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Communication and Technology news
Trump has an iPhone dedicated to tweeting, and it poses a security risk
2018-05-22

And he has another iPhone that is solely used for making calls–and he won’t let either out of his sight, which is driving White House security officials mad. That’s because Trump won’t allow either phone to be equipped with sophisticated security features, according to two senior...

Google Photos is adding ‘Favorite’ and ‘Like’ buttons to your pictures
2018-05-22

Google is updating its Photos cloud storage service with a star-shaped button to mark selected pictures as your Favorites. Android Police reports that the feature was first spotted in Photos’ Android app back in August 2017, and that it’s taken the company nearly a year to bring it to life for some reason. It’s...

Microsoft, Intel, and Google disclose another Spectre-like CPU flaw
2018-05-22

2018 started off on a sour note with the discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre chip-level security flaws, which could be exploited to access secure data on computers powered by the world’s most popular processors. Now, there’s another version doing the rounds. Microsoft and Google have jointly disclosed what’s...

Adobe acquires ecommerce CMS Magento for $1.68 billion
2018-05-22

Adobe has agreed to acquire Magento, a popular ecommerce CMS, presently owned by a private equity firm, for $1.68 billion. The deal will close in the third quarter of 2018. The Magento platform has long been regarded as a solid choice for companies who want to build and manage online stores; Bloomberg notes that it...

Shonda Rhimes and Tyra Banks skim TheSkimm—and are now funding it
2018-05-21

The popular email newsletter has now closed its Series C round and tacked on a few notable, albeit atypical, investors. In March, we learned that TheSkimm was raising a cool $12 million, thanks to an investment from Google Ventures. The popular email newsletter has now closed its Series C round and tacked on a few...

Elon Musk reveals new Tesla Model 3 variants with AWD and dual motors
2018-05-21

Two new all wheel drive (AWD) versions of the Tesla Model 3 will go on sale next month. Both models are pricier by far than the current Model 3, but they have an extra motor. And, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Performance edition will gobble up a BMW M3 on the track. Wasn’t Musk, just a few weeks ago,...

Steve Mnuchin hopes the DOJ will take “a serious look” at internet monopolies
2018-05-21

“These issues deserve to be reviewed carefully,” Mnuchin said in a CNBC interview Last night, 60 Minutes aired a segment that aimed to shine a light on antitrust questions raised by Google’s growing marketplace power. In the wake of the story, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was asked...

Here’s a free AI class that’ll prepare you for the robot takeover
2018-05-21

The Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence now offers a free six-part online course, The Elements of AI, available to anyone. I like free stuff: Especially when there’s no catch. Sign up is quick and simple, and there’s no application process. Completion of the course will earn you a LinkedIn certificate and,...

This Twitter bot invents the most heinous flavors of Fanta ever
2018-05-21

Fanta is my favorite soft drink. The original, I mean. I can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet orange nectar. It’s like crack to me — if crack was invented in Nazi Germany and chugged by the Wehrmacht like lager. I’m less keen on the weird not-orange flavors though. Peach Fanta tastes a bit like mouthwash, and...

With iZettle acquisition, PayPal looks to block Square’s overseas ambitions
2018-05-21

PayPal agreed to buy iZettle, known as the “Square of Europe,” for $2.2 billion in cash on Thursday. Well, that was awkward. Last week, PayPal agreed to buy iZettle, known as the “Square of Europe,” for $2.2 billion in cash, making the deal the payments company’s largest acquisition...

Facebook is killing Snapchat with the format it created
2018-05-21

After introducing Stories in 2013, Snapchat’s most prominent feature has really come into its own in the past two years. In 2016, Facebook poked the proverbial bear by making off with Snapchat’s signature feature. Drawing the ire of the internet in the process, it didn’t take long to expand into other...

Amid the cloud giants, small providers find their niche
2018-05-21

Emphasizing individual attention and specialty services, small cloud providers hold their own against tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft. Think of cloud computing, and it’s likely you think first of the services offered by some of the giants of the technology world: Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s...

