Microsoft is adding a new Reading Progress feature to Microsoft Teams, designed to help students improve their reading fluency. Reading Progress works by allowing students to record themselves reading a passage of text, and offering teachers the ability to assess accuracy rates, mispronunciations, and more. Reading Progress integrates with the Education Insights dashboard, so teachers […]
Microsoft to fully remove Adobe Flash from Windows 10 in July
Microsoft is finally ready to purge Flash from Windows 10 once and for all. The Windows 10 “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player,” which permanently removes Flash as a component of the operating system, will become mandatory starting in July. Updating to Windows 10 version 21H1, expected to start rolling out this month, will […]
Apple v Epic Games kicks off three week trial
The Epic Games v. Apple trial is starting today, and it has begun with a court conference call full of kids screaming for Fortnite to return to mobile. The public call line allows anyone to dial in and listen to today’s proceedings, but the court didn’t manage to properly mute all participants for more than […]
Apple releases iOS, macOS and watchOS updates to fix WebKit security flaws
Apple has released a new patch for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS. The company said in support documents that the updates resolve WebKit flaws that may have been exploited. The issues concerned “maliciously crafted web content [that] may lead to arbitrary code execution.” Among the problems were a memory corruption issue and integer overflow on […]
Sony to integrate Discord chat into PlayStation
Sony has made a minority investment into social network Discord, with full integration coming to PlayStation next year. “Our goal is to bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year, allowing friends, groups, and communities to hang out, have fun, and communicate more easily while playing games […]
Twitter opens up Clubhouse-like Spaces to more people
Twitter is opening up Spaces, its Clubhouse competitor, which lets you start or listen to live conversations. Beginning today, you’ll be able to host a Space as long as you have 600 or more followers. “Based on what we’ve learned so far, these accounts are likely to have a good experience hosting live conversations because […]
SpaceX Crew-1 mission splashes down with four astronauts after record mission for NASA
The SpaceX Crew-1 mission has returned safely to Earth and shattered a record in the process. NASA has confirmed that Crew-1 broke a record for the longest mission duration for a crewed American spacecraft, with the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience lasting 168 days in orbit before splashdown off the coast of Florida at 2:56AM Eastern. […]
Epic witness claims Apple’s App Store profit reaches 78 percent
Epic Games is utilizing its lawsuit against Apple to accuse the iPhone maker of being notably grasping. Professional witness Eric Barns testified that Apple supposedly had an App Store working margin of 77.8 percent in 2019, itself a hike from 74.9 percent in 2018. He additionally rejected Apple witness’ claims that you just could not […]
Microsoft’s app store changes crank up the Apple pressure
Microsoft shook up the PC gaming business this week with the announcement that it was reducing the price it takes from sport gross sales on the Home windows retailer. On the floor, it’s a welcome transfer, with Microsoft matching the 12 % reduce that Epic Video games takes, and placing extra strain on Valve, which […]
Following huge quarter for tablet shipments, iPad remains number one seller
Globally, tablet sales in Q1 2021 stood at 39.9 million units – a huge increase compared with last year’s sales of 25.7 million. Apple’s iPad represented 31.7 percent of shipments in the recent quarter, with Samsung clocking-in at second place with a 20 percent share. Lenovo and Amazon took third and fourth place, holding a […]
English football teams have started a four-day social media boycott to protest online abuse
English football teams and organizations are all shutting down their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for the weekend as part of a massive social media blackout to advocate for better policies regarding discrimination and abuse that players and members of clubs receive on those platforms. Groups participating in the blackout include the Premier League, the […]
NASA wants to use its Mars helicopter to support Perseverance rover
After making history and completing two additional flights, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could soon attempt even more ambitious forays into the skies of the Red Planet. On Friday, NASA announced it plans to transition the rotorcraft to an operational role once it completes its remaining test flights. NASA says those flights will involve more precise […]
The colorful M1 iMac, Mini LED iPad Pro, and refreshed Apple TV 4K are available to preorder now
Apple’s colorful new M1-powered iMacs, refreshed iPad Pros, and updated Apple TV 4K are now all available to preorder today from Apple’s website. The company says that the new products will be delivered starting on May 21st at least for the first wave of orders, although that timing will certainly slip as stock sells out. […]
NYPD rips up $94,000 ‘Digidog’ contract with Boston Dynamics after backlash from activists and city officials
Following a backlash from residents and politicians, the New York Police Department will no longer deploy its Spot robot dog. A lease for the device has been canceled and it will be returned to Boston Dynamics, the NYPD told the New York Times. It was only last December that the New York Police Department began […]
Ford, BMW and Honda cut production due to global chip crisis
The global chip shortage is going from bad to worse with automakers on three continents joining tech giants Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in flagging production cuts and lost revenue from the crisis. In the span of 12 hours, Ford in the US said the chip shortage could halve production in the current financial […]