Early Friday Technology News and More...

 Technology News and More...

Apple cracking down on 'fingerprinting' with new App Store API rules


100+Engadget / 1h
Apple will soon start cracking down on Apps that collect data on users' devices in order to track them (aka " fingerprinting "), according to an article on its developer site spotted by 9to5Mac . Starting with the release of iOS 17, tvOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS Sonoma, developers will be required to explain why they're using so-called required reason APIs. Apps failing to provide a valid reason


Stephen King is trolling Elon Musk over Twitter's name change
28Mashable / 22min
Stephen King has never been one to hide his feelings on Twitter , and it doesn't look like he's about to stop now that it's called something different. SEE ALSO: Every single Stephen King movie adaptation, ranked On Thursday, following the sudden rebranding of Twitter to "X" this week , the horror master took to the platform to share his thoughts on Elon Musk's name change — and it doesn't look l


Intel says those rumors of a CPU price hike are false
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 56min
Rumors have been swirling surrounding a potential price hike to Intel’s CPUs, which the tech company has directly addressed, dismissing the claims. German media outlet PCGamesHardware ran a story that claimed Intel had explicitly told multiple German wholesalers that the company would be raising the pricing of its ‘Core’ processors. The original report from PCGH originated from an unnamed forum m



Windows 11 update breaks Start menu for some customization apps – and Microsoft isn’t going to help this time
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 6min
Windows 11 again has a problem with third-party customization apps that are used to modify the operating system’s interface, with one of these applications clashing with the latest update for the OS. That’d be the new preview (optional) update for Windows 11 22H2 (patch KB5028254), which as XDA Developers spotted has broken the Start menu for some users of the customization app ExplorerPatcher (g


Death Lens is the smartphone fisheye lens that finally gets it right
Mashable / 44min
Recently, I found myself Googling “best iPhone fisheye lenses,” because I’ve been wanting to create some ‘90s-inspired videos for this summer. As a huge fan of the Beastie Boys’ music videos and Spike Jonze’s trademark skate films, I wanted a fisheye lens that could match the vibe of Sony’s beloved VX1000 camcorder . In the past, I’ve ordered smartphone fisheye lens attachments on Amazon , but it


How to shop for a MacBook and get one for under $350
Mashable / 44min
TL;DR: As of July 28, get this refurbished Apple MacBook Air for only $345.99 (reg. $1,109.00) — you'll save 68%. If you’re in the market for a MacBook for school or work , the newest model might not be the best fit for you. They may have impressive specs, but what you need depends on what you’re going to be using your computer for. Laptop shopping on a budget isn’t easy, but there might be more


Snag a 1-year Sam's Club Membership for only $25
Mashable / 44min
TL;DR: As of July 28, get a Sam’s Club One-Year Membership with Auto Renew for only $24.99 — a 50% discount. There’s more than one way to save money. Whether you’re cutting back on store trips, looking for bulk deals, or limiting fun things like travel , it can still be tough to stick to a budget. If you need a little help, you might be surprised by how many opportunities there are to try to save


This $175 action camera records time lapses and slo-mo shots
Mashable / 44min
TL;DR: As of July 28, get the Oclu Award-Winning Action Camera for just $174.99 at the Mashable Shop (reg. $299.00) — that's 41% off. What has your summer looked like so far? Maybe you’ve taken walks on the beach, played sports, or spent time in nature enjoying the wildlife — but how much did you capture on camera or video? And how many of those didn’t turn out because you took them on your phone


Save 54% on an AI app that automates job applications for you
Mashable / 44min
TL;DR: As of July 28, get lifetime license to LazyApply Job Application Basic for only $67.99 — that's 54% off. Searching for a job isn’t fun, and it takes enough time that you might feel like you should qualify for benefits for all that work you're doing. AI may not be able to magically land you a job, but it could help streamline the application process and make it a little easier on you. LazyA


