Etsy sellers are acting on their promise to go on strike. The Wall Street Journalnotes some crafters are protesting the marketplace’s latest fee increase by putting their shops into “vacation mode” for a week ending April 18th. Organizer Kristi Cassidy and others are also asking customers to boycott Etsy for the same period. It’s unclear just how many sellers have taken action, but a petition to CEO Josh Silverman has nearly 54,000 signatures as of this writing.
The catalyst is a transaction fee hike from 5 percent to 6.5 percent. While that might not sound like much, Cassidy noted that this essential fee will have “more than doubled” in under four years. She and other sellers have also complained about a sometimes-mandatory Offsite Ads program that charges extra fees for items sold through that system, and a Star Seller program that pressures shops into meeting sometimes unrealistic shipping and support goals.
There are also complaints of hypocrisy in Etsy’s expectations. While the company wants shopkeepers to respond within 24 hours, as publisher Bella Stander said, Cassidy observed that it sometimes takes “weeks or months” for Etsy to answer urgent support requests. She also argued that Etsy’s AI sometimes shuts down honest sellers while letting resellers of “sweatshop-produced junk” go unchecked.
The striking sellers have called on Etsy to revoke the fee increase, cancel Star Seller, let everyone opt out of Offsite Ads and clamp down on dodgy resellers. They also want an “automatic fast track” for appeals to AI decisions that limit their ability to do business.
Etsy has so far defended the fee hike by claiming that it would roll the extra money into the business rather than boosting profit margins. These contributions would help “maintain the human touch,” according to operating chief Raina Moskowitz. However, Cassidy and supporters don’t buy this — they see Etsy as “one of the most profitable” tech companies. They’ve also cast the strike as the first step in a greater show of solidarity they hope will give them more negotiating power.
Meta has begun testing user monetization tools within Horizon Worlds, the company announced on Monday. Starting today, a select group of creators can begin creating digital items and effects they can then sell directly within the virtual social space. …
The Biden administration is taking new measures that would limit the spread of 3D-printed guns. The Justice Department has issued a final rule with multiple measures restricting the sale and distribution of “ghost guns,” including a requirement for federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths to serialize any unmarked firearm (such as a 3D-printed gun) before selling it to a customer. You couldn’t print a gun at home and sell it to a store without some ability to trace its origins.
The rule also includes several other restrictions that aren’t aimed at 3D-printed weapons, including an effective ban on unserialized “buy build shoot” kits by treating them as firearms subject to strict licensing and background check requirements. The DOJ will also treat guns with split receivers as subject to regulations, and demands that licensed dealers keep “key records” until they shut down, not just for 20 years.
The move is the latest in a back-and-forth fight over attempts to regulate 3D-printed guns. After a case over Defense Distributed’s 3D-printed pistol bounced through courts (including the Supreme Court), the Trump administration’s State Department reached a settlement that legally allowed these homemade weapons. States sued the administration over alleged constitutional and procedural violations, earning a ban on the technology (albeit one with a claimed loophole). A judge determined that the Defense Distributed settlement violated procedural law, but the Trump administration tried to override that by transferring regulation to the Commerce Department and making it difficult to implement substantial limits. State attorneys general sued over the rule change.
A rule like this won’t stop individuals or black market operators from making and trading 3D-printed guns. It might, however, discourage licensed dealers from letting those guns enter their shops. If nothing else, it signals a reversal from the previous administration’s stance — the current White House sees untraceable 3D-printed firearms as significant threats.
Activision Blizzard has recruited a new chief diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer. Kristen Hines will join the company and its senior leadership team on April 25th. She will report to Julie Hodges, the company’s chief people officer. Hines most recently led the Global DEI practice at Accenture, where she helped other organizations bolster their DEI strategies and capabilities.
One of Hines’ key responsibilities will be to help Activision Blizzard meet its commitment to increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in the workforce by 50 percent over the next five years. In its representation data document for 2021, the company said women made up 24 percent of its workforce. Hines will also work with Activision Blizzard’s gaming teams “to ensure diverse and inclusive perspectives are included in game design, including storylines, character development, gameplay and community interaction.”
“In an industry with historical underrepresentation, I’m looking forward to leading the company’s efforts to further build a workplace that values transparency, equity and inclusivity,” Hines said in a statement. “Gaming has amazing potential to connect communities around the world and showcase heroes from all backgrounds. I am looking forward to playing a part in expanding the landscape of talent who brings these compelling experiences to a broad base of players.”
