Latest Science and Technology

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Apple’s Keychain password manager is a handy way to store your credentials and not worry about having to remember them. However, this is mostly limited to the company’s own devices, which means you can only invoke Keychain to fill out passwords on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.  Now, thanks to Apple’s new iCloud password extension for Google Chrome, you can use Keychain in the browser on your Windows or Linux desktop, as well as Chromebooks. Here’s how… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google Chrome , Apple , Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3arMz6q

TLDR: The TourBox Neo offers ultimate control with unprecedented speed over your digital media creative projects that puts a standard keyboard to shame. Watching Eddie Van Halen’s fingers work magic as he plays Eruption is amazing. Seeing Tiger Woods wield a golf club like it’s an extension of himself is awe-inspiring. And believe it or not, elite craftsmen of every type perform equally impressive feats of creation all the time.  For example, if you’ve ever watched a master editor cut video or brilliantly punch up a photo, then you know there’s an artistry and talent at work that few possess.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3pDgSgB

TLDR: The iOS14 and SwiftUI Bootcamp Bundle breaks down everything a coder needs to build apps in Apple’s latest mobile operating system. If you know anything about Apple, you likely know this — Apple marches to the beat of its own drum. While Android systems are marked by their openness, products from Cupertino have always been safeguarded within an inch of their lives, deathly leery of outsiders creating for their finely-curated digital ecosystems. Which is why anyone who wants to create apps for the iPhone better be up to speed on using SwiftUI. Apple’s own proprietary programming language for creating… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39vTwUC

Claiming that deplatforming racists violates First Amendment rights shows a distorted understanding of how speech, race, and power work online. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3puRxp7

Israeli company StoreDot recently announced it can now mass-produce electric vehicle batteries that can be fully charged in just five minutes. “The bottleneck to extra-fast charging is no longer the battery,” claimed the firm’s chief executive. But is this fast-charging battery really a game changer? And if so: exactly how? Electric vehicle charging speeds are a minefield and can be tough to understand. The latest models claim peak charging rates of over 900 miles in an hour, but the average rate when charging from 10% to 80% of battery capacity is typically about half that. The last bit of the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3j0POWh

Water scarcity is among the top five global risks affecting people’s wellbeing. In water-scarce areas, the situation is grim. Conventional sources like snowfall, rainfall, river runoff, and easily accessible groundwater are being affected by climate change, and supplies are shrinking as demand grows. In these countries, water is a critical challenge to sustainable development and a potential cause of social unrest and conflict. Water scarcity also impacts traditional seasonal human migration routes and, together with other water insecurity factors, could reshape migration patterns. Water-scarce countries need a fundamental change in planning and management. We are looking at how to do… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39zYqQq

In recent years, satellites have become smaller, cheaper, and easier to make with commercial off the shelf parts. Some even weigh as little as one gram. This means more people can afford to send them into orbit. Now, satellite operators have started launching mega-constellations – groups of hundreds or even thousands of small satellites working together – into orbit around Earth. Instead of one large satellite, groups of small satellites can provide coverage of the entire planet at once. Civil, military, and private operators are increasingly using constellations to create global and continuous coverage of the Earth. Constellations can provide… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39w9Bd0

For decades, we’ve been trying to develop artificial intelligence in our own image. And at every step of the way, we’ve managed to create machines that can perform marvelous feats and at the same time make surprisingly dumb mistakes. After six decades of research and development, aligning AI systems with our goals, intents, and values continues to remain an elusive objective. Every major field of AI seems to solve part of the problem of replicating human intelligence while leaving out holes in critical areas. And these holes become problematic when we apply current AI technology to areas where we expect… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3r9Ji1Z

TLDR: This subscription to AfterClick Heatmap Analytics offers website heatmapping to track every user’s action on your website in stunningly clear visuals. This is the age of Big Data. There isn’t an industry on the planet that can’t immediately immerse itself in reams and reams of information about every aspect of that business. But sometimes, all that data isn’t necessarily a good thing. If you’re a website owner, a quick look at Google Analytics makes the point. Unless you’re a data scientist, there’s a good chance the page after page of breakdowns and statistics attempting to document and explain every… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39tuPYW

It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can help make you a less tempting target for hackers. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/2TzQTbi

Plus: A ransomware arrest, a dating site data leak, and more of the week's top security news. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/2L73NNI

