Amazon’s planned worker chat app would reportedly ban words like ‘union’

Amazon’s anti-union stance might spill into the apps for employees. The Intercept says it obtained internal documents detailing a planned worker chat app that, while meant to boost happiness, would include a blocklist focused heavily on silencing pro-union keywords. In addition to forbidding the use of the word “union,” it would also block terms like “compensation,” “pay raise,” “ethics” and even “robots.”

Other bans would focus mostly on keeping things positive, such as “rude” and “stupid.” Most, however, appear centered on working conditions. Amazon supposedly decided on the words at an upper-echelon meeting in November 2021, when they outlined an app that would encourage “Shout-Outs” and offer digital rewards for providing value to the company. 

The program linked to the app will reportedly launch in April. In a statement to The Intercept, however, Amazon spokeswoman Barbara Agrait said the initiative “has not been approved yet” and might be changed or scrapped.

If the program and its associated app launch, they would come at a tense moment. Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island just voted to unionize, and those at a Bessemer, Alabama facility just had a highly contested rerun election where both sides accused each other of interference. While this app isn’t about to hinder union organizers (they weren’t likely to use Amazon-monitored chats), it could underscore the very labor concerns the company doesn’t want employees to mention.

We have three years to curb emissions to avoid climate catastrophe, UN report finds

The world needs to cut carbon emissions by a quarter by the year 2030 to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, according to the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Governments and industries must make sure to level carbon emissions by 2025. Even then, the world will need to invest in CO2 removal factories and other technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the sky. With all these measures in place, the world can still expect a bare minimum temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next few decades, still, a grim outcome that will eviscerate most of the world’s coral reefs and make many low-lying regions uninhabitable.

The lead author of the report, Sarah Burch, tweeted that even the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is unlikely, a sentiment that other climate scientists have expressed. In order to reach that goal, virtually every industry and country would have to make rapid emissions cuts.

“The average annual greenhouse gas emissions over the last 10 years were THE HIGHEST IN HUMAN HISTORY. We are not on track to limit warming to less than 1.5 degrees,” tweeted Burch.

But the report also expressed a few reasons to be optimistic. First, governments and the private sector at the very least know what they need to do as far as curbing their energy use. The question remains whether stakeholders will actually stick to their emissions targets and make the drastic changes needed to avoid the worst case scenario.

“Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behavior can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential,” wrote IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla in the report.

Second, even though average annual global greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 to 2019 were the highest in human history, the rate of growth has slowed. Countries have adopted policies that have decreased deforestation and ramped up the use of renewable energy. The costs of solar, wind energy and lithium ion batteries have also decreased by 85% over the past decade, making it a more viable option than ever before.

The report warned that by 2050, solar and wind power will need to supply the majority of the world’s energy. And the report also echoed the consensus shared by most climate scientists that the world must immediately and rapidly curb its use of fossil fuels. “Coal has to go. Coal without carbon capture and storage has to go down by 76% by 2030. That’s… really fast,” noted Burch.

But attaining global consensus to cut down on fossil fuels is easier said than done. China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, increased its domestic coal use in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which ramped up energy commodity prices. Leaders in the EU and US have expressed concerns that global demand for coal will only increase, with countries needing to burn more coal due to higher natural gas prices.

State Department’s new bureau makes cybersecurity a part of foreign policy

The Department of State has cut the ribbon on the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP), which is now in operation. The move makes cybersecurity a more formal area of focus for US foreign policy following a swathe of attacks linked to Russia and China.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the CDP in October. The bureau comprises three policy units: International Cyberspace Security, International Information and Communications Policy and Digital Freedom.

The office will eventually be led by an Ambassador-at-Large, who will require Senate confirmation. Jennifer Bachus, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is running the bureau on an acting basis as senior official and principal deputy assistant secretary.

The bureau could help the US address cybersecurity threats both by itself and through partnerships with allies. A spate of major hacks have been attributed to state-linked actors from Russia and China over the last several years, including several Microsoft Exchange cyberattacks (for which the Biden administration pinned the blame on China). Others include the SolarWinds attack, over which the US has sanctioned multiple Russian companies, individuals and entities.

In February, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency had more than 2,000 active investigations related to thefts of US tech or information that were allegedly carried out by China. He claimed the country had a “massive, sophisticated hacking program that is bigger than those of every other major nation combined.” Shortly before Russia invaded the country in February, Ukraine’s government blamed it for a cyberattack against its websites.

President Biden signed an executive order last May that sought to bolster the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure. He followed that up in January with an EO that contained more concrete directives concerning the Defense Department, the intelligence community and national security systems.

The DeLorean EV will be unveiled on August 18th

After years of teasing, the DeLorean Motor Company announced on Monday that it will unveil an all-electric vehicle on August 18th, promising to share its official name at the same time. Details on the concept car are scant, but what the automaker did share is that it worked with Italdesign, best known for its work with Volkswagen, to design the upcoming car. Judging from the DeLorean’s website, the vehicle will feature the iconic gull-wing doors of the DMC-12.

To be clear, the company making the DeLorean EV isn’t the same one that produced the DMC-12. The DeLorean Motor Company of Texas is known for restoring vintage DeLorean vehicles, billing itself as the largest source of parts for the defunct brand that made the original. We’ll also note it’s been talking about electrification since 2011 when it said it was working on making an all-electric DeLorean with a 100-mile range. 

