Facebook denies filtering conservative news stories

Even if your Facebook News Feed is full of family members dropping racist memes or links to factually inaccurate articles, you might not see such showing up in the “trending news” portion of the social network’s landing page. And there’s a reason for that: Workers “routinely suppressed” news stories that’d interest conservative users from the section, according to a report from Gizmodo . Those stories apparently include anything about the Conservative Political Action Conference , two-time Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and posts from conservative news outlet The Drudge Report . More than that, it appears Facebook wouldn’t curate a story with conservative origin ( Breitbart , for example) unless it was picked up by The New York Times or BBC first. While Facebook’s company line is that it “takes allegations of bias very seriously” in light of the Gizmodo report, claiming “rigorous guidelines” to ensure consistency and neutrality and that those guidelines don’t “permit the suppression of political perspectives, ” the sources for these allegations were contract workers — not full-on employees themselves. These contractractors worked for Facebook from the middle of 2014 until December 2015. What appears in the Trending News module isn’t exclusively determined by an algorithm of what its users are actively sharing, it’s curated much like how an editorial newsroom operates. One of Gizmodo ‘s sources — who leans politically conservative — says that what would populate the list was largely determined by who was working at the time. If that person happened to not subscribe to conservative points of view, a story would be blacklisted. More than that, if a particular story is trending on Twitter but not Facebook? It’s “injected” into the Trending News section. Specific instances of that include the Black Lives Matter conversation or the ongoing conflict in Syria. This isn’t the first time Facebook has come under fire for this type of thing. In 2014 the company admitted that it controversially, and experimentally, altered the News Feed to measure your emotional responses. Via: TechCrunch Source: Gizmodo

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Facebook denies filtering conservative news stories

NVIDIA’s GTX 1080 GPU is twice as fast the Titan X

NVIDIA gave us a taste of its new Pascal architecture with the P100 graphics card last month, which is aimed at servers for heavy duty computing. Now, it’s ready to show off how that technology will be adapted for consumers with its new GeForce GTX 1080 GPU. As you’d expect, it’s fast: NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang revealed that it’s better than its current performance king, the Titan X. It’s also faster than two GTX 980 cards running together using SLI technology. Like the P100, the 1080 is built with a new 16nm FinFET (a type of 3D transistor) manufacturing process, which makes it more power efficient, on top of just being faster. The GTX 1080 is the “largest GPU endeavor, largest chip endeavor, largest processor endeavor, in the history of humanity, ” said NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. He added that the R&D budget for the new card was “several billion dollars” over the span of more than two years. “I’m pretty sure you can go to Mars [for that], ” he said. NVIDIA is basically positioning the GTX 1080 as the gamer’s dream card. Prior to its unveiling, Huang showed off several new titles like The Division and Rise of the Tomb Raider running at max settings in a high resolution over 60 frames per second. He later revealed that all of the games were running on the new card, to the delight of the entire crowd. But of course, NVIDIA won’t be alone with new hardware this year. AMD is expected to debut new cards with its Polaris technology this summer, which will focus on power efficiency as well. It sounds like Polaris is better suited for gaming laptops at the moment, but it could also be a way for AMD to deliver some powerful cards that you can actually afford (think under $300). Developing…

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NVIDIA’s GTX 1080 GPU is twice as fast the Titan X

Charter acquisition of Time Warner Cable approved by the FCC

It feels like forever since Time Warner Cable agreed to merge with Charter Communications , for an estimated $55 billion . But today, nearly a year after the two companies struck a deal, the Federal Communications Commission has finally granted its approval . The announcement follows FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the US Justice Department green-lighting the merger in April, which confirmed that it was only a matter of time before it became official. It’s worth noting that Charter is also acquiring Bright House Networks , a regional TV and internet provider, as part of the agreement between it and the government. Additionally, last month Wheeler revealed there would be some caveats for Charter , including not being be able to impede access to streaming content. Namely, Charter can’t set data caps for subscribers or charge for service based on usage — and there might be more compromises. A detailed release of the conditions for the merger will be released over the coming days, according to a statement from the FCC . Nevertheless, this positions Charter as the second largest cable and internet service in the US with 24 million subscribers total, right behind Comcast’s 28 million . Persistence pays off , folks. Source: Federal Communications Commission

