di
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Show Notes
Allison Sheridan joins us to look over the cool things announced at IFA, including an Oculus-Samsung joint VR helmet, a Samsung phablet with a warped screen and Sony’s e-ink bracelet.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
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A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Today’s guest: Allison Sheridan, host of the Nosillacast
Headlines
Samsung announced new products including a virtual headset at IFA in Berlin. The Gear VR is a joint creation with Oculus VR that can track your head movements with a gyroscope and accelerometer and give you a 96-degree field of view. The Gear VR only comes with sensors and a focal adjustment lens. The screen and processing is provided by the new Note 4 which was also announced. Note 4 is a 5.7-inch phone with a 1440p SuperAMOLED display coming in October. A variant of the Note 4 called the Note Edge was also announced. It has a screen that bends and wraps around the right side, giving you notifications or a taskbar depending on the application.
Sony announced some new phones as well. The Xperia Z3 has a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a 2.5 GHz snapdragon processor and a 3100 mAh battery that Sony says will last two days. It’s also water resistant. The very similar Xperia Z3 compact is a little smaller at 4.6-inches and only has a 720p display. The snappily named Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is an 8-inch 1920 x 1200 device with a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM, 4500mAh battery and LTE. Sony also announced a fitness tracker with an e-ink screen called “SmartBand Talk” and a fitness watch with built-in Blueooth, GPS and 4 GB of storage called the SmartWatch 3. The watch comes this autumn for €229.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog points out that despite Apple recommending all users enable two-factor authentication, it doesn’t protect all Apple services. It seems designed to protect credit card information. It’s used on Apple ID support, the My Apple ID management console; or making an iTunes, App Store or iBooks purchase from a new device. That means photos are not one of the things you get extra protection on from 2FA. Furthermore if an attacker has the username and password for an iCloud account, software from Elcomsoft could be used to extract files from an online backup, even an old one.
TechCrunch reports on Asus announcing its first Android Wear device called the Asus ZenWatch. It has a a sandwich-like design with a rose gold-colored middle layer and stainless steel top and bottom, with a brushed surface around the face.It features a heart rate sensor on the underside and a number of gesture controls and preloaded features like unlocking your phone by tapping the watch and covering the face to mute. It’s expected to sell for €199 later this year.
ReCode reports Box announced it plans to offer a lot more businessy things so they can sell a cloud platform to companies in the insurance, finance, health care, pharmaceuticals and media industries. If buzzwords like industry-specific services and workflow get your blood boiling— and admit it, we know it does for some of you— it’s worth looking into. Box Workflow tool will try to streamline collaboration starting in 2015. Box for Industries will be a customized Box platform designed for a specific business type such as retail, healthcare and media and entertainment.
Ars Technica reports on Toshiba’s Chromebook 2 which has a 13.3-inch 1366 x 768 display and 2 GB of ram for $250. However if you shell out for the $330 model you get 4 GB of RAM and a 1080p IPS display. Both models use the dual-core Bay Trail-based Atom chip, the Celeron N2840. It comes in three colors (“Charcoal, Aqua, and Rose”), and goes on sale October 5.
Reuters reports that Verizon will pay 7.4 million dollars to settle a US FCC investigation into improper privacy notifications. The investigation, which began in 2006, found that the wireless company failed to properly notify two million new customers of their privacy rights in their first bill before using their information for marketing purposes. In addition to the settlement, Verizon also agreed to send opt-out notices on every bill.
CNET passes along an IDC report that shipments of phone-tablet hybrids are expected to surpass laptop shipments this year, and sales of traditional tablets next year. IDC expect electronics companies to ship 175 million phablets this year, compared to 170 million laptops. And next year, they project shipments of 318 million phablets, compared to 233 million tablets. IDC defines a phablet as a smartphone with a screen size of 5.5 to 6.99 inches.
News From You
silentworld07 pointed out the KrebsOn Security report about a possible credit card breach at Home Depot. Credit card breaches are unfortunately not very uncommon these days. Home Depot operates 2200 stores in the US and 287 elsewhere, though the extent of the breach is not yet known. Still most people don’t keep their nude photos at Home Depot since its a hardware store, so it isn’t getting the kind of attention other breaches get. Home Depot says that it is working with banks and law enforcement agencies to investigate reports of suspicious activity.
spsheridan passes along The Verge report about the nice mobile wallet app whose developers picked out a nice name, only to find that another organization was already using that name. The developers of the ISIS mobile wallet announced in June they would change the name of the app to avoid being confused with the violent Islamic terrorist group. Today they announced the app will now be called Softcard. Uh, excuse me, Softcard? Softbank is on the line, and they are NOT happy.
