 Facebook Will Shut Down Its Spyware VPN App Onavo
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Facebook will end its unpaid market research programs and proactively take its Onavo VPN app off the Google Play store in the wake of backlash following TechCrunch's investigation about Onavo code being used in a Facebook Research app the sucked up data about teens. The Onavo Protect app will eventually shut down, and will immediately cease pulling in data from users for market research though it will continue operating as a Virtual Private Ne
|
|
|
Israel Launches Spacecraft To the Moon
The first privately funded mission to land on the moon took one giant step forward this evening as an Israeli spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. "[I]f the mission is successful, it would make Israel the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface -- after the U.S., the former Soviet Union and China," reports NPR. From the report: The spacecraft launched with a Space X Falcon 9 rocket, according to SpaceIL's partner Israel Aerospace Industries. It detached from the
|
|
|
|
YouTube Videos Could Get Demonetized If They Have 'Inappropriate Comments'
In response to a mother's inquiry into why her son's gymnastics videos were deemed not advertiser friendly, YouTube said on Twitter it has "taken a number of actions to better protect the YouTube community from content that endangers minors." The video-sharing website went on to say something very concerning for anyone who has ever uploaded a video to the site: "... even if your video is suitable for advertisers, inappropriate comments could result in your video receiving limited or no ads (yell
|
|
|
 Apple HomePods are on sale for $234 ($115 off) today only
Amazon-owned Woot has just issued an aggressive discount on refurbished HomePods, delivering the lowest price anywhere on the smart speaker in your choice of Space Gray or White. Priced at just $234.99, this flash deal is valid today only while supplies last.
|
|
|
 Baidu's video site iQiyi adds 37M subscribers in 2018 amid mounting losses
China’s Baidu, which is often compared to Alphabet’s Google, is showing no signs of slowing down its pace of betting on video content as its core advertising unit feels the squeeze from rivals. The company’s latest financial results show its video streaming business iQiyi posted a net loss of 9.1 billion yuan or $1.3 billion in 2018, […]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
China's CRISPR Twins Might Have Had Their Brains Inadvertently Enhanced
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: The brains of two genetically-edited girls born in China last year may have been changed in ways that enhance cognition and memory, scientists say. The twins, called Lulu and Nana, were modified using CRISPR, a new gene-editing tool, by a Chinese scientific team to make the girls immune to infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Now, new research shows the same genetic alteration introduced into the girls' DNA, to a gene calle
|
|
|
|
Waymo Self-Driving Cars Can Now Obey Police Hand Signals
In the event that a traffic light is not working, Waymo's self-driving cars will now be able to use AI to detect and respond to the arm movements of a traffic cop as they wave traffic through an intersection. You can watch a demo of it on YouTube. Futurism reports: Waymo first claimed that its autonomous vehicles could respond to hand signals from nearby cyclists back in 2016. That particular research treated cyclists, from the vehicle's perspective, as obstacles to track and avoid. A new video
|
|
|
|
|
Google Will End Forced Arbitration For Employees
Google said it will no longer require current and future staff to go through mandatory arbitration for disputes with the company. "The change goes into effect on March 21," reports CNET. "The search giant will also remove mandatory arbitration from its own employment agreements with contract and temporary staff, though the change won't impact staffing firms." From the report: This comes after Google employees in November walked out of their offices to protest the company's handling of sexual har
|
|
|
|
Verizon Plans To Roll Out Its 5G Mobile Network In 30 Cities This Year
Verizon has announced plans to turn on its 5G mobile network in 30 U.S. cities this year. "It revealed the plan during an investor meeting Thursday, though didn't disclose the list of cities," reports Engadget. From the report: Verizon already offers home broadband service via 5G in Los Angeles, Houston, Indianapolis and Sacramento. This month, it hinted at upcoming rollouts in New York City and Atlanta, as well as Medford, Massachusetts, suggesting Verizon will bring 5G to nearby Boston too. Th
|
|
|
Experts Find Serious Problems With Switzerland's Online Voting System
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Switzerland made headlines this month for the transparency of its internet voting system when it launched a public penetration test and bug bounty program to test the resiliency of the system to attack. But after source code for the software and technical documentation describing its architecture were leaked online last week, critics are already expressing concern about the system's design and about the transparency around the public test. Cr
|
|
|
Consumer Reports No Longer Recommends the Tesla Model 3
Consumer Reports is pulling its recommendation of the Tesla Model 3, citing reliability issues with the car. "Tesla buyers are more likely to be satisfied with their car than customers of any other brand, according to Consumer Reports," reports CNN. "Yet the publication says many customers reported problems with the Model 3, including loose body trim and glass defects." From the report: "Consumers expect their cars to last -- and not be in the repair shop. That's why reliability is so important,
