Dominique Luchart's Blog, page 628
May 10, 2021
Apple invests another $45 million in Gorilla Glass maker Corning, Jon Porter
Corning manufacturers glass for multiple devices in Apple’s lineup. | Image: AppleApple is awarding Corning another $45 million investment from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, in addition to the $450 million it’s already given to the US-based company over the past four years. According to Apple’s announcement, the investment will “expand Corning’s manufacturing capacity in the US and drive research and development into innovative new technologies that support durability and long-lasting product life.”
Corning provides glass for a variety of Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. The two companies have a history dating back to the original iPhone. Last year, they collaborated on the iPhone 12 lineup’s Ceramic Shield technology, which Apple claims is “tougher than any smartphone glass” and makes…
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Vivo promises three years of Android updates for upcoming flagships, Jon Porter
Vivo X60 Pro Plus. | Photo by Sam Byford / The VergeVivo’s upcoming X-series flagship phones will receive three years of Android OS upgrades and security updates, the company announced today. The policy will come into force for phones launched after July 2021 in Europe, Australia, and India.
“We are making a promise to our customers that they will be able to enjoy a premium smartphone experience for an extended period and continue to benefit from the latest software features,” Vivo’s CTO and senior vice president Yujian Shi said in a statement.
With today’s announcement, Vivo is joining a small but growing group of Android manufacturers promising three years of OS updates for their flagship smartphones. Google has long had a similar policy for its Pixel phones. Last year, Samsung…
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Sony expects PS5 supply issues to continue into next year,
Sony doesn’t expect the PlayStation 5 supply situation to improve any time soon, according to comments its CFO reportedly made to analysts following the company’s recent earnings report. Hiroki Totoki said that it’s difficult for Sony to keep up with demand for the PS5, according to Bloomberg, and that the situation is likely to continue into 2022.
“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Totoki reportedly said, later adding “We have sold more than 100 million units of the PlayStation 4 and considering our market share and reputation, I can’t imagine demand dropping easily.”
Sony is aiming to produce at least 14.8 million PS5 consoles in the financial year beginning April 2021, after having sold 7.8 million through March 31st. The company also sold 14.8 million PS4 consoles in its first full fiscal year but didn’t experience severe supply constraints for most of that period, suggesting initial demand for the PS5 is markedly higher.
Totoki’s comments are less optimistic than previous messaging from Sony. PlayStation boss had previously suggested that PS5 supply would “get better every month throughout 2021.” Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told the Financial Times in February that “the pace of the improvement in the supply chain will gather throughout the course of the year, so by the time we get to the second half of [2021], you’re going to be seeing really decent numbers indeed.”
It’s possible that PS5 supply really will improve at some point, but ultimately what matters to Sony is that Totoki doesn’t expect the company to be able to meet demand in the near term even if production capacity increases. As Ryan himself noted, “there are very few magic wands that can be waved.”
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Sony expects PS5 supply issues to continue into next year, Sam Byford
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The VergeSony doesn’t expect the PlayStation 5 supply situation to improve any time soon, according to comments its CFO reportedly made to analysts following the company’s recent earnings report. Hiroki Totoki said that it’s difficult for Sony to keep up with demand for the PS5, according to Bloomberg, and that the situation is likely to continue into 2022.
“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Totoki reportedly said, later adding “We have sold more than 100 million units of the PlayStation 4 and considering our market share and reputation, I can’t imagine demand dropping easily.”
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May 9, 2021
Simple bank shutdown goes awry leaving customers without account access,
The online bank Simple shut down on Saturday and was supposed to seamlessly transition customers’ accounts over to its parent company, BBVA. But instead, many users found themselves unable to access their bank account at all, as BBVA’s website returned an assortment of error messages, from “system error” to warnings that their account information was mismatched.
The transition has gone so poorly that BBVA’s US website now opens on a large red banner warning users of extended customer service wait times. Anyone who visits the Simple transition page will see a different red banner, apologizing for the issues.
“To Simple customers converting to BBVA: This has not been a good conversion experience for many of you,” part of the message reads. “We know this, and we sincerely apologize.”
A banner on BBVA’s transition page for Simple customers.Simple opened to customers in 2012 and was supposed to offer a digital-first approach to banking. In fewer words, it was supposed to be “a bank that doesn’t suck,” to quote one of its co-founders. The service had a website and app that broke down your spending and made it easy to categorize payments, send money, and set savings goals. It was purchased by BBVA in 2014.
