Facebook’s point-based recruiting system isn’t producing diversity
Two years ago, Facebook proposed a system to make its workforce less universally white or Asian and male. The plan was to incentivize its in-house recruiters to hire diverse candidates, literally giving them more points for Hispanic, black and/or female candidates that would build a score directly applying to their performance reviews and bonuses. Unfortunately, the gains for more female employees are marginal and the racial makeup of the company hasn’t changed, and the method can be deemed a failure.
Facebook fessed up to their inability to substantially diversify their workforce but blamed it on an institutional lack of qualified candidates: There just aren’t enough coming up through the public education system, said the company’s global director of diversity in a blog post. Critics railed against that logic, pointing out that Hispanics and blacks make up 8 percent and 6 percent of computer science graduates, respectively, though they only represent 3 percent and 1 percent of Facebook’s workforce. The pipeline problem isn’t a myth, but it’s more fruitful than the tech scene portrays, as The New York Times put it.
To be clear, lack of diversity is rampant across Silicon Valley’s titans. As former Twitter recruiter Leslie Miley wrote in a blog post last November, the problem often lies in company culture: Candidates are sometimes deemed unqualified for how long it took them to finish college, or not going to the right schools or not finishing application tests quickly enough. That lack of contextual empathy results from tech’s homogeneous culture, and critics worry that diverse hires are seen as add-ons to a qualified pool, especially when recruiters are pressured to produce volumes of candidates in Silicon Valley’s competitive employment atmosphere.
Similarly troublesome were the methods Facebook recruiters used to find diverse hires and secure their bonus points. According to The Wall Street Journal, they looked for details in profiles to tip off their racial or gender status, like pictures, attendance at historically black colleges or membership in ethnic professional groups. But to get credit, candidates needed to identify their minority status during the application process. Further, if they applied to positions in departments that already employed diverse hires — for example, a female candidate seeking a job in communications or human resources where women were already represented — the recruiter didn’t receive bonus credit.
Ultimately, former Facebook recruiters told The Wall Street Journal that while some recruiters did identify more diverse groups of candidates, it wasn’t enough to overcome broader bias within Facebook and other tech companies for candidates who attended prestigious schools. But the Journal did identify some progress in the social giant: its new senior leader hires were more diverse, with 9 percent black and 5 percent Hispanic from July 2015 to July 2016.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Google is opening a dedicated space for startups in San Francisco
With its close ties to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Google naturally has its hands in the region’s huge startup economy. To further its involvement, the company has announced plans to open a 14,000 square foot space right in the heart of San Francisco to work directly with various startups and developers. Google hasn’t released a ton of details yet, but it says that the space will hold events including the company’s Codelabs, Design Sprints and Tech Talks. It’ll also host meetups of the Google developer community.
Perhaps most notably, the new space will host the third class of Google’s Launchpad Accelerator, a part of the company meant to give startups resources and up to $50,000 in equity-free funding. Previous classes the Launchpad Accelerator came from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and India, and Google’s blog post announcing its new space notes that it wants to use it to help bridge Silicon Valley with startups from emerging markets around the world. It’s been less than a year since the Launchpad Accelerator started, but it seems that Google’s keen to keep investing in its program.
Other details on what Google intends to do with this huge space aren’t available yet, and the company hasn’t said yet when it’ll open — but Google says it’ll have more details in the coming weeks.
Source: Google
Financial aid will soon be offered to attend coding bootcamps
It can be pretty expensive to attend coding bootcamps even if you make a decently comfortable living. The U.S. Department of Education is looking to change this, launching a new initiative that’ll help eligible low-income students pay for them using federal financial aid.
The Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships (EQUIP) initiative will allow students to apply for financial aid at one of eight different coding bootcamps in addition to online and employer-provided programs.
The eight programs are scattered throughout the country, including partnerships between Epicodus and Marylhurt University, MakerSquare and the University of Texas-Austin and SUNY Empire State Colllege and The Flatiron School. While these programs are good alternatives to those looking to expand their skills in the tech sector, they can cost a pretty penny, up to $11,000 in some cases, which begs the need for financial aid in the first place.
