A lot of things happened this week! Apple released loads of new iPad and an Apple TV, Netflix talked more about its plans for ads and for cloud gaming, and Tesla had earnings. Richard Lawler joined us to talk about crypto too.

But you don’t need breadcrumbs to find your way around. Here are some strategies for organizing your Slack conversations — especially if you’re lucky enough to have a paid version.

Barilla is being sued in the US for allegedly misleading consumers into thinking its pasta is made in Italy, rather than New York and Iowa. Why go to court over a miscommunication around noodles? The Washington Post writes:

Rebecca Tushnet, a professor at Harvard Law School, ... said consumers have been steadily filing false-advertising suits against companies selling products in grocery stores because it is one of the last forums in society that is not bogged down by legal forms or contracts in which consumers sign away their rights to sue.

I have a feeling pasta boxes are about to start looking like a Dr. Bronner’s bottle.

Oh, and it also has a plethora of cool camera features, as well as improved biometric unlocking. Check out our smartphone expert Allison Johnson’s spooky review of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which includes photo comparisons and no jump scares (promise).

Comcast abruptly shut down the gaming-focused channel less than a year after it launched, and The Washington Post has a big report about how things went south.

Executives apparently couldn’t decide on a strategy, and the network spent huge sums of money on hosts and guest appearances. Also, the son of Comcast’s CEO had an office based on Emperor Palpatine’s throne room. Seriously!

The Connectivity Standards Alliance, the group behind Matter, just added two new members, Bose and Airbnb. I’m stoked about the former, but what about the latter? Would it be used for better smart-lock integration, or would you find an Airbnb host turning off the thermostat to save electricity?

On Thursday night, TikTok tweeted a thread pushing back on Forbes’ report that it planned to track specific US citizens using the app. This morning, article author Emily Baker-White tweeted a thread of her own responding to the response, pointing out that “neither TikTok nor ByteDance denied anything we reported.”

The law that was supposed to prevent him from doing that is rarely enforced:

more than 2,600 federal officials invested in companies that stood to benefit from their agencies’ work from 2016 through 2021. The Journal reviewed annual financial disclosure reports filed for those years by about 12,000 senior executive-branch officials at 50 federal agencies, from career employees to political staff to presidential appointees.

It’s not just Amazon. Other tech companies’ stocks involved included Palantir Technologies, held by an ambassador, as well as Apple and Facebook, held by a Treasury Department official.

I had totally forgotten about those supertall 5G-transmitting “smart poles” that have started going up in New York City, so it was a little shocking to see just how utterly gargantuan they really are. They’re three-stories tall! I’m sure they’ll fit in better once they’re covered in stickers, graffiti tags, and “Dan Smith will teach you guitar” leaflets.

Even if you don’t play Genshin Impact, this video is worth a watch for the vibes alone. It’s just two minutes of gorgeous anime scenery. Exactly what we all need on a Friday morning.

That’s how GMC’s head of exterior design described the front-end of the new Sierra EV Denali to me earlier this week. I suppose there’s some truth to it, considering how well these brutish, boxy trucks sell in the US.

But the description takes on a darker tone when you consider how many people are killed each year by big trucks, and the role that exterior design plays in these deaths. Consumer Reports did an extensive rundown last year. Et tu, brutish?

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Dota 2’s International tournament is happening right now in Singapore, and to the untrained eye it looks like a polished affair. But fans seem Big Mad about the perceived quality of this year’s show.

While I think it’s silly to be upset that TI 2022 is being held on a smaller stage, one complaint is interesting: this year the contestants are not isolated in soundproof booths. That’s leading fans to speculate that some contestants could be getting an advantage from hearing commentators broadcast their opponents’ plans in the arena.

Turns out, there’s a lot scientists can discover about the mega-constellation — even if SpaceX isn’t cooperating.

Charles Pulliam-Moore reviews Black Adam, and while the latest DC movie has what some fans are looking for, Warner’s superhero universe is still a pretty messy place.

Also, this morning we’re going EV off-roading with Tim Stevens, who’s ready to leave emissions behind.

Liz Lopatto digs into Elon Musk’s Ukraine mess that (might?) get the US government to stop, reverse, or at least slow down, his purchase of Twitter.

...and I’m trying to hear both sides about crypto on the latest episode of The Vergecast.