The new “X-Package” gives the little trailer a 3-inch lift kit that increases ground clearance, plus all-terrain tires from Goodyear.
Source: Wired
The 2018 update to Apple’s MacBook Pro has a speedy new Intel processor, but many of the same shortcomings of the previous model.
Source: Wired
And their show is part of NBC’s ever-evolving experiment with digital engagement.
Source: Wired
The company’s user count edges downward amid rising concerns about harassment, Russian meddling, hoaxes and more.
Source: CNET
A flaw makes it easy to trick the Swann devices, they say.
Source: CNET
The social media apocalypse is on us this week. Days after Facebook’s stock took a record $123 billion plunge on a poor earnings report, Twitter’s shares are down nearly 20 percent after the company announced falling users numbers.
The microblogging service recorded a drop of one million monthly users in Q2, with 335 million overall and 68 million in the U.S.. International users stayed consistent, with U.S. numbers down from 69 million in the previous quarter.
Bloomberg reported that Twitter’s share price sunk by 17 percent in early trading following the earnings announcement.
The market seems spooked that Twitter has failed to grow in the U.S.. Indeed, one year ago it recorded 68 million users on home turf, and while it has grown its international presence by a fairly modest 3.5 percent over that period, there are doubts as to whether Twitter can increase its audience. The company itself said it expects to see its monthly active user count drop by “mid-single-digit millions.”
Twitter has increased its efforts finding and suspending fake accounts, which is said to have doubled over the past year, but it also said that it didn’t expect that to impact users numbers this quarter.
“When we suspend accounts, many of the removed accounts have already been excluded from MAU or DAU, either because the accounts were already inactive for more than one month at the time of suspension, or because they were caught at signup and were never included in MAU or DAU,” Twitter further explained in its release.
The company did say, though, that its work with SMS carriers and reallocation of resources, are the reasons why it is forecasting more user number declines.
While Twitter can (just about argue) that its daily user number grew by 11 percent in the quarter — a little higher than 10 percent in Q1 — the company doesn’t actually disclose this number.
The stock drop will be frustrating for executives because, in its favor, Twitter had a record quarter of profit. GAAP net income came in at $100 million with revenue climbing 24 percent year-on-year to reach $711 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $265 million — Twitter is predicting it will decline to $215-$235 million in the next quarter.
That profit was above analyst forecasts of $70 million but, following Facebook’s epic crash this week, investors want to see growth potential… and that means more users. Unfortunately, that’s Twitter’s Achilles heel.
Source: TechCrunch
Meme creators are locking their accounts in a secret ploy to advertisers. But can memes, built to move through the web unhindered, adapt to a walled garden?
Source: Wired
“Congress has a vital role to play on matters of public health, but we must act based on sound evidence.”
Source: Wired
After weeks of speculation around how it plans to handle conspiracy website Infowars, its creator Alex Jones and others that spread false information, Facebook finally gave us an answer: inconsistently.
The company hit Jones with a 30-day ban after it removed four videos that he shared on the Infowars Facebook Page.
The move is Facebook’s first that curtails the reach of Jones, who has been a major talking point in the media because he is continually allowed a voice on the social network, despite spreading “alternative theories” on events like 9/11 and the San Bernardino shootings.
Sounds good so far, but, for a six-hour period today, it didn’t seem as though Facebook itself even knew what is going on.
CNET reported that Jones’ had been hit by a 30-day suspension for posting four videos that violate its community standards on the Infowars page that counts him as a moderator. When reached by TechCrunch to confirm the report, Facebook said Jones had only been handed a warning and that, in the event of another warning, a 30-day ban would then follow.
After hours of waiting for further confirmation and emails to the contrary, Facebook clarified that in fact Jones’ personal account was given a 30-day ban, while Infowars received a warning but no ban.
Facebook is literally shooting the messenger but allowing the page — which pushed the video out to its audience — to remain in place.
In subsequent emails, Facebook explained that the inconsistency is because Jones’ personal account had already received a past warning, which triggers the 30-day ban. Surprisingly, though, this is a first warning for the Infowars page.
At least, that’s what we think has happened because Facebook hasn’t fully clarified the exact summary of events. (We have asked.)
Beyond the four videos, there’s a lot riding on this decision — it sets a precedent. Infowars is one of the largest of its kind, but there are plenty of other organizations that thrive on pumping out misleading/false content that plays into insecurities, misplayed nationalistic pride and more.
That’s why Infowars (involuntarily) became the subject of two Facebook video events held with press his month. On both occasions, Facebook executives said that even those peddling false information deserve to have a voice on the social network, no matter how questionable or inflammatory their views may be. CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself even said Holocaust deniers have free speech on the service.
Based on today, so long as they spew their message within the Facebook community rules, they are fine.
In fact, you could take it further and suggest that if they don’t raise the suspicions of rival platforms like YouTube, they’ll remain untouched on Facebook.
The Jones/Infowars videos were pulled by Facebook days after being removed from YouTube. Indeed, one of the Facebook videos had even survived a review after it was flagged to Facebook moderators last month. The reviewer marked the video as acceptable and it remained on the platform — until this week.
Facebook called that decision a mistake, but arguably it’s a mistake that wouldn’t have been rectified had YouTube not raised the alarm by banning the videos on its platform first. (YouTube has well-documented content moderation problems so that it is it running circles around Facebook should draw much concern from the social network’s management.)
That Facebook is unable to communicate a significant decision like this in a cohesive manner doesn’t give the confidence to think it has its house in order when it comes to video moderation. If anything, it shows that the social network is playing catch up and winging what is a critical topic.
Its platform is being used nefariously worldwide, whether it is to sway elections or incite racial violence in foreign lands, so now, more than ever, Facebook needs to nail down the basics of handling malicious content like Infowars which, unlike those other threats, is hiding in plain sight.
Source: TechCrunch
Apple has brought its T2 coprocessor to the new MacBook Pros, offering advanced security features such as encrypted storage and secured boot-up. But as with many aspects of the MacBook Pro, it comes with a compromise that a lot of us feel weary about.
The post The MacBook Pro’s tight security comes with an annoying compromise appeared first on Digital Trends.
Source: Digital trends