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Communication and Technology news
What natural language pros are saying about Google’s Duplex
2018-06-28

We may now be having the first of many public conversations about how AIs should talk to humans. Google’s much-hyped reservation-setting AI, Duplex, is a one-trick pony with nowhere near the conversational versatility we’ll see in the artificial general intelligence (AGI) of the future. But the natural...

Multiple people shot at Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis
2018-06-28

There was a reported shooter in the Maryland newspaper’s office. The Capital Gazette newspaper out of Annapolis, Maryland, is dealing with an active shooter situation. Both the Anne Arundel police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have confirmed this incident on Twitter.Read...

CAA database of TV writers of color addresses dearth of diversity
2018-06-28

The talent agency announced this long-overdue initiative at its second annual Amplify conference. A few years ago, a group of writers and editors, including Durga Chew-Bose and Jazmine Hughes, started the Twitter account Writers of Color. It’s an online resource, complete with a list, that spotlights people of...

You can now put music on Instagram Stories
2018-06-28

Instagram Stories – everyone’s favorite Snapchat rip-off – has launched a feature that lets you put music over your visual creations. We reported on this potentially happening around two months ago, but it’s set to roll-out to some users shortly. Over 400m people use Stories every day, so there’s little...

On the run with Rich Greenfield, the straw that stirs Media Twitter
2018-06-28

The hashtagging, meme-sharing, emoji-writing analyst is the scourge of titans like Disney and the champion of New Media. What’s in it for him? Last Thursday, media analyst Rich Greenfield could have spent the first day of summer almost anywhere.Read Full Story

Of course Jack Dorsey published Notes screenshots to Twitter
2018-06-28

In an attempt at transparency, Dorsey takes a lazy cue from sheepish celebrities. What is the future of Twitter, you may ask? And the answer is: I don’t know! The social network has been under fire for what seems like ever. First, the platform helped the rise of trolls during the GamerGate saga. From there,...

Hey Facebook users, the makers of Adblock Plus want your screenshots to train its AI
2018-06-28

The company’s bot is learning what Facebook ads look like so it can block them, even as Facebook tweaks its code. The makers of Adblock Plus want you to submit screenshots of the ads in your Facebook feed so a new artificial intelligence system called Sentinel can learn to recognize them.Read Full Story

Soon, You Can Build Apps On The Billion-Dollar AR Platform Behind Pokemon Go
2018-06-28

Pokemon Go creator Niantic wants to follow in the footsteps of Amazon and Google to build a lucrative business on top of the platform that powered its own product. Developers who watched with envy as Pokemon Go became the fastest app in history to earn $1 billion in revenue could soon build their own applications on...

To catch up with Amazon, Google should just give away Home Minis to every American household, says analyst
2018-06-28

For Google to catch up to Amazon, the company should just give away Google Home Minis “to every US (arguably global) household.” By 2022, 70% of American homes are expected to have smart speakers, dominated by Amazon Echos, says Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak in a new research report on Alphabet....

Instagram’s new video feature is helping it increase user engagement
2018-06-28

Early numbers indicate that Instagram’s engagement time is up. Earlier this month, Instagram announced a new major feature called IGTV. It is essentially a channel for popular Instagram creators to stream longer content to their millions of followers. It is quite obviously a way for Instagram–and by...

This top App Store and Google Play Store app makes it easy to learn a new language
2018-06-28

Mondly sucks out the pain of learning a new language — and replaces it with an engaging, tech-savvy interface that turns understanding a foreign tongue into a fun, vibrant process. You can discover the pleasures of language learning with Mondly with this TNW Deals offer, slashing over 90 percent off the price down...

Google wanted to buy GitHub too
2018-06-28

“I really hope Microsoft can keep them totally neutral.” Microsoft scooped up the popular code repository earlier this month for $7.5 billion. But they weren’t the only software giant interested in GitHub. Speaking at a Fortune magazine event yesterday, Google’s head of cloud, Diane...

