Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/business/dealbook/sprint-t-mobile-merger-approval.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 30, 2018 at 10:34PM
The two wireless carriers argue that a merger would benefit customers, but analysts, and our columnist, are skeptical about the deal’s chances
Monday, April 30, 2018
Creepy or Not? Your Privacy Concerns Likely Reflect Your Politics
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/technology/privacy-concerns-politics.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 30, 2018 at 10:27PM
A new study on surveillance finds that Republicans tend to feel pleased about tracking, both online and in real life, while Democrats often feel bad about it.
April 30, 2018 at 10:27PM
A new study on surveillance finds that Republicans tend to feel pleased about tracking, both online and in real life, while Democrats often feel bad about it.
Tech Tip: Why All the New Terms of Service?
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/technology/personaltech/why-all-the-new-terms-of-service.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 30, 2018 at 04:00PM
With less than a month to go before the European Union enacts new consumer privacy laws for its citizens, companies around the world are updating their terms of service agreements to comply.
April 30, 2018 at 04:00PM
With less than a month to go before the European Union enacts new consumer privacy laws for its citizens, companies around the world are updating their terms of service agreements to comply.
Behind T-Mobile-Sprint Merger, a Race to Keep Up With China in 5G
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/technology/tmobile-sprint-china-5g.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 30, 2018 at 03:15PM
With the U.S. and China vying for tech leadership, the two wireless companies said their union would help America preserve its strategic edge.
April 30, 2018 at 03:15PM
With the U.S. and China vying for tech leadership, the two wireless companies said their union would help America preserve its strategic edge.
Immersed Conference 2018 Portland
Source: http://timreha.com/immersed-conference-2018-portland/
April 30, 2018 at 07:53AM
April 30, 2018 at 07:53AM
The Immersed Conference was a two-day AR/VR conference that explored the current state of the Immersive Technologies and their impact on how we work, live, learn, heal, and consume. The conference was hosted at OMSI in Portland, Oregon. Design Reality’s Immersed Conference 2018 Design Reality’s Immersed Conference 2018 For the event I utilized my experience running photography teams for the CES ... Read More
The post Immersed Conference 2018 Portland appeared first on TimReha.com.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
One Goal of Amazon’s HQ2: Learn the Lessons of Seattle
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/technology/amazon-hq2-seattle.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 30, 2018 at 12:03AM
Amazon has surprised officials in cities vying for the company’s new headquarters by asking how to avoid soaring housing costs and paralyzing traffic.
April 30, 2018 at 12:03AM
Amazon has surprised officials in cities vying for the company’s new headquarters by asking how to avoid soaring housing costs and paralyzing traffic.
Blockchain Will Be Theirs, Russian Spy Boasted at Conference
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/technology/blockchain-iso-russian-spies.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 29, 2018 at 11:19PM
Some think the technology that was introduced with Bitcoin has enormous potential. That has a number of countries looking to influence its future.
April 29, 2018 at 11:19PM
Some think the technology that was introduced with Bitcoin has enormous potential. That has a number of countries looking to influence its future.
T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Would Give Japan’s SoftBank Bigger Foothold in U.S.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/business/tmobile-sprint-softbank-masayoshi-son.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 29, 2018 at 08:56PM
The founder of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, is one of the world’s leading tech investors. He has pushed for Sprint, perhaps his marquee American investment, to merge with T-Mobile.
April 29, 2018 at 08:56PM
The founder of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, is one of the world’s leading tech investors. He has pushed for Sprint, perhaps his marquee American investment, to merge with T-Mobile.
Friday, April 27, 2018
Sprint and T-Mobile Are Said to Be Close to Merging
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/business/dealbook/sprint-tmobile-merger.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 10:05PM
Should the two companies combine, it would form the third largest wireless company in the United States.
April 27, 2018 at 10:05PM
Should the two companies combine, it would form the third largest wireless company in the United States.
Yesterday in Styles: 2004: How Untucked Shirts Became a Male Uniform
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/style/untucked-shirts-male-uniform.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 07:31PM
No longer just for slobs and summering preppies, dress shirts with untucked shirttails hit the front row and red carpet in the mid-aughts and never went away.
April 27, 2018 at 07:31PM
No longer just for slobs and summering preppies, dress shirts with untucked shirttails hit the front row and red carpet in the mid-aughts and never went away.
Can a City Ditch the Power Company? Not Without a Fight
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/business/energy-environment/electricity-san-diego.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 06:47PM
San Diego may join a growing trend and become a retailer of electricity, seeking better rates than the local utility and pursuing clean-energy goals.
April 27, 2018 at 06:47PM
San Diego may join a growing trend and become a retailer of electricity, seeking better rates than the local utility and pursuing clean-energy goals.
How a Genealogy Site Led to the Front Door of the Golden State Killer Suspect
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/golden-state-killer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 05:01PM
Investigators used DNA from crime scenes and plugged that genetic profile into an online genealogy database, tracing DNA to the suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo.
April 27, 2018 at 05:01PM
Investigators used DNA from crime scenes and plugged that genetic profile into an online genealogy database, tracing DNA to the suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo.
Kevin’s Week in Tech: Let’s Check In on the Other Social Networks, Shall We?
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/technology/kevin-week-social-networks.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 04:00PM
Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube all had interesting news that you may have missed.
April 27, 2018 at 04:00PM
Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube all had interesting news that you may have missed.
Tech Tip: Making More Room for a Nook Library
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/technology/personaltech/nook-memory-space.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 27, 2018 at 04:00PM
Barnes & Noble’s line of digital-book hardware offers a few ways to keep and store your expanding collection.
April 27, 2018 at 04:00PM
Barnes & Noble’s line of digital-book hardware offers a few ways to keep and store your expanding collection.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Unlike in U.S., Facebook Faces Tough Questions in Britain
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/business/facebook-british-parliament.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 26, 2018 at 09:38PM
Facebook’s chief technology officer testified before a British panel in a hearing that stood in stark contrast to the efforts of American lawmakers.
April 26, 2018 at 09:38PM
Facebook’s chief technology officer testified before a British panel in a hearing that stood in stark contrast to the efforts of American lawmakers.
The Big Questions – Two – What Are We?
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/26/what-are-we/
April 26, 2018 at 05:15PM
April 26, 2018 at 05:15PM
The following is an excerpt from GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity. You can purchase the book here.
The Fourth Age explores the implications of automation and AI on humanity, and has been described by Ethernet inventor and 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe as framing “the deepest questions of our time in clear language that invites the reader to make their own choices. Using 100,000 years of human history as his guide, he explores the issues around artificial general intelligence, robots, consciousness, automation, the end of work, abundance, and immortality.”
In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese argues that most of the big questions around technology like AI and automation are not about what technological breakthroughs will happen, but center around foundational questions about life, humanity, and reality. He distills them down to three key questions. Below is the second one: What Are We? And check out the first and third questions: ” What Is the Composition of the Universe?” and “What is Your Self?”
What Are We?
Next question: What exactly are we? Again, a multiple-choice question, with three possible answers: machines, animals, or humans.
The first possible answer is that we are machines. This is the simplest, most straightforward answer. We are a bunch of parts that work together to achieve an end. We have a power source and an exhaust system. We self-repair and can reprogram ourselves to do a variety of different tasks.
Those who hold this viewpoint are quick to caution against thinking of the term “machine” as pejorative. We may “just” be machines, but we are the most amazing and powerful machine on the planet. Maybe in the universe. Your basic essence may be the same as a clock radio, but your form is so much more wondrous as to make the comparison ridiculous except in a purely academic sense.
Those who hold this belief maintain that everything that happens in your body is mechanistic. That is true almost by definition. It is neither miracle nor magic that keeps your heart pumping. We are simply self-sustaining chemical reactions. Your brain, while not fully understood, gives up more of its secrets every day. In a lab, an imaging device can already read some of your thoughts. If someone built an atom-by-atom copy of you, it would show up at your office tomorrow with a packed lunch, ready to work. You could easily get away with sneaking out the back door and going fishing, because that copy of you would do exactly the same job you would. Come to think of it, it would probably take the day off and go fishing, knowing that you were going into the office.
This viewpoint calls to mind a thought experiment articulated best by the philosopher Derek Parfit. You have probably considered something like it before. In the future there is a teleportation device. You step in. It takes you apart, painlessly, cell by cell, scanning each cell. The data about that cell is beamed to Mars, where a similar device does the opposite: it builds someone cell by cell who is identical to you in every way. That person steps out and says, “Man, that was easy.”
Would you step into such a device? The majority of people probably would not consider that “person” on Mars to be themselves. They would probably consider it a creepy doppelganger of themselves. And yet it is incumbent on them to explain just exactly what attribute they have that a high-enough resolution 3-D scanner can’t capture. But to people who believe they are machines, there is nothing philosophically troubling about such a device. Why would you ever want to wait in traffic when you can just step into the teleporter?
With regards to life, this view holds that it too is simply a mechanistic process. Consciousness as well. To those who hold this view, all this is painfully apparent, and they do not wince when they read Kurt Vonnegut’s thoughts on this question:
I had come to the conclusion that there was nothing sacred about myself or any human being, that we were all machines. . . . I no more harbored sacredness than did a Pontiac, a mousetrap, or a South Bend Lathe.
Your second choice is that we are animals. Often this view sees an inorganic, mechanical world that is a completely different thing from the biological, living world. Life makes us different from machines. Maybe our bodies are machines, but “we” are animals that inhabit those machines.
