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Showing posts from August, 2018

Pro-life activist says she's being censored online

Pro-life activist says she's being censored online Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, shares her story. via https://ift.tt/2Ppbpro

Big Tech tyranny: Should the government intervene?

Big Tech tyranny: Should the government intervene? European regulators fined Google billions of dollars after they accused the company of abusing its power and engaging in anticompetitive practices. U.S. regulators, meanwhile, are nowhere to be found. Reaction from Luther Lowe, senior vice president of public policy for Yelp. via https://ift.tt/2wwTaIE

California Lawmakers Pass Nation’s Toughest Net Neutrality Law

By CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2N8Mw5A

Skullcandy aims upscale with two new headphones

Skullcandy has always been an odd brand. Aimed at a younger, hipper audience, the headphones always featured wacky graphics and a lower price point. Now, facing competition from multiple players, they’ve decided to step up their game in terms of quality and style. Their two new models, the noise-cancelling Venue and the bass-heavy Crusher 360 , are designed to hit the Bose/B&O/Sony quality point while still maintaining a bit of Beats styling. The Venue are the most interesting of the pair. They are true over-ear noise-cancelling headphones that cost a mere $179 — more than $100 less than Bose’s best offerings. The Venue’s noise cancellation was excellent, as was the sound quality. The headphones were solidly built and last for two five-hour flights, a first for me when it comes to wireless or wired noise-cancelling headphones. Usually in almost every model I’ve tested I’ve had to charge or change the battery after about eight hours. This is a vast improvement. As for audio qual...

India Pushes Back Against Tech ‘Colonization’ by Internet Giants

By VINDU GOEL from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2orsqpf

Step aside hip hop, ballroom. Here comes Fortnite

Step aside hip hop, ballroom. Here comes Fortnite A British fitness studio is teaching people how to dance like their favorite Fortnite avatars. via https://ift.tt/2C6ORtG

The Hot College Gig: Online Brand Promoter

By CLAIRE BALLENTINE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2wxkirN

Viral debate: Is this a door or a beach?

Viral debate: Is this a door or a beach? Internet users are getting flashbacks of Laurel vs. Yanny and #TheDress debate as another viral meme makes the rounds online. It’s a picture of various shades of blue and a sliver of a white, grainy-looking color, which has led to the debate: “Is this a door or a beach?" via https://ift.tt/2PUQbT5

Twitter suspends account that threatened Meghan McCain with sick memorial service image

Twitter suspends account that threatened Meghan McCain with sick memorial service image Twitter has suspended an account that posted a sick image threatening Meghan McCain during ongoing memorial services for her late father Sen. John McCain. via https://ift.tt/2PVxnDt

Google's secret deal with Mastercard tracks offline spending, report says

Google's secret deal with Mastercard tracks offline spending, report says Google is an advertising company first and foremost. via https://ift.tt/2N3Hwzc

Beach or door? Viral meme stumps the internet

Beach or door? Viral meme stumps the internet Internet users are getting flashbacks of the Laurel vs. Yanny and #TheDress debates as another viral meme makes the rounds online. via https://ift.tt/2NE2cL5

Apple’s new iOS 12 beta fixes the annoying ‘please update’ bug

iOS 12 beta testers have been plagued with a frustrating bug that continually pops up messages alerting them that a new iOS update is available when, in fact, it’s not. Apple has now fixed this bug, which is patched in the latest iOS 12 betas rolling out now, we understand. The bug had first made headlines on Thursday, when a number of iOS 12 beta testers – including developers and those on the public beta program – began to complain on social media about the problem. All users were seeing a pop-up message that read, “A new iOS version is now available. Please update from the iOS 12 beta.”   Users could close this window with a tap, but the same pop-up would reappear at regular intervals. There was nothing to be done about it, because the message itself was wrong – there was no new beta available for download at the time. A new iOS update is now available. Please update from the iOS 12 beta. A new iOS update is now available. Please update from the iOS 12 beta. A new ...

