Commentary: The $1,380 Z Flip isn’t the perfect phone or even the most powerful. But Samsung’s foldable fun has won me over. Galaxy Z Flip: Even I'm surprised by how much I still love this phone – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreA good instrument stays with its owner for a lifetime, becoming part of their essential trusted toolkit to be consulted as a matter of habit. If you use a caliper to measure dimensions you’ll know this, and a quick glance at its scale or digital display will be second nature. But if you aren’t fortunate
Read MoreBob Behnken and Doug Hurley made history getting to the space station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule. They’ve undocked from the ISS and are coming home. SpaceX splashdown: How to watch NASA astronauts return to Earth Sunday – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreRenee DiResta / Wired: AI-generated “textfakes”, masked as regular chatter on Twitter and Facebook, can be potentially far more subtle and sinister than deepfake videos or audiofakes — Synthetic video and audio seemed pretty bad. Synthetic writing—ubiquitous and undetectable—will be far worse. AI-generated "textfakes", masked as regular chatter on Twitter and Facebook, can be potentially
Read MoreParmy Olson / Wall Street Journal: Several pro sports teams, including Mets and the LAFC, are testing facial-recognition to make entry into stadiums as touchless as possible during the pandemic — Los Angeles Football Club wants to ‘move everything to face,’ while the New York Mets are testing system on players and staff Several pro
Read MoreHackers being as a rule practical people, we sometimes get a little guff when we run a story on an art installation, on the grounds of not being sufficiently hacky. We understand that, but sometimes the way an artist weaves technology into their pieces is just too cool to pass us, as with this thread-printing
Read MoreCharlie Osborne / ZDNet: IBM report: in 2020, the average data breach costs companies $3.86M to remedy, up 1.5% YoY; “mega” breaches involving 50M+ consumer records can cost up to $392M — When consumer PII is involved, the cost increases. — The average cost of a “mega” data breach has risen astronomically … IBM report:
Read MoreNew York Times: Ad analytics platform Pathmatics: Facebook’s top 100 advertisers spent $221.4M from July 1 through July 29, down 12% YoY from the $251.4M they spent in 2019 — Major advertisers on Facebook reduced their spending by millions of dollars in July, but not enough to significantly damage the platform’s revenue. Ad analytics platform
Read MoreSpencer Hsu / Washington Post: Officials say the Trump admin is withholding $20M approved by Congress for the Open Technology Fund, forcing the fund to halt 49 of 60 internet freedom projects — The Trump administration is withholding $20 million in funding approved by Congress for a U.S. Internet freedom organization … Officials say the
Read MoreBBC: Facebook complies with an order by the Brazil’s Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of President Bolsonaro, says it will appeal the order — Facebook has complied with an order by Brazil’s Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Facebook
Read MoreNatasha Lomas / TechCrunch: Berlin-based Everphone, which sells a “mobile as a service” device rental package to businesses, raises ~$40M Series B led by Signals Venture Capital — The latest startup to see an uplift in inbound interest flowing from the remote work boom triggered by the coronavirus pandemic … Berlin-based Everphone, which sells a
Read MoreIt started with an old TV sound chip, and some curiosity. The TDA1701 that [Philip Bragg] found in a box of junk is a complete FM IF strip and audio power amplifier from the golden age of analogue PAL televisions, and while it was designed for the 5.5 MHz or 6 MHz FM subcarrier of
Read MoreElaine Low / Variety: Profile of Netflix’s Bela Bajaria, who is leading the company’s content growth outside of the US as its VP of local language originals — She relished the development process and reading the latest drafts of scripts, which she calls the most formative part of her early Hollywood education. Profile of Netflix's
Read More[Donald Bell’s] robotic bartender entry into the 2020 Cocktail Robotics Grand Challenge is one of those things that sounds easy until you start getting into the details. After all, how hard is it to dispense some liquids into a glass? Harder than you might think. Sure there are pumps — [Donald] uses peristaltic pumps —
Read MoreImage: Google With a rumored $349 price, OLED screen, Google’s great camera, and a good-enough processor, the upcoming Pixel 4A sounds like it’ll be a tough deal to beat for those who don’t need a premium phone. And it looks like the phone will finally be launching on August 3rd. Google has officially confirmed that
Read MoreThis afternoon, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to start their journey back to Earth inside SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon, bringing an end to their historic flight to the International Space Station. If all goes to plan, the two will splash down in the Crew Dragon off the western coast of Florida
Read MoreWall Street Journal: Sources: Microsoft, which was in advanced talks to buy the US operations of TikTok, has paused negotiations after Trump said on Friday that he opposes the deal — Talks aren’t believed to be dead, but the companies are trying to get clarity on White House’s stance Sources: Microsoft, which was in advanced
Read More{$inline_image} Every hacker gathering needs as many pixels as its hackers can get their hands on. Get a group together and you’ll be blinded by the amount of light on display. (We propose “a blinkenlights” as the taxonomic name for such a group.) At a large gathering, what better way to show of your elite
Read MoreLuisa Beltran / Barron’s Online: Vertex, which provides tax software for companies in more than 19,000 jurisdictions globally, raised $401M in its Nasdaq IPO on Tuesday at a valuation of $3B — Vertex, a tax software company, saw its shares rise Wednesday nearly 29% in its market debut. — Late Tuesday, Vertex raised $401 million
Read MoreIn day 3 of the restarted NBA season, Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Anthony Davis play their second of eight seeding games. NBA restart: How to watch Pelicans vs. Clippers, Lakers vs. Raptors today without cable – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreSplurge on the Series 5 or save $200 on the Series 3? We’ll tell you which one to buy. Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Apple Watch Series 3: Which is the best smartwatch for you? – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreThree more games are postponed today but the rest of the league is still playing, for now. MLB is back: How to watch Red Sox vs. Yankees, Astros vs. Angels today without cable – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreClimate change and COVID-19 are the two most significant crises faced by the modern world – and widespread behavior change is essential to cope with both. This means that official messaging by the government and other authorities is critical. To succeed, leaders need to communicate the severe threat effectively and elicit high levels of public
Read MorePresident Trump is talking about banning the app. TikTok may also sell its U.S. operations. Let’s sort through it all here. What’s Going On With TikTok? Here’s What We Know Source: NY Times Tech
Read MoreIt will be the first landing ever by astronauts in the gulf, according to Jonathan McDowell, astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. If all goes well, the crew would undock from the station at about 7:34 p.m. Saturday and splash down Sunday at 2:42 p.m. NASA and SpaceX prepare to bring astronauts home in
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