Twitter finds its AI tends to crop out Black people, men from photos
Twitter Inc's image-cropping algorithm has a problematic bias toward excluding Black people and men, adding that "how to crop an image is a decision best made by people" The study was conducted after user criticism last year about image previews in posts excluded Black people's faces, finding an 8% difference from demographic parity in favor of women, and a 4% favor toward white individuals.
Microsoft will truly, finally kill off Internet Explorer in June 2022
The company will pull the plug on Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022. The move will not affect the Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel, which is used for devices that stay the same over time, but the move will still be supported by IE 11 desktop applications.
Apple announces a slew of accessibility updates
Apple announced a variety of new and updated features for people with disabilities, including the SignTime sign language interpreter service, Assistive Touch, VoiceOver, hearing aid support, and background sounds. The new SignTime service is launching first in the US, UK, and France and offers remote interpreter access for American Sign Language, British Sign Language and French Sign Language.
Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming starting next month
Apple has announced two new high-quality music options, Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming, with Apple Music subscribers having access to both at no additional cost when they arrive on the service next month. Both services support Dolby atmos Music and Sony 360 Reality Audio, but the headphones only work well with your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
AT&T, Discovery deal highlights media’s thirst to be like Netflix
Since AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 to compete with Netflix and Disney, the telecom giant’s deal with Discovery Inc (DISCA.O), marks the latest shift in the remaking of the media industry and the potential beginning of another round of consolidation, highlighting the value of scale in the media landscape.
Google I/O 2021 developer conference will feature Android 12 and maybe a Google watch
Google’s annual I/O developer conference kicks off on Tuesday after being shut down entirely last year due to the pandemic. Google is expected to announce the Pixel Buds A on its own, which will likely be an entry-level version of its existing Pixel Bud's, which sells for $179. The company is also expected to show off improvements to its WearOS operating system, including changes to the notifications panel, new privacy settings and conversation widgets.
Amazon debuts free video-streaming service MiniTV in its India app
Amazon has launched a free video streaming service called MiniTV within the Amazon India app, which is a different offering than its separate Amazon Prime Video service. The catalog includes mostly older content which its content partners made for YouTube and other platforms. The channel will help Amazon test whether streaming content can drive sales on its shopping app.
Twitter subscription service leaks reveal name, price, and an 'undo tweet' option
Rumors of a paid tier for Twitter have been swirling for a while now, and a new set of leaks has revealed more details about what we can expect. The subscription package, apparently called Twitter Blue, may include features like an undo tweet button and a collections feature for saved tweets.
The best cell phone deals for May 2021
This week's best cell phone deals have some great options for iPhone lovers in particular, with an outright discount on the upfront price, and secondly as a bundle deal on a trade-in or new plan purchase at a carrier, with plenty of options for all budgets too. The iPhone 12 is going really cheap at both AT&T and Verizon, and even if you don't have a trade ready then the iPhone 11 is just $10 a month with a new plan at those same carriers.
Anti-monopoly fine pushes Alibaba to first operating loss as public company
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted its first quarterly operating loss since going public in 2014 due to a record anti-monopoly fine by the country's market regulator. Its U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 3% in choppy trading, even as the company forecast strong 2022 revenue.
Twitter finally brings DM search to Android
Twitter is finally bringing its DM search feature to Android to the Android platform, which will allow users to search through their entire DM history, not just recent messages.
Is Google building a WearOS-powered Fitbit smartwatch?
Google has begun to invest in improving its smartwatch operating system, WearOS, and may release a Google-branded Fitbit in the near future. Google acquired Fitbit from Australia and the US Department of Justice in early 2021 following over a year of negotiations and investigations into how users' privacy would be protected.
Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla orders a halt to bitcoin car payments
Tesla CEO and self-dubbed technoking Zach Kirkhorn is back peddling on the company’s stance about bitcoin and has suspended purchases of its electric vehicles with the cryptocurrency. The change of stance comes just weeks after Tesla CFO and dubbed “master of coin” Zach Kirk horn said the company believes in the longevity of bitcoin, despite its volatility.