Hines will be tasked with helping improve the workplace culture of Activision Blizzard, which has been under intense scrutiny since last summer. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the company in July. It accused Activision Blizzard of fostering a “frat boy culture” and alleged there was discrimination against female employees. A wrongful death suit was filed against the publisher last month, as was a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit from an individual plaintiff.
Also in March, a judge approved a proposal by Activision Blizzard, which is the subject of a pending $68.7 billion takeover from Microsoft, to set up an $18 million fund to settle a federal lawsuit. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s suit accused the company of enabling a sexist and discriminatory workplace environment.
Following the likes of Samsung, Huawei (and Honor), Motorola, Xiaomi and Oppo, we have a new contender in the foldable smartphone market. As reported by Engadget Chinese earlier today, the Vivo X Fold is the first of its kind to pack not only Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, but also an under-display fingerprint reader — the ultrasonic kind — on both its main and external screens. Sadly, this device is only available in China for now.
When opened, a zirconium alloy floating middle plate rises up slightly to support the flexible AMOLED panel, thus rendering the seam less visible.
Vivo
Much like the Huawei Mate X2 and the Oppo Find N, the X Fold also adopted a water-drop flexion hinge design to achieve a gapless fold while minimizing its foldable AMOLED panel’s seam. But Vivo took things one step further: when opened, a zirconium alloy floating middle plate rises up to gently push against the flexible panel, thus smoothing out the remaining seam. While this sounds impressive, we’ll have to see it in person to believe it.
According to TÜV Rheinland, Vivo’s X Fold can survive over 300,000 folds — 100,000 more than Oppo Find N’s certification. Assuming an average user would open and close a foldable phone 80 times a day, the X Fold should be good for around 10 years of daily usage. That is, of course, assuming you can tolerate the 311g weight for that long; Samsung and Huawei’s latest large-size foldables only weigh 271g and 295g, respectively.
The Vivo X Fold has a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP portrait camera and an 8MP periscopic camera with 5x optical zoom.
Vivo
For a foldable phone, the Vivo X Fold packs a surprisingly powerful set of cameras. For one, this is only the second foldable phone to carry a periscopic zoom camera (8MP, 5x optical zoom, optical stabilization), after Huawei’s Mate X2. The X Fold also comes with a 50MP main camera (Samsung GN5 sensor, f/1.75, optical stabilization), a 48MP ultra-wide camera (Sony IMX598, f/2.2, 114-degree field of view, low distortion) and a 12MP portrait camera (IMX663, f/1.98, 47mm equivalent focal length). And yes, you get Zeiss T* coating here for its anti-glare properties. It’s a similar setup to the X70 Pro+, except for the lack of micro-gimbal and missing optical stabilization on two of the cameras.
Vivo
In terms of screen aspect ratio, Vivo has gone for a wider design than the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The external screen is a 6.53-inch 2,520 x 1,080 (21:9) panel, while the main screen features an 8-inch 2,160 x 1,916 (4:3.55) panel. Both are of Samsung E5 AMOLED nature and support up to 120Hz refresh rate, but only the bigger panel features adaptive refresh rate to further save power. These screens also pack their own 16MP f/2.45 selfie camera, though you can always open the phone and toggle the “rear selfie” mode to leverage the more powerful cameras instead.
Vivo
Like its competitors, some of the X Fold’s built-in apps — tucked inside the Android 12-based OriginOS Ocean — take advantage of the foldable form factor. For example, the camera app offers a kickstand mode which is handy for time lapse videos and low-angle shots. You can also use the device like a laptop with the built-in Notes app, and likewise with third party Chinese apps like QQ for video calls and Youku for video streaming. Hopefully Vivo will extend these benefits to western apps ahead of a possible international launch.
There’s still a list of features worthy of mentioning. The 4,600mAh dual-cell battery supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, along with 10W reverse charging to help your friends in need. In fact, the X Fold comes with an 80W USB-PD GaN charger with two USB-C ports, so you can charge your laptop with it as well.
The phone itself also packs a CS43131 Hi-Fi chip, three microphones, stereo speakers, a barometer, various heat dissipation features and an infrared port — a common feature on Chinese phones for controlling your home appliances. And for the first time, Vivo decided to add a physical silent mode slider, which is otherwise only seen on Apple and OnePlus devices these days.
