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Popular subreddits plan to extend API protests indefinitely
Moderators from popular Reddit communities say they plan to extend their blackout protests indefinitely. Many of the subreddits protesting the company’s API changes were initially scheduled to participate only from Monday to Wednesday this week. But the vow to extend the demonstration came after CEO Steve Huffman reportedly sent a memo to staff saying Reddit would “get through it” while opining that “like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well.” In response to Huffman doubling down, a user wrote, “Let them fuck around and find out.”
Iran restricts access to WhatsApp and Instagram in response to Mahsa Amini protests
Iran has blocked access to Instagram and WhatsApp as its government attempts to subdue protests that began last week following the death of a woman at the hands of local authorities.
YouTube TV to drop Fox regional sports channels following Sinclair dispute
If you subscribe to YouTube TV to get live sports without a pricey cable or league package, you might be in for a disappointment. YouTube TV is dropping Fox Regional Sports Networks (including the New York City-oriented YES Network) on February 29th after it was "unable to reach an agreement" with Sinclair to continue carrying the channels. While the company didn't say just what the points of contention were when asked by Engadget, it pointed to its attempt to balance the climbing costs of sports broadcasting with its desire to deliver a good value to subscribers. You can read its full on-the-record statement below.
Iran shuts down nearly all internet access in response to fuel protests
Iran is trying an all-too-familiar tactic to hinder protests: cut the lines of communication. The Iranian government has shut down nearly all internet access in the country amidst mounting protests that began over a 50 percent hike in fuel prices and now encompass wider dissent. There are pockets of access that have let people show what's happening on the ground, but they're rare. Phone calls abroad still work, but those are also closely monitored.
New 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' season adds a sword-wielding specialist
Treyarch and Activision are determined to keep Black Ops 4 lively in the face of stiff competition. They're debuting a new season ("Operation Spectre Rising") on April 30th, and you can expect a steady stream of updates that might just be meaningful. The centerpiece on launch will be the return of Spectre, a sword-brandishing Specialist. As you might guess, his focus is on agility -- he can roll and otherwise do his best to get up close and slash his opponents. In Blackout, you have to discover him as a "Spectre stash" that switches your character and gives you a distinct edge over your rivals.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' gets a second battle royale map tomorrow
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout battle royale mode is about to get a new map. The second arena in which players will duke it out for supremacy is Alcatraz. The map hits PS4 tomorrow and will arrive on other platforms later.
'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' loses PlayerUnknown
The man who pioneered the battle royale sensation is moving on from the game that bears his name. Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene is leaving PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds to work on a new division within PUBG Corp. He's moving to Amsterdam from Seoul to lead PUBG Special Projects, though still retains some ties to his namesake game, on which he'll be a consulting creative director.
'Black Ops 4' battle royale is free for a week starting January 17th
Were you too busy playing Red Dead or Spider-Man over the holidays to give other games a look? Activision would like to talk. It's running a free, week-long trial of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's tentpole Blackout mode between January 17th and January 24th on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. If you've wondered whether or not BO4's battle royale was good enough to tear you away from Fortnite or PUBG, you'll have plenty of time to get a feel for it.
IKEA’s smart window blinds hit the US April 1st
IKEA is adding to its collection of smart home products, introducing a line of smart window blinds to go along with its range of intelligent lighting products. But while the company's German website had already listed two versions of its smart blinds earlier this week, it was unclear when or if US stores would carry them. Now, the company has confirmed that IKEA stores in the US will start carrying one of the new products on April 1st.
IKEA is launching low-cost smart window blinds
Almost a year ago, Swedish furniture giant IKEA signalled its intention to make people's homes smarter with the launch of its own intelligent lighting range. TRÅDFRI -- as we now know it -- has grown to include a variety of LED bulbs, motion sensor kits, dimming lights and a selection of LED light panels and doors that can be built into kitchen and bedroom cabinets. With its low-cost lighting now in stores all over the world, IKEA has decided it wants to further automate people's homes and has confirmed the launch of a new product: smart window blinds.
A new 'Black Ops 4' edition includes only multiplayer and Blackout
Activision is trying something a little different with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4: It's selling a $30 version that drops the Zombies mode, and only includes standard multiplayer and the popular battle royale mode, Blackout. Bad luck if you're a console player, though -- the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Battle Edition is PC-only for the time being.
