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Apple says its Tencent-powered Safe Browsing system isn't sending URLs back to China
Responding to concerns that its Safe Browsing anti-malware partnership with Tencent may share users' IP addresses and browsing history with the Chinese firm, Apple has said that “the actual URL of a website you visit is never shared with a safe browsing provider and the feature can be turned off” (The Register).
Safe Browsing systems like Tencent and Google's use partial hashes to identify malicious sites, so your online history is reasonably secure, assuming everything is operated in good faith. However, Apple did not address the potential privacy implications of user IP addresses being shared with Tencent, at a time when Chinese state surveillance and Apple's perceived cooperation with it are very much in the news.
Uber makes 350 more redundancies
Around 350 jobs have been lost in the latest round of redundancies at Uber, covering its autonomous vehicle teams as well as its Eats, performance marketing, recruiting, global rides and platform departments (TechCrunch). This represents around 1 per cent of the company and comes in the wake of previous rounds of lay-offs in September and July, in which over 800 people were made redundant.
Emissions monitoring data shows massive drop in Chinese pollution
Chinese power plant emissions of air pollutants including particulates, nitrous dioxide and sulphur dioxide dropped by 65 to 83 per cent between 2014 and 2017, a study of monitoring data has found (Ars Technica). It's a positive sign for China's commitment to the rapid reduction of pollution from its coal-fired power stations, although the data set has some downtime gaps and doesn't cover smaller power stations that lack emissions monitoring equipment.
The Vanmoof Electrified X2 is the ultimate e-bike
WIRED tested the Dutch brand Vanmoof’s Electrified X2 bicycle over three weeks on a varied 20km daily commute from Stoke Newington in London to the WIRED offices in the West End. The route took in heavy traffic, a variety of hills and residential streets (WIRED).
With a power assist that is activated by just turning the cranks, (without a torque sensor) the X2 can comfortably maintain a 17-19mph top speed (even uphill) without the rider applying any significant pressure to the pedals or raising their heart rate, making for a smooth and unsweaty commute, even if it is ‘cheating’
Thousands more vintage DOS games can now be played online
If you missed your chance to experience 1983's Digger or 1994's Noel's House Party tie-in Mr Blobby, you're in luck, because the Internet Archive's software preservation team has got some 2,500 games online and ready to be played in your browser. (CNET). The full collection – published under the aegis of a US copyright exemption for preservation – includes hits, hidden gems, and titles that may or may not work, but provides a valuable window on gaming's past and a fun way to kill some time.
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
