Neo-Nazi group the Atomwaffen Division has been linked to several killings and openly promotes a violent, white supremacist ideology. So why is their YouTube channel still online? Atomwaffen Division hit headlines in recent days after Samuel Woodward, who is thought to be in its ranks, was charged with fatally stabbing college student Blaze Bernstein in January. (more…)
The poll of 2,000 adults revealed a string of once-everyday tasks which have been replaced by the rise of technology, Wi-Fi and smartphones.
Carrying a portable CD player, owning an encyclopedia and being able to remember phone numbers of loved ones off-by-heart are also among the things that technology has made easier, but that we wish hadn’t fallen victim to the online boom.
However, 51 percent admit they don’t miss having to queue in a post office to buy their car tax while 40 percent are glad they no longer have to buy TV listings to see what is on the box.
The British Airways commissioned study found 58 percent of people reckon the majority of their activities now rely heavily on technology, with 54 percent of those admitting it’s important they can connect to Wi-Fi when travelling to keep them content at all times.
To keep customers connected and to celebrate the launch of Wi-Fi on board, British Airways is partnering with Visa to connect customers on board the first W-Fi enabled flights.
For a limited time, customers will be able to connect to high-speed Wi-Fi enjoying an hour of free browsing and streaming, courtesy of Visa.
Customers will be able to access Wi-Fi through connectivity service .air, when they board a connected aircraft, allowing them to browse and stream from the comfort of their seat.
Carolina Martinoli, from British Airways, said “Technology and the internet has evolved so much in recent years that tasks we once considered to be regular parts of our day are now done for us online.
“The results show us how dependent we have become on the internet and being connected at all times – even while travelling.
“We know how cut off people can feel if they can’t get online so, for a limited time on selected flights, British Airways customers can enjoy an hour of free browsing and streaming, courtesy of Visa, to keep them connected even when they are in the air.”
Making a mixtape is the activity people miss doing the most followed by putting photos into an album and recording TV shows and films onto VHS.
Having physical photos printed out and the excitement of taking in a film to be developed before you see how they came out completed the top five.
Writing a letter came sixth, with sending love letters and postcards following close behind.
Having a pen friend came ninth while having a CD collection was at 10.
But it also emerged that reliance on the internet and technology has made life much easier, with 48 percent of those polled saying there is now less need to know their times tables off by heart and 43 percent don’t miss having to fax documents.
The need to reverse charges in payphones to make a call, paying bills at the post office or in the bank and having to book tickets for events over the phone are also things people are glad to see the back of.
The study, carried out via OnePoll.com found the average adult spends just over four hours of each day on the internet, with almost one in five admitting they are never more than a few feet away from an internet-enabled device.
More than one in 10 admitted they would feel lost if they were unable to go online, while 26 percent would feel completely cut off.
Two-thirds say they are often looking for Wi-Fi hotspots when they are away from home, with the average adult admitting they would struggle to last longer than seven hours without the internet before they started to feel anxious.
The survey also found that 40 percent of Brits would use one hour of Wi-Fi to check social media, 37 percent said they would e-mail friends and family and three in 10 would read the news.
Others would do online shopping, download and listen to music and watch catch-up TV
Suzan Kereere, SVP, Europe Merchant and Acquiring, Visa In Europe said, “At Visa, we strive to connect the world in the most innovative, reliable and secure way.
“To help consumers stay connected anywhere and everywhere, we are working on a wide range of connected solutions, from devices and appliances to all forms of transportation.
“As a partner of British Airways, Visa is proud to offer complimentary Wi-Fi access for the first hour to all passengers on any BA Wi-Fi enabled plane for a limited time.
“We want consumers to have the best possible experience when travelling and this research shows that access to the internet is key to that.”
Top 25 things we miss but no longer do due to technology
1. Making mix-tapes
2. Put photos into albums
3. Recording films and TV shows using VHS
4. Having printed photos around the house
5. The excitement of having photographs developed before you can see them
6. Handwritten letters
7. Sending love letters
8. Sending post-cards
9. Having pen friends
10. Buying CDs / having a CD collection
11. Using public telephones
12. Using a telephone directory
13. Carrying a portable CD player
14. Going into the travel agents to research a holiday
15. Buying disposable cameras
16. Turning to a hard copy of the Yellow Pages
17. Playing traditional board games or cards
18. Owning an encyclopedia
19. Dialing directory enquiries
20. Visiting car boot sales to sell old stuff
21. Remembering phone numbers off by heart
22. Hand-writing essays /school work
23. Ringing the speaking clock
24. Trying on pairs of shoes on the high street
25. Dialing 1471 to see who called while you were out
Google has pulled one of the world’s largest gay dating apps from the Indonesian version of its online store in response to government demands, Jakarta said Wednesday, amid a crackdown on the LGBT community. (more…)
In case you hadn’t heard Facebook is planning to change its newsfeed to make sure the time you spend on its platform is more “meaningful”. Mark Zuckerberg suggested that he wanted users’ time on the site to be “time well spent”. Facebook wants to give you more family and friends and fewer page updates. The problem is that many smaller news publishers, such as LGBT+ media could find themselves unduly penalised by the new update.
