Instagram and Facebook Messenger Are Merging Chat Functions

Facebook announced today that Messenger and Instagram are, for all intents and purposes, merging. Chat features from Messenger will become available to Instagram users, and folks on either service will be able to reach out to one another without needing to download a separate app. “Today, we’re announcing an update to Instagram DMs by introducing Read more about Instagram and Facebook Messenger Are Merging Chat Functions[…]

Who watches the watchers? Samsung does so it can fling ads at owners of its smart TVs

Samsung brags to advertisers that “first screen ads”, seen by all users of its Smart TVs when they turn on, are 100 per cent viewable, audience targeted, and seen 400 times per TV per month. Some users are not happy. “Dear Samsung, why are you showing Ads on my Smart TV without my consent? I Read more about Who watches the watchers? Samsung does so it can fling ads at owners of its smart TVs[…]

Not one to be outdone by Microsoft, Apple’s cloud fell over too. Unlike Microsoft, it hasn’t said what happened

The rivalry between Apple and Microsoft continued last night as the fruity firm’s cloud services took a tumble a mere day after Azure crapped itself. While Apple has remained silent on what happened (we asked; it did not respond), the vast majority of its services wobbled over a two-hour period early this morning (UK time). Read more about Not one to be outdone by Microsoft, Apple’s cloud fell over too. Unlike Microsoft, it hasn’t said what happened[…]

Super precise measurement of all matter in universe made

A team of US astrophysicists has produced one of the most precise measurements ever made of the total amount of matter in the Universe, a longtime mystery of the cosmos. The answer, published in The Astrophysical Journal on Monday, is that matter consists of 31.5 percent—give or take 1.3 percent—of the total amount of matter Read more about Super precise measurement of all matter in universe made[…]

Second alignment plane of solar system discovered

A study of comet motions indicates that the solar system has a second alignment plane. Analytical investigation of the orbits of long-period comets shows that the aphelia of the comets, the point where they are farthest from the Sun, tend to fall close to either the well-known ecliptic plane where the planets reside or a Read more about Second alignment plane of solar system discovered[…]

YouTube celebrates Deaf Awareness Week by killing crowd-sourced captions

Today’s the day YouTube is killing its “Community Contributions” feature for videos, which let content creators crowdsource captions and subtitles for their videos. YouTube announced the move back in July, which triggered a community outcry from the deaf, hard of hearing, and fans of foreign media, but it does not sound like the company is Read more about YouTube celebrates Deaf Awareness Week by killing crowd-sourced captions[…]

FakeCatcher Deepfake Tool looks for a heartbeat

In the endlessly escalating war between those striving to create flawless deepfake videos and those developing automated tools that make them easy to spot, the latter camp has found a very clever way to expose videos that have been digitally modified by looking for literal signs of life: a person’s heartbeat. If you’ve ever had Read more about FakeCatcher Deepfake Tool looks for a heartbeat[…]

British Army develops AI shotgun drone with machine vision for indoor use

The British Army has reportedly developed AI-equipped killer drones armed with twin-linked shotguns designed for blasting enemies of the Queen hiding inside buildings. As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, the Army is already looking at strapping a chain gun or rocket launcher to its i9 drone instead of the shotguns, according to The Times. “It Read more about British Army develops AI shotgun drone with machine vision for indoor use[…]

Plane-tracking site Flight Radar 24 DDoSed… just as drones spotted buzzing over Azerbaijan and Armenia

[…] Flight Radar spokesman Ian Petchenik told The Register: “At this time we understand this to be a very strong DDoS attack [orchestrated] from a single source. While it is not known why we’re being targeted, multiple flight tracking services have suffered attacks over the past two days.” It was not immediately obvious which other Read more about Plane-tracking site Flight Radar 24 DDoSed… just as drones spotted buzzing over Azerbaijan and Armenia[…]

Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, Teams, and other services suffer ~6 hour outage

Some Microsoft services, including Outlook, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams, experienced a multi-hour outage on Monday, but the issues have been resolved, according to the company. “We’ve confirmed that the residual issue has been addressed and the incident has been resolved,” Microsoft tweeted at 12AM ET on Tuesday. “Any users still experiencing impact should be Read more about Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, Teams, and other services suffer ~6 hour outage[…]