Rethink’s workplace robot is now smarter and easier to train

Think of a warehouse robot and a huge, cumbersome machine probably comes to mind. They’re reliable, but difficult to reprogram if you’re not a trained specialist. Rethink Robotics is trying to tackle the problem with Sawyer, a one-armed robot with a tablet for a face. A new software update called Intera 5 means it’s now easier to program for new, custom tasks in the workplace. At its core is a “behavior engine” that can be visualised like a logic tree. Similar to basic coding applications, that makes it easier for people to change specific movements and ‘if this, then that’ style reactions.

Sawyer’s best trick is still its teach-by-demonstration feature. Users can move the arm around and trigger different components by hand, such as its wrist-worn camera, to show what a task should look like. Sawyer will then remember the steps and replicate them on demand — a fast, simple way for businesses to automate construction, diagnostics and repairs. When something went wrong, however, it could be tricky for untrained workers to source and fix the problem, because parts of the underlying code were ‘hidden’ or difficult to find. Now, the robot should be easier to tweak, making initial deployments and complex reassignments faster.

Via: IEEE Spectrum, MIT Technology Review

Source: Rethink Robotics

Facebook puts a weather section in its mobile apps

Facebook aims to offer almost everything you’ll want to have on a phone: games, video and photo filters, chat apps, shopping portals and now even week-long weather forecasts. The social network has rolled out a full-fledged weather section right within its mobile apps, and a spokesperson told TechCrunch that around 95 percent of users around the globe should already have access to it.

To check it out, tap the hamburger menu in the app, click “See More…” or “See All” and find the Weather option somewhere underneath Friends, Events, Groups, Nearby, Shops and the like. That’s where you’ll also find a few experimental Facebook features like the public WiFi finder. In addition, you might see a greeting at the top of your News Feed with that day’s forecast along with a link to the section.

When you do get to the Weather section, you’ll find a basic five-day forecast (Sunny, Rainy, etc.) with temperatures for every hour of the current day from Weather.com’s API. It’s set to your current location by default, but you can always change it in the Settings page — plus, you can toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Dedicated weather apps can offer more comprehensive info, and they typically allow you to have forecasts for several locations at once. But Facebook’s looks like a decent alternative, especially for those who have Android phones with limited space for applications.

Source: TechCrunch

Tim Cook and UK Prime Minister Theresa May Discuss Apple’s Presence in Country Amid Brexit

Continuing on his lengthy European tour today, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now stopped in London and had a chat with UK Prime Minister Theresa May. According to a spokesperson for May speaking with Business Insider, the meeting focused on Apple’s continued investment in the United Kingdom amid the recent turmoil surrounding Brexit. Overall, the meeting was said to have been “a very positive and useful discussion.”

“It was a meeting with the prime minister. It was a very positive and useful discussion. Apple have made a recent announcement about their investment in the UK and they had a conversation around that and the importance of government and business on digital skills which going forward will clearly be a huge part of the future industry. It was a chance for the prime minister to outline her plans for negotiating our EU exit. It was also a chance for her to reiterate and welcome Apple’s investment in the UK.”

The meeting took place at Downing Street at 10AM local time today, and followed Cook’s visiting of locations including Marseille, Paris, Vreden, Berlin, and Glasgow. On the Vreden, Germany leg of his trip that took place earlier this week, the Apple CEO even met with Dula, a furniture manufacturer that works with Apple to create some of the furniture and hardware used in Apple’s retail stores.

Europe is Apple’s second largest market in terms of revenue, and like all other territories the company continues to expand its presence in the area. Last September, it was announced that Apple was working on building a new UK headquarters in London’s Battersea Power Station, expected to be complete by 2021. The UK is expected to leave the European Union by 2019, so it appears Cook is using his European trip to prepare Apple for the upcoming shift in UK business and politics happening over the next few years.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Tim Cook
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Fossil’s cracking Q Founder smartwatch deal is the cheapest way to enjoy Android Wear 2.0

Why it matters to you

This is the cheapest way to get a beautiful smartwatch, that’s ready to take the new Android Wear 2.0 software update

Android Wear 2.0 has just been released, and promises to give Google’s wearable operating system a new lease of life; but what’s the cheapest and easiest way to enjoy the new software? Fossil has a cracking offer on its website at the moment. It has reduced the cost of the first-generation Fossil Q Founder watches already, and has now added a special code to drop the price even further. It means you can pick up an Android Wear 2.0-ready watch for just $123.

