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Tech NewsTech Policy
FTC Chief: Well Yes, We Could Break Up Big Tech, But Only If We Really, Really Wanted to or Something
The chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Chairman Joe Simons, acknowledged in an interview on Tuesday that perhaps maybe, just maybe, one outcome of an FTC task force inquiry into whether tech giants violated anticompetition laws could be forcing them to break up into smaller companies, according to reports in Reuters and Bloomberg. The likes … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsApple
FAA Bans Some Recalled MacBook Pro Models From Flying, Citing Fire Risk
The Federal Aviation Administration has “banned select MacBook Pro” units from flying in the air after Apple issued a warning that some contained batteries that pose a fire risk, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The ban applies to some 15-inch MacBook Pros with Retina Displays sold between September 2015 and February 2017; these were subject to … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Mysterious Russian Nuclear Explosion Upgraded From Weird to Baffling Amid Evacuation Confusion
Russia military officials issued conflicting reports this week about whether residents in areas near a mysterious nuclear explosion must evacuate. The confusing orders came about five days after an explosion at a military testing site killed at least seven people and caused a spike in radiation levels in a nearby city. The Russian Ministry of … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
CBS Shows Signs of Being a Legit Streaming Competitor After All
Well now, it appears the deck has been shuffled yet again in the ongoing streaming wars, and it looks as though CBS may be shaping up to be a stronger contender than we’d previously anticipated. CBS and Viacom announced on Tuesday a merger of their two companies under a new name, ViacomCBS, in a deal … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Amazon’s Face Recognition Tech Once Again Pegs Politicians as Criminals
Facial recognition systems are still far from accurate, and yet government agencies continue to push for its deployment. To illustrate the existing flaws of the tech, the ACLU conducted another test of Amazon’s Rekognition software, which inaccurately identified one in five California lawmakers as matches to a mugshot database. The test was detailed during a … Continued
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Tech News
IMDb Will Let Transgender People Remove Birth Names, With Caveats
Following criticism, IMDb has decided to allow transgender film professionals to remove their birth names in credits—in some circumstances. As it now stands, the website will allow users to remove a person’s birth name if that person no longer voluntarily goes by it, and it’s not widely known to the public. The revised policy refers to … Continued
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Tech NewsAmazon
Amazon Rekognition Can Now Identify the Emotion It Provokes in Rational People
Most people familiar with face-scanning software suite Amazon Rekognition, its place in the surveillance state, and its questionable efficacy are apt to fear what the consequences of such a technology might be when deployed against civilians. As the company was delighted to point out, fear is also also the most recent emotion Rekognition is now … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech News
Facebook Did the Sneaky Listening Thing, Too
Facebook has paid hundreds of contractors around the world to transcribe some of its users Messenger messages, according to a new Bloomberg report. The social network stopped doing the transcriptions a week ago, following public outrage after journalists revealed that Amazon, Google, and Apple employed similar teams to review voice commands for Alexa, Assistant, and … Continued
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Tech NewsTech Policy
Websites Can Discriminate Against You Even If You Don’t Use Them, California Supreme Court Rules
Nearly four years ago, a lone bankruptcy lawyer sued Square, the payment processor run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, challenging the app’s terms of use—despite never signing up. As of yesterday, the case will proceed, thanks to an opinion issued by the California Supreme Court that could have wide-reaching implications for online businesses. The first … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsNews
Sixteen States Now Suing to Stop the T-Mobile and Sprint Merger
Oregon has joined several other states in a lawsuit to stop the planned T-Mobile merger with Sprint, adding strength to a movement to stop the shrinking telecom market from becoming even less competitive. In late July the Department of Justice approved T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint, a $26 billion deal that would allow U.S.’s third-largest wireless … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
Someone Posted Details About Jeffrey Epstein’s Death on 4Chan Before It Became Public
Over half an hour before ABC News first reported that sex offender and accused human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had been found unresponsive in his Manhattan prison cell, alleged details of his death appeared on anonymous message board 4Chan, Buzzfeed reported. “dont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsNews
Nintendo’s Latest FCC Filing Hints at SNES Games Finally Coming to the Switch
To coincide with the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online service which included a bunch of classic 8-bit games as part of the subscription, Nintendo also released a pair of NES gamepad shaped Joy-Cons to round out the retro experience. So putting two and two together, a recent Nintendo FCC filing for a wireless Super … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Security Researcher’s ‘NULL’ Vanity Plates Cause Glitch That Lands Him $12,000 in Parking Tickets
You can’t put a price tag on the value of sticking it to the man—specifically, trying to own an official surveillance system. Except maybe when you are owned right back. A security researcher going by the name of Droogie attempted to fuck with Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems by customizing a vanity California license … Continued
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Tech News
MasterClass Founder Launching Online College Credit Courses, Failures Get a Refund
Raise your hand if Calculus 101 made you want to tear your hair out in college. If so, then you might be one of the people MasterClass Cofounder Aaron Rasmussen had in mind when creating his new startup Outlier.org. Starting this fall semester, the new venture will offer two classes—Calculus I and Introduction to Psychology—online … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Snapchat Glasses, Except Now Way More Expensive
It seems Snap just can’t give up its obsession with techy camera glasses. That’s because after losing a buttload of money trying (and failing) to sell its first Spectacles, and later following up with a second model to little fanfare, today, Snap announced the Spectacles 3, which are somehow uglier than ever and come with … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
Donald Trump Saves Christmas
President Donald Trump has saved Christmas. For now, anyway. The Trump regime announced it’s postponing the implementation of a 10-percent tariff on roughly $300 billion of imports from China, including smartphones, laptops, computer monitors, video game consoles, and a host of other products. “Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNews
Sci-Fi Looking Robotic Neck Brace Could Help Lou Gehrig’s Disease Patients Lift and Move Their Heads Again
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gherig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative condition that affects muscle strength and control, eventually leaving patients unable to even hold their own heads up. To improve their quality of life, researchers and engineers at Columbia University have created a robotic neck brace that serves as artificial neck … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
Eighth Busiest Airport in the World Shuts Down For Second Day Over Pro-Democracy Protests in Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport has been shut down for the second time in two days after pro-democracy protests disrupted normal operations. The airport, which handles 75 million passengers a year, is the eighth busiest in the world and a major international hub in Asia. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam warned that Hong risked sliding … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGoogle
If You Owned a First-Gen Pixel Phone, Google May Owe You Some Class Action Money
A previously announced settlement in a class action lawsuit against Google over claims of defective microphones in first-generation Pixel phones and failure to honor warranty claims has been finalized and a website set up to process claims, per the Verge. Those eligible for payouts may receive up to $500, but anyone who owned a Pixel … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Nothing to See Here, Just Someone or Something With a TV for a Head Leaving TVs on Porches at Night
In the dead of night this weekend, someone or something left dozens of ageing TVs on the porches and lawns of Virginia homes. According to reports from CNN and WWBT, at least 60 different people in Glen Allen in Henrico County woke up on Aug. 11 to discover that old television sets had been left … Continued
By Tom McKay