This position maintains that there is something to life that is more than electrochemical, for if it were solely that, we could build a living thing with a couple of batteries and a sufficiently advanced chemistry set. Life has some animating force, some mysterious quality that perhaps is not beyond science, but is beyond machines. New stars are born, crystals grow, and volcanoes die. But although these objects exhibit these characteristics of life, we don’t think they are alive. Machines, in this view, are the same sort of thing, lifelike but lifeless.
This distinction between living animals and nonliving machines seems a natural and obvious one. While we anthropomorphize our machines, and talk about “the car not wanting to start because the battery is dead,” we use those words without contemplating therapy for the car or mourning the loss of the battery whose life was cruelly cut short.
Life is something we don’t fully understand. We don’t even have a consensus definition of what it is. If you do believe that we are animals, and that we are different from machines because we are alive, then our big question is going to be if computers can become alive. Can something that is purely mechanical get the spark of life? We will get to that in part four.
The final choice is that we are humans. Everyone agrees that we are called humans; I mean something more here. This position says that of course our bodies are machines, and yes, of course we are alive like animals. But there is something about us that separates us from the other machines and animals, and makes us a completely different thing. We aren’t just the ultimate apex predator, the preeminent animal on the planet. We are something fundamentally different. What makes us different? Many would say that it is either that we have consciousness or that we have a soul. Others say it is that we make and use complex tools or that we have mastered complex language or can reason abstractly. Maybe humanity is something emergent, some byproduct of the complexity of our brains. Aristotle suggested that what makes us human is that we laugh. The Dalai Lama expressed it as such: “Humans are not machines. We are something more. We have feeling and experience. Material comforts are not sufficient to satisfy us. We need something deeper—human affection.”
We share a huge amount of DNA with every living thing on the planet, including plants. This notion is profound, and it is one best expressed by the author Matt Ridley in just four words: “All life is one.” Beyond this idea of unity, we share as much as 99 percent of our genome with a single species: chimpanzees. So as machines and animals, we are strikingly similar to chimps, with only a rounding error of difference. But viewed through another lens, we are absolutely nothing like chimps. And whatever that lens is, that is what makes us human. However, just having some difference from animals doesn’t make us not an animal. The distinguishing factor has to be something that changes our essential selves. For instance, humans are the only creatures that cook their food. But that distinction alone doesn’t make something more than an animal. If we suddenly discover a magpie in Borneo that drops crabs into fires and retrieves them later to eat, we wouldn’t grant “humanness” to magpies. But if that same magpie developed a written language and began writing limericks, well, we would have to consider it. So that is the question: Is there something about us that makes us no longer only an animal?
Interestingly, some of the Greeks divided the living world into those three similar categories as well. Plants, the reasoning went, have one soul, because they are clearly alive, and eat, grow, reproduce, and die. Animals have two souls. That same one the plants have, but another one as well: they are purposeful. Finally, there are humans, who have three souls. The plant soul, the animal soul, and a third one, a reasoning soul, because only we can reason.
So, it is decision time: Are we machines, animals, or humans?
To read more of GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, you can purchase it here.
Five questions for… the AURA fitness band
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/26/five-questions-for-the-aura-fitness-band/
April 26, 2018 at 05:12PM
April 26, 2018 at 05:12PM
Based in the UK and Moscow, AURA Devices is launching a fitness band that goes to places others currently don’t based on what it calls ‘bio-impedance’ technology. The company’s Kickstarter is being pretty successful, with the company nearly doubling its original goal of $40,000. I spoke to co-founder Stas Gorbunov about the wrist-based health monitoring device.
1. Where did the ideas behind AURA come from?
The technology behind AURA was based on a university scientific project around bio-impedance, following which the founders decided to bring it to the wider market. When we started out, we wanted to use bio-impedance more conveniently than currently. So we thought about fitness trackers — we went to the corporate guys, the big IT companies, insurance companies who were working on smart health, if you are fit can reduce premiums and so on.
We also worked with athletes/fitness enthusiasts – who can track how body compositions changed, and people wanting to lose weight, who need to track how weight changes during the day. So this is our audience.
2. What does AURA bring to the party?
First, the hardware design. Most of the hardware parts you can find on the market, you can build bands but it’s all about having the right design for the device. There are a lot of issues to doing this. The main challenge is to ensure accuracy, as the device is pretty small – it only has two points where it touches skin, whereas a medical-grade device has 8 points.
The most exciting and unique feature is hydration level — it’s very difficult to do this, but we want to bring it to your wrist. Having said this, our IP is mostly in the software. The main idea is about interpreting the data, making big data comparisons and so on. For example, we can increase accuracy by adding information about activity type and lifestyle.
3. How does it fit within the fitness and health ecosystems?
The Aura band is just an instrument to get data about you – the goal is to give insights about your health. If you are enthusiast, you can get the raw data and interpret it for yourself. This is the first in several types of device – we plan more devices in healthcare field, we will increase our ecosystem at the same time.
We are integrating with Apple and Google health kits, adding and interpreting that data alongside our own. We also have gamification through ‘duels’ and loyalty programs — you can earn a pair of sneakers through healthy behaviour! We try to bring as much flexibility as we can.
4. AURA talks about insurance relationships — how does this work?
Insurance is a big opportunity for us: we are looking to bring new innovation in terms of health plans. The idea of insurance companies using AURA band data does create potential issues around privacy, but if this is a problem you can turn off this feature and use our band as any other fitness tracker.
There’s always going to be questions raised around heath data and insurance. For example, insurers are looking at scoring your online data, e.g. from public feeds of Strava and so on.
5. What are plans for the future?
We are heading towards mass production right now. We expect to deliver devices to Kickstarter customers in August, and online sales in September/October in time for Christmas. We have also seen some corporate sales.
We may look to license analysis to other hardware. Right now we could not find the right hardware, so we had to develop our own. If hardware comes, we can recommend it and work with it. Right now, we have what have.
We are trying to make an ecosystem – we think healthcare, insurance and fitness should work together and bring more personalised services, cannot do so without monitoring instruments. Our position is to exist right in the middle.
My take — another crystal in the solute of a nascent market
When I first looked at AURA band, I confess to have thought, “Yet another fitness device?” but it does look to collate and analyse data other devices cannot, or at least not outside the medical sphere. While the company is right to see its future in the software rather than the hardware, this whole area is subject to rapid commoditisation — the chances of other OEMs looking to tackle the same problems are pretty high so the company has its work cut out.
What of the ‘issue’ of giving data over to insurers, isn’t this a two-edged sword? The relationship between health monitoring, fitness and insurance will continue: in some cases it may be intrusive or cause greater premiums, but in others, it can help early monitoring or identification of issues, as well as encouraging behaviours that lead to better health. I’m not a great fan of loyalty programmes as they play into consumerism, but that’s probably just me.
Ultimately, there is still room for both innovation, and new players, in this still-nascent space. With companies like Philips re-inventing itself as a health data platform provider, the need will continue for organisations to deliver usable and effective data. Market opportunities are broader than we think (consider protection of endangered species, for example) and overall, I am optimistic that the benefits of better monitoring and interpretation will outweigh the downsides.
Walmart, With Billions to Spend, Seeks Flipkart E-Commerce Site in India
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/business/walmart-flipkart-india.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 26, 2018 at 04:18PM
The company is said to be in talks to acquire Flipkart, India’s leading online retailer, to counter Amazon’s push into the country.
April 26, 2018 at 04:18PM
The company is said to be in talks to acquire Flipkart, India’s leading online retailer, to counter Amazon’s push into the country.
Tech Tip: Adding Fonts to an iPad
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/technology/personaltech/adding-fonts-ipad.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 26, 2018 at 04:00PM
With a little help from an installer app, you can use new typefaces with certain programs on Apple’s tablet and other mobile devices.
April 26, 2018 at 04:00PM
With a little help from an installer app, you can use new typefaces with certain programs on Apple’s tablet and other mobile devices.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The Fourth Age – Preface
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/24/fourth-age-preface/
April 24, 2018 at 04:15PM
April 24, 2018 at 04:15PM
The following is an excerpt from GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity. You can purchase the book here.
The Fourth Age explores the implications of automation and AI on humanity, and has been described by Ethernet inventor and 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe as framing “the deepest questions of our time in clear language that invites the reader to make their own choices. Using 100,000 years of human history as his guide, he explores the issues around artificial general intelligence, robots, consciousness, automation, the end of work, abundance, and immortality.”
What follows is the preface from The Fourth Age.
PREFACE
(Please read. Not the usual blah-blah stuff.)
Robots. Jobs. Automation. Artificial intelligence. Conscious computers. Superintelligence. Abundance. A jobless future. “Useless” humans. The end of scarcity. Creative computers. Robot overlords. Unlimited wealth. The end of work. A permanent underclass.
Some of these phrases and concepts probably show up in your news feed every day. Sometimes the narratives are positive, full of hope for the future. Other times they are fearful and dystopian. And this dichotomy is puzzling. The experts on these various topics, all intelligent and informed people, make predictions about the future that are not just a little different, but that are dramatically different and diametrically opposed to each other. So, why do Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates fear artificial intelligence (AI) and express concern that it may be a threat to humanity’s survival in the near future? And yet, why do an equally illustrious group, including Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Ng, and Pedro Domingos, and this viewpoint so far-fetched as to be hardly even worth a rebuttal? Zuckerberg goes so far as to call people who peddle doomsday scenarios “pretty irresponsible,” while Andrew Ng, one of the greatest minds in AI alive today, says that such concerns are like worrying about “overpopulation on Mars.” After Elon Musk was quoted as saying “AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization,” Pedro Domingos, a leading AI researcher and author, tweeted, “One word: Sigh.” Each group’s members are as confident in their position as they are scornful of the other side.
