|
 Apple today released an iTunes 12.13.2 update for Windows users, with the software introducing support for the new iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
|
|
Apple finally refreshed the iPad Pro, and the new feature set was worth the wait. From new OLED display technology to the M4 chip, the 2024 iPad Pro is undeniably impressive. We've rounded up some of the most notable changes worth considering when deciding rather to upgrade.
|
|
 TikTok parent company ByteDance today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in an effort to put a stop to the bill requiring TikTok to be sold off to a non-Chinese company in a matter of months, or face a U.S. ban.
|
|
FTX has filed a plan with a bankruptcy court to pay back creditors who held cryptocurrency at the embattled exchange. The vast majority of customers are set to get their money back with interest, though they (and the debtors) missed out on major gains in the crypto market since FTX's dramatic collapse in November 2022 — the price of Bitcoin has more than tripled since then.
FTX aims to fully pay back non-governmental creditors based on the value of their claims as determined by the bankruptcy court. That means 98 percent of creditors (those who have up to $50,000 in claims) will get 118 percent of the amount of their allowed claims. Other creditors will get their money back, plus what FTX describes as billions of dollars in compensation "for the time value of their investments."
Government creditors are in line for payouts with a nine percent interest rate. The Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice are among the stakeholders with which FTX has agreed settlements.
The company suggests that, if its plan of reorganization is rubber stamped, it would be able to resolve disputes with private and government stakeholders "without costly and protracted litigation." All told, FTX says that it will be able to distribute between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion in cash.
But, you may be wondering, where exactly is all this money coming from? After all, when FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 17 months ago, it held just 0.1 percent of the Bitcoin and 1.2 percent of the Ethereum that its customers thought it had.
FT
|
|
The United States has taken further action to limit China's technological advancement, revoking licenses that allowed Intel and Qualcomm to buy and sell chips to Huawei Technologies, the Financial Times reports. The decision will impact chips Huawei uses for computers and mobile phones and is effective immediately.
Huawei has been on US trade restrictions lists since 2019 but has recently made progress that worries the US government, such as last month's AI-enabled laptop. "We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape. As part of this process, as we have done in the past, we sometimes revoke export licenses," a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce stated. The spokesperson declined to say if companies other than Huawei were impacted. "But we can confirm that we have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei."
National security experts have accused Huawei of h
|
|
Epic Games won its antitrust lawsuit against Google in December when a federal jury found that the latter violated US antitrust laws with regards to how it runs the Play Store. A few months later, the gaming developer submitted its list of demands, which if implemented will blow the Play Store wide open. Now, Google has filed an injunction telling the court that no, it will not give Epic what it wants without a fight, because the company's asks "stray far beyond the trial record."
The remedies Epic had submitted would require the court not just to create a global regulatory regime to set prices for apps, Google wrote in the filing as seen by Engadget, but also to micromanage "a highly complex and dynamic ecosystem" used by billions of consumers and app developers around the world. If you'll recall, Epic wants Google to open up Android to third-party app stores and to make its catalog of apps available to those stores. It also wants restrictions on pre-installed apps to be outlawed and to prohibit any Google activity that incentivizes third-parties.
Google said that bowing down to all those demands would "effectively prevent [it] from competing," which in turn would negatively affect Android users and developers. Epic's proposals only benefit Epic, Google said in its filing, and will harm other developers by depriving them of control over where their app is distributed. Manufacturers will no longer be able to take advantage of the partnerships Google typically offers, while users have to deal with additional security and privacy risks.
The company also slammed Epic over the "vagueness" of its proposed injunction, which would require
|
|
Tiny, black-capped chickadees have big memories. They stash food in hundreds to thousands of locations in the wild - and then come back to these stashes when other food sources are low. Now, researchers at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute think neural activity that works like a barcode may be to thank for this impressive feat — and that it might be a clue for how memories work across species.
Curious about other animal behavior mysteries? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
|
|
