The walkout comes days after Zuckerberg announced Friday evening that Trump’s posts, which Twitter said broke its rules regarding “glorification of violence,” didn’t violate Facebook’s standards. Zuckerberg said he had a “visceral negative reaction” to Trump’s “inflammatory rhetoric,” but ultimately opted to leave the posts up untouched. Axios later reported that Zuckerberg had spoken to Trump on the phone before announcing the decision.
Zuckerberg announced Sunday night that Facebook would make a $10 million donation to “groups working on racial justice.” But the move doesn’t appear to have affected employees’ decision to walk out on Monday.
“We recognize the pain many of our people are feeling right now, especially our Black community,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “We encourage employees to speak openly when they disagree with leadership. As we face additional difficult decisions around content ahead, we’ll continue seeking their honest feedback.”
This isn’t the first time Facebook employees have clashed with Zuckerberg over the company’s treatment of Trump. Hundreds of employees signed an open letter last fall that publicly criticized his decision to allow politicians to lie in advertisements.
But the latest controversy, which comes as Facebook employees have been working from home amid nationwide protests, appears to be escalating into a new territory. At least two “senior” employees have threatened to quit, NYT reports. Many other Facebook employeeshavepubliclytweeted their disagreement.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 family is expensive when even the ‘entry’ model begins around $1,000. The company thinks it has a solution, though: turn the phone into more of a service. It just launched an Access plan that provides an S20 phone, a Premium Care warranty, Microsoft 365 and 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage for a monthly fee. Prices range from $37 per month for the base S20 through to $48 for the S20 Ultra. You can upgrade or cancel at any time, although you’ll pay $100 if you either get a new phone in less than nine months or cancel in less than three months.
The device payments will last for three years if you don’t upgrade, although Samsung is clearly hoping you’ll use this to keep getting its latest phones. Trade-ins don’t count, so keep that in mind if you think you could get a better overall deal by selling your old phone.
Google is also adding a Safety Check tool that lets you schedule a check-in from the app at a later time. So say you’re attending a peaceful protest (or a solo hike or run) — you can set a check for three hours later. If you don’t respond at the scheduled time, the app will alert your emergency contacts.
Google
Another update that could come in useful in fraught situations is the new integration between the Recorder app and Google services like Assistant and Docs. When you need to start a voice note in a hurry, you can now just tell your device “Hey Google, start recording my meeting.” You can also use this to look for transcripts by asking “Hey Google, show me transcripts about dogs.” When you need to share a transcript with someone, you can now export it to Google Docs. Since the Recorder app performs its transcriptions on-device, instead of relying on cloud processing like similar services like Otter.ai, its documents used to be hard to access as they were saved to the app on your phone. This update should make it easier to copy and paste quotes for use in articles or even when dictating project proposals.
We always welcome features that can squeeze more juice out of our phones, especially given the Pixels’ notoriously short battery lives. With this update, Google is enhancing its existing Adaptive Battery feature, which learns your favorite apps to cut power consumption by those you rarely use. The new version on Pixel 2 and newer devices will predict when you’ll run out of battery and further reduce background activity so get even more runtime.
When it’s finally time to rest, the new Bedtime feature should help. It’s a page in the Clock app that lets you set your daily sleep and wake times, and displays information like upcoming calendar events and what apps you typically stay up past your bedtime to use. You can have the Pixel play you calming sounds before you go to bed and limit interruptions overnight. A sunrise alarm feature lets you wake up to a track of your choice or a gradually brightening display.
Google
The rollout appears to be slated for the immediate future, though the company said in a statement that users should check out the Pixel forum to see when these updates will land on their phones.
Google’s Advanced Protection Program hasn’t been very accommodating of smart homes so far — you’ve had to forego Nest devices if you wanted those additional safeguards. It won’t be a problem from now on, though. The internet giant has enabled Advanced Protection for Google accounts on Nest devices, making it possible to use a thermostat or doorbell without giving up the protections you might need if you feel you’re at high risk of hacks and phishing.
As you might imagine, Google doesn’t want to take chances. It “strongly recommend[s]” that everyone in a given home sign up for Advanced Protection, since intruders could theoretically get in through family accounts linked to the same device. If you can manage that, though, you won’t have to rule out whole categories of connected tech just to maintain strict security.
