Technology
Texans came together to save more than 1,500 bats from wintery doom
Tons of of bats rescued from the winter storm that struck the US over the previous week had been lastly capable of return to their houses in Texas final night time. The bats almost froze to dying because the storm introduced a blast of chilly Arctic air right down to the Lone Star State and far of the continental US.
Mexican Free-tailed bats began dropping from their roosts as temperatures dipped under freezing
Mexican Free-tailed bats began dropping from their roosts as temperatures dipped under freezing on the night of December twenty second, in accordance with the Houston Humane Society. At one colony underneath Waugh Bridge in Houston, the tiny bats plummeted 15 to 30 toes to the pavement. Struggling hypothermic shock, the bats might need perished on the pavement. Weighing in at round half an oz, the critters don’t have a lot physique fats to maintain themselves heat.
However the Houston Human Society shortly jumped into motion with a “cold-shock” bat rescue initiative at Waugh Bridge and one other colony in Brazoria County. You’ll be able to take a look at some neat movies of the hassle on the Houston Humane Society’s Fb Web page. “Amazingly, most of bats have survived,” the group stated on Fb on December twenty fourth. By December twenty sixth, that they had rescued 1,544 bats.
Whereas greater than 50 of the bats had been in want of “extra intensive care,” most of them “solely required warmth assist & hydration to fast begin their methods,” the Houston Humane Society stated in a Fb put up. “They are going to be held, receiving specialised care and vitamin, till the climate warms and launch is feasible.”
Fortuitously, the climate was good for his or her launch yesterday. The Human Society even arrange a Fb occasion to ask the general public to observe the bats’ homecoming. Some 700 bats had been introduced again to their colony underneath Waugh Bridge Wednesday night. “Tons of” extra had been returned to a separate colony on the Pearland Fite Highway Bridge in Brazoria County.
However even after this success story, the Houston Humane Society is readying itself for future climate disasters. Its Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition (TWRC) is fundraising for a brand new constructing, which is meant to incorporate “a devoted bat room.”
“That will actually assist with these conditions as we proceed to see these unusual climate patterns come via,” Mary Warwick, HHS TWRC Wildlife Director, stated in a video posted to Fb. She shot the video in her attic, the place she housed lots of the rescued bats in two canine kennels. “We might actually use extra space to rehabilitate the bats,” she stated.
The Mexican free-tailed bat is the most typical form of bat fluttering round Texas, and is the official “state flying mammal.” They usually spend winters in Mexico, however will migrate North to present beginning and lift their younger in large “maternity colonies” by early spring. The bats want heat and humid houses for his or her rising households — often in caves, however they’ll make do in bridges and tunnels, too.
Technology
iMessage had an outage, but now it’s back
On Thursday evening, many iPhone owners (including some here at The Verge) saw the “not delivered” flag when trying to send texts via iMessage. People reported the problem across multiple wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile), countries, and even continents.
The Apple services status page didn’t show any indication of trouble while the problems were going on, but now it has been updated after the fact, reflecting a resolved issue where “Users were unable to use this service” for iMessage, Apple Messages for Business, FaceTime, and HomeKit. According to the note, the problems went on from about 5:39PM ET until 6:35PM ET.
Apple has not responded to inquiries or otherwise commented on the issue; however, judging by our use and reports on social media, everything seems to be up and running again. However, if your international friends are still saying, “Just use WhatsApp!” there isn’t really anything we can do about that.
Update, May 16th: Noted the issue appears to be resolved.
Technology
Handy hidden features on Instagram, X and Facebook
If you’re one Facebook argument away from lighting your social media accounts on fire, I don’t blame you. Before you log out for good, I’ve got a few hidden features that’ll make using your social media accounts stink a little less.
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Stop video autoplay
- Facebook: Maybe you want to scroll at work undetected or you just prefer the sound of silence. On desktop, disable autoplaying videos under Settings and privacy > Settings > Videos. On mobile, go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Preferences > Media.
- X: On desktop, click More > Settings and privacy > Accessibility, display and languages > Data usage. On mobile, tap your profile picture to find Settings and privacy.
You can’t stop autoplay on Instagram, which is a dang shame — unless it’s one of my vids that pops up.
AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER
Love it and list it
- X: Organize people in private or public lists without following them. Maybe you make a list for cooking tips and another for gadget news — whatever floats your boat. Easy.
- Instagram: Sort your saved posts into Collections — just like you do on Pinterest. Create a new collection by tapping and holding the bookmark icon below a post, then tapping the + (plus sign). Enter a name, like “Recipes,” and voila! View your collections by tapping the three lines in the top right of your profile, then Saved.
