US-China trade war: New wave of tariffs take effect
From September, the first tariffs on US cherries will be raised from 50 to 60 percent.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2UjnzWt
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2UjnzWt
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Is Silicon Valley Building a Chinese-Style Social Credit System?
schwit1 shared this thought-provoking article from Fast Company: Many Westerners are disturbed by what they read about China's social credit system. But such systems, it turns out, are not unique to China. A parallel system is developing in the United States, in part as the result of Silicon Valley and technology-industry user policies, and in part by surveillance of social media activity by private companies. Here are some of the elements of America's growing social credit system. - The New York State Department of Financial Services announced earlier this year that life insurance companies can base premiums on what they find in your social media posts... - Airbnb can disable your account for life for any reason it chooses, and it reserves the right to not tell you the reason... - You can be banned from communications apps, too. For example, you can be banned on WhatsApp if too many other users block you. You can also get banned for sending spam, threatening messages, trying to hack or reverse-engineer the WhatsApp app, or using the service with an unauthorized app... The most disturbing attribute of a social credit system is not that it's invasive, but that it's extralegal. Crimes are punished outside the legal system, which means no presumption of innocence, no legal representation, no judge, no jury, and often no appeal. In other words, it's an alternative legal system where the accused have fewer rights. Social credit systems are an end-run around the pesky complications of the legal system. Unlike China's government policy, the social credit system emerging in the U.S. is enforced by private companies. If the public objects to how these laws are enforced, it can't elect new rule-makers... If current trends hold, it's possible that in the future a majority of misdemeanors and even some felonies will be punished not by Washington, D.C., but by Silicon Valley. It's a slippery slope away from democracy and toward corporatocracy. In other words, in the future, law enforcement may be determined less by the Constitution and legal code, and more by end-user license agreements.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/32kf54c
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/32kf54c
As Trump Escalates Trade War, U.S. and China Move Further Apart With No End in Sight
The standoff is upending the relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LeS9NW
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LeS9NW
EFF Warns: 'Don't Play in Google's Privacy Sandbox'
An EFF analysis looks at the problems with some of Google's new "Privacy Sandbox" proposals, a few of which it calls "downright dangerous": Perhaps the most fleshed-out proposal in the Sandbox is the conversion measurement API. This is trying to tackle a problem as old as online ads: how can you know whether the people clicking on an ad ultimately buy the product it advertised....? Google's ID field can contain 64 bits of information -- a number between 1 and 18 quintillion. This will allow advertisers to attach a unique ID to each and every ad impression they serve, and, potentially, to connect ad conversions with individual users. If a user interacts with multiple ads from the same advertiser around the web, these IDs can help the advertiser build a profile of the user's browsing habits. Even worse is Google's proposal for Federated Learning of Cohorts (or "FLoC").... FLoC would use Chrome users' browsing history to do clustering. At a high level, it will study browsing patterns and generate groups of similar users, then assign each user to a group (called a "flock"). At the end of the process, each browser will receive a "flock name" which identifies it as a certain kind of web user. In Google's proposal, users would then share their flock name, as an HTTP header, with everyone they interact with on the web. This is, in a word, bad for privacy. A flock name would essentially be a behavioral credit score: a tattoo on your digital forehead that gives a succinct summary of who you are, what you like, where you go, what you buy, and with whom you associate... If the Privacy Sandbox won't actually help users, why is Google proposing all these changes? Google can probably see which way the wind is blowing. Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention and Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection have severely curtailed third-party trackers' access to data. Meanwhile, users and lawmakers continue to demand stronger privacy protections from Big Tech. While Chrome still dominates the browser market, Google might suspect that the days of unlimited access to third-party cookies are numbered. As a result, Google has apparently decided to defend its business model on two fronts. First, it's continuing to argue that third-party cookies are actually fine, and companies like Apple and Mozilla who would restrict trackers' access to user data will end up harming user privacy. This argument is absurd. But unfortunately, as long as Chrome remains the most popular browser in the world, Google will be able to single-handedly dictate whether cookies remain a viable option for tracking most users. At the same time, Google seems to be hedging its bets. The "Privacy Sandbox" proposals for conversion measurement, FLoC, and PIGIN are each aimed at replacing one of the existing ways that third-party cookies are used for targeted ads. Google is brainstorming ways to continue serving targeted ads in a post-third-party-cookie world. If cookies go the way of the pop-up ad, Google's targeting business will continue as usual. The Sandbox isn't about your privacy. It's about Google's bottom line. At the end of the day, Google is an advertising company that happens to make a browser.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zHeZr6
