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New story in Technology from Time: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Is a Nostalgia Trip Worth the Price

I awoke on a foreign shore after a terrible storm. My sword and shield — constant companions through countless adventures — were gone, and I was in a strange house with a man who looked oddly like Mario. His red-haired daughter told me I was on Koholint Island, and that I’d find my weapons on the beach where I washed ashore. Koholint Island was dreamlike and weird, but I soon fell into the familiar rhythm of exploring dungeons and collecting strange artifacts to help along my journey.

This is The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, out now for Nintendo Switch. It’s a remake of a game by the same name that Nintendo released on the original Game Boy in 1993, and a spiritual sequel to 1991’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo. Nintendo originally planned to port the SNES classic to the Game Boy, but Link’s Awakening changed into something stranger during development.

Link’s Awakening is both a throwback to the best Zelda games of the ’90s and an original twist on the classic formula. Like those old school games, Link navigates a 2D isometric world, exploring dungeons and gathering items that let him progress through previously impassable obstacles. For example, Koholint Island is littered with huge rocks, and Link can only lift them after he’s found a bracelet in the second dungeon. Classic Zelda gameplay.

But unlike many old-school Zelda games, there’s no Zelda, no Triforce, no Gannon, and no Master Sword. A large part of the charm of Link’s Awakening is that it diverges from so many of the classic Zelda tropes while remaining true to the spirit of the classic adventure series.

Koholint Island is a weird place full of little nods to classic Nintendo characters. A woman in town keeps Chompers, from Super Mario Bros., as pets. Dr. Wright, the green-haired guide of SimCity on the SNES, is trading love letters with a goat in a village across the island. Link’s goal is not to escape the island per se, but to collect seven instruments that will allow him to play a melody that will crack open an egg at the top of a mountain and awake a deity-like fish who is dreaming up the entirety of Koholint Island.

When I was young, Link’s Awakening was my favorite Zelda game, and returning to Koholint Island for another run has been comforting. The Switch port is more than just a rough transfer of an old game to a new system — Nintendo has worked magic to update the game’s graphics and sound. The distinct music of the Zelda series was relegated to MIDI bleeps and bloops on the original Game Boy. On the Switch, the orchestral soundtrack of Link’s Awakening soars and Zelda’s original theme is rendered gorgeously on strings and woodwinds. The game looks incredible, too. Similar to Yoshi, everything in Link’s Awakening looks like it was designed by Playmobil, and the edges of the screen blurred as if I were looking down on Link in a toy box through the haze of memory.

It’s a striking effect, but beauty has its price. Inside dungeons and the houses of villagers, Link’s Awakening runs like a dream. In the overworld, however, the game frequently slows down and stutters. The Goponga Swamp, an early area in the game, suffered from frequent frame rate problems. These problems occurred in both handheld and docked mode on the Nintendo Switch.

Link’s Awakening also comes with a Chamber Dungeons feature that lets players design and play through their own dungeons. It’s billed as Zelda’s version of Super Mario Maker, but it lacks that title’s charm and sophistication. The Chamber Dungeon feature opens pretty early in the game, but new pieces aren’t added to the mix until after Link completes each of the game’s nine main dungeons. Once the tiles from a dungeon are unlocked, Link can speak to a gravedigger NPC to arrange the tiles and play through a custom dungeon. The problem is that every tile was one I’d already completed in a different dungeon — the only thing that really changed was the order. It’s less a create-your-own-dungeon tool and more a way to remix old content. Nintendo crafted those original dungeons so well that the remixes never quite work. Thankfully, the chamber dungeons are optional.

All told, $60 might seem like a steep price for an update to a 25-year-old game, but the changes are more than just a coat of paint, and old-school Zelda fans as well as newcomers will find something to enjoy here.

New story in Technology from Time: Everyone’s Tapping Into Their Horrible Side Thanks to the Consequence-Free Untitled Goose Game

The goose is loose in Nintendo’s new Untitled Goose Game and it’s causing quite the stir on the internet. After the video game company released Untitled Goose for Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC on Sept. 20, the game’s titular bird protagonist quickly became a viral star.

In the days since Untitled Goose’s debut, Twitter users, including celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, have taken to the social media platform to express their admiration for the game’s delightfully bizarre premise, which asks players to assume the role of a mischievous goose wreaking havoc on a quaint English village.

welp as a contrarian, I wanted to hate goose game but I LOVE IT

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 29, 2019

“You are a goose let loose on an unsuspecting village,” the game’s description on Nintendo’s website reads. “Make your way around town, from peoples’ back gardens to the high street shops to the village green, setting up pranks, stealing hats, honking a lot, and generally ruining everyone’s day.”

