ASUS has launched a new mouse that comes with an built-in fragrance compartment that can be filled with aromatic essential oils. We don't know why you'd want a mouse that's also an oil diffuser, but, well... the option (for some reason) now exists. If you want to change scents, you can just wash the vial and refill it with a different one. Just take note that the vial is in a bottom compartment, so you'll have to take care not to accidentally damage it and smear aromatic oils on your desk. You also cannot use 100 percent pure essential oils and will have to refill the vial with oils for reed diffusers, ultrasonic diffusers and aroma stones.

The ASUS Fragrance Mouse has three adjustable DPI levels at 1200dpi, 1600dpi and 2,400dpi, letting you change sensitivity as needed across different screen resolutions or across different games. You'd want to use a higher DPI for games that need quick responses like first-person shooters. It also has both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity that you can use to connect to different laptops and PCs. The mouse isn't rechargeable, but ASUS says an AA battery can power it for a year. In addition, the company says the model's switches can last for up to 10 million clicks. ASUS has yet to announce how much the Fragrance Mouse will cost and when it will be available, but you can easily get a diffuser from Amazon if you're after the fragrance part of the product.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/asus-new-mouse-has-a-built-in-aromatic-oil-diffuser-153100716.html?src=rss

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Operator is now out in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and most places where ChatGPT is also available, OpenAI has announced. The company launched Operator in the US back in January, introducing it as an "agent that can go to the web to perform tasks" for the user. Operator can handle various browser-based tasks for users, such as filling out forms, making restaurant reservations and ordering groceries. At the moment, it's still a research preview in its early stages that comes with limitations, but the company said it hopes to roll out improvements based on user feedback.

The tool is powered by a model called Computer-Using Agent (CUA) that's trained to see and interact with the buttons, menus and text fields people see when they visit a website. It can click buttons, type on text fields and basically interact with those elements "using all the actions a mouse and keyboard allow." In its announcement, the company said it's still working on launching Operator in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. 

Operator is still only available for subscribers paying $200 a month for ChatGPT Pro, but the company plans to expand its availability to Plus, Team and Enterprise users in the future, before ultimately integrating its capabilities into ChatGPT. When that happens, it could be doing tasks for hundreds of millions of people around the world: ChatGPT recently surpassed 400 million weekly active users, twice as many as the user count OpenAI reported in August 2024. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpts-ai-agent-operator-is-now-available-for-most-pro-users-133050651.html?src=rss

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© OpenAI

Twitch is putting a cap on how much storage a streamer can take up for their uploads and highlight videos. The streaming service has announced that starting on April 19, all uploads and highlights will count towards a new 100-hour storage limit for each streamer, whether the videos are published or not. To note, the cap doesn't apply to past broadcasts, which are previous livestreams saved to a streamer's account for on-demand viewing, or clips, which are minute-long segments that can be shared to social networks. Highlights can be longer than clips and can be made of several key moments from a video, which means they could take up more storage space. 

The service explained that it originally launched highlights to drive discovery and engagement for streamers, but the feature apparently hasn't been as effective clips and the mobile discovery feed. Storage is costly, and limiting highlights and uploads will allow the service to support the videos users want to keep on their accounts while also investing in improvements for features like Clips and mobile feed. 

Twitch said less than 0.5 percent of active streamers has gone over the 100-hour limit, and those who have will be notified directly. To make it easier for streamers to choose which videos they want to keep, Twitch has rolled out filters for Video Producer that will allow them to sort their content based on length, view count and date created. The service will be deleting videos for users that go beyond the 100-hour cap on April 19 and will be limiting uploads and highlights going forward. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/twitch-streamers-uploads-and-highlights-can-no-longer-exceed-100-hours-143018464.html?src=rss

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You can now access xAI's most advanced large language model, Grok 3, even if you don't pay for a subscription on X. Grok 3 is available for free "for a short time," according to xAI founder Elon Musk, though the company didn't say until what "short time" means exactly. When you go to Grok on X or the web, and when you launch the standalone app, you'll now see new "Think" and "DeepSearch" options that are only available with xAI's latest LLM family. Just make sure you're using Grok 3 instead of Grok 2 in the chatbot interface's drop-drown menu. If you're paying for X Premium+, which now costs $40 a month, or the chatbot's standalone $30-per-month SuperGrok plan, you'll get "increased access" to Grok 3's features, as well as early access to advanced features like Voice Mode. 

