Alphabet is helping The New York Times improve its comments section

Why it matters to you

Online comment sections are often thought of as a breeding ground for trolls, but Alphabet’s automated moderation techniques could change all that.

The New York Times recently announced plans to retire its public editor position, on the basis that comments submitted by readers served a similar purpose. Now, the publication has detailed how a partnership with Alphabet will help ease the transition to an automated comment moderation system dubbed Moderator.

A team of 14 human moderators were responsible for approving an average of 12,000 reader comments every day up until recently, according to a report from The Verge. However, Moderator currently approves around 20 percent of comments, and is set to take on a greater role over the coming months.

In February 2017, Google announced a technology called Perspective, developed by Alphabet subsidiary Jigsaw. Perspective uses machine learning to determine which comments are acceptable, and which are “toxic” and don’t contribute anything to the overarching discussion.

Moderator is similar to Perspective in that it analyzes comments by comparing them to examples that have previously been flagged by human moderators. This creates a percentage score, with a higher number indicating that the comment is more likely to be deemed inappropriate — some comments will be published to the site automatically, while flagged comments will be looked at by a human moderator.

The New York Times expects this implementation of automated moderation to allow for more open comment sections on its website, without any detriment to the quality of discussion. From today, all of the publication’s articles that are deemed to be “top stories” will offer a comments section during business hours.

Of course, there are still some big questions to be asked about how effective Moderator will be in practice, especially when it comes to the ever-evolving world of online discourse. As new insults and derisive nicknames rear their heads, particularly those that refer to public figures covered by the site’s reporting, the tool will need to kept abreast of what’s appropriate and what isn’t — and that process will likely require a human touch.

Alphabet is helping The New York Times improve its comments section

Why it matters to you

Online comment sections are often thought of as a breeding ground for trolls, but Alphabet’s automated moderation techniques could change all that.

The New York Times recently announced plans to retire its public editor position, on the basis that comments submitted by readers served a similar purpose. Now, the publication has detailed how a partnership with Alphabet will help ease the transition to an automated comment moderation system dubbed Moderator.

A team of 14 human moderators were responsible for approving an average of 12,000 reader comments every day up until recently, according to a report from The Verge. However, Moderator currently approves around 20 percent of comments, and is set to take on a greater role over the coming months.

In February 2017, Google announced a technology called Perspective, developed by Alphabet subsidiary Jigsaw. Perspective uses machine learning to determine which comments are acceptable, and which are “toxic” and don’t contribute anything to the overarching discussion.

Moderator is similar to Perspective in that it analyzes comments by comparing them to examples that have previously been flagged by human moderators. This creates a percentage score, with a higher number indicating that the comment is more likely to be deemed inappropriate — some comments will be published to the site automatically, while flagged comments will be looked at by a human moderator.

The New York Times expects this implementation of automated moderation to allow for more open comment sections on its website, without any detriment to the quality of discussion. From today, all of the publication’s articles that are deemed to be “top stories” will offer a comments section during business hours.

Of course, there are still some big questions to be asked about how effective Moderator will be in practice, especially when it comes to the ever-evolving world of online discourse. As new insults and derisive nicknames rear their heads, particularly those that refer to public figures covered by the site’s reporting, the tool will need to kept abreast of what’s appropriate and what isn’t — and that process will likely require a human touch.

Google News taken over by spam listings for pills and dating sites

Why it matters to you

Proving that even the largest tech companies aren’t infallible, Google News had a big dose of spam injected into its search results this morning.

If you thought your Google News results looked a little odd Monday morning, you weren’t wrong, nor were you alone. As initially reported by Search Engine Land, Google News was taken over with hacked content for both pharmaceutical and dating site spam in the early morning hours of June 12. Proving that even the largest of our tech giants aren’t infallible, this rather large-scale mistake initially appeared on the main Google News page, and was then relegated to just the Health section.

For those who didn’t see the spam injection, search results were essentially replaced with various ads seeking to peddle Viagra and other drugs, as well as online dating sites. While Google News generally exclusively lists the most recent articles from their vetted catalog of news sources, it seems as though only the headlines of these news pieces were replaced, not the sources themselves. Thumbnail images, headlines, and article previews were all edited to look like spam, but the media channels themselves appeared legitimate.

