Remember in 2021 when Facebook banned linking to Australian news articles on their platform because the media companies got the government to make up a law (News Media Bargaining Code) saying Facebook had to pay them a fee when users link to their articles? Then Facebook said that's fucked, we'll just ban the links so we don't have to pay, then after only a few days the media companies realised they need Facebook's traffic to remain relevant, so told the government to weaken the code to the point Facebook was okay with it, then cobbled together undisclosed agreements with Facebook to save face? Yeah, so that exact same thing has been happening in Canada the past few months and today they're up to the "Facebook banned links to news" stage. Good luck Canucks.
The Cyberspace Administration of China is proposing that "device makers and app store operators" (i.e: Apple, Tencent, Baidu etc.) create something called "minor mode" and make it mandatory. It would limit device usage based on a user's age (max of 40 min/day under 8yo to a max of 2hrs/day for 16-18yo), ban them from using the device between 10pm and 6am, plus limit app stores to only allow apps to be downloaded with parental guidance (i.e: parents have to approve all downloads) for kids under 12 and for older kids, only download apps specifically rated by the government for minors. As horrific as it sounds to me, I bet if you floated this idea in a series of vox pops in the street without telling them its what they're doing in China, the vast majority of parents would love it.
Twitter/X is so aware that buying a blue tick is so pathetic and sad - sorry to the readers that pay for it, you know it's true - that they've added a feature to Blue that lets you hide the "verification" (there isn't any verification going on besides verifying your credit card works) symbol. You know your product sucks when you have to implement a function to obscure the fact your customers paid for it. It could also be that there are very useful and cool browser extensions that look for the verification symbol locally and block accounts featuring the graphic and/or reference to it in the HTML for you automatically. Really cleans up your timeline as you also need to be verified to advertise, so it has the added bonus of expunging advertisers too.
Check out this weird glass speaker from Sony. The LSPX-S3 (classic Sony naming) is a US$350 Bluetooth speaker that went on sale late-2021 that looks like a candlestick. It has "three actuators in the speaker" that are "attached to the end of the glass and vibrate the entire glass tweeter when audio is playing" to "spread sound in every direction". There's an LED built in to simulate a nice warm flame from a candle. Dunno if it ever made its way to Australia, but it looks cool. Would love to hear how it sounds. The Verge reckons it has "no muddiness whatsoever to the sound" and is great for vocals and other string instruments. Definitely more aesthetically pleasing than most Bluetooth speakers.
Some Internet Archive servers in an alcove at their HQ in San Francisco (Quinn Dombrowski / Flickr)
📻 The Cynic - Kashmir
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