Apparently we all stan a waterfowl icon who does what it wants when it wants.

you should be able to play a horrible goose in every video game. let me honk at elves or supersoldiers or whatever other video games have

— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) September 29, 2019

Sometimes video games speak to the very heart of existence. For instance, how am I, a mere goose, supposed to get this dude to wear his garden hat while I steal his radio?

— spooky jim christmas. (@markhoppus) September 28, 2019

Untitled Goose Game is so popular because it appeals to humanity's two most basic, primordial desires that have been with us since the dawn of time: to bully nerds and to be a goose. pic.twitter.com/MHmaRM7TrI

— Existential Comics (@existentialcoms) September 27, 2019

the geese are correct to revile us and to sabotage our works

— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) September 27, 2019

canadian geese anytime u try to walk past them pic.twitter.com/jhNNk2bo3W

— still halal (@halaIboy) September 30, 2019

this is exactly what will happen when the townsfolk finally arrest the horrible goose https://t.co/ERdVtg0JGL

— jonny sun (@jonnysun) September 30, 2019

goose game appears to be tapping into the 20-30's crowd's desire to rebel and indulge in absurdity without causing physical harm and that's beautiful

— mc schrodinger 🔥 gay antifa twink (@emiyannn) September 26, 2019

Game devs: "But do people *want* to play evil characters?"

Untitled Goose Game: pic.twitter.com/7zIMBVrpLr

— Morgan Lockhart (@missdoomcookie) September 23, 2019

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Al-Shabab extremists on Monday staged an attack on a US military base in Somalia which is used to launch drone strikes.

09/30/19 2:34 AM

New story in Technology from Time: Tesla and Elon Musk’s Tweet Violated Labor Laws Protecting Unions, Judge Rules

Tesla’s treatment of workers organizing a union in California broke U.S. labor laws, a California judge ruled on Friday.

Judge Amita Tracy ordered the company to cease and desist a litany of actions against company employees, including a rule that blocks off-duty employees from handing out union literature and interrogating employees about union activities. She also order the company to reinstate a union employee who had been fired and to compensate him for his lost pay.

The case was filed in April 2017 by several workers at Tesla Fremont, California facility, as well as the international United Automobile Workers (UAW) union. According to court documents, the workers had raised concerns about safety at Tesla facilities, below-market wages and long working hours.

According to a post-hearing brief by lawyers representing Tesla workers and UAW, Tesla had threatened unionizing employees and restricted their right to speak for themselves.

“A company that prides itself as representing the cutting edge for new automotive technology has shown itself, when it comes to labor relations, to be a throwback of the worst sort,” the document said.

Among the employees’ complaints were accusations that Tesla security guards had repeatedly tried to stop union workers from handing out flyers at the facility, telling them to leave the premises and photographing the workers’ badges.

The company also banned employees from handing out materials that were not pre-approved by Tesla. After employees began to wear shirts with union insignias to work, the company also instituted a restrictive dress code that prohibited unapproved pants and shirts.

In the ruling, Tracy also singled out a tweet by the company’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, from May 20, 2018. Musk had tweeted: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?“

Tracy noted that Musk’s tweet was sent out to his 22,700,000 Twitter followers, and that it “can only be read by a reasonable employee to indicate that if the employees vote to unionize that they would give up stock options.”

Court documents also sited several instances in which Musk and Gaby Toledano, Tesla’s former chief people officer, discouraged employees from forming a union. Toledano allegedly told the employees “the majority of the workers at Tesla don’t want a union” and asked why employees would want to pay union dues.

Jose Moran, a Tesla production associate, said in a statement through the UAW that he knew he would be a “target” after criticizing the company in a 2017 Medium post, “And sure enough, I was singled out and interrogated.” He thanked the National Labor Relations Board for taking the case.

“My co-workers and I will continue to speak up, and continue to work to make Tesla a better and safer company. Today’s action makes clear that we have rights, that we can keep talking about what we’re seeing and experiencing at Tesla,” Moran said,

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New story in Technology from Time: The First Google Doodle in 1998 Was a ‘Bit of a Joke.’ Here’s the Story Behind the Design That Started it All

When Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were headed to Nevada’s Burning Man festival in August of 1998, they wanted users and employees to know they wouldn’t be at the search engine’s helm for a while. The Ph.D. students at Stanford University decided to replace the second ‘O’ in Google’s homepage logo with a stick figure resembling the festival’s logo.

“It was a little bit of a joke,” Jessica Yu, the Google Doodle team lead, tells TIME. “It has definitely evolved a lot since then.”

What began as a joke became Google Doodles that celebrate and honor holidays, people and issues worldwide, now an important venture for the tech giant.

Google The first Doodle, circa 1998.

Back when Brin and Page posted the Burning Man design, it was less than a week before Google was incorporated as a company on September 4, 1998. It was two years until they used a prototype-Doodle again. But this time, rather than an out-of-office message, the design celebrated France’s Bastille Day on July 14, 2000. Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time, was tasked with creating the design.