|
|
|
Unearthed Emails Show Google, Ad Giants Know They Break Privacy Laws
AmiMoJo shares a report from The Register: Privacy warriors have filed fresh evidence in their ongoing battle against real-time web ad exchange systems, which campaigners claim trample over Europe's data protection laws. The new filings -- submitted today to regulators in the UK, Ireland, and Poland -- allege that Google and industry body the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) are well aware that their advertising networks flout the EU's privacy-safeguarding GDPR, and yet are doing nothing abo
|
|
|
American Airlines Has Cameras In Their Screens Too
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: A viral photo showing a camera in a Singapore Airlines in-flight TV display recently caused an uproar online. The image was retweeted hundreds of times, with many people expressing concern about the privacy implications. As it turns out, some seat-back screens in American Airlines' premium economy class have them, too. Sri Ray was aboard an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight to Tokyo in September 2018 when he noticed something strange:
|
|
|
Queensland, Australia Drivers Set To Get Emoji Number Plates
The unusual move is set to be rolled out by Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) from next month, allowing drivers to adorn their number plates with a touch of emotion. From a report: Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) spokeswoman Rebecca Michael said it was no different from allowing drivers to express themselves with other available themes like their favorite footy team. "For quite some time we've seen that you can support your favourite team or your favourite town with a symbol on you
|
|
|
Nike Bricks Its Shoes With a Faulty Firmware Update
AmiMoJo writes: Nike users are experiencing some technical difficulties in the wild world of connected footwear. Nike's $350 "Adapt BB" sneakers are the latest in the company's line of self-lacing shoes, and they come with the "Nike Adapt" app for Android and iOS. The app pairs with the shoes and lets you adjust the tightness of the laces, customize the lights (yeah, there are lights), and see, uh, how much battery life your shoes have left. The only problem: Nike's Android app doesn't work. And
|
|
|
|
|
|
Right To Repair Legislation Is Officially Being Considered In Canada
Canada is the newest frontier in the fight for the "right to repair" after an Ontario politician introduced a bill on Thursday that would ensure individuals and independent professionals can repair brand-name computers and phones cheaply and easily. From a report: Manufacturers make it incredibly difficult to repair our broken devices ourselves. Instead of taking a smashed phone to a local repair professional for an affordable fix, a complex matrix of trade secrets and government intervention of
|
|
|
|
Tesla Model 3 loses Consumer Reports recommendation over 'reliability problems'
Consumer Reports has placed the Tesla Model 3 into that fun-to-drive, terribly unreliable category where brands like Alfa Romeo, Land Rover and Maserati also live. Consumer Reports, which has a complicated relationship with Tesla, says it can no longer recommend the Model 3 because issues with the paint, trim and body hardware raises reliability questions. […]
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | |
|
Japan Wants To Boost the Use of Electric Vehicles as a Power Source During Natural Disasters
Japan, a country which frequently suffers natural calamities such as tsunamis, typhoons, and earthquakes is looking to further harness the power of batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) during such disasters, local media reports. From a report: Nissan, which produces the Leaf, the world's best-selling EV model, plans to hold an event in March to let people stay overnight in their cars and try using the electricity stored in their car batteries to simulate the experience of being in an emerge
|
|
|
|
Lime hires its first CFO
Lime is hiring Ted Tobiason, former managing director in tech equity capital markets at Morgan Stanley, to serve as its chief financial officer. This comes following Lime’s behemoth $310 million Series D round earlier this month. Led by Bain Capital Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Ventures, GV and IVP, the round values Lime at $2.4 billion. Lime, which got its […]
|
|
|
Twitter's latest test changes 'Retweet with Comment' so it looks more like a Reply
Twitter’s new prototype testing program isn’t the only way it’s working to fix conversations on its site. The company confirmed it’s currently running another public-facing test focused on making Twitter “more conversational” — but this time with Retweets instead of Replies. The test involves using a thin line to connect a quote-style retweet to the […]
|
|
|
Amazon To Fund Computer Science Classes at 1,000 US High Schools
Amazon said its Future Engineer program will fund computer science classes at more than 1,000 high schools in all 50 states by this fall. From a report: This is a rapid expansion for the program that launched in November. Down the road, Amazon aims to reach more than 10 million kids with the coding activities and lessons each year and provide more than 100,000 students in more than 2,000 high schools access to introductory or advanced computer science courses. As part of the program, Amazon also
|
|
|
Pinterest files confidentially to go public
The visual search engine has confidentially submitted paperwork to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering slated for later this year, the WSJ reports.
