Facebook will hand-review every ad targeting politics and race

When Facebook said it was hiring 1,000 more people to manually review ads, it wasn’t necessarily clear to everyone what that entailed — just what was the focus, and would it affect upstanding advertisers? While the company touched on what whats happening before, there’s no ambiguity now. According to Axios, Facebook is telling advertisers that it now requires manual review for any ad targeting people based on “politics, religion, ethnicity or social issues.” In other words, Facebook is determined to avoid any attempt to use ads to stoke social tensions, even if that means slowing down its ad system. The social network warns marketers that they’re “likely to experience a delay” to the start of their ad campaigns, at least until Facebook finds a way to streamline the process.

When asked for comment, Facebook pointed to its earlier news post, which only made reference to “certain types” of ads going through human reviews. It didn’t touch on the specific content or the expected delays.

It’s not shocking that Facebook would limit manual reviews to more sensitive subjects, but the absolute requirement for reviews covering a wide range of subjects is notable. It’s a more direct acknowledgment that the company’s previous reliance on automated screening let shady ads slip through the cracks, and that manual inspection might be necessary to catch people trying to game the system. And simply speaking, this could represent a survival tactic. Facebook knows it’s under government scrutiny for Russia-linked ads, and it may have decided that voluntarily slowing down its ad system was better than risking government intervention.

Source: Axios

Amazon is thinking of selling medicine online

There might come a time when you can order prescription meds with household items and groceries from Amazon. According to CNBC, the e-retail giant is thinking of breaking into the pharmacy business, and it will have to decide if it wants to push through with it before Thanksgiving. Eric French, Amazon’s grocery and Pantry chief, reportedly ramped up hiring for the project dubbed “healthcare” this past year and consulted with “dozens of people.”

CNBC reported a few months ago that the company even hired Mark Lyons from nonprofit health insurance company Premera Blue Cross to create an internal pharmacy benefit manager to serve its employees. It’s apparently possible for that project’s success to determine whether Amazon will launch its pharmacy business.

While the retail titan is in the final stages of conjuring up a viable strategy for the new business, it won’t be delivering meds to your home anytime soon. In case it does decide to push through, it has to hire drug supply chain experts to add to the team before it can do anything. Some analysts think it’ll take a year or two before the company can announce the new venture, and it could initially team up with a pharmacy benefits manager instead of going straight for drug delivery.

Via: CNET

Source: CNBC

Mondo+ review

In 2017 the concept of an internet radio is not at all new. In fact, it might even be antiquated to some of you. In the age of SONOS, Google Cast, and Wi-Fi speakers, the idea of a device designed strictly with connected radio services in mind makes sense. We love our music and we love having it where we want, and listening when we want.

Whereas some of us had gotten into products like the Logitech Squeezebox some years back, others are just beginning to understand how cool it is to have a connected radio. Not just Bluetooth speakers that pair to your phone, but something that stands alone.

The Mondo+ is one such device. Designed by Grace Digital, it’s a small, even portable (optional $40 battery) radio that offers up AM/FM radio, internet radio, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and more. Not only that, but it’s created to work with other units with multi-room music and 2-way speaker conversations. Further, it includes Chromecast capability and even works with Google Assistant.

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Similar to the aforementioned Squeezebox Radio, the Mondo+ includes an LCD screen (3.5-inches) with shortcut buttons and and a rubber scroll wheel. The housing is made of a glossy plastic but it doesn’t come across as solidly built as the Squeezebox.

Ports include USB and 3.5mm input as well as RCA stereo out. An Ethernet port is not standard but you can buy one from Grace Digital for $20. If you have music on a flash drive, plug it into the back and listen to files in MP3, AAC, AAC +, FLAC, LPCM,ALAC,WMA,WMA9,Ogg Vorbis format. Other supported protocols include SHOUTcast, WMA streaming, HTTPS, and RTSP/SDP.