Discussion Links: Samsung & Sony
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29044863
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/3/6098745/samsung-gear-vr-oculus-announcement-hands-on
http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-virtual-reality/
http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-unveils-galaxy-note-4-note-edge/#ftag=CAD590a51e
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/samsung-reveals-vr-headset-powered-by-a-smartphone/
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29010497
Plug of the Day: Like tech history? I’ve teamed up with Scott Johnson to put out monthly looks at what happened in history this month. For 99 cents you get what happened on each day of the month that helped make the tech we sue today, plus illustrations from Scott Johnson. Check them out for 99 cents each at tommerrittbooks.com or just search Amazon.
Pick of the Day: Questionable Content via Tom Betz
Listening to your DragonCon discussion of the potential risks of AI brought to mind a daily comic strip I follow, Questionable Content.
A slice-of-life comic set in an alternate-universe present-day Northampton, Massachussetts where self-aware Artificial Intelligence has existed for decades and AIs live among humans as voluntary cooperative or paid partners and companions, Jeph Jacques’ QC follows the lives of slacker twenty-something Marten Reed and his friends, family and acquaintances.
I really love the way the strip treats the many variants of AI as commonplace, integrating them into a world that is very like the one we already live in.
If you start from the beginning of the archive, you can see the development of Jacques’ drawing style; but it’s clear that his world was pretty fully formed as a concept from the beginning. Jacques has also re-drawn the whole story in his fully-developed art style, and collected it into a book. Either way you get to it, well worth your time.
Tomorrow’s guest: 11:30am Pacific show (aka Jennie’s tech rehearsal) with Justin Robert Young!
Patrick Beja is on the show and we’ll talk about YouTube getting in on crowd-funding and our picks to backup and protect your data.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Today’s guest: Patrick Beja, independent podcaster!
Patrick’s patreon: http://www.patreon.com/RDVTech
Headlines
TechCrunch reports Apple released a statement on their 40-hour investigation into the unauthorized access of celebrity photos. Apple determined that “ certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions.” Apple says that the intrusions were not a result of breaches in the iCloud or Find My iPhone systems. Ars Technica reports the FBI is also investigating whether the accounts of the celebrities were hacked.
The New York Times reports on a decision by a court in Frankfurt, banning Uber’s UberPop service from operating in Germany. The court found that Uber did not get the necessary licenses and insurance for all drivers, and selected passengers which is not allowed for Taxis who must take anyone who can pay. Uber Black— a service with luxury sedans— is unaffected by the ban. Uber says it will continue to operate in Germany. Uber could face fines of up to 250,000 euros, or about $330,000 if any taxi company brings a complaint over Uber violating the ban.
According to Ars Technica, more than two thousand game developers signed an open letter asking for tolerance and acceptance in the gaming community. Andreas Zecher wrote the letter which says, “everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened.” The letter comes in response to two recent incidents. Anita Sarkeesian, who creates videos analyzing the portrayal of women in video games left her home after being threatened. Also Zoe Quinn, creator of Depression Quest was harassed and threatened after an ex-boyfriend wrote a critical blog post revealing personal info about her.
TechCrunch reports Google has rebranded its enterprise services as ‘Google for Work.’ Familiar apps all have enterprise versions which will now add ‘for work’ to their name to distinguish them from the free consumer versions. So, Drive for Work, Search for Work, et cetera. The new names are meant to make it simpler to explain what the tools are.
Netflix has partnered with Facebook to make video recommendations but maybe not in the way you’d expect. TechCrunch reports that if you’ve connected your Facebook account to Netflix, after watching a show, you’ll be asked if you want to suggest a video to a friend. If you do it, the suggestion will not show up on the Facebook news feed, instead it will op up the next time that person uses Netflix. Or if they don’t have Netflix it will be sent as a private Facebook message.
