Category: Tech
Indonesia blocks Steam, PayPal and other services over missed regulatory deadline
Indonesia is blocking residents from accessing various online platforms after those services failed to comply with a July 29th regulatory deadline, reports Reuters (via The Verge). Among the affected platforms are PayPal, Steam and Yahoo (owned by Engadget’s parent company Apollo Management).
Under the country’s 2020 MR5 law, companies labeled as “Private Electronic System Providers” had until this week to register with a government database or face an outright ban. Similar to India’s restrictive 2021 IT law, MR5 gives Indonesia the power to force online platforms to take down content the government deems unlawful or a threat to public order. In instances involving “urgent” requests, services have four hours to take action.
According to Reuters, a handful of tech companies, including Google, Meta and Amazon, rushed in recent days to meet Friday’s deadline. Indonesia may restore access to some of the online services that are currently blocked in the country, provided they register with the government.
PayPal and Valve did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, the general director of Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information, told a local news network that the government could temporarily lift restrictions on PayPal to allow users to withdraw their money.
Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Human Rights Watch have criticized Indonesia’s new content moderation rules. “[MR5] is a tool for censorship that imposes unrealistic burdens on the many digital services and platforms that are used in Indonesia,” said Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal advisor at Human Rights Watch. “It poses serious risks to the privacy, freedom of speech, and access to information of Indonesian internet users.”
Many Indonesians have also come out against the law, using hashtags like “BlokirKominfo” to voice their opposition to the government’s actions. On Saturday, Pangerapan dismissed those criticisms, saying the measure would help protect the country’s internet users.
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Google is not shutting Stadia down
Contrary to what you may have heard in the past few days, Google says it’s not shutting down its Stadia gaming service. The company issued the statement after a rumor began circulating earlier this week that suggested it would sunset the platform later this year. “Stadia is not shutting down,” the official Stadia Twitter account told a concerned fan in a tweet spotted by PC Gamer. “Rest assured we’re always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro.”
— Killed by Google 🌻🇺🇦 (@killedbygoogle) July 28, 2022
Some Stadia fans were convinced Google would finally pull the plug on the service after Cody Ogden of Killed by Google fame, a Twitter account and blog that keeps track of the company’s constantly expanding graveyard, shared a post from a Facebook fan group. According to the message, an “old coworker and friend” told the poster Google had recently held a meeting to discuss Stadia’s future — or lack thereof. They claimed the company would shut down the platform by the end of the summer and would do so using the same strategy it employed with Google Play Music.
At the time, the only commentary Ogden, a self-proclaimed shitposter, offered on the post was a popcorn emoji. However, that wasn’t enough to stop the rumor from sending much of the Stadia community, including the official subreddit, into freefall. To its credit, Google responded to the episode with a bit of humor.
Just a heads up
Old coworker of mine is now one of the social managers for Google. They had a pretty large seminar in California this past weekend, and long story short you now can play Wavetale at no additional cost on Stadia Pro until August 1: https://t.co/2O6P0Kd8Kdpic.twitter.com/Hjo0pvARKx
— Stadia ☁️🎮 (@GoogleStadia) July 29, 2022
That even a thinly sourced rumor caused upheaval among the Stadia community isn’t surprising. The service has been on an extended deathwatch ever since Google shut down its first-party studios. The incident highlights the unhealthy parasocial relationships people can sometimes have with tech companies like Google. “Communities that are confident in their continued existence don’t respond like some of the things that have been hurled at me in public and in DMs the past couple days,” Ogden said after the dust settled. “If even the suggestion that a piece of technology could go away affects you so deeply that it brings you to threats, maybe you need to reevaluate your relationship with the tech?”
A studio of ‘Witcher 3’ developers are making an online action game set in feudal Japan
A group of former CD Projekt Red developers is working on a new online action that will take players to feudal Japan. This week, Dark Passenger co-founders Jakub Ben and Marcin Michalski announced the formation of their studio and put out a call for talent in a series of tweets spotted by PC Gamer. Ben and Michalski were part of the art team that worked on The Witcher 3 and later went on to do contract work on Cyberpunk 2077.
