Author Archives: Brittany A. Roston

The International Olympic Committee has announced its approval of Brisbane, Australia, as host for the 2032 Summer Olympics event. This will mark the third time an Australian city has hosted the Olympics, joining Melbourne's 1956 and Sydney's 2000 events. In addition to marking the first time Brisbane will host an Olympics event, Australia now joins the US as the second country to ever host the Summer Olympics in three different cities.

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Both infection and vaccination can lead to immunity when it comes to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. Two of the vaccines that provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2 are Pfizer's and Moderna's mRNA offerings, both of which provide considerable protection from the virus a month or two after administration of the second dose. A new preliminary study evaluated the mechanisms by which the vaccines offer protection against the virus and compared the data to that of people who developed immunity through infection.

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Early last year, YouTube introduced a beta tipping feature called 'Applause.' The company is back with an update on this feature, as well as a massive expansion of its availability. Among other things, the company has updated the name for this tipping feature, now referring to it as Super Thanks. As with Super Chats, the new Super Thanks feature gives creators a new way to generate revenue from their videos.

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Despite advancements in detecting and filtering out nuisance email addresses, spam can still be a major problem. Even worse is when a dodgy service reveals your email address to the wider internet, potentially paving the way for everything from phishing scams to doxing. Here to help with that problem is DuckDuckGo and its latest beta offering.

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Netflix, as we now know, is planning an expansion into the video game market. The surprising twist for the video streaming platform is expected to go live within the next year, though details have been largely absent. That changed today with Netflix's latest letter to its investors. Among the information, Netflix said its customers won't have to pay extra for the service.

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The FCC has given the public its first look at the upcoming Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones featuring active noise cancellation. The product's appearance in FCC documents indicates that an official launch is on the horizon, though it remains unclear at this time when Bose will officially unveil its new model.

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PayPal-owned Venmo, the app used to quickly and easily send funds to friends and family, has rolled out a major redesign that, in part, improves the platform's privacy. The change follows criticism about certain aspects of the platform that reached a peak back in May when a report detailed the discovery of President Biden's Venmo account.

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Chantix, a prescription drug designed to help adults break their smoking habit, has been recalled by Pfizer, the company behind the product. A dozen lots of the medication have been recalled across the US over the potential presence of a nitrosamine impurity above the company's acceptable daily intake limit.

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Epic Games is about to launch what will likely be its biggest real-life Fortnite promotion thus far: a fully functional taco pop-up shop. The store, which will only be open and operational for a limited time, is slated for Los Angeles, California, where residents and visitors alike will be able to enjoy a taco while pretending they're in the Fortnite universe.

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Peloton, the fitness bike you probably know about from their dramatic, energetic commercials, has introduced a twist on getting active: a game based on cycling rather than live classes. For those times users need a break from classes, Peloton offers videos of scenic rides and such. The company mentions both of these options, stating that it has been looking at "opportunities beyond video."

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Starting today, Snapchat users can enable 3D Bitmoji avatars on their profile, giving them a more polished and dynamic version of the 2D avatars many people use on the platform. The 3D version of Bitmoji supports the same wide range of clothing, expressions, and more that you can access on the 2D version, but with the benefit of new body poses and a more modern appearance.

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Uber has announced the expansion of its grocery delivery service, giving consumers in many cities another option for getting the items they need delivered to their homes. According to Uber, this is the single larger expansion of its on-demand grocery delivery service since it launched the platform last summer.

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