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Tech NewsGoogle
Google’s Now Letting Users Pay for Android Apps With Cash
While credit cards are rampant in the United States, it’s not necessarily the case in other countries where cash is still king. At this year’s Google I/O developer conference, the tech giant announced it’s adding more payment methods to its Google Play store, including cash and bank transfers. The new feature is called “pending transactions.” … Continued
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Tech News
CIA’s Solution to Killing Too Many Civilians: Knife Bomb
The CIA and the U.S. military have been using a new type of missile during some drone strikes in recent years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. What makes this new missile unique? It doesn’t explode and instead deploys sharp blades, hitting targets “like a speeding anvil” from the sky. The new … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsTransportation
Of Course Someone Shot a Porn Video in a Tesla Driving on Autopilot
It was only a matter of time of course. There’s now a porn video of two people having sex in a Tesla while it was driving on Autopilot. In the video, a man driving a Tesla picks up adult actress Taylor Jackson for a “Tinder date” but about 45 seconds into the rendezvous, the pair … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
U.S. Conducts Missile Test Just 10 Minutes After North Korea’s Latest Missile Launch
North Korea conducted a new weapons test overnight, firing two missiles into the sea between North Korea and Japan, according to reports from the South Korean military. The U.S. military conducted its own missile test just ten minutes later. It was the second weapons test for North Korea in the past week, following the launch … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Amazon Says ‘Extensive’ Fraud Allowed Cybercriminals to Siphon Cash From Seller Accounts
UK legal documents obtained by Bloomberg show that e-commerce titan Amazon fell prey to “extensive” fraud that allowed cybercriminals to obtain access to around 100 seller accounts and transfer cash into their bank accounts, with the company confirming to the news agency that it had completed an investigation into the incident. Amazon lawyers wrote in … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Three Muslim Amazon Workers Allege They Were Unfairly Punished for Raising Workplace Discrimination Concerns
Workers for one of Amazon’s Minnesota warehouses filed a federal complaint on Wednesday that alleged workplace religious discrimination as well as retaliation for rallying around a protest effort at the facility late last year. The three Muslim Somali women working for Amazon at the Shakopee, Minnesota facility allege that they feared taking time away from … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech News
New York’s Rideshare Organizers Clash Amid Unprecedented Uber Strike
Long Island City—Just days before Uber’s expected debut on the stock market at a conservative but still-astronomical $80 to $90 billion valuation, the anger among rideshare drivers boiled over into an international day of action. In at least 20 cities around the world, Uber drivers with few employment protections and no real way to contact … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
FTC Members Unanimously Press Congress for Tough National Privacy Protections
All five members of the Federal Trade Commission appeared Wednesday before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee. One or two would have probably done the job. When it comes to consumer privacy—the hearing’s dominant focus—the commissioners’ opinions, however uniquely expressed, rarely diverge when it matters the most. On the issue of a tough new privacy … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsNews
Outside Uber HQ, Drivers Demand a Cut of the Riches
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Just days ahead of Silicon Valley’s most hyped mega-IPO, a group of a several hundred Uber drivers gathered in front of the company’s San Francisco headquarters and took over the street in a protest demanding fair pay, benefits, and greater transparency from the rideshare giant. Friday is set to be the biggest … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
It Looks Like Uber’s Sleazy Approach to Driver Lawsuits Could Be Backfiring
Uber has had what can best be characterized as a shitstorm of scandals in its decade-long run, and that isn’t even including any misconduct kept out of the public eye thanks to forced arbitration. Hiding those scandals appears to be turning into a costly endeavor for the ridesharing pioneer. The legal practice in which a … Continued
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Tech News
What’s the Most Disgusting Way You’ve Treated Your Computer?
Today, I learned that people—namely, the people I work with—do absolutely unthinkable shit to their computers, and that this is seemingly the norm. Let me just begin by acknowledging that no one is perfect, and everyone has a different standard of cleanliness. For example, as a rule, I generally try to avoid putting my laptop … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsNews
Baltimore’s Government Held Hostage by Ransomware Attack
For the second time in just over a year, Baltimore has fallen victim to a major cyberattack. Last year, hackers targeted the city’s 911 emergency system, but this time around, the city government’s files are being held hostage by ransomware. First things first, if you live in the Baltimore area, vital emergency systems like 911 … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
CES Fucks Now
In January, administrators from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organization that puts on CES, rescinded an innovation award from a sex toy company for being “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image.” Five months later, and the organization has decided that the technically impressive piece of hardware is deserving of … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
The U.S. Military Doesn’t Know How Many Websites It Operates
The Pentagon has a lot to keep track of these days. But don’t ask the folks over there a difficult question like how many websites they manage. An official at the U.S. Department of Defense recently admitted that they have no idea how many websites the U.S. military bureaucracy oversees. Army Col. Paul Haverstick, acting … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGoogle
The Dumb Truth About Google’s Privacy Push
Every big tech event in 2019 has a buzzword in common: privacy. One week ago, it was Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who had “the future is private” float over his head. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been banging the privacy drum for the past year in an attempt to position his company as the Good Guy. … Continued
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Tech News
New Research Confirms That Ride-Hailing Companies Are Causing a Ton of Traffic Congestion
A study published today in Science Advances comparing pre- and post-rideshare boom traffic in San Fransisco found that the presence of Uber, Lyft, and similar companies has been an overall detriment for people who like getting where they’re going quickly. That businesses which pay people to have their vehicles on the road would, well, increase … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsNews
Airbnb Host Arrested After Hidden Camera Found in Bedroom Wifi Router
An Airbnb Superhost in China was reportedly caught stealthily filming guests after a woman with security expertise located a hidden camera tucked inside of a router in the home’s bedroom. The incident occurred last Wednesday at an Airbnb situated in the Chinese province of Qingdao, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday, citing newspaper Beijing … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
A New Rule Would Allow Debt Collectors to DM and Text You With Reckless Abandon
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new set of rules on Tuesday that would change how debt collectors can pester debtors. The good news for the money-owers out there is the rules would restrict how often collection agencies can call you. The bad news is the agencies would be able to send … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsI Miss
I Miss MiniDiscs
In the long history of recorded media, Sony’s MiniDisc format barely registers as a blip on the timeline. In hindsight, it was doomed from the start—forced to compete with immensely popular CDs and an emerging threat called MP3s. But despite now having instant access to millions of songs on my phone, there’s a part of … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
After Smart Lock Allegedly Traps Senior in Apartment, Tenants Sue for Physical Keys and Win
Tenants at a property in New York City just struck a deal in what is both a wildly reasonable ask but also a crucial development at a time of increasing surveillance—their landlord has to give them physical keys to their building. Five tenants in Hell’s Kitchen sued their landlord in March after the owners installed … Continued