Showing Archived Posts

Fake Bot Content Is Hard to Spot – and the Problem Is Getting Worse

Posted October 28th, 2016 at 11:05 am (UTC-4)
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Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don’t. But they are all over social media. Bots, short for robots, are automated applications – both good and bad – that either help with Web search and repetitive tasks or wreak havoc. And as more of them flood cyberspace, authenticating the content they push will be a major […]

Hate Speech Plugin Gives Internet Trolls a Chance to Pause

Posted October 21st, 2016 at 11:00 am (UTC-4)
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Hate Speech Blocker is a new browser plugin that tackles the complex problem of online hate speech without blurring the line between freedom of speech and censorship. Call it a spellchecker, of sorts – for hate. Typically, online hate spammers that get caught venting their anger on unsuspecting victims could end up with their social […]

These Apps Could Save Your Life – If You Give Up Your Privacy

Posted October 14th, 2016 at 10:53 am (UTC-4)
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Mobile apps are weaving their way into the fabric of our lives, branching into health and fitness and social networking, to name a few. Some lend a hand in cases of emergency and could even help save your life. I.M. Here Developed by mobile and web app developer SIMpalm, I.M. Here is an Android texting […]

Crowdsourced ‘Rate My Media’ Challenges Racial Bias

Posted October 7th, 2016 at 11:00 am (UTC-4)
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A new crowdsourcing website that challenges media representations of minorities in the U.S. and other countries hopes to encourage companies to police themselves and rethink how racial stereotypes are created. It started late in 2015 with a video lamenting a misrepresentation of African slaves as “workers” in a school textbook in Texas. The video, posted […]

Google Kicks Off Hardware Launch; Touring Your Bloodstream With VR

Posted October 4th, 2016 at 12:36 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: #MadebyGoogle Event Launches in San Francisco With New Hardware, Smartphones Android fans can look forward to a bunch of new products from Google. Those include home devices to compete with Amazon’s voice-activated gadgets and high-end smartphones to compete with Apple. The most anticipated are a pair of Pixel smartphones that replace the […]

Tech Nonprofit Gives Youth, Women in Developing World a Helping Hand

Posted September 30th, 2016 at 11:00 am (UTC-4)
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An international nonprofit will start training 6,000 Nigerian girls in digital skills in early 2017. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to use technology to empower underprivileged youth and women in the developing world. The Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) has been transforming the lives of young people and women in developing countries […]

How One Game Developer Came to Grips With Anxiety

Posted September 23rd, 2016 at 11:30 am (UTC-4)
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GeekGirlCon – an organization that seeks to empower women in technology and other areas – opens its 2016 convention on October 8. One of its featured speakers is a developer who wants to use games to shine a light on mental health. When writer and game developer Andrea Ayres was in her early 20s, she […]

How to Reconnect With Teens on Internet Safety

Posted September 16th, 2016 at 10:58 am (UTC-4)
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Several campaigns are underway in the U.S. and other countries to raise awareness about internet safety, particularly among teenagers for whom parental rules are hard to follow in the age of social media. But while rules are still needed, one advocate argues it is time for parents to change the conversation about internet safety. Online […]

US Nonprofit Tackles Big Problems With Data Science

Posted September 9th, 2016 at 9:14 am (UTC-4)
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A California-based nonprofit is leveraging big data in the U.S. and Europe to zero-in on unemployment challenges and healthcare gaps. Using data science, the group hopes to create a global database to help developing countries as well. A global database that identifies underserved and high-risk populations could allow governments, caregivers and social services to focus […]

Tech Volunteers Build Internet Lifeline for Amatrice’s Survivors

Posted September 2nd, 2016 at 10:49 am (UTC-4)
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Internet connectivity has become a way of life, so much so that its loss has deprived many survivors of the August 24 earthquake in Amatrice, Italy of their lifeline to the world. But a team of IT volunteers is on the ground to help fill the gap. The Internet has become “so ubiquitous” that, for […]