Email scheme stole $100 million from two US tech companies

It’s tempting to assume that technology workers are intelligent enough to avoid email fraud, but that’s not always the case. Both the FBI and the state of New York have charged a Lithuanian man, Evaldas Rimasauskas, with perpetrating a phishing campaign that siphoned $100 million away from two US tech companies companies. They’re both choosing to remain unnamed, although one is a “multinational online social media company” — you can probably whip up a short list of candidates based on that description. The scheme wasn’t particularly complicated, either, and mostly relied on less-than-attentive employees.

Between 2013 and 2015 (possibly earlier), Rimasauskas allegedly ran a fake company in Latvia that had the same name as an “Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer.” He used this bogus firm to fool victims into responding to phishing emails, getting them to wire millions of dollars to his bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus. The fraudster quickly spread the money to accounts elsewhere in the world (including Lithuania, Hong Kong, Hungary and Slovakia), and even sent forged documents to the banks to convince them that the large sums of money were legitimate.

If the charges (which include wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering) hold up, Rimasaukas faces stiff punishment. He’s looking at a minimum of 2 years in prison if he’s found guilty of identity theft, and each of the remaining charges could get him up to 20 years behind bars. However, it’s also safe to say that his targets are learning a hard lesson, too. Even the most tech-savvy companies can fall prey to online fraud, and they may need to step up their security measures (including staff education) to prevent similar incidents.

Source: Department of Justice

Tim Cook Confirms Apple Will Make Global Fund Donations From Sales of Red iPhone 7 in China

With the news earlier today that Apple has ditched the PRODUCT(RED) branding for the red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in China, MacRumors reached out to CEO Tim Cook to find out if any of the proceeds on sales in the country would still be donated to charity in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

MacRumors’ question: We noticed the (PRODUCT)RED branding is missing from the new red iPhone 7 on the China Apple website. Will you be donating any of the proceeds from the phone’s China sales to the HIV/AIDs cause anyway?

Tim Cook’s response: We donate to the Global Fund on every iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus we sell in every country in the world.

Since the omission of the branding came to light, there’s been some speculation that recent changes in Chinese law prevent not-for-profit organizations from being involved in commercial advertising. Whatever the truth of the matter, it appears Apple will be upholding its (PRODUCT)RED charitable donations commitment with or without said branding.

Apple’s special edition red iPhone 7 models, due to be launched on Friday in more than 40 countries, are the first iPhones to join Apple’s (PRODUCT)RED line-up.

Apple said the new handset color was in recognition of more than 10 years of partnership between Apple and the charity (RED), offering customers a way to contribute to the Global Fund and “bring the world a step closer to an AIDS-free generation”.

Other Apple products in the (PRODUCT)RED range that are available all year round include the full iPod line of products, Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones, Beats Pill+ Portable Speaker, the iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case, and a range of accessories for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

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.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tags: China, Tim Cook, (PRODUCT)RED
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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 26 With WebGPU Prototype

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced one year ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 26 includes fixes and improvements for Web API, CSS, Rendering, Web Inspector, WebDriver, and WebCrypto. Today’s update also includes a WebGPU prototype, accessible from the Experimental Features menu.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

Tag: Safari Technology Preview
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How to Tell Whether Your New LG UltraFine 5K Display Has the Shielding Fix

Last week, we shared a brief video showing that LG’s revisions to the shielding in the UltraFine 5K display have successfully addressed issues with the display flickering and disconnecting when in close proximity to Wi-Fi routers. Apple and LG had temporarily pulled the display from the market while LG adjusted its manufacturing processes to incorporate the fix and push the new stock into sales channels, and sales of the revised display began earlier this month.

At the time of last week’s post, we noted that customers purchasing the UltraFine 5K display should check for serial numbers beginning with 702 or 703, as these indicate manufacturing dates of February or March after the fix was put into place. Several MacRumors readers subsequently reported, however, that they have recently received units shipped from Apple with serial numbers starting with 612, indicating manufacturing dates in December 2016.

These readers have been uncertain as to whether their units have the revised shielding in place, or if they should be testing their displays to see if the flickering issue can be induced. One reader noticed that the label on the box of his December UltraFine 5K included a black circular sticker at the top left, a sticker that was not present on our original UltraFine 5K display that was manufactured in November and shipped in December and which was susceptible to the interference issue.