Many LGBT+ news sites rely heavily on traffic from social media sites like Facebook. A quick analysis of unverified traffic data from SimiliarWeb shows that PinkNews, GayTimes and Attitude had over 40 percent of their traffic driven by social media, including Facebook, in December, GayStarNews had 39 percent.
Part of the update will also rely on a trust score from users, which Facebook will use to determine how often content from a particular publisher will show up in your timeline. For more established, huge brands such as the BBC, Guardian or CNN this could prove to be an advantageous policy. However, many LGBT+ news sites have been the target of hate trolls and could find their trust score unfairly compromised by homophobes and transphobes.
If Facebook was to take these negative reviews into consideration, this new update could negatively impact LGBT+ media.
Speaking out against the changes, PinkNews CEO, Benjamin Cohen asked, Facebook’s VP of news Adam Mosseri, “How will Facebook ensure that homophobes don’t label LGBTQ media as untrustworthy, anti-Semites label Jewish media as untrustworthy and at the same time trust the sources that spread hate?”
Mosseri, wrote on Facebook, “We’re not looking to vet people. We are looking to make sure that our samples are as representative of the population as possible.”
Scott Gatz, the founder of Q.Digital, which owns and operates Queerty, asked: “We’ve specifically had to deal with page followers who are anti-gay commenting/flagging posts/etc, we’ve even had to escalate to your management. Now I fear that this will be a quiet way for them to make us go away.”
Mosseri added: “People can’t volunteer to weigh in on how trustworthy a page is, we pick a random sample of people to survey. Second, we only ask people who recognise a page if they trust it, so if you’re a small page we won’t have enough people and therefore this change won’t effect you.
The changes will see the amount of news displayed in your newsfeed reduced from five percent to four percent.
After purchasing a majority stake in Grindr last year, a Chinese gaming company has acquired the rest of the dating app for gay men from its founder Joel Simkhai, the West Hollywood company announced Friday. (more…)
We’ve become a bit obsessed with noise cancelling headphones recently – and there are so many choices out there. All of the big brands in audio have released their own versions, with their own sound cancelling technology – some with amazing results, but for the best, you’ll have to fork out a huge wad of cash.
Recently a pair of headphones from the relatively unknown manufacturer August landed on the Tech desk at TGUK HQ. They just might be, for their price, be best we’ve tested in 2017.
Out of the box, the first thing you’ll notice about the August EP750 headphones is that they are big. If you like your ears covered (perfect when it’s cold outside) then these will please. Each ear cup is covered with soft padding, making extended listening a pleasure. Access to the buttons that control volume, calls making and answering, and the noise cancellation feature are all easy to find and navigate. They feel solid and they don’t feel like they’ll slip off your head. The padding is thick and comfortable and should fit over the average ear and provide a good basic level of sound isolation, even before you turn on the noise cancelling.
The other thing you’ll notice is that they are incredibly easy to use. The headphones include a rechargeable battery, which charges by USB. Pairing them with your device is no problem, but if you’re a bit over the Bluetooth faff, generally, they’ve included a gold plated jack cable, which you can plug in directly.
You can also use these headphones to place and answer calls and amazingly, you can connect these headphones to two devices simultaneously.
In the box, you’ll find a selection of adapters, easy to read instructions and a robust storage case for your new headphones.
Sound wise, the August EP750 is near perfect. Rounded base, clear vocals and the EQ is nicely balanced – a little coloured to add good bass tones and a crisp, but not painful, high ends. When I went back to my standard pair (the headphones I always use, which happen to be a pair of Bose) I found that the August EP750 actually outperformed them.
There is a little issue with wind noise when you’re walking – especially if it also happens to be windy out – although this is an issue with most over-the-ear headphones. You might notice the sound of the wind as you walk from location to location.