Dark Passenger’s first game doesn’t have a name yet, but the studio’s website provides some details on the project. Ben and Michalski say they want to create an online multiplayer game with support for both competitive and cooperative play. They describe a title that sounds like it will borrow elements from games like Titanfall and Absolver. “Our locomotion system will allow players to perform incredible [feats] such as running on arrows that were fired by other players, fast climbing on vertical surfaces with the use of shuko claws or using [a] yari spear like a pole to jump over obstacles,” the studio said. “Engaging [in] close-ranged combat will demand as much dexterity as tactics and close cooperation with teammates.”
The news of the founding comes after former CDPR executive Konrad Tomaszkiewicz announced at the start of the year he was creating a studio named Rebel Wolves. He said his team would release its first project, a dark fantasy role-playing game built in Unreal Engine 5, sometime in 2025. After directing the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3 and contributing to Cyberpunk 2077, Tomaszkiewicz left CDPR in May 2021 amid allegations he bullied coworkers. Before his departure, it came out that work on Cyberpunk involved a lengthy and brutal crunch period for many of its developers.
As PC Gamer points out, Dark Passenger’s careers page alludes to some of the criticisms of CDPR. “We create a prejudice-free environment based on tolerance, support and understanding. We treat individual needs as seriously as the group’s expectations,” the page states. “We provide all amenities, private medical care and paid overtime. With an emphasis on work-life balance, we offer flexible working hours and holidays.” As for when you can expect to play the studio’s first game, Dark Passenger has not shared a release date.
GM will limit warranty transfers and ban buyers from flipping Hummer EVs
GM doesn’t want people buying some of its newer and most sought-after models, such as the GMC Hummer EV, to quickly sell them for a profit. The automaker is implementing several aggressive measures meant to discourage the practice, even if it ends up losing the company some customers. In a letter obtained by Corvette Blogger, Steve Carlisle, GM President for North America, told the GM Dealership team that the company is “limiting the transferability of certain warranties” if the vehicle being resold was purchased within the past 12 months. Further, GM will ban the seller from “placing future sold orders or reservations for certain high demand models (as identified by GM).”
Carlisle said the models affected by this new rule are the GMC Hummer EVs (SUT and SUV), the 23MY Cadillac Escalade-V and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. GM has been struggling to keep up with the demand for its electric Hummer vehicles, and the company said it’s because it was developed from scratch and was built on top of its new Ultium EV platform. According to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month, GM has only been producing up to a dozen electric Hummers a day. A spokesperson told the publication that the company’s output will increase sharply in the second half of the year, but the automaker has over 70,000 reservations for the vehicle, and some people may run out of patience and just purchase from a reseller.
“When vehicles are quickly resold, particularly by unauthorized dealers or other resellers that do not adhere to GM’s standards, the customer experience suffers and GM’s brands are damaged,” Carlisle said, explaining the reason behind the automaker’s decision. “These changes are being implemented to ensure an exemplary customer experience, to ensure our brands remain strong, and to help prioritize ownership by brand enthusiasts and loyal customers.”
In addition to these particular measures, GM also recently announced that it’s giving $5,000 in reward points to customers who keep their eighth-generation Corvette Z06 sports car for a year.
Uber starts showing more US drivers how much they will earn on potential trips
Uber has launched a couple of features designed to improve the experience of and increase transparency for drivers. A few months ago, the ride-hailing giant started piloting a feature called “Upfront Fares” in a handful of cities. Now it’s expanding its availability and rolling it out to most of the US over the coming months. When they get access to the features, drivers will see how much they’ll earn and where they’re going for a trip on the request screen before they accept the booking.
According to the Help page explaining how Upfront Fares work, Uber calculates the amount it shows using several factors, “including base fares, estimated trip length and duration, pickup distance and surge pricing.” Uber will also show drivers the cross streets closest to the pick up and drop-off points to help them make a decision. In addition, Uber will also expand the availability of “Trip Radar,” a feature that shows drivers a list of possible trips nearby, along with Upfront Fares. They’ll still get individual trip requests, but now they can pick another booking that might suit them better.