TLDR: This Vankyo Performance V600 Projector serves up a HD 1080p quality image at up to 300 inches across, all for under $150 for a limited time.  It’s always a big plus when we can steer you toward an item that’s already prompted one of our reviewers to sing its praises. That’s the case with the Vankyo Performance V600 Native 1080p LED Projector. For a projector at its price point, TNW’s Tristan Greene had a lot of fine things to say, calling the V600 “a fantastic projector.” You can find out for yourself now at over $100 off its regular… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3iZAlFI

It is obvious as this Covid-19 pandemic wears on that transport is being repositioned – both in our minds and our lives. Changeable travel restrictions and new virus strains are reshaping our mobility psychology. Despite the rollout of viable vaccines, any ‘return to normal’ for the foreseeable future will involve more work from home, more time spent locally, less socializing outside the household, and fewer trips for work and pleasure. In short, excepting those for whom commuting is not a choice, the future of urban mobility is clearly going somewhere; smaller. A silver lining in this is that transport planners… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YqHRjy

By hardening iMessage in iOS 14, the company has effectively cut off what had been an increasingly popular line of attack. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/2M8BOOd

More than three billion years ago, Mars was home to vast oceans, and a new study shows this world may have once looked familiar — especially to the residents of Iceland. The Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale Crater on Mars since 2012. That region may have resembled modern Iceland, careful examination of the geology of Gale Crater reveals. Curiosity has been examining mudstones for more than eight years. However, that analysis can not reveal climatic conditions upstream from the sample, where the sediment was produced. “Ancient rivers and streams on Mars physically and chemically altered the surface, then transported and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3tktbAS

Have you ever binged on a TV show so much that you fell asleep mid-episode? The last you want is for the show to keep on playing indefinitely, potentially exposing you to spoilers once you wake up and resume the show later (yes, this has happened to me before, and it sucked). Fret no more: Netflix is testing a timer feature on Android that will let you pause a show after a certain time has elapsed. As reported by the Verge —Netflix confirmed the feature to the publication — the timer function allows you to choose to stop playback after 15,… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Netflix from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2L2jNR3

Kautilya Katariya, a computer whiz from the UK, became the youngest qualified computer programmer in the world last year at just six-years-old after taking a series of computer lessons including AI courses from IBM. When I was six, I thought action figures with Kung-Fu grip were the epitome of technology. Katariya currently has at least six different certifications across AI and data science and what’s sure to be a sky’s-the-limit career in the STEM world. Per an IBM blog post: Leading up to his world record, Kautilya began reading IBM’s course materials to help him understand computer programming and Python… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2NRsr65

Ten years ago, democracy protesters used social media to organize against an oppressor. But ultimately, the powerful came out ahead. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3oCtl32

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has credited the company’s transparency for the backlash over the firing of Timnit Gebru, earning a withering rebuke from the AI ethicist. Gebru’s controversial exit sparked an outcry about diversity and ethics at the company that shows no signs of abating. The influential computer scientist lost her job in December after a dispute over a research paper she co-authored. Pichai had tried to quell the outrage by apologizing for her departure causing staff “to question their place at Google.” [Read: How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland] On Thursday at the World Economic Forum’s annual… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39zyggV

MIT researchers have invented an adaptive “liquid” neural network that could improve decision-making in self-driving cars and medical diagnosis. The algorithm adjusts to changes experienced by real-world systems by changing their underlying equations as they receive new data. “This is a way forward for the future of robot control, natural language processing, video processing — any form of time series data processing,” said Ramin Hasani, the study paper’s lead author. “The potential is really significant.” [Read: How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland] Hasani said the system is inspired by a tiny worm — the C. elegans: It… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2NMrDPM

Transport concepts like Hyperloop are getting many people hot under the collar. The idea of being able to travel between major cities in minutes rather than hours is certainly an exciting idea. But that’s just it, it’s an idea, and a long long way from reality. If you need something a little closer to reality to keep your high-speed train/tube travel whistle wet, check out this new magnetic levitation — maglev — train from China. The prototype unveiled by researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China, and is unlike other maglev trains. Rather than using liquid helium superconductors at… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3r42m1S

TLDR: With access to the Zenva Academy, users can take over 250 tech courses packed with real world programming training to become a knowledgeable and hirable professional coder. The tech industry is expected to grow by as many as 13 million new jobs in the U.S. alone over the next five years, with another 20 million likely to spring up in the EU. And you can rest assured that coding will be at the heart of almost every single one of those new positions. It’s no surprise that programming courses are being taught to our youngest students these days. From… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2MBKInf

