Comcast is boosting speeds for most of its Xfinity Internet customers
Up to 200 Mbps faster for some
The Web
Big tech, the internet, cloud computing, streaming, social and more.
Netflix sharing crackdown rolls on with new profile transfer tool
The tool arrives just weeks before Netflix launches its ad-supported tier
Datacenter fire temporarily cripples South Korean web giants, sparking monopoly concerns
One fire stopped important services for 90 percent of South Koreans
YouTube ends trial that restricted 4K content to its Premium subscription service
What has Google decided?
In context: YouTube's controversial experiment in which it restricted 4K content to its $12-per-month Premium service has come to an end. What conclusion Google drew from the test is unknown—it appears to be still gathering feedback–so there's no guarantee the resolution will remain accessible on the platform indefinitely.
World's second-richest person sells private jet to stop Twitter users tracking it
*Plays world's smallest violin*
A first-generation iPhone sold for almost $40,000 at auction
Almost $30,000 in bids were received in the final hours of the sale
American Airlines deployed bot detectors to cripple an app its flight attendants find vital for their work
The data the app uses is available on public-facing websites
Networking: the more things change, the more they stay the same
Some insight on Google's Aquila, built for ultra-low latency networking
Kanye West to buy "free-speech" platform Parler
West recently had his Instagram and Twitter accounts restricted over antisemitic posts
New Firefox phone-masking feature keeps your number away from spammers
An extension of the Firefox Relay email service
OnlyFans wants to drop 'adult content site' image, says it supports UK Online Safety Bill
How many people subscribe to OnlyFans for its cookery shows?
In context: Look up OnlyFans on Wikipedia, and you'll find it's defined as an internet content subscription service—a description that could be applied to a site such as Patreon—but few people visit OF for the purpose of listening to podcasts. Yet despite users spending $3.9 billion on the platform in 2021, it wants to move away from its image as a paid-for porn site, just as its home country of the UK looks to finalize the Online Safety Bill.
Netflix ad-supported tier starts November 3, undercutting Disney+ at $7 a month
Features 720p streaming with five minutes of ads per hour, but about 10 percent of the catalog is MIA
Online piracy is on the rise, with television and movies leading the charge
Fragmented streaming options are partially to blame
Google unveils a host of open data and AI advancements at Cloud Next
And the launch of a new industry consortium called the OpenXLA Project
Woman pays her Instagram lover $30,000 for a ticket back to Earth
The scam would have you believe Russia sends cosmonauts up, then charges them to come home
Windows 11 22H2 update includes enhanced phishing protection
How to activate it on private systems and professional networks
"End Live Piracy Now" campaign demands swift action against illegal streaming in Europe
A hot potato: End Live Piracy Now is a new initiative against unlicensed streaming of live sports and events. More than 100 organizations want the EU to "end piracy" for good, with new laws that would shut pirate servers off even before a live show comes to an end. Which is easier said than done.
TwitchCon 2022: streamer breaks her back, Master Chief dances with Megan Thee Stallion
It was all going on at TwitchCon
Fandom acquires GameSpot, Metacritic, GameFAQs and other entertainment sites
Acquisition spree is still going strong with well-known gaming and media brands
Google delisted six billion alleged 'pirate' links in ten years
Mountain View's anti-piracy activity is going strong, and rightsholders are happier than ever
Elon Musk agrees to proceed with Twitter acquisition at original price
In a nutshell: Elon Musk seems to have changed his mind again and will buy Twitter after all for the originally agreed-upon amount. He will end up paying $54.20 per share, with the entire deal being worth around $44 billion.
The Internet Archive is struggling to preserve the web thanks to walled gardens and pay sites
The Wayback Machine contains more than 700 billion web pages is approaching 100 petabytes
TikTok and others scrape your data, whether you use their apps or not
TikTok doesn't have as many trackers out there as Google and Facebook, but its ad platform is young
YouTube starts asking users to subscribe to Premium for 4K videos
Would you subscribe to its Premium service for 4K?
WTF?! It might sound like a terrible idea, but YouTube could start charging users who want to watch videos on the platform in 4K, making the resolution exclusive to its $12-per-month Premium service. There's no confirmation that owner Google will go down this route as it could only be a test to gauge reaction, though such a move would obviously cause a lot of anger from creators and viewers alike.
Google Translate has been shuttered in China over alleged low usage
Are 53.5 million visits per month low?