If you’re the sort to leave web browser tabs open on your phone (you know who you are), you’ve probably had a sinking feeling when you close every tab and realize you just lost a must-have site link. You won’t have quite so many panic-inducing moments going forward, at least. Techdows and Android Police have noticed the Canary channel version of Chrome 100 for Android adds a settings flag (“close all tabs modal dialog”) that asks for confirmation when you try to close every tab at once.

Chrome on the desktop will let you close all tabs in a window by getting rid of that window, but it’s overall harder to accidentally wipe out your tab collection. On Android, “close all tabs” is close enough to other tab options that you might tap it by mistake.

Canary builds are unstable, so you may want to wait until a beta or the polished release. It’s also unclear how soon Google might build the flag into regular settings or enable it by default, provided the feature survives through future releases. It’s easy to see the confirmation making the cut, however — this is one of those seemingly small features that could save you an embarrassing search through your browsing history.

Source: Engadget – Chrome for Android will ask if you really want to close every tab at once

The Treasury Department is reconsidering the Internal Revenue Service’s use of ID.me for access to its website, according to Bloomberg. A department official said the agencies are exploring alternatives to the controversial facial recognition software, though that official didn’t specifically cite the privacy concerns around ID.me for the decision.

“The IRS is consistently looking for ways to make the filing process more secure,” Treasury Department spokesperson Alexandra LaManna told Bloomberg. “We believe in the importance of protecting the privacy of taxpayers, while also ensuring criminals are not able to gain access to taxpayer accounts.”

Citing a “lack of funding for IRS modernization,” LaManna also said it’s been “impossible” for the agency to develop its own in-house identification solution, and noted US taxpayers aren’t required to file their taxes online. Toward the end of last year, the IRS began requiring individuals to use ID.me to access certain parts of its website, including those sections related to services like the American Rescue Plan. Starting this summer, the agency will also require that people enroll with ID.me before they can file their taxes online. That’s a process that will require taxpayers to provide their government ID, a copy of a utility bill and a video selfie to the Virginia-based company.

The Treasury Department’s decision to reevaluate its use of ID.me comes in the same week that the company disclosed its use of one-to-many facial matching. Blake Hall, the CEO of ID.me, said the company employs the technology to verify selfies tied to government programs that are frequently targeted by organized crime elements. Hall made the statement after previously claiming the company did not use the “more complex and problematic” one-to-many approach.

Privacy advocates have criticized both approaches. Research indicates most facial recognition systems struggle to identify people with darker skin tones. Experts have also voiced concerns about the security risks of storing biometric data.

Source: Engadget – Treasury reconsiders IRS use of ID.me facial recognition amid privacy concerns

Many exoplanets are completely uninhabitable, but they can still be useful in the search for more hospitable worlds. Scientists at Lund University have created a 3D map of ultra-hot gas giant WASP-189b’s atmosphere that could provide insights into other distant planets’ skies. The team used a high-resolution spectrograph to study the host star’s light as it passed through the planet’s atmosphere, looking for line positions in elements that not only indicated what materials were present, but that they swirled around in three-dimensional layers.

The elements themselves included a breakthrough. This is the first time observers had solid evidence of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a gas giant like this. It also has familiar jovian world chemicals like iron, chromium and magnesium.

You won’t be visiting WASP-189b any time soon. Its daytime temperature climbs to nearly 5,800F, and its 2.7-day orbit won’t help matters. However, the spectrograph techniques involved here could translate to other exoplanet atmosphere studies. Researchers could compare atmospheres and better determine whether or not a planet can support life. That, in turn, could help focus studies on the most promising planets.

Source: Engadget – 3D map of an exoplanet’s atmosphere may help find Earth-like worlds

This week, America’s first blockchain-based stock exchange obtained regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange. In a filing the SEC uploaded to its website on late Thursday evening, it said the Boston Security Token Exchange (BSTX) could use the nascent technology to offer faster trade settlements. Compared to a traditional exchange where it typically takes two days to settle a trade, BSTX will offer same-day and next-day settlements. It will also use a private blockchain to offer a market feed that will allow members to see their own trades, as well as that of others, on an anonymous basis.

What it won’t offer members is the option to trade digital tokens, meaning it’s not a new venue for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets. Jay Fraser, a director with BSTX, told Reuters the exchange plans to potentially allow trading of stock tokens at a later date. BSTX had planned to exclusively focus on tokenized securities, but the SEC rejected those plans in a prior filing. Still, Fraser said the goal is to create an exchange that eventually looks more like Coinbase than something like the NASDAQ or NYSE. Until then, BSTX will operate more like a traditional exchange when it opens before the second half of the year.

Source: Engadget – New US stock exchange will use the blockchain to track trading activity

When Spotify started removing Neil Young’s playlist from its service, it defended its practices against misinformation and said that it had already pulled over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes. Young threatened to remove his catalog from the service over allegations that Joe Rogan is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation through his podcast. Despite what Spotify said, The Joe Rogan Experience is still available on the platform, and Spotify’s COVID content policy (as seen by The Verge) might be able to explain why that’s the case. 

