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T-Mobile has started rolling out support for the RCS Universal profile — a new messaging standard that's supposed to make traditional texting look a bit more like chatting in a modern messaging app, complete with read receipts, typing indicators, and more. The rollout, spotted by Android Police , is starting with Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge and is supposed to come to more Android devices later in the year . There are a million qualifiers here around how and when everyone will really get to use this, but this is still an important step toward improving the basic texting experience on Android. RCS messaging has been supported between T-Mobile customers for three years now, but it isn't until now that T-Mobile has adopted "Universal" RCS.... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2IDPKbf ...

When I opened Instagram on my Pixel 2 XL moments ago, I noticed something different: the Stories bar remained visible as I scrolled down my main feed. Usually it stays at the top and doesn't follow you down, but clearly the company is testing a more persistent, sticky approach to keeping Stories in front of you at all times. That seems awfully annoying to me, but some might find it convenient. To this point, I think Instagram has developed and built onto Stories very well. They're fun. I post and watch often. But between the obnoxious neon-orange IGTV notifications in the main app that I can't turn off and now this, I'm not thrilled. Let people use the app how they want. I understand there's a constant push for discoverability, but you... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2z5Bmcj ...

In January, a security firm discovered that photos exchanged on Tinder weren't encrypted. If the firm connected to the same network as someone using the dating app, pics could be intercepted on their way between the app and the service's servers. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote to the company shortly thereafter expressing concern over the vulnerability, but today Tinder wrote back assuring him that all photos are now encrypted, allowing you to upload your lovely or lascivious images securely. So, um, this is pretty weird. Apparently Senator Wyden just got Tinder to properly encrypt your swipe data, so you can all get it on in private. pic.twitter.com/BniAVUi77Q — Matthew Green (@matthew_d_green) June 29, 2018 Why wait so long? According to the above letter sent to Sen. Wyden, Tinder encrypted photos by February 4th, but waited to announce it until...

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a number of other organizations and individuals have filed a lawsuit asking for FOSTA to be declared unconstitutional, with the EFF saying the law was "written so poorly that it actually criminalizes a substantial amount of protected speech." They're also pursuing an injunction that would prevent FOSTA from being enforced while a court considers the case. FOSTA was signed into law in April and though it claims to be an effort to stop sex trafficking, the flawed legislation features broad language, conflates sex trafficking and sex work and by many accounts, actually makes fighting sex trafficking more difficult. Among those speaking out against FOSTA and its sister bill SESTA were the ACLU, the Department of Justice, sex work rights organizations and sex trafficking victims groups. BREAKING: EFF has fil...

Space An ‘Oumuamua by any other name would still be as fascinating. Wait, what’s the difference between a comet and an asteroid? via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2tS9Etq"

DJ'ng, like playing guitar, is one of those things that looks simple until you actually try it yourself. To help make your two-turntable-and-a-microphone dreams a reality, Pioneer DJ will release another low-cost controller very soon, but this time it's one that'll teach you the basics of mixing and beat matching. The DDJ-400 will set you back $249, and it comes with a free license for Pioneer's RekordBox software. That last bit is key to you want to learn how to spin. "Even if you're a complete beginner, you can learn how to DJ," Pioneer boasts . Part of that comes from the updated software suite's track suggestion feature that'll scan your music library and sort it by era, mood or association (common artists and record labels, for example). The software will also teach you how to use your new controller with step-by-step instruc...

Comcast is currently experiencing a nationwide outage in the US, which explains why users on social media have been complaining that they were unable to connect to platforms like Sony's PlayStation, Netflix, and Microsoft's Xbox Live. Essentially, the outage may be causing problems for anyone using Xfinity as an ISP, regardless of what products, apps, or services they're trying to access. According to Down Detector , there have been over 11,000 reports of Comcast outages since 12:30PM ET. Comcast confirmed the outage on Twitter, with a spokesperson saying that the company is "working to restore service." Microsoft has updated its status page to indicate that Xbox Live members may be experiencing connection problems. Comcast confirmed on... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2N9XncE ...

Parents no longer have to limit their kids to Amazon or iHeartRadio's music catalogs on their Echo Dot Kids Edition . TechCrunch reports today that Amazon will soon let parents pair their kids' devices with their Spotify account, and Spotify will automatically filter out explicit language. Parents can turn that option off in Amazon's FreeTime dashboard. Amazon is also adding new Disney content, like character alarms and updated "Disney Dailies," which come from a skill that lets kids hear jokes and other content from recognizable characters. All of this will likely be appreciated by parents, especially those who add Spotify tracks to a playlist for their kids. They'll now be able to play their favorite music without needing an adult. The... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2N7DeEa ...

Since we're all expecting Kanye West to be a Supreme Court justice by Monday, it will surprise no one to find out that the completely normal, perfectly-operating administration in the White House is blowing off a new threat of interference and hacking in the upcoming elections. "Robert Mueller and the nation's top intelligence official say Russia is trying to interfere in the midterm elections," Politico reported , "but Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the Trump administration is keeping them in the dark about whether the U.S. is ready." This is a song people have been singing for a while — that Trump's completely not-compromised-by-Russia cabinet of crazies has been ignoring the issue and avoiding doing any work on preventing more of what happened 17 months ago. Unless, of course, cyber-warrior John Bolton is preparing to rip of...

Underhollow: - Added a ban phase. Each team can nominate one hero that is guaranteed to be banned. - Heroes now incrementally load during the pick phase. This should help reduce cases in which low-spec machines timeout and disconnect while loading. via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2MxTL32"

Technology Scientists say, probably not. Distracted walking might not seem as dangerous as distracted driving, but could be a factor in the surge of pedestrian deaths and injuries seen over the last four… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2tRoD75"

The virtue of fake Balenciagas Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2lJgpdD If New feed item from http://www.theverge.com/tech/rss/index.xml , t