Always in the know

The All-Fi hub that connects to AT&T’s 5G network to provide home internet access in rural areas without broadband access. | Image: AT&T AT&T announced it will no longer offer its 5G Internet Air service in New York this week in response to the state’s Affordable Broadband Act going into effect on Wednesday. The company says existing users can continue to use the service for 45 days without any charges, giving them time to find an alternate broadband provider, according to CNET. New York originally passed the Affordable Broadband Act in 2021, but the law was stalled for several years by pushbacks and legal challenges from broadband lobbying groups. Last December, the US Supreme Court declined to intervene, allowing the law to finally come into effect this month. It follows Congress’ decision not to continue funding the federal Affordable Connectivity Program last year, which started during the covid-19 pandemic and offered discounts of up to $30 per month on home internet for qualifying households. The law requires internet providers with over 20,000 customers to offer two affordable broadband plans to low-income households that qualify for social assistance benefits like Medicaid or the National School Lunch Program. One plan offers download speeds of at least 25Mbps for no more than $15 per month, while the other boosts that to speeds of up to 200Mbps at a maximum of $20 per month. AT&T’s Internet Air service offered New York residents download speeds of 40 to 140Mbps (which was temporarily slowed when the company’s 5G network was busy) for $55 per month, or $60 for those not opting for autopay. Instead of complying with the new law and offering Internet Air at a discount, AT&T has instead ended its home internet services in New York. The company also doesn’t offer home internet over fiber or DSL in the state. “While we are committed to providing reliable and affordable internet service to customers across the country, New York’s broadband law imposes harmful rate regulations that make it uneconomical for AT&T to invest in and expand our broadband infrastructure in the state,” the company said in statements provided to CNET and Ars Technica.

Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Bumble founder and executive chair Whitney Wolfe Herd, who stepped down as CEO at the beginning of 2024, is returning to the post in mid-March. Former Slack CEO Lidiane Jones, who succeeded Herd, has resigned for “personal reasons” and will remain in the role until Wolfe Herd takes over. “As I step into the role of CEO, I’m energized and fully committed to Bumble’s success, our mission of creating meaningful, equitable relationships, and our opportunity ahead,” Wolfe Herd says in a statement. “We have exciting innovation ahead for Bumble in this bold new chapter.” Bumble gained popularity in part because it was set up for women to message their matches first. But in April, it introduced a redesign and a feature that let men send the first message in response to prewritten questions. That redesign was announced following layoffs that the company said would “better align its operating model with future strategic priorities,” however, as Fortune notes, its share price has dropped by more than half since the redesign. Dating apps have struggled as of late, following the “Bumble fumble” anti-celibacy ad it apologized for last year, as competitor Match Group (the owner of Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and other services) reported a drop in users. In Bumble’s most recent earnings report, it said that the number of paying users had increased from 3.8 million to 4.3 million over the last year, however, average revenue per paying user dropped from $23.42 to $21.17, and its total revenue dropped slightly. A 2023 Pew Research survey found that 52 percent of respondents thought they had come across a scammer on dating sites and apps, and 51 percent of women said their experiences had been negative. In the UK, an Ofcom report last year noted that usage of each of the top three largest dating services had declined from 2023, and survey data increasingly suggests Gen Z daters aren’t using the apps as much.

Image: Nintendo Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, the just-launched port of the 2010 Wii game, doesn’t include individual members of the original Retro Studios development team in the credits, as reported by GameSpot. Since the discovery, however, Nintendo has commented on the omission, giving a statement to Eurogamer. “We believe in giving proper credit for anyone involved in making or contributing to a game’s creation, and value the contributions that all staff make during the development process,” the statement reads, which is sourced only to Nintendo and not to a specific individual. The game’s credits reveal that the port was done by Forever Entertainment. Crediting is an industry-wide issue, and this isn’t the first time Nintendo has come under scrutiny for its crediting decisions. Some developers who worked on the original Metroid Prime — another Retro Studios game — were unhappy that Metroid Prime Remastered’s credits didn’t include the full original credits. And external translators have expressed frustrations with being left out of credits for some major Nintendo games, Game Developer reported last year. As of late, Nintendo has also been somewhat cagey about things like voice actors and the specific studios developing its games.

Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images A new rule requiring all vehicles to have automatic emergency braking is “flawed” and should be repealed, a new lawsuit filed by the auto industry’s main lobbying group says. The suit was filed in US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by the Alliance of Automotive Innovation, which represents most of the major automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Toyota. The group is asking the court to overturn the new rule, which was finalized last year, requiring all vehicles to have automatic emergency braking (AEB) by 2029. Under the rule, all vehicles will be required to be able to “stop and avoid contact” with other vehicles at speeds of up to 62mph. In addition, AEB systems must apply the brakes automatically “up to 90 mph when a collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph when a pedestrian is detected.” Vehicles must also be able to detect pedestrians in both daylight and darkness. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the new rule will help prevent hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries every year. But after the rule was finalized, the alliance petitioned NHTSA to “reconsider” it, arguing that current technology was insufficient to meet the high standards outlined by the regulation. The group also claimed that its suggestions were rejected during the rulemaking process, and urged NHTSA to reconsider several key provisions in order to make it more achievable by the target date. But NHTSA denied the group’s petition, stating that the requirements were “practicable” and that the overall aim is to “force” the industry to adopt new technology in order to meet the goals of saving lives and preventing injuries. “NHTSA acknowledged that the final rule is technology-forcing” “NHTSA acknowledged that the final rule is technology-forcing,” the agency said in its response, “but emphasized that the standard is practicable and no single current vehicle must meet every requirement for an FMVSS to be considered practicable under the Safety Act.” The auto alliance says that it has spent “more than a billion dollars” developing AEB over the years, but doesn’t want this lawsuit to be seen as undermining its own technology. And it says it much prefers the “voluntary agreement” that preceded the mandate. “This litigation by Alliance for Automotive Innovation should not be interpreted as opposition to AEB, a lack of confidence in the technology, or an objection to AEB’s widest possible deployment across the U.S. vehicle fleet,” the group says in a press release. “Rather, this litigation is about ensuring a rule that maximizes driver and pedestrian safety and is technologically feasible.” But consumer and safety advocates aren’t buying it. “The AEB Rule is the most impactful regulation for roadway safety issued in years,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, in a statement. “Considering that automaking is America’s largest manufacturing sector, employs 10 million Americans, generates five percent of the U.S. GDP and drives $1 trillion into the economy annually, it is remarkable that it would be unable to meet the requirements in the AEB Rule by September 2029.” And William Wallace, Consumer Report’s director of safety advocacy, said, “It is profoundly disappointing that automakers are suing to block this lifesaving automatic emergency braking rule. Car companies have brought impressive safety technology to our roads, but AEB performance among new vehicle models is uneven. This rule is needed because everyone on our roads should be able to benefit from automatic emergency braking systems that meet reasonable minimum standards.”

Image: Netflix Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 gets philosophical about what it means to be a monster who loves. Read the full story at The Verge.