With respect to robots and automation, the situation is the same. The experts couldn’t be further apart. Some say that all jobs will be lost to automation, or at the very least that we are about to enter a permanent Great Depression in which one part of the workforce will be unable to compete with robotic labor while the other part will live lavish lives of plenty with their high-tech futuristic jobs. Others roll their eyes at these concerns and point to automation’s long track record of raising workers’ productivity and wages, and speculate that a bigger problem will be a shortage of human laborers. While fistfights are uncommon between these groups, there is condescending invective aplenty.
Finally, when considering the question of whether computers will become conscious and therefore alive, the experts disagree yet again. Some believe that it’s an obvious fact that computers can be conscious, and thus any other position is just silly superstition. Others emphatically disagree, saying that computers and living creatures are two very different things and that idea of a “living machine” is a contradiction in terms.
To those who follow all this debate, the net result is confusion and frustration. Many throw their hands up and surrender to the cacophony of competing viewpoints and conclude that if the people at the forefront of these technologies cannot agree on what will happen, then what hope do the rest of us have? They begin to view the future with fear and trepidation, concluding that these overwhelming questions must be inherently unanswerable.
Is there a path out of this? I think so. It begins when we realize that these experts disagree not because they know different things, but because they believe different things.
For instance, those who predict we will make conscious computers haven’t come to that conclusion because they know something about consciousness that others don’t, but because they believe something very basic: that humans are fundamentally machines. If humans are machines, it stands to reason that we can eventually build a mechanical human. On the other hand, those who think that machines will never achieve consciousness often hold that view because they aren’t persuaded that humans are purely mechanical beings.
So that is what this book is about: deconstructing the core beliefs that undergird the various views on robots, jobs, AI, and consciousness. My goal is to be your guide through these thorny issues, dissecting all the assumptions that form the opinions that these experts so passionately and confidently avow.
This book is not at all about my own thoughts concerning these issues. While I make no deliberate The effort to hide my beliefs, they are of little importance to how you, the reader, work your way through this book. My goal is for you to finish this book with a thorough understanding of where your beliefs lead you on these questions. Then, when you hear some Silicon Valley titan or distinguished professor or Nobel laureate make a confident claim about robots or jobs or AI, you will instantly understand the beliefs that underlie their statements.
Where does a journey like this begin? By necessity, far in the past, as far back as the invention of language. The questions we will grapple with in this book aren’t about transistors and neurons and algorithms and such. They are about the nature of reality, humanity, and mind. The confusion happens when we begin with “What jobs will robots take from humans?” instead of “What are humans?” Until we answer that second question, we can’t meaningfully address the first.
So I invite you to join me on a brisk walk through 100,000 years of human history, discussing big questions along the way, and exploring the future to come. This book is a journey. Thank you for taking it with me.
Byron Reese
Austin, Texas
To read more of GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, you can purchase it here.
How Fake Mark Zuckerbergs Scam Facebook Users Out of Their Cash
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/technology/fake-mark-zuckerberg-facebook.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 11:11PM
The Facebook chief executive has vowed to clean up the social network, but his company has failed to stop even those impersonating him from swindling people.
April 25, 2018 at 11:11PM
The Facebook chief executive has vowed to clean up the social network, but his company has failed to stop even those impersonating him from swindling people.
What Amazon’s New Headquarters Could Mean for Rents
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/business/economy/amazon-hq-rents.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 11:06PM
Winning the contest could mean a steeper increase in local housing costs over the next decade, a study finds. Nashville is already contemplating the impact.
April 25, 2018 at 11:06PM
Winning the contest could mean a steeper increase in local housing costs over the next decade, a study finds. Nashville is already contemplating the impact.
YouTube Kids, Criticized for Content, Introduces New Parental Controls
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/business/media/youtube-kids-parental-controls.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 10:00PM
Parents will be able to handpick the channels and topics their children can view on the app, which has been criticized for allowing disturbing content to slip through.
April 25, 2018 at 10:00PM
Parents will be able to handpick the channels and topics their children can view on the app, which has been criticized for allowing disturbing content to slip through.
Tech We’re Using: How a News Junkie Stays Plugged In: Newsletters and Her Kids
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/technology/personaltech/future-tech-trends.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 06:27PM
Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy managing editor of The Times, shared the biggest developments that are coming and how her children use apps.
April 25, 2018 at 06:27PM
Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy managing editor of The Times, shared the biggest developments that are coming and how her children use apps.
Tech Tip: How to Juice and Jam at the Same Time
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/technology/personaltech/charge-battery-listening-music.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 04:00PM
If your phone uses a single port for the charger and headphones, you can still power the battery while you listen to music — with the help of some additional gear.
April 25, 2018 at 04:00PM
If your phone uses a single port for the charger and headphones, you can still power the battery while you listen to music — with the help of some additional gear.
Twitter Stays on an Upswing, With Second Straight Quarter of Profit
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/technology/twitter-earnings.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 02:50PM
The social media service may not be adding new users at much of a clip, but it’s advertising-driven business seems to have stabilized.
April 25, 2018 at 02:50PM
The social media service may not be adding new users at much of a clip, but it’s advertising-driven business seems to have stabilized.
GDPR – are we witnessing the death of one-way monetisation?
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/25/gdpr-are-we-witnessing-the-death-of-one-way-monetisation/
April 25, 2018 at 12:43PM
April 25, 2018 at 12:43PM
I may have spoken too soon about GDPR. Despite the conflicting legal advice and the general level of vagueness around the new legislation, a head of steam has been building up behind the notion of privacy. In significant part, it has been helped by the scandal around Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and so on — despite various authorities railing for years about social media playing fast and loose with our data (hence GDPR, of course), it has taken our august media to raise the level of public awareness alongside a frisson of panic among data controllers.
To be fair, this was difficult to predict but it has had quite an effect: the need for headline-grabbing material really is a two-edged sword. The consequence is that many organisations are treating the looming threat of GDPR non-compliance like a hot stone, to be dropped at the earliest opportunity. I’m sure I won’t be the only person to have received a raft of emails from various commercial and non-commercial sources, saying that if I don’t opt into marketing, I will never again know about the wonderful offers they might put on the table.
They may be over-doing it: as I understand it, organisations are within their rights to keep sending me stuff if I have bought from them before, unless I decline it. But organisations face a Hobson’s choice — they can spam me with requests for consent now (thus forcing them to fall on their own swords later, if I don’t respond), or face the uncertainty around what the law actually says. Tricky. So, for example, I’ve had currency card companies asking me whether it was OK to keep sending me currency-related information, and train operators asking me whether I wanted to know about special travel offers.
I have also had Facebook asking me whether it was OK to send targeted marketing, or to recognise my face. Which is all a far cry from the attitude of just a few months ago, certainly from the big boys who saw privacy as a bunch of doors to be pushed, or lines to be crossed (which reminds me, strangely, of training a spaniel). “Ask forgiveness not permission” has been a highly successful business strategy, enabling Facebook et al to grow phenomenally, and deliver a fair amount of innovation. This isn’t the place to knock Facebook — I know few people actually choosing to boycott it, which says something.
There’s a deeper point to all this knee-jerk reacting and giving the law the benefit of the doubt: that organisations are moving, nay running away from the idea that they can do whatever they like, with whatever data they like. This breaks with the assumed convention in thinking, that (personal) data is to be harvested, collated, aggregated and mined regardless of where it comes from, or whether it is known to have value. These notions surrounding monetisation of data are no longer valid: data: it may still be the new oil, but it isn’t necessarily your new oil, to do what you like with.
What does this mean in practice? First, it forces organisations to say, and therefore to think, in advance about what they require personal data for. This is no bad thing: it’s called strategy or design, depending on what level it is being considered. Indeed, it turns the binoculars around: rather than asking, “Why do we need this data point,” and looking for vague answers, a better starting point is to say, “What are we trying to achieve?” and then working out what data is needed to achieve it.
A second consequence, then, is a changing dialogue with the source of the data — that is, the identifiable person. It’s a requirement of GDPR to say what you will be using the information for. Of course, many organisations will look for loopholes in the regulation, though on the aspect of non-ambiguity it is pretty tight. While this is still to be tested, simply saying “to improve our services to you” may no longer be enough. Even Google — whose model is based on a “we don’t really know you” stance — is coming under the cosh.
Third, though this is wishful thinking on my part, is that we may arrive at a point where individuals appreciate the true value of their data. The net worth of many companies is currently calculated on the basis of how many active users, or customers, they have. So, what if (let’s say) a social media giant paid me for the privilege of accessing my thoughts and needs? If, at the end of every month, I received a cheque for having just been myself? I know, it’s been tried, but perhaps the right model is yet to be found.
Let’s get one thing straight. Marketing in general, and advertising in particular, isn’t going anywhere. The play on personal apathy and ignorance will continue, and as I have said previously, I don’t think our lives will be any more private as a result of GDPR. However, and even though it only currently applies to EU citizens, the new law is catalysing a sea change in how personal data is treated. One can only hope this ushers in a new era, in which data also serves as a backbone for transparency and value exchange between data creators and those who can make money from it. Put simply, if data is going to be monetised, we should all gain.
