Month: October 2016

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Usually, it’s illegal for employers to ask you to fork over your private medical information, which protects you from discrimination based on a medical condition or disability. But new so-called wellness programs, aimed at curbing healthcare costs among employees, is making it harder and harder for employees not to give up that sensitive info. Some organizations, like AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans, say the practice has now crossed a line.

On Monday, AARP filed a lawsuit against the federal agency that sets the rules for those wellness programs, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The suit argues that new rules set to take effect in 2017 will violate the anti-discrimination laws that protect the privacy of medical information because they set incentives to participate in the programs too high. That is, employees that don’t want to reveal their medical history could potentially miss out on thousands of dollars in health insurance deals—money some employees may not be able to refuse for personal financial reasons.

Thus, AARP members “face imminent harm flowing directly from the rules because the rules will cause them to either incur significant financial penalties or divulge… protected health and genetic information when they do not wish to do so,” the suit reads. “That information, once revealed, will never be confidential again.”

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A legal flap between Warner Bros. and a Hollywood talent agency once again shows that Hollywood insiders are leaking pre-release movies to BitTorrent file-sharing sites.

The latest evidence is spelled out in a copyright infringement lawsuit (PDF) brought this week by Warner Bros. against talent agency Innovative Artists.

The studio claims Innovative Artists effectively set up its own pirate site of DVD screeners and other movie rips on a shared Google drive folder. This, according to the lawsuit, led to watermarked screener copies of Creed and Heart of the Sea being uploaded to file-sharing sites.

NASA

NASA has a problem. It has a big rocket under development. It has a shiny new spacecraft to fly into deep space. And it has a cadre of brilliant astronauts waiting in a long line to fly beyond low-Earth orbit. But the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft and crew members have nowhere to go—there is no Moon lander, and asteroids and Mars are too far away for now.

NASA plans to address its problem by parking a “deep space” habitat in a location near the Moon, which astronauts could visit and use to become acclimated to life beyond low-Earth orbit. President Obama mentioned deep space habitats earlier this month, when he reiterated his call for NASA to send humans to Mars. “I'm excited to announce that we are working with our commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space,” Obama said.

Enlarge / Surface Studio.

Microsoft's first Surface-branded desktop PC now exists, and it is called the Surface Studio.

The PC, announced at Microsoft's Windows Creator Edition event, includes a 28" display with 13.5 million pixels, which means the display is roughly 63 percent denser than a "4K" screen at 3840x2160 resolution. That 3:2 ratio screen is also an astonishing 12.5mm thick, and it can slide up and down on the device's hinge so that users can nearly flatten its orientation for the sake of drawing. Microsoft says the screen's counter-hinge will hold the screen in rigid orientation at any angle.

Surface Dial.

A new add-on device will ship alongside Surface Studio, dubbed Surface Dial. Placing the dial onto the screen lets artists immediately manipulate selections like color and other filters in graphic design apps. Microsoft describes the device as a companion to Surface Pen users, and if users don't place the Dial onto the screen, a UI circle can appear on the screen. However, it will also work as a more analog rewind-and-forward tool; at the event, this was shown off with pen strokes appearing gradually on a document for dramatic event.

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NEW YORK—Today, Microsoft announced the newest version of its Surface Book, the Surface Book i7. This new laptop takes some of the most crucial features of the original Surface Book and improves upon them. Most notable is the new battery life: Microsoft is promising up to 16 hours of battery life with the new Surface Book i7.

Panos Panay, Microsoft's head of Windows hardware, debuted the new laptop first by highlighting features the company knew its customers wanted: higher frame rates for gamers and better battery life for everyone. While he didn't announce specific spec information, Panay did say the i7 will have twice the graphics performance than the original hybrid laptop and 30 percent more battery life, which will allow it to last at least 16 hours on a single charge. Thanks to the name, we also know that its powered by Intel's Skylake i7 processor.

The exterior design of the Surface Book i7 looks nearly identical to the original Surface Book, but inside it has a new thermal system with a second fan. You won't be able to see those changes while you use the Surface Book i7, but Microsoft is hoping they make the experience of using the device even better. Otherwise, the laptop itself still sports the 2-in-1 design of the first Surface Book with a detachable PixelSense touchscreen, full keyboard, and compatible Surface Pen.