If you plan to connect to your network and other speakers like Google Home, you’ll want to spring for the Ethernet accessory. We ran into the occasional dropped connection when using a 2.4GHz connection in an office suite. A 5GHz connection was much better, but the wired route is always a safe bet.

As a bedroom unit the Mondo+ works exceedingly well. Put next to the bed, we appreciate the clock, 7-day alarm clock, and USB port. We rarely listen to music all that loud at night so the speaker worked great for catching up on a book or down-tempo playlist.

We also found the Mondo+ to be a solid companion to have in an office environment. Whether it was listening to local radio stations or using it as a loudspeaker for videos, it sounds good and fills small rooms.

Get into a larger environment or where you want music to be your main focus and the Mondo+ falls short. At loud volumes it sounds distorted, especially when you have thumping bass or music with a lot of layers.

The equalizer is nice to have, particularly if you spend a lot of time in one type of audio setting. We like a lot of podcasts and audiobooks so we’re partial to the “flat” option. Other settings include vocal, classic, jazz, and rock.

The Mondo+ comes with built-in support for a variety of radio sources but that’s just the beginning. If your preferred streaming service isn’t included, you can always tap into the Chromecast feature and leverage myriad apps, websites, and services.

The 3.5-inch display is a nice touch, and it’s certainly something we appreciate having. Too often we hear a song playing on a speaker and have to scramble for the phone to figure out what it’s called or to identify the artist. It’s nice to look over and see the details we want without much effort.

Navigation is a touch wonky, if not slow, using the dial and press button. To that end, the remote control helps get you set up and moving about. However, entering text is a nuisance when setting up a wireless network or searching for a radio station. Our advice: stick to the app as much as possible.

If you don’t own a Google Home or one of the growing line of smart speakers, this is an excellent way to get started. We’ve come to enjoy having the ability to tap into the next-level Google smarts with this speaker.

When compared to other speakers like the SONOS PLAY:1, the Mondo+ wins hands down, if on paper. As it comes to overall sound, total home integration, and app functionality, it skews more in favor of the other, established brand. That’s not for a lack of trying, though, as Grace Digital has put together one hell of a package.

If you haven’t already purchased a connected speaker system, we can recommend the Mondo+ just as easily as any other models. It’s not perfect, and there are some quirks here and there, but we’re on board.

At $200 we found the Mondo+ to be a great unit to add to your house. Students with limited space or those who want to punch up their home office should give this one a look. Toss in the optional battery and you’ll like having this on the porch or back deck.

Nikon Small World mixes art and science with stunning cell-level close-ups

Why it matters to you

The gallery of Nikon Small World is simultaneously inspiring art and scientific research.

Get close enough, and everyday objects become artwork — on October 4, Nikon announced the winners for the Nikon Small World photomicrography competition, with the first place prize going to the researcher behind an image of a single skin cell.

Bram van den Broek, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, took first place honors for his image of a skin cell expressing keratin, which circles the cell with a fluorescent yellow pattern. Besides just being a stunning image, the shot is helping researchers understand the keratin protein, which is often an indicator of how aggressive some types of cancer are.

“There are more than 50 different keratin proteins known in humans. The expression patterns of keratin are often abnormal in skin tumor cells, and it is thus widely used as a tumor marker in cancer diagnostics,” van den Broek said.  “By studying the ways different proteins like keratin dynamically change within a cell, we can better understand the progression of cancers and other diseases.”

The second-place shot also reveals the complexities in an everyday sight — the macro image of a flowering plant, Senecio vulgaris or groundsel. The shot, by Havi Sarfaty of Israel, shows the seed head of the plant at a 2x magnification.

The third-place shot looks like it came straight from Pac-Man — but it’s actually a 100x magnification of what algae looks like when it spreads with new daughter colonies. Jean-Marc Babalian of France captured the shot using a differential interference contrast microscope.

