Electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation responded to a lawsuit Monday with its own counterclaims that rival Joby Aviation allegedly defrauded the U.S. government and its competitors by falsely presenting itself as an American-made company. The counterclaim, filed in federal court, alleges Joby relied on a Chinese manufacturing subsidiary to…
An iPhone-hacking toolkit used by Russian spies likely came from U.S military contractor
A mass hacking campaign targeting iPhone users in Ukraine and China used tools that were likely designed by U.S. military contractor L3Harris, TechCrunch has learned. The tools, which were intended for Western spies, wound up in the hands of various hacking groups, including Russian government spooks and Chinese cybercriminals. Last…
I used the M5 MacBook Air, and it’s the quintessential MacBook for most people
The MacBook Air has, at this point, become something of a rhetorical problem for me. With every incremental upgrade to this laptop, Apple leaves nearly nothing left to talk about in a meaningful way aside from the new silicon. The formula Apple locked in with the M2 generation has proven…
Founders Fund nears $6 billion close for latest growth fund, sources say
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is nearing the close of its fourth growth fund, Founders Fund Growth IV, with $6 billion in capital commitments, per sources close to the firm. As with most of the firm’s fundraises, demand from outside investors exceeds the fund’s capacity, according to those sources. Additionally, about…
This simple problem has plagued iPad owners for too long
Apple’s tablets and smartphones used to be a lot simpler. Before the iPad started working like another version of Apple’s Macs, when you downloaded an app to your iPad or iPhone, it would just get added to the nearest empty spot on your home screen. There was no need to…
Periwinkle is making self-hosted social media on Bluesky’s AT Protocol even easier
The Berlin-based startup Periwinkle is offering a new avenue for those wanting to leave centralized social media operated by Big Tech companies. Instead of joining a decentralized, open social networking app like Mastodon or Bluesky, Periwinkle allows anyone to set up a social media account on their own domain, under…
How to read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms books in order
A hundred years before Daenerys Targaryen set off to retake the Seven Kingdoms, there was a particularly tall knight and his squire whose adventures paint a picture of Westeros and its history like we’ve never seen before. HBO’s latest prequel to the epic events of Game of Thrones, A Knight…
Electric air taxis are about to take flight in 26 states
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved eight pilot programs that will allow a handful of companies, including Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, Joby Aviation, and Wisk to start widespread electric aircraft testing as early as this summer. The three-year program, which will span 26 states, is designed to ensure U.S. companies…
I stopped my Pixel from spying on me with 3 steps
By and large, I’m a big fan of the Android operating system. The mobile OS manages to strike a solid balance between software flexibility and openness, without running into most of the legacy vulnerabilities of yesterday’s unmanaged PC platforms. Nevertheless, not everything is perfectly rosy when it comes to Android,…
OpenAI and Google employees rush to Anthropic’s defense in DOD lawsuit
More than 30 OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees filed a statement Monday supporting Anthropic’s lawsuit against the U.S. Defense Department after the federal agency labeled the AI firm a supply-chain risk, according to court filings. “The government’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was an improper and arbitrary…