Thursday, July 14, 2022

ExecutiveTower

ExecutiveTower


BuzzFeed - LGBTQ

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:03 PM PDT

BuzzFeed - LGBTQ


LGBTQ Activists Are Quietly Preparing For A Nightmare: The Supreme Court Undoing Marriage Equality

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:45 PM PDT

"It's exhausting to even think about trying to do this again in the environment that we're in now," one LGBTQ campaigner said.


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Brooke Lynn Hytes And Brad Goreski On Season 3 Of Canada's Drag Race— "The Looks Are To Die For"

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:01 AM PDT

"I think a lip sync to Sarah McLachlan would be hysterical"


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Interaksyon

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:48 PM PDT

Interaksyon


Trixie Cruz Angeles for OPS: Marcos Cabinet profile

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 04:44 AM PDT

Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles President Bongbong Marcos chose lawyer and vlogger Trixie Cruz-Angeles as head of the newly renamed Office of the Press Secretary, whose mandate includes handling the accreditation of journalists assigned to cover Malacañang. Educational background AB Linguistics from the University of the Philippines (1993) Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the […]

The post Trixie Cruz Angeles for OPS: Marcos Cabinet profile appeared first on Interaksyon.

Why the newly discovered beetle was named after Angat Buhay NGO

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:54 AM PDT

One of the newly discovered beetle species was named to honor an organization with unparalleled service to the public. This was stated by the Filipino scientists who discovered two new species of beetles in the Philippines. One of them was named after the Angat Buhay program that veteran lawyer Leni Robredo launched during her vice […]

The post Why the newly discovered beetle was named after Angat Buhay NGO appeared first on Interaksyon.

Heart Evangelista ranks 3rd in Paris Couture Week attendees with high media impact value

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:17 AM PDT

Actress-socialite Heart Evangelista responded to reports that she ranked third among the celebrities and influencers who had high Media Impact Value in the Paris Couture Week. Media Impact Value (MIV) refers to the monetary value calculated from every post, interaction or article about a brand, according to Women’s Wear Daily. A Twitter fan page of Heart […]

The post Heart Evangelista ranks 3rd in Paris Couture Week attendees with high media impact value appeared first on Interaksyon.

‘The Virtual’: BLACKPINK to hold 1st in-game concert in PUBG Mobile

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:13 AM PDT

South Korean girl quartet BLACKPINK will hold an in-game concert on the mobile battle-royale game PUBG Mobile. The online concert called “The Virtual” will be held on July 22 to 23, 29 to 30 in North and South America, respectively. The rest of the world can watch it from July 23 to 24 and 30 […]

The post ‘The Virtual’: BLACKPINK to hold 1st in-game concert in PUBG Mobile appeared first on Interaksyon.

Baguio to revive Hop on, Hop off bus. Here’s how it works

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:01 AM PDT

The Baguio City Government is eyeing to revive the Hop On, Hop Off (HoHo) bus starting July 15, 2022 to decongest traffic in the city, the Public Information Office of Baguio announced last July 6.  The HoHo bus will be mainly offered every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (weekends) to tourists who are coming to the […]

The post Baguio to revive Hop on, Hop off bus. Here's how it works appeared first on Interaksyon.

Blackwater Bossing releases 2 different version of responses to Paul Desiderio issue

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:48 AM PDT

The Blackwater Bossing released two different statements on the domestic abuse allegations against its player Paul Desiderio. Desiderio’s former partner Agatha Uvero accused the player of committing horrifying acts of violence against her during their relationship. Uvero posted snapshots of her notes where she listed these allegations via Twitter on Wednesday morning. Desiderio came under […]

The post Blackwater Bossing releases 2 different version of responses to Paul Desiderio issue appeared first on Interaksyon.

Arsenio Balisacan for NEDA: Marcos Cabinet profile

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:48 AM PDT

Arsenio Molina Balisacan President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's pick as director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is Arsenio Balisacan, who also served as NEDA chief during the administration of President Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III. READ: Anti-trust chief to lead economic planning agency Educational background BS Agriculture from Mariano Marcos State University (1979) […]

The post Arsenio Balisacan for NEDA: Marcos Cabinet profile appeared first on Interaksyon.

After baby shoot blunder, Donnalyn Bartolome spreads awareness on child abuse

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:38 AM PDT

Donnalyn Bartolome encouraged her millions of followers to spread her post where she offered ways on hope to safeguard children against abusers. In a Facebook post on July 13, Donnalyn also said that she created this post to make up for her controversial baby-themed photoshoot, which she had since addressed. RELATED: How Donnalyn Bartolome addressed criticisms […]

The post After baby shoot blunder, Donnalyn Bartolome spreads awareness on child abuse appeared first on Interaksyon.

‘Save Mother Earth’: SB19 Justin plants trees with fans on 24th birthday

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:29 AM PDT

“Para ma-save natin si Mother Earth.” The youngest member of renowned P-pop group SB19 celebrated his 24th birthday by planting trees with his fans and donating to the efforts of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation. The foundation on Thursday posted photos of Justin De Dios and some of his fans who planted Narra saplings on the […]

The post ‘Save Mother Earth’: SB19 Justin plants trees with fans on 24th birthday appeared first on Interaksyon.

Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Advincula to Vatican office responsible for selecting bishops

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:09 AM PDT

Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila as among the new members of the Vatican department that helps him choose future bishops globally. The Dicastery for Bishops is the second Vatican office of which Advincula is a member since becoming a cardinal two years ago. In December 2020, the pope appointed Advincula as […]

The post Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Advincula to Vatican office responsible for selecting bishops appeared first on Interaksyon.

TechCrunch

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:48 PM PDT

TechCrunch


Systemiq secures $70 million to fund early-stage climate tech founders

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:20 PM PDT

Systemiq Capital, a backer of early-stage climate tech startups, says it has secured $70 million to kick off its second fund.

The London-based VC aims to raise as much as $130 million more; that would mark quite a step up for the firm, which says it has funneled $30 million into 19 startups since 2018.

As far as putting that money to use, Systemiq says it is out to fund founders who are focused on making large industries and cities “more efficient and sustainable.” In practice, it’ll fund key areas like regenerative land use, oceans, transportation and the circular economy.

Systemiq’s past deals include climate data company Jupiter, shipping data firm Nautilus Labs (whose co-founder later launched Bedrock) and ESG-focused investing startup OpenInvest. Last year, OpenInvest sold to J.P. Morgan, the world’s top funder of fossil fuels

Systemiq was co-founded by McKinsey veterans Jeremy Oppenheim and Martin Stuchtey. The consulting giant, which pulls in an estimated $10 billion a year in revenue, also has a lengthy history of work with many of the world’s top polluters.

Systemiq partner and former Goldman executive Irena Spazzapan will steer the second fund, along with Oppenheim and former Unilever CEO Paul Polman, the firm said.

FCC hands down $116M robocall fine, but begs for the power to hammer perps itself

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:15 PM PDT

Robocalls and other automated scams are an everyday occurrence for millions of Americans. But while stricter rules are coming and the FCC is about to hit one robocaller’s operation with a $116 million fine, the agency wants to step up its enforcement with the ability to take the scammers to court itself.

“This fine is big,” said FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement accompanying the fine’s announcement. “But it also calls attention to the fact that we need new rules of the game.”

The FCC, like the FTC and other agencies, has the power to define and propose fines or other financial damages, it doesn’t actually collect them itself. Instead, it hands all the paperwork over to the Justice Department, which takes it from there. One problem: The ones getting fined sometimes get away with paying only a fraction of the amount.

As we saw a few years ago with another major robocalling penalty, this one referred by the FTC, a $5 million payment was reduced to $18,332 and the proceeds from selling the scammer’s car. In 2020, Rosenworcel lamented that the FCC had issued hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fines and collected… $6,790. Part of that, she said, was because of a “refusal” by the DOJ to pursue the cases.

The FCC is investigating robocall operations, issuing cease and desist letters and coordinating a national resource sharing group with 41 state attorneys general. But ultimately it still has to go through Justice, and that’s something the agency appears to be tiring of.

“We have issued many fines just like this one. But after we do, we have to hand them over to our colleagues at the Department and Justice and hope for further action,” Rosenworcel said in her statement. “I like hope. But instead of wishing for the best, I would like the certainty of this agency being able to go to court directly and collect fines against these bad actors—each and every one of them. This will take a change in the law and we need Congress to fix that. But I think this is robocall change worth fighting for.”

Sadly, Congress is probably too at war with itself right now to pass the kind of executive-empowering legislation that would be needed here. But hopefully the FCC doesn’t have to wait too long before it can start laying down the law itself.

As Coinbase falters, Binance.US is waiting in the wings

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:11 PM PDT

As the largest publicly traded crypto exchange in the United States, Coinbase has become something of a household name. But as the going gets tough in the crypto markets, the company seems to be fumbling the bag, leaving it vulnerable to competition.

Coinbase’s stock price is down nearly 80% from where it started the year and it recently made headlines for laying off one-fifth of its staff. The company posted a $430 million loss in the first quarter of 2022, underperforming Wall Street analysts' expectations. Its trading volumes and number of monthly transacting users were both down from Q4 last year — bad news for a company that depends heavily on transaction fees for its revenue.

The exchange got over its skis quicker than even Coinbase itself probably imagined, a point evidenced by its decision to rescind job offers last month from candidates who had already accepted them. Its competitors, though, have been lying in wait for their moment to close in on the U.S. market. Now, sensing Coinbase’s moment of weakness, the two largest crypto exchanges in the world by volume (Coinbase is third globally) — Binance and FTX — are hoping to seize their opportunity stateside.

The three crypto giants all have different established customer bases and are trying to steal each other's market share. Retail investors comprise around 95% of Coinbase's transaction revenue, according to its latest quarterly filing. FTX, in contrast, already has a strong institutional trading business anchored in its founder and chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried's background working at a quant hedge fund.

SBF, as he's known in the crypto world, has been pulling out all the stops to gain retail customers, including introducing zero-fee U.S. stock trading in May, to try to turn FTX into a one-stop shop for the retail investor's needs. After all, if Coinbase ascended to the No. 3 spot buoyed almost entirely by U.S. retail investors, its decline presents a valuable opportunity for global, institutionally focused exchanges to poach its users and boost their own trading volumes.

It makes sense, then, that Binance has its sights set on luring more retail investors, but the largest global exchange is still a bit of a dark horse in the race for the U.S. market as it battles against FTX for customers. Its Binance.US division saw spot trading volumes below $300 million as of July 12. That's a drop in the bucket compared to its global business, which saw volumes of $10 billion for the same period — about seven times higher than volumes at both FTX and Coinbase.

Today, 70% of trading volume on Binance.US, the American offshoot of the global exchange, comes from institutional customers, its CEO Brian Shroder told TechCrunch in an interview. Still, retail investors bring in more revenue overall, in part because of the steep discounts Binance.US offers to its highest-volume customers, he added.

Binance is also taking a markedly different approach from FTX in luring U.S. retail investors, focusing on its core competency in crypto.

“Some exchanges want to go back to stock trading and target that market. That’s, again, not a wrong or right approach. We are a pure web3 company. We’re not going back; we’re moving forward. We want to build more web3 tools,” Binance founder Chanpeng Zhao told Decrypt in an interview this week.

The exchange is also taking a less flashy tack when marketing in the U.S. While other competitors including Coinbase, FTX and Crypto.com were spending millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads during the crypto bull run, Binance.US stayed relatively quiet.

Under Shroder’s tenure, Binance.US seems to be reversing its reputation, once marred by rapid management turnover and ongoing regulatory battles, and pulling ahead in the fight to win over the U.S. retail investor. From a customer perspective, its strategy is undeniably appealing — undercut competitors by offering lower fees.

