Friday, February 27, 2015

Twitter is surveying users about how much they get harassed online

Twitter, as its CEO Dick Costolo has put it, sucks at dealing with harassment and trolls. It's been trying to get better — although its changes have sometimes misfired badly in the past. Right now, though, it's apparently apparently trying to gauge just how big of a problem Twitter abuse really is. Its mobile app is inviting some users (specifically, verified users, as far as we can tell) to take a short survey about their personal experiences and opinions on the platform. It doesn't seem to ask the same questions of everyone, but among other things, it asks how important it is to see interactions, how much they worry about harassment on Twitter, and the overall level of abuse users receive on other services, like YouTube.

This is the...

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Swiss Watch Makers Announce An Activity Tracking System Designed To Hide Inside Fancy Watches

Alpina-Horological-Smartwatch-AL-285BTD3CD6-21 If you’ve been wondering how Switzerland was going to react to the coming of the Apple Watch, ponder no more: two smaller luxury watch companies, Alpina and Frederique Constant, have added electronic components to otherwise staid analog watches, essentially turning a fancy timepiece into a sort of mechanical Fitbit. The platform, called Manufacture Modules Technologies or MMT, is… Read More

Google reverses decision to ban adult content on Blogger

Google has reversed its decision to ban sexually explicit content on Blogger, according to a post on the company's product forums by Social Product Support Manager Jessica Pelegio. Users of the blogging platform were told earlier this week that Google would no longer allow "graphic nude images or video" on the site from March 23rd. However, Pelegio's post states that this is no longer the case, with Google deciding the ban would've had a "negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities."

The ban would have affected accounts that have been running for "10+ years."

"Rather than implement this change, we’ve decided to step up enforcement around our existing policy prohibiting commercial...

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Thursday, February 26, 2015

Facebook adds new tools for suicide prevention

Facebook has added new tools to assist users who express suicidal thoughts. In a blog post, Facebook announced it has worked with mental health organizations including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Now Matters Now to find the proper way to offer assistance through the social network.

If someone posts something that indicates self harm or suicidal thoughts and it is reported to Facebook, they will be encouraged to speak with a mental health expert at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and will be offered tips and support to help work through their issues. Facebook says these methods were created in "conjunction with our clinical and academic partners."

Users will be encouraged to speak with a mental health expert at...

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Find the next Fifty Shades of Grey in Wattpad's erotic fan fiction app

Fanfiction lets people get closer to their heroes. It lets them get close to celebrities, step into their worlds, imagine their lives intertwining with their idols'. And it also lets them have sex. Lots and lots of sex. The rise of fanfiction — specifically of the erotic variety — has prompted fanfiction megasite Wattpad to release a free iOS app, called After Dark, to collate its thousands of romance stories.

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Get an Oplink AlarmShield home-security system for $124.99

Smartphone-friendly and free of monthly fees (unless you go premium), this is complete home security in a box.






Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Here’s The HTC One M9, As Revealed In New Leaked Videos

Screen Shot 2015-02-24 at 3.27.36 PM HTC is just a few days away from revealing its new HTC One M9, but the surprise has been spoiled by a trio of leaked videos. Originally shown off by frequent Android leaker account @Upleaks, the videos below show the M9 in detail, including its design, as well as software features contained in the next version of HTC’s Sense UI. The first video reveals a thorough overview of the M9… Read More

Perceptiv’s SHIFT Turns Drones Into Smart Dollies For Filmmakers

13604 Drone tech is exciting and full of potential, but few companies are focusing on tech that provides benefits drone users can enjoy now, without spending a fortune or managing an architectural firm or large-scale agricultural concern. Perceptiv Labs, a YC Winter 2015 cohort startup with a founding team out of Waterloo’s top-flight robotics engineering department, is offering high-flying… Read More

Meet Pebble Time, The All-New Smartwatch From Pebble

Pebble_Watch_3Up  The new hardware has a full color, always-on e-paper screen, but features a slimmer, sleeker design and maintains its week-long battery life. The software is new, too, with a focus on providing you with all the information you need at a glance in one place, both for now and for the future. Pebble Time The Pebble Time smartwatch is named ‘Time’ because it uses time as its… Read More

Monday, February 23, 2015

Porsche Will Put A Bluetooth Navigation System In Your Classic 911

y8wqpyiendjiraqg9xez Classic cars are great. The look, the feel, the repair bills. But they often lack the modern safety and convenience features found on modern cars. Porsche has a solution with a radio and navigation system that blends today’s technology with the style found in its classic cars. Unless, of course, you’re driving a classic Porsche to escape modern society. The radio unit can be… Read More

These tiny ASCII animations live in your browser's address bar

These animations created by developer Glen Chiacchieri might be the cutest example of ASCII art we've ever seen. Each piece is composed of multiple frames that are actually uniques URLs — click on one and your browser loads the pages in quick succession, turning your address bar into a flip book-style animation.

