Tech Hangover: The internet is the cause of all our problems

We get it, you have a life. There’s no way you can read all of the day’s news in one single shot, let alone visit every web page, which is why we’re here to help. Well, sort of.

There’s a ton of tech news we weren’t able to cover throughout the day (hey, give us a break, we’re a small independent outfit), so to help you stay up to speed with everything we didn’t get to, we rounded up some of the biggest stories, which should help you keep up to date. Hence the tech hangover. 

Here’s some tech news you probably missed out on today (and when we say you, we mean us, but also…you).

A Facebook content moderation vendor is quitting the business after two Verge investigations

Image: Unsplash

Even the people paid to deal with Facebook are sick of their shit. Like, they can’t even deal with them. So they’re going their separate ways. Good on them.

The professional services firm Cognizant will exit the content moderation business after two Verge investigations into working conditions at sites dedicated to Facebook, the companies said today. Cognizant had hired thousands of moderators around the world to remove hate speech, terrorism, and other inappropriate content from platforms including Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

“We have determined that certain content work in our Digital Operations practice is not in line with our strategic vision for the company and we intend to exit this work over time,” the company told The Verge in a statement. “This work is largely focused on determining whether certain content violates client standards — and can involve objectionable materials.” – The Verge

A week-long iOS App Store bug wiped out over 20M ratings

Image: Unsplash

Imagine being the person at Apple who was responsible for this:

An accidental sweep of the App Store removed more than 20 million ratings from the most popular apps — including from well-known brands like Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Hulu, Nike and others — as well as from smaller developers. The issue began on October 23, 2019 and wasn’t resolved until yesterday, October 29. Apple says the ratings’ removal was due to a bug. – TechCrunch

 New Battery Design Can Charge an Electric Car in 10 Minutes

Image: Tesla

I’m all about this, but why can’t I do this with my iPhone yet?

A new lithium-ion battery design makes it possible for electric vehicle drivers to charge their cars and hit the road in as little as ten minutes, according to a new study. The quick charge gives drivers up to 200 miles per ten minute charge while maintaining 2,500 charging cycles, the researchers behind the study say. That is equivalent to over half a million miles throughout the battery’s life, a press release notes. All that happens in the time it takes you to brew a morning coffee. – Motherboard

Nintendo Switch Sales Up 50 Percent

Image: Nintendo

If you are Nintendo right now, well, business is booming. And we can thank the Nintendo Switch (well, the Lite really).

The Nintendo Switch is doing quite well. According to the company’s most recent financials, sales jumped 50 percent from July to September when compared to the same period last year. – Kotaku

Think you’re anonymous online? A third of popular websites are ‘fingerprinting’ you

Image: Don’t Hate the Geek

The internet used to be such a simple place.

There’s a tactic spreading across the Web named after treatment usually reserved for criminals: fingerprinting. At least a third of the 500 sites Americans visit most often use hidden code to run an identity check on your computer or phone.

Websites from CNN and Best Buy to porn site Xvideos and WebMD are dusting your digital fingerprints by collecting details about your device you can’t easily hide. It doesn’t matter whether you turn on “private browsing” mode, clear tracker cookies or use a virtual private network. Some even use the fact you’ve flagged “do not track” in your browser as a way to fingerprint you. – Washington Post

Giuliani needed Apple genius help to unlock his iPhone after being named Trump cybersecurity adviser 

I don’t know, if I was someone who went out there and claimed to be some sort of cybersecurity hotshot, I totally wouldn’t be caught dead doing something as dumb as this…

Less than a month after he was named President Donald Trump’s cybersecurity adviser in 2017, Rudy Giuliani walked into an Apple store in downtown San Francisco. He wasn’t looking for a new gadget. Giuliani was looking for help. He was locked out of his iPhone. – NBC News

And in just case you missed some of our stuff earlier, here’s what you may have missed:

• Tim Cook suggests Apple is working on an iPhone subscription service
• Here are 10 of the best customizable controllers for your gaming needs
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare absolutely crushed its first weekend of sales
• The foldable Razr has been shown off (again) in new leaked images
• Steam finally updated its Library view – Here’s what it looks like
• Get PureVPN for just $1.65 / month this Halloween
• Learn to code for just $45 with this discounted 12-course bundle
• Twitter is doing the right thing and putting an end to political advertising
• Here are your free Twitch Prime games and deals for November 2019
• Here are your free Xbox Games with Gold for November 2019

Notable Mentions

I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

Your Dumb Tweets Are Getting Flagged To People Trying To Stop School Shootings 

Deadspin Was a Good Website

Previous Hangovers:

• Tech Hangover: Schools are tracking when kids get up to go pee
• Tech Hangover: Gaming news gets some love today
• Tech Hangover: The Monday Edition

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.