Insure yourself against online trolls, watch viral videos before they go viral, play online without PlayStation Plus, listen to the second season of Serial, and watch Star Wars Battlefront in 4K.
how tight would it be if donald is trolling us silly americans super hard? ????
— jesse ® (@jesserutherford) December 9, 2015
You can now take out a troll insurance policy, designed to help those who are cyber-bullied or harassed online. British insurer Chubb Insurance is offering the policy to its client in the UK, with policy holders able to claim up to £50,000 ($75,000) in the aftermath of serious abuse.
That money can be spent on professional counselling services, relocating as a result of online harassment, and/or paying for time spent off work. Chubb Insurance considers cyber-bullying to be “three or more acts by the same person or group to harass, threaten or intimidate a customer.”
Tara Parchment of Chubb Insurance said:
“We see insurance as helping our clients get back to how they were before the incident occurred – whether it’s an incident that affects their home or as a person. So we still help to restore homes, cars and belongings that have suffered physical harm or damage, but increasingly it’s about the person and how they cope.”
While cyber-bullying is clearly a serious problem, the number of people affected by it to the point they would need to take out an insurance policy is extremely low. After all, Chubb Insurance isn’t going to pay out over a single slightly rude tweet. Which makes us wonder if this isn’t an epic piece of trolling in and of itself. Oh, the irony.
So @YouTube now has a Trending videos tab https://t.co/EKZQ2KAmDl and SHOCKER! it isn't full of gaming/Minecraft channels :O
— Dave Bagnall (@DaveChaos) December 9, 2015
YouTube has added a Trending tab to its website, and Android and iOS apps. This is designed to showcase viral videos before they become viral, or, as YouTube puts it, “as they take off.” If used on a daily basis this could help you be the first to share future viral videos with your friends and family.
It’s surprisingly difficult to determine which videos are likely to go viral, and which are destined to be stuck garnering just a handful of views. However, YouTube thinks it has figured it all out, and being included on the Trending tab is only going to increase the odds of a video going viral.
Perhaps that’s the key behind this whole thing. YouTube suggests the new Trending tab is “the best way to catch the videos, creators, and trends that people watch, share, and talk about each and every day.” So, what’s to stop YouTube promoting the videos, creators, and trends it deems worthy above those it cares less about?
PlayStation 4 owners who haven’t yet subscribed to PlayStation Plus can sample the pleasures of online gaming for free this weekend. From today (December 11) through to the end of Sunday (December 13), all PS4 players can enjoy the online multiplayer modes of their favorite games.
In previous generations Sony offered online gaming for free, but that all changed with the PS4. However, as a PlayStation Plus subscription also entitles you to free games every month, most people are happy to pay. This weekend is for those holdouts, who are likely to discover just what they’re missing out on.
Serial, the podcast that captured everyone’s imagination last year, is back with a second season. Taking place over 12 episodes, season 1 investigated the death of Hae Min Lee. Season 2 investigates the disappearance of Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier who was held in captivity for five years by the Taliban.
The first season of Serial has been downloaded an astonishing 68 million times to date, and the second season is likely to prove to be just as popular. This popularity means that the Serial website is struggling to keep up the demand, so you may need to keep trying in order to download the first episode. In the meantime, feel free to check out our pick of the best podcasts of 2015.
And finally, while Star Wars Battlefront has garnered mixed reviews due to its lack of size and variety, everybody agrees that it’s visually stunning. And yet it turns out it’s possible to make Star Wars Battlefront look even more impressive, with a single mod and a powerful gaming PC.
The video embedded above shows Battlefront running at a silky smooth 60 frames-per-second in 4K resolution after being treated with SweetFX. This mod adds a host of effects to the visuals of the game, making it look better than the Star Wars movies, and possibly better than real life. [H/T Reddit]
Would you ever buy troll insurance? Are you a regular viewer of viral videos? Will you be playing games online this weekend? Are you excited at the return of Serial? What’s the best looking video game you have ever played?
Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.
Image Credits: Erica Nicol via Flickr
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