Coinbase's fees are notoriously high at up to 3.99% for certain spot trades compared to FTX.US, which charges up to 0.20%. Binance.US, meanwhile, reaffirmed its commitment to keeping costs low for its customers last month when it launched fee-free bitcoin spot trading for all users, saying it is the first U.S. crypto exchange to have done so, though it’s worth noting that exchanges still make money from the spread on trades even if they don’t charge an upfront fee. It also rolled out a staking product last month that it claims provides some of the highest APY rates compared to its competitors and said it plans to add fee-free trading for more currencies in the future.

"On the cost side, it is unquestionable that we are the lowest-cost provider in this space," Shroder said.

When asked about how Binance.US is able to provide above-market yields from its staking product, Shroder's response was: "My guess is that when you look at the other firms having much lower APYs, it’s just that they are taking that themselves, and we are passing it on to the customer.”

Naturally, investors gravitate toward lower fees and higher returns, giving the deep-pocketed Binance a potential advantage over Coinbase in that it can afford to sacrifice profits in the U.S. to attract users as long as it makes them elsewhere. The same goes for FTX, which is able to offer no-fee equity trading only because it's making money in other parts of its business.

Customers have shown enthusiasm for Binance.US, although investors, at times, have seemed more hesitant. Still, this April, the company was able to raise its first external funding from investors in a $200 million round valuing it at $4.5 billion. The fundraise marked a crucial first step on its path to an IPO — a milestone Shroder told TechCrunch he sees happening in the next two to three years.

Armed with the new cash and an extension to the round that Shroder says is coming soon, the company seems well positioned to weather a choppy market. It is actively hiring for 80+ new roles to add to its current employee base of ~400, TechCrunch reported last month.

“What I experienced at Uber, I’m living through again”

Despite Binance's recent efforts in the U.S. market, its messy history with local regulators makes it easy to underestimate. The company is currently under investigation by the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission for allegations that it engaged in market manipulation. The U.S. Justice Department and IRS are also reportedly examining whether the exchange engaged in money laundering and tax evasion.

For context, Binance.US launched in 2019 as a standalone entity that licenses its branding and core technology from Binance itself. Zhao is said to have spun off the division in a bid to appeal to U.S. regulators who refused to greenlight the global exchange.

Zhao still wields significant influence over the U.S. exchange today as a major shareholder, although he told Decrypt this week that Binance “is no longer top-down driven” by him. The New York Times reported last August that Zhao held 90% of Binance.US shares.

Zhao's ownership stake, according to the Times, became a sticking point with outside investors when former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks tried to raise a venture round for the company as a step to an eventual IPO. Brooks ended up leaving the company just three months after taking over the top job, perhaps in part because the deal fell through.

Brooks isn't the only top exec at Binance.US who has left unexpectedly. The company's founding CEO, Catherine Coley, left the company so quietly last May that numerous unconfirmed rumors began swirling regarding her whereabouts. Last October, when Shroder took over the company as its next permanent CEO after Coley, Binance.US's founding CFO Joshua Sroge made his exit. Last week, after nine months of searching, the company finally filled Sroge's role, appointing former Acorns exec Jasmine Lee as its new permanent CFO.

In addition to its troubles in the U.S., Binance has also faced heavy regulatory scrutiny in Japan, the EU, Germany, Thailand and other regions. Shroder, who previously led Uber’s Asia-Pacific strategy, likened the exchange to the controversial ride-share startup.

“What I experienced at Uber, I’m living through again,” Shroder said. “When I was at Uber, we were bad boy No. 1, you know? We were the big bad guys picking on the taxi industry and hurting the taxi employees and things like that."

"What was true about Uber is also true about Binance, globally, and then Binance in the U.S., which is that basically there was an entrepreneur who had an innovative approach to expanding technology that has never been contemplated by regulators," he continued. "To support that, the regulators had to play catch-up to the technology, and I think that’s exactly what we’re experiencing now in the crypto space.”

Shroder is determined to shepherd Binance.US to its longstanding goal of going public, a milestone he believes it will achieve in the next two to three years. He said Binance.US is strong enough to continue growing even amid tough market conditions, citing the firm's plans to hire some employees who were let go by Coinbase and competing crypto exchange Gemini as evidence that his company is better positioned for the challenges ahead.

"Coinbase and Gemini have multiple products and services, and they have them out there; they’ve been out there for a while. We historically have only had spot [trading] up until really this [quarter]. So as we add more products and services, which we have a very aggressive roadmap to do. We require more products and tech talent; we require more operations people to actually run those new business units. With the infusion of capital that we just got from our very first seed round, we’re taking all the funding, and we’re plowing it back into growth," Shroder said.

Only time will tell if Shroder's ambitious plan will work, but he is determined to reshape the narrative surrounding Binance.US in the public eye. One of the biggest misperceptions the public has about Binance.US, he said, is around its “desire to be a fully compliant and regulated entity,” a goal Shroder said has been central to the company since its founding.

“In the vacuum of you telling your own story, your story is being told by your competitors, or your story is being told based on your click rate. And to the extent that negative headlines drive views more than positive ones, I think that that just creates a misperception in the market that is not based on reality,” Shroder said.

Facebook tests a way to add up to five profiles tied to a single account

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 01:20 PM PDT

Facebook is testing a way for users to have up to five separate profiles tied to a single account. The social media giant says the test allows users to dedicate different profiles to specific groups they want to connect with, such as one dedicated Facebook feed exclusive to their friends and another one just for their coworkers. Users who are part of the test will be able to switch between their different profiles in a few taps.

"To help people tailor their experience based on interests and relationships, we're testing a way for people to have more than one profile tied to a single Facebook account,” Facebook spokesperson Leonard Lam told TechCrunch in an email. “Anyone who uses Facebook must continue to follow our rules."

Additional profiles don’t need to include a person’s real name, as users will be able to choose any profile name and username, as long as it is unique and doesn't use any numbers or special characters. People's main profiles must still use the name they use in everyday life, Facebook says.

The company says additional profiles are still subject to its policies and that they can’t misrepresent your identity or impersonate others. If you receive a violation on an additional profile, it will impact your account as a whole. Facebook says this rule will help prevent people from abusing its platform across multiple profiles. If someone repeatedly violates the company’s policies using one of their additional profiles, Facebook’s systems will recognize which profile was violating and take appropriate action, such as removing the additional profile or all profiles, including the main account.

Facebook says there are some parts of the platform that are only available for people's main profiles, such as creating and managing a Page or using Facebook Dating.

Considering that a user’s additional profiles are under one Facebook account, the company says the multiple-profile feature won’t change how it reports user metrics, such as monthly and daily active user totals.

Up until now, the company has barred regular users from having multiple Facebook accounts, so the introduction of additional profiles marks a change for the social media giant. The launch of the test indicates that Facebook is experimenting with ways to drive engagement on its platform, while also encouraging users to post and share more content with others.

The test also shows that Facebook is trying to move beyond just a platform to share updates with family and friends, as the company notes that additional profiles can be used to go deeper into topics you care about and want to learn more about. For example, Facebook says a user may want to create an additional profile focused on sustainable design, where they can follow their favorite brands and connect with others who share their passion. Facebook also suggests that additional profiles can be used to organize content about the things that matters to you. For instance, you can have one profile dedicated to foodie content where you can follow your favorite chefs and find local events and restaurants.

Facebook’s shift away from single profiles comes as it’s trying to find ways to retain users, as it continues to compete with growing threats like TikTok. In February, the company reported a decline in daily users for the first time in its history in the fourth quarter of 2021, but later reported an increase in the first three months of this year.

The company’s additional profiles feature is currently being tested with select users.

Dueling $2.5 million hypercar EVs arrive this summer

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:39 PM PDT

It's shaping up to be the summer of dueling seven-figure electrified hypercars.

But perhaps it's more of a sibling rivalry, as the Rimac Nevera and Pininfarina Battista share common DNA.

Rimac said Tuesday that its $2.5 million 1,914-horsepower Nevera has begun rolling off the assembly line. Pininfarina announced the following day that its own $2.5 million battery-electric hypercar, the 1,900-horsepower Battista, will start production in August.

If the cars sound similar, it's because they are: Rimac supplies the Pininfarina Battista with the same 120-kilowatt battery pack and powertrain that the Nevera uses. Both accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds and are capped at 150 units to maintain exclusivity. The Nevera is already sold out. Pininfarina has indicated strong interest in the Battista but said the company does not “discuss detailed sales figures, as our business is about the quality not quantity of clients.”

But how many $2.5 million hyper GTs can the EV market bear? Pagani said in June that it scrapped plans to build an electric car after a four-year study showed a lack of demand from supercar buyers.

"It's unlikely that any one brand will be able to subsist on hypercar sales alone," said Stephen Beck, founder and managing partner of management consultancy cg42. "It's just not a practical business model."

Instead, the success of a seven-figure EV depends upon its role in the automaker's portfolio.

Supplier model

Rimac Nevera EV

Image Credits: Rimac

For Rimac, the Nevera is a showpiece that will bolster its main business: supplying advanced battery technology to other carmakers. "Pairing a specific high-end niche with a strong B2B component, is the type of balance others should be looking to emulate to survive," Beck said.

Analysts say Rimac has created a profitable long-term strategy providing EV components to other automakers, such as Porsche, Aston Martin and Pininfarina. It's a business model that other suppliers are likely to replicate, given the relative simplicity of building a battery-electric powertrain.

"You can tweak the electric motor to your requirements, but at the end of the day 90% to 95% of the electric motor is going to be pretty much set," said Arun Kumar, managing director of AlixPartners' automotive and industrial practice.

Halo effect

Pininfarina Battista EV

Image Credits: Pininfarina

The Battista fulfills a more traditional role for Pininfarina: a halo car to attract new well-healed clients to the brand and provide inspiration for a range of EVs Pininfarina plans to introduce. That will be the approach that most other heritage brands take toward building a hypercar EV, according to Kumar.

The Battista also serves as a “proof of concept” for Pininfarina's network of technical partners, while announcing the arrival of a new luxury era, according to Automobili Pininfarina CEO Per Svantesson.

US venture capitalists have never had so much spare cash

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:30 PM PDT

You might think given the chatter in the startup world that venture capitalists are short on funds — after all, we’re hearing about young tech companies finding themselves marooned between stages, hitting up investors with smaller capital pools than prior backers and turning to equity crowdfunding to keep their cash balances healthy.

And yet new data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association indicate that while the pace of U.S. venture capital investment is slowing — more here on the global perspective — American venture capitalists are sitting atop more investable capital (dry powder) than ever before.

Even more, the pace at which venture investors are accreting funds is elevated compared to historical norms, meaning that private-market investors are in aggregate not struggling to raise, even if their portfolio companies may find themselves in a very different situation.

The question bouncing around our minds this morning is why — why are venture investments slowing when so much capital has been raised by VCs to invest?


The Exchange explores startups, markets and money.

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NFT marketplace OpenSea lays off 20% of its staff: ‘We have entered … crypto winter’

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:17 PM PDT

Despite a significant depression in crypto markets, plenty of top players have been hesitant to say that the good times are over for the time being, but as NFT marketplace OpenSea announces today that its laying off around 20% of the company’s employees, the top crypto startup’s CEO isn’t mincing words.

” … [T]he reality is that we have entered an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability, and we need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn,” OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said in a message shared with staff that he posted publicly on Twitter as well.

The company did not specify exactly how many employees were impacted by the decision, but the company’s LinkedIn page indicates the company has around 750+ employees currently. Finzer says that impacted employees will be receiving severance and health insurance “into 2023” as well as accelerated equity vesting.

