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Communication and Technology news
Jack Dorsey answers our questions about Square’s plans for Bitcoin
2019-06-14

Square is a company best known for its disruptive card payment technology. Founded in 2009 by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the company sells affordable mobile-based point-of-sale systems. But beyond the world of traditional fiat currencies, the firm is making cautious steps into the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency....

‘YouTube recommendations are toxic,’ says dev who worked on the algorithm
2019-06-14

Where else could you go for you daily dose of how-tos, like this oneabout draining washing machines, or 15-minute compilations of cats vomiting? This is what YouTube was made for, and it’s beautiful. At the same time, as YouTube has become the place for videos on the web, it’s led to a raft of new problems....

Facebook signs major partners for its cryptocurrency network and it still sounds terrible
2019-06-14

Facebook has begun assembling a who’s who of big tech companies to back its soon to be unveiled cryptocurrency, GlobalCoin. The likes of Mastercard, Visa, Uber, and PayPal are all backing the social media giant’s upcoming digital coin due to be unveiled later this month, and officially rolled out next year,...

Google Chrome 76 will make it easier to bypass paywalls
2019-06-14

Google may have released Chrome 75 just last week, but it’s already lining up a few nifty features for its upcoming release. Most importantly, the beta version of Chrome 76, which was officially released a day ago, makes a subtle tweak that may not be welcomed by publishers like The New York Times, The Boston Globe,...

Top 10 Budget Laptops for Designers & Creatives in 2019
2019-06-14

Looking for the best budget laptops for graphic design? Here we list the cheapest laptops, perfect for designers, creatives, students, editing and more.

This Harvard alum turns cheap, recycled rubber into luxury furniture
2019-06-13

A New York designer elevates cheap recycled rubber by mixing it with with brass, marble, Italian wool, and concrete. Can you make high-end luxury furniture with a cheap material like recycled rubber? Looking at the catalog of New York City-based designer company Slash Objects, the answer is a resounding yes. The...

Kind Snacks and Clif Bar are fighting like your grandparents on Facebook
2019-06-13

When Kind called out Clif Bar in its new ad, it sparked a long-winded social debate between the two. Brands calling each other out in advertising is nothing new. The ’70s and ’80s were chock full of side-by-side comparison ads–paper towels, cleaners, tampons, you name it–the most famous...

I worked at Google: Here’s how to regain trust and work with tech’s critics
2019-06-13

Let’s be part of the solution, rather than just attacking our critics. Some of the best ideas about how to sensibly regulate tech can probably be found in the Valley. Earlier this year, Sunil Rajaraman, the host of the Your Life in Silicon Valley podcast, asked his social media followers what questions he...

See Virgil Abloh’s vision for homes in the year 2035
2019-06-13

The designer reimagines three pieces from furniture’s past for the not-too-distant future. As if he wasn’t just opening a new Nike store and museum exhibit, prolific designer Virgil Abloh has released a new line of limited-edition furniture with the Swiss furniture company Vitra that’s meant to...

This is a love letter to Google’s Purple-ish Pixel 3A smartphone
2019-06-13

Google’s budget smartphone comes in a color scheme that’s both idiosyncratic and subtle—a bold statement in a sea of boring sameness. Google’s Pixel 3A phone has a lot of admirable qualities. It sports a great camera that rivals the higher-end Pixel 3. Like other Pixel phones, it’s...

This Google sister company showed you can buy a troll campaign for $250
2019-06-13

As social platforms continue to be threatened by state-sponsored disinformation operations, Google’s parent company Alphabet has kicked things up a notch. Jigsaw, its side-arm devoted to fighting extremism, censorship, and other forms of cyberattacks, has revealed it bought a Russian troll campaign as an...

Why the creator of MTV’s ‘The Real World’ is betting on Facebook Watch for the realest season yet
2019-06-13

For its 33rd season, the groundbreaking reality show about hot conversations wants to draw you into its messy drama. After 32 seasons, The Real World‘s creator and executive producer Jonathan Murray is finally making the version of the show he’s always wanted to—on Facebook Watch, no less.Read...

