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Showing posts from January, 2021

Here’s a Way to Learn if Facial Recognition Systems Used Your Photos

An online tool targets only a small slice of what’s out there, but may open some eyes to how widely artificial intelligence research fed on personal images. https://nyti.ms/3cs2eVS

A Vast Web of Vengeance

Outrageous lies destroyed Guy Babcock’s online reputation. When he went hunting for their source, what he discovered was worse than he could have imagined. https://nyti.ms/36tUsHf

The Silicon Valley Start-Up That Caused Wall Street Chaos

Robinhood pitched itself to investors as the antithesis of Wall Street. It didn’t say that it also entirely relies on Wall Street. This past week, the two realities collided. https://nyti.ms/3cnQ9Rl

G.M. Announcement Shakes Up U.S. Automakers’ Transition to Electric Cars

Every carmaker is trying to figure out how to make the leap before governments force it and Tesla and other start-ups lure away drivers. https://nyti.ms/2MEBfvq

Billionaires Bicker Over Space Toys

They should instead focus on the big question: Can satellites bring internet access to billions? https://nyti.ms/3cu0j3b

Still Looking for a New Gaming Console? Here’s Why

A month after the holiday season, gamers are still contending with scalpers, bots and immense demand as they hunt for elusive devices. https://nyti.ms/2NJIK4B

Join Us in Miami! Love, Masters of the Universe

Silicon Valley techies and Wall Street titans have bought homes and moved businesses there in the pandemic, coaxed by an eager mayor. https://nyti.ms/3iVCCC1

The GameStop Reckoning Was a Long Time Coming

This week, gleeful online hordes turned the stock market upside down. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. https://nyti.ms/2MdHJ4r

Facebook Is Hated — and Rich

Facebook is embroiled in a different scandal each week, and yet, it’s making So Much Money. https://nyti.ms/3t0341X

Actually, QR Codes Never Went Away

Don’t call it a comeback. https://nyti.ms/2MzOT2B

One Tale From an Amazon Seller

A toy company finds that selling goods on Amazon is both key to its success and super fraught. https://nyti.ms/36i3Ttj

The Secrets of Instagram Growth-Hacking

It depends on what you mean by “secret,” and also “success.” https://nyti.ms/3iSt7Dx

What is a Blockchain? Is It Hype?

A technology based on a decentralized network may offer more control over what people do online. https://nyti.ms/3cgcSij

Twitter Acquires Revue, a Newsletter Company

The latest in a series of additions is seen as an attempt to compete with the growing popularity of outfits like Substack. https://nyti.ms/3iOdX1U

Why Your TV Spies on You

Selling consumer electronics is hard, forcing companies to resort to shady tactics to make money. https://nyti.ms/3plamLs

Twitter will test letting some users fact-check tweets.

The company’s latest effort to curb misinformation will start with a small number of users. https://nyti.ms/3cdv8Ji

How to Keep Internet Trolls Out of Remote Workplaces

When companies move all employee communications online, they face the same problems as the rest of the internet. But they don’t have to let bad behavior seep in. https://nyti.ms/2Nv5UeR

Monitoring the Weather at the Edge of the World

Marsibil Erlendsdottir runs a farm and provides weather reports from a remote outpost in eastern Iceland. The job requires vigilance and an unfailing resolve. https://nyti.ms/3c9HiTe

Amazon Union Drive Takes Hold in Unlikely Place

Workers at a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., are to vote next month on whether to unionize, the largest and most viable effort of its kind involving the technology giant. https://nyti.ms/3sUQlO4

Uber, After Buying Postmates, Lays Off More Than 180 Employees

The layoffs include most of the executive team at Postmates, the food delivery app that Uber bought last year. https://nyti.ms/2Y9CnJW

Help With Vaccination Push Comes From Unexpected Businesses

Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon are among the companies offering the government assistance with logistics and operations. https://nyti.ms/3c80jp8

Director of Amazon's 'Tandav' Cuts Scenes After Pressure From India's Hindu Nationalists

Faced with boycotts and criminal complaints, the director of “Tandav” made the edits this week. But that did not appear to satisfy some of the show’s critics, who called for him to be jailed. https://nyti.ms/364ODjd

Google Shuts Loon Helium Balloon Project

Begun nearly a decade ago, Loon was one of the company’s high-profile, cutting-edge efforts. But it was difficult to turn into a business. https://nyti.ms/3c0gpBh

Google Shuts Loon Hot-Air Balloon Project

Begun nearly a decade ago, Loon was one of the company’s high-profile, cutting-edge efforts. But it was difficult to turn into a business. https://nyti.ms/2MhBwUY

Amid One Pandemic, Students Train for the Next

Researchers have banded together to find safe, virtual ways to teach the principles of microbiology and epidemiology. https://nyti.ms/360LQrh

QAnon believers struggle with inauguration.