Head to Fossil’s sale section on its website and find the Q Founder. We reviewed the first-generation watch when it came out, and it quickly became one of our favorite Android Wear watches, next to the Huawei Watch. Through Fossil, the Q Founder costs from $165 — down from its original $295 — but add the MORELUV code at checkout, and you’ll get another 25 percent off that price.

More: Missed out on this Q Founder deal? Maybe you can catch this one for the second-generation version

The cheapest option is the Q Founder with the brown leather strap, which is $165 in the sale, down to $123 with the code. We do suggest paying a little more for one of the metal-strapped Q Founder models. The stainless steel model, which featured in our review, is $175 before the code, and $131 after. Bargain.

There’s almost no difference between the first-generation and second-generation Q Founder, and both have the same 1.5-inch, 360 x 326 pixel, flat-tire-style touchscreen, and an Intel Atom processor. The watch is listed as one which will be updated to Android Wear 2.0 by Google, but it probably won’t come with the software ready to go, and will arrive separately at some time in the future. Other features include 4GB of internal memory, and a 400mAh battery for a day’s worth of use, before it needs a recharge.

If you’re tempted, don’t wait around, because the Q Founder models at this price are all in Fossil’s sale and stocks will inevitably be limited.

Samsung Hello could be the Galaxy S8’s answer to Google Now

One location for your news, social, health and travel plans, backed up by voice interactions.

Personal feeds like the Google Feed (formerly Google Now) and HTC BlinkFeed aren’t a new idea, and phone makers never seem to tire of trying to collate all your personal info and updates into one place. “Samsung Hello” could be the company’s latest attempt to do just that, and based on the timing of a recent trademark filing, a launch alongside the upcoming Galaxy S8 is a good bet.

The European trademark, first spotted by SamMobile refers to an app which “gives personalized features and information based on user’s preferences in the fields of weather, music, entertainment, games, travel, science, health, contact, and social news via voice command and voice recognition.” That sounds an awful lot like the Feed within the Google app, though it’s unclear whether Samsung Hello would be entirely voice-only, or whether there’d also be some visual component.

Will Samsung Hello and the ‘Bixby’ AI be one and the same?

On a drier and more technical level, the filing also mentions “software that enable block users or computers and mobile devices to access, aggregate, organize and interact with content, information and images and topics of general interest to such users.” (Read: showing you stuff you might be interested in — another central feature of the artist formerly known as Google Now.)

It’s also not clear how Hello might tie into the Galaxy S8’s rumored ‘Bixby’ AI assistant, or whether they’re one and the same. Most of the features detailed in the trademark filing would seem to overlap with what you’d get from a voice-controlled assistant.

We should be careful about basing too much on a single trademark filing. While they can be useful indicators of what’s to come, Samsung’s past filings have included dubious marks like “Galaxy Fonblet,” which never went anywhere. Regardless, with “AI” becoming one of the major phone trends of 2017, we’ll be watching with interest to see how Samsung’s AI efforts come into focus. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are rumored to break cover at an event in New York City on March 29.

How to use Android Pay on your Android Wear smartwatch

Android Pay is here and easier to use than ever.

The biggest perk about having access to parts of your smartphone from your watch is convenience. Whether that means checking the weather while you are getting dressed, or being able to easily glance down for a moment to check your notifications. Android Pay is now available for use right from your wrist, provided that your watch is running Android Wear 2.0 and has NFC. As of right now, that’s a list populated by only the LG Watch Sport, but it won’t be this exclusive for too long.

How to set up Android Pay on your watch

Using Android Pay is thankfully an uncomplicated affair once you’ve got everything set up. It will take a few minutes to get yourself situated, so it’s something you’re going to want to do before you roll out of the house to run your errands.

First you’ll want to install Android Pay on your phone, and add the card that you want to use. Next make sure that your watch is connected to your phone via Bluetooth. From here you can open up Android Pay on your watch, and tap add card to choose from your previously-added cards. If you want to add a different card all you need to do is tap add card once again and switch back to your phone to verify details. Once it has been verified it will be added to the cards available with the Android Pay app on your watch.

Step by step instructions to set up Android Pay

Install Android Pay on your phone.
Add the card you want to use, verifying with your bank.
Make sure your watch is connected to your phone via Bluetooth.
Open Android Pay on your watch, tap add card to choose from cards on your phone.

And that’s it!

