Get Fully Briefed with Yahoo Finance, delivered straight to your inbox.
When Mark Zuckerberg announced the company he founded would change its name from Facebook to Meta, he added it would be “metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.” He’s shown off dystopian VR offices, looked at space in VR with Neil deGrasse Tyson and talked up the metaverse on Joe Rogan’s podcast. (During that appearance, Zuckerberg said he’s started MMA, doing some critical damage to the sport on the way.)
This year’s Connect kicks off at 10 AM PT today, with a keynote from Zuckerberg, and Engadget’s Karissa Bell has outlined a lot of the questions we still need answering. Will the metaverse ever look cool? How will it handle harassment and misinformation? And can Zuckerberg explain what the metaverse even is, one more time, for those of us at the back of the class?
– Mat Smith
Apple's second-gen AirPods Pro drop to their lowest price ever for Prime Day
Waymo's cafeteria workers are forming a union
Hackers forced more than a dozen US public airport websites offline
Google is shutting down its Assistant-powered Driving Mode
Amazon Prime Day is, unsurprisingly, the best time to pick up a gadget made by Amazon. We saw record-low prices during July’s Prime Day and a lot of those prices have returned this fall. Discounts cover not only the usual Kindle tablets and Fire TV gadgets but also Eero routers and Blink security cameras.
Continue reading.
So you’ve upgraded to an iPhone 14, now what? Now you need to upgrade your phone charger from that dinky charging brick you got with your iPhone 6. Seriously, it may well change your smartphone life. We’ve got several other recommendations for charging cables, cases and more.
Continue reading.
Gaming laptops have become some of the most intriguing PCs around. They’ve gotten thinner and lighter, naturally — but they’ve also become vastly more powerful and efficient, making them suitable for both work and play. They’ve adopted some bold innovations, like rotating hinges and near desktop-like customizability. Gaming laptops are where PC makers can get adventurous. If you’re a professional in the market for a beefy new computer, and you like to play a few rounds of Apex Legends on occasion, it may make more sense to go for a gaming notebook instead of a MacBook Pro-like workstation. We pick out the best options from the likes of ASUS ROG, Razer, Dell and more. It doesn’t have to cost several thousand dollars either. Our budget pick is $800.
Continue reading.
A court in the Netherlands has ruled that a US company violated a Dutch worker's human rights by forcing him to keep his webcam on during work hours. Hired by a telemarketing firm Chetu, the employee was terminated for refusing to be monitored "for nine hours per day" by a program that streamed his webcam and shared his screens.
"Tracking via camera for eight hours per day is disproportionate and not permitted in the Netherlands," the court verdict states, adding it also violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court found Chetu dismissed the employee unfairly and must pay a $50,000 fine, along with the worker's back wages, court costs and unused vacation days.
Continue reading.
Last week, LG announced it would allow third-party TV manufacturers to use its webOS platform, and now its main rival is following suit. Samsung has revealed it will license its Tizen OS TV platform for use in non-Samsung TV models for the first time, partnering with Akai, RCA and a bunch of other brands you… probably haven’t heard of. Those manufacturers will get access to features like Samsung TV Plus (a free streaming platform), personalized recommendations and even Samsung's Bixby.
Continue reading.
The spacecraft that NASA deliberately crashed into an asteroid last month succeeded in nudging the rocky moonlet out of its natural orbit – the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body – NASA officials say.The $US330 million ($A521 million) proof-of-concept mission, which was seven years in development, also marked the world's first test of a planetary defence system designed to prevent a potential doomsday meteorite collision with earth.
Lucy Letby murdered five-day-old boy by injecting air into his stomach through a nose tube, a court has heard
The European Commission condemned as "barbaric" Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday and warned Belarus against helping its ally kill civilians. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Russia's acts had "no place in the 21st century", adding in a tweet that military support for Ukraine from the bloc was on its way.
Antonio Rodriguez, who joined Matrix in 2010 after a Matrix-backed company he cofounded was sold to Hewlett-Packard, told us last week that Matrix just raised its biggest fund in roughly 20 years. As it turns out, Matrix doesn't put much stock in it, not yet anyway.
‘He be dead. Very dead,’ science star said of ‘Top Gun’ character’s stunning survival
Millions of Aussies are spending more than they can afford, and at a time when the cost of living continues to climb.
Electricity prices are expected to jump 35 per cent, according to one of Australia's biggest retailers.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was the only major bank to get the October interest rate decision right. Here’s why it thinks rate hikes are coming to an end.
The Melbourne couple is now awaiting trial after they allegedly spent the money on houses, cars, art and furniture.
It’s a Friday in 2001 and you’re gearing up for ‘family night’. There’s only one place you were heading.
The 20 most common jobs in Australia have been revealed, with four industries employing the most people.
The local market is expected to lift this morning after a choppy session in the US overnight. This is your Wednesday morning wrap.
Australia's best and worst performing super funds have been named. Find out if you should consider making a change.
Victims of the failed robodebt scheme will have any ongoing investigations wiped. This is what you need to know.
Nearly half a million Aussies have been left ‘locked out’ of access to Centrelink support. Here’s who has been affected.
The local market is expected to rise this morning despite a fall on Wall Street overnight. This is your Tuesday morning wrap.
There is less than a month to go until the tax deadline, and the ATO is warning taxpayers to not leave their returns to the last minute.
Aussies on Reddit are sharing their biggest wastes of money. Are you guilty of any of these?
US stocks have fallen, with the Nasdaq posting its lowest close since July 2020, as investors worried about the impact of higher interest rates and pulled out of chipmakers after the United States announced restrictions aimed at hobbling China's semiconductor industry.Federal Reserve vice-chair Lael Brainard said tighter US monetary policy has begun to be felt in an economy that might be slowing faster than expected, but the full brunt of Fed interest rate increases still won't be apparent for m
Telstra's chairman says the telco's cyber security capabilities are "considerable" but he's avoiding complacency and hubris after the devastating Optus hack."It is easy for third parties to be critical of companies who have suffered devastating cyber-attacks such as happened recently to Optus," John Mullen told shareholders at Telstra's annual general meeting on Tuesday.