May 14, 2021 | algo, games & graphics, trends
In early experiments, a paralyzed man with implants in his premotor cortex typed 90 characters per minute—by envisioning he was writing by hand.
Source: A New Brain Implant Translates Thoughts of Writing Into Text
May 14, 2021 | networking
Of all the reply guy species, the most pernicious is the correction guy. You’ve seen him before, perhaps you’ve even been him. When someone (often a celebrity or politician) tweets bad science or a provable political lie, the correction guy is there to respond with the correct information.
Source: Confronting Disinformation Spreaders on Twitter Only Makes It Worse, MIT Scientists Say
May 13, 2021 | algo, mobile, networking
As consumer behavior and expectations around privacy have shifted — and operating systems and browsers have adapted to this — the age of cookies as a means of tracking user behavior is coming to an end . Few people will bemoan this, but advertisers and marketers rely on having insights into how their efforts translate into sales (and publishers like to know how their content performs as well).
Source: Google Analytics prepares for life after cookies
May 13, 2021 | algo
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday on Twitter that Tesla has “suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin,” out of concern over “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.” The price of bitcoin dropped about 5% in the first minutes after Musk’s announcement.
Source: Elon Musk says Tesla will stop accepting bitcoin for car purchases, citing environmental concerns
May 12, 2021 | algo, audio
In 2011, Jeff Bezos dreamt up a talking device. But making the virtual assistant sound intelligent proved far more difficult than anyone could have imagined.
Source: The Secret Origins of Amazon’s Alexa
May 12, 2021 | games & graphics
I have always loved the idea of choosing my own path in a game. Moral dilemmas make virtual worlds more interesting. Sometimes they change the outcome and give you a reason to play the game all over again. But as much as I like the idea, I often struggle to take the evil route.
Source: Why Is It So Hard to Be Evil in Video Games?
May 12, 2021 | networking
TikTok is testing a tool for brands to recruit employees, sources tell Axios. Details: The pilot program is designed to help people find jobs on TikTok and connect with companies looking to find candidates. It’s also meant to help brands use TikTok as a recruitment channel.
Source: TikTok is launching a job hiring service to help find gigs for Gen Z
May 11, 2021 | video
There are constant fights among powerful digital companies over what streaming video apps appear on our living room TV sets. It shows how the overlords of new TV are falling into the same bad habits as old TV.
Source: Why is new TV so much like cable?
May 11, 2021 | networking, trends
In 1995, an online troll impersonated Ken Zeran on AOL, posting tasteless ads with his phone number. Zeran sued AOL, and lost. The person behind the ads has never been identified.
Source: How One Man’s Fight Against An AOL Troll Sealed The Tech Industry’s Power
May 11, 2021 | games & graphics, mobile, networking, trends
Jennifer Daniel is the first woman at the helm of the Emoji Subcommittee for the Unicode Consortium and a fierce advocate for inclusive, thoughtful emoji. She initially rose to prominence for introducing Mx. Claus, a gender-inclusive alternative to Santa and Mrs. Claus; a non-gendered person breastfeeding a non-gendered baby; and a masculine face wearing a bridal veil.
Source: Meet Jennifer Daniel, the woman who decides what emoji we get to use
May 11, 2021 | algo, networking, trends
The FBI confirmed yesterday (May 10) that a Russian hacking group called DarkSide was behind a recent cyberattack that shut down Colonial Pipeline, the company that operates the largest fuel pipeline in the US . What is DarkSide?
Source: Hacking collective DarkSide are state-sanctioned pirates
May 10, 2021 | networking, trends
There is, once again, a trendy term going viral. A term that is dividing generations and genders. A term that groups a number of food, fashion, decor, and aesthetic preferences by how not-trendy they are. The word is “cheugy” and it’s as cringe-y as it sounds.
Source: Don’t Know What Cheugy Is? That’s Fine, You Really Don’t Need To
May 10, 2021 | algo, games & graphics, mobile, networking, trends
“Fortnite” maker Epic Games is suing Apple, and the bench trial started this week in California. Epic says Apple’s App Store is a monopoly. Apple says Epic broke its developer contract. Through court filings, major secrets from Apple, Epic, Microsoft, and more have been revealed.
Source: Apple and Epic Games are revealing a ton of industry secrets in court filings — from untold billions in ‘Fortnite’ profits to private email exchanges, these are the 5 juiciest bits
May 10, 2021 | audio, trends
Services like Spotify and Apple Music pulled the business back from the brink. But artists say they can’t make a living. And their complaints are getting louder.
Source: Musicians Say Streaming Doesn’t Pay. Can the Industry Change?
May 9, 2021 | algo
At last week’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament , held as a virtual event with more than 1,000 participants, one impressive competitor made news. For the first time, artificial intelligence managed to outscore the human solvers in the race to fill the grids with speed and accuracy.
Source: What a Crossword AI Reveals About Humans’ Way With Words
May 9, 2021 | algo, games & graphics, networking
The 3-D-modelling software used to design digital interiors lends itself to certain elements, such as plastics, curves, and soft light. Space design and rendering by Nareg Taimoorian and Charlotte Taylor Last spring, several months into the pandemic , a series of images appeared on Instagram, depicting a luxury home nestled into the cliffs of the Scala dei Turchi, on the coast of Italy.
Source: The Strange, Soothing World of Instagram’s Computer-Generated Interiors
May 9, 2021 | networking, trends
Where did half a trillion dollars go? AOL and Yahoo have been sold once again: This time private equity firm Apollo Global Management is buying them from Verizon for $5 billion. It’s a paltry sum for a pair of companies that were once valued at more than $475 billion combined.
Source: Digging in the dust of AOL and Yahoo’s lost internet empires
May 6, 2021 | algo, mobile, trends
Apple’s new AirTags , $30 wireless devices that help you locate things, work well. Frighteningly well. Clip a button-sized AirTag onto your keys, and it’ll help you find where you accidentally dropped them in the park. But if someone else slips an AirTag into your bag or car without your knowledge, it could also be used to covertly track everywhere you go.
Source: Review | Apple’s AirTag trackers made it frighteningly easy to ‘stalk’ me in a test
May 6, 2021 | algo, mobile, networking, video
A growing number of tools now let you stop facial recognition systems from training on your personal photo
Source: How to stop AI from recognizing your face in selfies
May 5, 2021 | mobile, networking
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that Snapchat can be sued in a case in which a young man used the app’s “speed filter” feature before a fatal crash.
Source: Snapchat Can Be Sued Over Role In Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules