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zHeZr6
Where a Michelin-Starred Chef Goes in San Francisco
Dominique Crenn serves up her favorite spots in the City by the Bay.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30ICPyp
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30ICPyp
A Rare Greenshank Is Spotted in Russia
It is the first time in more than four decades that researchers have had an opportunity to study the endangered shorebirds.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/3499a3D
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/3499a3D
Where a Michelin-Starred Chef Goes in San Francisco
Dominique Crenn serves up her favorite spots in the City by the Bay.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30ICPyp
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30ICPyp
A Rare Greenshank Is Spotted in Russia
It is the first time in more than four decades that researchers have had an opportunity to study the endangered shorebirds.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/3499a3D
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/3499a3D
Death penalty trial date set for alleged September 11 attackers
Judge says long-awaited trial will face 'a host of administrative and logistics challenges' with torture being a factor.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2ZFeRCP
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2ZFeRCP
Five Years Ago Saturday, a Turning Point for Hong Kong and China
Beijing’s August 2014 offer to allow general elections — if it chose the candidates — ignited the Umbrella Movement. Protesters were hoping to mark the anniversary on Saturday.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30NZ9qy
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30NZ9qy
Britain’s Unwritten Constitution Suddenly Looks Fragile
Britons were shocked when Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspended Parliament, defying tradition. But that may be just the start.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZGgi47
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZGgi47
Beijing’s Hong Kong Strategy: More Arrests, No Concessions
Officials say that many more demonstrators will face charges, and that none of their movement’s demands will be met.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2MM0L0G
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2MM0L0G
Hong Kong protesters rally despite police ban
Hundreds of black-clad marchers, some carrying crosses, rally in Hong Kong for a Christian protest after police ban.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PFocuu
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PFocuu
German Elections Reveal, and Deepen, a New East-West Divide
Two key votes this weekend are expected to produce an advance for the far right, and add to its growing sense of legitimacy in the former Communist East.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LiBMyO
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LiBMyO
Trial for Men Accused of Plotting 9/11 Attacks Is Set for 2021
A military judge on Friday set Jan. 11, 2021, as the start of the death penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four men accused of plotting the attacks.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2Lif5ut
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2Lif5ut
‘It’s Really Close’: How the Amazon Rainforest Could Self-Destruct
Climate change and man-made fires could set off a cycle of self-perpetuating deforestation, scientists warn.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LdKsq2
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LdKsq2
Plasma Thrusters For Small Satellite Systems Hit Hyper Drive
Greg Nichols reporting for ZDNet: A company that makes propulsion systems for small satellites, Orbion Space Technology, has announced $9.2M in Series A funding. The round was led by Material Impact, a venture firm focused on translating early stage materials technologies into products and companies. Orbion has developed a very Star Trek-sounding technology that may prove to be a crucial component of an emerging New Space industry, the first-ever Hall-effect plasma thrusters for small satellites, dubbed the Aurora system. The company plans to use the capital from this round to support mass production of its thrusters. Hall-effect plasma thrusters are a type of ion drive in which a propellant is accelerated by an electric field. The technology has been around since the 1960s, and Hall-effect thrusters were in use on Soviet satellites between 1972 and 1990. What's new is the size of the thrusters, as well as the size of the satellites they power, which are variously dubbed smallsats, microsatellites, or nanosatellites. As components and sensing technology has gotten smaller, and with the diversity of computing and sensing components available off-the-shelf, this new breed of satellite is cheap to build and lightweight, further reducing payload costs. That's opening up the possibility of launching communications and satellite arrays to companies and organizations that have never had that option.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zFrfIx
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zFrfIx
Friday, August 30, 2019
Taliban launch major attack on key Afghan city of Kunduz
The armed group is in control of the city's hospital and both sides in the ongoing fighting sustained casualties.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2MMMf8y
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2MMMf8y
NRC list: Over 1.9 million excluded from India citizens list
The National Register of Citizens, a list of genuine citizens in Assam state, published.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2HAZDZf
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2HAZDZf
Taliban Attack Afghan City as They Talk Peace With U.S.