|
|
|
|
|
Earth's Atmosphere Extends Much Farther Than Previously Thought
Contrary to general belief that Earth's atmosphere stops a bit over 62 miles from the surface, a new study based on observations made over two decades ago by the joint US-European Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite shows that it actually extends as far 391,000 miles (630,000 km) or 50 times the Earth's diameter. This makes the Moon a very high altitude aircraft. From a report: Launched on December 2, 1995 atop an Atlas IIAS launcher from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Flori
|
|
|
|
|
|
DoorDash raises $400M round, now valued at $7.1B
Delivery company DoorDash is announcing that it has raised $400 million in Series F financing. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was looking to raise $500 million at a valuation of $6 billion or more. In fact, DoorDash now says the funding came at a $7.1 billion valuation. The round […]
|
|
|
|
|
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé retires (and Bowser claims the castle)
Reggie Fils-Aime is retiring after more than a decade spent as president of Nintendo of America. His career spanned many console generations, starting with the troubled Gamecube and ending with the fabulously successful Switch. Reggie will be succeeded by Doug Bowser, who has worked under him for the last four years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HP expands Apple device-as-a-service program to 20 more countries
HP is expanding its "Device as a Service" program in a number of ways, with the support service that covers Apple devices in enterprise environments being made available in more countries in Europe while at the same time being enhanced to help predict when users will have issues with their hardware.
|
|
|
|
Google ends forced arbitration for employees
Google is finally ending forced arbitration for its employees. These changes will go into effect for both current and future Google employees on March 21. While Google won’t reopen settled claims, current employees can litigate past claims starting March 21. For the contractors Google works with directly, it will remove mandatory arbitration from their contracts. […]
|
|
|
|
|
Pokémon GO will soon let you change teams for about $8
Early on in Pokemon GO, you’re asked to make a decision: Which team do you want to be on? Instinct (Yellow)? Valor (Red)? Mystic (Blue)? The question comes a bit out of the blue. Especially amongst those who started early and have stuck with the game, it’s not uncommon to hear people grumble about how […]
|
|
|
|
|
Watch SpaceX launch the first private moon landing mission
Calling all lunatics — the first fully private moon landing mission is about to take off from Cape Canaveral. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying SpaceIL's Beresheet lander is set to take off an hour from now, at 5:45 Pacific time. Watch it right here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
Verified Startup Lawyer: Stephane Levy
Stephane Levy got his start in the days of Silicon Alley almost two decades ago, and built up his practice with New York startups and beyond through all the ups and downs since then. Today, as a partner at Cooley LLP, he works with a wide range of companies, from company formation, seed and later […]
|
|
|
Severe Vulnerabilities Uncovered In Popular Password Managers
chiefcrash shares a report from ZDNet: Independent Security Evaluators (ISE) published an assessment on Tuesday with the results of testing with several popular password managers, including LastPass and KeePass. The team said that each password management solution "failed to provide the security to safeguard a user's passwords as advertised" and "fundamental flaws" were found that "exposed the data they are designed to protect."
