Monthly Archives: August 2020
WhatsApp now lets you fact-check forwarded messages
If you’ve received a link offering a miracle cure for COVID-19, you should know that it’s fake. And yet, so many users just keep forwarding such messages, perhaps with good intentions, but ultimately adding to the confusion and polluting the internet with false information. Now, WhatsApp has added a new feature, making it easier to […]
Ugh, fine. I 'get' Twitch now. All it took was 'Ghost of Tsushima' and a pandemic.
Five months into self-isolating alone in a one bedroom apartment, I’ve accepted that my expectations of how all this was going to go were unrealistic. I don’t mean that in reference to the physical reality of the COVID-19 pandemic or even the whiplash unpredictability of the time loop that is 2020 — I mean my […]
How a TikTok ban could work, and what it means for your content
President Donald Trump casually dropped Friday that he would “ban” TikTok. That added heft to earlier statements made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the administration was considering a ban. But how would a ban on an app that’s already been downloaded by 165 million Americans, and that anyone can currently download from Apple […]
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 […]
Uber is reportedly buying food delivery company Postmates for $2.65 billion
Uber is reportedly acquiring food delivery startup Postmates for $2.65 billion, with official confirmation of the all-stock buyout expected as soon as Monday. The news was reported Sunday by Bloomberg and The New York Times, both of which cited anonymous sources with knowledge of the deal. Uber Eats’ vice president Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty is expected to […]
Wilford Brimley, beloved entertainer and star of 'Cocoon,' is dead 85
Wilford Brimley, whose work as an actor and as a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association made him a transgenerational favorite, is dead at 85. Brimley died on Saturday morning, his manager Lynda Bensky confirmed to Mashable. He was in intensive care at the time, receiving dialysis treatments and dealing with unspecified medical problems. He […]
Netflix rolls out new playback speed settings, starting with Android
You want to watch a 30-minute episode on Netflix but you only have 20 minutes to spare. What can do you? The answer to that question used to be “nothing,” but a new feature on Netflix now lets Android users bend time to their will. The addition of playback speed settings allows viewers to watch […]
Microsoft's Cortana is saying goodbye to Android and iOS in 2021
It’s looking like curtains for Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant. On mobile, at least. In an announcement posted on July 31, the company said it would pull the Cortana mobile app from both iOS and Android devices in early 2021. While this is new for American users, Microsoft did a similar scrubbing of mobile Cortana in […]
Automated fact-checking won't stop the social media infodemic
The coronavirus pandemic, protests over police killings and systemic racism, and a contentious election have created the perfect storm for misinformation on social media. But don’t expect AI to save us. Twitter’s recent decision to red-flag President Donald Trump’s false claims about mail-in ballots has reinvigorated the debate on whether social media platforms should fact-check […]
7 of the best reality shows from around the world
Scripted shows are great, but sometimes you just want to binge some good reality TV. Long-running reality television series such as The Bachelor, Survivor, and Say Yes to the Dress are popular options for scratching that unscripted drama itch, with all of them easy to flick on and devour. However, if you’re looking for a […]