If you use Apple devicesspecifically, Siri-enabled devicesyou might have some money coming your way. That's because Apple just agreed to a $95 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit. The dispute? That Apple's infamous smart assistant, Siri, violated user privacy.Wait, what did Siri do?Back in 2019, we learned that Siri was inadvertently spying on many of us. It has to do with how Apple was training and improving its assistant. As you likely know, to trigger Siri, you say "Hey Siri," (these days, you can simply say "Siri") and the assistant wakes up and answers (or attempts to answer) your query or request. This is known as the "wake word." The problem is, sometimes the assistant mishears something said, and, believing it to be the wake word, turns on, resulting in those times you hear, "I'm sorry, I didn't get that" when you, in fact, never asked for Siri's help in the first place. In order to improve Siri, Apple would occasionally send snippets of audio recordings from Siri-enabled devices to third-party contractors, in part, to rate whether or not a Siri trigger was warranted in that specific case. Apple said it would send fewer than 1% of recordings to contractors, and that none of the recordings were tied to the Apple IDs of the users they came from, but that wasn't enough to preserve their privacy. As a result of this training policy, contractors were privy to, "private discussions between doctors and patients, business deals, seemingly criminal dealings, sexual encounters, and so on." And while the user's Apple ID might not have accompanied the recording, contractors did have access to the user's location, contact details, and app data.Apple created a situation where if your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, HomePod, iPod touch, or Apple TV thought you said "Hey Siri," there was a small chance whatever you were doing at that time would be shared with some third-party contractor somewhere in the world. Apple isn't unique here, however: Both Google and Amazon have been accused of the same, and Google is currently engaged in a similar lawsuit. Shortly after these reports, Apple made it possible to opt-out of sharing Siri recordings, and later stopped storing the recordings altogether. There might be a slice of $95 million waiting for you The lawsuit Apple just settled ranges between Sept. 17, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2024, the period of time "Hey Siri" has been an option on Apple devices. If you can attest that your Apple device accidentally triggered Siri during a private conversation, you qualify for a payout. That's $20 per Siri-enabled device, with a limit of five devices. In theory, you could walk away with $100 from this lawsuit, but if too many class members come forward, that initial $20 could drop.To be clear, Apple has denied wrongdoing in this case, though the company did apologize for the Siri debacle years ago. In addition, this settlement still needs approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Until then, the payouts are not official.As Reuters points out, $95 million is roughly nine hours of profit for Apple. Justice.

Misinformation and scamsare an unfortunate reality of the internet in 2024. That "news" account might really be pushing falsehoods and lies, while that outreach from "Google" likely isn't from the company at all. You really need to be on guard at all times when processing the information that passes through your social feeds, which is why it helps when apps and platforms take action to protect users from untrustworthy sources.Telegram has a new verification systemThat seems to be the motivation behind recent updates from Telegram. The messaging platform has an existing verification system built into the service, where companies and public figures can register themselves with Telegram and receive a blue badge of honor. That way, when you see content from a notable person or an organization, you can rest assured those words being share are actually from that source. Many platforms (but not all) offer this type of service, of course. Even Google is thinking about rolling out badges for search.But Telegram has a new addition to how it conducts verification: Once an organization is verified, it can then apply to become a "third-party verifier," which lets them verify other accounts and chats it deems official, too. These verification badges will differ from the blue checkmarks, and will instead look like blue emojis or icons. Any account or chat verified in this way will have a banner in its profile that explains which third party verified it and why. I'm all for this type of verification process, and hope it catches on. It puts trust in accounts that already have proven their authority to Telegram, and, over time, will help users quickly parse which accounts and chats are legit, and which might be best to avoid. In the future, you might see a post from an account or chat, and since it doesn't have that badge, think twice about the message it's trying to get out.Other new Telegram features Credit: Telegram In addition to third-party verification, Telegram announced a series of other features and changes coming to the platform:Message search filters: When searching, you'll now see an option in the "Chats" tab to sort your messages by "All Chats," "Private Chats," "Group Chats," or "Channels," to help you find the messages you're looking for. Folder names gets custom emojis: If you subscribe to Premium, you can add custom emoji to the names of your chat folders. You can even replace the text that