The Shift: Workers of Silicon Valley, It’s Time to Organize
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/technology/tech-workers-change.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 25, 2018 at 12:00PM
Employees in the tech industry have an unusual power: They can make their companies act more responsibly. All they have to do is speak up.
April 25, 2018 at 12:00PM
Employees in the tech industry have an unusual power: They can make their companies act more responsibly. All they have to do is speak up.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
European Regulators Ask if Facebook Is Taking Too Much Data
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/technology/facebook-data-europe-investigations.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 24, 2018 at 10:36PM
The authorities in a number of countries say the company is unfairly using its leverage over consumers to extract personal information from them.
April 24, 2018 at 10:36PM
The authorities in a number of countries say the company is unfairly using its leverage over consumers to extract personal information from them.
The Big Questions – One – What is the Composition of the Universe?
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/24/what-is-composition-of-universe/
April 24, 2018 at 05:15PM
April 24, 2018 at 05:15PM
The following is an excerpt from GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity. You can purchase the book here.
The Fourth Age explores the implications of automation and AI on humanity, and has been described by Ethernet inventor and 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe as framing “the deepest questions of our time in clear language that invites the reader to make their own choices. Using 100,000 years of human history as his guide, he explores the issues around artificial general intelligence, robots, consciousness, automation, the end of work, abundance, and immortality.”
In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese argues that most of the big questions around technology like AI and automation are not about what technological breakthroughs will happen, but center around foundational questions about life, humanity, and reality. He distills them down to three key questions. Below is the first one: What Is the Composition of the Universe? The second and third questions: “What Are We?” and “What is Your Self?” will soon follow.
What Is the Composition of the Universe?
The first question is about the composition of the universe, the very nature of reality. However you answer this question will go a long way to determining whether computers can be conscious and whether true artificial intelligence can be built. The best thinking about this question comes to us from the ancient Greeks. It’s pretty unusual that we have a situation in which there exists about 2,500 years of debate centered on the exact same texts. Since we haven’t bettered the ancient Greeks’ reasoning by much in the intervening millennia, we tackle this first question by going back to them and how they thought about it long ago.
What is the composition of the universe? There are two schools of thought.
The first is that everything in the universe is composed of a single substance, atoms. This is known as monism, from the Greek monos, meaning “one.” Monists believe that everything in the universe is governed by the same set of physical laws, and that those laws are largely known to us today. Nothing in the universe happens that cannot ultimately be reduced to physics. Physics sits on top of everything. Physics explains chemistry, chemistry explains biology, biology explains life, life explains consciousness. Monism is also called materialism or physicalism.
One ancient Greek representative of this position is Democritus, who believed that the only things that existed were matter and empty space, and he classified everything else as simply opinion. He said:
By convention sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is color. But in reality there are atoms and the void. That is, the objects of sense are supposed to be real and it is customary to regard them as such, but in truth they are not. Only the atoms and the void are real.
A modern proponent of monism is Francis Crick, who offered his “astonishing hypothesis” that “you, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.”
A great majority of scientists identify with this viewpoint. In fact, to most scientists this position seems screamingly obvious, although they often have an understanding of the three reasons why this view is unsettling to many people:
First, it is hard to work free will into a world of simple cause and effect.
Second, it means we are nothing more than big walking bags of chemicals and electrical impulses. Despite what your mother told you, there is nothing special about you at all. You are the same basic “thing” as an iPhone, a turnip, or a hurricane.
Third, it is hard to coax a universal moral code out of that viewpoint. Killing a person doesn’t seem to have any more moral consequence than smashing a boulder.
There are of course plausible answers to these points, which in turn invite plausible challenges to those answers. And that is where the debate begins.
The other school of thought is a position known as dualism. Dualists believe that the universe is made of two (or more) things. Yes, there are atoms, but there is also something else.
There is a temptation to spiritualize this position, while concurrently casting monism as the rational, modern view. And while it is true that those who believe in God or the soul or ghosts or “life forces” are certainly dualists, the dualism tent is much larger and includes many viewpoints that eschew the spiritual. Atheism and theism are beliefs about God; monism and dualism are beliefs about the nature of reality.
What might these other substances be? There are a couple of ways to think about it. One is that there is physical stuff and spiritual stuff. There are atoms and there are souls, for instance. This is the more religious conception of dualism. The second way to think of dualism doesn’t have any religious implications. It is that the universe is composed of physical stuff and mental stuff. The mental stuff includes hopes and regrets, love and hate, and so forth. While these things may be triggered by physical processes in the brain, the experience of them is not physical. It is a subtle difference, but an important one.
We will use Plato as our ancient Greek advocate for dualism. He believed that while there are things we call circles in this world, they are never really perfectcircles. But there exists a form, an ideal, that is a perfect circle, and that “circle-ness” is a real thing that isn’t governed by physical laws. And yet with your mind, you can visit the world of perfect forms by, for instance, contemplating philosophy. In a sense, high school geometry is an exercise in Platonic dualism. Geometric proofs rely on perfect forms, but in reality, there are no true circles, lines, or planes. Geometric proofs only loosely resemble our reality.
A modern Platonist might say, “You know what an idea is. It is a noun, right? You havean idea. It is a thing.” Now, here’s the question: Does an idea obey the laws of physics? Some would say yes, that the idea is a pattern of neurons in your brain. In your brain, it displays entropy. But, some would say no, that ideas are things untouched by physical laws. They originate at some place and time, they spread, they have an effect on their environments. But physics doesn’t govern ideas.
The modern defense of dualism is best expressed by the “Mary’s room” problem, formulated by the philosopher Frank Jackson. It goes like this: Mary is a hypothetical person who knows everything about color. Literally everything. Not just about the science of color, but right down to how photons hit the eye, and what the cones and rods do. Not just what they do, but at an atomic level, what is going on. I mean, she knows every single thing about color there is to know. But, she has spent her entire life in a gray room reading about color on a gray screen. She has never actually seen any color. But remember, she knows everything about it.
Then one day she leaves the room and sees color for the first time. Now, here is the big question: Does she now know anything more about color? Did she learn anything after seeing color for the first time? If you believe she did, if you think that experiencing something is different than knowing something, then you are a dualist. If she learned anything new, then it means that there is something that happens in experience that is beyond the physical universe, beyond simply knowing a thing. Whatever Mary learned about color when she saw it for the first time is something that is outside the realm of physics. What is that thing? How would you express it in an equation? Or even words, for that matter? Holding this belief will have profound implications on your conceptions of what a computer can and cannot do.
Another modern proponent of dualism is René Descartes, of “I think, therefore I am” fame. (You know you are dealing with an ancient problem when a guy born more than four hundred years ago is considered “modern.”) A quick refresher on his famous statement. Descartes began by doubting everything. Does two plus two equal four? Maybe. Does sewer rat taste like pumpkin pie? Who knows? He doubted the entire material world under the idea that it might be a trick being played on him by a demon of some kind. The conclusion of all this doubting is that . . . well, he knew nothing, other than that he doubted everything. So that was his foundational conclusion, better rendered as, “I doubt, therefore I am.” Descartes was the quintessential dualist, and he saw the mind as the source of consciousness and the brain as the place where simple facts were. So in his view, consciousness was mental and knowledge was physical. We will explore the difference between the brain and the mind later.
The traditional argument against dualism asks this question: If there is a world of physical things and a very different world of mental things, how do they interact? How can having a mental desire of wanting a sandwich compel your physical body to get up and make one? The fact that the craving can influence your body suggests that they are both physical.
All this may sound like sophomoric hairsplitting, but it will become quite germane when we ask whether computers can, for example, ever “feel” pain. They can sense temperature, but can they experience pain?
So, I now ask you to call the ball on our first question. Are you a monist or a dualist? (If you think you are something other than those two things, consider yourself a dualist for our purposes. The salient point is that you are not a monist.)
To read more of GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, you can purchase it here.
5 questions for… Densify: a sign of the times
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/24/5-questions-for-densify-a-sign-of-the-times/
April 24, 2018 at 04:46PM
April 24, 2018 at 04:46PM
Densify is an analytical service company whose mission is to help organisations move their server workloads to the public cloud and to optimise workloads once they are there. While the name is new, the company has been around (previously known as Cirba) since 1999 — that is, back to times when cloud was a twinkle in the eye of ASPs. Densify operates a subscription model, charged on a per-managed-virtual-instance basis.
In terms of the offering, Densify has data gathering and analytics tool known as Cloe — “the Cloud-Learning Optimization Engine”. Cloe outputs information about specific workloads, their current performance, and how they might be better sized, scaled and priced in a cloud environment. In other words, Cloe automatically balances application demand with cloud supply. Cloe’s outputs are interpreted by Densify experts — called “densification advisors” — who work with customers to set priorities and propose alternative targets for the workloads concerned.
Given that I’ve long taken the stance that no wholesale “move to cloud” exists, I was keen to catch up with Ayman Gabarin, EMEA VP and find out more about the Densify approach. Note that I am taking Densify’s approach at face value — that is, I am thinking about the challenge it seeks to address, whether it is good at what it does or not (feel free to check out Densify customer stories).
