Chemiewaffe: Der Einsatz von Tränengas nimmt weltweit zu

Schizophren: Als Kriegswaffe verboten, zur Bekämpfung von Protesten ist die chemische Waffe erlaubt und völlig unreguliert. Ein Bericht fordert endlich ein Verbot, da der Missbrauch allgegenwärtig ist

Schizophren: Als Kriegswaffe verboten, zur Bekämpfung von Protesten ist die chemische Waffe erlaubt und völlig unreguliert. Ein Bericht fordert endlich ein Verbot, da der Missbrauch allgegenwärtig ist

Lidar is becoming a real business

Two of Velodyne’s biggest rivals have released hard financial numbers.

An Ouster sensor atop a Postmates robot.

Enlarge / An Ouster sensor atop a Postmates robot. (credit: Ouster)

For years, the lidar business has had a lot of hype but not a lot of hard numbers. Dozens of lidar startups have touted their impressive technology, but until recently it wasn't clear who, if anyone, was actually gaining traction with customers.

That's starting to change. This summer, three leading lidar makers have done major fundraising rounds that included releasing public data on their financial performance.

The latest lidar maker to release financial data is Ouster, which announced a $42 million fundraising round in a Tuesday blog post. That blog post also revealed a striking statistic: the company says it now has 800 customers.

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At least LG is trying something new, I guess (More LG Wing leaks)

LG is holding an event on September 14th, when the company is expected to officially launch its next weird phone. And when I say weird, I mean the upcoming LG Wing is a foldable smartphone with two displays… except rather than unfolding to creat…

LG is holding an event on September 14th, when the company is expected to officially launch its next weird phone. And when I say weird, I mean the upcoming LG Wing is a foldable smartphone with two displays… except rather than unfolding to create a tablet or book-like device, the screens unfold to create a T-shaped […]

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Pentagon’s review of controversial $10B contract was a sham, Amazon claims

Amazon says DOD actions were “political cronyism” and review was “illusory.”

Sprawling concrete building surrounded by enormous parking lot.

Enlarge / The Pentagon in its natural habitat—Arlington, Virginia—in 2018. (credit: Michael Brochstein | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images)

Amazon is continuing to fight the Department of Defense over a $10 billion contract, as the Pentagon has completed its review of the deal and determined once again that it was correct to award the entire project to Microsoft.

The DOD launched bidding for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project, a massive cloud-computing contract, in 2019. By April of that year, the shortlist was down to two finalists: Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. Amazon was widely considered the favorite, and many industry watchers expressed surprise when Microsoft ultimately landed the deal in October 2019.

Amazon filed suit, alleging that the decision was politically motivated and quoting President Donald Trump's alleged intention to "screw Amazon." In February of this year, a federal judge agreed to order an injunction on the deal pending the outcome of the case.

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Colin Kaepernick hits the field in Madden NFL 21 without actual NFL deal

Individual licensing deal brings former QB back for first time since 2016.

Colin Kaepernick may not be a part of today's NFL, but today the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback makes his return to the Madden NFL series. Publisher Electronic Arts has announced that Kaepernick will be available to play later today in Madden NFL 21's Franchise and Play Now modes, where he can be put in charge of any team in the league.

Kaepernick last appeared in Madden NFL 17, which came out shortly after he famously kneeled in protest during the playing of the national anthem before a 2016 preseason game. When Kaepernick became a free agent the next season, he was no longer part of the collective licensing agreement EA arranged with the NFL Players Association and thus did not appear in subsequent Madden NFL titles.

This year, though, The Undefeated reports that EA reached out directly to Kaepernick to negotiate individual rights to his likeness in Madden NFL 21. Kaepernick was reportedly "hands-on" in the negotiations, insisting on his in-game avatar sporting an Afro and raising a "Black Power" fist as his in-game celebration.

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ASRock’s 4X4 BOX-4000 mini PCs feature Ryzen 4000 chips

ASRock is introducing a new line of small form-factor desktop computers powered by AMD Renoir processors. The new ASRock 4X4 BOX-4000 computers measures about 4.6″ x 4.3″ x 1.9″ and pack enough horsepower to drive up to four 4K displ…

ASRock 4x4 4000

ASRock is introducing a new line of small form-factor desktop computers powered by AMD Renoir processors. The new ASRock 4X4 BOX-4000 computers measures about 4.6″ x 4.3″ x 1.9″ and pack enough horsepower to drive up to four 4K displays. Available with a choice of AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (quad-core), Ryzen 5 4500U (hexa-core), or […]

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Daily Deals (9-08-2020)

While the tech world is transitioning from USB-A to USB-C, odds are you’ve still got some devices that requires USB Type-A connection. Fortunately adapters are typically pretty cheap – and right now Aukey is offering a set for even cheaper…

While the tech world is transitioning from USB-A to USB-C, odds are you’ve still got some devices that requires USB Type-A connection. Fortunately adapters are typically pretty cheap – and right now Aukey is offering a set for even cheaper than usual. You can pick up a 2-pack of USB adapters for about $4 when […]

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AT&T’s current 5G is slower than 4G in nearly every city tested by PCMag

AT&T phones often get just 5MHz of 5G spectrum, slowing them down in PCMag tests.

AT&T logos seen on the window and door of a building.

Enlarge / An AT&T sign and logo on Main Street during the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020 in Park City, Utah. (credit: Getty Images | Mat Hayward)

AT&T smartphone users who see their network indicators switch from "4G" to "5G" shouldn't necessarily expect that they're about to get faster speeds. In PCMag's annual mobile-network testing, released today, 5G phones connected to AT&T got slower speeds than 4G phones in 21 out of 22 cities.

PCMag concluded that "AT&T 5G right now appears to be essentially worthless," though AT&T's average download speed of 103.1Mbps was nearly as good as Verizon's thanks to a strong 4G performance. Of course, AT&T 5G should be faster than 4G in the long run—this isn't another case of AT&T misleadingly labeling its 4G network as a type of 5G. Instead, the disappointing result on PCMag's test has to do with how today's 5G phones work and with how AT&T allocates spectrum.

The counterintuitive result doesn't reveal much about the actual differences between 4G and 5G technology. Instead, it's reflective of how AT&T has used its spectrum to deploy 5G so far. As PCMag explained, "AT&T's 5G slices off a narrow bit of the old 850MHz cellular band and assigns it to 5G, to give phones a valid 5G icon without increasing performance. And because of the way current 5G phones work, it often reduces performance."

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