Month: August 2021

Enlarge / Early in the pandemic, Indiana University sent its students home to protect them from infection. (credit: SOPA Images/Getty Images)

On Monday, the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled against students who were seeking an injunction that would block the Indiana University from implementing a vaccine mandate ahead of the start of the fall semester. Both courts relied on a Supreme Court precedent from over a century ago that declared a far broader vaccine mandate to be constitutionally acceptable.

We discussed the case with Georgetown Law Professor Lawrence Gostin, who indicated that this sort of decision isn't going to be limited to Indiana; nationally, vaccine mandates would be acceptable from a constitutional perspective. Many states, however, have passed laws that limit or outright prohibit vaccine or mask mandates. And these laws would override university policies that the federal courts have concluded are perfectly reasonable.

Not sending their best

The suit ruled upon this week was brought by eight students at Indiana University. The university had crafted a policy that mandated vaccines for all students but allowed religious and medical exceptions. Those granted exceptions would be required to wear a mask on campus and have frequent tests for the virus. Failure to comply with these policies will lead to the student having their university computer accounts (including email) suspended and campus access cards deactivated.

In a July 21 livestream, Microsoft Program Manager Aria Carley answered Microsoft Tech Community users' questions about the final hardware requirements to upgrade to Windows 11. Although hardware requirements—including but not limited to TPM 2.0 support—aren't enforced for the Windows 11 alpha images available now, Carley confirmed that the "hardware floor" would be real for final versions.

"So we talk about this new hardware floor of what devices are eligible and which aren't," Carley said, adding "we know that it sucks that some aren't going to be eligible for Windows 11." She went on to state that Microsoft is imposing the unpopular hardware floor "to keep devices more productive, have a better experience, and most importantly have better security than before so they can stay protected in this new workforce."

Despite acknowledging that the situation "sucks" for affected users, Carley doubled down on the inflexibility of the hardware floor in response to a later question, saying "group policy will not enable you to get around hardware enforcement for Windows 11. We're still going to block you from upgrading your device... to make sure your devices stay supported and secure."

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  Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays an elite assassin—the titular Kate. [credit: YouTube/Netflix ]

A ruthless criminal operative is poisoned and has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her killers in Kate, a new action thriller from Netflix starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played Huntress in Birds of Prey.

The streaming service seems to be casting about for a female version of the hugely successful John Wick franchise, but it's harder to pull off than it looks. First, there was 2020's The Old Guard, in which Charlize Theron leads an immortal group of mercenaries on a mission of revenge. Theron was terrific, but the film itself was uneven. Just last month, Netflix served up the disappointing Gunpowder Milkshake, which had a stellar all-star cast and all the right elements, including some impressive fight choreography. But as with The Old Guard, nothing really gelled. Gunpowder Milkshake ended up feeling flat, predictable, and like an exercise in style over substance.

The basic premise of Kate is a familiar one; it's essentially a twist on the classic 1950 film noir D.O.A., in which a man—a seemingly ordinary accountant and notary public—walks into a police station and says he has been poisoned, with only a few days left to live and discover who murdered him. (Due to someone not renewing the copyright on time, the film is in the public domain.) It has inspired three direct remakes: 1969's Color Me Dead, 1988's D.O.A. (starring Dennis Quaid), and the 2017 film Dead on Arrival. And the film has influenced countless more, such as the 2006 film Crank, in which Jason Statham plays a British hitman who has to keep his adrenaline levels spiking to counteract being given a deadly poison.