Author: Zach_Wilson
The New York Times’ excellent word search game is now in its Games app
Strands, The New York Times’ very good word search game, has been officially added to the NYT’s Games app on iOS and Android. For me personally, this is huge. Strands has become my favorite of the NYT’s games since it launched in beta in March, but I was annoyed that…
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A meeting to consider a bipartisan privacy bill just crumbled
The House Energy and Commerce Committee suddenly canceled a markup to discuss and vote on 11 bills, including the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The committee did not provide a reason for the cancellation in its online notice, and committee members appeared surprised…
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The FCC wants to make it easier to unlock cellphones
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new rule that could make it easier for consumers to unlock their cellphones. The proposed regulation, which the agency announced on Thursday, would require mobile providers to unlock consumers’ phones within 60 days of activation. Under current regulations, consumers who want…
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Perplexity’s grand theft AI
In every hype cycle, certain patterns of deceit emerge. In the last crypto boom, it was “ponzinomics” and “rug pulls.” In self-driving cars, it was “just five years away!” In AI, it’s seeing just how much unethical shit you can get away with. Perplexity is basically a rent-seeking middleman on…
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ACLU challenges Section 702 surveillance in neo-Nazi’s prosecution
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has joined the defense team for a neo-Nazi accused of plotting to sabotage Baltimore’s electrical grid, The Baltimore Banner reports. Attorneys from the ACLU’s National Security Project will be working with Brandon Clint Russell’s defense “for the limited purpose of challenging the government’s secretive…
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All the tech news from the 2024 election
The first presidential debate was very bad. Here’s a summary that includes tech policy issues and also some of the most unhinged stuff we heard tonight. Things mentioned: China, tariffs, semiconductor chips, Charlottesville, the border, “space age materials,” the Green New Deal, environment, election “fraud,” opioids, Twitter(???), having sex with…
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