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Google might finally pay news outlets for their content

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“We want to help people find quality journalism—it’s important to informed democracy and helps support a sustainable news industry,” Google said in a statement shared by WSJ. “We care deeply about this and are talking with partners and looking at more ways to expand our ongoing work with publishers, building on programmes like our Google News Initiative.”

According to people familiar with the matter, Google is mostly speaking with publishers outside of the US, including some in France and Europe. The content could appear in a free Google product.

Licensing deals could be a huge win for news organizations. Google sends tons of traffic to news sites, but so far, it hasn’t paid organizations for their content directly. Apple’s potentially similar product, Apple News+, kicked off last year, offering over 300 magazines and periodicals for $9.99, and Facebook began rolling out its news tab last fall. According to WSJ, Facebook told news outlets that it would pay as much as $3 million a year to license content.

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First ‘Stranger Things 4’ teaser moves the action far from Hawkins

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“It’s not all good news for our “American”; he is imprisoned far from home in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, where he will face dangers both human…and other. Meanwhile, back in the states, a new horror is beginning to surface, something long buried, something that connects everything,” the Duffer brothers wrote in a statement.

Last fall, Netflix confirmed Stranger Things 4 was in the works and that it signed the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, to a multi-year film and series overall deal. The last season was streamed by over 40 million accounts, and Netflix, understandably, wants to keep that success going. Unfortunately, Netflix has not shared a release date. Though, some expect the new season to arrive in late 2020 or 2021.

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Huawei accuses US Justice Department of ‘political persecution’

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The company starts the statement by claiming that many of the criminal charges the US Justice Department announced yesterday are based on older civil disputes that have already been resolved in the past.”In these disputes, no court has ever found that Huawei had engaged in malicious intellectual property theft, or required Huawei to pay damages for infringement on others’ intellectual property,” the company says. “The US Department of Justice is reintroducing previously resolved civil cases as criminal cases. This is selective, politically-motivated enforcement of the law, and contrary to common judicial conventions.”

The company then goes on to argue that intellectual property disputes are common in the tech industry, citing Apple and Samsung as examples. It points out that between 2009 and 2019, the two companies were involved in 596 and 519 IP lawsuits respectively, a number that’s significantly lower than the 209 cases Huawei took part in over the same period. “The US Department of Justice has insisted on filing a criminal lawsuit against Huawei over the kind of civil intellectual property disputes that are common across the industry,” it says.

Huawei then notes that by the end of 2018, it had been granted 87,805 patents, including 11,152 in the US. It also points out that it has paid $6 billion in royalties to license the technology and IP of other companies, with 80 percent of that money going to US companies. “No company can become a global leader by stealing from others,” Huawei says.

One point Huawei doesn’t address in the letter is the charges that it aided the North Korean and Iranian governments with spying on their own citizens. However, it ends the statement by saying, “Attacking Huawei will not help the US stay ahead of the competition. Repeating a lie will not make it true. We believe that the court will make a fair ruling based on facts and evidence.”

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Samsung’s jailed union-busting chairman steps down

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All of these actions took place in 2013, when Lee Sang-hoon was Samsung’s chief financial officer. He was appointed chairman in March 2018, when Samsung split the chairman and CEO roles for the first time. The company thought that decision would increase transparency following a bribery scandal that involved Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, better known as Jay Y. Lee in the West. The fallout of that saga is still ongoing: Jay Y. Lee is facing a retrial after bribing a public official and friend of former South Korea president Park Geun-hye. He was found guilty of perjury, embezzlement and bribery in 2017 and sentenced to five years in jail. Lee was released after 12 months, however, and given a four-year probation period instead.

