Insights

Communication and Technology news
Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are changing how we interact with the world by doing it for us
2019-04-12

Innovation shapes our daily experiences, offering us the chance to seize the convenience offered by modern technology. Since the advent of smart speakers and voice-enabled digital assistants, voice-user interface (VUI) technology has experienced an explosion in popularity among consumers and developers alike. VUI...

Parasites keep impersonating black hole researcher Dr. Katie Bouman on Twitter
2019-04-11

Yesterday, the world got to see the first photograph of a black hole. It was a truly historic moment, and it couldn’t have happened without MIT CSAIL researcher Dr. Katie Bouman, who was catapulted overnight into the halls of global celebrity. And, of course, the Internet has found some way to ruin it. Because,...

How to use your Android phone as a security key for your Google accounts
2019-04-11

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Google has been working to make it easier to secure your accounts for its services with two-factor authentication over the past few years. Now, it’s enabled a handy feature you...

You can now directly edit Microsoft Office files with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
2019-04-11

It’s a great week for productivity. First, Slack announced that it’ll let you view documents without leaving the app, and then Dropbox enabled editing Google Docs within its own cloud storage app. Now, Google has announced that you can edit Microsoft Office files directly in Google’s suite of apps, without...

YouTube TV’s looking more like a cable package every day
2019-04-11

Google today announced the price of YouTube TV was going up from $40 to $50, in return for 8 more channels. The service, one of many which bills itself as an alternative to cable packages, is starting to look very similar to those same packages — and, like all tv streaming services, the prices are going to keep...

Google takes a break from being evil to announce AI Platform
2019-04-11

Weather alert: be on the lookout for flying pigs. Google‘s new AI Platform looks to make good on the company’s promise to democratize machine learning. Between developing weapons platforms for the military and censored search engines for China, we forgot it was even capable of doing things that were good for...

The wallpaper of the future is here
2019-04-10

Design Mario Romano carves building-size murals and patterns into Corian using robotics. The results are unlike any wall coverings out there. Last year, the Venice, California-based designer Mario Romano invented a new kind of wallpaper. Except this “wallpaper” isn’t made out of paper at...

Why diverse teams make better business decisions
2019-04-10

Probably one of the most well-known brand fails in the past few years was Pepsi’s 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner. Released in the midst of the Black Lives Matter and Women’s March movements, the ad features the supermodel leading a group of ambiguous protestors and ends with a Pepsi peace offering to a police...

Facebook will stop asking you to wish your dead friends a happy birthday
2019-04-10

Hey, that’s one less insincere birthday wish you need to send. What’s more insincere than sending someone a happy birthday wish because Facebook told you to? Sending a dead friend a happy birthday wish because Facebook told you to.Read Full Story

For the first time ever, Snapchat is expected to lose U.S. users this year
2019-04-10

And Instagram will benefit the most from Snapchat’s loss. That’s according to marketing research firm eMarketer. The firm has released its latest forecast on U.S. social network users and says that 2019 will be the first time Snapchat loses users. In 2018, Snapchat had 79.7 million users, but eMarketer...

Facebook’s AI prevents deceased users’ profiles from popping up in your suggestions
2019-04-10

It’s hard to cope with the loss of a loved one, and it’s harder when their profile pops up on Facebook as a suggestion, as if they were still alive. Now, the social network is using AI to make sure that the profile of the deceased doesn’t “appear in a painful way,” along with some new tools for...

You can now create and edit Google Docs right within Dropbox
2019-04-10

Google Drive and Dropbox might be competitors, but that doesn’t mean the two companies can’t get along. Case in point: they are announcing tighter integration between their respective services, allowing to Dropbox Business users to create Google Docs, Sheets, Slides documents right within Dropbox. It’s a...

After TurboTax and H&R Block lobbying, IRS could be banned from offering free tax-filing app
2019-04-09

Tax-prep companies like TurboTax-maker Intuit, as well as tax-fighting conservatives, have long opposed such an IRS tool. Congress is likely to pass a law making it illegal for the Internal Revenue Service to develop a free tax-filing app, ProPublica reports.Read Full Story

Facebook has created an insanely detailed map of where everyone in Africa lives
2019-04-09

Based on satellite images, the company hopes aid workers can use it to make their work more efficient (and it’s also good for helping telecom companies spread internet connections). One of the biggest challenges in humanitarian aid is actually delivering the product to the people who need it most. Vaccines,...

Dropbox and G Suite’s new integration is more like a mind meld
2019-04-09

The long-awaited ability to keep your Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in your Dropbox isn’t just about plumbing. Thirteen months ago, Dropbox and Google announced that they were working together to let users store G Suite documents in their Dropbox storage. The news addressed what must have been a common...

Senators just unveiled a bill to stop deceptive design and dark patterns
2019-04-09

User interface designers, meet federal regulators. U.S. senators are reaching across the aisle in an effort to stop the dark patterns in software, according to Axios.Read Full Story

How to clean up your personal brand
2019-04-09

Everyone has a personal brand. Here’s how to improve yours if it doesn’t reflect who you want to be. While you may not be an Instagram influencer or a prolific YouTube personality, whether you like it or not, you have a personal brand. And it affects you.Read Full Story

HomeShare lays off almost all of its staff
2019-04-09

And the company is radically changing some core parts of its service. HomeShare has cut a majority of its staff, reports the San Fransisco Chronicle. The San Francisco-based startup matched applicants who lived in luxury apartment buildings with roommates with the goal of helping people find more affordable housing in...

Alphabet launches its Wing drone delivery service in Australia
2019-04-09

Google’s parent company wants to fly food and coffee to you. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has launched its first commercial drone delivery service through its Wing subsidiary. In a blog post on Tuesday, Wing said it had launched its first air delivery service in North Canberra, Australia. Users of...

These 8 presidents chanced into office–here’s what you can learn from their unplanned ascent
2019-04-09

Author and Jigsaw CEO Jared Cohen talks about power, successorship, and what he learned from studying Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and other accidental presidents. By day, Jared Cohen uses technology to fight terrorism–he’s the CEO of Jigsaw, previously part of Google and now under Alphabet. Before...

Tech is crashing the world’s biggest design fair
2019-04-09

Google, Samsung, LG, and other giants are showing up to show off gadgets at Salone del Mobile–evidence of the subtle way they’re reframing themselves as design-led companies. Every April, thousands descend upon Milan for the most important event of the year for the design industry. Centered around...

Yes, there’s a subreddit that skewers those targeted Facebook t-shirt ads
2019-04-09

Facebook ads are usually weird and funny when they’re not showing off spooky knowledge of your life and hobbies. Those targeted ads for graphic t-shirts somehow manage to be all three — and a subreddit is celebrating them in all their bizarre glory. You probably know the kinds of shirts I’m talking about — I...

Ian Goodfellow’s hiring hints at what Apple’s next ‘one more thing’ could be
2019-04-09

Apple recently scored the hottest free agent in AI when it managed to lure Ian “The GANfather” Goodfellow away from his highly-salaried perch at Google. His hiring indicates Apple’s placing a higher priority on machine learning technology. And it may tell us a little about the Cupertino company’s next big...

Twitter is automatically removing about 10 accounts every second
2019-04-08

Twitter’s battle with the bots is nonstop, still not enough. Twitter is working to fight “platform manipulation” by automatically removing 6 million to 7.5 million accounts per week in efforts to combat the practice. That works out to about 10 to 12 accounts a second, or 312 million to 390...

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