Tech Boys

Starting in March, Netflix will have to stream 20 state television channels in Russia . Roskomnadzor, the country's media watchdog, registered the platform as an "audiovisual service" this week. Among the channels Netflix will have to carry are the flagship Channel One, entertainment network NTV and a Russian Orthodox Church channel called Spas (which means "Saved"). Streaming services with more than 100,000 daily users in Russia are included on the register, which was established late last year. Not only must registered platforms offer state TV channels, they need to set up a Russian company, according to The Moscow Times . Companies on the register also have to abide by Russian laws. For one thing, Netflix will not be allowed to promote "extremism." Critics claim that provision has been wielded against those who support the Kremlin's opponents. Other video services in the country reportedly argued that Netflix should be added to the register...

US Postal Service workers delivered most mail on time this holiday season. Mario Tama/Getty Images USPS reported largely on-time holiday deliveries after last year's overwhelming flood of packages. The Postal Service said it brought on 185,000 staffers and 112 new package-sorting machines. But an Omicron wave appears to be spreading among postal workers: 8,000 are in quarantine this week. The United States Postal Service managed to deliver mail on time this holiday season by enlisting 185,000 new workers. But now, the Omicron variant is spreading among its employees. The USPS announced Thursday that it saw strong performance from October 1 through Christmas Eve, delivering nearly 90% of parcels on time, a 1.24% improvement over the previous quarter. USPS estimates it will deliver more than 12 billion pieces of mail by New Year's Day.  The Postal Service attributed this year's relatively smooth holiday season to changes it made to the size of its workforce and op...

In spite of all the advancements we’ve seen in tech, the industry as a whole has consistently neglected people with disabilities. There have been some improvements , including video call apps like FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and more adding better support for sign language interpreters and closed captioning. And, this year, Instagram and TikTok finally added stickers that enable automated captioning for speech in videos, too. But major organizations continued to make decisions that exclude people with disabilities. The organizer of E3 2021, for example, failed its deaf and hard of hearing viewers during its live streamed show. There are too many individual transgressions and improvements to exhaustively detail here. Due to their sheer size, though, tech’s largest companies wield the greatest influence over what the rest of the industry does. By holding them accountable, we have a better chance of seeing widespread change in the way tech thinks about inclusive d...

December 31, 2021 is a dark day for the entertainment world. Beloved actor, comedian, and all-around national treasure Betty White had died at age 99. White, who starred in popular television shows like Golden Girls , Hot In Cleveland , and The Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as films including The Proposal , was preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 17. On Friday, her agent and friend Jeff Witjas confirmed her death to People and said, "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever." That seems to be the sentiment shared across the internet. After news of White's death, fans, friends, and fellow celebrities mourned the loss of her amazing talent on Twitter — and remembered what a spunky, lovable character she was. Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have...

After several companies cancelled on-site plans entirely for CES next week, the organization that runs the show announced today that the event will close one day early. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said CES 2022 will now run January 5th-7th "as an additional safety measure to the current health protocols that have been put in place." January 3rd and 4th are media-only days when press conferences and keynotes take place.  Protocols include masks and proof of vaccination to attend in-person events. The CTA also recently announced that it would provide Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 tests at badge pickup. The association has asked attendees to complete a rapid test 24 hours before entering a CES venue. If someone experiences symptoms while in a CES venue, the CTA has advised them to report to a first aid station for testing. The organization says it will also provide PCR tests for any attendees who are required to have one by their destination prior to departure from L...

Pour one out for the BlackBerry, the former king of mobile. The company has announced that as of January 4th, classic devices running BlackBerry OS 7.1 or earlier, as well as OS 10, will lose key services. And by key, we mean absolutely crucial capabilities, like phone calls, texting, data and even emergency 9-1-1 access. You can also expect to have issues with Wi-Fi and apps like BlackBerry World and Desktop manager, Liliputing reports . January 4th will also mark the end for the PlayBook, the company's ill-fated tablet . Of course, none of this comes as a surprise. BlackBerry shut down its app store and its popular Messenger (BBM) service in 2019. There really was no coming back from that. If you'll recall, the company was way too late to respond to the threat of the iPhone, and failed to find much success by adopting Android . At least it still has QNX, BlackBerry's modern operating system that powers infotainment systems from Toyota, Audi, Honda, and plenty of other...

