Thursday, July 04, 2024

Technology News Thursdays, and More!

Technology News and More...



7 travel mistakes to avoid on your next trip
2KThe Points Guy / 18h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information. You’re not wrong if you feel like everyone is traveling right now. According to AAA, 1 million more people traveled for Memorial Day weekend this year than in 2019. “… [this] not only means we’re exceeding prepandemic levels, but [it] also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead,” said Paula Twidale, senior vi


VW to invest up to $5bn in Tesla rival Rivian
300+BBC News / 2h
Shares in the US-based electric truck and SUV maker jumped by almost 50% after the announcement.


Securing IoT/OT environments: The password paradox
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 26min
If you are reading this online, on a phone or laptop , chances are you have one. A password. Passwords have been our trusty guardians in the digital world, securing everything from social media accounts to bank information. And it is the same in the enterprise space with companies often leaning on passwords to secure their files and digitally enabled operations. With the growing integration of Io




Understanding collective defense as a route to better cybersecurity
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
In many ways, cybersecurity is characterized by very insular priorities. Focused on protecting their own network perimeters, systems and data, organizations quite correctly develop highly tailored and personalized strategies. As a result, businesses that outwardly appear very similar, competing in the same industry for the same customers, may have very different approaches to prevention, mitigati


India's X alternative Koo to shut down services
22BBC News / 1h
The homegrown app, which once had ambition of rivalling X in India, has faced a shortage of funding.


India reviews iPhone factory for 'not hiring married women'
80BBC News / 1h
The firm has come under the scanner for allegedly not employing married women at its factory in Tamil Nadu state.


Japan declares victory in 'war' on floppy disks
92BBC News / 2h
The use of the floppy disk, which was still used in some government agencies in Japan, has now been scrapped.


Jeff Bezos to sell another $5bn of Amazon shares
46BBC News / 3h
In February, Mr Bezos announced that he would sell shares in technology giant worth around $8.5bn.


Unsurprisingly, "smart beds" are pretty easy to hack
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 3h
Smart beds (yes, they are a thing) can be hacked and used to gain access to a user’s entire home network, experts have warned. As such, they are a (fairly big) security risk, as hackers could then deploy malware, steal sensitive data, and even learn when no one is home. The discovery was recently made by one Dillan Mills , a computer engineer and web designer, who described how he tried to gain l


Southwest Boeing 737 Takes Off From Closed Runway
500+One Mile at a Time / 3h
Southwest Airlines can’t seem to stay out of the news when it comes to concerning incidents lately, from a scary go around in Hawaii , to a dangerously low approach in Oklahoma City , to an inflight Dutch roll . Well, we can now add yet another incident to the list, as flagged by @xJonNYC . Southwest 737 uses closed runway in Portland, Maine This incident happened on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, and i


Get MS Office on your PC for life for under £20
Mashable / 3h
TL;DR: The 2019 version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus for Windows is on sale for just £19.60 (reg. £179.74). Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows £19.60 at the Mashable Shop £179.74 Save £160.14 If you could use some productivity support, a tried-and-true suite of apps from a big name in software could help. Create, organise, and more


China Will Have 1 Trillion Watts of Solar by the end of 2025
Next Big Future / 4h
The China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI) reports that by the end of 2024, China is set to add 190GW of solar capacity and 70GW of wind. The NEA reports China added added 217GW of solar power and 76GW of wind power in 2023 – to reach a total capacity of 1,050GW. China needs 15 ... Read more


NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for July 4


Mashable / 4h
Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the e


'Wordle' today: Here's the answer hints for July 4
Mashable / 4h
Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle . As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer. If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for June 29's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. Where did Wordle co


Report: Samsung's Galaxy S25 series might ditch the Plus model
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 5h
Model numbers for Samsung’s Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra have recently surfaced online, but the same can't be said for the S25 Plus. News site Android Headlines noticed this discrepancy after diving into the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) database. When a tech company creates or develops a new smartphone, it uploads model numbers to the database, which are used to help track lost or s


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 product pages have been leaked
Engadget / 6h
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 will come with a 50-megapixel rear camera for the first time, a bigger battery than any of its predecessors and a bunch of AI features, according to the product pages leaked by Evan Blass on Substack. Also known as @evleaks on X/Twitter and other avenues, Blass is known to have a good track record for leaking accurate information about unreleased devices. This time, ev