Militants launched attacks from several directions on Kunduz, which they have entered twice in recent years, even as negotiations continued in Qatar.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZF2ruH
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZF2ruH
Hong Kong Braces for More Protests After Wave of Arrests
Tension and speculation were running at a high pitch on Saturday, after the police made high-profile arrests and banned a march through the city.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2zzbGSr
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2zzbGSr
Mutant Sheep Are Being Bred In Lab To Fight Lethal Child Brain Disease
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Scientists have created a flock of sheep that carry the gene for a lethal inherited brain disorder in humans. The condition, Batten disease, usually starts in childhood and is invariably fatal, often within a few years of diagnosis. The project, which is designed to test treatments for the disease, is based at Edinburgh University's Roslin Institute, where cloning techniques were used to create Dolly the sheep in 1996. The scientists acknowledge that the approach could be controversial as it involves creating animals programmed to die, but stress that their aim is to alleviate human suffering. There are several types of Batten disease, said project leader Tom Wishart. "One of the more rapid types is CLN1, and that's what we have recreated in our sheep." The Roslin scientists used the gene-editing technique Crispr-Cas9 to create the faulty CLN1 gene in the sheep. "We collected sheep embryos from the abattoir," Wishart said. "Then we fertilized them and added Crispr reagents to alter their genetic structure before implanting the embryos into a surrogate sheep's uterus." Three sheep were born that each possessed two copies of the CLN1 gene with the same mutation found in affected humans. They began to show many symptoms of Batten disease, including changes in behavior and brain size. Other sheep were engineered to carry only a single copy of the gene. "These are symptomless carriers, like the parents of Batten disease children," said Wishart. "From these we can breed sheep that have two faulty copies of the CLN1 gene. These will go on to develop a disease like those children, and will be the ones to test our therapies."
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/34cAv4W
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/34cAv4W
CRISPR Now Cuts and Splices Whole Chromosomes
Researchers report they've adapted CRISPR and combined it with other tools to cut and splice large genome fragments with ease. The study, conducted by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, U.K., has been published in this week's issue of Science. Science Magazine reports: The tried and true tools of genetic engineering simply can't handle long stretches of DNA. Restriction enzymes, the standard tool for cutting DNA, can snip chunks of genetic material and join the ends to form small circular segments that can be moved out of one cell and into another. (Stretches of linear DNA don't survive long before other enzymes, called endonucleases, destroy them.) But the circles can accommodate at most a couple of hundred thousand bases, and synthetic biologists often want to move large segments of chromosomes containing multiple genes, which can be millions of bases long or more. "You can't get very large pieces of DNA in and out of cells," says Jason Chin, a synthetic biologist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, U.K. What's more, those cutting and pasting tools can't be targeted precisely, and they leave unwanted DNA at the splicing sites -- the equivalent of genetic scars. The errors build up as more changes are made. Another problem is that traditional editing tools can't faithfully glue large segments together. These issues can be a deal-breaker when biologists want to make hundreds or thousands of changes to an organism's genome, says Chang Liu, a synthetic biologist at the University of California, Irvine. Now, Chin and his MRC colleagues report they have solved these problems. First, the team adapted CRISPR to precisely excise long stretches of DNA without leaving scars. They then altered another well-known tool, an enzyme called lambda red recombinase, so it could glue the ends of the original chromosome -- minus the removed portion -- back together, as well as fuse the ends of the removed portion. Both circular strands of DNA are protected from endonucleases. The technique can create different circular chromosome pairs in other cells, and researchers can then swap chromosomes at will, eventually inserting whatever chunk they choose into the original genome. "Now, I can make a series of changes in one segment and then another and combine them together. That's a big deal," Liu says.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2LbEXt3