December 2016 unit retrofitted prior to sale (left) vs. March 2017 unit properly shielded from the start (right)
Newly manufactured UltraFine 5K units include a black square printed directly on the label in the same location, and LG has confirmed to MacRumors that the presence of a circle or square does in fact indicate that the unit has the revised internal shielding and should be protected from the interference issues.

While LG did not explicitly confirm any difference between a circle and a square, it appears that the square is indicative of a unit that was originally manufactured with the proper shielding, while the circle is used on earlier units that were subsequently retrofitted with the shielding before sale. There should be no difference in the performance of the two versions.

For those users with units lacking a circle or square on the label and thus susceptible to the Wi-Fi interference, LG is conducting free repairs to install the proper shielding. Users are advised to contact LG to arrange for the repair, which can take up to 7-10 business days once the display is received by the repair facility.

Customers interested in purchasing the UltraFine 5K should remember that Apple’s 25 percent discount on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 accessories is still scheduled to end on March 31, so they have just over a week to order the display at its discounted price of $974 before it goes back up to its regular price of $1299.95. It is possible Apple could extend the discount as it has done once already, but there are no guarantees.

Related Roundup: Displays
Tag: LG
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 review

It’s been awhile since we last reviewed an Android tablet, especially ones that cross the $500 threshold. There’s a reason why the majority of Android tablets released in the last couple of years have been largely inexpensive ones, since consumers are finding it even more difficult than ever before to invest in high-spec’d Android tablets. And when you consider that dedicated tablets in general are a dying breed, it really makes you wonder more about their advantages.

• The best Android tablets
• Samsung Chromebook Pro review

Samsung just recently announced its latest convertible-styled Chromebooks, which now offer support for full blown Android apps – opening a gate that was once closed to them, so it’s especially intriguing how things have turned out. Now that by itself should make anyone question Samsung’s decision to launch its new Galaxy Tab S3, which comes almost two years after its predecessor. In that time, we’ve seen a radical shift in how consumers perceive tablets.

The Tab S3 is competing against other Windows 10 tablets and convertibles in the same price bracket, as well as these cheap Chromebooks and Apple’s iPad Pro tablets. So, do we really need another high-end Android tablet? Find out in our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 review!

Design

Drawing inspiration from its own Galaxy smartphones, Samsung has predictably outfitted the Galaxy Tab S3 with glass surfaces on the front and back – with an all-metal frame sandwiching everything together. There’s no denying the premium aspect in play here, one that’s further accentuated by its svelte chassis and lightweight feel. All of this, of course, helps to justify its more premium price point.

Since it’s glass, though, there’s a certain level of fragility with it, as well as being a magnet for smudges and fingerprints. When it’s clean, however, light bounces beautifully off its surface. It’s premium in every way imaginable, but just be careful using it – you don’t want it to accidentally slip. Glass meeting pavement is never a pretty sight afterwards.

Display

The Tab S3 has the same screen as its predecessor, but we’re certainly not complaining. It sports a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It looks good, just as you’d expect, but many of the qualities have been improved over its predecessor. For starters, it’s significantly brighter with a peak brightness output of 465 nits, ensuring that clarity isn’t compromised when it’s used outdoors under direct light. And even though it’s extremely saturated in tone when it’s in adaptive mode, a common quality of AMOLED, switching to the basic display profile results in true-to-life, accurate color reproduction in the sRGB color gamut chart.

The biggest change to the display, however, is that it now features high dynamic range – that fancy HDR tech allows it to adjust details, contrast, and color saturation to give videos more of that cinematic vividness. From what we saw in our demo time during MWC 2017, it looked really great in how the contrast in the shadows were adjusted to draw out more details in the scene. However, it’s something you’ll witness with content produced in HDR – so existing videos without HDR won’t necessarily see improvements.