Is Spotify‘s recommendation system not doing it for you? Don’t worry (or do?) — the platform could soon have a new unnerving way of improving its suggestions. The streaming giant has patented tech that analyzes speech and background noise to suggest new content based on your “emotional state, gender, age, or accent.” The patent was granted on January 12 and first spotted by Music Business Worldwide. It describes various ways of analyzing audio signals picked up by a microphone to understand who you are and how you feel: For example, the tone of voice may be more upbeat, high-pitched and/or exciting for users that have been assigned the… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Spotify from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YnNXkP

This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. The Swedish city of Gothenburg is planning to establish a zero-emission urban area, dubbed the ‘Green City Zone,’ which will incorporate ”large-scale testing of future technologies.” The zone, which is set to get underway by spring 2021, will cover a large area of the city center and surrounding districts, with plans to host a… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Yn9OJ8

A new California law prohibits efforts to trick consumers into handing over data or money. A bill in Washington state copies the language. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/2MxOXjI

Researchers from Brown University have developed a system that could keep track of firearms while preserving privacy. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/39tLxaH

In 2020, Tesla was supposed to give us 1 million self-driving taxis and the new Roadster. We have neither, but to rub salt into the wound, the Roadster just got pushed back, again. The Tesla Roadster was the company’s first vehicle. It was a sort of mutant offspring from high-performance electric vehicle startup AC Propulsion and British sports carmaker Lotus. Launched in 2008, it put Tesla on the automotive map and showed that electric cars didn’t have to be dull and boring. Remember, 2008 was dominated by snooze button cars like the Toyota Prius and G-Wiz. It was loved by… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Tesla from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39t13Ds

For many startups across the UK, Brexit has been like trying to put together new IKEA furniture with random pieces missing and blank pages in the instruction booklet.  With freshly published trade negotiations being test-driven for the first time and the UK’s own new national regulations in several key areas still yet to be decided, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air. But perhaps the biggest question facing founders right now is how they’re going to hold on to their EU customers and partners in a post-Brexit world.  We reached out to five UK-based startups that recently took part… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Mcqy36

Hidden from sight, under the UK’s roads, buildings, and parks, lie about one million kilometers of pipes. Maintaining and repairing these pipes require about 1.5 million road excavations a year, which causes either full or partial road closures. These works are noisy, dirty and cause a lot of inconveniences. They also cost around £5.5 billion a year. It doesn’t have to be this way. Research teams like mine are working on a way of reducing the time and money that goes into maintaining pipes, by developing infrastructure robots. In the future, these robots will work around and for us to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Mhj7I7

GameStop. It’s everywhere: your family members have messaged you about this, the world’s richest man has tweeted memes about this, and there’s also a sea shanty about it. I don’t blame you if you feel left out of the conversation. However, this piece is not a long-form explainer to explain every character arc in this story. But it’s a collection of well-written articles that can educate you about the issue in a better way.  Before we begin the GameStop saga, however, it’s important to learn one concept that’s central to the whole story: shorting. Shorting A vague definition of shorting is betting… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3ptQSEz

I wouldn’t be surprised if right now, in an office in China, a bunch of Xiaomi employees are jumping up and down and yelling, “Suck it Apple!” The company just revealed that it has invented a device that wirelessly charges your devices over the air. What Xiaomi has claimed to achieve is long-distance wireless charging. The company claimed it could charge several devices at once at up to 5 watts (which isn’t much). It hasn’t specified the Mi Air Charger’s range, but it said that it can work across “several meters.” The Chinese tech giant’s technical explanation for how it made this happen is to… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Xiaomi from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3iY8Mg6

Telegram has surged in popularity recently, especially after WhatsApp‘s recent privacy missteps, so the company is taking advantage of the influx of new users by making it relatively easy to import your chats from other popular messaging apps. Specifically, the update supports imports from WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk — both for individual chats and groups. To import from WhatsApp to Telegram on Android, open the conversation in the former app, tap the menu button > More > Export Chat, and select Telegram. On iOS, the process is similar, but the export function can be found by opening the Contact Info… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: WhatsApp from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3clStIQ

