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Los Angeles is fighting for e-scooter data

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At the moment, it looks like a stalemate. LA city officials claim the data would provide insight into scooters as a growing means of transit, let the city see if scooters end up in the LA River and help ensure scooters are available to lower-income residents. Reportedly, the data would not be shared with police without a warrant, would not contain personal identifiers and would not subject to public records requests.

But privacy experts warn that scooter location data could be enough to reveal a person’s movements and private transactions, especially because scooters don’t stop at docking stations. Instead, they take passengers right up to their homes or businesses.

Perhaps the biggest issue here is what this foreshadows. As scooter ridership grows across the country and electric vehicles generate massive amounts of data, it will be interesting to see if that intel remains in the hands of private companies or if they’ll be required to share it. Of course, this is not the first time California and Uber have gone head-to-head or that scooters have been the center of controversy.

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Facebook will make anti-vaccine content less visible

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Facebook’s crackdown on anti-vaxxers won’t just punish groups that spread the information, it will also make them harder to find. Anti-vaccine groups will be excluded from recommendations and won’t come up as predictions when typing in the search bar on Facebook. Advertisements that include misinformation about vaccinations will be rejected, and Facebook is squashing targeted advertising terms like “vaccine controversies.”

According to Facebook, it will be leaning on the expertise of the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help determine what is fact and fiction when it comes to vaccines. Those organizations have identified hoaxes and common misconceptions when it comes to vaccines, and those will be the standard Facebook uses when determining what groups and Pages to take action against.

Facebook is just the latest social network to crack down on people spreading misinformation about vaccinations. Last month, Pinterest took steps to block anti-vax content from appearing in search results and YouTube started preventing anti-vaccine channels from running ads. Lawmakers have also taken interest in the issue and have started pushing tech companies like Amazon to take action against content that spreads hoaxes about vaccines.

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Airbnb is buying last-minute hotel app HotelTonight

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Airbnb says that the HotelTonight acquisition would help in its work to build an “end-to-end travel platform.” In other words, Airbnb wants to become a site where people flock to for all their travel needs, not just vacation rentals. Airbnb began its ascent onto traditional hotels last year by more than doubling its number of boutique hotels, resorts, bed-and-breakfasts, and other accommodations.

The company, first launched in 2008, currently has more than 6 million property listings available across 81,000 cities and 191 countries. HotelTonight, founded in 2010, offers listings in over 1,700 cities in over 35 countries. Airbnb also plans to go public sometime this year and is likely building an even more attractive portfolio for investors with this acquisition.

Airbnb is dealing with backlash from cities who feel the impact of the service on both its native hotel industry and real-estate market. Cities like Tel Aviv, New York City, San Francisco, Austin, Los Angeles and Chicago are already charging higher municipal taxes for Airbnb renters or hosts. Other cities have banned Airbnb altogether.

Still, such struggles have done little to impact Airbnb’s bottom line. Airbnb’s market value has been estimated at $31 billion dollars, making it a close second to the world’s most valuable hotel company, Marriott, which comes in at $39 billion dollars, according to the Australian Financial Review.

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Save $300 on Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

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Sony STR-DH190 Stereo Receiver

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Street price: $150; deal price: $128

Down to $128 from a typical price of $150, this is a nice deal on a basic but comparatively feature-rich receiver. This model isn’t intended to be used as an AV surround option, but rather as a receiver meant for a stereo setup, potentially with a turntable for vinyl enthusiasts. As a result, this receiver includes a phono preamp, but also includes more modern features like Bluetooth that give it some versatility. At just under $130, this matches a previous deal we’ve seen for it.