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2LbEXt3
Comcast, Beware: New City-Run Broadband Offers 1Gbps For $60 a Month
A municipal broadband service in Fort Collins, Colorado went live for new customers today, less than two years after the city's voters approved the network despite a cable industry-led campaign against it. Ars Technica reports: Fort Collins Connexion, the new fiber-to-the-home municipal option, costs $59.95 a month for 1Gbps download and 1Gbps upload speeds, with no data caps, contracts, or installation fees. There's a $15 monthly add-on fee to cover Wi-Fi, but customers can avoid that fee by purchasing their own router. Fort Collins Connexion also offers home phone service, and it plans to add TV service later on. Connexion is only available in a small portion of the city right now. "The initial number of homes we're targeting this week is 20-30. We will notify new homes weekly, slowly ramping up in volume," Connexion spokesperson Erin Shanley told Ars. While Connexion's fiber lines currently pass just a small percentage of the city's homes and businesses, Shanley said the city's plan is to build out to the city limits within two or three years. "Ideally we will capture more than 50% of the market share, similar to Longmont," another Colorado city that built its own network, Shanley said. Beta testers at seven homes are already using the Fort Collins service, and the plan is to start notifying potential customers about service availability today. The city reportedly issued $143 million in bonds to finance the city-wide network. Fort Collins has a population of 165,000. The two residential internet packages that Connexion is offering are the $59.95 gigabit plan and 10Gbps plan for $299.95 a month. Shanley told Ars that "there are no taxes and fees on internet service," aside from the optional $15 charge to use city-provided Wi-Fi hardware instead of a customer-purchase router. The broadband service also offers a gigabit Internet and phone service bundle for $74.90 a month. "Phone service on its own starts at $19.95 a month," adds Ars. "When TV service is available, there will be an Internet and TV bundle for $119.90 a month, and a bundle of all three services starts at $144.85."
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/34gOMNR
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/34gOMNR
Minecraft Is Getting An AI Assistant From Facebook, MIT
Facebook and MIT are working on an AI assistant for Minecraft that can interact with players and then perform a bunch of tasks on request. "The assistant can also learn from these interactions, and develop new skills," reports CNET. "They chose to use the game Minecraft for the project because it has 'infinite variety' but simple and predictable rules." From the report: "The opportunities for an AI to learn are huge," the blog post said. "Facebook is setting itself the task of designing the AI to self-improve ... the researchers think the Minecraft environment is a perfect one to develop this kind of learning." MIT said it's a challenging process, because even a simple request like "build a tower 15 blocks tall" requires the AI assistant to understand what a tower is, how to build one, how to measure the height, and to know what 15 is. An early version of the AI assistant is already available to download. The paper detailing the project is available on ArXiv.org.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2Uo5q9R
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2Uo5q9R
Trump Denies U.S. Responsibility in Iranian Missile Base Explosion
The president’s tweet, which included a high-resolution satellite image of the damage, was unusual because Iran had neither acknowledged the accident nor blamed the United States.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LmlPHG
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LmlPHG
Company Behind Foxit PDF Reader Announces Security Breach