CNET reports that Sonos will now let users connect its speakers directly to a Wi-Fi network, without the need for a bridge connected to your router. Sonos Playbar in 3.1 or 5.1 configurations will still need a wired connection. A software update is available today. If you’re home is too big to get good WiFi everywhere you’d like a speaker, Sonos also has a new wireless peripheral called the Sonos Boost, available later this year, for $99.
News From You
diggsalot submitted a post from WeLiveSecurity.com passing along the Popular Science story about fake cellphone “towers.” The article quotes CEO of ESD America, Les Goldsmith saying his team found 17 interceptors during the month of July. An interceptor is used by law enforcement and criminals alike to mimic a cell phone tower and ‘intercept connections without being detected. ESD America markets a hardened Samsung Galaxy phone called the CryptoPhone 500.
KAPT_Kipper passes along the TechCrunch report about Apple publishing the Top 10 reasons it rejects apps. Sixty percent of App rejections during a seven day period in August 2014 were due to these ten reasons. The number one most common reason? “More information needed.” The number 2 reason? Bugs in the code. Other reasons include not complying with the Developer Program License Agreement, an overly complex or poorly designed interface, or the use of placeholder text. 42% of the rejections were for ‘Other Reasons’, because– reasons.
and tm204 passed along the 9to5 Mac story that Reddit has launched an Ask me Anything app for iOS that gives you an easy way to follow real-time and archived AMAs. AMAs are Reddit’s most popular feature, with 6.2M followers. A third of Reddits visitors come from mobile, so the site plans to try to address that user base more actively.
Discussion Links:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/01/youtube-now-offers-fan-funding-heres-look-works/
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6052077
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6050322
Plug of the Day: Daily Tech News Show Shirt with Mustafa from thepolarcat.com’s logo now available in white, black and Ash. Look in the podcasts section.
Tomorrow’s guest: Allison Sheridan, host of the Nosillacast
It’s the Labor Day holiday in the US so just a short roundup of the headlines today.
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Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Jonathan Strickland, Justin Young, Veronica Belmont join the show to talk about how the drones, AI and robots will kill us all thanks to Amazon and Google. +Len Peralta illustrates the show!
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A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Tom’s traveling to DragonCon but still gives the headlines and tells how advice from the IT Crowd got his plane flying.
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A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Dan Patterson is on the show and we’ll talk about super fast subs, banning after work email, and Timothy B. Lee will join in to talk about this whole Uber-Lyft fight.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Today’s guest: Dan Patterson, technology journalist
Headlines
ReCode reports Apple plans to unveil a wearable device along with two iPhone at a yet-to-be-officially-announced September 9th event. The wearable will supposedly make us of HomeKit and HealthKit as one might expect. A rumored October event was rumored to announce a wearable but is still rumored to still be on.
Dropbox increased my storage to 1 TB today. As CNET reports Dropbox Pro users now have one tier that doublse the previous top tier of 500 GB and it costs $10 a month the previous price of the lowest tier of 100 GB. Dropbox also is rolling out the ability to password-protect shared links, share in edit or view only mode as well as add expiration dates. Finally users can remotely wipe folders on lost or stolen devices.
The Verge reports that Microsoft will begin selling the Kinect sensor as a standalone product on October 7th. The Kinect will sell for $149 dollars and come with a copy of Dance Central Spotlight. Back in May, Microsoft began selling the Xbox One without the Kinect for a reduced price of $399. Kinect for Windows is still expected later this year.
The Next Web reports Google will launch its first campus in Asia with a startup-focused location in Seoul. Google’s startup program currently has locations in London and Tel Aviv as well. Google hopes to launch the campus sometime next year.
The Next Web reports Twitter has opened up its Tweet activity dashboard to English, French, Japanese and Spanish users who have had an account for at least 14 days. Everybody else should get it soon. This is the dashboard previously only available to advertisers. Head to analytics.twitter.com if you have a few hours to get lost stats nerds.
Gigaom reports that Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is exploring the idea of passing a law to ban after hours work and email calls. German firms such as BMW, Volkswagen and Deutsche Telecom have banned after-hours work communication on their own already. The labor minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, called for such a law earlier this month to combat burnout.