Vivo
The Vivo X Play is already available for pre-ordering in China, with the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage version asking for 8,999 yuan (around $1,410), and the higher-end version with twice the storage going for 9,999 yuan ($1,570). You can pick either blue or grey, both wrapped with vegan leather on the back.
In 1928, Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered what we know today as penicillin. Fleming’s work and that of his successors would go on to forever change how we treat bacterial infections. And to this day, antibiotics are one of the most …
After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coachella will return this weekend. For the tenth year, you’ll be able to stream the music festival on YouTube and the platform has announced more details about what to expect this time around.
Over the first weekend of the festival, which runs from April 15th to 17th, you’ll be able to select from three feeds, which will feature different performances. The streams start at 7PM ET on Friday and run until Monday evening. They’ll include artist interviews and replays as well.
On the following weekend, YouTube will offer a Coachella Curated experience. It will include encore performances, mini documentaries, artist commentaries and more. More info on Coachella Curated will be revealed soon.
YouTube is promising some new elements for the Coachella experience this year. For the first time, it will switch on Live Chat for the streams. Real-time updates on the schedule will be provided via pinned chats. Some creators will be posting Shorts from the festival and there’ll be exclusive merch drops this Saturday.
Some artists will also host pre-parties for YouTube Premium members over both weekends. Between April 15th and 25th, folks in the US who haven’t joined Premium before can sign up for a three-month trial.
Epic Games has received two big briefcases stuffed with cash which will help it “advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth.” Sony and Kirkbi, the majority owner of The Lego Group, are each plowing $1 billion into the publisher. The funding puts the post-money equity valuation of Epic at $31.5 billion, while founder and CEO Tim Sweeney remains in control.
It’s not the first time that Sony has invested in Epic. It gave the company a $250 million cash injection in 2020 in exchange for a minority stake. Kirkbi also has an existing relationship with Epic. Just last week, the publisher and The Lego Group announced a partnership to build a kid-friendly metaverse, possibly in the hope of challenging the likes of Minecraft and Roblox.
“As we reimagine the future of entertainment and play we need partners who share our vision. We have found this in our partnership with Sony and Kirkbi,” Sweeney said in a statement. “This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences and creators can build a community and thrive.”
Epic has been piecing together a metaverse (a shared virtual world for all manner of experiences) inside Fortniteover the last several years. It built on the success of the core battle royale mode by introducing dozens of crossover skins, virtual items and dance moves; in-game movie nights and concerts; and a creative mode that lets plays build just about anything they can imagine.
Roku support was conspicuously absent when CNN+ launched last month, but that won’t be a problem after today. CNN+ is now available on the Roku platform in the US, including TVs and dedicated media players. You won’t have access to the interactive Club community feature (that requires a PC, phone or tablet), but you’ll otherwise get the same mix of live shows and on-demand programming. This includes the live CNN TV feed.
The service costs $6 per month or $60 per year. Anyone who subscribes within the first four weeks can get 50 percent off the monthly plan for life, dropping the cost to $36 per year (for now, at least).
CNN+ was already accessible through Android mobile devices, Apple hardware (including Apple TV) and Amazon’s Fire TV. This still leaves significant gaps, such as consoles and multiple smart TV platforms. Even so, it’s evident CNN wants to make its service relatively ubiquitous — virtually necessary if it’s going to compete with Paramount+, Peacock and other streaming rivals.
You won’t have to resort to conventional TV to keep tabs on the 2022 World Cup. Fox Sports has confirmed it will stream all 64 World Cup matches live through its app. The first match takes place November 21st, when Netherlands and Senegal square off at 5AM Eastern, but you’ll have to wait until 2PM to see the US team compete against the winner of the UEFA playoff taking place in June (either Scotland, Ukraine or Wales).
This is better coverage than you might get with conventional broadcasts. Fox proper is only airing 35 matches, and it’s placing all but one of them into three time slots (10AM, 11AM and 2PM Eastern). You’ll need FS1 to watch 27 group stage events and two round-of-16 competitions.
This won’t thrill you if you’re hoping to watch the World Cup without a significant expense. You’ll need a pay TV subscription to use the Fox Sports app. With that in mind, this could still be very useful if you’re either stuck at work or just want to see a match that normally wouldn’t get airtime.