1. Why isn’t it as simple as “moving to the cloud?”
The answer is that there is no one size fits all. When instances are defined they are often over-specified, hindsight can find them too big or too small for the workloads. This is hard to get right — for example, AWS has over three million combinations of infrastructure and services so it is no surprise that customers err on the side of caution.
If they have a large virtual machine and they want to move it into the cloud environment, they will probably select an M3 instance, but can then find they are only using it for two hours a day, but still pay for capacity they are not using. The result is lots of potential dead wood.
The challenge is exacerbated by use of reserved instances, i.e. instances that are locked down over a year or more. These offer guarantees that prices will not go up, but at the same time, customers can find they are locked into costly, over-provisioned infrastructure.
2. So what does Densify bring to the party?
We offer technical, business and governance analysis. Densify’s heritage is in understanding server-based physical and virtual environments — we brought in analytics to help reduce server sprawl. Indeed, we still offer on-premise VMware services but our focus has moved to the growing challenge of cloud environments.
Cloe is our machine learning engine for optimising hybrid environments. We can plug Cloe into workloads running on-premise or in AWS/Azure/Google environments and then establish how the workloads might be better provisioned and run. Customers can see up to 80% cost savings on their public cloud bill based on our services, so ROI is almost immediate.
3. 80% — that’s quite a figure. How does it break down?
We tend to focus on workloads that are prime candidates for moving to the public cloud, and workloads that have been moved to the cloud but are proving more expensive than expected. We work at a number of levels:
– at the application level, we can deliver 15-20% of savings with basic analysis of the application and its needs.
– at the machine level, an additional 30% can be generated through resizing instances by policy.
– at the architectural level, we can deliver additional savings from database resizing, optimisation of reserved instances and containers
4. Cloe’s about machine learning — why are people needed?
Customers have a business to run – as they move to the public cloud, they tend to move to smaller teams with less expertise. The public cloud is so complex, it’s not simply a question of pushing a button and migrating from one environment to another.
What we offer is a kind of concierge service. Our experts can interpret the results generated by Cloe, but as importantly, can help our customers make the complex decisions they need to make around strategy, prioritisation and forward planning. It’s a bespoke service as every customer has unique challenges and needs.
5. Why a subscription and not a one-off payment?
We have always offered our services on a subscription basis. Environments and needs continue to change, so customers are OK to carry on paying a subscription as long as our services are useful to them.
Densify enables your applications to become self-aware of their resource requirements and to dynamically match their needs to optimal cloud supply. As this changes over time, so do our recommendations to ensure that they keep costs in check and maximise efficiency.
My take: Densify is a sign of the times
Whatever happened to the notion of elasticity? One of the most significant attractions of the cloud model was that organisations would only pay for what they needed, potentially down to a CPU cycle basis. In experimental situations this remains true — researchers and analysts can spin up a thousand servers, do a job then spin them down again, potentially paying only tens of pounds for the privilege.
But for ongoing workloads, this model has been superseded. A virtual machine running in the cloud across a longer period will incur costs for just being there. Mundane, complex reality kicks in: poorly (in hindsight) architected applications will still burn CPU, even when doing nothing; and will have been procured on a by-instance basis, sometimes (in the case of reserved instances) trading off higher costs against longer-term stability.
And it’s not in the interests of cloud providers to question these choices. Companies like Densify occupy a space that nobody wanted to exist: poor performance of virtualised workloads in what was originally sold as an elastic, pay-per-use environment. But exist it does. Densify’s service is predicated on the need to have assistance in cloud sizing. In principle, this should be a non-problem but in practice it is a challenge, and the company will be there as long as it is.
While cloud providers could do more to keep their customers’ costs down, this is not only a challenge for cloud-based environments; more, it comes from a failure to close the loop between those defining systems and those operating them. Another big idea of the times – DevOps – is predicated on the notion that developers and operational management can work together on creating optimised services for their users: maximum benefit at minimum cost.
Densify’s current raison d’être comes from a failure of this closed loop, as much as the company’s future perhaps depends on moving it from theory to reality.
The Fourth Age – Preface
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/24/fourth-age-preface/
April 24, 2018 at 04:15PM
April 24, 2018 at 04:15PM
The following is an excerpt from GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity. You can purchase the book here.
The Fourth Age explores the implications of automation and AI on humanity, and has been described by Ethernet inventor and 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe as framing “the deepest questions of our time in clear language that invites the reader to make their own choices. Using 100,000 years of human history as his guide, he explores the issues around artificial general intelligence, robots, consciousness, automation, the end of work, abundance, and immortality.”
What follows is the preface from The Fourth Age.
PREFACE
(Please read. Not the usual blah-blah stuff.)
Robots. Jobs. Automation. Artificial intelligence. Conscious computers. Superintelligence. Abundance. A jobless future. “Useless” humans. The end of scarcity. Creative computers. Robot overlords. Unlimited wealth. The end of work. A permanent underclass.
Some of these phrases and concepts probably show up in your news feed every day. Sometimes the narratives are positive, full of hope for the future. Other times they are fearful and dystopian. And this dichotomy is puzzling. The experts on these various topics, all intelligent and informed people, make predictions about the future that are not just a little different, but that are dramatically different and diametrically opposed to each other. So, why do Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates fear artificial intelligence (AI) and express concern that it may be a threat to humanity’s survival in the near future? And yet, why do an equally illustrious group, including Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Ng, and Pedro Domingos, and this viewpoint so far-fetched as to be hardly even worth a rebuttal? Zuckerberg goes so far as to call people who peddle doomsday scenarios “pretty irresponsible,” while Andrew Ng, one of the greatest minds in AI alive today, says that such concerns are like worrying about “overpopulation on Mars.” After Elon Musk was quoted as saying “AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization,” Pedro Domingos, a leading AI researcher and author, tweeted, “One word: Sigh.” Each group’s members are as confident in their position as they are scornful of the other side.
With respect to robots and automation, the situation is the same. The experts couldn’t be further apart. Some say that all jobs will be lost to automation, or at the very least that we are about to enter a permanent Great Depression in which one part of the workforce will be unable to compete with robotic labor while the other part will live lavish lives of plenty with their high-tech futuristic jobs. Others roll their eyes at these concerns and point to automation’s long track record of raising workers’ productivity and wages, and speculate that a bigger problem will be a shortage of human laborers. While fistfights are uncommon between these groups, there is condescending invective aplenty.
Finally, when considering the question of whether computers will become conscious and therefore alive, the experts disagree yet again. Some believe that it’s an obvious fact that computers can be conscious, and thus any other position is just silly superstition. Others emphatically disagree, saying that computers and living creatures are two very different things and that idea of a “living machine” is a contradiction in terms.
To those who follow all this debate, the net result is confusion and frustration. Many throw their hands up and surrender to the cacophony of competing viewpoints and conclude that if the people at the forefront of these technologies cannot agree on what will happen, then what hope do the rest of us have? They begin to view the future with fear and trepidation, concluding that these overwhelming questions must be inherently unanswerable.
Is there a path out of this? I think so. It begins when we realize that these experts disagree not because they know different things, but because they believe different things.
For instance, those who predict we will make conscious computers haven’t come to that conclusion because they know something about consciousness that others don’t, but because they believe something very basic: that humans are fundamentally machines. If humans are machines, it stands to reason that we can eventually build a mechanical human. On the other hand, those who think that machines will never achieve consciousness often hold that view because they aren’t persuaded that humans are purely mechanical beings.
So that is what this book is about: deconstructing the core beliefs that undergird the various views on robots, jobs, AI, and consciousness. My goal is to be your guide through these thorny issues, dissecting all the assumptions that form the opinions that these experts so passionately and confidently avow.
This book is not at all about my own thoughts concerning these issues. While I make no deliberate The effort to hide my beliefs, they are of little importance to how you, the reader, work your way through this book. My goal is for you to finish this book with a thorough understanding of where your beliefs lead you on these questions. Then, when you hear some Silicon Valley titan or distinguished professor or Nobel laureate make a confident claim about robots or jobs or AI, you will instantly understand the beliefs that underlie their statements.
Where does a journey like this begin? By necessity, far in the past, as far back as the invention of language. The questions we will grapple with in this book aren’t about transistors and neurons and algorithms and such. They are about the nature of reality, humanity, and mind. The confusion happens when we begin with “What jobs will robots take from humans?” instead of “What are humans?” Until we answer that second question, we can’t meaningfully address the first.
So I invite you to join me on a brisk walk through 100,000 years of human history, discussing big questions along the way, and exploring the future to come. This book is a journey. Thank you for taking it with me.
Byron Reese
Austin, Texas
To read more of GigaOm publisher Byron Reese’s new book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, you can purchase it here.
Tech Tip: Posting PDF Files on Facebook
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/technology/personaltech/posting-pdf-facebook.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 24, 2018 at 04:00PM
You can attach one to a post or a status update, but only if you are using a certain type of Facebook page.
April 24, 2018 at 04:00PM
You can attach one to a post or a status update, but only if you are using a certain type of Facebook page.
Amazon Tries a New Delivery Spot: Your Car
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/technology/amazon-delivery-car.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 24, 2018 at 02:00PM
The service new is aimed at anyone who doesn’t want to risk a package being stolen from a porch and can’t receive an order at work.
April 24, 2018 at 02:00PM
The service new is aimed at anyone who doesn’t want to risk a package being stolen from a porch and can’t receive an order at work.
