☕ Good morning! If you’re still working, and it’s not yet your last day just know we’re in this together. (If you are on holiday, I’m sure it’s well deserved!)
Here’s a story that’s almost certainly going to see government-level changes to the way things work today.
Some snips from authors Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel:
You can do something:
📸 What to expect from smartphone cameras in 2020 (Android Authority).
🎧 Galaxy Buds Plus renders appear online, and there’s not a lot new in the look, so what makes them Plus? (Android Authority).
💵 Got caught making robocalls? That’ll be $10,000 per call, please (Android Authority).
🎮 Google starts adding missing Stadia features, announces a new blog called Save Point for regular updates (Android Authority). Also, Google has bought big game dev Typhoon Studio to help Stadia progress rapidly.
🤔 Can regular people tell the difference between a 60Hz display and a 90Hz one? Here’s a great little experiment that says, uh, no… (YouTube).
🕵️♂️ To control its destiny, Facebook bets big on hardware, details The Information, with insights like: Facebook is attempting to build a non-Android OS for its devices to better control its efforts in hardware, in particular, Oculus (The Information, $). Great report, here’s a non-paywalled reaction too.
🔋 This is what happens when you fast-charge a battery (CNET). Good sensible info here.
👻 Ghostery Midnight brings privacy to the desktop for $14 per month (The Verge).
💱 Google’s Larry Page gave $400 million in Christmas donations, but where that money went is quite complicated and interesting: mostly to donor-advised funds (DAFs) which don’t have to do anything with the money (Vox). Ideally, Page might’ve thrown EFF.org a bone?
⚖ Speaking of: If you made a claim for $125 from Equifax, you’re not getting it after court awards nearly $80 million to attorneys. Oh. (CNBC).
🌳 YouTubers, Silicon Valley, and fans help MrBeast raise $20 million for tree charity (The Verge).
📸 The decade in pictures (NY Times).
🏖 The world is running low on beach sand (The Conversation).
🎁 “What’s a smaller gift (under $15) that you always love receiving?” (r/askreddit).
More of a throwback than anything, but remember when things were innocent and Mom calling into C-SPAN to yell at her arguing pundit sons (Jezebel, 2014), and having a lovely time trying to settle things down, was the thing of the time?
Have a great weekend,
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.
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