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Spencer Platt/Getty Images US stocks turned lower late in the trading session Thursday after the S&P 500 touched another new high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also retreated from a record, snapping its six-day winning streak. Markets were up early after the Labor Department reported a drop in weekly jobless claims. Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell . US stocks closed down Thursday after giving up gains late in the trading session, denying the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average new record highs. Earlier in the day, the benchmark index appeared poised to notch its 71st record close of the year. The Dow also retreated from a fresh high, snapping its six-day winning streak. The stock market will have another chance to finish the year on a high note. It will be open on New Year's Eve despite it being a federal holiday. The bond market will close early, at 2 p.m....

Caution: Major 'Halo Infinite' story spoilers follow . There's more to Halo Infinite 's story than it appears — unofficially, at least. Windows Central notes fans have discovered an unfinished mid-credit cutscene hidden in the game's code. As you can see below, it's not just a throwaway moment, either. If anything, it's a strong hint at what might come next in a story add-on or sequel. The cutscene shows Esparza, the pilot you meet at the start of Halo Infinite , alerting Master Chief to a friendly UNSC tag. While the short segment is mysterious, some have speculated the tag belongs to a character that wasn't present in the core campaign, such as Commander Palmer or Spartan Locke. You might have a 'new' ally when the story picks up. It's not clear why 343 Industries left the cutscene code in the official release, or whether the clip reflects what you'll see in future content. We've asked for more information. Whatever the e...

Getting a COVID-19 test. Thomas Pallini/Insider I tested positive for COVID-19 in December after testing positive for the virus in November 2020. My symptoms were mild both times but the differences came in testing and the reaction of others. I didn't think I could get COVID-19 twice. But I couldn't have been more wrong and spent the Christmas holiday experiencing symptoms, scrounging for tests, and figuring out how to deal with COVID-19 all over again. On December 23, I tested positive for COVID-19 just 13 months after first testing positive for the virus in November 2020 and 9 months after receiving both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. After testing positive for COVID-19 the first time, my world stopped. But I knew exactly what I had to do to isolate and quarantine. I was living with my parents at the time and retreated to my bedroom for a strict 14 days, having meals delivered and only emerging, with a mask, to use the bathroom. My parents even fled ...

Bad news, Pixel fans: Google has confirmed it's pausing the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro December update over reports of call dropping and disconnecting. As Droid Life reports , the news explains why many Pixel 6 owners haven't received the update over the past few weeks. For the lucky few who managed to snag it and aren't having any issues, Google says you can sit tight.  But for those those experiencing connectivity issues, your only fix is to flash your phone to an earlier version of Android and perform a factory reset. As always, be sure to backup your device before attempting such a massive undertaking. The December update was meant to add new features like ultra-wideband on the Pixel 6 Pro, and Quick Tap to Snap for easily accessing Snapchat from your lockscreen. Google says those features will make their way to the January fix.  The delay is something of a debacle for the company, especially since the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were meant to show off the combined power of Google...

Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams. Win McNamee/Getty Images Dr. Jerome Adams criticized the CDC's decision to cut the isolation time from 10 days to five days. The change is for individuals who have tested positive for the coronavirus but remain asymptomatic. Adams said that infected individuals should secure an antigen test and wait for a negative result. Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday spoke out against the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommended that asymptomatic individuals infected with the coronavirus can complete their isolation period after five days. Adams — who served under former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021 and was a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force in the former president's administration — said that individuals should take a antigen test and secure a negative result for the coronavirus before ending their quarantine period. The former surgeon gen...

It's possible to convert HEIC files to JPG on an iPhone, Mac, or PC. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images You can convert HEIC files to the JPG format by altering the settings on your iPhone or exporting the images in Preview on a Mac.  In Windows, install Microsoft's HEIF Image Extension codec. Beginning with iOS 11, iPhones save photos in a format called HEIC which compresses photos more efficiently. Visit Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories . Beginning with iOS 11, Apple changed the default photo file format for the iPhone and iPad. Instead of the universally standard JPG, photos are now saved in a format called HEIC, which offers better compression while retaining a high image quality, which lets you store more images in the same space on your phone or tablet. You can switch back to saving JPG files or simply convert your photos to JPG when needed. How to convert HEIC to JPG on iPhone If you don't want to worry about HEIC files at all, you can simp...