Uber and Lyft drop mask requirements for US drivers and passengers

You no longer need to wear a mask to ride with Uber or Lyft n the US. Uber has dropped mask requirements for US drivers and passengers as of today (April 19th). Lyft, meanwhile, announced that mask wearing is now optional in the country. Both ridesharing firms now let you sit in the front passenger seat, although Uber said this should only be done if a party is too large to fit exclusively in the back.

Uber stressed that the CDC still recommends masks for people who either have some “risk factors” for COVID-19 or live in areas where there are high virus transmission levels. Lyft also noted that some local governments might still require masks, but it no longer accepts health safety as a reason for cancelling a trip.

The decisions aren’t voluntary. A federal judge in Florida overturned a federal mandate for masks aboard public transportation on Monday, leading major airlines and Amtrak to drop their requirements. Some public transit systems (such as those in New Jersey and Washington, DC) have also lifted their demands. Uber and Lyft are just following suit, in other words. It’s not yet clear if the federal government will challenge the ruling.

The move won’t be welcome by everyone. The pandemic is still ongoing, and people who are immunocompromised or otherwise at high risk may be particularly reluctant to avoid cars with maskless drivers. These travellers now have fewer options for getting around, and may have to rely on friends or family to minimize the chances of an infection.

Apple products were made with 50 percent more recycled material last year

Apple is boasting of its environmental initiatives ahead of Earth Day, and it’s shedding new light on its devices in the process. As part of its 2022 Environmental Progress Report, the company has revealed that 18 percent of the material in its fiscal 2021 products was recycled or renewed, the “highest-ever” ratio at the iPhone maker and a 50 percent jump from last year’s 12 percent. There were eight new products including at least 20 percent recycled material. This included the company’s first use of certified recycled gold (in the mainboards and camera arrays of the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro), while reuses of cobalt, rare earth elements and tungsten “more than doubled” over the year.

The tech firm also said it had cut nearly all use of plastics in its packaging. The material represented just 4 percent of packaging in 2021, and the new iPhones were the company’s first handsets without any plastic packing material. Apple hopes to eliminate all use of plastic in its packaging by 2025.

The report not-so-subtly advertised Apple’s response to repairability concerns. The company noted that its its products have become increasingly easier to fix at repair centers, and use more durable designs. It mentioned the announcement of the Self Service Repair program, although it wasn’t more specific about the 2022 launch window.

Apple has been eager to share its eco-friendly goals in the past, including plans to make both its products and the supply chain carbon neutral by 2030. Critics have argued that highly publicized efforts like these sometimes represent “greenwashing” that masks the overall environmental harm of their products (such as shipping hundreds of millions of devices per year). However, it’s still good to know that the hardware you buy won’t deal quite as severe a blow as it would have in the past.

Amazon ordered to reinstate warehouse worker who was fired after protest

Amazon is facing legal consequences for its history of firing protest participants. The New York Timesreports that judge Benjamin Green has ordered Amazon to reinstate warehouse worker Gerald Bryson, who was fired from his role at Staten Island’s JFK8 facility (the one that just voted to unionize) after allegedly violating language policies during a COVID-19 safety protest on April 6th, 2020. Green sided with a National Labor Relations Board argument that Amazon retaliated against Bryson for protesting, and reportedly used a “skewed” investigation to find pretexts for firing the employee.

Bryson (pictured above) had been protesting outside JFK8 and called for Amazon to shut down the warehouse for safety reasons. He got into a row with a female employee who said she was grateful for the work. Only Bryson was fired despite the two trading insults — the woman received a written warning. The people Amazon interviewed for its investigation provided “one-sided, exaggerated” versions of events, according to Green, including claims of racial slur use that weren’t supported by video evidence. Amazon didn’t interview the person who recorded the video.

The judge also found that Amazon had previously issued lighter punishments for more serious infractions (such as the use of violence). The company also didn’t provide all the documents requested in a subpoena.

In a statement to The Times, Amazon said it “strongly disagree[s]” with Green’s decision and claimed the NLRB wanted the company to “condone” Bryson’s behavior. The tech giant planned to appeal the decision with the NLRB.

Amazon has been repeatedly accused of retaliating against staff who challenge its policies. Safety protest leader Chris Smalls accused the company of firing him for highlighting poor safeguards against COVID-19. Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, meanwhile, were supposedly fired for being vocal critics of Amazon’s climate and labor practices. Amazon said these workers were dropped for violating policy, but opponents rejected those assertions.

