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Updated 2024-11-23 19:16
TikTok ‘frog army’ stunt could have grave consequences, experts warn
Scientists alarmed at claims of releasing 10m frogs and 100m ladybugs to rack up viewers as relocating species can have ‘extremely negative consequences’A TikTok “frog army” has racked up millions of likes – but the potential consequences of the bizarre stunt are no joke, experts say.In February of this year, a young TikTok user who claims to be based in the UK started building out a “frog army” after noticing “some type of eggs in a shallow pond near his home”. In recent videos, he claimed to have gathered more than 1.4m eggs that have hatched into tadpoles in a backyard pool he built. “I wanted to create the largest frog army in history,” he said in one video. “Next year I will create a giant pond for 10 million frogs.” Continue reading...
Viral TikTok challenges putting aspiring dancers ‘at risk of injury’
Dance groups urge amateur dancers to seek formal training before attempting advanced TikTok movesAspiring dancers are risking injury by copying advanced moves and taking part in viral challenges on TikTok, leading dance organisations have warned.The Royal Academy of Dance says young people should be careful when attempting to recreate moves by professional dancers, or taking part in challenges on social media. Continue reading...
‘At a time of crisis, I see my mother at peace’: Prarthna Singh’s best phone picture
The photographer on capturing a private moment in India’s pink cityPrarthna Singh describes the nationwide oxygen and bed shortages during India’s second wave of Covid, in April 2021, as a “traumatic time for everyone. People were carrying their loved ones from city to city. We all felt helpless.”At the time, the photographer was living with her parents in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the “pink city”. The maharajah had most buildings painted this colour – which indicates hospitality – to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876. Singh’s portrait, of her mother meditating and stretching in her garden, echoes this history. Continue reading...
Khaby Lame: from factory job to king of TikTok
Senegalese-Italian has enjoyed a meteoric rise, becoming the most followed creator on video appLike many of us, Khaby Lame turned to TikTok in the early days of the pandemic. The Senegalese-Italian had just lost his job working in a factory in Chivasso, a suburb of Turin 12 miles north-east of the city centre, thanks to Covid and was at a loss for what to do.Just as countless others did, he began posting videos – at first, videos in subtitled Italian, but later silent, up-close reactions to absurd events. Unlike most of us, Lame’s dalliance with the short-form video-sharing app turned serious. After an astronomical two years, the 22-year-old is now the king of TikTok. Continue reading...
Musk’s withdrawal from Twitter deal sets stage for long court battle
Analysis: billionaire could be fined $1bn for walking away – and he risks new lawsuits and even his job, experts sayElon Musk withdrew his $44bn bid to buy Twitter on Friday after a months-long saga that rankled investors and shook the market, kicking off what may be a long legal battle with the company.The Twitter chair, Bret Taylor, said on Friday that the social media firm would sue in a Delaware court to enforce the deal. The deal included a “specific performance” clause, a provision that may force Musk to buy the company as long as he has financing in place. Musk in May said he had secured financing to complete the deal. Continue reading...
Elon Musk withdraws $44bn bid to buy Twitter after weeks of high drama
Walking away will not be easy for the world’s richest man, as Twitter says it will sue to keep deal aliveElon Musk has withdrawn his $44bn bid to buy Twitter after a dramatic few weeks of speculation that his deal to take over the company was falling apart.“Mr Musk is terminating the merger agreement because Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr Musk relied when entering into the merger agreement, and is likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect,” wrote lawyers for Musk to Twitter. Continue reading...
‘Portals will be as important as the car’: the architects exploring gateways to new dimensions
From Platform 9¾ in Harry Potter to Bill and Ted’s phone booth, a new exhibition about portals explores the ways we’ll soon be moving around the metaverseWith its hidden doors, folding walls and clever optical tricks with mirrors and light-wells, Sir John Soane’s Museum feels like just the kind of place you might stumble across a portal to another dimension. Moving from one room to the next in this wildly reimagined London townhouse is never as straightforward as stepping through a simple doorway. The eponymous neoclassical architect and collector saw to it that the thresholds between the different parts of his house-museum were elaborate spaces in themselves, topped with lanterns and lined with mirrors and windows, offering views up, down and through his multi-levelled maze of antique treasures.