The strategy and wargaming genres contain some of the best reviewed and most beloved games of all time, but many of the most revered of these titles are fiendishly difficult to get into. If you’ve been putting off trying new games such as Crusader Kings III and Panzer Corps 2 because of their sheer scope or you’ve tried to get into older games such as Europa Universalis and Distant Worlds but the learning curve was too steep, this guide’s for you. When we say “hardcore” strategy and wargaming titles we don’t mean to only include games that pass the Gary… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3px3VVB

French audio company Focal today announced the Celestee, a new set of closed-back headphones for audio enthusiasts. At $990, they are definitely on the premium side of the price spectrum, but at a glance, the headphones at least offer a design in line with their luxury aspirations. I mean, just look at these things: Featuring a navy blue and copper design, the Celestee sit below the company’s Stellia ($2,999)and Radiance ($1,300) headphones, but are replacing the company’s earlier Elegia.  If the Celestee is anything like Focal’s other fancy headphones, the large leather earpads should provide hours of comfort. The headphones should also… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3tdTA3l

Scientists are developing an AI device that helps people quit smoking by predicting when they’ll crave a nicotine hit. The “Level” system is an onboard computer for e-cigarettes that precisely monitors vaping behavior. It’s designed to help users control their cravings or reduce the amount of nicotine they’re inhaling. Level will incorporate insights from an observational study launched today by the University of East Anglia. The research team has developed a small monitoring device that screws onto tank-based e-cigs. It then measures the number and duration of a user’s vapes, the time between each drag, and the power used per puff. This data will create a personalized… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3qZROkm

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! I didn’t fight a lot as a kid. Or as an adult, for that matter. My preference is to avoid violence as much as possible. This isn’t really about maintaining some noble philosophy, it’s mostly just self-preservation. I would never bet on myself winning a fistfight, ever. Unfortunately, I couldn’t always avoid violence as a kid. I… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3oA4NYt

Researchers warn that an advertising platform with categories like “Army” and “United States Air Force Security Forces” could be abused. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/36CswRF

The Facebook Oversight Board has overturned the social network‘s decisions in four of the first five cases that it’s ruled on. The cases collectively covered Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. All the rulings will be binding. Facebook’ “supreme court” provided summaries of the five decisions: Overturned: the removal of a post commenting on the supposed lack of reaction to the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China compared to the violent response. Overturned: the removal of a post that included photos of breast cancer symptoms, some of which showed uncovered female nipples. Overturned: the removal of a post that… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Facebook from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cg1eUJ

TLDR: The 2021 Amazon Web Services Certification Training Bundle explains everything it takes to build, run, and grow a cloud-based system on the AWS platform. If you want to understand the true power of the Amazon Web Services platform, look no further than recent events. The upstart social media platform best known as the conservative answer to Twitter was riding high and winning converts — that is, until it ran afoul of AWS in the wake of this month’s U.S. Capitol insurrency attack. Amazon booted the service off their platform for allowing unmoderated speech — and now, what was once… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3sYUMHD

While software is eating the world, it’s also siloing data along the way, stifling progress and innovation in the enterprise. Cybersecurity is woefully behind other industries in embracing an API-first mentality, and it’s finally reached a breaking point. In the last year, research compiled in the Cloud Security Alliance’s on Cloud-based Intelligent Ecosystems and the Ponemon Cyber Resilience Study states: Enterprises deploy, on average, 47 different cybersecurity solutions and technologies. 69% report their security team currently spends more time managing security tools than effectively defending against threats 53% say their security team has reached a tipping point where the excessive number… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3proFy3

From coded memes to deepfake porn, abusive disinformation campaigns are sliding past moderation tools. Platforms, Congress, and employers need to help women fight back. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3iWpEUv

Bumble has stepped up its efforts to provide a safe dating space for users by banning body-shaming on the app. The app will use an algorithm to flag derogatory comments about someone’s appearance. “This includes language that can be deemed fat-phobic, ableist, racist, colorist, homophobic or transphobic,” the company said in a statement. Human moderators will then review the offending account. People who’ve use the language in their profile or on Bumble’s chat function will first receive a warning for their behavior. Repeated incidents or particularly harmful comments will result in a permanent ban. If the derogatory language has slipped through… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3r0dyMK

One of my favorite longburn stories over the past couple of years is the Apple privacy drive. It’s a winding narrative, but the easiest way to sum it up is the company has made privacy one of its leading products. This has been bubbling away in the background for some time, but hit fever pitch recently with the launch of iOS 14. You can read more about the specifics of the Apple privacy offensive in its latest iPhone software here, but there’s one update that’s particularly relevant to the state of things today: app tracking and data. To put it… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Apple , Facebook , Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39scc7u

