An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When Kelly Conlon joined her daughter's Girl Scout troop for a fun outing to see the Rockettes perform their Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall in New York, she had no idea she would end up booted from the show once she entered the building. Security stopped Conlon, NBC New York reported, because she is a New Jersey lawyer. It seems that Madison Square Garden Entertainment has begun using facial recognition technology to identify any visitor to any of its venues -- including Radio City Music Hall -- who is involved with any law firm that is actively involved in litigation against MSG Entertainment.

Conlon has never practiced law in New York nor personally been involved in litigation against MSG Entertainment. Instead, she is guilty by association, as an associate for Davis, Saperstein and Solomon, which has spent years tangled up in litigation against a restaurant that NBC reported is "now under the umbrella of MSG Entertainment." According to Conlon, she became aware of this supposed conflict of interest when security guards approached her in the Radio City Music Hall lobby just as she passed through the metal detector. Over the speakers, Conlon heard a warning about a woman in a gray scarf, then security confirmed the warning was about her, telling her, "Our recognition picked you up."

Despite Conlon assuring security that "I'm not an attorney that works on any cases against MSG," she was escorted out. Ars could not immediately reach MSG for comment, but in a statement, MSG said the same thing would've happened to any attorney involved in her firm, claiming that her firm had been "notified twice" of MSG's policy. "MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved," the statement provided to NBC said. "While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adverse environment."

Satya Nadella keeps thinking bigger. Microsoft's chief executive has been buying new businesses at an impressive clip. Look for him to add Netflix to the list in 2023. Reuters reports: [...] The two companies are already closely aligned. Netflix chose Microsoft as its advertising partner for a new advertising-supported subscription service. Microsoft President Brad Smith also sits on the Netflix board. Part of the rationale for a deal is that Microsoft wants to offer a video-game streaming service over multiple devices. Netflix has its own big plans in gaming. In 2022, the company co-led by Reed Hastings snapped up developer Spry Fox, its sixth in-house studio. Becoming part of the Microsoft empire would supercharge those ambitions. A bundle with streaming TV and games together is not hard to fathom.

With a market value 13 times that of Netflix, as of early December, $1.8 trillion Microsoft can afford Netflix. A 30% premium would value the Netflix enterprise at nearly $190 billion. Significant cost savings would be hard to find, however. And after taxing the $8 billion of operating profit that analysts project for Netflix in 2024, the implied return on investment would only be half its 8% weighted average cost of capital, per Morningstar analysts. Nadella has defied such back-of-the-envelope financial logic before. And if nothing else, he has shown a willingness to be a bold dealmaker. On that basis, it's easy to believe Microsoft will set its sights on Netflix.

Les Pounder writes via Tom's Hardware: Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton announced via a recent blog post that 100,000 units would be making their way into the supply chain, and that the in the latter-half of 2023 we can expect stock levels to return to pre-pandemic normality. That said, the supply chain shortage has impacted the normal cadence of Raspberry Pi releases, and according to Upton in an interview with Christopher Barnatt from Explaining Computers it means we sadly won't be seeing a Raspberry Pi 5 in 2023.

In the interview, Explaining Computers host Barnatt asks Upton about the future of the Raspberry Pi and if there are new models on the horizon. Upton then talks about how the past couple of years have been "weird" (pandemic and global chip shortage) and it has disrupted the cadence of Raspberry Pi development and release. Upton states that "the platform [Raspberry Pi 4] has been around longer than any Raspberry Pi platform has been around before, I think." At 29 minutes and 30 seconds Upton breaks the bad news, "Don't expect a Pi 5 next year [2023]" Upton then expands and explains that 2023 is a "recovery year". The recovery year is there to help Raspberry Pi and the technology industry recover from the double-punch of a pandemic and a global chip shortage which has caused a slowdown across the world.