The company launched its Grok 3 model family a couple of days ago during a livestream, wherein Musk described it as "an order of magnitude more capable than Grok 2." Some of the models in the family are capable of "human-like reasoning," which you can trigger when you choose the "Think" option. They're best used for more complex queries, like those with mathematics, science and programming questions. Meanwhile, xAI described DeepSearch as the "next generation search engine" that can generate summaries for research inquiries. 

I asked the free version of Grok 3 how it differs from the paid option. The chatbot replied that "free interactions might hit server limits if too many people pile in at once" and that paid users get priority. Paid users get access to "Big Brain" mode, which can answer tough math, science or coding problems that need extra processing power, and there's no limit to the number of images SuperGrok subscribers can generate.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/xais-grok-3-is-available-for-free-to-everyone-for-a-short-time-130031943.html?src=rss

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Microsoft has introduced Majorana 1, a chip for quantum computing, which it said will enable computers to solve incredibly difficult industrial-scale problems in mere years instead of the decades current machines need. The company explained that Majorana 1 is the first quantum computing chip that uses a Topological Core architecture. Specifically, it uses a new type of material called a topoconductor or a topological superconductor that can create Majoranas — a state of matter that's not a solid, a liquid or a gas.

Majoranas were first predicted in the 1930s, but they do not exist in nature: They need to be brought into existence with the right materials under the right conditions. Microsoft's topoconductor wire, which the company built atom by atom for precision, combines indium arsenide with aluminum. When a topoconductor wire is cooled to near absolute zero and tuned with magnetic fields, it forms Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs) at its ends. Majorana qubits are more stable than current alternatives, Microsoft explained. They're fast, small and can be digitally controlled, and they have unique properties that can protect quantum information. 

Since the company's chip architecture joins topoconductor nanowires together to form an "H," each unit has four controllable Majoranas that make up one qubit, the basic unit in quantum computing. The H units can be connected, and Microsoft has already managed to put eight of them on a single chip. As you can see in the image above, the chip can fit in one's hand and can be easily deployed to data centers. Microsoft designed the chip to be able to fit one million qubits, because that's the threshold anybody developing quantum computers has to reach for their creation to be able to truly make a difference in the world.

A million-qubit machine could lead to self-healing materials that can repair cracks in planes, Microsoft said, or to catalysts that can break down all types of plastic pollutants into valuable byproducts. It could also allow scientists to perform computations for the extraction of enzymes that can boost soil fertility or promote sustainable growth of food for the sake of ending world hunger. Microsoft's Majorana 1 requires more parts than just the topoconductor to work, and the company needs more years to get all the elements to work together at a bigger scale. Figuring out how to stack the topoconductor's materials just right was one of its biggest challenges, however, and Microsoft had already conquered that. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsofts-majorana-1-quantum-computing-chip-uses-a-new-kind-of-superconductor-160009056.html?src=rss

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The US government could impose hefty tariffs on automobile, chip and pharmaceutical imports. According to Reuters and CBS News, President Donald Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate that the tariffs on auto imports, specifically, will be "in the neighborhood of 25 percent" and that he'll reveal more details about them on April 2. That's the day he's bound to get reports from members of his cabinet outlining options on duties for different imports across industries. When the president was asked how he could ensure that the European Union wouldn't retaliate by imposing the same levies on US imports, the president reportedly reiterated that the bloc signaled it would lower tariffs on US cars.

