Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Amazon says it will offer full-time jobs to 125,000 temporary workers
In a blog post today, Amazon announced plans to offer permanent jobs to around 70% of the 175,000 temporary workers it brought on to meet demand amid a COVID-19-fueled surge. Initially filled as seaso
Netflix, Disney+ or HBO Max? The best streaming service for your watching habits
Gone are the days of not having enough time to catch up on all of those movies and TV shows you’ve been meaning to get around to. For the foreseeable future, at least, many of us have nowhere to go
Appeals court rules in favor of Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter in anti-conservative bias suit
The same day Donald Trump took to Twitter to threaten to regulate or shut down social media sites, the U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C. dismissed a lawsuit accusing top tech companies of silenci
Quibi inches toward usability by adding AirPlay streaming support
When it launched in April, Quibi carried the express mission statement of offering short-form videos designed to watch on-the-fly. The service’s narrow focus rubbed a lot of potential subscribers th
Smart home company Savant set to acquire GE Lighting
Massachusetts-based smart home company Savant Systems this morning announced a deal to acquire GE Lighting. The division has existed as part of General Electric since 1911, with its origins reaching b
After Twitter fact-check, Trump threatens to regulate or close down social media platforms
Once again, Donald Trump has doubled down. Following the addition of a fact-checking warning label added to his tweet about mail-in ballots, Trump took to the platform yet again to denounce it. In wha
How do several local news stations air virtually identical Amazon COVID-19 segments?
Simple: Amazon offers up the content free of charge. The company has been on the offensive in recent weeks when it comes to how it has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon’s offered all sorts of bl
Looking Glass starts shipping its 8K holographic display
When Looking Glass Factory showed of its first holographic display way back in August 2018, it felt more like a proof of concept than anything — though it was immediately an impressive concept. In N
Consumer hardware device shipments are on track for a 14% decline in 2020, courtesy of COVID-19
New numbers from Gartner show a sizable — if not unexpected — decline in device shipments for 2020. According to the analyst firm, the category (including phones, tablets and PCs) is currently on
An eighth Amazon warehouse employee has died from COVID-19
An eighth Amazon employee has died of COVID-19. The news comes as the company is under scrutiny for failing to be more transparent about the wider number of infections among its warehouse workers. A s
Netflix’s beloved animated series Tuca & Bertie is getting a second life on Adult Swim
Tuca & Bertie was wonderful. It was a hilarious and heartfelt examination of adult relationships, coupled with whimsical animated visuals. And like most good things in this world, it was simply to
Magic Leap has apparently raised another $350 million, in spite of itself
Magic Leap has reportedly received a $350 million lifeline, a month after slashing 1,000 jobs and dropping its consumer business. Noted by Business Insider and confirmed by The Information, CEO Rony A
Enjoy some 4K TV with your nature on Samsung’s new outdoor sets
Like most of us, you’ve probably been stuck inside for months now. Sitting around, pacing your home, watching a lot of bad television. Would anything possibly be better than finally getting some tim
Spotify will let employees work from home through the end of year
Spotify this week joined a growing number of tech giants expanding their work from home policies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on. While not as radical as Twitter’s recent decision to l
Personal finance tracker Copilot adds support for Apple Card spreadsheet imports
When Apple added the ability to export transactions via spreadsheet to its credit card, Matthew hit up the folks at Copilot, asking whether they planned to support the feature. The answer was essentia
What airport security looks like if you fly during the pandemic
As segments of the country begin the process of reopening, many antsy Americans are no doubt itching to travel during the Memorial Day weekend. With the holiday fast approaching, the TSA is outlining
How I Podcast: Articles of Interest’s Avery Trufelman
The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It’s a rare medium that’s nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth o
Facebook introduces new Messenger safeguard aimed at combating scams and fake friends
Facebook this morning announced a new feature for Messenger designed to cut down on malicious parties looking to scam users. The company scans accounts for suspicious activity, leveraging machine lear
Twitter is testing a feature that limits who can reply to your tweets
Twitter today acknowledged that it has begun testing a new setting that lets users limit who can reply to tweets. The setting was first noted earlier this year. Similar to Facebook’s post view setti
GE’s soft robot bores holes like a giant earthworm
A giant earthworm robot was not on the list of things I expected to see when I logged in this morning. But it’s here, and I’m here for it. Designed by a team at GE Research, the robot in question