News From You
KAPT_Kipper submitted the GeekWire story on Google’s domain registration service which is currently invite only. Google offers free WHOIS privacy protection, and up to 100 free email forwarding addresses for $12. Domains can be configured as usual though there is built-in integration with Wix, Shopify and Squarespace. The downside is Google doesn’t support all domain names, like dot-TV, yet.
davidpolanco pointed out that Seagate is now shipping an 8 TB 3.5-inch hard drive with a SATA 6 gigabit-per-second interface. Select customers are getting the drives now with wider availability next quarter.
KAPT_Kipper passes along the Consumerist report that Hewlett-Packard is recalling nearly six million power cords because they can overheat, creating a fire and burn hazard. HP received 29 reports of melting cords, including two that included claims of minor burns. The LS-15 AC cords were distributed with HP and Compaq notebook and mini-notebook computers and with accessories such as docking stations. The cords were sold in the US and Canada from September 2010 to June 2012 at electronics stores and hp.com We’ll have a link to the instructions on what to do in the show notes, but instruction number one is unplug that cord!
MacBytes sent in the Engadget story that researchers at Harbin Institute of Technology’s Complex Flow and Heat Lab have developed a way that could allow submarines to travel from Shanghai to San Francisco, 9,873 km, in as few as 100 minutes. Using a sort of a airbubble that takes advantage of supercavitation and reduces drag, vehicles COULD reach the speed of sound underwater about 5800 km/h. They just need to crack launching, steering and powering it and BOOM Superfast Submarines.
Discussion Links:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/26/6067663/this-is-ubers-playbook-for-sabotaging-lyft
https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/504379051050414081
http://www.businessinsider.com/kalanick-defends-ubers-tactics-2014-8
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/27/6074919/the-uber-recruitment-scandal-isnt-scandalous
http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/uber-fake-ride-requests-lyft/
http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/12/uber-lyft-slap-fight/
Plug of the Day: Like tech history? I’ve teamed up with Scott Johnson to put out monthly looks at what happened in history this month. For 99 cents you get what happened on each day of the month that helped make the tech we sue today, plus illustrations from Scott Johnson. Check them out for 99 cents each at tommerrittbooks.com or just search Amazon.
Pick of the Day: Slice.com via Scott Odle
After hearing a while back about Luke Pohr’s pick Package Buddy I wanted to add my pick for tracking purchases, SLICE.COM. Slice builds on Package Buddy by automating tracking and putting all your purchase and tracking info in one app. It scrapes your email to give you a purchase history and can give you notifications for items shipping, out for delivery, and delivered. Slice also helps you track all your online purchasing habits. Once I signed up it gave me my entire online purchasing history since I first began ordering online, 8 years worth!
Thursday is a headlines only show, as Tom gets on his dragon and flies to the Con!
If you’re in Atlanta this weekend and headed to DragonCon be sure to head to the Grand Ballroom West at the Hilton at 10:00 PM (Eastern) on Friday night August 29th. Why?
BECAUSE that’s when the live performance of the Daily Tech News Show (AFTER DARK) takes place. Jonathan Strickland of Tech Stuff will be alongside and you know we won’t stop there with guests. Come join us!!
Fri Aug. 29, 10:00 pm Location: Grand Ballroom West – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Panelists: Tom Merritt, Jonathan Strickland and More)
Molly Wood is back and ready to talk Hyperlapse’s in app-maker’s judgements along with why we’re scared to talk on the Internet.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
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A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Today’s guest: Molly Wood, columnist and deputy technology editor at The New York Times. s
Headlines
Instagram released a new app called Hyperlapse that lets you record up to 45 minutes of video and then choose a rate to speed it up with options as fast as 12x. The video can be saved to the camera roll and you can do whatever you want with it There are buttons that will launch the Instagram or Facebook apps for easy sharing if you have those, but they’re not required.
ZDNet reports that Google is acquiring Zync, whose main product is Zync Render, a cloud-based rendering and storage platform for both 2D and 3D applications. Zync Render has been used on a number of Hollywood films, including Looper, Star Trek: Into Darkness and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. No word yet on how much Google paid. The service will be moved to Google’s Cloud Platform.
Vice president of Amazon games, Mike Frazzini talked with Fortune about Amazon’s newest $970-million all-cash acquisition Twitch. He said, “First and foremost, we want Twitch to just keep going.” I’m sure they do. Meanwhile Forbes’ Ryan Mac heard from a source that antitrust fears played a part in the deal going to Amazon instead of Google. Google allegedly wanted a breakup fee in case the acquisition was not approved because it already owns YouTube.