BBVA said in January that it would be shutting down Simple later in 2021. The decision came from the company “reassessing its goals” as part of a planned sale to PNC Bank, which reached an agreement to acquire BBVA’s US operations in November 2020. The acquisition has not yet closed.
Accounts were successfully transitioned from Simple to BBVA on Saturday, but technical issues prevented customers from logging in, a BBVA spokesperson told The Verge. That led to a cascading series of problems. “Due to the volume of customers attempting to enroll in mobile and online banking simultaneously, there were technical difficulties with the enrollment process, leading to high call volume in our call centers, which overwhelmed the system, and created longer than normal wait times,” the spokesperson said.
Debit cards, ATMs, checks, and scheduled transactions still functioned properly, according to the spokesperson. Though online and mobile account access remains unavailable for users encountering issues.
“We know this conversion process was not smooth for our incoming Simple customers and we sincerely apologize to them,” the spokesperson said. “We are working to make it right, including extending hours in our call center and adding staff to handle the incoming calls.”
It seems that some people have been able to gain access to their accounts after waiting or working with BBVA’s customer service. Judging by reactions on Twitter from Simple’s very online user base, plenty of people still don’t have access though and have been unable to get help from BBVA’s customer service.
BBVA hasn’t provided a timeline for when it expects to restore account access for all Simple users. In its banner message, BBVA wrote that the company is “working to get it back online as soon as possible.”
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Simple bank shutdown goes awry leaving customers without account access, Jacob Kastrenakes
The online bank Simple shut down on Saturday and was supposed to seamlessly transition customers’ accounts over to its parent company, BBVA. But instead, many users found themselves unable to access their bank account at all, as BBVA’s website returned an assortment of error messages, from “system error” to warnings that their account information was mismatched.
The transition has gone so poorly that BBVA’s US website now opens on a large red banner warning users of extended customer service wait times. Anyone who visits the Simple transition page will see a different red banner, apologizing for the issues.
“To Simple customers converting to BBVA: This has not been a good conversion experience for many of you,” part of the message reads….
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is literally launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon, Jacob Kastrenakes
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket in February 2021. | Photo: SpaceXSpaceX is now accepting Dogecoin, and it’ll be paid exclusively in the cryptocurrency to launch an upcoming satellite named DOGE-1 to — yes — the Moon.
The DOGE-1 is a cubesat meant to acquire “lunar-spatial intelligence” using onboard cameras and sensors. It’s being sent and paid for by a company named Geometric Energy Corporation, and it’ll be flown up on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started out as a goofy meme and is now a somewhat more valuable goofy meme, has been on the rise lately, with enough trading around spikes in the currency to cause crashes of the trading app Robinhood. Elon Musk is the coin’s highest profile supporter, tweeting Dogecoin memes, referring to himself as the…
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is literally launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon,
SpaceX is now accepting Dogecoin, and it’ll be paid exclusively in the cryptocurrency to launch an upcoming satellite named DOGE-1 to — yes — the Moon.
The DOGE-1 is a cubesat meant to acquire “lunar-spatial intelligence” using onboard cameras and sensors. It’s being sent and paid for by a company named Geometric Energy Corporation, and it’ll be flown up on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started out as a goofy meme and is now a somewhat more valuable goofy meme, has been on the rise lately, with enough trading around spikes in the currency to cause crashes of the trading app Robinhood. Elon Musk is the coin’s highest profile supporter, tweeting Dogecoin memes, referring to himself as the “Dogefather,” and hyping it up (sort of) on Saturday Night Live. Investors like to talk about sending Dogecoin’s value “to the Moon,” thus, we’re getting this silly stunt about sending a satellite named DOGE-1 paid to Musk’s company in Dogecoin to the Moon.
SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
Given all that, SpaceX includes in the announcement the exact quote one might assume Musk mandated the company include: “We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!” said SpaceX vice president of commercial sales Tom Ochinero.
It’s a spot of good news for Dogecoin, which has had a tough week. After spiking in price, falling around a Robinhood crash, and spiking again in anticipation of Musk’s SNL appearance, the cryptocurrency crashed overnight following a segment in which Musk joked about Dogecoin being a “hustle.”
