Lee Pace, Jared Harris Star in Apple's 'Foundation'

Apple is bringing Jared Harris (Chernobyl) and Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire) to star in its Foundation series.

Based on Isaac Asimov’s novel series of the same name, Foundationchronicles the epic saga of The Foundation, a band of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy it. Harris will star as Hari Seldon, a mathematical genius who predicts the demise of the empire. Pace is set as Brother Day, the current Emperor of the Galaxy.

totallee's New Green Case Matches the Green iPhone 11 Pro

totallee makes thin iPhone cases so your smartphone doesn’t become bulky. It recently released a line of green cases for the midnight green iPhone 11 Pro.

This case covers every corner of your phone and features a camera lens “lip” for added protection. Like a brushed finish? Go matte. Looking for invisible protection? Transparent all the way. Want a sophisticated backing? Leather is for you. This case maintains the original look of your iPhone 11 Pro. No branding. No bulk. No nonsense.

You can pick up one of these cases for US$29.

Forty-seven States Taking Part in Facebook Antitrust Investigation

Forty-seven states are taking part in a New York led antitrust investigation into Facebook. New York State Attorney General Letitia James made the announcement Tuesday, CNBC reported.

The multistate investigation was first announced in September with participation from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, but has since expanded considerably. The probe will zero in on Facebook’s dominance in the social media industry and whether it broke any state or federal laws as a result of any anticompetitive conduct related to that dominance. “After continued bipartisan conversations with attorneys general from around the country, today I am announcing that we have vastly expanded the list of states, districts, and territories investigating Facebook for potential antitrust violations,” James said in a statement. “Our investigation now has the support of 47 attorneys general from around the nation, who are all concerned that Facebook may have put consumer data at risk, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, and increased the price of advertising. As we continue our investigation, we will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions stifled competition and put users at risk.”

Only One Percent of Customers Always Tip Their Uber Driver

Do you tip your Uber driving? No? Turns out 60 percent of us never do. That’s according to a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, reported on by The Verge.

The paper was authored by Stanford University’s Bharat Chandar and University of California-San Diego’s Uri Gneezy, as well as John List, former chief economist at Uber who is now at Lyft, and Ian Muir, current head of economics at Lyft. The researchers were uniquely positioned: in addition to combining big data analyzation with field experimentation, the team actually helped Uber implement its in-app tipping option, which rolled out in June 2017. As such, they were able to develop data from more than 40 million trips. What they found was not a whole lot of tipping. Roughly 16 percent of Uber rides are tipped. Yet, most riders (60 percent) never tipped over the research team’s four weeks of data collection. Of those who do tip, very few (1 percent) tip on every trip. The remainder of people only tip on about 25 percent of trips.

Future Apple Watch Band May Allow Replaceable Power Source or Additional Sensors

In the future, the Apple Watch might have electrical and data contacts. This would allow it to do things like have a replaceable power source or additional sensors not in the watch itself. That’s according to a new patent, discovered by AppleInsider.

In a patent granted to Apple by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday for “Accessory Contacts,” the company suggests a solution could be found in the form of contacts embedded within the connector used to affix bands to the Apple Watch. According to the filing, the system would be somewhat reminiscent of the existing method of connectivity for Apple Watch bands, with a section that slides in from a side and is held in place using spring-loaded pins that pop into recesses within the Apple Watch body. A button can be pressed to pull the pin sections back, allowing the band connector to slide out.