The quad speakers deliver crisp-sounding audio perfect for videos

That being said, there’s no arguing that the Tab S3 is remarkable for media consumption, since it’s been bred for that purpose. In complementing the HDR-enabled display, Samsung pairs the experience with quad speakers; two sets of speakers positioned on both edges of the tablet in landscape. They’re tuned by AKG by Harman, delivering crisp-sounding audio perfect for videos – giving it the necessary stereo effect. But despite reaching a top output of 75.4 dB, it doesn’t sound more potent than the speakers in the iPad Pro.

Performance

Clearly following after Samsung’s own Galaxy S7, the Tab S3 leverages the same quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4 GB of RAM. Now, some eyebrows might be raised by that revelation, seeing that they’re probably expecting the newer Snapdragon 835 instead. But given that Sammy had ample time in the development stages to really optimize the Snapdragon 820, it doesn’t surprise us to see them use it here.

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Indeed, the Tab S3 handles most of the basic functions of a tablet, but it still stumbles when trying to juggle around more processor-intensive stuff. We see it happen when using Nougat’s baked-in side-by-side multitasking, as there are still some instances when it freezes momentarily. Most actions result in fluid movements, like surfing the web or using the S Pen in a painting app, but there are still times when hiccups do occur with the performance. It’s not frequent, thankfully, but that does make us wonder if it’s the software that’s the culprit.

The benchmark tests reveal it’s very much a powerhouse, in the elite class as you’d expect, rivaling the scores achieved by today’s top-end smartphones. One area that Samsung places a lot of emphasis on is gaming, thanks in part to the Vulkan graphics API engine – allowing it to deliver a solid gaming experience. The emphasis on gaming is especially noticeable in Samsung’s Game Launcher, which dishes up tools that allow gamers to do things like record their footage; without impacting its graphics processing performance in the process.

Hardware

Aside from a few aesthetic changes to the design of the tablet, such as its quad speakers, everything else is pretty much in its usual position. Just like before, the power button and volume keys are located along the right edge of the tablet, along with the microSD card slot. Around the bottom, we have a 3.5 mm headphone jack with the newer USB Type-C connection port, which is positioned offset from the center.

Due to its skinny chassis, there’s no place to store the S Pen in the tablet when it’s not being used

Due to its skinny chassis, there’s no place to store the S Pen in the tablet when it’s not being used. That’s due to the thicker size of the S Pen itself, which gives it a more substantial feel when it’s held, but there’s not even a magnetic connection of some kind that could allow it to attach around the sides of the tablet. Honestly, we would’ve been happy with a skinnier S Pen, much like what was found with the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 back in 2014 – where you can tuck the S Pen safely away.

Speaking of the S Pen, we’re happy to see that it’s included with the purchase. In standard practice, this S Pen has been improved with even more pressure sensitivity, making it perfect for graphics artists and such, but there’s no palm rejection feature here. The features of the S Pen are familiar ones we’ve seen before, like screen off memo, screen write, smart select, translate, and much more. The tablet does come preloaded with some apps that leverage the S Pen, like Samsung Note, which has a sketching option that showcases the S Pen’s pressure sensitivity.

The S Pen’s integration isn’t a new concept, it’s something that has been done time-after-time, with most recently seeing it with Samsung’s new Chromebooks. Plus, competing tablets have also done the same, making the stylus a commonplace occurrence with tablets. While the S Pen definitely has its conveniences, like being given that paper-pen experience, it still begs the question of whether or not it adds any meaningful value to a broader range of users.

Finally, if you opt to pick up the optional Pogo keyboard, it doubles as a protective folio case that props the Tab S3 in landscape. While the spacing is a bit cramped, it does require some practice before you’re able to speed type comfortably – and without much pause along the way, too. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t require a power source because it draws juice from the tablet itself through the pin connectors. However, the magnetic connection that props the tablet only offers a single angle to view the tablet.

Battery

Samsung has increased the battery capacity to a 6,000 mAh cell, up from its predecessor capacity of 5,870 mAh. That’s a very miniscule upgrade, which results in barely any difference with its battery life performance on a real-world basis. It’s average to say the least, which means that it’s something that would benefit from nightly charges.

Battery life on the Tab S3 is average, to say the least

In our benchmark testing, it topped out at 6 hours and 41 minutes with web surfing – while video watching lasted a minute more at 6 hours and 42 minutes. That’s really nothing worth bragging about, since they’re very average in comparison to other devices we’ve tested. However, it’s at least speedy enough with its recharging via its fast charging technology, taking only a mere 168 minutes to fully charge. That’s impressive given the capacity we’re dealing with, as most smartphones can take nearly the same time to accomplish.

