Apple has expanded Tap to Pay's availability and is giving businesses and merchants across the United Kingdom the option to accept contactless payments using just their iPhones. The tech giant initially released the feature in the US in mid-2022 before making it available in Taiwan and Australia. Like in those regions, merchants in the UK will be able to receive payments without having to purchase extra hardware, since the capability uses NFC. As long as they have an iPhone XS or later, they can offer contactless payment as an option for customers who use Apple Pay, contactless debit or credit cards and other digital wallets. 

The company unveiled the feature in early 2022 before testing the payment system at its own visitor center in Cupertino. Following Tap to Pay's rollout, big-name fintech services launched support for the feature, including PayPal, Venmo and Square. 

According to Apple's announcement, Revolut and Tyl by NatWest are the first payment platforms allowing their business customers in the UK to use the company's Tap to Pay technology. Adyen, Dojo, myPOS, Stripe, SumUp, Viva Wallet, Worldline and Zettle by PayPal will be the next financial services to support the feature in the region. Apple didn't mention a specific rollout date for them, only that support for Tap to Pay will be "coming soon" for their customers. In addition announcing the feature's availability, the company has revealed that Tap to Pay will be available in its retail stores across the UK in the coming weeks. That means UK customers will be easily be able to pay for purchases by bumping a card or another phone to the store's iPhone.

Twitter has published an update on how its "Freedom of Speech Not Reach" moderation approach is working, and according to the company, it has seen some encouraging results. In April, the website started limiting the reach of tweets violating its hateful conduct policy and applying a label to them that reads: "Visibility limited: this tweet may violate Twitter's rules against hateful conduct." Apparently, Twitter has applied the label to more than 700,000 posts since then and has proactively prevented ads from appearing adjacent to those content. 

The company also said that the label reduces the reach of a post by 81 percent, thereby effectively limiting the visibility of posts that potentially exhibit hateful conduct. In addition, Twitter revealed in its update that more than one-third of users choose to delete labeled tweets themselves once they've been notified that they have violated the website's policy and only four percent of authors have appealed labels. 

The company charging for API access means most researchers studying hate speech can't independently verify these claims. But Twitter is clearly claiming that its approach has been effective so far. In fact, the website is pushing through with its plan to expand its labels and include more types of policy violations. According to its announcement, it will now also label and downrank posts that violate its Abusive Behavior and Violent Speech policies. Tweets that will be labeled in the coming weeks include posts with malicious content targeting individuals, those that encourage others to harass an individual or group of people, those that threaten to inflict physical harm on others, and tweets that encourage others to commit acts of violence or harm. 

Were you hoping to score a good deal on a laptop for Prime Day? Apple's 2020 MacBook Air is currently on sale for $750 — a record low for the computer, which typically goes for $999. It's powered by the company's M1 chip with an 8-core CPU, and while Apple has since come out with an M2 MacBook Air, we found the older version's performance to be impressive when we reviewed it. This MacBook Air was very responsive, and running apps built for Apple's silicon, such as Safari and GarageBand, felt as fast as launching them on an iPad. Safari also loaded sites instantly, and scrolling through them felt effortless.

We gave the 2020 MacBook Air a score of 94 in our review. In addition to its impressively speedy performance, we also praised it for having the capabilities it has without the need for a fan. Its 13.3-inch Retina Display looked fantastic, with thin bezels around the high-res screen, and we found its keyboard to be excellent, with a satisfying amount of depth. The laptop ran efficiently during our tests and lasted 16 hours and 20 minutes, including periods wherein we looped HD videos. 

In addition, since this MacBook Air is powered by Apple's silicon, it can run iPhone and iPad apps, though not every app for your mobile device will be available for the computer. The chip gives it decent gaming performance, as well, and allows it to run some games as smoothly as on a gaming PC. You can get any of the color options — gold, silver and space gray — for $750, but due to the nature of the event, you'll have to be a Prime member to enjoy the discount. Take note that if you're not currently subscribed to Amazon Prime, you can avail of a 30-day trial for free when you check out.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

A bunch of 8Bitdo controllers are on sale for Prime Day, and you can get one for as much as 38 percent off if you're looking to buy one for console-specific, laptop or mobile gaming. The brand's Ultimate Wired Controller for Xbox and Windows is currently on sale for $28, down 20 percent from its list price of $45. That's an all-time low for the device, which is officially licensed by Xbox and is compatible with the Series X and Series S, the Xbox One and Windows 10 computers and above.

While it has to be plugged into the console or the computer with its three-meter cable, it can pair wirelessly with iOS and Android devices, as well. A wireless version of 8Bitdo's Ultimate Controller for Windows 10 and above, Android 9 and above, Raspberry Pi and Steam Deck is also on sale for 10 percent less at $27. It uses wireless 2.4G connectivity and can last up to 25 hours on a single charge. 