During the press briefing, the president also said that he's imposing similar tariffs on imported semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods. He said the government could collect 25 percent in taxes, or higher, for those imports and that they will "go very substantially higher over course of a year." It doesn't sound like the president will announce new taxes on chip and pharmaceutical imports in April, though. He said he wants to give companies in those industries "a little bit of chance" to build factories in the US so that they can avoid the new tariffs. 

To note, Reuters previously reported that the US government is looking to renegotiate the CHIPS and Science Act deals closed by the Biden administration. The program seeks to give semiconductor manufacturing a boost in the US by awarding grants to companies building foundries on US soil. But Trump previously criticized the initiative and argued that increasing tariffs would compel chip companies to build factories in the US without the government having to shell out any money. Trump admitted that prices could go up in the US due to the higher tariffs on foreign goods, but the president believes it'll only be a short-term problem and that they will benefit the country's economy in the future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/trump-plans-to-impose-25-percent-tariffs-on-automobile-and-semiconductor-imports-130044480.html?src=rss

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xAI has launched its Grok 3 models during a livestream with Elon Musk, who said they were "an order of magnitude more capable than Grok 2." The Grok 3 mini model can answer questions quickly, but it's not as accurate as the other models in the family. Meanwhile, the Grok 3 Reasoning and Grok 3 mini Reasoning models are capable of mimicking human-like reasoning when it comes to analyzing information the user needs. 

Other examples of AI models capable of reasoning tasks are DeepSeek's R1 and OpenAI's o3-mini. According to TechCrunch, xAI claimed during the event that Grok 3 Reasoning performed better than the best version of o3-mini on several benchmarks. Grok 3's features will initially be available to subscribers paying for X's Premium+ tier, which now costs $40 a month in the US. (X raised the Premium+ tier's pricing from $16 to $22 in December — now, less than two months later, it's almost twice as expensive.) They will also be available through an upcoming separate subscription option for the standalone Grok app and Grok on the web. Based on leaked information, the subscription option will be called SuperGrok and will cost $30 a month. 

With the Grok 3 models enabled, users will be able to ask the chatbot to "Think" if they want to tap its reasoning capabilities for mathematics, science and programming questions. For even more complex queries, they can use the "Big Brain" function that requires additional computing. The models' reasoning capabilities power a new Grok feature called DeepSearch, which xAI describes as the "next generation search engine." DeepSearch will scan the internet and X, formerly Twitter, to conjure a brief summary for research inquiries. 

In addition to launching the Grok 3 models, xAI also revealed during the event that the Grok app will get a "voice mode" within a week, giving it synthesized voices to converse with users. Grok 2, the company's older models, will be open sourced in the coming months. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/xai-launches-grok-3-ai-claiming-it-is-capable-of-human-reasoning-140007172.html?src=rss

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Spotify is rolling out a Music Pro tier later this year that will give users access to higher-quality audio and remixing tools, according to Bloomberg. The tier will reportedly cost users $6 per month on top of their $12 Premium subscription, but they'll be priced differently across regions and will be cheaper in less-developed markets. Many long-time Spotify subscribers, however, will probably say that they'll believe it when they see it. The service teased a high-fidelity streaming option way back in 2017 and had confirmed that it was working to provide users with access to lossless audio in 2021. 

Several reports about the feature's availability had come out over the years after the company's confirmation. In 2024, Bloomberg also reported that HiFi streaming is expected to arrive before the year ended as a $5 add-on. The publication's latest report says the pricing and timeline for lossless streaming could still change, because the company hasn't secured rights from all the major music companies yet. It's worth noting that Spotify recently announced new multi-year agreements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. 

