Lizzo will perform in the first metaverse music awards show

Like it or not, the metaverse is becoming an increasingly popular music venue — including, apparently, for ceremonies. As Hollywood Reporterexplains, Logitech has revealed what it says is the first music awards show in the metaverse. The second annual Song Breaker Awards will take place in Roblox on April 30th at 1PM Eastern, with pop star Lizzo making her virtual performance debut. Social media star Bretman Rock will host.

The awards show will honor ten creators who either started or “amplified” internet trends, including musician Gayle (who has thrived on Billboard‘s Song Breaker Chart) and Grammy nominee Walker Hayes. Personalities like Jaden Smith, Roblox veteran MeganPlays and Twitch streamer Shroud will also make appearances. 

Logitech Song Breaker Awards show space in Roblox metaverse
Logitech

You can already access a pre-event “experience” and virtual Logitech store in Roblox. If you miss the main show, you can still watch two additional performances on the 30th (4PM and 5PM ET) and one on May 1st (12PM ET).

Yes, Logitech is capitalizing on Lizzo and overall metaverse buzz to draw attention to its gig. However, it’s really an extension of past efforts to bring music performances into digital spaces. Virtual concerts have been happening for years, and some of them have been hugely popular. The Song Breaker Awards just move that entertainment from a specific game to a full-fledged platform, and it won’t be surprising if there are similar awards presentations before long.

Flavored e-cigarettes are exempt from the FDA’s proposed menthol ban

American regulators may not have made a decision on flavored e-cigarettes, but that isn’t stopping them from cracking down on the conventional variety. The New York Timesreports the US Food and Drug Administration has proposed a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes as well as any non-tobacco cigar flavors. Menthol both makes cigarettes more appealing to young smokers and magnifies the addictive qualities of nicotine, officials said, and banning it could both prevent the “next generation of smokers” while helping adults quit.

The potential rules won’t punish individual possession of banned cigarettes and cigars. You’ll have a chance to comment on the proposal between May 4th and July 5th, with the FDA holding “public listening sessions” on June 13th and June 15th to obtain more feedback.

Notably, the possible ban doesn’t include menthol e-cigarettes. The FDA is in the midst of reviewing all e-cigarette products and still allows sales of some menthol-flavored offerings. E-cigs reached the market before the FDA had the power to regulate them.

It’s easy to see the menthol ban shaping e-cig policy, however. An alliance of 31 states and territories is pressuring the FDA to limit flavored offerings, including menthol. They’re concerned about teens taking up e-cigs in large numbers (nearly a fifth of high schoolers had used them recently as of 2020), and see flavor bans steering youth away.

Producers might not be quite as thrilled. While Juul stopped selling mint-flavored e-cigs in 2019, it continues to offer menthol despite studies showing its popularity among young smokers. If a successful ban on conventional menthol cigarettes extends to e-cigs, brands like Juul may lose a significant portion of its customers regardless of age. Still, the FDA isn’t likely to be swayed — companies might not want to count on selling menthol smoking products of any kind in the long run.

States, activists sue USPS over purchase of gas-powered mail trucks

The US Postal Service is facing more than just stern warnings over its decision to buy mostly gas-powered mail delivery trucks. Environmental activist groups (including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club) and 16 states have filed lawsuits in California and New York State to challenge the Postal Service’s Next Generation Delivery Vehicle purchasing decision. They argue the USPS’s environmental review was flawed and illegal, ignoring the “decades of pollution” the combustion-engine trucks would produce.

The USPS allegedly violated the National Environmental Policy Act by committing to buy 165,000 delivery vehicles (just 10 percent of them electric) without first conducting a “lawful” environmental review. The service only started its review six months after it had signed a contract, according to the California lawsuit. Both suits accuse the USPS of using botched estimates, including “unrealistically high” battery costs as well as wildly low fuel prices and emissions levels. They also noted that contract recipient Oshkosh Defense has no experience producing EVs.

The lawsuit also pointed out that the gas versions of the next-gen vehicle weren’t much kinder to the climate than their roughly 30-year-old predecessors. While the 14.7MPG without air conditioning beats the earlier models’ 8.2MPG, that fuel economy drops to just 8.6MPG with air conditioning turned on. Many of the powerplant-independent upgrades revolve around ergonomics, such as easier access to packages.

In a statement to the Associated Press, USPS spokesperson Kim Frum maintained that the organization implemented a “robust and thorough review” that met NEPA requirements. Previously, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy maintained that the institution couldn’t afford to buy more EVs and needed to concentrate on basic infrastructure upgrades. Unlike many government agencies, the Postal Service is legally required to be self-sufficient and can’t request government help to tackle deficits and debts.

