Tesla’s diversity panel uncovers more tales of Silicon Valley sexism

When former Tesla employee AJ Vandermeyden sued the company for ignoring complaints of discrimination and “pervasive harassment,” the self-driving vehicle maker downplayed her claims. Tesla told The Guardian at the time that it believes in “fostering an inclusive workplace” and that there is “more we can do to promote diversity.” The company also said that there would always be a “small number” of people who make these kinds of claims. It turns out, however, that more women have had similar experiences at Tesla, according to a new report in The Guardian.

On International Women’s Day, Tesla invited female staff to an essential oils “lunch and learn,” but then changed the meeting to one on diversity after employees expressed some criticism. The diversity panel included six male employees and one female, according to The Guardian‘s sources. When it came time for attendee comment, more than 20 women used the opportunity to share stories of sexual harassment, mistreatment and unfair promotion decisions. Vandermeyden was at the meeting, yet was fired shortly thereafter. “They just want to absolutely crush anyone who speaks up,” Vandermeyden told The Guardian. “I spoke up, and I was made a sacrificial lamb for it. It’s a scary precedent.”

Technology companies have been under fire lately for a string of high-profile sexual discrimination lawsuits lately, including Uber, Magic Leap, Konami and Tinder. Uber has since investigated the problem, firing more than 20 employees for harassment, while Magic Leap settled its own case. Tesla has since denied Vandermeyden’s claims, saying that they “have not been substantiated.” As more women in the company speak up, however, it will likely be harder for Tesla to maintain this stance. We’ve reached out to Tesla for an official response to this story and will update it as necessary.

Via: The Verge

Source: The Guardian

Snapchat warps reality with backdrops and mask-free voice filters

Snapchat users today have three more tools designed to make their lives look (and sound) magical — backdrops, a discrete voice-filter option, and paperclip, a way to add links to images and videos.

Backdrops allow Snapchatters to place images “behind” people or objects in photo messages. To add a background to a Snap, tap the scissors icon in the vertical toolkit and then select the new Backdrop icon (a diagonally striped square). Trace over whatever you want to be in the foreground, choose a Backdrop image and watch the magic happen. There will be a selection of images to choose from, with new backgrounds rotated in daily.

Voice filters aren’t new for Snapchat, but today’s update breaks the tool out of Lenses for anyone to use at any time, no doggy ears required. After recording a video Snap, tap the speaker icon to see a range of voices, including a cute little chipmunk, a beastly bear and a robot.

Paperclip lets users attach websites to their Snaps. Take a Snap, tap the paperclip icon in the vertical toolkit and add in your link: Viewers will be able to swipe up to view the link within Snapchat itself.

In its February IPO filing, Snapchat announced it had 158 million users. That’s nothing to sneeze at, though competition is fierce in the disappearing-message space: Instagram Stories, which has a history of cloning Snapchat’s best ideas, has more than 200 million users and it’s not yet one year old.

CNN will expose Reddit user if he ever trolls again

Over the weekend, Trump tweeted out a gif (that his staff found on Reddit) depicting an archive clip of him wrestling with WWE CEO Vince McMahon, whose face was overlaid with the CNN logo. The stunt quickly drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle and also instigated CNN to track down the person who initially posted the gif that Trump lifted without attribution, one HanAssholeSolo (or HAS). While the reasoning behind why he didn’t call himself “HanAssholo” and save a syllable remain unresolved, we now know exactly why he’s not going to be doing anymore trolling: it’s because, if he does, CNN will tell the world exactly who he is.

The original gif, which did not include sound, was posted to Reddit by HAS last Wednesday, CNN reports. After digging through HAS’ post history, CNN discovered a trove of anti-semitic and xenophobic content. Once CNN mentioned the HAS’ username on air, he proceeded to scribe a lengthy apology letter before deleting the remainder of his posts. This did not stop CNN reporter, Andrew Kaczynski, from figuring out HAS’ identity through a Facebook search and some basic cross-referencing of details HAS posted online.

