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Texas age-verification law for pornography websites is going to the Supreme Court
03 Jul

Texas age-verification law for pornography websites is going to the Supreme Court

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Texas will be the main battleground for a case about porn websites that is now headed to the Supreme Court. The Free Speech Coalition, a nonprofit group that represents the adult industry, petitioned the top court in April to review a state law that requires websites with explicit material to collect proof of users' ages. SCOTUS today agreed to take on the case challenging a previous ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit as a part of its next term beginning in October.Texas was one of many states over the last year to pass this type…
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Google’s greenhouse gas emissions climbed nearly 50 percent in five years due to AI
03 Jul

Google’s greenhouse gas emissions climbed nearly 50 percent in five years due to AI

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Google’s greenhouse gas emissions spiked by nearly 50 percent in the last five years thanks to energy-guzzling data centers required to power artificial intelligence, according to the company’s 2024 Environmental Report on Tuesday. The report, which Google releases annually, shows the company’s progress towards meeting its self-proclaimed objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.Google released 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, the report states, which was 48 percent higher than in 2019, and 13 percent higher than a year before. “This result is primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions,” said…
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Here’s all the Samsung hardware and announcements we expect from the Unpacked event on July 10
02 Jul

Here’s all the Samsung hardware and announcements we expect from the Unpacked event on July 10

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The summer is usually a quiet time for tech news but Samsung is about to shake things up a bit. The next Samsung Unpacked event is set for July 10. It will take place in Paris at 3PM local time, which is 9AM ET.The company released its Galaxy S24 devices earlier this year after its first Unpacked of 2024, so it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see new versions of the traditional smartphone format here (perhaps save for Olympics-branded models given Samsung's sponsorship of that event). However, there’s a decent chance that Samsung will show off its latest set of foldables.…
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Meta is changing its policy for the most-moderated word on its platforms
02 Jul

Meta is changing its policy for the most-moderated word on its platforms

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Meta is changing a long-running policy regarding the Arabic word “shaheed,” which has been described as the most-moderated word on the company’s apps. The company said in to the Oversight Board that use of the word alone would no longer result in a post’s removal.The Oversight Board had the company for a “blanket ban” on the word, which is often translated as “martyr,” though, as the board noted, it can have multiple meanings. Meta’s previous policy, however, didn’t take that “linguistic complexity” into account, which resulted in a disproportionate number of takedowns over a commonly used word. Shaheed, the board…
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JLab’s Flex Open Earbuds are a $50 version of the Bose Ultra Open
02 Jul

JLab’s Flex Open Earbuds are a $50 version of the Bose Ultra Open

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Bose surprised everyone when it debuted its clip-on Ultra Open Earbuds early this year. The premise was part fashion and part function, leaving your ears open to ambient sounds while you listen to tunes or podcasts. That model is $299 though, a price that's prohibitive for anyone looking to give the unique wear style a try. Enter JLab, the budget audio company with a solid track record for sound quality and features for under $100, and its new model: the Flex Open Earbuds. At just $50, it's much easier to take a gamble on the clip-on design, especially if you…
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China’s BYD is catching up with Tesla in sales
02 Jul

China’s BYD is catching up with Tesla in sales

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China’s leading EV manufacturer, BYD, is catching up with Tesla in sales, according to sales figures published by Reuters. The company posted a 21 percent increase in electric vehicle sales throughout the second quarter. This totals 426,039 EVs from April to June, which is just 12,000 fewer vehicles than Tesla’s estimated deliveries for the same time period. This places BYD in a good position to become the world’s leading vendor.Tesla just reported a five percent drop in deliveries for the most recent quarter, which is the first time the company has ever experienced two straight quarters of decline. It produced…
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Polestar Is Bracing for the EV Tariff Wars. It May Not Emerge Unscathed
02 Jul

Polestar Is Bracing for the EV Tariff Wars. It May Not Emerge Unscathed

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Polestar is caught in the middle of an international trade war. Growing competition from Tesla and Chinese rivals and the slowdown of the global EV market are not great for business. Even worse are the gigantic taxes set to be imposed on Polestar’s entire cohort of Chinese-manufactured cars. The US government will raise tariffs on electric vehicles coming from China from 25 percent to 100 percent, and in Europe, the threat of a 38 percent hike in taxes also looms from July 4. In May, China suggested that it will retaliate with a 25 percent tariff hike on large-engine cars…
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Early Prime Day deals discount the Bose QuietComfort II earbuds to a record-low price on Amazon
02 Jul

Early Prime Day deals discount the Bose QuietComfort II earbuds to a record-low price on Amazon

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Amazon Prime Day 2024 is nearly here, but there are already a bunch of solid early Prime Day deals available on tech products in the lead-up. Bose items are among the deals: you can grab this quality set of active noise cancelling (ANC) wireless earbuds for $100 off. The Bose QuietComfort II buds typically retail for $279, but it's available in two colorways for $179. That marks an all-time-low price for these earbuds.BoseIf you're looking for a great set of active noise cancelling earbuds, the Bose QuietComfort II may fit the bill. $179 at AmazonAdmittedly, this isn't the latest set…
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Pick up the 13-inch iPad Air M2 while it’s down to a record-low price
02 Jul

Pick up the 13-inch iPad Air M2 while it’s down to a record-low price

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There's good news for anyone in the market for an upgraded iPad: The 13-inch iPad Air with the M2 chip is available for a record-low price ahead of Amazon Prime Day. Our choice for 2024's best overall iPad is down to $749 from $799 for the 128GB model. The sale is running on the Blue, Purple and Starlight models, but the Space Gray option is only $769.AppleApple released its 13-inch iPad Air with the M2 chip earlier this year and we're big fans. We gave it a 91 in our review thanks to its great mix of features for the…
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Apple now considers its first HomePod to be ‘vintage’
02 Jul

Apple now considers its first HomePod to be ‘vintage’

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I went to a museum recently that had a range of iPods and early generation iPhones on display — it was horrifying. Now, Apple is responsible for my shock, thanks to the new items added its vintage and obsolete products list on July 1. The tech giant has put the first generation HomePod on its list of vintage products. Apple typically labels a product as "vintage" if its been out of distribution for at least five years — however, Apple only discontinued the HomePod three years ago. These products can still get repaired, as long as parts are available.Apple first…
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