Search Engine Land was ultimately informed that “the issue was on the publisher side,” and the article listings have been amended.

So what happened?

It would appear that some news outlets were hacked over the weekend, with malicious links redirecting from their websites. As Palate Press (an Indiana-based online wine publication) told IBTimes U.K., “We are not sure how the hackers got in, but it took two days to clear out the thousands upon thousands of malicious files. Once that was done we had to ask Google and Bing to recrawl the site to flush out the bad links.” And Google noted that no “human editors [are] selecting stories or deciding which ones deserve top placement,” and that news listings are instead determined by freshness of content, diversity of content, and originality of content.

We’ve reached out to Google for further information, and will let you know as we learn more.

Google updates Local Guides with more perks and payouts for avid explorers

Why it matters to you

If you find yourself traveling or frequently relying on Google Maps, you can now earn better rewards for your discoveries as a guide.

Google is making some changes to its Local Guides system in Maps to encourage users to add to the service. Through Local Guides, users can accrue points and level up through contributions like reviews and photos of locations.

One of the more notable updates is that Google has added another five levels to the system. Previously, users would hit level five and pretty much stay capped there, but now guides can take it all the way up to 10. These higher levels will require exponentially more points to clear than the lower ones, which brings us to another change Google is making here: New rewards.

Google previously sought to incentivize guides with “early access” to new features and special perks from partners, but the latest additions to the reward system will deliver even better benefits to the most avid explorers. Reaching level four before the end of August will earn you 75 percent off movie rentals from Google Play and three months of free access to Play Music.

Google

The way you earn those points is changing a bit, too. Being one of the first to contribute to a location will result in higher payouts — which will come in handy, seeing as how completing level ten will require a whopping 100,000 points. For reference, level five takes only 500 points to get through.

There’s also been a reclassification of the earnings for each type of contribution, like ratings versus reviews, answers, or photos. Under the new system, adding a place will earn you 15 points — the most of any single activity. A rating and review provides the second highest payout, at six points.

The new system will retroactively apply to contributions you’ve already made in the past, which means you could see your point total rise significantly post update. And if you’ve been a guide for a while, you may even rise a couple levels.

If you’re interested in becoming a guide, you can check out Google’s dedicated website to learn more and sign up. Google says the update is in the process of rolling out around the world, so it may be a while before it hits your account.

You can now apply for a job at McDonald’s via a ‘Snaplication’ in the U.S.

Why it matters to you

Brands have been turning increasingly to social media to reach their younger customer base, and now McDonald’s is using social media to hire, too.

Update: Snapchat has officially launched “Snaplications” in the U.S., and McDonald’s is using it to hire more than 200,000 workers this summer through the app.

In what can only be described as a sign of the times, McDonald’s in the U.S. is now using Snapchat as part of its job application. The fast-food chain plans on hiring 250,000 workers this summer in partnership with the app, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The feature first launched in Australia back in April — the global fast-food purveyor has its own Snapchat filter that allows prospective employees to virtually don a uniform and submit a 10-second video application. Known as “Snaplications” (really, you can’t make this stuff up), McDonald’s has taken to social media to gain new employees. But don’t worry — you won’t be hired based on your Snaplication alone. Once you pass that first test, McDonald’s will send you to the actual online careers hub, where you can fill out a more traditional application.

“I’ve learnt a lot about Snapchat recently from my 14-year-old daughter,” said Shaun Ruming, chief operating officer of McDonald’s Australia, in an interview with news.com.au. “Snaplications is basically a Snapchat ‘lens’ that gives users the ability to apply for a job — or at least commence that process — by sending a 10-second snap. We’re the largest employer of youth in the country, so we’re trying to look for new and innovative ways to recruit crew people.”

Most of McDonald’s employees consist of teenagers and young adults, which matches a majority of Snapchat’s user base, so it makes sense to target this specific platform when trying to recruit new workers. Given that much of working in the fast food industry is all about people skills, Ruming believes that Snapchat could be a good filter in finding suitable applicants.

“We’re looking for that positivity, bubbly personality, someone we think would be good in a customer service role,” he said. “Based on what my daughter sends to her friends, you do get a bit of a glimpse [from a 10-second video].”