Upton explains "What would really be a disaster would be if we tried to introduce some kind of Raspberry Pi 5 product" Upton provides a scenario akin to that of the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, launched midway through the pandemic. It has been relatively unobtainium since release. Upton said he is very concerned about the consequences "if we introduced a Raspberry Pi 5 product and it couldn't ramp properly because of constraints, or if we introduced some Raspberry Pi 5 product and it somehow cannibalized some supply chain element." Upton then explains how cannibalization could impact the recovery of Raspberry Pi 4 and the 3 / 3+ and that Raspberry Pi has to be "ginger" as they move forward with its recovery. "The good news is the second half of next year, 2024 onwards, some of those things start to abate. And that's the point where we can start to think about what might be a sensible Raspberry Pi 5 platform," Upton said.

Some 2023 MacBooks are set to be made in Vietnam, as Apple continues its push to reduce its dependence on China as a manufacturing base. 9to5Mac reports: MacBook production could begin in Vietnam as early as May, says a new report. The piece doesn't specify whether the plan refers to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or both -- but the move would hit an important milestone in Apple's diversification plans.

Nikkei reports on the latest move: "Apple has tapped its top supplier, Taiwan's Foxconn, to start making MacBooks in the Southeast Asian nation as early as around May, sources briefed on the matter said. Apple has been working to add production sites outside of China for all of its major product lines, but doing so for the final one, the MacBook, has taken longer due to the complex supply chain needed for making laptop computers." iPads, AirPods, and some Apple Watch models are already made in Vietnam. "Beginning MacBook production in Vietnam would mean that -- for the first time -- every flagship Apple product would have a second manufacturing base, outside of China," notes the report.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Electrek: Audi is preparing to convert its entire network of global production factories to manufacture electric vehicles as it gears up to compete in the auto industry's future. ;...] Audi announced last year that its last combustion car would roll off the line in 2033 (if they are still around then), launching only electric vehicles from 2026. To better compete in the new EV era and ease the transition, Audi will convert all exiting existing production factories to build electric vehicles by 2029. Audi board member for production and logistics Gerd Walker said, "Step by step, we are bringing all our sites into the future" as the automaker prepares to go all in on electric vehicles.

In a press release Tuesday, Audi presented the "plan for the production of the future," including converting its network of global factories to produce purely electric vehicles. Walker added: "The path Audi is taking conserves resources and accelerates our transformation to a provider of sustainable premium mobility. Rather than building new facilities like some competitors, Audi will work to incorporate the flexibility these new state-of-the-art plants provide into its existing operations."

A primary focal point of Audi's production plan is to cut annual factory costs in half by 2033, aligning with when it plans to phase out combustion models. To do so, the company will continue to digitalize and streamline its manufacturing processes with solutions like Edge Cloud 4 Production. According to Audi, less expensive industrial PCs will result in lower IT costs with software updates and OS changes. To have the ability to respond to fluctuating consumer demand, Walker says: "We want to structure both product and production so we get the optimum benefit for our customers." He adds an example of building the new Audi Q6 e-tron on the same line as the A4 and A5 as it phases out its gas models.

Delta Air Lines is reportedly planning to make in-flight Wi-Fi free on a "significant portion" of its planes starting early next year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The Verge reports: The company has reportedly been running tests where anyone who's a member of its free-to-join SkyMiles rewards program gets free access to the internet while in the air, but it seems as if that perk may become much more widely available soon. Delta is expected to roll out the free Wi-Fi to an increasing number of planes in its fleet throughout 2023, according to the Journal.

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of sham "Bitcoin-killer" OneCoin, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges of conspiring to defraud investors and to launder money. "Greenwood was arrested in Thailand in July 2018 and subsequently extradited to the US," reports The Register. "OneCoin's other co-founder, 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova (Dr. Ruja Ignatova -- she has a law degree), remains a fugitive on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and on Europol's Most Wanted list." From the report: "As a founder and leader of OneCoin, Karl Sebastian Greenwood operated one of the largest international fraud schemes ever perpetrated," said US Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. "Greenwood and his co-conspirators, including fugitive Ruja Ignatova, conned unsuspecting victims out of billions of dollars, claiming that OneCoin would be the 'Bitcoin killer.' In fact, OneCoins were entirely worthless." The US has charged at least nine individuals across four related cases, including Greenwood and Ignatova, with fraud charges related to OneCoin. Authorities in China have prosecuted 98 people accused of trying to sell OneCoin. Police in India arrested 18 for pitching the Ponzi scheme.