FCC received thousands of fake letters supporting NFL's blackout rule
Fake FCC comments aren't just reserved for net neutrality opponents. The Wall Street Journal has discovered that the FCC received about 21,000 identical letters urging the regulator to let the NFL keep its blackout rule, which let it ban cable and satellite airings of home games that weren't sold out when the league blocked local broadcasts. These weren't even subtle attempts, either. In addition to using the identities and email addresses of some people without their consent, the campaign relied on some obviously fake messages -- at last check, Bilbo Baggins was more interested in magic rings than cheering on American football teams.
Puerto Rico restores 70 percent of its power following blackout
Just one day after the beleaguered US territory suffered another island-wide blackout, Reuters reports that Puerto Rico's power company has restored power to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses.
Into the darkness at CES 2018
Shortly after 11 AM, the power went out in the central hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), bringing CES to a near standstill. The cavernous hall, measuring more than 632,000 square feet -- bigger than some aircraft hangars -- fell into silence, save for the backbeat of a few battery-powered speakers. A Tesla, parked with its doors open and headlights on, provided one of the few sources of light in an otherwise pitch-black hall.
'Blackout' is a VR love letter to NYC's subway riders
I heard the familiar "ding dong" of the NYC subway as the doors closed and looked over to the person sitting next to me, and all of a sudden, they were telling me their life story. It was like one of those serendipitous moments of human connection that you dream of when you move to a city -- before the crushing reality of daily life makes you more cynical. It also wasn't real.
The Puerto Rico blackout, from space
A fire at a power plant in Puerto Rico left almost 1.5 million homes and businesses without power on Wednesday night. On the ground, businesses were forced to close, and traffic ground to a halt as lights went dark. Around 340,000 people were left without water, and millions were without air conditioning and fans in 90-degree heat. A huge number of Puerto Ricans are still affected, and the scale of the problem is visible from space. NASA's Earth Observatory shared before-after images of the island, taken by The Visible Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite. The first image, taken at 2:50AM local time on Wednesday, shows the island bathed in artificial light, especially concentrated around the capital city of San Juan in the northeast. The second, captured at 2:31AM on Thursday, paints a very different picture. While San Juan is still fairly lit, surrounding urban areas are not, and many rural areas are pitch black. The southern city of Ponce is almost entirely in the dark. The images were captured using VIIRS "day-night" band. Earth Observatory explained that this band "detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as gas flares, city lights, and reflected moonlight." Moonlight is the reason that the shade of the ocean shifts between the two images. Power had been restored to just under 400,000 homes and business by Thursday night, but millions are still without electricity. The island's government-owned power authority AEE said it expected more than half of its customers to have power by Friday morning, and 90 percent are hoped to be connected by Saturday.
Dish drops NFL channels after deal expires
Tribune stations went dark on Dish Network earlier this week, making it difficult for some customers to watch the NBA and NHL championship matchups. The TV provider is dealing with another sports-related dispute too, and this time it's with the NFL. Dish subscribers won't be privy to the league-owned NFL Network and NFL RedZone for the time being as contract negotiations stalled before the previous deal expired last night. The NFL pointed out that this is the first time a television provider has blacked out its channels and set up a website to let eager football fans in on other options for watching its content.
Some Dish subscribers will miss NBA and NHL playoff games
There's bad news for some folks hoping to catch the NBA or NHL finals today. The Tribune network, which owns WGN and affiliates for FOX, CBS and other networks, is no longer available on Dish. As usual with such disputes (which often involve Dish), the reason for the blackout is money. Tribune says that Dish "refuses to reach an agreement based on fair-market value" for its stations, while Dish says "Tribune is demanding an unreasonable rate increase for channels that are available for free over the air."
Hackers shut down power grid in Ukraine
Malware is no longer reserved for the millions of consumer PCs all over the world -- it's now used in corporate espionage, as tool to disrupt the infrastructure of entire countries. It's been revealed that just on December 23rd, attackers were successfully able to infect computers belonging to the Ukrainian national grid, which resulted in hundreds of homes in the Ivano-Frankivsk region going dark. It's thought to be the first cyber attack to result in a power outage.
NFL will end its TV blackout policy, and stream one game online
After years of fans protesting the rule, the NFL is apparently finally going to drop its TV blackout policy. Last year the FCC voted to reject the NFL's strict rules that required a certain number of ticket sales for a game to be broadcast on local TV, which the league claimed it needed to keep games on free broadcast TV. Teams voted to ditch the rule today, and also confirmed that while the Bills-Jaguars London game in week 7 will be broadcast locally in Buffalo/Jacksonville, elsewhere it will be available exclusively over the internet. According to NFL PR, after relaxing the TV blackout rules in 2012, there were no blackouts last season and only two in 2013. [Image credit: Getty Images]