As President Biden took office, some QAnon believers tried to rejigger their theories to accommodate a transfer of power. https://nyti.ms/3bVxbRQ

President Biden’s Tech To-do List

The new administration will try to restrain Big Tech, manage China and expand internet access. https://nyti.ms/3qEeC9a

Could a Small Test Screen People for Covid-19?

A new modeling study hints that odor-based screens could quash outbreaks. But some experts are skeptical it would work in the real world. https://nyti.ms/3o2cdDc

Is Rivian the Next Tesla? Investors Bet Big on Electric Truck Maker

Rivian, which has raised another $2.65 billion, plans to sell a pickup truck and S.U.V. it has worked on for more than a decade. https://nyti.ms/3nXfWC7

When Joe Biden Takes the White House, He’ll Also Take @WhiteHouse Twitter

The transition of official White House social media handles is more complicated now than four years ago. https://nyti.ms/39JFu0p

Why T-Shirts Promoting the Capitol Riot Are Still Available Online

Merchandise with phrases like “Battle for Capitol Hill Veteran” could still be purchased on major e-commerce sites, a sign of how the platforms have struggled to remove the goods. https://nyti.ms/3bSuukc

Inside Twitter's Decision to Cut Off Donald J. Trump

Jack Dorsey, the chief executive, had reservations about locking the president’s account. But the calls for violence that his tweets provoked were too overwhelming. https://nyti.ms/2LVimE2

Peloton’s Rapid Rise Is Threatened by Its Slow Delivery

The company has boomed in popularity during the pandemic but getting its exercise bikes delivered has proved a struggle, one that is angering new customers. https://nyti.ms/3oUanph

A QAnon ‘Digital Soldier’ Marches On, Undeterred by Theory’s Unraveling

Valerie Gilbert posts dozens of times a day in support of an unhinged conspiracy theory. The story of this “meme queen” hints at how hard it will be to bring people like her back to reality. https://nyti.ms/3qqydte

Snapchat Wants You to Post. They’re Willing to Pay Millions.

Top performers are raking in cash as the company seeks to compete against TikTok and similar platforms. https://nyti.ms/2LYg7jr

NASA’s Space Launch System Hot-Fire Test: When to Watch

Before NASA’s giant Space Launch System can go to the moon, it needs to ignite its engine in a “hot fire” stationary test. https://nyti.ms/3oS27Ge

When Tech Antitrust Failed

How did a case meant to lower prices instead possibly lead to higher prices? https://nyti.ms/3ssNcEM

As Trump Clashes With Big Tech, China’s Censored Internet Takes His Side

Blurring the distinction between companies and government, official propaganda outlets use President Trump’s ouster from Twitter and Facebook to argue that nobody in the world enjoys free speech. https://nyti.ms/2LutDvk

Need a New Knee or Hip? A Robot May Help Install It

As more people strive to stay active on aging frames, robots and other technologies are likely to play a wider role in helping surgeons replace joints. https://nyti.ms/35HPmqp

Consumer Groups Target Amazon Prime’s Cancellation Process

A Norwegian group filed a complaint with regulators, saying Amazon had deliberately made it difficult to end memberships to its Prime service. Groups in Europe and the U.S. back the effort. https://nyti.ms/2Kiqz4M

They Can’t Leave the Bay Area Fast Enough

As a tech era draws to an end, more workers and companies are packing up. What comes next? https://nyti.ms/3oKxjHC

Connecticut is investigating Amazon’s practices in the e-books market.

https://nyti.ms/3ijbHzK

4 Ways to Do More With Your Smartphone Camera

If you are still using your phone’s camera only for selfies and quick videos, you’re barely touching its potential. https://nyti.ms/2LyrIpj

Jobless, Selling Nudes Online and Still Struggling

OnlyFans, a social media platform that allows people to sell explicit photos of themselves, has boomed during the pandemic. But competition on the site means many won’t earn much. https://nyti.ms/35Cq8d0

YouTube Suspends Trump’s Channel for at Least Seven Days

YouTube is the latest tech company to bar the president from posting online, following Twitter, Facebook and others. https://nyti.ms/3oAQ9AO

The Problem With Vaccine Websites

If you’re struggling to register for a vaccine, don’t (only) blame bad tech and local officials. https://nyti.ms/3i5ujmu

As Bitcoin Prices Swing, Millionaires Lose Sleep Over Lost Keys

Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t access that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet? https://nyti.ms/3nzY9Rq

Fringe Groups Splinter Online After Facebook and Twitter Bans

Tracking what may be planned in the coming days could become even more difficult as the groups take to lesser-known networks and apps that can’t be easily monitored. https://nyti.ms/3oDuBU2

Who Should Make the Online Rules?

A handful of unelected tech executives have tremendous influence on public discourse. Is that right? https://nyti.ms/3ny3AjO

How Parler, a Chosen App of Trump Fans, Became a Test of Free Speech

The app has renewed a debate about who holds power over online speech after the tech giants yanked their support for it and left it fighting for survival. Parler was set to go dark on Monday. https://nyti.ms/38wTprh