What's Left for Congress to Ask Big Tech Firms? A Lot

Executives from Amazon, Twitter, Google, and other tech companies head to Washington for another hearing on privacy, but this time the threat of regulation carries new weight. https://ift.tt/2OddjhB Issie Lapowsky September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Xbox One mouse and keyboard support is coming with Razer's help

Yes, the rumors were true. Microsoft has confirmed that it's weeks away from adding mouse and keyboard support to the Xbox One (initially for Insiders), and it's enlisting some help from none other than Razer. The gaming-oriented brand will provide... https://ift.tt/2OSSWn0 Jon Fingas September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Facebook and Sphero team up to offer coding robots to schools

Facebook has announced a new initiative that aims to teach coding skills to more school kids. Targeting primarily underrepresented student groups — such as Black, Latino/Hispanic, Native American and female demographics — CodeFWD will all... https://ift.tt/2ObzEMF Andrii Degeler September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

See the new iPhone’s ‘focus pixels’ up close

The new iPhones have excellent cameras, to be sure. But it's always good to verify Apple's breathless on-stage claims with first-hand reports. We have our own review of the phones and their photography systems, but teardowns provide the invaluable service of letting you see the biggest changes with your own eyes — augmented, of course, by a high-powered microscope. https://ift.tt/2ORa3Wg Devin Coldewey September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Trump administration suggests firmer controls on data privacy

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has laid out the Trump administration's approach to bolstering data privacy. The agency is seeking to strike a balance between increased consumer protection and affording companies... https://ift.tt/2Ob0LHB Kris Holt September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

With Instagram Cofounders Out, It’s Facebook All the Way Down

Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger quit the social media company Monday amid reports of clashes with Mark Zuckerberg. https://ift.tt/2OQH6tK Nitasha Tiku September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Cody Wilson Leaves Defense Distributed, But 3-D Printed Guns Roll On

Even after the DIY gunsmith's arrest on sexual assault charges, the fight for and against 3-D printed guns still rages. https://ift.tt/2OacyGm Andy Greenberg September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Coinbase’s new asset listing process will geo-restrict some coins

Coinbase is moving away from its predominantly US-centric approach with a new cryptocurrency listing process. As a result, some new digital assets won’t be available to customers based in the US due to stricter regulations. The popular cryptocurrency exchange announced today that it will be assessing coins based on their compliance with local laws. Oh, and if you thought you can use a VPN or some other computer trickery to get around these restrictions, you’ll be unsuccessful. Coinbase makes coins available to users based on where accounts are registered. Coins must satisfy Coinbase’s new seven step process to be listed…

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https://ift.tt/2ORa3FK Matthew Beedham September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

What to expect from Facebook’s big Oculus Connect 5 keynote

The Oculus Connect 5 conference kicks off tomorrow in San Jose where FB and company will let their latest virtual reality efforts loose and attempt to prove to the world at last that VR is coming and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for hardware, though […] https://ift.tt/2OfztQm Lucas Matney September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Twitter’s new policy aims to eradicate ‘dehumanizing speech’

Twitter today announced it’d be altering its hateful conduct policies to prohibit “dehumanizing speech.” By doing so, it intends to patch a hole in its rules against hate speech to account for tweets that don’t specifically target anyone, but which are nonetheless demeaning. It’s also asking for users to give feedback on whether the new rules are clear. Del Harvey, Twitter‘s VP of Trust and Safety, and Vijaya Gadde, Legal, Policy and Trust & Safety Lead, authored the new rules. According to them, this new policy has been in development for months, in an attempt to address tweets that users find abusive but…

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https://ift.tt/2OSgaJU Rachel Kaser September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Switch Online cloud saves last six months after your subscription ends

When Nintendo launched Switch Online, it raised more than a few alarm bells over its attitude toward cloud saves. Based on the FAQ, your saved games would vanish from the internet the moment your membership expired. Not much of a safety net, is it? T... https://ift.tt/2ObM9Ic Jon Fingas September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

How Twitter’s New Safety Policies Are Created

Del Harvey has spent a decade fighting abuse and harassment on Twitter. She spoke with WIRED about Trump, trolls, and the company’s new focus on safety. https://ift.tt/2OSg2do Louise Matsakis September 25, 2018 at 06:01PM

Face scanning in US airports is rife with technical problems

If you've had misgivings about the effectiveness of Homeland Security's airport face scanning (let alone the privacy implications), you're not alone. The department's Inspector General has issued a report warning that the scanning system is struggli... https://ift.tt/2OaKUsG Jon Fingas September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Protesters call on Salesforce to end contract with border patrol agency