GigaOm passes along details about a US NSA tool called ICREACH, revealed by the Intercept Monday. ICREACH apperss to be a search tool used to share data with 23 US government agencies as well as foreign intelligence agencies in Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. The data shared included emails, phone calls, faxes, internet chats, and text messages, as well as location information collected from cellphones.
BitTorrent’s Dropbox competitor Sync got a little more Dropbox-like today according to GigaOm. BitTorrent sync can now make Web links for shared files and folders expanding it beyond simple folder synchronization. Previously users had to exchange cryptographic keys or QR codes to share links to files. The new Web links automatically expire after three days although you can set them to expire faster.
According to Ars Technica, Microsoft is under investigation by Chinese regulatory authorities for bundling its Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player app with its operating system. If you sense that all this has happened before, you might be remembering similar complaints from the European Union and South Korea which led to the creation of separate software packs for each country. Microsoft says it will fully comply with the investigation.
News From You
Kelleyb alerted us to the Ars Technica report that California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law requiring all smartphones in the state come with a kill-switch. While I had hoped the law meant all phones would be required to go into kill mode to defend you when attacked, it actually means as of July 1, 2015 all smartphones sold in California will have to have a remote wipe feature. The kill switch and new civil penalties of $500 to $2500 for stealing phones are hoped to reduce phone theft.
tm204 shares the Ars Technica report that Microsoft has reduced the prices of the Surface 2 Windows RT tablet by $100. The least expensive 32 GB unit now costs $349, the 64GB unit costs $449, and the 64GB model with LTE version costs $579. With the price cut, the 32GB 1920×1080 Microsoft Surface is now less expensive than most other tablets, with the exception of the non-Retina iPad mini. The discounts are available through Microsoft’s physical and online stores, as well as through some other retailers such as Amazon.
ancrod2 pointed out the SlashGear writeup about RoboBrain, a project led by robotics researcher Ashutosh Saxena, to organize information from the Internet to make it easier for robots to learn. RoboBrain would be a cloud based storage system integrating 100,000 data sources and various types of supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms The idea is to give robots access to a remote system that provides a more complex understanding of the world. In other words the individual robot’s NET would be in the cloud or rather— SKY.
Discussion Links:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/#fn-11806-1
Plug of the Day: The Sword and Laser Anthology collects 20 amazing stories from new writers in the Sword and Laser book club audience. 10 SciFi and 10 fantasy stories with an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss. Get a copy at swordandlaser.com/store http://swordandlaser.com/store/
Pick of the Day: Go Contact Sync Mod via Rolando- from the Paraguay, the heart of South America
I’ve using Outlook since the 90s–a critical component of my workflow was an easy wireless way to sync desktop and phone for contacts and calendar. The magic was accomplished then by Nokia Suite through bluetooth. When modern smartphones became a thing, a new component (“the cloud”) was needed in the mix. So I used Google Calendar Sync and a little great desktop app called Go Contact Sync Mod to have Outlook-Cloud-Phone two-way wireless sync nirvana: my contacts, appointments and notes were available to me in my desktop, phone or cloud in perfect harmony. But the Microsoft-Google fight has gotten in the way of my sync heaven, first by stopping support for Exchange ActiveSync and then Google Calendar Sync. Luckily, the wonderful guys of Go Contact Sync Mod came to the rescue by updating their app and providing 2-way sync (Outlook-Google) for Calendar, Contacts, Notes. Best of all, it’s free and opensource. Finally, my workflow equilibrium has been restored.
Wednesday’s guest: Dan Patterson, technology journalist
Anthony Carboni joins us to talk about Amazon buying Twitch and Facebook fighting Clickbait.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
Today’s guest: Anthony Carboni, co-host of We Have Concerns
Patreon link: http://www.patreon.com/wehaveconcerns
Headlines
Facebook announced today it’s altering its news feed algorithm to combat clickbait. Facebook’s algorithms will note when a high number of people click on a link and then come right back to Facebook. They’ll also note if links receive low numbers of comments and likes. Those are signs of clickbait and the Facebook algorithm will not hesitate to demote such links. After enough people have been suckered into clicking to prove its clickbait.