PSA: Your Android phone is now a security key for signing in to Google on iOS
2019-06-13

Google has announced that it’s now possible to log into your Google accounts from your iPhones and iPads using your Android phone as a hardware authentication key. The development comes almost more than a month after the internet giant made it easy for Google users to sign in to their accounts on their laptops or...

Google’s Pixel 4: Ready or not, huge camera bulges are coming
2019-06-12

Camera bumps are becoming more bulbous to accommodate more lenses. In response to unofficial Pixel 4 leaks, Google has decided to release an official teaser image of its next flagship phone. While the image only shows the Pixel 4 from its backside, it suggests that the phone will have at least a couple of lenses,...

This site makes it ridiculously easy to experiment with Apache Kafka
2019-06-12

Apache Kafka is a fascinating product that solves a problem that almost nobody has. If the Internet is a series of tubes (RIP Ted Stevens), Apache Kafka is the pipe that connects high-volume applications with their external components, like databases and third-party services. It’s frequently used by companies that...

Google just revealed the Pixel 4’s design, including two rear cameras
2019-06-12

In a surprise announcement, Google posted a tweet showing off the design of the upcoming Pixel 4. The tweet shows a square camera module on the back with two cameras, a depth sensor, and an LED flash. Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait 'til you see what it can do. #Pixel4...

Here is the patriarchy, handily summed up in one Joe Biden image
2019-06-12

The look on Biden’s face. The forceful, accusatory finger. Her reaction. It all comes together in a photo that captures how certain men see the world. On Tuesday afternoon, a CUNY professor sent out a series of tweets recounting Joe Biden’s flagrantly horny interactions with women in the audience for his...

Facebook finally faces GDPR lawsuit after getting shot down in Austrian court
2019-06-12

A GDPR case against Facebook, launched by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems, has been deemed legal under EU law after the Austrian Supreme Court’s ruling, ComputerWeekly reports. Why is this a big deal? Because Facebook has been trying to block this case for five years, and winning a ruling against one of the...

The latest leap forward in visual AI is downright mesmerizing
2019-06-12

A new algorithm, developed by University of Washington and Facebook, can “wake up” people in still photos. It’s one more crack in the fabric of reality as we know it: Researchers at the University of Washington and Facebook have described their work on software that can take any image containing a...

Loyalty programs cost you your personal data — are the rewards worth it?
2019-06-12

Last year, music streaming service Spotify partnered with Google to bundle a free Google Home Mini smart speaker for all US-based account holders with a Spotify Premium for Family subscription. Sounds like a great way to listen to music right? But there is a catch. There exists a laundry list of reward programs...

Facebook Watch claims 140 million daily viewers while YouTube struggles with toxicity
2019-06-12

With breakout shows from Steph Curry and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Facebook Watch is seeing an upswing in viewers and is paying out more creators, but neither YouTube nor Netflix should be worried just yet. Since launching in 2017, Facebook Watch has been under intense scrutiny as the latest would-be challenger to rival...

Facebook won’t remove Zuck’s Instagram deepfake — yet
2019-06-12

The internet’s often a big bad place, but every once in a while it’ll make you chuckle. In a hilarious prank, two creators have uploaded a deepfake of Mark Zuckerberg on Instagram talking about stolen data. The video starts off with Zuckerberg saying, “Imagine this for a second: One man, with total control of...

Facebook, Twitter and major social media sites blocked amid Liberian anti-corruption protest
2019-06-12

Telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Liberia have restricted Internet access in the country by blocking Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat amid anti-corruption protests by citizens. The move seems to be an instruction from Liberian authorities in a bid to try and...

Best Laptops for Coding, Programming & Development in 2019
2019-06-12

The best laptops for coding, programming and development in 2019, including models from Apple, Dell, Google, Huawei and more.

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