Blog

HBO is the latest to abandon SXSW because of coronavirus

[ad_1]

At the moment, it seems that SXSW will still happen. According to a statement on the festival’s website, officials are “working closely on a daily basis with local, state, and federal agencies to plan for a safe event.” Even if the festival does start as planned on March 13th, it will be considerably smaller than it has been in past years, as large and small companies alike attempt to avoid putting people in unnecessary contact.

Several other festivals and tech shows have already been canceled, including GDC, MWC, I/O, F8. Today, organized postponed the upcoming Minecraft Festival, and chances are we’ll see more cancelations. As Engadget’s Jessica Conditt points out, panic around the coronavirus outbreak could expedite the demise of in-person tech conventions altogether.

[ad_2]

Source link

Twitter will delete hate speech related to age, disability and disease

[ad_1]

The decision is part of an ongoing effort by the company to better protect its users. In 2018, people from approximately 30 countries sent in 8,000 responses to a survey the company conducted. The most consistent feedback the company got was that it needed to make the language of its harmful conduct policy clearer. People also told the company it needed to enforce its policies more consistently. In response, Twitter claims it has developed a more in-depth training process for the employees who review abuse reports. It also says it’s spending more time testing new rules to determine if it needs to clarify them.

Moving forward, the company plans to work with a group of outside experts to decide on how it should approach hate speech related to topics like race, ethnicity and national origin. “This group will help us understand the tricky nuances, important regional and historical context,” the company said.

The policy update follows technological investments the company has made to help on the safety front. As of late last year, the company said it was able to spot and remove 50 percent of abusive tweets before they were flagged by users thanks to updates to its moderation algorithms.

[ad_2]

Source link

What does the end of Elizabeth Warren’s campaign mean for big tech?

[ad_1]

Warren drew significant attention over the past year by saying that many of the biggest tech companies in the world would be under close scrutiny if she were to become president. Specifically, she pledged to break up Amazon, Facebook and Google and accused them of using their power to unfairly influence the market and absorb their competition. She’s also taken issue with Facebook’s lack of responsibility for the content people post to its services, mocking the company for its ad policies that let politicians run campaigns that contained false information. She also had plans to significantly expand rural broadband access and to do her best to restore net neutrality.

With a formerly wide field essentially down to two candidates, it’s worth looking at what consumers of technology (as well as the tech industry as a whole) have to lose or gain under Biden or Sanders, should one of them become president in 2021. If you’ve followed their political leanings, you won’t be surprised to know that Sanders’ thoughts on big tech align much more closely with Warren than they do with Biden.

Sanders is a proponent of major antitrust reform, regardless of the industry. “I think we need vigorous antitrust legislation in this country because you are seeing — you name the area, whether it’s pharmaceuticals, whether it is Wall Street, whether it is high tech — fewer and fewer gigantic corporations owning those sectors,” he said at a Washington Post live event earlier this year. He specifically cited Amazon as a company moving rapidly towards becoming a monopoly and criticized Facebook for the “incredible power” it has over both politics and the economy in the US.

Sanders made similar remarks in an extensive, unedited interview with the New York Times editorial board in January, making it clear his focus was around increased enforcement of antitrust laws, regardless of industry. “I’ll be the first to admit it, but we have been derelict in that we have antitrust legislation that has not been enforced by Republican or Democratic administrations, and I intend to do that,” Sanders said. “And it is not just the big tech companies.”

Biden, on the other hand, hasn’t been as clear or forceful about how he’d deal with the tech giants should he become president. One thing is clear, though: He’s no fan of Facebook. In his interview with the Times editorial board, he slammed the company and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for ducking what he sees as its responsibility for the content posted to Facebook’s platform. Biden has more personal skin in this game — Facebook has rejected requests to remove a Trump ad making false claims about Biden and his son.

Biden pointed specifically to Facebook in comments on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), something that’s considered a cornerstone of the modern internet. It protects companies like Facebook from being sued for content posted on its services because of a status as a distributor rather than a publisher — protection that a journalistic endeavor does not enjoy. Overhauling or revoking Section 230 would have a huge effect not just on Facebook, but on Google, Twitter and likely dozens of other internet companies as well.

“[Zuckerberg] knows better. And you know, from my perspective, I’ve been in the view that not only should we be worrying about the concentration of power, we should be worried about the lack of privacy and them being exempt, which [The Times are] not exempt,” Biden said to the Times. “[Section 230] should be revoked because [Facebook] is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy.”