In addition to lossless streaming, Bloomberg says the Music Pro tier will give subscribers access to tools that will give them a way to mix songs by different artists. Some of those tools will be powered by generative AI tech. The tier will reportedly give users access to presales for concerts, as well, and could offer them the option to buy better seats than what they could get elsewhere. Spotify will be testing the tier's features over the next few months and will apparently be rolling out the add-on's tools and features in phases. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/spotify-could-offer-its-long-awaited-hifi-audio-tier-as-a-6-add-on-later-this-year-130043402.html?src=rss

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Uber is suing DoorDash, accusing the biggest food delivery provider in the US of putting pressure on restaurants to exclusively use its services. According to The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, Uber filed the lawsuit in California on February 14. Uber said it filed the lawsuit after hearing from "restaurants across the country" that were left with no choice but to "cave to [DoorDash's] demands or pay the price." 

Both DoorDash and Uber Eats offer their delivery services to restaurants, even for customers who buy from an establishment's own website or app. At the same time, they also offer advertising within their apps for those that want to promote their businesses. DoorDash has a significantly larger share of the market than Uber Eats and had previously said that 90 percent of major restaurants in the US is available on its platform. 

DoorDash allegedly threatened to charge higher commission rates for handling orders made through its marketplace if the restaurant is also on Uber Eats. In its complaint, Uber said that that in one instance, the company threatened to raise a restaurant's commission rate by 30 percent per order placed. The lawsuit stated another instance wherein DoorDash allegedly told a restaurant that it would cost them millions of dollars in additional fees if it also teamed up with Uber. In 2024, a large restaurant group scrapped long-running plans to launch on Uber after threats from DoorDash to increase its commission rates, Uber said. In addition, DoorDash allegedly threatened to demote restaurants also available on Uber within its app. 

Uber is now asking the court to compel DoorDash to change its business practices. Meanwhile, DoorDash denied all accusations. "Uber’s case has no merit," the company said in a statement. "Their claims are unfounded and based on their inability to offer merchants, consumers, or couriers a quality alternative."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/uber-accuses-doordash-of-anti-competitive-practices-in-a-lawsuit-130032964.html?src=rss

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The recipients of the US government's CHIPS and Science Act awards may not get the amount that they were initially promised. According to Reuters, the Trump administration is looking to assess and change the CHIPS Act's current requirements. After that, it's set to renegotiate some of the deals awarded by the Biden administration. It has also indicated a delay in some of the disbursements that are already scheduled, Reuters said. A spokesperson for Taiwan-based GlobalWafers said the company was notified by the program's office that CHIPS Act policies are under review because certain conditions do not align with Trump's executive orders. GlobalWafers is one of the program's awardees that was set to receive $406 million in grants. 

Former president Joe Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law in 2022 to boost semiconductor production in the US. While each awardee has different milestones they need to achieve in order to get grants, the goal is to get them to build new foundries and upgrade existing ones in the country. The Trump administration is reportedly concerned with many of the previous administration's requirements for recipients. They include clauses added into contracts by Biden's team, the news organization's sources said, including requirements to use unionized labor when building factories and to provide factory workers with affordable childcare. The White House also isn't happy that some of the companies, such as Intel, announced expansion plans in China after being chosen as a recipient.

The US government has yet to formally announce any changes to CHIPS Act policies, so it's not yet clear how extensive they will be and how previous deals will be affected. Bloomberg reported last year that the Biden administration rushed to finalize deals with recipients after Donald Trump won the presidential elections. Trump vocally criticized the program in the past, calling it "bad" and arguing that increasing tariffs would attract chip companies without the government having to award any grants. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/trump-administration-reportedly-eyes-renegotiating-chips-act-awards-143035924.html?src=rss

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Apple's artificial intelligence features for iPhones could be available in China as early as May, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly established several teams in China and the US to make that happen, and it's also teaming up with local companies for its generative AI needs in the country. Joe Tsai, Alibaba Group's Chairman, recently confirmed that Apple will use his company's generative AI technology for Chinese iPhones during an event. Tsai didn't say when Apple intends to roll out the AI features that use Alibaba's tech, but The Information previously reported that the companies had already submitted them for approval to the country's regulators. 

