Reddit bans some of its most well-known racist communities
Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong predicted that racist and sexist users who agitated to push Ellen Pao out the door were actually sealing their own fates, and it appears that has happened. Newly-returned leader Steve Huffman just announced that as a part of its new Content Policy, Reddit will do more than just quarantine some of the most vile content hubs its members have built — it will ban some of them. That includes r/Coontown and some of its spinoffs (but apparently leaves other gems to be shoved behind the curtain), which Huffman says are getting chopped because they “exist solely to annoy other redditors, prevent us from improving Reddit, and generally make Reddit worse for everyone else.”
Source:
Steve Huffman (Reddit)
Tags: ban, contentpolicy, coontown, quanrantine, racist, reddit, spez, SteveHuffman
Google Fiber is heading to San Antonio
Perhaps as soon as next year, more than 1.4 million people in San Antonio will have another option for internet and television service.
Today, Google announced plans to move forward with Google Fiber’s expansion into its largest city yet. The reason that Google chose San Antonio for expansion is due to the “thriving tech landscape” in the city. San Antonio’s Bexar BiblioTech is the first all-digital public library and plenty of startups are calling the city home. President Barack Obama’s Tech Hire and Connect Home initiatives also have ties to San Antonio; therefore, jobs and innovation are bound to lead to a burgeoning tech scene.
Google did not say when the service will actually be available. The company must first design the fiber network over the next several months to figure out where thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables will go. After that, the people of San Antonio can experience an internet connection of 1,000 megabits per second.
San Antonio is joined by Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, and Salt Lake City as the other cities that are in the process of receiving Google Fiber’s services. This will build upon the three cities — Kansas City, Austin, Provo — where Google Fiber is already available. Google is also exploring launches in Phoenix, San Jose, and Portland.
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google Fiber is heading to San Antonio
Google Keep gets easy exporting to Docs in new update, Google Slides now lets you present to Hangouts
Google Keep and Google Slides for Android are both getting updated today, bringing a few handy features to the productivity applications.
First up is Keep, which will now let you easily export notes directly to Google Docs with just a few taps. To do so, all you need to do is press the overflow menu at the top of the note you’d like to export, select “Copy to Google Doc”, and that’s about it. As you can see from the screenshot below, you’ll be able to open the Doc right away by tapping the open button on the bottom of the screen.
#gallery-1
margin: auto;
#gallery-1 .gallery-item
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 33%;
#gallery-1 img
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
#gallery-1 .gallery-caption
margin-left: 0;
/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
You won’t be able to choose where this document is saved in Docs, so keep that in mind if you go searching for a document at a later date.
Google Slides is also getting a pretty interesting update today, now giving you the ability to easily present from any Android phone or tablet to a Hangouts video call. From your Slides application, all you need to do is tap the present button and you’ll then see the option to present to a video call. Meetings that are already scheduled in your calendar will be listed automatically, allowing you to start presenting right away.
Before you start your meeting, you’ll be able to see who is on the call at that moment. Once you’re ready, you can use your device to advance slides, view speaker notes and use a built-in timer.
These handy updates are now rolling out in the Google Play Store, so head to the links below to grab the latest versions.
