Strong comeback of the German economy in the summer The German economy is stronger after the crash in the Corona crisis got going than initially assumed. The gross domestic product rose in the period from July to September by 8.5 percent compared to the second quarter, announced the Federal Statistical Office. According to preliminary data, the authority had assumed an increase of 8.2 percent. At the end of the year, however, the recovery is likely to pause due to the partial lockdown in Germany and restrictions in many other European countries in view of the increasing number of infections.

Artists are facing storm free content snippets A group of 576 artists appeals to politics not to play off copyright against them. Above all, the proposed “minor barrier” in the draft of the Federal Ministry of Justice for copyright reform, with which snippets of content such as memes in social media should become license-free and free of charge, must be dropped, demand the authors. “The Corona crisis hit us hard,” write the artists. It is all the more painful that they still do not receive adequate remuneration for their works in the only unrestricted market of online platforms.

Our weekday news podcast delivers the most important news of the day compressed into 2 minutes. Anyone who uses voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant can also hear or see the news there. Simply activate the skill on Alexa or say to the Google Assistant: “Play heise top”.

WireGuard for Windows continues to take shape Shortly after each other, the WireGuard project released Windows versions 0.2 and 0.3 of its VPN software. An important innovation is a restricted view for regular users: With the Network Configuration Operator function, the project is aimed particularly at corporate users whose system administrators use WireGuard but do not want to give their users administrator rights. In addition, WireGuard for Windows can now be used on ARM and ARM 64 systems. With further changes and bug fixes, WireGuard should also run faster and more stable.

Snapchat starts TikTok for Snaps Snapchat is rolling out its new Spotlight function for Android and iOS with immediate effect. For Snapchat users, a new menu item in the form of a play button appears at the bottom right with which the videos can be played. To create a spotlight snap, select “Spotlight” on the send screen and add a hashtag if you wish. Spotlight is very reminiscent of TikTok or Reels from Instagram. There will be no public comment function for spotlight snaps – but you can share and like them with friends.

(igr)