Elon Musk Twitter takeover deal in ‘serious jeopardy’
Washington Post says Musk team has stopped certain funding discussions as Tesla CEO questions spam account figuresThe planned takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk is in “serious jeopardy”, according to a report, sending shares in the company 4% lower in after-hours trading on Wall Street.Musk’s team has stopped certain discussions around funding for the $44bn deal, according to a report in the Washington Post, citing three people familiar with the matter. The report said Musk had concluded that Twitter’s figures on spam accounts – a bone of contention in the deal – were not verifiable. Continue reading...
Can ‘chief vibes officers’ and NFT influencers keep things positive amid the crypto collapse?
Maintaining a feelgood atmosphere is now a job aimed at keeping prospective investors interested – and distracting holders from a troubled marketDon’t call it a collapse – it’s just a vibe shift.Since January, the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been locked in a downward spiral, with sales on one popular platform falling to less than one-seventh of their January peak, and the buyer of the so-called “Mona Lisa of the digital world” – a $2.9m NFT of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet – being forced to sell for just $6,800. Continue reading...
Former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani convicted of 12 counts of fraud
The decision by California jurors brings to close a 13-week trial of Elizabeth Holmes’s former lover and business partnerThe former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani has been convicted on all 12 fraud charges brought against him for his role at the now-defunct blood testing company.The decision closes the final chapter of Theranos’s legal saga, nearly eight years after serious concerns were raised about the startup’s blood testing technology. The conviction of Balwani, who at one point oversaw the Theranos lab and put millions of his own fortune into the company, also marks a more severe judgment than that of his former lover and business partner Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of only four of 11 of the same charges in January. Continue reading...
Twitter says it suspends 1m spam users a day as Elon Musk row deepens
World’s richest man has threatened to drop acquisition of firm in dispute over fake accountsTwitter has revealed that it is suspending more than 1m spam accounts a day, as Elon Musk threatens to walk away from buying the business in a dispute over fake users.The new figure, confirmed by the social media platform on Thursday, represents a doubling of its previous update. Its chief executive, Parag Agrawal, said in May that spam account suspensions were running at 500,000 a day. Continue reading...
Tech platforms face UK ban on blocking news providers before appeal
Change to online safety bill will stop sites such as YouTube barring content instantly, following TalkRadio debacleTech platforms will be barred from taking down news content in the UK until an appeal has been heard against the decision, ministers have said.A change to the online safety bill means that articles in breach of a service’s terms and conditions cannot be removed or hidden until the publisher has been notified and has received the verdict of any appeal to the platform. Continue reading...
‘Some staff work behind armoured glass’: a cybersecurity expert on The Undeclared War
How realistic is Peter Kosminsky’s Channel 4 drama about an IT attack on the UK? Very, according to one of the UK’s top digital intelligence expertsWhen I heard there was going to be a TV drama about cybersecurity, my initial reaction was that it was a brave thing to attempt. Trying to make what we do televisual is notoriously difficult. There is very little to see – just people tapping at keyboards and staring at screens, with most of the action going on inside their heads. So I have been pleasantly surprised by Peter Kosminsky’s Channel 4 series The Undeclared War (whose second episode airs tonight). I binge-watched the entire thing in a weekend.The cyber-attack on the UK in episode one was all too credible. I initially thought they were going to be vague and melodramatic – “The internet’s gone down!” – but the script went on to explain how the BT infrastructure, which does run a huge chunk of web traffic in the UK, had been taken offline. They specified how 55% of web access had been lost and it was cleverly timed to be a disruptive attack, rather than a disastrous one with planes falling out of the sky. You can cause a lot of chaos by taking out any of these “Tier 1 networks”. We’ve seen it happen by accident – last October, Facebook managed to wipe itself by mistake – so it’s perfectly plausible an attacker could do the same. Continue reading...