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Charter acquisition of Time Warner Cable approved by the FCC

Over one million people swiped right for premium Tinder

According to Match Group, more than one million people have ponied up the $9.99 per month (or more, if you’re over 30 ) for Tinder’s premium service level in the first quarter of 2016. That figure is a relatively small portion of Tinder’s 50 million global users, but there are still more than a million people out there whose app-based dating experience includes unlimited swipes, extra Super Likes and the ability to change their location to swipe from afar. If you want a robotic meat-swiper , however, you’ll have to build one yourself. Like the ups and downs of dating life, Tinder has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in the past six months. Earlier this year, police in the UK said reports of crime related to dating apps like Tinder and Grindr rose 700 percent since 2014. In November, Tinder CEO Sean Rad also gave an ill-advised interview in which he drastically misunderstood the word “sodomy” and simultaneously ran afoul of SEC rules right before parent company Match Group filed for IPO . And yet, Rad’s comments don’t seem to have hurt the business at all. In total, Match Group now claims around 5.1 million monthly paid members across all its dating sites, which include Tinder, Match.com, OkCupid and the recently acquired PlentyOfFish.

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Over one million people swiped right for premium Tinder

Google’s self-driving tech goes into Chrysler minivans this year (update: official)

That rumored deal between Google and Fiat Chrysler for self-driving car technology? It’s reportedly happening… if not quite in the way you’d expect. Bloomberg sources claim that the arrangement will put some of Google’s autonomous tech into the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan sometime this year. Just how deep this integration would go isn’t clear, but it’s not believed to be an exclusive arrangement — either side could cooperate with other partners. If the leak is accurate, the deal could be signed as soon as May 3rd (if you’re reading this in time, today). Once again, the partnership makes more sense than you might think. Google (or rather, Alphabet) already said that it wasn’t going to mass-produce its own cars, so it was always going to need help — this is its first major deal. Fiat Chrysler, meanwhile, has been hoping for a fast track to self-driving technology to help it compete against rivals that have already done a lot of legwork . And minivans? They could make more sense than you think. While you’re unlikely to see truly driverless Chryslers anytime soon, this would show that Google’s know-how can improve one of the most mainstream vehicles you can find: a run-of-the-mill (if relatively high-end) family carrier. If Google and Fiat Chrysler succeed there, the technology could easily spread to other models and manufacturers. Update: Yes, it’s official .. although it’s not quite how it was originally portrayed. Google is adding “about 100” Pacifica hybrid vans to its fleet of self-driving cars, the first of which will hit the streets by the end of 2016. Sorry, folks, you won’t get to drive one yourself. Fiat Chrysler is making it easy for Google to install its systems, and the minivan design conveniently allows for testing larger, more passenger-friendly vehicles that can incorporate features like “hands-free sliding doors.” Source: Bloomberg

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Google’s self-driving tech goes into Chrysler minivans this year (update: official)

