LinkedIn, the social The network that was ostensibly about work now has a space where only games are played. The company launched LinkedIn Games this week after testing the gaming waters earlier this year. The new puzzle and logic games are free, straightforward and just a bit of a rip-off The New York Times‘ very popular game offerings.
In a blog post attributed to LinkedIn Vice President Daniel Roth, the company said the goal of the games is to give users a short mental break on the platform. (And of course, the unspoken part: games keep people on the platform longer and drive engagement.)
There are currently three games available. Pinpoint feels like playing a single row The New York Times’ Connection games. Crossclimb is a Wordle-like matching game where you answer clues to solve a larger puzzle. “Queens” is a mix of chess and Sudoku that annoyed me so much that I felt spitefully compelled to finish it no matter what. (This is why I submitted this story to my editor late. It’s pretty good.)
How The New York Times‘ games, LinkedIn games can only be played once per day. Users can share their results directly on the platform in case anyone wants to make posting on LinkedIn even more competitive.
Here’s some more consumer tech news this week.
Face plant
Surprise, surprise, Razer’s not-so-futuristic glowing face mask is actually bad. Razer is known for using colorful RGB lighting in almost all of its products, although the flashy display design on the Zephyr face mask proved a bit disappointing. Worse still, the company claimed the mask had the same filtering properties as an N95 mask, capable of filtering out both harmful particles and viruses.
It turns out that this ability was never officially tested. Now the Federal Trade Commission has ordered the company to pay for these claims about the mask’s performance and forced the company to refund every customer who bought a mask – to the tune of over $1 million. ($1,071,254.33 to be exact.)
The company first sold its $99 device in October 2021, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Zephyr took advantage of the fear of infection that still prevailed among many people. Razer claimed the mask could filter out particles, including Covid-carrying particles, as well as any standard N95 mask. But as the FTC says, the company never submitted it for certification to NIOSH, the U.S. safety agency that certifies all N95 standards. Now the company has to pay for this mistake.
Peloton problems
Peloton, the connected exercise equipment company that became a huge hit among wealthy people confined to their homes during the pandemic, has had its fair share of problems in recent years. Peloton first ran into financial trouble in 2021 as demand for its products waned and its stock price collapsed. Now the company has found itself in an even more difficult situation.
Within days, Peloton announced the resignation of its CEO Barry McCarthy and said it would lay off 15 percent of its workforce — nearly 400 employees. This isn’t a great look for a company that once seemed to want to revolutionize the home exercise equipment industry.
Hybrid theory
It used to be that when someone said “hybrid,” they thought of the Toyota Prius, for better or worse. Hybrids have always been stubby, strange little vehicles that perhaps didn’t fit the typical idea of a “cool car.” At least that’s how the category was defined before a new wave of hybrid vehicles hit the market. Now hybrids are becoming cool; there’s even a souped-up Lamborghini plug-in hybrid. These gas-electric machines are also more popular than ever in the U.S., thanks to some government mandates that are pushing automakers to move toward a zero-emissions future.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED contributor Aarian Marshall joins the show to talk about how hybrids are taking over the American vehicle market.