One of the big advantages of cryptocurrency over other financial systems, according to many of its proponents, is that no particular company, central bank or government has control. That's not necessarily the case, though. Researchers who worked on a report commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) found that there can be "unintended centralities" in these supposed decentralized systems.

"It's been taken for granted that the blockchain is immutable and decentralized, because the community says so," said Dan Guido, CEO of Trail of Bits, the software security research company that worked on the report. He told NPR that cryptocurrency power is concentrated among people or organizations that have a large chunk of the pie. Almost like any other capitalist system, some might argue.

Trail of Bits defined "unintended centralities" as circumstances under which an entity has sway over a so-called decentralized system, which could afford them the opportunity to tamper with records of ownership. The report also notes that three ISPs handle 60 percent of all bitcoin traffic. A blockchain network could be disrupted if a communications regulator, a hacker or someone else with oversight of one of those ISPs slowed down or halted bitcoin traffic.

There are also weaknesses in the bitcoin network itself. The report found that 21 percent of nodes are running an old, vulnerable version of the core bitcoin client. Those systems could be targeted in an attempt by an attacker who's looking to take over the majority of a blockchain network, though that seems relatively unlikely given the size of the bitcoin network.

Some of these situations are theoretical, but the report highlights some of the deficiencies of blockchain tech. There have been some clear instances of centralization impacting parts of the ecosystem, however.

It was reported this week that lending platform Solend (which is based on the Solana blockchain) tried to take control of its single largest account, because it said the operator could have significant sway over market movements. Solend planned to temporarily take over the "whale" investor's account in order to liquidate their position "gracefully" and avoid possible disruption.

A proposal allowing the platform to carry out the controversial move (Solend calls itself a "decentralized protocol," after all) passed on Sunday. However, Solend's users voted on another proposal to overturn the first one, with 99.8 percent of votes in favor. As it turns out, the holder of the account in question had more than 1 million of the 1.48 million total votes. Solend is trying another method of liquidating the whale's position, but for now, the platform's power seems to be centralized in that account holder's favor.

Several major companies are working on quantum computing projects, including IBM and Google. Amazon is also in the mix. The company opened the AWS Center for Quantum Computing last year and has offered quantum computing via Amazon Web Services since 2019. It's expanding that work to what it says is an essential aspect of helping quantum tech reach its full potential: quantum networking. As such, the company has announced the AWS Center for Quantum Networking (CQN).

As with quantum computing, it's early days for quantum networking. It will likely take several more years before researchers start getting the most out of quantum tech. However, Amazon has more resources than most to invest in the field.

Amazon notes that quantum networks will be able to connect quantum devices using single photons rather than laser beams (which are utilized in modern optical communications). However, along with enabling certain capabilities of quantum networks, there are some hurdles to overcome when it comes to using a single photon. Quantum mechanics limits the amplification of a single photon, which restricts the range of a network. "Also, the weakness of single photons complicates interfacing them with today’s quantum computing devices," CQN research scientists Denis Sukachev and Mihir Bhaskar wrote in a blog post.

Researchers at the center will work on new technologies, such as quantum repeaters and transducers, to allow for the creation of global quantum networks. They'll develop hardware, software and apps for quantum networks.

Among the potential applications of quantum networking is "enabling global communications protected by quantum key distribution with privacy and security levels not achievable using conventional encryption techniques," Sukachev and Bhaskar wrote. "Quantum networks will also provide powerful and secure cloud quantum servers by connecting together and amplifying the capabilities of individual quantum processors."

South Korea just took an important step toward becoming a spacefaring nation. The New York Timesreports the country successfully launched a satellite payload into orbit using a domestically-made rocket for the first time. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute's 200-ton Nuri vehicle (aka Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II) ferried both a working satellite (for performance verification) and a dummy into orbit at an altitude of 435 miles.

The accomplishment was a long time in coming. South Korea first launched a satellite into orbit in 2013, but it co-developed the mission's Naro rocket with Russia. Nuri also didn't have the smoothest path. An initial test launch in October 2021 lifted a dummy satellite into space, but an oxidizer tank failure led to a premature burnout that prevented the satellite from staying in orbit.

The successful flight is just the first step in a major expansion of South Korea's spaceflight efforts. Officials plan four more Nuri test launches between 2023 and 2027, and the verification payload will help test components for more satellite missions, including surveillance satellites to monitor North Korea. Long-term plans include a more powerful rocket as well as an uncrewed Moon lander that would arrive by the early 2030s.

