Posts

In a recent blogpost, the tech behemoth announced that it’ll bid farewell to the feature in November 2022. People still using Hangouts are urged to switch to the Chat app or Chat in Gmail. As for Hangouts users on the web? Well, Google won’t start nagging for you to switch until July. The company will automatically transfer your existing conversations to Chat. But just in case, it encourages users to download their data via Google Takeout before Hangouts stops being available....

Search engine companies, like most online services, make money not only by selling ads, but also by tracking users and selling their data through real-time bidding on it. People are often led to misinformation by their desire for sensational and entertaining news as well as information that is either controversial or confirms their views. One study found that more popular YouTube videos about diabetes are less likely to have medically valid information than less popular videos on the subject, for instance....

The Big G developed the Chimera Painter to produce an endless stream of creatures for a fantasy card game in which the different monsters battle. The system is powered by generative adversarial networks (GANs), which create new content by pitting two neural networks against each other: a generator that creates new images and a discriminator that attempts to identify which of the designs have been artificially created. The tool’s creators trained the GANs on thousands of computer-generated creature images, each of which was paired with a “segmentation map” showing its body parts....

Deep learning can detect abnormal chest x-rays with accuracy that matches that of professional radiologists, according to a new paper by a team of AI researchers at Google published in the peer-reviewed science journal Nature. The deep learning system can help radiologists prioritize chest x-rays, and it can also serve as a first response tool in emergency settings where experienced radiologists are not available. The findings show that, while deep learning is not close to replacing radiologists, it can help boost their productivity at a time that the world is facing a severe shortage of medical experts....

To replace the cookies system, the company introduced a new product called Privacy Sandbox that will let advertisers gather some amount of data without compromising users’ data integrity. Last week, the company has assured that it won’t build any backdoors to this sandbox for its own apps. Jerry Dischler, the company’s VP for Ads, said at a virtual marketing event that the company’s own app won’t take any shortcuts: It’s promising to hear this, but ad-makers have voiced concerns in the past that this new format will force them to adapt to this standard because of Google’s hold on the digital ad industry....

Computerworld reported that Google reportedly just killed off its plans to make two tablets to follow the Pixel Slate from 2018. In addition, its chief of hardware, Rick Osterloh, noted that the company is shifting focus to laptops: — Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) June 20, 2019 So yes, that means we’ve seen the last tablet from Google – but other manufacturers will continue to make tablets based on Android and Chrome OS, and the company will continue to develop these platforms....

According to Bleeping Computer, the online storefront — macys.com — was infected with “unauthorized code” on October 7 to its ‘Checkout’ and ‘My Wallet’ pages, allowing the bad actor to capture credit card data. Macy’s said it was alerted to the situation on October 15, a full week after the site was breached. The attackers were able to access detailed personal information, including the customer’s full name and address, phone number, email address, payment card number, payment card security code, and payment card month/year of expiration if they were typed on one of the compromised pages....

The Defense Department’s Cyber Crime Center (DC3) released numbers from its Vulnerability Disclosure Program, showing the agency processed 4,013 vulnerability reports, 2,836 of which led to mitigation activities. According to a statement, 8% of all submissions were labelled as critical or high severity, CyberScoop reports. [Read: Pentagon unveils toothless ethical principles for using AI in war] “It was our busiest year to date with a staggering 21.7% increase of submitted reports from 2017,” the report reads....

Luckily, though, Tesco’s followers did not fall for the Bitcoin scheme as no funds were deposited in the wallet address shared by the hackers. According to Bleeping Computer, the tweet was sent from Tesco’s official account, which boasts over 500,000 followers. Hackers also decided to retweet and impersonate Bill Gates, changing the supermarket’s Twitter handle to @Billgatesmsc, and replacing the account’s original profile picture to that of the tech magnate....

At this year’s TNW Conference, three VC partners who’d previously made the jump from successful founder to investor presented a panel on the crucial efforts they learned along the way. The panelists were: Bryony Cooper, Managing Partner, Arkley Brinc VC: The company encompasses and hardware VC Fund and an acceleration program with the goal of investment. Johan van Mil, Co-founder and Managing Partner, PEAK. The company invests in a broad range of marketplace, platform, and SaaS companies across a range of verticals....