What's new to streaming and theaters this week: 'Haunted Mansion' to 'Harley Quinn' Season 4
Mashable / 44min
Move over, Barbenheimer ; this week's all about horror. The latest gems coming to streaming and theaters this week star monsters, ghosts, super villains, and demons — some family-friendly, others, not so much. While you might still be riding off that Barbie high ( and we don't blame you ), it isn't a summer movie season without fresh frights to keep you up at night. So without further ado, here's


Justin Simien reveals 'Haunted Mansion's less obvious inspirations
Mashable / 44min
With the release of Haunted Mansion , director Justin Simien, who forged his reputation with the indie comedy Dear White People and its subsequent spinoff series , makes the leap to splashy studio-made summer movie. While some might scoff about the artistic virtue of transforming a popular Disneyland ride into a could-be movie franchise (after the failed launch of 2003's The Haunted Mansion , sta


Payday 3 is getting a closed beta next week - here's how to sign up
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 56min
Payday 3 is now just under two months away from its full release, but you can try the game as early as next week. From August 2 - 7, you can play Payday 3 ahead of its September 21 release via a closed beta hosted on Xbox Series X |S and PC. According to Eurogamer , the beta will feature just one mission, No Rest for the Wicked, but will be fully playable in co-op and can be played as often as yo


Many workers say they don't feel trusted at work
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 56min
A large number of workers do not feel trusted in the workplace, causing a significant knock-on effect that damages productivity , new research has found. Findings from online collaboration giant Slack have shown that feeling trusted whilst at work has a major impact on employee productivity, but more than a quarter don't feel they are given that respect. This is despite trust between managers and


Six ways that AI could change politics
MIT Technology Review / 1h
ChatGPT was released just nine months ago, and we are still learning how it will affect our daily lives, our careers, and even our systems of self-governance. But when it comes to how AI may threaten our democracy, much of the public conversation lacks imagination. People talk about the danger of campaigns that attack opponents with fake images (or fake audio or video) because we already have dec


'Call of Duty' adds Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, and 21 Savage as playable characters
Mashable / 1h
Call of Duty is adding Nicki Minaj , Snoop Dogg , and 21 Savage as playable characters. Publisher Activision has announced that the first-person shooter is celebrating 50 years of hip-hop by adding the three rappers to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone . Unlike hero shooters such as Valorant or Apex Legends , the various player characters in Modern Warfare II and Warzone d


Google what our chatbot tells you... says Google
48BBC News - Technology / 2h
The firm says users should check the accuracy of answers Bard provides with its traditional search engine.


Hit the floor with Currys’ sensational floorcare deals
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
As much as we love the warmer, brighter days of summer, sunshine also has a tendency to show up how dusty the floors are – so if like us you’re thinking your existing vacuum isn’t dealing with dust as well as you’d like, you’re going to love Currys’ summer floorcare deals. With up to £50 cashback when you trade in your existing cleaner, the option to buy now pay later and a huge selection of incr


NASA+ is the space agency's very own streaming platform
500+Engadget / 3h
NASA is launching its very own streaming platform called NASA+ sometime this summer. While the space agency already livestreams launches and other events on its website, NASA+ will feature not just live broadcasts, but also collections of original video series. A handful of the first shows on the platform will even be new titles launching with the service, and what's even better is that it will b


AMD plans to invest $400 million in India by 2028
28TechCrunch / 3h
AMD plans to invest around $400 million in India over the next five years and set up its largest design center in the country’s southern city of Bengaluru as the chipmaker joins the growing list of firms that are backing the South Asian nation’s ambition of becoming a semiconductor manufacturing hub. AMD CTO Mark Papermaster announced the chipmaker’s investment plans on Friday at the annual semic


Nicki Minaj will be a playable character in Call of Duty
82Engadget / 4h
Call of Duty Season 5 will feature Nicki Minaj as the first ever female celebrity "Operator" playable character, Activision announced . She'll appear in Warzone and Modern Warfare 2 as part of CoD's "50 Years of Hip Hop Celebration," along with Snoop Dogg and 21 Savage. Other celebrities including Lionel Messi, Kevin Durant and Snoop Dogg (multiple times now) have appeared in CoD in the past. Min



Netflix touts $900k AI jobs amid Hollywood strikes
100+BBC News - Technology / 4h
The job posting amid a strike partly driven by AI fears triggers an angry reaction from actors.


