Dec 05
A Norwegian Cruise Line ship with at least 10 passengers and crew members infected with COVID-19 has docked in New Orleans.
Dec 05
Apple is still fighting Russia over alleged App Store abuse. Both 9to5Mac and RT report Apple is asking for a judicial review of a Federal Antimonopoly Service warning from August that allows developers to mention alternatives to the App Store’s in-app payment system. FAS gave Apple until September 30th to alter its policies, but the company declined to change its rules despite the threat of a fine.
The opposition parallels Apple’s legal battles in the US. The judge in Epic’s lawsuit against Apple ordered the tech firm to let App Store developers point to other payment systems, but Apple appealed the injunction in hopes of a delay. The court denied Apple’s request, and the company will have until December 9th to let app makers point to other options. Apple will make exceptions to its policy for some media apps in 2022.
Pushbacks like those in the US and Russia aren’t surprising. Apple still makes most of its money through hardware sales, but its services business is growing. Easier third-party alternatives could theoretically hurt App Store revenues, not to mention increase the chances of rogue apps pointing users to malicious sites. The iPhone maker might not have much choice, however. Regulators are concerned Apple’s approach stifles choice and competition, and they’re unlikely to let the matter slide.
Dec 05
The Oscar winner had the best response when asked about the new Disney+ series “Hawkeye.”
Dec 05
Having just brought back those Weeping Angels a few weeks ago, Doctor Who is ringing in 2022 by calling in some old(er) foes in the form of the Daleks. Having spent most of Flux out on the sidelines, that emotionless master race is back to terrorize Jodie Whitaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and company in the holiday special…
Dec 05
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Drops Dazzling First Footage Of 2-Part Sequel
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe first of two planned sequels to the Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” will be released next year.
Dec 05
Spider-Man: No Way Home's Villainous Trinity on Returning to Their Evil Roles
Posted in: Today's ChiliSince it was first reported nearly a full year ago, one of the big things on everyone’s mind in regard to Spider-Man: No Way Home are its villains. The returning baddies of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus from Sam Raimi’s original trilogy and Jamie Foxx’s Electro of the Amazing duology…
Dec 05
Come Talk Your Doctor Who Hopes, Dreams, and Fluxes in the Season Finale Discussion Zone
Posted in: Today's ChiliWe’ve only had six weeks in the TARDIS this time around, and at last: Flux is about to come to its final end. Come talk about Doctor Who’s present and future with us as we await it, why don’t you?
Dec 05
The Democratic congresswoman denounced Republicans who refuse to condemn Rep. Lauren Boebert’s repeated anti-Muslim attacks against her.
Dec 05
Google's mail-in Pixel repair service reportedly compromised photos and accounts
Posted in: Today's ChiliRogue repair staff aren’t limited to any one company. According to The Verge, author and developer Jane McGonigal said her internet accounts were compromised after she mailed her Pixel 5a to Google for service. The intruder accessed Google services, Dropbox and another email account, McGonigal said, and activity logs indicated access to semi-revealing photos in an apparent attempt to “find nudes.”
McGonigal noted that this happened long after her phone seemingly vanished from Google’s facility, and despite efforts to wipe the phone and lock it using Google’s system. She couldn’t turn the phone on as she normally would to perform a reset. The perpetrator, meanwhile, took pains to cover their tracks by marking Google security alerts as spam and even deleting those notices in backup email accounts.
Google has confirmed that it’s “investigating” the claim. McGonigal heard the same through unofficial sources, but hadn’t been contacted as of this writing. This is the second such report in two weeks.
The allegation highlights the problems with mail-in service. You can’t always trust that technicians will respect your privacy, and it’s not always certain that you can scrub your data. Retail support is no guarantee, either. Short of knowing a technician you can trust, the only surefire solution is to fix a device yourself — and that isn’t practical for many people.
Yeah, don’t send your Google phone in for warranty repair/replacement. As has happened with others, last night someone used it to log into my gmail, Drive, photos backup email account, dropbox, and I can see from activity logs they opened a bunch of selfies hoping to find nudes
— Jane McGonigal (@avantgame) December 4, 2021
Dec 05
eBay banned some users by mistake
Posted in: Today's ChiliTwitter isn’t the only big-name internet company to have accidentally banned users this week. As The Vergereports, eBay has confirmed it suspended a “small number” of users by mistake on December 3rd. The company didn’t provide a cause or reveal the extent of the problem, but said it had fixed the slip-up and notified those affected.
There may have been a significant number of victims. Reddit users devoted a large thread to the bans, noting that there weren’t any potential red flags for at least some of the accounts. People were suspended even if they had excellent buyer and seller histories or hadn’t used eBay for years. Those who contacted eBay were denied appeals and, at least once, told they put eBay users “at risk.”
While it’s not always clear what prompts unintentional bans, incidents like these underscore the limits of moderating internet services. Companies often have to lean on automated moderation to handle the sheer scale of content, and those human moderators that are available can still make mistakes. Gaffes like this are rare, but might be difficult to avoid without double-checking decisions.
Yesterday, a small number of eBay accounts were inadvertently suspended. The issue is resolved & any users who need to take action have been notified. If you still need help, please DM your name, email & zip so we can check it out. ~Beca https://t.co/KlP3BGeZjr
— Ask eBay (@AskeBay) December 4, 2021
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