Technology

Ongoing efforts to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill could reshape the cryptocurrency world, as lawmakers debate new tax-reporting requirements on various parts of the blockchain system. The Washington Post is reporting that, on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directly lobbied lawmakers to keep stronger cryptocurrency tax provisions in the infrastructure bill. It’s a sign of how committed the White House is to bringing cryptocurrency into the broader tax-reporting system, even as the details of the new requirements threaten to upset the delicate political balance of the infrastructure plan. A broad new requirement on cryptocurrency brokers From the beginning, the drafters of the bipartisan infrastructure framework hoped to offset the rush of new spending with $28 billion in n...

Overwatch League sponsors Coca-Cola and State Farm are re-evaluating their support of the competition after the game’s publisher Activision Blizzard was sued by regulators over a culture of ‘constant sexual harassment,’ The Washington Post reports. The companies’ statements come as another sponsor, T-Mobile, appeared to pull its branding from the Overwatch League as well as the Call of Duty League, earlier this week. In a statement, Coca-Cola told the Washington Post that it is aware of the allegations surrounding Activision Blizzard, and said it is “[taking] a step back for a moment to revisit future plans and programs.” However, a spokesperson for the company would not confirm whether or not the company would cease its sponsorship of the league entirely. Meanwhile, State Farm said it is ...

Microsoft is planning to integrate Spotify into a new Windows 11 feature. Panos Panay, Microsoft’s head of Windows and devices, teased the Focus Sessions Windows 11 feature on Twitter this week, and it appears to be a new way to focus on tasks and work. Focus Sessions includes Spotify integration, allowing you to create a focus timer to work through tasks while listening to playlist of music from Spotify. Microsoft hasn’t started testing Focus Sessions in its public builds of Windows 11 yet, but from the video Panay teased it appears to be built into the operating system’s Clock app. It looks like it’s following the Pomodoro Technique, a method of managing time by breaking down work into smaller chunks with short breaks. There are already a variety of Pomodoro apps and websites that let yo...

When Facebook banned the personal accounts of academics researching ad transparency and misinformation on its platform this week, it justified the decision in part by saying it was only following rules set out by the Federal Trade Commission. But the FTC itself says this is “inaccurate” and that its rules require no such action, reports The Washington Post. Facebook claims it banned the accounts “to stop unauthorized scraping and protect people’s privacy in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order.” The order in question was put in place following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and says Facebook must obtain “affirmative express consent” from users before sharing their data with a third party (known as the “consent decree”) and maintain a “comprehensive privacy program.” Facebook’...

GingerOfOz, the console modder you might remember from his excellent Game Boy-sized portable Wii, is back with another home console-turned-handheld. This time it’s the turn of the PS2, objectively the best console ever made and the one that just so happens to be the first I ever owned. Dubbed the “PS2 Eclipse,” the mod involved trimming down an original PS2 motherboard and packing it into a 3D printed chassis with a set of PlayStation Vita buttons, Nintendo Switch joysticks, a 5-inch 480p display, batteries, and a couple of extra custom circuit boards. It’s a very neat little handheld, and the fact that it’s using original PS2 hardware rather than emulation means it doesn’t have any major compatibility issues with the console’s library of almost 4,000 games. That said, the way the console ...

Carl Pei‘s Nothing has finally released its long-awaited ear (1) wireless earbuds, and you can now take a closer look at it up in the gallery above. For those unfamiliar, the Nothing ear (1) offers great sound quality for its very accessible price point, powering each earbud with an 11.6mm driver produced in partnership with Teenage Engineering. It connects to your devices via Bluetooth 5.2 and cuts out distractions via Active Noise Cancellation. One charge will provide a playtime of up to 5.7 hours, and the charging case can bring this up to a total of 34 hours. The case itself also supports ultra-fast and wireless Qi charging, topping up to eight hours of playback in just 10 minutes. Other features include Fast Pairing, In-Ear Detection, Gesture Control customization, a Find My Earbud fu...

Update August 5th, 4:07 PM ET: The Xbox Series X is no longer in stock at Walmart and the rolling restocks appear to have concluded. Microsoft’s $500 Xbox Series X is available online for delivery through Walmart. It’s also offering both the PS5 disc-based console and the digital version. The pricier and more powerful Series X that has a disc drive and 1TB of storage has been almost as tough to find as the PlayStation 5, so this restock is very welcome news. If this is your first time jumping into the ring, there are a few bits of advice that might lead to success for you. Don’t leave the site if the console appears to sell out immediately. Walmart usually releases stock in 10-minute intervals, with the next being at 3:50PM, 4PM, and so forth until it runs out. I recommend ensuring that yo...

Amazon is updating its Halo fitness band today with the ability to share live heart rate information with third-party devices and fitness apps over BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The company is currently partnered with NordicTrack for its iFit service, along with Openfit and CLMBR. Live heart rate has been available to view since launch in the Live tab of the Halo app, but connecting it to display in other apps and devices is just as easy. Amazon says you can turn on heart rate sharing by going to the Halo app’s Settings, selecting Heart Rate Sharing, switching it to on, and then following the on-screen prompts to share your heart rate with the other app or device. Halo live heart rate data overlaid in the Openfit app.Image: Amazon Showing on-screen heart rate is a fairly common feature for f...

Instagram scammers have developed a lucrative “banning” racket, according to a new report from Motherboard. For around $60, some scammers will get banned whatever Instagram account you choose, friend or foe, and often the scammers make even more money on the backend by helping the targeted users regain access to their accounts. The process, according to interviews and material reviewed by Motherboard, involves using a verified account to impersonate a target (their name, photo, bio), and then reporting the target as an impersonator to get them banned. Apparently, as long as the target has a human in their profile picture the method works. Banning and restoring accounts pays well Motherboard writes that other users they spoke to also had their accounts banned for being reported for violatin...

In a briefing on Thursday afternoon, Apple confirmed previously reported plans to deploy new technology within iOS, macOS, watchOS, and iMessage that will detect potential child abuse imagery, but clarified crucial details from the ongoing project. For devices in the US, new versions of iOS and iPadOS rolling out this fall have “new applications of cryptography to help limit the spread of CSAM [child sexual abuse material] online, while designing for user privacy.” The project is also detailed in a new “Child Safety” page on Apple’s website. The most invasive and potentially controversial implementation is the system that performs on-device scanning before an image is backed up in iCloud. From the description, scanning does not occur until a file is getting backed up to iCloud, and Apple o...