Go Ahead, YouTube… Block me - TechLinked June 30, 2023

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JUST A SMALL, GLOBAL EXPERIMENT

YouTube testing restricting ad block users to viewing 3 videos maximum

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/youtube-tests-restricting-ad-blocker-users-to-3-video-views/

First spotted on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/14kmd07/youtube_cracking_down_on_if_youre_not_paying_them/

A popup warns users they will be restricted to 3 videos if they don’t disable adblock or whitelist the site https://www.engadget.com/youtube-test-threatens-to-block-viewers-if-they-continue-using-ad-blockers-053117556.html

YouTube confirmed they’re running a “small experiment globally” https://lmg.gg/n19R6

YT says users will receive several notifications; in “extreme cases” when users don’t comply, YouTube will disable playback for that account https://lmg.gg/tWgdj

 

USA? USA?

AMD surprise-launches a new AM4 CPU

https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-surprise-launches-ryzen-5-5600x3d-processor-for-229/

Background + “could even be the best bang-for-the-buck chip in recent memory.” https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-5-5600x3d-to-launch-july-7th-for-dollar229-at-micro-center-only

And it’s exclusive to Micro Center https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/13402/micro-center-unveils-exclusive-launch-of-amd-ryzen-5-5600x3d-processor#latest

Won’t be available outside of the US https://lmg.gg/XwP2v

Apparently they’re bad yields of the 5800X3D and this is to “prevent e-waste” https://lmg.gg/4hGft

...or you can buy the good batch for just $50 more https://www.microcenter.com/product/647926/amd-ryzen-7-5800x3d-vermeer-34ghz-8-core-am4-boxed-processor-cooler-not-included

 

SERIAL KILLER STRIKES AGAIN

Google decides to deprecate Android’s open-source Messaging and Dialer apps

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-kill-android-aosp-dialer-messages-app-3334980/

This message shows on the Dialer page of Android Code Search https://cs.android.com/android/platform/superproject/+/master:packages/apps/Dialer/

Similar message on Messaging https://cs.android.com/android/platform/superproject/+/master:packages/apps/Messaging/

AOSP community upset https://www.osnews.com/story/136235/google-further-guts-the-android-open-source-project-by-deprecating-the-dialer-and-messaging-apps/

Obligatory Louis Rossmann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QSr5eKjMjA

Rossmann links studies showing both Google’s data collection… https://digitalcontentnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DCN-Google-Data-Collection-Paper.pdf

…and the snooping of OEMs like Samsung and Huawei https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/Android_privacy_report.pdf

 

QUICK BITS

 

U/SPEZ? AW MAN

Reddit updates

Threatening to remove mods of private subs unless they reopen by end of week

https://gizmodo.com/reddit-threatens-subs-to-go-public-again-traffic-down-1850590583

Site activity dropped 7% during blackout, according to Similarweb https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/28/reddit-protest-user-engagements-site-activity-impact/

Visits to Reddit’s ad portal dropped by 20% June 13-June 23 https://lmg.gg/Kx0Mm

Official Minecraft subreddit (7.4 million members) losing support from game’s devs https://kotaku.com/minecraft-reddit-protest-huffman-ceo-subreddit-mojang-1850589115

 

ROG, R U OK?

ASUS issues statement regarding issues with ROG Ally

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777231/asus-rog-ally-performance-sd-card-issues-statement

Reports it might be frying microSD cards https://www.pcgamesn.com/asus/rog-ally-sd-overheating

https://www.reddit.com/r/ROGAlly/comments/14kaqh2/comment/jppz6et/

https://twitter.com/jeffgerstmann/status/1674173930465275907

 

DID YOU EVER HEAR THE TRAGEDY OF DARTH PLAGUEIS THE SPIES?

App that lets users spy on other’s phones suffers data breach, so more people can spy on its victims

https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/android-spy-app-letmespy-suffers-major.html

Billed as a tool for Parental and Employer control on launch https://web.archive.org/web/20131203061731/https://www.letmespy.com/

But it lets anyone covertly collect call logs, messages, and other data, which has now been leaked https://lmg.gg/7xyYH

Leak reveals people infecting others phones include government workers and—big shocker—US college students https://lmg.gg/n0Qjq

 

*PUTS ON SUNGLASSES* YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Researchers attempt to reconstruct rooms from reflections in a human eye

https://www.engadget.com/researchers-reconstruct-3d-environments-from-eye-reflections-203949099.html

Their work on GitHub (lots of great graphics) https://world-from-eyes.github.io/

Doesn’t work so well in the real world yet https://lmg.gg/aYSfF

 

LET ME JUST PUT ON MY DANCING ARMS

Japanese researchers develop Doc Ock arms

https://www.reuters.com/technology/dancing-cyborgs-japanese-researchers-develop-robot-arms-unlock-creativity-2023-06-27/

Promotional video of two dancers dancing with the arms https://youtu.be/ywrK1yTYRIA

Modeled after bunraku puppetry and a quasi-horror story about a woman who loans one of her arms to a man for one night. https://www.popsci.com/technology/jizai-arms-cyborg/