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No, Samsung isn’t pre-installing Facebook on your phone

Jan09
by on January 9, 2019 at 10:16 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Finance, Insider


Early this morning, Bloomberg reported that Samsung doesn’t let users uninstall the Facebook app from some of its phones. The story states that Facebook app comes pre-installed in select Samsung devices and users can only disable it, but can’t delete it from their phones. However, that’s not the whole picture. The pre-installed “Facebook app” on these Samsung phones is merely a placeholder which prompts users to download updates to the main Facebook app. Basically, you can’t use or log in to Facebook unless you decide to update the placeholder app.. The stub is Facebook App Manager/Installer that is totally different from the…

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ShapeShift lays off 37 staff as ‘crypto winter’ takes hold

Jan09
by on January 9, 2019 at 10:04 am
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


The “crypto winter” is far from over and cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift is the latest to fall victim to its harsh ways. In a blog post published yesterday evening, ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees announced that he has had to “let 37 employees go.” This has reduced the company’s size by a third. The news comes as a result of the continued cryptocurrency bear market, as well as ShapeShift’s business model, which financially exposes the business to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. While this has shown to allow the company to prosper during bull runs, it seems it negatively impacts the…

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Mark Zuckerberg resolves to hold public talks on the future of tech this year

Jan09
by on January 9, 2019 at 8:59 am
Posted In: Around the Web


Every year since 2009, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly announced his New Year resolutions; for 2019, he intends to “host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society — the opportunities, the challenges, the hopes, and the anxieties.” Zuckerberg noted in his Facebook post that the plan is to involve “leaders, experts, and people in our community from different fields” in these conversations every few weeks, and make them publicly available. On the one hand, I feel like I don’t have the energy to keep up with Zuck this year: his 2018 resolution was to…

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How driverless cars choose who to kill is an ethical dilemma

Jan09
by on January 9, 2019 at 8:49 am
Posted In: Around the Web, artificial intelligence, robots, syndication


Slowly but surely, work on self-driving cars is progressing. Crashes still happen, tragic accidents come to pass every once in a while, and autonomous vehicles still make stupid mistakes that the most novice human drivers would avoid. But eventually, scientists and researchers will teach our cars to see the world and drive the streets on a level that equates or exceeds the skills of most human drivers. Distracted driving and DUI will become a thing of the past. Roads will become safer when humans are removed from behind the steering wheel. Accidents will become very rare happenings. But accidents will happen, and…

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Google Assistant’s new features make it more useful for travelers

Jan09
by on January 9, 2019 at 7:10 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider


In its CES announcements, Google revealed a bunch of useful updates to Google Assistant including navigation, travel, and translation features. Here are the most notable changes that’ll help you in your daily interaction with Google Assistant. Use Assistant with maps Now, Google Maps users on iOS and Android will be able to ask for navigation assistance with their voice. For example, you can say “Hey Google, take me home,” to open Google Maps and get directions for your commute. Additionally, you’ll be able to share your ETA with friends, play music or podcasts, or search places along your route, using…

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