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Authoritarian leaders are fond of severing communications in a bid to hold on to power, and that tradition sadly isn't going away. The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has ordered telecoms to cut internet and SMS access ahead of planned mass protests against President Joseph Kabila, whose administration has continuously delayed elections to replace him. Telecom minister Emery Okundji told Reuters that it was a response to "violence that is being prepared," but people aren't buying that argument. Officials had already banned demonstrations, and the country has history of cutting communications and blocking social network access in a bid to quash dissent. Historically, these attempts at disrupting communication have had mixed results. Kabila used a communications cut in 2015 with some success, but attempts in Egypt and elsewhere have failed -- if just because service eventually has to come back . And the Congo protests this time around promise to be p...

OkCupid is facing a lot of backlash for ditching usernames in favor of real names. As TechCrunch noted, its app's Google Play and App Store pages are flooded with one-star reviews posted over the past month, complaining about the features the service has recently changed or killed. The reviews talked about how the forced transparency of the new name requirement could compromise people's privacy and security, since the service now also matches users with others nearby based on their shared interests. Those with stalkery tendencies might take advantage of these new offerings. A lot of them also discussed concerns that Match.com is simply turning OkCupid (which it owns) into another Tinder (which it also owns). OkCupid explained again and again as responses to the reviews that it's not requiring people to use their legal names. They can use nicknames, even initials, so long as they don't have numbers and symbols. It told TechCrunch in a statement that the change...

Google talked about wireless Android Auto back in spring 2016, but there hasn't exactly been widespread adoption. You still have to assume that you'll need a USB cable when you hit the road. That's about to change: JVCKenwood has casually teased plans to unveil a high-end head end unit with "wireless connectivity for Android Auto" at CES in January. It's keeping most details close to the vest, as you might expect before the big show, but it will pack Apple CarPlay support and a 720p screen. It may take a while for this head end to arrive. Many products announced at CES tend not to ship for a few months. And this certainly won't be a trivial expense when it does arrive. However, this might be one of your better options if you want to get directions or listen to music without plugging in your Android phone. Also, we won't be shocked if this hints at other wireless Android Auto introductions in the near future, including built-in implementations. ...

Iran is currently engulfed in demonstrations: many are protesting the clerical leadership, corruption and increasing costs of living, while counter-protestors are trying to protect the regime. And Telegram finds itself caught in the middle. The chat service has suspended the Amadnews channel after it started encouraging subscribers to lob Molotov cocktails at police, breaking the company's policy against calls for violence. The move came after Iran telecoms minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi complained to company founder Pavel Durov, who said Telegram would have to block the channel if it was promoting violence as claimed. It's not clear if or when the channel might come back. The incident highlights the fine line Telegram has to walk. It doesn't want to be seen as supporting an oppressive government, especially one that wants to spy on Telegram users , but it also has to maintain a consistent anti-violence policy. If it's going to ban ISIS , it also has to ba...

There are 43 states that currently treat texting while driving as a primary offense, but Florida isn't one of them -- you have to break another law before texting enters the picture. However, less-than-attentive commuters might not get away with it for much longer. The state legislature is about to consider a bill that would make texting a primary offense. In other words, officers could finally pull drivers over without waiting until they speed or otherwise put other road-goers at risk. Whether or not the measure works is another story. The AP notes that there are conflicting studies on the effectiveness of these laws. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that those states without texting as a main offense had higher-than-average highway death rates, but also stated that existing bans haven't led to a decrease in accidents despite many people putting their phones down. There's also a concern that police may use texting as an opportunity for racial profi...

On Tuesday, cryptocurrency expert Pavel Lerner was snatched by an armed gang wearing ski masks near his office in Ukraine. It was a kidnap-for-ransom scheme, but with a high-tech twist: instead of asking for easily traceable paper money, the kidnappers demanded to be paid $1 million worth of bitcoins. Turns out NY County District Attorney Cyrus Vance was right when he said we can expect cryptocurrency-related crimes (outside of cyber attacks ) to be more common as its value surges. Vance made the statement after armed robbers held up a victim at gunpoint earlier this month to steal $1.8 million worth of virtual coins in New York. For the robbers, Lerner was a great target: he's a known bitcoin authority in Ukraine and is an executive at cryptocurrency exchange Exmo. He was thankfully released (shocked but alive) a couple of days later, but it's unclear who made the transfer for him and whether he did it himself. His company has assured users, though, that their coins are ...