Google’s working on a fix for bricking issues plaguing Pixel 6 phones – here’s what you need to know
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
Reports have recently surfaced online from Pixel 6 owners stating their device suddenly bricked after performing a factory reset. Doing so causes an error message to appear stating the Android system cannot be loaded and that the data on the smartphone may be corrupt. This isn’t a unique problem exclusive to the standard model, though. Various Reddit posts show the Pixel 6a and the Pixel 6 Pro ar


Here’s how to plan an epic trip to Universal Orlando Resort this year
84The Points Guy / 8h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Universal Orlando Resort is in sunny Central Florida, an area of the Sunshine State often referred to as the theme park capital of the world. Universal Orlando is not only one of the most popular amusement parks in the city, but it’s also beloved across the country. It has two parks (with a third on the wa


Ending soon: Best-ever bonus on Citi’s top-tier American Airlines AAdvantage Executive card
The Points Guy / 8h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Citi is a TPG advertising partner. If you are a frequent American Airlines flyer, you have plenty of credit card options to help you earn additional miles and make the most out of every American Airlines flight. While Barclays and Citi both have a cobranded card partnership with American Airlines, Citi is


My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet
LifeHacker / 8h
Prime Day is just around the corner, but early Prime Day and Fourth of July deals are already here. If you're looking for a tablet to do some streaming or social media doom scrolling, the 64GB Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is $54.99 (originally $129.99). Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet 8” HD Display, 64 GB, 30% faster processor, designed for portable entertainment, (2022 release) $54.99 at Amazon $129.99 Save


Why You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About Your Screen Time
LifeHacker / 8h
I write for a living, which means I reflexively spend a good chunk of my day trying to avoid writing. Computers are perfect for this: I have quick access to every distraction you can possibly dream of, all on the device I should in theory be using to write. Perhaps the best part of this whole arrangement is how easy it is to feel guilty about all of the writing I'm not doing. The best tool for th


Your next webcam could be a Game Boy Camera
Engadget / 9h
Forget your phone cameras and laptop built-ins; your next webcam could be your old Game Boy Camera. The team (sort of) bringing this peripheral into the modern age is Epilogue. The company makes the GB Operator, which lets people play original Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color cartridges on a current PC or a Steam Deck. Today, Epilogue announced that it is working on an update that wi


Would having an AI boss be better than your current human one?
33BBC News / 9h
Companies are now experimenting with using AI systems to manage their staff.


Chase Aeroplan Bonus Increases By 10,000 Points: One Of The Best Airline Co-Brands
View from the Wing / 9h
Aeroplan® Credit Card from Chase lets you earn 70,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. This is one of the best airline co-brands, and the initial offer has gone up by 10,000 points. The card’s annual fee is $95. Continue reading ...


NYT Connections today — hints and answers for Thursday, July 4 (game #389)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
This is arguably the easiest Connections game of the past week, but 'easy' is a relative thing here. If you need hints, you'll find some down the page. What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers , Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too. SPOILER WARNING: Inf


NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Thursday, July 4 (game #123)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Happy 4th of July to anyone who celebrates! Wherever you are in the world you'll probably find this Strands to be an easy one, but read on if you need help. Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games. SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want


Quordle today – hints and answers for Thursday, July 4 (game #892)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Happy 4th of July to those of you who celebrate. Whether you're celebrating your Quordle puzzle performance today will depend on whether you solve it or not – and I've got some hints for you if you need them. Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles. S POILER WARNING: Information ab


Coming redesign of Elon Musk's X will get rid of... a lot
20Mashable / 9h
Another big change that no one asked for is coming to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. X is planning to redesign how content shows up in users' feeds by removing interaction and engagement buttons from posts. This means that the repost (aka retweet), like, and reply buttons would no longer appear on each individual post on a users' X timeline. Tweet may have been deleted Along with the


Every New Notes App Feature in iOS 18
LifeHacker / 9h
Notes is quietly one of the most useful apps in the Apple ecosystem. It's one of the best note-taking apps for iPhone, can bring in multiple collaborators, and has plenty of additional features such as a built-in document scanner . With iOS 18 , Apple is making Notes even better. Here are the best new Apple Notes features to try out for once you've installed the new OS . Take Voice notes in iOS C


Judge Backs Challenge to F.T.C.’s Noncompete Ban, at Least for Now
NYT > Technology / 9h
Granting an injunction to several plaintiffs, a judge said the Federal Trade Commission’s pending ban on noncompete agreements was unlikely to prevail.