Kodak is giving free film to Kickstarter directors

Crowdfunded filmmakers will be able to shoot on film for a lot less money thanks to a partnership between Kodak and Kickstarter. Kodak says it will provide free 35mm or Super 16mm film stock for select projects, up to a total of around $20, 000 for 35mm film, depending on the total budget. Beyond that, the company will provide discounted film and mentoring for packaging, financing and sales strategies. The choice of filmmakers appears to be at Kodak’s discretion, but so far the company has picked several Kickstarter productions that will launch this spring. Kickstarter has successfully funded 20, 000 productions totalling $330 million so far, though it didn’t say which were shot on film. The platform has garnered a lot of bad publicity in the past by funding large projects like Veronica Mars and Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here , since the well-known producers probably could have raised the cash elsewhere. On the other hand, it’s an excellent platform for up-and-coming filmmakers, and has helped get Oscar-nominated projects with very small budgets off the ground. Kodak VP Anne Hubbell says that “Kodak understands that artists working at all budget levels strive to tell their stories with the unique quality and emotion that film provides.” The company points out that footage can be purchased by Kickstarter producers in eighteen countries, including the US, UK, France and Canada. Kodak’s situation is a lot more secure in the film industry since it struck a deal with Hollywood to supply film for the foreseeable future. DarkFall, a Kickstarter film backed by Kodak However, it’s equally likely that many young, inexperienced directors would rather shoot digital, given advantages like speed and the ability to easily review takes. As we have pointed out , the costs of shooting on film go way beyond the stock itself. Filmmakers also need to consider processing and transferring footage to a format that can be edited, color corrected and converted to a final screening format. That, combined with the lower sensitivity of film compared to digital cameras (which necessitates more complex lighting) means that the total budget will likely still be higher, even with the film thrown in. That said, it’s always good to have choices, so if it’s an aesthetic that a director absolutely can’t live without, good old celluloid is now a much more feasible option. Source: Kodak

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Kodak is giving free film to Kickstarter directors

Humble Bundle Announces ‘Hacker’ Pay-What-You-Want Sale

An anonymous reader writes: Humble Bundle announced a special “pay what you want” sale for four ebooks from No Starch Press, with proceeds going to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (or to the charity of your choice). This “hacker edition” sale includes two relatively new titles from 2015 — “Automate the Boring Stuff with Python” and Violet Blue’s “Smart Girl’s Guide to Privacy, ” as well as “Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering” by Andrew “bunnie” Huang, and “The Linux Command Line”. Hackers who are willing to pay “more than the average” — currently $14.87 — can also unlock a set of five more books, which includes “The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse: Defend Your Base with Simple Circuits, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi”. (This level also includes “Bitcoin for the Befuddled” and “Designing BSD Rootkits: An Introduction to Kernel Hacking”.) And at the $15 level — just 13 cents more — four additional books are unlocked. “Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-On Guide to Dissecting Malicious Software” is available at this level, as well as “Hacking: The Art of Exploitation” and “Black Hat Python.” Nice to see they’ve already sold 28, 506 bundles, which are DRM-free and available in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI format. (I still remember Slashdot’s 2012 interview with Make magazine’s Andrew “bunnie” Huang, who Samzenpus described as “one of the most famous hardware and software hackers in the world.”) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Humble Bundle Announces ‘Hacker’ Pay-What-You-Want Sale

Flow is Microsoft’s take on IFTTT automation (Updated)

Microsoft is about to release its take on the automation service IFTTT called Flow, according to a blog post published and removed by the company. Update : the service is now live ! Flow connects to over 35 services, with more integrations planned. These include Microsoft products like Office 365 and OneDrive; third-party platforms such as Twitter, Dropbox, MailChimp, Google Drive, Slack and Trello; and developer-focused options like Github and SQL. Just like IFTTT, you’ll be able to create workflows across multiple services. Examples include adding a card in Trello if your boss emails you with “to do” in the subject line, sending a text alert if a Dropbox file is modified, or saving all of a user’s tweets to OneDrive. Some of this functionality has been available as part of a private preview for Microsoft’s Azure business customers, but Flow appears to be a more user-friendly take on the concept. It’s aimed squarely at businesses, schools and other large institutions, but there’s no reason that it couldn’t be useful to individuals, especially if you’re the sort of person that organizes your life through Trello. It’s not clear exactly when Flow will be ready. Twitter user @h0x0d first discovered the service (as spotted by The Verge ) along with the blog post, but it was swiftly removed. The article itself had a typo and didn’t appear finished, so it seems that it was posted before it was ready. Ironically, one of the workflows mentioned in the post intended to ensure “that all of the posts [about Flow] were reviewed and approved.” It appears that particular Flow failed. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information on Flow, and will update you once we have more details. Update : As noted above, Microsoft’s Flow service went live on Friday morning. Via: The Verge Source: Microsoft Flow (Google cache)

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Flow is Microsoft’s take on IFTTT automation (Updated)