Software

With the Tab S3 running Samsung’s custom skin on top of Android 7.0 Nougat, many of the previous TouchWiz features have gone away, being baked-in with Nougat already. Sure, the interface sports a cleaner look than before, but you can still see some of the remnants of TouchWiz. Whoever thought of having a piano tune play whenever a notification pops up probably forgot about the annoyances of those bursting bubble sounds in TouchWiz’s past.

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Android 7.0 Nougat review: an Android version for Android fans

October 21, 2016

Productivity has always been a strong focus with the series, but now that Android adopted many of the features users craved with TouchWiz’s experience in the past, namely the true multi-tasking aspect, it’s no longer something we can vouch is exclusive to the tablet. Regardless, though, it’s nice being able to have two apps running side-by-side to one another, rather than being forced to flip between the two with the Recent Apps menu.

Out of the box, Samsung also preloads many of the staple Microsoft Office apps to give us even more diversity when it comes to the productivity aspect. That’s a nice gesture, of course, but nowadays nearly every tablet released has access to the same level of productivity.

Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones will be able to continue having access to certain things on their phones while using the Tab S3, thanks in part to Samsung Flow, which allows us to share files wirelessly with the phone – and even respond to message and view notifications. We actually prefer using the old SideSync app, which essentially virtualizes the phone in all of its glory on the tablet. You basically have a window that displays the contents of the phone, so you can do things like send text messages, receive phone calls, and much more!

There still aren’t enough tablet-optimized apps on Android yet

The biggest flaw with the software in our opinion, which is a big deal breaker when you think about it, is how the platform lacks optimized apps meant to be used on tablets. We’re not even talking about third party apps here, just because some of the native apps still don’t support landscape orientation – so it’s an annoyance that forces us to place it in portrait.

Going back to third party apps, this is the disparity that allows the iPad Pro to expose Android’s weakness. There are a handful of popular apps that still don’t properly adjust dynamically in landscape, like Instagram for example. Due to this lack of tablet optimized apps, it really doesn’t help out the tablet’s cause – making it feel like we’re dealing with a very huge phone, as opposed to a tablet. And when you consider that some Chromebooks now offer support for Android apps, it lessens the value of owning an Android tablet nowadays.

Camera

As for the cameras on the Galaxy Tab S3, there’s a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing one. Unlike Samsung’s phones, there’s no quick access feature to the camera app, so double pressing on the home button doesn’t do anything. Looking into the interface, it’s nothing out the ordinary, as swiping right access some of its shooting modes – while swiping left gives us several filters to use.

The quality is pretty typical of tablets, nothing worth writing home about. The rear camera, in particular, suffices enough when the situation is ideal, but even then, details can still be spotty at times – with colors appearing a bit subdued. Under low light, the quality degrades further with splotchy looking visuals that don’t try to hide the noise that’s evident in the shots.

Video recording tops out at Full HD 1080p recording, with an option for video stabilization. Again, there’s nothing that wows us with its quality, but it’s nonetheless there for convenience, which pretty much sums up its usefulness.

Specifications

Display	9.7-inch AMOLED 2048 x 1536 resolution 264ppi
Processor	Snapdragon 820 quad-core
RAM	4 GB
Storage	32 GB
MicroSD	Yes, up to 256 GB
Camera	Rear: 13 MP AF with f/1.9 aperture Front: 5MP with f/2.2 aperture
Battery	6,000 mAh Non-removable
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth 4.2 LTE Cat6 (300 Mbps) USB 3.1 USB Type-C
Software	Android 7.0 Nougat
Dimensions and weight	237.3 x 169.0 x 6.0 mm Wi-Fi: 429 g LTE: 434 g

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Galaxy Tab S3 marks a crossroad for Samsung, since the tablet landscape has shifted significantly over the last few years. When you also look at what it has to compete against nowadays, it can potentially be overlooked – due to the kind of value it brings to the table with its cost. Apple’s iPad Pro is still widely regarded as the king in the tablet market, but Samsung manages to undercut its rival with the Tab S3’s starting price of $600 with 32 GB of internal storage, which of course can be supplemented with a microSD card. And that price includes the S Pen! Whereas with the iPad Pro, it’s an additional $100 for the Apple Pencil. So when it comes to price, Samsung definitely has the advantage.