Roger Ver has found a new use for cryptocurrency: crowd-bribing
2018-05-21

UNICEF may be using cryptocurrencies to crowd-fund children in Bangladesh, but Roger Ver has found a better utility for them. Ver is asking his twitter followers to send Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to a HK stock exchange official in order to get him to promote the cryptocurrency to his nine million Weibo followers. Ver was...

Microsoft buys Semantic Machines to push its AI ambitions forward
2018-05-21

The Redmond, California, company has bought the Berkeley-based Semantic Machines, the company has announced in a blog post. The Redmond, California, company has bought the Berkeley-based Semantic Machines, the company has announced in a blog post. Semantic Machines is an expert in what is known as conversational...

Mark Zuckerberg’s closed-door meeting with EU will now be live-streamed
2018-05-21

The Facebook CEO’s planned meeting with the European Parliament tomorrow to discuss the Cambridge Analytica scandal had been criticized because it was going to take place behind closed doors. The Facebook CEO’s planned meeting with the European Parliament tomorrow to discuss the Cambridge Analytica...

Microsoft just bought an AI startup to improve Cortana’s conversational skills
2018-05-21

Microsoft has agreed to acquire Semantic Machines, a Berkeley, California-based startup that develops conversational AI – systems that help bots speak to humans naturally – in a bid to improve its Cortana voice assistant. That’s a big win for Microsoft, because Semantic Machines’ team includes some serious...

Watch Bishop Michael Curry’s rousing royal wedding sermon
2018-05-19

The Most Reverend Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, delivered an entertaining and frenetic sermon today at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Most Reverend Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, delivered an entertaining and frenetic...

3 reasons why a ‘live personality’ can take your brand from drab to fab
2018-05-19

The concept of “going live” in the business world has been steadily picking up steam for a few years now. The implementation of Facebook Live back in 2016 thrust this practice into the spotlight. Nowadays, creating a live presence, whether it is through things like behind-the-scenes videos, podcasts, Q&A...

Maybe introducing Google Duplex at I/O wasn’t such a hot idea
2018-05-19

The demo was dazzling. But it also inspired questions which Google has not yet shown interest in answering. At Google’s I/O keynote last week, the most memorable moment was unquestionably the teaser for Duplex, a dazzling bit of AI and voice technology which the company says will come to its Google Assistant...

Texas Lt. Gov blames school doors for shootings; Twitter disagrees
2018-05-18

“Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped.” America has a major gun problem. No space is safe anymore; not church, not a concert venue, and especially, it seems, not school. While the common denominator in many of these mass shootings is an...

This devastating map shows every school shooting since 1999—and it will just keep updating
2018-05-18

Esri, a spatial analytics company, has mapped out school shootings since Columbine using the Washington Post’s database. At least 10 people were killed and another 10 wounded in Santa Fe, Texas, today when a teenager unloaded bullets inside yet another American school. According to news reports, a student has...

To help Palestinian protesters, this Facebook fundraiser raised over $1M in 3 days
2018-05-18

Facebook fundraising FTW. In the wake of “wholly disproportionate” force used against Palestinian protestors, which left over 100 people dead, hospitals in Gaza have been overwhelmed by those injured. So the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, or MAP, did what many charities have done...

TNW Answers panel: Should everyone learn to code?
2018-05-18

Curious about where dev is headed? Wondering if you should learn to code? Or what language to pick? Could education be the key to finally closing the STEM gender gap? You can ask all this and more to an expert panel this Tuesday, May 22nd. We’ll be hosting our first ever TNW Answers panel on the future of coding...

Google Maps is broken on some Huawei and Honor phones. Here’s how to fix it
2018-05-18

Google Maps has stopped working on some Huawei and Honor phones. When people open it — or use any app that depends on Google Maps, most notably Uber — it presents them with the following error message: “Google Play Services are updating.” It’s a weird little glitch. It’s not clear how it came about, but...

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