The Public Access Weekly: The Safety dance
This week we're pleased to announce that we've rolled out HTTPS, making our site a more secure place to visit. (And yes, it's about time!) Also this week: Lenovo Tech World happened, Gawker announced its bankruptcy and Warcraft hits theaters. While we hunker down and gear up for the one-two-punch that is E3 and WWDC on Monday, settle in with this week's must-read stories (and article suggestions!). We'll have more posts up celebrating the first year of Public Access next week, including that Q&A contest I keep promising, and... maybe a special live video event.
I really could not help myself.
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We upgraded the site to HTTPS! I know a lot of you have asked about this, both subtly and real directly, and we heard you. It's here! It's up and ready! It's... provoking a lot of comments!
Likewise, this article on how mods in Fallout 4 are being pilfered and stolen has a discussion going in the comments about the time and effort it takes to build a mod, whether it counts as protected work and what Bethesda's responsibilities are.
Xbox told us that well, no they weren't going to add a DVR feature for over-the-air TV to the Xbox One this year after all (despite what they're previously said at Gamescom). Instead they're focusing their attention on "launching new, higher fan requested gaming experiences." That is not sitting well with many One owners, or potential One owners.
Looking for something to write about?
Airbnb recently addressed some recent reports of racism amongst its hosts by saying it has a zero tolerance policy. While the company works on gathering feedback and rectifying the issue, we know plenty of folks with Airbnb horror stories. If you've had an unfriendly Airbnb experience, as either a guest or as a host, share your story.
As it turns out, making donations through Paypal with the intent to cancel them later in order to screw over Twitch streamers is a really bad idea. The user in question, who may be on the hook for 50K, has also stated he only attempt to refund one donation (but didn't respond to Motherboard's attempts to confirm the story). The question is: Are content streamers entertainers? Should they request payment for their services? Why or why not?
Back in April, we discussed the possibility that smartphones would move away from the 3.5mm headphone jack and whether that was a good move or a bad one. And at this weeks Lenovo Tech World, Motorola unveiled two new handsets that lack the standard. Users will instead need to work with a USB-C adapter to plug in their wired headphones. Is this just a way to get us to buy all new peripherals and accessories, or will it really improve the experience for the user? Gather your thoughts up and tell us how you're feeling about it.
