Tech Talk Thursdays Episode #50 (02/10/2022)

Tech

- Verizon moves to 36-month payment contracts, ditching 24-month and 30-month plans

- Amazon Set to Increase Prime Membership Fee By 17% for US Customers - MacRumors

- Meta threatens to pull Instagram and Facebook in Europe over privacy laws, regulators say ‘please do’

- Elon Musk's SpaceX loses 40 Starlink satellites in one day | PC Gamer

- Twitter Expands Downvote Button Test Worldwide - MacRumors

- A new Twitter DM feature is being tested in iOS app, to the dismay of many users

- Apple announces new Tap to Pay feature that turns iPhones into contactless payment terminals

- Apple Announces AirTag Updates to Address Unwanted Tracking

- US government Cellebrite customers: 2,800 departments, including Fish & Wildlife Service

- A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Turns Ugly | WIRED

- Google has auto-enabled 2SV for over 150M accounts - 9to5Google

- FBI warns of criminals escalating SIM swap attacks to steal millions

- Twitter 2FA text service was secretly helping governments locate people, obtain call logs

- You're going to want to update your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers today

- Contamination leads to the loss of over 6.5 Exabytes of WD and Kioxia 3D NAND

- Toshiba to release 26TB HDDs this year, 30TB to come later | PC Gamer

- RIAA goes after NFT music website HitPiece | Engadget

- Blockchain hustler and cringey rapper charged with laundering $4.5B in stolen bitcoin | PC Gamer

Gaming

- 'NFTs are a scam', says indie game marketplace itch.io

​​- Everything announced in the Nintendo Direct • Eurogamer.net

- Microsoft's Phil Spencer gets a lifetime achievement award, to be presented by Microsoft's Todd Howard | PC Gamer

- Phil Spencer wants Xbox console-exclusive Starfield to be played by even more people than Skyrim

- Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation "beyond the existing agreement and into the future"

- Google Stadia has reportedly been demoted, but it might show up in your Peloton - The Verge

- Tim Sweeney says Epic won't support Fortnite on Steam Deck

Streaming

- Community Safety Update: New Username Policy

Software/Hardware Updates

- Android 12 February security patch rolling out to Google Pixel, factory images & OTAs live

- Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 15.3.1 With Security Updates and Bug Fixes

- Apple releases macOS 12.2.1 with Bluetooth battery drain fix and security updates

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