Apple backs down on taking 30% cut of paid online events on Facebook – for a few months

Facebook has temporarily shamed Apple out of taking a 30 percent cut of paid online events organized by small businesses and hosted on Facebook—things like cooking classes, workout sessions, and happy hours. Demand for these kinds of online events has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple says that it has a longstanding policy that digital products Read more about Apple backs down on taking 30% cut of paid online events on Facebook – for a few months[…]

It’s Not Just You, a Ton of Google Services Just Went Down between 2100 – 2230

If you’ve been experiencing issues trying to access Google or YouTube, you’re not alone. Around 9 p.m. ET on Thursday evening, tons of users worldwide reported problems with Google and the many services under the tech giant’s umbrella, including Google Drive, Gmail, Stadia, the Play Store, and even Nest. Some, such as Gmail, were taking Read more about It’s Not Just You, a Ton of Google Services Just Went Down between 2100 – 2230[…]

Cambridge Analytica boss disqualified from running a company for 7 years

Alexander James Ashburner Nix (45), from Holland Park, West London, has signed a disqualification undertaking, accepted by the Secretary of State on 14 September 2020. Within the undertaking, Alexander Nix did not dispute that he caused or permitted SCL Elections Ltd or associated companies to market themselves as offering potentially unethical services to prospective clients; Read more about Cambridge Analytica boss disqualified from running a company for 7 years[…]

Looks Like the Windows XP Source Code Just Leaked on 4chan

Would you believe more than 1% of computers worldwide are still using Windows XP? Incredibly, there are still millions of people using 19-year-old operating system. And a recent development — if it bears out — is another reason  people need to make the switch to something newer. On Thursday, users on 4chan posted what they Read more about Looks Like the Windows XP Source Code Just Leaked on 4chan[…]

Tesla network goes down leaving drivers unable to connect to their cars with mobile app in massive outage – yay cloud

TESLA’s network completely dropped on Wednesday in a massive outage that left drivers unable to connect to their cars. According to Electrek, internal systems were fully down and around 11am ET, leaving users unable to connect their vehicles to the mobile app. 3 Tesla users were unable to connect their cars to their mobile apps Read more about Tesla network goes down leaving drivers unable to connect to their cars with mobile app in massive outage – yay cloud[…]

ISS Maneuvers to Avoid Space Debris, in What’s Becoming the New Normal

Yesterday, NASA and Russian flight controllers performed an “avoidance maneuver” to protect the International Space Station from a wayward chunk of space debris. This episode—already the third of its kind this year—highlights a growing problem and the importance of mitigating potential collisions in space. Low Earth orbit (LEO) is vast and mostly empty, but when Read more about ISS Maneuvers to Avoid Space Debris, in What’s Becoming the New Normal[…]

Firefox usage is down 85% despite Mozilla’s top exec pay going up 400%

Mozilla recently announced that they would be dismissing 250 people. That’s a quarter of their workforce so there are some deep cuts to their work too. The victims include: the MDN docs (those are the web standards docs everyone likes better than w3schools), the Rust compiler and even some cuts to Firefox development. Like most Read more about Firefox usage is down 85% despite Mozilla’s top exec pay going up 400%[…]

Samsung Is Rolling Out Its ECG App to Its Smartwatches Today – and only for Samsung phone owners

Samsung may have first made an ECG-capable smartwatch with the Galaxy Watch Active2, but it wasn’t until earlier this summer that it actually got clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enable the medical-grade feature. That announcement came in dramatic fashion at its Unpacked event in August, where the company unveiled yet another Read more about Samsung Is Rolling Out Its ECG App to Its Smartwatches Today – and only for Samsung phone owners[…]

Adidas now stands for All Day I’m Disconnecting All Servers as owners of ‘smart’ Libra scales furious over bricked kit – don’t trust stuff that needs cloud

In 2015, German sportswear manufacturer Adidas acquired a plucky Austrian IoT startup called Runtastic, which, among other things, manufactured a $129.99 “smart” scale called Libra. Now that product is being discontinued, preventing owners from synchronising their data or even downloading the app required to use it. In a post published yesterday, Adidas announced the discontinuation Read more about Adidas now stands for All Day I’m Disconnecting All Servers as owners of ‘smart’ Libra scales furious over bricked kit – don’t trust stuff that needs cloud[…]

Microservices guru says think serverless, not Kubernetes: You don’t want to manage ‘a towering edifice of stuff’

Sam Newman, a consultant and author specialising in microservices, told a virtual crowd at dev conference GOTOpia Europe that serverless, not Kubernetes, is the best abstraction for deploying software. Newman is an advocate for cloud. “We are so much in love with the idea of owning our own stuff,” he told attendees. “We end up Read more about Microservices guru says think serverless, not Kubernetes: You don’t want to manage ‘a towering edifice of stuff’[…]

Village Traces 18 Months of Internet Outages to Old TV Set

A rural village in Wales has been suffering through internet outages and slowdowns for 18 months. The situation baffled technicians until they realized that turning off one man’s TV solved everything. On Tuesday, U.K.-based broadband provider Openreach explained in a release that every morning, around 7 a.m., residents of the Aberhosan village found themselves experiencing Read more about Village Traces 18 Months of Internet Outages to Old TV Set[…]

Amazon Restricts How Rival Device Makers Buy Ads on Its Site

Some makers of smart speakers, video doorbells and other hardware hit roadblocks buying key ads in search results on Amazon; gadgets made by e-commerce giant get edge. From a report: Amazon.com is limiting the ability of some competitors to promote their rival smart speakers, video doorbells and other devices on its dominant e-commerce platform, according Read more about Amazon Restricts How Rival Device Makers Buy Ads on Its Site[…]

