Activision has been served another lawsuit over harassment at the company. As Bloomberg Law and Game Developer report, an anonymous woman still working at Activision Blizzard has sued the game developer in a Los Angeles court for allegedly enabling sexual harassment and discrimination. The company also retaliated against her when she shared her experiences at a December 2021 press conference, according to the complaint.
As with past suits, the woman accused Activision Blizzard of routinely allowing misconduct. The senior administrative assistant in IT was reportedly pressured to join in “cube crawls” where women were harassed and groped, and was told to tolerate unwanted sexual advances and excessive drinking. She was also asked to keep her complaints private, according to the suit, and supposedly faced an increasingly hostile workplace the more she spoke out.
The plaintiff said she applied for positions elsewhere in the company to avoid sexism in IT, and wrote to president Allen Brack (who stepped down in August 2021 as the scandal grew) about the problems. She was offered and took a lower-paying role elsewhere in the company, but noted that her application for an executive assistant job was rejected in December that year, shortly after she’d applied in November.
In the lawsuit, the woman demands damages that include lost earnings and medical expenses. She also asks for functional reforms, including the ouster of CEO Bobby Kotick, a rotating human resources team (to prevent conflicts of interest) and the use of a neutral firm to investigate incidents.
We’ve asked Activision Blizzard for comment. The company has used some measures to address harassment and discrimination complaints, including removing employees, taking disciplinary actions and forming a committee to implement anti-harassment initiatives. It also settled an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit and has been more cooperative with investigations. However, it’s still facing a mounting number of legal challenges that include both more lawsuits and an SEC investigation — the debacle is far from over.
Apple likes to flaunt its ability to save metal, and now it’s reducing the environmental impact of the metal itself. The company says the latest iPhone SE is the first product made from “commercial-purity” low-carbon aluminum at industrial scale. Montreal, Canada-based Elysis has produced a batch for Apple using a carbon-free, hydropower-based smelting process that outputs oxygen rather than greenhouse gases.
The two companies didn’t say just how many iPhone SE units would use this aluminum. The design most conspicuously relies on aluminum for the frame, but the back is dominated by glass that helps with wireless charging and data reception.
The development is a long time in coming. Apple helped development through an investment team-up that included Alcoa, Rio Tinto, the Canadian government and the Quebec provincial government. The tech firm also bought the first batch of aluminum from that union to produce the 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019. Aluminum-linked carbon emissions at Apple have dropped almost 70 percent since 2015, according to the company.
Apple boasted that it has routinely poured money into projects like this through three “Green Bonds” totalling $4.7 billion. The investments, which started in 2016, have focused on both reducing emissions and providing clean power. The money for Elysis’ low-carbon aluminum comes from a 2019 bond backing 50 projects, including ones that “mitigate or offset” 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 and establish close to 700MW of renewable energy.
The efforts help burnish Apple’s image as much as they might lessen the contribution to climate change — like Samsung and other rivals, the company wants to assuage buyers worried that their new phone might do unnecessary harm. Greater use of this eco-friendly aluminum will help Apple reach its goal of selling carbon-neutral products by 2030, though. And given Apple’s sheer market clout, carbon reductions like this could have a tangible effect.
Uber has struck a deal that will soon allow folks in New York City to hail yellow cabs through its app. The city’s 14,000 taxi drivers will be able to accept fares from Uber users through apps like Curb and Arro.
This is Uber’s first citywide partnership of this nature in the US. It expects the integrations to be up and running this spring. Passengers will pay around the same as they would for Uber X rides, the company told The Wall Street Journal, with Uber and its partners taking a cut of the fare. Taxi drivers will be able to see their estimated earnings before deciding whether to accept a trip.
The move could help remedy Uber’s shortage of drivers and tackle the surge pricing problem while helping cab drivers find more fares. It could be an uneasy alliance, however, given that the taxi industry has opposed ride-sharing apps in the past.