According to the Justice Department, Greenwood and Ignatova founded OneCoin in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2014. Until 2017 or so, they're said to have marketed OneCoin as a cryptocurrency to investors. The OneCoin exchange was shut down in January 2017, but trades evidently continued among affiliated individuals for some time. The OneCoin.eu website remained online until 2019. In fact, OneCoin was a multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme in which network members received commissions when they managed to recruit people to buy OneCoin. The firm's own promotional materials claim more than three million people invested. And between Q4 2014 and Q4 2016, company records claim OneCoin generated more than $4.3 billion in revenue and $2.9 billion in purported profits. At the top of the MLM pyramid, Greenwood is said to have earned $21 million per month. Greenwood and others claimed that OneCoin was mined using computing power like BitCoin and recorded on a blockchain. But it wasn't. As Ignatova allegedly put it in an email to Greenwood, "We are not mining actually -- but telling people shit."

OneCoin's value, according to the Feds, was simply set by those managing the company -- they manipulated the OneCoin exchange to simulate trading volatility but the price of OneCoin always closed higher than it opened. In an August 1, 2015 email, Ignatova allegedly told Greenwood that one of the goals for the OneCoin trade exchange was "always close on a high price end of day open day with high price, build confidence -- better manipulation so they are happy." According to the Justice Department, the value assigned to OneCoin grew steadily from $0.53 to approximately $31.80 per coin and never declined.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: European antitrust regulators have opened an in-depth investigation into U.S. chipmaker Broadcom's proposed $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware, the European Commission said on Tuesday. "The Commission is particularly concerned that the transaction would allow Broadcom to restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components which interoperate with VMware's software," the Commission said in a statement.

The Commission said its preliminary investigation indicates the transaction may allow Broadcom to restrict competition for the supply of certain components by degrading interoperability between VMware software and competitors' hardware to the benefit of its own hardware. This and other factors could lead to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation for business customers, and ultimately consumers, the Commission said. The Commission now has 90 working days, until May 11, 2023, to take a decision. Broadcom on Tuesday reiterated that it continued to expect the transaction would close in its fiscal year 2023, adding it would continuing to work with the European Commission.

It said it was making progress with regulatory filings around the world, having received legal merger clearance in Brazil, South Africa, and Canada and foreign investment control clearance in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy. "The combination of Broadcom and VMware is about enabling enterprises to accelerate innovation and expand choice by addressing their most complex technology challenges in this multi-cloud era, and we are confident that regulators will see this when they conclude their review," it said in a statement. The proposed acquisition underlines Broadcom's ambition to diversify into enterprise software, but comes as regulators worldwide ramp up scrutiny of deals by Big Tech.

An anonymous reader shares a report: With a flat fee of $70 for trips into Manhattan and a guaranteed stream of passengers, a ride to and from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport is one of the more lucrative journeys for the city's cab drivers. But federal prosecutors say two 48-year-old Queens men found another way to profit from the crowd of taxis waiting long hours for passengers at the airport, conspiring with Russians to hack the dispatch system and allow drivers to cut ahead in line for a $10 payment.

The two men, Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman, were arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions for hacking into the system from November 2019 to November 2020. Prosecutors said the pair worked with Russian nationals to access the system through various methods, including bribing someone to insert a flash drive into computers that allowed them to enter the system via Wifi and stealing tablets connected to the dispatch operation. They then used their access to move certain taxis to the front of the line for $10 each, allowing drivers to bypass a holding lot that frequently required hours-long waits before they were dispatched to a terminal, and waived the fee for drivers who recruited others, according to prosecutors.

