Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle will share the Pentagon’s $9 billion cloud contract

Over a year after shutting down its previous attempt at modernizing its IT infrastructure, the Department of Defense (DOD) has picked Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle as its new cloud service providers. The Pentagon has awarded the companies separate contracts for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) project, and according to Reuters, they will have a shared budget ceiling of $9 billion. This initiative is a successor to DOD’s cancelled Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program that was supposed to connect its different divisions using a single cloud service provider. 

If you’ll recall, the department awarded Microsoft with the $10 billion JEDI contract in 2019. Shortly after that, though, Amazon challenged Microsoft’s victory in court, claiming that the evaluation process had “clear deficiencies, errors and unmistakable bias.” Amazon argued back then that the Pentagon’s decision was based on “egregious errors” and “the result of improper pressure from President Donald J. Trump.” The company accused the former President of launching “repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks” against it in an effort to steer the Pentagon away from giving the JEDI contract to Jeff Bezos, “his perceived political enemy.” 

While the Pentagon’s inspector general office had found no evidence that Trump interfered with the selection process, it also noted that several White House officials did not cooperate with its investigation. In the end, the department chose to cancel the JEDI project because it “no longer meets its needs.” Now, under the JWCC, the Pentagon will work with several vendors for the cloud capabilities and services it needs instead of with just a single one.

The companies’ contracts will run until 2028 and will provide the DOD access to centralized management and distributed control, global accessibility, advanced data analytics and fortified security, among other capabilities. 

The Morning After: San Francisco reverses approval of lethal police robots

In November, the San Francisco Police Department proposed approving the use of remote-controlled robots with deadly force. This was after a law came into effect requiring California officials to define the authorized use of military-grade equipment. It would have allowed police to equip robots with explosives “to contact, incapacitate or disorient violent, armed or dangerous suspects.”

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved this proposal, initially, despite opposition by civil rights groups. However, during the second of two required votes, the board voted to ban the use of lethal force by police robots. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this is unusual as the board’s second votes typically echo the first results. In the initial proposal, authorities could only use the robots for lethal force after they’ve exhausted all other possibilities, and a high-ranking official would have to approve their deployment.

Dean Preston, a supervisor who opposes the use of robots as deadly force, said the policy will “place Black and brown people in disproportionate danger of harm or death.” In a subsequent statement, Preston said: “There have been more killings at the hands of police than any other year on record nationwide. We should be working on ways to decrease the use of force by local law enforcement, not giving them new tools to kill people.”

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

‘Diablo IV’ preview

This feels worryingly good.

The latest Diablo game is shaping up to be another notable evolution of the series, combining some of the best parts of Diablo II and III while adding the graphics (and cosmetic microtransactions) we usually get with a big-budget online game in 2022. Expect legions of monsters to slaughter, challenging boss fights and so much loot. Engadget’s Igor Bonifacic was intrigued after a few hours of playing the preview. Diablo IV’s open beta kicks off early next year — not long until you can test it out yourself.

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This smartphone has a pop-out portrait lens for ‘pure’ bokeh

A ‘world-first’ feature from a brand you’ve probably never heard of.

Many smartphones these days offer artificial bokeh in their portrait photography modes, but with the help of a retractable camera, you can achieve true optical bokeh without missing any edges. That’s what Chinese brand Tecno has achieved with the Phantom X2 Pro 5G, which packs a “world-first” pop-out portrait lens. It’s also got a gigantic camera array. Intrigued?

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Take a look at NASA’s high-resolution images of Orion’s final lunar flyby

Taken on a heavily modified GoPro Hero 4.

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NASA

Orion just made its final pass around the Moon on its way to Earth, and NASA has released some of the spacecraft’s best photos so far. These were taken with a high-resolution camera (actually a GoPro Hero 4, with some major adjustments). Orion’s performance so far has been “outstanding,” according to NASA program manager Howard Hu. It launched on November 15th as part of the Artemis 1 mission atop NASA’s mighty Space Launch System. The next mission, Artemis II, is scheduled in 2024 to carry astronauts on a similar path to Artemis I, without landing on the Moon.

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Microsoft vows to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo consoles

Phil Spencer confirmed a 10-year commitment should Microsoft’s Activision deal go through.

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Blizzard Activision

If Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through, the company vows to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo and to continue making it available on the latter’s consoles for at least 10 years. Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming’s CEO, has announced the company’s commitment on Twitter, adding: “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play.” During an interview, Spencer said that the company intends to treat Call of Duty like Minecraft, making it available across platforms and that he would “love to see [the game]” on the Switch.

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聖誕禮物提案 2022：錢包友善的交換禮物之選（約 HK$500 / NT$2,000）

隨著疫情受控，聚餐、聚會等活動都陸續回歸，不少朋友也會久違地參與聖誕派對吧。Engadget 中文版為大家準備不同價錢範圍的聖誕禮物之選，這篇就以交換禮、預算不多，大概在 HK$500 / NT$2,000 之內的方向為題，給大家送禮、自用等不同的建議。…

Biden signs bill that lets domestic violence survivors remove abusers from phone plans

President Joe Biden has signed H.R. 7132 or Safe Connections Act of 2022 into law, and it could help domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking survivors ultimately cut ties with abusers. Under the new law, users can ask mobile service providers to separate their line — as well as their dependents’ — from their abusers’ if they have a shared contract. That would ensure that abusers no longer have access to their phone records and can’t get their service cut. Carriers aren’t allowed to charge fees to grant these requests, which they must do within two days. 

In addition, Safe Connections Act of 2022 will require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create rules that would make it easier for survivors seeking separate mobile plans to enroll in its Lifeline Program for up to six months. This FCC initiative gives qualifying low-income consumers a discount on phone services, so they can remain connected to job opportunities, friends, family and emergency services while they’re working to get back on their feet. The commission also has to establish rules that would prevent calls or texts to hotlines from appearing on call logs, presumably to keep survivors safe. 

In a blog post, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) celebrated the new law but also said that it would have “preferred a bill that did not require survivors to provide paperwork to ‘prove’ their abuse.” For a request to be valid, a user must submit “appropriate documentation” to verify that the person they’re sharing a contract with “committed or allegedly committed an act of domestic violence, trafficking, or a related criminal act against the survivor.”

Having to provide paperwork may not be easy, depending on a person’s circumstances, and it could retraumatize survivors trying to break free from abusive situations. “However, this new law is a critical step in the right direction,” the EFF continued, “and it is encouraging that Congress and the President agreed.”