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TL;DR: Take a wide range of online courses from Harvard University for free with edX.
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Opens in a new window Credit: Harvard University Harvard University Courses Free at edX Get DealTL;DR: Live stream USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The basketball at Paris 2024 has been really entertaining, and we can't see that changing as USA take on Puerto Rico. The U.S. team is absolutely stacked with incredible talent, which makes for some truly special moments. Things will be tough for Puerto Rico, but they won't go down without a fight.
If you want to watch USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024?USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 takes place at 11:15 a.m. ET on Aug. 3.
How to watch USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 for freeUSA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. These are tools that hide your real IP address and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock free streaming sites like BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.
Unblock BBC iPlayer for free by following this simple process:
Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
Visit BBC iPlayer
Live stream USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock BBC iPlayer without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it gives you time to stream USA vs. Puerto Rico (plus the rest of Paris 2024) before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including the UK
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream USA vs. Puerto Rico at Paris 2024 for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream the women's 400m final at Paris 2024 for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Of all the events at Paris 2024, the 400m must be one of the most impressive. It covers a whole lap around the athletics track and demands a combination of both speed and strategy.
The finals are approaching fast — quite literally considering the pace of these athletes — including the women's 400m. Jamaican runner Nickisha Pryce is one to watch, as well as the Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino.
If you want to watch the women's 400m final at Paris 2024 for free from anywhere in the world, here's all the information you need.
When is the women's 400m final at Paris 2024?The women's 400m final at Paris 2024 takes place at 2:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 9. The event is hosted by the Stade de France.
How to watch the women's 400m final at Paris 2024 for freeThe women's 400m final at Paris 2024 is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is a free streaming platform that's geo-restricted to the UK. But anyone can access BBC iPlayer with the use of a VPN. A VPN can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock free streaming sites like BBC iPlayer, along with all the Paris 2024 action, from anywhere in the world.
Unblock BBC iPlayer for free by following this simple process:
Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
Visit BBC iPlayer
Live stream the women's 400m final at Paris 2024 from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPN providers usually offer free trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can unblock BBC iPlayer without committing any cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it will give you time to stream 400m final at Paris 2024 (plus any events that follow) before you recover any upfront investment.
What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including the UK
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months at no additional cost — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream the women's 400m final at Paris 2024 for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Paris 2024 is well underway, and it's already been a thrilling watch for sports fans from across the globe. From athletics to fencing, the competition is hot this year. And with athletes from all around the world competing for the chance of a gold medal, the talent is abundant.
If watching seriously-fast athletes is your thing, you won't want to miss the women's 100m hurdles final. Competitors are likely to include Nigeria's Tobi Amusan and the USA's Masai Russell.
If you want to watch the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 for free from anywhere in the world, keep on reading because we have all the information you need.
When is the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024?The women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 takes place at 1:35 p.m. ET on Aug. 10. The event is hosted by the Stade de France.
How to watch the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 for freeThe women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
While BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, anyone can access this streaming platform with the use of a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock free streaming sites like BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.
Unblock BBC iPlayer for free by following this simple process:
Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
Visit BBC iPlayer
Live stream the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are often not free, but most do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. If you take advantage of these offers, you can unblock free streaming services such as BBC iPlayer without spending any cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it gives you time to stream the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 (plus all the events that follow) before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including the UK
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream the women's 100m hurdles final at Paris 2024 for free with ExpressVPN.
A beautiful lawn doesn't come easy. It takes, blood, sweat, tears, and the real equipment. That's the same for everyone, whether you just dabble in gardening or you're a pro landscaper. Even if you struggle with the blood, sweat, and tears bit, it's certainly worth tooling up with the best gardening equipment you can afford.
Top of the list, of course, is a lawn mower. But it's worth backing that up with a strimmer (sometimes called a lawn trimmer). If a lawn mower does the bulk of the worth, a strimmer is for the finer details. Strimmers are designed to trim the edges, borders, and even keep the lawn itself tidy by cutting back weeds and long patches. In other words, the strimmer takes care of the bits that your lawn mower can't reach.
But unless you’re a gardening expert, choosing the right strimmer is harder than lugging a mower around. There's plenty of jargon and spec that might not make sense — not to mention a selection of brands to choose from. But we're here to help put you on the right (garden) path by recommending some top models. But before we get to that, here’s some helpful information about buying a new strimmer.
