Tech News – Page 69 – by Arlin Schaffel

Vending machine error reveals secret face image database of college students

Canada-based University of Waterloo is racing to remove M&M-branded smart vending machines from campus after outraged students discovered the machines were covertly collecting facial-recognition data without their consent. The scandal started when a student using the alias SquidKid47 posted an image on Reddit showing a campus vending machine error message, "Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognitionApp.exe," displayed after the machine failed to launch a facial recognition application that nobody expected to be part of the process of using a vending machine.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/vending-machine-error-reveals-secret-face-image-database-of-college-students/

Vice Media to halt publishing to namesake site, cut ‘several hundred’ jobs in restructuring

image via cbc.ca

A memo from Vice CEO Bruce Dixon, which was sent to staff on Thursday, explains that restructuring changes are being made "to adapt and best align our strategies to be more competitive in the long term." According to Dixon's memo, "it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously." He said Vice Media would seek to distribute its digital content by partnering with established media companies rather than publishing directly to its own site.
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7123068

Google gets its way, bakes a user-tracking ad platform directly into Chrome

Don't let Chrome's big redesign distract you from the fact that Chrome's invasive new ad platform, ridiculously branded the "Privacy Sandbox," is also getting a widespread rollout in Chrome today. If you haven't been following this, this feature will track the web pages you visit and generate a list of advertising topics that it will share with web pages whenever they ask, and it's built directly into the Chrome browser.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/googles-widely-opposed-ad-platform-the-privacy-sandbox-launches-in-chrome/

Apple confirms it’s breaking iPhone web apps in the EU on purpose

“Addressing the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines would require building an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS and was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps. And so, to comply with the DMA’s requirements, we had to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU,” the website reads.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/15/apple-confirms-its-breaking-iphone-web-apps-in-the-eu-on-purpose

Bluesky and Mastodon users are having a fight that could shape the next generation of social media

People on Bluesky and Mastodon are fighting over how to bridge the two decentralized social networks, and whether there should even be a bridge at all. Behind the snarky GitHub comments, these coding conflicts aren’t frivolous — in fact, they could shape the future of the internet.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/14/bluesky-and-mastodon-users-are-having-a-fight-that-could-shape-the-next-generation-of-social-media

Wunderlist’s creators are back with a nifty new to-do app

Wunderlist was both full of useful features and whimsical in a way few apps manage. Then, long story short, Microsoft bought it in 2015, morphed it into Microsoft To Do (a very good and much less delightful tasks app), and killed Wunderlist forever. But a group of the folks who made Wunderlist in the first place, led by co-founder Christian Reber, set out to bring its spirit back to life.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/13/24071136/superlist-tasks-app-wunderlist-productivity-tool

TikTok’s AI-powered Creative Assistant is now available directly in Adobe Express

The Creative Assistant add-on in Adobe Express aims to reduce the time and effort required when working across different platforms when creating content. With Adobe Express, creators have access to templates, Adobe Stock video clips, audio, stickers and an Adobe Express TikTok video creator. With the new Creative Assistant add-on, creators will get access to TikTok insights about trending hashtags and AI-powered tools all within Adobe Express. The Assistant can also brainstorm creative ideas or even write out video scripts.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/tiktoks-ai-powered-creative-assistant-is-now-available-directly-in-adobe-express/