The layoffs raise questions about the company’s aggressive growth tactics and how they approached the sustainability of the NFT sector’s breakneck growth. In his note to staff, Finzer says the company has years of runway ahead of it with these changes, assuming things don’t get even bleaker.

“The changes we’re making today put us in a position to maintain multiple years of runway under various crypto winter scenarios (5 years at the current volume), and give us high confidence that we will only have to go through this process once,” Finzer writes, later adding, “Winter is our time to build.”

OpenSea has been one of the top beneficiaries of crypto’s 2021-2022 bull run, raising hundreds of millions in investor dollars, most recently at a $13.3 billion valuation. That growth has not been without its drama; last month one of the company’s executive was arrested on charges of insider trading after an NFT trading scandal.

Crypto’s top venture capitalists have said that the talent entering the crypto space is one of the biggest reasons they’re bullish on the space, but as crypto giants continue to make huge layoffs, it’s unclear how much of that talent is being held onto.

VinFast EV factory wins North Carolina’s top incentives package

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast said Thursday it received $1.2 billion in incentives to build a factory in North Carolina.

The incentive package represents the state's largest-ever economic development project and its aspirations to build North Carolina into a hub for the clean energy economy.

Construction on the 2,000-acre site at the Triangle Innovation Point in Chatham County, North Carolina, will start in the second half of the year. VinFast said it will begin building cars there in July 2024, ramping up to an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

The $2 billion EV factory will make the VinFast VF 9 three-row SUV and the VinFast VF 8 midsize SUV.

VinFast will be joined in North Carolina by Toyota, which is building a $1.3 billion battery plant near Greensboro, scheduled to begin production in 2025. The Japanese automaker said its first-ever U.S. battery factory will supply 1.2 million EVs annually, toward its goal of selling eight million EVs annually by 2030.

VinFast also said Thursday that it will grow its U.S. presence with six stores in California, starting with Santa Monica. Other locations include La Jolla, San Diego and San Mateo.

A meme stock’s second shot at the moon

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:03 PM PDT

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Everyone’s favorite 2020 meme stock is back in the news, and this time it’s flexing on crypto industry incumbent Coinbase. GameStop, which largely operates brick-and-mortar retail stores for video games, made a foray into the metaverse with its launch of an NFT marketplace this week. In just two days of being live, the platform brought in roughly $3.5 million worth of ETH in sales, making the ~$1.8 million Coinbase has made through its own NFT marketplace since its launch back in May look like chump change.

Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block for the crypto curious.

This week, Lucas and Anita dove into GameStop’s financials and the competitive landscape for NFTs to examine whether its early web3 success can last. They also talked about what could shape up to be one of crypto’s most consequential rug pulls (even if it wasn’t on purpose) and why crypto VCs are hoarding cash right now.

Our guest: Yat founder and CEO Naveen Jain 🦅

You know those strings of emojis celebrities like Ke$ha have been putting in their Twitter bios? They’re Yats, a product CEO Naveen Jain sees as an identity solution for web3 users. Jain explained to us how these emojis have anything to do with crypto and shared his views on whether providing people with clout is enough to sustain a market in the long term. Why the eagle emoji, you ask? It’ll all make sense once you listen to the episode.

Chain Reaction podcast episodes come out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PDT. Subscribe to us on AppleSpotify or your alternative podcast platform of choice to keep up with us every week.

Autonomous vehicles startup Nuro winds down operations in Phoenix

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:02 PM PDT

Nuro, the autonomous vehicle delivery startup that is valued at more than $8.6 billion, is closing its Phoenix facility as it shifts its commercial strategy away from the desert metropolis and toward the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston.

Nuro told employees that the Phoenix Depot location would be closed by October 1, according to an internal email viewed by TechCrunch. It will continue to operate out of its Tempe, Arizona facility and corporate employees will not be affected. However, several autonomous vehicle operators (AVO) in Phoenix have been laid off as a result.

“Given that Phoenix is no longer on our commercial roadmap for the foreseeable future, we will consolidate our resources to focus on our primary deployment areas in the Bay Area and Houston. We will suspend on-road operations in Phoenix effective immediately and close the depot by October 1,” the internal email said.

A Nuro spokesperson confirmed the Phoenix layoffs, explaining Nuro has adjusted its focus in Arizona from on-road operations to teleoperations. The business strategy “entails winding down our Phoenix Depot and concentrating on tele-operations in Tempe, Arizona,” the spokesperson said in an email, adding that Nuro will still have a presence in Arizona.

Nuro has been operating in Arizona for years, a presence that kicked off in 2018 through a pilot project with Kroger Co., the grocery retailer that owns and operates Kroger, King Soopers, Fry’s and Pick ‘n Save stores. The pilot in Scottsdale, Arizona initially used modified Toyota Prius sedans and transitioned to its first-generation bot, called the R1 vehicle. While Nuro’s partnership with Kroger expanded and continued in Houston, the pilot in Arizona ended.

Nuro introduced the R2 in February 2020, a second-gen bot designed and assembled in the U.S. in partnership with Michigan-based Roush Enterprises that is equipped with lidar, radar and cameras to give the "driver" a 360-degree view of its surroundings.

It’s now on its third-gen robot, simply called Nuro. The “Nuro” (pictured below), which was unveiled in January 2022, will be manufactured in partnership with BYD North America.

Image Credits: Nuro

These vehicles are designed to ferry groceries and other goods, not humans. As Nuro has transitioned away from the Prius to its custom-built vehicle, it has had to beef up its teleoperations system, which allows humans to remotely monitor, communicate and even offer guidance to the bots if needed.

Of the employees impacted in Phoenix, three opted for severance, two are helping close down Nuro’s Phoenix Depot and the rest will be joining the team in Tempe, according to Nuro.

The company has also laid off four employees in Houston and three at its Mountain View, California facility.

“As part of our ongoing strategy to adopt a more focused approach with our operations, unfortunately, we made the difficult decision to let four of our Houston (non-AVO) employees go, and offered them all severance packages. All of the impacted employees were informed in person and individually at work,” a Nuro company spokesperson told TechCrunch.

No other reductions have taken place elsewhere in the company. As of January 2022, the company employed more than 1,200 people.

Nuro’s focus on Houston and the Bay Area, where the company is headquartered, includes partnerships with several corporations including Walmart and CVS.

One size doesn’t fit all for Wing’s drone deliveries

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:59 AM PDT

For many, drone delivery has understandably felt like a fool's errand. It's a category clouded by regulator and logistical concerns, and one that's often felt — at best — a long ways down the road. Wing has been among the leading lights in a space that's seen its share of setbacks — including its chief big-name competitor, Amazon.

The firm's growth has been slow and deliberate. It's necessary due to the various hurdles that need to be cleared in order to bring such a vision to life, and possible thanks to the vast resources of parent company, Alphabet. Even vertical takeoff drones require a long runway.

In February, Wing promoted CTO Adam Woodworth to CEO after eight years with the GoogleX graduate. A month later, the firm announced that it hit 200,000 commercial deliveries, a big, round figure primarily driven by its expanding presence in Australia.

Wing still has a bit of that X shine on it, and as such hasn't sought out a ton of press beyond some controlled releases via its blog post. It's an approach I can appreciate as someone who sees so much early-stage tech get overhyped before it's fully baked. It's an easy way to set unrealistic expectations for what will ultimately be a long journey.

Today Woodworth took to the blog to pull the curtain back on some of the thinking that's gone into Wing's approach, and how that decision-making will ultimately impact its future — and, perhaps, the future of drone delivery in general. We also caught up with the executive to discuss the company's progress.

Predictably, Woodworth's approach to the role is a decidedly technical one. Today's blog post is a prime example of that. In it, the CEO lays out a "multi-modal" approach to delivery, which finds the firm bucking the sort of one-size-fits-all approach that many of its competitors are taking to drone delivery. It certainly makes a lot of sense on the face of it: different sized cargo warrant different sized delivery mechanisms.

Woodworth writes:

The delivery ecosystem is immense, and our R&D folks are always exploring different ways to serve this space. Transportation has and will continue to be multimodal, and Wing's design approach aims to address this. We've developed a core set of hardware and software components that can be used to create a variety of different vehicles tailored for specific use cases: an aircraft library. While we've been accumulating hundreds of thousands of delivery cycles on these core components in our Hummingbird series aircraft, we've also been filling the shelves of this library with additional configurations.

During our conversation, Woodworth gestures toward one of the drones sitting on the conference table. It's the smaller of the two — "Article One" as it’s known internally, a reference to the aforementioned library concept. There's a piece of the larger plane — "Article Two" — sitting on the table, as well. Though the entire drone — also somewhat ironically known as "Hummingbird" — was just too large to get through the door.

The Hummingbird is the model you've thus far seen in all of the drone footage. Given the nature of much of what it's been used to deliver so far, the size may ultimately be overkill.

"The existing system that we built is a really strong foundation. The existing payload capacity carries about 2.5 pounds of stuff," Woodworth tells TechCrunch. "The range is about six miles. That works really well for most of the on-demand delivery use cases that we're focused on. While that main operational thread has been running, we've had R&D portions of the company looking at what other use cases there might be and what other vehicles can we develop in this same family of aircraft to be able to poke around different parts of the delivery ecosystem."

Image Credits: Wing

As of this writing, Wing has made more than 250,000 deliveries to date. The team is comprised of "several hundred" employees, headquartered in California, but spread out across the world, as the company looks to different markets. Thus far the approach has been scattershot, targeting a specific suburb or exurb of a metropolitan area and spreading out in the region from there.

"That's largely why this expansion will work," says Woodworth. "I think, over time, what you'll see is the net unit of expansion will continue to grow. It will move from neighborhood to neighborhood, to suburb to suburb, to state to state. That path is reasonably well define, and it's the one we're pursuing."

Wing says that piecemeal approach is a method of proving out the efficacy of the technology to both communities and regulator bodies, like the FAA here in the U.S. The current approach of partnering with specific stores, restaurants and chains will also be the path forward for a company that doesn't have the same manner of built-in retail presence as an Amazon.

"We are this really effective delivery method for the goods," Woodworth says. "We need a provider of the goods. Over time, we've found that closer and closer integration with these partners makes a more compelling delivery service."

Stripe is the latest fintech to falter, taking a 28% internal valuation cut

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:48 AM PDT

Stripe is the latest high-profile fintech company to take a massive valuation cut as the market downturn begins to hit the sector especially hard. Last valued at $95 billion, the payments processor has cut the internal value of its shares by 28%, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reports that the valuation cut comes from a 409A price change, which means that Stripe hasn't decreased the value of preferred shares sold in the last round. An internal valuation change is meant to be a more objective pricing, not set by startups or venture investors but chosen by a third party. Despite the 409A valuation remaining separate from Stripe's latest round price, it is still a relevant cut due to the sheer decrease. In fact, it’s somewhat uncommon for a startup to proactively cut their own valuation, outside of a fundraise, making today’s news all the more interesting.

Stripe declined to comment in response to a TechCrunch inquiry about the matter.

The news comes days after Klarna, the Swedish BNPL company, had its valuation cut by a whopping 85% to $6.7 billion from its last round as it raised $800 million in fresh funding. Unlike Stripe, Klarna's valuation was cut by its investors — which include Sequoia, Silver Lake, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the UAE's sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Company and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).

The valuation haircuts provide two different signals on how fintech is reacting to the market's downturn: strongly. Fintech companies, which at the beginning of the recent market downturn were seen as an exception of sorts because of their strong 2021 fundraising activity, have seen a reversal of fates over the past month. Rising interest rates and fears that consumer discretionary spending will fall at the onset of a potential economic recession are likely to be especially harsh for consumer-facing fintechs like Stripe.

In March, Fidelity cut its Stripe valuation by 9%, providing another signal on how fund of funds are looking at soon-to-be public fintech companies.