Pin your DMs
- Instagram: Pin up to three chats to the top of your list for quick access. Just press and hold down on a conversation, then select Pin. No more scrolling to find your besties!
- Messenger: You can pin an individual message in a chat. Super handy for remembering shared addresses or recipes! From a chat, tap and hold the message you want to pin and tap Pin. To see pinned messages in a chat, tap View Pins.
Say ‘shhhh’
If you’ve got a turbo-posting friend you want to see a little less from on Facebook or Instagram, tap the three dots on one of their posts and pick Hide. You’ll see their posts a little less often — without the drama of unfollowing them. You can also choose to Mute your pal altogether on the next screen.
Shake to report
Something not working correctly on Instagram? Don’t throw your phone across the room — shake it! This brings up the option to report a technical error. Pretty clever. FYI, this isn’t the place to report stalkers or abuse. To do that, tap the three dots next to a post or a username.
1-MINUTE TECH CHANGES FOR MORE PRIVACY
Split your life
Facebook finally realized we’re not the same people to our friends, family and colleagues. You can set up multiple profiles linked to your Facebook account. On the web version, click your profile picture, then click Create a new profile. Just use it for good, not trolling.
The poke is back
Technically, it’s always been there, but Facebook users are rediscovering the “poke.” What does it mean? Whatever you want it to — from flirting to just being funny. Head to your Pokes page to let people know you’re there, I guess.
Bonus: If you want to step away, try this
Ignoring apps that are literally developed to capture your attention is tough. There are settings built into your phone to make it easier. Namely, app time limits.
The concept is simple: Set an amount of time you’re allowed to spend on an app, and once you hit it, you’re locked out. You can get around the limit — but remember you set it for a reason in the first place.
Use an iPhone?
Before you begin, enable Screen Time on your device: Under Settings, tap Screen Time. Select Turn On Screen Time, followed by Continue.
Here’s how to set up specific app time limits:
- Go to Settings > Screen Time and turn on Screen Time.
- Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
- Select as many categories as you want or choose All Apps & Categories. To select individual apps, tap a category, then find the app.
- Tap Next and set the time limit. You can set an amount of time for each day by tapping Customize Days.
- Tap Add when you’re finished.
TECH LIFE UPGRADES SMARTER THAN THE STUFF ON TIKTOK
How to set time limits on apps for Android
Android’s Digital Wellbeing works similarly. Note that different manufacturers put these settings in different places, so use these steps as a starting point.
- Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
- Tap the chart. Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer.
- Choose how much time you can spend on that app. Then, tap Set.
Just like that, you’re on your way to less doom scrolling.
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Technology
Sony’s new PlayStation PC overlay is a simple start
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut debuts on PC today, and it’s the first game to feature Sony’s new PlayStation PC overlay and shared Trophies system. I’ve had a chance to get a first look at this new overlay, and my initial impression is that it’s really unobtrusive, clean, and simple.
There are five main sections here: search, friends, Trophies, profile, and settings. Search lets you find other PlayStation players and add them as friends, whereas the friends section lists both your online and offline friends. You can see your friends’ Trophies, but you can’t message friends or party chat from this overlay, unfortunately. You’ll have to use in-game chat if you want to speak to a console friend, or just use Discord.
The Trophies system works just as you’d expect, by syncing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut trophies from the PS5 version of the game to PC, and vice versa. You just sign in to your PlayStation Network ID, and the overlay and Trophies are both available.
The profile section lets you view all your existing Trophies across all your PlayStation games, and the settings section is largely web links to account management, privacy settings, and PlayStation support. There are settings to enable or disable notifications for Trophies, and the ability to see who you’ve blocked on PSN.
Overall, the PlayStation PC overlay works much like Steam’s, in the sense that it’s only active within a game. Sony hasn’t created something that’s constantly running in the background like Nvidia’s GeForce Experience or Microsoft’s Xbox Game Bar.
I did notice that if you haven’t disabled notifications for the GeForce Experience and Steam overlays, then you’ll get a trio of pop-up notices when you start Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut because the PlayStation one also has its own notification. Unfortunately, there’s no way to disable the PlayStation notification, as the pop-up notifications toggle doesn’t affect this particular message.
Still, the overlay looks and feels lightweight, even if it’s a little basic right now. Nixxes Software, the in-house port developer that Sony acquired in 2021, helped create it, and I’m hoping this simple start will lead to even more features in the future. It sure would be great to have the option of using the voice chat features of the PlayStation Network instead of having to use in-game chat or Discord. Sony is increasingly investing in the PC space, so there’s a good chance this PlayStation overlay improves over time.
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