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BitTorrent strengthens Sync API, takes on cloud storage for businesses with Onehub partnership

Jul15
by on July 15, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

BitTorrent Sync API-Header
BitTorrent Sync, a torrent-based alternative to file-sharing in the cloud, is getting some notable upgrades for developers and businesses with updates to its API and a new partnership with OneHub. Back in 2013, BitTorrent released an API for Sync to help developers leverage its torrent-based abilities in their own apps. Today it’s bringing out version 2.0 of the kit, along with a host of new features: You can embed the Sync file-sharing engine to your tools and controlling it with the API You can now create custom reports on Sync status across multiple devices, send notifications when files arrive on…

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Siri tries not to misgender Caitlyn Jenner but that’s thanks to Wolfram Alpha not Apple

Jul15
by on July 15, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Last time we checked in with Siri, it was to ponder its downright harsh answer to “dividing by zero.” Today’s queries concern Caitlyn Jenner. BuzzFeed reports that if you’ll be corrected by Apple’s virtual assistant if you ask questions using Jenner’s pre-transition name ‘Bruce Jenner.’ And that’s true. But it’s not down to the folks in Cupertino. Instead, the correct information comes from Wolfram Alpha. If you ask “How tall is Bruce Jenner?” or “What is Bruce Jenner’s real name?”, you’ll get answers correctly referring to Caitlyn. Try the same queries on the Web version of Wolfram and you’ll be similarly…

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8tracks is rolling out an update design focused on helping you find new music

Jul15
by on July 15, 2015 at 3:59 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

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8tracks, the profitable underdog in the music streaming world, has launched a redesigned Web app, to make it easier for listeners to discover new music and playlists. The refresh puts greater emphasis on the site’s DJs, who create its playlists. It algorithmically surfaces the most suitable ones based on your listening habits and learns from your searches and likes. The company has historically focused on human curation. Its new approach combines that with algorithms in an advantageous way. The resulting recommendations are presented on a cleaner homepage that reveals the people behind the playlists. The updated search engine now offers…

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Why Uber is buying map companies

Jul15
by on July 15, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, maps, uber

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This month, news broke that Uber acquired a significant chunk of Microsoft Bing’s mapping assets. This included about 100 employees and guesstimates of licensed intellectual property from the Redmond, Washington giant. In March, Uber’s first mapping acquisition was San Jose-based deCarta. It paid an undisclosed sum for the company that helped power GM’s OnStar turn-by-turn navigation system. Buying both of these map companies in three months was a smart move for a startup experiencing tremendous growth, and even fiercer competition. Uber Acquired Mapping Companies to Improve Logistics Uber is constantly testing and expanding the range of possibilities for customers to use…

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Google will offer free internet to public housing residents in its Fiber markets

Jul15
by on July 15, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider

Google Fiber
Google is about to make the Web easier to access for many people: it’ll offer free internet to public and affordable housing residents in its Fiber markets. The move is part of the new federal ConnectHome project, announced today, which aims to bring the Web to 28 public housing communities across the country. Google Fiber covers four of these areas, Atlanta, Durham, Nashville and Kansas City, and it will extend the program to every current and future Fiber market. The company is also working with local community programs to foster computer training sessions in these markets. Google says the move…

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