Harry Potter and the Mnemonic Major System
3 by krisfris | 0 comments on Hacker News.
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Kim Jong-un: fragile and under pressure but he won’t give up
The Observer The North Korean leader’s surprise freeze of his nuclear programme is less a genuine move than a diplomatic manoeuvre,...
Monday, 3 August 2020
Twitter may have to pay hundreds of millions in fines for privacy screw-up
As far as mistakes go, Twitter's notorious two-factor authentication boondoggle could end being a costly one.
Buried deep inside the company's Monday 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission is a note that the social media giant might end up on the receiving end of up to $250 million in fines. At issue was Twitter "inadvertently" (it swears) using users' phone numbers for advertising from 2013 to 2019 — numbers that were only provided for security purposes. The Federal Trade Commission apparently didn't take kindly to that, and sent a draft complaint Twitter's way on July 28.
For those blessed to not remember every single Twitter privacy scandal, it's worth a reminder just how problematic the 2019 revelation that Twitter matched some users to advertisers' marketing lists based on their 2FA numbers actually was. Read more...
More about Twitter, Privacy, Social Media, Two Factor Authentication, and Techfrom Mashable https://mashable.com/article/twitter-ftc-investigation-fines-250-million-2fa-advertising/
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Google smart speakers secretly updated to listen for more than wake words
Google Home smart speakers, the company dryly warns in a note buried deep on a support page, can "incorrectly" record their users even when they haven't first said an activating wake phrase like "hey, Google." It just so happens that, at least for a brief period of time this summer, those microphone-enabled devices were doing exactly that.
The company admitted Monday, following a report by Protocol, that it had updated an unspecified number of Google Assistant-enabled devices to respond to auditory cues beyond the user-specified wake phrase. Google told Protocol this was a mistake that was quickly fixed, but did not appear to address the larger privacy concerns that such a mistake signifies. After all, how are users supposed to trust a live microphone in their home if someone can remotely update it to be even more invasive without their knowledge? Read more...
More about Google Assistant, Google Home, Smart Speakers, Tech, and Big Tech Companiesfrom Mashable https://mashable.com/article/google-assistant-microphone-smoke-alarm/
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Addictive site Window Swap lets you pretend to work from other people's homes
No matter how cosy or super-organized you make your work-from-home space, and no matter how many plant babies you've assembled on your windowsill, there's one thing you can't do much about: the view out your window.
And if you're not lucky enough to have so much as a window, even with a shitty view, this might be a little lifesaver.
Window Swap is a simple, beautiful site that provides you with a random view, courtesy of video recorded out a window somewhere else in the world.
Rami's window in Stockholm is a still balcony in a riot of green against a blue sky, with a few bright flowers; Beate's window in Luneberg, Germany, is similarly green with idyllic suburban atmosphere, including a lawnmower and kids chattering in the background; Sana's window, in Kazakhstan's biggest city of Almaty, comes with a view of sunset-pink clouds over distant mountains and glowing light in a neighbour's window, with optional background dubstep; Sandy's slice of the Philippines is hazy, bucolic, barely a building in sight; Kurt's Austrian window is filled by almost unacceptably beautiful, possibly alive-with-certain-sounds hills. Read more...
More about Working From Home, Single Serving Sites, Culture, Work Life, and Web Culturefrom Mashable https://mashable.com/article/window-swap/
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Sunday, 2 August 2020
New top story on Hacker News: Web apps aren't tech. They're “tech”
Web apps aren't tech. They're “tech”
12 by AlchemistCamp | 15 comments on Hacker News.
Middlesbrough
12 by AlchemistCamp | 15 comments on Hacker News.
Middlesbrough
Microsoft confirms it's in talks to buy TikTok, and Trump is involved
Microsoft has confirmed reports it's in talks to acquire TikTok, writing in a Sunday blog post that the deal is currently in preliminary discussions. Oh, and the U.S. president is part of them too.
TikTok has been the subject of intense international scrutiny as of late, with various governments accusing the video sharing app of sharing users' data with the Chinese government. President Donald Trump claimed he would ban TikTok just last week, and a report from Bloomberg stated he may even order China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app.
It still isn't clear whether Trump has given a direct order mandating a sale. He's certainly involved though, as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella actually met with Trump to discuss the potential acquisition. Microsoft stated it "appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country." Read more...
More about Microsoft, Acquisitions, Donald Trump, Tiktok, and Bytedancefrom Mashable https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-microsoft-acquisition-donald-trump/
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