The sector, not including crypto companies, led the tech industry in the number of layoffs it underwent in the first half of 2022, TechCrunch reported.

For its part, Stripe made headlines earlier this year when it announced that it was entering into the identity verification space, putting it in direct competition with one-time partner, Plaid. Its competition with newer startup, Finix, also heated up this year as the latter announced it was becoming a payments facilitator, in addition to enabling other companies to facilitate payments.

Some fintech companies in general have been targeted for trying to do too much in a short amount of time, and hence, losing focus. Corporate spend decacorn Brex being one such case, when it recently announced it would no longer work with SMBs.

Beyond the fintech space, growth-stage businesses that boomed during the pandemic have turned inward to respond to the shifting macroeconomic environment. In March, Instacart similarly cut its internal valuation by about 38.5%, due to a 409A change. Both Instacart and now Stripe's reported internal valuation cuts mean that employees may have their equity grants reframed.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Forethought’s $65M Series C deck

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Forethought has been on our radar for a long time — the company won our 2018 Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt, and just a few weeks ago, CEO Deon Nicholas joined Vanessa Larco from NEA on TechCrunch Live to talk about pitching and pitch decks:

Today, it’s my pleasure to tear down the company’s 23-slide deck that helped it raise a $65 million Series C late last year.

Forethought’s mission is to help humans perform better using AI. "One of the things that we've focused on is being a human-centered AI platform. And that's what has really come through … with our mission, and really our mission is to unlock human potential through artificial intelligence," Nicholas told TechCrunch’s Ron Miller.


We’re looking for more unique pitch decks to tear down, so if you want to submit your own, here’s how you can do that.


Slides in this deck

In the vast majority of cases, this is a slide that makes my eyes glaze over; Forethought’s slide made me do a double take because it is a rare exception to that rule.

  1. Cover slide
  2. Founders slide
  3. TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield slide — (Yes, really!)
  4. Traction slide (redacted numbers)
  5. Customer list slide
  6. “Forbes 2021 next billion-dollar startups” — mystery slide
  7. “Think about the last time you were on hold” — problem slide
  8. “The cost of bad customer service” — problem slide
  9. “Transform customer experiences with human-centered AI” — solution slide
  10.  “Complete platform” — product slide
  11.   “True AI” — product slide
  12.   “Rapid time-to-value” — product slide
  13.   “Secure and trusted” — product slide
  14.   “Intelligent gap detection” — product slide
  15.   “Trusted by the best” — customer breakdown slide
  16.   “Metrics Summary” (redacted) — traction slide
  17.   Customer testimonials slide
  18.   ARR expansion per cohort (redacted) — customer development slide
  19.   “Forethinkers” team slide
  20.   Advisors and investors slide
  21.   “What’s next” (redacted) — road map slide
  22.   “Where we’re going” (redacted) — revenue growth slide
  23.   “Unlock human potential through AI” — mission slide

Three things to love

There’s a lot to love about this deck, and it’s hard to only pick three things. In the past few pitch deck teardowns, I’ve often focused on the beginning of the narrative — the first few slides.

Ending on mission

OUR MISSION: Unlock human potential through AI.

[Slide 23] Closing slide. Image Credits: Forethought

I’ve argued before how important it is to have a good final slide. To understand why, remember that in a lot of pitching situations, the first and last slides are on the screen for a longer time. The first because you’re faffing about with getting coffee, waiting for people and getting situated. The last because during the Q&A at the end of a pitch, it’s not uncommon to leave the final slide up — at least until you have to move to another slide in the deck to clarify something. To be fair, this was more true when you were pitching in-person than when you’re pitching virtually, but it’s good practice to make every slide do some heavy lifting.

A lot of the time, the final slide is just a repeat of the company’s tagline or motto and the founder’s contact details; it’s logical to repeat your vision or mission here, but it’s rarely done, and that’s a shame. If you have a clearly articulated mission, why not fly that flag as you’re doing your pitching?

Ugh, an investor slide

Investor slide

[Slide 20] Advisors, investors and customer advisory board. Image Credits: Forethought

A lot of startups include an advisors-and-investors slide. A customer advisory board is less common, but I’ve seen that, too. In the vast majority of cases, this is a slide full of people that makes my eyes glaze over — people who are unlikely to genuinely be of help to your company. Forethought’s slide made me do a double take because it is a rare exception to that rule. It initially caught my attention when I recognized Ashton Kutcher from the photo. That prompted me to take a closer look. This slide is extraordinary and probably the first of this type of slide I’ve seen that actually deserves to be part of the deck.

Having the CEO of Waymo and a Stanford AI lab professor as advisors is a flex. The customer advisory board includes (presumably busy) decision-making customers for Pinterest, Instacart and Carta. And the investors? Well … it’s not always clear how much actual time individual investors put into a startup, and that’d be a question I’d be asking Forethought, but it’s certainly a conversation starter: How did the company pull off adding a handful of household names to its cap table, and will they add value beyond their cash and famous faces?

Contextualized numbers are sexy

Customer Testimonials slide

[Slide 17] Customer testimonials. Image Credits: Forethought (opens in a new window)

I include Slide 17 as a “thing to love” for a couple of reasons. Similar to the investors slide, it’s rare to see a customer testimonial slide that actually does any heavy lifting. Mostly it’s fluff that shows up instead of real traction. However, in this case, the company was able to do something really clever; Forethought is bringing some impressive customer stats to the forefront — and backing it up with real feedback from its customers.

In my past startups, I’ve done a lot of customer support, and if anyone had put any of those stats in front of me, I’d have bought on the spot: 43% of customer interactions don’t result in a support ticket? Routing accuracy of 85%? Handle tickets 21% faster and get 32% more productivity out of each of your customer support staff? That’s extraordinary by any measure — but tying it to customer testimonials makes the story come to life so much more. Very well done indeed. It also helps that the slide is well designed, easy to read and the logos show that these are a solid lineup of customers, too.


In the rest of this teardown, we'll take a look at three things Forethought could have improved or done differently, along with its full pitch deck!

No one said this was going to be easy

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:30 AM PDT

We're exactly a week out from TC Sessions: Robotics 2022. I've been sitting in on prep calls for the past month, and I feel confident in saying this is going to be the best and widest-ranging single-day robotics event. I've been helping plan events for various outlets for close to 15 years at this point, and I also feel comfortable saying this is the strongest lineup I've been involved in putting together, full-stop.

Our last robotics event happened at — arguably — the strangest possible time. The show came together well, but March 2020 wasn't an ideal time to hold an event — that's only become increasingly apparent in hindsight. It was a strange and uncertain time, and we made sure to have plenty of Purell stations on hand, because it seemed like the best defense at the time.

I had a strange, full circle moment last month at our Climate event. I've been doing the stage interview thing for a long time, and there are always butterflies before the adrenaline kicks in and carries you the rest of the way. But standing onstage at UC Berkeley's beautiful Zellerbach Hall was surreal.

It was our first climate show, first time back at Berkeley since Robotics 2020 and my first time onstage since then, as well. The thing people tend to gloss over when they tell you something is like "riding a bike" is those first few seconds or minutes before your brain and muscle memory kick into gear can be harrowing. By comparison, returning to Robotics next week feels more like seeing an old friend for the first time in two years. Sure we emailed, texted, Zoomed on occasion and wished a Happy Birthday on each others' Facebook walls, but it wasn't the same.

I started thinking about the next robotics event the moment I got off stage in March 2020, but, you know, the best laid plans and all that. The upshot of skipping an event for a year due to the pandemic is that you get an extra year of planning. COVID, of course, hasn't gone away, and as excited as I was about the prospect of returning the show to Boston for the first time since the inaugural event, there's something to be said for the scope that going all online affords you. And offering the entire thing up for free doesn't hurt, either.

To help mark the event, we've planned a bunch of programming in the lead up, as well. I filled in for Matt on TechCrunch Live this week, as he's currently teaching a group of campers the magic of the taut-line hitches. It was a great conversation with Attabotics CEO Scott Gravelle and Forerunner Ventures' Eurie Kim, an early investor in the project. An hour later, I had a great conversation with Ohio State University's Ayanna Howard and littleBits founder Ayah Bdeir on Twitter Spaces. It's okay if you missed either one live — they'll both be online soon.

I'll also be appearing on the Equity Podcast on Saturday to talk some broader robotics industry investment trends with Alex. And on Monday at 3PM ET, we've got another Twitter Spaces with iRobot CEO Colin Angle. I honestly exhausted myself typing those last two paragraphs. The plan is to make you completely sick of me by the end of next week and take the next year off in some undisclosed location.

Anyway, do me a solid and register for the free event right here, so the events team stops bugging me. Where else are you going to see Dean Kamen, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, executives from Amazon, Boston Dynamics, Locus Robotics, Zebra, Agility, Sarcos, littleBits, Veo, Robust.AI, Berkshire Grey and MassRobotics; VCs from DCVC, Playground Global, FoundersX Ventures and The Engine; and leading researchers from MIT, CMU, UC Berkeley and Ohio State University in one place?

All right, now that all of the hype is out of the way, it's time to bring things back down to Earth. I'm as guilty of getting caught up in the investment whirlwind of the past two years as anyone, but it's important not to lose sight of the fact that launching a robotics startup is an absolutely bonkers thing to do. It's a long, hard road that requires a lot of capital, a long runway and bears very few of the early fruits you get from, say, a successful app.

It was recently pointed out to me how incredibly few robotics companies have gone the traditional IPO route. Even during the recent SPAC madness, robotics firms were few and far between. And among those who went that way, the results have been, at best, mixed. For most companies, it seems like an acquisition is best-case scenario, but even those can go south fast.

Chowbotics’ salad-making robot, Sally, has 20 different canisters to dispense ingredients. Image Credits: Chowbotics /(opens in a new window)under a license.

Case in point: Chowbotics. Let's be real, this one felt weird from the start. It was an uneasy marriage resulting from DoorDash's pandemic highs, as the delivery service was looking to diversify. Salad robots are certainly a way to do that. Maybe DoorDash's own revenue beginning to regress to the mean made them take a second look. Maybe food kiosks in public places don't hold the same appeal as the pandemic continues. Maybe we just Occam's razor it and say it was just a bad fit.

Chowbotics' sudden closure 17 months after acquisition is a bummer, regardless of the reasoning. Here's what DoorDash told TechCrunch:

We have decided to cease operation of the Chowbotics business, effective August 31st, 2022. At DoorDash, we create an environment to build new products and set high standards to determine when to scale, continue, or cut back investments. We're always looking for new ways to serve our merchants, exceed consumers' increasingly higher expectations, and complement our logistics infrastructure.

Fabric

Fabric’s automated fulfillment center. Image Credits: Fabric

Fabric, meanwhile, recently told its 300-person staff that it's laying off 40% of them. Given how hot delivery and logistics have been, it's a bit surprising, perhaps, but there's also a tremendous amount of competition. Along with the layoffs, the well-funded New York startup also says it's moving from "platform to service" as an overall major shift in focus.

Last week, The South China Morning Post highlighted some struggles in that country's generally white-hot robotics startup market. "We've decided to cut some operations and businesses of our company to survive," Pudu CEO Felix Zhang Tao said in a leaked letter. "It's a difficult decision." He went on to add that layoffs are designed to help the company turn a profit and "survive the long winter."

agility robotics

Image Credits: Agility Robotics

In happier news, Philadelphia-based Fort announced a $25 million Series B for its robotic safety software. The round, led by Tiger Global, brings its total raise to $41.5. Fort counts Agility, Hexagon and Moog (the robot company, not the synth one) among its clients. The company cited ongoing labor shortages as a primary drive for the raise. Says founder/CEO Samuel Reeves:

Smart machines are transforming the world, but they come with unprecedented safety and security risks. a massive need for these machines to communicate in a trustworthy way, and it's something that's yet to be addressed in the industry. This investment will allow us to scale up to meet the demands of the next generation of smart machines.