Offering these programs to eligible students will allow for students to further better themselves when it comes to acquiring skills beyond that of what’s taught in college. Coding is obviously a valuable skill right now and will continue to be in the future, so offering aid for students interested in going down those paths is undoubtedly be a boon for tech-related employers and companies in the future.
Via: TechCrunch
Beginner’s guide: How to play Deus Ex GO
How do you play Deus Ex GO? Here’s our beginner’s guide!
Montreal-based developers Square Enix are back with their latest in the mobile GO franchise — Deus Ex GO. Based on the Deus Ex universe, you play as agent Adam Jensen on a stealth mission to uncover a secret terrorist plot. You don’t have to know anything about Deus Ex to enjoy Deus Ex GO. Though the characters and dystopian cyberpunk atmosphere will be familiar to fans of the franchise, the gameplay is completely different than previous titles.
Deus Ex GO is a turn-based puzzle game wherein you must solve grid-based puzzles and avoid getting caught by enemies as you work your way through each level. There are plenty of obstacles to get in the way, including motion-detecting turrets and hacking stations that let you control the space around you.
If you’re new to Deus Ex Go, or perhaps new to Square Enix’s entire GO franchise, we’ve got all the information you need to get to the bottom of the terrorist conspiracy.
- How Deus Ex GO game mechanics work
- How to avoid enemies
- How to use augmentation
- How to hack the computer systems
- How to play weekly puzzle events
- How to earn achievements for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- How to use the Puzzle Maker
How Deus Ex GO game mechanics work
Playing as agent Adam Jensen, you’ve been tasked to infiltrate a compound to find and protect a person-of-interest named Novak, while also looking for information that will help you uncover who is behind the terrorist plot. You do so by sneaking around different rooms, trying to avoid getting caught by guards, turrets, robots, and other traps. To do so, you must be very precise and strategic with your every move.
The game is turn-based, in that every time you make a move the bad guys also move. This mechanic is something you must keep front of mind throughout the game.
Your movement is restricted to specific pathways, marked in white with nodes indicating a spot that Jensen can stop at. How you navigate the pathways are the key to getting out alive.
To move, tap the nearby node you want to move to. Each move you take counts as one turn, and immediately following your move, any baddies with preset or active move patterns will take their turn. Hacking computers and activating your augmentation counts as a turn for the player, but does not cause the enemies to move.
To earn the Mastermind achievement on each mission, you must complete each level perfectly with the minimum number of moves required to pass the level. If you complete all Mastermind achievements, you earn special rewards to be used in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Getting killed or deciding to restart a level does not count against you. Rather, Deus Ex GO is a game that rewards trial-and-error as you work out how to take out — or sneak past — the enemy.
How to avoid enemies
As you play through Deus Ex GO, you immediately understand the importance of stealth. Often times enemies are only activated when you walk into their line of sight. Sometimes you are required to get their attention to progress through a level but unless you know you’ll be able to get a jump on them or lead them into a trap, it’s best to try and be as stealthy as possible.
Guards
Guards are humans with superhuman augmentation armor called “Titan Shields.” When a guard sees you, he activates his shield and runs at you. You’ll know when a guard has activated his Titan shield because he immediately turns glowing red, along with the path ahead of him. You can’t kill a guard when his shield is activated, so don’t bother trying.
As soon as you cross a pathway that a guard is facing, he sees you and starts running. If his next move lands in the space you are occupying, you’re toast.
Because the game is turn-based, you can get out of his pathway before he reaches you. Once out of his sight, he’ll just turn around and go back the way he came. When he gets back to his guard post, he will deactivate his Titan shield, making him vulnerable to attack. Guards also have the ability to disconnect hacked lines, so if your pathway from the computer to a hackable platform is in the path of a moving guard, he may disconnect the connection before you’re able to cross over.
You may not be able to defeat a guard head-on, but you can sneak up on one to take him out. As long as you are on a pathway that he is not facing, you can sneak-attack him. That includes walking up right next to him on a sideways path.
