Technology news

It’s a rough time to update your graphics card due to surging prices caused by cryptocurrency mining and video memory prices, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put that money toward other upgrades. For example, AOC, one of the big names in the gaming-monitor space, has a new product in its Agon gaming line for those of you wanting to put about $400 to $500 toward improving your rig.
The AOC AG322QCX is a curved 32-inch QHD display that is available now at tech retailer Microcente

I have a standing desk. I like it. I'm standing right now, actually, and blogging at the same time. My standing desk is automated, so I push buttons on its attached remote, and it goes up and down. It also has some onboard memory and saves heights for me. It's neat but not too wild. Meanwhile, a company called Autonomous says its new SmartDesk 3 is "the world's most powerful AI-powered standing desk."Should I question the intelligence of my standing desk? What even is an AI desk? To Autonomous,

It turns out Wikipedia is a pretty good source for scientists, even if your biology professor won’t accept it for your term papers. Researchers at MIT and the University of Pittsburgh today released a paper that shows a direct correlation between information made available on Wikipedia and how likely that work is to be referenced in future scientific literature. The core of the researchers’ quest was to determine whether or not a large and easily accessible repository, like Wikipedi

GUEST: Recruiters vet thousands of applications and conduct hundreds of interviews each year. This process generates an absurd amount of data that can be difficult for the average human to handle. Modern recruiters are very talented, but they inevitably miss employee placements due to human error in data collection and processing.
Almost half of recruiters — 46 percent — say the most challenging part of their job is identifying the right candidates from a large applicant pool. Artifi

Nestled firmly between old and new, millennials are the middle child of the technology industry. On one hand, we have our parents and grandparents, who grew up with landline phones, or no phones at all. On the other hand, we have Gen Z who were brought into the world basically knowing how to use an iPhone. Millennials have it differently – we’re torn between two worlds. A Wall Street Journal article this week tells the story of 23-year-old Anna Dennis and her struggles register

ANALYSIS: It’s no secret that Google searches for “how to move to Canada” surged after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. But there’s now new data that Canadian startups are seeing more interest from U.S. workers than ever before, as fist reported by Axios — and many of them are attributing it to dissatisfaction with U.S. politics.
MaRS, an innovation hub in Toronto, asked startups in the city if they’ve seen a surge in applications from U.S. workers since N

Tesla is reportedly working on a chip to handle all the tasks needed to power the fleet of fully self-driving cars that its CEO Elon Musk promised would be road-ready by 2019. According to CNBC, the electric carmaker is working with AMD to develop the autonomous driving chip. It’s a move that would clearly be in line with the recent hiring of ex-AMD executive Jim Keller to replace Chris Lattner as head of Tesla’s Autopilot hardware engineering effort.Neither Tesla nor AMD responded t

After Facebook disclosed earlier this month that Russia had used its ad platform to promote propaganda, politicians quickly called for closer scrutiny of the company’s ad system. Today, in a letter to the Federal Election Commission, a group of Congressional Democrats called for new rules to keep foreign influence out of American voters’ social media feeds.“Foreign political activity is a direct assault on federal election law.”
Citing the Facebook controversy, the letter

Augmented reality is one of the most talked-about features of the iOS 11 launch. When Apple unveiled its ARKit, it told developers it wanted to make iOS the “the largest AR platform in the world.”
Studios have published apps and games that are testing out new features and playing with the new tech, but as with virtual reality, developers will face the challenge of designing user interfaces and mechanics to fully utilize AR in an intuitive way.
Our roundup yesterday highlighted a

In a post today, Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg made her first public statement on a recent ProPublica investigation of ad-targeting to hate groups, calling the issue “a fail on our part.” Last week, ProPublica’s investigation found that Facebook clients could target ads using keywords like “jew hater” and “Hitler did nothing wrong.”
Sandberg claims the ad-targeting was the result of manual entries in the education and employer

Even after puffing on just one electronic cigarette with nicotine, healthy non-smokers were found to have a biological marker known to increase the risk of heart disease in tobacco users, according to a new study. The research, published in Journal of the American Heart Association, shows that nicotine is not harmless, as many people believe. It can affect a smoker’s health in more than one way, and not just by triggering addiction.
“There is this old saying that people smoke for the