Apple was only poised to offer discounted iPhone battery replacements to Americans in late January, but they're already here. The company has issued a statement announcing that the $29 replacements are available today (December 30th) in the US for affected users with an iPhone 6 or later, whether or not they have an active AppleCare warranty. It didn't explain the move beyond saying that it "expected to need more time to be ready," but it was "happy" to provide the lower prices "right away." It warned that there might be initial shortages of batteries for some models. As before, the discount should last through the end of 2018. The $50 price slash is part of Apple's public apology for failing to disclose that it slows processor speeds on iPhones with severely degraded batteries. The company claimed that it slows the phones down to prevent unexpected shutdowns and extend longevity, but the lack of transparency led to accusations that it w...

Like it or not, the Hillary Clinton email saga isn't over yet. The US State Department has released about 2,800 emails and other documents from former Clinton aide Huma Abedin that were found on the laptop of her soon-to-be-former husband Anthony Weiner. The disclosure is a response to a 2015 Freedom of Information Act request from Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that has been hoping to use the presence of classified emails from personal accounts as evidence of lawbreaking by Abedin and Clinton. Most of the messages (covering January 2009 to February 2013) are unclassified, though a handful have been redacted at least in part. Five of Abedin's messages were deemed classified and discussed Middle Eastern affairs, including a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a deal with talks between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization and chats with the UAE's foreign minister. The least redacted message discussed a call to Saudi Arabia's P...

You no longer need an Android phone if you want to join in Xbox party chats when you're away from your console -- Microsoft has introduced party chat to the beta Xbox app for iOS. If you've been accepted into the program (you have to sign up first), you can keep up with your teammates' voice conversations from your iPhone or iPad while you're racing home to join them in a multiplayer match. There's no word on when party chat will reach polished versions of the Xbox mobile app, although beta testing suggests it's more a matter of weeks than months. Whenever it does arrive, it'll be good news for gamers who don't want their chats confined to the living room. Via: OnMSFT , Windows Central Source: Xbox App Beta signup via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2CnIvoI"

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the last weekend of 2017. Before we dive into a new year we're checking out all of Friday's plus some highlights from earlier this week. See you in 2018! Police have already made an arrest. Alleged swatting hoax ends in the death of a father of two On Thursday night, a disagreement over Call of Duty may have contributed to the death of an innocent man at the hands of police. A game played with a $1.50 wager led to an argument where one gamer gave their address out and challenged the other to do something with it. That address apparently passed to someone else who "swatted" it, calling the local police to fake a homicide and hostage situation. When Wichita police responded, Andrew Finch came to the door, and although he was unarmed, he was shot and killed at his front door. Finch had no apparent connection to the dispute, but the player gave out a fake address. While the investigation continues, Los Angeles poli...

In 2016 Birkenstock chose to stop doing business with Amazon , citing problems with counterfeit goods on the site and shady resellers. Now, the shoe company has a court win too , where a German judge ruled that Amazon can't event buy ads on variations of the name that shoppers may mistype. Birkenstock's case is that if someone is lured to Amazon's site, they won't find its real products, just counterfeits that could damage its reputation. Will these two work things out? Amazon's spat with Google doesn't seem to be cooling off, but earlier this year it did establish a partnership with Nike addressing similar concerns . Source: Reuters via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2DAcsyT"

Thursday night Wichita police killed Andrew Finch after responding to a call claiming a man at his address had shot someone and was holding others hostage. That call was a hoax, commonly referred to as "swatting," and in this case it's apparently linked to a Call of Duty match, where one player passed a fake address to another before someone called the police to it. Now NBC News reports that police in Los Angeles have arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss, who is believed to have made the call inciting the incident. Barriss may be the "SWAutistic" who tweeted about making the call and later participated in a phone interview with the DramaAlert show on YouTube . An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that Barriss is in custody, no bail has been set, and that they are working with Wichita police on the case. The LA Times reported in 2015 that he had been arrested for calling in a bomb threat to a TV studio, and in the YouTube video, SWAutistic claims to b...