Recommended Computing Reads This Week

A roundup of the best stories on computing from other sites, collected by Tom Simonite, MIT Technology Review’s San Francisco bureau chief.

Tom Simonitearchive page

October 6, 2015

Top EU Court Rules Data Sharing Pact with U.S. Invalid
American companies will no longer be able to move customer data back to the U.S. from the European Union without worrying about local data protection laws. The ruling comes from the EU’s top court, on a case launched by activists concerned about the U.S. National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.

The Cost of Mobile Ads on 50 Websites
Testing new ad blockers available for the iPhone shows that more than half the data consumed by mobile browsing is from ads and related code, not webpage content. Using a blocker can significantly speed up page load times.

Internet Access Expands in Cuba for Those Who Can Afford It
Dozens of pay-as-you go Wi-Fi hotspots were installed in Cuba this summer, extending Internet access to people other than tourists and government workers for the first time. But at $2 an hour, the new connections remain out of reach for most Cubans.

Microsoft Demos “Project X-Ray” Mixed Reality Game
Microsoft showed off how its Hololens augmented reality headset can let you see robots crawl out of the walls, and shoot them with a gun mounted on your arm that only you can see. The demonstration shows off Microsoft’s technology for tracking the space around you so virtual objects can integrate into it.