You can also get the 8Bitdo Pro 2 Bluetooth Gamepad in black, gray and classic color options for 20 percent less than usual at $48 instead of $60. It's compatible with Switch, Steam Deck, Windows PCs, iPhones, iPads, Android devices, Mac computers, Apple TV and Raspberry Pi. The controller lets you customize buttons and vibration, as well as adjust stick and trigger sensitivity. You can also create and save up to three controller profiles and then switch between them anytime. In addition, it has a four-way mode-switching button that lets you easily switch its connection between multiple devices. 

If you want the most portable (or cutest) controller from the list, though, you can get an 8Bitdo Zero 2 Bluetooth Gamepad instead. It's currently on sale for $16, down 20 percent from its retail price. We named the keychain-sized device as one of the best mobile controllers you can buy, though it probably won't work if you have large hands. There's also the 8Bitdo Lite SE Bluetooth Gamepad for those with limited mobility, which you can get right now for $31, or $4 less than retail. It lays flat on top of a surface and was designed for accessibility, with buttons that have less resistance for easy pressing and joysticks that are more sensitive than typical controllers. 

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Discord has updated its policy meant to protect children and teens on its platform after reports came out that predators have been using the app to create and spread child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), as well as to groom young teens. The platform now explicitly prohibits AI-generated photorealistic CSAM. As The Washington Post recently reported, the rise in generative AI has also led to the explosion of lifelike images with sexual depictions of children. The publication had seen conversations about the use of Midjourney — a text-to-image generative AI on Discord — to create inappropriate images of children.

In addition to banning AI-generated CSAM, Discord now also explicitly prohibits any other kind of text or media content that sexualizes children. The platform has banned teen dating servers, as well, and has vowed to take action against users engaging in this behavior. A previous NBC News investigation found Discord servers advertised as teen dating servers with participants that solicited nude images from minors. 

Adult users had previously been prosecuted for grooming children on Discord, and there are even crime rings extorting underage users to send sexual images of themselves. Banning teen dating servers completely could help mitigate the issue. Discord has also included a line in its policy, which states that older teens found to be grooming younger teens will be "reviewed and actioned under [its] Inappropriate Sexual Conduct with Children and Grooming Policy."

Aside from updating its rules, Discord recently launched a Family Center tool that parents can use to keep an eye on their kids' activity on the chat service. While parents won't be able to see the actual contents of their kids' message, the opt-in tool allows them to see who their children are friends with and who they talk to on the platform. Discord is hoping that these new measures and tools can help keep its underage users safe along with its old measures, which include proactively scanning images uploaded to its platform using PhotoDNA. 

Elizabeth Holmes may be getting out of prison around two years earlier than expected. According to her profile on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Holmes' release date is now scheduled for December 29th, 2032. That means the time she'll serve is almost two years shorter than her original sentence, which was supposed to last for 11 years and three months. The agency has confirmed her shortened (nine years and seven months) sentence to The Guardian but didn't comment further, citing the privacy and safety of inmates. 

Holmes was indicted on charges of fraud back in 2018, a few years after a series of reports from the Wall Street Journal exposed that Theranos' proprietary "fingerprick" blood-testing technology was faulty. The publication had also reported that the company was aware of its issues but sent inaccurate test results to patients anyway. In 2022, Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors and was sentenced to 135 months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release. 

The former Theranos chief, who had been out on bail from the time she was indicted, tried to convince the court to allow her to stay out of prison while she was appealing her case. She failed in her bid to stay out of prison, though, and reported to a minimum-security, all-female facility in Texas on May 30th. It's unclear why her sentence was quietly reduced, but factors like good conduct, the completion of assignments and rehabilitation programs, as well as the credits inmates receive for various activities could result in a shorter sentence. Based on the prison bureau's website, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who was Theranos' former president, will also be released two years earlier than expected in April 2034. 

As for Holmes, she was ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to the fraud victims in addition to serving time in prison and going through supervised release. As Gizmodo notes, Holmes had an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion before Theranos' downfall. Forbes had lowered her estimated net worth to nothing a year later, and her lawyers argued that she could not afford to add $250 per month to her restitution schedule after she gets out. 

In 2022, NASA chose Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to develop next-gen spacesuits meant to finally replace the decades-old gear astronauts are using to this day. Now, the space agency has expanded their existing contracts and is giving them $5 million apiece to design and develop new spacesuits not included in the original orders they received. 

NASA has ordered a spacesuit from Axiom Space meant for use in Low Earth Orbit, specifically for spacewalks outside the International Space Station. The original contract for Axiom was for a spacewalking system that the Artemis III astronauts will wear on the lunar surface when they land on the moon. Axiom unveiled a prototype for its original order in March, showcasing a suit with joints that allow wearers to move around with ease and a helmet equipped with a light and an HD camera. 

Meanwhile, Collins Aerospace has received an order for a spacesuit meant for use on the lunar surface. The company was previously contracted to develop a spacewalking suit for use outside the ISS. In other words, each company has received a new order that mirrors the other's previous one. Lara Kearney, manager of the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said:

"These task orders position NASA for success should additional capabilities become necessary or advantageous to NASA’s missions as the agency paves the way for deep space exploration and commercialization of low Earth orbit. Using this competitive approach we will enhance redundancy, expand future capabilities, and further invest in the space economy."