While Modes were previously only on artist-based stations, the feature is now available on the new Qmunity and Black Music Forever genre stations. Instead of being data-driven, the new Modes are “fine-tuned by Pandora’s expert curation team across genres, decades and themes,” according to a statement from Pandora.
Qmunity features iconic pride anthems from artists like Madonna, Whitney Houston and Abba. Its “Future of Pride” Mode showcases music from emerging LGBTQIA+ artists, such as Sam Smith, Kim Petras, and Troye Siva.
Black Music Forever, another new station, features nine ways to celebrate the music of black artists. These Modes are Today’s Hip-Hop Mode, Today’s R&B Mode, Pop Mode, Afrobeats/Reggae/Reggaeton Mode, Black Voices Through the Years Mode, 1990s Hip Hop Mode, 1980s R&B Mode, 1970s Disco/Funk Mode or 1960s Soul Mode. While Qmunity appears to have already launched, Black Music Forever hasn’t gone live just yet. This could be the beginning of a bigger expansion for Modes. Now that Pandora has shown it can make Modes work on more than just artist stations, we’ll see if the feature rolls out more broadly in the future.
Apple banned vaping apps from its App Stores following a string of additive-related deaths, but that isn’t deterring PAX. The company has launched a web app that lets you control PAX 3 and Era-series cannabis pens from your computer using Bluetooth. You can tweak the temperature, lock access, manage doses, learn more about pods and even adjust the LEDs and haptic feedback. This won’t be much help if you’re outside, but it won’t be such of a problem when many areas are still subject to pandemic lockdowns.
The larger issue may be the (currently) incomplete support. Mac users need to use Chrome for the “ultimate experience” across PAX vapes, while Windows users will have to make do with the Era Pro. Don’t think you’ll get a flawless experience on the web, then. Still, this beats having little control over your vape pen if you aren’t inclined to use an Android phone.
Apple takes a lot of heat for its RAM pricing, and the company’s latest move may only escalate the criticism. The lowest tier of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro comes stock with 8GB of RAM but can be upgraded to 16GB. That option used to cost $100, making it a no-brainer for most. But as MacRumors spotted over the weekend, the price has doubled to $200. While Apple does adjust its RAM pricing from time to time, the refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro came out less than a month ago, making this a surprising change.
It’s not clear why Apple increased the price of the upgrade. Supply chains across industries have been disrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, but as MacRumors reports, the prices of RAM upgrades on other Mac models haven’t changed. That said, the MacBook Pro model in question uses LPDDR3E memory. (Higher-spec versions of the laptop use LPDDR4X memory.) This type of RAM is, in a word, old, and so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Apple could be running into supply issues.
Pinterest is back on its shopping flex with a new “Shop” tab in Lens camera search results. From today, you’ll be able to tap the camera in search bar, snap or upload a photo and then see the Shop tab with a feed of Pins based on products identified in that image. Helpfully, it’ll only bring up items that are in stock, so there’s no disappointment in finding the perfect item only to discover you can’t actually get it. Every product Pin will link directly to the checkout page on the retailer’s site, too.
The Shop tab in Lens is the latest in a long line of features designed to make shopping on the platform easier. This particular addition builds on a tool rolled out in April, which brings up a feed of Pins based on search terms, and it complements the launch of the Pinterest app on Shopify, designed to make it easier for merchants to sell on the platform. According to Pinterest, around half the items snapped through Lens belong to the fashion or home décor category, so it makes sense that they should be more easily shoppable.
FuboTV is giving subscribers a new way to watch its sports-centric live TV streaming by launching on Microsoft’s Xbox One. That marks the first time on a console for the subscription service, which offers a mix of over 100 sports, entertainment and news channels. You’ll also be able to watch in 4K on Xbox One X and Xbox One S consoles, as FuboTV is one of the rare OTT live multichannel TV services that streams at Ultra HD resolution.
FuboTV will be available with most features found on other devices like live video launching, the ability to flip through other channels while watching live video, DVR recording with one touch for entire series and user profiles. The company will also add Xbox One-specific features over time, eventually making better use of the Xbox One remote and using the Xbox One’s speed to reduce buffering.
With college behind them, your new grads can finally put down those textbooks and do a lot more reading for fun. But they might not be ready to tackle the latest 800-page TheNew York Times bestseller, so why not let them pace themselves with a few comic books? ComiXology has a large selection of comics from various companies around the world, so they can catch up on the major superhero titles they might have missed or indulge in some manga favorites straight from Japan.