would normally appear here with whatever emoji you want.In-app QR code scanner: When using the in-app camera on either iOS or Android, you'll also be able to scan QR codes.Collectible gifts: Telegram "gifts" are small tokens of artwork you can share with friends and display on your profile. Now, you can upgrade a gift to make it a "collectible." This will add a new look made by a Telegram artist, as well as a unique background, icon, and number. You can share collectibles with other users, or, if you're so inclined, auction it as an NFT. Right now, 20 gifts can be upgraded to collectibles, with over 1,400 unique appearances. Service message reactions: Service messages are those alerts you get whenever someone joins a group, begins a video call, or sends you a gift. Telegram now lets you react to these alerts, which adds a fun layer to these previously informative-only messages.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.When you rent, the space is your home but it's not your home, you know? You obviously want to keep it tidy and organized, not only for your own benefit, but so you don't end up forfeiting a security deposit sometime down the line. The real trouble comes into play when deciding how to do that. In most cases, you can't remodel or make any permanent changes, but you're not without options: Here are the best (non destructive) organizational solutions for renters. Always opt for expanders or tension rodsPlenty of people screw shelving and rods into the walls of their rentals with the understanding that they can patch the holes before they leave, but it's still not ideal. On move-out day, you have enough going on, so you may not want to go full handyman at a time when you already have to relocate and unpack somewhere else. Expandable organizers are a much better option overall. Expandable drawer dividers (eight for $29.99) are excellent because they help you follow the rules of the Organizational Triangle. Specifically, they enable you to divide drawers and shelves so you have hyper-specific storage spaces for all your item categories. This is really important for keeping everything in order, but you can do it without permanently installing a thing. The same goes for these expandable tension racks ($24.95), which produce extra shelving space wherever you need it. Obviously, try to use standard tension rods wherever possible, from hanging curtains to creating a bar for extra clothing or handbag storage, but also consider tension-based shower caddies. If there's one place you really shouldn't be making permanent changes, it's anywhere with tile or ceramic, so these are your safest option for leaving the bathroom exactly as you found it. You can get a four-tiered caddy for less than 20 bucks. The best shelving for rentersIn my many years as a renter, I've tried all kinds of shelving units. My problem is I need a lot of storage space, so even though I really like squat ones that don't take up much room, they're just not that useful for me and always end up getting really cluttered. I need big onesbut they have to be just the right size. If they're too top heavy or too light, they need to be secured to the wall, and that's just not what I'm trying to do in a space that I don't own. I love this four-tiered shelving unit from Furinno ($32.99), which I've had for four years and have had no problems with. Other units I tried before were the wrong size and would collapse or fall over. These are just sturdy and stable enough to stand on their own without reinforcement. Not once in four years have they done anything to displease me or risk my security deposit. Furinno Turn-N-Tube 4-Tier Multipurpose Shelf Display Rack, Round Tubes, Pink/White $32.99 at Amazon $35.99 Save $3.00 Shop Now Shop Now $32.99 at Amazon $35.99 Save $3.00 I am also a huge proponent of cube storage. Square shelving provides smaller holes, so you have to be more specific and intentional about the categories you're storing, but the heft is evenly distributed and they're low enough to the ground that, again, they don't need any reinforcing. My top tip, as someone with too much experience, is to get the ones you do have to screw together, not the ones that slide into external holders. Those are too light and unstable. They will collapse. The ones you screw together, like these from Furinno ($29.99 for five units), are much more stable. Quality adhesive is the renter's friendI have all kinds of cool organizers around my home, attached to walls and under cabinets. They're attached by adhesive, meaning on the day I leave, I can just pull them right down. I've moved and rearranged them a lot and never noticed them pulling at any of the drywall. That's because I use quality adhesive. I prefer 3M over Command, which I've noticed tends to fall down more. You can get over 16 feet of the adhesive for $12.99.As for what I use it for, let me count the ways. I have an entire "organizational wall" that includes individual sunglasses holders, racks for belts and hats, and bottle storage for things like sunscreen and hairspray. I also use adhesive hooks all over the apartment, as well as adhesive towel and utensil organizers in the kitchen. All of these are inexpensive, coming in under $20, and give me hyper-specific organizational options for all of the things I need to store without doing any damage to the property. All that said, I don't recommend adhesive shelving. Any large shelf you have to stick to the wall runs the risk of crashing down. That's not worth it to me, so I stick to shelving units and smaller wall-based organizing tools.

