Blog

The teenager that’s at CES to network

[ad_1]

“I’m really interested in meaningful work and I think the best way to do that is in a startup,” Imran says. Eventually she wants to run her own company, perhaps serving the developing world. College may or may not be part of the equation, at least not before a gap year.

This is Imran’s first time in Las Vegas, first CES and somewhere between her 10th and 15th tech conference in the last year, she thinks. She flew here from the suburbs of Toronto — where her parents moved from Pakistan when Imran was six — to receive an award as a “Young Innovator to Watch” from Living In Digital Times. Many of the winners turn out to be children of immigrants, says LIDT founder Robin Raskin, and this year’s teenagers also developed screening for respiratory diseases and an app for sexual assault survivors.

Imran’s project HonestBlocks uses blockchain to track healthcare supply chains and prevent counterfeit medicine. She came to Vegas with her chaperone Navid Nathoo, co-founder of The Knowledge Society, a program for talented kids which Imran credits with giving her a direction beyond the pointlessness of school clubs and grades.

In school, she even started a nonprofit for girls in STEM, but soon realized she didn’t want to be standing on stages instead of solving problems. “I didn’t feel my work was making a real impact,” she said. “Doing events will only go so far.” She tells me it’d be good to write this article about what she was like then versus now.

“People are impressed by that?” she says, quite seriously. “The only cool thing is the quantum computer.”

On Wednesday, Imran roams the convention center, an ocean of middle-aged men. Her prime goal is to network. “That’s the only utility in conferences,” she says. There’s a concentration of experts on emerging tech here, and she’s got a list of relationships to build, with Google, Uber and IBM.

Also, she’s psyched to see the quantum computer, a regular CES appearance. “It’s gonna be an iconic picture,” she says.

First, the networking. She meets a blockchain expert at IBM, gives her standard intro and listens with arms folded, legs crossed, standing upright. “You definitely know your stuff,” says the man. “How old are you?”

She tells him. He tells her to apply to IBM.

“You definitely know your stuff,” says the man. “How old are you?”

Off again, through the Las Vegas Convention Center. Imran walks past Sharp’s 90-inch transparent TV, attendees buzzing all around.

“People are impressed by that?” she says, quite seriously. “The only cool thing is the quantum computer,” she adds, more in jest this time.

Eventually, she finds the glistening chandelier of a machine. She takes the photos and texts Nathoo her excitement. She talks to a quantum consultant and notes down a paper about lithium sulphur batteries. A man appears — several earrings, mildly spiked hair — and says he helped assemble the quantum computer.

“Can you explain how it works?” Imran asks.

“What do you want to do first, qubits or cooling?” he says.

She replies: “Let’s do qubits.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Bipartisan bill would give parents more power to protect their kids online

[ad_1]

If Congress enacts the bill, online services, websites and apps will need to give parents the ability to delete any personal information related to their children. That’s a power that COPPA, in its current form, doesn’t provide parents. The legislation also aims to raise the age at which companies can collect data from an individual without parental consent from 13 to 16, in addition to broadening COPPA’s protections to include mobile apps, as well as geolocation and biometric data. When it comes to sites such as Facebook, this means kids won’t be able to create an account until they’re 16 or older.

“In the past, predators and perpetrators sought to harm our children by lurking near schoolyards and playgrounds, but now — due to incredible advancements in technology — they are able to stalk our children through their mobile devices and in video game lobbies,” said Representative Walberg.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act came into national focus last year when Google agreed to pay a $170 million fine to settle allegations YouTube had illegally collected data from children under the age of 13. The company had reportedly obtained that data without telling parents or getting consent from them. Earlier this week, the company started rolling out new tools to allow YouTube creators to flag videos that they’ve made explicitly for kids.

[ad_2]

Source link

Steph Curry: Giannis chat was about ‘PUBG,’ not plans to team up

[ad_1]

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA’s reigning MVP, and his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks will end after next season, making him the hottest potential free agent in the league. That also means any conversation he has with affiliates of other teams will be heavily scrutinized since just about anyone would like to have the 7-foot-tall “Freak” on their team for the next few years.

After last night’s Bucks game against Golden State cameras caught Giannis talking to injured Warriors star Stephen Curry, and you can clearly see Curry telling him “C’mon man, let’s do this.” The NBA recently amended its rules to include player conversations in potential violations of “tampering” — rules against trying to influence someone who’s currently under contract with another team. And after Golden State successfully lured Kevin Durant away from the Thunder a few years ago, they’re exactly the kind of team your free-agent superstar tells you not to worry about.

But Yahoo Sports reporter Chris Haynes talked to Steph and says that the conversation wasn’t about basketball at all — he was just exchanging gamertags so that the two could play PUBG, aka PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.



