New Alienware laptops with optional 480Hz displays aren’t the only computers Dell announced today. The company also has a new option for those looking for something more affordable. The G16 represents the first 16-inch laptop for the company’s Dell Gam…
Amazon makes Prime Video look more like Netflix (and every other streaming app)
Amazon is introducing a new Prime Video interface that will be familiar to anyone who has used Netflix – or, for that matter, any other modern streaming service. To make the Prime Video experience “less busy and overwhelming,” the company has relocated…
UK forces Meta to halt its forced sale of Giphy
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ordered the country’s antitrust watchdog to review its decision to force Meta to sell Giphy, reports Bloomberg. “We have agreed to reconsider our decision in light of this finding,” a spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told the outlet, adding the agency hopes to complete the process within three months.
As The Verge notes, the ruling comes after Meta largely lost its appeal against the CMA. The tribunal sided with the watchdog on five of the agency’s six claims against the company. However, on the one ruling that went in Meta’s favor, the tribunal said the CMA had failed to properly inform the company of Snapchat’s acquisition of Gfycat, thereby undermining its defense. Now, not only must the CMA reconsider its decision, but it must also allow Meta to comment on an unredacted version of its report.
Meta’s $315 million acquisition of Giphy drew the attention of the CMA shortly after the company announced the deal in May 2020. One month after the announcement, the watchdog began investigating the purchase. By August 2021, it ruled Meta’s ownership of Giphy could allow the company to prevent rivals like TikTok and Snapchat from accessing Giphy’s GIF library. Meta declined to comment on the ruling. The company previously argued that the CMA was acting outside of its jurisdiction because Giphy had no operations in the UK.
“Today’s ruling found that the CMA’s approach to its investigation was ‘difficult to defend’ and ‘undermines the entirety of the Decision,’” the company said after the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s initial ruling. “We look forward to understanding how these serious process flaws will be addressed. We firmly believe our investment would enhance GIPHY’s product for the millions of people, businesses, and partners who use it.”
Democratic lawmakers want federal regulators to track crypto mining energy use and emissions
Congressional Democrats are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to address the recent proliferation of cryptocurrency mining within the US. In a letter sent Friday (via The Guardian), Senator Elizabeth Warren and five other lawmakers said the two agencies should work together to require crypto mining firms to disclose their energy use and emissions.
The request comes after the group recently completed an investigation that began at the start of the year. According to the letter, data collected from seven of the largest mining companies in the US, including Stronghold, Bitfury and Riot, indicates they can collectively use more than 1 gigawatt of electricity. Put another way, that’s almost enough to power all the residential buildings in Houston.
Warren and the other lawmakers say they’re concerned about what all that power use will mean for the environment and consumers. Regarding the former, they state that emissions data from three of the surveyed companies indicate they emit approximately 1.6 million tons of CO2 annually or the equivalent of the tailpipe emissions of almost 360,000 cars. “Bitcoin miners are using huge quantities of electricity that could be used for other priority end uses that contribute to our electrification and climate goals, such as replacing home furnaces with heat pumps,” the letter states.
On the latter point, the lawmakers cite a 2021 study from the University of California, Berkeley that estimated crypto mining in upstate New York raised annual electricity bills by approximately $165 million for small businesses and $79 million for consumers. What’s more, they say their investigation doesn’t even scratch the surface of the full impact of crypto mining on power use and emissions in the US. “None of the companies provided full and complete information in response to our questions,” they note.
“The results of our investigation, which gathered data from just seven companies, are disturbing, with this limited data alone revealing that crypto miners are large energy users that account for a significant – and rapidly growing – amount of carbon emissions,” the letter states. By requiring crypto mining firms to disclose their energy use and emissions, the group says the EPA and Department of Energy could provide lawmakers with better data to inform future policy decisions. The agencies have until August 15th to respond to the request.
Polestar’s electric SUV will start at €75,000
Polestar won’t officially debut its next EV until this fall, but the company has shared initial pricing information. Earlier this week, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the Polestar 3 would start at €75,000 and top out at around €110,000, reports Aut…
Apple may release M2 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros as early as this fall
Less than a year after announcing the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, Apple reportedly plans to update those devices as early as this fall. Responding to a reader question in his latest Power On newsletter (via 9to5Mac), Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says …
‘Soulframe’ is a free-to-play MMO from the studio behind ‘Warframe’
After nearly a decade of work on Warframe and more than five years since it canceled its most recent project, Digital Extremes is working on a new game. On Saturday, the studio announced Soulframe, a free-to-play MMO set in a fantasy world. Outsid…
‘Her Story’ creator Sam Barlow delays ‘Immortality’ to August 30th
Immortality, the next game from Her Story and Telling Lies creator Sam Barlow, has been delayed. Previously scheduled to arrive on PC, Xbox and mobile on July 26th, the game will now launch on August 30th. Barlow announced the delay on Twitter.
“Today we’re pushing back the release date for Immortality to August 30th, 2022,” he said this week. “It has taken decades for Marissa Marcel’s work to find the light of day, so we’re happy to spend a month more to ensure the experience is as polished as possible.”
Like Barlow’s past projects, Immortality is a full-motion video game. You’ll need to find out what happened to actor Marissa Marcel by watching lost footage from three films she starred in before her disappearance. Barlow hired Allan Scott and Amelia Gray – best known for work on Queen’s Gambit and Mr. Robot, respectively – to help with the project. Barlow previously hinted Immortality would make its way to other platforms after its initial release.
Some news: pic.twitter.com/ZbxGHPQ0wt
— IMMORTALITY (new Sam Barlow game, out August 30th) (@HalfMermaid) July 13, 2022
Dbrand’s ‘Something’ skins make your phone look like a Nothing Phone 1
Most reviews agree: the Nothing Phone 1 is a striking device. But thanks to limited availability, good lucking buying one – especially if you live in the US or Canada. Enter Dbrand. The accessory maker has announced a new “Something” line of skins that promise to transform your iPhone 13 Pro Max, Pixel 6 Pro or Galaxy S22 Ultra.
we made something from @nothing. pic.twitter.com/zDJ9H0Tv0j
— dbrand (@dbrand) July 15, 2022
You might think Dbrand is playing with fire here, and you’re probably right. “Some might accuse us of theft. Here’s our counter: we stole nothing,” the company says on its website. “That’s not theft – it’s plagiarism, which is definitely not a crime. We checked,” Dbrand adds after noting it spent “a lot of time” taking apart electronics, an investment the company says makes it “uniquely qualified to rip off an industrial design and ‘creatively reinterpret’ it for other devices.”
Dbrand is no stranger to these kinds of marketing stunts. At the end of last year, the company made headlines when it stopped selling custom PlayStation 5 faceplates following a cease-and-desist letter from Sony. Days later, the company announced a new version of its “Darkplates” it claimed Sony would not have a legal case against. We wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Nothing founder Carl Pei is involved. Pei is widely credited for the guerilla marketing strategy that put OnePlus on the map.
Something skins are available to buy through Dbrand’s website. You can get one for $24.95.
Elon Musk asks court to delay Twitter trial start to February 2023
Elon Musk’s lawyers allege Twitter is pushing for an unreasonably fast trial over allegations the Tesla and SpaceX CEO improperly ended his $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform, reports Bloomberg. “Twitter’s sudden request for warp speed af…