Image Credits: Xpeng Robotics

Meanwhile, Xpeng Robotics, which makes that bizarre ridable robot unicorn, managed to raise a $100 million Series A at a time when venture investment has begun to slow in its native China. Here's CEO He Xiaopeng:

I also believe that in the future, manufacturers of smart cars will also be manufacturers of smart robots… As part of our mission as a technology innovator and explorer, we will continue to provide support to Xpeng Robotics.

Lunar Outpost lunar moon rover

Lunar Outpost lunar moon rover. Image Credits: Lunar Outpost

And quickly, a pair of space robot stories: Aria profiles Lunar Outpost, which is currently working to build a lunar terrain vehicle for NASA, and Japanese startup, Gitai, which is currently working on building autonomous space robots.

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

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Sony is launching new loyalty program ‘PlayStation Stars’ to reward gamers

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:16 AM PDT

Today, Sony introduced a new loyalty program called PlayStation Stars that will give gamers loyalty points and rewards. The program is free to join and launches later this year, the company announced. PlayStation Stars members can redeem points for PSN wallet funds, the payment method for game purchases and select PlayStation Store items.

With the program, PlayStation also unveiled digital collectibles for loyal members to earn. To answer what everyone is thinking — No, it's not an NFT.

Grace Chen, vice president, Network Advertising, Loyalty & Licensed Merchandise, writes in a PlayStation blog that they are "digital representations of things that PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as cherished devices that tap into Sony's history of innovation.” PlayStation Stars members can collect tons of collectibles, including ultra-rare ones.

To earn rewards, members must complete tasks or "campaigns" where they can win tournaments and specific trophies. Players can even earn rewards if they are the first player to platinum a blockbuster title in their local time zone. There will also be a monthly check-in campaign that requires you to play any game to receive a reward.

This is PlayStation's first rewards program, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

The introduction of PlayStation Stars comes a month after Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription launch. PlayStation Plus members enrolled in the loyalty program automatically earn points for PlayStation Store purchases.

The two announcements reflect the growing effort in the gaming industry to delve deeper into subscription offerings and consumer-facing strategies.

PlayStation hopes by introducing this new program and digital collectibles, gamers will be “excited for the future with PlayStation: commemorating the gaming eras we created together, charting new paths to explore, and bringing players together for global celebrations," Chen added.

The company said that the program is currently being tested and will continue to evolve over time. Later this year, it will launch in "phased regional rollouts" such as Asia, the Americas, Europe and more.

Top Indian tech advocacy group drops crypto over regulatory uncertainty

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:06 AM PDT

The leading influential technology lobby group in India is turning its back on advocating for crypto in a major setback for the local ecosystem in the South Asian nation.

Internet and Mobile Association of India, an 18-year-old lobby group, said Thursday it is dissolving the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council, its four-year endeavor to support and lobby for the nascent technology category.

The association said in a statement that it was forced to take the decision because "a resolution of the regulatory environment for the industry is still very uncertain."

"The association would like to utilise its limited resources for other emerging digital sectors, which make a more immediate and direct contribution to digital India, notably, deepening financial inclusion and promoting Central Bank issued Digital Currency [CBDC]. Members of the BACC were informed about the decision at a meeting held here today," it said.

The move is the culmination of years of frustration for the Indian crypto industry, which has felt that the lobby group's influence and reach have been unable to deliver enough landmark results, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

The IAMAI felt that it was risking its reputation by continuing to push for the adoption and support for crypto, two different people familiar with the matter said.

Regardless, the discontinuation of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council brings the local industry back to the drawing board at a time when local exchanges and other crypto firms are seeing a sharp decline in trading volume in the wake of India enforcing taxation on the virtual digital assets.

The Indian central bank continues to force the hand of banks from engaging with crypto platforms in India, a move that has made on-ramp a nightmare for the firms, people familiar with the matter said.

Many investors and entrepreneurs in the country have been scrambling for months to find newer, more effective ways including engaging with Niti Aayog, a powerful think tank, to liaison with policymakers, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Niti Aayog has largely resisted involvement with the crypto industry, sources said.

Indian lawmakers, on their part, have met several industry faces in the past one year, but so far they are of the view that the fast adoption of crypto trading has hurt most consumers and more safeguards should be put in place, the sources said.

In the wake of the uncertainty, the local ecosystem has seen some talent move outside of the country and a growing number of local entrepreneurs build for the foreign markets and avoid serving customers in India, the world’s second-largest internet market.

“Our stated belief as industry has always been to have sustainable dialogue with regulators and stakeholders and address concerns for progressive regulations. As an industry we will continue to positively engage with all stakeholders and continue to build emerging tech including Web 3.0,” said Ashish Singhal, co-founder and chief executive of CoinSwitch Kuber, and Sumit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of CoinDCX, in a joint statement. The duo served as chair and co-chair of BACC.

MetaMask co-founder sees a developer-led future for its crypto wallet

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Six years ago, Dan Finlay and Aaron Davis met while working at Apple and conjured an idea around making a web extension backing the layer-1 blockchain Ethereum so developers could play with it.

That project became MetaMask, now the world’s largest non-custodial crypto wallet.

What was supposed to be a short project for Finlay and Davis accelerated into a global product that's used by about 20 million monthly active users (MAUs), Finlay told TechCrunch.

"So much has changed," Finlay said. "We thought it was going to be a quick in-and-out thing. Aaron thought we'd be working on it for a few weeks; I thought it would be a few months. It became clear pretty quickly that wasn't the case."

US App Store revenue from non-game apps just topped games for the first time

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:00 AM PDT

A major shift in the U.S. app economy has just taken place. In the second quarter of this year, U.S. consumer spending in non-game mobile apps surpassed spending in mobile games for the first time in May 2022 and the trend continued in June. This drove the total revenue generated by non-game apps higher for the quarter, reaching about $3.4 billion on the U.S. App Store, compared with $3.3 billion spent on mobile games.

After the shift in May, 50.3% of the spending was coming from non-game apps by June 2022, according to new findings in a report from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. By comparison, games had accounted for more than two-thirds of total spending on the U.S. App Store just five years ago.

The trend was limited to the U.S. App Store and was not seen on Google Play, however. In Q2, games accounted for $2.3 billion in consumer spending on Google Play in the U.S., while non-game apps accounted for about $1 billion.

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

This shift in the U.S. app market is the most significant finding in the new report and demonstrates how successfully Apple has managed to create a subscription economy that allows a broader range of apps to generate sizable revenues.

The new data also supports this, as it shows it’s not only the biggest players that are benefiting from subscription revenue growth. In Q2 2022, 400 apps generated more than $1 million in consumer spending on the U.S. App Store, which is eight times the total from the same quarter in 2016. In addition, 61 U.S. App Store non-game apps generated at least $10 million in U.S. consumer spending in Q2 2022 — that’s more than the number of non-game apps that had generated $1 million+ in revenue in Q2 2016.

A handful of non-game apps also topped $50 million in U.S. consumer spending in the quarter, including YouTube, HBO Max, TikTok, Tinder, Disney+, Hulu and Bumble.

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

Subscriptions are the major revenue growth driver here, as non-game apps grew at nearly twice the rate  — at a 40% compound annual growth rate — since June 2014 compared with less than 20% for games, the report found.

The trend is a significant reversal of what mobile app spending looked like just a few years ago.

In 2019 and early 2020, for instance, mobile game spending growth was consistently higher than non-game spending. Game spending then surged again at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by late 2020, non-game growth had caught up and the gap widened in 2021.

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

While non-games are enjoying their new dominance, it’s not all great news for the app economy in this most recent quarter. The report also found that U.S. app spending overall declined for the first time in Q2, following the wind down from the spike generated by the pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic (around April 2020), year-over-year growth in consumer spending had jumped from around 20%-30% in 2019 to 35%-55% over the next 12 months. But in May 2022, U.S. spending declined for the first time as consumers began to shift their dollars back to other non-mobile activities like restaurant dining and travel.

Despite this decline from the pandemic highs, consumer spending in Q2 2022 was still up 71% over Q2 2019.

In other key findings from the quarter, summer travel drove travel apps to record high downloads in the U.S. and U.K., and airline app downloads in these markets were up 30%+ compared with Q2 2019, before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the top-five ticketing apps saw 10 million downloads, up 70%+ from Q2 2019 as consumers returned to concerts, sports games and other events.

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

Worldwide app downloads slowed also slowed in the quarter, as installs totaled 35 billion in Q2, down 2.5% year over year. App Store downloads fell 1.3% to 7.8 billion and Google Play installs dropped 3% to 27.2 billion.

The most downloaded non-game app worldwide was TikTok, which has held the top position eight times out of the past 10 quarters. It was followed by Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat. TikTok (including Douyin in China on iOS) had 187 million downloads in the quarter.

The top mobile game globally was Subway Surfers, with over 80 million downloads — its highest total since 2014, and following the game’s maker Sybo’s acquisition by gaming giant Miniclip in June 2022. The number two title was Garena Free Fire with 70 million installs for the third quarter in a row.

China was still the larger contributor to iOS gaming revenue, despite a pause on game approvals in May 2022. In Q2, 65% of consumer spending on China’s App Store was on mobile games, while 35% was on non-game apps in Q2 2022 — percentages that remained unchanged from a year ago in June 2021. Japan’s App Store still generates the third-most gaming revenue on iOS and it maintained this position, though games’ share shrank a bit to 68% of the total spend, down from 70% in June 2021.

Pivoting your startup in a bear market: Become undeniably fundable

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:45 AM PDT

As a founder, it's easy to say, "Of course, we'll pivot!" But actually pulling a pivot off is no easy feat. How do you set yourself up for success in this new world? Which levers should you pull first? How do you ensure you can secure capital when needed or that your company is undeniably fundable?

Right now, becoming undeniably fundable should be every founder's north star. It denotes that you've built an efficient company that will without a doubt garner venture capital attention and funding when the time is right.

Surface and scrutinize efficiency KPIs

As you begin the road to becoming undeniably fundable, you must prioritize KPIs that represent efficiency. Vanity metrics have taken the backseat in this new world, and there will be few paths forward for you if you don’t prove you’re efficient.

There are five key efficiency metrics that matter:

In this new chapter, CEOs must think like a CFO.

  1. Growth rate: The pace at which your annual recurring revenue (ARR) is scaling. Can you still grow 2x or 3x year over year right now? How does your product need to change?
  2. Customer acquisition cost (CAC): The amount of money you need to spend on sales and marketing to acquire one customer.
  3. CAC payback period: The time it takes to recoup the cost of acquiring a customer. Shoot for a time span that’s less than 20 months.
  4. Gross margins: The cost of servicing customers with both your technology and your people. The industry standard is about 75%.
  5. Burn multiple: The amount you are spending to generate incremental ARR. 1x is amazing but less than that is even better. Popularized by David Sacks, this metric has been a guiding light for my current company, as this metric doesn't lie. You can't hide spending or stash costs in other departments. It exposes the cold hard truth about your spending, growth and cash collection.

Examine your business and change your priorities

Once you have a strong grasp on your efficiency metrics, it's time to take action. Regardless of your segment, industry or customer type, I believe you need to do the following.

Scrutinize your budget and shrink it to essentials

As a founder, you must dive deep into every department’s budget — don't leave it to others. There's no room for fluff.

Take stock of personnel costs

Nintendo acquires CG animation studio and renames it Nintendo Pictures

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:45 AM PDT

Nintendo has entered an agreement to acquire CG animation company Dynamo Pictures in order to develop visual content using Nintendo IP. The gaming company is buying 100% of outstanding shares of Dynamo Pictures and rebranding it as Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd. The deal is expected to close on October 3.