To achieve true unity, we must contend with the underlying cause of our division—decades of conspiratorial messages, and sophisticated networks to spread them. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3cqW1cu

The European Union is reportedly working on plans to help fund electric vehicle (EV) battery production within the bloc to prevent potential dominance from China. According to reports, the EU looks set to commit $3.5 billion to 42 companies, including Tesla, BMW, and Stellantis, to support them with Europe-based battery development and production. The EU Commission has approved the project, which will run until 2028. [Read: How Netflix shapes mainstream culture, explained by data] It seems the EU is intent on supporting the burgeoning EV market in the region to prevent China-based manufacturers acquiring too much dominance. At present, some… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3psCPz1

This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. London hit the target of adding 300 more electric vehicles (EV) rapid charging points to its network before the end of 2020, bringing the total number of rapid chargers in the UK capital to over 500. The chargers, which are primarily used by commercial vehicles such as taxis and delivery drivers, are designed… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KYxpg8

Funding is one of the biggest challenges in the entrepreneurial journey. Navigating the world of venture capitalists and storytelling is no easy feat, especially when looking for your first seed round or a million-dollar investment. Not to mention, against the backdrop of COVID-19 and a heavily disrupted investment sphere, early-stage founders now face an even more complex road to securing funding.  The business landscape has no doubt changed for good because of the pandemic; there are more opportunities to respond to new customer needs and get ahead of the curve for future usage trends. Founders who know there is a… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3t1nIyB

The link between COVID-19, smell, and taste disturbance became apparent in March 2020 as the pandemic swept around the globe. To date, nearly 100 million people have been infected with the coronavirus. Around 60% will have experienced smell and taste disturbance – with 10% having persistent symptoms. This means that about 6 million people – and rising – have this symptom. So what can be done about it? Smell loss has traditionally received little attention in the field of medicine and so there has been a lack of clinical trials for treatments. A project is underway to address this matter, but it… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2MxrI9r

As part of its quarterly earnings call yesterday, EV maker Tesla showed off renderings of an upcoming 2021 Model S refresh. The piece that’s got everyone talking is its butterfly, or as others call it, the Knight Rider-style steering wheel. But I have some bad news. That steering wheel probably won’t make it in to the production model. Sorry. Yeah, it’s super cool — and you’d be able to drive along pretending you’re in Knight Rider or something — but steering wheels have to be complete, round, and not have any bits missing. [Read: How Netflix shapes mainstream culture, explained by data] According to legal resource HG.org,… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Tesla from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Yjctn2

Vivaldi browser has had a unique approach to tab management. Over the years, it has introduced features such as stacking, muting, and pinning tabs; it also lets you view two tabs in a split-screen mode in one window. The brainchild of Opera co-founder Jon von Tetzchner is getting a hot new feature with Vivaldi’s latest update — two-level stacked tabs. I’m excited about this as this makes navigating through groups much easier. Sure, it takes a bit more screen space, but I’m willing to give that up in exchange for a tidy-looking browser window. You can form a two-level tab… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3qYcau3

WhatsApp is adding another layer of security to its web app today, helping stop others from accessing your account when you’re not looking. In an update rolling out soon, WhatsApp will begin to require biometric authentication — such as a fingerprint or face ID — before you can use the service on your desktop. Unlike Facebook Messenger and other services that work with a simple user name and password, WhatsApp accounts are tied to a phone number, so using the desktop app requires a connection to your mobile device. This is done by scanning a QR code in the desktop… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Ma8AhP

Workers who communicate with their colleagues mainly through videoconferencing are far less effective at building relationships than when the communication is done face to face, according to a study we recently completed and just submitted for peer review. We also found two important ways employees can overcome the downside of video meetings. Workers in our study reported a sharp deterioration in their work relationships after more of their communications were done via videoconferencing during the pandemic, which our analysis suggested made the employees three times less effective at building relationships. Participants reported that it was harder to understand their coworkers’… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/36jrdGN

