Author: News Room
The moment the white smoke appeared above the Sistine Chapel, I immediately turned on my television, because I wanted to see who the new pope would be, and then hopped on social media, because I knew that the internet could tell me more about the new pope faster than television could. That, and the memes would be good. The memes came first, naturally, flying in harder and faster than they ever did with Pope Francis, because the new pope was American. Not just that — Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was from Chicago, with a bio full of…
The Senate has voted to end a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule that used federal funding to cover Wi-Fi hotspots that could be used outside of school and libraries. The program, first implemented by former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, applied funds from the $2.6 billion federal E-Rate program to a program that enabled schools and libraries to provide free Wi-Fi hotspots to children and others with poor or no internet access at home. As Policyband notes prior to a successful Senate procedural vote yesterday to take up the measure, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the rule “violates the…
Powered by a 5,400mAh battery that Razer says is good for up to 14 hours of use, the Clio uses adjustable straps to attach to “most high-back gaming and office chairs” so that it’s positioned directly behind your head. Inside each of the cushion’s angled wings is a near-field speaker that uses a 43-millimeter driver paired with a passive radiator that work together to deliver “crisp, clear trebles and deep, punchy bass you can hear and feel.”The Clio speaker wirelessly connects to Bluetooth-compatible devices like smartphones, tablets, and handheld consoles, but is also compatible with Razer’s HyperSpeed Wireless protocol for…
Apple is launching a new global Viral Chart playlist in Apple Music that consists of tracks people are discovering through the company’s Shazam service. The playlist, which is updated daily, shows the top 50 songs people have heard playing out in the real world and have logged through Shazam. You can see charts on Shazam’s website as well.The playlists use “Shazam’s data to offer a comprehensive view of today’s fastest-growing songs across the globe, David Emery, who works for Apple Music in the UK, says on Threads. Emery notes that charts reflect songs going viral on Shazam in “real time”…
When Adam Mosseri took over Meta-owned Instagram as CEO in 2018, the app was experiencing what he’d later call “concerning” drops and plateaus in user engagement, thanks partly to fierce competition from a new app: TikTok. Instagram estimated in 2019 that 23 percent of the decline in time spent on Instagram in the US was due to TikTok. Bytedance’s video app kept expanding through the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. “We can’t explain it all, but what’s clear at this point is that we need to adapt, and do so quickly,” Mosseri wrote to his team in March 2020. Instagram…
The DOJ charged Mashinsky with securities fraud in 2023, accusing him of misrepresenting Celsius’s business and finances. It also claimed Mashinsky artificially inflated the price of the platform’s token, CEL, by “spending hundreds of millions purchasing it on the open market.” Mashinsky pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of commodities fraud last December.“Alexander Mashinsky targeted retail investors with promises that he would keep their ‘digital assets’ safer than a bank, when in fact he used those assets to place risky bets and to line his own pockets,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in the press…
The US government is bringing up Starlink adoption in the midst of tariff trade talks with other countries, according to a report from The Washington Post. In recent weeks, several countries have moved forward with licensing the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet company, including India, Somalia, Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam.Internal messages seen by The Post suggest that US embassies and the State Department are encouraging countries to make way for US satellite internet services like Starlink. The messages don’t promise lower tariffs in exchange for adopting Starlink, but “they do indicate that Secretary of State…
Apple has “made progress” on a chip for potential smart glasses that would be competitors to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, according to Bloomberg.The chip is apparently based on the chips Apple uses for the Apple Watch, though the company has removed parts and is being designed in such a way that it can handle the “multiple cameras” that the smart glasses might have, Bloomberg reports. Apple wants mass production of the chip to start by the end of 2026 or sometime in 2027, so the glasses themselves could come out within that timeframe. Apple is also reportedly working on…
Ecobee has announced an update to its Smart Doorbell Camera that finally adds integration with Google’s Home app and smart displays. The company’s video doorbell debuted with support for both Apple Home and Amazon Alexa when it launched in late 2023, but integration with Google’s smart home ecosystem was promised as a future update arriving sometime in 2024. Although its Google integration arrives a year later, it adds to the unique functionality of Ecobee’s smart doorbell, which can use the company’s smart thermostat as a video intercom.The update enables live video from Ecobee’s doorbell camera to be viewed through the…
Most of Alienware’s gaming laptops look like they came from another planet; the reimagined Aurora range feels a little closer to home, for blending in around the office, classroom or coffee shop when it isn’t play time. The name might sound familiar if you’ve been gaming for a while: Aurora laptops have been lost in space for two decades now, but Alienware has guided this reborn version down to earth with a choice of Intel chipsets, Nvidia 5000-series graphics, and a one-touch Stealth mode for when RGB illumination isn’t the vibe to go for. Announced at the PAX East gaming…
The high-profile defendants, sued by a group of FTX investors, include Tom Brady and his ex-wife, the model Gisele Bündchen; Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary; Larry David; Shohei Ohtani; Udonis Haslem; David Ortiz; Naomi Osaka; and Steph Curry, as well as the entire Golden State Warriors franchise. A group of “YouTuber defendants” who promoted FTX on social media were also sued.Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida cleared both groups of defendants of most claims, writing that the plaintiffs failed to “adequately plead causation” and “plausibly argue Defendants’ knowledge of FTX fraud.” The celebrities who backed Bankman-Fried’s…
Hisense has just dropped its 2025 TV line-up, and it’s a proper feast for the eyes. We’re talking massive screens, a return to OLED TVs, and some clever AI wizardry. There’s something for everyone within the range, and a partnership with Freely for streaming. But I’m drawn to the 100-inch behemoth on offer that you can’t help but be impressed by. Sitting at the top of this giant pile of pixels are the U7Q, U7Q Pro, and U8Q Mini-LED models, with a 100-inch model proudly leading the charge. Hisense is leaning heavily into brightness, contrast, and vivid colour, thanks to…