Bloomberg says Apple will use Alibaba's technology for its on-device AI models, specifically as a layer on top that can censor certain materials and information for the Chinese government. Alibaba will be able to ask Apple to make updates to its AI models if China's government asks, and Apple will apparently disable outdated AI features on a user's phone until they update their device to remove any content that's been prohibited. These will only apply for iPhones meant for sale within China and not for devices purchased elsewhere. However, Apple Intelligence will not work in the country even on devices meant for sale in other regions once the user changes their location to mainland China.

Tsai said during an event that Apple talked to several companies in the region for its AI needs, including DeepSeek. While Alibaba will be its primary AI partner in China, Bloomberg says Apple will also work with Baidu for certain features like Visual Intelligence, which lets users find information online by scanning items on their phone. For AI features that need additional power and have to be processed through external servers, Apple will likely have to work with a local partner, as well. 

As Bloomberg notes, bringing Apple Intelligence to Chinese iPhones is a critical goal for the company. China is Apple's second biggest market, but the company's sales are on the decline as customers turn to local brands that offer AI features on their devices. In the last three months of 2024, Apple's sales in the country dropped by 11.1 percent, putting Apple in third place in the country's smartphone market after Huawei and Xiaomi. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-could-roll-out-ai-features-for-iphones-in-china-as-early-as-may-133036284.html?src=rss

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Apple will use Alibaba's generative AI to power artificial intelligence features for iPhones meant for sale in the Chinese market. Joe Tsai, Alibaba Group's Chairman, has confirmed the companies' partnership at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. He revealed that Apple talked to a number of other companies in China for a potential partnership, but it decided to team up with Alibaba in the end. Apple Intelligence features are not accessible in China at the moment, and even those who purchased their iPhones outside the country will not be able to use those features once they change their region to mainland China. 

As CNBC explains, the country has strict regulations surrounding AI, including requiring large language models to get approval for commercial use. Companies providing generative AI technologies in the region are also responsible for taking down illegal content. The Information reported about the partnership between Alibaba and Apple before Tsai confirmed it. The publication said that the companies had already submitted the AI features Apple plans to roll out to the country's regulators for approval. 

A previous report said that Apple tried to work with Baidu for its AI needs last year, but the models for Apple Intelligence that the Chinese company was developing were unable to meet its standards. Apple also reportedly talked to other Chinese companies, including Tencent and DeepSeek, but Apple deemed the latter to be lacking in experience and manpower to be able to handle a massive customer base. The DeepSeek AI assistant, if you'll recall, recently went viral and became the top free iPhone app in the US. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-will-use-alibabas-generative-ai-for-its-iphones-in-china-150008901.html?src=rss

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© Brian Oh for Engadget

You may lose access to CBS and CBS Sports, along with Paramount's other channels, through YouTube TV sometime in the near future. In an announcement, YouTube has revealed that it's in the middle of negotiations with the company to be able to continue offering its channels. YouTube says it's "fighting for an agreement that avoids passing along additional costs" to you, which indicates that they can't agree on a financial deal that works for both of them, as well as one that gives you "more flexibility in how you watch your favorite sports and shows."

In addition to CBS and CBS Sports, the channels affected include Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, MTV and VH1. Several add-ons for YouTube TV, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, will no longer be available, as well. YouTube started adding Paramount's channels to its lineup in 2020, when YouTube TV still cost $50 a month. Today, the live TV streaming service will set you back $70 a month for the first half year and then $83 a month going forward.

YouTube says that if it can't reach a deal with Paramount, and the company's content becomes unavailable for "an extended period of time," it will give you $8 in credit. Surprisingly, YouTube is advising viewers who want continued access to the networks shows to sign up for the Paramount+ streaming service, which costs at least $8 a month.