Those details are going to remain under wraps for the time being. CNN announced on Wednesday that it will not reveal the name of the middle-age man (who was posing as a 15-year-old) behind the HanAssholeSolo account. The news network cited his online apology and promise to reform in its decision. However, CNN did threaten to disclose this information should Han not keep his nose clean:

CNN is not publishing “HanA**holeSolo’s” name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.
CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

This statement instigated a backlash from conservative media, with Donald Trump Jr leading the charge. Within hours of CNN’s announcement, the #CNNBlackmail hashtag had begun to trend on Twitter. Though, both Han and CNN have stated that he wrote and posted his apology before ever actually speaking with CNN. But, you know, the internet will never miss a chance to express outrage at whatever you put in front of it — even if it isn’t based in reality (see: Pizzagate). Kaczynski rebutted the charges in a subsequent tweet, arguing that “this line is being misinterpreted. It was intended only to mean we made no agreement [with] the man about his identity.”

CNN statement on the HanAssholeSolo story pic.twitter.com/mf2tilu9UB

— Steven Perlberg (@perlberg) July 5, 2017

Despite Kaczynski’s reasoning, the optics are not in CNN’s favor. It sure looks like one of the nation’s biggest news organization is holding the threat of public humiliation and ridicule over Han as a means of ensuring that he stops publishing opinions critical of the organization.

Via: CNN

Source: The Intercept

Facebook’s original TV lineup includes LaVar Ball and Mike Rowe

Facebook has greenlit two more shows for its expanding original programming lineup. They join a reality competition series as well as a cancelled MTV comedy series that the company picked up last month.

One of the new shows, Returning the Favor, features Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe. In the series, he’ll highlight people across the country who do exceptional work in their communities. The second show isn’t named yet but is a reality series starring LaVar Ball and his family. Ball is the father of Lonzo Ball — a basketball player with the LA Lakers — and soon to be UCLA players LiAngelo and LaMelo.

Facebook’s desire for original TV programming has been no secret and to help lead the push the company hired CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen in 2016 and former MTV executive Mina Lefevre earlier this year. In May, it was reported that Facebook could launch up to two dozen original shows this summer and according to the Wall Street Journal, the company has offered up to $3 million per episode.

The number of episodes and premiere dates of the new shows haven’t yet been announced.

Via: ESPN

Source: Deadline

US exempts Emirates and Turkish Airlines from laptop ban

As of today, Emirates Airline and Turkish Airlines no longer have to abide by the “laptop ban” that prevented passengers from carrying on devices larger than smartphones on flights from Middle East airports to the US. The ban, which was originally enacted in March, still applies to six other airlines.

Days ago, the US government lifted the ban on passengers flying Etihad Airways out of Abu Dhabi airport after verifying that it implemented “enhanced security measures.” Presumably, Emirates and Turkish Airlines are now following these elevated screening protocols. But the ban is still in place for US-bound flights from Qatar Airways, Egypt Air and four other carriers operating out of seven other airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi Arabia’s airline, Saudia, claimed it has been working to implement the protocols and aims to be exempted by July 19th, according to CNN.

The ban was introduced back in March to protect passengers flying to the US from unspecified threats and the possibility of sabotage via tablet and laptop devices. While the DHS has yet to expand it to other inbound flights, they did expand security measures at the end of June, giving airlines from 280 airports outside the US 21 days to improve their explosive screening protocols or face a device ban.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: CNN

Privacy watchdog sues Trump’s election committee over voter data

When the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent a letter to all 50 states seeking personal, identifying information on all voters in the US, at least 44 states refused in some part. Trump signed an executive order last May to create this commission while claiming that millions of people had voted illegally. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has taken issue with this request, as well, and has filed a lawsuit accusing the Commission of violating the privacy of American voters. EPIC also asserts that the original request asks states to send the data to a non-secure website, making the data vulnerable to identity theft and financial fraud. Not to mention political agendas. EPIC is also seeking information about “the failure to conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment,” and has filed for a temporary restraining order “to block the Commission’s efforts.”

Partial, publicly-accessible voter data is already available, though the specifics vary by state. Many lawmakers who have received the Commission’s request have responded in the negative. “The President’s Commission has quickly politicized its work by asking states for an incredible amount of voter data that I have, time and time again, refused to release,” said Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler in a statement that was reported by Ars Technica. “My response to the Commission is, you’re not going to play politics with Louisiana’s voter data, and if you are, then you can purchase the limited public information available by law to any candidate running for office. That’s it.”

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann had a more colorful response, as reported in Ars. “They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great state to launch from,” he said in a statement. Trump’s own response to the state refusal headed to Twitter, of course. “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?” tweeted the President of the United States.