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Foxit Software, the company behind the Foxit PDF reader app, said today that hackers breached its servers and have made off with some user information. ZDNet learned of the breach from a Foxit customer who shared a copy of the email the company is sending out to affected users, asking them to choose new passwords when logging in the next time. According to this email, the security breach impacted the company's website, and, namely, information stored in the My Account section. Foxit web accounts are how the company manages its existing customers and is where users can access trial software, download purchased products, and access order histories. Foxit said hackers managed to access MyAccount data such as email addresses, passwords, real names, phone numbers, company names, and IP addresses from which users logged into their accounts. Due to the presence of IP addresses in the data hackers managed to access, this is believed to be a breach of Foxit's backend infrastructure, rather than a credential stuffing attack. The email did not mention if passwords were either hashed or salted. However, Foxit said it did invalidate all passwords for customers who it believed were impacted by the breach. What's also unknown is when exactly the security incident took place. It could've happened this week, last month, or in previous years.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2HB1P2X
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2HB1P2X
UAE: 'Terrorist militias' targeted as fractures with Saudi grow
Yemen's defence ministry says more than 300 people were killed and wounded in United Arab Emirates air strikes.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2MLVnua
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2MLVnua
Australia court halts deportation of Tamil asylum seeker family
The family, including two toddlers, get a temporary reprieve in a case highlighting country's strict immigration policy.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2Ui4Omk
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2Ui4Omk
Luis Enrique: Former Spain manager's daughter (9) dies of cancer
Former Spain and Barcelona manager paid tribute to his daughter Xana after she died from bone cancer aged nine.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PnTBS6
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PnTBS6
Australia lowers outlook for Great Barrier Reef to 'very poor'
Window of opportunity to safeguard Great Barrier Reef is 'now', government agency warns amid mass coral die-off.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2zvpMUX
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2zvpMUX
Ebola deaths in east DRC outbreak top 2,000
This is second deadliest on record behind 2013-2016 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PorcLJ
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PorcLJ
‘It’s Really Close’: How the Amazon Rainforest Could Self-Destruct
Climate change and man-made fires could set off a cycle of self-perpetuating deforestation, scientists warn.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LdKsq2
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LdKsq2
Trump Launches Space Command
President Donald Trump announced Thursday the official establishment of the U.S. military's Space Command. CNN reports: Space Command will become the 11th combatant command, joining the ranks of U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, and U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees Special Operations Forces. The command will initially consist of just 287 personnel and its final location has yet to be determined. Its responsibilities will be transferred primarily from U.S. Strategic Command. The command's establishment comes as the U.S. has grown increasingly concerned about threats to its satellites, which are critical to military operations and commercial business. While the command's establishment has received broad support, Trump also spoke Thursday about the creation of a U.S. Space Force, a military branch his administration wants to see established under the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps sits under the Department of the Navy. Space Command "will soon be followed -- very importantly -- by the establishment of the United States Space Force as the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces," Trump said, adding that the Space Force will "organize, train and equip warriors to support Space Command's mission." NPR notes that the Space Command was first established by the Air Force in 1985. "As the Cold War was heating up, it was meant to coordinate missile defense and surveillance efforts," reports Engadget. "But by 2002, military focus had shifted to terrorism, and Space Command was merged into the unified Strategic Command. It was refocussed to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan."