When Samsung unveiled the worlds first 27-inch 4K gaming OLED monitor on Thursday, Engadgets Igor Bonifacic predicted that other vendors would soon follow suit. (After all, Samsung is also the biggest supplier of OLED gaming monitor panels.) Sure enough, MSI followed suit the same day at CES 2025 with two monitors with familiar specs: a 27-inch 4K QD-OLED display and a 27-inch QD-OLED one with a crazy-smooth 500Hz refresh rate.First up: the 27-inch 4K QD-OLED one, marketed to perfection as the MPG 272URX QD-OLED. (Sure, why not!) MSI is differentiating its monitor as the first one to combine that panel with DisplayPort 2.1a, which can provide a better combination of resolution and frame rates. Like Samsungs equivalent (the G81SF), it has a 240Hz refresh rate and should look nice and crisp at 166 PPI.MSI says this panel significantly reduces color fringing, which should help with the poor text clarity too often customary of QD-OLED screens. As my colleague Igor points out, this could be an ideal do-it-all monitor for gaming, work or anything else you can throw at it.It supports NVIDIAs G-SYNC tech, so smooth gameplay wont likely be a concern. The MPG 272URX QD-OLED even took home a CES 2025 Innovation Award.The 27-inch QHD QD-OLED model also has a catchy and memorable name: the MPG 272QR QD-OLED X50. (Yes!) MSI is marketing this monitor to all the mainstream gamers out there, likely due to its lower (2,560 x 1,440) resolution. It also uses DisplayPort 2.1a and (like Samsungs) can have a 0.03ms gray-to-gray pixel response time. It received VESA ClearMR 21000 certification, so motion blur shouldnt be an issue when enjoying its blistering 500Hz refresh rate.MSI hasnt yet shared pricing or release date info for either model.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/msi-also-has-a-27-inch-4k-qd-oled-gaming-monitor-at-ces-2025-221902190.html?src=rss

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is finally getting real about Real ID enforcement.On May 7, 2025, after years of delays, travelers in the United States will need Real IDcompliant identification to get on a flight. Enforcement of the REAL ID Act arrives almost two decades after it was originally passed by Congress in 2005, following a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission.In effect, the law requires that states establish minimum security standards for drivers licenses and identification cards. As such, beginning on May 7, travelers in the United States who are over the age of 18 will need a Real IDcompliant piece of identification to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at airports.If youre traveling by plane this year, heres what you need to know:Why has this taken so long?Enforcement of the law has been held back numerous times, most recently in 2022, as only around half of IDs issued by states are currently Real ID compliant. The TSA has, consequently, proposed a rule that would keep the deadline but roll back enforcement another two years, until May 2027. That would allow states even more time to get things squared away, but that rule has not been enacted. Further, there are still some regulations being worked out, and as such, people with mobile or digital drivers licenses or IDs that may not be compliant may still be able to use them for official purposes in some circumstances. However, that would depend on whether the issuing state had been issued a waiver by the TSA.TSA is engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions and states to facilitate a smooth transition to REAL ID enforcement beginning May 7, 2025, said TSA Administrator David Pekoske, in a statement issued in September. REAL ID provides an important security enhancement, and this rule allows us to plan for a range of scenarios to help minimize the potential impact to travelers, industry stakeholders and states during implementation.What does Real ID enforcement means for me?You may need to get an updated drivers license or ID in order to board domestic flights or get into federal facilities before the deadline. For most people, the issue is going to be at the airportif you dont have a REAL IDcompliant piece of identification, you may find yourself unable to get past TSA checkpoints.Do I have a REAL IDcompliant document?DHS has put together a website that can help you figure out what you need to do, or if you already have REAL IDcompliant identification.All states, the District of Columbia, and five territories are issuing compliant drivers licenses and ID cards, and you should be able to tell if you have onethere should be a star marking on the card itself. Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont have also issued Enhanced Drivers Licenses, or EDLs, which are considered acceptable alternatives, too, though they may lack the star marking.Can I just use my U.S. passport to fly? Yes. A passport is one of the acceptable documents accepted by the TSA. You can use your passport to travel domestically and, of course, you will still need it if youre traveling internationally. The TSA website has a full list of ID documents accepted at checkpoints. How do I get REAL IDcompliant identification?If you need an updated, compliant ID card or drivers license, you can visit your states licensing agency to see what is required. Youll at least need to provide your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, two pieces of proof of your address, and lawful status. Some states may require more information.The DHS website has an interactive map that makes it easy for you to figure out the details surrounding your specific state.When exactly will Real ID enforcement begin?As stated earlier, the deadline for getting a compliant ID is May 7, 2025. If you need more precision, the DHS website currently features a giant countdown clock that is literally counting down the seconds.What happens if I show up at a TSA checkpoint without a compliant ID after May 7?As the DHS notes, you will not be permitted through the security checkpoint without a compliant piece of identification after May 7.