Via: ArsTechnica

Source: EPIC

The ECOXGEAR EcoSlate Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker might be my favorite beach accessory

My family is basically a school of fish. Since living near the beach many moons ago, it always seems that we end up at the Outer Banks on vacation or we’re hitting up one of the many lakes around where we currently live. For a while now, I’ve been trying to merge my love of the beach and the water with my love of music. If you’re around me for any period of time you’ll know that I constantly have tunes on.

Sure, there are plenty of speakers out there with water resistance or that claim they’re safe to take to the beach, but they all looked kind of shitty or very expensive. So, when I was offered the ECOXGEAR EcoSlate, I jumped at the chance. The spec sheet indicates that it marries Ingress Protection (IP68), a long-lasting battery, and a flashlight. And one look at the thing tells you it isn’t going to be a cheaply made speaker you’ll get rid of or throw in the drawer after a few uses.

Physical Construction

I have no other words for this thing besides “badass.”

Alright, a one-word review is pretty boring, so I’ll go a little more in-depth. The most obvious thing to me when I look at it is the gigantic grill on the front. In my highly (not) scientific drop test, it stood up well to a drop from about three feet onto the corner of my wooden desk. I feel like this is a “worst of” scenario for everyday use. Anything more than that would fall outside of a normal scenario and you’re on your own at that point.

The huge bumpers on the corners offer pretty awesome drop protection that make the speaker bounce around a bit like a football when it hits the floor. If you ever do drop this thing around your feet, try to jump back because it’s going to hurt if it lands on the top of your foot. I know from experience. The weight isn’t overwhelming but I could tell when I added it to our already-full pack of supplies for the beach.

Buttons along with lights for power, blutooth connection, and battery level

The huge, rubber, backlit buttons on the top are a little oversized, but I really appreciated them when I was trying to operate the speaker at the beach. With the sun in your eyes and wet, pruney hands, it’s nice to have big defined buttons to press. You’ll get buttons for power, Bluetooth connection, EcoConnect, volume up and down, track selection, play/pause, and flashlight. The buttons have a bit of push-back in them so they take a little force to actually press down but provide a satisfying click when you bottom out.

The right side and bottom of the device have a hole for you to screw in the included carabiner. Unfortunately, mine broke after the first use. I’m willing to chalk this one up to bad luck because the carabiner and cord connecting it seemed like decent quality, but it’s certainly something to watch out for if you pick one of these speakers up.

The back of the speaker hides a locking compartment that houses a USB port to charge your other devices, a microUSB port for recharging the speaker, an aux-in port for plugging in your phone so you don’t have to use Bluetooth, and an on/off master switch. This compartment MUST be secured if the device gets wet or it will get ruined. It holds tight once it’s secured so you won’t need to worry about it coming undone by itself, but you’ll have to remember to secure it after you recharge the battery.

On the inside, the speaker houses a battery that ECOXGEAR claims (pretty accurately) provides 15 hours of music playback. We listened to the speaker at mainly mid to low volumes as the speaker is pretty powerful and got anywhere between 13 and 14 hours on a full charge.

Sound

I am in no way an audiophile and that’s important to keep in mind when I talk about the sound coming out of the ECOXGEAR EcoSlate. I love music and I normally have it on at any given time, but I don’t live my life trying to get the purest sound possible.

That being said, I wasn’t blown away by the EcoSlate. Yes, it does put out thunderously loud audio for the size of the body. The two 10W speakers and 2 passive woofers do very well in keeping entire rooms full of music, but I always feel like the soul in the music is just lacking.

Most of the times, it doesn’t matter that much. I keep going back to the example of being at the beach, but I think it’s a perfect example here. When you’re chilling in your chair with a beer, munching on some snacks and enjoying the view, do you need the best sounding speaker ever? I certainly don’t. I just need something that sounds “good” and the EcoSlate does the job.

Could the bass be beefier? Sure. Could the the mids be a little better defined? Absolutely. Could the highs be a little less sharp? Yep. But, overall listening does remain pleasant. You can kick on anything from Fall Out Boy to Blake Shelton, to No Doubt and enjoy your music just fine. I might stick clear of the pop princesses that hit the high notes often, but that’s really the only complaint I have.

Conclusion

200 lumen flashlight

Overall, I really like the ECOXGEAR EcoSlate. The speaker produces good enough sound and has really cool features like speaker pairing, an IP68 rating, and a flashlight. Right now the speaker sits at about $150 and that’s a perfect price for what it is. When you compare it to high-end speakers like the UE Megaboom that retails for $299, you can pick up two of these and pair them together for a really kickass experience for the price of one Megaboom.