So get ready, friends. With it now being available in the U.S., you could soon be applying to other jobs via social media. And we’ve only ourselves to blame (or thank).

LG Pixel XL 2017? Here’s what it could mean

Clues on Google issue tracker point to LG-made, Google-branded device being in the works.

The codename “Taimen” has cropped up a few times over the past few months, apparently in reference to a new big-screened Google device — presumably carrying the premium Pixel branding. Droid-Life first reported the name back in March, with claims it was a “separate project” within Google. The company uses various species of aquatic life as codenames for its phones and tablets, so Taimen, one of the largest salmonids in the world, fits the bill for something with a larger display.

Geekbench results point to a Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM, but not much else is known for a fact — including whether Taimen is a phone or a tablet. The few scattered references to Taimen in AOSP (Android Open-Source Project) commits don’t do much beyond confirming Taimen’s existence as a Google Android product with Snapdragon 835.

With recent rumors suggesting the larger of the two HTC-built Pixels has been canceled, speculation around Taimen has ramped up. It’s unlikely Google would release just a single small Pixel phone, so common sense would suggest that Taimen will take the place of Muskie, the canceled second-gen HTC Pixel XL, as the this year’s plus-sized Pixel. (For what it’s worth, GFXBench results suggest a 5.6-inch 2:1 display for the smaller 2017 Pixel, so expect something north of that for Taimen.)

The 2017 Pixel XL’s namesake — Credit: Ojensen, Wikimedia Commons.

About as close as you’re going to get to a smoking gun, identifying LG as Taimen’s manufacturer.

Anyway, back to the LG connection. For that, we have the eagle-eyed folks at 9to5Google to thank. They spotted a bug report (apparently erroneously) posted to the public Android issue tracker by an LG employee; a reply to the issue report by a Googler asks that it be re-filed under “Android > Partner > External > LGE > Taimen > power.”

That’s about as close as you’re going to get to a smoking gun, identifying LG as Taimen’s manufacturer.

If true, the move could help buoy LG’s mobile division as it pushes back towards protifability — a few million Pixel phones sold won’t move the needle significantly for LG, but it certainly won’t hurt. It’ll also reinforce the longstanding hardware partnership between LG and Google, as Taimen would emerge as the fourth Google-branded LG phone. Unlike the Nexus 4, 5 and 5X, the upcoming Pixel device probably won’t bear any LG branding.

LG Display — a separate company in which LG Electronics is the largest stakeholder — is also reported to be producing curved OLED panels for at least one of the 2017 Pixels, with Google being prepared to offer an investment of at least $880 million to sweeten the deal.

At the very least, we’d expect an LG-made Pixel to source its OLED screens from LG Display. In the context of a possible Google investment, and the continuing global OLED shortage, the use of an LG panel in both would make a lot of sense.

Don’t expect the two 2017 Pixel phones to look exactly alike.

As for HTC, the probable cancellation of Muskie in favor of the LG-made Taimen isn’t great news. AC understands that the HTC/Pixel deal was intended to run for multiple years, and may still do. Either way, the Taiwanese company surely isn’t thrilled to have to share more of the limelight — and more importantly, profits — with LG.

For consumers, what this means is you’re likely to get a 5.6-inch 2017 Pixel made by HTC, with 2:1 (-ish) aspect-ratio display — and a significantly larger Pixel made by LG. It’d make sense for the two to share the same aspect ratio and specs — and thus far the leaks point to both devices sharing a Snapdragon 835 platform and 4GB of RAM. But given that we’re dealing with two different ODMs (original device manufacturers) this year, we should be prepared for some external hardware differences. Don’t expect Taimen and Walleye, the smaller 2017 Pixel, to look exactly alike, even though Google might do everything it can to emphasize common design characteristics.

Made in Korea vs. Made in Taiwan.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the use of two different manufacturers helps or hinders Google’s ability to get Pixels on store shelves this year. The company has notoriously struggled to meet demand for the current Pixel and Pixel XL over the past eight months, and the new Google hardware division is surely hard at work looking to avoid any such issues with its second round of phones.