According to a regulatory filing, Nintendo stated:

Nintendo has decided to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares (excluding treasury shares) of Dynamo Pictures and make it a wholly owned subsidiary to strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo Group.

The deal suggests that Nintendo is expanding further into the entertainment business. Having a studio gives Nintendo the freedom to produce its own content. While it is unsure whether the production company will develop full-length features, in-game cutscenes or short films, it is exciting to think about all the possibilities. Nintendo owns franchises like Mario, Kirby, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Animal Crossing.

The company is already working with Universal's Illumination studio to release an animated movie in April 2023 based on the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

This strategy of video game companies developing film and TV series content based on IP isn't new. Sony, responsible for Playstation, is also set to develop titles with its large library of video game IP. Projects already in production include Twisted Metal, The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima. There are 10 others in development.

The visual production company Dynamo Pictures, Inc. was established in 2011 and is known for its work on the animated "Pikmin" short movies as well as "Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045" season 2, "Death Stranding," "Monster Hunter: World," "Final Fantasy XIII-2," "Persona 5," "Yuri on Ice," "Earwig and the Witch" and more.

BuzzFeed - Celebrity

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:25 PM PDT

BuzzFeed - Celebrity


Armie Hammer Is Reportedly Working As A Timeshare Salesperson In The Cayman Islands

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:18 PM PDT

"The reality is he's totally broke."


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Jamie Campbell Bower Read Thirst Tweets About Himself And Vecna, And It's The Best Thing I've Seen All Week

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:04 PM PDT

The Vecna thirst is hilarious...and real.


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"Legally Blonde" Is 21 Years Old, So Here's What The Cast Is Up To Now

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:55 PM PDT

I always forget that Alanna Ubach, who played Serena, is the same person who plays Cassie's mom on Euphoria.


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53 Of The Best TV Shows To Stream On Disney+ In July

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:43 PM PDT

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms. Marvel, and more great titles you'll want to stream this month.


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Khloé Kardashian And Tristan Thompson Are Expecting A Second Baby Together. Here’s Everything We Know About Their Surrogacy Journey.

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:46 AM PDT

Khloé reportedly kept the news under wraps "to protect her mental health from judgment from the public as a result of Tristan's actions."


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"Stranger Things" Fans Made The Funniest Season 4 Jokes, And Here Are 82 For Your Enjoyment

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:16 AM PDT

"Hopper, Joyce, and Murray probably smelled like poop all through Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2."


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“Stranger Things” Star Noah Schnapp Just Used Doja Cat’s Song In A TikTok And Insisted There Are “No Hard Feelings” After He “Apologized” For Leaking Her DMs

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:33 AM PDT

Doja reportedly lost 200,000 Instagram followers after she dragged Noah during her livestream last week.


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Ana De Armas Reflected On The “Horrible” Media Attention Surrounding Her Highly Publicized Relationship With Ben Affleck And Admitted That It Led Her To Leave LA

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:25 AM PDT

Need we mention the cardboard cutout?


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89 Celebs On Their First Red Carpet Vs. Their Last One, And There Are Some Serious Transformations Going On Here

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:49 AM PDT

I always forget *just* how attractive young Nic Cage was.


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Eat At This Dessert Buffet And I'll Decide If You're An Arianator Or A Livie

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 02:21 AM PDT

It's a win/win!


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www.espn.com - RPM

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:05 PM PDT

www.espn.com - RPM


Shwartzman makes Ferrari F1 test

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:45 AM PDT

Ferrari test driver Robert Shwartzman represented Israel as he tried out last year's Formula One car ahead of two Friday practice sessions at grands prix later in the season.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

[New post] Nerds manufacturer says THC-infused candies violate trademark rights

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:57 PM PDT

Ars Technica

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:32 PM PDT

Ars Technica


Quantum advantage showdowns have no clear winners

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:43 AM PDT

Xanadu's quantum chip.

Enlarge / Xanadu's quantum chip. (credit: Xanadu)

Last month, physicists at Toronto-based startup Xanadu published a curious experiment in Nature in which they generated seemingly random numbers. During the pandemic, they built a tabletop machine named Borealis, consisting of lasers, mirrors, and over a kilometer of optical fiber. Within Borealis, 216 beams of infrared light bounced around through a complicated network of prisms. Then, a series of detectors counted the number of photons in each beam after they traversed the prisms. Ultimately, the machine generated 216 numbers at a time—one number corresponding to the photon count in each respective beam.

Borealis is a quantum computer, and according to the Xanadu researchers, this laser-powered dice roll is beyond the capability of classical, or non-quantum, computing. It took Borealis 36 microseconds to generate one set of 216 numbers from a complicated statistical distribution. They estimated it would take Fugaku, the most powerful supercomputer at the time of the experiment, an average of 9,000 years to produce a set of numbers from the same distribution.

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Android 13 marches toward release with final beta version

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:56 AM PDT

Android 13 marches toward release with final beta version

Enlarge (credit: Google)

Google is quickly marching toward the next release of Android. The company announced the "final" Android 13 beta yesterday, beta 4, with word that an official release is "coming in the weeks ahead."

After the massive overhaul of Android 12, Android 13 seems to be a smaller release focusing on various improvements and tablet features. A lot of Android 13 is building on the work from Android 12 and the tablet-focused mini-release, Android 12L. There are more Material You color options and more tweaks to the new notification media player. The tablet interface has a new app-drawer button for the taskbar and split-screen drag-and-drop support for notifications. You get more control over apps with a foreground app task manager and a new permission that requires apps to ask for notification access. Under the hood there is some serious virtualization power and support for Bluetooth LE Audio. There's even finally a standard QR Code reader now.

The Android 13 timeline.

The Android 13 timeline. (credit: Google)

Android 13 solidified a while ago, and this latest release is just about bugfixes. Google notes that the Play Store is ready to accept your Android 13-compatible apps, and if you have a recent Pixel phone, you can enroll in the beta at android.com/beta.

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New Windows Media Player app travels back in time, gains the ability to rip CDs

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:46 AM PDT

Preparing to rip a CD in the new Windows Media Player app.

Enlarge / Preparing to rip a CD in the new Windows Media Player app. (credit: Microsoft)

If there's one thing Windows 11 has been good for, it has been the renewed attention and useful updates to the built-in apps that ship with Windows. Sometimes this means new features for long-neglected apps, like Notepad and Paint. In other cases, it means bringing back features that old apps lost somewhere along the way, like with Sound Recorder or Windows Media Player.

The latest preview version of Media Player, currently rolling out to Dev Channel Windows Insiders, is in the latter group. In March, Microsoft enabled audio CD playback in the new version of Media Player, something that the old version had supported for pretty much as long as it had existed. And now, Microsoft is rolling out support for CD ripping in the new version of Media Player, presumably so that we can all convert our old Weezer and Matchbox 20 CDs into files we can copy over to our iPods and Zunes.

By default, CDs can be ripped to AAC files at constant bitrates ranging between 96 and 320kbps. The WMA, FLAC, and ALAC formats are also supported. MP3 support and variable bitrate support, two features that are still included in the "Media Player Legacy" app, are notably absent.

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Crypto lender Celsius files for bankruptcy, still won’t let users withdraw funds

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:02 AM PDT

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky speaks at a conference while seated on a stage and wearing a T-shirt that says,

Enlarge / Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky addresses the audience at the November 2021 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

Cryptocurrency loan company Celsius filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 yesterday, one month after the lender announced it was suspending withdrawals. The petitions for reorganization give Celsius "the best opportunity to stabilize the business, consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximizes value for all stakeholders, and emerge from Chapter 11 positioned for success in the cryptocurrency industry," the company said.

In an FAQ updated yesterday, Celsius told users that withdrawals are still suspended. As part of the bankruptcy process, Celsius said it "intend[s] to put forward a plan that restores activity across the platform." But it offered no timeline for allowing withdrawals and other suspended transactions again:

On June 12, 2022, we made the difficult but necessary decision to pause withdrawals, Swap, and transfers on our platform to stabilize our business and protect our customers.

Most account activity will be paused until further notice. Withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts will remain paused, and rewards will stop accruing as of the date of the filing. Celsius is not requesting authority [from the bankruptcy court] to allow customer withdrawals at this time.

Existing loans "will continue to be serviced" but "Celsius will not be issuing new loans at this time," the company said. Celsius also said that if it hadn't halted withdrawals, "the acceleration of withdrawals would have allowed specific customers—those who were first to act—to be paid in full while leaving others behind to wait for Celsius to harvest value from illiquid or longer-term asset deployment activities before they receive a recovery."

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Two-minute-plus teaser for LOTR: Rings of Power drops ahead of Comic-Con

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:53 AM PDT

Prime Video's new fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is adapted from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien and debuts on September 2, 2022.

Hollywood is gearing up for San Diego Comic-Con next week—the first in-person version of the hugely popular and influential convention since the pandemic hit. Prime Video decided this was the perfect time to release a new, nearly two-and-a-half-minute teaser trailer for its upcoming series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It feels very much in the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and Peter Jackson's classic film trilogy.

The first teaser for the new eight-part series landed in February during the Super Bowl and gave us some eye-popping views of the quality world-building we can expect. Per the official description:

This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The large ensemble cast includes Morfydd Clark as a young Galadriel, "now a hardscrabble warrior leading the Northern Armies," who is determined to hunt down her brother's killer. She ends up adrift at sea with a new character named Halbrand (Charles Vickers). All we know about him is that he is "running from his past." Charles Edwards plays Celebrimbor, whom hardcore LOTR fans will recognize as the elven smith who forged the legendary rings.

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EA pulls a “reverse Ubisoft,” makes some old BioWare DLC free

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Don't worry, my sweet. BioWare Points can't hurt you anymore.

Enlarge / Don't worry, my sweet. BioWare Points can't hurt you anymore.

Single-player downloadable content for the PC versions of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 will be available for free going forward. The change—which EA is announcing via apparent emails to some Origin users—comes alongside the pending shutdown of the BioWare Points digital currency system.

Those BioWare Points used to be the only way to purchase DLC for the developer's legacy titles. And because those points rarely went on sale, the price of that DLC relative to the heavily discounted base games would sometimes get a little ridiculous. As an angry change.org petition noted in 2015, "to purchase enough BioWare Points to own all DLC for the [Mass Effect] series would total $105; over 3 times the cost of all three base games."

In 2017, though, EA released moderately priced DLC bundles for its legacy BioWare titles, making it much more affordable and convenient to purchase story-based expansions and content packs that offer more character customization options.

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Astrophysicist Paul Sutter explains the world’s seeming lack of trust in science

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:55 AM PDT

Produced by Katherine Wzorek. Edited by Louis Lalire and Ron Douglas. Click here for transcript. (video link)

The public has a very strange relationship with science. On the one hand, scientists have been among the most trusted figures in US society, and the same holds true in many other countries. On the other hand, there's widespread mistrust in many of the conclusions scientists have reached. Perennial issues of public mistrust like evolution and climate change have recently been joined by a range of conspiracy theories about the COVID pandemic—even the shape of the Earth has become an issue.

How do we explain the huge gap between what the public thinks about scientists and what they often think about the conclusions scientists reach? And who do we blame for this gap? People have pointed fingers at scientists, at the public, and at the journalists who act as intermediaries between the two.

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Google says you can now turn these 400 Macs, PCs into reliable Chromebooks

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Google Chrome OS Flex.

Enlarge / Google Chrome OS Flex. (credit: Google)

Google today announced in a blog post that ChromeOS Flex, a version of its Chromebook operating system suitable for most hardware, has moved from early access to general availability. It also said it certified "over 400" devices, including systems from Apple, Dell, and HP, to run the OS smoothly and stably.

