With many of us stuck inside our homes, a pandemic like COVID-19 is an apt opportunity for hackers to strike. But even as ample awareness takes place, the average consumer doesn’t care about security as much as they should. Why is that? In a word, convenience.
Take Zoom. Remember those few days where almost everyone reported about Zoom’s many security issues? Governments and tech giants publicly banned employees from using the software. Yet, there seems to be no slowdown of Zoom meetings. Even media platforms that reported about Zoom’s security issues continue to use the software publicly. Times like these…
What the Fastly crash tells us about the internet
You’ve probably seen all the tweets by now. Some of the biggest websites in the world went down including Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, Stack Overflow, GitHub, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, Quora, PayPal, Vimeo, Shopify, and Stripe. Even news outlets like CNN, The Verge, The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, and Financial Times were impacted by the outage.
Visitors to any of these sites were greeted with a 503 error. The issue was attributed to Fastly, a popular CDN provider that suffered an outage resulting in a big chunk of the internet going down with it. At least for a while.
and how they helped me find work amidst a global pandemic
LinkedIn. It’s a platform with over 740 million users and yet we’re still trying to gauge its potential. No doubt you would have seen people talk about the many opportunities LinkedIn has to offer. You might have even tried your hand at it but haven’t really seen the results. I’ve been down this road too and for the first few years, I had no luck either. But thankfully with a bit of persistence and some “hacks”, LinkedIn ended being the most rewarding platform I’ve ever been on.
How LinkedIn helped me
I’ve been active on LinkedIn for quite some time. But it wasn’t until…
The company looks for the answer in Super Follows
Ah yes, Twitter. The platform that can’t seem to keep itself away from the news. Whether it's politics or canceling a celebrity over a controversial statement, it’s never a quiet day in the Twittersphere. Lately, the company has been making headlines for less sinister reasons. In a recent presentation for analysts and investors on what’s next for Twitter, the company announced “Super Follows”, a way for you to charge for your tweets.
Wait, why would I pay for tweets?
It sounds ridiculous at the outset. The last thing you want to see is that funny Twitter account you’ve been following has put up a paywall for tweets…
Fallout from Disney’s purchase of Star Wars resulted in the death of a promising project
The Mandalorian is shaping up to be one of the finest storytelling a TV series has to offer. Of course, I could be biased being the avid Star Wars fan I am. But at the very least it’s certainly promising enough for people to hold on to their Disney Plus subscriptions. Particularly after that season 2 ending.
As a gamer, I couldn’t help but wonder why this story isn’t already a video game? It has all the elements to make it a fantastic triple-A title. A bounty hunter traveling all over the galaxy on a grand quest? It’s the perfect…
And why it might not be everyone
The idea of paying for an email service may sound a bit odd and unnecessary. After all, many of us have been using email services for years, as a free utility than anything else. So why would anyone want to pay for something that’s already freely available? Well, if you’re someone who deals with hundred-odd things on email regularly, a better alternative would make sense to you too.
My problem with emails
Email services have come a long way from their early days at MIT. What started off as a university “Compatible Time-Sharing System” is now a vital tool for our everyday lives. Regardless…
Inching closer to realizing its “Netflix for gaming” dream
In an unexpected turn of events from the gaming world, Microsoft announced that it will be acquiring ZeniMax Media for a whopping $7.5 billion. ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda is the publisher for some of the most popular gaming franchises such as Doom, Dishonored, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. With the acquisition, the company and its franchises will fall under the tech giant’s ownership.
A few months back, Microsoft flirted with the idea of acquiring WB Games when AT&T announced its intention to sell the gaming division. Later, AT&T did a u-turn and no longer wanted to sell WB…
Generosity can come from unlikely places
No, that’s not a typo. A meme really did help feed an elders’ home. It all started on Twitter when user @GloriaXFiles tweeted a photo of herself on the internet. Though unintentional at the time, Gloria’s pose felt like one of those waiting to spark some creative commentary.
Before long, Twitter got busy with their creative comments. The light-hearted humor certainly lit up the local Twitter space. It's rare to see such sights on social media these days without blowing up a storm.
It's also not every day you see Twitter content translating well over to the more popular…
I should have done it sooner
Ah yes. The Zuckerberg empire. It’s one that many of us can’t seem to evade. Facebook products have been so deeply embedded in our daily digital lives that depriving yourself of using any of these may feel like going back to the stone age. At least that’s what I thought at first.
Over a decade ago, social media was still in its infancy. Global internet adoption was growing. Platforms like Facebook were fun places to be on back then. Sure, it made connecting with friends and family more convenient. …
Perspective from a South Asian island nation
We all strive to be more fit and healthy. But for the most part, our busy schedules or the lack of motivation (or both) keeps us from being committed to achieving our fitness goals. Sure, going to the gym is effective. But only if you’re consistent. Then again, with all the tech at our disposal, a gym isn’t your only option.
Holding yourself accountable
Many fitness and health-related apps have inbuilt engagement mechanisms specifically to retain users. The Strava app hurls frequent challenges to entice users from around the world to participate. Workout apps like the Zen series send you regular reminders in…
Neville Lahiru
Freelance Tech Journalist & former Digital Marketer. I spend most of my time writing about tech, business, and occasionally personal. Inquiries: lahiru@hey.com