Samsung won’t attend MWC in Barcelona this summer
Samsung and Lenovo will not be attending Mobile World Congress this year. Both companies have announced that they will not attend in person. The companies have not yet announced what their remote presence would look like. The event will still be held in June despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties with vaccine availability outside the U.S.
Meet the real Alexa: voice actor reportedly responsible for Amazon’s AI assistant revealed
Amazon's Alexa has a voice familiar to millions, calm, warm, and measured, but like most synthetic speech, its tones have a human origin, someone whose voice had to be recorded, analyzed, and algorithmically reproduced to create Alexa as we know it now.
Blizzard is showing off two hours of Overwatch 2 next week
Blizzard will hold a two-hour-long live stream on May 20th to focus on the player-versus-player elements of Overwatch's sequel. The stream will also include appearances by game director Aaron Keller, lead hero designer Geoff Goodman and associate art director Dion Rogers.
10 Hot Data Center Technologies And Trends To Watch In 2021
From as-a-service and private equity spending to Dell Technologies and Intel, here are ten of the most important data center trends and technologies you should be following in 2021.
eBay is joining the NFT frenzy, telling Reuters that going forward it will allow the sales of NFTs on its platform, a mainstream embrace that follows billions of dollars in NFT purchases over the past few months. The e-commerce company seems poised to slowly build up sales of digital collectibles on the platform, starting with a smaller group of verified sellers.
Best WordPress hosting of 2021
Getting started with WordPress web hosting doesn't need to be expensive, as even the cheapest shared hosting plan usually comes with a one-click WordPress installer, allowing the greenest of blogging newbies to have their first post ready in less than 60 seconds. However, managing a blog over time is much more difficult as you need to find your own themes and plugins.
Roblox earnings beat expectations on revenue, as user growth jumps 79%
Roblox earnings beat expectations on revenue, as user growth jumps 79%, with users putting a collective 9.7 billion hours into the game. The company went public via a direct listing in March, allowing current investors to sell shares. In Q1, the company reported that it had 42.1 million daily active users, up 79% year over year thanks in part to a 111% growth in dailyactive users over the age of 13.
Ford’s first electric pickup truck will be called the F-150 Lightning
Ford announced the name of its upcoming electric pickup truck: the F-150 Lightning, set to debut on May 19th at an event held at the automaker’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters. The company is also hosting 18 in-person events around the country, including in Times Square and Las Vegas.
Snack, a ‘Tinder meets TikTok’ dating app, opens to Gen Z investors
Snack is opening itself up to Gen Z investors, allowing Gen Z community members, influencers, creators and others to participate in the company’s upcoming $2 million SAFE. The company in February announced $3.5 million in seed funding for its modern, TikTok-style dating app, where users post videos to a feed which others then like in order to be matched.
Clubhouse finally launches its Android app
Clubhouse has launched its Android app on Play Store for users in the U.S. and will gradually make the new app available in other English-speaking countries and then the rest of the world. The social network is valued at about $4 billion in its most recent fundraise, launching as an iPhone only app last year.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is literally launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon
SpaceX is now accepting Dogecoin, and it’ll be paid exclusively in the cryptocurrency to launch an upcoming satellite named DOGE-1 to the Moon, a cubesat meant to acquire “lunar-spatial intelligence” using onboard cameras and sensors.
China could soon have stronger privacy laws than the U.S.
China's new privacy law will arm Chinese internet users with offensive and defensive tools to protect them from excessive data collection by tech companies and the misuse of data by the government. The new law is similar to the EU's General data Protection Regulation and will give people the power to know how their data is being used and consent to it.
Google will soon switch on two-factor authentication by default
Google is going to enroll people in two-factor authentication by default, starting to start enrolling customers in the process if their accounts are “appropriately configured” once enabled, they will receive a prompt on their smartphone to verify that an attempted login with their Google account is legitimate.