“The companies that tore up this industry need this more than the drivers do. Drivers can hold out on 1 – 2 more fares but cannot settle for a biz model that underpays drivers, fires them at will & guts full-time work. So it’s time to negotiate,” said New York Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai. “If Uber and Curb think they can slide in with a payment structure that’s broken for Uber drivers and piece it together on the backs of yellow cab drivers, they’re in for a sobering surprise.”
Update 12:30PM ET: This post has been updated with quotes from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. The full statement is below.
Statement from NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai:
On Uber – Yellow Cab Deal
The companies that tore up this industry need this more than the drivers do. Drivers can hold out on 1 – 2 more fares but cannot settle for a biz model that underpays drivers, fires them at will & guts full-time work. So it’s time to negotiate.
After its business model has shown the failures to protect drivers from ridership downturns and rising gas prices, Uber is returning to its roots: yellow cabs.
First, this should settle once and for all the question of maintaining the vehicle cap.
Second, the fare structure that is not enough for Uber drivers is also not going to be enough for yellow cab drivers who have higher expenses such as the medallion payment and higher car costs as a new one must be hacked up every six years. To start with:
Uber – and Lyft and the taxi meter – need to implement a fuel surcharge immediately in NYC for all drivers.
Yellow cab drivers must be paid the metered rate and after 10 long years without a raise – that meter needs to go up.
The TLC-regulated App driver payment rates used to pay drivers under this program need to be adjusted to the increase in operating expenses since they were set 4 years ago. Drivers need to be paid whichever is higher – either 85% of what the passenger pays or 100% of the TLC-regulated rates.
Uber and yellow cab drivers need Just Cause protection so drivers can not be fired without warning or reason as the means for the company to control supply.
Here are some sample fares comparing what drivers would earn on the meter vs. under the proposed rates. Yellow cab drivers would be short-changed on average 15%.
Trip #1 (Manhattan short trip, rush hour)
Drop+Evening Rush hour (Taxi $3.50)
2 miles long (Taxi: $5.00; App: $2.32)
12 minutes long (App: $6.35)
4 minutes slow/stopped (Taxi: $2.00)
Taxi fare (surcharges, taxes excluded): $ 10.50
App-based Driver Pay: $8.67
Trip #2: Manhattan (East Side) to JFK Trip, non-rush hour
Taxi Fare: $52
17 miles (App: $19.78)
42 minutes (App: $22.22)
App-based Driver Pay: $42
Trip #3 Manhattan (West Village) to LGA, Night-time
Drop + Night Surcharge ($3.00)
12.8 miles long (Taxi: $32.00; App: $13.93)
35 minutes long (App: $18.52)
5 minutes slow/stopped: ($2.50)
Taxi Fare (surcharges, taxes excluded): $37.50
App-based Driver Pay: $32.45
If Uber and Curb think they can slide in with a payment structure that’s broken for Uber drivers and piece it together on the backs of yellow cab drivers, they’re in for a sobering surprise. Neither company will grow ridership without working out terms that work for drivers. We know who’s in the driver’s seat. And spoiler alert, it’s not a venture capitalist.
It’s a refresh those with an eye on Dell’s XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops have waiting to get their hands on for a while, and it’s now available. Starting today, you can configure both computers with Intel’s latest 12th-generation Core H-series CPUs. Announ…
Despite the pandemic shuttering offices and upending commutes across the nation for more than two years, America’s roads and bridges remain critical to its economic and social well being, acting as a circulatory system for goods and people. But like the ticker found in your average American, our transportation system could stand more routine checkups and maybe a few repavings if it wants to still be around in another four decades. The guy whose job it is to make sure that happens, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeig, took to the SXSW stage at the Austin Convention Center last week to discuss the challenges that his administration faces.
The Secretary’s hour-long town hall presentation touched on a wide range of subjects beginning with the projects his agency plans to focus on thanks to the recent passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, roughly half of which is earmarked for transportation programs. “There are five things that we’re really focused on,” Secretary Buttigeig said. “Safety, economic development, climate, equity and transformation.
“It’s the reason the department exists,” he continued. “We have a Department of Transportation, first and foremost, to make sure everybody can get to where they need to go safely.”
