While it didn’t technically start last year, in 2023 we saw an increase in the number of games offering “early access” for a price. Mortal Kombat 1, The Crew: Motorfest, Starfield, Diablo 4, and a few others all offered players an option: Pay the standard price to play the game at launch or pay extra Read more about Apparently the idiots who pay for pre-order are now paying for ‘early access’ in games[…]
Firefox finds itself in a tricky position at times, because it wants to be a privacy friendly browser, but most of its funding comes from Google, whose entire business is advertising. With Firefox 128, the browser has introduced ‘privacy-preserving ad measurement,’ which is enabled by default. Despite the name, the actual implications of the feature Read more about Firefox’s New ‘Privacy’ Feature Actually Gives Your Data to Advertisers – How and Why to Disable Firefox’s ‘Privacy-Preserving’ Ad Measurements[…]
British regulators said on Monday they were looking into the soaring use of digital wallets offered by Big Tech firms, including whether there are any competition, consumer protection or market integrity concerns. The Financial Conduct Authority and Payments Systems Regulator is seeking views on the benefits and risks, and will assess the impact digital wallets, Read more about Only 5 years too late: British regulators to examine Big Tech’s digital wallets – and where is the EU?[…]
A troubling report from the Belgian consumer protection group Testaankoop: several models of Velop Pro routers from Linksys were found to be sending WiFi configuration data out to a remote server during the setup process. That would be bad enough, but not only are these routers reporting private information to the mothership, they are doing Read more about Linksys Velop Routers Caught Sending WiFi Creds In The Clear – alerted in November 2023 still not fixed[…]
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has imposed a fine of 600,000 euros on the company behind the Kruidvat drugstore. Kruidvat.nl followed consumers with tracking cookies, without their knowledge or permission. AS Watson collected and used sensitive personal data from millions of website visitors against the rules. The company behind Kruidvat collected data from website Read more about Dutch DPA gets off its’ ass, Fine of 600,000 euros for tracking cookies on Kruidvat.nl – detected in 2020[…]
“Intel’s problems with unstable 13th-gen and 14th-gen high-end CPUs appear to run deeper than we thought,” writes TechRadar, “and a new YouTube video diving into these gremlins will do little to calm any fears that buyers of Raptor Lake Core i9 processors (and its subsequent refresh) have.” Level1Techs is the YouTuber in question, who has Read more about Are Intel’s i9-13900k’s and -14900k’s Crashing at a Higher Rate?[…]
In a world where so much of our lives depend on the use of online services, the web browser used to access those services becomes of crucial importance. It becomes a question of whether we trust the huge corporate interests which control this software with such access to our daily lives, and it is vital Read more about WTFBBQ?! Firefox Starts collecting personal ad preferences[…]
A flying-car-like vertical takeoff aircraft created by Joby Aviation has completed a first-of-its-kind, 523 mile test flight using hydrogen power. The aircraft, which reportedly left only a trail of water vapor in its wake, is being pitched as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional gas powered jets for mid-range, regional travel. Though questions remain Read more about A hydrogen-powered air taxi flew 523 miles emitting only water vapor[…]
The EU on Thursday accepted Apple’s pledge to open its “tap to pay” iPhone payment system to rivals as a way to resolve an antitrust case and head off a potentially hefty fine. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said it approved the commitments that Apple offered earlier this year Read more about Apple settles EU case by opening its iPhone payment system to rivals[…]
Running a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge? The chances are good it’s quietly telling Google all about your CPU and GPU usage when you visit one of the search giant’s websites. The feature is, from what we can tell, for performance monitoring and not really for tracking – Google knows who Read more about Why all Chromium browsers tell Google about your CPU, GPU usage? A whitewashing bullshit explanation.[…]
In a statement, AT&T said that the stolen data contains phone numbers of both cellular and landline customers, as well as AT&T records of calls and text messages — such as who contacted who by phone or text — during a six-month period between May 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022. AT&T said some of Read more about AT&T says criminals stole phone records of ‘nearly all’ customers in another data breach there – also, Snowflake again[…]
Unknown attackers stole millions of customer support tickets, including personal information, emails to support, and attachments, including personal documents, from mSpy in May 2024. While hacks of spyware purveyors are becoming increasingly common, they remain notable because of the highly sensitive personal information often included in the data, in this case about the customers who Read more about Data breach exposes millions of mSpy spyware customer support tickets[…]
NEW DELHI, July 12 (Reuters) – An investigation by India’s antitrust body has found that Apple exploited its dominant position in the market for app stores on its iOS operating system, engaging “in abusive conduct and practices”, a confidential report seen by Reuters showed. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been investigating Apple Inc Read more about India antitrust probe finds Apple abused position in apps market[…]