FBI and MI5 leaders give unprecedented joint warning on Chinese spying
Christopher Wray joins Ken McCallum in London, calling Beijing the ‘biggest long-term threat to economic security’The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency have delivered an unprecedented joint address raising fresh alarm about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.In a speech at MI5’s London headquarters intended as a show of western solidarity, Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stood alongside the MI5 director general, Ken McCallum. Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns about economic espionage and hacking operations by China, as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad. Continue reading...
Elon Musk fathered twins with one of his executives last year – report
Musk’s nine children include pair born to Shivon Zilis, who works at his artificial intelligence company NeuralinkElon Musk fathered two children last year with Shivon Zilis, a top executive at his artificial intelligence company Neuralink, new court documents show.The world’s wealthiest man now has nine known children, including five children with his first wife, Justine Musk, and two with the singer Claire Boucher, known professionally as Grimes. Continue reading...
I almost downloaded a pebble-identifying app – but some stones should be left unturned
I have apps that analyse every bird, plane and plant – now I need my sense of wonder back
Cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital files for bankruptcy protection
US firm latest victim of digital asset slump, blaming move on ‘volatility and contagion’ in crypto markets
Decision on sale of UK’s biggest chip maker to Chinese-owned firm delayed
New national security legislation used to allow more time to scrutinise £63m deal for Newport Wafer FabThe British government has delayed the decision on whether the UK’s largest producer of semiconductors can be bought by a Chinese-owned manufacturer by another month and a half.The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, had been expected to make a decision by Tuesday on the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia, a Dutch firm wholly owned by China’s Wingtech. Continue reading...
Could new countries be founded – on the internet? | Sam Venis
Coinbase’s former chief technology officer wants to use social networks to create states. What doesn’t fit into his vision are things like poverty, illness and ageingIn The Network State, a buzzy new book by Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, poses a devious question: how do you Larp a country into existence?Released provocatively this 4 July, the book presents Srinivasan’s case for a new model of digital statehood run and managed in the cloud. A network state, as he describes it, is basically a group of people who get together on the internet and decide that they’re going to start a country. With a social network to connect them, a leader to unite them, and a cryptocurrency to protect their assets, Srinivasan says a country can be born with laws, social services and all. A network state is a country that “anyone can start from your computer, beginning by building a following” – not unlike companies, cryptocurrencies, or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In a world where billionaires can run companies larger than countries, Srinivasan asks, could such a state achieve recognition from the United Nations?Sam Venis is a writer based in New York Continue reading...
‘Frankly it blew my mind’: how Tron changed cinema – and predicted the future of tech
From cyberspace to AI, Steven Lisberger’s 1982 sci-fi classic was way ahead of its time. The team behind it explain how they made a game-changerBack in 1982, computers meant one of two things in the popular imagination. Either they were room-sized machines used by the military-industrial complex to crunch data on stuff like nuclear wars and stock markets, or they were fridge-sized arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man. Kraftwerk were singing about home computers, but if you owned one at all, it was probably a Sinclair ZX81, which was only marginally more sophisticated than a calculator.And yet, that summer, cinemagoers were catapulted into the digital future. Few appreciated it at the time but with 40 years’ hindsight, Steven Lisberger’s sci-fi adventure Tron was the shape of things to come: in cinema, in real life, and in virtual life. As a piece of entertainment, it is admittedly no classic, but thematically, Tron anticipates issues we are still grappling with today: artificial intelligence, digital identity, privacy, personal data, the dominance of big tech. Tron was also the first attempt to visualise the digital realm itself – what was then called “cyberspace” but might now be termed “the metaverse”. Tron’s cyber-world looks quaintly low-res by today’s standards – a minimalist, angular, black-and-neon environment resembling a 1980s nightclub – but its distinctive retro chic is still much cherished and mimicked. Continue reading...