But despite his agency’s efforts, the Secretary noted that some 38,000 Americans died on the road last year, compared to air travel where, “it’s not unusual to have a year where there are zero deaths in commercial aviation in the United States… I don’t believe it has to be that way.”
These investments will also help position the country to better compete economically. He points to China, which has invested extensively in its infrastructure for decades, “because of how important it is for their economic future,” he said. “This is what countries do. This is what the United States, historically, has done except we sort of skipped about 40 years.”
We need not look further than the collapse of Pittsburgh’s Forbes Avenue bridge in January to see the impacts of nearly half a century of investment austerity upon the nation’s roadways. Hours before President Biden was scheduled to speak in the city, promoting his infrastructure plan no less, when the elevated span fell, sending ten people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and highlighting Pennsylvania’s ongoing struggles to ensure the proper upkeep of its nearly 500 bridges.
Ensuring the safe operation of transportation also promotes economic development, Buttigeig argued, “so we’re going to make sure that we drive economic opportunity through great transportation, both in the installation of electric chargers and the laying of track.”
Tempering the capitalist urges that a functional transportation network seems to rouse are the agency’s climate goals. “Every transportation decision is a climate decision, whether we recognize it or not,” Buttigeig said, noting that the transportation sector is the US economy’s second leading source of greenhouse gas, behind the energy sector. “Not only do we have to cut emissions from transportation on our roads by making it so that you don’t have to drag two tons of metal along to get to where you need to go all the time, we’ve got to prepare for the climate impacts that are already happening.”
Secretary Buttigeig also touched on how to most equitably distribute the benefits from those mitigation efforts and the incoming investment funds. “Infrastructure can and should connect, but sometimes it divides,” Buttigeig said, referencing the nation’s historical red-lining practices and “urban renewal” projects that tore apart black communities for generations.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen this time around, and to make sure that the jobs that are going to be created, are available to everybody,” he continued. “Including fields that have been traditionally very male, or very white, but could be open to everybody. A lot of great pathways in the middle class, through these kinds of construction and infrastructure jobs that are being created.”
Looking ahead, “I will say that I think the 2020s will probably be one of the most transformative periods we’ve ever seen in transportation,” Buttigeig told the SXSW audience, nodding to recent advances in EVs, automation, UAVs and private space flight. “These things are happening, they’re upon us, and we have an opportunity to prepare the way to make sure that the development of these innovations benefits us in terms of public policy goals.”
But for the Transportation Secretary’s excitement at these future prospects, he had no misconceptions about how long it will likely take to achieve them. “I get a lot of interviews where the first question is, ‘all right, what are we going to see this summer,’” he said. “I will say, you will see more construction starting to happen as early as this summer in some places as a result of this bill.”
This is not a 2009 economic stimulus-style plan where “the idea was to get as much money pumped into our economy as possible to stimulate demand and deal with high unemployment,” he said. “This is a very different economic reality right now. And there’s a very different purpose behind this bill. It’s not about short-term stimulus. This is about getting ready for the long term.”
Don’t worry if you’ve wanted a 12.9-inch iPad Pro but have been put off by the official price —the tablet is considerably closer to Earth. Amazon is selling the M1-based WiFi model with 128GB of storage for a new all-time low price of $950 after you attach an instant coupon at checkout, or $149 less than usual. The 512GB version is back to a best-ever $1,299 price (down from $1,399) if you need more storage, and even the 2TB version is on sale for $2,050 (normally $2,199) if you demand the most capacity possible.
If this largest iPad Pro remains beyond your reach, you’ll be glad to know that Amazon is still running sales for the latest iPad Air and iPad mini models at respective starting prices of $570 and $459. They’re both speedy tablets, and they’re better fits if you want something more compact.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro continues to serve as Apple’s no-compromise tablet. The M1 gives it performance on par with some well-specced laptops, and the 12.9-inch, 120Hz mini-LED screen is a treat whether you’re creating art or catching up on Netflix. A Thunderbolt port helps with expansion, too. The larger display size makes this the best iPad to turn into a pseudo-laptop using peripherals like the Magic Keyboard — it’s about as big as many portable PCs and gives iPadOS plenty of visual headroom.