Not that those arguments will necessarily help. If successful, the lawsuits will halt the truck order until it honors the plaintiffs’ expectations for NEPA and other regulations. This doesn’t guarantee an increased volume of EVs, but it won’t be surprising if the USPS ends up falling more in line with the current White House’s push for zero-emissions vehicles.

Amazon re-awarded $10 billion NSA cloud contract after Microsoft dispute

Microsoft failed in its attempt to challenge Amazon’s $10 billion NSA contract. Nextgov has learned the NSA re-awarded the “Wild and Stormy” cloud computing deal to Amazon Web Services after reviewing the decision. While the Government Accountability Office recommended a reevaluation in October following Microsoft’s objections, it’s clear the second look didn’t substantially change the outcome.

Many details of the contract are unsurprisingly murky, but it’s part of a larger Hybrid Compute Initiative that will see the NSA migrate intelligence data from in-house servers to those of a cloud provider like AWS. Wild and Stormy should help the security agency cope with growing datasets without having to manage the storage itself.

This isn’t the first time Amazon and Microsoft have been at odds over a large-scale US government agreement. The two fought bitterly over the military’s $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud project, with Microsoft surviving Amazon’s challenge only to watch the Defense Department cancel the contract once requirements changed. Microsoft isn’t down and out when it’s still in the running for the $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability deal, but this still represents a significant blow for a company that thrives on government partnerships.

Call of Duty games now prevent cheaters from seeing opponents

Call of Duty developers are turning to increasingly creative ways to discourage cheaters in online matches. Eurogamernotes Activision is rolling out its kernel-level RICOCHET anti-cheat system to Call of Duty: Vanguard, and has simultaneously revealed that the countermeasure punishes cheaters with “Cloaking.” Any detected cheaters will find themselves unable to see or hear opponents, even down to incoming bullets. They’ll be the ones at a disadvantage — and, hopefully, frustrated enough to leave the game.

Cloaking joins other “mitigations” for cheaters that include Damage Shield, which prevents cheaters from landing critical damage on rivals. Activision also made clear that anyone banned for cheating will be removed from the leaderboard for a given game, and that it bans users both daily and in waves. Its most recent crackdown culled 54,000 accounts.

RICOCHET reached the multiplayer-only Warzone in 2021. Unlike the anti-cheat technology in Valorant, the kernel-level driver for Call of Duty titles is only active while those games are running. That theoretically minimizes vulnerabilities and potential problems with other software. 

Anti-cheating measures like Cloaking aren’t guaranteed to work. Provided RICOCHET spots a cheater in the first place, it also assumes their hacks can’t auto-detect enemies. This nonetheless makes it harder for cheaters to prosper, and might be enough to discourage all but the most determined spoil-sports.

Amazon makes advocacy group’s list of most dangerous US workplaces, again

Amazon has made a list for the most dangerous workplaces in the US for a third time. The advocacy group National COSH (Council for Occupational Safety and Health) has included Amazon in a “Dirty Dozen” list meant to shame what it sees as the least safe American workplaces of 2022. The internet retailer earned the less-than-flattering distinction for an injury rate more than double the industry average, including six deaths at a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse since it opened in 2020.

National COSH noted that one of the workers who died was reportedly forced to work while ill as he didn’t have enough unpaid time off. It also pointed to worker Jennifer Bates’ concerns that the “pace of work” and overall strain contributed to injuries. The advocates also pointed to Amazon firing Staten Island warehouse worker Gerald Bryson after a 2020 protest over a lack of COVID-19 safety measures. A judge recently ordered Amazon to reinstate Bryson after determining that he’d been fired in retaliation for his criticism.

We’ve asked Amazon for comment. It has historically denied putting workers at undue risk, and maintains that Bryson was fired for violating company language policies despite a lack of evidence. Amazon also made the list in 2019 and 2020. Other companies on the 2022 list include Dollar General, Hilton Hotels and Starbucks.

National COSH’s list won’t have any direct repercussions for Amazon. However, it’s not a good look for the tech firm after a string of allegations and incidents beyond the ones that helped it reach the list. The company has been chastised for running an Illinois warehouse during a tornado that killed six staffers in December. Workers’ rights proponents have also accused Amazon of misusing a charity work program to hide its true injury rates, and Bryson wasn’t the first supposedly fired for criticizing labor practices. We wouldn’t count on Amazon avoiding the 2023 list, even if it is trying to improve safety. 