Saudi Arabia is lifting a year-long ban on Skype and other services like WhatsApp and Snapchat, effective at 8PM ET today. According to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications authority posted on Twitter, any voice and video apps that meet the rules will be allowed.
In the context of Saudi’s current economy, the ban lift makes sense. As oil prices plummet, Saudi Arabia is looking to the internet for more sources of revenue. In August, honesty app Sarahah, launched by a Sau

“The Duke” will return to enact its revenge upon all of us. Microsoft has approved Hyperkin’s updated remake of the original Xbox controller, and it is rolling into the next phase of production before the device launches for Xbox One and PC. Seamus Blackley, one of the people responsible for starting the Xbox division at Microsoft, is helping peripheral manufacturer Hyperkin bring back the Duke, and he announced that it is moving forward on social media.
Microsoft first debuted

For many early stage companies, partnering or working with a Fortune 500 company may feel like being accepted to a top fraternity. When you put on that jacket emblazoned with its logo, all of a sudden you start getting noticed and doors begin opening. At the same time, with added opportunity comes responsibility. Being part of the team means following strict codes of conduct, adopting outside processes, and involving others in decision making from day one. For independent entrepreneurs, agility

Apple’s new Control Center in iOS 11 is a lot more fully featured, with a customizable layout and a number of new added controls accessible with Force Touch. One aspect of it that may have, at least at first, appeared like a big plus is now proving to be a bit of a security and usability problem: the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi controls.In iOS 11, Apple lets you disconnect devices or disconnect from networks by toggling off those two buttons from within the Control Center. Those buttons do not, ho

GUEST: In the world of business and design, we have started using terms like “algorithm” and “machine learning” as magic calculations for problems we would like to gloss over. These terms often become blockers for deeper problem solving and can stall even the most worthwhile projects.
“We’ll figure it out with an algorithm” used generally is similar to the fantastic conversations my daughter and I had when she was six. She would come up with inventions f

Researchers from Stanford University today published an article in Nature claiming the next great frontier for human-electronic interaction is the bodyNET platform, a network of electronic wearables, implants, and skin-based sensors that put the tech at your literal fingertips. The article proposes a top-to-bottom system of body-based tech, including augmented reality peripherals, “elastronic” skin-based touch displays, and even brain implants. The researchers go on to discuss

Audio and podcasting platform Acast has raised $19.5 million from a group of Swedish investors, including Swedbank Robur funds Ny Teknik and Microcap.
Founded out of Stockholm in 2014, Acast is an all-encompassing podcast platform that seeks to join the dots between creators, listeners, and advertisers through consumer mobile apps; cloud storage, analytics and other features for podcasters; and advanced programmatic advertising tools for marketers.
Prior to now Acast had raised ar

A panel on combating sexism and harassment in Silicon Valley today stirred a heated debate onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Sarah Kunst, who came forward about being sexually harassed by 500 Startups cofounder Dave McClure, did not hold back.
“Going directly to 500 Startups and Christine [Tsai, a founding partner], showing them proof that Dave had sexually harassed me wasn’t enough. Her response was no response. Backchannels don’t work.”
She also spoke as the CEO of Pr

In today’s world, the trend towards e-commerce has become significant as more entrepreneurs try to create their own online stores. The hard part is knowing which potential factories are most important to focus on in the early stages of your online store. To address these questions, events such as eCommCon, the first ever eCommerce virtual summit, have started to spark. These events provide attendees with countless hours of interviews from six-, seven-, and even eight-figure e-commerce sal

James Cameron has been working on relaunching the Terminator franchise, and the original Sarah Connor will be returning in the first new film. According to The HollywoodReporter, Cameron announced yesterday that series star Linda Hamilton would be reprising her role in the as-of-yet untitled film, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. The last time all three collaborators worked on a film in the franchise was some 26 years ago — in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day.Ever since that movie,

