On Saturday Night Live, Elon Musk said "it's all a hustle" about cryptocurrency, and prices dived. Now, Tesla has suddenly become very aware of Bitcoin's energy-inefficient ways and reversed its course on taking payments in it. With the company claiming it's looking for a more climate-friendly cryptocurrency, Musk tweeted Thursday about "potentially promising" efficiency improvements for Dogecoin.
Dogecoin, in case you've forgotten, is the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that Musk has taken a liking to. His other major venture, SpaceX, is going to launch a DOGE-1 cubesat next year, and he's tweeted about it, repeatedly. The dog-faced memecoin is hard to take seriously sometimes, but the reaction to Musk's tweet was serious, with its price going up 25 percent in one day.
Nokia is bringing a flip-phone to the US. The brand's new owners, HMD, actually released the Nokia 2720 Flip (an updated version of the 2720 Fold) elsewhere, but it never quite made it to these shores until now. Well, May 20th. It'll be a Verizon exclusive, and definitely not a smartphone. It also only costs $80. Continue reading.
The Switch is well on its way to becoming the company's best-selling "home console" ever, and seven Switch games have outsold the far-less-well-received Wii U. Everything's coming up Nintendo, then, thanks to the Switch's unique hybrid format and an ever-growing game library with uncharacteristically strong third-party support. Let us guide you (refreshed once more) through the best games to start your Switch journey. Continue reading.
Framework's first modular laptop for easy repair is now open for pre-orders. The Framework Laptop is available to order, in four variants. Swapping out and replacing a module shouldn't take any longer than 10 minutes. And each component will carry a QR code that leads you straight to a website offering step-by-step instructions and an iFixit-style video. And users should only need the screwdriver included in the box to carry out any repair.
The only repair that may take longer than 10 minutes is if, or when, you so choose to swap out the CPU and mainboard. You can pick up the base model for just $999, or a DIY — entirely disassembled — version for $749. Continue reading.
If you have managed to pick up a PS5, you might be ready for a second controller, just in time for the loosening of pandemic lockdowns. There's not much more to say — I really like the black option — but pre-orders for both the Midnight Black and Cosmic Red controllers are now open on Amazon, and they'll ship on June 18th. Continue reading.
Amazon was late to the true wireless earbud game. By the time the company introduced its Echo Buds in 2019, Apple was already on version two, and the AirPods Pro came shortly after. The company learns fast, and its second attempt features true active noise cancellation (ANC), improved audio quality and a redesign. Barring some questionable battery life and mediocre call performance, Amazon impresses. Read on for Billy Steele's full review.
Bear a thought for the small smartphone. We (well, I) complain that phones have gotten too big, and then we (well, I) find ourselves reaching for the iPhone 12 Pro Max instead of the iPhone 12 mini. Apple's petite iteration was introduced only last year, but it's possibly not long for this world.
Beside a small (for 2021) 5.9-inch screen, the new phone packs a 64-megapixel camera and a 4,000mAh battery. While the Zenfone 8 will eventually hit US shores, we don't have an exact price. In Europe, the Zenfone 8 will start from €599 (about $725) — a suitably low price tag. But will people go for it? — Mat Smith
For about six weeks, you could pay Tesla for your new car using Bitcoin, but for the moment that's over. Last night, Elon Musk announced the change on Twitter, posting a Tesla statement that the company is "concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel." Since the news broke, the price of Bitcoin dropped from about $54,000 to as low as $46,000.
It's unclear why that concern bubbled up now when the energy use of Bitcoin mining was already widely known long before Tesla announced its plan, and before it invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. Without specifying a particular cryptocurrency, the company is looking at other options it says use less than one percent of Bitcoin's energy per transaction, likely by using proof of stake blockchain technology instead of proof of work. This would rule out Dogecoin, but it's unclear if this policy will impact SpaceX's crypto plans. Continue reading.
Another blow to Europe's efforts to recover tax revenue from US tech giants.
Amazon has won an EU appeal after being hit with a €250 million ($303 million) tax bill by the European Commission (EC) in 2017. From 2006 to 2014, Amazon paid a significant royalty to a Luxembourg company called Amazon Europe Holding Technologies SAS, reducing its taxable income. The commission accused it of inflating that royalty to reduce its operating profit. (Amazon has since changed its tax structure.)
Amazon argued the decision was full of "methodological errors" and the payments were legal according to international tax principles. Europe's second-highest court agreed, ruling that the setup didn't confer any advantage to Amazon over other companies and "the contested decision must be annulled in its entirety." The EC hasn't commented on whether it'll appeal this decision. Continue reading.
Push that PS5 into the trash can because the heady world of mathematics is headed to the Nintendo Switch. This $10 app, available at Nintendo's eShop, offers full scientific calculator functionality that you probably already have on your smartphone. Continue reading.
The speaker may be designed for 360 Reality Audio, but it's a solid all-around option.
By the time Sony's first 360 Reality Audio speakers were available to the masses, it had been over two years since the company first introduced the platform. While there are third-party speakers compatible with this audio format, we've had to wait until now for Sony to launch its own. According to Billy Steele, with the SRS-RA5000, the company has a powerful and pricey unit that does a solid job with 360 Reality Audio while also upgrading regular content to sound more immersive. Continue reading.
Across the East Coast, drivers worried about a fuel shortage as a major oil pipeline shut down last week when its billing system fell victim to a ransomware attack. Colonial Pipeline announced it resumed operations on Wednesday evening, around the same time President Biden signed an executive order aimed at preventing future incidents like that, or the SolarWinds hack, or the recent Exchange server takeovers.
The steps it lays out are supposed to improve information sharing between agencies, set policies to protect federal networks and improve the response to breaches by creating a standardized "playbook" that the director of CISA will review. Another element includes directing NIST to create an Energy Star-like label for Internet of Things devices, except instead of telling you how much electricity your dishwasher uses, it would focus on security practices. Continue reading.
USD is proud to announce the availability of limited scholarship funds for new students admitted to the M.S. in Cyber Security Operations and Leadership (CSOL) program for the Fall 2021 term.
Scholarship awards of up to $2,500 will be granted to applicants whose unique academic, personal and professional experience will enhance the online CSOL community. In short, scholarship recipients will be professionals who are positioned to become student leaders who raise the bar for everyone, and who have the professional experience and academic proficiency to enrich the quality of the program for other students. If this sounds like you, let's get in contact!
Will everyone who applies for the scholarship by the deadline receive an award?
No, not everyone will receive the scholarship. There are a limited number of awards available.
When will I be notified if I have been awarded a scholarship?
You will be notified early June by email, whether or not you were selected to receive scholarship funds.
I don't know if I can apply for the Fall term. Will there be a scholarship available in the Spring?
We don't yet know if and when another scholarship opportunity will be available. Currently, the funds available for the merit scholarship are designated for students starting the Fall 2021 term only. Future scholarships, if available, may vary in amount as well as selection criteria.
If I submit my essay and application before the June 8th deadline will I be notified earlier?
You will be notified of your admission decision within a few days of applying. However, you will not be notified of your scholarship decision until early June.
What happens after I apply for the program and submit my scholarship essay?
We review applications as soon as they are complete and all supporting documents (official transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc) are received. You will be notified of our admission decision by your enrollment advisor, and this generally happens within three days. The scholarship award process follows a different timeline. All scholarship essays will be reviewed by a selection committee by early March, and you will receive an email notification from the Academic Director.