If you’ve got a design lover on your holiday list, they’re likely always looking for something that can help them translate their vision of the world into reality. Aesthetics matter. So with that in mind, we pulled together five items that can help fulfill all those design dreams. It also doesn’t hurt that each is on sale at up to 69 percent off right now. They can help make the world beautiful....

Gadgets play a big part in this. Just consider that 5.3 billion smartphones are expected to be thrown away in 2022. But here’s the good news: gadgets will get more sustainable in 2023, and that’s all thanks to the emerging trend of circularity. “In major markets such as Europe, consumers are looking for more durable, long-lasting products,” Stanton Thomas, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Solutions at o9 Solutions, told TNW. More durable products will likely result in fewer sales over time due to “lower replacement rates....

Although the device is set to launch on July 21 and we have a decent idea of what to expect, we’ve now gotten a good look at the phone’s design, courtesy of an interview between YouTube reviewer Marques Brownlee and OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei. Without further ado, here’s the back of the device, as shared in the interview. I’m digging that bright blue. Credit: MKBHD And here’s the less interesting front:...

It’s essentially a fancy VR headset, not a pair of AR glasses as has long been rumored (yet) Corroborating a report by Bloomberg last month, The Information’s leak claims Apple’s first stab at a mixed reality headset will be of opaque, VR kind. In other words, more akin to a fancy Oculus headset than something translucent like Microsoft’s Hololens. As earlier revealed by Bloomberg’s report, the device appears to be codenamed N301....

It isn’t easy to guess how smart you really are. I certainly know people a lot cleverer than me — and I’m regularly dumbfounded by the simplest things. Yet, occasionally I’ll end up doing something ‘pretty smart.’ And this is totally fine. The older I get, the more I understand (and experience) that intelligence isn’t everything — it’s just a tool. On its own, a tool can’t do much of anything....

The single most important asset to any technology company isn’t its inventory or even its intellectual property. It’s the people who make up the company: the engineers, designers, researchers, and managers who harness their inner knowledge and ingenuity to create something out of nothing. Accordingly, investing in attracting and retaining top-tier talent is a vitally important initiative for these tech companies. And the task must be taken seriously from the beginning: The interview process should ensure you’re bringing in the right people, as well as laying the groundwork for their future success at the company....

And, at CES 2022, we were finally shown what the automaker had in store. Are you ready? Are you prepared? Then — drum roll please — welcome to the world, BUGATTI’S ELECTRIC… scooter? As strange as it is to see Bugatti’s logo on a two-wheeler, to be fair, it’s a pretty sleek-looking vehicle. The escooter is foldable and features — according to the company — a “unique aerodynamic design.” Looks like a standard scooter to me....

If you want to learn to act, it couldn’t hurt to have Meryl Streep give you a few pointers. If you want to improve your game on the tennis court, knocking the ball around with Roger Federer could offer some choice tips. So if you want to become a better photographer, who better than men and women responsible for iconic images and multimillion-dollar promotional campaigns to offer their insight? The A-list learning opportunities are the calling card for the Photo School, an online web training series that can instantly elevate someone’s photo-taking prowess under the tutelage of some of Hollywood’s most sought-after photographers....

The warrantless purchase by various parts of the DHS — including Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — was first reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2020. In response to the news, ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to DHS, ICE, and CBP, followed by a respective lawsuit. While the litigation is still ongoing, the union decided to make public the records that CBP, ICE, the US Secret Service, the US Coast Guard, and several offices within DHS Headquarters have provided to date....

If you’re vaccinated against COVID-19 and back out in the world, chances are you’re encountering requests for your vaccination card. An increasing number of places require visitors to prove their vaccination status before being allowed in. New York City and San Francisco mandate proof of vaccination for public indoor dining, exercising, and entertainment, while New Orleans requires vaccination or a negative test. Other cities, such as Los Angeles, are considering similar measures....