A 4G tablet is a great option when you need a portable workstation with an internet connection. If you are in the market for one, the Wi-Fi and cellular 2017 Apple iPad Pro is currently on sale on Amazon, starting at $579.
Source: Digital trends
A group of tech leaders has banded together to speak out against white supremacy and rampant hate speech on tech platforms. The group, Build Tech We Trust, refers to itself as a collective of tech CEOs, activists, changemakers and workers who are committed to countering hate and terrorism.
In a public letter published today, Project Include CEO Ellen Pao, Code2040 CEO Karla Monterroso, ReadySet CEO Y-Vonne Hutchinson, Project Include founding member Erica Baker, Block Party CEO Tracy Chou and others make a call to hold tech platforms accountable and build tech everyone can trust.
“We did this because we have a deep belief that there are more people on the right side of history on this than on the side of violent white supremacists,” Monterroso told TechCrunch. “In times of great pain and risk, we all need to be united together. So we wanted to both ensure tech’s role in this is clear and give us an opportunity to get aligned.”
Despite platitudes by tech CEOs that their respective platforms are designed to bring the world together and foster connection, these platforms too often cause harm and “are radicalizing and fragmenting communities by providing an unprecedented ability to coordinate attacks and amplify hate,” the letter states.
That’s not to say that tech companies have done nothing to try to combat hate speech and white supremacy, but what they’ve done just hasn’t been enough. In June, former ACLU Washington Director Laura Murphy said Facebook’s white supremacy policy, despite some changes, was still too narrow. Meanwhile, stories have recently emerged regarding how people become radicalized on YouTube.
The letter comes shortly after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, where many of the victims were either Latinx or black. Tech leaders in the letter also note other shootings where people were targeted because of their race, sexuality and/or religion, like the Pulse Nightclub shooting and Charleston church massacre.
“White supremacist terrorism and violence, fueled by racism and misogyny, and empowered by technology, is on the rise,” they write. “They’ve moved beyond their white robes and hoods to social media and public rallies where they radicalize and fund their growing membership. Our government leaders at the highest levels encourage and spread it. Our industry leaders enable and profit from it. Four of the five worst gun massacres in modern history have taken place over the past two years. Evidence shows that many of these shooters are inspired by white supremacist ideology and targeting marginalized people.”
The aim of the letter is to serve as a call to action to encourage their fellow technologists to build ethical and responsible tech platforms.
“Whether it be a walkout, refusing to build or buy tech that accelerates hate, calling out unfair anti-abuse policies that silence marginalized voices, or continuing to demand answers from those in positions of power, the time to act is now,” the leaders write.
You can read the full letter over on Build Tech We Trust.
Source: TechCrunch
Mass shootings and executive orders have dragged the web’s most consequential law back into the spotlight.
Source: Wired
The executive, in announcing his departure, was the last of the Oculus founders still at the company.
Source: Wired
Picking the best OLED laptops isn’t as difficult as choosing the best laptops, because there aren’t as many to pick from. There are a few standouts though and they make up this list of our favorite OLED notebooks.
Source: Digital trends
Looking for an 8-inch tablet that your child can use? The first thing that popped in your head is probably the iPad Mini, which is great but expensive. For something more affordable, check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab A, now $148 on Amazon.
Source: Digital trends
If you want to own a new MacBook Pro without spending more than $1,000, check out Amazon’s offer for the 13-inch 2017 Apple MacBook Pro. This $299 price cut brings the late-gen Apple notebook within your budget.
Source: Digital trends
When Fortnite reached stratospheric popularity early last year, there were undoubtedly an awful lot of VCs on the sidelines looking enviously at the massive platform and wondering what opportunities could be gleaned from its rapid rise.
Epic Games went on to raise later that year at a nearly $15 billion valuation so some of those investors decided to invest directly in the Fortnite creator’s continued ascent, but others have been looking to get in on the ground floor of new operations that are aiming to rethink the line between video games and social networks.
Today, Andreessen Horowitz announced that it’s leading the $16.5 million Series A of a stealthy gaming startup called Singularity 6. The startup’s ex-Riot Games co-founders claim their venture is less focused on building a button-mashing competitive shooter than it is a “virtual society” where users can develop relationships with in-game characters powered by “complex AI”.
Singularity 6 co-founders Anthony Leung (left)and Aidan Karabaich (right)
London Venture Partners (LVP) and FunPlus Ventures also participated in the Series A round. LVP led the company’s $2.5 million seed round last year.
“The near term focus is our first product, building a world that begins to tackle the community simulation space, and that’s really combining a strong virtual community with deep and compelling gameplay,” CEO Anthony Leung told TechCrunch in an interview.
He says that the company’s influences for its first title include “Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”
While the co-founder did specify that Singularity 6 is a “game and tech company” he didn’t have too much to say about what that tech was. “We actually have to roll out a lot of custom tech, because there aren’t really any off-the-shelf solutions for the MMO aspects or the virtual community features,” Leung told us.
A16z has already invested in a company building the underlying tech for MMOs, Improbable, which has raised $600 million+ for its server-stitching SpatialOS platform. Investors like Andreessen Horowitz are largely ambitious that the gaming market will continue to grow as major players invest heavily in platforms that make the titles more accessible to new user bases.
“Interactive entertainment has become more mainstream and approachable than ever before, as technology use is no longer for fringe or techy groups – this new generation of ‘gamers’ is becoming more inclusive of everyone – as immersive, digital experiences will become as accessible and commonplace as the social forums we know and love today.” wrote a16z Partner Andrew Chen, who is taking a seat on Singularity 6’s board as part of this deal, in a blog post.
Singularity 6 isn’t sharing a release date for its “virtual society” quite yet, but Leung tells me the title is “still a ways out” from launch.
Source: TechCrunch
Behold the triple double: The gymnast’s precise control of her body as she moves through space sets her apart. Add tremendous strength and speed, and you’ve got a champion.
Source: Wired
As companies like Alibaba and apps like WeChat took off, China’s startup scene began to exert a growing pull on Chinese engineers overseas.
Source: Wired