Hwang became the chief designer for Doodles, creating about 50 per year, according to an interview with Stanford’s alumni magazine. Hwang has since moved onto equally impressive projects as a vice president of visual and interactive design at Niantic, where he designed Pokémon Go.

GoogleGoogle celebrated the Rugby World Cup 2019 Opening Day with a doodle on Sept. 20, 2019.

“In the early years, it was a controversial thing to do,” Hwang told TIME in a previous interview, of altering the company’s logo. “If you read any kind of corporate marketing or branding textbook, the one thing they tell you is to make your corporate branding consistent no matter what. But Larry and Sergey said, ‘Why not? We should have fun with this.'”

Hwang continued creating Doodles for popular holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas — leading to one of the program’s best-known animations, the Santa Tracker. The Santa Tracker game allows users worldwide to keep tabs on “Santa” as he delivers gifts on Christmas Eve, inspired by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)’s version, which began in the 1950s. In 2005, Hwang designed icons for the tracker to use alongside the Google Earth-led project. More than one million people tracked Santa with Google that year, according to the company, so the annual tradition continues.

Courtesy of Google2018’s Santa Tracker

Google does not publicly reveal view counts for all Doodles, so it’s hard to track just how popular the animations are. But the Google Doodle team is now comprised of a few dozen artists, managers, engineers and other employees who work towards a diverse range of designs, Yu says.

The team certainly has extended its animations beyond just Christmas. A Doodle in March honored Japanese inventor Seiichi Miyake, who created Tenji, or tactile, blocks to help visually impaired people navigate public areas. “With every Doodle we want to surprise and delight our users,” Yu says, “so it’s important that we celebrate a wide range of people and topics.”

GoogleGoogle honors Seiichi Miyake with colorful Google Doodle

Doodle techniques have also continued to evolve over the years. A September 2018 Doodle honoring Fred Rogers used stop motion animation, while last year’s Halloween Doodle was a multiplayer video game that allowed users to play with others. This year’s July 4 Google Doodle featured an animated backyard baseball game.

Novice designers are welcome to participate, too. In 2008, the company formalized that process in one way, beginning a competition for kindergarten to twelfth grade students in the U.S. The winner of the annual Doodle for Google contest gets their Doodle displayed on Google’s homepage, as well as scholarship money and “tech packages,” according to Google. The company holds separate competitions for countries throughout the world.

Andrew Lipovsky—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty ImagesJimmy Fallon and Doodle for Google National Winner Arantza Peña Popo during the Google Doodle reveal on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ on August 12, 2019.

This year’s theme was “When I grow up, I hope…” and 222,000 students applied, Yu said in Google’s winner announcement post. Arantza Peña Popo won for her Doodle, “Once you get it, you give back,” a piece of art showing generations of the women in her family. Jimmy Fallon, who was one of the year’s contest judges, had her on The Tonight Show to celebrate her win. “When I grow up, I hope to care for my mom as much as she cared for me my entire life,” the winner told Fallon on his show in August. “My mom has done so much for me and sacrificed a lot.”

The Doodle team also promoted that message of empowerment on March 8 for International Women’s Day. With an interactive slideshow designed by women from around the world, 13 women leaders from different countries shared their perspectives on feminism and the future. “While each quote told a unique story,” Yu says, “they touched on universal themes, reminding us of how much we often have in common, even if we speak a different language or have very different backgrounds.”

In addition to having new, different voices on the website through Doodle for Google, Yu says the team also encourages diversity of voices by having local managers based internationally. Someone in this on-the-ground position acts as a “cultural consultant,” and is typically from the country they’re representing.

Google

 

Whether a Doodle is deployed in twenty countries’ Google homepages or just a few, some of the most touching ones honor those who have passed. A Feb. 7, 2015 Doodle was created in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 148th birthday. For Maya Angelou‘s 90th birthday on April 4, 2018, an animated video featured the poet’s writing. Some lines were read by Angelou’s own voice while others were voiced by artists inspired by the late author, including Alicia Keys, Laverne Cox and Oprah Winfrey.

“Often, Doodles give people the opportunity to connect, online or off, over memories of someone or something that has been meaningful in their lives,” Yu says. “Occasionally the Doodle itself will even facilitate connection.”

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New story in Technology from Time: Facebook Says It Isn’t Fact Checking Politicians on the Social Platform

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook says it does not fact check politicians’ statements on its site, even if they might be false.

The social network operator says that’s because such statements could be newsworthy — and it doesn’t want to act as a “referee” for political debates.

Facebook works with third-party fact checkers, including The Associated Press, to weed out misinformation, such as false news and manipulated photos and videos.

But Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, said the company has exempted politicians’ posts from its fact checking program for more than a year. But if politicians share previously debunked links or other material, those will be demoted and banned from being included in ads.