A lot of the focus of Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console is on 4K and HDR gaming, but there are thousands of Xbox fans who still haven’t upgraded to a 4K TV. While the 4K focus is obvious, Microsoft is explaining in more detail exactly how existing games will run better on an Xbox One X without a 4K TV.
Microsoft has an Xbox One X Enhanced program, which means games with the “Enhanced” tag have been optimized for the new console. This doesn’t necessarily mean that 4

PRESS RELEASE: BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 20, 2017– Augmenix, Inc., a medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells proprietary absorbable hydrogels that separate and protect organs at risk during radiotherapy, today announced a preview of clinical data that will be presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO 2017), which will take place September 24-27 in San Diego. The presentations will provide n

OPINION: With the arrival of iOS 11 Wednesday, iPhone and iPad users now have a new version of Apple’s mobile iOS operating system, and it comes with a lot of new features like personalized Siri suggestions, ARKit for augmented reality apps and games, an App Store redesign, and a new version of iMessage.
iOS 10 was the first iteration of iMessage to introduce an iMessage App Store, bringing apps, stickers, and games into conversations, and as we move from 10 to 11, there are some seri

The dick joke-fueled mockumentary American Vandal is a refreshing take on true crime. It plays off the frenzy around real-life murder mystery series like Making a Murderer, Serial, and The Jinx, with a more lighthearted version of the genre. More importantly, it envisions the documentary process in more modern terms, creating a future where platforms like Snapchat or Instagram become tools of record for would-be detectives.Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault’s spoof focuses on fictional high sch

More and more details have been coming out about how Russia used Facebook to spread pro-Trump propaganda during the 2016 US election, and today The Daily Beast has published evidence that appears to show a Putin-linked Facebook group organizing rallies that Trump supporters in the US actually attended.
The Daily Beast identified a Facebook group called “Being Patriotic” that was shut down around the same time that other Russian-linked Facebook accounts were purged. The page also post

With yesterday’s release of iOS 11, developers and users alike are still in the early stages of figuring out whether Apple’s ARKit can actually be useful. Here to add to the discourse, Ikea has released its own AR app to help customers visualize what their furniture might look like in their own living rooms. Or street. Or elevators. The point is, you no longer have to argue with your significant other inside the Swedish furniture conglomerate. Now you can destroy your relationship an

Peter Dinklage is having a major cultural moment. He’s been a movie star since the 1990s, earning acclaim for his lead role in The Station Agent, and widespread attention for major parts in films from Death At a Funeral to X-Men: Days of Future Past. His movie career feels like it’s hitting a new stride in 2017, though. He had a particularly rough season as fan-favorite character Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones this year, with his character constantly defanged and demoralized. Bu

AOC has a new monitor out, the Agon AG322QCX, and it’s built for gaming. The Agon AG322QCX is on the wider end of the spectrum, measuring in at 32 inches, with a 1800R curve, but still offering proper QHD resolution at 2560 x 1440.The increased resolution is nice to see from a widescreen monitor like this, which tend to max out at 1080 pixels tall — although I wouldn’t complain if the AG322QCX had a few more few vertical pixels either.
Moving on to the more gaming-focused specs

Quartz is known for its news app that delivers the day’s events in short conversational pieces, allowing readers to dive into more detail if they want or move on to the next story. It’s structured like a text conversation with a friend, parceling out each piece of information in message bubbles and aping the format of the chat bots that were all the rage this time last year. Now it’s incorporating another tech trend into its app — augmented reality.
Apple’s bee

PRESS RELEASE: SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 20, 2017– Pythagoras Pizza is developing a Tokenized Alternative to Franchised Governance in which all contributors can share in the success of the companies they help build. In this radically fair model, hardworking contractors and employees in the service industry will see the potential for economic mobility currently reserved for private technology startup employees.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the

Kohl’s announced on Tuesday that it will accept Amazon returns at 82 of its locations in and around Los Angeles and Chicago starting next month. According to Business Insider, there will be parking spots near store entrances designated for people coming to return Amazon goods.
Once you hand over a return, Kohl’s will then package and transport the item to Amazon’s return centers, free of charge. This is slightly easier than returning through USPS or UPS, as you won’t need