Delta Flight Diverts After Airline Poisons Passengers With In-Flight Meal
34View from the Wing / 10h
Delta Air Lines flight 136 from Detroit to Amsterdam diverted to New York on Tuesday night after a couple dozen people became ill from the "spoiled food" on board. This was airplane food! Continue reading ...


Suno takes a 'What, me worry?' approach to legal troubles and rolls out AI music-generating mobile app
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Suno and its artificial intelligence-fueled music composition is now available as a mobile app on iOS in the U.S. The app translates Suno’s AI music creation and sharing tools to smartphones as the company attempts to stake a claim for the most successful AI music developer. The Suno mobile app essentially carries over what the Suno platform offers users but with an interface better suited to han


Cloudflare is taking a stand against AI website scrapers
29Engadget / 10h
Cloudflare has released a new free tool that prevents AI companies' bots from scraping its clients' websites for content to train large language models. The cloud service provider is making this tool available to its entire customer base, including those on free plans. "This feature will automatically be updated over time as we see new fingerprints of offending bots we identify as widely scraping


Japan’s government says goodbye to floppy disks
28Engadget / 10h
Floppy disks may seem like a relic from an ancient time of computers but there are still places and even governments in the world that still use them to run its most basic functions. Japan is no longer one of those countries. Japan’s Digital Agency announced on Wednesday it has rid its use of outdated floppy disks to operate its government computer systems. The only system still in place that req


Safer than cloud storage, cheaper than file sync: Plugable promises seamless file transfer product using affordable USB cable solution
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Plugable is one of the most well known names in the admittedly not very sexy wired file transfer space, offering quality cables to move files from PC to PC. We were recently impressed by the Thunderbolt 4 & USB4 HDMI Docking Station , a comprehensive dock for ultra-fast transfer speeds (albeit for a pretty penny), and Plugable has now announced the USB 3.0 Transfer Cable with USB-C Adapter. As th


Apple Might Make It Easier to Replace the Battery in Your Next iPhone
LifeHacker / 10h
All batteries age, and the lithium ion battery in your iPhone is no exception. Overtime, the battery degrades, and, as such, can no longer hold as much of a charge as it could when new. After a few years of using the phone, you may notice you only get 70% or 80% of the time you used to after taking your iPhone off the charger. When the inevitable happens to you, you don't need to buy a new iPhone


The Best Items for Displaying and Preserving Your Sentimental Stuff
LifeHacker / 10h
In so many decluttering tutorials , we go over how to figure out what you can and should part with—and what earns the right to stay. Saying goodbye to sentimental items is really hard, and even if you're hellbent on decluttering and organizing, there may be a few things you opt to keep. While I'm a major proponent of untethering yourself from nostalgic items in favor of pushing forward into a bri


HealthEquity says data breach is an ‘isolated incident’
TechCrunch / 10h
HealthEquity said in an 8-K filing with the SEC that it detected “anomalous behavior by a personal use device belonging to a business partner.” © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


Meta Quest Headsets Are Now More Like the Apple Vision Pro
How-To Geek / 11h
With the release of the Apple Vision Pro, other VR headset makers are in a push to make their AR/VR experiences better in order to properly catch up. That's precisely what Meta is doing, and with the new v67 update, it's adding a few new features to improve multitasking.


Riyadh Air’s Game-Changer? Business Class Suites Will Be ‘More Maybach Than Mercedes’ [Roundup]
View from the Wing / 11h
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips. Continue reading ...


Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Demands Drug Companies Cut Price of Ozempic and Other New Weight Loss Drugs
Futurism / 11h
In a dual-bylined editorial, President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the makers of the uber-popular new generation of weight loss drugs to make them cheaper. The former rivals demanded in their USA Today op-ed that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the manufacturers of the expensive diabetes and obesity injectables Ozempic and Mounjaro respectively, lower the prices of these game-changing


Threads is celebrating its birthday with a hidden cake giving away cool new icons
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
Threads is about to turn one, as Meta’s answer to X (née Twitter), officially hit the scene on July 5, 2023. Zuck sent out a pre-celebration Thread calling out more than 175 million active users on the platform, but another birthday treat is hidden in the app. Whether you’re on an iPhone or an Android like a Pixel, Galaxy, or Motorola , there is a new reason to open Threads and visit your profile


Virgin Atlantic Flying Club adds huge surcharge for Delta One redemptions to Europe, but it won’t impact most members
32The Points Guy / 11h
The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program has devalued Delta One business-class redemptions to and from Europe without notice, but this move will unlikely impact many members. Delta One awards booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club on most dates will still cost 47,500 Virgin points from the East Coast and central U.S. to Europe and 67,500 Virgin points from the West Coast to Europe. However, Vi


The beginners guide to airline shopping portals: How to earn bonus points and miles
73The Points Guy / 11h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information. Newcomers to the points and miles world often think that the only way to earn loyalty with an airline is by flying frequently or using a cobranded airline credit card . There are many other ways to earn points and miles, and one of the easiest is through online shopping portals . Shopping portals reward you wi


A Guide to Buying Your First (or Next) Kettlebell
LifeHacker / 11h
So you’ve read about my favorite kettlebell exercises for beginners and you’d like to start doing them at home. Or perhaps you already have a few bells, and you’re thinking it’s time to get another—maybe something heavier, if you started out too light. The world contains multitudes of kettlebell options, from rainbow-colored competition bells to cast iron hardstyle bells to the molded plastic thi


How to Grill Safely (and Four Tools That Can Help)
LifeHacker / 11h
The Fourth of July is the United States' unofficial national grilling holiday—and if nothing else, charring meat outside with friends is worth celebrating. Whether you’ve hosted a few burger sessions already this summer, or you’ve wheeled in your very first charcoal grill, it’s important to brush up on your safety before you strike a match. Here are the things you should do and the tools you migh


The Watch Dogs movie has finally started filming after 10 years
Engadget / 11h
Ever since the open world hacker adventure game Watch Dogs captured the attention of 2012’s E3, there were rumors circulating of a movie remake before the game even got a release date. Now more than 10 years later, the film version is finally happening. Ubisoft announced today on X that filming has begun on the Watch Dogs movie with a picture of a clapboard and the caption “Lights_Camera_Action.e


Proton Drive: It's like Google Docs, but with end-to-end encryption
Mashable / 11h
Those who might want to get out from under Google's ecosystem got some good news from Proton on Wednesday. Specifically, the privacy-focused software company's Proton Drive suite of products got a new one in the form of a shared text editor called Proton Docs. Proton Drive's text editor looks very similar to Google Docs, in that multiple people can edit a document together in real-time with robus


Early Kindle deals you can get ahead of Prime Day 2024
Mashable / 11h
Best Prime Day Kindle deals Best overall deal Kindle Scribe Essentials Bundle $329.00 (Save $201) Best Kindle deal with bundled charger Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition Essentials Bundle $237.97 (Save $20.00) Best Kindle deal for kids Kindle Paperwhite Kids $319.98 (Save $20 when you purchase two) Amazon Prime Day is over a week away, but the deals have already started rolling in. If you're a


Apple will reportedly announce a partnership with Google at iPhone 16 event
25Mashable / 12h
As Apple prepares to launch its suite of AI features (i.e., Apple Intelligence ), the iPhone maker has been meeting with a number of companies in the AI space. One company Apple might ink a deal with is Google, one of its biggest competitors in the mobile space. According to a new report from Bloomberg 's Apple insider Mark Gurman, Apple will announce the addition of Google Gemini on iPhones at i


384,000 sites pull code from sketchy code library recently bought by Chinese firm
IoC > 2 domains•
21Ars Technica - All content / 12h•
5 TTPs
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) More than 384,000 websites are linking to a site that was caught last week performing a supply-chain attack that redirected visitors to malicious sites, researchers said. For years, the JavaScript code, hosted at polyfill[.]com, was a legitimate open source project that allowed older browsers to handle advanced functions that weren’t natively supported. By linking t