“At Facebook, our role is to make sure there is a level playing field, not to be a political participant ourselves,” Clegg said, according to a transcript Facebook posted on its website of his speech at the Atlantic Festival in Washington on Tuesday.

Twitter also has a newsworthiness exemption in its policy that adds warning labels to politicians’ tweets if they violate the service’s rules but involve matters of public interest. Before the policy was enacted in June, Twitter exempted prominent leaders from many of its rules, contending that publishing their controversial tweets helps hold them accountable and encourages discussion.

Critics say treating politicians’ speech differently gives them a free pass to spread hate, abuse and misinformation.

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09/25/19 1:28 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Amazon Is Making it Easier to Delete Your Alexa Recordings

(Bloomberg) –– Amazon.com Inc. defended the privacy features of its Alexa digital assistant — and introduced some new tools to reassure users – following months of debate about the practices of the technology giant and its largest competitors.

The company plans to roll out a feature that lets users of the Alexa voice-based assistant automatically delete their verbal recordings regularly, on a rolling three-month and 18-month basis. Previously, Alexa users had to manually delete their stored voice recordings on a companion website.

“We care about this,” Dave Limp, the leader of Amazon’s devices and services business, said of privacy during a press event at the company’s headquarters in Seattle. “Privacy is absolutely foundational to everything that we do in and around Alexa.”

In April, Bloomberg News reported that Amazon had a team of people in offices around the world charged with reviewing a small sample of the consumer voice recordings picked up by Alexa, a practice the company didn’t explicitly disclose. News reports in the following months highlighted similar practices at Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc., among other companies.

“We will continue to listen to customers, and I’m sure they’ll have more ideas for us” on new privacy features, Limp said.

Amazon said its Ring home-security cameras will be equipped with a new privacy mode. It also introduced a new model of the best-selling Echo Dot with a visual clock built in, and a high-end speaker to rival Apple’s HomePod, Google Home Max and Sonos Inc. speakers, called Echo Studio.

The company unveiled a new Echo Show speaker with an 8-inch screen, adding to a line that already includes 5-inch and 10-inch displays. The new 8-inch model costs $129 with pre-orders beginning today. The Echo Flex, meantime, is a new category of the smart speaker that plugs directly into a wall outlet, unlike other Echo devices, which connect to outlets through a cable. The Echo Flex, at $24.99, will integrate with new motion and light sensors and have an API so developers can write commands for it.

Amazon also added another kitchen appliance to its portfolio: a smart oven with an air fryer. Last year, the company announced its Alexa Microwave and said that it quickly became the most popular microwave sold on Amazon.com. The new smart oven, priced at $249, integrates with Alexa and will include an Echo Dot so users don’t need extra appliances to make it work with voice control.

Wednesday’s event marked the third year in a row Amazon has held a September press showcase for new gadgets, highlighting the growing importance of the company’s electronics franchise. Demand for Amazon’s devices, led by the hockey puck-sized Echo Dot smart speaker and Fire TV streaming stick, made it the third-top-selling brand by unit sales in the U.S. last year, according to estimates from researcher Euromonitor International. The e-commerce giant trailed only Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.

Unlike those builders of high-end electronics, Amazon has achieved its scale primarily by selling low-priced devices that analysts estimate barely bring in enough profit to cover their manufacturing costs. The bet is a long-term wager on a virtuous cycle: more devices in more consumers’ hands means more viewers for Amazon’s original television shows, more subscribers to Amazon Prime, and more developer interest in building tools for Alexa.

Amazon is investing heavily to broaden the conversational abilities of its voice assistant and link it better to other technology, part of a race against Google and other tech giants. The company last year boasted that it had more than 10,000 employees working on Alexa and devices.

The beefed-up Echo Studio, aimed at music lovers, costs $200 and comes with 3D audio. Shares of Sonos, whose main business is digital-audio speakers, dropped as much as 3.3% following Amazon’s announcement.

Many owners of smart speakers use the devices primarily to listen to music or stream radio stations or podcasts. Amazon has lately sharpened its focus on audiophiles, launching a high-definition music streaming service earlier this month and, at a similar gadget event a year ago, introducing a range of subwoofers, amplifiers and other electronics designed to enhance Alexa’s profile as a music hub. Still, those devices haven’t been mass-market hits, and some of them are among the more poorly reviewed gadgets in Amazon’s Echo line.

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09/25/19 11:33 AM

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President Trump,Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold bi-lateral talk at UN General Assembly

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New story in Technology from Time: Algorithms, ‘Limbless Chickens,’ Fridges Beeping For Cheese: British Prime Minister Offers Wild, Spirited Speech on Future Tech to United Nations

(UNITED NATIONS) — Things the beleaguered British prime minister said in his astonishing speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday night: “Pink-eyed Terminators from the future.” ”Terrifying limbless chickens.” ”Your fridge will beep for more cheese.”