That size does make this iPad Pro somewhat unwieldy if you plan to use it purely as a tablet, so you might want to consider the 11-inch Pro or Air if you want something easier to hold in your hands. You’ll also need to be content with iPadOS. While the software has come a long way, it doesn’t offer the window-based multitasking or in-depth file management of desktop platforms like macOS or Windows. If the OS fits your needs, though, few rivals can match this iPad’s prowess.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Lyft users in 60 markets across the US will soon be able to access another transit option in the app: Spin scooters. Folks in Nashville can find and rent a Spin scooter via Lyft starting today.
The option will be available in 13 more cities in April: Phoenix; Detroit; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; Providence, RI; Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte, NC; Fort Collins, Colo.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Memphis, Tenn. The other markets will be announced in the coming months.
Users in those cities may see scooters pop up as an option when they enter their destination. Tap the scooter icon and you’ll see all nearby scooters. You can unlock one in the Lyft app by scanning the QR code or entering the ID number.
You’ll be able to rent and pay for a Spin scooter without downloading that service’s app or having to enter your payment details again. Currently, Lyft has e-bikes and scooters in 14 US cities, so the partnership with Spin will allow it to offer micromobility services in more locations.
Google Maps started showing users nearby Spin scooters and e-bikes last year. Other platforms also display the locations of the scooters, including CityMapper, Moovit, Transit app, Bytemark and Velocia. Earlier this month, Tier Mobility (a micromobility company based in Europe) bought Spin from Ford.
In 2020, Motorola’s Edge+ marked a return to form for the company — a renewed focus on flagship phones after years of putting out more affordable devices. And despite skipping an update last year, now the 2022 Edge+ has arrived sporting a new chip and some inspiration Moto cribbed from Samsung’s playbook: built-in stylus support. Unfortunately, even with a slick 144Hz screen and a $1,000 list price that undercuts the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Edge+ doesn’t live up to its premium ambitions. And at this point I’m wondering if Moto really has the chops to hang with other top-tier phone makers.
Design and display
Available in two colors (blue and white), the Edge+ doesn’t do much to stand out, but I wouldn’t call it ugly either. In some respects, it’s more confused than anything. Packing a 6.7-inch 2,400 x 1,080 OLED display, the Edge+ is a chunky device, and just barely smaller than Samsung’s 6.8-inch Galaxy S22 Ultra. Despite its premium price, the Edge+’s frame is made from plastic, and its lackluster IP52 dust and water resistance won’t repel much more than a splash. So you better keep this thing away from sinks and toilets.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Around back, while I like the gradient effect you get from the phone’s Gorilla Glass 5 rear panel, the see-through housing around the Edge+’s triple camera module looks out of place. Actually, I’m not sure why that glass is there at all, aside from possibly making it look a bit more like an iPhone 13. And because the Edge’s cameras aren’t totally flush, you get more of a camera mound than a full camera bump, which seems like a compromise that won’t please anyone.
I’m also sad that Moto axed the previous Edge+’s headphone jack. With so many other Android phones having done the same in recent years, retaining support for 3.5mm audio could have been an easy way for the Edge+ to differentiate itself from the competition. Now it’s just a missed opportunity.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Thankfully, when it comes to the display itself, there’s not much to complain about. It’s big, it’s colorful and, although its peak brightness of around 600 nits isn’t nearly as high as what you’d get from a S22+ (1,750 nits), content looks good anywhere without direct sunlight. Moto also included support for a 144Hz refresh rate, which is slightly faster than the 120Hz screens you get from Apple, Samsung and others. But while the screen does make things look very smooth, it’s hard to discern a difference in side-by-side comparisons with an S22+.
Finally, the Edge+ has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into its lock button, which is totally serviceable. That said, the phone’s buttons are close to the top of the device so reaching them can be a stretch, particularly for people with smaller hands. I really wish Moto had opted for an in-screen fingerprint reader (which the 2020 Edge+ also had) or a rear-mounted option, both of which I find more accessible.