The flight helps South Korea join just a handful of countries with similar spaceflight capabilities, including the US, Russia, China, France, India and Japan. There's also large degree of national pride involved. This helps South Korea reduce its dependence on American satellites and rockets, including SpaceX's Falcon 9 — it won't have to worry as much about differing priorities and launch schedules.

Facebook has long taken action against fake reviews, but now it's formalizing that stance. As The Verge notes, Facebook parent company Meta has updated its Community Feedback Policy in the US to explicitly ban fake and paid reviews on its platforms. Users can't post a bogus review for a restaurant in hopes of getting a free meal, or take kickbacks to leave glowing opinions about a product.

The revised policy also forbids "irrelevant" and spam reviews, not to mention those that include graphic or otherwise offensive content. Meta will pull reviews that violate policies, and reserves the right to suspend access to some or all of its products. Habitual violators could face suspensions or permanent bans for their Facebook accounts, and businesses could lose access to product listings and tags.

You might not see a dramatic increase in crackdowns when the new policy mainly continues an existing strategy. It's also uncertain how well this commitment will hold. Facebook removed 16,000 fake review groups last year in response to a UK watchdog's concerns, but there's no guarantee it will catch every offender. An official policy indicates commitment to tackling the problem, though, and could help Meta justify bans when perpetrators complain.

Amazon has kicked off the lead up to this year's Prime Day by discounting a bunch of Fire TVs. A number of Toshiba, Insignia and Hisense smart TVs are on sale right now, so you could pick up a TV for as low as $90. But we recommend springing for one of the higher-end Omni Series televisions, which came out last September. All sizes are cheaper than usual, but you'll find the steepest discount on the 55-inch Omni Series 4K TV, which is 46 percent off and down to $300. While many of these TV deals are Prime exclusives, some — including the 55-inch Omni deal — are available to all Amazon shoppers.

All of the Omni Series sets streaming in 4K and support HDR10, HLG and Dolby Digital Plus — if you want Dolby Vision, you'll have to spring for the 65- or 75-inch TVs. You'll get access to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and others, but you'll find the real perks come in if you're already a heavy Alexa user. Omni Series sets have built-in microphones to allow hands-free Alexa access, so you can basically treat the TV as you would an Echo smart speaker. You can ask it to set timers and reminders, check sports scores and more, even when the TV is off. But if that's not really your thing, you can use the built-in switch to electronically disable the microphones.

As far as connectivity goes, the 55-inch model has three HDMI ports plus one HDMI 2.1 jack with eARC, one USB port and an Ethernet connector. While you could deck the TV out with the soundbar of your choosing, you can also wirelessly pair the TV with Echo speakers to create a more immersive home theater setup. These TVs are clearly best for those who already have a lot of Amazon devices throughout their home, and those who rely on Alexa a lot already. But they're also good options for anyone that wants a truly budget smart TV. $300 for a 55-inch set is a solid deal, and if you're looking to spend even less than that, you've got options at the $200 and $100 marks as well.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

NASA encountered a couple of issues while conducting the Artemis 1 "wet dress rehearsal," but it still checked off a major milestone by the time the test had ended. The agency was able to fully fuel all the Space Launch System's propellant tanks for the first time and was able to proceed to terminal launch countdown. "Wet dress rehearsals," as they're called, are tests that simulate a rocket launch without the rocket actually lifting off. The launch team had to cut short three previous attempts at fueling the SLS earlier this year due to various leaks and other issues that have already been corrected. 

This attempt wasn't flawless either: NASA had to put fueling on hold a couple of times since the rehearsal started on Saturday. Fueling was first put on hold on early Monday morning due to an issue with the rocket's backup supply of gaseous nitrogen. The team was able to repair the valve for the gaseous nitrogen line, however, and fueling recommenced a couple of hours later. As CNN notes, though, a few issues popped up just as the team was finishing up the fueling process on Monday afternoon. They discovered a hydrogen leak and had to find options to seal it after their first solution didn't work. Plus, the flare stack, which burns excess liquid hydrogen from the rocket, caused a small fire in the grassy area around the launch site. 

In the end, the launch controllers came up with a plan to mask data associated with the leak so as not trigger a hold by the launch computer. That wouldn't fly in a real launch scenario, but they wanted to get as far into the countdown as possible to gather the data they need. They were successfully able to resume the 10-minute final launch countdown after an extended hold and got to T-29 seconds before they had to end the test completely. The launch team originally planned to let the countdown get to until T-33 seconds before the launch is supposed to occur. They then intended to restart the timer and repeat the countdown until around T-9 seconds before launch. 