The contest awarded 85 more photos in the contest, selecting the shots from over 2,000 entries representing 88 countries. With the 2017 contest as part of Nikon’s yearlong 100th anniversary celebration, the winners will head to Japan for an exclusive tour of Nikon’s headquarters and factories.

“This year’s winners not only reflect remarkable research and trends in science, but they also allow the public to get a glimpse of a hidden world,” said Eric Flem, Nikon Instruments communications manager. “This year’s winning photo is an example of important work being done in the world of science, and that work can be shared thanks to rapidly advancing imaging technology.”

The contest’s complete list of winners can be viewed at the Nikon Small World website, along with the winners for the video competition.

Alphabet given FCC approval to provide cell service to Puerto Rico via balloons

Why it matters to you

Thousands of people remain without cell service in Puerto Rico, but Google’s Project Loon could change that.

Wired has reported that the Federal Communications Commission has given Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. clearance to deploy its Project Loon balloons over Puerto Rico. The company is hopeful that the balloons will be able to restore telecommunications service to the hurricane-ravaged island.

The decision was announced in a series of tweets by Matthew Berry, who serves as Chief of Staff to FCC chairman Ajit Pai.

BREAKING: FCC issues experimental license to Google to provide emergency cellular service in Puerto Rico through Project Loon balloons.

— Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) October 6, 2017

Kudos to FCC staff for quick work approving Google’s application to provide emergency cellular service to Puerto Rico through Project Loon!

— Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) October 6, 2017

Alphabet has already successfully deployed its Project Loon balloons over Peru, where they were able to provide LTE coverage following the country’s recent flood. The balloons were able to rely on a telecom provider that beamed its signal to the balloons. The company will be working from scratch in Puerto Rico, but the hope is that the balloons will be able to help restore cell service, including LTE data, to the island’s inhabitants.

The balloons will act as replacements for the island’s destroyed cell towers, but they can only transmit the data. It is unclear if the island’s telecommunications industry currently has the means to assist Alphabet, but the industry is willing to try. In its FCC application, Alphabet included letters and emails from eight of the island’s carriers, in which they gave consent for Google to access their frequencies and data.

Thirty Loon balloons will be deployed 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) above the planet’s service. Each balloon will be able to service a radius of 1,930 square miles, so Alphabet is expecting that it will be able to provide service to the entire island of Puerto Rico, along with parts of the Virgin Islands.

Alphabet has not said when the deployment would begin, but a spokesperson told Wired that “we sorting through a lot of possible options now and are grateful for the support we’re getting on the ground.”

Alphabet isn’t the only tech company coming to the aid of Puerto Rico. The island’s governor has requested that Tesla CEO Elon Musk help restore the island’s electrical grid. The company has already deployed hundreds of power wall batteries to the island.

Get a lifetime subscription to premium web development courses for just $40

A career in web development is a career well-invested in today’s marketplace. Many companies are moving to an entirely online business model, and if you’re looking for job security, you’ll want to get in on the development side if you’re at all interested. Or maybe you’re already a developer, but you have been for 20 years and haven’t really kept up with current technology and trends.

Going back to school can be costly and probably isn’t the most efficient way to use your time, especially if you’re already in a full-time career. You need online courses that you can access from anywhere, at any time, on your own time. But those can be expensive as well, so where do you look?

Look at Android Central Digital Offers and look at the SitePoint Premium Courses Lifetime Subscription. You’ll gain access to over 80 ebooks, 70 courses, and 300 tutorials, covering everything from coding in CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and more to key coding frameworks and libraries, like jQuery, Node, TypeScript, and more. You get a lifetime subscription to all of this content for $39.99. These courses and ebooks together generally retail for $450, but at Android Central Digital Offers, you save 88%.

The best part of this bundle is that new content is uploaded monthly, and you’ll get unlimited downloads for all the ebooks, courses, and tutorials that come out. Learning all these new skills is imperative if you want to keep competitive in today’s business world, so you’ll also learn about Google Maps API and how to manipulate HTML5 video with JavaScript, as well as a host of other new techniques. And, of course, you’ll be educated on the essentials, like WordPress, Git, project management, and more.