Native Instruments’ Maschine devices are up to $200 off

If you’re in the market for a music-making machine that just about can do it all, then it’s worth taking a peek at Native Instruments’ latest sale. The company is cutting the price of its Maschine hardware by up to $200 and tossing in some free software expansions for good measure. The pick of the bunch is the Maschine+, which is currently $200 off at $1,199. Even better, if you’re an existing customer, you might qualify for a bigger discount. You’ll find out after you log in.

Buy Maschine+ at Native Instruments – $1,199

With the Maschine+, which it released in 2020, NI stuffed its software into a groovebox — you don’t need a PC to use the instrument. It combines a synth, sampler, sequencer and drum machine.

We gave the Maschine+ a score of 83 in our review, finding it to be high-quality hardware with a respectable range of synth software. We appreciated the fact it can be used as a standalone device as well as a MIDI controller. However, we felt the input and output options were limited and that some of the instruments felt dated.

Elsewhere, you can get $100 off the Maschine (now $599) or $50 off the Maschine Mikro (which has dropped to $219). If you do buy one of these devices, be sure to register the serial number in the Native Access software or directly on the Maschine+. You’ll receive an email with a voucher that will allow you to unlock up to eight expansions at no extra cost. 

The sale and free software offer will run until May 5th. Voucher codes will expire if they aren’t used before June 1st.

Buy Maschine hardware at Native Instruments

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DJI made a $329 clip-on mic for your vlogs

DJI is better known for its drones and cameras than any of its audio tech, but it’s apparently eager to change your mind. The company has released the Mic, its first dedicated audio recording gear, in the US. The wireless clip-on system promises 24-bit, 48KHz audio capture for your vlogs or other spoken-word content at distances of up to 820 feet. That’s not too special in itself, but DJI is clearly hoping to snag wireless earbud fans with the design — you charge the transmitters and receiver in a battery case that provides a total of 15 hours of use. You’re looking at up to 5.5 hours of use per session.

The Mic can output through a 3.5mm jack, Lightning and USB-C, and you’ll get familiar audio adjustments like sensitivity (between -12dB and +12dB) and variable gain. An included furry windscreen will prevent a blustery day from ruining your show.

The system is available now for $329. That’s a lot to spend if you’re just looking to record audio using your phone. You can spend a fraction of the price if you only need the basics. However, the outlay might be easier to rationalize if you either depend on long-distance recording or want the flexibility that DJI’s charging case and output selection can offer.

Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV are staying on Roku

Roku users who might be used to major third-party services disappearing for a while (or taking forever to arrive) won’t lose access to Prime Video and IMDb TV any time soon. Amazon and Roku have reached a multi-year deal to keep the apps on the platform.

“Roku and Amazon have reached a multi-year extension for their distribution agreement,” Roku said in a statement. “Customers can continue to access the Prime Video and IMDb TV apps on their Roku devices.” It didn’t disclose terms of the deal.

The Amazon negotiations seem to have gone more smoothly than talks with other streaming services. It took months for Roku to reach a deal with WarnerMedia to get HBO Max on the platform. As for YouTube TV, that vanished from the Roku Channel Store for eight months. The company and Google aired their grievances in public while working on a new deal. Securing all those agreements means users will have access to more of the streaming services they might want to use under one umbrella.

Update 4/4 2:33PM ET: Clarifying that the YouTube TV app was removed from the Channel Store, not the entre Roku platform.

Irreverent RPG ‘Nobody Saves the World’ comes to PS4, PS5 and Switch on April 14th

You no longer need an Xbox if you’re going to play Drinkbox’s latest game in your living room. The studio has announced that its silly-but-sophisticated RPG Nobody Saves the World is coming to PS4, PS5 and Switch on April 14th. The release will also see all players get a local co-op mode — Switch owners will even have the option to play locally using a single set of Joy-Cons.

Online co-op won’t be truly cross-platform. However, PS4 and PS5 players will get to take on dungeons together.

Nobody Saves the World aims to inject some life into RPGs both through its irreverent style and its shapeshifting mechanics. You can unlock and change into over 15 forms, including ridiculous characters like a bodybuilder or robot. Each shape has its own abilities and even quests. The dungeons are shapeshifting, too. Throw in a soundtrack from Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery‘s Jim Guthrie and this may be one of those RPGs you revisit simply to experience the things you missed the first time around.

A Monkey Island sequel from creator Ron Gilbert is coming this year

One of the best video game series of all time is making a return in 2022 with some of its key original creatives on board. Return to Monkey Island is “a game by Ron Gilbert,” who conceived the point-and-click comedy-adventure saga in the late ’80s.

Gilbert wrote and directed the original game, The Secret of Monkey Island. He was director, programmer and designer on the sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. He left Lucasfilm Games soon after the latter was released, but he was credited on 2009’s Tales of Monkey Island. Gilbert is now back at work on arguably the series he’s best known for as a co-designer and co-writer alongside fellow Monkey Island veteran Dave Grossman.

Return to Monkey Island is in development at Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox. The studio’s working alongside Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games on the latest entry. According to the description on a teaser video Devolver posted, it’s a “long-awaited follow-up” to the first two games.

The clip also notes that Michael Land, Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian — all of whom have previously worked on the series — are handling the music, while Dominic Armato is reprising his role as Guybrush Threepwood. So, it’ll certainly sound like a proper Monkey Island game.

Gilbert tried for years to get back the rights to Monkey Island (and Maniac Mansion) from the Disney-owned Lucasfilm Games to no avail. Still, it’s great to see him and so many other Monkey Island veterans returning to the series. 

This just shot to the top of the list of my most-anticipated games in 2022. Sorry about all the game of the year awards you just lost, Elden Ring.