Compared to the iPad Pro, Samsung definitely has the advantage when it comes to price

Besides the iPad Pro, the Tab S3 also has to worry about the numerous sub-$500 Android tablets that on the surface offers the same superficial functions as any other Android tablet. Sure, the specs look really nice with the Tab S3, which is arguably a differentiator that makes it appeal more for those who are into productivity and gaming, but it’s really tough to totally disregard these inexpensive Android tablets – moreso when the core experience is no different.

And then there are other things like Windows 10 tablets and Chromebooks. With the latter, many of them come in at a lower price, including Samsung’s own recent offerings. Additionally, many Chromebooks can download Android apps via the Google Play Store – so it’s no longer something exclusive to Android tablets. Spending more money on the other hand, you can get a full blown Windows 10 tablet, which would offer more versatility in terms of productivity.

Until Android gets a proper treatment and focus on tablet-optimized apps, the Tab S3 is going to remain as a media consuming tablet first and foremost. You can enhance the Tab S3’s arsenal by purchasing the $129.99 Pogo keyboard, but at a total cost of $730, it still teeters near premium Windows 10 tablets territory. Portability is an absolute asset to the Tab S3, but it’s going to be tough convincing consumers to choose it over other options until it can be used 100% as a tablet, with real tablet optimized apps.

What are your thoughts on the Tab S3? Are you thinking of picking one up? Be sure to tell us what you think in the comments below!

Print your favorite Instagrams wirelessly with Epson’s latest budget printer

Why it matters to you

Opting for a budget printer doesn’t mean sacrificing convenience features with Epson’s latest wireless all-in-one.

True all-in-one printers should be able to handle anything from term papers to Instagram photos — and that’s what Epson is doing with its latest $99 printer, the Expression Home XP-440, announced on March 21.

Earning that all-in-one name, the XP-440 prints, scans, and copies, but its photo printing capabilities and the Epson app also allow users to print smartphone photos instantly, including images from favorite social networks. The Epson Connect app, compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, also allows users to create a number of printable projects, from photo collages to conversions into coloring pages or calendars. Scans can also be automatically shared to Facebook or saved in cloud storage.

More: The Epson 12000XL does more with less with faster speed and energy-freindly LEDs

An SD card slot allows another computer-free photo printing option for borderless photos, made easier by a high-resolution 2.7-inch LCD screen.

Designed for students and families, the printer has a 100-sheet capacity and a space-saving design. Built-in Wi-Fi Direct makes it possible to print even when not in range of a Wi-Fi network. The printer uses Epson’s DuraBrite Ultra Ink, a quick-drying, smudge and water-resistant ink.

“The sleek and compact Expression Home XP-440 provides all the essential tools for today’s busy students and families to create, print, and share with ease,” Monika Dees, senior product marketing manager for Consumer Ink Jets, Epson America, Inc., said in a press release. “Beyond easy printing, copying, and scanning, compatibility with Epson Creative Print offers a new dimension of creativity for creating and printing photo collages and more directly from smartphones and tablets.”

As a budget printer, the XP-440 can print in resolutions up to 5,760 x 1,440, with paper sizes up to traditional letter, easily sufficient for smartphone snapshots and basic home prints. The Epson Expression Home XP-440 is selling for an enticing $99 directly from the manufacturer or through a number of retailers.

Google News adds 200 articles in new ‘More Headlines’ section

Why it matters to you

If you find yourself without enough news to browse through on the Google News and Weather App, there should now be 200 more stories to read.

The Google News and Weather application for Android and iOS platforms now has 200 extra headlines to scroll through, offering users far more content in an easy-to-access manner. Located in a new “More Headlines,” section, the additional stories can be found at the base of the app’s home section.

Americans have been consuming their news online more than anywhere else for almost half a decade now and as Google looks to maintain its advertising dominance online, it’s looking to funnel its users to more of its own curated content. Traditionally its News and Weather app showed the top three stories from various sections, but now there’s much more that’s just a scroll away.

