Yesterday the FCC’s chairman, Ajit Pai, put existing net neutrality rules on notice, saying that the agency would continue to protect consumers — but with a lighter touch. Just how he plans to do that, however, is an open question. The notice of proposed rulemaking released today is full of questions: some reasonable, some rhetorical and some desperate. And you get to answer them. Read More
Life isn’t fair. Work’s not fair. Tech isn’t fair. So it’s no surprise that unfairness or mistreatment is the most frequently cited reason for leaving a job in tech, according to the Kapor Center for Social Impact’s Tech Leavers Study. Read More
Google is today launching an update for iOS users that will make it easier to find media content — like TV shows, movies and songs — on various streaming services and content marketplaces, including iTunes, Hulu, Amazon Video, Google Play, YouTube, Spotify and others. The feature, which is still rolling out, will show you the icons for the services where the content… Read More
Amazon is iterating quickly with the Amazon Echo as the company just announced the Amazon Echo Look, which is essentially an Echo with a camera. What is Apple’s answer? All we have is yet another rumor that Apple is working on a sort of connected speaker with a brain. This time, Sonny Dickson is back with a couple of tweets. He usually shares iPhone leaks, so this isn’t necessarily… Read More
Google Classroom is opening up even further: After allowing anyone to join classes last month, expanding the learner side of the equation beyond just those with G Suite for Education accounts, Google is now opening Classroom class creation to anyone with a personal Google account, too. This means anyone can create and organize a class on the platform, which allows educators to set up and… Read More
Facebook is aggressively pursuing the international and developing world markets Snapchat hasn’t prioritized. Facebook Lite recently hit 200 million users, and Instagram just rolled out offline mode for Android. Now after launching Messenger Lite for Android in five countries in October, it’s expanding to 150 more, including Vietnam, Nigeria, Peru, Turkey, Germany, Japan and the… Read More
This rumor has been going on for years, but 2017 might be the year of peer-to-peer Apple Pay. According to a new report from Recode, the company could be launching a new Apple Pay feature later this year so that you can send money to other people using the service. While you all know and use Apple Pay if you have an iPhone and live in one of the countries where it works, Apple Pay has always… Read More
Anyone who has a Touch Bar MacBook Pro knows the awful truth of using it: a beautiful machine that sacrificed functionality for aesthetics. Now you’re going to need a dongle for everything: HDMI, SD cards, regular old USB 3.0 Type-A and a DisplayPort — which is the exact port selection being offered by the Arc Hub from Bourge Design. Read More
Google’s virtual reality sketching/painting/modeling Tilt Brush program has amassed a following amongst novice VR users as well as artists looking to explore virtual reality as a new medium. Starting today, you’ll be able to peer into the 3D virtual reality canvases of other Tilt Brush users on the web while also gaining the ability to share your own work online. Read More
Google has long said that it wants to open up its Assistant to a broader ecosystem of hardware companies and developers. Today it’s taking a major step in this direction with the launch of the Google Assistant SDK, which allows developers to build the Assistant’s smarts into their own hardware prototypes. Read More
Few saw the Chromebook coming. When it launched half a decade ago, the category was broadly maligned for its limited feature set, middling hardware specs and operation that required an always-on internet connection to work properly. But things change in five years. Read More
Facebook made its most direct statements about how the platform has been used to spread misinformation in a report released today by its security team. The report acknowledges how actors created a coordinated campaign on the platform to spread misinformation during the 2016 U.S. election, and explains measures Facebook is taking to combat it. “Our mission is to give people the power to… Read More
Naming companies is a daunting task, as anyone who does it for a living can attest. “It’s difficult to criticize a name,” says S.B. Master, a Berkeley, Ca.-based founder who has launched two naming companies in her career. “From choosing a name, to getting a team to agree to it, to clearing that name from a trademark and URL and social media standpoint — it’s… Read More
Aol founder and noted venture capitalist Steve Case is coming to Disrupt NY this May, and there’s plenty to talk about. Since leaving Aol in 2005, Case has invested in startups in smaller markets, and the last few years he’s traveled the country, exploring and highlighting budding startup scenes outside of Silicon Valley. Read More
Facebook today released its latest report on global government requests for the second half of 2016, noting there has been a 9 percent increase in requests for user account data compared with the earlier part of that year, but a 28 percent decrease in content restrictions for violating local law. However, that latter decrease doesn’t necessarily indicate that content… Read More
The veteran Cassini spacecraft has pulled off an impressive high speed manoeuvre: passing between the narrow gap between Saturn’s upper atmosphere and the planet’s rings, traveling at speeds of around 77,000mph. Read More
If you’ve ever been driving and wanted to let someone know when to expect you, there’s likely been some kind of compromise involved where you broke a few rules and texted while en route. Aftermarket HUD maker Navdy is giving its users an easier way to share their expected arrival time, through a new partnership with Glympse. Read More
Elon Musk’s tunnel boring company isn’t quite as well-articulated as his other companies, which include the well-established SpaceX and Tesla, and the newly minted Neurolink brain interface company. The Boring Company has by far the punniest name, however, and now it also has some branded hardware — an industrial tunnel boring machine emblazoned with the company’s… Read More
A new version of Apple Music will ship later this year that puts an increased emphasis on video content, and particularly its own original video programming, according to a new report from Bloomberg out today. The piece delves into Apple’s larger video plans, and suggests that the platform may host up to 10 original shows by year’s end. Read More
Ozobot, a golf ball-sized toy robot that helps kids learn to code, will be available in the form of Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man characters as of this summer. Evollve Inc., which makes the Ozobot, has previously offered character skins from Disney’s Marvel Avengers, including Iron Man and Captain America. Read More