Download Google Keep from Google Play
Download Google Slides from Google Play
6 technologies that protect endangered animals from poachers
By Cat DiStasio
Just about everyone with internet access spent last week reading about crimes against animals happening in far-flung places on the globe. If that sort of news moves you, it might leave you feeling a bit small and helpless. Luckily, there are a number of organizations doing fantastic work to protect wild animals from poachers — and they could use your help. You can do something as simple as donating your old cellphone to turn it into an anti-poaching detection system. Most solutions designed to conserve wildlife focus on tracking the movements of protected animals and vigilantly warding off potential dangers. However, intrepid conservationists are also using everything from 3D printing to poisonous pink dyes to ward off hunters. Read on for six technologies that protect endangered animals — and help support the organizations working on the ground to protect these majestic creatures.Slideshow-309506
Tags: anti-poaching, EndangeredSpecies, inhabitat, partner, poachers, syndicated
Fly among beautiful floating islands hiding ancient secrets in ‘Aer’
Aer is more gorgeous every time I see it. I first ran across it by accident: While waiting in a line at Gamescom 2013, I noticed Robin Hjelte, the game’s creator, showing off a video on his tablet to a small, excited crowd. I peeked over his shoulder to see a beautiful pastel landscape with rolling green grass, adorable animals, and, at the center of it all, a young woman — who suddenly transformed into a bird and soared off the land’s edge, aiming for another tranquil island floating high in the sky. I gave Hjelte my card and told him to hit me up if he wanted to talk about the game. The following year at Gamescom, we sat down for a lovely chat. This year at E3, I finally got to play Aer (now with support from renowned German publisher Daedalic Entertainment), and the game sang in my hands as I flawlessly swapped between land and sky, and I wandered through dark, mysterious passageways with even darker secrets. Today, Daedalic and Hjelte’s studio, Forgotten Key, released a brand new, infintely more gorgeous trailer for Aer, alongside confirmation that the game is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac and Linux in 2016.Slideshow-309675
Flash back to E3 2015: With a DualShock 4 controller and an alpha version of the game, Aer plays like the quiet cousin to both Ico and Secrets of Raetikon. The islands, floating among the clouds, appear small as the young girl, Auk, winds through the sky in bird form, but once she lands it’s clear there’s plenty to explore in the grasses, mountains, ancient structures and caverns of each mass. Flying in the game is exhilarating and natural on the gamepad, while walking allows Auk a chance to slow down and truly explore the worlds beneath her.
I enter a dark cavern and find the remains of an expansive temple. As I solve a light puzzle, Hjelte explains that while Aer isn’t a horror game, it features massive beasts hiding in the shadows and dark secrets buried in the temples. He compares it to a Zelda adventure: Thrilling yet peaceful. Running around the stones in this giant cave, exploring the nooks and crannies of a lost civilization, I can’t help agreeing.
We’re live from Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2015. Click here to catch up with all the news from the show.
Tags: aer, daedalic, DaedalicEntertainment, forgottenkey, gamescom2015, hdpostcross, Indie, Linux, Mac, pc, ps4, XboxOne
YouTube is getting rid of ‘301+ Views’
When a video posted to YouTube starts to really rack up hits, the view counter has always frozen at “301+” for a while as the system checked for any robotic view count inflating shenanigans. It’s become something of an institution at the site, acting as a flag for videos that were on the verge of going viral. But that’s no longer the case. YouTube announced today that it is forgoing the 301+ freeze for a system that only counts views that they’re “confident only come from real people.” The new system is expected to provide more accurate and up-to-date numbers.
We’re saying goodbye to 301+ and hello to more up-to-date video views. pic.twitter.com/33OQuOvxcs
— YouTube Creators (@YTCreators) August 5, 2015
[Image Credit: UIG via Getty Images]
Source:
Google (Twitter)
Tags: 301, counter, google, machine intelligence, videos, views, youtube
Epson’s new printers ease refill woes with ink tanks
We’ve all been there. It’s late, and you have a final project or presentation due first thing in the morning. You’ve been awake for days and you’ve finally finished. Only when you go to print, there’s no ink. Epson’s latest printers offer a simple solution that should go a long way to remedying the issue: they hold more ink. The company’s line of EcoTank all-in-one printers house so-called Supertanks instead of individual cartridges that are refilled with bottles of ink. What’s more, each of the five models has a reservoir that holds the equivalent of around 20 sets of traditional cartridges (depending on the model, of course) and two support WiFi printing via a mobile device. Slideshow-309682
Even the most affordable options, the Epson Expression ET-2500 EcoTank and Expression ET-2550 EcoTank, can print up to 4,000 black and white pages and 6,500 color pages before needing a refill. When the time comes, those refill bottles will set you back as little as $13 each or $52 for a complete set. We’d surmise the refills for the larger machines cost a bit more. The EcoTank line is due to arrive in September, with prices ranging from $379 (the ET-2500) on up to $1,199 for the heavy-duty business model (WorkForce Pro WF-R4640 EcoTank).
Filed under:
Peripherals
Source:
Epson
Tags: ecotank, epson, ink, printer, printers, refills
Apple Updates TestFlight App With Support for iOS 9, watchOS 2 Features
Apple today updated its TestFlight beta testing platform and app for iOS to add support for upcoming iOS 9 and watchOS 2 features, letting developers begin internal testing on beta features through Apple’s official app testing platform.
iOS 9 and watchOS 2 introduce a range of new features that will improve apps on both the Apple Watch and the iPhone. With iOS 9 support for TestFlight, developers can now begin experimenting with features like App Thinning, which optimizes apps for specific devices to cut down on install size.
