Month: March 2022

(credit: Lee Hutchinson / Ars Technica)

Journalist Brian Krebs is being sued by network-equipment maker Ubiquiti for defamation over his coverage of a data breach which was eventually revealed to be the work of a company insider.

Ubiquiti initially disclosed a data breach on January 11, 2021, telling customers that the breach was minor and had occurred at a “third-party cloud provider.” But on March 30, 2021, Krebs reported that an unidentified whistleblower had told him that the data breach was worse than Ubiquiti had said. Krebs’ story and others like it published the next day caused Ubiquiti’s market cap to drop by $4 billion, the lawsuit alleges.

Then, in December 2021, the Department of Justice said that it had charged Nickolas Sharp “for secretly stealing gigabytes of confidential files from a New York-based technology company where he was employed.” The DOJ also said, “while purportedly working to remediate the security breach, [Sharp] extort[ed] the company for nearly $2 million for the return of the files and the identification of a remaining purported vulnerability.” Sharp reportedly worked for Ubiquiti at the time of the attack.

Enlarge / The front of the 2022 iPhone SE. (credit: Samuel Axon)

Apple released a small iPhone software update Thursday to address an issue iPhone users have struggled with since iOS 15.4 reached devices. Users took to forums, Reddit, social media platforms, and Apple support channels to complain that their iPhones' batteries were draining unusually quickly after updating to iOS 15.4. With the update, Apple now says the issue is fixed, along with a couple of issues with accessibility features.

Here are Apple's brief release notes for the update:

This update includes the following bug fixes for your iPhone:

• Battery may drain more quickly than expected after updating to iOS 15.4
• Braille devices may become unresponsive while navigating text or displaying an alert
• Made-for-iPhone hearing devices may lose connection within some third-party apps

Thursday's update comes roughly two weeks after the launch of the new iPhone SE and iOS 15.4, which was likely the last major feature update before iOS 16. iOS 15.4 gave users the ability to use Face ID while wearing a face mask, introduced a gender-neutral American English voice for Siri, and added a plethora of new emoji, among other things.

Enlarge / Will E3 ever come back, either physically or digitally? (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

E3's years-long spin down the drain has become more drastic due to a major cancellation to all "E3"-related events this summer.

The news comes as an allegation from Razer PR lead Will Powers, who made no bones about what he was told: "Just got an email... It's official, E3 digital is official [sic] cancelled for 2022." When pressed in his replies about whether the event might shift from a digital event to something in person, Powers tweeted, "Official ESA E3 is officially cancelled cancelled."

Ars Technica has since been able to review the email provided to E3 partners and can confirm its contents. This email does not go so far as to announce the end of E3 altogether and leaves the possibility that the event could return in the future.

Enlarge / The near-final version of the upcoming Dyson Zone mask-and-headphones system. (credit: Dyson)

In an announcement timed dangerously close to April 1, Dyson confirmed this week that it is working on the Dyson Zone, one of the most intense consumer-facing masks we've ever seen. What's more, the company elected to combine this face-mounted air purifier with its first noise-canceling headphones—which contribute to the filtering process.

At least one outlet says it tested this perfect addition to your Mega Man cosplay project, which suggests this is an actual product and not an April Fool's joke. Curiously, the world's first face-on impressions of the device, as provided by The Verge, recount the company's press release spiel before getting to the heart of why a face-dominating system like the Dyson Zone has us apprehensive.

"The Zone headphones are very big and noticeably heavy," The Verge's Chaim Gartenberg says, and a single look at this head-mounted system clarifies why that might be the case.

Enlarge / Roccat Burst Pro Air. (credit: Roccat)

Some of the most advanced wireless mice are on the heftier side, which can make constantly pushing them around a lot of work. A lighter mouse, on the other hand, is easier to travel with. One trend in particular sees companies cutting holes into their mouse chassis to trim the ounces, but the wireless gaming mouse Turtle Beach sub-brand Roccat announced today manages to lighten the weight and avoid the honeycomb holes.

Roccat's Burst Pro Air weighs 2.86 ounces (81 g), a big weight reduction compared to powerhouse wireless productivity mice, like the Logitech MX Master 3 (4.97 ounces / 141 g) and Razer Pro Click (3.73 ounces / 106 g). All three mice let you use a USB-A dongle for your wireless connection, as well as Bluetooth, and are rechargeable. But the Burst Pro Air's weight class makes it a good consideration for anyone tired of heavy mice. Whether you have a medical issue or have just been at the PC for a while, those ounces can start to add up.

Gaming brand Roccat designed the mouse for PC gamers who'll be swiping, flinging, flicking, and clicking rapidly and suddenly, taking the design from its wired Burst Pro. But unlike some other ultralight gaming mice, such as the Glorious Model O- Wireless (about 2.43 ounces / 69 g) or SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless (2.4 ounces / 68 g), the Burst Pro Air doesn't have open gaps in its chassis.

Enlarge / The Privacy Sandbox settings. (credit: Google)

Google is on a quest to kill the third-party web cookie, which is often used by advertisers to track users for targeted ads. Unlike other browser companies like Apple and Mozilla, which block third-party cookies outright, Google is one of the world's largest advertising companies. It doesn't want to kill the third-party cookie without first protecting its primary revenue source. Google seems to view user tracking as a mandatory part of Internet usage, and instead of third-party cookies, it wants to build a user-tracking system directly into its Chrome browser. Google's eye-roll-inducing name for this advertising system is the "Privacy Sandbox," and on Thursday, the company released its latest tracking solution in Chrome's nightly "Canary" builds.

The latest Chromium Blog post laid out the current timeline, "Starting today, developers can begin testing globally the Topics, FLEDGE, and Attribution Reporting APIs in the Canary version of Chrome. We’ll progress to a limited number of Chrome Beta users as soon as possible. Once things are working smoothly in Beta, we’ll make API testing available in the stable version of Chrome to expand testing to more Chrome users."

Topics will have Chrome locally track your browsing history and build a list of interests, which Chrome will then share with advertisers whenever they ask for ad targeting. If you want a breakdown of the API name-checked in Google's statement, the FLEDGE API is responsible for both running an ad action directly on your device and picking an advertiser and then targeting users based on behavior, like leaving an item in a shopping cart. The Attribution Reporting API is responsible for measuring ad clicks, impressions, and tracking purchase conversions.