Amazon Web Services has secured a five-year contract with the US Navy for cloud services, just weeks after scoring its share of a major US Department of Defense deal for cloud computing. From a report: The cloud division of online marketplace Amazon has been awarded a contract worth $723.9 million by the Department of the Navy as a single-award fixed-price enterprise software license blanket purchase agreement. The details were disclosed in a contract notice posted on the Department of Defense website. According to the notice, the agreement is for AWS to provide the Department of the Navy with access to its commercial cloud environment, Professional Services, and AWS training and certification courses. The Department of the Navy indicated that the purchase agreement will not obligate funds at the time of award, but instead these will be committed as task orders are issued using a variety of Navy funding types, including operation and maintenance and working capital funds.

Esper: The world's biggest tech companies have lost confidence in one of the Internet's behind-the-scenes gatekeepers. Microsoft, Mozilla, and Google are dropping TrustCor Systems as a root certificate authority in their products. Starting in Chrome version 111 for desktops, the browser will no longer trust certificates issued by TrustCor Systems. The same change is coming to Android, but unlike Chrome for desktops, Android's root certificate store can't be updated independently of the OS, meaning it'll take some time for the certificate changes to roll out. Thankfully, that may no longer be the case in Android 14, as Google is preparing to implement updatable root certificates in the next release.

Facebook parent Meta does not expect to seal its acquisition deal with Within Unlimited, maker of the popular fitness app "Supernatural", before Jan. 31, according to a court filing from Tuesday. From a report: Meta has agreed to push back the closing by one month or until the first day after the court rules on U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) preliminary injunction trial, according to the filing with the United States District Court for the Northern District Of California. In August, Meta had agreed not to close the deal until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. The FTC had filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the deal in July, calling Facebook a "global technology behemoth," noting its ownership of popular apps including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and said its "campaign to conquer VR (virtual reality)" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.

A Microsoft .NET Community standup has left Windows desktop developers wondering what kind of future, if any, the company has planned for its older desktop application frameworks, Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). From a report: A "what's new" slide for WPF presented by senior program manager Olia Gavrysh last week shows "Community Run Project" as the first bullet point, causing consternation among attendees. "Who's happy that WPF is now a community run project? This is soooo scary," remarked Morten Nielsen, a senior principal engineer at ESRI working on the ArcGIS runtime, for location-based analytics.

The slide was perhaps misinterpreted. It was intended as an update on what is happening with pull requests from the community, rather than meaing that WPF has been handed over to the community. Nevertheless, concerns about the future of the framework are well founded. "It's not dead. we have a team working on WPF and supporting it," said Gavrysh, but added, "we now switch to the model where we accept a lot of PRs [pull requests] from the community because we think of WPF as [a] very mature project so not that much rapid development is happening."

The United States Postal Service said it expects to buy more than 66,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2028 in a significant change from previous plans. From a report: In February, the USPS said it would purchase 5,000 fully electric versions of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, with gas-powered trucks accounting for the remaining 45,000 of the initial order. After pushback from the Biden administration and resistance to that from the USPS, the agency has gradually increased the proportion of EVs in the order.

Now, the postal service aims to buy at least 60,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles by 2028, at least 75 percent of which will be electric models. Starting in 2026, the USPS expects that all NGDV acquisitions will be electric versions. The NGDVs are expected to start operating on delivery routes late next year. In addition, the agency plans to buy another 21,000 off-the-shelf EVs through 2028. Overall, the USPS plans to buy 106,000 delivery vehicles by the end of 2028 to start replacing its aging, inefficient and not-as-safe fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles. That means the agency still expects to buy around 40,000 gas-powered models over the next six years. The USPS said in a statement that the feasibility of fully electrifying the fleet "will continue to be explored." However, it believes there will be more EV availability in the future, which will certainly help.

NASA's InSight lander has probably phoned home for the last time from the planet Mars. From a report: The space agency said the spacecraft did not respond to communications from Earth on Sunday, December 18. The lack of communications came as the lander's power-generating capacity has been declining in recent months due to the accumulation of Martian dust on its solar panels. NASA said that it is "assumed" that InSight has reached the end of its operations but that it will continue to try to contact the lander in the coming days. Also on Monday, the InSight Twitter account shared a photo with a message saying this was probably the last photo it was sending from Mars.