Hasta La Gadget!

Apple just marked the end to one of the most important product lines in its history. The company has discontinued the iPod touch, which will only be available in stores “while supplies last.” Not surprisingly, the company maintained that the “spirit of iPod” continues in other products, including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

The move has been expected for a long time. Apple last updated the iPod touch in 2019, and that was just to provide a faster processor in a design that hadn’t fundamentally changed since 2012. The iPod hasn’t played an important role in Apple’s product strategy for a long time, and it was increasingly a niche product aimed at kids and those who didn’t want to use their phones for remote controls or workouts. Apple dropped the iPod classic in 2014, and scrapped both the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in 2017.

Even so, it’s a sad moment that closes a vital 20-year chapter in Apple’s history. The company introduced the first iPod in October 2001, at a time when the firm was highly dependent on computers and still on shaky financial ground. While the Mac requirement limited interest for the first couple of years, sales exploded after Windows users joined the fray — Apple figured out the recipe for an easy-to-use MP3 player, and did a good job of marketing that concept to customers (see its well-known silhouette ads as an example).

The iPod effectively made Apple the general consumer electronics giant it is today. It quickly dominated the MP3 player market, and iPods represented 40 percent of its revenue by 2006. Apple not only turned its fortunes around, but became a household name after years of being written off as a dying brand. The iPhone’s much-hyped 2007 launch was helped in no small part by the iPod’s success. People were looking for the “iPod phone,” and the iPhone’s media capabilities were arguably its strongest selling point in its early days.

The iPhone helped start the iPod’s downfall, of course. Many people only needed one device in their pocket, the smartphone, and iPod sales were in freefall by the early 2010s. Nonetheless, the iPod’s legacy remains intact. It’s the device that gave Apple a second chance, and laid the groundwork for a modern era where digital media devices are virtually ubiquitous.

Electronic Arts is calling it quits with FIFA after nearly 30 years of using the soccer governing body’s name in the titles of its games. FIFA 23 will be the last EA game with that branding when it arrives later this year. Starting in 2023, the annual soccer sim games will use the moniker “EA Sports FC” instead. More info about the first title in the revamped series will be revealed in July 2023.

Other than the rebranding, the EA Sports FC games may not be vastly different from what fans are used to in the long run. EA still holds licenses for more than 300 soccer partners and has exclusive agreements with the likes of the Premier League, MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.

You can expect next year’s title to still have more than 19,000 players, 700+ teams, north of 100 stadiums and 30 leagues. Features such as career mode, Ultimate Team and VOLTA Football will still be present too. It’s unclear, however, what the move will mean for the inclusion of the World Cup in future titles.

In the meantime, EA Sports and Racing executive vice-president Cam Weber said his team and FIFA “are excited to deliver the greatest, most expansive EA Sports FIFA ever later this fall.” He said there will be more teams, players, competitions, leagues and game modes than in any previous games. These updates will not only be present in FIFA 23, but also in FIFA Mobile, FIFA Online 4 and esports.

“We’re thankful for our many years of great partnership with FIFA,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement. “The future of global football is very bright, and fandom around the world has never been stronger. We have an incredible opportunity to put EA Sports FC at the heart of the sport, and to bring even more innovative and authentic experiences to the growing football audience.”

The end of the partnership isn’t too surprising. FIFA expressed concern last fall about one entity (i.e. EA) having too much of the soccer gaming pie. It was talking with developers and other parties about how to “widen” the scope of its gaming and esports offerings. EA, on the other hand, said soon after the launch of FIFA 22 that it was “reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA” ahead of a possible rebranding. It filed a trademark application for “EA Sports FC” around the same time.

There are, of course, financial considerations at play. The New York Times reported in October that FIFA makes around $150 million per year through its licensing agreement with EA. In negotiations with the publisher, FIFA is said to have asked for a payment of over $1 billion for each World Cup cycle of four years. The two sides were also reportedly at odds over the scope of the partnership as well, including aspects like exclusivity.

Meanwhile, FIFA says EA will be able to release its next game as FIFA 23 under a non-exclusive, temporary extension of their partnership. This year’s edition will include both the men’s and women’s editions of the World Cup for the first time. 

The governing body noted it will release games created in collaboration with other developers in the third quarter of this year. These will be non-simulation titles, and the first one will be connected to the men’s World Cup, which starts in November in Qatar. 

Perhaps most significantly, FIFA said it’s in talks with “leading game publishers, media companies and investors” in relation to “a major new FIFA simulation football game title for 2024.” It may be fairly short notice to make a game on a comparable level with the current FIFA series for next year, unless FIFA is able to work with the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer/eSoccer developer Konami. Still, it seems there will be soccer sims bearing the FIFA branding beyond this year, even if they aren’t from EA.

“I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, seemingly in total sincerity. “The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25 and FIFA 26 and so on — the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST.” 

Update 5/10 3:50PM: Added more details from FIFA.

Adobe has released another major update for its Photoshop app, this time bringing some key desktop features to its app for Apple’s iPad tablets.

Elon Musk has finally confirmed what many have long suspected: that he would allow Donald Trump back on Twitter.

In an interview with The Financial Times, Musk said that he would reinstate Trump when his deal to acquire Twitter closes. “I guess the answer is that I would reverse the perma ban,” Musk said in response to a question about whether he would allow the former president back on the platform. “Obviously, I don’t own Twitter yet. So this is not a thing that will definitely happen because what if I don’t own Twitter.”

Though Musk has long made it clear he disagrees with Twitter’s decision to ban Trump, it’s the first time he has explicitly said he would “reverse” it. “I think bans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion,” Musk said. He added that permanent bans should be reserved for “accounts that are bots or spam scam accounts.”

Whether Musk would bring back Trump has been a major question and the company’s own executives have told employees they don’t know what direction Musk will take the company. Employees have been concerned that Musk could reverse many of the company’s policies around trust and safety and reverse progress they have made in combatting online abuse and misinformation.

Musk said that accounts that are “destructive to the world” could still be punished with temporary suspensions or having individual tweets deleted. But he said that he and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey believe that permanent bans “should be extremely rare.”

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company banned Trump in the wake of the January 6th insurrection, saying that the president had broken its rules around incitement of violence. Then-CEO Dorsey said at the time he believed permanent bans could set a “dangerous” precedent, but that the company had made the right decision in the face of “extraordinary and untenable circumstance.” On Tuesday, following Musk’s comments, Dorsey called Trump’s ban a “business decision.” “We should always revisit our decisions and evolve as necessary,” Dorsey said. 

Musk was more explicit. He called the ban a “morally bad decision,” and cited the Trump-backed Truth Social as proof Twitter’s ban did not have the intended effect. The former president has stated that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his ban is lifted. 

“He is now going to be on Truth Social, as will a large part of the right in the in the United States,” Musk said. “Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right and that is why it is morally wrong and flat out stupid.”

Updated with comments from Jack Dorsey.

The tiny Raspberry Pi is an incredibly versatile computer, but in order to maximize its capabilities, you’ll first need to connect it to a Wi-Fi network.