Are there different types of lawn strimmers?The main types you’ll have to choose from are electric strimmers that plug into the mains, cordless strimmers powered by rechargeable batteries, and petrol strimmers which give you extra power. The best option for you really depends on the size of your garden and its current state. Is it big and overgrown? In that case you'll need power.
Corded vs. cordless strimmers — which are best?It’s less a case of which is best and more which type best suits your garden and gardening needs. Corded strimmers are generally cheapest and best for casual use, but they’re slightly limited by the cord. You’ll need easy access to a mains outlet — and you must check that the cord reaches far enough to cover your lawn.
Cordless strimmers are built for convenience — lightweight and easy to handle around the garden. The main drawback is that you have to recharge them after use. Look for a model with battery power to match the size of your garden.
What are the benefits of a petrol strimmer?Petrol-powered strimmers give you power. If you have a large garden, or particularly tough grass and weeds to cut through, a petrol strimmer is likely the best option. They’re not always the best for delicate or precision-perfect jobs.
What is lawn edging?Lawn edging is pretty much as it sounds — the art of keeping your lawn neat, tidy, and even styled. It can be surprisingly hard to do if you don’t have the right tools. Some strimmers are built for both regular trimming and edging, or may have a cutting head that converts into an edger. This can add a touch of artistic flair to your gardening.
What are the most important lawn strimmer features?As well as edging, there are other handy features that can elevate a strimmer from good to great. They can include a telescopic shaft, adjustable handle, shoulder strap, and brush cutter for tackling brambles and shrubbery.
What's an automatic line feed?Another feature that can be a deal-breaker for some gardeners is an automatic line extension. The “line” is the thing that whips around quickly and does the actual business of grass cutting (though some strimmers use a blade). The line can sometimes break, so you need a system to replace the line mid-cut. Strimmers may have an automatic line feed, which replaces the line as you cut, meaning you do don't have faff about with changing spools. Others replace the line with the press of a button — or by giving the head a bump on the ground.
What is the best lawn strimmer?There are plenty of impressive models out there from top brands like Bosch and Flymo. To help you find the right strimmer for you and your garden, we have lined up a selection of the very best models. We have considered customer reviews, specifications, and features to give you a clear idea of what's out there.
These are the best garden strimmers in 2024.
Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.
If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for August 2's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.
What's the best Wordle starting word?The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.
Is Wordle getting harder?It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.
SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for August 2 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:Something a reptile may shed.
Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?There are no reoccurring letters.
Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.
SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today's Wordle is...
SCALE.
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for August 3 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for August 3If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: A night at the museumThe hint for the theme is that they are eras.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explainedThe answers are related to artistic periods.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer todayToday's spangram is ArtHistory.
NYT Strands word list for August 3Classical
Medieval
ArtHistory
Baroque
Modern
Romantic
Looking for other daily online games? Find one you might like – or hints for another game you're already playing – on Mashable's Games page.
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Opens in a new window Credit: David Bombal Ultimate Cybersecurity and IT Career Certification Pathway Training £23.40 at the Mashable ShopConnections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for August 3's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
Tweet may have been deletedEach puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
Tweet may have been deletedPlayers can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for August 3 Here's a hint for today's Connections categoriesWant a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Yellow: Elation
Green: Being civil with someone you don't like
Blue: That's BS
Purple: Things you press
Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:
Yellow: Bit of Excitement
Green: Tolerate
Blue: Nonsense
Purple: Things to Click
Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today's Connections #419 is...
What is the answer to Connections todayBit of Excitement: HIGH, KICK, RUSH, THRILL
Tolerate: BEAR, STAND, STOMACH, TAKE
Nonsense: BALONEY, BULL, BUNK, TRIPE
Things to Click: HEELS, MOUSE, REMOTE, TOUNGE
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Apparently using Google Gemini to write a fan letter in the voice of a little girl doesn't sit well with people.
Google has pulled its "Dear Sydney" ad after major backlash that criticized Google for misjudging how much the public values genuine human expression.
The ad features a father using the Google Gemini chatbot to help his daughter write a fan letter to Olympic track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. "I'm pretty good with words," says the father, "but this has to be just right." Cue Gemini, and a fan letter written entirely by a bot that, being a bot, can't possibly understand concepts like admiration, inspiration, or just the experience of being a human child.
"We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it," said a Google spokesperson in a statement to Mashable. "Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA. It showcases a real-life track enthusiast and her father, and aims to show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing."