Things Boris Johnson didn’t address with any substance: Brexit (though he mentioned it in a quip). The British court ruling earlier in the day that said he acted illegally by dissolving Parliament. The take-no-prisoners politics that some say are threatening his premiership and undermining his influence as Britain’s leader.

Many didn’t know what to expect Tuesday after the court ruling came down hours before Johnson’s inaugural U.N. General Assembly speech as prime minister. But it’s safe to say few anticipated what he dramatically and energetically delivered: a caffeinated screed about the damage that technology can do if misused — and the glories it can hand humanity if it is delivered properly.

In his notably energetic speech, which ended after 10 p.m. as more than 12 hours of U.N. speeches were inching to their end, Johnson said he was optimistic about technology’s future — if humanity finds “the right balance between freedom and control.”

The first potential future that Johnson mapped out was decidedly dystopian — one where technology permeates every corner of human life, and not in a good way. Digital assistants pretending to take orders — but actually watching you and acting against your interests. Computers that decide what you’ll get, where you’ll be allowed to go, who you’ll be.

“You may keep secrets from your friends, from your parents, your children, your doctor – even your personal trainer – but it takes real effort to conceal your thoughts from Google,” he said. “And if that is true today, in future there may be nowhere to hide.”

That is not, he said, a good thing at all.

“Can these algorithms be trusted with our lives and hopes?” he asked, his delivery staccato and his hands jabbing with emphasis. “Are we doomed to a cold and hard future where a computer says ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”

But if things are done right, the prime minister said, a different story could unfold for all of us. “How do you plead with an algorithm? How do you get it to see extenuating circumstances?” he said. “We need to find the right balance between freedom and control.”

The spirited, tech-focused address was extraordinary given that immediately after it, he was to head back early to his home country to face a maelstrom of political problems — including the consequences of the court ruling and hearty calls for him to resign as prime minister.

In the speech, Johnson mentioned Brexit only once — as a pointed aside while recalling the myth of Prometheus, who was chained to a rock by Zeus and sentenced to have his liver eaten out by an eagle for eternity. “And this went on forever,” he quipped, “a bit like the experience of Brexit in the U.K, if some of our parliamentarians had their way.”

But he said that with the right approach — one of “freedom, openness and pluralism” — and making sure that such voices are hear loudly “in the standards bodies that write the rules,” humanity can deliver itself to a brighter technological future.

“Together, we must ensure that new advances reflect our values by design,” he said, adding: “I am profoundly optimistic about the ability of new technology to serve as a liberator and remake the world wondrously and benignly. Indeed, in countless respects, technology is already doing just that.”

Then, his speech over, he headed to the airport. Within the hour, he was flying home.

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09/24/19 5:48 PM

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PROGRAMMING ALERT: Chris Wallace interviews Iranian President Rouhani on 'Special Report,' 6 pm ET

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New story in Technology from Time: I Tried the Cheaper iPhone 11 After Reviewing the Pro. Here’s What I Missed

How does one improve Apple’s iPhone, the smartphone that set the standard for what we carry in our pockets today? If you’re Apple, you simply add more to the mix, this time with the $699-and-up iPhone 11. It doesn’t change much visually, but its internal updates and new photography features are enough to make anyone with an old iPhone do a double-take. But is a new iPhone with a second lens really what you need? That depends on what you plan to do with it.

The iPhone’s design hasn’t changed much since the introduction of the all-screen iPhone X (and abandonment of the home button enabling TouchID fingerprint scanning). The iPhone 11, unfortunately, doesn’t do much to alter that formula, looking nearly identical to the iPhone that came before it, down to the same 6.1-inch screen that’s slightly too large for comfort. It does come in an array of bright, pastel-like colors, but once your appreciation of hues like Lilac wears off, you’ll wonder why it still looks so basic after all these years. At least its software has gone through some welcome changes.

Apple’s software is the iPhone’s strongest asset, and iOS 13 is no different. It’s made even more useful thanks to some vastly improved apps like Reminders, Maps, and Photos, and the introduction of the more subdued Dark Mode color scheme to nearly every aspect of the iPhone experience. It looks slick, and it’s no slouch — the iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic processor makes every action from image editing to switching between apps feel natural and fluid.

Privacy and security enhancements abound as well, in an attempt to provide peace of mind in a world where apps are watching whether you know it or not. iOS 13 makes it harder for apps to access information like location data without your consent, and Apple’s new Sign in With Apple ID will — pending widespread adoption — protect you from sites looking to gather as much data on you as possible by allowing you to hide your email address or use a dummy address instead.

iOS 13 even beefs up its more lighthearted elements, adding a wealth of Memoji customization options and stickers. The introduction of services like Apple Arcade outfit the iPhone with a library of curated, quality games free of ads and in-app purchases for five bucks per month, a small price to pay in order to avoid finding a game you enjoy only to be met with some “suggested” in-app purchases.

