For a while on Thursday night, it seemed reasonable to believe that the president had banned everything from her Fortnite en League of Legends to Spotify and the following Top Gun film. That’s because Donald Trump issued an executive order forcing it to block transactions with TikTok, WeChat and their respective member companies, ByteDance and Tencent.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been thinking about what a ‘ban’ on TikTok could mean – and the reasons, unfortunately, for implementing one. But Tencent is a whole other issue, given its swad of investments in gaming, music and film, not to mention the widespread use of WeChat by people in the US who want to communicate with anyone in China. The administration later stated that if the ban is to go into effect in 45 days (over several legal protests), it will only apply to agreements with WeChat specifically. In the meantime, you may want to find out who owns your favorite services before dropping the next shoe.
– Richard
Sony upgraded our favorite headphones for sound attenuation
The WH-1000XM4 will arrive in mid-August for $ 350.
Engadget
As expected, the WH-1000XM4 is the sequel to the stellar WH-1000XM3 headphones that arrived in 2018 – long due to an upgrade. We’ve just checked out the new set here, but expect a lot of small improvements to ensure that Sony retains its crown when it comes to mainstream wireless headphones. They are more comfortable and less likely to hit your head during extended use.
Sony added connectivity for multiple devices so you can automatically jump back and forth between your phone and computer when you receive a call. It also means you can make changes to the Headphones app while you work without having to connect exclusively to your phone. As for sound cancellation, Sony added the ability for the M4 to automatically adjust the sound attenuation levels based on your location. The WH-1000XM4 will arrive in mid-August for $ 350, but you can pre-order now. We like them. A lot.
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Scientists rename genes because Microsoft Excel reads them as dates
Damn it, Clippy.
HUGO Committee on Genome Nature
The automatic formatting of Microsoft Excel makes more work for geneticists. The HUGO Genealogy Committee has officially issued new guidelines for naming human genes to prevent the format of the Excel spreadsheet from destroying things. MARCH1 (Membrane Associated Ring-CH-Type Finger 1), for example, should now be marked MARCHF1 to stop Excel changing it to March 1st or March 1st. Apparently, 27 genes have been relaunched to prevent the drama of a spreadsheet in traffic.
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Cadillac’s first full EV is the Lyriq luxury crossover
It is promised more than 300 miles range thanks to a battery of next gen.
Cadillac
We’re still waiting to see GMC’s electric Hummers, but they will share their Ultium battery tech with this new Cadillac. The Lyriq is slated for early 2022 delivery, complete with 150 kilowatt high-speed DC charging, such as “dual-plane augmented reality-enhanced head-up display and remote self-parking.”
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