SEE ALSO: The new iPad ad essentially flips AI-weary creatives the birdBut given the negative reaction online, Google missed the mark. The ad's message is offset by a recurrent theme in the generative AI era: companies have eagerly adopted generative AI in the hopes of attracting users. But in a classic case of a tech solution in search of a problem, they've sometimes repulsed consumers, and have struggled to find applications that prove genuinely useful. Earlier this week Meta scrapped its celebrity AI personas, while Taco Bell has expanded its AI voice automated ordering system despite McDonald's failings with a similar experience.
Even if Gemini nailed the tone and successfully mimicked the tone and age-appropriate literacy of the little girl, people online were horrified by the premise of using AI to write a fan letter. "It is one of the most disturbing commercials I’ve ever seen," posted Shelly Palmer, professor of advanced media at Syracuse University Newhouse School. "This is exactly what we do not want anyone to do with AI. Ever."
Tweet may have been deleted"I cannot think of a less inspiring ad. What is even the point of sending that letter," posted X user @chikkadee.
Tweet may have been deleted"Re: Google’s 'Dear Sydney' AI Ad - much like Apple’s Crush, the question we need to ask ourselves isn’t 'what can AI/texhn do for us?'" wrote another user @Aerocles referring to a similarly tone-deaf ad from Apple that literally crushed creative tools. "But 'what role do we want it to play in our lives?' Just because AI can do something, doesn’t mean we want it to."
Tweet may have been deletedWashington Post columnist Alexandra Petri was so infuriated that she wrote an entire column about it saying, "This ad makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it."
It's hard to summarize all the ways the public feels Google's ad fell short. Whether it's coming under fire for implying that automated text is more valuable than children's expression, or discouraging kids doing their own writing, or simply signaling to parents that this is a good use of generative AI, there are so many issues. But the Los Angeles Times's Ryan Faughnder encapsulated the overall mood pretty well in a post on X: "Turns out it's really hard to market apocalyptic A.I. technology."
Tweet may have been deleted"The home of unlawful social media piracy."
That's what some of the biggest football leagues in the world are calling Elon Musk's X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in a letter obtained by the Associated Press.
The letter from soccer leagues like Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, and Serie A, which was sent to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, demands that the company take more action against copyrighted content being illegally published on the platform.
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk spreads doctored Kamala Harris campaign video on XSince Elon Musk took over X, then known as Twitter, in October 2022, pirated content has run rampant. Almost immediately after Musk's acquisition, users began sharing full-length films from major companies with little-to-no oversight. The company seemingly made matters worse by rolling out new updates and features, like the ability to upload longer videos, that seemed to further enable the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content.
The football world calls out XAlong with the Premier League and LaLiga, the letter to X was also signed by major soccer governing bodies like UEFA and CONMEBOL.
Potentially even more concerning for X is the fact that networks and platforms that air the leagues' games signed the letter too. Companies like DIRECTV, Sky, Movistar Plus+, beIN, and DAZN – all of which signed the letter – have distribution rights to a variety of sports, not to mention entertainment events and shows, in addition to soccer.
In the letter, these organizations specifically call out X for its "persistent failings" in moderating unlawful distribution of copyrighted material. The letter makes it clear that this problem is unique to the platform since Musk's acquisition.
"X’s approach to taking down unlawful live content notified to them is woefully insufficient and inadequate," reads the letter sent to Musk, Yaccarino, and X. "This makes our respective intensive efforts to tackle this problem hugely inefficient. Critically, since you acquired the platform, we have witnessed a demoralizing reduction in technical support making it ever more difficult to engage with the platform in any kind of meaningful discussion on this topic."
The letter mentions how X under Musk has severely lacked in providing support for these companies, an issue the letter says has been exacerbated by the fact that X's content moderation resources were recently decreased by 20 percent. The letter also says that X "lacks many of the features which other responsible social media operators deploy to combat piracy.”
All of these issues combined have resulted in "an increased perception among pirates that they can do as they wish on X with impunity," according to the letter, which provides examples of illegal live streams being broadcast on X.
Mashable noticed such livestreams spreading on X during the recent 2024 Copa América and Euros tournaments as well, and monitored some of these streams. These streams were rarely taken down on X. When one was removed, often a new feed would just be shared in its place.
Mashable has reached out to X about these streams, and the others mentioned in the letter, and will update if we hear back.
Will this affect X's sports dominance?X has lost users from various online communities to competitor platforms like Threads and Bluesky over the past few years.
However, one user base that's continued to hold strong on X are sports fans.
