John Routledge - Technoshia

01 Mar

X reinstates policy against deadnaming and misgendering

John RoutledgeLatest News

X has updated its abuse and harassment page in January, and it has added a new section that explains its new rule against intentionally using the wrong pronouns for a person or using a name they no longer go by. As noticed by Ars Technica, the new section entitled "Use of Prior Names and Pronouns" states that the service will…

01 Mar

The Morning After: Your cheap video doorbell may have serious security issues

John RoutledgeLatest News

Video doorbells manufactured by a Chinese company called Eken, sold under different brands for around $30 each, have serious security issues, according to Consumer Reports. These doorbell cameras are sold on Walmart, Sears and even with an Amazon Choice badge on Amazon.As is often the case with basic technology products, the device is available under multiple brands, including Eken, Tuck,…

01 Mar

Meta is killing the Facebook News tab in the US and Australia

John RoutledgeLatest News

In early April, the Facebook News tab will start disappearing for users in the US and Australia. Meta has announced that it's deprecating the dedicated tab found in the bookmarks section of its social network as part of its efforts to "align [its] investments to [its] products and services people value the most." The company already retired the News tab…

29 Feb

The Apple AirPods Pro are back on sale for $190

John RoutledgeLatest News

If you've been looking to pick up a set of Apple's AirPods Pros, today might be a good day to pounce. The latest version of the noise-canceling wireless earphones, which arrived last September and includes a USB-C charging case, is back down to $190 at Amazon and Best Buy. We've seen this discount several times over the last few months,…

29 Feb

Meta partners up with LG to ‘expedite its extended reality ventures’

John RoutledgeLatest News

Meta and LG have partnered up to “expedite” the former company’s extended reality (XR) business. What does that mean exactly? We don’t know, but Meta’s current VR/XR business is fairly robust, with the recent release of the Quest 3 headset.LG says the ultimate goal of the partnership is “to combine the strengths of both companies across products, content, services and…

29 Feb

Layoffs and weird PR emails | This week’s gaming news

John RoutledgeLatest News

Let's all take a breath. Layoffs are still churning in the video game industry, even as the frigid winter air is beginning to thaw. Amid the turmoil of these past few months, there are still things to be excited about: new games and hardware, the evolution of established franchises, and plenty of small teams building surprises to shake up the…

29 Feb

Saber Interactive may escape Embracer’s death hug and become a private company

John RoutledgeLatest News

Saber Interactive has reportedly found an exit strategy from the death grip of its parent company, Embracer Group AB. Bloomberg reported Thursday that “a group of private investors” will buy the studio in a deal worth roughly $500 million. Saber would then become a private company with about 3,500 employees.Engadget emailed a spokesperson from Saber for confirmation about the alleged…

29 Feb

Dell XPS 16 review: Beauty and power comes at a cost

John RoutledgeLatest News

Dell's XPS 16 takes the minimalist design of the XPS 13 Plus and scales it up to a 16-inch system that's far more powerful and functional. But just like with that earlier machine, which was Dell's first attempt at implementing an "invisible" trackpad in its palm rest, there are some usability tradeoffs. It's hard not to be impressed by how…

29 Feb

Activision studio Toys for Bob is going independent after sweeping Xbox layoffs

John RoutledgeLatest News

Activision studio Toys for Bob has announced that it's leaving the corporate rat race and is spinning off as an independent developer. This comes just weeks after Activision Blizzard's parent company Microsoft instituted sweeping layoffs at Toys for Bob that impacted 86 employees. That’s more than half of the entire staff.The developer said the choice to go indie will allow…

29 Feb

Microsoft plans to streamline game upscaling across different graphics cards

John RoutledgeLatest News

Microsoft has developed a new API to simplify super-resolution coding in PC gaming. The company’s DirectSR, developed with hardware partners Nvidia, AMD and Intel, will provide a more streamlined tunnel for developers to tap into the companies’ three distinct approaches to graphical upscaling in Windows games.The company describes DirectSR as enabling “seamless integration of Super Resolution (SR)” for Windows games.…