Ars Technica spent the morning collecting all the news outlets whose sources SWORE this time Twitch was really getting bought. By Amazon this time. We know they said it was Google earlier this summer TWICE, but this time the source familiar with the situation were absolutely briefed on the matter. The price is still reportedly around $1 billion. An announcement came at 1 PM in a blog post from Twitch CEO Emmett Shear confirming the deal. He wrote they chose Amazon because they “believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster.” Twitch will remain an independent company owned by Amazon.
According to Engadget, Tivo is releasing a limited edition Roamio OTA DVR where the OTA stands for over the air. The device will cost $49.99 along with a 15 dollar a month subscription for TIVO’s channel guide. Just like the $150 more expensive Roamio that has cablecard slots the OTA has 500 GB of storage, four tuners and can use the separate TiVo Stream device to stream live and pre-recorded videos on other devices. It just doesn’t have cablecard slots. Apparently cable card slots are worth $150.
Reuters passes along a report from Xinhua that China plans to release another operating system of its own by October. The first version would be for desktops, which China has done before with its own distro of Linux, but later would come OS’s for mobile devices. There’s also talk of an app store. Ni Guangnan head of an official OS development alliance established in March, hopes domestically developed software could replace desktop OSs witin two years and mobile OSs within 3-5 years.
The BBC reports on denial of service attacks carried out against most of the popular game networks like Playstation Network, Xbox Live, BattleNet and more. At the same time, John Smedley. president of Sony Online Entertainment had his plane diverted to Phoenix after a bomb threat. No one was hurt. Multiple groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The US FBI is investigating.
News From You
spsheridan posted a Geek.com article about for NC State University undergrads developing nail polish that can detect drugs. Ankesh Madan, Stephen Gray, Tasso Von Windheim, and Tyler Confrey-Maloney have developed a polish they call “Undercover Colors.” The polish contains chemicals that react to Rohypnol and GHB and change colors in its presence.
AcidBeaver85 passes along a Venture Beat story that Coin has changed its mind about double-charging long-waiting backers. Coin first announced that the finished product would be delayed until Spring 2015 and that backers who already paid would have to pay again if they participated in a beta. That didn’t go over so well. Coin now says backer that pre-order customers who opt into the Beta program will still receive the non-beta final product without further charge. The Coin beta program is expected to roll out in the fourth quarter.
MacBytes flags us to the The Verge article about LG’s plan to announce at circular smart watch next week. The LG G Watch R — presumably R stands for Round, will comes with a button on the side, unlike LG’s original square smart watch. The round watch will also have a digital step counter, distance meter and compass. The video also seemed to tease that the display would be a perfect circle, without the black bar at the bottom of the Moto 360 teased at Google I/O.
MikePkennedy pointed out the Next Web story that Mozilla will launch a Firefox OS phone in India this week. The CloudFX, developed by Intex Technologies has a 3.5-inch display, 1GHz processor, 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, dual SIM Bluetooth and WiFi. Hindi and Tamil are supported out of the box. Customers can order it from Sanpdeal.com for less than 2000 Rs which is about $33 US.
Discussion Links:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/25/6066295/amazon-reportedly-buying-twitch-for-over-1-billion
http://recode.net/2014/08/25/amazon-will-buy-twitch-for-more-than-1-billion/
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/25/6066509/why-it-makes-sense-for-amazon-to-buy-twitch
http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/25/facebook-vs-clickbait/?ncid=rss
http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/08/news-feed-fyi-click-baiting/
Plug of the Day:
Plug of the day: Daily Tech News Show Shirt with Mustafa from thepolarcat.com’s logo now available in white, black and Ash. Look in the podcasts section.
Pick of the Day: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a CCG (collectible card game a la Magic: The Gathering) from Blizzard Entertainment featuring characters from the WoW universe. As someone who never played WoW, on it’s face, it didn’t sound that interesting, but, as someone who played a little Magic back in the day, the second I loaded this onto my iPad, I was hooked. You can play your friends or random people in friendly matches, ranked matches or an arena mode where you draft a deck and then play it on the spot. The game is packed with excellent graphics, animations and music; ever-expanding content; and a vast and active community. The game is free to play with in-app purchases (totally not required) and is available for PC, Mac and iPad with Windows 8 and Android tablet support to come in the near future. Too much fun not to pass along.
Tuesday’s guest: Molly Wood