Billboard Teams Up With Twitter to Create Chart for Most-Tweeted Songs
Billboard is publishing a ranking of the most popular songs in the U.S. based on Twitter conversations, updating the chart everyday and writing stories and video around the data. The chart is called the Billboard Hot Trending Powered by Twitter, and advertisers can pay to sponsor the chart.
BMW CEO Sees Semiconductor Investment Wave Easing Supply Crunch
BMW AG expects the global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved as companies and governments zero-in on the issue, forcing carmakers to curtail production just as demand picks up in major economies that are easing pandemic restrictions. The European Commission plans to double the bloc’s chip production to at least 20% of world supply by 2030.
Grocery stores in Poland will trial an AI pricing system for reducing food waste
In the US alone, 30 to 40 percent of food ends up in landfills, with food waste being one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions, a startup called Wasteless thinks machine learning can play a part in addressing the issue. The company has developed an AI-powered system for automatically reducing the price of perishable food items.
Facebook launches Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone
Facebook is launching Neighborhoods, a new section of its app designed to connect neighbors and curate neighborhood-level news. The new feature is available now in Canada and will be rolling out soon for U.S. users to test. Facebook users can create a separate subprofile and can populate it with interests and a custom bio.
Clubhouse is funding 50 pilot audio shows from creators
Clubhouse is funding the creation of 50 audio shows made by creators on its platform. Participants will each get a $5,000-per-month stipend for three months, plus gear and creative support, to help them create the series. The goal is to develop and pilot each show over the next three months.
Bill and Melinda Gates to Divorce After 27 Years of Marriage
Bill Gates and Melinda Gates will continue to work together at the massive philanthropic foundation they built to improve global health, combat climate change, and bolster U.S. education. The pair's wealth could prove more complex to carve up than Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com Inc. stock, which was largely concentrated in Amazon stock.
GM’s installing software on Chevy Bolts to help prevent battery fires
General Motors has revealed its plan to fix the issue at the center of last year’s Chevy Bolt recall, which affected customers have to bring their Bolts to a dealer so the battery packs can be inspected, and GM says some of the modules that make up the pack may be replaced if any “anomalies” are found.
Amazon’s Thursday Night Football deal will start early
Amazon will be streaming NFL games sooner than expected, starting with the 2022 season. The NFL's previous announcement set the start of Amazon’s exclusivity in 2023, but now Amazon will get its exclusive rights even sooner and for even longer thanks to a new 11-year contract matching CBS, NBC, and Fox.
Apollo’s $5 Billion Bet on Yahoo Aims to Go Beyond Advertising
Apollo Global Management Inc.’s $5 billion deal for Verizon Communications Inc. will create a new entity dubbed Yahoo, getting AOL, TechCrunch, Ryot, Built By Girls and Flurry along with Verizon's 10% stake in the venture, hoping to take these primarily advertising-driven media brands and augment them with new products like subscription services and sports betting.
Businesses are looking to capture the next generation of customers through virtual reality headsets, taking off in industries spanning food and beverage, retail, and music. Zepeto has seen increased demand from corporate partners this year, with around 100 companies currently using the platform to promote their brands to its 200 million-strong user base.
‘Deepfake’ that supposedly fooled European politicians was just a look-alike, say pranksters
A string of European politicians have been tricked by a sophisticated Russian plot, with Parliamentarians from the UK, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia having all arranged video calls with a hoaxer claiming to be Leonid Volkov, chief of staff to imprisoned Russian anti-Putin politician Alexei Navalny.
Apple’s App Store Had 78% Margin in 2019, Epic Expert Says
Apple Inc.’s App Store had operating margins of almost 78% in fiscal year 2019, according to testimony from an Epic Games Inc. expert witness based on documents obtained from the iPhone maker. The figure comes from Ned Barnes, a financial and economics researcher, who said he obtained documents “prepared by Apple’” and produced from the files of Apple CEO Tim Cook.