You can also hack the computer systems on many levels to get turrets to do your bidding. When an unsuspecting guard ends up in the connected path of a hacked turret, he’ll go down instead of you.
Later on in the game you will run into guards that will cover multiple paths at one time. Each turn will cause them to switch their focus from one path to the next. At certain points, a single wrong move will determine whether you succeed or fail.
Bots
There are several different types of different forms.The first form you run into are stationary and face one direction. You can cross their path, but if you get within one space of them they will take you out. Later in the game, you will run into walking bots that patrol a stretch of pathway. Much like guards, you are unable to take out the walking bots head-on and must resort to using turrets or otherwise trapping them to disable them.
You can also destroy bots by sneaking up on them. Similar to guards, if they are not looking down the pathway you are on, you can smash them to bits from behind or sideways.
Turrets
Turrets will mow you down as soon as you move into a path they are facing. They don’t move, but they don’t need to. You can’t destroy turrets, but you can take over control of them by hacking a computer system. When you do, you can make them friendly to your cause. This can be very useful for picking off unsuspecting guards that happen to be in the way. Remember, when a guard’s Titan shield is active, he is invincible, even to turrets.
You can also use Turrets to your advantage without needing to control them. If you move down a pathway that is parallel to a guard and perpendicular to a turret, you can time your movement so that a guard blocks the bullets fired as you cross its pathway.
Later in the game, you will come across mortar turrets, which launch three lobbed bombs at the node in which they first make sight of you. You are able to hack these mortar turrets and change the direction that they face, but they will only fire at the player. However, if you time things right…
How to use augmentation
As you make your way through the game, sometimes your cunning and strategic moves simply aren’t enough to get past the enemy — fortunately, Jensen is a super-powered human with the power of augmentation.
The augmentation powerup looks like a blue pyramid, and are strategically placed throughout levels when required. Simply move to the node where the powerup is located to collect it. Augmentation won’t trigger automatically, so you’re typically wise to save it until the time seems right. It will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, simply tap the icon when you are ready to use it.
Early on, the main use for augmentation is invisibility. When you tap the augmentation icon, a blue hexagon will appear under your character’s feet. Tap your character to trigger the effect.
You can then move freely into a new node while remaining invisible to any nearby enemies. You will stay that way until you move again. On your second move after initiating the invisibility augmentation, the effect goes away and you are visible again. If you are within any bad guy’s line of site, you may be in for a beating. By the same logic, if you bump into an enemy while invisible, the jig is up and you will be attacked.
Later on, augmentation powers can be used to remotely hack into the computer system and even take out enemies at a distance.
How to hack the computer systems
After you’ve completed a few early levels, you’ll occasionally see computers available for hacking, which are marked on the level in yellow. They can be used to take control of turrets, activate or deactivate special tiles on the floor, and change the firing direction of mortar bots. Strategic use of a computer may be crucial to making it through a level, or defeating an enemy blocking your path.
To activate a computer, walk into the node that it occupies (marked in yellow) and tap your character. You will enter hacker mode, which shows you your available options for controlling objects in the room.
To take control of an object, drag your finger from the computer to the object. In the later stages of the game, you will need to take care with how you draw your connections.
You can take control of a turret, which will make it friendly to you and instead shoot at guards. It won’t shoot at you if you cross a hacked turret’s pathway.
You can take control of special tiles on the floor which allow you to progress to the finish. These are major puzzle mechanics and it is important to understand when to hack a tile and when not to.
If you hack a tile at just the right moment, you can cause a guard to be stuck behind it, allowing you a clear path to the exit. If a guard is standing on a tile when it disappears, he will be frozen on that node until you make the floor tile reappear.
Rotating tiles will cause bots to move down an alternate pathway. They will also open up new pathways to help you get to an exit.
Guards can reverse your hack job on an object, so watch out. If you are standing on a disappearing tile when a guard disables your hack, you die.
This is where timing is key. If you plan your moves properly, you can get past a tile before the guard gets to it.
