Month: July 2018

Enlarge / Surface Go (credit: Microsoft)

Confirming weeks of leaks and speculation, Microsoft today announced the latest member of the Surface computer family: Surface Go.

If you remember the long-discontinued Surface 3—Microsoft's last attempt at a cheap(er) tablet—Surface Go is what a Surface 4 probably would have been if the company was still using that branding. Compared to the Surface Pro, it has a smaller screen (10in, 1800×1200), a weaker processor (an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y, which is a two-core, four-thread Kaby Lake chip that was launched about 18 months ago), slower, smaller storage (64GB, using an eMMC interface), and reduced battery life (estimated at 9 hours). But it's cheaper. A lot cheaper: the base model costs just $399, compared to $799 for the base Surface Pro.

Even with the reduced price, it retains all the major Surface design elements: a variable position kickstand, 8MP rear/5MP front cameras with Windows Hello facial recognition, the Surface Connect magnetic charging and dock port, and a 10-finger multitouch screen with Surface Pen support. It retains the microSDXC card reader and 3.5mm headset jack and adds to this a USB 3.1 generation 1 Type-C port. As with other Surface tablets, Surface Go supports the Type Cover detachable keyboard-covers, though because of its new smaller size, it'll need new smaller Type Covers. Microsoft also has a new smaller Surface Mobile Mouse if you want an external pointing device.

Enlarge / Surface Go (credit: Microsoft)

Confirming weeks of leaks and speculation, Microsoft today announced the latest member of the Surface computer family: Surface Go.

If you remember the long-discontinued Surface 3—Microsoft's last attempt at a cheap(er) tablet—Surface Go is what a Surface 4 probably would have been if the company was still using that branding. Compared to the Surface Pro, it has a smaller screen (10in, 1800×1200), a weaker processor (an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y, which is a two-core, four-thread Kaby Lake chip that was launched about 18 months ago), slower, smaller storage (64GB, using an eMMC interface), and reduced battery life (estimated at 9 hours). But it's cheaper. A lot cheaper: the base model costs just $399, compared to $799 for the base Surface Pro.

Even with the reduced price, it retains all the major Surface design elements: a variable position kickstand, 8MP rear/5MP front cameras with Windows Hello facial recognition, the Surface Connect magnetic charging and dock port, and a 10-finger multitouch screen with Surface Pen support. It retains the microSDXC card reader and 3.5mm headset jack and adds to this a USB 3.1 generation 1 Type-C port. As with other Surface tablets, Surface Go supports the Type Cover detachable keyboard-covers, though because of its new smaller size, it'll need new smaller Type Covers. Microsoft also has a new smaller Surface Mobile Mouse if you want an external pointing device.

Enlarge / Steve Huffman, cofounder and chief executive officer of Reddit Inc., listens during a Bloomberg Technology television interview in San Francisco in 2017. (credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A Reddit user has found himself at the end of a week-long suspension—and from the look of his account, it might have come because he publicly shared a "direct message" exchange with Reddit CEO Steve "spez" Huffman over the platform's handling of hate speech.

Reddit has confirmed to Ars Technica that Huffman's conversation, as posted by user "whatllmyusernamebe" on Sunday, is legitimate. The conversation begins with Huffman responding to the question, "Why do you admins not just ban hate speech?"

spez: Our violent speech policy is effectively that.

whatll: I'd argue that hate speech should be banned with its own rule, separate from the violence policy. But thank you for replying.

spez: Hate speech is difficult to define. There's a reason why it's not really done. Additionally, we are not the thought police. It's not the role of a private company to decide what people can and cannot say.

whatll: But it *is* the role of a private company to decide what people can and cannot say *on [its] own platform*.

spez: I know what you're asking, but it's a nearly impossible precedent to uphold. It's impossible to enforce consistently.

When reached for comment, a Reddit representative declined to confirm whether the user's suspension was related to the sharing of this direct-message history. Ars Technica was able to reach the user, who goes by the name Zachary Swanson, on Monday. Swanson shared a screencap with Ars of the reason Reddit gave for suspending his account for seven days: "for harassment" was the listed cause, with no further clarification.

Enlarge / Air pollution in China apparently includes a dash of banned ozone-depleting CFCs. (credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

A couple months ago, an atmospheric study revealed that someone had started producing an ozone-depleting pollutant that had been banned under an international agreement to protect the ozone layer. The new source was preventing the chemical from dissipating on schedule. Although the researchers were careful about what they could conclude from regional measurements, they found that eastern Asia was likely the source.

Now, a UK-based NGO called the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) says that it has uncovered a number of Chinese companies that are responsible. If you’re expecting an elaborate infiltration and undercover sting... adjust your expectations. The investigation seems to have been shockingly easy, with the culprits’ representatives strangely amenable to detailing their illegal operations.

Mystery solved through Google

The EIA started with a simple Internet search, which turned up a few companies that were apparently advertising sales of the banned chemical, known as CFC-11. Like other CFCs, 11 can be used as a refrigerant or a propellant in aerosol spray cans. But it was also widely use to “inflate” foam insulation, and that seems to be the market where at least some of its illicit use has continued.

Enlarge / The iPhone X running iOS 11. (credit: Samuel Axon)

Today, Apple released iOS 11.4.1 for iPhones and iPads—a small update that fixes a couple bugs and introduces a new security feature. This is the fifteenth update since iOS 11 released last September. It's available to the same devices as iOS 11.4—the iPhone 5S and later, the iPad Air and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, and 2015 iPod touch.

The notes users will see when they go to the Settings app to update their phones are as follows:

iOS 11.4.1 includes bug fixes and improves the security of your iPhone or iPad. This update:

• Fixes an issue that prevented some users from viewing the last known location of their AirPods in Find My iPhone
• Improves reliability of syncing mail, contacts, and notes with Exchange accounts

As usual, this iOS release also includes security updates. However, Apple had not released the details on its security page at the time of this posting, but expect them to appear sometime soon. Significant but not listed: USB Restricted Mode, a change originally included in the iOS 12 beta that makes it more difficult for anyone, including authorities, to break into the iPhone through the Lightning port.

Enlarge / The Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) headquarters and manufacturing complex is reflected in a mudflat in Ningde, Fujian Province, China, in January 2018. CATL already sells the most batteries to the biggest electric-vehicle makers in the biggest EV market: China. (credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A Chinese battery company called Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) has chosen a site in eastern Germany to build a battery-cell factory that will help supply the country's major automakers as they shift to building more and more electric vehicles.

Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Daimler have all set targets to make and sell more electric vehicles in the coming years, but making the economics work out on battery supply has often proven elusive.

According to Agence France Presse (AFP), German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang today in Berlin. Reuters notes that the Chinese prime minister will participate in a signing ceremony related to the decision to build a CATL factory in Erfurt, a city in the German province of Thuringia.

Enlarge / The Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) headquarters and manufacturing complex is reflected in a mudflat in Ningde, Fujian Province, China, in January 2018. CATL already sells the most batteries to the biggest electric-vehicle makers in the biggest EV market: China. (credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A Chinese battery company called Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) has chosen a site in eastern Germany to build a battery-cell factory that will help supply the country's major automakers as they shift to building more and more electric vehicles.

Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Daimler have all set targets to make and sell more electric vehicles in the coming years, but making the economics work out on battery supply has often proven elusive.

According to Agence France Presse (AFP), German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang today in Berlin. Reuters notes that the Chinese prime minister will participate in a signing ceremony related to the decision to build a CATL factory in Erfurt, a city in the German province of Thuringia.