WhatsApp is the most popular chat app in the world, with more than 2 billion monthly active users. However, its fame has been hurt in the last couple of weeks with potential issues related to user data privacy. First, there were WhatsApp labels in December on the App Store that suggested the vast amount of data the app collected in comparison to other messaging apps. Then earlier this month, the app introduced its controversial privacy policy change — which is now delayed till May. Last night, on Facebook’s quarterly investor call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t directly address WhatsApp’s privacy concerns. But… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: WhatsApp from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3a8avvj

Subscribe to this bi-weekly newsletter here! Welcome to the latest edition of Pardon The Intrusion, TNW’s bi-weekly newsletter in which we explore the wild world of security. Well, that escalated quickly. After alerting users of a change in privacy policy earlier this month and kicking up a storm, WhatsApp has backed down— for now. The in-app alert on January 6 urged users to agree to the new terms and conditions that grants the app the right to share with Facebook some personal data about them, such as their phone number and location. Users failing to agree to the revised policy… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: WhatsApp from The Next Web https://ift.tt/39pedSb

During Facebook‘s quarterly earnings call today, Mark Zuckerberg highlighted some major changes coming to Facebook. After years of being the primary news source for many people, Facebook has decided it wants to show less political content. According to Zuckerberg, “there has been a trend across society that a lot of things have become politicized and politics have had a way of creeping into everything.” He noted “one of the top pieces of feedback” that Facebook is hearing is that “people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience.” To mitigate so the company is looking to reduce the amount of… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Facebook from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3otIgMG

Silicon Valley’s problem is not an excess of frat-house behavior. It’s much worse. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/36glGAM

Because the chat app doesn't encrypt conversations by default—or at all for group chats—security professionals often warn against it. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/3afPPBM

Artificial intelligence has become so good at chess that its only competition now comes from other computer programs. Indeed, a human hasn’t defeated a machine in a chess tournament in 15 years. It’s an impressive technical achievement, but that dominance has also made top-level chess less imaginative, as players now increasingly follow strategies produced by soulless algorithms.  But a new research paper shows that AI could still make the game better for us puny humans. The study authors developed a chess engine with a difference. Unlike most of its predecessors, their system isn’t designed to defeat humans. Instead, it’s programmed to play like them.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Yhgpoq

TLDR: The Podsite Podcast Website Builder builds an entire website around your podcast and even keeps everything automatically updated. So, you’ve decided to follow the Joe Rogan-Marc Maron path and become a podcast tycoon. Great! Welcome aboard. So once you’ve recorded the whole thing, edited it, then posted it to your podcast feed on iTunes or Spotify, you’re all done, right? Not exactly. Just like everything else on the web, a podcast needs a dedicated website. There needs to be a place to showcase your work and even sell the importance of your efforts to listeners, potential guests and sponsors,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2MxnsXb

A global operation has taken down the notorious botnet in a blow to cybercriminals worldwide. from Security Latest https://ift.tt/39nRt51

Educators have lobbied to be prioritized for the Covid-19 vaccine, but they've also made the ethically questionable call to continue to wait to reopen. from Ideas Latest https://ift.tt/3opEFzf

2021 starts off with a little treat for people who enjoy spooky games, as Polish developer Bloober Team is set to release their latest effort, The Medium, later this week. The Medium comes out on the new Xbox consoles and PC. I’ve been playing it for a couple of days and it’s… ok. Bloober Team has been making a name for themselves in the horror genre since they released Layers of Fear back in 2016. Before then, the Polish developer made some smaller titles that didn’t garner a lot of attention, but genre fans were pleasantly surprised by the first-person… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Medium from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KTxu4L

As advocates for facial recognition tout the tech’s potential to track down the US Capitol rioters, a new Amnesty International campaign has provided a timely reminder of the software’s dangers. The NGO has shared a stream of examples of how the software amplifies racist policing and threatens the right to protest — and called for a global ban on the tech. The Ban the Scan campaign was launched on Tuesday in New York City, where facial recognition has been used 22,000 since 2017. Amnesty notes that the software is often prone to errors. But even when it “works,” it can exacerbate discriminatory policing,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3pjNcoC

Welcome to SHIFT Basics, a collection of tips, explainers, guides, and advice to keep you up to speed with mobility tech. While owning an electric vehicle is still far from the norm in most of the world, they’ve been around long enough for there to be a decent amount of options now available on the second-hand market.c Buying a used EV isn’t exactly the same as buying a regular used car, and there are some things to be aware of. Assuming you’ve already decided what EV you’re going to buy, here are five things to consider before you part with… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KSDtql