Daily Tech Headlines – August 29, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – August 29, 2016 | |
| Number | 58 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 29, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 6:43 |
| Hosts | Rich Stroffolino |
Facebook automates trending topics, Amtrak gets new trains, and Snapchat gets all behavioral.
Headlines
- On Friday, Facebook announced it will introduce more automation to its Trending topics section. Trending topics will no longer require people to write descriptions, but will still utilize human curation to make sure trending stories are "high-quality". Excerpts from trending articles will be automatically selected by an algorithm. Writers for Quartz confirmed with multiple sources that this has resulted in the layoff of the trending editorial team.
- In an eMarketer report, Snapchat's director of revenue operations Clement Xue revealed the company is working on implementing behavioral targeting for advertisers. The report claims this will begin rolling out by the end of Q3 2016. Lara O'Reilly at Business Insiders spoke with sources who advised this will be limited to behavior within the Snapchat app initially, not tied to overall browsing habits.
- Travel website TripAdvisor announced it has acquired the social mapping app Citymaps. Citymaps will continue to operate as a standalone business. Citymaps currently has around 1 million actively monthly users, and specializes in highlighting points of interest, which still providing traditional mapping and navigation services. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
- The Obama administration proposed a new Federal rule, which would allow foreign entrepreneurs to live in the US while building their startup. To be eligible, entrepreneurs would have to own a minimum 15% stake in a US-based startup, have a central operational position, and have potential for job growth and creation within the company. Under the proposed rule, the Department of Homeland Security would be empowered to grant eligible entrepreneurs a 2-year stay, with a one time 3-year extension. The rule will be open to public comment for 45-days, but is not subject to Congressional approval.
- On Friday, Opera warned users that it detected hackers had gained access to their password sync system. While passwords stored on the service are encrypted, Opera is resetting all sync account passwords. The company advised this will impact a relatively small amount of users, with only <0.5% of Opera's 350 million users using the sync service.
- Phillips announced updates to its Hue smart lighting system. The company announced a motion detector, which can detect movement up to 16.5 feet away. Users can setup triggers for how long lights remain on when movement is detected, how close someone must be before triggering the lights, as well as limiting the motion detector to working at night, to save on energy. Phillips also announced an update to its A19 color-changing bulb, with improved green and cyan reproduction. The motion detector goes on sale in October for $39.95, and the bulbs will begin flowing down through retail channels once existing stock is exhausted for $50.
- Amtrak announced plans to modernize their train fleet by 2021. The publicly owned rail company received a $2 billion federal loan to invest in 28 next-gen trains. The new trains will be part of the Acela Express service, running along the Northeast Corridor, and will feature one-third more passenger seating, improved Wi-Fi, USB charging ports, and better accessibility. The trains will have a top speed of 186mph, up from the current fleets 150mph.
- As part of a previously announced partnership, Facebook users can now stream Blizzard games through Facebook Live. The initial rollout is limited to PC-users in the Americas, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with a global rollout and Mac support both coming soon. User must connect their Battle.net account to Facebook to stream games over Facebook Live.
- Microsoft launched a new dedicated online portal to report hate speech. The new portal is an attempt to simply reporting across Microsoft's properties, including Skype, OneDrive, and Xbox Live. The company's policies for dealing with hate speech remain unchanged, with the company utilizing a “notice-and-takedown” approach. The company also created a separate portal for reinstatement requests to make sure any erroneously removed content is returned in a reasonable window.
- Alphabet has hired AirBnb's Global Head of Vacation Rentals and former CEO of Hotel deals site JetSetter, Shaun Stewart— as a director of Alphabet's self-driving car unit. Stewart will be tasked with commercializing self-driving cars. The current leadership for Google's autonomous car efforts now includes Former Hyundai President and CEO John Krafcik as CEO. Tim Papandreou expert on municipal transportation policy is now the head of partnerships with cities and industry. And now Shaun Stewart, expert in short-term rentals.
- Laptop pioneer John Ellenby passed away earlier this month at age 75 in San Francisco. In the early 80s, Mr. Ellenby founded Grid Systems, which introduced the first commercially successful clamshell laptop, the Compass, which retailed for $8,150 upon its release in 1982. Mr. Ellenby had previously worked for Xerox, and was instrumental in managing the team that created the Alto II. After Grid Systems was sold to Tandy in 1988, Mr Ellenby went on to found companies that were early pioneers in tablet computing, as well as augmented reality.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – August 26, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – August 29, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – August 30, 2016" |