Dominique Luchart's Blog, page 631
May 7, 2021
‘Spaghettified’ star wrapped around a black hole spotted for the first time, ,
Scientists have observed a star wrapped around a supermassive black hole for the first time, providing evidence that an effect dubbed spaghettification occurs when stars venture too close to galaxy centers.
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NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity will head to new airfield today on 5th flight, ,
Ingenuity is scheduled to make its fifth Martian flight today (May 7), a jaunt that will be unlike anything the 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) chopper has attempted so far.
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Mystery of strange new ‘dune’ auroras solved, scientists say, ,
A Finnish-led team has new insights into auroral “dunes” first reported in scientific literature a year ago.
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How long is a day on Venus? It’s always changing, new study reveals, ,
Astronomers have long struggled to pin down how long a day lasts on Venus, but new research suggests the difficulty stems not from flawed measurements but from real variations in the planet’s spin.
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FTC report blasts manufacturers for restricting product repairs, Jon Porter
Image: AppleThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published its long-awaited report on how manufacturers limit product repairs. The “Nixing the Fix” report details a host of repair restrictions, especially those imposed by mobile phone and car manufacturers. The anticompetitive practices covered by the FTC range from limited availability of spare parts and diagnostic software to designs that make repairs more difficult than they need to be. In response, the FTC wants to develop new laws and rules surrounding repairs, but it also wants better enforcement of existing legislation like the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA).
While debates around right to repair rules in the EU have tended to focus on the environmental impact of sending broken devices…
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Sennheiser’s headphone business has been bought by hearing aid manufacturer Sonova,
Sonova, a Swiss company best known for its medical audio products like hearing aids and cochlear implants, is buying the consumer electronics division of German firm Sennheiser. That means Sonova is taking over Sennheiser’s portfolio of consumer headphones, wireless earbuds, and soundbars, moving into an expanding market for personal audio equipment.
Sennheiser announced it was looking for a buyer for its consumer business in mid-February “amid strong competitive pressure.” Although the company’s consumer products hit record sales in 2019, the firm still lost money with profit margins “under pressure” from global rivals. It cut 650 jobs and said “all options are open” to help the division.
Now the company has found a buyer in Sonova. In a joint statement by Sennheiser’s co-CEOs, brothers Andreas and Daniel Sennheiser, the pair said they “couldn’t have asked for [a] better” partner. “A partner who not only shares our passion for audio and a commitment to the highest product quality, but also very similar corporate values,” they write. “This is an excellent foundation for a successful future together.”
In an announcement of the deal from Sonova, the company said it will continue to sell products under the Sennheiser brand. “Combining our audiological expertise with Sennheiser’s know-how in sound delivery, their great reputation as well as their high-quality products will allow us to expand our offering and to create important touchpoints with consumers earlier in their hearing journey,” said Sonova CEO Arnd Kaldowski.
Sonova said the purchase price of the division amounts to EUR200 million ($241 million), and that Sennheiser’s business generates revenues of EUR250 million annually. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, but Sonova says it expects to close it in “the second half of calendar year 2021.”
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Sennheiser’s headphone business has been bought by hearing aid manufacturer Sonova, James Vincent
A pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones. | Photo by Vlad Savov / The VergeSonova, a Swiss company best known for its medical audio products like hearing aids and cochlear implants, is buying the consumer electronics division of German firm Sennheiser. That means Sonova is taking over Sennheiser’s portfolio of consumer headphones, wireless earbuds, and soundbars, moving into an expanding market for personal audio equipment.
Sennheiser announced it was looking for a buyer for its consumer business in mid-February “amid strong competitive pressure.” Although the company’s consumer products hit record sales in 2019, the firm still lost money with profit margins “under pressure” from global rivals. It cut 650 jobs and said “all options are open” to help the division.
Sennheiser’s brand (and products) will live onN…
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May 6, 2021
Epic needs to tarnish Apple’s App Store halo, Adi Robertson
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeAt the beginning of this week’s Epic v. Apple trial, Apple described Epic’s lawsuit as an “assault” on the entire iOS philosophy. One of the iPhone and iPad’s defining features is a curated ecosystem (or, from a different perspective, a walled garden). A loss for Apple could require it to allow side-loaded apps and alternative app stores, potentially including Epic’s own Epic Games Store. Apple says that would damage the privacy and security that iOS is known for, making Apple spend more money to fix new problems that crop up.
Epic spent the fourth day of trial offering its counter-narrative: the iOS App Store isn’t actually very good. Calling two Apple executives to the stand, Epic’s attorneys took jabs at everything from the update…
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Epic needs to tarnish Apple’s App Store halo,
At the beginning of this week’s Epic v. Apple trial, Apple described Epic’s lawsuit as an “assault” on the entire iOS philosophy. One of the iPhone and iPad’s defining features is a curated ecosystem (or, from a different perspective, a walled garden). A loss for Apple could require it to allow side-loaded apps and alternative app stores, potentially including Epic’s own Epic Games Store. Apple says that would damage the privacy and security that iOS is known for, making Apple spend more money to fix new problems that crop up.
Epic spent the fourth day of trial offering its counter-narrative: the iOS App Store isn’t actually very good. Calling two Apple executives to the stand, Epic’s attorneys took jabs at everything from the update review process to Apple allegedly leaking Marshmello’s Fortnite concert playlist. They pushed Apple to justify its claims about privacy and security by producing hard research demonstrating threats and breaches — which Apple largely didn’t do.
