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Showing posts from November, 2020

After Apple, Samsung is reportedly working on an AirTag rival to help find your stuff

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We heard a lot of rumors about Apple’s item-tracking AirTags this year. But despite four different special events across the year, the company didn’t launch them. While we might have to wait for the iPhone maker to unveil its tags next year, a new report from Sammobile suggests that rival Samsung is already working on a competitive product called Galaxy Smart Tags. The publication noted that the Indonesian Telecom Certification has approved the company’s application for this product. However, there aren’t many details available apart from that.  [Read: How to build a search engine for criminal data] In October, the company… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Apple , Samsung from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3ogg3tb

Dear pandemic, please go away so I can visit Super Nintendo World

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Universal Studios Japan has set a release date for the Nintendo portion of its park, which has been under construction for several years at this point. The “land,” called Super Nintendo World, will open on February 4, 2021. I would be the very first in line when they cut the ribbon, but for the global pandemic. So I really need that thing to go away so I can enjoy some real life Mario-themed shenanigans. LATEST: #SuperNintendoWorld is set to open on Feb. 4, 2021 in Osaka, Japan. Find out more about @USJ_Official's real-life #Mario Kart ride in the theme park:… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Nintendo from The Next Web https://ift.tt/36ogtYr

Review: Coway’s sleek Airmega air purifier killed bad odors in my home

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Considering most of us are spending more time indoors these days, we could all use a bit of fresh air. For apartment dwellers and others in need of a compact air purifier that gets the job done without too many extraneous features, Coway‘s Airmega AP1512HHS — yes, that’s a mouthful — might just be the ticket. It has what you’d want from a good air purifier, including HEPA and activated-carbon odor layers as part of its 3-stage filtration process. It’s not too big — a perfect size for most apartments, and it features a relatively clean design that doesn’t stand… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3lmgLTS

Study: Security flaw could allow hackers to trick lab scientists into making viruses

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Cyber-security researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev recently discovered a computer attack that could allow hackers to remotely trick laboratory scientists into creating toxins and viruses. The setup: Medical professionals use synthetic DNA for a variety of reasons, including the development of immunogens for creating vaccines. The Ben-Gurion researchers developed and tested an end-to-end attack that changes data on a bioengineer’s computer in order to replace short DNA sub-strings with malicious code. If terrorists wanted to to spread a virus or toxin by hijacking a reputable lab or hiding it inside of a vaccine or other medical treatment, they’d… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Security from The Next Web https://ift.tt/33t8NC6

AI reveals vast racial inequities in NYC homeownership

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An AI analysis of New York City housing data has revealed stark racial disparities in homeownership, home loans, and foreclosures in the Big Apple. The research by analytics giant SAS and the non-profit Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CNYCN) showed that areas with a higher proportion of Black and Hispanic homeowners have lower home values — even when the age and square footage of their properties are the same. The team also found that the cost of getting home purchase loans is higher for Black and Hispanic borrowers than other racial groups. The CNYCN will use the insights to design programs that can increase Black homeownership and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3fXVYEX

Maths has revealed how the COVID-19 vaccine should be distributed

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How well we distribute and administer a COVID-19 vaccine will have massive health, social, and economic ramifications. So attention is turning to vaccine supply chains and logistics. Designing how best to vaccinate billions of people worldwide is complex. This is particularly so for large countries, such as Australia, where distributing vaccines to rural and remote areas is needed. Despite numerous past pandemics and epidemics, very few studies globally have tackled the problem of designing and building an efficient vaccine distribution network. Existing studies have also not fully considered all factors affecting vaccine distribution. So our team designed a mathematical model… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3mACBUM

Immortals Fenyx Rising is good clean derivative fun

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It’s a wonderful time for people who like open world games. Thanks in large part to publisher Ubisoft releasing not one, not two, but three big titles in the popular genre in little over a month. Watch Dogs: Legion came out in late October but it didn’t grab me (read my review here), Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla dropped two weeks later and I liked it a hell of a lot more. Next week, it’s Immortals Fenyx Rising’s turn. It’s a new franchise in Ubisoft’s stable, made by the team formerly responsible for fan favorite Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Like AC Odyssey, Immortals takes… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3qbUUC1