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Engadget Podcast: Breaking down the Samsung fest and MWC mess

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A bunch of things in tech got the proverbial nails slammed into their coffins this week. Andy Rubin’s Essential phone company shut down, MWC got canceled due to fears over coronavirus and the Motorola Razr folding flip phone is pretty likely dead on arrival thanks to Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip. Cherlynn is joined by senior mobile editor Chris Velazco (Devindra is off on vacation, yay!) to talk about their Galaxy phone coverage and commiserate over no longer going to Barcelona.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Chris Velazco
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

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Coming in 2021: A movie shot entirely in vertical video

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This isn’t the first time Bekmambetov worked on a project shot in vertical format: he produced the Snap original Dead Of Night. He also produced experimental and tech-driven projects in the past, including the John Cho thriller Searching and Hardcore Henry, which was shot in first-person perspective.

Bekmambetov’s film will start shooting in Russia next week and is expected to be released in early 2021 in two versions. One will be for the Russian market, while the other is an English version (featuring some different scenes) for international audiences. And, yes, it will be made primarily with smartphone viewers in mind. In fact, it’s being co-produced by Russian mobile operator MTS, which will release it in the country through its own digital platform.

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The best podcasting gear for beginners

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Get a decent microphone

You need a good microphone. There’s no arguing with this. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting your own show or planning to guest on someone else’s podcast. A great microphone will elevate your voice to help you get the sort of depth and richness you hear on the radio and popular shows like Radiolab. While you could record with your phone or your PC’s webcam mic in a pinch, nobody wants to hear that every week.

Blue Yeti

Your first step should be nabbing a solid USB condenser microphone. They can connect easily to any computer (or even phones and tablets with a dongle), and they’ll offer a huge leap in sound quality. I’ve run through many microphones in my 12 years of podcasting, and few have impressed me as much as the Blue Yeti ($116). It sounds fantastic for the price, and it’s very versatile. You can switch between modes for recording on your own, interviewing someone across from you, stereo capture and omnidirectional pickup. You’ll only need those first two modes for podcasting, but it’s nice to have the option for different scenarios.

There are cheaper USB microphones out there, like Blue’s Snowball ($68) and AmazonBasics’ Mini Condenser ($45), but generally you’ll get far better sound from the Yeti. There’s also the slightly stripped down Yeti Nano ($84), but it lags behind its larger sibling when it comes to audio quality. If you’re serious about podcasting, it’s worth spending a bit more up front: There’s a good chance you’ll end up chucking a cheaper mic once you hear the difference.

Pro tip: RTFM

You should actually read the instructions and make sure you know what every dial and button does. Most important, make sure you’re speaking in the right direction! With most microphones, including the Blue Yeti, you want to aim at the side with the brand label. Some models, especially dynamic mics, need to be addressed from the top. Yes, I know this all sounds basic, but I’ve run across dozens of people who end up aiming for the wrong part of their mics when they’re getting started.

It’s also worth picking up a few accessories to make your recordings sound great. Get a pop filter or foam cover to avoid plosives (that annoying titutal pop when you make “p” sounds). If you’re going to be recording regularly, it’s worth investing in a tabletop arm to hold your mic in an optimal position (and also avoid the extra noise you get from desktop stands).

You could, of course, start exploring more-expensive microphone options, but I’d suggest holding off on those until you’re more committed to the podcasting life. The next big level up from USB condensers is the world of XLR microphones, the same interface used for professional audio gear. You’ll also need a USB audio interface, like the Tascam US-2×2 ($137) or FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 ($160), to connect those mics to your computer. At that point, you can start looking at options like the Rode Procaster ($228). It sounds noticeably richer than the Yeti, and since it’s a dynamic microphone, it’s also better at cutting out unwanted noise than a condenser.

Here’s some advice: You can save quite a bit by buying all this equipment used or refurbished. I saved $100 on the excellent Shure PG42 USB microphone by going through eBay.

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The Morning After: You can finally buy a ‘Nintendo PlayStation’ prototype

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‘It’s all about the light.’Researchers find a way to 3D print tiny objects in seconds

Swiss researchers have developed a technique that forms a solid resin structure in one go, rather than segment by segment, as is the case with traditional 3D printing. They do it by illuminating the photosensitive resin from multiple angles, using algorithms to target the laser beams as needed.

