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, convenience is so important. …
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 setting. …
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 of where you are in your professional or personal life, emails are a necessity to function. …
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 Games. Speculation is that in the aftermath Microsoft went after a viable alternative in the form of Bethesda. Though IGN reports that a Microsoft-Zenimax deal almost came through two years ago but didn’t happen. Regardless, the announcement comes as a shock to many in and outside the gaming industry. …
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 platforms like Facebook. Particularly in a country with X Twitter users and over 6,000,000 Facebook userbase. But that’s exactly what happened. Gloria’s photo was now a full-blown meme. …
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 the form of push notifications. It’s not like you’re going to win the lottery. …
Will the US government force TikTok’s hand?
TikTok has come under the microscope during the past few months over its Chinese ownership and the ensuing security concerns. Ever since the Indian government banned the platform from its country, there were talks of the Trump administration following up with a similar verdict. Now Donald Trump announced that he will be banning TikTok from the US.
The platform has been a cause for concern for the US government as of late, and its not just about security. In June, Trump’s Tulsa rally was supposed to haul in support by the numbers, as much as 20,000 in attendance. But a TikTok campaign helped make sure this wasn’t the case. In fact, only a little under 6,200 showed up. …
Android, are you taking notes?
Apple’s new iOS 14 is yet to officially hit the market. But its new security updates are already revealing some serious privacy concerns. The OS update is currently available in beta, and as such, developers and testers have already started to work around iOS 14.
One of the new features notifies users every time clipboard data is being used by a third-party app. During the developer beta stage of iOS14, users discovered that TikTok accesses device clipboard data. The app has been monitoring every few keystrokes even when it was running in the background. TikTok has updated its app since the news came out. But the damage was done. …
Will it help solve the company’s problems?
It's official. Twitter is finally building a subscription platform, codenamed ‘Gryphon’. This was following the company’s recent two job postings for a Backend Scala Software Engineer and a Senior Full-stack Software Engineer.
As per the two posts, “The team will be collaborating to rebuild some of Twitter’s services to produce a subscription management platform. The Payments platform is a cross-organizational collaboration between different teams at Twitter.”
Not much else is known about Gryphon so far. But the idea for a subscription service is not a new one. It is believed that the platform will offer a premium version of the current Twitter landscape. The expectation is that Gryphon will be ad-free and include customizations not available on the free version. …
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