3 Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Needed, but Are Worth Buying
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/smarter-living/3-gadgets-you-didnt-know-you-needed-roku-echo-alexa-tile.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 24, 2018 at 09:45AM
If you don’t have one of these — or you’ve waited until the options were good enough before investing, now’s the time to buy.
April 24, 2018 at 09:45AM
If you don’t have one of these — or you’ve waited until the options were good enough before investing, now’s the time to buy.
Monday, April 23, 2018
Apple’s Deal for Shazam Is Delayed in Europe Over Data Concerns
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/business/apple-shazam-eu-data.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 23, 2018 at 10:09PM
European authorities are testing the idea that data can give companies an unfair edge over rivals.
April 23, 2018 at 10:09PM
European authorities are testing the idea that data can give companies an unfair edge over rivals.
When is a startup pitch not a pitch? Retrospective thoughts on TechPitch 4.5
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/20/when-is-a-startup-pitch-not-a-pitch-retrospective-thoughts-on-techpitch-4-5/
April 20, 2018 at 11:52AM
April 20, 2018 at 11:52AM
This week I was lucky enough to be a judge at the most recent TechPitch 4.5 event in London. I say lucky for a number of reasons: it’s nice to be chosen, of course, but more than that, judging offers a rare opportunity to really think about what’s going on.
The range of candidates was diverse to say the least — from an enterprise-scale AI solution as a service to a widget that you can put on your web site, from a new way of making music to an asset management solution for estate agencies.
Largely because of this diversity, it was possible to see what made a good pitch and what doesn’t. And indeed, why it matters. I’m reminded of a recent conversation with a colleague who fielded a (relatively cold) sales call. “I wasn’t clear on what they were trying to sell me,” she said. “I doubt I’ll be using it.”
While this may appear to be short-term thinking, in these cluttered, time-strapped times we really don’t have the bandwidth to investigate every new possibility that comes along. Failure to realise this significantly undermines the addressable market, to the subset of “people who will spend the extra time trying to work out what I didn’t articulate.”
It shouldn’t be necessary to say this but clearly, it is. The presenters at TechPitch 4.5 had only 3 minutes to tell their stories: some, but not all succeeded. This isn’t the place to run through the qualities of the perfect pitch, but at the very least it should be clear on what, why and how it benefits, where it is and what is needed at this point.
Add to that we were a relatively gentle panel: our ethos was not to be antagonistic. In reality however, and as mentioned by fellow judge (and CCleaner co-founder) Lindsey Whelan, some investment panels, VCs and so on take great pleasure in demonstrating their alpha-prowess by belittling the organisations they profess to be helping.
Perhaps the biggest lesson was that all organisations are a work in progress, with all the complexity and unfinished business that entails. The trick, therefore, is to present something simple: while this may only be a subset of what you do, it may be enough to move you forward. The more complicated it is, the less of a pitch it becomes.
This was the approach followed by both winner and runner up. The “we help connect you with runners” model from RunTheWorld, and the “we can put a form on your site that is better than what is there” from FormPop might not have been the most technically profound or world changing. But they had the most resonance, reflected by panel and audience judging.
It would be a mistake to suggest that any of the presenters were unprepared: clearly a lot of effort had gone into each and every pitch. What was missing in some was whether it passed this basic litmus test. We can all have genius ideas — but if they leave the people you are speaking to scratching their heads, you probably still have some work to do.
Tech Tip: You Don’t Want the Malware Prize
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/technology/personaltech/malware-prize-malvertising.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 23, 2018 at 04:00PM
Devious code is sending people to fraudulent quiz and contest pages, so ignore that “lucky winner” notice and run a security scan.
April 23, 2018 at 04:00PM
Devious code is sending people to fraudulent quiz and contest pages, so ignore that “lucky winner” notice and run a security scan.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
A Former Top Wall Street Regulator Turns to the Blockchain
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/technology/gensler-mit-blockchain.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 23, 2018 at 03:03AM
Gary Gensler, who once led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has joined M.I.T., where he is warning about potential problems for virtual currencies.
April 23, 2018 at 03:03AM
Gary Gensler, who once led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has joined M.I.T., where he is warning about potential problems for virtual currencies.
Amazon’s Critics Get New Life With Trump’s Attacks on the Company
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/technology/amazon-critics-trump.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 22, 2018 at 11:24PM
Many of Amazon’s opponents have struggled for years to be heard. Now they have the country’s most powerful bullhorn — President Trump — on their side.
April 22, 2018 at 11:24PM
Many of Amazon’s opponents have struggled for years to be heard. Now they have the country’s most powerful bullhorn — President Trump — on their side.
Zelle, the Banks’ Answer to Venmo, Proves Vulnerable to Fraud
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/business/zelle-banks-fraud.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 22, 2018 at 10:06PM
The personal payment platform Zelle is flourishing. But so are fraudsters, who are exploiting weaknesses in the banks’ security.
April 22, 2018 at 10:06PM
The personal payment platform Zelle is flourishing. But so are fraudsters, who are exploiting weaknesses in the banks’ security.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Is Facebook’s Campbell Brown a Force to Be Reckoned With? Or Is She Fake News?
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/technology/facebook-campbell-brown-news.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 21, 2018 at 12:00PM
As Facebook’s head of news partnerships, Ms. Brown, a former CNN and NBC anchor, is emerging as a surprisingly adept negotiator for her publishing vision at the social network.
April 21, 2018 at 12:00PM
As Facebook’s head of news partnerships, Ms. Brown, a former CNN and NBC anchor, is emerging as a surprisingly adept negotiator for her publishing vision at the social network.
Friday, April 20, 2018
Electric Scooters Are Causing Havoc. This Man Is Shrugging It Off.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/electric-scooters-are-causing-havoc-this-man-is-shrugging-it-off.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 11:11PM
Travis VanderZanden, chief executive of electric scooter start-up Bird, is unperturbed by how San Francisco and other cities are in an uproar over the dockless vehicles.
April 20, 2018 at 11:11PM
Travis VanderZanden, chief executive of electric scooter start-up Bird, is unperturbed by how San Francisco and other cities are in an uproar over the dockless vehicles.
U.S. Said to Investigate AT&T and Verizon Over Wireless Collusion Claim
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/att-verizon-investigate-esim.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 11:00PM
Complaints to the Justice Department allege that the companies and a standards group worked together to restrict eSIM technology, a cardless way to easily switch carriers.
April 20, 2018 at 11:00PM
Complaints to the Justice Department allege that the companies and a standards group worked together to restrict eSIM technology, a cardless way to easily switch carriers.
India’s ATMs Are Running Out of Cash. Again.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/business/india-bank-cash-atm.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 10:52PM
The shortage, caused by government policies, poses a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was also responsible for India’s last cash crisis.
April 20, 2018 at 10:52PM
The shortage, caused by government policies, poses a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was also responsible for India’s last cash crisis.
Newsroom: China: Mobile Usage Will Overtake TV This Year
Source: http://www.emarketer.com/newsroom/index.php/china-mobile-usage-will-overtake-tv-this-year/
April 19, 2018 at 07:01AM
The popularity of digital video is a key contributor London, 19 April 2018:Â This year, for the first time, adults in China will spend more time with their mobile devices than […]
April 19, 2018 at 07:01AM
The popularity of digital video is a key contributor London, 19 April 2018:Â This year, for the first time, adults in China will spend more time with their mobile devices than […]
The Saturday Profile: Long Before Cambridge Analytica, a Belief in the ‘Power of the Subliminal’
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/world/europe/oakes-scl-cambridge-analytica-trump.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 06:28PM
Decades ago, Nigel Oakes believed it was possible, using science, to influence human behavior on a mass scale. That ultimately led to data mining.
April 20, 2018 at 06:28PM
Decades ago, Nigel Oakes believed it was possible, using science, to influence human behavior on a mass scale. That ultimately led to data mining.
G.E. Earnings Show Some Signs of a Turnaround
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/ge-earnings.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 04:39PM
Despite a first-quarter loss, General Electric reported improving trends in industrial earnings and reaffirmed its profit outlook for the year.
April 20, 2018 at 04:39PM
Despite a first-quarter loss, General Electric reported improving trends in industrial earnings and reaffirmed its profit outlook for the year.
Tech Tip: Getting Your Desktop Windows in Order
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/personaltech/desktop-windows-organize-resize.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 04:05PM
If your screen has become jumbled with too many open files, folders and programs to manage, you can quickly sort the pile.
April 20, 2018 at 04:05PM
If your screen has become jumbled with too many open files, folders and programs to manage, you can quickly sort the pile.
Bits: Kevin’s Week in Tech: Jeff Bezos Reminds Tech Who’s Boss
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/kevin-week-in-tech-bezos.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 04:00PM
Amazon’s chief executive sent out his annual shareholder letter this week. Our tech columnist recounts what stood out from it.
April 20, 2018 at 04:00PM
Amazon’s chief executive sent out his annual shareholder letter this week. Our tech columnist recounts what stood out from it.
Confronting a Crisis? Now, Kim Jong-un Can Just Pick Up the Phone
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/world/asia/kim-jong-un-hotline-korea.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 20, 2018 at 12:20PM
North Korea and South Korea have installed the first-ever telephone hotline between their top leaders in another sign of improving relations.
April 20, 2018 at 12:20PM
North Korea and South Korea have installed the first-ever telephone hotline between their top leaders in another sign of improving relations.