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2LfPu5y
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2LfPu5y
International Day of the Disappeared: Finding Kosovo's missing
Forensic efforts to identify remains from 1998-1999 war, which involve reopening graves, draw support and resistance.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2HBLT0m
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2HBLT0m
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Beijing to Duterte: South China Sea position not up for talks
Chinese President Xi Jinping tells Filipino leader Beijing will not recognise The Hague ruling on disputed territories.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2ZBgph6
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2ZBgph6
Samsung’s Leader at Risk of More Prison Time After Court Rules Against Him
South Korea’s Supreme Court found that J.Y. Lee, the company’s de facto leader, had paid more in bribes to the former president than a lower court had ruled.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LesL9R
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2LesL9R
What’s Next for Brexit? Six Possible Outcomes
The Brexit crisis is reaching a crescendo. But the outcome depends not just on Boris Johnson but on his allies and enemies both at home and abroad.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2L8Y72X
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2L8Y72X
Hong Kong Protesters Seize on a Historic Turning Point With China
Beijing’s 2014 offer to allow general elections if it chose the candidates ignited the Umbrella Movement. Protesters were hoping to mark the anniversary on Saturday.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30NZ9qy
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/30NZ9qy
Don't leave us now: A message from the women of Afghanistan
Taliban rule in Afghanistan was brutal and deadly. Now a peace deal with the US could see the group return to power.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/32dsQRX
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/32dsQRX
Your Friday Briefing
Boris Johnson, Giuseppe Conte, Dorian: Here’s what you need to know.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2UpcKCl
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2UpcKCl
She’s a World Famous Model. So Why Did an Australian Magazine Get Her Photo Wrong?
Adut Akech is a 19-year-old modeling superstar. But after a magazine misidentified her in a photo, she says she is no longer staying quiet about racism in the industry.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZIF5bS
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2ZIF5bS
Social Media Stress Can Lead To Social Media Addiction, Study Finds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceDaily: Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and Instagram are known to cause stress in users, known as technostress from social media. However, when faced with such stress, instead of switching off or using them less, people are moving from one aspect of the social media platforms to another -- escaping the causes of their stress without leaving the medium on which it originated. Research into the habits of 444 Facebook users revealed they would switch between activities such as chatting to friends, scanning news feeds and posting updates as each began to cause stress. This leads to an increased likelihood of technology addiction, as they use the various elements of the platform over a greater timespan. Researchers from Lancaster University, the University of Bamberg and Friedrich-Alexander Univeristat Erlangen-Nurnberg, writing in Information Systems Journal, found that users were seeking distraction and diversion within the Facebook platform as a coping mechanism for stress caused by the same platform, rather than switching off and undertaking a different activity. Professor Sven Laumer said: "We found that those users who had a greater social media habit- needed less effort to find another aspect of the platforms, and were thus more likely to stay within the SNS rather than switch off when they needed to divert themselves. The stronger the user's SNS habit, the higher the likelihood they would keep using it as a means of diversion as a coping behavior in response to stressors, and possibly develop addiction to the SNS." "Users go to different areas of the platform which they see as being separate and that they use in different ways. With Facebook, there are features that take you into different worlds within the same platform. You can be in many different places all from the same application, for example following friends' activities, posting pictures about daily activities, switching to a chat feature or playing games." The study has been published in the Information Systems Journal.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2UhIzwG
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2UhIzwG
Timor-Leste: Between hope and unease 20 years after referendum
Almost half of the nation's 1.3 million population lives below poverty level while over 40 percent remains illiterate.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PiD1D5
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2PiD1D5
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong arrested: party
Wong, 22, was one of the leaders of the so-called Umbrella Movement that brought Hong Kong to a standstill in 2014.
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/30INB7X
from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/30INB7X
Hong Kong Activist Joshua Wong Is Arrested
The 2014 protest leader was released from prison in June, just as anti-government protests were growing again in the city.