Emmys postponed as WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue
Mashable / 5h
It looks like the Emmys telecast is officially being postponed. It's a fair call, since the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes would have made for an embarrassing, poorly attended event. Variety reports that vendors for the 75th Primetime Emmys have been told that the awards ceremony will no long


Save 48% on this helpful stock market course bundle
Mashable / 5h
TL;DR: The 2023 Stock Candlestick and Options Profit Trading Bundle is on sale for £31.11, saving you 48% on list price. As exciting as it looks in the movies to play the stock market, you might want to do a little research before attempting to become the next Wolf of Wall Street. Learn to analyse price history and trading strategies with the 2023 Stock Candlestick and Options Trading Bundle whil


How to unblock Redtube for free
Mashable / 5h
TL;DR: ExpressVPN can reliably bypass content restrictions to unblock porn sites like Pornhub, XVideos, OnlyFans, and Redtube. There are times in life when you really want to access your favourite porn sites for some alone time, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, there will be occasions when your access to these sites is restricted. A lot of places block access to por


How to unblock Xnxx for free
Mashable / 5h
TL;DR: The best service for unblocking porn sites is ExpressVPN . This high-speed VPN can reliably bypass content restrictions to unblock porn sites like Pornhub, XVideos, and OnlyFans. There is a time and place for visiting your favourite porn sites . There are plenty of locations around the world that block access to sites like Pornhub and xHamster , and that's probably for the best. But equall


Formula E breaks indoor land speed world record in 'unlocked' Gen3 car
500+Engadget / 5h
Ahead of the final two races of Season 9 in London, Formula E showed off the "unlocked" potential of its Gen3 electric race car . The EV series has claimed the world record for indoor land speed, clocking in at 135.9 MPH (218.71 KPH) in a GenBeta development car. The run took place on a .176-mile straight on the London E-Prix circuit, a portion of which is inside the ExCeL London arena. The car,


Andy McLoughlin of Uncork Capital on the firm’s new funds, succession, and why next year could be a bloodbath (sorry, startups)
TechCrunch / 5h
A few weeks ago, Uncork Capital shared the news that it recently closed on $400 million in capital commitments across two new funds: $200 million for a seed-stage vehicle and another $200 million for an opportunity-style fund that mostly aims to support startups that are already part of its portfolio. The funds represent twice what Uncork raised in 2019 when it last announced two new funds, and l


Here's a Timelapse of Reddit's r/Place Protesting CEO Steve Huffman
Gizmodo / 6h
The third incarnation of Reddit’s r/Place has come and gone, and now the social media platform has released a timelapse compilation of the project to highlight all of the whimsy—and anger—of its users. Read more...


Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for July 28
Mashable / 7h
You made it! It's Friday, and you can celebrate with a brand new, totally unsolved Wordle . As always, we're here with some tips and tricks to help you figure out the solution. If you just want to be told the answer, you can jump to the end of this article for July 28's Wordle solution revealed. But if you want to solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.


Ministry of Defence accidentally emails ally of Russia
200+BBC News - Technology / 7h
Defence officials say the emails did not contain information that could compromise operational security.


