(Note: Just a minute before I hit “Send” in this newsletter, Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 888 Plus! It’s a Snapdragon 888 with higher binning, slightly overclocked, so nothing too extreme, but manufacturers like Asus, Motorola, Vivo , Xiaomi will launch Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus smartphones later this year. Now for the rest of the MWC news so far …)
Mobile World Congress 2021 started this early morning with Lenovo’s announcements from the cabin, with new devices including a beefy Android tablet.
🟦 BlueStacks CEO comments on Android apps coming to Windows 11: “It’s not that easy” (Android authority).
🔊 Why Apple, Amazon, and Spotify Go for Hi-Def Music: A Guide to Lossless Streaming (WSJ, $).
🔓 This is bad: Microsoft signed a driver loaded with rootkit malware, which breaks confidence in Microsoft’s entire driver signing process (Engage).
🔧 TPM what? CPU which one? Here’s what you need to upgrade to Windows 11 Windows (Ars-Technica). Because of this, Windows 11 also enforces the use of TPM chips, most of which have never heard of (The edge).
🍎 The feedback in this discussion thread looks good for Apple: “Now that the Airtags have been out for a while, how are they really doing?” (R / Apple).
🌞 Google is launching a new medical app – but only outside of the US because of some interesting proof of efficacy folds (Ars-Technica). This app is only in beta testing by the way, so don’t miss out on it yet. If you are outside of the US, you can apply here (google.com).
👾 The Pentagon released its long-awaited, unclassified report on UFOs / UAPs. Here is the report (dni.gov, PDF) and here is the reaction from a quiet read: “The unclassified report of the UAP task force found ‘no clear indications that there are no non-terrestrial explanations for the aircraft.” amusingly, the report warned that the breakthrough technology “may” come from “foreign adversaries” that could pose a “national security challenge”. Indeed. (BBC).
👞 The FBI’s body language expert on office communications, now that our brains may be a bit broken: “Q: At a gathering, how can I tell if people want me to join their conversation? A: The only way to know is if your feet are moving to greet you. If they just twist their hips and say, ‘Hello, Bill,’ but their feet never move, nobody wants you to join in. ” (Blümberg).
💀 The discovery of the “dragon man” is absolutely fascinating and important. And in a seemingly wild backstory, the skull was hidden in a well by a Chinese worker for over 80 years (The guard).
🧊 24,000 years in permafrost have still not killed these ancient creatures (Wired).
🔴 China shares video and audio of the landing and early development of its Mars rover and the 274 feet it has traveled so far (Engage).
✈ Software Issues Delay Boeing 777X As Regulators Stop Trusting Boeing: Citing a major flight test incident and lack of design maturity, FAA is slowing Boeing 777X certification (Seattle times).
⛳ “Why don’t airplanes have dimples like golf balls?” (R / askreddit).