All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Get WIRED's daily briefing in your inbox. Sign up here
Samsung says the Galaxy Fold is finally ready for launch
Samsung has announced that it's finished reworking design flaws in its flexible Galaxy Fold smartphone and is ready to launch it in September (The Verge). The flagship flexible display phone, which unfolds to become a tablet, has been reinforced to prevent foreign objects getting behind the display via the hinge area and a protective layer on the screen has been extended to prevent it from being inadvertently peeled away. It'll be priced at $1,980 (£1,587), as originally planned.
Current levels of global warming have no historical precedent
Three new papers have used historical climate data to show that the present state and scale of human-driven climate change is beyond comparison with other warming and cooling events over the past 2,000 years (BBC News).
The research disproves climate change denial positions arguing that current climate patterns are within the scope of past changes. Historical climate events were universally less extreme, more localised and, in the case of the most dramatic examples, typically linked to volcanic activity.
FTC finalises $5 billion fine for Facebook
The US Federal Trade Commission has officially issued its record-breaking $5 billion fine against Facebook, which "subverted users' privacy choices to serve its own business interests", most famously by giving app developers including Cambridge Analytica access to users' friends' data without notifying them (Ars Technica).
However, the fine, although high, only represents around a month's revenue to Facebook and the ruling includes no consequences for any Facebook executives involved in trading user data and no meaningful external oversight to prevent the company from continuing to play fast and loose with user privacy.
Your online shopping will soon require more than just a bank card
Fraud has soared to record levels in the UK, with the national fraud prevention service Cifas recording 189,108 cases totalling £1.12 billion last year (WIRED). In a bid to staunch the flood of crime, the EU is set to introduce new regulations on September 19 that aim to increase the security of online shopping. The change means that, for payments totalling more than £30, customers will be prompted to provide an extra form of authentication beyond card information to complete a purchase.
Rutger Hauer has died, aged 75
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer died at his home in the Netherlands on July 19, aged of 75 (Variety). A versatile star of stage, film, games, and television, he was perhaps best known for his iconic portrayal of replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner.
FaceApp is not as worrying as you think
Listen now, subscribe via RSS or add to iTunes.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