My mum is locked out of her Apple iPad and can’t get her photos
A reader writes that their 79-year-old relative can’t access her tablet or iCloud accountMy 79-year-old mother has found herself locked out of her Apple iCloud account and denied access to many years’ worth of family photos saved on her original iPad.She has had long periods in hospital and her iPad is very precious. The device concerned is a old model and she neglected to update the software. Continue reading...
NHS to test using drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to Isle of Wight
Trial will take treatments from Portsmouth to St Mary’s hospital and health service plans similar drops elsewhere in EnglandThe NHS plans to use drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to cancer patients in England to avoid the need for long journeys to collect them.The devices will transport doses from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight in a trial that, if successful, will lead to drones being used for similar drops elsewhere. Continue reading...
Legislation aims to shield UK internet users from state-backed disinformation
Changes to online safety bill require tech firms to minimise people’s exposure to ‘hostile online warfare’Tech firms will be required to shield internet users from state-sponsored disinformation posing a threat to UK society and democracy, under changes to a landmark online safety bill.The legislation will require social media platforms, video streaming services and search engines to take action to minimise people’s exposure to foreign state-backed disinformation aimed at interfering with the UK. Such content would, for instance, include incidents such as the video of Ben Wallace being prank-called earlier this year by Russian hoaxers pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister. Continue reading...
UK subscribers will soon be able to leave Amazon Prime in two clicks
The move follows changes across the EU that made it simpler for users to quit the subscription serviceQuitting an Amazon Prime membership is a confusing business that can often feel like it takes longer than the next-day delivery the service promises. By the end of next month, however, UK subscribers will be able to leave with just two simple clicks.The change will be implemented after complaints from consumer groups succeeded in bringing changes to the subscription service across the EU last week. Continue reading...
Hacker claims to have obtained data on 1 billion Chinese citizens
Personal information allegedly taken from Shanghai police database would be one of biggest data breaches in historyA hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database, in what would amount to one of the biggest data breaches in history if found to be true.The anonymous hacker, identified only as “ChinaDan”, posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000 (£165,000). Continue reading...
Amazon: e-cargo bikes to replace thousands of van deliveries in London
Online retailer opening ‘micromobility’ hub in Hackney as part of efforts to cut carbon emissionsAmazon is launching a fleet of e-cargo bikes and a team of on-foot delivery staff to replace thousands of van deliveries on London’s roads.The online retailer is opening its first “micromobility” hub in Hackney, east London, which – along with an existing fleet of electric vehicles – will contribute to 5m deliveries a year across about a 10th of the capital’s ultra low emission zone postcode districts. The bikes will be operated by a variety of partner businesses, not directly by Amazon, it is understood. Continue reading...
Goodbye silicone? A new era of breast reconstruction is on the horizon
Tissue-regrowing implants, which will enter human trials next week, could provide comfortable and accessible alternatives to siliconeHaving an ice pack strapped to your chest – that’s how some describe the experience of taking a walk in cold weather when you have breast implants. Silicone only slowly reaches body temperature once out of the cold, so that icy feeling can persist for hours. As well as being uncomfortable, for breast cancer survivors it can be an unwelcome reminder of a disease they would rather put behind them.Every year, 2 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer and the treatment often involves removing at least one breast. But most choose not to have their breasts reconstructed; in the UK, it is only about 30%. Now a handful of startups want to change that, armed with 3D-printed implants that grow new breast tissue before breaking down without a trace. “The whole implant is fully degradable,” says Julien Payen, CEO of the startup Lattice Medical, “so after 18 months you don’t have any product in your body.” Continue reading...