How to use Android Pay on your watch

In a fast-paced world, there are times when convenience is definitely key. Sometimes you only have a few minutes to dart into the corner store for that caffeine rush first thing in the morning, or you’re already distracted. That’s where having access to Android Pay right from your wrist comes in. With just a tap, you’ll be able to pay for your purchases and continue about your day. For anyone who has accidentally left their wallet (or even their phone) at home, this is a serious boon.

As of right now, the only watch that has access to Android Pay is the LG Watch Sport.

First thing’s first, you’ll want to launch the Android Pay app on your watch. As of right now, the only watch that has access to Android Pay is the LG Watch Sport. By default, the bottom side button will launch Android Pay, and even better, it doesn’t need to be connected to your phone in order to make a payment. If you’re ready to pay with your default card, just place the top edge of your watch to the payment terminal. When the payment is accepted you’ll feel a long vibration on your watch, and the payment terminal will likely also beep.

Now, if you want to switch to one of your alternate cards, that’s also easy to do. If you swipe up on your watch screen, it will reveal additional cards that you can choose from. These are the cards that have been entered and verified in the Android Pay app on your phone. If you want to switch to a new default card, tap on the card it view it, swipe up on the card, and then tap the blue bar with a check mark at the bottom. When it’s time to delete a card follow the same steps, but instead of tapping the blue bar, swipe up one more time and then tap the trash can to delete that card.

Step by step instructions to use Android Pay

To get ready to pay, launch the Android Pay app on your watch.
Place the top edge of your watch to the payment terminal until you get a long vibration on the watch.

• The payment terminal will also likely beep to confirm.

If you want to switch cards before paying, swipe up on the screen to reveal additional cards.

• To change a new card to default, tap on the card to view its details, swipe up on the card and then tap the blue bar with a check mark at the bottom
• To delete a card, follow the same steps but give the bar an extra swipe up and tap the trash can to remove

You’re now ready to pay like a pro with just your smartwatch!

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

HTC wants Indian users to pay ₹48,990 ($730) for a Snapdragon 810-powered phone

HTC continues to be ignorant of the Indian market.

HTC doesn’t have a great track record in India. The Taiwanese manufacturer rolled out the MediaTek Helio X10-powered One M9+ in lieu of the standard One M9 in 2015, charging ₹52,500 ($785) for it. The QHD display backed by an inefficient processor led to the phone lagging in everyday usage, and the high price drove customers to the Galaxy S6.

Last year, the brand announced that it would bring the Snapdragon 652 variant of the HTC 10, the HTC 10 Lifestyle, and not the Snapdragon 820 model. The company thankfully changed course and introduced the HTC 10 in the country, and while the handset itself turned out to be one of the better phones of 2016, a lack of advertising killed HTC’s prospects in the market.

Continuing the tradition of ill-advised product launches, HTC is now offering the HTC 10 Evo — the international variant of the HTC Bolt that made its debut last November. The phone runs Nougat out of the box and features a 5.5-inch QHD display along with 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, microSD slot, 16MP camera with image stabilization, 8MP front shooter, and a 3200mAh battery.

The problem lies in the processor of choice, with HTC offering the two-year-old Snapdragon 810. The octa-core SoC was notorious for thermal issues back when it launched in 2015, which led to LG sticking with the hexa-core Snapdragon 808 in the LG G4 and Samsung ditching the SoC entirely on the Galaxy S6, instead relying on its in-house Exynos 7420 chip. Lest you forget, there’s no 3.5mm jack on the HTC 10 Evo.

For its part, HTC seems to have optimized the SoC to ensure that there aren’t any overheating issues, but with the HTC 10 Evo priced at ₹48,990 ($730), there really isn’t a tangible reason why anyone would consider shelling out that much for a phone that’s running an outdated processor at launch.

A better move would have been to launch the newer HTC U Ultra in India. However, HTC has said that the phone will be limited to select markets, and going by the brand’s product history in India, we’ll get the sub-par HTC U Play instead.

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 review: Brilliant audio from the Bluetooth king

Plantronics may have a big name in the world of hands-free Bluetooth equipment, but it’s not widely regarded as a premium headphone company.

Our time with the BackBeat Pro 2 has taught us that it’s a definitely a company worth considering if you’re looking for a feature-rich set of headphones that won’t cost you the earth.

