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Showing posts from August, 2021

‘Boyfriend Dungeon’ reminded me of dating during the pandemic, swords and all

In 'Boyfriend Dungeon,' you can date a cat. Dating this cat is pretty much like dating a human: You have to guess at their needs and hope for better communication. https://wapo.st/2YfT5KY

U.S. legislators hail South Korea’s move to curb Apple and Google’s app-store dominance

Members of Congress who favor regulation of Apple's and Google's app stores said the South Korean action was an important step in a global effort to deal with anti-competitive behavior. https://wapo.st/2Ye8E5T

How to keep your phone charged and useful in a natural disaster

Tech tips to stay in touch, find help and be safe during a natural disaster, from getting the right emergency alerts to making your smartphone battery last in a power outage. https://wapo.st/3gOow5s

Twitch star DrLupo signs exclusive YouTube deal, now ‘secure for life’

"Everybody's just trying to secure the bag, right?" Lupo said. "There's no shame in that." https://wapo.st/3zzYgmI

China restricts young people to playing video games three hours a week

The Chinese government introduced new measures to restrict children from gaming during the week. https://wapo.st/3kFjVUa

Big Tech wants to build the ‘metaverse.’ What on Earth does that mean?

Microsoft, Facebook and other tech firms increasingly claim to be building a “metaverse” to usher in a new era of interacting online. https://wapo.st/3sYE5w6

There’s no escape from Facebook, even if you don’t use it

You pay for Facebook with your privacy. And it keeps raising the price. https://wapo.st/3mHNw1T

Elizabeth Holmes expected to argue she suffered abuse from ex-boyfriend during Theranos trial

Unsealed documents, in the high-profile case that begins with jury selection Aug. 31, include Holmes’ accuses Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of “essentially dominating her and erasing her capacity to make decisions.” https://wapo.st/3sZ6lPh

Amazon Web Services disables ISIS propaganda website it had hosted since April

AWS took the action after The Washington Post reported that the site relied on Amazon's cloud-computing services. https://wapo.st/3BnV8uu

U.S. begins detaining solar panel imports over concerns about forced labor in China

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has started detaining imported solar panels made with Chinese materials over concerns about forced-labor practices in China. https://wapo.st/3kuVtEX

T-Mobile CEO apologizes after latest hack

T-Mobile’s chief executive apologized to millions of customers who had their data stolen in a hack of the company’s systems — the fourth in just five years, according to an analyst. https://wapo.st/3jlgxhS

Apple loosens rules for developers in major concession amid antitrust pressure

Apple said app developers could inform customers how to pay outside of its App Store. https://wapo.st/3mHWJY7

‘Psychonauts 2’ is a Saturday morning cartoon with a side of mental health

The game’s core mechanic is that people's brains are platformer levels to jump through and explore via dreamlike sequences. https://wapo.st/2Wx8hmh

Blood, labs and fraud: Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes is about to go on trial

Jury selection for the Elizabeth Holmes trial begins Aug. 31 in federal court in San Jose. https://wapo.st/3mIIDFM

‘YouTube magic dust’: How America’s second-largest social platform ducks controversies

From its Trump ban to its Taliban response to Russian election interference, YouTube has left Facebook and Twitter to face the loudest backlashes. https://wapo.st/2WjHJFf

Gamescom: ‘Halo Infinite’ release date, new Marvel game from 2K and all the biggest announcements

Microsoft's highly anticipated hit will drop in December. https://wapo.st/3DjfXsP

OnlyFans reverses ban on sexually explicit content after backlash from users

An OnlyFans spokeswoman told The Washington Post that the move came after the company’s banking partners assured OnlyFans that it “can support all genres of creators.” https://wapo.st/3gAcI6C

White House to discuss cybersecurity with top tech, energy and finance executives

https://wapo.st/2UOQrdO

The viral Milk Crate Challenge has left people injured. Doctors are begging them to stop.

Doctors are warning against the Milk Crate Challenge — which has people walking up and down a stack of empty milk crates in the shape of a pyramid — after the often catastrophic results have been shared by millions across social media. https://wapo.st/3kpWfTR

That email asking for proof of vaccination might be a phishing scam

As the pandemic evolves, cybercriminals capitalize on boredom and fear. https://wapo.st/3kis5lr

Telling conservatives it’s a shot to ‘restore our freedoms’: How online ads are promoting coronavirus vaccination

Long criticized as invasive, discriminatory and divisive, microtargeted advertising has become an important tool in the battle to boost vaccination rates across the United States. https://wapo.st/3khOrU9

A group of moms on Facebook built an island of good-faith vaccine debate in a sea of misinformation

As social media giants struggle to crack down on false cures and conspiracy theories, ordinary users are finding ways to reach vaccine skeptics — and win them over. https://wapo.st/3B6sJcp

As esports watchdog tackles widespread match-fixing, critics fear it can’t do the job

The Esports Integrity Commission delivered a long-promised update on the state of its investigations Monday, but faced skepticism regarding its ability to carry out its mission. https://wapo.st/3grt15M

Anastasia Pagonis is battling for her first gold at the Paralympics. On TikTok, she fights to normalize blindness.

“I don’t have to be the stereotype of blindness," Pagonis said. https://wapo.st/3mnfnEr

Facebook says post that cast doubt on covid-19 vaccine was most popular on the platform from January through March

The social-media platform’s Saturday evening acknowledgment comes after a lengthy internal debate over whether to share data. https://wapo.st/3gm0T41

Finding reliable masks online can be tricky. Here are tips that can help.