Look, your kids are probably going to mooch your Netflix account as long as you let them, so why not sign them up for a service that you can mooch off them instead? Disney+ has all of their favorite childhood movies as well as new popular shows like The Mandalorian, and you can all make separate profiles so your Herbie or Disney Afternoon binge doesn’t mess up their recommendations.
VRV is a number of weird and wonderful things a young adult might like combined into a single streaming service: It includes Crunchyroll and HIDIVE for anime, Rooster Teeth’s video game and tech culture shows, and even some cool, retro-throwback programming courtesy of the cartoon streaming service Boomerang. VRV puts all these (and more) into one package, making it easier for your new grad to watch — and making it much easier for you to gift. You may not understand the appeal, but your young adult will appreciate having the ability to watch content tailored to their interests.
GQ isn’t necessarily the cutting edge of cool, but its Best Stuff box is filled with plenty of normally pricey goodies that alternate among useful, interesting and fun for your new grad to try out. Every item may not be a slam dunk, but each shipment has a number of solid picks that ensure you’ll get your money’s worth — and possibly inspire the giftee to up their style game.
Your new grad probably watches most of their TV on their laptop, and a cable subscription is probably not in the cards. But they’re still going to want their Succession and Westworld fixes (as well as old faves like Friends), so consider an HBO Max subscription instead. That way they can keep up with all the big shows that their friends won’t shut up about on social media, and maybe you’ll have something to talk about with them when they remember to call home.
Even if your grad is lucky enough to have their own place after college, you can’t help but worry about them. Are they eating regularly? And are they eating healthily? It can take awhile to develop good food-shopping habits. You can make it a little easier by getting them set up with a HelloFresh meal plan, which delivers the ingredients and instructions for assembling the week’s eats. Each dish makes two portions — great for lunch the next day or for impressing a date with a home-cooked feast. We like HelloFresh for its options: Depending on the gift card amount, you can cover multiple meals per week for your grad, and they get to choose the recipes. HelloFresh has vegetarian- and low-calorie-recipe options too.
Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate for Xbox and PC is the Swiss Army knife of game subscriptions: Players get discounts, online multiplayer games, free games and other downloadable content, plus access to even more titles online. That includes new games directly from Xbox Game Studio on the day of release. It’s more expensive than other game services at $15 per month, but it’s a small price to pay to ensure your grad is always up to speed on the newest big titles.
It’s pretty much mandatory to have a subscription for your games console nowadays, but Nintendo’s is the one that feels worth it even for those who hardly touch their systems. Switch Online not only grants online access for games like Splatoon 2 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons but also includes a library of dozens of NES and SNES titles that your new grad can try out, all for only $20 per year.
Spotify is all well and good, but now that your grad is out and about in the world, they may want to start putting together a real, tangible music collection. These days that means vinyl, which has made a huge comeback over the past decade. Vinyl Me, Please makes it easy to build a solid list in a few months courtesy of one of its three curated records of the month: You can choose from the classics, the essentials or rap and hip-hop — all starting at $25 per month (when you choose the annual billing plan).
Online multiplayer is the norm for a lot of gaming these days, whether it’s Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto Online or Fortnite. But at $60 per year, PlayStation Plus also sweetens the pot by offering two free games per month. And we’re not talking bottom of the bin selections here; recent PS+ offerings have included high-end, popular titles like Uncharted 4, BioShock and Cities: Skylines.
Fresh out of college and burdened with student debt, your grad probably isn’t going to be taking a lot of trips around the world soon. So why not give them a little of the travel experience with Yum Box, which serves up a selection of snacks every month from various countries and regions like Brazil, France and Scandinavia. It’s like going to a foreign supermarket and stocking up on treats you’ve never heard of, without the awkward currency exchange.
Your grad might be more into My Hero Academia than Superman or Spider-Man, which makes them better suited for something more on the Japanese side of the comics medium. Enter Viz’s Shonen Jump app, which offers up hundreds of different titles like Bleach, Death Note and DragonBall for only $2 per month. We’ve recommended this one before, for good reason: It’s the best deal in all of comics. Rival services like Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe will run between $8 and $10 per month.
