung Flip and Fold leaks show water resistance, renders, and an S Pen case, Mitchell Clark
New leaks suggest Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 will both have IPX8 water resistance, which would put them more on par with Samsung’s non-folding phones. The information was posted earlier by Max Weinbach and now corroborated by Evan Blass, who tweeted the rating along with what appears to be an image from Samsung showing the …
In photos: Blue Origin’s 1st New Shepard passenger launch with Jeff Bezos, ,
(Image credit: Blue Origin) Blue Origin made history on July 20, 2021 with the launch of its New Shepard rocket on its first crewed spaceflight. The launch, which lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas near Van Horn, carried the company’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos (of Amazon fame), his brother Mark Bezos, Mercury 13 aviation pioneer …
DOJ reportedly considers filing criminal charges against Tether and Bitfinex execs, Richard Lawler
More than three years after initial reports of a federal investigation into the cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether, Bloomberg is reporting that it remains a “potential” criminal case. In response to the report, the price of Bitcoin surged, briefly rising over $40,000 for the first time since mid-June. Unlike Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, a stablecoin ties its value to another asset — …
Intel will make Qualcomm chips in new foundry deal, Chaim Gartenberg
Intel has announced its first major customer for its new Intel Foundry Services business: Qualcomm. Best known for designing the Snapdragon chips that power most major Android phones, Qualcomm will start to have its chips manufactured by Intel in the coming years using Intel’s upcoming 20A process. No timeframe has been announced for when the first Intel-made Qualcomm chips will …
Nearly a thousand Activision Blizzard employees slam its response to harassment suit, Mitchell Clark
Hundreds of Activision Blizzard employees have signed a letter (published by Bloomberg, Polygon, and Kotaku) that rebukes the company’s response to California’s allegations that Activision Blizzard has a discriminatory work culture and issues with sexual harassment. The company’s response to the lawsuit, which paints an extremely upsetting picture of its culture and how women are treated there, has largely been …