Google is preparing to launch a high-end laptop project called Chromebook X.
It's like Malcolm X, except for the everything about it except the X.
I'm Riley, this is TechLinked, and this branding is similar to some Microsoft products,
like the Xbox Series X and the Surface Pro X tablet, X being arguably the coolest letter
in the alphabet. Z is up there. W? No. At least they didn't go with Ultra, not a letter.
Now, however, the Chromebook X program will allow Chrome OS devices from third-party manufacturers
that meet elevated hardware requirements to receive additional features and special branding
marking them as a Chromebook X. Although I'm not sure how many laptop companies will be eager to
brand their products as a perfectly acceptable laptop for children and seniors, but better.
The X stands for extra adequate. Extra just okay.
Also somewhat confusing is Google's apparent plans to equip these Chromebook X's with AMD
Zen 2 Plus or Zen 3 chips, as well as Intel 12th Gen Bria and Nyssa N-Series CPUs,
which are on the mid to low end of the power spectrum. Not exactly chips you'd expect in
a laptop with such a cool letter in its name. But Google is more about software,
so the Chromebook X's special features include, apparently, live caption for calls,
a portrait blur option, and voice isolation tech. Mind, these are less special features than they are
regular features that a standard Chromebook can't run without f**king straight through the bed.
Twitch is replacing its mature content toggle that allows users to enable and disable adult
material with a more informative system of content classification labels. Now, instead of
simply marking the stream as mature, streamers can specify the exact kind of depravity they
intend to broadcast, be it mature rated video games, intoxication, violence, sexual themes,
profanity, gambling, conversation, going outside. Question, if you manage to hit every single
content warning in one stream, do you get a prize like in Bingo? Streamers that fail to correctly
label their streams will not be banned, but will receive an email warning. After multiple warnings,
their channel may be locked for a period of days or weeks. If you get a bingo in front of an audience
of under-supervised 12-year-olds, the punishment is an extended opportunity to touch grass. Ah,
there it is. The change is an interesting quality of life measure, coming at a time when Twitch
is losing several of its top streamers. The most viewed streamer, XQC, signed a $100 million
non-exclusive deal with Quick. With Kick last week, and now, Hot Tub Queen Amaranth, who Kick
paid an undisclosed amount to apparently begin streaming herself and her friends showering.
Twitch actually lost another prominent streamer this week, not to Kick, but to Burnout.
Former pro Fortnite player Turner Tiefew Tenney has retired at the age of 25 after eight years
as a Twitch partner, citing the stress of daily, hours-long live streams. Many creators have
criticized Twitch's high requirements to maintain status, contributing to a culture of burnout
and overwork. XQC, the poster boy for just insane streaming schedules, celebrated his
two-year deal with Kick by flirting with a band, immediately violating the DMCA policy by streaming
The Dark Knight. And while most of the subreddits protesting Reddit's new API pricing have reopened,
many are still registering their disapproval by labeling themselves as not safe for work,
which adds an age gate on desktop, requires app login to view on mobile, and prevents ads from
being run on the subreddit. This follows an earlier wave of subreddits that transitioned into
non-stop thirst traps featuring comedian John Oliver. Thankfully, fully pornographic John
Oliver content has yet to emerge, but it's only a matter of time. Fortunately.
The only thing more obstinate and self-important than a moderator is an admin. On Tuesday, shortly
after the users of rslash mildly interesting voted to set it to NSFW, the entire mod team was removed
and locked out of their accounts, apparently by a Reddit-employed admin. Then, following
report of the purge from The Verge, they were just as suddenly reinstated. Reddit refused to comment
on whether it was behind either the removal or the reinstatement, which I for one think is more
than mildly interesting. Post that in rslash. Several other subreddits, including rslash
interesting as f**k, rslash thanks I hate it, and rslash f**k like pro tips, all of which have
over a million subscribers, are currently unmoderated, having been hit by similar purges,
making their advice even worse. While Reddit hasn't confirmed that they are behind the removals,
they did threaten to remove mods that failed to comply last week. It's a bit like when your
business partner takes a long, unexpected vacation to the Bahamas. Shortly after you told the entire
Christmas party, you wanted him dead. Yet another protest strategy was employed by at least two
subreddits, rslash march against nazis and rslash political humor, which made all members moderators.