Paramount has also started warning subscribers that they won't be able to access its stations through YouTube TV for now and has even published a website informing them about it. The company wrote on the website that it has made a "series of fair offers" to keep the channels on the service. "YouTube TV is attempting to pressure Paramount to agree to one-sided terms, and these non-market demands may lead to an avoidable loss of Paramount’s networks on YouTube TV, in addition to the removal of Paramount+ and BET+ from YouTube’s Primetime Channels, on February 13," a Paramount spokesperson told Engadget. "Paramount has a long track record of successfully and amicably renewing partnerships with every major distributor, including several in recent months, and we will continue our efforts to reach a new agreement with YouTube TV," they also said. 

Update, February 14, 2025, 12:08 AM ET: This story has been updated to add Paramount's statement.

Update, February 14, 2025, 11:33 AM ET: Variety reports that YouTube and Paramount have extended their deadline, though for how long is not clear. In a Tweet, YouTube TV wrote that "We’ve reached a short-term extension with Paramount to keep their content on YouTube TV. Subscribers continue to have access to Paramount channels, including CBS. We appreciate your patience as we continue to negotiate on your behalf."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-tv-is-removing-cbs-nickelodeon-and-other-paramount-channels-143010075.html?src=rss

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Nissan and Honda have officially called off their plans to merge into a single automaker, less than two months after they confirmed the rumors that they were indeed looking to join forces. In an announcement, the companies said that they'd "agreed to terminate" the memorandum of understanding (MOU) they signed in December 2024. If they'd gone through with it and also brought Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi on board, the new entity would've had a net worth of around $50 billion. 

The automakers said that their CEOs and other members of their management teams have discussed what they wanted to achieve with the merger, as well the structures they wanted in place after the integration. They explained that they considered various options when it comes to the final structure of the merged entity. Honda proposed several options, including establishing a joint holding company, wherein the automaker would be the one appointing the CEO and majority of directors. However, it also proposed a structure wherein Honda would be the parent company, whereas Nissan would be the subsidiary. 

The Financial Times reported in early February that Honda presented the structure that would make Nissan its subsidiary as a "take it or leave it" offer. Majority of Nissan's board members reportedly rejected the deal back then during a meeting, but Nissan chose to wait until mid-February to make a formal announcement. The automakers said that they chose to cease their discussions "to prioritize speed of decision-making and execution of management measures in an increasingly volatile market environment heading into the era of electrification." They also said that they still have plans to collaborate "within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/honda-and-nissan-have-ended-their-merger-plans-075501432.html?src=rss

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US District Judge John D. Bates has ordered (PDF) the Center for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration to restore the web pages and resources they had previously removed to comply with President Trump's executive order related to gender ideology. Bates gave the agencies until February 11, 11:59 PM Eastern time, to comply. As of this writing, the CDC website on "Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons" is already back online with a note up top that says the CDC's website "is being modified to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders."

The judge's decision is part of a temporary restraining order that he has granted as requested by the Doctors for America. Represented by Public Citizen, the non-profit organization sued the CDC (PDF), the FDA and the Department of Health in February. It also sued the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which issued the memo for the pages' removal. As The Washington Post notes, the memo ordered agency heads to "end all agency programs that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology." 

In response, the CDC and FDA removed a number of web pages covering a wide variety of topics. In its lawsuit, Doctors for America said the pages that were removed provided healthcare workers with treatment guidance and important datasets necessary for research and for formulating appropriate public health responses. The pages contained resources for HIV monitoring, contraception, assisted reproductive technologies like IVF, health risks for youths, social vulnerability and environmental justice. In addition, the organization pointed out that the agency didn't provide any notice before removing those pages. 

The non-profit organization gave some specific examples in its lawsuit. Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, who has a research program at Yale School of Medicine, said that the CDC's removal of its resources about contraceptives and STIs caused delays in her "patients' access to appropriate contraception." Meanwhile, a Dr. Stephanie Liou said the the pages' removal impeded her ability to formulate a quick and appropriate response to a chlamydia outbreak in her high school, as her employers didn't have access to "many expensive clinical resources." Doctors of America accused the CDC and the FDA of violating the Paperwork Reduction Act that requires officials to "ensure that the public has timely and equitable access to the agency’s public information."