As for breaking up Facebook or other tech giants, Biden is less committed than Sanders or Warren. He told the Associated Press in May of 2019 that breaking up some of the tech companies was “something we should take a really hard look at,” but that it’s “premature” to say what the right tactics were. At the same time, he said that Warren “has a very strong case to be made” for the break-up she proposed. That said, we’re not holding our breath for Biden to adopt any of Warren’s plans now that she’s out of the race — let’s not forget that Biden was VP as part of President Obama’s administration, one that was quite friendly to Silicon Valley.

[ad_2]

Source link

Pokimane signs multi-year deal to stay on Twitch

[ad_1]

It may seem odd to publicly celebrate that nothing is changing, but the Pokimane announcement is coming after months of high-profile defections from Twitch to rival services like Facebook and YouTube. Ninja and Shroud are the best-known examples, but the list includes other notables like CouRage and Corinna Kopf. While the reasons for leaving vary, they frequently involve cash (likely millions of dollars for the biggest deals) and more opportunities for sponsorships and product tie-ins.

With this deal, Twitch is signalling that it’s aware of the talent drain and is willing to pay a premium to keep at least some of its stars onboard. The question is whether or not there will be a surge of similar deals, and whether Twitch (really, Amazon) will be ready to pay what it takes if many more streamers consider leaving. The livestreaming world is increasingly matching the sports world with stiff competition over exclusives, and it might only get fiercer if Twitch’s challengers see more opportunities.

[ad_2]

Source link

Facebook is suing over domains that could be mistaken for its products

[ad_1]

Facebook notes it sent multiple notices to Whoisguard between October 2018 and February 2020, asking it to share information about the domains. Despite those requests, the company didn’t cooperate. “Our goal is to create consequences for those who seek to do harm and we will continue to take legal action to protect people from domain name fraud and abuse,” Facebook said.

Last year, Facebook filed a similar suit against a domain registrar OnlineNIC. At the time, Facebook mentioned 20 URLs OnlineNIC had allowed cybersquatters to claim. In OnlineNIC’s instance, the company also had a history of allowing the practice.

[ad_2]

Source link

Google will start ranking sites by their mobile version in September

[ad_1]

The shift has been years in the making, and Google says that 70 percent of sites shown in search results have already embraced mobile-first indexing. Between now and September, it will continue moving sites to mobile-first indexing when its systems recognize that they’re ready.

Google started experimenting with a mobile-first index that ranked sites based on their phone-friendly pages in 2016, and the company made most of its searches mobile-first in 2018. By 2019, it was indexing new web domains as mobile-first by default. This is the natural next step.

[ad_2]

Source link

Does the Xbox Series X make gaming PCs obsolete?

[ad_1]

So should you just throw away your gaming rig and replace it with a Series X? Probably not. But Microsoft’s new console does signal a shift in the modern gaming world, one where PC players don’t always have the hardware advantage. It’s a bit of a throwback to the mid-90s, when the PlayStation was delivering 3D graphics before most PCs could handle it.

So I’m sure you’re wondering, how will the PlayStation 5 compare? At this point, we only have broad sketches from Sony: it says the system will also have an AMD Ryzen CPU and RDNA GPU, but we don’t know how similar they’ll be to the Series X’s hardware. We also know it’ll feature faster load times than the PS4, thanks to SSD storage.

Notably, both next-gen consoles will support hardware accelerated ray tracing, giving you more realistic lighting and reflections. On PCs, only NVIDIA’s RTX lineup supports that today. And turning on ray tracing can lead to a significant performance hit on games that really lean on it, like Control. It’ll be interesting to see if AMD’s revised RDNA architecture handles ray tracing more efficiently than NVIDIA’s hardware.

The real question with the Xbox Series X: How much will all of that power cost you? We can only guess at the moment. The original Xbox One launched at $499 with the ill-fated Kinect accessory, while the PlayStation 4 was $100 less. That price difference, and a better library of exclusives, was enough to give Sony an early lead this generation.

The Xbox One X was also $100 more expensive than the PlayStation 4 Pro when it launched, though that difference was a bit more excusable since Microsoft was aiming at enthusiasts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft stick with the $499 price, but given the rising costs of computing hardware in general, plus the positioning of the Series X towards enthusiasts, it could conceivably reach up to $550 or even $600.

Sony, meanwhile, has been cagey about saying anything about the PlayStation 5’s costs. That console is rumored to have a slightly slower GPU than the Series X, so it could conceivably come in a bit cheaper. But again, we really don’t know. Microsoft is also reportedly planning a more affordable and less capable next-gen console, code-named Lockhart, that could be an easier entry point for people who don’t care about native 4K gaming.