In response to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman calling moderators landed gentry, who ignore the desires
of rank and file users. Oh, I don't like aristocracy, Mr. Huffman. How about anarchy? I mean,
you're trying it right now. Let's use speds first among equals. A little bit of tech news in your
life. A little bit of this guy by your side. That's right. Quick bits were inspired by Lou
Bega, which is why there's mambo number five of them. Please laugh. The FTC sued Amazon on
Wednesday for making it trivial to subscribe to their prime service, but a labyrinthine process
to cancel, presumably by forcing you to fight a minotaur if you don't want to pay $140 every year.
The commission's lawsuit alleges Amazon knowingly tricked millions of Americans into signing up for
their prime subscription using dark patterns, a term that describes manipulative, coercive,
or deceptive user interface designs, and not the sequence of increasingly problematic behavior of
flash star Ezra Miller. And they still released that movie, which is the real crime. If Twitter
clips are any indication. EA has decided to split EA Games and EA Sports into two distinct units,
so now you have two corporate entities to hate instead of one. Also, EA Games is being rebranded
as EA Entertainment, suggesting they intend to expand beyond games. Interpretive dance? Another
flash movie? Meanwhile, EA Sports is expanding into the courtroom because they've been sued
over their upcoming college football game. Is that the title? College Football Game?
EA Sports, CFG. The plaintiff is the Brander Group, no E, which has deals to negotiate licensing
contracts for several NCAA schools and therefore has an issue with EA Sports offering individual
athletes a flat $500 fee and no royalties for their name, image, and likeness. In perpetuity?
That's ridiculous. Wow. EA, you're not allowed to take advantage of college athletes. That's
the Brander Group's job. DP Review, an invaluable digital photography resource, was supposed to
close in April as part of Amazon's careless cuts and mass layoffs earlier this year, but oddly,
the site continued publishing, even after the deadline where the site was set to go read-only.
It kept going and going, well past its supposed due date, just like the yogurt in the breakroom
fridge. Apparently, this is because Amazon was instead approached by Gear Patrol, an independent
tech review site which has officially acquired DP Review as of yesterday. DP Review's editor-in-chief
released a statement saying that the site will continue to operate as it was before, with all
editorial coverage and site features remaining the same and all historical content accessible.
Former site editor Gannon... Gannon? Gannon! Former site editor Gannon Bergett is quoted as saying,
you figure this sort of stuff out before shutting down an entire division of your company,
not in hindsight after weeks of backlash, and also, quote, f**k Amazon, and also, quote, f**k Link,
stop stopping my plans. Let me kidnap the princess! I'm shedding real tears for this kingdom.
Marvel Studios is facing controversy for using AI to create the opening credit scene for their
secret invasion miniseries, upsetting artists, people with taste, and possibly epileptics.
I really need to smooth those out. Director and executive producer Ali Saleem told Polygon he
doesn't really understand how AI works, and apparently also didn't understand that the
Writers Guild of America is currently on strike to protect writers against AI, so maybe throwing AI
into one of the most hotly anticipated projects in a massively popular cinematic universe was a bad
idea? Who can say? Fortunately, the premiere episode has a lengthy cold open, so geeky artists got
to enjoy a solid eight minutes of the show before feeling angry and betrayed. That's like a minute
more than I got to spend in heaven with Stacy Carlisle when I was in sixth grade. Jacob wrote
that. I wish that was true. And Eve Online has added a new feature in the form of a free add-on
of Microsoft Excel. Sounds weird, but it's right up their alley. After years of being called a
glorified spreadsheet simulator, both by fans and detractors, Eve Online will be officially
integrating Excel into its alleged Space Adventure game. Now players will be able to
create custom reports, graphs, and charts to better calculate their fleet DPS and manage
their in-universe corporate expense accounts without having to tab out of the game like they
usually would. So immersion breaking. Eve Online fans were ecstatic when the partnership was
announced, and I think the rest of us can just be happy for them. And we'll be happy too when
you come back on Friday for another episode of Techlinked. I mean not like ecstatic, you're not
exactly like an integrated spreadsheet, but you know there's no offense, but definitely pleased.