How to play weekly puzzle events
In addition to Story mode, players can take place in weekly puzzle events. These are special missions that only last one week. If you complete all levels in the mission within the specified amount of time, you might earn a special reward that can be used in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
These weekly puzzle events are significantly more difficult than the puzzles in Story mode. It is a great opportunity for players that have completed the story to continue playing the game.
How to earn achievements for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
In a smart move to get fans of Deus Ex excited about the mobile game, Square Enix has included a reward system that will let players earn skill points, called Praxis Kits, in Deus Ex GO.
When you connect your Square Enix account to Deus Ex GO, you can send your Praxis Kits over to the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided game, where they can be assigned to your augmentation tree.
There are currently five Praxis Kits available to earn in Deus Ex GO. You can get two for completing Story mode, one for clearing every level with the Mastermind achievement, one for completing the first puzzle week event, and one for completing the second puzzle week event.
It is possible that Square Enix will add more Praxis Kit rewards as time goes by, especially as a reward for completing weekly puzzle events.
How to use the Puzzle Maker
Square Enix has confirmed that a Puzzle Maker feature will be added to the game a few months after the initial release. Once the new feature goes live, we’ll make sure to update this guide with the rundown of how to make your own epic Deus Ex GO puzzles.
Some Galaxy Note 7 colors will be in short supply at launch
Some customers of the popular Galaxy Note 7 may have to wait several weeks for their unit — particularly those who ordered the unique and eye-catching Blue Coral version.
Customers in the U.S. and Canada who ordered the Blue Coral and Silver may have to wait upwards of three weeks for their units, according to sources who didn’t want to be named. Samsung underestimated the demand for pre-orders, said these people, and were shocked at the number of Blue Coral units sought out after the announcement.
In a statement to Android Central, Samsung Canada, one of the regions affected by unit shortages, said, “We’ve experienced an unprecedented number of pre-orders and we’re excited to begin fulfilling orders on August 19th. Over the coming weeks, we’ll work with our valued carrier and retail partners to provide wide-reaching national retail availability.” Representatives from many Canadian and U.S. carriers declined to comment.
Samsung is no stranger to unit shortages at its product launches
Samsung is no stranger to unit shortages at its product launches: it misjudged the popularity of the curved Galaxy S6 edge when it debuted in early 2015, and there were supply issues with some colors of the Galaxy S7 edge when it arrived earlier this year. Manufacturing issues with the curved glass screens were the cause of delay for those units, but it appears that Samsung merely didn’t account for the overwhelming number of pre-orders of then Note 7.
More: Which Galaxy Note 7 color should I buy?
We’ll update you when we know more, but if you’ve pre-ordered a Galaxy Note 7 and received word of a delay, let us know in the comments!
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Tricking out your dragon in ‘Scalebound’
Scalebound is one of my most anticipated Xbox One games. It’s a classic Platinum title, mixing over-the-top, combo-heavy combat with a gargantuan dragon that’s willing to help you out in a pinch. Throw in a strange, luscious new world and some enormous, fantastical enemies, and you have a game that oozes both style and substance. Last year at Gamescom, Platinum founder Hideki Kamiya teased that players would be able to customize their dragons over the course of the campaign. Now, he’s explained exactly how that will work. And oh boy, am I excited.
For starters, there are three core dragon types to consider: the “rex,” a two-legged all-rounder that’s been shown in most of the trailers; a stout “tank” class that shuffles around on all fours; and a “wyvern” type that’s particularly agile in the air. As you battle through Draconis, you’ll pick up gems that can be spent on your dragon, Thuban, at designated shrines. You can pick a class and stick to a single track, accentuating its strengths and weakness, or choose to “morph” into one of the other two forms. As you upgrade and slowly shift toward the other two dragon type classes, you’ll build on Thuban’s existing stats with some vastly different attributes.
“The customization is so deep that you’re going to be able to create your own play style in a dragon.”
The idea is that you can fine-tune Thuban to fit your particular play style. You might want a tank-type dragon, but with a little more speed that’s usually reserved for the wyvern. Or a robust rex with some extra defensive capabilities pulled from the tank class. Each form has a trade-off — a thicker-skinned wyvern might be slower to attack, for instance — so the player is encouraged to continually adjust their build.