Bryson’s win comes as Amazon faces a growing backlash from workers. On top of the successful unionization vote at JFK8, the company is grappling with a close rerun election for unionization at an Alabama warehouse as well as a looming vote at a second Staten Island facility. Employees are increasingly demanding better treatment, and the company’s attempts to quash dissent aren’t always proving successful.

Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay EX earbuds offer an AirPods-like design

Bang & Olufsen has long offered true wireless earbuds, but its designs have all been monolithic models that might not fit as well as you’d like. The company is finally shaking things up, however, by introducing the Beoplay EX. It’s B&O’s first set of earbuds with an AirPods-like stem design, and the audio brand is promising a more comfortable fit thanks to the smaller in-ear housing. Whether or not you consider them more fashionable than AirPods is more a matter of opinion, but the black, black-and-blue and gold colors at least beat Apple’s signature white for variety.

It’s too early to say if B&O’s claims of “superior sound” match reality. The Beoplay EX design allows for the company’s largest-ever (9.2mm) drivers in wireless earbuds, though, so you’ll at least get more power than in past models. B&O further boasts of improved call quality and Bluetooth 5.2 support.

And yes, you’ll get the features that are virtually mandatory in upscale earbuds. You can expect active noise cancellation, IP57 dust/water resistance, two-device pairing and a battery case with wireless charging support. B&O is estimating a healthy (if increasingly expected) six hours of listening with ANC enabled, and a total 20 hours of playback when you use the case.

The caveat, as you’d imagine, is the price. B&O is selling the Beoplay EX for $399. That’s on par with past models like the Beoplay EQ, but they’re considerably more expensive than the AirPods Pro, not to mention other comparable buds like Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 2 and Sony’s WF-1000XM4. Still, this is likely your top pick if you prefer B&O’s sound and minimalist design.

Netflix is making an ‘Exploding Kittens’ mobile game and TV series

If Exploding Kittens is still a part of your party game repertoire several years later, Netflix has just the news you were hoping to hear. The streaming service is introducing an “exclusive” version of the Exploding Kittensmobile game as well as an animated TV series. The adult-oriented show will be executive-produced by card game creators Elan Lee and Matthew “The Oatmeal” Inman as well as veterans like Mike Judge, and will star well-known personalities including Lucy Liu (Kill Bill) and Tom Ellis (Lucifer).

The series revolves around a holy war that sees God and the Devil visit Earth in the form of beefy house cats. It won’t stream on Netflix until 2023, but the upgraded game is due in May with two new cards and promises of future gameplay based on the show.

Netflix is keen to note this is will be the first time it launches both a game and a series from the same franchise (Stranger Things doesn’t count, apparently). While the game certainly wasn’t built from scratch, the company not-so-subtly hinted that it might repeat this simultaneous development strategy going forward — don’t be surprised if more games and shows arrive in tandem.

Nintendo’s Super Mario anime has been remastered in 4K to confuse a new generation

You probably didn’t get to watch Nintendo’s first anime movie when it premiered in Japan in 1986, but you now have your chance — at quality you would never have experienced in theaters. Polygonnotes Femboy Films has released a 4K remaster of The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach on both YouTube (below) and the Internet Archive. You can not only expect clean, color-corrected visuals based on a rare 16mm print, but new English subtitles and a fresh two-channel Dolby Surround audio capture from the VHS release.

The story isn’t exactly revolutionary, but it’s an intriguing peek at the Super Mario Bros. franchise at a time when the canon was far from settled. Mario and Luigi travel from the ‘real’ world into the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach after briefly escapes into their realm and is captured by King Koopa (Bowser). You can expect many references to the original Super Mario Bros. game, but you’ll also find unusual deviations from the now-established premise. Mario and Luigi work at a grocery store, and they’re compelled to save Peach thanks to a Dumpling Dog character. And did we mention Luigi drinks sake?

Whatever you think of the plot, this is a significant film preservation project. Great Mission was only officially released in Japan, and there was just one run of VHS tapes. If it weren’t for the restoration, the anime might have been lost to modern audiences. The remaster should ensure that younger gamers have a glimpse of early Super Mario culture beyond emulated games or the not-so-stellar American movie from 1993.

Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad drops to an all-time low of $290

You’ll want to act quickly if you’ve been looking for a frill-free tablet. Amazon is selling Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad (that is, the 2021 model) at an all-time low price of $290 after an instant checkout coupon. This only applies to the 64GB WiFi model in silver, and you’ll have to wait until early May for delivery. If those aren’t obstacles, however, this is an exceptional deal that beats some of the bargains we’ve seen for past models.