Run Windows on your Mac with this Cyber Monday app bundle feat Parallels

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TLDR: The Official Cyber Monday Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Pro and Luminar 4 include 12 killer Apple apps at their lowest prices of the year. Cyber Monday is the Super Bowl of online sales events. Sure, give a nod to your Prime Day and your Singles Day, but digital commerce truly kicks into gear once all the holiday turkey is cleared away and the serious holiday shopping can truly get rolling. That means everybody has to up their game. Servers have to be primed and ready. Customers have to have a strategy and move quickly. And retailers…well, they have to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Jqowee

A Mission to Make Virtual Parties Actually Fun

Let's be honest, Zoom birthdays and happy hours are bad. But an emerging type of platform known as “proximity chat” could offer a better option. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3o9WZfU

Lucid has the most beautiful car configurator I’ve ever seen

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Buying a car can be quite an exciting affair. The test drives, looking through swatches to pick a paint scheme, browsing pictures of wheels, picking optional add-ons, and oh, that new car smell. We live in a 21st century world, and an increasing number of cars are being bought online. Sadly, the experience of buying a car from a website just isn’t the same as getting hands on with the real thing. At least that was the case until now, because the car configurator from Lucid — the Californian EV company setup up by former Tesla engineers — is so goddamn beautiful… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39rLZqd

Why AI is the future of home security

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Home security is booming. More and more of us have smart doorbells, alarms, and locks — but AI, together with the cloud, is set to revolutionize how these devices work. And much of it is down to the increasing ubiquitousness of cameras. These days, we expect this technology to appear on our devices, but cameras offer much more than entertaining selfies in the realm of security — especially when cloud connectivity and AI underpins its capabilities. We’re about to enter a whole new era of home security, and SpotCam wants to be central in this. Beyond facial recognition AI is… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Security from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Vk4eWs

Google smartwatches, drones, and more Cyber Monday deals to check out

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TLDR: This collection of great Cyber Monday discounts should not be ignored. Look, we don’t want to make a big deal about this, but…Cyber Monday is not an ongoing holiday. Sure, Cyber Monday deals aren’t often restricted to just the Monday after Thanksgiving, but they aren’t indefinite either. After a few days, they’re gone. And much like Santa himself, they don’t usually come around like that again for another 365 days, give or take. Our point is, don’t sleep on these offers. Below are 10 of the Cyber Monday discounts that we’d recommend you check out. Real soon, they’re gonna… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2VoZ6jz

Was This Poker Player's Luck Too Good to Be True?

On this week’s Get WIRED podcast, features editor Mark Robinson talks to writer Brendan Koerner about an unconventional poker player and the woman who called him out. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/39rrqKx

How to check your Christmas tree’s carbon footprint

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There’s no way around the fact that Christmas has a large carbon footprint, from the traveling we do to the presents we give and the large amounts of food we eat. But it is possible to at least reduce the negative impacts. With climate change and carbon dioxide levels now major sources of concern, surely it is time to see what can be done to be friendlier to the environment, and the Christmas tree is a good place to start. As editor of an academic journal on arboriculture – the cultivation of trees – this is something I know a… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Js3Y4S

The next iPhone may include a Samsung periscope lens

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The iPhone 12 is still fresh out the kitchen, but the rumor mill is already whirring about what’s coming next. And what’s on the menu? Well, we may be served a Samsung periscope lens. I’ll drop the restaurant metaphor now, but that was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? Anyway, back to it. Digitimes reported that Apple is looking to improve the camera set-up of its next devices — and the way it wants to do this is by beefing up its phones’ zooming capabilities. It appears though that rather than build this functionality by itself, Apple is looking to partner… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: iPhone , Periscope , Samsung from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3qli4WX

