Tech News Digest Week 23: Bitcoin is now a legal currency

Hello and Welcome to tech news from Week 23 of 2021.

Boring Loop Opens to Public

Elon Musk's Boring Loop is finally transporting passengers and is about to get its first real-world test as its 4-mile, $52.5 million tunnel loop opened to the public on June 8 underneath the huge Las Vegas Convention Center campus. The proposed Loop’s sample fares indicate distance-based rather than single-ride rates, ranging from $5 to $10—not quite the $1 rides Musk touted for a Los Angeles tunnel in 2018. While less than Uber and Lyft, it’s still higher per mile than Las Vegas buses.

World Wide Developer Conference 2021

Apple released a series of updates to iOS, iPadOS, MacOS and WatchOS with very significant updates coming to FaceTime, Photos and product wise integration with the ability to use a single keyboard and mouse or trackpad across your Mac and iPad. I’ve covered the updates in a separate article.

(Read detailed report | Read shorter report)

Crossplay on Overwatch

Overwatch is getting cross-platform play on PC and console. Blizzard Entertainment launched Overwatch in 2016 and it is releasing a cross-play beta that will let PC and console gamers play in matches together. Blizzard says that in order to jump into the cross-play beta, you’ll need to make a Battle.net account. Additionally, if you get a Battle.net account and log into Overwatch by the end of 2021, you’ll receive a “golden” loot box, which guarantees a legendary-tier in-game item.

Bitcoin a Legal Currency

El Salvador has passed a resolution to make Bitcoin a legal currency, which makes it the first country to do so. According to the law, citizens will be able to use Bitcoin to do everything from paying taxes and paying off debts to buying goods and services. While Bitcoin will become an official currency for El Salvador in just under three months, it won’t be the only currency — the US dollar, which was previously the country’s only currency, will be sticking around as an option and also as the reference currency for accounting purposes.