With App Thinning enabled, apps will install faster, launch faster, and will take up less space on a device. An iPhone app, for example, won’t need to download unnecessary content designed for the iPad.
watchOS 2 support in TestFlight means developers can begin installing and working with the first native apps for the Apple Watch. Native apps are run entirely on the Apple Watch and should speed up app launch times and performance.
Today’s update does not include support for the external testing of iOS 9 and watchOS 2 apps, which means developers cannot yet provide apps with iOS 9 and watchOS 2 features to external beta test groups.
This update adds support for testing upcoming iOS 9 features — including watchOS 2 apps and App Thinning.
Testers can now choose how to receive update notifications for each app they are testing. Also, watchOS 2 beta apps will install automatically when the “Automatic Downloads” setting is turned on in the Apple Watch app.
For those unfamiliar with TestFlight, it’s Apple’s iOS beta testing platform, designed to let developers recruit beta testers for their apps to work out bugs ahead of releasing apps to the public. Apple acquired TestFlight from Burstly in February of 2014 and relaunched the service alongside iOS 8 as an iOS-integrated testing platform.
TestFlight can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 receiving Stagefright fixes
Sprint is pushing an update to its Nexus 5 and 6 devices to fix the Stagefright vulnerability. There is no specific SKU for Sprint on either phone, so the update should apply to all of them.
The new update will be build LMY48I. Sprint and AT&T have also updated many Samsung phones to fix the Stagefright bug as well.
Come comment on this article: Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 receiving Stagefright fixes
Why I won’t be picking up the OnePlus 2
On Monday, July 27, OnePlus took to the stage to unveil its eagerly-awaited flagship smartphone of 2015, the OnePlus 2. At first, the handset looked very promising with its Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM and $389 price tag. However, once the event had finished and we had time to mull over what we’d just witnessed, it instantly became apparent that the device isn’t a “flagship killer” after all.
The OnePlus 2’s most noticeable downfall is its specifications. There are set to be two variants up for grabs when the handset launches on August 13 — one with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and the other with 64GB of space and 4GB of RAM. They both pack a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Snapdragon 810 processor and an Adreno 430 GPU.
Now whilst these internals may prove to be somewhat impressive today, they certainly won’t be in two weeks time when Samsung takes the wraps off the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ — leaving the OnePlus 2 to strive for the “ 2016 flagship killer” slot it so fervently boasted, but has no real possibility of ascertaining. In actual fact, I’d go as far as to say that the OnePlus 2 will be overtaken before the year is out and almost definitely won’t be able to compete with any of next year’s flagships.
To be completely honest, the over-exaggerated internals weren’t that much of a big deal for me as OnePlus smartphones do deliver one of the smoothest Android experiences on the market. However, something that is a big deal for me, is the lack of support for NFC, which I’m pretty sure will drive potential OnePlus 2 customers in their droves towards the hordes of competitors offerings that are sure to be out there.
Apple and Samsung have only just recently launched their respective mobile payment platforms (with Google’s Android Pay coming soon) and it’s fairly safe to say that they’ve been a huge success, but these services depend on the Near Field Communication chips that have been integrated into smartphones to operate, and from what we’ve seen so far from a collection of teardown images, the OnePlus 2 does not carry this specific piece of hardware.
So how can a smartphone aimed at the 2016 market be expected to compete with devices that feature better specifications and support for an emerging technology that’s already taking the world by storm? The simple answer is it can’t.
It’s not as if the OnePlus 2 excels in the display department, either. Although it features a Full HD screen, it’s hugely disappointing to see that the company didn’t opt for a 2K panel, which would enable it at least to compete with the likes of the LG G4 which features one of the best monitors available to date with its 1440 x 2560 resolution and 538 ppi pixel density.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the OnePlus 2 isn’t a good device. It’s a fantastic smartphone, but it’s not the “2016 flagship killer” I expected it to be. For that reason, I won’t be picking one up. I’d rather invest my money in a device that will see me through the next two years and be able to compete with the latest flagships as opposed to lagging behind before 2015 expires. That’s why I’ll be bagging myself the brand new Moto X Style when it hits the shelves. In my eyes, it’s much more bang for your buck.
Come comment on this article: Why I won’t be picking up the OnePlus 2
AIVAnet 