Video game designer Hideki Kamiya
“You’re welcome to go down one path and develop it in that way, but there are all these intermediary sort of states where you can create your own dragon,” Kamiya (speaking through an interpreter) told me at Gamescom. “That’s really where the fun lies. The customization is so deep that you’re going to be able to create your own play style in a dragon.”
The game’s human hero, Drew, shares his life force with Thuban. To inflict more damage, he can enter a “dragon form,” which covers his body in strange scales and a leathery, wing-like cape. Thuban has a similar “beserker” mode that can be activated periodically in combat. The nature of this form can be tweaked at the dragon shrine using unlockable “parts.” They’ll change the look of your dragon — Kamiya showed some examples that had sharper horns and claws. Most parts will inject your dragon with elemental qualities, allow you to deal more damage or inflict a temporary stun (an ice buff will freeze your opponent, for instance).
With your gems depleted, you’ll want to move onto armor. These sets are human-made and purchased with a currency that’s picked up from fleshy foes and completing side quests. Jean Pierre Kellams, creative producer at Platinum, said you’ll use these to “cover up” any remaining weaknesses that your dragon might have. Most are defense oriented, but a few will also have offensive capabilities, adding more complexity to your build.
More importantly, they look totally badass. The different armor styles include some samurai-inspired plates and a traditional, high-fantasy knight set. You can apply this armor to five different places on your dragon, and Platinum says you’re free to mix and match the parts. The downside is that armor will slowly degrade in combat. If you like a particular set, you’ll need to watch its durability and make repairs when necessary.
“We want to make a clean distinction,” Kellams explained. “Things that can break are human, and things that are permanent are this kind of organic dragon material.”
These customizations will be vital in combat. Platinum showed a new feature called “Dragon Link,” which allows Drew to temporarily control Thuban. The camera will stay behind Drew, however, with important commands linked to face-buttons. Knowing your dragon’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as its abilities in berserker mode, will allow you to stun and weaken enemies that would normally be too tough for Drew. To demonstrate, Kellams showed some gameplay footage of Thuban and Drew battling a large, gorilla-type enemy in a dungeon. The hero had to keep his distance and figure out when to activate Dragon Link — doing so leaves him vulnerable to attack, which can be devastating in later boss battles.
“The subtle, incremental shifts that you make between the three forms should ensure that your creature is unique.”
Dragon customizations will also play a role in co-op. At E3, the developer showed a trailer with four different heroes, flanked by their personal dragons, teaming up to take down a huge spider. Like a difficult raid in Destiny or World of Warcraft, your chances of success will improve if you have different dragon types. A wyvern can keep a boss occupied for instance, and aim for precise weak points, while a tank-type dragon takes the brunt of its most devastating attacks. Kellams says the game will ensure that you’re matched with players that have chosen a different path for their dragon. Even if you team up with friends, however, you should find variety in both your dragons and the way you play.
“It’s unlikely your three other friends are going to have the exact same dragon,” Kellams explained. The subtle, incremental shifts that you make between the three forms should ensure that your creature is unique. “If you happen to be identical twins with very similar interests — I suppose it’s possible to hit the scenario that you’re thinking of, but we want to make that a very, very rare case.”
There’s more to dragon customization, but Platinum is keeping the details a secret. That’s understandable, given Scalebound is still deep in development. (It was delayed in January and now has a tentative “2017” release date.) For now, I’m happy to dream about my perfect dragon, and envision myself flying into battle like Khaleesi from Game of Thrones.
We’re live all week from Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
Jabra’s headphones can be prescribed by a doctor to monitor fitness
Doctors can now prescribe fitness-tracking headphones as part of of a patient’s health management regime. Jabra announced today that ts newly announced Sport Pulse wireless headphones are now part of TrainerMD’s HIPPA-compliant 360 Health Program. This means that the audio accessory can be prescribed by a physician or trainer to help a patient with fitness and nutrition. What’s more, Jabra says that this is the first time a wearable device has been made available as part of a prescription wellness program to combat obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Jabra’s Sport Pulse headphones pack in both fitness testing by monitoring VO2 Max levels and in-ear heart rate tracking. Collected data will be streamed to the TrainerMD dashboard where doctors, nurses and trainers can receive real-time notifications on pulse, calories burned and pace. Medical professionals can then use the stats to provide further recommendations over time. TrainerMD’s 360 Health Program is in pre-enrollment right now, but it’s slated to launch this fall.