Uber is positioning these new features as a way to support its drivers, but as Axios notes, the impact they may have on customers remains unclear. They could end up being misused and lead to the increase of rider and trip discrimination if drivers look at them as tools to avoid specific neighborhoods. That said, the features could also prevent canceled trips, because they allow drivers to make a conscious decision when accepting trips.
The company has also launched a new Uber Pro debit card that will enable drivers to earn cashbacks for getting gas at select stations. Back in March, Uber added a fuel surcharge to rides and deliveries, as well, to help drivers keep up with skyrocketing gas prices.
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Tech’s new frontier raises a “buffet of unwanted questions”
Charlie Warzel, Galaxy Brain/The Atlantic
Warzel dives into questions about DALL-E 2 in his newsletter for The Atlantic, many of which have been voiced by others. Those include what it could mean for the future of art and the potential commercial ambitions of OpenAI, the company that created it.
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Polygon
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‘Operating with increased intensity’: Zuckerberg leads Meta into next phase
Mike Isaac, The New York Times
Before Meta’s dismal earnings report this week, there was news of how CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to revitalize the company as it focuses on the metaverse.
Samsung’s ‘Repair Mode’ keeps your data hidden from technicians
With stories of hackers selling personal information in bulk on forums becoming more common, it can be stressful to send your device for repair. Yes, you could wipe your phone, but then you have to go through the hassle of restoring it afterward. Now, Samsung has introduced a solution for that issue in the form of a new function called “Repair Mode.”
According to a Korean announcement first spotted by SamMobile, you can activate the new mode under “Battery and Device Care” in Settings. Samsung didn’t explain the technology behind the feature, but when activated, it will hide your personal information, photos, messages and linked accounts. Only the device’s pre-installed apps will be visible to the technician. To regain access to your data, you simply have to disable Repair Mode and use pattern or fingerprint recognition to authenticate your identity.
Seeing as Samsung has yet to announce the feature outside Korea, it’s most likely safe to say that it’s only available in the company’s home country at the moment. Further, it’s only available on the Galaxy S21 series phones for now. However, the company says it will roll out Repair Mode to other models — and hopefully to other regions — in the future.
TikTok is testing more mini-games, including one from Aim Lab
TikTok is conducting a broader test of games in its all-conquering app. The company recently added a way for creators in some markets (including the US) to append one of nine mini-games to a video by tapping the Add Link button and choosing the MiniGame option. When viewers come across a video that links to a game, they can start playing it by tapping a link next to the creator’s username.
“Currently, we’re exploring bringing HTML5 games to TikTok through integrations with third-party game developers and studios,” a TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch. One of the games is from Aim Lab, the maker of a popular aim training app of the same name. Its TikTok game is called Mr. Aim Lab’s Nightmare. TikTok’s other partners on the initiative include developers Voodoo, Nitro Games, FRVR and Lotum.
Click here on mobile to play Mr Aim Lab’s Nightmare! https://t.co/UTHBXLVJuK
— Aim Lab (@aimlab) July 28, 2022
None of the games have ads or in-app purchases at the minute and the project is in the early stages of testing. TikTok is looking to find out how (or if) creators craft content around them, and how users interact with the games. As The Verge notes, users can record their gameplay and share it in a fresh video.
Reports in recent months suggested TikTok was readying for a major push into gaming. Parent company ByteDance bought game developer Moonton Technology last year. TikTok teamed up with Zynga for an exclusive mobile game called Disco Loco 3D; a charity game called Garden of Good, through which players can trigger donations to Feeding America, became available on the US version of TikTok in June. TikTok previously tested HTML5 games in Vietnam.
Other major tech companies have made a push into mobile gaming, including Apple, Google and, more recently, Netflix. Zynga, of course, became a social gaming giant with the help of Facebook’s massive reach, while Facebook moved into cloud gaming in 2020. It’s no secret that Meta is trying to ape many of TikTok’s features across its apps, so it’s interesting to see TikTok taking a leaf out of Facebook’s playbook on the gaming front.