Justin Sullivan—Getty ImagesThe new Apple iPhone 11 is displayed during a special event on September 10, 2019 in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s Cupertino, California campus.

But you don’t need an iPhone 11 for iOS 13; it’s available as a free update for iPhones as old as four years. The appeal of the iPhone 11 itself — and its most striking change — is its camera system.

Unlike its XR predecessor, the iPhone 11 brings two rear lenses to the mix. The front-facing TrueDepth camera has the same 12-megapixel resolution as its rear counterparts, and features a neat zoom-out function you can trigger manually (or by turning your iPhone horizontally) to get a few more faces in your selfies. It also supports slow-mo recording, meaning you can adopt Apple’s marketing slogans and shoot some “slofies” for whatever reason.

The iPhone 11 adopts the camera arrangement previously used on the iPhone X and XS, slightly altering the formula with an ultra-wide angle lens instead of the previously employed telephoto lens. It uses the same wide and ultra-wide lenses present on the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max.

The ultra-wide lens allows for some stunning photography options, letting you capture a building from top to bottom, or a group shot containing all of your friends, guests, or audience members. Neat touches in the Camera app, like the use of the ultra-wide camera to show the potentially wider image waiting in the wings, make the overall photography experience more intuitive, and less dependent on you tapping through photo capture options.

While it’s nice to have the option, you’ll probably end up seldom using the ultra-wide lens for anything but your vacation. Unless you’re making a habit of taking pictures of skyscrapers, sweeping mountain vistas, or empty beaches, you’ll probably end up avoiding what amounts to a lens putting you even farther away from your subject. Yes, you can shoot those artsy angled photos, but mostly you’ll be dealing with shots resembling a first-person view in a video game.

Shooting ultra-wide photography, frankly, requires some skill to do well. I can’t see many folks doing what’s necessary to nail an ultra-wide shot, but who among us hasn’t wanted to zoom in on a friend’s face in order to snap a photo? In fact, the ultra-wide lens feels more professionally oriented, leading me to believe Apple’s placement of the more desirable telephoto lens on the iPhone 11 Pro is deliberate.

Depending on what you want, the iPhone 11 could be the $699 phone you’re looking for. It adds a second lens for shooting creative photos and flicks, and boosts battery life with its improved processor. But compared to its competition, it has room for improvement. That huge screen is a good movie companion, but its sub-1080p resolution and lack of HDR support compared to the dirt-cheap Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a leaves a lot to be desired. Its two-camera setup is, ironically, more suited to professionals rather than your average smartphone shooter. Yes, there’s wireless charging, but there’s no way to charge wireless devices like AirPods with it, a feature present on some top-tier Android phones. Its design, still simple and minimal, is also boring, and seemingly ignores the biggest complaint about today’s iPhones — their large size.

It’s hard to fault the iPhone as a whole: It’s a capable device that features a level of polish rarely found in Android phones. But it’s also a phone marred by various minor caveats, compromises Apple should have addressed by now.

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President Trump to tout nationalism, sovereignty in address to UN General Assembly

09/24/19 7:12 AM

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UK Supreme Court deals major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ruling that his suspension of Parliament during Brexit fight

09/24/19 2:54 AM

New story in Technology from Time: After a Few Glitches, Samsung’s Folding Phone Finally Hits the U.S.

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung’s folding phone is finally hitting the U.S.

Samsung will start selling the Galaxy Fold, a phone with a screen that folds together like a book, on Friday. There will be an AT&T version as well as an unlocked version sold at Best Buy and Samsung stores.

The South Korean tech giant had put the Galaxy Fold’s launch on hold for months after reviewers encountered problems with the device’s innovative folding screen. Some reviewers peeled back a protective layer meant to stay on the screen, other devices flickered and turned black.

The nearly $2,000 phone launched on Sept. 6 in South Korea and Sept. 18 in France, Germany and Britain, with versions for next generation 5G networks available in the latter two countries. The U.S. phone does not support 5G.

New story in Technology from Time: Australia Is Using New Technology to Catch Drivers on Phones

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'Games of Thrones' wins Best Drama at Emmys

09/22/19 8:14 PM

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3 dead, 4 hospitalized in Pittsburgh after ‘medical situation,’ police say

09/22/19 6:52 AM

New story in Technology from Time: Facebook Says ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Apps Suspended Over Malware, Data Misuse Concerns

New story in Technology from Time: The Nintendo Switch Lite Is Ideal for Gamers on the Go

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Patriots release Antonio Brown days after second accusation of sexual misconduct

09/20/19 1:28 PM

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At least 4 dead, dozens injured in tour bus crash near Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah

09/20/19 12:27 PM

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Trump says controversy over phone call with foreign leader tied to ‘partisan whistleblower,’ decries ‘ridiculous’ reports

09/20/19 7:59 AM

New story in Technology from Time: With Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro, Cameras are the Killer App

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drops out of race for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination

09/20/19 4:38 AM

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Ed Buck, Dem megadonor, hit with federal charge in man's 2017 overdose death

09/19/19 2:04 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Visits Lawmakers To Discuss Tech Industry Regulation

(WASHINGTON) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited lawmakers Thursday to discuss potential regulation of the tech industry, particularly when it comes to the collection of users’ personal data on their platforms.