A dozen or so people accompanied by a 14-foot, 800-pound cage gathered in downtown San Francisco Tuesday morning to protest Salesforce’s contract with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy. Today is the first day of Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual user conference that […] https://ift.tt/2OQH3OA Kate Clark September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

The new era in mobile

A stagnating mobile app industry eyes automobiles and a driverless future as the path to much needed diversification and exponential revenue growth. https://ift.tt/2Oiqcaw David Riggs September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Hear from investors at General Catalyst, FirstMark, Shasta at TC Sessions: AR/VR

The worlds of augmented reality and VR theoretically represent a boundless expanse for startups looking to create a new digital future. Realizing that future is the tough part, and doing so while Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple all look to plant their flags is even harder. While plenty of investors have taken a look at […] https://ift.tt/2OOe2TD Lucas Matney September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Watch Will Smith's Grand Canyon helicopter bungee jump at 6 PM ET

Of all the things you could possibly be doing on a Tuesday afternoon, watching a live stream of Will Smith bungee jumping out of a helicopter is probably not among the worst. Oh, and he's doing the stunt over the Grand Canyon on his 50th birthday. No... https://ift.tt/2OeG3qk Kris Holt September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Live streams of karate and niche sports are terrifying major sports leagues

Of the 100 most-watched live telecasts in the US in 2005, 14 were sporting events; in 2015, sporting events comprised 93 of the top 100 telecasts. That shift occurred because TV shows are shifting to online or on-demand viewing, and live broadcasts of the biggest sports are the main thing TV networks have left to […] https://ift.tt/2OSfN1Y Eric Peckham September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Fujifilm's rotating lens projector adjusts to your viewing space

If you need to adjust your projector to get a better picture or beam to a different part of the room, you don't have many choices -- you might only have slight adjustments to the lens itself, and might have to move the entire projector in some cases.... https://ift.tt/2Oiqdv6 Jon Fingas September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Big cameras and big rivalries take center stage at Photokina

Photokina is underway in London and the theme of the show is "large." Unusually for an industry that is trending towards the compact, the cameras on stage at this show sport big sensors, big lenses, and big price tags. But though they may not be for the average shooter, these cameras are impressive pieces of hardware that hint at things to come for the industry as a whole. https://ift.tt/2OQCZ0R Devin Coldewey September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma will share lenses for future cameras

It’s been a wild few weeks in the photography world.  Fresh after Nikon and Canon announced their first serious mirrorless camera systems, now Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma, are teaming up on a mirrorless lens system of their own. Unlike Canon and Nikon, we’re not talking about an entirely new lens mount. Panasonic and Sigma will adopt Leica’s L-mount system, which first showed up in 2014 with the Leica T and has since been used in the company’s other APS-C and full-frame cameras. Leica cameras, unfortunately, tend to be prohibitively expensive, which is why Panasonic and Sigma signing up is a…

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https://ift.tt/2Oi9Pue Napier Lopez September 25, 2018 at 03:01PM

Uber pledges to cap trip pricing during major emergencies

Today, Uber outlined a new set of guidelines regarding how the company will respond in the event of a crisis, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack. The company's Global Security Center (GSC) monitors conditions in every area that Uber opera... https://ift.tt/2OSTj0P Swapna Krishna September 25, 2018 at 03:00PM

The death of once high-flying VC funds

They all started with the best of intentions. Formation 8 talked about bringing “smart enterprise” to the corporate world. Social Capital talked about how to “fix capitalism,” and Binary Capital wanted to “affect global behaviour change.” Rothenberg Ventures set out to “work on the biggest problems that change the world.” Young founding partners debuting change-the-world […] https://ift.tt/2Ogb4Ks Arman Tabatabai September 25, 2018 at 06:00PM

Facebook pulls over a dozen political pages tied to fake accounts

Facebook isn't just removing fake political pages to thwart election meddling -- sometimes, it's just about culling spam. The social site has removed more than a dozen "hyperpartisan" pages across the political spectrum after learning that fake accou... https://ift.tt/2OSfzYG Jon Fingas September 25, 2018 at 03:00PM

Trump’s new presidential limo is a beastly take on the Cadillac CT6

The new presidential limousine — and an identical one called a “spare” that travels in President Donald Trump’s motorcade for added security— was spotted this week on the streets of New York. This new “Beast,” like so many before it, is a Cadillac . But this time, the heavily armored vehicle produced by GM, is designed […] https://ift.tt/2ObzC7v Kirsten Korosec September 25, 2018 at 03:00PM

Amazon’s New Echo Show Hints at the Company’s Vision for TV

The 10-inch, $230 Echo Show works more like tiny TV than ever—and shows how Amazon thinks we’re going to interact with video content in the near future. https://ift.tt/2OSfrZc Lauren Goode September 25, 2018 at 03:01PM