Cloudflare once again comes under pressure for enabling abusive sites

Cloudflare once again comes under pressure for enabling abusive sites

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) A familiar debate is once again surrounding Cloudflare, the content delivery network that provides a free service that protects websites from being taken down in denial-of-service attacks by masking their hosts: Is Cloudflare a bastion of free speech or an enabler of spam, malware delivery, harassment and the very DDoS attacks…

Comedy adventure Thank Goodness You’re Here! gets Steam Deck verified just in time for launch – Destructoid

Comedy adventure Thank Goodness You’re Here! gets Steam Deck verified just in time for launch – Destructoid

Thank Goodness You’re Here!, a game which feels like someone took a snapshot of a North Yorkshire town in the mid ’70s and somehow turned it into a full-blown quest filled adventure, has gained Steam Deck verification just one day ahead of its release date.  Coal Supper, the development team behind the bizarre yet incredibly…

Microsoft strips ads from Skype in a move toward “user-centric design”

Microsoft strips ads from Skype in a move toward “user-centric design”

Enlarge / A marketing image by Microsoft for the desktop version of Skype. Microsoft If you’ve used Microsoft’s Skype in recent years, you’ve probably noticed that the user experience is less than ideal because of the pervasiveness of ads in the software. Fortunately, that’s going to change in a new update coming to all platforms…

Blocking AI bots from Microsoft, others has been “pain in the a**”: Reddit CEO

Blocking AI bots from Microsoft, others has been “pain in the a**”: Reddit CEO

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is standing by Reddit’s decision to block companies from scraping the site without an AI agreement. Last week, 404 Media noticed that search engines that weren’t Google were no longer listing recent Reddit posts in results. This was because Reddit updated its Robots Exclusion Protocol (txt file) to block bots from…

“AI toothbrushes” are coming for your teeth—and your data

“AI toothbrushes” are coming for your teeth—and your data

Enlarge / Oclean’s X Ultra, released in July, has optional Wi-Fi connectivity. Oclean One of the most unlikely passengers on the AI gadgets hype train is the toothbrush. With claims of using advanced algorithms and companion apps to help you brush your teeth better, toothbrushes have become a tech product for some brands. So-called “AI…

Is Palworld a “dead game”? Who cares, says the game’s developer

Is Palworld a “dead game”? Who cares, says the game’s developer

Enlarge / If you stopped enjoyed shooting adorable widdle monsters with an assault rifle after a while, Palworld‘s team wants you to know that’s normal and cool. Pocketpair Palworld‘s head of community has a radical idea: Stop caring about how many people are playing a game at the same time as you. It’s pitched mostly…

Helldivers 2 developer roleplaying makes for the more lore-accurate support experience ever – Destructoid

Helldivers 2 developer roleplaying makes for the more lore-accurate support experience ever – Destructoid

One Helldivers 2 player reached out to the developer’s support team using a little roleplaying flair and had the best experience with a team member I’ve seen in a long time. This brings the Ministry of Truth to life in an entirely new way and extends the game’s lore in an unexpected way. User SurrexSnek…

ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode impresses testers with sound effects, catching its breath

ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode impresses testers with sound effects, catching its breath

Enlarge / A stock photo of a robot whispering to a man. (credit: AndreyPopov via Getty Images) On Tuesday, OpenAI began rolling out an alpha version of its new Advanced Voice Mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers. This feature, which OpenAI previewed in May with the launch of GPT-4o, aims to make…