September 2021 – Page 167 – MSI Net, Inc. & mCloudServ

Reddit bans r/NoNewNormal, its largest anti-vax subreddit, for harassing other communities, following weeks of user moderators asking Reddit admins to ban it (Oscar Gonzalez/CNET)

Oscar Gonzalez / CNET: Reddit bans r/NoNewNormal, its largest anti-vax subreddit, for harassing other communities, following weeks of user moderators asking Reddit admins to ban it — It’s also putting 54 other subreddits in quarantine. … Last week, more than a thousand subreddit’s posted the same message calling …

Don’t buy this Apple product this year

Someone at Apple dropped the ball and didn’t know the time. By my count, I’ve been covering Apple events for 12 years across various websites. At least five years ago, I came up with a rule that has never left me down: After August 15, believe the Apple rumors. For months, we hear various rumors

Sphere raises $2M to help employees lobby for Green 401(k) plans

In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored defined-contribution pension account. However, with legacy institutional investing, most of these have at least some level of fossil fuel involvement and let’s face it, very few of us really know. Now a startup plans to change that. California-based startup Sphere wants to get employees to

Berlin Brands Group, now valued at $1B+, raises $700M to buy and scale merchants that sell on marketplaces like Amazon

Berlin Brands Group — one of the new wave of e-commerce startups hoping to build lucrative economies of scale around buying up smaller brands that sell on marketplaces like Amazon and using technology to run and scale them more efficiently — has picked up a big round of funding to fill out that mission. The

The Pokémon Go task force report is here and it’s lacking

What you need to know After a month of boycotting, Niantic’s task force reports to the Pokémon Go community. Niantic commits to a bimonthly Developer Diary. Report repeats news from the past week. On Aug. 1, 2021, Niantic removed pandemic bonuses for Pokémon Go in New Zealand and the U.S., prompting boycotts, petitions, and a

Keep out the crumbs and dust with a keyboard cover for your MacBook Pro

The Butterfly keyboards on the MacBook lineup have had their issues. A single crumb under there could signal an end to your typing days or, at the very least, create a massive hiccup in productivity for a little while. So if you want to maintain your MacBook Pro’s keyboard integrity for years to come, then

Apollo completes its $5B acquisition of Verizon Media, now known as Yahoo

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of Yahoo (formerly known as Verizon Media Group, itself formerly known as Oath) from Verizon. The deal is worth $5 billion, with $4.25 billion in cash, plus preferred interests of $750 million. Verizon will be retaining 10% of the newly

League of Legends is getting a virtual interactive heavy metal concert

Yet another big game is jumping into the world of virtual concerts. League of Legends creator Riot is partnering with “virtual entertainment” company Wave for an upcoming event centered on the game’s in-universe heavy metal band Pentakill. The concert is set to take place on September 8th at 1:30PM PT / 4:30PM ET, and it’s

Why you should care about lossless Bluetooth audio (and why you shouldn’t)

Credit: Lily Katz / Android Authority With the introduction of Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless technology, Bluetooth headphone customers will finally join their wired audiophile brethren with the option to listen to lossless quality audio. The promise, as always, is superior sound. But whether this is really a game-changer for your future listening habits depends on who

Review: The Otterbox Mobile Gaming Clip makes iOS gaming more convenient

Make Apple Arcade and iOS gaming more convenient. With Apple Arcade and now Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) on iOS iPhone and iPad users have several awesome video games at their disposal. While touch controls work for certain games, a controller can really make the experience more convenient during more intensive ones. Plus, there are some

Goodcall picks up $4M, Yelp partnership to answer merchant inbound calls

Even without staffing shortages, local merchants have difficulty answering calls while all hands are busy, and Goodcall wants to alleviate some of that burden from America’s 30 million small businesses. Goodcall’s free cloud-based conversational platform leverages artificial intelligence to manage incoming phone calls and boost customer service for businesses of all sizes. Former Google executive

Twitter is testing a new anti-abuse feature called ‘Safety Mode’

Twitter’s newest test could provide some long-awaited relief for anyone facing harassment on the platform. The new product test introduces a feature called “Safety Mode” that puts up a temporary line of defense between an account and the waves of toxic invective that Twitter is notorious for. The mode can be enabled from the settings

Chrome Beta to experiment with a more powerful New Tab page, web highlights, and search changes