When is a startup pitch not a pitch? Retrospective thoughts on TechPitch 4.5
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/20/when-is-a-startup-pitch-not-a-pitch-retrospective-thoughts-on-techpitch-4-5/
April 20, 2018 at 11:52AM
April 20, 2018 at 11:52AM
This week I was lucky enough to be a judge at the most recent TechPitch 4.5 event in London. I say lucky for a number of reasons: it’s nice to be chosen, of course, but more than that, judging offers a rare opportunity to really think about what’s going on.
The range of candidates was diverse to say the least — from an enterprise-scale AI solution as a service to a widget that you can put on your web site, from a new way of making music to an asset management solution for estate agencies.
Largely because of this diversity, it was possible to see what made a good pitch and what doesn’t. And indeed, why it matters. I’m reminded of a recent conversation with a colleague who fielded a (relatively cold) sales call. “I wasn’t clear on what they were trying to sell me,” she said. “I doubt I’ll be using it.”
While this may appear to be short-term thinking, in these cluttered, time-strapped times we really don’t have the bandwidth to investigate every new possibility that comes along. Failure to realise this significantly undermines the addressable market, to the subset of “people who will spend the extra time trying to work out what I didn’t articulate.”
It shouldn’t be necessary to say this but clearly, it is. The presenters at TechPitch 4.5 had only 3 minutes to tell their stories: some, but not all succeeded. This isn’t the place to run through the qualities of the perfect pitch, but at the very least it should be clear on what, why and how it benefits, where it is and what is needed at this point.
Add to that we were a relatively gentle panel: our ethos was not to be antagonistic. In reality however, and as mentioned by fellow judge (and CCleaner co-founder) Lindsey Whelan, some investment panels, VCs and so on take great pleasure in demonstrating their alpha-prowess by belittling the organisations they profess to be helping.
Perhaps the biggest lesson was that all organisations are a work in progress, with all the complexity and unfinished business that entails. The trick, therefore, is to present something simple: while this may only be a subset of what you do, it may be enough to move you forward. The more complicated it is, the less of a pitch it becomes.
This was the approach followed by both winner and runner up. The “we help connect you with runners” model from RunTheWorld, and the “we can put a form on your site that is better than what is there” from FormPop might not have been the most technically profound or world changing. But they had the most resonance, reflected by panel and audience judging.
It would be a mistake to suggest that any of the presenters were unprepared: clearly a lot of effort had gone into each and every pitch. What was missing in some was whether it passed this basic litmus test. We can all have genius ideas — but if they leave the people you are speaking to scratching their heads, you probably still have some work to do.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
It Could Be Game Over for a Onetime King of Donkey Kong
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/movies/king-donkey-kong-score-mitchell.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 19, 2018 at 07:22PM
The million-point record of Billy Mitchell, the subject of a 2007 documentary, has been thrown out, and Steve Wiebe, his rival, claims “sweet victory.”
April 19, 2018 at 07:22PM
The million-point record of Billy Mitchell, the subject of a 2007 documentary, has been thrown out, and Steve Wiebe, his rival, claims “sweet victory.”
Tech Tip: Protecting Privacy Inside and Outside the House
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/technology/personaltech/browser-privacy-mode.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 19, 2018 at 04:00PM
The incognito and private browsing modes built into most modern browsers shield your online activity at home — but maybe not to the rest of the world.
April 19, 2018 at 04:00PM
The incognito and private browsing modes built into most modern browsers shield your online activity at home — but maybe not to the rest of the world.
futuretext.ai newsletter
Source: http://www.opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2018/04/futuretext-ai-newsletter.html
April 14, 2018 at 02:07PM
April 14, 2018 at 02:07PM
Test Run: Smartphone Apps for Spontaneous Travel
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/travel/smartphone-apps-for-spontaneous-travel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 19, 2018 at 12:00PM
While travelers have long been able to set up airfare alerts, these apps go a step further in helping flexible travelers plan a last-minute trip.
April 19, 2018 at 12:00PM
While travelers have long been able to set up airfare alerts, these apps go a step further in helping flexible travelers plan a last-minute trip.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Time Warner C.E.O. Testifies That AT&T Deal Is Needed to Battle Silicon Valley
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/business/time-warner-att-merger.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 18, 2018 at 10:18PM
Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner’s chief executive, said on Wednesday in federal court that Time Warner is an underdog against Amazon, Netflix and others — unless it merges with AT&T.
April 18, 2018 at 10:18PM
Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner’s chief executive, said on Wednesday in federal court that Time Warner is an underdog against Amazon, Netflix and others — unless it merges with AT&T.
Facebook’s Current Status With Advertisers? It’s Complicated
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/business/media/facebook-advertisers-privacy-data.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 18, 2018 at 11:01PM
Marketers have long had a symbiotic relationship with the social network. But user concerns about data has companies taking a harder look at how they work with Facebook.
April 18, 2018 at 11:01PM
Marketers have long had a symbiotic relationship with the social network. But user concerns about data has companies taking a harder look at how they work with Facebook.
Tech We’re Using: Following the Trail of Online Ads, Wherever It Leads
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/technology/personaltech/online-advertising-tracking.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 18, 2018 at 07:20PM
Sapna Maheshwari, who covers advertising for The Times, discusses how she tracks the online ads that track us.
April 18, 2018 at 07:20PM
Sapna Maheshwari, who covers advertising for The Times, discusses how she tracks the online ads that track us.
Tech Tip: Locking Up Your Lock Screen
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/technology/personaltech/lock-screen-image.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 18, 2018 at 04:00PM
If your Windows 10 lock screen changes daily or slows you down in getting to your desktop, you can change its behavior.
April 18, 2018 at 04:00PM
If your Windows 10 lock screen changes daily or slows you down in getting to your desktop, you can change its behavior.
Corner Office: Marissa Mayer Is Still Here
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/business/marissa-mayer-corner-office.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 18, 2018 at 12:00PM
The former Yahoo chief is renting Google’s original office, where “there’s a lot of good juju,” and planning her next act. She just won’t say what it is.
April 18, 2018 at 12:00PM
The former Yahoo chief is renting Google’s original office, where “there’s a lot of good juju,” and planning her next act. She just won’t say what it is.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Supreme Court Divided on Sales Taxes for Online Purchases
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/justices-divided-on-sales-taxes-for-online-purchases.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 11:14PM
The justices heard arguments about whether to overrule a 1992 decision that shielded many internet retailers from having to collect sales taxes.
April 17, 2018 at 11:14PM
The justices heard arguments about whether to overrule a 1992 decision that shielded many internet retailers from having to collect sales taxes.
Inside Cambridge Analytica’s Virtual Currency Plans
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/technology/cambridge-analytica-initial-coin-offering.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 10:07PM
The data firm was hoping to do its own so-called initial coin offering and quietly helped promote other companies in the unregulated industry.
April 17, 2018 at 10:07PM
The data firm was hoping to do its own so-called initial coin offering and quietly helped promote other companies in the unregulated industry.
Supreme Court Tosses Out Microsoft Case on Digital Data Abroad
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/us/politics/supreme-court-tosses-out-case-on-digital-data-abroad.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 08:44PM
A closely watched clash between federal prosecutors and Microsoft fizzled after Congress enacted a new law last month.
April 17, 2018 at 08:44PM
A closely watched clash between federal prosecutors and Microsoft fizzled after Congress enacted a new law last month.
Russian Court Bans Telegram App After 18-Minute Hearing
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/world/europe/russia-telegram-encryption.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
Tech Tip: Beating Those Wireless Printer Woes
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/personaltech/canon-printer-wireless-setup.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
If you can’t get your printer on the network, you may be able to get assistance without waiting for a human to come to the phone.
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
If you can’t get your printer on the network, you may be able to get assistance without waiting for a human to come to the phone.
Bits: Kevin’s Week in Tech: Another Facebook-Free Edition
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/kevins-week-in-tech-another-facebook-free-edition.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
We got through another week of wall-to-wall news about Facebook. Here are a few other stories that might have escaped your attention.
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
We got through another week of wall-to-wall news about Facebook. Here are a few other stories that might have escaped your attention.
Justices Divided on Sales Taxes for Online Purchases
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/justices-divided-on-sales-taxes-for-online-purchases.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 09:09PM
The Supreme Court heard arguments about whether to overrule a 1992 decision that shielded many internet retailers from having to collect sales taxes.
April 17, 2018 at 09:09PM
The Supreme Court heard arguments about whether to overrule a 1992 decision that shielded many internet retailers from having to collect sales taxes.
Supreme Court Tosses Out Microsoft Case on Digital Data Abroad
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/us/politics/supreme-court-tosses-out-case-on-digital-data-abroad.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 08:44PM
A closely watched clash between federal prosecutors and Microsoft fizzled after Congress enacted a new law last month.
April 17, 2018 at 08:44PM
A closely watched clash between federal prosecutors and Microsoft fizzled after Congress enacted a new law last month.
Russian Court Bans Telegram App After 18-Minute Hearing
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/world/europe/russia-telegram-encryption.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
Economic Scene: Facebook Is Creepy. And Valuable.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/economy/facebook-regulation-privacy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 06:59PM
To protect the public without overreacting, the issue for legislators and regulators to weigh is how much the data-driven ecosystem is worth to us.
April 17, 2018 at 06:59PM
To protect the public without overreacting, the issue for legislators and regulators to weigh is how much the data-driven ecosystem is worth to us.
Tech Tip: Declining Android’s Automatic Correction Help
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/technology/personaltech/declining-androids-automatic-correction-help.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 04:00PM
Google’s smartphone software includes a set of tools to help you type — but if they trip you up, turn them off.