“We find that many people regularly hit the bottom of our Home page looking for more to read,” said Google product manager, Anand Paka in a blog post (via Venturebeat).

More: Google News will start marking topics with fact checking tag

The “browsable stream,” will contain more stories from various categories, though not necessarily just the biggest stories. They’ll come from Tech, Entertainment, Sports and Business, among others, with the most hard-hitting and popular stories ranked near the top of the list.

With more publishers using the Google-driven Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) standard, we’re told that the stories should load faster than ever and Google will continue to offer alternative sources and citations for different stories and topics.

Google is also making a point of maintaining its fact-checking tag, so you know whether a story has been confirmed by multiple sources.

Although this new feature is likely to be welcomed by Android and iOS users alike, Google has far more competition on the latter operating system. On Android, it’s been said that more than 100 million people regularly read through content on the app.

Do you like the idea of having a couple of hundred extra stories to scroll through?

Vaio’s new Phone A is a midrange handset bound for Japan

Why it matters to you

Vaio, the hardware company Sony spun off in 2014, is releasing a midrange Android phone for the Japanese market.

Sony’s Vaio line of laptops were some of the most impressive on the market. They were the first to use switchable graphics, meaning they could swap between a power-efficient, motherboard-bound integrated GPU and a discrete Nvidia graphics card at the press of a button. And they were the first to incorporate a Blu-ray disc burner. But times change, and as the PC market became increasingly competitive, Sony spun off its PC business as an independent company in 2014. Now, that company’s making smartphones.

On Wednesday, Vaio announced the Phone A, a midrange Android-powered phone. The name is not exactly attention-grabbing, and neither is the hardware — the Phone A features an aluminum unibody and a single rear-firing speaker, a 5.5-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) LCD screen, 13 MP rear camera, and dual SIM slots. Under the hood is an old-in-the-tooth Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor paired with 3GB of RAM, and a measly 16 GB of storage. And the handset’s powered by a smallish 2,800mAh battery.

More: Sony Xperia X series 2017 rumors and news

Otherwise, the Phone A boasts the usual accouterments. There’s a MicroSD card slot on board, and a 4G LTE radio that supports speeds up to 225 Mbps. If you happen to have service on one of the Japanese carriers with voice over LTE (VoLTE), it will tap into that, too.

Vaio has yet to announce pricing, but it’ll likely be in line with the Phone Biz — about $535.

The Phone A isn’t Vaio’s first phone, interestingly — the Sony spin-off launched the Phone Biz, a Windows Phone, in Japan last year. And Vaio also finds itself in the awkward position of competing with the Android-powered phones from its former parent company. Earlier this year, Sony announced the Xperia X and Xperia XA, two budget devices aimed at developing markets.

So far, though, the Phone A doesn’t seem likely to pose a threat. Sony’s smartphones are exceptionally popular in Japan, accounting for 12 percent of the mobile market (putting Sony in 2nd place behind Apple’s 47 percent). And Vaio isn’t mounting much of a marketing effort. As The Verge points out, Vaio hasn’t bothered to change the Phone A’s UI from Windows Phone in promotional shots.

More: Sony’s Xperia touch projector lets you interact with any surface

That’s good news for Sony’s embattled mobile division. Last year, the Japanese company posted a meager $4 million profit on sales of 3.1 million smartphones over a three-month period, down drastically from the previous mark of $7.2 million. It expects upcoming products — in particular the HDR-equipped, 4K Xperia XZ — to turn those figures around, but not until later this year, as most of the company’s new models are slated to launch in spring.

AI learns when people are using hate speech, even when they use code words

Why it matters to you

Racist trolls frequently use code words as slurs to get around keyword filters. This smart algorithm is designed to work out what they’re saying.

Anyone who has ever had a safe-for-work website blocked as not safe for work (NSFW) by their work internet filter (or has experienced the potentially embarrassing opposite) knows that programs designed to block out certain pieces of content can often run into problems.

One reason for this is that keyword searches can prove to be overly blunt tools for dealing with something as nuanced, complex, and constantly evolving as language.

