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'The Onion' filed a real brief with the Supreme Court supporting man jailed for making fun of cops
Anthony Novak was arrested for running a Facebook page that parodied the police department of Parma, Ohio.
Netflix created an info hub for its original shows and movies
Like the company's recent fan event, the website is called Tudum.
Amazon will shut down its Alexa.com web ranking site next year
Alexa.com, which was once famous for ranking websites, is shutting down.
Apple restores the dedicated 'Store' tab to its website
After going down briefly earlier today, Apple's website has returned with a new design that reintroduces a "Store" tab .
Apple's COVID-19 screening tool can anonymously share symptoms with the CDC
Apple's COVID-19 screening app and website now let you share anonymous symptom and health info to help the CDC.
Chrome may shame slow-loading sites with 'speed badging'
While there are many, many worse things going on in the world than waiting far too long for a website to load, that's bound to tick off even the most patient of us. Google's not standing idly by, though, as it might start naming and shaming sites that take forever to display their contents in Chrome.
Toys 'R' Us debuts a new website, but you're really buying from Target
Just in time for the holiday season, the Toys "R" Us website is back, with one big difference: Target is powering the revived ToysRUs.com. When you go to complete a purchase on the latter, it redirects you to Target's website to check out.
White House launches site to highlight AI initiatives
Now that the US government has been ordered to prioritize AI, it's launching a website to promote its AI efforts. The newly available AI.gov showcases a number of initiatives over the years, including Obama-era moves like the strategic AI research plan as well as Trump-era initiatives like DARPA's quest to solve challenges through AI Next. To no one's surprise, the executive order plays a prominent role throughout -- this is ultimately an offshoot of the White House's site rather than a separate government entity.
Google wants to change the way we interact with URLs
Google's done a lot with Chrome -- and by extension, our relationship with the internet -- in its relatively short life. Autofill, ad management, web encryption... These are all things that were at one time pretty ground-breaking, but which we now simply take for granted. Now, following the browser's 10th birthday and coinciding with its major redesign, Google has announced it's thinking about Chrome's Next Big Thing: killing the URL.
Hyundai offers virtual showroom on Amazon
If you have any cash left over from Prime Day, you might be considering a new car. Hyundai and Amazon have teamed up to offer a virtual showroom of the car maker's automobiles in the Amazon Vehicles section. You won't be able to order an Elantra with Alexa just yet, however. The new section only provides details for a variety of automobile models, with links to find local dealers.
Walmart will roll out a cleaner, sleeker website in May
In a few weeks' time, you might not even recognize Walmart's website. The retail giant is giving it a total make-better -- that's a makeover in Queer Eye parlance -- with what it says is "an entirely new look and feel." Based on the image the company released with its announcement, we can expect a much cleaner interface with photos that look like they came from a lifestyle magazine. Walmart US e-commerce chief Marc Lore said, they're featuring relatable photography to "bring a more human element to the site."
Google cracks down on linkbaiting through AMP
Google officially launched its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in February 2016 to be lightweight versions of source websites that used a lot less bandwidth. But some webmasters have deliberately included less content in their AMP editions with a link to the original page, and Google isn't happy. By next February, AMP pages and their source counterparts must have identical material, the search giant declared.
T-Mobile website bug let hackers steal data with a phone number
Up until last week, a T-Mobile website had a serious security hole that let hackers access user's email addresses, accounts and a phone's IMSI network code, according to a report from Motherboard. Attackers only needed your phone number to obtain the information, which could be used in social engineering attacks to commandeer your line, or worse.
Uber Movement's traffic data is now available to the public
Back in January, Uber announced that it's giving urban planners access to a website with traffic data of their cities. Now that website is out of beta, and anybody can access it anytime. The Uber Movement website can show you how long it takes to get from one part of a city to another based on the day of the week and the time of day. People like you and me can consult it for realistic travel times, since its data came from actual Uber trips. However, its real purpose is to help city officials and planners figure out how to improve their transit systems.
FCC says sharing DDoS attack details undermines security
Back in May, HBO's John Oliver exhorted viewers to add their public comment on the FCC's website for net neutrality. While at first it seemed as if the server couldn't handle the extra load of commenters, the FCC said that the site had been a victim of multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. When asked for evidence of the cyberattack by regulators, senators and journalists, the FCC refused to share any data. Last month, a group of ranking House committee members sent a letter to the FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, which expressed concerns about the agency's "cybersecurity preparedness, and the multiple reported problems with the FCC's website in taking public comments in the net neutrality proceeding." Pai's response — dated July 21st and posted on July 28th — was predictably vague in responding to the specific queries from the Representatives. He said "it would undermine our system's security to provide a specific roadmap of the additional solutions to which we have referred."
Trump's website wanted to collect your location data
A redesigned version of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign website debuted on Tuesday morning, and with it came a new and problematic set of Terms & Conditions. According to CBS News, part of the new terms stated that the website "may... collect other information based on your location and your Device's proximity to 'beacons' and other similar proximity systems." That means the people who visited the website upon launch unknowingly agreed to have their info collected. Thankfully, its developer killed that part of the T&C after CBS News questioned its purpose.
A version of the pre-Trump EPA website is online
Longing for a time when the White House didn't actively deny the effects humans were having on climate change? You aren't alone. Following the sweeping changes made on Inauguration Day this year, at least three Freedom of Information Act requests were made (per Gizmodo) to bring a pre-Trump-presidency version of the Environmental Protection Agency's website online.
Reuters: Trump admin telling EPA to pull climate change info (updated)
Despite a gag order, Environmental Protection Agency employees are talking to Reuters, informing the outlet that their bosses have been instructed to remove this page from its website (Archive.org). On the official White House website, a page devoted to climate change is now only accessible in its archives, and the EPA section could meet a similar fate. Currently, the webpage displays the effects scientists have already recorded (like 2016 being the hottest year on record), and government initiatives trying to combat the issue.
The White House's Spanish-language website is gone, for now
Under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the White House maintained a Spanish-language version of its official website, while the Obama administration also updated its companion Twitter account, @LaCasaBlanca. Since noon on Friday, just after President Donald Trump took the oath of office, the White House's Spanish-language website has been down and the associated Twitter account empty.
LGBTQ site AfterEllen struck down by cruel modern media climate
The website AfterEllen went live in 2002, producing content for and written by lesbian and bisexual women. Since then, other sites like Autostraddle launched aimed at a similar audience and mainstream sites like The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and NBC have all launched LGBT verticals. But earlier this week, AfterEllen editor-in-chief Trish Bendix posted that she was getting laid off and the site would be effectively shut down today after 14 years of publishing because it wasn't profitable. So goes another independent voice in a media landscape desperate for the digital advertising dollars Google and Facebook are scooping up in massive portions.