Other reviews have pointed out that 100-foot range is a bit of a best case scenario for this speaker and they’re right. There’s a real problem here if you lose line of sight. During my test, I’ve been able to break up the signal while placing a child’s book between the phone (Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus) and the speaker. If I were walking into other rooms where walls separated us, I could understand, but I think there’s a weakness with speaker there.

Interference issues aside, the EcoSlate combines a lot of features into one package. You’d be hard pressed to find another speaker in the $150 range that has waterproofing, a rugged construction, a 10+ hour battery, the ability to charge a secondary device and a flashlight. When you take everything into consideration, I think the EcoSlate is one of the best options on the market and will certainly be making the return trip to the beach with me and my family.

If you’re interested in picking up the ECOXGEAR EcoSlate, you can grab one at Amazon, Costco, Home Depot, and ECOXGEAR’s site.

PhoneRescue lets you easily recover your lost Android data (Review)

Overview:

Have you ever deleted a photo or a file from your phone only to realize a couple seconds later that you made a terrible mistake? I for one, found myself in this very situation multiple times, inadvertently wiping out stuff because I was distracted and not fully paying attention.

Luckily, there’s a tool we can employ to bring our lost files back to us. It’s called PhoneRescue and is free to download on your Mac or Windows computer.

Getting Started:

For starters, let me note one thing. You won’t be downloading PhoneRescue from the Google Play Store, nor will you be installing it manually on your Android handset. Instead, you’ll need to visit PhoneRescue’s official web page and download the (free) Windows or Mac version.

That’s right, you’ll first need to get PhoneRescue on your computer.

There are a few steps you need to follow before actually getting to the recovery part. For starters, the app will serve up a list of “Quick Tips” or instructions which ideally need to be taken into consideration before you start the process of recovery.

You’ll be asked to do things like “Turn your device to Airplane Mode” or “Prohibit using Contacts, Messages, Calendar and other apps.”

Next, you’ll have to connect your phone via a USB cable to your computer. But not just any phone. For the time being, PhoneRescue supports devices from manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, HTC, Google, and Huawei. Support for Motorola, LG, and OnePlus is said to be coming soon.

PhoneRescue says its customized technologies based on each specific phone or tablet model can deliver a high data recovery success rate and speed.

After connecting the phone, you need to enable USB Debugging on your respective device. I was working with a Samsung phone which has Developer mode enabled already, so it only took a few taps to turn USB Debugging on.

The following step is to choose which Scan you wish to perform. You’re given a choice between a Deep Scan and a Quick Scan. Note that if you opt for the former, you’ll need to have a rooted device.

I didn’t have mine rooted, but luckily PhoneRescue offers a built-in tool which does all the heavy work on your behalf. So it wasn’t long before my device got rooting privileges and I was able to proceed to the Deep Scan part of our story.

But PhoneRescue can perform a Quick Scan even though the Android device might not be rooted.

Once you choose what kind of scan you want to perform, PhoneRescue asks you to select the types of files you want to recover including Contacts, Call Logs, Photos, Music, Videos, Apps, Document, Messages, WhatsApp, etc. Click Next and wait a few minutes to see what PhoneRescue comes up with.

Well, does it work?

You’re probably wondering, does PhoneRescue do a good job at recovering lost/deleted data? Well, the answer is yes, sort of.

The app recovered a lot, but a lot of my data! The problem is that some of it wasn’t actually deleted and still exists on my phone. At other times, PhoneRescue jumbled up information.

For example, it recovered a few text messages (in Romanian) that were sent by my network operator a few months back. The problem was that one of my former collaborators who is based in Australia and can’t speak a word of Romanian was listed as the sender of the messages. While this wasn’t a huge problem for me, such mix-ups have the potential to make it harder for users to quickly find the piece of information they are seeking.

Nevertheless, the app did a good job at recovering some deleted pictures from a birthday party I attended back in February and I’m thankful for that at least.

Another great feature is that the app lets you recover data directly to your Android device, so you won’t have to copy it manually from your computer to your phone, although that’s an option too. However, you’ll need to be rooted for the feature to be available. I also have to praise the app for its clean-looking, intuitive user-interface which makes it extremely easy to work with.

As I mentioned above, PhoneRescue is free to download and install, but you won’t be able to use it indefinitely. In order to do so, you’ll have to acquire a Personal License. For $49.99 you can get the software licensed for 1 computer, use it as long as you want, as well as receive lifetime free support and free updates.