Volkswagen’s XPeng deal sets example for EV alliance between the West and China
TechCrunch / 7h
The major news from China’s auto industry this week is Volkswagen’s $700 million investment in the country’s electric vehicle startup, XPeng. This partnership has the potential to set a precedent for Western automakers seeking to leverage Chinese firms for their EV expertise, while their Chinese counterparts can benefit from their foreign allies’ global distribution. The agreement involves the pr


AMD Ryzen 7945HX3D could be a fast, super-efficient choice for your new gaming laptop
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
The Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is essentially a desktop Ryzen 9 7950X3D repackaged for laptops. [credit: AMD ] For a couple of years now, AMD has offered special versions of its desktop processors with an extra 64MB chunk of L3 cache included. This cache is layered over top of the existing CPU silicon, earning it the name "3D V-Cache," and it has proven especially successful for accelerating cache-sensitiv


AMD unveils its first laptop processor with 3D V-Cache
76Engadget / 8h
AMD has revealed its first mobile gaming processor with 3D V-Cache. As the name suggests, 3D V-Cache enables AMD to stack more cache on top of the CPU. The tech arrived on desktop processors last year, and soon you'll be able to pick up a laptop with a 3D V-Cache CPU. This approach allows AMD to cram extra 64MB of L3 cache onto the Ryzen 9 7945X3D. For a total of 144MB. That helps mitigate the ch


DC Studios' Blue Beetle Merch Teases Ancient Powers and Superhero Action
Gizmodo / 9h
Prepare yourselves for the power of the Scarab: in just a few weeks, DC Studios will see a newcomer arrive on the big screen in the form of fan-favorite comic book superhero Blue Beetle . Read more...


Elon Musk had Tesla overstate its battery range. Tesla then canceled related service appointments.
100+Mashable / 10h
Tesla deliberately inflated the distance a vehicle could travel on a full battery charge, and the company did so under a directive from its CEO Elon Musk, according to a new report from Reuters . More than a decade ago, the outlet reports, Tesla made the decision to design an algorithm that would provide drivers with a "rosy" estimate of how far their vehicle could go without having to recharge i


Stability AI releases Stable Diffusion XL, its next-gen image synthesis model
45Ars Technica - All content / 10h
Enlarge / Several examples of images generated using Stable Diffusion XL 1.0. (credit: Stable Diffusion) On Wednesday, Stability AI released Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 (SDXL), its next-generation open weights AI image synthesis model. It can generate novel images from text descriptions and produces more detail and higher-resolution imagery than previous versions of Stable Diffusion. As with Stable D


There's a Big Update on the Lando Disney+ Series
100+Gizmodo / 10h
Hello, what have we here? An actual update on the Disney+ Lando series ? Don’t mind if we do. Read more...


Quordle today - hints and answers for Friday, July 28 (game #550)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also


A new study found that Facebook’s Pages and Groups shape its ideological echo chambers
43TechCrunch / 10h
New research published Thursday offers an unprecedented dive into political behavior across Facebook and Instagram — two major online hubs where people express and engage with their political beliefs. The studies, published by an interdisciplinary set of researchers working in tandem with internal groups at Meta, encompasses four papers published in Science and Nature examining behavior on both p


Do you need a degree to work in tech?
96BBC News - Technology / 10h
Big tech firms like IBM are no longer asking for degrees when hiring staff.



'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' mid-credits scene explained
Mashable / 10h
You've come. You've turtled. You've got questions about that mid-credits sequence. We're here to help. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem follows the coming-of-age adventure of turtle-human hybrids, Donatello (Micah Abbey), Raphael (Brady Noon), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.). who dream above all else of going to high school and being cool. After a fateful


Disneyland Won't Bring Back Robot Dragon After Fire, But Will Bring More Booze
Gizmodo / 10h
You’ll soon be able to raise a glass to the memory of the defunct Fantasmic dragon on the Rivers of America at Disneyland . Read more...


Meat allergy from tick bites is on the rise—and US doctors are in the dark
68Ars Technica - All content / 11h
Enlarge / A vector ecologist displays a vial of live lone star ticks. (credit: Getty | Ben McCanna ) A little over a decade ago, researchers discovered that bites from lone star ticks could cause some people to develop a food allergy to meat and meat products —an allergic condition called alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) , which can vary from mild to life-threatening. The condition is named after a carbo


The X-Men's Dream Has Died in Fire Again
Gizmodo / 11h
It’s fitting that the X-Men as an idea are as similarly cyclical as one of the franchise’s most iconic figures. “Hear me, X-Men! No longer am I the woman you knew! I am Fire and Life incarnate !” cries Jean Grey, now the Phoenix, in X-Men #101 , beginning a cycle of fated death and rebirth for her similar to the one… Read more...