Is the noise cancelling affective on these headphones? Well, it’s not as good as others we have tested, like the Libratone, but you pay for what you get. It does a could job of eliminating traffic noise and general hum noises – so these would be perfect on a flight for instance. For more general noise cancellation, say an open plan office, they might need to fork out a bit more cash.
Great sounding headphones, with good general hum killing technology. They also won’t break the bank.
LOVE
Price – Sub £70 for Noise Cancellation is great
Fantastic sound, better than some bigger brands
Lots of extras in the box
LOATHES
Wind sound when walking
Noise Cancellation not as good as others
You can buy them from Amazon.co.uk
Noise cancelling headphones have become increasingly popular in recent years, as we look to envelop ourselves in our own world, cutting out the distraction of the world around us. It’s especially beneficial in open plan offices, packed tubes, homes near busy roads and well, maybe even a snoring partner. You’re going to have to fork out a fair wedge for a decent pair; my money is on the Scandinavian designed Libratone Q Adapt, do happen to come in a sub £180 price tag.
I had not heard about the Libratone brand before. When you think of headphones, the mind tends to go for Bose, Beats or even Sennizher, so when I was offered a pair of the Q Adapt noise cancelling headphone I was intrigued.
When reviewing tech items, we ask for new out of the box items, just as you’d find in a shop, in order to give a full summary. So my first impressions aren’t great – the pair sent, still had earwax or ear fluff – or whatever it was – on from the previous reviewer. I have to say this nearly made me heave.
However, I’m glad I stayed the course and reviewed them, as they are, without a doubt, the best noise cancelling headphone I have ever reviewed.
Out of the box and charged the headphones are simple to pair with a Bluetooth device. They also come with a standard mini jack socket so you can plug them directly into your iPhone, computer or iPod.
Controls for the unit are simple. Volume and skip functions are controlled by various hand actions on the right-hand ear cup. Pausing your audio happens when you just take them off your ears.
The Noise Cancelling feature has three levels of reduction, and I have to add, the best I’ve ever tried. The first setting filters out lower rumbles, the second filters out higher frequencies, the third, and most impressive reduction is impressive. They call it the CityMix and I can see why. You could be standing in the middle of traffic and be none the wiser. Although I didn’t try these on an aeroplane, I imagine this would be incredibly effective.
My gripe with the set is that they felt a little loose on the head, even at the smallest and tightest setting – but without knowing how many people had used these before me, I can only summarise that numerous different head sizes have stretched them.
The design is classic and unfussed, and they come in three colours, Cloudy White, Elegant Nude and Stormy Black.
You can use them to answer calls and speak wirelessly.
The fact that these earphones do such a great job of filtering out external sounds, means your audio sounds incredibly clear. The bass response is warm and crisp. They provide a very comfortable listening experience – no sharp edges to the sound, music sounds fully rounded – while speech feels crisp and clear.
If you’re looking for a pair of headphones, which feel comfortable, have a long-lasting battery (30 hours playback) and have incredible noise cancelling capabilities and have £149.00 to spend, then the Libratone Q Adapt headphones are the option for you.
LOVE
Awesome noise cancelling ability
Classic design
Feel comfortable, even after an extended listening period.
LOATHES
They felt a little loose
You can buy them from Amazon (£143.00 at time of publishing) John Lewis, £179.00 (at time of release)
If you’re not a fan of the headphone, then earbuds are the only other option – and what with Apple doing away with the standard audio jack, wired head and earphones could be a thing of the past. Wireless earbuds are a marvel – no tangled wires, no choking yourself when getting up from your desk when you’re still attached to your computer. There’s a lot of freedom. But there are problems too. Earbuds don’t always stay in the ear, you have to remember to charge them and then there’s the worst bit – pairing them. Jam have sorted two of these issues out perfectly with their Ultra earbuds – the pairing issue – not so much.
Out of the box and charged in their own little charging dock, the Jam Ultras are incredibly easy to use. The individual earbuds have built-in batteries and as you lift them out of the dock they pair with each other – pairing them to your device, be it, phone or desktop isn’t too much of a sweat either. Most of the time.
Speaking of sweat they are resistant to it, which is fantastic if you should use them whilst out jogging or in the bath. They are dark in colour and once fitted into the ear are almost unnoticeable. None of the ridiculous white stork thing that’s going on with Apple’s own earbuds.
They last for three hours on one charge – but with their own charging dock, which can charge them up to 10 times, these buds can last for 30 hours. Rather brilliantly because there’s a USB port you can also charge your phone while you’re at it.