Is your smartphone ruining your memory? A special report on the rise of ‘digital amnesia’
‘I can’t remember anything’ is a common complaint these days. But is it because we rely so heavily on our smartphones? And do the endless alerts and distractions stop us forming new memories?Last week, I missed a real-life meeting because I hadn’t set a reminder on my smartphone, leaving someone I’d never met before alone in a café. But on the same day, I remembered the name of the actor who played Will Smith’s aunt in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1991 (Janet Hubert). Memory is weird, unpredictable and, neuroscientifically, not yet entirely understood. When memory lapses like mine happen (which they do, a lot), it feels both easy and logical to blame the technology we’ve so recently adopted. Does having more memory in our pockets mean there’s less in our heads? Am I losing my ability to remember things – from appointments to what I was about to do next – because I expect my phone to do it for me? Before smartphones, our heads would have held a cache of phone numbers and our memories would contain a cognitive map, built up over time, which would allow us to navigate – for smartphone users, that is no longer true.Our brains and our smartphones form a complex web of interactions: the smartphonification of life has been rising since the mid 2000s, but was accelerated by the pandemic, as was internet use in general. Prolonged periods of stress, isolation and exhaustion – common themes since March 2020 – are well known for their impact on memory. Of those surveyed by memory researcher Catherine Loveday in 2021, 80% felt that their memories were worse than before the pandemic. We are – still – shattered, not just by Covid-19, but also by the miserable national and global news cycle. Many of us self-soothe with distractions like social media. Meanwhile, endless scrolling can, at times, create its own distress, and phone notifications and self interrupting to check for them, also seem to affect what, how and if we remember. Continue reading...
How to read: a guide to getting more out of the experience
Most of us can read, but is there a way to do it better? Faster? With more comprehension or even … joy?
Neon White review – an exhilarating speedrun through a celestial dreamscape
(Angel Matrix; Annapurna Interactive; Switch, PC)
NFT sales hit 12-month low after cryptocurrency crash
Sales of non-fungible tokens totalled just over $1bn in June, compared with peak of $12.6bn in JanuaryNon-fungible tokens have been swept up in the cryptocurrency crash as sales reached a 12-month low in June.NFTs confer ownership of a unique digital item – often a piece of virtual art – upon someone, even if that item can be easily copied. Ownership is recorded on a digital, decentralised ledger known as a blockchain. Continue reading...
Tim Dowling: I’m at a cashless festival – it feels like a dystopian future
It took me half an hour to add £30 to my wristband and buy a pint at a festival – no wonder the fiddle player looks dazedThe band I’m in is playing a festival, our first in three years. We were first meant to play here in 2020, but it got cancelled because of Covid. We were rescheduled for 2021, but the festival was cancelled again. It is strange to be keeping this appointment after so much time has passed – it’s like being catapulted into a future where everything is the same, except there is no money.“You have to pay for everything with your wristband,” says the fiddle player when I arrive. He and his wife have been camping at the festival for three days, and he looks like a man possessed of hard-won experience. His eyes have a glazed, faraway look, and he’s basically dressed for skiing. Continue reading...
Google will delete location history data for abortion clinic visits
The company said that sensitive places including fertility centers, clinics and addiction treatment facilities will be erasedGoogle will delete location data showing when users visit an abortion clinic, the online search company said on Friday, after concern that a digital trail could inform law enforcement if an individual terminates a pregnancy illegally.As state laws limiting abortions set in after the US supreme court decided last month that they are no longer guaranteed by the constitution, the technology industry has fretted police could obtain warrants for customers’ search history, geolocation and other information revealing pregnancy plans. Continue reading...
EU moves to rein in ‘wild west’ of crypto assets with new rules
MiCA law contains measures to guard against market abuse and manipulationThe EU has moved to rein in the “wild west” of crypto assets by agreeing a groundbreaking set of rules for the sector, adding to pressure on the UK and US to act too.Representatives from the European parliament and EU states inked an agreement on Thursday that contains measures to guard against market abuse and manipulation, and require that crypto firms provide details of the environmental impact of their assets. Continue reading...
FBI offers $100,000 reward for help finding OneCoin ‘Cryptoqueen’
Bulgarian Ruja Ignatova allegedly defrauded investors out of $4bn with fake cryptocurrency scamA woman known as the “Cryptoqueen” who is accused of defrauding investors out of $4bn (£3.3bn) by selling a fake cryptocurrency has been placed on the FBI’s list of its 10 most-wanted fugitives.The story of Ruja Ignatovacame to prominence in 2019 via the BBC’s The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, which detailed her alleged role in a crypto scam called OneCoin. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Bulgarian-born Ignatova, who disappeared in 2017. Continue reading...
