This article was published more than 2 years agoListen8 minCommentGift ShareMindy Kaling has gone missing from the library.I was looking forward to reading the comedian’s new story collection, “.” So I typed Kaling’s name into the used by my public library to lend e-books. But the latest from the star of “The Office” was nowhere to be found.What gives? In 2020, Kaling switched to a new publisher: Amazon. Turns out, the tech giant has also become a — and it won’t sell downloadable versions of its more than 10,000 e-books or tens of thousands of audiobooks to libraries. That’s right, for...…This article was published more than 2 years agoListen8 minCommentGift ShareMindy Kaling has gone missing from the library.I was looking forward to reading the comedian’s new story collection, “.” So I typed Kaling’s name into the used by my public library to lend e-books. But the latest from the star of “The Office” was nowhere to be found.What gives? In 2020, Kaling switched to a new publisher: Amazon. Turns out, the tech giant has also become a — and it won’t sell downloadable versions of its more than 10,000 e-books or tens of thousands of audiobooks to libraries. That’s right, for...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoListenNaN minCommentGift ShareI had such great hope for my kitchen-counter paparazzo.The covid-19 Zoom boom has turned us into camera operators. Making sure everyone’s face can be seen in the videoconference is a daily struggle. Along comes Amazon’s new , a countertop camera and computer that tries to follow you. Spinning in a motorized circle, it does its best to track your body so you’re always in the shot — and in view of its 10.1-inch screen.I spend so much time on video calls, I was tempted to splurge on one of these $250 robot...…This article was published more than 2 years agoListenNaN minCommentGift ShareI had such great hope for my kitchen-counter paparazzo.The covid-19 Zoom boom has turned us into camera operators. Making sure everyone’s face can be seen in the videoconference is a daily struggle. Along comes Amazon’s new , a countertop camera and computer that tries to follow you. Spinning in a motorized circle, it does its best to track your body so you’re always in the shot — and in view of its 10.1-inch screen.I spend so much time on video calls, I was tempted to splurge on one of these $250 robot...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoListenNaN minCommentGift ShareYou can trust Apple … right?You go to your iPhone’s App Store to download a game. Under a new “App Privacy” label added last month, there’s a blue check mark, signaling that the app won’t share a lick of your data. It says: “Data not collected.”Not necessarily. I downloaded a de-stressing app called the Satisfying Slime Simulator that gets the App Store’s highest-level label for privacy. It turned out to be the wrong kind of slimy, covertly sending information — including a way to track my iPhone — to...…This article was published more than 2 years agoListenNaN minCommentGift ShareYou can trust Apple … right?You go to your iPhone’s App Store to download a game. Under a new “App Privacy” label added last month, there’s a blue check mark, signaling that the app won’t share a lick of your data. It says: “Data not collected.”Not necessarily. I downloaded a de-stressing app called the Satisfying Slime Simulator that gets the App Store’s highest-level label for privacy. It turned out to be the wrong kind of slimy, covertly sending information — including a way to track my iPhone — to...WW…

CommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Here’s a phone alert you wouldn’t want to miss: “You have likely been exposed.”Another coronavirus surge is upon us, and your phone might be able to help. More than 182 million Americans have the ability to get pop-up notifications from local health authorities when they’ve personally spent time near someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus.But exposure notifications only work if you and the people around you turn...…CommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Here’s a phone alert you wouldn’t want to miss: “You have likely been exposed.”Another coronavirus surge is upon us, and your phone might be able to help. More than 182 million Americans have the ability to get pop-up notifications from local health authorities when they’ve personally spent time near someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus.But exposure notifications only work if you and the people around you turn...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis story was featured in Drop Me The Link, our one-story election newsletter. Want to make sure your ballot counts? Track it online like a UPS delivery.That’s now possible across much of America, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.I don’t often get emails from my state government, so I was curious about one recently asking me to check out California’s new election website, . There, I typed in my name, birthday and Zip code — and a minute later, I had signed up for personalized voting updates. Now I’ll get a...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis story was featured in Drop Me The Link, our one-story election newsletter. Want to make sure your ballot counts? Track it online like a UPS delivery.That’s now possible across much of America, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.I don’t often get emails from my state government, so I was curious about one recently asking me to check out California’s new election website, . There, I typed in my name, birthday and Zip code — and a minute later, I had signed up for personalized voting updates. Now I’ll get a...WW…