‘A Beautiful Planet’ offers a bold new look at Earth in IMAX 3D

IMAX films shot in space aren’t anything new, but with A Beautiful Planet , longtime IMAX director Toni Myers still manages to show us entirely new perspectives of Earth. Shot on the International Space Station by several crews (including internet sensation Scott Kelly) and narrated by Jennifer Lawrence, it’s a groundbreaking film in many respects: It’s the first IMAX space feature to use digital cameras as well as off-the shelf shooters (the Canon EOS C500 and 1D-C). And it’s also the first film from IMAX to use SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to ship equipment to the ISS. While A Beautiful Planet uses converted 3D footage (it wasn’t shot with actual 3D cameras), there’s still an immense sense of depth to the imagery. The film also evokes the Spaceship Earth concept, which centers on the idea that we’re all traveling together on an organic craft with limited resources. It’s hard not to be taken aback when you see how dry the Colorado River Basin appears from space, which has led to droughts in California and surrounding states, or when you see how much of Brazil’s rainforests have been destroyed. In many ways, the film is a call to arms for the next generation of would-be environmentalists. Back when the NASA’s space shuttle was running, IMAX was able to get its large 2D and 3D cameras sent up fairly easily. But these days it’s more difficult to get material into orbit, because there’s no space shuttle for sending up large cargo. Luckily, modern digital filmmaking equipment is also far less cumbersome to deal with than it was during the days of the shuttle program. Not only are the cameras significantly smaller, but there’s no need to handle large reels of IMAX film, which weighed around 10 pounds and could record only three minutes at a time. IMAX says the data packs used today are around the size of an iPhone and can record 30 minutes of 4K video. Astronauts were trained to use the cameras by cinematographer James Neihouse, and they were tasked with getting footage from more than 100 targets (though they were also told to “shoot what they saw”). Though much more convenient, there was a bit of a tradeoff with the new hardware. IMAX’s older film cameras delivered stunning footage with a resolution comparable to 12K. But while the digital cameras might not pack in the same level of quality, their footage still looked astounding when projected in 3D on a full-size IMAX screen at Manhattan’s AMC Loews Lincoln Square theater. And despite the lower resolution, the digital cameras still managed to outdo their predecessors with their ability to handle low-light shots. “We would not have the nighttime scenes without the digital dynamic range, ” Myers said in a statement. “What the digital capture did was totally open up that night world to us, with stars, cities at night, lightning and other phenomena that you see at night, like aurora.” Those night scenes are indeed stunning. Viewing Earth in daylight conveys the immensity of the natural world, but at night you also see the impact of human civilization in cities ablaze with electricity. It’s also a reminder of how different even neighboring societies can be: South Korea is one of the brightest spots on Earth at night, but it’s almost complete darkness over the border in North Korea. On the natural side of things, the brief glimpses we get of aurora dancing across Earth’s atmosphere look more like computer-generated effects than something organic. Another first for the film: It took advantage of the International Space Station’s “Cupola, ” a dome-like arrangement of seven large windows, giving astronauts an incredibly wide view outside the craft. That was helpful for their own work taking care of the ISS, but it also allowed for a wide variety of angles for recording footage of Earth. IMAX also developed a special shield that protected the windows when they weren’t being used, which the astronauts were able to control. A Beautiful Planet gives us a clear sense of what it’s like to be on the ISS working alongside some of Earth’s most talented astronauts. We see them exercise, shower and try to maintain a sense of normalcy in a zero-gravity environment. Sure, they’re in space, but their jobs aren’t exactly glamorous. Much of their time is spent running and maintaining experiments. The astronauts also didn’t get any time off to shoot the film — they worked with what little personal time they had. At only 45 minutes, the film is more of a showcase for its incredible footage instead of a deep think piece. (At times it feels like it was written mainly for children.) Still, it makes a big impact: You’ll see things you’ve never seen before, and it gives you a broader sense of our impact on the environment. I’m sure we’ll get an even more immersive space experience with 360-degree video or virtual reality eventually ( Adr1ft comes close ), but at this point, it’s the closest thing to being in orbit.

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‘A Beautiful Planet’ offers a bold new look at Earth in IMAX 3D