Platronics BackBeat Pro 2 review: Design

• Comfortable memory foam padding
• Close fitting headband
• Weighs just 289 grams
• Control rings/buttons on left earcup

As per many other headphones there are both positives and negatives when it comes to how the BackBeat Pro 2 has been designed. The exterior is made mostly from plastic, with a soft leather-like material covering the top of the head band and the memory foam earcup padding. This memory foam padding is comfortable to wear for relatively long periods and the headband itself – with its breathable fabric covering on the underside – sits comfortably on the head.

Pocket-lint

The earcups are fixed onto the headband with a 90-degree rotating joint. This not only allows you to store the headphones neatly inside their included soft bag or canvas-covered hard case, but also enables a good degree of adjustment to fit your head better.

As for the adjustable headband, it clicks loudly into place – just to remind you that it’s not quite a high-end, premium product. Still, once adjusted, the BackBeat Pro 2 feels very comfortable and light when worn.

While some other companies opt for a completely flush surface on the outside of the cans for volume adjustment and playback control, the Plantronics have a much more intuitive system. There’s a textured ring around the left earcup, which you turn to adjust the volume and a physical clicky button in the middle for playing and pausing.

In-between the play/pause button and volume ring, there’s another ring with skip back/forwards buttons on it. Although it’s completely smooth, the skip track ring is easy to find by touch thanks to the play/pause button being slightly recessed, and the heavily textured design of the volume ring.

Pocket-lint

There are other buttons and ports dotted around each of the cans. The left earcup features the slider switch for activating and de-activating the active noise-cancellation and the ambient noise passthrough microphones. The right cup has the Bluetooth pairing slider, which is also the power switch. It also features a red mute button for use during calls as well as a 3.5mm jack and micro USB port for charging.

Overall, while the plastic looks and feels a little cheap and the faux wood pattern on the outside of the cups is puzzling, these headphones otherwise feel sturdy. There’s no creaky, shiny plastic like you’d find on a (much more expensive) pair of Monster headphones.

Platronics BackBeat Pro 2 review: Features and performance

• Up to 100m range via Bluetooth
• Smart sensors pause music automatically
• Long battery life (up to 24 hours play)

There are a number of features built-in to these headphones. The first is a built-in sensor to detect whether you’re wearing the headphones – when they’re taken off the Plantronics auto-pause/resume playback accordingly. This feature worked using Spotify’s desktop PC application as well as on iPhone. It is very sensitive, however, as just slightly lifting the right ear cup away from an ear is enough to pause playback.

Likewise, the noise passthrough is generally good should you want to listen to your surroundings as well as music. Switching the open mic on means ambient noise can pass through and you’ll be able to hear what’s going on around you. Like with many other systems, it’s the higher-pitched external noises that are most audible. For instance, children talking is easier to hear than an adult’s voice is.

Pocket-lint

At the opposite end of the scale the active noise-cancellation feature does a good job of shutting off the outside world, killing noise around you and making it barely audible. A noisy washing machine on its spin cycle can be completely drowned out.

Thanks to a host of Bluetooth technologies with some fancy names (EDR/HSP 1.2/HDP 1.6), Plantronics headphones have a connection that’s as consistent and reliable as any we’ve tried. Amazingly, it has a maximum range of up to 100 meters.

Regardless of the phone or device we used with them, the audio beaming never dropped, not even for those brief split-seconds you sometimes get with wireless audio. But that’s really no surprise, like Jabra (we tested its truly wireless earphones recently), it is well known for quality Bluetooth headsets, dating back years to when smartphones had clunky keyboards and tiny screens.

Pocket-lint

Of course, you can use a 3.5mm cable if you want. You’ll need to if the battery dies halfway through listening to your favourite album, as noise-cancellation is activate, not passive.

Not that the battery is likely to run out too quickly. Plantronics promises up to 24 hours of listening time, and up to six months in its DeepSleep standby mode. We listened to between six to eight hours of music per day, took part in a couple of Skype conference calls, and didn’t come close to even using half of the battery. When it does get close to losing all of its power, there’s a built-in low battery status alert.

Platronics BackBeat Pro 2 review: Sound quality

• 40mm drivers
• Active noise-cancelling
• Open listening mode for ambient noise pass-through

Perhaps it would be a little insulting to Plantronics to say the sound quality of the BackBeat Pro 2 is surprisingly good. Audio is balanced well, with the spectrum filled with a decent amount of bass and mid frequencies.

If there’s any complaint, it might be that bass levels are a bit high for the purist listener, but for all those who want a sound that’s easy to immerse yourself in – whether it be hard-hitting rock from Rage Against the Machine or more calm sounds like The XX’s new album – it comfortably envelops you.