Grieving dad slammed Facebook after 'sick sadist' trolled him about his dead daughter

Grieving dad slammed Facebook after 'sick sadist' trolled him about his dead daughter A grief stricken British father lashed out at Facebook after a ‘sick sadist’ admitted that he posted derogatory material about his dead young daughter. via https://ift.tt/2C39hUa

Apple will require all apps to have a privacy policy as of October 3

Apple is cracking down on apps that don’t communicate to users how their personal data is used, secured or shared. In an announcement posted to developers through the App Store Connect portal, Apple says that all apps, including those still in testing, will be required to have a privacy policy as of October 3, 2018. Allowing apps without privacy policies is something of an obvious hole that Apple should have already plugged, given its generally protective nature over user data. But the change is even more critical now that Europe’s GDPR regulations have gone into effect. Though the app makers themselves would be ultimately responsible for their customers’ data, Apple, as the platform where those apps are hosted, has some responsibility here, too. Platforms today are being held accountable for the behavior of their apps, and the data misuse that may occur as a result of their own policies around those apps. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, was dragged before the U.S. Senat...

Apple Watch Gay Pride face displaying rainbow flag disabled in Russia, developer alleges

Apple Watch Gay Pride face displaying rainbow flag disabled in Russia, developer alleges The Apple Watch Gay Pride face displaying the rainbow flag has purportedly been “hardcoded” by the tech giant not to show up in Russia, according to a software developer who has examined the code. via https://ift.tt/2N3Bj6j

The malware that infected the world reinvents itself

The malware that infected the world reinvents itself The RIG Exploit kit is back and it’s up to no good again. via https://ift.tt/2LIhug8

The Week in Tech: Claims of Censorship Come Through Loud and Clear

By KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Nysq1H

Five questions lawmakers should ask social media executives

Five questions lawmakers should ask social media executives Facebook and Twitter face Capitol Hill grilling on foreign meddling and policing content. via https://ift.tt/2PSUQF9

Apple to unveil new iPhones in coming weeks

Apple to unveil new iPhones in coming weeks Apple will unveil a new batch of iPhones in less than two weeks. via https://ift.tt/2wygm9w

Scientists make a touch tablet that rolls and scrolls

Research scientists at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab have built a prototype touchscreen device that’s neither smartphone nor tablet but kind of both — and more besides. The device, which they’ve christened the MagicScroll , is inspired by ancient (papyrus/paper/parchment) scrolls so it takes a rolled-up, cylindrical form factor — enabled by a flexible 7.5inch touchscreen housed in the casing. This novel form factor, which they made using 3D printing, means the device can be used like an erstwhile rolodex (remember those?!) for flipping through on-screen contacts quickly by turning a physical rotary wheel built into the edge of the device. (They’ve actually added one on each end.) Then, when more information or a deeper dive is required, the user is able to pop the screen out of the casing to expand the visible display real estate. The flexible screen on the prototype has a resolution of 2K. So more mid-tier mobile phone of yore than crisp iPhone Retina display at this nascent...

Too Many Chinese Children Need Glasses. Beijing Blames Video Games.

By RAYMOND ZHONG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2onQXLX

Here’s the Conversation We Really Need to Have About Bias at Google

By FARHAD MANJOO from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2C2xYQI

San Francisco Grants 2 Scooter Permits (but Not to the Early Disrupters)

By ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2oqdbx0

Weebly brings more e-commerce features to mobile

Weebly is part of Square now , but it continues to update as a standalone product. This week, for example, the company announced a number of new e-commerce features for the Weebly mobile app. Those features include the ability to ship and print labels, to respond to customer questions (via Facebook Messenger, which can be embedded on Weebly sites), to approve customer reviews, to create branded coupon codes and to edit every aspect of your store, including product listing and pricing — all from the app. Much of this functionality already existed on deskto, so the announcement is about moving these capabilities onto smartphones. In a blog post , the company outlined a vision for the mobile phone to become “the new back office.” Weebly CEO David Rusenko told me that as his team has been adding more features for merchants, he wants people to think of Weebly “increasingly as an e-commerce platform,” not just a simple website builder. And support for mobile was an important part of th...