X is still the place for real-time discussion of the biggest games and matches on social media. Because X is where the fans are, many sports leagues and teams have remained active on the platform. Right now, for example, X is filled with not only Olympics-related content but also paid advertising from the networks currently airing the 2024 summer games in Paris.
However, X's relationship with sports leagues and broadcasters could certainly be affected by the company's blasé response to the publication of pirated content. X is already very familiar with advertiser boycotts as a result of Musk's leadership or even his own behavior.
The leagues and organizations behind the letter sent to X says that they "urgently call for a meeting with X’s representatives to address this unacceptable situation."
Porn site BangBros has allegedly exposed user and model information, cyber security site Cybernews reported.
In June, the research team at Cybernews discovered more than eight gigabytes of sensitive information about BangBros users. This information included IP addresses, usernames, messages, countries and geolocations, and model names, ages, and descriptions.
SEE ALSO: Should I use a VPN to watch porn?"Although the credentials were not leaked directly, hackers can associate the IP addresses with the identity from other leaks," explained Cybernews information security researcher Mantas Kasiliauskis in its reporting.
The sensitive information had been stored on an unprotected instance of Elasticsearch, a searchable distributed document storage system typically used for high-volume data. The largest file of the leak contained nearly 11 million records. Cybernews researchers claim this data was likely left unprotected because of an "inadvertent configuration error."
Cybernews contacted BangBros, and the error was fixed. According to Cybernews, however, there's still a risk to users if adversaries accessed the data.
"If bad actors managed to get their hands on this data, they might trace and link adult content viewers' habits to specific individuals," Kasiliauskis said. "Combined with other private information, this could lead to significant privacy issues, cause personal embarrassment, and result in social stigma in places with conservative attitudes."
Mashable has reached out to BangBros for comment and will update if we hear back.
A new fight has popped up in the ongoing battle between TikTok and the U.S. government, but this time, it's about children's online privacy.
The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, alleging that the social media platform violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children to create accounts and interact with adults — and collecting and retaining their data without getting consent from their guardians. COPPA, which was passed over two decades ago, requires social media platforms and other websites to get parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. In response, most social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat — simply don't allow anyone under 13 to make an account. TikTok, on the other hand, offers a view-only experience for children under 13.
SEE ALSO: Here's how the TikTok ban will likely play out in the courts"This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control," Brian M. Boynton, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, told the Associated Press in a statement.
This comes after the FTC sued Musical.ly, the app that would later become TikTok, for violating COPPA in 2019, the AP reported; Musical.ly paid $5.7 million to resolve the allegations at the time.
"TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country," FTC Chair Lina Khan said, according to NBC News. "The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online — especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data."
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Mashable.
Simone Biles dunked on Donald Trump, and it didn't take long for LeBron James to join in.
Some context: Biles, the undisputed gymnastics GOAT, won the all-around gold in women's artistic gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday. This followed Team USA gold earlier in the week. All that winning — and likely more to come in individual events — elevated Biles to a standing all her own in modern artistic gymnastics.
SEE ALSO: How women’s gymnastics is scored at the Olympics, and how Simone Biles pushes those boundariesIn the wake of the golds, Biles took a pretty clear jab at former President Donald Trump. Ricky Davila posted on X: "Simone Biles being the GOAT, winning Gold medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job." That was a reference to Trump saying migrants were "taking Black jobs."
Biles quote-tweeted Davila, saying, "I love my black job."
Tweet may have been deletedIt was a quick shot at Trump after his comments at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention, and apparently, James approved. He quote-tweeted Biles with "Black [goat emoji]."
Tweet may have been deletedJames, who some folks argue is the basketball GOAT, has taken a shot at Trump on Twitter before, calling him "U bum" back in 2017. Biles, meanwhile, has clearly made it a point to enjoy the Paris Olympics her way after getting lots of hate following her decision to withdraw from the 2021 Tokyo Games due to "the twisties." She previously went out of her way to shade her former teammate MyKayla Skinner, who had questioned the talent and dedication of Team USA.
So look out world: Simone Biles is not just winning golds, she's settling scores.
AI music startup Suno has admitted that its AI model is trained on copyrighted music, but insists it's legally protected by the fair use doctrine.
On Thursday, Suno fleshed out this argument in a legal filing responding to a lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association of America on June 24. RIAA, which represents major record labels Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, is suing Suno and AI music company Udio for copyright infringement based on claims that they used music owned by the record labels to train their AI models.
