If you happened to tune into NASA TV on December 11th, you’d have been treated to a sight perhaps best described as “unprecedented”: Russian cosmonauts roughly cutting away the thermal insulation of a docked Soyuz spacecraft with a knife and makeshift pair of shears. Working in a cloud of material ripped loose during the highly
Read MoreCatherine Shu / TechCrunch: In 2018, smartphone makers, users, and some academics began to appreciate the affects of excessive smartphone use, leading to iOS’ Screen Time and other tools — But will we actually reclaim our time from smartphones? — At the beginning of this year, I was using my iPhone to browse … In
Read MoreNellie Bowles / New York Times: As some prominent creators leave in protest after Patreon bans anti-feminist for hate speech, a look at its approach to policing speech with human moderators — Sam Harris, the polemical atheist neuroscientist known for his popular podcast “Waking Up,” was making tens of thousands of dollars … As some
Read MoreMechanical keyboards use switches of a few different types. But even those types include myriad variations. How’s a hacker to know just exactly what equipment is out there? For example, if you grab a fellow cube-farmer’s mechanical keyboard (possibly because they clacked on their Cherry Blue’s just one too many times) and angrily rip off a few
Read MoreFrom Facebook to creepy online ads, the worst tech of the year made the internet feel like an unsafe place to hang out. Yet there were some products that were fixed, our personal tech critic writes. Tech Fix: The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing Source: NY Times
Read MoreWall Street Journal: Analysis: SEC and state regulators brought 90+ crypto-related cases in the past two years, recovering just ~$36M; cases increased as the market crashed — SEC and state regulators have brought more than 90 crypto cases over the past two years, but tracing funds is hard because of the elusive nature of the
Read MoreThe stunning success of AlphaZero, a deep-learning algorithm, heralds a new age of insight — one that, for humans, may not last long. Essay: One Giant Step for a Chess-Playing Machine Source: NY Times Tech
Read MoreJulia Alexander / The Verge: Snapchat adds lenses specifically for dogs, after launching lenses for cats last month, available now — Now your dog can up his or her social clout, too — Snapchat first made users fall in love by creating lenses that could turn them into dogs. Now, the company is going full
Read MorePicture this: it’s late in the evening on a freezing cold, dark, and windy December night in southern England, and an airport worker at Gatwick — London’s second international airport — sees something fly past in the gloom above the floodlights. The weather and darkness makes it difficult to see what the object was, but
Read MoreA lack of diversity is one of the biggest problems at the heart of the tech industry, and it’s urgent we fix it. Research has proven time and again that diversity in STEM leads to better teams, better products, and is necessary in allowing women and POC access to some of the highest paying jobs
Read MoreMegha Rajagopalan / BuzzFeed News: How efforts by independent investigators and NGOs to document human rights violations in war zones are hampered by proactive content removals by social networks — Investigators depend on photos and videos posted online from war zones. But takedowns by Facebook and YouTube are putting … How efforts by independent investigators
Read MoreEarlier this month, at a packed-out event in the heart of Hong Kong’s bustling business district, Honor announced its upcoming flagship – the Honor View20. The Honor View20 is arguably the most important device we’ve seen from Huawei’s ascendant phone sub-brand in a long time, as it ditches the dreaded notch in favor of a
Read MoreDon Reisinger / Fortune: Amazon says number of voice-activated shopping orders placed using Alexa during 2018 holiday season tripled YoY — Shoppers are increasingly using their voices to buy products online. — Amazon on Wednesday said that the number of voice-activated orders placed via its virtual personal assistant Alexa … Amazon says number of voice-activated
Read MorePete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review: A content analysis of mobile news alerts in 2018 shows their number and length rose since 2017; companion case study confirms shift from just breaking news — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — In 2017, we did a deep dive into mobile push alerts, publishing a report in collaboration … A content
Read MoreCheckbot has an average score of 4.9 out of 5 among more than 15,000 active users in the Chrome Web Store — and you can find out why all those Chrome users are happy with Checkbot at 70 percent off right now from TNW Deals. A pro-level 1-year subscription is only $29.99 for a limited
Read MoreThe next chapter in the ongoing struggle for an open internet will unfold in the US Court of Appeals. Net neutrality battle heads to court in 2019 – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreJeep’s Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup offer a smattering of onboard tech, specially designed for maximum off-road prowess. 5 tech tricks that keep the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator at the top of their game – Roadshow Source: CNet
Read MoreIt sure seems like 2019 is going to be a good year for fans of post-apocalyptic games. The most anticipated video games of 2019 Source: Washington Post Tech
Read MoreThese were a few of my favorite things. The Cheapskate's best deals and discoveries of 2018 – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreRita Liao / TechCrunch: Chinese startup Yuanfudao, which provides a homework help app, live courses, and a database of exam problems, raises $300M led by Tencent at a $3B+ valuation — Academic exams are a big deal in China as they determine the kind of universities, high schools and elementary schools that students … Chinese
Read MoreThe only question we have about [mitxela]’s DIY vector graphics game console is: Why did he wait five years to tell the world about it? Judging by the projects we’ve seen before, from his tiny LED earrings to cramming a MIDI synthesizer into both a DIN plug and later a USB plug, [mitxela] likes a challenge. And
Read MoreAnd 2019 is on track to be even better. We just had the best year for phones ever – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreCar companies want you to use voice — and they’re not good at it. Why can't my passenger enter car GPS navigation? – Roadshow Source: CNet
Read MoreNisha Chittal / Vox: How indie bookstores are thriving by using Instagram to build communities, and creating “Instagram walls” that often lead to viral photos and free marketing — Stores like Books Are Magic and the Last Bookstore are benefiting from love on #bookstagram. — The internet is killing independent bookstores. How indie bookstores are
Read MoreWe saw some wild, weird and wonderful concepts in 2018. Here’s hoping some of them inspire production models. Our favorite concept cars from 2018 – Roadshow Source: CNet
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