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Using virtual reality could make you a better person in real life

Jul24
by on July 24, 2019 at 8:24 am
Posted In: Around the Web, syndication, virtual reality


If you’ve ever participated in a virtual reality (VR) experience, you might have found yourself navigating the virtual world as an avatar. If you haven’t, you probably recognize the experience from its portrayal in film and on television. Popular media has brought us characters like Jake Sully in Avatar, Wade Watts in Ready Player One, and Danny and Karl in the Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers. In these examples, the character’s virtual alter-ego is physically different from who they are in the real world. The connection between the real person and their virtual avatar is called “embodiment”. If you have…

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New York financial regulator sets up new division to police cryptocurrency businesses

Jul24
by on July 24, 2019 at 8:02 am
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


The New York State Department of Financial Services has announced the launch of a new division which will absorb the regulator’s current department that oversees cryptocurrency businesses in the state. In a statement released yesterday, financial services superintendent Linda Lacewell announced the regulator’s new research and innovation division. The new division will be responsible for “keeping pace” with technological developments in banking, insurance, and fintech. In essence, it appears the division will be tasked with assessing new financial technologies and devising suitable regulations. The division will also become home to the regulator’s department that licenses and supervises businesses that deal…

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Netflix launches its $3/month mobile-only subscription in India

Jul24
by on July 24, 2019 at 7:12 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web


At an event in New Delhi, India, today, Netflix launched its new mobile-only subscription tier for users in the country at Rs. 199 ($2.88) per month. The plan is valid for one concurrent stream and will work with Android and iOS tablets. Netflix said consumers will be able to stream content at Standard Definition (SD). Earlier this month, the company had confirmed its plan to launch a mobile-only subscription in India. It had tested this plan in India and Malaysia earlier this year. Developing…

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Google will remove shady data-stealing Chrome extensions starting October 15

Jul24
by on July 24, 2019 at 5:46 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Google


Google is making good on its “root-and-branch review” of third-party developer access to user data. The company has now said its new policy for Minimum Permission and updated User Data policy will be enforced starting October 15, 2019 — in other words, Chrome will no longer support sketchy extensions that gather data on your browsing activity. Back in May, the internet giant had annouced it would begin cracking down on Chrome extensions that abuse your personal information. To that effect, it had urged all developers to post privacy policies and rework their Chrome extensions to request only minimum permissions without compromising…

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Facebook releases AI-powered tools to map the world

Jul24
by on July 24, 2019 at 5:30 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, artificial intelligence


Facebook today released a bunch of machine learning-powered tools to help create maps of the world. The company’s tools, called Map with AI, will help the community-based OpenStreetMap organization to create crowd-sourced maps easily. The social network spent two years in developing these tools, and is now making it available to OpenStreetMap community members. The program’s current marquee tool, called RapidID, lets you identify, add, and edit roads in a pinch. Here’s how RapidID works. It takes satellite images from commercially available public images from Maxar, a US-based space tech company. Then, its AI model predicts the presence of roads in a given image…

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