Technology

If you’re still hoping to secure a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X / S before the end of the year, Walmart is giving you another shot to purchase one of these next-gen consoles. Today, the retailer confirmed that it would restock the consoles at 12PM PT / 3PM ET on December 17th. When you visit the product pages for the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X / Xbox Series S, you should see a message showing that a restock is confirmed for today. Due to these consoles’ high demand, they will likely sell out quickly, so if you want one, don’t hesitate to bite the bullet and hit purchase. PlayStation 5 Prices taken at time of publishing. Sony’s flagship next-gen console, priced at $499.99. Compared to the $399.99 PS5 Digital Edition, this console includes a disc drive, allowing you to play digital...

Instagram is announcing two new features to help combat COVID-19 misinformation: users in areas with surging cases will see a link to their local health authority at the top of their feed and anyone searching for vaccine information will also be directed to credible health sources. These measures will be taken in addition to the social network blocking hashtags that contain vaccine misinformation, which also got a mention in announcement tweets. The features come as many platform companies take steps to keep coronavirus misinformation from spreading at a vital time for the US, as health institutions struggle with record hospitalizations and the first of the approved COVID-19 vaccines start to roll out. Second, in addition to removing widely debunked claims about the COVID-19 vaccines, when...

2020 has been a year, not least because much of the world pivoted to remote work. Industries that typically rely on in-person connections, like fitness and religious institutions, found themselves having to engage their audiences through live streams. Ad revenue disappeared from influencers and YouTubers, who are used to working remotely so long as they make money. Fashion influencers whose livelihoods depend on peddling an image of beauty and aspirational clothing were without events to attend or reasons to get dressed. Everyone needed to adapt. In this piece, we look back on a few people we previously interviewed this year to hear how their remote transition has gone — do they anticipate staying remote? What have they learned from this challenging year? And will we collectively agree to ...

Facebook has reversed a change to its News Feed algorithm that prioritized authoritative news sources, even though some employees asked that the “nicer” News Feed become permanent, according to The New York Times. Following a sharp increase in misinformation on the platform in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 US presidential election, Facebook changed how it weighed the quality of news sources based on a “news ecosystem quality” (NEQ) score. Outlets including the Times, NPR, and CNN saw Facebook traffic rise, while more partisan sites that published incendiary or misleading news about the election saw Facebook traffic decrease. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had authorized the change to the News Feed in the days after the election when it became clear that unverified stories about election fraud a...

I always enjoy this time of the year. Usually, I take some time off of work and use it as a golden opportunity to tackle my ever-growing backlog of games. With the year wrapping up and a ton of great games already available (and even more coming over the next few years), it’s truly a great time to be a gamer. Today’s deals spotlight an incredible deal for PS4 and PS5 owners, a sale on Dell’s 27-inch 1440p gaming monitor, plus a few deals on some great headphones and wireless earbuds. Get two years of PlayStation Plus for less than $60 If you were one of the lucky ones to grab a PS5, I recommend taking advantage of this PlayStation Plus subscription deal at Eneba.com. Normally $60 through Sony, it’s just $32. However, if you want the most bang for your buck, I strongly advise picking up two...

TV was a constant companion in 2020. With most cultural institutions shut down, the small screen still managed to provide us with a deluge of new things to enjoy and talk about — far more than any one person could ever watch. In fact, at times this year, I found it difficult to watch anything — or at least, anything new. My habits were often fickle, and I danced across shows new and old; I started many and finished few on my journey to get lost in something. And so even in this extraordinary year, the usual caveats apply. I am but one person, and I cannot watch all television. Here, in no particular order, are the shows that stayed with me, long after I turned off the set. Dare Me While the show premiered in 2019, the rest of Dare Me’s 10 episodes aired in 2020, and each of them was among ...

Facebook is stepping up its campaign against Apple’s privacy changes with a second full-page newspaper ad today. This new ad claims Apple’s iOS 14 privacy changes “will change the internet as we know it,” and force websites and blogs “to start charging you subscription fees” or add in-app purchases due to a lack of personalized ads. It follows a similar full-page newspaper ad in the The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Post yesterday. Apple is planning to make changes to iOS 14 early next year that will require developers to ask for permission to gather data and track users across mobile apps and websites on an iPhone or iPad. Apple revealed how iOS 14 users will be prompted to opt into tracking in apps this week, noting that developers like Facebook can explain to u...

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro have leaked again, this time in a full 360-degree animation courtesy of Evan Blass. The latest @Evleaks drop gives us our best look yet at how Samsung’s latest true wireless earbuds will look from every angle. Rumored to arrive alongside the Galaxy S21 in January, Samsung’s followup to the Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus has already leaked in three different colors: black, violet, and silver, again courtesy of Blass. All three Galaxy Buds Pro color options.Evan Blass The Galaxy Buds Pro are expected to feature active noise cancellation, that should be much improved over the open-ear design of the Galaxy Buds Live. The Pros will also feature a beefier 500mAh battery according to an FCC filing. Samsung is rumored to be hosting an Galaxy S21 launch event on Jan...

Facebook is notifying Messenger and Instagram users in Europe that some features are temporarily unavailable. A small message has appeared in both the Facebook Messenger and Instagram apps for European users this week, noting that some features aren’t available to “respect new rules for messaging services in Europe.” Facebook doesn’t outline exactly what features will be missing, but the company does reveal on its support pages that polls on both Messenger and Instagram are currently unavailable in Europe, alongside a lack of stickers in Instagram and no personalized replies on Messenger. Other missing features may include a lack of certain file sends on Messenger, missing nicknames, or the ability to share AR effects in DMs on Instagram. Facebook’s warning in Instagram DMs. Facebook has t...

Twitch will no longer allow streamers and commenters to go around calling one another “simps.” The term — a recent favorite in the Twitch community that nominally refers to men who seem desperate for a woman’s attention — will be banned when used as an insult under Twitch’s upcoming revamp of its harassment policy. “Incel” and “virgin” will be banned as insults, too, Twitch COO Sara Clemens said during a live-streamed town hall this afternoon. The new policy, first spotted by esports consultant Rod Breslau, will go into effect on January 22nd. It also includes stricter rules around sexual harassment and seems to give Twitch more leeway to ban streamers and commenters who make offensive comments. Twitch is also rejecting emotes that include “simp” The policy overhaul comes after Twitch was ...

One of Canada’s astronauts will be sent around the Moon as part of a partnership between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), NASA announced today. The two organizations have formally agreed to collaborate on building a lunar space station called the Lunar Gateway. The Gateway is just one part of NASA’s larger Artemis program, which is focused on landing a woman on the Moon by 2024. A Canadian astronaut will participate in NASA’s planned Artemis II mission, and the CSA also has a seat on a future flight to the Gateway once it is complete. By joining the Artemis II mission, Canada will become the second country to have an astronaut fly around the Moon, the CSA says. Canada currently has just four active astronauts, and the CSA has not announced which will be participating in this partn...