Maserati commits to going all-electric by 2025, COO says

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As governments around the globe seek to push citizens towards greener modes of transport by banning gasoline vehicles, automakers have no other option but to embrace electrification. One of the latest to join the transition is Italian sportscar maker Maserati, The Driven reports. While there’s been no official announcement, the company’s chief operating office, Davide Grasso, made the announcement during an online event organized by daily newspaper Milano Finaza. According to the unofficial announcement, Maserati’s first fully electric vehicle will be an EV variant of its upcoming SUV, the Grecale. [Read: Why this security engineer loves working in infosec] The… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2HUIM7k

The long-term impacts COVID-19 will have on startups seeking capital

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This article was written by Salvatore Minetti and originally published on Built In. The world of venture capital has certainly not been immune to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite the scale and breadth of the disruption, many startups and fledgling companies have discovered new and inventive ways to adapt. Indeed, many have found themselves having to pivot their offering, or shifting their business strategy to ensure that they still secure capital to fund their projects. Others have been even luckier. For some companies, the pandemic has actually prompted a renewed interest in their business and opened… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3mkKIoF

Spotify’s Stories should feature music suggestions, not artists’ video messages

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If you’re not over Twitter‘s shaky Fleets rollout, I have more “Stories” news for you. After social networks ranging from Facebook to LinkedIn have adopted this format, music streaming giant Spotify is testing the waters with ephemeral images and videos feature. As Twitter user TmarTn noted, if you search for the Christmas Hits playlist on Spotify‘s mobile app, you’ll see the Stories feature pop up on the company’s logo. As you can see in the clip below, currently, it’s a collection of video messages from different artists. Spotify has stories now…. S P O T I F Y This has got to… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Spotify from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3o89Uz7

Facebook said It would ban holocaust deniers. Instead, its algorithm provided a network for them

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Last month, Facebook announced a crackdown: The platform would no longer permit content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust” as part of its larger policy prohibiting hate speech. While noting that successful enforcement could take time, Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president of content policy, explained the ban in a blog post. “Our decision is supported by the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people,” she wrote. But as of mid-November, The Markup has found, numerous Facebook pages for well-known Holocaust denial groups remain active — and for users who… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3mxfE5f

VCs Are Pouring Money Into the Wrong Education Startups

The pandemic has proven the need for new technologies that can radically change online learning models. But investors are more interested in existing platforms. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3qeQJFQ

Spooky space: Blue ring nebula reveals the secrets of binary stars

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In 2004, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, an orbiting space telescope scanning distant groups of galaxies, found a bizarre object. Among other oddities, this body appeared to be blue, despite giving off no visible light. Careful observations showed the presence of a pair of rings within the body, earning it the moniker of the Blue Ring Nebula. Sixteen years of studying this rare object found it to be a ring of hydrogen gas, surrounding what looks like an ordinary star. However, the properties of this object suggest the star at the center of this object is, itself, the product of the merger… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Vc6dvO

If you want to learn a new tech skill, these training bundles can help. And it’s all under $21

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TLDR: These 10 training courses can help give you all the information you need to get started learning a new skill for 2021.  If you’re looking to get a new business idea off the ground in 2021, we salute you. It may be stressful, but this is actually a great time to be your own boss, grab the reins, and charge forward to make your bold new vision take shape. That’s if you have the right training and information, of course. No project does well when you aren’t fully informed — so this collection of technical skills training can get… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3o78MMg

What Is the Signal Encryption Protocol?

As the Signal protocol becomes the industry standard, it's worth understanding what sets it apart from other forms of end-to-end encrypted messaging. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/3miuOuZ

4 ways to respond to vaccine skeptics on social media

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For most of the 20th century, more than 60,000 people died in the US from polio, diphtheria, and small pox each year. In 2016, the American death toll from these diseases was zero. Around the globe, two to three million deaths from these diseases and others, including measles, rubella, and tetanus, are prevented each year. These remarkable statistics are a triumph of medicine and the single most effective public health measure in history: global vaccination programs. COVID-19, after the most rapid and sustained vaccine development program in history, now looks set to be joining this list of fatal diseases that… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3fIjNAu

It’s Time to Stop Sharing Your Passwords With Your Partner

Go ahead, give them the keys to your heart—but anything more could make a cybersecurity mess. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/36dVKpR