Android O

• Everything new in Android O
• Should you put Android O on your phone?
• How to get the Android O Beta on your Pixel or Nexus
• Join the Discussion

Cheap Cloud Storage — which one saves you the most?

Cloud storage is something ever more useful and ever more popular, but there’s also a ton to choose from.

Updated June 2017: Added current plans and pricing for the various online storage providers.

Fortunately, most also have free trials, and any storage provider worth its salt is going to give you a few gigabytes of space for free anyway to try to get you to stick around.

Let’s take a look at a few of the major cloud storage providers and see how pricing stacks up. We’ll leave it up to you to pick your favorite, but this should give a good idea of what you’ll pay, as of today.

It’s worth noting, of course, that most cloud storage providers also give the opportunity to earn free space, either by spamming your friends with referral requests or as part of a promotion with another company. Dropbox is a great example and you can get plenty of free space through various activities, including getting your buddies to sign up.

It’s very much possible still to get enough cloud storage to suit your needs without spending a penny. So long as your needs are within certain boundaries.

Also, there are usually corporate pricing options, which may get you a buttload of space at your boss’ expense, so it’s worth asking about that, too. And services like Box have options for multiple users.

What follows here, however, is a breakdown of what it costs across each of the big players to get yourself a personal account.

Google Drive

Your Google Drive storage is actually split across three different Google products so it’s important to take that into consideration. Gmail, Photos, and Drive stored files all go towards whatever your limit may be. But, if you’re a user of Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, anything you create in these apps won’t count towards your limit.

Part of the strength of Google Drive is that it doesn’t promise “unlimited” storage, instead offering some massive tiers to satisfy the hardest of users. However high you go, the price per TB remains the same.

• 15 GB – Free
• 100 GB – $1.99/month
• 1 TB – $9.99/month
• 10 TB – $99.99/month
• 20 TB – $199.99/month
• 30 TB – $299.99/month

• Find out more on Google Drive pricing and sign up for an account
• Download Google Drive for Android

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the staples of the cloud storage game and a name that most will be familiar with. Sadly it has one of the poorest free tiers you’ll find anywhere, but you can bump that without charge by referring other people to sign up. One of the added bonuses to Dropbox is that many apps hook into it, meaning it’s more than just your files that can live there. But be prepared for the fact you’ll probably have to pay to get the most from it. But at 1TB for $9.99 it’s no more expensive than Google Drive and you’re getting decent value from it.

• 2GB – Free
• 1TB – $9.99/month

• Find out more on Dropbox pricing and sign up for an account
• Download Dropbox for Android

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft may have recently slashed its OneDrive plans to ribbons but it still offers a compelling product at a decent price. In paying for 1TB you also get an Office 365 personal subscription. This allows you one install of Microsoft Office on a Mac or PC, use on a tablet or phone and some bundled Skype minutes. Not everyone will want or need this, but it does offer something the competition does not. And at a very reasonable price.

While Microsoft eventually did a U-turn and gave its existing customers chance to retain their free 15GB allowance, the details below reflect the current state of affairs for new customers.

• 5GB – Free
• 50GB – $1.99/month
• 1TB – $6.99/month (Office 365 personal, includes Office apps for one computer)
• 5TB – $9.99/month (Office 365 home, includes Office apps for five computers)

• Find out more on OneDrive pricing and sign up for an account
• Download OneDrive for Android

Box

Box is probably more of a business tool than something you’ll entrust your personal cloud files to, but it does offer a reasonable free tier along with mobile apps available across platforms. But when you start paying the value for money goes down substantially. 10 bucks a month for 100GB just isn’t good enough.

• 10GB – Free
• 100GB – $10/month

• Find out more on Box pricing and sign up for an account
• Download Box for Android

Amazon Cloud Drive

Amazon has changed from a simple “everything” plan to a long list of tiered packages that cover just about anyone’s needs. Amazon Prime members get unlimited space for photos and 5GB of space for other files for free and pricing scales up from there.