Right now, they’re only making small 2cm structures, but they believe it can scale up to 15cm. Because of the way it works, sterile production is possible, and they’re already thinking of using it to make soft objects like mouthguards or hearing aids.

And the Razr’s really bad timing.Engadget Podcast: Breaking down the Samsung fest and MWC mess

Cherlynn is joined by senior mobile editor Chris Velazco (Devindra is off on vacation, yay!) to talk about all of the new Galaxy phones (Flip Z or S20) and commiserate over no longer going to Barcelona. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts or Stitcher.

Easily Wacom’s most affordable graphics display.Wacom One review: A great, no-frills drawing tablet for budding artists

A graphics tablet for beginners, the Wacom One takes most of what’s good from its pricier models and shrinks it down. You’ll miss things like touch or shortcut buttons, but at $400…

You can battle the Combine again in just a few weeks.Valve is releasing ‘Half Life: Alyx’ on March 23rd

That sequel you’ve been dreaming of, well, we have no idea about Half Life 3 still. But to keep you going, the VR-centered Half Life: Alyx is coming in just over a month. Information is still scarce on the game itself — hopefully we’ll hear more in the coming weeks.

There’s glue. Lots of glue.

Motorola’s foldable Razr is unsurprisingly hard to repair

With foldable smartphones far from the norm, a lot of us are understandably wary of making such a sizeable investment in something that’s still relatively unpredictable. If it goes wrong, how much of a hassle — and how much — will it be to repair? According to iFixit’s recent teardown, don’t expect to repair the new Razr at all.

The teardown reveals small gaps between the phone’s hinge and display on each side. Similar gaps, iFixit says, to those that contributed to the demise of some of the first Galaxy Folds. But as the team notes, the gap only appears midway through the folding action, so it may be no cause for concern.

There’s a lot of glue involved, and it got the glorious repairability score of… one out of ten.

“There ain’t no getting off this (hype) train we on.”Watch the opening to ‘Final Fantasy VII Remake’ right here

I’m contractually obliged to write about all developments to do with the remake of Final Fantasy VII, because 13-year-old Mat takes control of all motor functions at the mere mention of the RPG. Early today, we got an intro movie that’s the same but different. Watch for yourself.

The first phones other than the Galaxy S20 with LPDDR5 RAM.Xiaomi’s Mi 10 flagships feature 108MP cameras and 30W wireless charging

Xiaomi has unveiled its new flagship devices, the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, which feature the 30W wireless charging capability it debuted with the Mi 9 Pro 5G, last year. The Mi 10 phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 platform and feature WiFi 6, along with Bluetooth 5 and NFC connections. They have a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and ambient sensors on both sides.

Both are available for pre-order now, depending on where you live, but the bad news is that we haven’t heard anything yet about Mi Mix Alpha and its wild wraparound screen.

But wait, there’s more…

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Apple ordered to pay employees for time lost to bag searches

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Apple won an earlier battle in district court, but the case went to the California Supreme Court on appeal. There, the judges ruled that Apple workers were “clearly under Apple’s control while awaiting, and during, the exit searches.”

The court dismissed Apple’s argument that bringing a bag to work was an employee convenience that shouldn’t be subject to compensation. It particularly focused on the fact that Apple felt employees didn’t necessarily need to bring their iPhones to work.

“The irony and inconsistency of Apple’s argument must be noted,” the judges wrote. “Its characterization of the iPhone as unnecessary for its own employees is directly at odds with its description of the iPhone as an ‘integrated and integral’ part of the lives of everyone else.” (In that statement, the court referenced a 2017 Tim Cook interview where he stated that the iPhone was “so so integrated and integral to our lives, you wouldn’t think about leaving home without it.”)

The court decided that any lost employee wages must be paid retroactively back to July 25, 2009. The decision could apply to over 12,400 workers, according to Bloomberg. The case has now been kicked back to the Ninth Circuit appeals court to apply the ruling and decide on compensation, which could run as high as $60 million, according to previous evaluations. That court has also agreed to take on similar claims by Converse and Nike employees.

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