Google is launching a new version of its Chrome Beta browser today that’s introducing some fairly notable changes to its user interface and design. The browser will introduce an updated New Tab page, which will now include cards directing you back to past web search activities, instead of only a list of shortcuts to favorite

Forum Brands secures $100M in debt financing to acquire more e-commerce brands

Forum Brands, an e-commerce acquisition platform, announced today that it has secured $100 million in debt funding from TriplePoint Capital. The financing comes just just over two months after the startup raised $27 million in an equity funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners. Brenton Howland, Ruben Amar and Alex Kopco founded New York-based Forum

Qualcomm aptX Lossless announced: Bluetooth audio for the discerning ear

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority aptX Lossless is the first Bluetooth audio codec to boast bit-exact CD-quality music support. The technology will be part of Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive and Snapdragon Sound ecosystems. Expect the first aptX Lossless products to appear in 2022. Prick up your ears audiophiles; you’ll finally be able to listen to

SEC fines brokerage firms over email hacks that exposed client data

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined several brokerage firms a total of $750,000 for exposing the sensitive personally identifiable information of thousands of customers and clients after hackers took over employee email accounts. A total of eight entities belonging to three companies have been sanctioned by the SEC, including Cetera (Advisor Networks, Investment

I completely buy the conspiracy theory that Roy Kent from Ted Lasso is CGI

You want me to believe this is flesh and blood? Absolutely not, but they did a great job with the fabric effects. | Image: Apple I’ll confess this upfront: I’ve yet to watch an episode of Ted Lasso. But I absolutely buy the conspiracy theory that one of the show’s main characters, Roy Kent, is

Insurify, which has built an ML-based virtual insurance agent to help people get better rates, raises $100M Series B led by Motive Partners (Mary Ann Azevedo/TechCrunch)

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: Insurify, which has built an ML-based virtual insurance agent to help people get better rates, raises $100M Series B led by Motive Partners — How many of us have not switched insurance carriers because we don’t want to deal with the hassle of comparison shopping? — A lot, I’d bet.

New Orleans needs a better backup plan for blackouts

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 30: The downtown skyline is shown after Hurricane Ida passed through on August 30, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. | Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images A new gas plant still isn’t enough to solve the city’s power problems Continue reading…

Twitter introduces Safety Mode, which blocks harassing accounts for seven days, in beta for some English-language accounts (Jarrod Doherty/Twitter)

Jarrod Doherty / Twitter: Twitter introduces Safety Mode, which blocks harassing accounts for seven days, in beta for some English-language accounts — Feeling safe on Twitter looks different for everyone. We’ve rolled out features and settings that may help you to feel more comfortable and in control of your experience …

Profile of Li Jin, an aggressively pro-worker VC who founded Atelier Ventures, which manages $13M, to invest in influencer-related startups (Taylor Lorenz/New York Times)

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times: Profile of Li Jin, an aggressively pro-worker VC who founded Atelier Ventures, which manages $13M, to invest in influencer-related startups — Li Jin, 31, began backing creators years ago. She has raised her own fund to invest in influencer-related start-ups.

Microsoft Surface event announced, could include the Surface Duo 2 reveal

Credit: YouTube Microsoft could finally reveal the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 smartphone during a planned September 22 press event. The Android-based phone was previously leaked with what looked like a new camera module. Microsoft could also announce a new Surface Pro tablet, a new Surface laptop, and the Surface Go 3 at the event. Microsoft

Ubco 2X2 Adventure Bike review: Utility that shreds

A recent move to Auckland, New Zealand — a city with lackluster public transit and hills that can turn a quick bike ride to the store into a sweaty workout — piqued my interest in e-bikes. Strong demand and skyrocketing prices, however, made it difficult to access these coveted e-bikes here in the Land of

TimTheTatman, one of Twitch’s biggest streamers, moves to YouTube Gaming

Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Gamers’ Choice Awards Tim “TimTheTatMan” Betar, one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, is leaving to stream exclusively on YouTube Gaming. His move comes just days after another big streamer, Ben “DrLupo” Lupo, announced that he’d be switching from Twitch to YouTube as well. Betar’s first stream will

Verizon buyer’s guide: Internet plans and more

While it has its flaws, it remains true that Verizon is one of the best wireless carriers in the United States. Big Red has a massive base of subscribers, excellent devices, and a huge nationwide network. If you’re already a customer, you might be ready to see what else Verizon can do. Luckily for you,

MSI Net, Inc. & mCloudServ

Month: September 2021