In the generative AI era, numerous murky copyright battles have cropped up with no clear resolution. Media organizations like the New York Times Company have sued OpenAI and Microsoft alleging copyright theft. But AI companies claim their practice of using mass corpora of data scraped from the internet is fair use.
SEE ALSO: All the media companies that have licensing deals with OpenAI (so far)Suno had been vague about how it trained its AI music generator, despite damning note-for-note comparisons of RIAA copyrighted songs and Suno-generated songs included in the lawsuit. But now, Suno is claiming that this is perfectly legal according to fair use guidelines. "We train our models on medium- and high-quality music we can find on the open internet," said Suno CEO Mikey Schulman in a blog post accompanying the legal filing. "Much of the open internet indeed contains copyrighted materials, and some of it is owned by major record labels."
In response, RIAA posted a statement on X, saying "[Suno's] industrial scale infringement does not qualify as 'fair use.' There's nothing fair about stealing an artist's life's work, extracting its core value, and repackaging it to compete directly with the originals."
Tweet may have been deletedAccording to the U.S. Copyright Office, fair use "promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." Such circumstances include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research."
In the blog post, Schulman goes on to say Suno's neural networks learn "like a kid learning to write new rock songs by listening religiously to rock music," and therefore, "learning is not infringing." However equating synthetic intelligence to human intelligence is very much unresolved in the eyes of the law. Currently the Copyright Office says AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted, which pretty clearly distinguishes artificial intelligence from human intelligence when it comes to the final product. But the "learning process," i.e. training data is entirely new territory.
Suno's legal filing alleges the RIAA lawsuit is essentially a David and Goliath situation where major record labels are trying to stifle competition. "Where Suno sees musicians, teachers, and everyday people using a new tool to create original music, the labels see a threat to their market share," the filing said.
Mashable has reached out to Schulman for additional comments and will update if we hear back.
TL;DR: Get a 13-in-1 docking station featuring dual HDMI for just $44.97 (reg. $70) until August 4, and is perfect for content creators who need multiple device connections.
Opens in a new window Credit: Tech Zebra 13-in-1 Docking Station with Dual HDMI $44.97 at The Mashable ShopAs a content creator, having an adapter that can work with a variety of devices and drives is crucial, whether you're uploading videos for TikTok, transferring important blog files to your computer, or doing work for just about any other creative medium.
This 13-in-1 docking station with dual HDMI ports is designed to give you seemingly endless connectivity possibilities, so you can utilize multiple devices with ease. Through August 4, you can get it on sale for $44.97 (reg. $70) at 28%.
With dual HDMI ports, you can connect two monitors: one for editing and one for reference, streamlining your workflow and boosting productivity.
This powerhouse docking station features a variety of fast USB ports, perfect for speedy file transfers from your cameras and external hard drives. No more tangled cables with a USB-C and USB-A connection.
The inclusion of an SD and TF card reader ensures quick access to your footage and photos, making it ideal for YouTubers, streamers, and creative professionals.
Its audio jack supports both input and output, allowing you to connect your microphones and headphones with ease. Whether you’re recording a podcast, streaming live, or editing videos, this docking station provides an all-inclusive solution to all your connectivity needs.
Enjoy an impressive array of features without the clutter. Optimize your creative workspace and keep everything you need within reach with this 13-in-1 docking station with dual HDMI, on sale for $44.97 through August 4.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
FREE $15 GIFTCARD: As of August 2, spend $50 on select cleaning supplies at Target and get a free $15 Target GiftCard.
Opens in a new window Credit: Target Free $15 Target GiftCard with $50 of Select Cleaning Supplies Get DealFall is just about here. Why not take some time to tidy up your home? It's a great time to do so, especially since there are deals like Target's that practically reward you for picking up some paper towels and cleaning that bathroom or for tackling that sink full of dishes you've been neglecting. And if you're the type of person who needs a reward in order to handle tasks like that, we've got just the deal for you.
As of August 2, you can get a free $15 Target GiftCard when you spend $50 on select cleaning supplies. This deal is for those with a Target Circle membership and you must activate it by heading to the deal page. You can use the coupon once per Target Circle account, and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
You can choose from a wide variety of goodies you'll need to tackle just about every cleaning need, from Target's up&up brand paper towels to Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and everything in between. There are also sandwich storage bags, Tide Pens, Scrub Mommy sponges, plastic forks, toilet paper, and other home goods to choose from. All you need to do is buy at least $50 of it and add it all to your cart, then check out with the deal activated.