April 17, 2018 at 04:00PM
Google’s smartphone software includes a set of tools to help you type — but if they trip you up, turn them off.
Huawei, Failing to Crack U.S. Market, Signals a Change in Tactics
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/technology/china-huawei-washington.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 10:07AM
The Chinese telecom giant, which has been dogged by concerns about its ties to Beijing, dropped its top Washington liaison and other American employees.
April 17, 2018 at 10:07AM
The Chinese telecom giant, which has been dogged by concerns about its ties to Beijing, dropped its top Washington liaison and other American employees.
A Beginner’s Guide to Taking Great Video on Your Phone
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/smarter-living/beginners-guide-phone-video.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 17, 2018 at 09:45AM
Everyone from pro photographers to amateur shutterbugs are using phones to shoot video projects. Here’s how you can get started.
April 17, 2018 at 09:45AM
Everyone from pro photographers to amateur shutterbugs are using phones to shoot video projects. Here’s how you can get started.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Robots Ride to the Rescue Where Workers Can’t Be Found
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/business/labor-robots-jobs-eastern-europe.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 16, 2018 at 08:31PM
Fast-growing economies in Eastern Europe have led to severe labor shortages, so companies are calling in the machines.
April 16, 2018 at 08:31PM
Fast-growing economies in Eastern Europe have led to severe labor shortages, so companies are calling in the machines.
Tech Tip: Reclaim Your Screen From Scammers
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/technology/personaltech/scammers-pop-up.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 16, 2018 at 04:00PM
Internet con artists hope their crafty coding will fool you into asking for their fraudulent tech-support services, but you can often escape with a few keystrokes.
April 16, 2018 at 04:00PM
Internet con artists hope their crafty coding will fool you into asking for their fraudulent tech-support services, but you can often escape with a few keystrokes.
Chinese Social Media Site Reverses Gay Content Ban After Uproar
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/world/asia/china-weibo-gay.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 16, 2018 at 01:03PM
Sina Weibo vowed to scale back a “cleanup” campaign, but some gay rights advocates demanded an apology.
April 16, 2018 at 01:03PM
Sina Weibo vowed to scale back a “cleanup” campaign, but some gay rights advocates demanded an apology.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Employees Jump at Genetic Testing. Is That a Good Thing?
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/technology/genetic-testing-employee-benefit.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 16, 2018 at 01:13AM
Genetic disease risk screening is becoming a popular employee benefit. But the tests may not be all that beneficial for the general population, experts say.
April 16, 2018 at 01:13AM
Genetic disease risk screening is becoming a popular employee benefit. But the tests may not be all that beneficial for the general population, experts say.
Tech Tip: Editing RAW Images on an iPad
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/technology/personaltech/editing-raw-ipad.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 12, 2018 at 04:00PM
Photographers who want to leave the bulky laptop at home can edit and save images in the uncompressed RAW format right on Apple’s tablet.
April 12, 2018 at 04:00PM
Photographers who want to leave the bulky laptop at home can edit and save images in the uncompressed RAW format right on Apple’s tablet.
Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists Prepare for an I.P.O. Wave
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/technology/silicon-valley-venture-capitalists-ipo.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 15, 2018 at 09:18PM
With Dropbox and Spotify successfully going public, tech investors believe that a bonanza of initial public offerings is finally about to arrive.
April 15, 2018 at 09:18PM
With Dropbox and Spotify successfully going public, tech investors believe that a bonanza of initial public offerings is finally about to arrive.
‘I Am Gay, Not a Pervert’: Furor Erupts in China as Sina Weibo Bans Gay Content
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/world/asia/china-gay-ban-sina-weibo-.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 15, 2018 at 03:38PM
Activists said the social media site’s vow to delete posts with homosexual themes was the latest sign of discrimination in the country.
April 15, 2018 at 03:38PM
Activists said the social media site’s vow to delete posts with homosexual themes was the latest sign of discrimination in the country.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
futuretext.ai newsletter
Source: http://www.opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2018/04/futuretext-ai-newsletter.html
April 14, 2018 at 02:07PM
April 14, 2018 at 02:07PM
Friday, April 13, 2018
Facebook Takes the Punches While Rest of Silicon Valley Ducks
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/facebook-silicon-valley.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 10:10PM
Google’s ad business is twice as big as Facebook’s. But executives at Google and other big tech companies have avoided intense scrutiny. For now.
April 13, 2018 at 10:10PM
Google’s ad business is twice as big as Facebook’s. But executives at Google and other big tech companies have avoided intense scrutiny. For now.
Tech Tip: Beating Those Wireless Printer Woes
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/personaltech/canon-printer-wireless-setup.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
If you can’t get your printer on the network, you may be able to get assistance without waiting for a human to come to the phone.
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
If you can’t get your printer on the network, you may be able to get assistance without waiting for a human to come to the phone.
Bits: Kevin’s Week in Tech: Another Facebook-Free Edition
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/kevins-week-in-tech-another-facebook-free-edition.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
We got through another week of wall-to-wall news about Facebook. Here are a few other stories that might have escaped your attention.
April 13, 2018 at 04:00PM
We got through another week of wall-to-wall news about Facebook. Here are a few other stories that might have escaped your attention.
Russian Court Bans Telegram App After 18-Minute Hearing
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/world/europe/russia-telegram-encryption.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
April 13, 2018 at 02:22PM
A Moscow judge blocked the messaging app after it refused to give the security services its encryption keys. But the company says they don’t exist.
Newsroom: Native Ad Spend Will Make Up Nearly 60% of US Display Spending in 2018
Source: http://www.emarketer.com/newsroom/index.php/native-ad-spend-will-make-up-nearly-60-of-display-spending-in-2018/
April 11, 2018 at 07:01AM
April 11, 2018 (New York, NY) – Thanks to the massive growth of advertising on social networks and mobile devices—two areas where native ads dominate—native advertising now accounts for more […]
April 11, 2018 at 07:01AM
April 11, 2018 (New York, NY) – Thanks to the massive growth of advertising on social networks and mobile devices—two areas where native ads dominate—native advertising now accounts for more […]
The Personal Data of 346,000 People, Hung on a Museum Wall
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/technology/china-personal-data-museum.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 13, 2018 at 10:30AM
An artist is under investigation for an exhibit intended to highlight China’s lack of privacy protections and a public sense of futility.
April 13, 2018 at 10:30AM
An artist is under investigation for an exhibit intended to highlight China’s lack of privacy protections and a public sense of futility.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
2 Days, 10 Hours, 600 Questions: What Happened When Mark Zuckerberg Went to Washington
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/technology/mark-zuckerberg-testimony.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 12, 2018 at 10:34PM
Mr. Zuckerberg was on Capitol Hill to defend his company’s reputation and try to assure the public that Facebook was still a friendly platform.
April 12, 2018 at 10:34PM
Mr. Zuckerberg was on Capitol Hill to defend his company’s reputation and try to assure the public that Facebook was still a friendly platform.
Senators Had a Lot to Say About Facebook. That Hasn’t Stopped Them From Using It.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/us/politics/facebook-senators-usage.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 12, 2018 at 09:21PM
The 44 senators who questioned Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday have one thing in common: They’re all his users.
April 12, 2018 at 09:21PM
The 44 senators who questioned Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday have one thing in common: They’re all his users.
An App Moved Offline, and China’s Censors Stepped In
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/business/china-bytedance-duanzi-censor.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 12, 2018 at 09:36PM
The community for users of Neihan Duanzi, a joke-sharing app, extended beyond the bounds of cyberspace. That may have angered China’s censors.
April 12, 2018 at 09:36PM
The community for users of Neihan Duanzi, a joke-sharing app, extended beyond the bounds of cyberspace. That may have angered China’s censors.
After Cambridge Analytica, Privacy Experts Get to Say ‘I Told You So’
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/technology/privacy-researchers-facebook.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
April 12, 2018 at 05:24PM
The scandal over how Facebook let a consulting firm gain access to user information is ushering in a new era for privacy experts, whose warnings about online privacy have long gone unheeded.
April 12, 2018 at 05:24PM
The scandal over how Facebook let a consulting firm gain access to user information is ushering in a new era for privacy experts, whose warnings about online privacy have long gone unheeded.
Voices in AI – Episode 42: A Conversation with Jem Davies
Source: https://gigaom.com/2018/04/12/voices-in-ai-episode-42-a-conversation-with-jem-davies/
April 12, 2018 at 05:00PM
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April 12, 2018 at 05:00PM
In this episode, Byron and Jem discuss machine learning, privacy, ethics, and Moore’s law.
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Byron Reese: Hello, this is “Voices in AI,” brought to you by GigaOm, I am Byron Reese. Today my guest is Jem Davies, he is a VP and a Fellow and the GM of the Machine Learning Group at ARM. ARM, as you know, makes processors. They have, in fact, 90–95% of the share in mobile devices. I think they’ve shipped something like 125 billion processors. They’re shipping 20 billion a year, which means you, listener, probably bought three or four or five of them this year alone. With that in mind, we’re very proud to have Jem here. Welcome to the show, Jem.
Jem Davies: Thank you very much indeed. Thanks for asking me on.
Tell me, if I did buy four or five of your processors, where are they all? Mobile devices I mentioned. Are they in my cell phone, my clock radio? Are they in my smart light bulb? Where in the world have you secreted them?
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