Welcome to the world, Generation Beta. Newborn babies in 2025 are members of a brand new generation, but already, some are calling for a new name.Hmm can we workshop the name please? asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a post on Bluesky. Theyre going to be bullied by the skibidi kids.Naming generations is one of the largest scale public branding jobs there is. Social scientists, writers, and public intellectuals can coin nicknames, but they dont always last, and it takes culture-wide buy-in for these terms to gain popular acceptance.For someone like Ocasio-Cortez, who was born in 1989, renaming a generation is no big deal. The 35-year-old New York Democrat and her age cohort have at various times been nicknamed Generation Y, Echo Boomers, and Generation 9/11 before the term Millennials, coined by authorsWilliam StraussandNeil Howe in their 1991 book Generations, took off in 2013 and stuck. Other generations have had alternate nicknames too, like Generation X, which has been called the MTV Generation, and Generation Z, which has been called the iGeneration and Homeland Generation.Why Generation Beta?Named for the second letter of the Greek alphabet, the term Generation Beta was coined by McCrindle, an Australian social research, demographics and data analytics agency whose founder Mark McCrindle also came up with the name Generation Alpha for people born between 2010 and 2024. The agency is calling for standardized Greek alphabet naming constructions for future generations that would continue with Generation Gamma beginning in 2040, and Generation Delta in 2055. Other approaches to naming generations, using terms such as millennials, often define a generation around a single event and have vague birth ranges, leading to subjective analysis, McCrindle writes in a blog post. A sociological approach to generational analysis, using set birth years and non-descriptive labels, allows for more objective analysis and individual identity creation.Such a clinical approach, though, doesnt take into account the possibility that Greek letters take on alternative meanings, as beta being a pejorative term among todays youth, or that future events become generation-defining turning points that marketers, academics, journalists, and others latch onto to define an age cohort. Todays newborns may well be known as Generation Beta for life, but other nicknames will inevitably bubble up over the next two decades, and theres always a chance that one of them might stick.

Teslas global sales rose 2.3% in the fourth quarter after a sluggish start to the year that contributed to the electric car companys first year-over-year sales decline since at least 2015.The annual decline for the Austin, Texas, company came despite offers such as 0% financing, free charging, and low-priced leases.Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles from October through December, boosting deliveries to 1.79 million for the full year. But that was 1.1% below 2023 sales of 1.81 million as overall demand for electric vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere slowed.The fourth-quarter boost came with a cost. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Teslas average sales price to fall to just over $41,000 in the quarter, the lowest in at least four years.That doesnt bode well for Teslas fourth-quarter earnings, which the company said it would announce on Jan. 29.In 2022, Tesla predicted that its sales would grow 50% most years, but the prediction ran into an aging model lineup and increased competition in China, Europe, and the U.S. In the U.S., analysts say most early adopters of technology already have electric vehicles, and more mainstream buyers have concerns about range, price, and the ability to find charging stations on longer trips.The fourth-quarter deliveries fell short of Wall Street estimates. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected sales of 498,000 vehicles.Tesla shares fell 5.2% in trading early Thursday, but shares are up more than 50% over the last 12 months, surging with the election victory by Donald Trump.Falling sales early in the year led to once-unheard-of discounts for the automaker, cutting into its industry-leading profit margins.Competition from legacy and startup automakers is also growing as they try to nibble away at the companys market share.Nearly all of Teslas sales came from the smaller and less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling only 23,640 of its more expensive models including X and S, as well as the new Cybertruck.Teslas global electric vehicle sales edged out Chinese rival BYD, which announced Thursday that the total soared 41% last year including 1.77 million EVs. The company is vying with Tesla for the worlds top-selling EV maker.Fourth-quarter production of 459,445 vehicles was below total deliveries for the quarter, and full-year production of 1.77 million was less than the years sales.