If you want to stay relevant in the web development world, you need to update your skills and learn the latest techniques. Check out SitePoint Premium Courses, but don’t check them out for $450. Check out a lifetime subscription at Android Central Digital Offers for $39.99.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

LG V30: Everything you need to know

A primer on LG’s best Android smartphone to date, the V30.

Sometime around late 2016, LG decided to stop trying to win smartphone market share with gimmickry, instead concentrating on just making good products. The LG G6 was the first product of this new approach from the Korean company, winning praise from critics, but not really moving the needle against local rival Samsung’s Galaxy S8. For late 2017, LG has its new V30 phone. It’s technically a successor to the video-focused V10 and V20 — but there’s a clean break in terms of design language, as LG ditches the removable battery and instead goes all-in on metal and glass.

This is our guide to everything you need to know about LG’s best phone to date.

Check out our LG V30 initial review

We’ve been using pre-production versions of the LG V30 for the past month, and while what we’re using isn’t final hardware, it’s given us a good idea of what to expect from the finished product. Check out our LG V30 initial review for extended thoughts on the phone’s build quality, software, camera and battery life. And you’ll also want to take a look at our video review below, which packages all that info into a concise 13-minute presentation.

It hits the sweet spot for a ‘big’ phone

With a 6-inch display, you might expect the LG V30 to feel enormous in the hand. However, like its little brother the G6, the V30 uses a taller 18:9 aspect ratio, which (because geometry) has a smaller screen area than a 16:9 phone with the same diagonal measurement. In short: It’s big, but not unmanageable. In the hand, the LG V30 feels about the same size as a 5.5-inch, 16:9 phone like the HTC U11.

Needless to say, if you’re used to lugging around a V10 or V20, the V30 is going to feel significantly more portable than your old handset.

It’s also slimmer and lighter, on account of the metal and glass construction used throughout. In fact, the V30 weighs even less than the G6, despite its larger screen size and identical battery capacity.

Same specs everywhere

The LG G6 irked customers in some countries by leaving out wireless charging or the legendary Quad DAC in some regions. Not so this time around: All V30s are made equal.

Regardless of where you buy the V30, you’ll get both wireless charging built-in, and high-performance wired audio thanks to LG’s Hi-Fi Quad DAC.

The only outlier is internal storage space. There’s an “LG V30+” sold in some countries (like the United States, where it’s available on Sprint and US Cellular), but this is just the same old LG V30 with a roomier 128GB of space. In addition, all V30s come with a standard high-end spec loadout: Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM and Android 7.1.2 Nougat.

More: LG V30 specs

In addition to raw hardware specs, you’ll have (up to) four colors to choose from: Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue, and Lavender Violet. Naturally, not all hues will be available on all carriers, or all regions. (In the United States, black and silver are the dominant colors.)

New and improved dual cameras

LG is no stranger to dual cameras on smartphones, having included the feature on the back since the G5 (and on the front since the V10). The LG V30 is LG’s best dual camera setup yet, with a 16-megapixel main shooter behind an f/1.6 lens, and a new, brighter wide-angle camera with less distortion, and an f/1.9 lens. The main camera is a solid step up from the G6 in all conditions. But the biggest improvement comes in wide-angle photography, where the brighter lens and improved post-processing allow for clearer wide-angle pics in the dark.

Besides photography, LG has built out some impressive new video capabilities. The V30 includes LG Cine Log mode, which captures photos with flatter colors, so that more dynamic range can be brought out in post-production. It’s similar to the techniques used by professional filmmakers, and worth a look if you plan on editing footage from the V30 in an app like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut. And if you just want to give your footage a specific look without exporting to a PC, there are several color presets you can use. You could make your footage look like a dark, gritty thriller, or a light romantic comedy, all with a single tap.