One thing that PCs gaming will always have a significant advantage over consoles though, is: flexibility. You can always slap a new video card, RAM and storage into a gaming rig when it gets a little long in the tooth. But, consoles are frozen with the hardware they ship with. That’s what pushed Microsoft and Sony to release the One X and PS4 Pro in the middle of this console generation — those original consoles simply couldn’t keep up with the fancy new 4K TVs consumers were buying. As powerful as the Series X will be, it’ll never be something you can open up and tinker with. So rest easy PC gamers, your rig still serves a purpose.

[ad_2]

Source link

Coronavirus panic is expediting the demise of tech conventions

[ad_1]

It’s likely that some of these companies won’t return to the idea of physical shows at all.

It’s not completely the fault of coronavirus hysteria, however. After all, none of this happened when the H1N1 pandemic (swine flu) hit the globe in 2009 and 2010. E3 went off without a hitch at the height of that outbreak in June 2009, with 41,000 people showing up at the Los Angeles Convention Center to see Microsoft reveal the Kinect, and Sony announce the PSP Go and PlayStation Move. Overall, there were zero major conference cancellations tied to the pandemic. Meanwhile, COVID-19 isn’t even classified as a pandemic (yet).

In-person trade shows are organizationally complex, costly and unpredictable. They’ve been this way since the beginning, but only out of necessity. There hasn’t been a better way to drum up industry-wide excitement for new technologies — until now. Companies today have multiple options for advertising directly to consumers, business partners and investors. Internet saturation has reached a stable point in most markets and its underlying infrastructure is expanding daily, while tools like live streaming and social media have made it easier than ever to reach audience members.

Nintendo has proven how successful online showcases can be. The House of Mario is notorious for exerting strict control over its franchises and ignoring industry trends to create wildly unique products, a strategy that’s resulted in Nintendo Direct live streams. Since 2011, Nintendo executives have presented the company’s most exciting announcements in scripted videos that talk directly to consumers, and the approach has paid off. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata hosted most of the company’s digital showcases from 2011 until his death in 2015, and he grew to be one of the most beloved tech leaders of his time, largely because of the relationship he built with players through the camera lens. Every Nintendo Direct causes a tiny (and sometimes huge) news explosion in the video game industry, and fans eagerly await each one.

Best of all, Nintendo can create these showcases without leaving the office. So can any other company that takes this path.

Nintendo has proven how successful online showcases can be.

Online events make sense. Ditching big conventions means companies can better control their messaging without the perils of live, on-stage accidents, and they’ll save money on exorbitant exhibitor fees, amphitheater and equipment rentals, transportation, event organization and on-site sustenance. Plus, they’ll have more control over when these news drops will take place — for instance, E3 is held in the summer and tends to interrupt the workflow of many attending studios, which aim to release big titles in the fall.

[ad_2]

Source link

The original iPad is turning 10 and we want your thoughts

[ad_1]

We’d love to hear you talk about those edges — along with all the things the device did right. How well did you adjust to working with a 9.7-inch screen? How did the device feel in your hand? Was its performance up to handling your videos, photos and games? Did you like the display quality back then? And do you remember what it was like using iPhone OS 3 on the thing? (This was before the name change to iOS.)

Tell us the answers to these questions and more in a user review on our iPad 1st-gen product page. The most interesting, insightful or hilarious comments will be featured in a user review roundup in honor of the iPad’s birthday next month. Also tell us if you typed your review on an iPad — you won’t get bonus points (as we have none to award) but we’ll at least be amused.

Note: Comments are off on this article; please leave your user reviews on our product page for the 1st-gen iPad.

[ad_2]

Source link

Alexa can now provide traffic updates and severe weather alerts

[ad_1]

Severe weather can be another problem that sidelines your plans or your commute. By saying, “Alexa, tell me when there’s a severe weather alert,” you’ll be notified in the case of particularly choppy storms.

If you missed an NBA game, you can now catch the highlights on any Alexa-enabled device with a screen. You can either specify which team’s highlights you want to see, or you can ask Alexa to “play the NBA highlights” to see all noteworthy basketball clips.

2020 US presidential election news has been coming in at a fast pace, making it somewhat difficult to stay up-to-date. You can ask Alexa for an election update to hear the latest polling info, candidate positions and debate recaps.

With these new skills — particularly the traffic and weather ones — Alexa could become an even more convenient way to get through your day. The NBA and election news can also help get you up to speed quickly. It’s up to the public if that convenience is worth the risk of less privacy.

[ad_2]

Source link