A family plan is also available for $69.99 which includes 5 computer licenses and also a business plan for $199 with 10+ computer licenses.

Conclusion:

PhoneRescue proved itself to be a very good tool, albeit being riddled with some minor faults (at least the Samsung version). The program is easy to setup and use and even does the rooting for you.

Furthermore, if you ever get confused there’s a truckload of tips and guides on how to best use the app waiting for you on the developer’s website. So if you too have lost some files or photos recently, you can go ahead and give PhoneRescue a try.

U.S. lifts its laptop ban on Emirates and Turkish Airlines inbound flights

Why it matters to you

The laptop ban is still in place for six airlines, but if you’re flying Emirates or Turkish Airlines, there’s good news for your carry-on.

Those flying from Dubai or Istanbul to the United States will no longer need to check their laptops and tablets in their luggage. On Wednesday, Emirates and Turkish Airlines confirmed that the U.S. ban on electronics bigger than a smartphone in carry-on bags was lifted. The so-called laptop ban was initially implemented in March as the Department of Homeland Security expressed concerns over the possibility that these devices could be used to bring explosives aboard planes.

A total of 10 cities in eight countries were included in the initial ban: Amman, Jordan; Cairo, Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey; Jidda and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Now, however, a growing number of cities are being exempted from the ban. “Emirates has been working hard in coordination with various aviation stakeholders and the local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols that meet the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security’s new security guidelines for all U.S. bound flights,” the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.

Turkish Airlines, on the other hand, announced the change via a tweet, noting, “Dear Passengers, #WelcomeOnBoard to our U.S.-bound flight. Please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your own electronic devices.”

However, there is another electronics ban for flights from Turkey to the United Kingdom that remains in place.

This is not the first time the ban has been slightly amended. Last week, the DHS lifted the ban for Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. Six airlines remain affected by the ban, as do seven airports located in the Middle East and North Africa. Some of these folks have noted that moves are being made to implement additional DHS security measures that would allow the ban to be lifted. Saudia, for example, Saudi Arabia’s national airline, said on Tuesday that it is attempting to meet the DHS standards by July 19.

“We’re not in a position to confirm so far in advance,” a DHS spokesman said on Tuesday. “Saudi Arabian Airlines is still operating under the [portable electronic device] restriction.”

So if you’re planning on doing any overseas travel, be sure to check the travel restrictions in place before packing your electronic devices.

New report explores the good, the bad, and the ugly about sex robots

Why it matters to you

Sex robots may soon become commonplace but experts say we should be cautious about the consequences.

Sex robots may usher in a sexual revolution with both good and bad consequences for society, experts say. On the one hand, they may be used in care homes to keep the elderly company or to bridge the gap in long distance relationships — on the other, they may encourage unhealthy sexual relationships and lead to the further objectification of women. To mitigate these risks, the authors of a new report by the Foundation for Responsible Robots (FRR) call for a ban on certain sex robots and caution with others.

“There are absolutely some benefits to the technology but, like everything else, there is a balance,” Aimee van Wynsberghe, assistant professor in ethics and technology at the Technical University of Delft and FRR co-director, said in a statement. “You have to strike a balance between lack of regulation — so we have all different uses and personifications of children and women as sexual objects — or you have overregulation and you stifle the technology. You have to find the way to balance so you really can harness the good.”

Sex robots are still a niche market, more familiar from shows like Westworld and Humans than in real life, but there are a few companies already manufacturing love-making machines that sell for between $5,000 and $15,000.

As these robots become more commonplace, van Wynsberghe and Noel Sharkey, professor of robotics and artificial intelligence at the University of Sheffield and FRR co-founder, warn that they could change the conception of sex within society, for better or worse.

“I can tell you that robots are certainly coming,” Sharkey said at a press event in London, according to The Telegraph. “The concern is that this is going on [and] nobody is talking about it.”

Some of the use cases for sex robots considered in the report include their use in brothels, as sexual companions for the lonely, and as therapy for rapists or pedophiles. Each of these cases is controversial.

The report quotes Patrick Lin, professor and robot ethicist at California Polytechnic, as saying, “Treating pedophiles with robot sex-children is both a dubious and repulsive idea … Imagine treating racism by letting a bigot abuse a brown robot. Would that work? Probably not.”

Sex robot advocates will meet later this year in London for the third Love and Sex With Robots conference, where no doubt many of these topics will be discussed.

The FRR has released its report on its website and welcomes comments from readers.