These extended Black Friday deals of work from home essentials can get 2021 off on the right foot

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TLDR: Working from home is the new normal — and these 10 items at extended Black Friday prices can have you ready to take on 2021 and beyond right from the home office. Remember back in March when you packed up stuff from your office and thought you’d be back in a few weeks? Many of us still haven’t seen the office since. And the reality is that for many, it could still be a while before the days of bustling, communal office space happens again. And in some cases, those days may be gone forever. For many, home is… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KIpWkF

Periodic table: Scientists propose new way of ordering the elements

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The periodic table of the elements, principally created by the Russian chemist, Dmitry Mendeleev (1834-1907), celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. It would be hard to overstate its importance as an organizing principle in chemistry – all budding chemists become familiar with it from the earliest stages of their education. Given the table’s importance, one might be forgiven for thinking that the ordering of the elements was no longer subject to debate. However, two scientists in Moscow, Russia, have recently published a proposal for a new order. Let’s first consider how the periodic table was developed. By the late 18th… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3mjXgfK

The universe is getting hotter as it gets older — here’s why

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The cosmic web — ribbons of gas and dust tying galaxies together — are the largest structures in the Universe, and a new study shows they are growing hotter over time. Utilizing a phenomenon known as the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, astronomers find these ribbons are three times hotter than they were eight billion years ago. “Combining the latest data with a state-of-the-art theoretical model, we were able to reveal how the temperature of the Universe evolved, and how it was linked to the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe,” Ryu Makiya, a research fellow at the Kavli Institute for the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3o5YcoO

Volvo thinks gaming tech can help make self-driving cars safer

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Building self-driving cars is no easy matter. Underneath, self-driving cars are dedicated and specialist artificial intelligence systems, which need to be taught how to drive. They can be taught in the real world, or in the virtual world using simulations. Companies like Tesla, Waymo, and Nuro use real-world testing to expose their AI systems to more driving scenarios. The theory goes that the more scenarios an AI experiences, the better it will be at predicting the erratic nature of our roads and highways. Testing in the real-world comes with a host of safety concerns about what happens if a self-driving… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/36d5e52

Understand adversarial attacks by doing one yourself with this tool

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In recent years, the media have been paying increasing attention to adversarial examples, input data such as images and audio that have been modified to manipulate the behavior of machine learning algorithms. Stickers pasted on stop signs that cause computer vision systems to mistake them for speed limits; glasses that fool facial recognition systems, turtles that get classified as rifles — these are just some of the many adversarial examples that have made the headlines in the past few years. There’s increasing concern about the cybersecurity implications of adversarial examples, especially as machine learning systems continue to become an important component of many… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3q50AOj

Five VPN solutions you can score during this Black Friday sale

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Scratch the surface on all of these Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and what you’ll find underneath is…even more deals. For every discounted TV and cardigan and robot vacuum, there are a dozen discounts this week on items you wouldn’t naturally think of as holiday stocking stuffers. Case in point — VPN protection. While this might not be the normal time you consider your internet security for the coming year, some of the current discounts prove it wouldn’t be a bad time either. Take a look at five of the current best deals happening on VPN services — and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2JkqFry

These 10 Black Friday deals might change your holiday gift-giving plans

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TLDR: With hundreds of Black Friday deals floating around right now, these 10 are a handful you definitely should pass up. The holidays are the same every year. You go in with a plan for what to get for each of the people on your gift-giving list. Then once deals start mounting and logistics get wonky, plans go awry, order breaks down, and every purchase turns into an audible worthy of Peyton Manning. To help, we’re putting 10 Black Friday offers in front of you right now that you should consider. You might even want to grab one or two… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3fEtgIY

Trump’s Election Attack Ends December 14—Whether He Knows It or Not

Despite the Trump campaign’s fight to overturn the election, the wheels of American democracy keep turning. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/2VawKJP

How do you build a pet-friendly gadget? We asked experts and animal owners

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The rise of smart home gadgets has sometimes forgotten a very important family member, one with tendencies that differ significantly from the humans of the house: our pets. And it’s not always been plain sailing. While our fuzzy friends may seem cute and cuddly on the surface, in the ongoing battle between nature and technology, we all know who really rules the household. Many gadgets have tried to come out on top — and many have failed. From cats who don’t give a damn about your deadline: To pugs who are seriously unamused by the new sound box you’ve brought… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/368YMfg

The EU’s fastest growing EV market is — surprise! — Latvia!