Tesla hit by new lawsuit alleging racial abuse
Fifteen black former or current employees allege they faced racial abuse and harassment at carmaker’s factoriesFifteen black former or current employees at Tesla have filed a lawsuit against the electric carmaker, alleging they faced racial abuse and harassment at its factories.The workers said they were subjected to offensive racist comments and behaviour by colleagues, managers, and human resources employees on a regular basis, according to the lawsuit filed in a California state court. Continue reading...
Users of biggest NFT marketplace warned over phishing after data leak
OpenSea tells customers and subscribers not to open emails and files ‘sent by strangers’ after revealing breachThe world’s biggest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has warned its users to be on the alert for email phishing attacks following a massive data leak.OpenSea, where traders exchange the crypto assets, told customers and newsletter subscribers not to open emails and files “sent by strangers” after revealing the breach. Continue reading...
Best podcasts of the week: Sam Smith charts 40 years of progress on HIV and Aids
In this week’s newsletter: The singer reflects on the legacy of Terrence Higgins and life-changing advances in treatment in A Positive Life. Plus: five of the best TV show companion podcasts
Amazon bows to UAE pressure to restrict LGBTQ+ search results
Tech giant imposes restrictions on goods such as books and rainbow-coloured flags after threats of penaltiesAmazon has bowed to pressure from the United Arab Emirates and restricted search results for LGBTQ+-related products such as books and rainbow-coloured flags on its website in the country.The company decided to restrict the searches after being threatened with penalties by the UAE government, according to the New York Times which first reported the story. Continue reading...
F1 22 review – a stunning racing game sullied by money-grubbing
PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, PC; Codemasters/EA Sports
Kira Puru: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
The musician shares her favourite TikToks and videos, including a DIY Dobby costume, a grandma’s feminist dating advice and a deeply specific Melbourne memeNever in my life have I felt more unfunny than I did while compiling this list. There is nothing that’ll give you the ick faster than someone whipping out their phone to show you something “funny” they’ve seen on the internet, thrusting you into the longest three minutes of your life. Oh and that keen, wide-eyed look they give you after, practically begging for validation? Gross. And somehow, despite knowing this, here I am, desperately hoping that you’ll laugh and think I’m cool.Look, I’m not in the business of being funny. I make music. And that’s the excuse I’ll be sticking to if nothing on this list appeals to you. But if you’re feelin’ frisky, let me whip out my proverbial phone and show you a thing or two … Continue reading...
Crypto crisis: how digital currencies went from boom to collapse
Savers talk of devastating losses as assets such as bitcoin and ‘stablecoins’ like terra fell sharplyYuri Popovich had watched his neighbours’ houses burn down to the ground in Kyiv and he needed a safe place to put his money. So he did what millions of amateur investors have done in recent years: he turned to cryptocurrency.“It was impossible and unsafe to store funds in the form of banknotes. There was a big risk of theft, we also had cases of looting. Therefore, I trusted a ‘stable and reliable’ cryptocurrency. Not for the purpose of speculating, but simply to save,” he says. Continue reading...
Three Arrows Capital to become latest casualty of crypto crash
Crypto hedge fund facing collapse after claims of $650m default on loan to Voyager bankThe crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has been lined up for liquidation just days after it was accused of defaulting on a multimillion dollar loan to the crypto bank Voyager.The consultancy firm Teneo confirmed that two individuals from its British Virgin Islands offices had been appointed to oversee the liquidation, after Sky News broke the story. Continue reading...
TechScape: Can US women trust big tech with their data after Roe v Wade?