Pocket-lint

This sound is delivered by 40mm drivers and sent through to the earphones using class 1 Bluetooth 4.0. Thanks to that sound quality, performance and comfort, there wasn’t a single point we wanted to take them off.

Verdict

As an overall package, the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 have a lot to offer. Despite their plastic build, these cans feel sturdy and are very comfortable to wear – even for extended periods.

Combined with the brilliant range of features, ease of use and overall decent audio quality, they’re a very good pair of headphones. At £229, they’re not overly expensive either.

They’re available to buy from Amazon.co.uk in both black/tan and graphite grey. 

Platronics BackBeat Pro 2: The alternatives to consider

Pocket-lint

Bose QC35

£289

The Bose QuietComfort brand has earned a serious reputation for great audio and noise-cancelling, and at £60 more than the Plantronics set, they’re still great value for money. They were easily among the best headphones we tested in 2016 and are safe purchase for anyone to spend their hard-earned cash on a reputable brand. 

Pocket-lint

Sony MDR-100X

£330

While the Bose are great, the Sony MDR-100X blew us away and won our award for the best headphones at the Pocket-lint Awards 2016. They sound incredible, have one of the best noise-cancellation applications we’ve seen and are great to wear for long periods. The only downside: they cost a full £100 more than Plantronics’ best earphones. 

Pocket-lint

B&O BeoPlay H7

£329

For those looking for a more stylish pair of earphones, none look quite as good as the BeoPlay H7. The anodised metal and tan leather combine to create a look that reeks of nostalgia. They’re comfortable, although quite loose, and don’t quite have the audio performance of the other alternatives, but at least you’ll look good wearing them with your sheepskin jacket. 

The Morning After: Thursday, February 9 2017

Welcome to Thursday morning. Android Wear 2.0 lands on two new LG smartwatches, Adidas has beef with Tesla, and the next iPhone could be expensive. I mean, more expensive.

Faster and easier to use.Android Wear 2.0 was worth the long wait

Google’s wearable update is the platform’s biggest one since the birth of Android Wear, three years ago. “With 2.0, we really looked hard at what people are using their watches for,” said Android Wear VP David Singleton. “We saw that usage was really focused around watch faces, messaging and fitness. So we really optimized 2.0 for those things.” But Google improved a lot of other aspects of Wear as well, including the user interface, navigation and notifications. We took a closer look.

Stripes and gripes.Adidas thinks Tesla’s old Model 3 logo is a little too familiar

Would you confuse the Tesla Model 3’s three-bar logo with Adidas’ signature stripes? No? Did you know that was the upcoming Tesla’s logo? Maybe not. But don’t tell that to Adidas. The apparel giant has filed a challenge to prevent Tesla from registering the Model 3’s logo as a trademark. It’s similar enough to Adidas’ stripes that it’s “likely to cause confusion” and suggest the two brands are connected, according to the filing. That said, the EV maker quietly changed the logo to the numeric “3” weeks ago, well before Adidas filed its notice.

You could be an NBA playerNBA and 2K team up for the first eSports league owned by a US pro league

Next year, you could realistically expect to become an NBA draft pick. We weren’t expecting that either, but it’s a possibility because the NBA and Take Two have teamed up to create the NBA 2K eLeague. It will launch with 8 – 12 teams that are all owned by existing NBA franchises, and recruit online players to go 5-on-5 in the NBA 2K video game. NBA commish Adam Silver says there will be broadcasts via internet and TV, as it seeks to attract people who otherwise might not think they could ever play in the league.

iPhone XSpecial edition ‘anniversary’ iPhone could be pricey

Since this year will be the tenth anniversary for Apple’s iPhone, people are expecting something special. The latest rumor from Fast Company indicates that while an incrementally upgraded iPhone 7s is on the way in 4.7- and 5.5-inch sizes, there will also be an iPhone 8 with all new features like an OLED screen, no physical home button and maybe even 3D-sensing technology. All of those parts come at a cost, however, and its price (unlocked) could start above $1,000.

The latest ultrathin “metalenses” can now handle multiple colors.Lenses made from nanomaterials get closer to replacing glass

Researchers recently showed off breakthrough nanomaterial “metalenses” that could replace bulky glass optics. Unfortunately, these only worked on a single color at a time, meaning your hypothetical smartphone camera of the future would only be able to do arty, monochromatic photos. However, the same team at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has now unveiled a new material that works on a spectrum of colors from blue to green — making it a more realistic proposition for substituting in for lenses and other optical tech. The material is lighter and thinner than glass, meaning that metalenses could change cameras, smartphones and even our own specs in the future.