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According to Latvian national news agency, LETA, the Baltic nation has logged the fastest growing rise in electric car sales among EU member states. Across the first three quarters of this year, Latvians have bought and registered 328% more electric vehicles than they did across the same period in 2019. LETA reports that this is the fastest growth in EV sales in the EU. [Read: Why this security engineer loves working in infosec] Over the first three quarters, 287 electric vehicles were registered in the country. 229 of these were battery electric vehicles and 58 were plug-in hybrids. While the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/37c6G6H

What the hell is the Pomodoro Technique and why is it good for productivity?

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I’ve been covering tech and business for years and I can confirm most people in these spaces, myself included, are obsessed with productivity… particularly new shiny ways to magically become more productive. Just like in fashion, you can see long-forgotten productivity fads return every few years, and even though it’s been around for a while, you’ve probably recently come across the hot new contender: the Pomodoro Technique. There’s just one problem with this latest productivity hack — my editor doesn’t quite get it, and appears to be too stubborn to read up on it to understand it. So let me… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/33lrHuu

Square stock on fire: Jack Dorsey’s beard sets 3 share price records in 3 days

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Square, the fintech stock led by Twitter billionaire and beard-of-the-people Jack Dorsey, is on fire. In the past three days, Square‘s share price has set three consecutive all-time highs, both intraday and closing. It peaked at $208 on Monday, hit $209.36 on Tuesday, and broke $214 on Wednesday to close the day up 240% for the year-to-date. Square’s previous intraday and closing records were $201 and $198, set on November 6. If Square was included in benchmark indices like the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ 100, it would be their fourth best performing stock in 2020. The only stocks that’ve… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/33hYjoY

We’re already living in an era of unlimited technology

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Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter! There’s a difference between things being theoretically unlimited and virtually unlimited. The universe is infinite. It goes on forever. Most things, however, are not unlimited but might feel virtually unlimited. If you live in a relatively modern society, then access to water is practically unlimited. When you move into a house, your question won’t be ‘how much… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/36baKoJ

This AI tool generates your creepy lookalikes to trick facial recognition

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If you’re worried about facial recognition firms or stalkers mining your online photos, a new tool called Anonymizer could help you escape their clutches. The app was created by Generated Media, a startup that provides AI-generated pictures to customers ranging from video game developers creating new characters to journalists protecting the identities of sources.  The company says it built Anonymizer as “a useful way to showcase the utility of synthetic media.” The system was trained on tens of thousands of photos taken in the Generated Media studio. The pictures are fed to generative adversarial networks (GANs), which create new images by pitting two neural networks against each other:… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2J9BVqN

Stop embarrassing yourself in Zoom calls — use this app to check your face

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At the start of lockdown, the horror stories did the rounds: shirtless man joins 200-person Zoom call! Woman forgets to turn off camera, and takes a dump in front of colleagues! Jim picks his nose repeatedly while his 30 students watch in horror! These viral stories — I’ll admit, I did click, and I did giggle — are enough to give anyone more than a little stage fright when it comes to making video calls.  There was once a time I’d glance in the mirror before every meeting, searching for stray boogers or missing teeth. I’d click “join meeting” in fear that… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2HKeaFy

Stop your search! Here are cool gifts for every budget

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For many of us, this is going to be a festive season like no other. Maybe it’s the first Christmas we can’t go home. Maybe we won’t be able to catch-up with friends. Or visit the pub. But there’s one thing most of us will probably have more of: time. And that’s what TNW’s 2020 gift guide is focusing on. Yes, we’ve picked out a whole load of awesome things to give people, but this year we’ve also focused on some gifts you can actually get yourself. Specifically, items that can help you fill some of the extra time you’ll… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2J9qfVe

Before Black Friday, pick up these chargers and charging accessories at big savings