In this week’s newsletter: Calls to delete period tracking apps have gone viral in America – but the likes of Facebook and Apple have questions to answer on user privacy too
Facebook and Instagram removing posts with mentions of abortion pills
In light of the supreme court’s verdict, memes and status updates on social media on how to access the medicines have explodedFacebook and Instagram have begun removing posts related to abortion pills, as posts about such medication spiked following the supreme court’s ruling stripping away constitutional protections for abortions.Memes and status updates explaining how people can obtain abortion pills in the mail have exploded across social platforms in recent days. Continue reading...
Airbnb to make global party ban permanent
The company said the move has reduced violence, rule violations and health concerns since last yearAirbnb is making its ban on parties at properties listed on the site for short-term rentals permanent, the company announced on Tuesday.San Francisco-based Airbnb said it believes the ban has worked to reduce violence, rules violations and health concerns, with reports of parties at listed properties having dropped 44% from a year ago. More than 6,600 guests were suspended last year for related violations, the company said. Continue reading...
I saw first-hand how US tech giants seduced the EU – and undermined democracy
Silicon Valley used opaque lobbying to weaken crucial new regulations. Firms like Google and Meta must be held to accountThe tide is seemingly turning against Meta, Google and other tech giants. Groundbreaking new European Union legislation is imminent, aimed at forcing the large digital platforms to do more to keep users safe and cutting down market abuses, data capture and surveillance infrastructure.As the Digital Services Act package was being finalised, the very public crossing of swords between Elon Musk and the European Commission over Twitter captured headlines. Yet the Musk spectacle was a sideshow. Continue reading...
Why US women are deleting their period tracking apps
Even before the supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the trend to ditch the apps began amid fears of prosecutionMany American women in recent days have deleted period tracking apps from their cellphones, amid fears the data collected by the apps could be used against them in future criminal cases in states where abortion has become illegal.The trend already started last month when a draft supreme court opinion that suggested the court was set to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked, and has only intensified since the court on Friday revoked the federal right to abortion. Continue reading...
Why we love to keep tabs on what we’re watching and reading
Sites such as Letterboxd and GoodReads encourage us to document our cultural consumption. But does gamification get in the way of actually enjoying the arts?The end credits are still rolling when I open up my JustWatch app to mark Luca Guadagnino’s seductive psychodrama A Bigger Splash as “Seen”, complete with satisfying green tick. I click on my Letterboxd account to do the same, logging the date I watched it, before scrolling back and finding my sense of achievement disintegrate into guilt that I have only managed to watch a measly two films in the whole of April.I am one of millions for whom religiously tracking their cultural intake has become as instinctive as recording their steps, workouts, calorie count or periods. Letterboxd – dubbed “the social network for film-lovers”, who can log, review and discuss films with other members – recently hit 6 million members. The Amazon-owned GoodReads, which has been doing the same for books for the past 15 years, has a community of 140 million, with 5.1 million thus far pledged to take part in its 2022 Reading Challenge in which users set a target number of books to read over 12 months. Meanwhile, IMDb has more than 1 billion user reviews logged. Like wellness before it, cultural consumption has become yet another opportunity for us to measure, analyse and optimise our lives using cold, hard data. Continue reading...
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review: cheaper, faster, better compact notebook
Small-frame Windows 11 machine has good keyboard, trackpad, slick design and better performanceMicrosoft’s second attempt at a lower-cost Surface Laptop is faster, quieter and cheaper than its predecessor, while keeping all its good features.The Surface Laptop Go 2 starts at £529 ($599/A$1,099) and costs £20-£170 less than the first iteration depending on version. The starting model has been upgraded with modern components making it much more tempting, too, although it is still mid-range priced rather than a truly budget laptop.Screen: 12.4in LCD 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI)Processor: quad-core Intel Core i5-1135G7 (11th generation)RAM: 4 or 8GBStorage: 128GB or 256GB SSDGraphics: Intel Iris XeOperating system: Windows 11 HomeCamera: 720P front-facingConnectivity: wifi 6 (ax), Bluetooth 5.1, USB-A, USB-C, headphones, Surface Connect, fingerprint sensorDimensions: 278.18 x 205.67 x 15.69 mmWeight: 1,127g Continue reading...
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