Apparently, even Spotify’s employees are upset with the company’s partnership with Rogan due to his views on COVID-19. Company head of global communications Dustee Jenkins reportedly addressed those concerns on Spotify’s Slack and told employees that a team had already reviewed multiple controversial Joe Rogan Experience episodes and found that they “didn’t meet the threshold for removal.” She called members of the team who did the internal review “some of the best experts in the space” and also said that Spotify is working with third parties to help it evolve its policies. “What Spotify hasn’t done is move fast enough to share these policies externally, and are working to address that as soon as possible,” she added. 

While Spotify has yet to share those policies, The Verge posted a copy of the healthcare guidelines section, which prohibits:

“Content that promotes dangerous false or deceptive content about healthcare that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health such as:

Denying the existence of AIDS or COVID-19

Encouraging the deliberate contracting of a serious or life threatening disease or illness

Suggesting that consuming bleach can cure various illnesses and diseases

Suggesting that wearing a mask will cause the wearer imminent, life-threatening physical harm

Promoting or suggesting that the vaccines are designed to cause death”

There’s a lot podcasters can get away with with such a narrow and limited set of rules. In comparison, YouTube makes it clear that any content with claims that contradict local health authorities or WHO is prohibited on its website. It’s not just suggestions that wearing a mask will cause harm that’s prohibited on the Google-owned service, but also claims that masking does not help prevent the contraction or transmission of COVID-19. A podcast host on Spotify can say the latter without repercussions. Spotify also doesn’t have a rule prohibiting claims that ivermectin is a safe and effective treatment for the virus. 

Back in December, a group of scientists and doctors sent an open letter to Spotify, asking it to implement a misinformation policy after Rogan guested Dr. Robert Malone on his show. In the controversial episode, Malone claimed people only believe that COVID-19 vaccines are effective due to “mass formation psychosis.” The group also listed several “misleading and false claims” Rogan made on his podcast throughout the pandemic, including the time he said mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy” and another when he promoted the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

Source: Engadget – Spotify reportedly has a very limited set of COVID content guidelines

Peloton owes at least five of its workers money for unpaid labor, according to a BuzzFeed News report. The publication says that in recent months, a Minnesota delivery worker and a Los Angeles salesperson for the company filed lawsuits seeking class action status against it over unpaid overtime. Aside from unpaid labor, the LA salesperson, which worked at Peloton for over five years, also said he wasn’t reimbursed for work expenses and wasn’t paid the full wages required upon termination of employment. 

BuzzFeed also talked to three more workers who raised various kinds of pay issues. They complained about having to go back to work after clocking out and not being paid for it, having to work through breaks and not getting expense reimbursements. One worker said there were multiple instances wherein he showed up to work, and there was nothing to do. While Peloton told BuzzFeed that it pays workers for “a minimum of four hours” of work, the person the publication interviewed said he was sent home without pay. 

Peloton exploded in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic when gyms were closed and people wanted an exercise machine in their homes. As BuzzFeed News notes, employees at its New York City HQ thought it was the best place to work, but it was the company’s sales/video production staff, assembly workers and delivery drivers that raised concerns about missing pay. 

A Peloton spokesperson, however, told BuzzFeed that it provides paid break time, as per labor laws. The spokesperson also said: “We are committed to creating an inclusive, kind, and productive culture where all team members are treated respectfully and have the tools to succeed. Peloton employees are fairly paid, and we are committed to adhering to all legal requirements in every state in which we operate.”

According to a CNBC report earlier this month, Peloton is experiencing a significant drop in demand due to several factors, such as increased competition from rivals. The report claimed that the company is pausing Bike and Tread production as a result, but Peloton CEO John Foley denied that in a letter to employees. He said that rumors the company is halting the production of its exercise machines are false, but he did say that Peloton is “resetting [its] production levels for sustainable growth.” He also said that while layoffs are the last resort as a solution to its its problems, Peloton now needs to “evaluate [its] organization structure and size of [its] team.”

Source: Engadget – Peloton reportedly owes some of its workers money for unpaid labor

NASA isn’t just interested in putting more women in space. The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has appointed Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Dr. Laurie Leshin as its first female director. She’ll assume the role on May 16th, replacing former director Michael Watkins (who retired in August 2021) and interim director Lt. Gen Larry James. She’ll also serve as vice president of Caltech, which manages the JPL.

Leshin has extensive experience, both in science and in breaking new ground. She has held senior positions in NASA, including a key director role at the Goddard Space Flight Center. As deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, she laid some of the groundwork for both commercial spaceflight and Artemis. She was Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s science dean, and has served as WPI’s first female president since 2014.

The incoming JPL director has also pursued science of her own. She has been a proponent of and contributor to Mars sample return missions, and helped study data from the Curiosity rover. The appointment is also a return of sorts of Leshin, as she earned her graduate degrees at Caltech.

Caltech said Leshin was a prime candidate to lead the JPL thanks to her “strategic approach” to science and technology, recognition of NASA’s leading role in science, navigation of complex institutions and ability to “inspire the next generation” of scientists and engineers. In other words, she could be a good fit for an organization where long-term planning is absolutely necessary.

Source: Engadget – NASA’s JPL appoints its first female director