The Sony STR-DH190 is the top pick in our guide to the best stereo receiver. Brent Butterworth wrote, “We picked the Sony STR-DH190 as the best stereo receiver because it offers the best mix of features and sound quality. With Bluetooth and a phono preamp on board plus a front input for portable devices, the STR-DH190 is a good fit whether you’re embracing the future or reveling in retro. Its sound quality is equal to that of the best models we tested, including the NAD integrated amp; in our blind tests, I picked it as my favorite, and none of the other panelists complained about the sound. Our measurements confirm that its power output is the highest of the bunch: 112 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load, 150 Wpc into a 4-ohm load (at 1 kHz, 0.5 percent total harmonic distortion, both channels driven). That means the STR-DH190 has enough power to drive almost any pair of speakers to very loud volumes.”

Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger

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Street price: $22; deal price: $19

If you’re looking for a car charger with a USB-C port, there still aren’t as many decent options as you might think. This deal drops one of those options under $20. This model is certified by the USB-IF and provides a USB-A port in addition to the C port. The USB-C port should allow for faster charging of mobile devices with the conveniently provided 3-foot cable.

The Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger is the USB-C phones and computers pick in our guide to the best USB car charger. Wirecutter Senior Staff Writer Nick Guy wrote, “The field of USB-C car chargers is still relatively small, but among the models we tested, Nekteck’s PD 45W Type-C Car Charger is the best for charging your phone or computer on the go. Its USB-C port and included cable can charge at up to 45 watts, suitable for pretty much any device (including most laptops), and its USB-A port supports 12-watt charging. We can’t guarantee it will work with every computer, as USB-C charging is never a sure bet, but in our tests it provided its promised charge rate, and it’s USB-IF certified.”

Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (15-inch, 2018)

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Street price: $2800; deal price: $2500

This recommended MacBook comes equipped with a 2.6 GHz 8th gen Core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and Radeon Pro 560X dedicated graphics with 4 GB of memory. In our guide, we praise this laptop for the pinpoint color accuracy of its 2880×1800 screen. At $300 off, this isn’t a massive discount or the best price we’ve seen for it, but it’s a decent price for those seeking a laptop that can handle serious photo and video work. Also at B&H for the same price.

The Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (15-inch, 2018) is the color-critical work Mac pick in our guide to the best laptops for photo and video editing. Wirecutter Staff Writer Justin Krajeski wrote, “If your workflow requires macOS, Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro (2018) is the best option. The newest MacBook offers solid performance and the best screen and trackpad of any laptop we’ve tested, and it’s the only one of our picks that’s technically accurate enough for video color grading and print production work out of the box. Although the MacBook Pro has a shallow keyboard, its battery lasted only 4 hours, 28 minutes, and it lacks legacy ports—which nearly half of the creative professionals we interviewed said was a disqualifying inconvenience—the 15-inch model is the only MacBook powerful enough for creative professionals.”

LectroFan White Noise Machine

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Street price: $45; deal price: $27 with on-page coupon

The LectroFan is back on sale again, this time with a new low price of $$27 for the black color and $29 for the white color when you clip the on-page $10 coupon. Typically we see sales between $35 and $40 with the rare sale in the low $30s. This is the first time we’ve seen this machine drop below $30. If you’re interested in a white noise machine to help you get better sleep, now’s a great time to buy.

The Lectrofan is the top pick in our guide to the best white noise machine. Wirecutter Research Editor Courtney Schley wrote, “We think the LectroFan by ASTI is the white noise machine you’ll want on your nightstand. Our testing showed that the LectroFan’s random, nonrepeating white noise settings allowed it to mask intruding noises as well as or better than the other machines in the group. It’s the second-smallest machine we tested, too, so you can pack it for travel in addition to using it at home. The LectroFan is also one of the easiest models to use, with a simple three-button interface to toggle among 10 random, nonrepeating white noise offerings and 30 volume settings in one of the widest volume ranges we found.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go here.

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EA is the latest to nix its E3 press conference

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To replace the presser that would normally round up all of the company’s big announcements, EA will focus on livestreams. The gaming giant will operate multiple streams that will air during the first two days of EA Play that will focus on gameplay action. EA also plans to have members of teams behind upcoming titles join the streams to provide information directly to viewers.