Regardless, they successfully performed several critical operations needed for launch during the test, including handing over control from the ground launch sequencer to the automated launch sequencer controlled by the rocket's flight software. NASA will now assess the data collected from the test to determine whether it can finally set an official launch date for Artemis 1, which will send an unmanned Orion spacecraft on a mission to fly around the Moon, with the earliest possible date being sometime in August. The agency will hold a conference about the test today, June 21st, at 11AM, and you can watch the stream live on its website.

For years, Master & Dynamic has blended premium design with solid performance for its headphones. With its latest model, the company has refreshed the aesthetics on top of boosting the active noise cancellation (ANC) for more effective distraction blocking. Today, Master & Dynamic is debuting the MW75, a high-end set of ANC over-ear headphones with Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation that automatically adjusts based on the clamor of your environment. 

When it comes to the new active noise cancellation setup, Master & Dynamic says four microphones monitor your surroundings to "intuitively adjust" the ANC to properly counter any changes to the external roar. The MW75 isn't the first set of headphones to do this, but the automatic tweaks are new to the company's lineup starting with this model. There are two additional noise-canceling modes to choose from — All Day and Max — so you're not stuck with Adaptive as the lone option. There are also two ambient sound modes, one for general use and the other specifically tailored to voices. 

Master & Dynamic has mostly kept the same design for its headphones for years. There have been some small changes to the formula, but for the most part the lineage remained intact. With the MW75, the company opted for an updated design with similarities to its MG20 gaming headset. While the MG20 has elements of both past and present, the MW75 takes the new aesthetic one step further. 

The company is still using a mix of aluminum and leather (lambskin this time), but it added tempered glass panels to the outside of the earcups. These aren't touch sensitive, they're simply a design choice. The on-board controls are still physical buttons. And thankfully, the memory foam earpads still detach easily in the event you need to replace them, which is a standard feature for much of Master & Dyanmic's gear. The new design is simplified and refined, but the new look does come at a bit of a cost. The MW75 is nearly 100 grams heavier than its predecessor. 

Master & Dynamic

Inside, 40mm Beryllium-coated drivers power what Master & Dynamic describes as its "expansive signature sound," a blend of "warmer lows and richer highs." The company says an additional set of four beamforming microphones offer assistance with calls and are designed to combat any wind interference. Unlike Master & Dyanmic's previous flagship model, the MW65, the MW75 offers wear detection and is compatible with the company's app for customizing the EQ and other settings. The company says you can expect up to 28 hours of listening time with ANC on and that figure goes up to 32 hours when noise cancellation is disabled. If you find yourself in a pinch, 15 minutes of charging will give you six hours of battery life.

The MW75 will be available on June 28th in four color options: gunmetal with black leather, silver metal with grey leather, silver metal with brown leather and black metal with black leather. Like Master & Dynamic's previous premium headphones, the high-end look and flagship features don't come cheap. The MW75 will cost $599 (€599/£549) when it goes on sale at the end of the month — $100 more than the MW65.

Uber suspended its shared rides service — Uber Pool — in the early months of the pandemic as a safety measure. But the company has now relaunched the feature under a new name, UberX Share, which is available starting today in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Oregon, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. This formal launch follows a quieter debut back in November, when it was available only in Miami as part of a pilot test.

The new shared rides feature is similar to Uber’s pre-pandemic carpooling feature, but with an added cash incentive. Riders who select UberX Share will be matched with another co-rider who is headed in the same direction. In exchange for the hassle and extra time spent on the road, Uber will give riders up to a 20 percent discount on the total fare and $2 in Uber Cash, according to a guide on Uber's website. Even if riders don’t get matched with a co-rider, they’ll receive a 5 percent up-front discount on their ride.

One downside of Uber’s carpool service in the past was that co-riders could end up taking a much longer trip than they expected. The company claims it has updated the service to make sure that UberX Share rides are no more than eight minutes longer than an equivalent solo ride.

UberX Share is likely to be appealing for budget-conscious riders, especially if it’s a short or non-urgent trip. But the feature posed problems for drivers in the past, who reportedly earned less per passenger on shared rides than they made transporting individual passengers. Drivers also have to do the added work of coordinating multiple drop-offs and pick-offs per trip. 