Cameras
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
While the Edge+’s rear cameras don’t look out of place, they might be the worst part of the phone’s entire kit. To start, one of the phone’s rear “cameras” is merely a 2-megapixel depth sensor, which leaves a 50MP main sensor along with a 50MP ultra-wide sensor that can also take macro shots. Right away, the lack of a dedicated telephoto cam is a serious demerit among premium phones. But it gets worse because the Edge+’s image quality can only be described as depressing.
In well-lit conditions, the phone does fine, taking bright pictures with punchy colors. However, I should mention that with default settings, photos tended to look one or two stops more exposed than I like. You also have to be careful about spotting when Moto’s scene optimizer automatically turns on, lest you risk some funky processing. For example, when I shot a very normal picture of some fruit, the Edge+ activated its food mode, which amped up colors to the point where the oranges looked neon.
But the biggest issue is the phone’s low-light photography. No matter what I did, unless there were multiple street lights right next to me, the Edge+ struggled to snap a sharp pic at night. Things like leaves and branches routinely came out blurry, with Moto’s Night Vision feature consistently capturing grainer photos when compared to the S22’s Night Mode. In even darker conditions, the Edge+ felt lost, producing an image of a stained glass window that looked more like an impressionist painting than an actual photo. And let’s not forget, I’m comparing Moto’s Night Vision setting to Samsung’s Night Mode, which isn’t even as good as Night Sight on the Pixel 6. On a mid-range phone, these results might be more forgivable. But for something listed at four figures, it’s just sad.
Performance and sound
While the Edge+’s cameras don’t impress, thankfully the phone’s performance and sound are strong. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 1 chip, 8GB of RAM (or 12GB if you buy an upgraded model direct from Moto), and up to 512GB of storage. Overall, benchmarks were within five percent of what we’ve seen from Samsung’s Galaxy S22 line, and in the real world, I didn’t experience any hitches.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The Edge+ also features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos that deliver relatively rich audio for a device this size. That said, I found that its speakers are better for watching movies than listening to music. For films that support surround sound, the Edge+ was slightly better at delivering layered, directional audio, especially for things like footsteps and explosions.
Accessories and 5G
One of the Edge+’s highlight features is active pen support and Motorola’s optional Smart Stylus. In theory, this should help transform the Edge+ into a slightly cheaper alternative to Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra. Unfortunately, Motorola did not provide one for review alongside the phone, which doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. On top of that, the phone doesn’t have built-in pen storage, so you’ll also need to use the folio cover that comes bundled with Moto’s stylus to create a more cohesive package that you might actually want to carry around.
As for 5G, support varies greatly depending on your carrier. On Verizon, you get both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G. On T-Mobile/MetroPCS and unlocked models you only get sub-6GHz 5G, and on AT&T/Cricket, you’re stuck with 4G LTE. This discrepancy when it comes to 5G compatibility is borderline infuriating, and unless you’re on Verizon and have no intentions of switching, it almost makes the Edge+ a complete non-starter.
Software
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The Edge+ comes pre-installed with a straightforward take on Android 12, though our Verizon-branded review unit was loaded with a fair amount of bloatware. All your beloved Moto gestures are still around, including my longtime favorite, the double-chop to activate the flashlight. And as a bonus for people new to the Moto ecosystem, there’s a handy floating button that guides you through the various gestures, navigation options and more. There’s also Moto’s Ready For mode, which allows the phone to function like a mini desktop when hooked up to an external monitor. And while it works, it’s not nearly as good as Samsung’s Dex mode.
What’s really annoying, though, is that for a premium handset, Motorola’s long-term support is weak. You only get two years of Android updates and three years of bi-monthly security patches. In comparison, Samsung offers four years of both for all of its Galaxy S phones and many of its mid-range devices, while the Pixel 6 gets a whopping five years of OS upgrades and security updates.