A fix of a kind has been found for problems with the F-35’s vital Tech Refresh 3 software, or TR-3, which had seen production deliveries suspended for around a year. Deliveries of the stealth fighters will resume “in the near future,” clearing a backlog of jets sitting in storage, although the TR-3 is only installed Read more about After a year of no deliveries, F-35 Deliveries Finally Cleared To Resume, New Jets Will Be Limited To Training[…]
“Nature recently published an open-access article (not paywalled) that studies the lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries once they are manufactured,” writes Slashdot reader NoWayNoShapeNoForm. “The study is a ‘cradle-to-grave’ look at these batteries and certain chemicals that they contain. The University researchers that authored the study found that the electrolytes and polymers inside lithium-ion batteries contain Read more about Lithium Ion Batteries a Growing Source of PFAS Pollution, Study Finds[…]
The complaints against OpenAI and Microsoft in New York Times Company v. Microsoft Corporation and Daily News, LP v. Microsoft Corporation include multiple theories––for instance, vicarious copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and improper removal of copyright information. Those theories, however, are ancillary to both complaints’ primary cause of action: direct copyright infringement. While the defendants’ Read more about Inputs, Outputs, and Fair Uses: Unpacking Responses to Journalists’ Copyright Lawsuits[…]
Even though parents insist that it is good and right to share things, the copyright world has succeeded in establishing the contrary as the norm. Now, sharing is deemed a bad, possibly illegal thing. But it was not always thus, as a fascinating speech by Ryan Cordell, Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences Read more about Sharing material used to be the norm for newspapers, and should be for LLMs[…]
[…] [Robert Heaton] had an interesting idea. Could the limited free use of the network be coopted to access the general internet? Turns out, the answer is yes. Admittedly, it is a terrible connection. Here’s how it works. The airline lets you get to your frequent flier account. When there, you can change information such Read more about Hacking Airline WiFi The Hard Way[…]
Most subscription sites use “dark patterns” to influence customer behavior around subscriptions and personal data, according to a pair of new reports from global consumer protection groups. Dark patterns are “practices commonly found in online user interfaces [that] steer, deceive, coerce or manipulate consumers into making choices that often are not in their best interests.” Read more about Report finds most subscription services manipulate customers with ‘dark patterns’[…]
When the Supreme Court’s Ohio v. EPA decision blocked Environmental Protection Agency limits on Midwestern states polluting their downwind neighbors, a sad but telling coda came in Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion. In five instances, it confused nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that contributes to ozone formation, with nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. You can’t Read more about The US Supreme Court’s Contempt for Facts Is a Betrayal of Justice[…]
[…] A recent Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology article by our team of academic sleuths – which includes information scientists, a computer scientist and a mathematician – has revealed an insidious method to artificially inflate citation counts through metadata manipulations: sneaked references. Hidden manipulation People are becoming more aware of scientific Read more about Scientific articles using ‘sneaked references’ to inflate their citation numbers[…]
It was a big week for road safety campaigners in the European Union as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology became mandatory on all new cars. The rules came into effect on July 7 and follow a 2019 decision by the European Commission to make ISA obligatory on all new models and types of vehicles introduced Read more about Speed limiters arrive for all new cars in the European Union[…]
Last month we noted how the brunchlords in charge of Paramount (CBS) decided to eliminate decades of MTV News journalism history as part of their ongoing “cost saving” efforts. It was just the latest casualty in an ever-consolidating and very broken U.S. media business routinely run by some of the least competent people imaginable. We’ve Read more about Paramount Axes Decades Of Comedy Central History In Latest Round Of Brunchlord Dysfunction[…]
Scalpers have used a security researcher’s findings to reverse-engineer “nontransferable” digital tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS, allowing transfers outside their apps. The workaround was revealed in a lawsuit AXS filed in May against third-party brokers adopting the practice, according to 404 Media, which first reported the news. The saga began in February when an anonymous Read more about Hackers reverse-engineer Ticketmaster’s barcode system to unlock resales on other platforms[…]
The European Commission has sent a request for information to Amazon on measures taken to comply with a landmark EU law on content moderation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to a Friday (5 July) press release. It’s the latest in a barrage of similar requests, accusations, and fines from the EU executive against big Read more about European Commission probes Amazon, Temu, Shein over ad recommendation systems[…]