The Morning After: iOS 16 might let you skip those anti-bot login tests

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

Someone built their own inch-thick PS5 Slim

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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