The company, for its part, has made several changes this time around that may be more driver friendly. Passengers can only request UberX Share rides for themselves, and only one other co-rider can join per trip. Uber Pool gave riders the option of booking up to two seats, and during very busy times could match drivers with more than one co-rider. The new changes will likely create a less hectic shared ride experience for everyone.

Sony only recently launched its $200 LinkBuds S wireless earphones with active noise cancellation, and we're now seeing the first serious discount. Amazon is selling both the white and black models for $178, for a savings of $22 or 11 percent — a nice drop if you've been pondering a pair. 

Sony unveiled the open wear LinkBuds earlier this year, but the LinkBuds S offer a more traditional in-ear "closed" design. They resemble Sony's WF-1000XM4 earbuds, but are smaller and therefore more comfortable to wear for longer periods. Sony in-fact calls them "the world's smallest and lightest, noise-canceling, hi-res" true wireless earbuds. In addition, they're IPX4 rated so you can use them for workouts or in bad weather. 

With 5mm drivers, they promise "powerful bass and stunningly clear vocals," Sony says. They also use the new Integrated Processor V1 found on the new WH-1000XM5 headphones to ensure high sound quality, reduce distortion and augment noise cancellation. They support high-resolution listening via Sony's LDAC codec and DSEE Extreme upscaling. 

The ANC isn't as powerful as that found on the WF-1000XM4, but it can still reduce background clamor. It also has a transparency mode so you can hear what's going on around you and it can adjust that based on your activity or location. Meanwhile, a new feature called Auto Play can automatically play or resume audio based on your activity when you put the earbuds in or complete a call — letting you have a select playlist when you go for a walk, for instance. 

In other words, they're ideal wireless earphones for everyday use and can adapt to a wide variety of activities. Considering they just launched last month, though, the deal may not last long. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple’s next update to its iPhone operating system might just help you avoid the CAPTCHA anti-bot systems that stand between you and some web sign-ins. Apple teased a Private Access Token system in iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura that skips CAPTCHAs altogether for some apps and websites. Enable an Automatic Verification feature and supporting sites will use iCloud to verify both your Apple ID and your device, presenting a token that proves you're trustworthy.

Apparently, owning an iOS device (and Apple ID) may be enough to prove you’re a sentient, possibly lazy, being.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Razer's Kishi gamepad for iOS is cheaper than ever right now

• Samsung's ViewFinity S8 monitors are a more affordable option for content creators

• New Philips Hue smart lights include its first portable rechargeable smart lamp

• Meta's latest VR headset prototypes could help it pass the 'Visual Turing test

Someone built their own inch-thick PS5 Slim

And its cooling system is even better than the original's.

DIY Perks

While we all wait for a slimmer PS5 from Sony, YouTuber DIY Perks already built one for himself. He took apart a standard PlayStation 5 and replaced everything he could to get rid of in the console's bulk. He substituted components with similar parts and his own homemade creations and built his own water-cooling system, which he put in a separate case with the power source.

Continue reading.

Where were the AAA games at Summer Game Fest?

And who needs them anyway?

The pandemic slowed or paused the development on a generation of games, and studios of all sizes are being absorbed by the biggest names in the room. With all this going on, there aren’t a lot of huge games coming out in the second half of 2022.

There won’t be many AAA blockbusters out of Microsoft or Sony and, whether we like it or not, these studios set the pace of the industry. What makes it worse is Microsoft and Sony have announced and then abandoned multiple huge projects over the past few years. Jessica Conditt lays out how this year’s big games event, in lieu of E3, didn’t really deliver the blockbuster games we usually expect.

Continue reading.

WhatsApp now lets you mute and message individual users during group calls

The app will also alert you when someone joins a call.

You can now both mute and message specific people in your group calls on WhatsApp. The former should be particularly helpful when someone might not be aware everyone else can hear what’s going on in the background of their home or office. The company has also added a banner to notify you when someone joins a group call.

Continue reading.

Canada is banning the sale, production and import of some single-use plastics

The ban targets grocery bags, takeout containers and stir sticks.

Reuters

Canada is banning companies from producing and importing a handful of single-use plastics by the end of the year. Banned items will include plastic shopping bags, takeout containers and six-pack rings for holding cans and bottles together. Over the next ten years, the Canadian government estimates the new regulation will cut approximately 1.3 million tonnes of plastic waste.

Continue reading.