Buy Apple iPad at Amazon – $290

The 10.2-inch iPad remains alluring thanks to its sheer value for money. It’s fast for the price, offers a solid screen and lasts a long time on battery. On this newest model, the wide-angle camera with Center Stage is particularly useful — it’s easier to fit more of your household into the frame during a video call, even if they’re in the background. Toss in the upgraded base storage, a robust app ecosystem and iPadOS 15’s better multitasking and you might not need more than this.

The same issues still apply, of course. This iPad design now feels old compared to newer models like the iPad Air and iPad mini. You won’t get those tablets’ thinner bezels, faster processors and improved cameras. There’s no support for the Magic Keyboard or second-generation Pencil, for that matter. However, there’s a real chance you don’t need those extras — the 10.2-inch iPad is still a very capable device for gaming, reading, video viewing and many other everyday tasks.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

DuckDuckGo reportedly removes search results for major pirate websites (updated)

DuckDuckGo’s crackdown on dodgy content now supposedly extends to digital bootleggers. TorrentFreak has claimed the search engine no longer lists results for some major pirate websites, including The Pirate Bay, 1337x and Fmovies — look for anything from their domains and you’ll come up empty-handed, according to TF. Streaming and stream-ripping sites like Flixtor and 2conv also produce no results using these methods, while other pirate outlets (such as RarBG) may only turn up one result instead of the hundreds of thousands you see elsewhere.

The site for the video download tool YouTube-dl also produces no results despite recent defenses of its legality. While the RIAA has portrayed YouTube-dl as a piracy tool, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, GitHub and others found that it doesn’t rip DRM-protected material.

We’ve asked DuckDuckGo for comment. As TorrentFreak says, though, liability for copyright violations might be an issue. The company removed pirate “bangs” (shortcuts for pirate sites) as far back as 2018, and competitors like Google and Microsoft are already downranking piracy-related results. A move like this could protect DuckDuckGo against costly copyright battles.

Update 4/18 8:15AM ET: DuckDuckGo tells Engadget that The Pirate Bay and Youtube-dl were never removed from search results if you looked for them by name or web address, and that there have been problems with the “site:” queries used for these and other searches. Others frequently change domains and may not always be easy to find. These pages should now turn up in results, DDG said. We’ve updated our story accordingly.

Microsoft reportedly wants to sell ad space in free-to-play Xbox games

You might not be thrilled with in-game advertising, but you might soon see more of it. Insidersources (sub. required) claim Microsoft is developing a program to help marketers place ads in free-to-play Xbox games. Companies could buy from an ad inventory to secure space on virtual billboards. It’s not clear if this would extend to character skins or video rolls, but Microsoft is apparently crafting a “private marketplace” to limit ads to brands that won’t disrupt gameplay.

Microsoft is reportedly still pinpointing ad technology firms that would build the catalog and cooperate on placement. The debut might not take long, though, as the program could launch by the third quarter (that is, summer).

The company declined to confirm or deny the plans. In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson said Microsoft was constantly striving to “improve the experience” for developers and players but didn’t have “anything further to share.”

The program could rankle gamers worried about ads for real-world products finding their way into fictional universes. However, the focus on free-to-play titles might prove crucial. This could help developers make money from free games without leaning too heavily on paid content like skins and season passes. That, in turn, might persuade creators to make Xbox-centric games rather than building for the PlayStation or Switch.

Hubble telescope spots the largest known comet to date

Comets aren’t known for being gargantuan, but there are clearly exceptions to that rule. Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted the largest known comet to date, C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein). With a nucleus 80 miles across, it easily overshadows the 60-mile girth of previous record holder C/2002 VQ94 — it’s about 50 times bigger than the typical comet. 

The comet was first discovered in 2010 by its namesake astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein. However, scientists only recently verified the size by comparing Hubble imagery against a computer model of the coma (the ‘atmosphere’ of the comet as it releases gas) and data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. At roughly 2 billion miles away from Earth, C/2014 UN271 is too far away for Hubble to visualize the nucleus.

And before you ask: no, there’s no danger of an Earth-shattering collision. C/2014 UN271 is on a 3-million-year-long elliptical orbit that will take it no closer than 1 billion miles from the Sun, or slightly beyond Saturn’s distance, in 2031. It appears to have originated from the Oort Cloud (the still-theoretical nest of comets at least 2,000AU from the Sun) and may travel up to half a light-year away. Its -348F temperature may seem frigid, but it’s warm enough to produce a carbon monoxide coma.

The size confirmation isn’t just about bragging rights. This finding widens humanity’s understanding of comet sizes, and adds to the still-small catalog of very distant comets. It might also provide more evidence of the Oort Cloud’s existence and, by extension, help explain the cloud’s role in Solar System development.