Lattepunk Recommendation Especial, Nov '24
Lattepunk
This past Saturday was the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2! I remember fondly when I played The Orange Box on my Xbox when it came out. Five games for the price of one! When I saw that Valve was giving Half-Life 2 away for free...I had to get on that reader.
This is the part where I gush where I relived my youthful days and enjoyed exploring City 17 with my trusty crowbar. Instead, I wasted my life watching a YouTuber beat up an old man. If only that was the only way I wasted my life...
My smart lock just got an update to include Matter. But in order to get the update I had to have my lock on the OEM’s app (you know I’m a straight to HomeKit kind of guy). So I had to take my door lock apart, factory reset it, add it to the dumbass default app, then re-add it to Apple Home. THEN...AS IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH...I had to request the update from the OEM!!! #firstworldproblems
So, you get a recommendation especial...
privacy
Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany | Dhruv Mehrotra & Dell Cameron for WIRED
China’s Surveillance State Is Selling Citizen Data as a Side Hustle | Andy Greenberg for WIRED
I Don't Own a Cellphone. Can This Privacy-Focused Network Change That? | Joseph Cox for 404 Media
An ad giant wants to control your next TV’s operating system | Scharon Harding for ArsTechnica
air travel
Airlines Hate ‘Skiplagging.’ Meet the Man Who Helps Travelers Pull It Off. | Christine Chung for NY Times
social media
For Teens Online, Conspiracy Theories Are Commonplace. Media Literacy is Not. | Nadia Tamez-Robledo for EdSurge
online shopping
Door-to-door saleswomen are fueling Shein’s rise in Mexico | Daniela Dib for Rest of World
The U.S. Chinese immigrants running Temu shipping centers from their homes | Viola Zhou for Rest of World
ai
Not even Spotify is safe from AI slop | Elizabeth Lopatto for The Verge
Stand-Up, Drama and Spambots: The Creative World Takes On A.I. | Erin Griffith for NY Times
Inside the Booming 'AI Pimping' Industry | Emanuel Maiberg & Jason Koebler for 404 Media
auto industry
The Race to Create the Perfect EV Tire | James Morris for WIRED
Automatic Braking Systems Save Lives. Now They’ll Need to Work at 62 MPH | Aarian Marshall for WIRED
Get in, Loser—We’re Chasing a Waymo Into the Future | WIRED Staff for WIRED
face computers
Inside Meta’s long-term vision to make its Orion glasses the Airpods of augmented reality | Mark Wilson for Fast Company
3d printing
Nike’s Air Max 1000 are almost entirely 3D-printed | Andrew Liszewski for The Verge
android
Source: Google is turning Chrome OS into Android to compete with the iPad | Mishaal Rahman for Android Authority
Google reportedly cancels Pixel Tablet 2 and might quit the category — again | Chris Welch for The Verge
How Google Spent 15 Years Creating a Culture of Concealment | David Streitfeld for NY Times
gaming
The Wild Story Behind Disco Elysium’s Spiritual Successors: Allegations, Legal Threats, and a USB Stick | Wesley Yin-Poole for IGN
Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Documentary | Valve on YouTube
microsoft
Microsoft's "Free" Plan to Upgrade Government Cybersecurity Was Designed to Box Out Competitors and Drive Profits, Insiders Say | Renee Dudley for ProPublica
Relevance! Relevance! Relevance! Microsoft at 50 Is an AI Giant—and Still Hellbent on Domination | Steven Levy for WIRED
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