Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:

Roku says it has settled its carriage dispute with Fox to distribute Fox channels on the Roku platform ahead of the Super Bowl  —  At midnight tonight, it was expected that Roku would remove the FOX Now, FOX Sports, FOX News, FOX Business, FOX Nation, Big 10 Network, and FOX Soccer apps from the Roku Channel Store and existing devices.

The search giant is remembering the Greensboro Sit-In on the first day of Black History Month. Google Doodle honors huge civil rights moment in a small package – CNET
Source: CNet

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Sarah Buhr / TechCrunch:

The Bouqs, a US-based flower delivery startup, raises $30M from Japanese company Yamasa to expand in Japan, bringing its total raised to $74M  —  The Bouqs plans to take a slice of Japan’s $6 billion flower market this year with a $30 million strategic growth round from Japanese enterprise business investor Yamasa.

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Our friend [Hunter Scott] gave a talk at a past Supercon about created phased array antennas. He mentioned he was looking for collaborators to create an antenna with the SiBeam SB9210 chip. This is a specialized chip for WirelessHD, a more or less failed video streaming protocol, and it’s essentially an entire 60 GHz phased array on a chip with both transmit and receive capabilities. For $15, it seems like quite the bargain, and [Hunter] still wants to put the device to work.

The downside is that Lattice bought SiBeam and killed this chip — not surprising considering WirelessHD never really took off. However, [Hunter] says the chip was in some old smart TVs and laptops. If you can find replacement boards for those devices on the surplus market, you can get the chip and the supporting circuitry for a song.

The situation is a little sticky. [Hunter] has the datasheets for the parts, but is still bound by a nondisclosure agreement. He’s still working on getting that encumbrance removed. But until then, he has some advice about similar chips that have public datasheets and a controller chip that — if you would sniff its bus in a working system — might very well shed light on how to set up the cheap antenna chip.

There are also a bunch of public links that should make things clearer. However, we hope that Lattice will allow the NDA to expire on the datasheets. Meanwhile, you can catch the Supercon talk that started it all in the video below.

You might be interested in visualizing phased arrays. These are really common in radar systems.

A 60 GHz Phased Array
Source: HackADay

Phones are rounded rectangles now. Have been for years — ever since the iPhone killed the QWERTY slider dead. They’re getting rounder and rounder, in fact, as manufacturers continue to figure out how to bend OLED screens and raw metals to their will. They’re far too samey, unless you count an array of sci-fi inspired foldables that are so far basically just recreating the flip phone.

I want something edgier to exist in the world. And now, just as Tesla’s Cybertruck shook up the world of automobile design, a Cybertruck-inspired phone has emerged to maybe, possibly, OK probably not inspire the same sort of design in phones.

The exorbitantly priced Cyberphone, which is effectively just a fancy shell around an Apple iPhone 11 Pro, was…

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This Cybertruck-inspired iPhone 11 Pro costs K and isn’t made by Tesla or Apple
Source: New feed

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter says it has permanently suspended markets blog Zero Hedge’s Twitter account, @zerohedge, for violating the company’s platform manipulation policy. On Wednesday, Zero Hedge posted a blog that doxxed a Chinese scientist and strongly suggested without evidence that the scientist created the strain of coronavirus that’s currently spreading around the world.

That blog lists a name, photo, email, and phone number that are reportedly tied to the scientist, and suggested that readers “pay [him] a visit” if they wanted to know “what really caused the coronavirus pandemic.” BuzzFeed News reported on Zero Hedge’s blog that doxxed the scientist earlier this evening, ahead of the Twitter suspension.

The Verge is not publishing a link to Zero…

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Markets blogger Zero Hedge suspended from Twitter after doxxing a Chinese scientist
Source: New feed

The Facebook CEO wants be understood rather than liked. Mark Zuckerberg thinks this is the biggest misconception about him – CNET
Source: CNet

Rockets to Mars and electric cars are old news. Musk is now a musician, it seems. Of the EDM variety. Tesla's Elon Musk dropped an EDM song called 'Don't Doubt ur Vibe' – CNET
Source: CNet

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

In our review of the Amazon Echo Show 5 smart display, Dan called it the “smart alarm clock to get.” But I think I might move mine to the kitchen, right next to the garbage can.

That’s partly because Amazon has just added the ability for the Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8’s camera to scan barcodes, and automatically add those items to your shopping list (via VentureBeat). I might do that when I’ve got an empty package I’m about to toss in the trash.

You start by saying “Alexa, scan this to my shopping list.” Up pops this screen:

I just tried it with a milk carton, orange juice, and a New Balance shoebox, and it seems to work fine in each case, adding each to my Alexa shopping list….

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Amazon’s Echo Show can now scan barcodes to flesh out your shopping list
Source: New feed

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

A California man has pled guilty to hacking Nintendo’s servers to steal confidential files, including taking information about the Nintendo Switch months before it was announced, the US Department of Justice revealed today.

According to the DOJ, Ryan Hernandez, 21, and an associate phished a Nintendo employee in 2016 to get access to and steal confidential information from the company. In October 2017, the FBI contacted Hernandez and his parents to ask him to stop hacking, at which time Hernandez “confirmed that he understood the consequences of any future hacking.”

However, from at least June 2018 to June 2019, Hernandez continued to illegally access confidential corporate information,…

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The guy who knew Nintendo’s Switch surprise ahead of time has pled guilty to hacking
Source: New feed

The 5VM package proved to be a popular option among C8 buyers, despite costing the better part of $5,000. 2020 C8 Chevy Corvette visible carbon option canned due to supplier issues – Roadshow
Source: CNet

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Twitter announced a subtle design change to its iOS app today that may go a long way in both making conversations easier to parse and to join. The change, which looks like it’s a change on Twitter’s end that does not require an update, is to the threading feature in the Twitter timeline, which currently does a poor job of differentiating between standard tweets and replies.