Zuckerberg is discussing oversight of the industry in private meetings with senators including Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; Mike Lee, R-Utah, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., an outspoken conservative critic of Big Tech.

Congress has been debating a privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple to collect and make money off users’ personal data. A national law, which would be the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit use of their data.

Acting pre-emptively, Zuckerberg last spring called for tighter regulations to protect consumers’ data, control harmful online content, and ensure election integrity and data portability. The internet “needs new rules,” he said.

Facebook, a social media giant with nearly 2.5 billion users, is under heavy scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators following a series of privacy scandals and amid accusations of abuse of its market power to squash competition.

The Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee are all conducting antitrust investigations of the big tech companies, and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general has opened a competition probe specifically of Facebook.

It is Zuckerberg’s first public visit to Washington since he testified before Congress last spring about privacy, election interference and other issues.

At Facebook’s request, Warner helped organize a dinner meeting in Washington Wednesday night for Zuckerberg and a group of senators.

“The participants had a discussion touching on multiple issues, including the role and responsibility of social media platforms in protecting our democracy, and what steps Congress should take to defend our elections, protect consumer data, and encourage competition in the social media space,” Rachel Cohen, a spokeswoman for Warner, said in a statement.

Warner and Hawley have proposed legislation that would force the tech giants to tell users what data they’re collecting from them and how much it’s worth. The proposal goes to the heart of Big Tech’s hugely profitable business model of commerce in users’ personal data. The companies gather vast data on what users read and like, and leverage it to help advertisers target their messages to individuals they want to reach.

The tech companies view with particular alarm a separate legislative proposal from Hawley that would require them to prove to regulators that they’re not using political bias to filter content. Failing to secure a bias-free audit from the government would mean a social media platform loses its long-held immunity from legal action.

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Canadian PM Justin Trudeau admits wearing brownface in 2001 school photo, apologizes

09/18/19 5:23 PM

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FOX NEWS POLL: Biden's support drops to new low in 2020 Dem primary race

09/18/19 3:02 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Gears of War Fans Who Love Multiplayer Are Going to Love Gears 5

New story in Technology from Time: Borderlands 3 Is Just Fun Enough To Ignore its Mediocre Story

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Saudi oil attacks were an 'act of war' by Iran, Mike Pompeo declares

09/18/19 9:56 AM

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President Trump announces administration will revoke California's authority to set fuel economy standards for cars

09/18/19 8:30 AM

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President Trump names State Department envoy Robert O'Brien as new National Security Adviser, replacing John Bolton

09/18/19 6:33 AM

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Combative Lewandowski frustrates Democrats, as impeachment-probe hearing descends into disarray

09/17/19 11:50 AM

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Cokie Roberts, veteran journalist, dead at 75, ABC says citing family

09/17/19 7:34 AM

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out for season after suffering elbow injury

09/16/19 9:00 AM

New story in Technology from Time: What Apple Risks By Doing Momentous Events Without Momentous News

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Firefighter dead, at least 6 people injured in explosion at Maine building that provides support for people with disabilities

09/16/19 7:26 AM

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Ric Ocasek, lead singer of influential new-wave band The Cars, found dead in NYC, police say

09/15/19 5:41 PM

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United Auto Workers (UAW) says its members will strike at 11:59 PM Sunday, Sept. 15

09/15/19 7:59 AM

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Bin Laden's son Hamza killed, President Trump confirms

09/14/19 6:20 AM

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Justice Department IG submits draft report on alleged FISA abuses to AG Barr, source tells Fox News

09/13/19 1:59 PM

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Felicity Huffman sentenced to 14 days in prison in college admissions scheme

09/13/19 12:40 PM

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Trump sanctions put Iran’s ‘house of cards’ pension system near collapse

09/13/19 9:40 AM

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Ex-cheerleader avoids jail after being convicted of abuse of a corpse

09/13/19 8:50 AM

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Eddie Money, ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ singer, dead at 70

09/13/19 7:25 AM

New story in Technology from Time: Facebook Expands the Reach of a Tool That Exposes Users to More Local News

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California dive boat crew did not have required watchkeeper posted before deadly fire, NTSB report says

09/12/19 12:15 PM

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US attorney recommends charges against ex-FBI official McCabe

