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Tech Archive

Archives for January 2024

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
And in other crypto scam news.

Do you even need deepfakes? The Guardian reports that while “Steven Reece Lewis” helped pull in millions of dollars as CEO of “Hyperverse,” a collapsed crypto / pyramid scheme, their investigation has been unable to turn up any evidence he exists.

Meanwhile, Web3 is Going Just Great points out a crypto wallet company exec who lost $125k due to a phishing link. Naturally, he’s trying to use the incident to promote his company’s wallet technology instead of reconsidering the whole venture.

Fun new deepfake consequence: more convincing crypto scamsFun new deepfake consequence: more convincing crypto scams
California senator files bill prohibiting agencies from working with unethical AI companiesCalifornia senator files bill prohibiting agencies from working with unethical AI companies
Sheena Vasani
Sheena Vasani
The TikTok Shop is going to take a bigger cut from sellers.

Starting April 1st, TikTok will raise seller fees from two to six percent, reports The Information, before raising them to eight percent on many items on July 1st while still taking a lower cut of pricier products like electronics.

In some segments, TikTok’s new fees remain lower than Amazon’s, which are also dropping as both face competition from cheap outlets like Shein and Temu. The report also cites a source saying the TikTok Shop’s seller subsidies are being cut back after it lost about $500 million last year.

TikTok Shop Hikes Seller Fees, Axes Subsidies

[The Information]

Victoria Song
Victoria Song
Strava users are still hangin’ onto their old Garmins.

In the age of planned obsolescence, Strava’s annual Year in Sport Trend report has uncovered a surprising factoid: The most popular smartwatch among its users worldwide is the Garmin Forerunner 235 — a device that launched waaaaay back in 2015.

In the US, it’s the slightly newer Garmin Forerunner 245 Music. For reference, we’re now on the Forerunner 265.

Garmin users really weren’t kidding about wanting long battery life.

Somehow, an 8-year-old Garmin watch is still most popular

[Android Central]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
23andMe blames security breach on users who “negligently” recycled passwords.

The company has issued a response to the customers who are now suing it over last year’s breach. In a letter obtained by TechCrunch, the company says the hack “was not a result of 23andMe’s alleged failure to maintain reasonable security measures” and instead had to do with users’ failure to reset their passwords.

23andMe admitted that hackers accessed the information belonging to 6.9 million users last December, but it claims the information obtained “cannot be used for any harm.”

23andMe tells victims it's their fault that their data was breached | TechCrunch

[TechCrunch]

SpaceX accused of illegally firing employees who criticized Elon MuskSpaceX accused of illegally firing employees who criticized Elon Musk
LastPass will finally enforce a 12-character minimum master passwordLastPass will finally enforce a 12-character minimum master password
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Infinite reboot loop.

Apple has made iOS 17.3 beta 2 unavailable, according to MacRumors. Earlier today, the update was sending some beta testers’ phones into an infinite reboot loop, as reported by 9to5Mac.

If your phone is stuck in the loop as a result of the update, Guilherme Rambo has a guide on how to fix things.

(This is another reminder of why you shouldn’t install beta firmware on your main device.)

Update January 3rd, 4:00PM ET: Added guide from Guilherme Rambo.

Update January 3rd, 4:52PM ET: Updated to reflect the update has been pulled.

Apple Pulls iOS 17.3 Beta 2 Due to Boot Loop Issue

[MacRumors]

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Microsoft is adding voice shortcuts to Windows 11.

The latest Canary build of Windows 11 (Preview build 26020) debuts the ability to create and map custom voice commands to one or more actions like opening a folder or triggering a key combination. Users start by saying “show voice shortcuts,” then clicking “Create Command.”

It’s a bittersweet update, though — WordPad won’t install on this build, signaling the true beginning of the end for the trusty, simple word processor.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26020 (Canary Channel)

[Windows Insider Blog]

Starbucks customers can drive up to the window with their reusable cups nowStarbucks customers can drive up to the window with their reusable cups now
The new Moonwalkers robot shoes are definitely lighter and supposedly saferThe new Moonwalkers robot shoes are definitely lighter and supposedly safer
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Norwegian driving instructors aren’t happy about Tesla’s turn signal placement.

Newer versions of the Model S, X, and 3 come with a turn signal that’s just a button on the steering wheel, rather than on a separate stalk.

The placement makes it more difficult for students to activate their blinkers and exit a roundabout, causing them to fail driving exams, one driving instructor tells the Norwegian outlet Motor. For that reason, some instructors in Norway believe newer Tesla vehicles are “unsuitable” as driving school cars.

Tesla is banned from driving schools because of new turn signals

[Electrek]

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
X once again removes headlines from article links.

That sentence may look familiar! Headlines were added back on the web yesterday, but this morning, I noticed they were gone.

X owner Elon Musk said in November that titles would appear over URL cards “in an upcoming release;” hopefully they officially roll out soon.

X once again adds headlines to article links — but with tiny text

Jay Peters
Twitch will ban people pretending to be nakedTwitch will ban people pretending to be naked

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