Redundancy is an important part of space tech development. In this case, spacesuits meant for the same purpose developed by two different companies could ensure that astronauts will have something to use if the other one fails for any reason. That said, the new task orders are for the companies' initial "design modification work" — they're essentially modifying their original suits for a new purpose — and NASA wants to see them first before committing to their continued development. Axiom told SpaceNews that if NASA decides to push through with the new spacesuits' development, the full order will cost the agency $142 million over four years.

The James Webb space telescope has given scientists the capability to discover celestial objects they wouldn't have been able to otherwise, such as ancient galaxies that theoretically shouldn't exist. Now, as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey, researchers have discovered the most distant active supermassive black hole we've seen to date. 

Thanks to the near- and mid-infrared images James Webb has taken, researchers were able to find a supermassive black hole in the galaxy they've dubbed CEERS 1019. They were also able to determine that the black hole has existed merely 570 million years after the Big Bang and that it's around 9 million solar masses. In addition, the data provided by the telescope allowed them to come to the conclusion that the black hole is eating up a lot of gas and churning out new stars. "A galaxy merger could be partly responsible for fueling the activity in this galaxy's black hole, and that could also lead to increased star formation," CEERS team member Jeyhan Kartaltepe of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York explained. In the image below, you can see CEERS 1019 appearing as three bright clumps.

NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

At 9 million solar masses, this black hole is much smaller than other active supermassive black holes previously discovered. Those celestial objects typically contain more than 1 billion times the mass of the sun, which makes them much brighter and easier to detect. The CEERS 1019 black hole is more similar to the one in the center of our galaxy, which is around 4.6 million times the mass of the sun. NASA said scientists have long known that smaller black holes must have existed earlier in the universe, but it wasn't until James Webb became operational that they were able to confirm their presence. 

In fact, the CEERS Survey team also found two other ancient but small black holes through their data. The CEERS 746 black hole existed 1 billion years after the Big Bang, while the CEERS 2782 black hole has been around since 1.1 billion years after the event. When viewed through other instruments, these black holes appear as ordinary star-forming galaxies. Astronomers are also reviewing other more distant black holes found using James Webb's data at the moment, so CEERS 1019 might lose the record sooner rather than later.

CEERS team lead Steven Finkelstein from the University of Texas at Austin said: "Until now, research about objects in the early universe was largely theoretical. With Webb, not only can we see black holes and galaxies at extreme distances, we can now start to accurately measure them. That’s the tremendous power of this telescope."

Scientists still find it difficult to explain how this black hole formed so soon after the universe began. But in the future, Webb's data could give them the information they need to be able to figure out how early black holes are formed. 

Google has expanded an existing feature for Calendar to give users an easy way to let their co-workers know where they can be reached at different times of the day. The company first launched "working locations" that allows users to indicate where they're working through their schedules back in 2021. But now, they can set their working locations in Calendar for specific portions of the day in order to more accurately reflect their availability. 

As Google said in its announcement, working from different locations is common for those with hybrid work environments. This feature could make it easier for co-workers to figure out if they can meet for in-person collaboration or if they have to schedule a video conference instead. To use the feature, they can create an event and choose Working Location before selecting a time frame and indicating their location for those hours. The upgraded Working Location feature is now available for all Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofit users. 

Google

The tech giant is also making Google Docs more creator-friendly. When users fire up the app and open a Docs file on an Android device, it will now start in edit mode. There's no need to tap on the edit button anymore — they can now go straight into document and immediately start typing or changing things up. Tapping on the open document will instantly bring up the on-screen keyboard unless they have a physical keyboard connected to their device. 

This is a great time to grab a 2022 Apple iPad from Amazon, where it's currently on sale for just $1 more than its all-time low. The 10.9-inch tablet will set you back $400 on the website, or $49 lower than its retail price of $449. That price applies to the blue, pink and yellow color options of the WiFi-only 64GB version of the 10th generation iPad. We gave the tablet a score of 85 in our review and praised it for having an updated modern design, which makes it look more like the iPad Air than the previous versions of Apple's basic tablet. It still costs more than the previous iPad, but it is larger than its predecessor, and this price cut makes it a more affordable and enticing option. 

In addition to giving the 2022 iPad flatter edges and thinner bezels, Apple also give it a USB-C port like its more expensive siblings. Underneath the hood, you'll find an A14 Bionic chip — it's an older model that debuted with the iPhone 12, but it still represents upgraded performance for the tablet. The iPad has a solid battery life, as well. When we tested it out, we found that it could last up to 11 hours and 45 minutes while playing back a movie purchased from the iTunes Store. 

But the best upgrade if you use your iPad for video conferences is perhaps its front facing camera that's now installed on the landscape edge of the device. The camera is no longer awkwardly placed to the side when you put the tablet on landscape mode, and your face will now finally be centered when you take a video call. Take note that while the silver version of the iPad isn't listed at the same price, you can get still get it for $428 on the e-commerce website.

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