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Showing posts from February, 2021

Seniors Seeking Vaccines Have a Problem: They Can’t Use the Internet

Older adults living alone often lack access or an understanding of technology, and many are unsure how to sign up for an appointment. https://nyti.ms/37X9Tsd

How One State Managed to Actually Write Rules on Facial Recognition

Massachusetts is one of the first states to put legislative guardrails around the use of facial recognition technology in criminal investigations. https://nyti.ms/3pTByAo

Amazon Moves From Film Industry’s Margins to the Mainstream

With several films competing for Golden Globes on Sunday and a number of high-priced movies coming this year, the streaming service has altered its reputation in Hollywood. https://nyti.ms/3dLAPii

Can Tech Break Us Out of Our Bubbles?

We need more ways to find new movies, books and activities — especially those that challenge us. https://nyti.ms/2MsjsaU

A Critic of Technology Turns Her Gaze Inward

Sherry Turkle is best known for exploring the dysfunctional relationships between humans and their screens. She takes on a new focus — herself — in her memoir, “The Empathy Diaries.” https://nyti.ms/2ZVWAUt

AT&T, loaded with debt from its DirecTV deal, sells part of its TV business to a private equity firm.

The spinoff, which will give TPG a minority stake, values the TV business at $16.25 billion — about a third of what AT&T paid just for DirecTV in 2015. https://nyti.ms/3aVFjB9

Twitter Shakes Off the Cobwebs With New Product Plans

Though it has received outsized attention for the last few years, the company has not changed very much. But a recent acquisition spree signals a new course. https://nyti.ms/3r8q9yd

The + That’s Taking Over Streaming Platforms

An idea that seemed like a real plus when streaming was newer has fallen into cliché. https://nyti.ms/3uyb1w4

Facebook Bans Myanmar Military Accounts in Aftermath of Coup

The move plunges the social network into the post-coup politics of the roiled nation, after years of criticism over how Myanmar’s military had used the site. https://nyti.ms/3sr7D49

This Website Is My Pandemic BFF

JustWatch makes finding where shows or movies are streaming online super easy. Hallelujah. https://nyti.ms/2Nv39Lc

California Wins Court Victory for Its Net Neutrality Law

A federal judge’s ruling can allow the state to go ahead with its law while a lawsuit works its way through the courts. https://nyti.ms/3dH8Ksv

The Best Law You’ve Never Heard Of

Taking back control of our personal data can feel like a lost cause. But there’s hope! https://nyti.ms/3qPHZpd

How the Military Behind Myanmar’s Coup Took the Country Offline

As the military seized power again, the generals moved quickly to take the country offline, criminalize online dissent and block social media. https://nyti.ms/3pLgcVJ

F.C.C. Broadband Plan Includes $50 Monthly Subsidy for Millions

A proposal released by the acting chairwoman of the commission is an attempt to close the digital divide. https://nyti.ms/3pMkVGw

A City With Amazon at the Center

What happened to California’s Inland Empire when Amazon came to town. https://nyti.ms/3aFFGj5

Why an Animated Flying Cat With a Pop-Tart Body Sold for Almost $600,000

A fast-growing market for digital art, ephemera and media is marrying the world’s taste for collectibles with cutting-edge technology. https://nyti.ms/3k9j1Pi

She Beat Cancer at 10. Now She'll Join SpaceX's First Private Trip to Orbit.

St. Jude Hospital and Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, selected Hayley Arceneaux for a trip to orbit in a SpaceX capsule. https://nyti.ms/2MbIGu0

Team Molly: The Family After Molly Steinsapir's Death

While her daughter was hospitalized, one mother built more room for our national grief. https://nyti.ms/2NOk9LT

China Censors the Internet. So Why Doesn’t Russia?

The Kremlin has constructed an entire infrastructure of repression but has not displaced Western apps. Instead, it is turning to outright intimidation. https://nyti.ms/3ujl9Zy

What is Clubhouse?

A simple explainer to the newest, buzziest social media app around. https://nyti.ms/3bmC58Q

Hurt by Lockdowns, California’s Small Businesses Push to Recall Newsom

The pain for such enterprises been particularly acute in the state, leading some to back an effort to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. https://nyti.ms/2NlbHUA

Rupert Neve, the Father of Modern Studio Recording, Dies at 94

His equipment became the industry standard and influenced the sound of groups like Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, Santana, Chicago and the Who. https://nyti.ms/3bhURxY

Why We Want Tech Copycats to Fail

Big Tech likes to copy the hot new thing. But that’s not always good for the rest of us. https://nyti.ms/2NpCteH

Who Wins the (Online) Corner Store?

A big question about the future of commerce is how local businesses will succeed online. https://nyti.ms/3dyh65k

Meet Elizabeth Ann, the First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret

Her birth represents the first cloning of an endangered species native to North America, and may bring needed genetic diversity to the species. https://nyti.ms/2ZwDy6E

Facebook restricts the sharing of news in Australia as Google says it will pay some publishers.