A new version of the Sport Pulse headphones was announced earlier this week. The latest model added the VO2 Max monitoring on top of pulse tracking that was a key feature on the previous release. That addition of VO2 Max levels uses Jabra’s Sport Life app to keep tabs on aerobic fitness by measuring how efficiently your body is using oxygen. The new Sport Pulse Special Edition was revealed alongside Sport Coach Special Edition wireless headphones that count your reps as well as provide training tips during a workout.
Source: Jabra (PR Newswire)
Comcast begins gigabit internet trial in Chicago
Comcast has already revealed its plans to bring gigabit internet service to Atlanta and Nashville, and now it’s now offering the option in Chicago on a trial basis. Like those other two cities, the cable company will use a DOCSIS 3.1 modem to deliver the 1Gbps speeds over its existing infrastructure. The new service is priced at $140 a month without a contract, plus any adds taxes and fees. As Consumerist notes, Comcast doesn’t mention the option to sign up for three years and get a discounted rate, but it does say that it will “test promotional pricing during the trial period.”
When Comcast’s gigabit trial hit Atlanta earlier in the year, customers has the option of committing to three years for service in exchange for a $70 monthly rate. Why isn’t that available in Chicago? Well, Google Fiber is already slated for Georgia’s capital, as is AT&T’s high-speed internet. Google’s gigabit service hasn’t yet made it to the Windy City, but the company did acquire Webpass back in June, a company that has high-speed internet customers in Chicago already. On the Google Fiber website, Chicago is still listed as a potential city as the status hasn’t changed since it was first announced in late 2015.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s gigabit service is available in Chicago already, priced at $90 a month or $20 higher than some other locales. This increased rate could drop after the trial is up, but it appears Comcast is basing its rates off of the competition in the cities where it’s rolling out the speedy internet service. As the option becomes available in more places, it will be interesting to keep an eye on how the rates vary. What’s more, Comcast’s faster 2Gbps service, Gigabit Pro, is already available in the Greater Chicago area.
Via: Consumerist
Source: Comcast
For its 50th anniversary, Best Buy unveils 50 deals tonight
Years after the demise of competing chain Circuit City, Best Buy is still the most reliable destination to pick up HDMI cables or try out VR platforms after more niche stores close for the evening. To celebrate half a century in business, the megastore chain is going bigger: 50 deals for specific products go live at 10 p.m. Central Time tonight for 50 hours until midnight on Saturday, with most available online.
The full list of on-sale items isn’t available yet, though the press release notes that it should go live on the Best Buy site’s front page at some point. The announcement does reveal a handful of deals: $150 off select Macbook Pros (with another $150 knocked down for qualifying students), $400 off a 65-inch Samsung UHD 4K TV and save $180 on Beats Studio wireless in-ear headphones, among others. It’s not clear which sales are exclusively in-store and which can be bought online, but most of the latter get free two-day shipping. Good shopping, deal hunters.
Source: Best Buy
Wii U balance boards help paraplegics better use their exosuits
Able-bodied people maintain their balance in part by the sensory feedback receive through our feet. People with severed spinal columns don’t receive those sensations which, even though they are being supported by a mechanical exoskeleton, makes standing difficult. That’s why a team of researchers at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition have begun teaching neophyte exoskeleton wearers to regain their sense of balance by standing atop a Wii U balance board.
Patients don’t just stand there, obviously. They play games and run drills which require them to continually shift their weight. Over time, patients figure out how far they can lean in any given direction before tipping. This helps them redevelop their balance control despite the natural sensory feedback that they used to get from their feet.
Source: DRCihmcRobotics (YouTube)
AIVAnet 