• 100GB – $11.99/year
• 1TB – $59.99/year
• 2TB – $119.98/year
• 3TB – $179.97/year
• 4TB – $239.96/year
• 5TB – $299.95/year
• 6TB – $359.94/year
• 7TB – $419.93/year
• 8TB – $479.92/year
• 9TB – $539.91/year
• 10TB – $599.90/year
• 20TB – $1,199.80/year
• 30TB – $1,799.70/year

• Find out more on Amazon Cloud Drive pricing and sign up for an account
• Download Amazon Cloud Drive for Android

Mega

If ever there was a red headed step child of the cloud storage world, Mega would be it. What it promises is ultimate security with end-to-end encryption for your files and a whopping 50GB of free space to fill up when you set up an account.

It also offers a range of “Pro” paid up accounts with varying levels of storage and bandwidth allowances. But when it comes to free storage, nothing else comes close in terms of quantity.

• 50GB – Free
• 200GB – €4.99/month
• 500GB – €9.99/month
• 2TB – €19.99/month
• 4TB – €29.99/month

• Find out more on Mega pricing and sign up for an account
• Download Mega for Android

The bottom line

There’s more to consider than just pricing. But, how much you get for how little is probably the first thing you’re going to consider. And this should at least help you down that road.

So, what would we recommend? If you’re looking at spending absolutely no money then you get more than most for that none-outlay with Google Drive right out of the gate. Google Drive doesn’t offer a referral program though, so there’s no set way to earn more free storage. Promotions aren’t uncommon though, but you have to be eligible. You also can’t ignore Mega. It won’t suit everyone, but if you want the most you can get for absolutely nothing, it’s currently untouchable.

When it comes to paying up for more, Microsoft is still offering the best all round value proposition. 1TB for $6.99 a month is as cheap as you can get from these choices. But throw in the Microsoft Office apps as well and you’ve got a superb package. Aside from that, Box is really the only one we can’t recommend. The price per GB isn’t competitive enough.

This $7 car charger will look like it is built into your car

Our friends at Thrifter are back again with another great deal, this time saving you big on a 2-port car charger!

Update: This popular deal is back again with a new coupon code. Be sure to use code AUKEYCCS at checkout for the savings!

Right now you can pick up Aukey’s 2-port USB car charger for just $6.99 with coupon code AUKEYCCS. This car charger, unlike many others, sits pretty flush with most of the cigarette adapters, so you won’t really even notice that it is there. Being relatively flush, there is less of a chance that you’ll knock it out or bang it around by accident while moving in your car, and being able to charge two devices at the same time is a great feature.

Remember, you need coupon code AUKEYCCS to get the discount here. Odds are it won’t last long at this price, so be sure to act quickly if you want one!

See at Amazon

For more great deals on tech, gadgets, home goods and more, be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Star Trek: Bridge Crew — Saving the most people on the Kobiyashi Maru

The first thing a lot of people ask other Star Trek: Bridge Crew players when talking for the first time is how many people they’ve rescued from the Kobiyashi Maru. True to its name, this test is more about how effective you can be before this infamous ship is destroyed and not whether you were 100% successful in your mission.

Instead of aiming for a total success, Ubisoft has an achievement for rescuing 120 people from this ship. It’s not an easy thing to do, but here are some tips to help ensure success.

Read more at VRHeads.com

Best Drones for Under $50 to Earn Your Wings

Earn your drone pilot wings by starting small and mastering the basics.

Sure, we all want to get our hands on the latest and greatest drones. Those commercials always make them so easy to use, and that’s true to an extent… until things go sideways and your drone takes off into the sunset (sorry, Mr. Mobile!).

The fact is, accidents happen — especially when you’re relatively new to drones. If you’ve never flown a drone before, you need to spend some good time just understanding how to keep a drone in the air, make minute mid-air adjustments, and “become one with the drone” before moving on to bigger and better drones. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of good training drones available for under $50!

Here are your best bets for snagging a fun drone to practice on. They’re ideal for anyone interested in owning their first drone and learning how to fly for aerial videography, drone racing, or simply picking up a new hobby. Note that these drones are all recommended for ages 14 and up.

• AUKEY Mini Drone
• EACHINE E10 Mini Quadcopter
• Hubsan X4 Quadcopter
• Holy Stone HS170 Predator Quadcopter
• UFO 3000 LED Drone
• Cheerwing Syma Quadcopter w/ HD WiFi Camera

AUKEY Mini Drone

AUKEY has created a drone that’s truly pocket-size and designed with features included to make it perfect for first-time drone pilots.

