Don’t Wack Wacom

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Don’t Wack Wacom
Number 3546
Broadcast Date JUNE 5, 2019
Episode Length 30:41
Hosts Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang
Guests Scott Johnson

One of the new features touted in macOS Catalina is Sidecar. A function where an iPad can be used as a 2nd display for a Mac. Is this a feature that’s in demand and how would someone use it?

Guest

Quick Hits

Chairman of TSMC, Mark Liu, said Wednesday that restrictions on US companies supplying products to Huawei will have a short-term impact on TSMC, though its 2019 profit outlook remains unchanged. While TSMC said its shipments to Huawei have not been affected, Liu told reporters, “When there’s no Android system in a smartphone, many people might have doubts on whether the market will accept it.”
Skype officially launched screen sharing for Android and iOS. The feature has been in beta for more than a month. The option is now in the menu in the bottom right corner of the screen while in a video call. Other beta features like tap to make call controls disappear are also coming out of beta.
Microsoft and Oracle will create high-speed links between their data centers in order to make cloud services from the two companies work better together. The companies will also support log in to services from either company with a single username and the ability to get tech support from either company. Microsoft has similar deals with SAP and Adobe. The move is seen as a way for Microsoft and Oracle to compete better with AWS.

Top Stories

YouTube announced Wednesday it will remove videos that deny well-documented violent events, including the holocaust. It will also remove videos that promote groups that claim superiority to others to justify discrimination. That happened after the following. Vox writer and video host Carlos Maza has complained in public and to YouTube that YouTube creator Steven Crowder makes videos with derogatory and mocking remarks about Maza's sexuality and ethnicity every time Maza posts a video on Vox. Maza calls the videos harassment while Crowder says he's joking, calling them "friendly ribbing." YouTube’s harassment and cyberbullying policy guidelines states “Content or behavior intended to maliciously harass, threaten, or bully others is not allowed on YouTube.” YouTube says it reviewed Crowder's videos and while it found "language that was clearly hurtful, the videos as posted don’t violate our policies." YouTube added, “Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they don’t violate our policies, they’ll remain on our site.” YouTube also clarified “even if a video remains on our site, it doesn’t mean we endorse/support that viewpoint.” In response, Maza says YouTube "has decided that targeted racist and homophobic harassment does not violate its policies against hate speech or harassment." However, later in the day, YouTube announced it would demonetize Crowder's channel for violation of the YouTube Partner program policies which prohibit channels that "upload videos that result in widespread harm to our community of creators, viewers and advertisers." If you come into this issue with the opinion that the comments are unallowable you believe YouTube is wrong. If you think the comments are allowable you think YouTube is right. That discussion will end up parsing what was said and where it should fall. And you probably have your own answer for that. But outside of this particular incident, a question we've been returning to multiple times in situations like these on multiple platforms: Should YouTube be judging this? And if not, who should?
iOS 13 uses a new algorithm to determine when your phone is charging overnight in order to extend battery life. Continually charging a phone to 100% all night long when not in use shortens the life of lithium-ion batteries. The new approach keeps the phone charged only to 80% until it's near your wakeup time when it makes sure the battery will be at 100%.
Amazon announced a handful of new things at its Re:MARS conference. Amazon showed off its Prime Air delivery drone. It's a vertical takeoff and landing hybrid aircraft with thermal cameras, depth cameras and sonar that Amazon claims make it is "as robust and stable as commercial aircraft." Amazon says its goal is delivering packages in a 15 mile range up to 5 pounds in less than 30 minutes starting in a matter of months.
Amazon also announced StyleSnap coming "soon" to Android and iOS. It will let you take a photo or upload an image of an outfit you like and Amazon will use machine learning to find similar clothing items for sale on Amazon.
And finally Amazon announced improvements to its voice assistant's ability to hold a conversation without constantly having to say its name. Amazon says it is working to predict what a user will want to do next and guide the conversation. In its demo the assistant went from a question about what movies were playing nearby to selecting a movie, buying tickets, making a restaurant reservation, watching a trailer and ordering an Uber. It will go live to users in the coming months.

Discussion

Mailbag

Thanks for the shout out to libraries as part of the story on the Hamilton Public Library and Open Library project of Internet Archives on DTNS 3545.

I'm a consulting librarian with Montana State Library and part of what we do is provide consortial access to digital materials so it can be affordable even for those in rural areas with underfunded libraries. It can be difficult navigating the shifting sands of copyright as well as the proprietary restrictions of many of the content providers.

Too many times I've heard tech pundits deride restrictions we're subject to such as one copy, one user that are indeed meaningless in the digital world. We see it, too, but they're not our choice. So, we're constantly looking at additional models such as the open library.

And, allow me to put in a plug for one of our other key concerns, privacy. Unlike online search engines and booksellers, librarians don't share records of what you've read, listened to or watched without a subpoena. And we strive to educate the public about privacy in the digital age.
Sent by Suzanne

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Preceded by:
"Brains and Fingers and Robots. Oh My!"
Don’t Wack Wacom
Followed by:
"Should I Stadia or should I Go"