EA isn’t the first developer to drop at least partially from E3. Sony announced last year that it plans to skip the conference entirely, opting not to hold a keynote or appear at the expo. It’s the first time since 1995 that there won’t be an official PlayStation presence at the event. E3 has also proved to be less necessary in recent years, especially for indie developers who have found new ways to get their games in front of audiences.

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Leica’s compact, full-frame Q2 captures 47MP photos and 4K video

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You can also expect some subtler additions. There’s a new 3.68-megapixel OLED viewfinder that provides a more accurate representation of the final shot. And if raw speed is important, you might like both the 10 frames per second continuous shooting as well as an autofocusing time under 0.15 seconds. That’s not the fastest lock-in time we’ve seen (Sony has something to say about that), but it’s good for a camera like this.

Leica even makes use of its new sensor give you a form of zoom. The Q2 includes an option to crop the image to simulate common focal lengths like 35mm, 50mm or 75mm, letting you trade some detail for a tighter-looking shot. The original 28mm image is always available in case you’d prefer to see more.

The Q2 is on sale today, although it definitely won’t be a trivial purchase with its $4,995 price tag. This might be worthwhile if you’re a die-hard Leica enthusiast, though. While some Leicas are ultimately rebadged Panasonic cameras, the Q2 stands out — it’s a smaller and more stylish counterpart to a workhorse like Panasonic’s S1R.

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Facebook Messenger bug let other people see who you’d been talking to

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In a blog post, Imperva security researcher Ron Masas explains how a CSFL attack could exploit the properties of iFrame elements to determine the state of an application. Running this process through individual Messenger contacts would yield one of two states, full or empty, indicating whether a user had ever communicated with that contact or not. That’s essentially the extent of the flaw. It wasn’t able to retrieve conversations or pull data from chat histories — it simply produced binary data with very limited applications for nefarious individuals.

Nonetheless, Masas made Facebook aware of the bug, and given its connection to the previous, more serious flaw, Facebook has since decided to remove all iFrames from the Messenger userface completely. “Browser-based side-channel attacks are still an overlooked subject,” Mases writes on the Imperva blog. “While big players like Facebook and Google are catching up, most of the industry is still unaware.”

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Tim Cook is in on the Tim Apple joke

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That’s cool, it’s just the leader of the free world mangling the CEO of the world’s most powerful company’s name in a tongue-twisted mnemonic brain fart. Luckily Tim “adult in the room” Cook took the high road through this awkward situation. He didn’t belittle the President for being a mush-brained nitwit in front of the assembled White House Press Corps. No, he took the mature and rational route: changing his Twitter handle to Tim  before sitting back while the social media sphere lost its collective mind over his vicious drag. Bravo Mr. .

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Facebook removes fake accounts stoking political tension in UK

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The company didn’t say where the operators came from, but they were relatively sophisticated. On top of the Russia-style attempt at social division, those responsible “frequently changed” group and page names to keep people guessing. They amassed a solid following, too, with about 175,000 accounts following one or more Pages and 4,500 following at least one of the Instagram accounts.

Simultaneously, Facebook removed 31 bogus accounts, groups and pages that posted about Romanian news and politics, frequently in support of the country’s Social Democratic Party. There wasn’t much mystery to that case, though. Although multiple people were involved, Facebook ultimately traced it back to one person associated with the Party. This was a surreptitious attempt at marketing the party, then.

The removals come as Facebook is facing heat in the UK. Politicians have accused Facebook of playing a key role in the rise of fake news, and have gone so far as to call Zuckerberg and crew “digital gangsters” who exploit data for profit. This latest move isn’t likely to stem those accusations, but they at least show that Facebook is concerned about addressing suspicious activity.

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The Queen is now on Instagram

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Queen Elizabeth II might be the next big Instagram influencer. Her Majesty made her first ever post to Instagram today while visiting the Science Museum in London. Her post, made from the official TheRoyalFamily account, was a photo of a letter sent to her great-great-grandfather Prince Albert from 19th-century mathematician, engineer and computer pioneer Charles Babbage.



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