Huge leak shows off the new iPhone XS

Get ready for a leaked look at the new iPhone XS. 9to5Mac has gotten its hands on an image of Apple’s next generation of iPhone hardware, and the future looks pretty swanky. The leaked image showcases the new sizing of Apple’s soon-to-be-unveiled flagship bezel-less devices, which likely will have 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch screens, respectively. The phones will be called the iPhone XS, according to the report. The pictured devices represent the higher-end OLED screen models, not the cheaper rumored notch LCD iPhone. The device will feature a new gold color shell. The iPhone X is currently available in space gray and silver. Image credit: 9to5mac A picture is worth a thousand words, but there are still a lot of details we’re waiting on here obviously. Apple is expected to show off the new phone hardware as well as a new version of the Apple Watch at a hardware event on September 12. from Mobile – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2MGfI4o

How does Google rank its news search results?

How does Google rank its news search results? How the Google search retrieves results is a closely guarded trade secret, but a few things are known about the mysterious algorithm. via https://ift.tt/2PmJ9p1

The Google Assistant is now bilingual 

The Google Assistant just got more useful for multilingual families. Starting today , you’ll be able to set up two languages in the Google Home app and the Assistant on your phone and Google Home will then happily react to your commands in both English and Spanish, for example. Today’s announcement doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, given that Google announced at its I/O developer conference earlier this year that it was working on this feature. It’s nice to see that this year, Google is rolling out its I/O announcements well before next year’s event. That hasn’t always been the case in the past. Currently, the Assistant is only bilingual and it still has a few languages to learn. But for the time being, you’ll be able to set up any language pair that includes English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. More pairs are coming in the future and Google also says it is working on trilingual support, too. Google tells me this feature will work with all Assistant surfaces ...

Facebook deletes post of naked Holocaust victims

Facebook deletes post of naked Holocaust victims Facebook sparked controversy after they deleted a post by the Anne Frank Center of Mutual Respect. The post showed an image of naked, emaciated children who were starved at the hands of the Nazi regime. via https://ift.tt/2PkeMQg

Facebook 'sorry' after removing Holocaust picture of naked starving children posted by Anne Frank Center

Facebook 'sorry' after removing Holocaust picture of naked starving children posted by Anne Frank Center Facebook apologized after it removed a post from the Anne Frank Center that was seeking to raise awareness of the Holocaust and depicted children who had been stripped naked and starved by the Nazis. via https://ift.tt/2C3HDGM

Hero cave diver attacked by Elon Musk as 'pedo guy' is prepping libel suit

Hero cave diver attacked by Elon Musk as 'pedo guy' is prepping libel suit A British diver who was crucial to the rescue operation that saved 12 children trapped in a Thailand cave is preparing a libel claim against Elon Musk after the tech executive labeled him a ‘pedo’ in July. via https://ift.tt/2wqRtgI

Snapchat slammed as 'racist' for showing 'Jewtropolis' as a location

Snapchat slammed as 'racist' for showing 'Jewtropolis' as a location Snapchat has apologized for a major gaffe that labelled New York City "Jewtropolis" on Snap Maps, leading users to blast it as "racist". via https://ift.tt/2wythrZ

Cosmic zombies: Black holes can reanimate dead stars

Cosmic zombies: Black holes can reanimate dead stars Close encounters with medium-size black holes can reanimate dead stars, if only momentarily, a new study suggests. via https://ift.tt/2NAZnuy

Every Generation Gets the Beach Villain It Deserves

By NELLIE BOWLES from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2wpD58y