# Breanna Olson Dances Again Through Technology
A dancer living with motor neurone disease has performed on stage using a digital avatar controlled by her brainwaves, allowing her to express herself and connect with audiences the way she did before her illness. For someone facing the loss of physical abilities, this kind of technology offers a powerful way to keep doing the things that matter most—performing, creating, and sharing joy with others.
You can look into how brain-computer interfaces are developing if you're interested in assistive tech, though these systems remain specialized and not yet widely available for home use.
A father discovered his teenage daughter's Discord account had been hacked when a scammer started demanding banking information, but the real problem was that his daughter had lied about her age to join in the first place—something Discord's safety systems didn't catch. When Frey tried to get help from Discord's support team, he found himself in a frustrating loop because the account was technically registered to someone over 18, making it harder to prove he was the parent of the real user and get the problem fixed quickly.
# Mayor warns of London 'disinformation blizzard'
London's mayor says false stories are being deliberately spread to make the city look like it's falling apart, when in fact it remains vibrant and successful. As someone who reads news online or on social media, it's worth being aware that negative claims about familiar places can sometimes be exaggerated or completely made up to manipulate public opinion. You can help by checking major news sources before sharing worrying stories about your city, and asking yourself whether the claim sounds too dramatic to be true.
X (formerly Twitter) has restored the ability to send voice messages in its direct messaging and group chat features after briefly removing it during a recent update. This is helpful if you prefer speaking your thoughts rather than typing out long messages, especially when you're multitasking or your hands are busy. Worth knowing: if you use X's messaging feature regularly, look for the microphone icon in your chat box to send quick voice notes instead of text.
Spotify has added a simple toggle that lets you choose whether you want to see music videos and other video content in the app, or stick to just listening to audio. If you prefer a cleaner, faster experience without videos cluttering your screen, you can now turn them off entirely with one click.
Amazon is retiring very old Kindle e-readers—those made before 2013—so their owners won't be able to download new books anymore, though they can still read what's already on the devices. If you own one of these older Kindles, you'll need to upgrade to a newer model if you want to keep buying and reading new titles, which is frustrating for people who've relied on these devices for over a decade.
Poke is a new AI tool that lets you automate everyday tasks—like scheduling reminders or organizing information—simply by texting it what you need, without downloading apps or learning complicated steps. For someone in your age group, it could save time on repetitive chores and make technology feel less intimidating since you're just having a conversation rather than navigating menus.
Amazon is shutting down its service for Kindle e-readers made in 2012 and earlier, which means those older devices won't be able to download new books anymore. If you own one of these older Kindles, you'll still be able to read books already on the device, but you won't be able to add anything new—worth knowing if you're thinking about upgrading or have an old Kindle sitting around at home.
A criminal group has been caught selling spying services to snoop on people's phones and steal their Apple iCloud passwords through fake login pages. You can protect yourself by being cautious when clicking links in unexpected emails or texts, and by enabling two-factor authentication on your Apple account—a second verification step that makes it much harder for thieves to break in.
X (formerly Twitter) is adding two new AI features: automatic translation so you can read posts in other languages, and photo editing tools powered by their AI system called Grok. These features aim to make the platform more useful by breaking down language barriers and letting people touch up their pictures without needing separate apps. Worth knowing: if you use X regularly, you may start seeing these tools appear in your feed over the coming weeks, so you'll want to try them out to see if they help you connect with people worldwide or improve your shared photos.
Russian hackers have found a way to break into the internet routers that millions of people use at home, giving them access to passwords, personal information, and even other devices connected to your Wi-Fi network. Worth knowing: hackers can quietly redirect you to fake websites designed to steal your login details, so it's worth occasionally checking that websites look genuine before entering sensitive information, and keeping an eye out for unusual activity on your devices.
Hackers working for Russia's military have taken control of tens of thousands of home and office routers worldwide—mostly made by MikroTik and TP-Link—and are using them to trick people into visiting fake websites designed to steal passwords and login information for spying purposes. This matters because if your router gets hacked this way, criminals could secretly monitor your online activity, intercept your emails, or steal financial information without you ever knowing it happened.
Worth knowing: Check your router's brand and model number (usually on a sticker on the device itself), and if you own a MikroTik or TP-Link router, visit the manufacturer's website to see if there's a security update available—keeping your router's software current is one of the best protections against these kinds of attacks.