This deal is only available for a limited time, and it's only good for one use. Make it count and get ready to fall into some serious savings on things you're probably going to be buying for your home anyway. Now you just get a treat for doing so that you can put back into, you guessed it, buying more of the things you need.
SAVE $23.53: As of August 2, get the Samsung 15W Wireless Charger for just $36.46 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $59.99. That's a discount of 39%.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Samsung 15W Wireless Charger $36.46 at AmazonTired of dealing with a jumble of charging cables for each one of your mobile devices? Remove your Samsung smartphone from the equation and grab a charging pad that can boost your Galaxy phones and devices back up to 100%. You won't ever have to worry about fiddling with a cord, plugging it in, or finding the right cable. And right now, you can get the charger for a great price.
As of August 2, you can get the Samsung 15W Wireless Charger for just $36.46 at Amazon. That's a 39% discount and $23.53 off the normal price of $59.99.
SEE ALSO: Get a 1TB Samsung T7 portable SSD for just $100This proprietary Samsung charging pad is a convenient option for making sure all your devices are powered up when you need them. Just drop your phone or other device on this fast charger and go. It's compatible with a litany of models from Samsung's Galaxy lineup, including Flip and Fold phones. Just put your phone on the charging pad and thanks to USB PD and Samsung's Adaptive Fast Charging features, you'll be back up to speed in no time.
The charging pad has a built-in cooling system with a fan as well to keep it from overheating. And you don't have to check your actual device to see where you are in terms of a full battery. It has an LED light that gives you the charging status with green, red, and yellow lights that give you an idea of progress. Plus it's small, compact, and easy to use.
If you're looking for an easier, quicker charging solution, be sure and snag this one while it's still in stock.
Intel has announced a substantial reduction in its global workforce.
The computing giant will lay off somewhere between 15,000 and 19,000 employees, according to The Verge. Intel hopes to implement $10 billion in cost savings for 2025, and will reduce marketing and research spending substantially over the next couple of years. It will also strive to stop "non-essential" work, but didn't elaborate on what that meant.
SEE ALSO: It’s not just PlayStation: 6 other gnarly gaming layoffs in 2024 so farIntel reported losses of $1.6 billion for the previous fiscal quarter. There are many factors contributing to this, but companies like Apple and Microsoft abandoning Intel in favor of chips created either in-house or by Qualcomm hasn't helped. Intel has also failed to make significant in-roads on AI development compared to some of its contemporaries.
Tens of thousands of tech workers have already been laid off before the end of summer 2024. Major companies like Microsoft, Google, Riot Games, and others join Intel in having recently slashed jobs. The wave has hit several sectors, from computing to gaming and others.
Fingers crossed this is the last story like this that we see for a while.
Hey, do you want to have to pay even more money for yet another streaming service? Boy, are you in luck: Venu — the joint sports streaming offering from Disney (ESPN), Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery — has officially set its price-tag and outlined when it plans to launch.
It'll cost $42.99 per month and launch in the fall, with no exact date set just yet. At least on it's surface value, that's a tough ask, considering it's much more expensive than pretty much any other streaming service. But sports, and live broadcast rights, are big business and one of the few remaining things on TV that are appointment viewing. In short: sports, typically speaking, get folks to pay-up.
It seems the goal from Venu — which by the way, is pronounced like the word Venue, which is just wrong — is to get younger customers who loves sports but don't want to pay for a cable package.
"We're building Venu from the ground up for fans who want seamless access to watch the sports they love, and we will launch at a compelling price point that will appeal to the cord cutter and cord never fans currently not served by existing pay TV packages," Venu CEO Pete Distad said in a statement.
So, what'll be on Venu? You get all the sports offerings on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, and ESPN+. The press release, and pretty much every write up of the news, notes the service will include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR as well as college sports, golf, tennis, and soccer offerings.
The big question here, however, is the NFL because, well, it is by far the most popular thing on TV in the U.S. With ESPN and Fox onboard, you have a decent amount of the NFL offerings on Venu. But, if you're an NFL completist, as most American sports fans are, Venu won't be enough. NBC, CBS, Amazon, and the NFL Network and also air a fair number of NFL games, meaning you'll need to pony up for other streaming services or a YouTube TV/cable subscription if you want to watch every game.
So, no matter what decision you make, watching sports is going to continue to cost a lot of money.
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