If you’re planning to do your mask shopping online, here are a few best practices you should keep in mind. https://wapo.st/3gnCCut

California judge rules unconstitutional the measure classifying Uber and Lyft drivers as contractors

A judge found the measure “unenforceable." The group backing the measure plans to appeal. https://wapo.st/3y5XVXh

‘WarioWare: Get It Together!’ turns the series into a multiplayer mad dash

With a dizzying number of new game modes, it’s already clear this is one of the most ambitious additions to the WarioWare series to date. https://wapo.st/3k63DDE

Tesla says it is building a ‘friendly’ robot that will perform menial tasks, won’t fight back

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the stage to tout the company’s automation ambitions Thursday — days after investigators said they were looking into the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. https://wapo.st/2Wb01Ir

‘Call of Duty: Vanguard’ revealed in ‘Warzone’ live event

Players took out a heavily armored train in Verdansk, then they took a look at the upcoming Call of Duty game. https://wapo.st/3y2t79O

Lina Khan’s first big test as FTC chief: Defining Facebook as a monopoly

All eyes are on the Federal Trade Commission chair as she approaches a deadline to refile the Facebook lawsuit, a case that has become a bellwether of both Khan's legacy and the success of Washington's big swing at tech. https://wapo.st/2W9R9mn

Facebook shared new data about what’s popular on its platform. The answers are deeply weird.

A Green Bay Packers alumni page, an Epoch Times newsletter signup, and an apparent scam are among the most viewed content in people's news feeds. https://wapo.st/3k529cS

House of Twitch’s biggest female star catches fire in suspected arson

Kaitlyn "Amouranth" Siragusa, the most popular female streamer on Twitch, said that "investigators strongly suspect arson." https://wapo.st/37USDTX

Today’s Taliban uses sophisticated social media practices that rarely violate the rules

The tactics show such a high degree of skill that analysts believe at least one public relations firm is advising the Taliban on how to push key themes and amplify messages across platforms. https://wapo.st/3AUcxuQ

‘The Artful Escape’ reimagines a former rock star’s musical fantasy in the cosmos

Developed by a musician who tired of the music industry, "Artful Escape" reinvigorates its creator's dreams with sci-fi fantasy. https://wapo.st/3gdZ350

Are video game pro controllers worth it? Here’s a guide to find out.

The questions you should ask before investing in a pricey set of sticks. https://wapo.st/3xVfnxJ

Chinese government acquires stake in domestic unit of TikTok owner ByteDance in another sign of tech crackdown

The development could prompt fresh debate about whether TikTok poses national-security risks to American users. https://wapo.st/3mcLS8m

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin files suit in federal court as it pursues a campaign to win a slice of NASA moon contract

Blue Origin's bare-knuckles approach to its rivalry with SpaceX rubs many in the space community the wrong way. “In the realm of battling billionaires in space, nobody gets the higher ground by fighting,” said a former senior NASA official. https://wapo.st/3iRqZO3

‘Cris Tales’ is a beautiful ode to the worst parts of old-school JRPGs

Beautiful art can't mask a few aspects that make the game feel monotonous. https://wapo.st/2VZYaX0

‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Wakanda update reckons with colonialism and Black Panther’s legacy

The voice of Kratos speaks on becoming T'challa. https://wapo.st/3D2POyC

The Senate’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill includes funding to secure Americans’ water systems and power grids from cyberattacks

The allocations are a reflection of the growing realization in Congress that a computer attack could leave Americans without water, power or other essentials. https://wapo.st/3yPreOW

Boeing’s Starliner to go back to factory for repairs, probably causing another major delay for troubled program

Boeing engineers have been trying since Aug. 3 to fix a problem with 13 valves that forced the cancellation of a launch that was a do-over for a failed mission 19 months ago. https://wapo.st/3xK2S8e

The story behind Google’s biggest game yet: An Olympics-themed JRPG

The game ended up much bigger than initially planned. https://wapo.st/3yK3lsl

Nobody can see your eyes when you wear a VR headset. Facebook wants to change that.

Facebook researchers came up with a way to translate your facial features onto the front of VR headsets. https://wapo.st/3xE9JQo

‘Diablo’ and ‘World of Warcraft’ leaders depart Blizzard

The company announced it parted ways with three employees Wednesday as Blizzard faces a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and discrimination. https://wapo.st/3ghDWiz

Rumble, a YouTube rival popular with conservatives, will pay creators who ‘challenge the status quo’

The video site has exploded during the pandemic as a home for anti-vaccine misinformation and conservative complaints about Big Tech censorship. https://wapo.st/3seEcnc

Samsung’s new foldable phones come with a price cut, but they’ll still cost you at least $1,000

Samsung is trying to jump-start a folding phone craze. Here’s what you need to know. https://wapo.st/3xGdpRN

Rural telecoms to seek more cellular spending in the infrastructure bill

Now that the Senate has passed an infrastructure bill, cellular carriers plan to turn their advocacy efforts to the House, with the hope of gaining more funding for mobile connectivity. https://wapo.st/3lSl64Z

Apple drops intellectual property lawsuit against maker of security tools

As part of a confidential settlement, Apple has dropped its federal lawsuit against Corellium, which makes software that helps security researchers analyze iPhones. https://wapo.st/2VC6qfN

Amazon agrees to pay shoppers up to $1,000 for defective goods after facing high-profile liability cases

The e-commerce giant, which has faced regulatory scrutiny for offering dangerous products on its marketplace, said it will pay more than $1,000 if third-party sellers of defective goods don't respond or reject claims the company believes are valid. https://wapo.st/3fRSN2F