After a short examination of Epic’s online business strategy head Thomas Ko, Epic called on Matt Fischer, App Store vice president and the first witness employee from Apple. Epic’s attorney peppered Fischer with anecdotes from frustrated developers — calling the iOS in-app payment system a “joke,” the refund policies “awful,” the review process “arbitrary and unpredictable,” and the entire store “plagued with outdated, low-quality apps.”
Apple’s App Store has some clear problems. As my colleague Sean Hollister wrote last month, you can find ridiculous stories about iOS apps that appear to swindle users yet maintain unbelievably high review stories — and aren’t removed even months after a formal complaint. Eric Friedman, an Apple employee who is set to testify, has been quoted saying the app review team is “more like the pretty lady who greets you with a lei at the Hawaiian airport than the drug sniffing dog” or “bringing a plastic butter knife to a gun fight.”
But Epic’s questioning today didn’t capture the kind of drama that implies. The attorneys spent much of their time trying to catch Apple executives in contradictions, and while they quoted disgruntled developers like the ones above, they rarely delved into the substance of their complaints. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers became audibly irritated with Epic repeatedly producing documents to establish a “state of mind” about the App Store rather than hard facts, since the files would be uploaded for public viewing. “Non-lawyers don’t understand the difference between something being admitted for its truth and being admitted for some other evidentiary purpose,” she told an attorney. Apple countered one negative review snippet simply by having Fischer read the line above it, where the writer said they were still giving the App Store a high rating.
There’s one plausible reason Epic doesn’t have more specific stories: many developers are reportedly scared to criticize Apple. That’s been a running theme in congressional scrutiny of Apple, and Epic has vividly established the consequences of getting banished from the App Store — even if developers try to return via Apple’s Safari browser, they’ll be denied access to things like push notifications and AR features.
Epic also still has witnesses who could poke holes in Apple’s narrative. Friedman is scheduled to appear over the next two weeks, and so is an executive from Match Group, which spoke critically of Apple in front of Congress. Epic’s attorneys left a big question hanging about whether Apple offers special terms to some developers — something Fischer denied, but wasn’t heavily pressed on. In any case, this trial hinges on much more than the precise quality of Apple’s developer support.
But today demonstrates the difficulty of discussing large-scale moderation without opening yourself up to charges of dealing in mere anecdotes. Judge Rogers made clear that she’s interested in whether Apple is better or worse than its alternatives, not simply whether it’s ever had problems. And while Epic can point to individual screwups, Apple will try to argue that it’s doing its best.
“It’s a human process. We do make mistakes,” said Apple’s marketing manager Trystan Kosmynka, the day’s last witness. “But we certainly try to rectify those mistakes when we learn of them.”
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Asus Zenfone 8 Flip leak pairs flipping cameras with Snapdragon 888,
Asus’s successor to last year’s Zenfone 7 has leaked online, pointing to a return for the phones’ flipping camera array on May 12th. Specs and images of two upcoming devices — the Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip — have been published by 91Mobiles, based on information provided by leaker Ishan Agarwal. As its name suggests, the 8 Flip has three cameras built into a mechanical flipping mechanism that rotates them over the top edge of the display to take selfies, while the 8 has two rear cameras in a more standard rectangular camera bump.
From the leaks, the Zenfone 8 Flip appears to be a comparatively minor spec bump compared to last year’s Zenfone 7 Pro. It’s got a Snapdragon 888 processor rather than a Snapdragon 865 Plus, but the new model has the same massive 5,000mAH battery, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of internal storage. The 1080p OLED display is still notchless thanks to the flipping cameras, still 6.67-inches in size, and still 90Hz, according to the leak. It also reportedly weighs the same at 230 grams, which could mean another heavy device.
Full Specs & Renders of the ASUS Zenfone 8 & Zenfone 8 Flip, launching on May 12
Zenfone 8 is a compact smartphone with 5.92″ screen size while th 8 Flip has a 6.67″ AMOLED Display.
Both feature Snapdragon 888 & 64MP Main Camera.
Please link & credit: https://t.co/9ZO803tRlk pic.twitter.com/MCc2p5ISaK
— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24)
The cameras also appear similar, with one key difference. While last year’s Zenfone 7 Pro had a 64 megapixel main camera paired with a 8 megapixel telephoto and 12 megapixel ultrawide, the new 8 Flip will apparently swap out the ultrawide for a 12 megapixel macro. We generally find ultrawide cameras much more useful than macro cameras on phones, making this an unfortunate change if accurate.
The Zenfone 8.Image:
91Mobiles
Meanwhile, the standard Zenfone 8 is a much more traditional device, according to the leak. It’ll apparently have a smaller 5.92-inch 1080p display, but internally there’s the same Snapdragon 888 processor, and 8GB of RAM, albeit with a smaller 4,000 mAh battery and 128GB of internal storage. It’ll also reportedly come with one less rear-facing camera since it lacks the telephoto of the 8 Flip. That said, it should have the same number of cameras overall thanks to its separate hole-punch selfie camera on the front. It’s also fitted with an increasingly rare headphone jack.
No details were given on the phones’ pricing or release dates, but with a launch event reportedly coming next week, we won’t have long to wait for official information.
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