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TLDR: These chargers and other accessories can help keep all your devices at full strength at all times. Holiday pro tip no. 23: Don’t forget about the chargers. As tech items come flying out of their boxes during this gift-giving season, many new gadget owners get caught flat footed by their power needs. While many of today’s devices come with basic charging equipment (but not all), it never hurts to get a nice charging upgrade along with your new phone or tablet. Because there’s nothing worse that a cheap, unreliable, slow charging device.  Right now, you can check out 10… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2JfVnlS

How to build a search engine for criminal data

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Whether it’s a WhatsApp message arranging the distribution of cocaine from São Paulo to Amsterdam or other encrypted conversations to lure the enemy into a deadly ambush; criminals have long tried to keep their digital footprints hidden. The evidence of crime is all stored in the digital archive: emails, photos, and cloud storage data. Law enforcement agencies can use these digital clues to find out where criminals have been, and what they’re currently doing. Data analysis platforms are becoming increasingly crucial in the fight against crime. We spoke with two forensic software experts from Hansken about how they support law… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3q325fU

How CAPTCHAs could show if an algorithm’s getting closer to AGI

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Creating machines that have the general problem-solving capabilities of human brains has been the holy grain of artificial intelligence scientists for decades. And despite tremendous advances in various fields of computer science, artificial general intelligence still eludes researchers. Our current AI methods either require a huge amount of data, or a very large number of hand-coded rules, and they’re only suitable for very narrow domains. AGI, on the other hand, should be able to perform multiple tasks with little data and specific instructions. While approaches to creating AGI have shifted and evolved over the decades, one thing has remained constant: The human brain… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3q0CPH3

3 reasons why batteries will power our future trucks, not hydrogen fuel cells

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A prominent decarbonization researcher believes battery electric trucks will become the norm for low emissions road freight, as alternatives, like fuel cell vehicles, are more expensive to run. In an interview with Clean Energy Wire, Auke Hoekstra, an academic researcher from Eindhoven University of Technology, says that fuel cell vehicles “won’t ever be able to compete with electric trucks‘ business case.” Below are three of the key arguments he makes for why battery electric trucks will become the norm, leaving fuel cell vehicles as a distant concept of a bygone moment. Battery technology is nearly ready As he alludes, around… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2VaIRGJ

Suck at gifting? This GPT-3-powered bot will save your ass this holiday season

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The vast number of festive socks you got over the past several years’ holidays bears testament to the global lack of imagination when it comes to gifts. We can do better, and we will, with the help of OpenAI’s GPT-3. More specifically, I urge you to try out GiftGenius, a handy AI concierge that claims to use the GPT-3 language model to recommend suitable gifts for everyone in your life. Simply describe a recipient with something like ‘my buddy from college who is 35, enjoys photography, and has a three-year-old son,’ and the bot will parse your query to come… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39gdN0L

It’s not just you — work psychologist confirms COVID-19 made jobs suckier

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The pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in September 2020, US$35 trillion (£26 trillion) has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17% of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. We are just beginning to understand the long-term consequences of this change, for worker wellbeing, for how work is carried out and for society and economies as a whole. As a work… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3lcesT8

The Spurcycle bike bell is so nice, it might just be worth paying $49 for

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Do you need a $49 bike bell? Probably not. Do I regret testing the Spurcycle bike bell, said $49 trinket? Absolutely not. I get that to some people, the idea of spending half a C-note on a bike bell is silly. You could spend a tenth of that to pick up some generic one online. You do you! But if you believe it’s worth paying a little more for good design — made in the US with a human touch — the Spurcycle bell is one of the nicest little upgrades you can make to any bike. The bell — the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39gCfPx

Researchers taught AI how to judge a video game by its cover

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Have you ever seen the promo art or box cover for a video game and thought “what the hell is this even about?” Well, wonder no more. A pair of researchers have combined cutting-edge image recognition and natural language processing to create an AI system for video game genre classification. Yuhang Jiang and Lukun Zheng, in their recently published pre-print research paper “Deep learning for video game genre classification,” describe the creation of a large training database and its use in developing a novel classification system. Per the authors: We created a large dataset of 50,000 video games including game… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3nZ55bs