The announcement seems to be designed to fight back against that narrative. Ochinero says the partnership sets “the foundation for interplanetary commerce.” And Geometric Energy Corporation’s CEO says the transaction “solidified DOGE as a unit of account for lunar business in the space sector.” The press release goes on to say that Dogecoin is “sophisticated enough to finance a commercial Moon mission in full” and that it’ll be used for all lunar business between the two companies. (Musk’s other company, Tesla, recently started accepting car purchases in Bitcoin.)
The Verge has reached out to SpaceX and Geometric Energy Corporation for more information on the planned launch.
So assuming all goes according to plan, Dogecoin will help send DOGE-1 to the Moon next year. Will that also send Dogecoin to the Moon? It probably depends on how much the parties involved continue to hype it. As Musk’s SNL character admits, “Yeah, it’s a hustle.”
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The Call of Duty League’s champions are being honored at Verdansk Stadium in Warzone,
The champions of the first season of the Call of Duty League are being honored in a unique way: with their faces plastered at the stadium in Call of Duty: Warzone. Today, Activision revealed that the front entrance to Verdansk Stadium in Warzone will soon display a giant rendition of the CDL trophy, along with pennants featuring all five members of the Dallas Empire who were crowned champions for the 2020 season.
It’s a unique kind of crossover and an example of how game developers and publishers are able to leverage popular games to promote esports. In the past, games like League of Legends and Overwatch have introduced unique skins to celebrate championship teams or players. But this move by the CDL is more akin to traditional sports, where championship banners are raised in local stadiums. It also makes a lot of sense for Activision to leverage Call of Duty‘s incredibly popular battle royale spinoff: Warzone currently boasts more than 100 million players.
This isn’t the first time the CDL has come up with a surprising way to celebrate its best team. In addition to a trophy and ring, the Dallas Empire also received a ridiculous championship throne. The changes in Verdansk will be featured in-game starting on May 10th.
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Huge Chinese rocket booster falls to Earth over Arabian Peninsula, ,
The Chinese rocket has come down.
The 23-ton core stage of a Long March 5B booster crashed back to Earth Saturday night (May 8), ending 10 controversial days aloft that captured the attention of the world and started a wider conversation about orbital debris and responsible spacefaring.
The Long March 5B reentered the atmosphere over the Arabian Peninsula at about 10:15 p.m. EDT Saturday (0215 GMT on Sunday, May 9), according to U.S. Space Command.
“It’s unknown if the debris impacted land or water,” Space Command officials wrote in a brief update Saturday night.
Related: The biggest spacecraft to fall uncontrolled from space
But some analysts have identified a watery grave for any rocket hunks that managed to survive the intense heat of re-entry. For example, Space-Track.org stated on Twitter Saturday night that the Long March “fell into the Indian Ocean north of the Maldives,” an idyllic island chain off India’s southwest coast.
The Long March 5B launched the core module for China’s new space station on April 28. Instead of ditching safely into the ocean when its work was done, however, the rocket’s first stage reached orbit, becoming a piece of space junk just waiting to crash down on its home planet after feeling enough atmospheric drag.
And this was not an isolated incident. The same thing happened last year with a different Long March 5B core, which fell uncontrolled over the Atlantic Ocean off the West African coast. Some large pieces of debris from that reentry apparently made it to the ground in the nation of Ivory Coast, though no injuries were reported.
In addition, China’s first prototype space lab, Tiangong 1, which was designed to help pave the way for the new space station, had its own space-junk phase after completing its mission. The 8-ton craft fell to Earth uncontrolled in April 2018, burning up over the Pacific Ocean.
Only three human-made objects heavier than those two Long March 5B cores have ever fallen uncontrolled from space, according to astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, who’s based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Those three are the 83-ton Skylab space station, which crashed over Australia in July 1979; the 50-ton upper stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched Skylab, which came down over the Atlantic Ocean west of Madeira in January 1975; and the Soviet Union’s Salyut 7 space station and attached Kosmos-1686 module, which together weighed about 43 tons and re-entered over Argentina in February 1991. (Sadly, the space shuttle Columbia could also be considered here; the 117-ton orbiter broke apart during its reentry in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard.)
Many people in the space community have criticized China over the Long March 5B incidents, accusing the nation’s space program of behaving carelessly, if not recklessly. One such reproval came on Saturday from new NASA chief Bill Nelson.
“Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” Nelson wrote in a statement posted before the rocket came down.
“It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris,” he added. “It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”
Mike Wall is the author of “ Out There ” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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