[ad_2]

Source link

Lime exits 12 cities and lays off 100 employees in search of profit

[ad_1]

According to Axios, Lime is also laying off about 100 employees, which amounts to approximately 14 percent of its workforce. Lime president Joe Kraus told the website the tweaks will help the company become sustainable this year. “We’re very confident that in 2020, Lime will be the first next-generation mobility company to be profitable,” he said.

Today’s announcement isn’t the first time Lime has scaled back its ambitions. Last month, the company shuttered its short-lived LimePod service, which had allowed people in Seattle to rent an electric car through the company’s mobile app. The company has also tried to find new ways to generate revenue. In March, Lime started testing a subscription service that allows frequent customers to sign up for unlimited scooter and e-bike rides. It plans to roll out the service to additional countries this month.

[ad_2]

Source link

Uber makes changes in California to brace for new gig worker law

[ad_1]

Rather than show upfront pricing for all trips other than Uber Pool, Uber will now show passengers in California a range of prices. The final price will be calculated at the end of the trip. Passengers will also be able to add drivers to a “favorites” list, and the company will eliminate some Uber Rewards benefits, like price protection on a route and flexible cancellations.

In its message to riders, Uber said, “These changes may take some getting used to, but our goal is to keep Uber available to as many qualified drivers as possible, without restricting the number of drivers who can work at a given time.”

Drivers will reportedly see more info, including trip time, distance, destination and estimated fare, and they’ll be able to reject a ride request without penalty.

Theoretically, giving drivers more control and being more transparent about fares may better prepare Uber for the repercussions of AB5. But critics note that the changes could cause drivers to reject shorter trips or refuse trips to certain neighborhoods, potentially leading to discrimination against lower-income areas.

In a statement provided to Engadget, Uber said:

“AB5 threatens to restrict or eliminate opportunities for independent workers across a wide spectrum of industries, including trucking, freelance journalism and ridesharing. As a result of AB5, we’ve made a number of product changes to preserve flexible work for tens of thousands of California drivers. At the same time, we’ve put forward a progressive package of new protections for drivers, including guaranteed minimum earnings and benefits, so voters can choose to truly improve flexible work in November.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Facebook Gaming viewership skyrocketed in 2019

[ad_1]

It’s worth noting that market share is a relative metric and a number of factors are in play, including a larger overall audience on these services — viewers watched 1.19 billion hours across the four of them in December, up from 1.06 billion a year earlier. The report suggests that Facebook Gaming’s growth is largely due to existing streamers building their audience and new faces drawing big numbers. On average, Facebook Gaming streamers were broadcasting for 63 percent more hours last year than in 2018, which also helped boost viewership numbers.

Twitch is still the biggest player in game streaming by far, at least among Western services. But despite viewing hours growing from 715.6 million to 728 million year-over-year, Twitch’s market share dropped from 67.1 to 61 percent. It might be feeling the strain of the competition a bit more these days. The Information this week reported Twitch’s ad revenue is not growing as quickly as it hoped.

China Web Celebs

YouTube Gaming is the second-biggest game streaming service after Twitch, but had almost the same market share as at the end of 2018 (it was up just 0.4 percent to 27.9 percent). That’s despite having almost 30 million more viewing hours than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, although it scooped up some big-name streamers from Twitch, Mixer’s market share didn’t change significantly over the year, according to the report. It went from two to 2.6 percent, even though viewing hours rose from 24.4 million to 31.1 million. Still, it’s relatively early days for its star names — the likes of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek have been on Mixer for only a few months.

Elsewhere, for the first time in December, a game wasn’t the most-viewed category on Twitch. That honor went to Just Chatting, where streamers, oddly enough, hang out and talk with their viewers. StreamElements and Arsenal.gg say viewers watched almost 81 million hours of those streams in December, compared with 74.1 million hours for League of Legends and 58.3 million for Fortnite.

The rise of Just Chatting reflects Twitch’s appeal beyond gaming, something it’s been striving to bolster over the past few years. That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean people are tuning in to watch streamers talk for hours on end. Some of the bigger names, such as Felix “xQc” Lengyel (the most-watched individual Twitch streamer in Q4, per the report) and Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar, often begin their broadcasts by talking with viewers and watching YouTube before hopping into games. Nevertheless, it underscores the fact personalities rather than games are driving streaming viewership, making the battle to lock down talent a major concern for the various services.

[ad_2]

Source link

Travelex hack knocks out Samsung Pay international money transfers

[ad_1]

In a call, a customer service representative for Travelex confirmed that Samsung Pay payments are down and will continue to be until Travelex resolves the ongoing issue. Any users attempting to make a transfer will be unable to complete the process.