Google announced ChromeOS Flex in February, building upon its 2020 acquisition of CloudReady (CloudReady becomes ChromeOS Flex now that the latter is stable). Cloud OS Flex is downloadable to a USB drive for free, allowing you to install it on a Mac or Windows PC.

The most obvious use for ChromeOS Flex is to bring new life to a dated machine that may be too old to get software updates for its native OS. Our ChromeOS Flex beta review found the OS to be an interesting alternative for people content with doing most of their computing in a browser and for getting a budget-level Chromebook experience from an 8-to 9-year-old system.

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GM, EVgo, and Pilot will install 2,000 fast chargers at travel centers

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 05:30 AM PDT

The Cadillac Lyriq is one of a new range of EVs built by General Motors using a new common battery and motor platform.

Enlarge / The Cadillac Lyriq is one of a new range of EVs built by General Motors using a new common battery and motor platform. (credit: General Motors)

General Motors is in the process of transforming itself into an electrified automaker, as entire brands like Cadillac and Hummer switch their lineups to entirely electric vehicles. To help the process of EV adoption, the automaker is also investing in charging infrastructure around the country. On Thursday, it announced that it is working with the Pilot Company to install 2,000 DC fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers around the US.

The chargers will be operated by EVgo, which has already partnered with GM on a fast charger expansion program—initially 2,700 and now 3,250—to be completed by 2025.

The travel centers should have at least four charging machines each—GM and Pilot say that in total, they intend to place 2,000 chargers at up to 500 locations. And the companies say that many of the installations will have canopies to shield EV drivers from the elements and will be designed to work with EVs towing trailers.

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Electric cars are doomed if fast charger reliability doesn’t get better

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:20 PM PDT

On a positive note, the charging stations were busy when we visited them.

Enlarge / On a positive note, the charging stations were busy when we visited them. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

In many regards, electric vehicles are clearly better than the internal combustion engine-powered relatives they will eventually replace. They're quieter, they rattle and vibrate less, they accelerate faster, and they're much more efficient because they can recover energy under braking. And their batteries should last for the life of the car as well as a gasoline engine does. But I'm increasingly convinced that EV adoption is going to run into real problems if we can't get a handle on charger reliability.

Even the biggest EV enthusiasts can't ignore the fact that it takes a lot longer to recharge a battery than fill a tank with liquid hydrocarbons—even when that battery is connected to a very high-voltage DC fast charger. For about two-thirds of American car buyers—those who have somewhere at home to charge overnight—this isn't a problem most of the time. On average, people only drive 29 miles a day, so even short-range EVs should actually meet the needs of most drivers.

That's the purely rational take, anyway.

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Novavax’s COVID vaccine finally wins FDA authorization for use in unvaccinated

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:41 PM PDT

The Novavax Inc. Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine.

Enlarge / The Novavax Inc. Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg )

The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued a long-awaited authorization for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine. It is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to gain authorization in the US, but it's the first to use a more conventional protein-subunit design.

For now, the two-dose vaccine is mainly aimed at the roughly 72 million Americans who have yet to receive one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA's emergency use authorization only allows for its use as a primary series, not a booster for those already vaccinated. Though Novavax is expected to seek booster authorization later, the company and the FDA hope that the vaccine's traditional formulation will entice vaccination holdouts now, particularly as BA.5 sweeps the country.

Some consider the vaccine's protein-subunit design to be a more tried-and-true design relative to the newer mRNA-based platform used in the leading COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. While mRNA-based vaccines made their public debut during the pandemic, protein-subunit-based vaccines were already in use against various diseases, including hepatitis B, flu, pertussis (whooping-cough), and meningococcal infections.

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Microsoft wins deal to serve ads on Netflix, edging out Comcast and Google

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 02:09 PM PDT

A TV screen showing various shows available on Netflix.

Enlarge (credit: Netflix)

Netflix has hired Microsoft to provide the advertising technology for the streaming service's planned ad-supported tier, the companies announced Wednesday. Comcast's NBCUniversal subsidiary and Google were reportedly "top contenders" to serve ads on Netflix before Microsoft won the contract.

Microsoft will be the "global advertising technology and sales partner" for the "new lower priced ad-supported subscription plan," Netflix said Wednesday.

"Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering," Netflix said. "More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members." The ad-supported streaming subscription will be offered "in addition to our existing ads-free basic, standard and premium plans," Netflix said.

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Researchers zero in on the source of fast radio bursts

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 01:24 PM PDT

Image of a blue-white sphere, representing the star.

Enlarge / An event on the surface of a magnetar may produce fast radio bursts. (credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

Fast radio bursts are exactly what their name implies: a sudden surge of photons at radio frequencies that often lasts for less than a second. Once scientists had finished convincing themselves that they weren't looking at equipment glitches, the search was on for what was producing the vast amounts of energy involved in a fast radio burst (FRB).

The discovery of the first repeating FRB told us that the process that generates an FRB doesn't destroy the object that does the producing. Eventually, an FRB was found that was associated with events at additional wavelengths, allowing the source to be identified: a magnetar, a subset of neutron stars that has the Universe's most extreme magnetic fields. While that represents excellent progress, it still doesn't tell us anything about the physics of how the burst is produced—knowledge that would presumably tell us why most magnetars don't produce them and why the burst tends to start and stop so suddenly.

Now, researchers have identified an FRB that helps limit our ideas about what can produce them. The FRB itself appears to be a single event, but it's composed of nine individual bursts separated by about 215 milliseconds. The rapid pace means that the source of the burst almost certainly has to be near the surface of the magnetar.

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The best “Prime Day” deals that are still kicking at retailers other than Amazon

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 01:03 PM PDT

Fitbit Luxe on a users wrist, close up on the display

Enlarge / The Fitbit Luxe. (credit: Corey Gaskin)

Amazon's Prime Day sale is still chugging along, but if you're not an Amazon Prime member (or don't want to be), there are still some good deals to take advantage of from other retailers. It has become commonplace for competitors to match, and sometimes undercut, some of Amazon's sale prices, and that's once again the case this year. We poked around the web and picked through these competing sales to highlight the most worthwhile non-Prime Day tech deals that are still kicking at retailers besides Amazon.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

More Prime Day 2022 coverage

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Vulnerabilities allowing permanent infections affect 70 Lenovo laptop models

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 12:44 PM PDT

Vulnerabilities allowing permanent infections affect 70 Lenovo laptop models

Enlarge (credit: Lenovo)

For owners of more than 70 Lenovo laptop models, it's time once again to patch the UEFI firmware against critical vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit to install malware that's nearly impossible to detect or remove.

The laptop maker on Tuesday released updates for three vulnerabilities that researchers found in the UEFI firmware used to boot up a host of its laptop models, including the Yoga, ThinkBook, and IdeaPad lines. The company assigned a medium severity rating to the vulnerabilities, which are tracked CVE-2022-1890, CVE-2022-1891, and CVE-2022-1892 and affect the ReadyBootDxe, SystemLoadDefaultDxe, and SystemBootManagerDxe drivers, respectively.

"The vulnerabilities can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution in the early phases of the platform boot, possibly allowing the attackers to hijack the OS execution flow and disable some important security features," security firm ESET said. "These vulnerabilities were caused by insufficient validation of DataSize parameter passed to the UEFI Runtime Services function GetVariable. An attacker could create a specially crafted NVRAM variable, causing buffer overflow of the Data buffer in the second GetVariable call."

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EU lawmakers slam “radical proposal“ to let ISPs demand new fees from websites

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 12:32 PM PDT

A person's hand holding a roll of 50-Euro notes.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Alicia Llop)

Fifty-four members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are protesting what they call a "radical proposal" to require payments from online service providers to Internet service providers.

Noting that Europe's 2015 "Open Internet Regulation ensures that citizens are free to use whichever apps and websites they wish," the MEPs said they have "deep concern about the European Commission's plans to change our net neutrality legislation in the upcoming Connectivity Infrastructure Act to be proposed in autumn, without having consulted the public, technology experts, academics, civil society, or expert regulatory agencies."

No specific proposal has been released, but "statements to the press indicate that a new provision would require payments from online service providers to broadband providers—ostensibly to fund the rollout of 5G and fiber to the home," the MEPs wrote in the letter yesterday to the European Commission.

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Amazon leaks Genesis Mini 2—Sega immediately confirms its October 27 launch

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:20 AM PDT

Like the previously announced Japanese "Mega Drive Mini 2," this "Genesis Mini 2" will be modeled after the system's "Model 2" variant—and has the same box design as the old "Core System" look of the mid-'90s.

Enlarge / Like the previously announced Japanese "Mega Drive Mini 2," this "Genesis Mini 2" will be modeled after the system's "Model 2" variant—and has the same box design as the old "Core System" look of the mid-'90s. (credit: Amazon / Sega)

Though you may have your eyes stuck on Amazon this week due to Prime Day promotions, the site wound up making news for a select segment of retro gamers on Wednesday by leaking a new Sega product: the Genesis Mini 2. Roughly one hour later, Sega made it official by rolling out a dedicated Sega Genesis Mini 2 website.

If this mini-console concept looks familiar, that's because Sega of Japan already announced its own version of this product, the Mega Drive Mini 2, earlier this year, slated to launch overseas in October. Today's newly announced "Genesis"-themed version has a firmer release date of October 27, and it, too, will include "over 50" classic games from the Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and arcade. As Sega reps have previously explained, both the Mega Drive Mini 2 and Genesis Mini 2 are powered by an entirely new system-on-ship (SoC) compared to 2019's original Genesis Mini, which means it will include larger flash storage and improved processing needed to properly emulate the Sega CD console.

Speaking of upgraded hardware: The box art confirms that Sega is including a six-button Genesis controller this time, though only one, not a pair. Sega has confirmed that any three- and six-button pads made for the original Genesis Mini will work on this hardware.

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Bayonetta 3 on Switch will include an optional “put on more clothes” mode

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:37 AM PDT

"My blood runs cold/My memory has just been sold..."

Enlarge / "My blood runs cold/My memory has just been sold..." (credit: Platinum Games / Twitter)

Most fans of the Bayonetta franchise will no doubt be happy to hear that the upcoming Bayonetta 3—which is now planned for an October 28 release exclusively on the Switch—will feature a title character that's "sexier than ever," according to developer Platinum Games. But for players who have young children in the house and still want to "play right in the living room without having to worry about what's on screen," Platinum says it will include a mode that covers up some of the partial nudity the series is known for.

In a tweeted video, Platinum shows how "Naive Angel Mode" will add additional covering to Bayonetta and other characters that might be showing a little too much skin for sensitive players. That includes extra skin covering during some of Bayonetta's dramatic special attacks, where her flowing hair stops serving as her clothing (yes, really) and starts serving as a weapon.

While this new family-friendly mode will tone down the nudity, it's unclear if it will also limit the over-the-top violent "torture attacks" that will be making a return in the upcoming sequel. For Bayonetta 2, the ESRB described those in part as "exaggerated and intense acts of violence [with] enemies thrown into spinning spiked wheels; characters decapitated by a guillotine; a dragon ripping characters apart [and] large blood-splatter effects and gore can be seen frequently." Not exactly content you might want a child seeing over your shoulder during living room play.

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Light pollution is disrupting the seasonal rhythms of plants and trees

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:24 AM PDT

Light pollution is disrupting the seasonal rhythms of plants and trees

Enlarge (credit: Noam Cohen/EyeEm/Getty)

City lights that blaze all night are profoundly disrupting urban plants' phenology—shifting when their buds open in the spring and when their leaves change colors and drop in the fall. New research I co-authored shows how nighttime lights are lengthening the growing season in cities, which can affect everything from allergies to local economies.

In our study, my colleagues and I analyzed trees and shrubs at about 3,000 sites in US cities to see how they responded under different lighting conditions over a five-year period. Plants use the natural day-night cycle as a signal of seasonal change along with temperature.

We found that artificial light alone advanced the date that leaf buds broke in the spring by an average of about nine days compared to sites without nighttime lights. The timing of the fall color change in leaves was more complex, but the leaf change was still delayed on average by nearly six days across the lower 48 states. In general, we found that the more intense the light was, the greater the difference.

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Fit Foodie Finds

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:28 PM PDT

Fit Foodie Finds


Kale Smoothie

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:46 AM PDT

kale smoothie in a mason jar

Kale Smoothie

This kale smoothie is packed with greens, nutrients, and flavor. It’s made with kale, banana, flax, dates, and orange juice. Whip up this green smoothie in 5 minutes and you’re off and running with a healthy breakfast or snack on the go. From green smoothies to breakfast smoothies to protein shakes, we have all the smoothie recipes you could ever
...

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BuzzFeed - Nifty

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:27 PM PDT

BuzzFeed - Nifty


Thousands Of Reviewers Already Love These Products And We Predict You’ll Be Joining Them Soon

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 11:01 PM PDT

You'll be writing your own 5-star review before you know it.


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28 Pieces Of Clothing To Pack For A Summer Road Trip

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:01 AM PDT

We're prioritizing comfort and versatility for this one, FYI.


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25 Home Things By Small Businesses That Are The Definition Of Enchanting

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:01 AM PDT

These small shops truly understood the ~magical~ assignment with mushroom-shaped wall hangings, ivy twinkle light garland, *and* sparkling moon prisms.


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34 Beauty Products You'll Love So Much, You'll Order Them In Bulk

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:01 AM PDT

Clear some room in your bathroom cabinets for all the makeup, skincare, and hair products you're about to stock up on.


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Just 20 Things From Anthropologie That Are Incredibly Comfy

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 02:01 AM PDT

Because putting on pants is already tough enough — they should at least be comfortable.


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"Millennial Pink," Subway Tile, Tufted Headboards, And 36 Other Polarizing Home Design Trends Of The 2000s (Ranked From Worst To Best)

Posted: 28 Dec 2021 09:16 PM PST

No. 1 is a hill that I would be honored to die on.


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[New post] US: MLB The Show 22 is the next Game Trail for Switch Online subscribers

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:21 PM PDT

[New post] Biden Just Said He’s Willing To Go To War With Iran, Mainstream Yawns

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:15 PM PDT

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www.espn.com - NHL

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:06 PM PDT

www.espn.com - NHL


Winners and losers of Day 1 of NHL free agency, plus the best remaining players

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:57 AM PDT

The Red Wings and Hurricanes are among the teams which did well, while the Flyers and others did ... not so well. We digest the opening round of deals here.

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Grades for the biggest signings

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:57 AM PDT

We weigh in on the fits and terms for the top deals, including Johnny Gaudreau to the Blue Jackets and Darcy Kuemper to the Caps.

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In adding Pacioretty, Canes take advantage of Knights' cap woes

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 05:10 PM PDT

Vegas' salary cap mismanagement bit the Golden Knights again, giving Carolina the chance to cash in.

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Hurricanes get high marks for adding Burns

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 05:10 PM PDT

The Hurricanes needed defensive help and got it by adding Burns at a reasonable cost. How did the Sharks make out in the deal?

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Gaudreau had CBJ 'circled', likes team's potential

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 01:00 PM PDT

Coveted free agent Johnny Gaudreau said that Columbus was a place he had "circled" before signing his seven-year deal.

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Hockey Canada reopens sexual assault inquiry

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:31 AM PDT

Hockey Canada made a series of announcements in an open letter to Canadians, including the reopening of a third-party investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of the country's 2018 world junior team.

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Source: Palat, Devils agree to 5-year, $30M deal

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:09 AM PDT

The Devils have landed former Lightning winger Ondrej Palat on a five-year deal with an average annual value of $6 million, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.

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Ducks add former Ranger Strome on 5-year deal

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:49 PM PDT

The Anaheim Ducks signed center Ryan Strome, coming off a breakout season with the New York Rangers, to a five-year contract.

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Smith, an original Golden Knight, stays in Vegas

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:18 PM PDT

Veteran forward Reilly Smith, 31, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights, agreed to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday night, after finishing last season with 16 goals in 56 games.

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Cup-winning goalie Kuemper signs with Capitals

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:26 PM PDT

Free agent goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who backstopped the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship last month, signed a five-year contract with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

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'Thrilled' Blue Jackets sign Gaudreau for $68.2M

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 08:04 PM PDT

Free agent forward Johnny Gaudreau, the premier name in this year's NHL free agent market and former Calgary Flames winger, agreed to join the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, agreeing to a seven-year contract.

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Fantasy hockey reaction to 2022 NHL free agency signings, trades and more

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:19 AM PDT

Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Campbell, Max Pacioretty and more! Fantasy hockey reaction to the biggest free agent signings, trades and more across the NHL.

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50-year-old Jaromir Jagr joked about playing in the NHL again

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 06:06 PM PDT

Jagr offered up an honest assessment of his strengths and weaknesses as a player ... and added a recruiting pitch for his Czech league team.

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Burakovsky secures $27.5M contract from Kraken

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 05:08 PM PDT

After helping the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup last month, free agent forward Andre Burakovsky has elected to join the Seattle Kraken on a five-year contract worth $27.5 million.

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Vegas clears cap room, ships Pacioretty to Canes

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:21 PM PDT

The Vegas Golden Knights, looking to create some salary-cap room as free agency began around the NHL, traded star winger Max Pacioretty, 33, to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday for future considerations.

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RW Vatrano secures three-year pact from Ducks

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:18 PM PDT

The Anaheim Ducks agreed to terms with right wing Frank Vatrano, 28, on a three-year contract on Wednesday, after the veteran forward authored a strong postseason run for the New York Rangers.

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Sources: Brunette joins Devils as assistant coach

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:59 PM PDT

Andrew Brunette, a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach last season while with the Florida Panthers, agreed Wednesday to a three-year contract with the New Jersey Devils to be an assistant coach, sources told ESPN's Kevin Weekes.

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Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

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Posted: 14 Jul 2022 11:48 AM PDT

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BuzzFeed - BringMe

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:54 AM PDT

BuzzFeed - BringMe


18 Travel Tips That Are So Easy, I'm Disappointed I Haven't Thought Of Them

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 12:46 PM PDT

Packing a surge protector is literally so smart.


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28 Pieces Of Clothing To Pack For A Summer Road Trip

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:01 AM PDT

We're prioritizing comfort and versatility for this one, FYI.


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7 Popular National Dishes That Basically Define Certain Countries (But Actually Come From Entirely Different Ones)

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 06:15 PM PDT

Fact: Tomatoes didn't even grow in Italy until they were brought over from Mexico.


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Nantucket Is Courting The “Coastal Granddaughter” Generation — And It’s Working

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:57 PM PDT

The wealthy Massachusetts enclave has exploded in popularity among lifestyle influencers and those who follow them.


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[New post] Tails From Alteria campaign ends in success

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 10:31 AM PDT

TechSpot

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:57 AM PDT

TechSpot


Corsair's latest mechanical keyboard is its most customizable yet

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:02 AM PDT


Corsair's latest comes with your choice of 100 percent Cherry MX Red (linear, 45 cN operating force, 4.0mm total travel) or MX Speed Silver (linear, 45 cN operating force, 3.4mm total travel) mechanical switches. Both are rated for 100 million keystrokes and are hot-swappable so you can change up the feel down the road.

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Panasonic plans to boost battery energy density 20% by 2030

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:27 AM PDT


According to a new report from Reuters, Panasonic is working on improved battery chemistries that could increase energy density by 20 percent by the next decade. Considering that the best batteries on the market today stand at about 750 Wh/l, the company's future cells could increase that figure to an...

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Cryptocurrency lender Celsius files for bankruptcy as customers fear for their money

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:57 AM PDT


The Celsius Network was one of the first big casualties of the crypto crash following the collapse of TerraUSD. The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, which operated by collecting customer deposits that it loaned out to others to earn a return, froze account withdrawals and transfers last month due to "extreme...

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Panasonic will build one of the world's largest EV battery factories in Kansas

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:31 AM PDT


The factory will create up to 8,000 new jobs in the state, according to Governor Laura Kelly. 4,000 of those jobs will come directly from the factory, while Kelly expects an additional 4,000 to be created by "suppliers and community businesses." These jobs will be backed by a whopping $4...

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Native CD ripping returns to Windows 11 in latest Insider build

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 05:51 AM PDT


Microsoft continues to add missing features to Windows 11 and will need to do so for quite some time if it wants more Windows 10 users to move to the latest OS. Although the company's latest Windows Insider update doesn't exactly set the world on fire, like making the Start...

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Spotify acquires Wordle's song-based cousin 'Heardle'

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 05:23 AM PDT


Like its word-based cousin, Heardle gives players a limited number of attempts to guess a song -- six in total -- before they'll be locked out of guessing for the day. If you're completely stumped, you can choose to skip ahead a bit in the tune, though this occupies one...

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TSMC increases revenue forecast in sign that demand is better than feared

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 04:55 AM PDT


Bloomberg reports that TSMC has increased its sales growth from the previous ~30% to somewhere in the mid-30% range. It also gave a projected revenue for the September quarter of $19.8 billion to $20.6 billion, beating previous estimates of $18.5 billion.

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AMD Ryzen 7 5700X vs. Intel Core i7-12700F: Best Value 8-Core Gaming CPU

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 04:12 AM PDT


It's time to compare the Ryzen 7 5700X against the Core i7-12700F, two relatively affordable and powerful 8-core CPUs. We've got a 23 game benchmark covering 1080p and 1440p resolutions.

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Elon Musk and Donald Trump fight over Twitter deal, presidential age limits

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 03:19 AM PDT


Trump started the spat on Saturday at a campaign rally when he called Musk a BS artist for claiming that he had never voted Republican until this June. "He told me he voted for me," Trump said. He also called the Twitter acquisition contract "rotten."

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www.espn.com - GOLF

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:22 AM PDT

www.espn.com - GOLF


Tiger Woods is at St. Andrews, and here is how Round 1 is going at The Open

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Tiger Woods skipped the U.S. Open to make sure he was ready for The Open at St. Andrews. We have you covered for Round 1.

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Phil on Tiger's LIV critique: 'I respect his opinion'

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:58 AM PDT

Phil Mickelson said he respects Tiger Woods' opinion on LIV Golf after the 15-time major champion said those who joined the breakaway series had "turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position."

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Rose withdraws from The Open with back injury

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 07:18 AM PDT

Former world No. 1 Justin Rose has withdrawn from The 150th Open ahead of his opening round at St. Andrews, Scotland.

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Sorenstam back on top of LPGA Tour leaderboard

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:34 PM PDT

Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and teammate Madelene Sagstrom shot a 5-under 65 on Wednesday in alternate-shot play in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational for a share of the first-round lead.

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Rory favored at Open, but bettors backing Tiger

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 12:35 PM PDT

Rory McIlroy is the consensus favorite to win The Open, but bettors in the U.S. and abroad can't resist backing long shot Tiger Woods.

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R&A boss: LIV 'harming the perception' of golf

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 07:50 AM PDT

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said there is "no such thing as a free lunch" in golf and that he believes LIV Golf is "harming the perception of the sport."

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Of course YouTube TV is winning now

Posted: 14 Jul 2022 08:05 AM PDT

TechHive

Best of TechHive

July 14, 2022

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