Withings’ ScanWatch Horizon will finally arrive in the US on May 17th

At long last, Withings is releasing the ScanWatch Horizon in the US — several months after its debut. The diving watch-inspired hybrid wearable will be available in the country on May 17th for $500 with either a blue or green dial. Withings didn’t explain the reason for the long wait (it also missed an early 2022 target), but it initially had to hold for FDA clearance for the signature ECG feature.

The ScanWatch Horizon is Withings’ bid to court watch buyers who want smart features without giving up the artisanship of an upscale (if not truly luxurious) conventional timepiece. You’ll get the previously mentioned ECG sensor as well as activity, blood oxygen, heart rate and sleep tracking, all of which is tucked into a tiny display on an otherwise traditional-looking watch face.

However, design is everything here. You’ll find a tasteful steel case and scratch-resistant sapphire glass that look they’d belong on the wrist of a yacht enthusiast. And yes, the Horizon could serve as a real diver’s watch with a 10 ATM (100m, or 328ft) water rating. No one will mistake it for a Rolex or Patek Philippe, but you could wear it on formal occasions without receiving disapproving glances. Think of it as decidedly more affordable, if feature-limited. alternative to TAG Heuer’s Connected watches.

You can now ask Google to remove phone numbers from search results

Google has long accepted requests to remove some personal information from search results, but now that option should be considerably more useful. Google has expanded the policy to let you ask for the removal of contact info like phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses. You can also have Google remove login credentials if they pop up in queries.

The company’s previous stance limited requests to special instances, such as doxxing campaigns, as well as conspicuous fraud targets like bank and credit card details. Google will still review requests to be sure they’re honest — it won’t scrub references that are a matter of public record, for instance. A politician couldn’t simply ask to have their office phone number removed.

The expansion follows other recent efforts to curb the spread of sensitive info. As of last year, Google users under 18 can request the removal of their photos from image searches. However, this might be one of the more important developments. While the widened policy isn’t guaranteed to protect your privacy, it could thwart doxxers, harassers and stalkers who are counting on a quick Google search to reach their targets.

Dodge will reveal a Hornet plug-in hybrid in August

You won’t have to wait long to buy a small Dodge plug-in hybrid. As Autoblogexplains, Dodge chief Tim Kuniskis revealed in a Q&A that a PHEV edition of the upcoming Hornet compact car will be revealed this summer, likely during a “Speed Week” starting August 15th. The Stellantis badge executive didn’t provide other details, but plans for the regular Hornet should provide a good idea of what to expect.

No, the Hornet isn’t a revival of either AMC’s compact or the circa-2006 concept. Instead, it’s based on the Alfa Romeo Tonale (shown above) due to reach Americans in early 2023. The Hornet will likely share both the Tonale’s 1.3L turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a Naples, Italy factory. The Tonale will muster 272HP in its American version, but it’s not certain if the Hornet will provide similar output. The machine may be relatively inexpensive for a plug-in given its size.

You may have to wait a while to hear more about Dodge’s all-electric muscle car, however. Kuniskis said he hoped to show off the high-performance EV before the Hornet, but an unnamed factor “outside our industry” was preventing any firm commitments. Dodge previously said the “eMuscle” car would launch by 2024, and that it would phase out its gas-based Challenger and Charger cars on a similar timeline.

A Hornet PHEV might be necessary. Stellantis is ramping up its electrification efforts and expects half of its US passenger vehicles to be pure EVs by 2030, but Americans don’t have affordable plug-in hybrid options at the moment — they’re typically more expensive options like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. If Stellantis can keep the Dodge Hornet’s cost relatively low, it might open the door to customers who previously had to shop competing brands to get more accessible PHEVs.

Apple promises free fixes for Watch Series 6 models with blank screens

Don’t worry if your Apple Watch screen suddenly went blank — you might not have to pay to get it fixed. 9to5Mac and The Verge note that Apple has launched a service program that offers free fixes for Watch Series 6 models whose screens go permanently white. If you own a 40mm watch built between April and September of 2021, Apple or an authorized shop will repair the device regardless of its warranty status.

The program covers affected Apple Watch Series 6 models for two years after the first retail sales, which began in September 2020. You can enter your wristwear’s serial number on the program website to determine if you qualify. This doesn’t extend the regular warranty or cover damage that requires repairs before the display can be addressed.

Apple said the problem only affects a “very small percentage” of Series 6 units. Still, the program may be valuable. The Apple Watch isn’t a cheap accessory, especially if you bought a steel or titanium variant — this could save you the added pain of a costly fix for a manufacturer defect.