09/12/19 10:23 AM

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HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson cleared as agency watchdog finds no misconduct in furniture controversy

09/12/19 7:51 AM

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Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee passes rules for formal Trump impeachment investigation, as GOP mocks

09/12/19 7:06 AM

New story in Technology from Time: The Next Generation of Airbus Aircraft Will Track Your Bathroom Visits

New story in Technology from Time: The Tech Innovations We Need to Happen if We’re Going to Survive Climate Change

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Supreme Court rules Trump administration can begin enforcing asylum restrictions

09/11/19 3:28 PM

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9/11 ceremony begins at Ground Zero, where a memorial now honors those who died of illnesses related to the terror attack

09/11/19 5:45 AM

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Republican Dan Bishop projected to win US House special election in North Carolina

09/10/19 7:21 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Here’s Everything Apple Announced Today, From New iPhones to its Netflix Competitor

New story in Technology from Time: How to Decide Between Apple’s New iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max

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President Trump has fired National Security Advisor John Bolton after 'strongly' disagreeing with his policy suggestions

09/10/19 9:05 AM

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President Trump takes the stage at rally in North Carolina ahead of pivotal House special election

09/09/19 4:11 PM

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Coast Guard has freed 3 crew members from capsized cargo ship; efforts to save 4th ongoing: officials

09/09/19 12:53 PM

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President Trump says talks with Taliban are ‘dead,’ after he canceled secret Camp David summit

09/09/19 12:10 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Almost Every State Is Investigating Google for ‘Potential Monopolistic Behavior’

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Border apprehensions plunge 56 percent as Trump administration hails cooperation with Mexico, other countries

09/09/19 10:15 AM

New story in Technology from Time: Apple Is Set to Unveil New iPhones on Tuesday. Here’s How and When to Watch

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All missing crew members stuck in overturned ship near Georgia are alive, US Coast Guard says

09/09/19 8:06 AM

New story in Technology from Time: A Group of States Led by Texas is Expected to Target Google in a New Antitrust Probe

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Rafael Nadal wins 4th US Open title, defeating Daniil Medvedev

09/08/19 6:11 PM

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Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announces he is running for president as a Republican

09/08/19 7:27 AM

New story in Technology from Time: How Microsoft’s Brad Smith is Trying to Restore Your Trust in Big Tech

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Bianca Andreescu defeats Serena Williams in US Open women's final for first major title

09/07/19 3:01 PM

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Antonio Brown signs with New England Patriots hours after Oakland Raiders cut him

09/07/19 2:15 PM

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Antonio Brown released by Oakland Raiders

09/07/19 9:14 AM

New story in Technology from Time: State Attorneys General Launch Investigations of Facebook and Google

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Hurricane Dorian makes US landfall as Category 1 storm in North Carolina

09/06/19 6:14 AM

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says he’s abandoning 2020 presidential ambitions

09/06/19 3:25 AM

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Robert Mugabe, longtime ruler of Zimbabwe, dead at 95

09/05/19 11:20 PM

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PROGRAMMING ALERT: Bill de Blasio on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight,' 8 pm ET

09/05/19 4:19 PM

New story in Technology from Time: ‘Control’ Feels Like What Would Happen if David Lynch Made a Video Game

New story in Technology from Time: Facebook New Dating Feature Lets You Pick a ‘Secret Crush’ From Your Instagram Network

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Dorian strengthens to Category 3 storm

09/04/19 8:27 PM

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Hurricane Dorian death toll rises to 20 in Bahamas, health minister says

09/04/19 4:31 PM

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Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig found not guilty of false statements over Ukraine work

09/04/19 12:13 PM

New story in Technology from Time: Social Media Users Entranced, Concerned by Chinese Face-Swapping Deepfake App

New story in Technology from Time: Apple’s Biggest Event of the Year Is Nearly Upon Us. Here’s What to Expect

New story in Technology from Time: YouTube Fined $170 Million for Collecting Kids’ Data Without Parental Consent

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YouTube to pay $170M fine in settlement over claims it violated children’s privacy laws

09/04/19 6:51 AM

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Hong Kong's Lam formally withdraws extradition bill

09/04/19 3:12 AM

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Walmart to stop Alaska handgun sales, end sales of short-barrel rifle and handgun ammo nationwide

09/03/19 10:17 AM

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4 bodies recovered, 29 unaccounted for after California boat fire

09/02/19 11:25 AM

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'Extremely dangerous' Hurrican Dorian downgrades slightly to Category 4 storm

09/02/19 8:06 AM

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34 people killed after boat catches fire off California's Santa Cruz Island: officials

09/02/19 5:59 AM

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Hurricane Dorian, Category 5 storm, makes landfall in Bahamas with 185 mph winds

09/01/19 10:06 AM

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Hurricane Dorian strengthens to 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm

09/01/19 5:02 AM