In addition to bringing back the pages that were removed, the agencies were also ordered to restore any resources that were modified to their original state by February 14. The resources that were brought back online will remain available while the non-profit org's lawsuit is ongoing. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/court-orders-the-cdc-and-fda-to-restore-deleted-web-pages-related-to-gender-identity-133008251.html?src=rss

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with multiple federal employee unions, have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team to block their access to sensitive and identifying information on millions of Americans. Specifically, the plaintiffs are looking to block them from being able to access data stored by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and to delete any information they've collected so far. The lawsuit also names OPM and Acting Director Charles Ezell as defendants. 

In early February, Reuters reported that Musk's aides locked OPM employees out of the agency's systems. "We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems," one of its sources said back then. The OPM has the largest collection of employee data in the US and contains sensitive information on both past and current federal employees, as well as on job applicants for federal positions who applied through USAJobs.gov. As the EFF notes, the agency's records contain federal employees' names, birthdates, home addresses, social security numbers, work experience, union activities, salaries, performance reviews, demotions, life insurance, death benefits as well as classified information NDAs. The list even includes the first names and last name initials of CIA employees in highly sensitive roles. 

In its announcement, the EFF explained that the mishandling of information in OPM's systems could lead to "significant and varied abuses," and that DOGE's "unchecked access" on its own puts federal employees at risk of privacy violations and even political pressure and blackmail. The foundation also emphasized the risk federal employees are facing with DOGE's access to unrestricted information and Musk's ownership of X. It cited Musk's old tweets naming specific government personnels whose jobs he would cut even before he had access to OPM's database. 

OPM violated the Privacy Act of 1974 when it gave DOGE "unrestricted, wholesale access" to its systems, the EFF said. Under the Privacy Act, the written consent of the individual whose data is being shared is required if government records are to be disclosed. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs are accusing Musk and his DOGE agents of exceeding "the scope of their legal authority" by controlling OPM's systems, because it has resulted in the the unlawful disclosure of the their contents. "Our case is fairly simple: OPM’s data is extraordinarily sensitive, OPM gave it to DOGE, and this violates the Privacy Act," the EFF wrote. "We are asking the court to block any further data sharing and to demand that DOGE immediately destroy any and all copies of downloaded material." Last week, a federal judge blocked Musk and DOGE from accessing Treasury Department information and ordered them to destroy any data they've already collected. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/eff-sues-elon-musk-and-doge-to-block-their-access-to-federal-employee-data-042245323.html?src=rss

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Eric Council Jr. from Alabama has pleaded guilty to being a co-conspirator in the unauthorized takeover of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's Twitter account last year. In early January 2024, SEC's official X account tweeted that bitcoin ETFs had been approved "for listing on all registered national securities exchanges," but SEC Chair Gary Gensler quickly announced that the agency's account was compromised. The commission later revealed that it was the victim of a SIM swapping attack, though it also admitted that it account wasn't protected by multi-factor authentication. Council was the one who carried out the SIM swap, according to the Department of Justice. 

Council used an ID card printer to create a fake ID that he then used to gain access to a phone number associated with the SEC's account. In a SIM swap, the perpetrator typically gets a user's carrier to reassign a phone number to a new SIM card that they control. His co-conspirators, who paid Council in bitcoin, then changed the SEC account's password to control it before posting the false news along with a fake quote from Gensler. As for why the SEC's account was protected by MFA, the agency previously said that it asked X's support staff to disable it last July, because it was having issues with account access. But it remained disabled until after the account was compromised. 

