Uber Can Continue Operating In London After Winning Court Appeal

After losing its license to operate in London last November, deputy chief magistrate of Transport for London (TfL), Tanweer Ikram, granted Uber an 18-month license after winning their court appeal. “Despite their historical failings, I find them, now, to be a fit and proper person to hold a London PHV [private hire vehicle] operator’s license,” he concluded. Engadget reports: Uber’s new…

Microsoft Updates Edge With New Features To Challenge Chrome

Forbes looks at new features Microsoft added to Edge “as it looks to beat Chrome in the browser wars.”
It’s now going to be possible to search for work files directly inside the Edge browser directly from the address bar. To use this you need Microsoft Search configured, then type “work” and press the Tab key to search your company’s network for…

The Short Weird Life — and Potential Afterlife — of Quantum Radar

sciencehabit writes: A mini-arms race is unfolding in the supposed field of quantum radar, spurred by press reports in 2016 that China had built one — potentially threatening the ability of stealthy military aircraft to hide from conventional radars. Governments around the world have tasked physicists to look into the idea. Whereas a conventional radar searches for objects by detecting pulse…

Is Momentum Growing for Universal Basic Incomes?

“A successful basic-income trial in Stockton, California, has inspired a chain of similar pilots in other cities,” reports Business Insider:
The city council of Saint Paul, Minnesota, voted to approve funding for a pilot there on Wednesday. The program is set to begin this fall and will give up to 150 low-income families $500 per month for up to 18 months —…

New Reality Show’s Prize? 10 Days on the International Space Station

CNN reports:
A planned reality show will seek to give the winner of its on-air competition “the greatest prize ever given out on Earth” — a 10-day stay on the International Space Station… The production company’s press release said that the team is “now looking for global brand and primary distribution partners.” Space Hero is planning to open the application process for…

CEO of Cyber Fraud Startup NS8 Arrested By FBI, Facing Fraud Charges

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Forbes: The CEO of a startup that sold fraud prevention software is facing fraud charges after he was arrested Thursday by the FBI in Las Vegas. Adam Rogas, who abruptly resigned from NS8 earlier this month, is accused of misleading investors who poured in $123 million to his company earlier this year, a deal…

Giant ‘survivor’ planet found orbiting dead star

For the first time, astronomers have detected a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. If further confirmed, the discovery shows that some planets could survive the destruction of their sun-like stars, and some might even remain potentially habitable. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/survivor-planet-wd-1856-b-orbiting-white-dwarf…

Amazon Providing CS Education For 550,000+ Schoolchildren Amid Pandemic

theodp writes: Amazon on Monday issued a press release noting it will provide Computer Science Education for 550,000+ K-12 students annually across 5,000+ schools nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Amazon Future Engineer coursework can be done virtually to help ensure students stay on track and continue to prepare for the jobs of the future,” Amazon explained. Amazon Future Engineer also launched…

Developers Frustrated at Apple for Just One Day’s Notice To Submit Apps Ahead of iOS 14 Release Today

While developers have had access to beta versions of the software updates since June, many were caught off guard by Apple’s much shorter notice of the final releases. By comparison, Apple started accepting apps built for iOS 13 on September 10 last year, over one week before the software update was released on September 19. From a story yesterday: “I think…

Nikola Admits Prototype Was Rolling Downhill In Promo Video

In late 2016, Nikola Motor Company founder Trevor Milton unveiled a prototype of the Nikola One truck, claiming it “fully functions and works, which is really incredible.” A couple years later, in January 2018, the company showed the Nikola One truck moving rapidly along a two-lane desert highway. But last week, the short-selling investment firm Hindenburg Research published a bombshell report,…