You know what? The Anti-5G USB Stick Is a Scam A lot of bullshit has been circulating about 5G lately, specifically as it relates to the novel coronavirus. To be very clear: There is no evidence that the rollout of 5G is at all connected to the origin or spread of covid-19. But that hasn’t stopped dozens of attacks on cell towers, the proliferation of cockamamie conspiracy theories, and, of course, hucksters peddling bogus anti-5G products to the scared masses. The 5G BioShield USB Key is the latest dumb device to make headlines. On its website, it’s described as creating a “wearable holographic nano-layer catalyzer” that can be used for the “balance and harmonization of the harmful effects of imbalanced electric radiation.” Basically, the device creates a holographic bubble that somehow protects you from the scary 5G waves for a bafflingly varied range of 8 to 40 meters. It is, in fact, a regular old 128MB USB stick with vaguely sci-fi words slapped onto it for marketing. Pen Test Partners, a UK-based security firm, wrote a tear-down blog of the device—as you’d expect, the stick’s supposed “quantum holographic catalyzer technology” transmitter was nothing more than a sticker. No other electronic components were found. The most disturbing thing about the USB stick—besides the fact it costs £300, or roughly $350—is that it’s been recommended by the Glastonbury Town Council’s 5G Advisory Committee, which has called for an inquiry into 5G tech, according to the BBC. You can find the recommendation and a link to this bogus device on page 30 of the committee’s final report. The report is also full of spurious 5G claims, saying that birds may fall “out of the sky dead when 5G is on” and that people could get nose bleeds or commit suicide at higher rates. (Snopes has debunked the 5G bird deaths, while health fears over 5G radiation are also unfounded.) Equally disturbing, the BBC found that the founders of BioShield Distribution show that they were previously involved in a dubious business called Immortalis that hocked a dietary supplement featuring a “proprietary procedure that leads to relativistic time dilation and biological quantum entanglement at the DNA level.” Enough said. But the anti-5G USB stick isn’t the only bogus product out there. On Amazon, you’ll find an assortment of 5G underpants. Entering “5G protection” into Amazon’s search bar will net you 9,000 results with products ranging from pills, stickers, phone cases, hats, and crystal bracelets. Querying “5G shield” will get you roughly 1,000 results, including a ridiculous maternity belly band that supposedly protects an unborn fetus from the ‘dangers’ of 5G. Is it surprising that Amazon hasn’t cracked down on these products? No. But it goes without saying that they should. So in light of the charlatans capitalizing on 5G-related coronavirus hoaxes, it bears repeating that 5G frequencies don’t present a greater risk than other types of electromagnetic radiation. These bogus anti-5G products are at best expensive placebos, and according to the New York Times, your skin is actually a pretty good barrier against higher-frequency radio waves, including 5G. So, no, no one is catching covid-19 from 5G cell towers. And those brain worms you got? It’s more likely you picked them up from Twitter.

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Galaxy Note 20 Plus leaks! renders suggest a slightly bigger screen and much bigger camera bump Last year’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus was truly a thing of beauty, with an amazing screen and superlative industrial design. And, judging by some high-quality (and completely unofficial) renders of the Galaxy Note 20 Plus, it looks like Samsung won’t be changing too much in 2020. The only major difference is a new, bulkier camera module on the rear of the device. These renders come from noted leaker @OnLeaks in collaboration with phone-case maker Pigtou. As with all renders based on leaked CAD drawings, they should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the design they suggest for the Note 20 Plus seems reasonable enough. GRID VIEW 3 of 3 These renders are based on leaked CAD drawings. The most obvious feature is the big, nearly edge-to-edge display, with curved bezels, sloping sides, and a small, central hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera that’s near identical to the 2019 design. The top and bottom edge also look the same as that of the Note 10 Plus, with speaker grille, charging port, and space for the signature S Pen stylus. In terms of size, the Note 20 Plus will reportedly be slightly bigger than the 10 Plus, with a 6.9-inch display instead of last year’s 6.8-inch AMOLED screen, and slightly longer but thinner dimensions, with the same overall width (165mm long, 77.2mm wide, and 7.6mm thick, according to leaks). The most noticeable change, though, is the camera module on the rear of the device, which is much bigger than that of the 2019 Note Plus, according to the renders. In the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus this module was a pretty slim oval containing three lenses, while the flash module was positioned to one side, flush with the case (in the 10 Plus there are two additional divots that supply the phone’s depth-sensing capabilities). But the Note 20 renders show a larger, more rectangular module that apparently integrates all these components — lenses and assorted gubbins — into a single raised unit. This looks extremely similar to the camera system on this year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra, which was very much designed to show off Samsung’s photography abilities. The S20 Ultra’s module contained five lenses sporting up to 108 megapixels, and a 4x optical zoom that offered solid results up to a 10x zoom with the help of software. There’s a lot to say about that camera system, but check out our full review from February for more information. If the Note 20 and 20 Plus are anything like previous iterations in the series, they’ll contain the best, biggest, and brightest of Samsung’s smartphone specs. So it’s not unreasonable to expect some high-end camera hardware. We’ve not seen any leaked specs for the 2020 Notes, though, so will have to see what surfaces in the months to come. Reports suggest that Samsung will be launching the Note 20 in August, though this will likely be an online-only event as a reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. youtu.be/pS8bErtjIDQ

Complete look of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus (based on leaked CAD drawings)

Still using Zoom? Zoom won’t encrypt free calls because it wants to comply with law enforcement If you’re a free Zoom user, and waiting for the company to roll out end-to-end encryption for better protection of your calls, you’re out of luck. Free calls won’t be encrypted, and law enforcement will be able to access your information in case of ‘misuse’ of the platform. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan today said that the video conferencing app’s upcoming end-to-end encryption feature will be available to only paid users. After announcing the company’s financial results for Q1 2020, Yuan said the firm wants to keep this feature away from free users to work with law enforcement in case of the app’s misuse: "Free users, for sure, we don’t want to give that [end-to-end encryption]. Because we also want to work it together with FBI and local law enforcement, in case some people use Zoom for bad purpose." In the past, platforms with end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp, have faced heavy scrutiny in many countries because they were unable to trace the origins of problematic and misleading messages. Zoom likey wants to avoid being in such a position, and wants to comply with local laws to keep operating across the globe. Alex Stamos, working as a security consultant with Zoom, said it wants to catch repeat offenders for hate speech or child exploitative content by not offering end-to-end encryption t0 free users. In March, The Intercept published a report stating that the company doesn’t use end-to-end encryption, despite claiming that on its website and security white paper. Later, Zoom apologized and issued a clarification to specify it didn’t provide the feature at that time. Last month, the company acquired Keybase.io, an encryption-based identity service, to build its end-to-end encryption offering. Yuan said today that the company got a lot of feedback from users on encryption, and it’s working out on executing it. However, he didn’t specify a release date for the feature. According to the Q1 2020 results, the company grew 169% year-on-year in terms of revenue. Zoom has more than 300 million daily participants attending meetings through the platform.

Real time lyrics in Spotify finally!! theverge.com/2020/6/30/21307984/spotify-real-time-lyrics-26-markets-musixmatch-genius-apple-music-karaoke

The service has previously offered a ‘Behind the Lyrics’ feature from Genius.

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