There's an option to make your own and even a tiny side-scrolling shooter that lets you control a spaceship as you tear across the interstellar reaches to battle it out with warlike aliens. (If you have an overactive imagination that is — otherwise it's mostly just squiggles and dots.)

this will spam your Internet history and possibly break your browser

Be warned though, Chiacchier's animations work best in Firefox...

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Did Pebble Just Leak Its Color Screen Smartwatch?

pebble Is this the new Pebble? The company is set to unveil its next generation smartwatch tomorrow and the image above was just discovered on Pebble’s website. Rumors state that the next version will sport a new design and a color e-ink screen — just like the watch in this picture. Read More

Friday, February 20, 2015

This Week On The TC Gadgets Podcast: Smart Watches, Samsung LoopPay, And Bluetooth Toothbrushes

gadgets150220 With the Apple Watch looming on the horizon, we simply can’t help ourselves from talking about smart watches. This week, we focus on the Garmin Fenix 3, the LG Urbane, and of course, the upcoming Apple Watch. Meanwhile, Samsung is trying to compete in the payments space with the acquisition of LoopPay, and Oral B thinks you might want a Bluetooth-equipped toothbrush. We discuss all this… Read More

Apple Said To Be Planning OS X-Like Public Beta Seed Program For iOS, Too

ios9 Apple intends to offer a public beta program for iOS 8.3 and iOS 9, starting in March and this summer respectively, according to a new report from 9to5Mac. The move makes sense in light of Mac OS X’s public beta program, which debuted last year and offered a select group of users (Apple said it had room for one million participants in the program) access to Yosemite ahead of its… Read More

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Zuckerberg takes aim at vaccine deniers through his online book club

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has selected a decidedly pro-vaccine book for the latest installment of his online book club, following a report last week that pointed to surprisingly low vaccination rates at Silicon Valley daycares affiliated with Google and other tech companies. The book, On Immunity by Eula Bliss, examines and disarms the fear underpinning the anti-vaccine movement, based on Bliss' personal experience with her young child. Vaccine deniers have gained traction in pockets of the US, alleging that vaccines can lead to autism, even though their claims have been thoroughly discredited by science.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Google’s 2015 Science Fair Opens For Submissions Today

Google Science Fair 2014 Google is back with its annual Science Fair, with the fifth consecutive year of the program opening the door for submission today. The event is run in partnership with Lego Education, National Geographic, Scientific American and Virgin Galactic. It invites any students between 13 and 18 from anywhere in the world to enter submissions online to compete for prizes in a number of categories,… Read More

If you like HTTP then you'll love HTTP 2.0

Most internet users don't consider the protocols that underpin the web anymore than they do the stitching in their socks, but a major update to HTTP — the protocol that lets browsers download websites from servers — will affect everyone who goes online. After years in development, HTTP/2 has been formally approved. Although it will take many months (and possibly years) before it's used around the web, the update will bring with it a global internet that's more robust, more secure, and faster.

Like cramming multiple bits of paper into a single envelope

Although HTTP/2 has been developed by an industry body (the IETF HTTP Working Group) it's based on a custom version of the protocol created by Google named SPDY (fittingly pronounced...

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How to make a million dollars on Etsy — buy from Alibaba and run your store like eBay

Online marketplace Etsy is known as a place to buy home-made items, clothing, artworks, and jewelry created by individuals or produced in limited runs by small businesses. But not everyone using the site ascribes to this folksy philosophy. Others, such as Alicia Shaffer, are using Etsy like eBay, buying items wholesale from huge retailers such as Alibaba, and reselling them through the site.

Shaffer claims her store, ThreeBirdNest, earns her just shy of a million dollars a year. The second-most successful store on the entire site, Shaffer's store sells clothing and accessories — socks, headbands, boot cuffs, and T-shirts with slogans such as "Feed me and tell me I'm pretty." ThreeBirdNest advertises its products as "handmade boutique"...

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