This is particularly true when trying to find hateful keywords on social media. For example, last year Alphabet released an algorithm designed to filter out racist words online, only for trolls to start substituting the name of Google products for racial slurs. For a while, it totally outsmarted the software.

A new algorithm, developed by researchers at the University of Rochester, thinks it’s cracked the problem, however. Analyzing Twitter feeds, it can distinguish between phrases like “gas the Skypes” (a substitute for “Jews”) and “I hate Skype” (which hopefully just means Skype) with an impressive 80-percent accuracy.

More: New Yahoo algorithm can spot online abuse in context, not just content

“We have developed an intelligent data analytics algorithm to track the constantly evolving hate codes which are designed to evade detection,” Professor Jiebo Luo, co-author of the paper, told Digital Trends. “We start with a set of known hate codes, retrieve hate messages containing these codes, [and] build a language model using machine learning techniques to recognize hate messages. On the basis of that, we do two things: [firstly], using the language model to detect ongoing hate messages that may contain new hate codes, and [secondly] using detected hate messages to identify hate spreaders whose new messages are used to discover new hate codes.”

The smart insight is working out which words correlate with others, thereby discovering when a stand-in word is being used for something else by adding context. Sure, these can be changed as well, but there’s only so many words a troll can change before rendering their original statement totally unintelligible.

In all, it’s a very smart use of machine learning. Yes, the boundaries about what it’s OK to say online are still being drawn — and are best worked out by private individuals and companies, not algorithms. But when it comes to stopping people from being confronted with hateful rhetoric online, tools like this go way beyond simple keyword searches.

Next up for the project? “We hope to get more data to make our model more robust and accurate,” Luo continued. “Ultimately, we hope the leading social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and so on can adopt our technology, which is described in this paper, and likely will be further developed for higher accuracy to clean up social media. It is our ongoing effort to use data science for social good.”

AI learns when people are using hate speech, even when they use code words

Why it matters to you

Racist trolls frequently use code words as slurs to get around keyword filters. This smart algorithm is designed to work out what they’re saying.

Anyone who has ever had a safe-for-work website blocked as not safe for work (NSFW) by their work internet filter (or has experienced the potentially embarrassing opposite) knows that programs designed to block out certain pieces of content can often run into problems.

One reason for this is that keyword searches can prove to be overly blunt tools for dealing with something as nuanced, complex, and constantly evolving as language.

This is particularly true when trying to find hateful keywords on social media. For example, last year Alphabet released an algorithm designed to filter out racist words online, only for trolls to start substituting the name of Google products for racial slurs. For a while, it totally outsmarted the software.

A new algorithm, developed by researchers at the University of Rochester, thinks it’s cracked the problem, however. Analyzing Twitter feeds, it can distinguish between phrases like “gas the Skypes” (a substitute for “Jews”) and “I hate Skype” (which hopefully just means Skype) with an impressive 80-percent accuracy.

More: New Yahoo algorithm can spot online abuse in context, not just content

“We have developed an intelligent data analytics algorithm to track the constantly evolving hate codes which are designed to evade detection,” Professor Jiebo Luo, co-author of the paper, told Digital Trends. “We start with a set of known hate codes, retrieve hate messages containing these codes, [and] build a language model using machine learning techniques to recognize hate messages. On the basis of that, we do two things: [firstly], using the language model to detect ongoing hate messages that may contain new hate codes, and [secondly] using detected hate messages to identify hate spreaders whose new messages are used to discover new hate codes.”

The smart insight is working out which words correlate with others, thereby discovering when a stand-in word is being used for something else by adding context. Sure, these can be changed as well, but there’s only so many words a troll can change before rendering their original statement totally unintelligible.

In all, it’s a very smart use of machine learning. Yes, the boundaries about what it’s OK to say online are still being drawn — and are best worked out by private individuals and companies, not algorithms. But when it comes to stopping people from being confronted with hateful rhetoric online, tools like this go way beyond simple keyword searches.

Next up for the project? “We hope to get more data to make our model more robust and accurate,” Luo continued. “Ultimately, we hope the leading social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and so on can adopt our technology, which is described in this paper, and likely will be further developed for higher accuracy to clean up social media. It is our ongoing effort to use data science for social good.”