For starters, it features one-button takeoff and landing, because most crashes from early drone flying occur just getting the thing into the air or back onto ground. Its size means you can take it out and practise it practically anywhere, with a controller that also lets you pull off tricks as your skills improve.

Best of all, you can get over 10 minutes of flight time per battery charge, which is pretty great. You’ll probably want to stock up on a ton of replacement blades, since they’ll be prone to getting damaged or lost when you crash.

See at Amazon

EACHINE E10 Mini Quadcopter

The EACHINE E10 Mini Quadcopter is a perfect first drone for someone interested in learning the basics of drone flight. This drone is a great option for kids, too, with a simple, kid-size controller and everything you’ll need to practise drone flying.

This drone has some impressive features, including one-button 360-degree rolls and a return home function built into the directional control stick. There’re also 4 LED lights on the underside of the drone, which help with visibility in low-light conditions.

Best of all is the price — at under $25 for the standard version and under $40 for the E10C with a 2.0MP camera, these are ideal little drones for novice pilots still learning the basics. They are super portable and quite durable, and if they stop working after an epic crash, it’s not the end of the world.

It’s worth noting that you’ll want to give the battery some time (at least 20 minutes) to cool down before recharging after a flight, otherwise you risk drastically shortening the lifespan of the battery and the drone.

See at Amazon

Hubsan X4 Quadcopter

The Hubsan X4 Quadcopter is a basic, palm-size drone that’s a great option for beginners and kids. It features all the standard features you’d expect, including a 6-axis gyro system to help with flight stability and LEDs to help you keep the drone properly orientated while in flight.

A fully charged battery will deliver about 5 minutes of flight time, so you’re probably going to want to invest in a set of spare batteries. If you buy the drone and the extra batteries, it’ll still come out to about $50, except you’ll get 5 times the flight time by swapping in fresh batteries.

See at Amazon

Holy Stone HS170 Predator Quadcopter

If you’re looking for a cheap and reliable drone to practise with that avoids FAA registration or Canada’s new drone laws, the Holy Stone Predator is a great option. It comes with its own controller that’s simple enough for beginners to pick up and fly and is capable of pulling off stunts and withstanding light winds for outdoor flights.

The real bonus here is the size — it’s small enough to allow for practice indoors if you’ve got the space, with blade guards built in for protection. A fully charged battery supplies 6 minutes of flight time; with replacement batteries really cheap and easy to swap in and out, this is a cheap drone with affordable accessories.

See at Amazon

UFO 3000 LED Drone

When you’re learning how to fly a drone, crashes will happen. The UFO 3000 LED Drone helps to mitigate that by keeping the blades fully protected. Any novice pilot can bump into walls and whatnot while they learn how to zip around on low and high speed modes, as well as perform flips with the simple press of a button.

Oh, and then there’s how cool this drone is, with its blue and green LEDs creating four brilliant rings of light — it’ll really look out-of-this-world when you fly it at night. Two batteries ship with this drone, with flight time averaging around 7 minutes on a full charge.

See at Amazon

Cheerwing Syma Quadcopter w/ HD Wi-Fi Camera

The Cheerwing Syma offers the best value if you’re after something a little more macho than a mini drone. Featuring a pretty archaic camera for photos and video (fun for practicing but nothing you’d want to put on a demo reel), this is one of the cheapest camera drones you’ll find.

This kit comes with everything you’ll need to get flying and is probably a better place to start for someone who aims to own a drone like the DJI Phantom and wants to start off learning how to control bigger drones. Flight time is still under 7 minutes, which is standard for drones in this price range. Despite the low-res camera, you are able to test out some FPV flying if you’re keen and have your own Google Cardboard headset.

Another benefit of this style of drone is the modular nature of the landing feet and blade guards. Once you’ve become confident with your piloting abilities, removing the guards will reduce the overall weight and allow for a decent boost of speed and maneuverability for practising enhanced maneuvers.

See at Amazon

What’s your favorite?

Got a favorite drone for under $50? Let us know in the comments below!