Bytes: What’s new in tech

NSA says tech firms were in the loop

What did the tech companies know, and when did they know it? asked Alexis Kleinman in HuffingtonPost.com. When leaked documents revealed that the National Security Agency had tapped into tech firms’ user data under a surveillance operation called “PRISM,” companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google said they had no knowledge of the program. “But now, the NSA’s top lawyer says that just isn’t true.” At a congressional hearing last week, NSA general counsel Rajesh De told lawmakers that tech companies had to be aware of the NSA’s data collection efforts because “they would have received legal process” such as warrants or subpoenas “in order to assist the government.”

Virtual reality coming to PlayStation

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sony is “getting into the virtual reality game,” said Chris Kohler in Wired.com. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, the gaming giant unveiled a prototype for its latest offering, a VR headset for the PlayStation 4 called Project Morpheus. While Sony said Morpheus isn’t quite ready for prime time, the device is “about what you’d expect; a head-mounted virtual reality display” that uses a camera to record a player’s motions and insert them into the game. The device will also integrate with existing peripherals, such as the Play-Station Move and DualShock controllers, to give gamers “an all-in-one gaming setup.”

Ditching dual monitors

Are two screens really better than one? asked Farhad Manjoo in The New York Times. Techies have long maintained “that getting an extra monitor or two for your personal computer is an especially effective way to increase personal productivity.” But despite studies backing up that claim, it’s possible we’ve all been duped. “What if more monitors actually detract from, rather than improve, how you work?” Some researchers now believe that while additional screens may “increase productivity in certain situations,” using them may come at a cost. “By displaying a stream of digital splendors, constantly vying for your attention,” dual monitors can easily distract users. If your dual-monitor setup is inundating you with too much information, try downgrading to just one. Old school as that may seem, a single display could encourage users to resist wasting time, leading to more productivity by helping them focus on the task at hand.