This Kindle Unlimited early Prime Day deal gives you a free three-month subscription
Engadget / 12h
It's July, and that means Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner. We're seeing a lot of early Prime Day deals ahead of July 16, and the latest offer coming from within Amazon's umbrella is for the readers out there. Prime members can now lock in three months of a free Kindle Unlimited subscription, an exclusive deal that will save you $36. As the name implies, this program offers unlimited re


Five Things to Do a Year Before You Retire
LifeHacker / 12h
Retirement is one of those milestones that seem far away until they're suddenly right on top of you. After decades of working and saving for retirement (you did save for retirement , right?) you’re suddenly faced with actually retiring. And your final year before retirement could be really fun and exciting—work problems don’t matter so much, and you get to make lots of fun plans for your upcoming


The Best Ways to Hide Garbage Bins and Other Ugly Outdoor Features
LifeHacker / 12h
If you've put any effort into making your yard and outdoor space beautiful—or at the very least, livable—you have probably encountered certain features or fixtures that stick out like sore thumbs, threatening to ruin your carefully curated aesthetic. These are your garden hoses, HVAC units, utility meters, plumbing pipes, and garbage bins, to name a few. But you aren't stuck staring at these eyes


Amazon pulls the plug on the business version of its Astro robot
Engadget / 12h
After less than eight months, Amazon has discontinued the business version of its Astro security robot . GeekWire reported on Wednesday that despite being “fully committed” to its home robotics division, the company has discontinued the higher-end model that doubled as a security guard for spaces as large as 5,000 square feet. Amazon launched Astro for Business in November 2023, pitching it as a


Roll20, an online tabletop role-playing game platform, discloses data breach
TechCrunch / 12h
Roll20 said that on June 29 it had detected that a “bad actor” gained access to an account on the company’s administrative website for one hour. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


Terrific location but an unkempt room: A review of the Kimpton Hotel Eventi in New York City
The Points Guy / 12h
[circuit type=review circuit_id=”8645″] Taking up an entire block on 6th Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets in New York City ‘s stylish Chelsea neighborhood, the Kimpton Hotel Eventi — opened in 2010 — is one of two Kimpton properties in the city, alongside Kimpton Hotel Theta. The pet-friendly Kimpton Hotel Eventi rises 54 floors and holds 292 rooms of various sizes. On the lower end of the sc


Last chance for best-ever Marriott Business Amex offer: Earn five free nights
The Points Guy / 12h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. With almost 9,000 properties across more than 30 brand names , there is a Marriott hotel for everyone. And when it comes to choosing a Marriott card, there are multiple options from both Chase and American Express . If you’re looking for a new card as you plan upcoming trips, there are some strong bonuses


The best Caribbean cruise for every type of traveler
100+The Points Guy / 12h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. There is no shortage of choices for a cruise to the Caribbean — the most popular place in the world for cruising. More than 200 cruise ships spend at least part of every year in the region. Cruise-selling websites list thousands of individual Caribbean sailings. This can be great news for would-be Caribbea


China Solar Makers Productions Growing Over 50% to Over 750 GW of Solar Modules
Next Big Future / 12h
Chinese solar module manufacturers are ramping to more than 750 GW of modules in 2024. This will be over 50% annual growth over the 499 GW they delivered in 2023, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA). China solar manufacturing industry should produce 820 GW of solar cells, up from the 545 GW in ... Read more


Tesla Megafan Receives Two Subsequent Cybertrucks That Completely Fail
500+Futurism / 12h
One Tesla megafan received not just one but two subsequent Cybertrucks that turned out to be complete lemons. And even after the months of service center hell he had to endure, he's still the carmaker's number one fan. As detailed on his YouTube Channel , LamarMK was dismayed after finding that his first Cybertruck, which he received in March, broke down on the side of the road after just two wee


Microsofts Office Web Apps Have a Fresh New Design
How-To Geek / 12h
Microsoft has rolled out a few improvements to the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint web apps over the past few months. Those updates arent stopping, as updated menus and file controls have now arrived in the Office web apps.


Save 20% Sitewide with Urban Armor Gear's 4th of July Sale
How-To Geek / 12h
Need a new phone case? Now is your chance to get a great new rugged case from Urban Armor Gear!