Clive Thompson: I hate doing Google’s CAPTCHAs. Part of it is the sheer hassle of repeatedly identifying objects — traffic lights, staircases, palm trees and buses — just so I can finish a web search. I also don’t like being forced to donate free lab…
T-Mobile Stirs ‘Grave Concerns’ at DOJ on Bid To End Old Network
Antitrust officials at the U.S. Justice Department said they have “grave concerns” about plans by T-Mobile US to shut down the wireless network used by millions of Boost Mobile customers. From a report: The department’s worries were disclosed Monday in…
Earth is Warming Faster Than Previously Thought, and the Window is Closing To Avoid Catastrophic Outcomes
JoshuaZ writes: As the world battles historic droughts, landscape-altering wildfires and deadly floods, a landmark report from global scientists says the window is rapidly closing to cut our reliance on fossil fuels and avoid catastrophic changes that …
US Navy is Developing a Solar-powered Plane That Can Fly For 90 Days
New submitter tslinks7 writes: The US Navy is developing solar-powered aircraft to fly for 90 days at a time. The Skydweller aircraft could be used as a communications relay platform or a constant eye in the sky to escort surface ships. The testbed air…
Vodafone Latest UK Carrier To Reintroduce Roaming Charges in Europe After Brexit
Vodafone has announced it will reintroduce roaming charges in Europe for UK mobile customers from January next year. From a report: It’s the latest UK carrier to reintroduce the fees after the country’s departure from the European Union, and it follows…
Senators Press Facebook for Answers About Why It Cut Off Misinformation Researchers
Facebook’s decision to close accounts connected to a misinformation research project last week prompted a broad outcry from the company’s critics — and now Congress is getting involved. From a report: A handful of lawmakers criticized the decision at …
Valve is Working With AMD To Make the Steam Deck Windows 11-Ready
Valve is aiming to make its Steam Deck handheld gaming PC ready for Windows 11. From a report: While we’ve known for weeks that the Steam Deck can run Windows, it wasn’t clear how well this would be supported by Valve, or whether an option for a Truste…
When Amazon Customers Leave Negative Reviews, Some Sellers Hunt Them Down
Ever wonder how cheap, no-name products on Amazon can amass hundreds, sometimes thousands, of nearly perfect star ratings, with just a handful of negative reviews? From a report: Here’s one way: Some sellers are reaching out to unhappy buyers to revise…
Routers and Modems Running Arcadyan Firmware Are Under Attack
Routers and modems running a version of the Arcadyan firmware, including devices from ASUS, Orange, Vodafone, and Verizon, are currently under attack from a threat actor attempting to ensnare the devices into their DDoS botnet. From a report: First spo…
Amazon Lottery Offers Vaccinated Workers Cars, $500,000 Cash
Amazon.com — summoning its inner Oprah — will offer cash prizes of as much as $500,000 as well as cars and vacation packages to frontline employees who can prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19. From a report: Unwilling so far to mandate v…