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The iPad Air seems boring, but I want one anyway

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Another piece of the puzzle could come this summer, when Apple shows off iOS 13 for the first time. iOS 11 made significant improvements to the iPad’s multitasking capabilities, but many people want a more robust interface for these larger screens. Rumor has it iOS 13 will use tabs to display multiple “windows” of the same iPad app and also let apps show two different views of an app side-by-side as well. Chance are good that iOS won’t let you stack up as many windows as you want like you can on a Mac (or Windows, or Linux, or Chrome OS), but improved multitasking should help Apple sell its iPad vision.

Regardless of potential software updates, the new Air and significantly upgraded iPad mini have put Apple’s tablet lineup in a sensible place. Before, there was a huge gap between the basic iPad and audacious iPad Pro; the 10.5-inch iPad Pro filled that gap, but it still cost $650, or nearly double the price of the entry-level iPad. As for the iPad mini, no one in their right mind should have paid $400 for a device that’s more than three years old.

Now, Apple has three consumer-grade iPads to which it can easily make spec-bump updates when needed, not to mention a premium line where it can keep pushing the tablet envelope. As we’ve seen with the Apple Pencil, Apple will eventually bring those Pro-exclusive features and technology to other iPads. That means we’re probably a couple years away from seeing a $500 iPad with Face ID — but in the meantime, we get to keep Touch ID and the headphone jack! And that upgraded screen will probably be a perfect vehicle for the video subscription service that Apple’s going to unveil next week.

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Facebook limits ad targeting following discrimination settlement

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The changes should take effect before the end of 2019. The settlement also includes payouts under $5 million to the groups that filed the lawsuit, $2.5 million of which is going to the National Fair Housing Alliance to both train advertisers on compliance and run ads for fair housing.

Facebook had culled some ad targeting options before, but this is a far more substantial move. In many cases, it will limit certain advertisers to only very generic targeting criteria like your region. There’s a good possibility that this will lead some advertisers to scale back or withdraw their ads.

However, the company might not have had much choice. The lawsuit pointed out that Facebook’s earlier options made it possible to run ads that discriminated against minorities, seniors, the disabled and other groups. If it didn’t loosen its guidelines, it faced mounting pressure from civil rights groups, HUD and others concerned that it was reviving the concept of redlining for the modern era.

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Google built a controller for its Stadia gaming service

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Google is backing up its new Stadia game streaming service with some honest-to-goodness hardware — but not a box. The internet giant has unveiled a gamepad built with Stadia in mind, and it borrows a few cues from its earlier design patent. The wireless gamepad connects over WiFi, not Bluetooth, giving it access to the internet, and makes use of that through its dedicated buttons. You can press a “capture” button to save and share gaming moments, while a Google Assistant button can provide help when you’re stuck.

Developing…

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Robots will serve as guides for the 2020 Olympics

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More robots will handle tasks at the games, the organizers said, with news coming later.

The committee isn’t shy about its aims: this is about showing off Japan’s prowess with robots at a moment when the world will be watching. It’ll demonstrate the “practical, real-life deployment” of the technology, project leader Hirohisa Hirukawa said. At the same time, it’s also representative of the country’s social issues. Japan’s recent focus on worker robots is meant partly to cope with a declining population that limits its employment options. These robots might be needed to ensure that humans are free to take on other roles.

Panasonic Power Assist Suit

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What’s coming to Netflix in April: 'Our Planet' and the return of 'Sabrina'

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Spring is here at last and while many of us will want to enjoy the sunshine after what's been a long, harsh winter in many places, we'll still have evenings where we want to kick back and watch something. As always, Netflix has a trove of new shows,…

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Firefox silences annoying auto-play videos

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The new version also addresses another web quirk: slow-loading ads and images that yank you out of position on a page. Firefox now includes scroll anchoring that should keep you in place even as content pops in and potentially disrupts your reading.

Other improvements include multi-tab searching (including across other synced devices), searching in private browsing mode, clearer warnings for insecure pages and Windows Hello support for the password-free Web Authentication standard. Some of these additions aren’t new to web browsers, but they might be welcome if you’re looking for an alternative browser that respects your intentions… and your ears.

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James Bond's next Aston Martin might be electric

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James Bond movies tend to be a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist, and that might be reflected in his choice of whip next time around. The Sun sources have claimed that the director of the next Bond movie, Cary Joji Fukanaga, wants 007 to drive As…

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Instagram will let you buy products without leaving the app

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When you tap on a product tag to see details of an item in the coming weeks, you may see a “Checkout on Instagram” label. Once you’re ready to buy, you’ll be able to enter your billing and shipping details and confirm the purchase. You can save your payment information for future transactions and manage your orders directly from Instagram. Payment options include credit cards and PayPal. As Instagram makes checkout more widely available, it will support e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor and CommerceHub.

Instagram’s direct checkout option has seemed inevitable for some time. Around 130 million people tap on shopping posts to reveal product tags each month, an increase of 40 million since September, when a Shopping channel arrived in the Explore tab. From Instagram’s perspective, adding a way to buy items directly within the app should prevent people from going to an external website for purchases, and perhaps keep them locked into using Instagram a little longer.

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Facebook says only 4,000 users viewed original NZ shooter livestream

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In the wake of the livestream, a version of the video surfaced on YouTube every second over the weekend. It was also shared to Reddit forums such as “r/watchpeopledie” and “r/Gore,” both of which have since been banned. And Facebook itself scrambled to pull down 1.5 million videos of the incident in the first 24 hours.

Meanwhile, New Zealand ISPs including Vodafone, Spark and Vocus were forced to block access at the DNS level to websites that didn’t respond to takedown requests. Together they cut off controversial messageboards such as 4chan and 8chan (where the shooter was a member and, according to Facebook he shared a link to a copy of the video hosted on a file-sharing site). Worse still, mainstream media like The Daily Mail and Sky News Australia ran excerpts from the shooter’s Facebook livestream, forcing Sky New Zealand to pull the latter off air.

As usual, Facebook has been transparent in its response. But it’s facing a chorus of condemnation from lawmakers worldwide, who’ve grown tired of its meek attempts at self-regulation. Germany has already set penalties for social media sites that fail to swiftly remove harmful content and the UK is following suit. Though Facebook is pumping more money and manpower into its moderation systems, this latest failure will only result in more scrutiny of its reviews process.

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Apple’s updated iPad Air and Mini support eSIMs

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As Engadget Japanese has noted, that makes them convenient for traveling, since you’ll simply have to find a local carrier and then enable your plan of choice over the internet. No need to swap out physical SIM cards or to rent pocket WiFi devices. That said, the technology is pretty young, and there’s always a chance that the place you’re going to doesn’t have a carrier with the option. You can check for eSIM and Apple SIM coverage on the company’s Cellular page.

Apple seems to be expanding its support for the standard in recent years. The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR also works with eSIM options, though they’ll have to be unlocked if you want to use two different carriers.

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