Facebook Fights Climate Change by Mass Banning of Climate Groups

Just last week, Facebook launched an initiative to uplift climate science. It was wildly misguided, yes, but the company was trying to show it’s down for the cause or something. Now, the company is proving just how devoted to climate activism it is by, um, booting environmental justice organizers from the platform. Tight! Hundreds of Read more about Facebook Fights Climate Change by Mass Banning of Climate Groups[…]

The Nvidia RTX 3080 eBay Debacle Exposed a Scalper Bot Civil War

Last week, RTX 3080 scalpers pissed off a lot of Nvidia GPU fans by buying up all the graphics cards and attempting to resell them for hundreds of dollars more than the actual MSRP. Unfortunately, this is a common scalper tactic: Buy up as many items of a single product as possible, create a false Read more about The Nvidia RTX 3080 eBay Debacle Exposed a Scalper Bot Civil War[…]

OpenAI Sells out to Microsoft: exclusive license for mega-brain GPT-3 for anything and everything

Microsoft has bagged exclusive rights to use OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology, allowing the Windows giant to embed the powerful text-generating machine-learning model into its own products. “Today, I’m very excited to announce that Microsoft is teaming up with OpenAI to exclusively license GPT-3, allowing us to leverage its technical innovations to develop and deliver advanced AI Read more about OpenAI Sells out to Microsoft: exclusive license for mega-brain GPT-3 for anything and everything[…]

Another body for the Google graveyard: Chrome Web Store payments, citing alternatives – unlike Apple. Costs were 5%, also unlike Apple’s 30%.

Google has decided to shut down the Chrome Web Store payments API permanently after what was supposed to be a temporary closure at the start of the year. In January, the internet advertising biz halted the publication of Chrome apps, extensions, and themes in the Chrome Web Store that were either paid-for or took in-app Read more about Another body for the Google graveyard: Chrome Web Store payments, citing alternatives – unlike Apple. Costs were 5%, also unlike Apple’s 30%.[…]

Facebook says it may quit Europe over ban on sharing data with US

Facebook has warned that it may pull out of Europe if the Irish data protection commissioner enforces a ban on sharing data with the US, after a landmark ruling by the European court of justice found in July that there were insufficient safeguards against snooping by US intelligence agencies. In a court filing in Dublin, Read more about Facebook says it may quit Europe over ban on sharing data with US[…]

COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Are a Public Health Threat

Public health crises have spawned conspiracy theories as far back as when the Black Death ravaged Europe in the 1300s, as people desperately try to make sense of the chaotic forces disrupting their lives. While modern science offers a better understanding of how diseases infect people and how to contain them, COVID-19 conspiracy theories are Read more about COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Are a Public Health Threat[…]

Some managed Netgear switches suddenly need a cloud account to use its full UI. Also may not update security. Time to change vendor.

Netgear has decided that users of some of its managed network switches don’t need access to the equipment’s full user interface – unless they register their details with Netgear first. For instance, owners of its 64W Power-over-Ethernet eight-port managed gigabit switch GC108P, and its 126W variant GC108PP, need to hand over information about themselves to Read more about Some managed Netgear switches suddenly need a cloud account to use its full UI. Also may not update security. Time to change vendor.[…]

Trump Pushes to Reap Extensive Biometric Data From Immigrants, Americans, never delete them

Six million would-be U.S. immigrants face expanded collection of their biometric data, including iris scans, palm-, and voice-prints, facial recognition images, and DNA, under a proposed federal rule. The Department of Homeland Security also for the first time would gather that data from American citizens sponsoring or benefiting from a visa application. Years in the Read more about Trump Pushes to Reap Extensive Biometric Data From Immigrants, Americans, never delete them[…]

Microsoft Sysmon now logs data copied to the Windows Clipboard

Microsoft has released Sysmon 12, and it comes with a useful feature that logs and captures any data added to the Windows Clipboard. This feature can help system administrators and incident responders track the activities of malicious actors who compromised a system. Those not familiar with Sysmon, otherwise known as System Monitor, it is a Read more about Microsoft Sysmon now logs data copied to the Windows Clipboard[…]

The Air Force Has Already Flown a Secret Plane That Could Be Its Next Fighter

The U.S. Air Force has quietly built and flown a brand-new aircraft prototype that could become its next-generation fighter, the service’s top acquisition official announced Tuesday. Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, revealed during the virtual 2020 Air, Space and Cyber conference that the new aircraft is Read more about The Air Force Has Already Flown a Secret Plane That Could Be Its Next Fighter[…]

All you need to know about FinCEN documents leak

Leaked documents involving about $2tn of transactions have revealed how some of the world’s biggest banks have allowed criminals to move dirty money around the world. They also show how Russian oligarchs have used banks to avoid sanctions that were supposed to stop them getting their money into the West. It’s the latest in a Read more about All you need to know about FinCEN documents leak[…]

The Hype Machine by Sinan Aral: how does social media form our decisions

Drawing on two decades of his own research and business experience, Aral goes under the hood of the biggest, most powerful social networks to tackle the critical question of just how much social media actually shapes our choices, for better or worse. Aral shows how the tech behind social media offers the same set of behavior-influencing levers to both Russian hackers and brand marketers—to Read more about The Hype Machine by Sinan Aral: how does social media form our decisions[…]