Google’s AirTag stalking alerts are rolling out now to Android phones
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
Google has begun rolling out a new safety update for Android phones to inform users if a Bluetooth tracking device has been placed near or on them. Gadgets like the Apple AirTag are meant to help people find lost items, but some bad actors have been misusing them as an inexpensive tool to stalk people . Although Google doesn’t sell its own Bluetooth tags, it teamed up with multiple corporations t


US, Australia cyber agencies warn IDOR security flaws can be exploited ‘at scale’
TechCrunch / 11h
U.S. and Australian government cybersecurity agencies are warning that common and easily exploitable security vulnerabilities in websites and web apps can be abused to carry out large-scale data breaches. In a joint advisory published Thursday, U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA, the National Security Agency and the Australian Cyber Security Centre said that the vulnerabilities, known as insecure dir


Shredder Was the Villain in Early Iterations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Gizmodo / 12h
There are a lot of things that make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem stand out from the rest of the Turtles movies. The main characters are voiced by teens , for one. The unique, purposefully messy animated style is another. And the fact that the Turtles’ most common villain, Shredder, is nowhere to be seen… Read more...


Qatar Airways Privilege Club added as newest American Express transfer partner
29The Points Guy / 12h
American Express points have become even easier to use with the addition of Qatar Airways Privilege Club as the 21st and newest transfer partner program. Membership Rewards points can now be transferred to become Qatar Avios at a rate of 1:1, and transfers should occur instantly. Qatar Airways is known for its award-winning Qsuite business-class product , its world-class hub at Hamad Internationa


Sony's WF-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM5 audio device gain a performance boost
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
As if they weren’t already packed enough, Sony has recently launched a firmware update giving its WH-1000XM5 headphones and WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds even more features. Starting with the headphones, firmware version 2.0.2 introduces two things. First, it allows LDAC to be available during a multipoint Bluetooth connection. LDAC , if you don’t know, is Sony's proprietary audio codec that’s able


New research shows how Meta's algorithms shaped users' 2020 election feeds
33Engadget / 12h
Nearly three years ago Meta announced it was partnering with more than a dozen independent researchers to study the impact Facebook and Instagram had on the 2020 election. Both Meta and the researchers promised the project, which would rely on troves of internal data, would deliver an independent look at issues like polarization and misinformation. Now, we have the first results of that research


This Clever, Portable Record Player Is $90 Right Now
22Lifehacker / 12h
The RokBlok 2.0 is a wireless portable record player that you can use almost anywhere, and it’s on sale for $89.99 . This novel little record player made its debut on Shark Tank and makes a great gift for music lovers: It’s compact, portable, and can play 33 ⅓ and 45 RPM records, including EPs, LPs, and singles. It… Read more...


'Quordle' today: Here are the answers and hints for July 28
Mashable / 12h
If Quordle is a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't just hints here, but the whole Quordle solution. Scroll to the bottom of this page, and there it is. But are you sure you need all four answers? Maybe you just need a strategy guide. Either way, scroll down, and you'll get what you need. What is Quordle ? Quordle is a five-letter word guessing gam


This Chrome extension swaps Elon Musk's X back to the Twitter bird
100+Mashable / 12h
There's no going back to the halcyon pre-Elon Musk Twitter days, but you can reverse his latest harebrained change. Musk has rebranded Twitter as X , the apparent beginning of his goal to make an all-in-one app. That seems unlikely at the moment, considering the rebrand into X has been shortsighted at best. A generic-looking X logo has basically been slapped across Twitter while also keeping the


Researchers jailbreak AI chatbots, including ChatGPT
33Mashable / 12h
If you know the right string of seemingly random characters to add to the end of a prompt, it turns out just about any chatbot will turn evil. A report by Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Zico Kolter and doctoral student Andy Zou has revealed a giant hole in the safety features on major, public-facing chatbots — notably ChatGPT , but also Bard, Claude, and others. Their report was given


Ford’s Profit Jumped in Second Quarter
NYT > Technology / 12h
The automaker made more money on trucks and sport utility vehicles but reported bigger losses on electric vehicles.


