Month: December 2023

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney jumping for joy at news of the verdict. (credit: Epic Games)

While Epic's antitrust arguments against Google had many similarities to those in the company's earlier case against Apple, the verdicts could not have been more different. A federal jury took only a few hours of deliberation Monday afternoon to determine that Google had an illegal monopoly in the markets for Android app distribution and in-app billing services.

The jury unanimously answered "yes" to all 11 questions on the verdict form, indicating that Epic had proven those monopolies existed in every worldwide market except for China. Google "engaged in anticompetitive conduct" to establish or maintain the monopoly and illegally tied the Google Play store to the use of Google Play billing, according to the verdict. The jury also agreed with Epic's arguments that programs like "Project Hug" and agreements signed with Android phone OEMs represented an "unreasonable restraint on trade," harming Epic in the process.

With the verdict set, U.S. District Judge James Donato will hold hearings next month to determine the best way to remedy Google's anticompetitive monopoly power. During the trial, Epic did not ask for monetary damages, but did ask that it and other developers be able to introduce their own Android app stores and use their own billing systems on Android devices "without restriction."

Enlarge / A woman scans a QR code in a café to see the menu online.

The US Federal Trade Commission has become the latest organization to warn against the growing use of QR codes in scams that attempt to take control of smartphones, make fraudulent charges, or obtain personal information.

Short for quick response codes, QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that automatically open a Web browser or app when they’re scanned using a phone camera. Restaurants, parking garages, merchants, and charities display them to make it easy for people to open online menus or to make online payments. QR codes are also used in security-sensitive contexts. YouTube, Apple TV, and dozens of other TV apps, for instance, allow someone to sign into their account by scanning a QR code displayed on the screen. The code opens a page on a browser or app of the phone, where the account password is already stored. Once open, the page authenticates the same account to be opened on the TV app. Two-factor authentication apps provide a similar flow using QR codes when enrolling a new account.

The ubiquity of QR codes and the trust placed in them hasn’t been lost on scammers, however. For more than two years now, parking lot kiosks that allow people to make payments through their phones have been a favorite target. Scammers paste QR codes over the legitimate ones. The scam QR codes lead to look-alike sites that funnel funds to fraudulent accounts rather than the ones controlled by the parking garage.

Enlarge / ElliQ, an AI companion robot from Intuition Robotics. (credit: ElliQ)

Some seniors in New York are successfully combating their loneliness with an AI-powered companion robot named ElliQ—while others called the "proactive" device a nag and joked about taking an ax to it.

The home assistant robot, made by Israel-based Intuition Robotics, is offered to New York seniors through a special program through the state's Office for the Aging (NYSOFA). Over the past year, NYSOFA has partnered with Intuition Robotics to bring ElliQ to over 800 seniors struggling with loneliness. In a report last week, officials said they had given out hundreds and had only 150 available devices.

ElliQ includes a tablet and a two-piece lamp-like robot with a head that lights up and rotates to face a speaker. Marketed as powered by "Cognitive AI technology," it proactively engages in conversations with users, giving them reminders and prompts, such as asking them how they're doing, telling them it's time to check their blood pressure or take their medicine, and asking if they want to have a video call with family. Speaking with a female voice, the robot is designed to hold human-like conversations, engage in small talk, express empathy, and share humor. It can provide learning and wellness programs, such as audiobooks and relaxation exercises.

Enlarge / SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket stands on Launch Complex 39A in Florida, hours before its scheduled liftoff with the military's X-37B spaceplane. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann/Ars Technica)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is poised for launch as soon as Tuesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the US military's mysterious X-37B spaceplane is fastened atop the heavy-lifter for a ride into orbit.

Although the Space Force is keeping details about the military spaceplane's flight under wraps, we know it's heading into an unusual orbit, probably significantly higher than the X-37B's previous sojourns that stayed within a few hundred miles of Earth's surface.

SpaceX's launch team called off a launch attempt Monday night "due to a ground side issue" and reset for another launch opportunity as soon as Tuesday night at 8:14pm EST (01:14 UTC). When it lifts off, the Falcon Heavy will light 27 kerosene-fueled engines to power the rocket off its launch pad overlooking the Atlantic coastline.

Enlarge / Porsche's all-electric Macan is almost on sale. (credit: Porsche)

LEIPZIG, Germany—The Porsche Macan has carved out a rather solid reputation for itself over the years, bringing hot hatch-like driving fun to the premium midsize crossover segment. Next year there's an all-new Macan, an entirely electric one that makes use of a new EV platform shared with corporate sibling Audi. Earlier this summer we spent a few hours driving prototype Macan EVs around Los Angeles, but at the time Porsche was being tight-lipped in terms of technical details. Now, on a visit to the factory in Germany where the cars will be made, we've learned a little more.

PPE

The new Macan is one of the first EVs to utilize Premium Platform Electric, which Porsche is developing together with Audi. Other PPE-based EVs due in the near future include the Audi Q6 e-tron SUV, A6 e-tron sedan, and maybe even a station wagon, and if you click some of those links you'll find deadlines that have come and gone sometime in the past.

That's because development of PPE hasn't gone quite as smoothly as everyone at Volkswagen Group would have hoped. A significant factor in that has been software-related trouble at CARIAD, VW Group's new software division. But the first PPE cars are headed to market soon, and in the case of the Macan, with more than 1.8 million miles (3 million km) of testing under its tires.