The vulnerabilities were found in software operating on Windows
|
|
|
California to close data breach notification loopholes under new law
California, which has some of the strongest data breach notification laws in the U.S., thinks it can do even better. The golden state’s attorney general Xavier Becerra announced a new bill Thursday that aims to close loopholes in its existing data breach notification laws by expanding the requirements for companies to notify users or customers […]
|
|
|
|
|
Zoba raises $3 million to help mobility companies predict demand
Scooter share, bike share and ride hailing are quickly becoming staple commodities in cities all over the world. As companies in those respective spaces try to improve their economics, Zoba is aiming to contribute to those goals by predicting demand for scooters, bikes and, eventually, rides in particular areas. To support Zoba’s mission, the company […]
|
|
|
|
As shared kitchens heat up, a China-based startup, Panda Selected, nabs $50 million led by Tiger Global
A few weeks ago, we told you that former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick looks to be partnering with the former COO of the bike-sharing startup Ofo, Yanqi Zhang, to bring his new L.A.-based company, CloudKitchens, to China. Kalanick didn’t respond to our request for more information, but according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), his […]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robotics, AR and VR are poised to reshape healthcare, starting in the operating room
About 20 years ago, a medical device startup called Intuitive Surgical debuted the da Vinci robot and changed surgical practices in operating rooms across the United States. The da Vinci ushered in the first age of robotic-assisted surgical procedures with a promise of greater accuracy and quicker recovery times for patients undergoing certain laparoscopic surgeries. For […]
|
|
|
|
Sunsama's $10/month task management calendar cleans up your online productivity
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard friends lament how difficult it is to find a decent calendar app. The stock calendar apps are certainly serviceable, but there’s so much that they can’t handle in terms of managing and prioritizing tasks. Sunsama, launching out of Y Combinator’s latest batch, is taking a […]
|
|
|
|
NASA Eyes Colossal Cracks In Ice Shelf Near Antarctic Station
NASA is keeping an eye on the Brunt Ice Shelf, home to the British Antarctic Survey's Halley VI Research Station, which has growing cracks that are threatening to unload an iceberg soon. "NASA/USGS Landsat satellites are monitoring the action as the cracks grow," reports CNET. "When the iceberg calves, it could be twice the size of New York City. That would make it the largest berg to break off the Brunt ice shelf since observations of the area began in 1915." From the report: An annotated view
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JD.com's drones take flight to Japan in partnership with Rakuten
Chinese e-commerce company JD.com is taking its drone delivery system to Japan. Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce giant, just announced a partnership with JD that will see its drones and unmanned vehicles become a part of Rakuten’s own unmanned delivery service efforts. JD has been operating drones in its native China for a number of years, […]
|
|
|
|
Facebook removes its Onavo surveillance VPN app from Google Play
Facebook will end its unpaid market research programs and proactively take its Onavo VPN app off the Google Play store in the wake of backlash following TechCrunch’s investigation about Onavo code being used in a Facebook Research app the sucked up data about teens. The Onavo Protect app will eventually shut down, and will immediately […]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
:origin()/pre00/c56e/th/pre/i/2017/226/8/5/wine_by_trisketched-dbk359y.jpg)
:origin()/pre02/58c8/th/pre/i/2017/217/c/d/ww_harley_by_ryanbnjmn-dbj0ruh.jpg)
:origin()/pre13/15eb/th/pre/f/2016/350/6/0/derpy_ish_by_lupiarts-darvk5a.jpg)
:origin()/pre00/972a/th/pre/i/2018/063/c/9/com__classroom_unbirth_by_hyperflannel-dc4wmhc.png)
:origin()/pre00/d368/th/pre/f/2018/131/d/7/pac_man_world_3_remake_render_by_nibroc_rock-dcb1rav.png)
:origin()/pre00/4e39/th/pre/i/2018/281/a/c/yuyushiki_vore_comic_page_7_by_lurker474-dcoz014.jpg)
:origin()/pre12/1e21/th/pre/f/2017/081/b/0/spring_in_ostankino_by_waldemar_kazak-db36mlw.jpg)
