Technology

Enlarge / MOSCOW, RUSSIA – AUGUST 14, 2020: Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry that produces a COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Vyacheslav Prokofyev) A top Russian researcher behind the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine defended using the vaccine before testing was complete and …

Flouting all standards, Russia plans to release early COVID-19 vaccine data Read More »

Enlarge (credit: Fabian Sommer | picture alliance | Getty Images) After being used as a platform for massive voter-interference campaigns in 2016, Facebook promised this time would be better. The company changed its policies and swore up and down that it would work hard to mitigate the spread of misinformation and support Americans’ rights to get …

Facebook needs to enforce misinfo rules against Trump, Biden campaign says Read More »

Enlarge / A polling-place worker holds an “I’m a Georgia Voter” sticker during the primary election on June 9, 2020 in Atlanta. (credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) A federal judge in Georgia has ordered election officials to print paper backups of voter data so that voting can proceed even if the digital system for checking in …

How Internet-connected voter check-in devices can create election chaos Read More »

Enlarge / Seven La Chamba unglazed ceramic pots were used in a yearlong cooking experiment analyzing the chemical residues of the meals prepared. (credit: Melanie Miller) Archaeologists are fascinated by many different aspects of cultures in the distant past, but determining what ancient people cooked and ate can be particularly challenging. A team of researchers …

Studying clay-pot residues could help scientists recreate ancient recipes Read More »

Enlarge Today, quantum computing company D-Wave is announcing the availability of its next-generation quantum annealer, a specialized processor that uses quantum effects to solve optimization and minimization problems. The hardware itself isn’t much of a surprise—D-Wave was discussing its details months ago—but D-Wave talked with Ars about the challenges of building a chip with over …

D-Wave releases its next-generation quantum annealing chip Read More »

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Caspar Benson) A Maryland judge sentenced a man to one year in jail after finding him guilty of throwing two large parties in violation of a state pandemic order that banned large gatherings. Police were called to the man’s home twice in one week, and he refused to disband the …

Man refused to disband party that violated COVID order, gets year in jail Read More »

Enlarge With a lot of focus lately on how smartphone app developers are treated on Apple’s and Google’s app stores, Google has decided right now is a great time to announce more stringent app store billing rules. A new post from the official Android Developer Blog promises a crackdown on in-app billing that sounds like it’s targeted …

Google announces crackdown on in-app billing, aimed at Netflix and Spotify Read More »

Enlarge / The X1 Fold is aiming for the same basic target as the Samsung Galaxy Fold—but in a more laptop-ish form factor. (credit: Lenovo) Lenovo is following on Dell’s heels with an announcement of two 13-inch Intel Tiger Lake powered laptops of its own—but Lenovo’s new designs are considerably further “out there” than Dell’s. …

Lenovo pushes boundaries with two Tiger Lake X1 designs—Nano and Fold Read More »

The new Roku Ultra. [credit:Roku ] Today was a big day for streaming-box manufacturer Roku: the San Jose-based company announced new products and software features, including another entry into the world of home-theater audio and an update to a popular existing device that adds some of the most requested features. First up, Roku is making …

Roku’s big announcements today: A new Ultra player, soundbar, and AirPlay 2 support Read More »