It's uncomfortable, but effective |
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Welcome to Decrypted, Digital Trends' new daily newsletter guiding you through the latest news in the world of tech, with insights from our senior writers. |
What to do if your friends or family share misinformation and conspiracy theories online |
By Meira Gebel, Contributor
How do you confront a friend or family member who's shared misinformation?
Whether it is a post about the unfounded, far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, or a bizarre statistic you can't seem to find a second source for, misinformation is everywhere on social media. Sometimes misinformation can disguise itself as a popular figure, a manipulated video, or local TV news station, making it difficult to decipher. But what's harder is confronting your friends and family members after they've shared it.
Digital Trends spoke with two experts who said it may be best to first act empathetically if your loved one is sharing false content. Do they really believe that the government is filled with a "deep state" of satanic pedophiles? And if so, why? This line of questioning, done in direct messages and not on a public comment thread, can start to get at the root of the person's anxieties and how they see the world. But also, don't be wary of the "report" button -- any responsible user should be utilizing it. |
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Elon Musk says a $25,000 Tesla is coming. How?
It's all about the batteries |
By Jenny McGrath, Senior Writer
A $25,000 Tesla? That's what CEO Elon Musk promised this week during the company's Battery Day event. He didn't offer up a ton of details, but he said the timeline is around three years. "This has always been our dream from the beginning of the company," Musk said.
Why announce the prospect of a more-affordable model at an event that's all about batteries? It's because batteries are key to dropping the price of electric vehicles. Price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a unit of energy often used to measure battery packs' capacity. The price has fallen about 87% since 2010, when it was $1,100 per kWh, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It could drop to around $100 per kWh by 2023.
To get more kilowatt-hours per dollar, Musk said Tesla is changing the design of its batteries, using different materials, and bringing manufacturing in-house. This doesn't mean Tesla will be all budget. It will soon debut its $140,000 Model S Plaid.
To keep things in perspective, Battery Day was rumored to be when Musk would unveil the long-rumored "million-mile" battery that uses little to no cobalt. The company isn't quite there yet, so maybe don't set all your hopes on a 2023 Tesla Model A (for affordable).
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Microsoft, Sony, and Nvidia all botched pre-orders
for their newest products. Here's why. |
By Matt Smith, Senior Editor
Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nvidia RTX 3080, and Nvidia RTX 3090 all went live within the last two weeks, and all shared the same fate. Retailers crumbled under incredible demand, sending frustrated shoppers to stare at error messages. In many cases, pre-orders sold out in a literal blink of an eye.
The lack of stock, combined with unreliable messaging from manufacturers, caused more than a few meltdowns on social media. Many have pointed toward bots as the source of their woes. Online scalpers, who purchase pre-orders only to sell them online at a higher price, are using increasingly sophisticated scripts to order items faster than a real human could ever hope.
But the surge in demand is not entirely fabricated. Nvidia says the release of its RTX 3080 video card caused a surge in traffic to online retailers that in some cases exceeded Black Friday. The intense demand caused entirely new online communities to pop up overnight as eager fans sought any new stock that might become available.
Unfortunately, pre-order woes are unlikely to be resolved any time soon. There is no reason to think the bots will go away, and the holiday shopping season will drive even greater demand. AMD and Nvidia have more hot products planned later this year, and fans are bracing for the worst.
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What we're watching: Criminal: UK |
By Rob Oster, Copy Chief
Most TV shows like Law & Order follow a crime through all of its phases, starting with its commission, then the investigation and arrest, and finally, the trial. Criminal UK takes a different approach by focusing solely on one key aspect of the process: The interrogation. The entire series is restricted to three areas: The interrogation room, the observation center on the other side of that room's two-way mirror, and the hallway and lobby just outside of them. Given the inherent lack of action in such a premise, it's incumbent upon the various story lines to deliver -- and they do for the most part. It helps that the show has assembled a group of fine U.K. actors to play the suspect in each episode. That group includes former Doctor Who portrayer David Tennant, Catastrophe co-star Sharon Horgan, and Game of Thrones' Jon Snow himself, Kit Harrington, who plays a businessman accused of raping a female colleague in the series' best-executed and most thought-provoking episode. While not every episode lives up to that one -- the Horgan episode is especially strong before faltering in its final minutes -- the writing team does a nice job of keeping viewers' attention mostly through tight dialogue and the occasional twist. The show also excels at slowly revealing the personalities and relationships of the team members who do the questioning. Criminal: UK is one of four series that follow the same structure and are actually filmed on the same set in different languages. The others are Criminal: France, Criminal: Spain, and Criminal: Germany. It's an interesting approach that probably saved the creators a ton of money. Based on Criminal: UK, the others may very well be worth a watch. The three-episode first season and four-episode second season of Criminal: UK are both available on Netflix. |
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