Charging and battery life
Thanks to its 4,800 mAh battery, even with a large display sucking up juice, the Edge+ lasted a respectable 15 hours and 24 minutes on our local video rundown test. That’s about half an hour longer than the standard S22, though still a bit short compared to the S22+ and S22 Ultra’s times of 17:33 and 17:16, respectively. And during normal use, the Edge+ fared even better, often finishing the day with more than 30 percent battery left in the tank, due in part to efficient standby power usage that only robbed one or two percent battery an hour while idle.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Recharging the Edge+ can be done in two ways: wired charging at up to 30 watts (and yes, a power adapter does come in the box) or Qi wireless charging at up to 15 watts. On top of that, the phone supports reverse wireless charging (aka Power Share) at up to five watts, so you can send excess juice to a friend with a device in need or recharge Moto’s Smart Stylus.
Wrap-up
Back in 2020, I was cautiously optimistic to see Motorola get back into the flagship phone game with the original Edge+, even if that phone ended up being merely fine. Motorola is the third biggest phone maker in the US, so you’d think it might have a decent shot at making a compelling alternative to Google, Apple and Samsung’s high-end devices. But now, having checked out its latest high-end phone, I feel like this whole endeavor might have been a mistake.
Aside from its screen and chipset, the 2022 Edge+ feels more like a mid-range handset than a truly premium phone. It’s lacking the telephoto cam that other flagships (and the previous model) have, and Moto’s low-light photo quality seems like it’s gotten worse, not better. Same goes for some of the Edge+’s other specs like its side-mounted fingerprint reader, which is a step back from the in-screen sensor on its predecessor. Moto even killed the headphone jack, which was one of the 2020 Edge’s defining features, and a real rarity among high-end phones.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Sure, this year’s Edge+ got a small boost thanks to a third year of security patches. But when you look at competing Android devices, Motorola’s software support still falls woefully short of what you get from Samsung and Google. With limited or no 5G connectivity on two of the US’s three biggest carriers, the Edge+ is a hard phone to like, let alone recommend. And while you might be tempted by some of the phone’s promo pricing at launch that could lop $100 to $150 off its price tag, even with those discounts, the Edge+ still feels too expensive. At $700, the Pixel 6 is a better (and cheaper) phone, and if you don’t mind only having sub-6GHz 5G, you can get an unlocked model directly from Google for just $600.
Honestly, the Edge+ feels like a trap: It has the build and cameras of a mid-range phone with a couple high-end features to lure you in. But it’s missing a lot of the polish and sophistication you should be getting on a top-tier device. And while I can’t tell how much carrier partnerships or the ongoing chip crunch may have held this device back, regardless of how we got here, it really seems like Motorola is struggling to compete in the premium phone space.
The following contains moderate spoilers for the fourth episode of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.Continuity is something that comes up in geek media a lot, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Star Wars to DC’s TV Arrowverse. It used to be a thing on…
We already liked Kobo’s Libra 2 e-reader at the full $180 price, thanks to the physical buttons, high-resolution e-Ink display and support for multiple formats. Now, we’re seeing the first good discount on it, making it all the more attractive. You can pick one up at Amazon for $160, for a savings of $20 or 11 percent.
The Libra 2 features a large “chin” that houses a pair of physical page buttons, a feature that’s also available on the Kindle Oasis, but for a lot more money. We found that the physical buttons stop hand cramping because it’s easy to switch from one hand to another.
The 7-inch E-Ink Carta 1200 touchscreen is sharp and easy on the eyes. The “ComfortLight Pro” automatically adjusts the brightness and color temperature to match the room, and becomes less blue as the day goes on to help keep you calm before bedtime. It can charge up in a couple of hours and go for days at a time, is waterproof for use in the tub or pool, lets you save articles to Pocket and supports more file types than Kindle.
Finally, the Libra 2 includes Bluetooth functionality, letting you connect a pair of headphones and listen to audiobooks. As for drawbacks? The lack of a plastic cover means that crumbs or particles can get trapped between the screen and bezel, and some users have noticed hiccups while trying to use the highlighting feature. Still, it’s far and away one of the best eReaders out there and a very attractive option at this price.
If you’re looking for a more basic reader, or want to stick with Amazon’s ecosystem, don’t forget that the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle are still on sale as well, for $105 and $55, respectively. You’ll also find the corresponding Kids tablets for $115 and $65.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