Scientists Say Textbooks Are Wrong About the Origin of Life
300+Futurism / 12h
Reprint Eastwood Turns out we might be very wrong about the origin of life on Earth. For decades now, the prevailing scientific theory explaining the Precambrian Avalon explosion — in short, the era dating back to about 685 to 800 million years ago in which multicellular organisms began to proliferate in Earth's oceans — has, put simply, been that an influx of oxygen into Earth's oceans accelerat


Stable Diffusion XL Reaches 1.0, Creates Even Better Artwork
How-To Geek / 12h
DALL-E, Midjourney, and other similar tools helped kick off the generative AI wave last year, but Stable Diffusion stood out for its ability to run locally on your PC without the use of external servers. Stable Diffusion XL, an upgraded model, has now left beta and into "stable" territory with the arrival of version 1.0.


US senator blasts Microsoft for “negligent cybersecurity practices”
36Ars Technica - All content / 12h
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) A US senator is calling on the Justice Department to hold Microsoft responsible for “negligent cybersecurity practices” that enabled Chinese espionage hackers to steal hundreds of thousands of emails from cloud customers, including officials in the US Departments of State and Commerce. “Holding Microsoft responsible for its negligence will require a whole-of-governm


Ford’s Q2 earnings show a thriving trucks, commercial business with EVs playing catch-up
23TechCrunch / 12h
Ford generated $45 billion in revenue in the second quarter, a 12% pop from the same period last year largely fueled by sales of gas-powered trucks like the new Ranger, SUVs and commercial vans. Its EV business, meanwhile, has a long way to go. Notably, the automaker raised its full-year guidance for 2023 to between $11 billion and $12 billion in adjusted earnings. The company also expects adjust


Android's earthquake warning system failed in Turkey, according to the BBC
40Engadget / 12h
Google's earthquake warning system for Android is supposed to provide notices in time to reach safety, but that might not have happened following the quake in Turkey on February 6th. BBC investigators claim that none of the hundreds of people they talked to in three Turkish cities received an alert before the first tremor hit. Only a "limited number" got an alert for a second tremor, investigator



Lore Olympus Creator Rachel Smythe on the Big Wedding—and More
Gizmodo / 12h
Rachel Smythe is now on hiatus, but she had one important stop to make before her break: San Diego Comic-Con , where she was a special guest and was also awarded her second Eisner for her hit Webtoon series Lore Olympus . Read more...


Advice From The CEO Of Loyalty Startup Bilt, Fastest Company Ever To A $1.5 Billion Valuation
View from the Wing / 12h
I recently had the chance to catch up with Ankur Jain, founder and CEO of Bilt Rewards. He's a serial entrepreneur, having sold connections tool Humin to Tinder; became their Vice President of Product (he's rumored to have created the separate celebrity version of Tinder); and helped launch a company that solves the cashflow problems renters face from security deposits. And he's created the first


Summer deals still available: Business class to Europe for 55,000 miles each way
The Points Guy / 12h
It turns out it’s not too late to score a last-minute summer 2023 deal to Europe. Alaska Airlines is offering some enticing business-class award deals through its Mileage Plan program. Here’s the catch: The flights aren’t actually on board Alaska aircraft. The deals involve customers who book flights operated by German leisure carrier Condor, a non-Oneworld Alliance partner of Alaska, through the


Where to Watch 'Twisted Metal' (and What You Should Know About It)
Lifehacker / 12h
Twisted Metal is an adaptation of a 1995 PlayStation video games series that you probably remember, provided you were between the ages of 10 and 16 at the time. Within the universe of the game, Twisted Metal is the name of an annual vehicular combat tournament hosted by a man named Caly