Earlier this month, hackers broke into Equifax's servers and stole 143 million people's personal information, including their Social Security numbers. In response to the attack, Equifax set up a website — www.equifaxsecurity2017.com — for possible victims to verify whether they're affected. Because the process involves sharing sensitive information, consumers have to trust they're entering their data in the right place, which can be tricky because the breach-recovery site itself isn&

Pymetrics, which uses artificial intelligence and neuroscience games to match people with the best job, announced today the close of an $8 million round. Jazz Venture Partners led the investment, with participation from new investor Workday Ventures and returning investors Khosla Ventures, Randstad Innovation Fund, and BBG Ventures.
The New York City-based startup bets on cognitive and emotional functions rather than academic pedigrees, assessing candidates through a set of neuroscience games. T

EXCLUSIVE: Ever, a consumer app for storing and organizing digital photos, is getting into the enterprise market. Today, the company announced Ever AI, a set of APIs that are supposed to provide a wide variety of visual intelligence capabilities to companies that need them.
Companies will be able to use Ever AI for tasks like face verification (showing that one face matches another face), face identification (scoring how likely one face matches other labeled faces), age detection, gender detecti

Nest today unveiled three new products: the Nest Hello doorbell, Nest Cam IQ Outdoor camera with facial recognition, and the Nest Secure home security system. The news was announced during a press conference held at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.
Also announced today, Nest Cam IQ, which was first released earlier this year, will come with Google Assistant as part of a software update this winter.Nest Secure is actually a series of products that interact with each other, li

More than 30 million people pay for music subscriptions in the US, according to the latest figures released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the first half of 2017. Paid streaming subscriptions have increased to 30.4 million in the US, up from 20.2 million during the first half of 2016.
Revenue from paid streaming has also grown substantially in 2017, reaching $1.49 billion compared to $995 million this time last year. Paid subscriptions are led by the growth of servic

Globalfoundries, one of the world’s biggest contract manufacturers of chips, has unveiled a new 12-nanometer manufacturing process that can yield a 10 percent performance gain over the previous generation.
This kind of process will be the backbone of semiconductor factories that cost $10 billion or more, and so it can be viewed as one of the drivers of the technology economy.
The new process can create chips with 12-nm FinFET features, which are faster and more efficient than the previous

EXCLUSIVE: In less than a month, Huawei will introduce its fall flagship lineup in the form of at least three large-screen Mate smartphones: Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro, and Mate 10 Lite. Details about the trio have been slowly coming together over the past few weeks, and now — thanks to a person briefed on the company’s plans — VentureBeat has learned nearly all there is to know about the most affordable member of the trio.
Although it will indeed be the least expensive of the group,

Indie studio Stunlock Studios announced today that Battlerite is getting an official release on November 8. The PC arena brawler, which is in Early Access, will be free-to-play at that point.
During Early Access, Battlerite cost $20 on Steam. But it’s not unusual for games planning to go free-to-play to charge in this process. Although it’s still in development, Battlerite has already had 1 million downloads. That may not make it as big an Early Access success as juggernauts lik

Nest is getting into the smart doorbell business with Hello, a small, remote-sized device that can stream live HD video to your phone and send and receive audio. The doorbell, which Nest unveiled today at a hardware event in San Francisco, is part of a broader security push that’s building on Nest’s existing security camera business, itself part of an acquisition in 2014 of video-monitoring startup Dropcam.The Hello doesn’t have too many bells and whistles. The device has a 160

Nest Labs just announced a whole bunch of new hardware products that address various entry points around the home, but the theme that appears across almost all of the products is smarter, more intelligent devices — whether that’s through facial recognition or a built-in Google Assistant.That’s the case with its new outdoor camera, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor. It’s the follow up product to the Nest Cam IQ indoor announced in June, and it builds upon a lot of the same tech &mda

PRESS RELEASE:Microsoft Channel Partners Collaborate to Fill Office 365 Simple CRM GapSANTA MONICA, Calif. & RALEIGH, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 20, 2017– Nimble today announced a partnership with NeoCloud, a leading Microsoft managed cloud services provider, to address the growing market need for a simple, affordable contact management and CRM for Microsoft Office 365 and GSuite users. Beginning this month, NeoCloud will bundle Nimble CRM into all of its Office 365 dep