They have a simple look to them, dark and with a slight material texture to them. Once they’re in, the noise blocking from the external world is brilliant. If you’re looking for noise cancelling headphones these, although not actually “noise cancelling”, are a great find.
Now here’s the problem – I found that these were impossible to use for TV or for watching any kind of streaming. They can’t keep up with your device and the lipsync is terrible.
They also, rather annoyingly have a habit of desynchronising with each other – meaning that one ear suddenly goes dead and then comes back after a moment. Considering the wireless feature is probably why you’d buy these earphones, it’s utterly infuriating.
Controlling the earbuds is a simple process. There’s a pause button, which doubles up as the pairing and off button. You can’t change the volume or skip to the next tune on these.
You can use them to answer calls and speak wirelessly.
The fact that these earphones do a great job of filtering out external sounds, means audio feels very present – and up close. The bass response is good for the tiny speakers – but perhaps the top end feels a little dead, which gives an overall mid to bottom sound palette.
If you’re looking for sub-£100 wireless earphones that come with their own docking station – which are easy to set up then these are a good fit. If you’re looking to watch TV with your earbuds then these aren’t for you.
LOVE
Good bass response for little speakers
Nicely packaged
Charging Dock
LOATHES
Desynchronising earphones
Shortish battery life
You can buy them from Amazon.com
Noise cancelling headphones have become increasingly popular in recent years, as we look to envelop ourselves in our own world, cutting out the distraction of the world around us. It’s especially beneficial in open plan offices, packed tubes, homes near busy roads and well, maybe even a snoring partner. The only problem is that they tend to be very pricey, especially if you’re looking for solid construction and successful noise cancellation. The Lindy NC60’s tackle this on all three fronts – they are sub – £60.00, they look robust and they promise to cancel 85% of noise.
Out of the box, the Lindy 60s are incredibly easy to use. Simply insert the batteries supplied, plug in the jack into your device, turn on the ‘ANC’ (active noise cancelling) function and away you go. There’s no pairing to do as they aren’t Bluetooth.
They feel solid and have a rubberized texture to the cup and that signature red inner. The padding is thick and comfortable and should fit over the average ear and provide a good basic level of sound isolation, even before you turn on the ‘ANC’. They are padded with leather, not great if you’re a vegan or someone who doesn’t like animal products in everyday objects. In past experience, although not of these headphones, leather headphone pads can begin to degrade after a couple of years of use, especially if they get wet – from sweat or indeed using them in the bath and having wet hair.
The cup has a couple of simple controls. A volume fader and the on switch for the noise cancellation, which as a blue LED to show whether it’s on or not. On the other ear a standard wired headphone jack output – which attaches to your device.
The bridge between the two ear cups is well padded and fits nicely on top of the head. The squeeze between the two cups is good and doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
The noise cancellation feature is powered by two AAA batteries which are supplied, but not rechargeable, which is a huge let down for these headphones.
The product also comes with a neat hard-body travel case and a couple of adapters.
When the ‘ANC’ is turned off the sound is plain and dull, feeling distant and to be frank muffled, however, once the noise cancellation feature is turned on, the sound comes alive. It’s certainly a lot more present as the background sounds are also filtered out. The headphone gives a good performance, that rivals much more expensive sets. In fact, once you’ve experienced Noise Cancelling headphones, it will be hard to go back to any other type of headphone.
Is the noise cancelling affective on these headphones? Well, as they say, you get what you pay for. It’s not as deadening as other headphones we’ve tested, some offer different levels of cancellation, these just take out the lower end frequencies, which can mean you get bleed through of higher end noises.
A good entry-level to noise cancellation that won’t break the bank.
LOVE
Price – Sub £60 for Noise Cancellation is great
Good bass response and bright sound
Nicely packaged
LOATHES
Leather padding
Batteries not rechargeable
You can buy them from Lindy.co.uk or Amazon.com
The app, DaddyBear, aimed at connecting richer older guys to younger guys has come under intense criticism after it was revealed that it was banning men who are HIV+ from joining the service.
A statement on the website, at one point, claimed,
That message has now been removed and has been changed to:
A spokesperson from the App commented in Queerty’s comment section,
In an interview with INTO’s Mathew Rodriquez, DaddyBear’s CEO said,
Clearly, these people have never heard of #UEqualsU
So far there’s been 1.4 million tweets about it… #NewTwitter
https://twitter.com/wearedigique/status/875384909795348480
https://twitter.com/brandformula_uk/status/875384095546773504
https://twitter.com/nazihfares/status/875382029210316805