While a number of Britain’s biggest banks have been affected by the attack, Samsung Pay international money transfer is only available to customers in the US, demonstrating the widespread consequences of the hack — many banks and services quietly use Travelex in the background of their operations, as well as UK customers using the service directly.

The Travelex website currently still redirects to an advisory page, informing visitors that the site has been taken down as a “precautionary measure” following the data breach that has seen hackers demand $6 million for the safe return of sensitive customer information. The company maintains that there is no evidence that the data — which includes credit card details and birth dates — has yet been exfiltrated. Samsung was contacted for comment prior to publishing but has yet to issue a statement.

[ad_2]

Source link

Pokémon Home’s cloud transfer service launches next month

[ad_1]

In a twenty minute Nintendo Direct this morning, Game Freak showcased two DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield. Two new areas were showcased, bringing with them 200 Pokémon not seen before in the Galar region but well known to fans of previous games. Players who connect their Sword and Shield games to Pokémon Home will now be able to bring over some of their older Pokémon from the 3DS games (via the Pokémon Bank) or Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, provided those creatures are among the roster being reintroduced via the expansion pack.

While we finally have a release window for Pokémon Home, not much else was said about the service, other than it will be paid. More information should be released within the next month before it’s launched.

[ad_2]

Source link

Eargo’s next hearing aid promises improved sound in the same tiny size

[ad_1]

As with all hearing products, it’ll depend on your personal needs as to whether the Neo HiFi is suitable for you. Eargo states that it’s aimed at people with “mild-to-severe, high-frequency hearing loss.” When I tried the original Neo last year, I found it to be helpful for my own hearing loss, if not quite as effective as a regular (over-the-ear) hearing aid from the likes of ReSound or Starkey. What I did like about the Neo, and therefore the Neo HiFi, is the whole user experience (more on this later).

What’s new in the Neo HiFi? Mostly sound enhancements it seems, which are not small things in a hearing aid, obviously. These improvements come in the form of increased bandwidth (it now amplifies a wider range of frequencies), better feedback cancellation and a new algorithm for wind reduction.

The feedback cancellation is good news. The original Neo was already pretty good at avoiding feedback, but it could still happen. Usually, it would manifest as a faint “chirping” noise, rather than the screeching feedback of a town hall microphone (as with other hearing aids). But it was still enough that others nearby could hear it. I’ve been testing the Neo HiFi for about a day, and there’s still some feedback, but mostly in my left ear, where a mastoid cavity from surgery is likely the cause.

As for the other audio enhancements, it definitely sounds more robust than before. I found the original Neo to be helpful, but maybe a little on the synthetic side — similar to the sound you might expect from a mid-range TV’s speakers (rather than a soundbar). As such, the original Neo felt like the sort of thing I’d wear when I need a little boost. The Neo HiFi is a bit more natural, and thus something you’re more likely to forget you’re wearing — which ultimately is the goal.

Eargo Neo HiFi

The companion app also offers more tools than before, with presets for different environments (restaurant, concert, etc.) and EQ settings. You’re also able to connect with a licensed hearing professional right from the app, too, which is becoming an increasingly common feature in this space (Starkey, Lively and more already offer something similar). The iOS app is available today, with an Android version to come later this month.

Most of the original Neo’s features are present here, and that’s a good thing. For one, the hearing aids still have a built-in battery, which I personally prefer. Most conventional hearing aids use zinc-air batteries which have some benefits — mostly the amount of power in a relatively small space. But they are also fickle and sometimes run out of juice even when not in use. This means you need to maintain a steady supply and be ok with replacing them often.

The Eargo’s recharge in a similar way to most true wireless earbuds (via a charging case), so you can top them up while they’re safe in your bag or pocket. The case charges over USB-C which is handy if that’s the same connector your phone or laptop uses. The case is also how you’ll connect to the hearing aids via the app (there’s no Bluetooth on the buds themselves).

All this technology does come at a price though. At launch, the Neo HiFi will cost $2,650 a pair, and that price will go up to $2,950 after March 31st. While that might seem a lot, it’s in line with most hearing aids, many of which don’t have some of the more consumer-friendly features above, like the charging case or app controls.

The Neo HiFi is a definite improvement over the previous version, and I am always going to be a fan of a hearing product that is easy to use and doesn’t feel like a medical product. It’s estimated that nearly 40-million Americans have some form of hearing loss, and a common belief is that it can take those individuals up to seven years before they seek help. Eargo’s direct-to-consumer model (you don’t need to go to an audiologist) and slick presentation makes seeking that help easier, and that can only be a good thing.

[ad_2]

Source link