
EU official says Twitter abandons bloc's voluntary pact against disinformation
A top European Union official says Twitter has dropped out of the bloc's voluntary agreement to combat online disinformation
1970-01-01 08:00

US jury says Google owes Sonos $32.5 million in smart-speaker patent case
By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's Google must pay $32.5 million in damages for infringing one of smart-speaker maker Sonos
1970-01-01 08:00

Twitter cannot hide from EU rules after exit from code, EU's Breton says
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS Twitter cannot run away from its obligations even after quitting a voluntary EU
1970-01-01 08:00

What to watch this weekend: ‘Succession’ finale, John Wick, Matchbox Twenty, 'American Born Chinese'
Sure, lots of folks are eagerly anticipating this Sunday’s “Succession” finale
1970-01-01 08:00

PlayStation Project Q: New console will let people stream PS5 games on the move, Sony says
Sony has announced “Project Q”, a portable version of the PlayStation. The handheld system appears to be something like a PlayStation 5 controller, chopped in half with a screen placed in the middle of it. It works by streaming games over WiFi, the company said during a reveal. But it also suggested that customers will still need a PS5 in their home, and that the Project Q handheld will not be a standalone device. “We will launch a dedicated device that enables you to stream any game from your PS5 console using Remote Play over Wi-Fi,” said PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. “Internally known as ‘Project Q,’ it has an 8-inch HD screen and all of the buttons and features of the DualSense wireless controller.” That divided controller will have all the same “buttons and features” of the controller from the PS5, Sony said. That includes its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. It will also have a screen that can show up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, the company said. The headset is due to be announced later this year. Sony gave no further information about when that would be, how much it would cost, or even whether “Q” would be its eventual name. The system is not a devoted handheld device, like the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck. Nor is it specifically for streaming games over the internet, which would be part of a long-rumoured push into cloud gaming from PlayStation. Instead, it appears to be intended as a way of playing PlayStation games in other parts of the house. Users must not only have a PS5 also connected to the WiFi – which will be accessed through that Remote Play service – but also have the game they want to play installed on that console. Other services already offer the ability to play Remote Play games on handheld devices. Android and iPhones can use that same service, and can pair with controllers. Read More WhatsApp could be making a major change in how you find people Top Twitter engineer quits after DeSantis campaign fiasco Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip company gets FDA approval for human testing
1970-01-01 08:00

WhatsApp could be moving towards usernames instead of phone numbers, new update suggests
WhatsApp may be moving towards allowing people to be found by usernames rather than just phone numbers, according to a new update to the software. The system would let people choose a unique username that could then be used to start new chats. That would allow people to more easily share their contact details without also giving away their phone number. The new update is found in a beta version of the app that has been made available for Android, according to WABetaInfo, which has a track record of finding unannounced features in the app. That beta version shows a part in the settings that allows people to choose a WhatsApp username. “This is your unique username,” the app says, alongside the separate option to choose a name, which is available in the app now and shows alongside messages. The option to select a username will be found within the WhatsApp settings and then the “profile” option, the report indicated. It is inside the latest beta version of the Android app – though is not fully supported even in that system, being still under development and not visible to early testers. There is no real indication of how those usernames might work. WABetaInfo speculated that the system could be relatively limited – such as simply allowing communication with businesses without giving up a phone number to them – to the more general usage as a way to speak to other people on the app. Conversations initiated using usernames appear to keep end-to-end encryption, the report said. WhatsApp has recently rolled out a host of changes intended to protect the privacy of users. Those have included new changes that let people control the information they give up alongside their chats, letting people leave group chats more quietly and allowing people to choose specific people who can see when they are online, for instance. The company has said repeatedly that its aim is to allow WhatsApp conversations to feel like real life, with the privacy and temporary nature that brings. Other related features have included the option to delete messages and edit them after they are sent. Throughout all those changes, however, WhatsApp has always used the phone number as a way of creating and verifying accounts, as well as finding other people on the app. As such, it has meant giving up your phone number in order to talk to anyone, including businesses who may abuse it with spam calls or other marketing. Read More WhatsApp will let you edit messages after they are sent — but there’s a catch Major WhatsApp update enables secret chats WhatsApp unveils new feature to protect ‘your most intimate conversations’
1970-01-01 08:00

30 of the Best Memorial Day Deals to Shop Right Now
Shop the best Memorial Day deals happening now at Anthropologie, Great Jones, Sur La Table, and other top retailers.
1970-01-01 08:00

AI-Threatened Jobs Are Mostly Held by Women, Study Shows
While artificial intelligence is seeding upheaval across the workforce, from screenwriters to financial advisors, the technology will disproportionately
1970-01-01 08:00

Hugh Grant's lawsuit alleging illegal snooping by The Sun tabloid cleared for trial
A London court has rejected an attempt by the publisher of The Sun newspaper to throw out a lawsuit by actor Hugh Grant alleging that journalists and investigators it hired illegally snooped on him
1970-01-01 08:00

US Navy Hit by Chinese Hacking Campaign, Report Says
Suspected Chinese hackers allegedly breached the US Navy as part of a broader campaign that cybersecurity experts believe
1970-01-01 08:00

‘Monster stars’ 10,000 times bigger than the Sun detected for first time
Scientists have been peering into the depths of space, looking right back at the early days of the universe, and they’ve found something very interesting indeed. Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have come across a discovery that indicates some of the very earliest stars to ever form in the universe were staggering in scale, measuring 10,000 times bigger than the Sun. "Today, thanks to the data collected by the James-Webb Space Telescope, we believe we have found a first clue of the presence of these extraordinary stars," says astrophysicist Corinne Charbonnel of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, in research published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. These features are huge collections of between 100,000 and 1 million stars known as globular clusters, which all feature similar properties. Scientists estimate that they were all formed at the same time. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They’re remnants of the ancient universe and have been described by researchers as "fossils". The cores of these stars are much hotter than those we see in stars today, and scientists suggest it could be down to an excess of hydrogen burning at high temperatures. It’s thought that smaller stars collided with the supermassive stars and relished their energy. However, now most of these global clusters are approaching the very end of their life spans. "Globular clusters are between 10 and 13 billion years old, whereas the maximum lifespan of superstars is two million years," said Mark Gieles, previously at the University of Surrey but now at the University of Barcelona, back in 2018. "They therefore disappeared very early from the clusters that are currently observable. Only indirect traces remain." The researcher states: "If the supermassive star scenario can be firmed up by future studies, this would provide an important step for our understanding of globular clusters and for the formation of supermassive stars in general, with numerous important implications.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00

Twitter debuts a mid-tier data access plan, to almost immediate backlash
Twitter unveiled a new data access tier on Thursday aimed at attracting startups, after its decision to erect a paywall for developers and researchers prompted widespread backlash. But the new tier already has some describing it as "too little, too late."
1970-01-01 08:00