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2zxBHSc
from NYT > World News https://ift.tt/2zxBHSc
Disney Is Leading the Charge Against Netflix By Returning To Weekly Episode Releases
At Disney's biannual D23 Expo executives revealed that episodes on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service will follow a weekly release schedule, unlike Netflix's binge-able season drops. "A show like the Marvel Cinematic Universe spinoff Loki, which is slated to run approximately six hours (likely meaning six episodes total) will come out over the course of six weeks," reports The Verge. "That's similar to the way Hulu (which is also owned by Disney), Amazon, and HBO Now operate." From the report: But while HBO Now doesn't have streaming exclusives and is tied into HBO's weekly release schedule, Disney and Hulu aren't tied to traditional network schedules. They've voluntarily chosen to release most episodes on a week-to-week basis. (Hulu often releases three episodes at once to kick off a season, then drops to one per week afterward.) Apple is reportedly planning to take the same route when its streaming service, Apple TV Plus, launches this fall. The weekly release model is a smart move for Disney -- and potentially any new streaming service that's initially focused on building a subscriber base, rather than servicing a demanding, preexisting one. Tying new content to beloved franchises, then doling it out a bit at a time is a way for Disney, in particular, to keep subscribers hooked. When Disney+ launches, people who want to watch all of Jon Favreau's Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, will need to keep their subscriptions active for at least a couple of months. While cord-cutters routinely look for ways to dip in and out of new services, bingeing the content they care about, Disney is looking to keep its initial subscribers stable while adding more throughout the year. The strategy is crucial for Disney to reach its estimated goal of around 10 million customers by the end of 2020.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zxHYgQ
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2zxHYgQ
FTC Is Investigating Juul's Marketing Practices
The FTC is investigating whether e-cigarette startup Juul Labs used influencers and other marketing to appeal to minors (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). The Wall Street Journal reports: The probe, which hasn't previously been disclosed, began before the agency's antitrust review of a December deal in which tobacco giant Altria Group invested $12.8 billion to take a 35% stake in Juul, those and other people familiar with the matter said. The FTC is also determining whether to seek monetary damages, one of the people said. The agency in September first sent Juul a letter requesting information about its marketing, two of the people said. FTC investigators are looking at whether Juul engaged in deceptive marketing. The agency has designated the investigation as nonpublic. The Food and Drug Administration and several state attorneys general also are investigating Juul's marketing practices. The FDA last October conducted a surprise inspection of Juul's headquarters and collected documents about its marketing. Juul's first marketing campaign in 2015, called "Vaporized," pitched the brand as a cool lifestyle accessory with images of people in their 20s and 30s, which critics say made the brand attractive to teens. Later, as sales of the sleek devices took off in 2017, Juul-related posts exploded on Instagram and Twitter with photos posted by young people using the product. Juul has since shut down its Facebook and Instagram accounts in the U.S. and changed its marketing to feature only adult smokers at least 35 years old who have switched to Juul. It has also voluntarily stopped selling sweet and fruity flavors in bricks-and-mortar stores. "We fully cooperate and are transparent with any government agency or regulator who have interest in our category," a Juul spokesman said. The company says it has never marketed to youth and that its products are intended for adult cigarette smokers. The company says it supports legislation to raise the minimum purchase age to 21. It also unveiled a plan on Thursday to install an electronic age-verification system at gas stations and convenience stores intended to curb illegal sales to minors.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2NLrCt4
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2NLrCt4
Microsoft Is Killing EPUB Support In Edge Classic
Microsoft is killing support for the EPUB document format in Edge classic, and it won't be supported in the new, Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge. Thurrott reports: "Download an .epub app to keep reading," a notification in Edge classic reads when you load an EPUB document. "Microsoft Edge will no longer be supporting [sic] e-books that use the .epub file extension. Visit the Microsoft Store to see our recommended .epub apps." Aside from the contorted grammar and word usage in the notification -- it's "support" not "be supporting," Microsoft -- the linked webpage is a "Reading room" area on the Microsoft Store that includes audiobook apps in addition to e-book apps. So good luck with that. Microsoft provides a more grammatically correct explanation for the change on its Microsoft Edge support site, which notes that "Microsoft Edge will no longer support e-books that use the .epub file extension." The site also links to the same terrible Microsoft Store area, but adds that "you can expect to see more added over time as we partner with companies like the DAISY Consortium to add additional, accessible apps... These apps are expected to be available in the Microsoft Store after September 2019." Given that, it's likely that EPUB support will disappear in Edge classic sometime after those apps appear in the Store.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2ZpXfjf
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2ZpXfjf