Facebook, YouTube Changes; Internet Trolls; Uganda’s Digital Migration

Posted April 22nd, 2015 at 2:10 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings:

Facebook Shifts News Feed, Gives Priority to Friends

Facebook has announced that it is reconfiguring its News Feed to help people learn more about what is happening to the friends they care about. Changes will decrease emphasis on sharing and referral traffic and show people only the content that matters to them.

Time to Say Goodbye to YouTube on Old Devices

Google’s recent decision to update its YouTube interface means that the video streaming service will soon stop working on older devices or those that are not up to date. Affected devices include Google TV versions 3 and 4, and Apple devices running operating systems older than iOS 7.

Minister Jim Muhwezi: Uganda Will Beat Digital Migration Deadline

Uganda’s Minister for Information and National Guidance, Jim Muhwezi, assured a parliamentary committee that his country is on track to meet its digital migration deadline on June 17, 2015.
Some African countries have had difficulties meeting the digital migration deadline, particularly those with high terrestrial television penetration rates.

Swarm of WordPress Plugins Susceptible to Potentially Dangerous Exploits

Several WordPress plugins have been patched and updated to prevent hackers from exploiting cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that allow them to inject potentially risky commands into browsers accessing trusted websites. Administrators running any of the affected plugins should update them as soon as possible.

Eight Sure Signs You’re an Internet Troll

Academics at Stanford and Cornell universities have been trying to determine the characteristics of Internet trolls – people who seemingly exist for bad behavior and the misery of others. The resulting study came up with a list of features that might help identify – and ban – future trolls.

Computers That Know How You Feel Will Soon Be Everywhere

Artificial intelligence start-up Affectiva, has created software that scans viewers’ faces for real time emotional reactions to television shows or movies and provides as much or as little suspense and horror as the viewer can handle – no more, no less.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

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