The decision is in response to a proposed law in the country that would require tech companies to pay publishers for linking to stories across their platforms. https://nyti.ms/3bjb6Lh

Google Is Suddenly Paying for News in Australia. What About Everywhere Else?

Pathbreaking legislation showed that even a small nation can get the tech giant to bend. But the United States seems unlikely to follow. https://nyti.ms/2Ngtlc3

New York Sues Amazon, Saying It Inadequately Protected Workers From Covid-19

The case focuses on two of the company’s facilities in New York. https://nyti.ms/2NCnnly

Dozens Contract Covid-19 After Abundance 360 Conference

Peter Diamandis thought extensive testing could help create an “immunity bubble” for a conference in Culver City, Calif. It didn’t work. “I hope others can learn from my mistakes,” he said. https://nyti.ms/2ZoohVG

The State House Versus Big Tech

State and local governments are looking to assert more control over tech companies. https://nyti.ms/3rX6Urc

Parler, a Social Network That Attracted Trump Fans, Returns Online

After being cut off by Amazon and other tech giants, Parler worked for weeks to find a way to get back on the internet. https://nyti.ms/3bacXlj

Clubhouse, a Tiny Audio Chat App, Breaks Through

The 11-month-old app has exploded in popularity, even as it grapples with harassment, misinformation and privacy issues. https://nyti.ms/3pngsKk

An Inside Look at Cuba’s Constant Struggle for Clean Water

Across the country, battling water scarcity requires a vast array of workers, from inspectors and fumigators to truck drivers and pipe layers. https://nyti.ms/2NaB3of

Big Tech’s Unlikely Next Battleground: North Dakota

A vote on a bill this week is part of a movement that could cost Apple and Google billions of dollars. State legislatures are becoming the fight’s new front. https://nyti.ms/2LOeSn0

Silicon Valley’s Safe Space

Slate Star Codex was a window into the psyche of many tech leaders building our collective future. Then it disappeared. https://nyti.ms/3ph8GBU

Voyager 2 Has Entered the Space Between Solar Systems

It is the second spacecraft to make the crossing into interstellar space, providing a new look at what lies beyond our local galactic neighborhood. https://nyti.ms/3d9DYbw

Electric Cars, Cool. But When?

What we need to get to a future of energy-efficient cars. https://nyti.ms/3rHnzii

Maryland Nears Country’s First Tax on Big Tech’s Ad Revenue

Analysts estimate that the tax would generate up to $250 million for schools in the state in the first year. It would also probably face fierce legal challenges. https://nyti.ms/3775Wkg

In second impeachment, misinformation spreads at a lower intensity.

https://nyti.ms/3jHVDYX

Why Is Facebook Rejecting These Fashion Ads?

The automated intelligence systems of Instagram and Facebook have repeatedly denied ads placed by small businesses that make stylish clothing for people with disabilities. https://nyti.ms/376ReJV

Profits Steer Our Digital Future

To see where technology is headed and why, follow the money. https://nyti.ms/3tPhXEv

Create a Digital Commonplace Book

Readers have collected their favorite literary lines for centuries. Now compiling a portable word scrapbook is easier than ever. https://nyti.ms/3cYpH19

Facebook Dials Down the Politics for Users

News feeds will start getting less political content in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia, the social network said, with the change reaching the U.S. in coming weeks. https://nyti.ms/3tKwOjw

What Is Amazon Web Services?

Andy Jassy, the successor to Jeff Bezos, was already running the company’s most profitable business. https://nyti.ms/3jxAIb3

Clubhouse Cracked China's Firewall. A People Shined Through.

China’s censors finally blocked Clubhouse, but not before users were able to bypass the caricatures painted by government-controlled media and freely discuss their hopes and fears. https://nyti.ms/36X7htS

Remote Learning Isn’t Just for Kids

New online tools and an array of remote classes and programs are ramping up education and training for adults. https://nyti.ms/3cTBKwE

Bitcoin and Dogecoin Are Boosted by Elon Musk

Bitcoin and even Dogecoin, which began as a playful experiment, are soaring in value as billionaires, companies and celebrities promote the digital currencies. https://nyti.ms/3q4RMYa

The Auto Revolution Is Here

Traditional automakers and tech-focused companies, like Tesla, race to rule the future of cars. https://nyti.ms/3oYK2Wf

China Blocks Clubhouse App After Brief Flowering of Debate

For a little while, the social media platform Clubhouse provided the rare opportunity for cross-border dialogue on contentious topics free from the country’s usual tight controls. https://nyti.ms/2N4XJWw

Where Do Vaccine Doses Go, and Who Gets Them? The Algorithms Decide

Health agencies and hospitals are using different formulas to allocate the coronavirus shots, exacerbating disparities in vaccine access. https://nyti.ms/2N9b8Nu