Here’s how Google will help you avoid Independence Day traffic
2018-06-28

Google is helping American holiday-goers in major cities avoid the heavy traffic jams by predicting the times when most cars will be out on the road. It’s set up a handy site where you can check the optimal time to drive into each city for your celebratory freedom fireworks. To use the site, select your nearest...

Amazon wants its delivery network to include hundreds of startups
2018-06-28

Helping entrepreneurs start small delivery companies will let Amazon further ramp up its ecommerce engine–and might be the start of something even bigger. In my neighborhood, at least, a fair percentage of Amazon deliveries are made by contractors who participate in the company’s Uber-esque Flex program....

Instagram launches a Lite app for low-end Android devices
2018-06-28

Instagram has released a lightweight version of its Android app that should be easier to install and browse on devices short on storage space and on spotty connections. TechCrunch notes that the new app, which weighs in at just 573KB, is 1/55th the size of the original app at 33MB. Naturally, you’ll find it a little...

Oculus Rift users will now have to get Windows 10 to access the best it offers
2018-06-27

The high-end VR system will still work with Windows 7 or 8.1, but it will likely not support many new apps and features. Facebook-owned Oculus says owners or would-be buyers of its high-end virtual reality system, the Rift, will need to upgrade to Windows 10 if they want to take advantage of the best new features and...

Facebook is testing a keyword snooze button
2018-06-27

Facebook today introduced a feature that allows users to snooze certain keywords. When you don’t want to see posts about a current event, or a show, or even just something you don’t want to look at for a while, you can simply snooze posts which contain words related to that topic. First spotted by Chris Messina...

After taking in $25M, Facebook fundraisers get more ways to raise cash for causes
2018-06-27

People have donated $25 million to immigration advocacy groups through Facebook. Facebook proved its fundraising power when appalled citizens donated over $20 million in 11 days to RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) in the hopes of reuniting migrant children ripped from their...

Gravy is the HQ Trivia of shopping, and it’s pretty addictive
2018-06-27

Does this app gamify shopping or shopify gaming? Either way, it’s another inventive, engaging application of live video. Putting live video streaming in the hands of anyone with a smartphone, like Periscope did, ushered in a new era for mobile apps. But it also quickly proved that most live video is inherently...

The dangerous reason why Instagram is overrun with “sunglass selfies” right now
2018-06-27

Most people are not aware of how UV rays impact our eyes. If you’ve noticed the hashtag #SunglassSelfie online today, it’s because the Vision Council–an advocacy group for the eyewear industry–is trying to draw attention to the dangers of UV rays on our eyes. While we’re aware of...

Black Girls Code has a new lab inside Google’s New York office
2018-06-27

The nonprofit that helps girls from underserved communities break into the tech world has a new office, designed to inspire about the possibilities of coding and computer science. On the third floor of Google’s New York headquarters across from Chelsea Market, a nondescript office is transforming into a tech...

Instagram’s group video chat is now live, and it’s not terrible
2018-06-27

As promised at Facebook’s F8 conference last month, Instagram’s received an update with a group video calling feature. It lets you chat with up to three more pals at the same time; you can minimize the video screens to a thumbnail if you’d like to continue browsing your messages and feed. In my brief test, I...

Google is killing off the DoubleClick branding
2018-06-27

In a large rebranding, Google is doing away with the name of one of its biggest acquisitions. Google is announcing a major rebranding of its marketing products. With this latest change, the tech juggernaut is putting its services into three buckets: Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, and Google Ad Manager. The...

Facebook won’t be beaming internet from giant drones after all
2018-06-27

Mark Zuckerberg’s company is shutting down the Aquila program after two years. Facebook may be a business powerhouse, with its stock having recently settled in well above its pre-Cambridge Analytica high, but that doesn’t mean Mark Zuckerberg’s company is immune to financial realities.Read Full...

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