YouTube is testing AI-generated video chapters

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YouTube‘s video chapters could soon get a time-saving AI upgrade. The streaming giant recently started testing using machine learning to automatically add chapters to videos. The company announced the trial on the YouTube test features and experiments page of the Google Support website: We want to make it easier for people to navigate videos with video chapters, so we are experimenting with automatically adding video chapters (so creators don’t have to manually add timestamps). We’ll use machine learning to recognize text in order to auto generate video chapters. We’re testing this out with a small group of videos.  The system could be a welcome… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: YouTube from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3m7BlIP

The COVID-19 vaccine was developed in less than a year — and that’s totally fine

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I’m a clinical trials geek. I keep hearing people talk about the seven to ten years it takes to make a vaccine and how dangerous speeding this up might be. The word that keeps popping up is “rushed,” and it is making the average person nervous about vaccine safety. So, as a clinical trials doctor, I am going to tell you what I do for most of those ten years – and it is not very much. I’m not lazy. I submit grants, have them rejected, resubmit them, wait for a review, resubmit them somewhere else, sometimes in a loop of… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2V0XD2T

How do you design an underwater scooter? Easy, start with a drone

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One of the best parts about the modern world is how once-futuristic technology is now available to pretty much anyone. Take for example, an underwater scooter. This is the sort of thing you wouldn’t see outside of a spy movie, but now you have equipment like the Geneinno S2 that you can, well, just go out and buy. So, let’s talk about the Geneinno S2. It’s an underwater scooter that’s small enough to fit inside a backpack, has a battery small enough to be transported on a plane, and can keep you moving in the water for up to 45 minutes. Obviously,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Jb6f4i

Tesla recalls 9,500 cars for steering issues and detaching roof trim

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EV maker Tesla has just issued two recalls that cover around 9,500 vehicles, Reuters reports. According to the report and the US’ National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, the first recall relates to the roof trim in 9,136 Model X vehicles from 2016. The recall states the trim may separate from the vehicle due to bolts that may not have been tightened sufficiently and an incorrect use of adhesive. The NHTSA says the front and spine cosmetic roof trim may have been improperly attached to the vehicle. As a result, it could separate from the vehicle whilst it’s being driven.… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Tesla from The Next Web https://ift.tt/33giYtz

A Mars megaflood may be evidence of ancient waterways — and maybe life

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Long ago, when our solar system was young, Mars was a world teeming with water. Researchers at Cornell University have now found evidence of an ancient massive megaflood on the Red Planet. Gale Crater, explored by the Curiosity rover, provided data showing distinct signs of a titanic flood, roughly four billion years in the past. This finding could provide further evidence that Mars once had a climate suitable for the development of primitive life. “We identified megafloods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data observed by the rover Curiosity. Deposits left behind by megafloods had not been previously identified with orbiter… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/37bJlCp

With more than 150 hours of training, this web developer bootcamp package could mean a new career

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TLDR: The Complete Web Developer Coding Bundle includes 14 courses and more than 150 hours of instruction that can help turn you into a full-stock web coding professional. The effects of COVID-19 and the world’s economic downturn have forced many to adapt to the new normal. Now, freelancers make up almost 40 percent of the U.S. workforce, nearly 59 million workers. And most aren’t working menial labor jobs either. In fact, many professionals now working for themselves are making $80,000 or more a year serving as their own boss. One area where freelancers have been thriving for years is in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3fwL9cE

A Mars megaflood may be evidence of ancient waterways — and maybe life

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Long ago, when our solar system was young, Mars was a world teeming with water. Researchers at Cornell University have now found evidence of an ancient massive megaflood on the Red Planet. Gale Crater, explored by the Curiosity rover, provided data showing distinct signs of a titanic flood, roughly four billion years in the past. This finding could provide further evidence that Mars once had a climate suitable for the development of primitive life. “We identified megafloods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data observed by the rover Curiosity. Deposits left behind by megafloods had not been previously identified with orbiter… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/37bJlCp