Council, who was arrested in October, has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He will be sentenced on May 16 and could face up to five years in prison. The Justice Department said Bitcoin rose by $1,000 after the fake announcement went up and then fell by $2,000 when the SEC issued a correction. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/man-from-alabama-pleads-guilty-over-secs-fake-bitcoin-post-on-x-133045810.html?src=rss

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Google Maps now officially shows the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America if you open the app in the US. In a blog post, Google said it rolled out the named change because the government has already updated the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which decides the "federal and national standard for geographic nomenclature." One of the executive orders President Donald Trump signed in January when he took office renames the body of water, but Google previously explained that it's the company's longstanding policy to wait for official government resources to be updated before applying any name change.

The Gulf of America label will only be visible if you use the Maps app in the US, or if you open Maps on the web and your device's location is set to the region. If you're in Mexico, the label still shows Gulf of Mexico. And if you're elsewhere, you'll see it marked as both, specifically: Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America). It's also longstanding policy for the company to show official local names when they vary between countries. Trump's executive order also renames Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, to Mount McKinley. So far, the location is still being shown as Denali on Maps. 

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Separately, Apple updated its Maps application and website to include the new nomenclature for US users. At present, the company's map graphics still display "Gulf of Mexico," but clicking on the region brings up a card that says "Gulf of America." Searching for "Gulf of Mexico" brings up the same GoA card. 

According to Bloomberg, Apple won't limit this change to only the US. The news org, paraphrasing Apple, said that the company will "soon roll out the shift for all users globally." We have reached out to Apple to confirm that users worldwide, including those in Mexico, will see Gulf of America on the company's maps.

A Congressional Research Service report on how and where geographical name changes apply specifically says that "private companies such as Google Maps and Apple Maps" would be unaffected by President Trump's Executive Order. The report also notes that decisions from the US Board on Geographic Names, which was responsible for actioning the name change, only apply to federal use.

Update, February 11, 5:35PM ET: This story and its headline were updated to reflect Apple's decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico in its Maps application. Additional context on geographical name changes from a Congressional Research Service report was also added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-adopts-gulf-of-america-for-us-maps-users-140026397.html?src=rss

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If you need to download and install TikTok in the US, you can do so on Android even though the app isn't back on the Play Store yet. In a tweet, the TikTok Policy account has announced that the service has made Android Package Kits available for download through its official web site. Companies don't typically endorse sideloading, but Tiktok is, of course, a special case. 

The app briefly went offline on January 19 before a law banning it in the US — unless its parent company ByteDance sells it to an owner based in the country — took effect. Under that law, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store are required to remove its listing if they don't want to get slapped with a fine amounting to $5,000 for every user in the US who downloads the app. It didn't take a full day before TikTok restored access to its service, but its app has yet to reappear on Google's and Apple's stores in the US.

One of the executive orders President Donald Trump signed when he took office put a 75-day pause on the law that banned the app, giving ByteDance until April to reach a deal. Trump has reportedly put Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of negotiating a potential sale before the deadline. ByteDance repeatedly said in the past that it had no plans to sell the social media app, but one of the company's biggest investors recently said that a deal is in "everybody's interest." Several companies and individuals have already expressed their intention to purchase TikTok in the US, including Perplexity AI and MrBeast.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-advises-android-users-in-the-us-to-sideload-the-app-130015055.html?src=rss

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The PlayStation Network is experiencing issues right now. Its network status page was updated at 7PM Eastern time with a warning that you may not be able to log in, access and edit your accounts, no matter what console you use. We're also unable to log into the network on our computer or our phone. "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," the notice reads. "Thank you for your patience." It's not possible to create an account at the moment. The service has also warned that you may "have difficulty" firing up games and apps on your consoles and the web, so you may not be able to play some titles or access certain features that need an internet connection. 

The network outage, unsurprisingly, affects the PlayStation Store. You'll have to do your shopping another time — you can't purchase and redeem vouchers, and you won't even be able to browse titles and search for specific ones. You can't start downloading new games and updates either, and if you were downloading anything before the issue began, it may not show any progress until the issue is fixed. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-playstation-network-is-down-012237477.html?src=rss

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