The second screen is no more

The secondary ticker display has been a stable V-series feature since the beginning, but as LG moves towards OLED and slimmer, lighter phones, second screen has been retired. In its place, there’s a new “floating bar” feature, bascially a little arrow icon that you can drag around the screen, and tap to conjure up a list of app or settings shortcuts.

The feature works similarly to Samsung’s Edge Screen on its Galaxy phones, though with less disruption to apps you’re currently using in the background. In any case, if you decide the floating bar isn’t for you, it’s easy to disable it by dragging it up to the “Remove” icon at the top of the display.

Expensive, but not Note expensive

The proximity of the V30’s release to that of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 — as well as the local rivalry between Samsung and LG — invites comparisons between the two phones. But aside from the size difference (the Note is *much * taller), LG is targeting a slightly lower price point.

More: Where to buy the LG V30

That said, the V30 is not a cheap phone. Outright prices on the U.S. carriers start at $800, and in the UK an unlocked LG V30 will set you back an eye-watering £799. LG phones tend to pick up heavy discounts not long after launch, so it’s probable you’ll be able to pick one up for $750 or less by the end of the year.

Still, the V30’s launch pricing is a far cry from the $900+ folks have been paying for the Note 8.

More questions? Check out the forums!

The Android Central LG V30 forums are a great place to chat with other V30 owners (and soon-to-be owners), and get answers to more of your burning questions.

LG V30

• LG V30 review: The no-BS flagship
• Top LG V30 camera features
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

It’s time for your delicious weekend comments thread

Kick back and relax. Stay a while.

One more week down and one week closer to the end of 2017. And it was a big deal kind of weel for Google fans as the company showed the world all the new stuff.

The Pixel 2 and XL 2 look like what we expected, the new Google Home Mini and its giant brother Max are interesting, the Pixelbook is beautiful and outrageously expensive, and a redesigned Daydream headset looks like it will keep your phone a little cooler. Neat stuff.

I’m interested in having a look at all of it, naturally, but this weekend I am going to do my best to not care about any of it. Got up early and went to the Farmer’s Market today and will spend tomorrow out beside the grill. It’s good to get your mind away from work, no matter how cool your work might be!

I’ll make up for it next week 🙂

So, what’s everyone else up to over the weekend? Hopefully, you’ll find a way to change gears and stop thinking about the work thing (or the school thing, which can seem like work) for a couple days and just unwind your mind. We all need to rest up and be ready for Wolfenstein 2 in a couple of weeks. #MANFA

Hit up the comments and say hey for a while and let us know what’s up!

Hulu drops the first trailer for its Marvel exclusive ‘Runaways’

While Netflix is home to the lion’s share of Marvel TV shows, Hulu will soon get a slice of the action. Announced last year, Runaways is set to land on the streaming service next month. In the meantime, Hulu’s released the first trailer for the show to coincide with New York Comic Con.

For all those unfamiliar with the source material, Runaways follows a dysfunctional group of six teens who band together to fight their evil parents. Judging by the trailer, the show draws its influences from late-nineties genre fare, like The Craft and The Faculty. And, it comes from the creative team behind The O.C. and Gossip Girl, so you can also expect plenty of snappy dialogue, self-deprecating humor, and pop-culture references. The series is reportedly set within the Marvel cinematic universe, but tonally sits closer to the likes of Freeform’s upcoming Cloak and Dagger TV show, and ABC’s The Inhumans. So, don’t go expecting The Punisher to make a cameo.

Runaways stars newcomers Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, and Allegra Acosta. You can catch the gang on Hulu in late-November.

Source: Hulu (YouTube)

Recommended Reading: The ‘Blade Runner’ effect on electronic music

Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Beats?
Al Horner,
FACT

After months of teases, trailers and short films, Blade Runner 2049 is now in theaters. FACT takes a look at the original film’s impact on music, including comments from electronic music legend Gary Numan on how he was influenced. There’s also a 12-minute documentary to accompany the written portion, and it’s well worth your time.