The update now draws a concrete line between a parent tweet and the replies, with the replies indented slightly and connected by the series of vertical and horizontal lines. It makes a Twitter conversation look effectively like thread of connected notes. The feature was first demoed in the company’s experimental twttr beta app back in spring of last year. It only…

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Twitter adds threaded replies to iOS to make it easier to see ongoing conversations
Source: New feed

A 14-day quarantine has been announced by the CDC. US declares coronavirus a public health emergency – CNET
Source: CNet

This 13.3-inch touchscreen laptop is a CNET favorite, and it looks even better when it’s 35% off. Reach out and touch a Dell XPS 13 for just 4 – CNET
Source: CNet

Review: Miss Americana gives an intimate look at the superstar’s life as she embarks on a new chapter energized by love and politics. In Netflix documentary Miss Americana, Taylor Swift's done being polite – CNET
Source: CNet

A couple of (expensive) movie ad spots have already arrived online. You can also expect trailers from Black Widow, Fast & Furious 9, and more. Super Bowl 2020 movie and TV trailers: Sonic the Hedgehog, F9 and more – CNET
Source: CNet

Disney

Randy Freer is stepping down from his role as Hulu CEO as Disney moves to consolidate it’s direct-to-consumer business under its own executives. Part of the decision to roll Hulu’s business operations into Disney’s direct-to-consumer division is to help “rapidly grow our presence outside the US,” according to a company press release put out Friday.

Disney hasn’t shied away from its plans to roll out Hulu in various international territories, along with its other streaming service, Disney+. The integration means Hulu executives will now report to Disney execs. Everything Hulu — and streaming-at-large — will now operate under Kevin Mayer, who heads up the division for Disney that includes Disney+, ESPN+, and now Hulu.

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Hulu CEO steps down as Disney moves almost everything in house
Source: New feed

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Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The Department of Justice is taking a new approach to robocalls, seeking approval to hold telecommunications companies responsible for calls on their networks instead of just going after the often-overseas criminals who actually do the dialing.

The companies identified by the DOJ allowed two groups with ties to India and US offices in Arizona and New York to make hundreds of millions of calls per month, according to Jody Hunt of the DOJ’s civil division. The companies are TollFreeDeals.com, SIP Retail, and their owners, Nicholas Palumbo and Natasha Palumbo in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Global Voicecom Inc., Global Telecommunication Services Inc., KAT Telecom Inc. and owner Jon Kahen of Great Neck, New York.

The Justice Department is s…

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DOJ going after telecom companies for assisting robocall scams
Source: New feed

“The deployment of connected home security cameras that allow footage to be queried centrally are simply not compatible with a free society.” Amazon engineer Max Eliaser The greatest threat posed to democracy in any free nation is that of ubiquitous government surveillance. Many countries today are struggling to find the proper balance between useful facial recognition and connected-camera technologies and those that threaten our privacy. We’re here to make it easy: Public-facing facial recognition or connected home-security camera systems that offer access to law enforcement are dangerous and should be banned outright. Read: Amazon Engineer: ‘Ring should be shut down immediately…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Amazon

Why Amazon’s Ring and facial recognition technology are a clear and present danger to society
Source: The Next Web

AbleGamers

The Xbox Adaptive Controller already expands the usability of Xbox for gamers with disabilities, and today, a third-party add-on takes that controller to the next level, allowing gamers to turn their power wheelchairs into game controllers. Called the Freedom Wing Adapter, the box connects the Xbox Adaptive Controller to a wheelchair through its 9-pin port. This means a joystick that controls a wheelchair every day can be turned into a controller, which is particularly useful for people who are already used to their joysticks and buttons.

Charity organization AbleGamers created the device alongside ATMakers, a group of tech makers and enthusiasts who focus on assistive technology. The Freedom Wing Adapter is being given out through…

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A new Xbox adapter lets people turn their power wheelchairs into game controllers
Source: New feed

Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images

Any foreign national who has traveled within China in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter the United States, according to a proclamation from President Trump. The action is to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, said US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced today.

Any US citizen who has traveled in China will undergo health screening on entry into the country and be asked to self quarantine for 14 days. US citizens who have traveled to Hubei province, where the virus originated, will be held under mandatory quarantine for 14 days after they return to the US.

The policies will take effect Sunday, February 2 at 5 p.m.

Developing…

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Trump bans foreign nationals who have traveled to China from entering the US
Source: New feed

Yes, Mercedes-Benz built a pickup truck. Just three years later, it’s a goner. Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup kicks the bucket – Roadshow
Source: CNet

A plant-based diet can be a fine way to eat, whether you’re an athlete or not. A Netflix documentary called Game Changers argues that it’s not just fine, but that it’s better and that meat is harmful in some way. That’s not what most nutrition experts say, so let’s take a look at the claims in Game Changers and what…

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Is a Vegan Diet Best for Athletes?
Source: Life Hacker

February is going to bring with it a ton of new programming for Amazon Prime customers. The month kicks off on February 1 with the addition of a ton of movies including Bridget Jones’ Diary, Judgement Day, Magic Mike, and The Spy Next Door.

Read more…

What's Coming to Amazon Prime Video in February 2020
Source: Life Hacker

Plus, Mr. Peanut dies, Rick and Morty get in a pickle with Pringles, and Lil Nas X rides the Old Town Road to Doritos’ Cool Ranch. See Super Bowl 2020 commercials starring Jason Momoa, A-Rod, Maisie Williams – CNET
Source: CNet