Year: 2024

The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could ban TikTok in the country or force its parent company to sell it. Under the revised version, ByteDance would have up to a year to divest, up from six months, originally. The bill now moves to the Senate, which could vote on it in just a matter of days — maybe even this Tuesday.

For that reason, I’m keeping this intro short, because I’ll probably be writing about this TikTok saga, all over again, later this week.

— Mat Smith

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Tesla makes its controversial Full Self-Driving software cheaper by $4,000

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Apple’s next innovation: The calculator?

It’s an app, apparently.

Apple’s calculator for Macs is reportedly getting a massive update with macOS 15 to turn it into a note-taking, currency-converting hybrid app. To start with, AppleInsider said the calculator will get a design overhaul, which swaps its number boxes with round buttons. (Innovation!). There will also be a rich history feature to keep track of your calculations. Hopefully, you can still be juvenile and solve for 55378008.

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Tesla cuts Model Y, X and S prices in the US

It’s ending the referral program too.

Another round of price cuts has shaved $2,000 off the starting prices of Tesla’s Model Y, Model X and Model S for buyers in the US. Tesla’s Model Y now starts at $42,990 for the rear-wheel drive base model, while the base Model S has dropped to $72,990 and the Model X starts at $77,990. The company will be hoping these subsequent price cuts will help with all that recent bad news. Its controversial full self-driving software update has had a discount too.

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The best Mario Kart racer, according to science

Pareto principles and Princess Peach.

Nintendo

Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz has tackled that age-old question: Who is the best character for Mario Kart? Objectively, the answer is a few different combinations. Mayerowitz’s Pareto front analysis lets you narrow your possibilities down to the 14 most efficient. One of them, with the most ideal balance of speed, acceleration and mini-turbo, is Cat Peach driving the Teddy Buggy with roller tires and cloud glider. Yes, write that down. Or check out the project’s website for other racer recommendations.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-111547495.html?src=rss

Proton Mail has introduced Dark Web Monitoring for its paid users, which will keep them informed of breaches or leaks they may have been affected by. If anything’s been spotted on the dark web, the feature will send out alerts that include information like what service was compromised, what personal details the attackers got (e.g. passwords, name, etc.) and recommended next steps. At launch, you’ll have to visit the Proton Mail Security Center on the web or desktop to access these alerts, but the company says email and in-app notifications are on the way.

Proton

Dark Web Monitoring is intended to be a proactive security measure. If you’ve used your Proton Mail email address to sign up for a third-party service, like a social media site, and then hackers steal user data from that service, it would let you know in a timely manner if your credentials have been compromised so you can take action (hopefully) before any harm is done. It seems a fitting move for the service, which already offers end-to-end encryption and has made privacy its main stance since the beginning. Dark Web Monitoring won’t be available to free users, though.

“While data breaches of third-party sites leading to the leak of personal information (such as your email address) can never be entirely avoided, automated early warning can help users stay vigilant and mitigate worse side effects such as identity theft,” said Eamonn Maguire, Head of Anti-Abuse and Account Security at Proton.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-mails-paid-users-will-now-get-alerts-if-their-info-has-been-posted-on-the-dark-web-100057504.html?src=rss