Hasta La Gadget!

A California judge today granted Activision’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by investors who asserted the company misled them about sexual harassment allegations at the company, including probes by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). First reported by Bloomberg Law, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to meet the threshold to pursue their claims under federal securities law.

First filed in August 2021 by a group of individual investors that includes Jeff Ross and Gary Cheng, they allege the EEOC and DFEH probes were intentionally downplayed by Activision in SEC filings, which calling them “routine”. But the judge argued these investors’ claims to be an example of “fraud-by-hindsight,” wherein companies which suffer bad outcomes are unfairly accused of having been able to predict them.

“Plaintiffs contend that the media’s reaction to news of the regulatory investigations and Defendants’ statement in response to the DFEH Action ‘belies any notion’ that the regulatory investigations were ordinary or routine. But such allegations constitute ‘fraud-by-hindsight’ and absent particularized, temporal facts, are insufficient to support a claim of securities fraud,” wrote Judge Percy Anderson of the US District Court of the Central District of California.

A US district court recently approved an $18 million dollar settlement between the videogame company and the EEOC. The lawsuit by California’s DFEH is still pending. While the motion to dismiss is a setback for the investors, they have 30 days to file an amended complaint.

It looks like HP may be the next computer manufacturer to enter the foldable laptops market, but is there really a need for these unique devices?

Lincoln has finally unveiled its first electric vehicle concept, and it’s now a little clearer as to where the company is headed. The upscale Ford badge has unveiled the Star, a luxury SUV that hints at the design direction for production EVs. There are some of the usual concept car excesses, but also some technological developments that might reach something you can drive.

The Star is sleeker than Lincoln’s existing lineup, and includes light-up exterior features and doors. The front trunk is covered with electrochromatic glass that turns transparent while in motion. The A-pillars (at the front) and D-pillars (the back) even use 3D-printed metal to allow more natural light. The interior includes lounge-like wraparound rear seating focused on relaxation. Accordingly, the brand is touting “rejuvenation moods” that sync displays, sounds and even scents to calm or reinvigorate you, such as Coastal Morning (complete with sea mist scent) and Evening Chill (evergreen).

In-cabin tech plays an important role, of course. A giant, panoramic front display provides both the essentials as well as a canvas for those moods, with a much smaller control screen sitting underneath. Rear passengers have their own displays, and an “Attaché” briefcase concept hiding in the rear coach door can wirelessly charge and store devices. The Star connects to other vehicles and city grids, and promises driving assistants that help with parking, vision and other common problems.

Lincoln is shy on specs, although that’s not surprising when the company doesn’t intend to sell the Star. We’d also expect any shipping vehicles to scale back the displays, seating and other flashier elements. This is more about advertising Lincoln’s EV ambitions and design language than previewing a real product.

The automaker won’t take long to electrify, at least. Lincoln now plans to launch four EVs by 2026, and expects more than half of its sales to come from electric-only models by the middle of the 2020s. It previously echoed Ford with plans to exclusively sell EVs by 2030. These aren’t the most difficult feats given Lincoln’s smaller range and a wealthier clientele that can more readily afford EVs. Even so, they suggest you might not recognize Lincoln’s selection within a few years.

The return of Miles Morales is going to be just a little bit longer. Sony just announced that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will now be released June 2, 2023, moved back eight months from its most recent October 7 release date. Which sucks. But, we now know when the second part is coming too. Spider-Man: Across…

Read more…

Earlier this evening, the Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. called for an evacuation of Congress due to an “aircraft that poses probable threat” which was flying circles around Capitol Building airspace, according to the Associated Press’s Zeke Miller. Given the violent riot and attempted insurrection that recently took place there, one could forgive USCP for operating with an abundance of caution. 

What became clear in short order was that the aircraft in question, according to Flight Radar, had taken off from nearby Joint Base Andrews, and was of a make and model in use by Army parachute teams as well as commercial skydivers. Incidentally, that’s because the payload of this suspicious Viking DHC-6-400 was, in fact, parachutists. Parachutists from the Army’s Golden Knights, specifically, who were dropping into Nationals Park during tonight’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. (At the time of this writing, the Diamondbacks are winning, handily.)

As later reported by severaljournalists, the airspace incursion was part of a preplanned Military Appreciation Day — which appears on the Nat’s game schedule and entitles two free tickets to (as it’s written on their website) “ACTIVE DUTY, DEPENDENTS, VETERANS, AND RESERVISTS WITH MILITARY ID OR PROOF OF SERVICE, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.” Whatever your feelings on reverence for the armed forces during sporting events, undeniably these sorts of these happen regularly, and the subset of those displays that involve parachuting service members are not uncommon. 

It’s not precisely clear where the breakdown in communication occurred. Did the Army forget to tell the Capitol Police? Did USCP get the memo but simply lose track of things, as one does in our busy, hyperconnected lives? According to NBC, Capitol Police “were not notified in advance of the planned Golden Knights jump” according to “a law enforcement source.” 

We’ve reached out both USCP and Joint Base Andrews to illuminate the situation. But rather than mock an honest of nationally panic-inducing mistake from the comfort of our keyboards, we thought it best to led our expertise in order to prevent such a situation from occurring again. 

Google Calendar [Free]

It hardly bears mentioning, but Google Calendar is a standby for keeping track of important dates, like birthdays, meetings or when someone might be flying into restricted airspace. There are options to set up push notifications or emails to nudge you when those events are getting close. The last thing you want to do is come up against a deadline and panic!

Slack Notifications [Free with enterprise options]

Do the police or military even use Slack? I have no way to know. But given tonights events maybe they should! Setting up reminders in the workplace messaging application is pretty straightforward. 

Calendar [Free]

Been using Mac’s Calendar software a lot lately and pretty rarely blank on the stuff I’m supposed to be doing (or not doing!) Microsoft has a parallel product in Outlook Calendar, for the Windows users among you. No one trusts me with important stuff like national security, but my hit-rate on never issuing an unnecessary evacuation is 100 percent. I think that speaks for itself. 

Calendly [Free with enterprise options]

Increasingly I seem to be getting invites through this service. I don’t like it very much, but it still beats making a nation of 330 million people believe they’re about to bear witness to a potential tragedy. 

Any.do [Free with premium options]

Haven’t used this task reminder app and don’t plan to. Keep seeing it on lists of ‘best reminder software’ though. Just trying to be helpful. 

A simple text message will do in a pinch [negligible cost per message]

Sometimes things slip! It’s ok. Nearly everyone on the planet has a cell phone on their person at all times these days. Send the relevant party a quick message. While having something potentially annoying drop in your lap last minute is never ideal, it is always preferable to no communication at all. 

We’ll update if we hear back about what exactly happened tonight. The Nationals’ ‘Patriotic Series’ continues on May 29 (Memorial Day), July 4 and September 1, although those dates don’t seem to feature any more parachuting.