Sporty swipesReview: LG Watch Sport with Android Wear 2.0

LG’s Watch Sport is the more impressive of the two smartwatches launching with Android Wear 2.0, and for the most part it’s a very respectable showing. Beyond the seriously snappy performance, the big Android Wear update brings a load of design tweaks and new features that the platform has needed for a long time. It’s not perfect, but the software helps soften some of the watch’s shortcomings: the body will be still too chunky for some, and we wish the battery lasted much longer

(Not so) Posh swipes Review: LG Watch Style with Android Wear 2.0

The LG Watch Style is sadly underwhelming in comparison to the pricier Sport. Despite its name, the Style has a bland design and only meets Android Wear 2.0’s minimum hardware requirements. On the bright side, Google’s new operating system is faster and more intuitive than before. Too bad the Style isn’t a great vehicle for showcasing said new software.

It’s putting all the pieces togetherCorsair teases its first whole computer

You probably know Corsair as a computer parts and peripherals manufacturer. It makes all those DRAM modules, flash drives, PC cases, SSDs, keyboards, mice and the rest. Now it’s trying to put it all together. An ad published in Maximum PC’s March issue, revealed that the company has become a full-fledged PC maker. Its first ever whole computer is fittingly called Corsair One.

Pink because love.Pink creatures will invade ‘Pokémon Go’ this Valentine season

Pokémon Go’s latest seasonal promotion is all about Clefairies, Jigglypuffs and other pink-hued monsters. Like prior promotions, you’ll also bag double the amount of candy when you catch, hatch or transfer a Pokémon to the Professor. Oh, and you may want to hold onto those lures until the event begins — each one will keep attracting Pokémon for six hours instead of the usual 30 minutes.

It might use the likes of Twitter and Facebook to vet visitorsDHS could demand social media passwords of US visitors

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, told Congress on Tuesday that his agency is considering a new vetting measure for US visitors from Trump’s banned nation list: forcing them to hand over passwords for their social media accounts.”We want to get on their social media, with passwords: What do you do, what do you say?” Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee. “If they don’t want to cooperate then you don’t come in.”

But wait, there’s more…

• Trump’s Nordstrom tweet isn’t illegal, but it’s still a problem
• Wikipedia decides Daily Mail is ‘too unreliable’ to be a preferred source
• Netflix is making a ‘Castlevania’ animated series
• Job listing reveals Netflix will soon sell merch tied to its original shows
• Six Flags and Samsung made a mixed-reality rollercoaster

Science shows that anyone could become an online troll

It’s easy to dismiss internet trolls as freaks. Surely they weren’t raised well, right? Don’t be so quick to judge. Cornell and Stanford researchers have published a study suggesting that anyone can engage in trolling if the circumstances are right. In an experiment, the schools skewed the moods of participants by making them complete either very easy or very difficult tests. They were then unleashed on the comment sections of online articles, some of which had trolling posts… and, well, you might have a hunch as to what came next.

Of the most docile subjects, those who took the easy test and saw no trolling posts, 35 percent posted trolling comments — more than you’d like, but not the majority. That percentage jumped to about 50 percent if they either took the difficult test or saw trolling posts, and it reached a worrying 68 percent for those unfortunate people who took the tough test and saw trolls. In other words, all it takes is a bad day and a personal attack to make someone rage online.

To back up this data, the research team pored over years of CNN comments to see if crankiness based on the time of day or week would influence the quality of someone’s posts. Sure enough, people posting at the most common moments for foul moods (early in the week or late at night) were most likely to have their posts flagged for review or downvoted. And the easiest predictor of writing a flagged post was whether or not the previous post was flagged, not the user. Someone who’s relatively friendly might fly off the handle if they’re exhausted or otherwise upset, and there’s a vicious “spiral of negativity” where their bad attitude leads others to start trolling.

This doesn’t mean that some people aren’t more prone to trolling than others. Any comment section regular has seen that irredeemable user who has the maturity of a 5-year-old. However, the researchers believe internet communities could use this knowledge to keep trolling in check. You could see cooldown periods for users with flagged posts, automatic moderator notifications for likely troll posts and increased use of shadow banning (where a user’s posts are hidden without telling them). Internet vitriol is unlikely to ever completely disappear, but you could see fewer situations where normally nice people become raging balls of hate.

Source: Stanford