Polar Flow Fitness App Exposes Soldiers, Spies

TechNewsWorld

Polar Flow Fitness App Exposes Soldiers, Spies

A popular fitness app provided a convenient map for anyone interested in shadowing government personnel who exercised in secret locations, including intelligence agencies, military bases and airfields, nuclear weapons storage sites, and embassies around the world. The fitness app, Polar Flow, publicized more data about its users in a more accessible way than comparable apps "with potentially disastrous results," found investigators. Polar Flow provided functionality that combined all of a person's exercise sessions on a single map.

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Crate.io Releases Commercial Machine Data Platform

Crate.io has introduced a commercial Machine Data Platform, along with a new version of its open source SQL database for the Internet of Things and machine data. The company also announced an US$11 M Series A funding round. The Machine Data Platform is Crate.io's first major commercial venture following last year's initial steps toward selling services around its free database, noted Andy Ellicott, chief product and marketing officer at the company. Crate.io has reached several critical fiscal and technical milestones since then.

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BBC News - Technology

Facebook faces £500,000 fine from UK data watchdog

The social media giant failed to ensure Cambridge Analytica deleted users' data, UK watchdog says.

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Uber executive resigns after race discrimination probe

The ride-hailing firm's head of human resources has left after claims she mishandled complaints.

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Gear Latest

Brava Smart Oven: Price, Specs, Release Date

Is Brava’s idea of the oven of the future just right or overdone?

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Mobile phone warning road signs 'a UK first'

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Mobile phone warning road signs 'a UK first'

In a UK-first the system detects a phone is in use in a passing vehicle and triggers a warning.

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Surface Go Is Microsoft’s Big Bet on a Tiny-Computer Future

The latest Surface is Microsoft's smallest—and least expensive.

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Best Xbox One Deals and Console Bundles (2018)

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Best Xbox One Deals and Console Bundles (2018)

Deals on the Xbox One X and Xbox One S consoles, along with some games and accessories you'll want.

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BBC News - Technology

Electric cars: Charge points could be requirement in new build homes

Hundreds of thousands more charge points could be installed under plans from the transport secretary.

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Weekend Tech Deals: Breville, Ecobee, Ecovacs, SNES Classic

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Weekend Tech Deals: Breville, Ecobee, Ecovacs, SNES Classic

Plus: Whether your PC needs zippy storage or you want to play your 16-bit Nintendo faves, we've got some deals for you.

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BBC News - Technology

Exoskeleton that allows humans to work and play for longer

The technology to give people superhuman powers is being developed, but is it the right thing to do?

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Campsite Cooking Gear: Combekk, Igloo, Coleman, Bialetti, Cuisinart

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Campsite Cooking Gear: Combekk, Igloo, Coleman, Bialetti, Cuisinart

Here's some choice equipment for cooking like a pro in the wild.

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BBC News - Technology

Three YouTube vloggers die in waterfall plunge at Canada's Shannon Falls

Tributes have been paid to three members of the High On Life travel collective.

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Huawei MateBook X Pro Review: About That Webcam...

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Huawei MateBook X Pro Review: About That Webcam...

Huawei's MateBook X Pro is an incredible laptop with one unforgivable flaw. Our full review.

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How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac

Because in 2018, you need the receipts.

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BBC News - Technology

Coder charged over stolen surveillance tools

The alleged thief tried to sell the code on the dark web and asked for $50m, say prosecutors.

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HTC U12 Plus Review: No Buttons, Mo Problems

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HTC U12 Plus Review: No Buttons, Mo Problems

HTC reminds us why it's important to have actual buttons on your smartphone. Our full HTC U12 Plus review.

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BBC News - Technology

MEPs reject controversial copyright law

Legislation aiming to bring copyright in line with the digital age is rejected in its current form.

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Facebook finds Independence document 'racist'

Algorithms that seek out hate speech on Facebook remove parts of the Declaration of Independence.

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New guidelines for 'revenge porn' crimes

Repeat offenders or those who set up fake social media accounts will face the toughest sentences.

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Kim Dotcom loses latest appeal against US extradition

The internet mogul remains eligible for extradition to the US, a New Zealand Court of Appeal rules.

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A Fourth of July Drone Show Helps Military Families With Special Needs

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A Fourth of July Drone Show Helps Military Families With Special Needs

On Wednesday, Travis Air Force Base will host a light show by Intel's Shooting Star drones instead of traditional fireworks.

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4th of July Tech Sales (2018): Osprey, Nest, iPad, V-Moda

Don't want to wait for Amazon Prime Day? We have 22 deals on everything from drones to robot vacuums.

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BBC News - Technology

Fourth of July: Aspen, Colorado swaps fireworks for drones

Aspen, Colorado says it has altered its annual Independence Day festivities because of a wildfire risk.

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Social media apps are 'deliberately' addictive to users

Insiders tell a Panorama investigation that social media firms knowingly hook users to their apps.

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Prostitution websites ban debated by MPs

Some claim the sites aid illegal sex-trafficking, but others say a ban would endanger prostitutes.

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Intel's 'CEO Problem' Is Its Board

TechNewsWorld

Intel's 'CEO Problem' Is Its Board

Tech companies have been going through a lot of CEOs of late. Prior to its split, HP had a revolving door for CEOs with mistake after mistake. Yahoo's board kept making choices that made things worse, Uber's CEO almost took the company under, and CEOs fired for ethical lapses jumped a whopping 36 percent. When an employee misbehaves and has to be fired, it generally is at least partially the fault of management, either for not doing a respectable job of selection or for not doing a good job of oversight, or both.

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Cisco, Dell, and the Race to Make a Better World

To say we live in troubled times would be an understatement. It often feels like the politicians and executives who surround us are interested only in who can tell the biggest whopper while lining their own pockets and leaving their constituents and customers to pay the bills. I recently read that the real reason Jon Stewart stepped down from The Daily Show was that he was incredibly angry all the time, which had an adverse impact not only on his ability to be funny but also on his ability to enjoy life. Much of that is because those of us in media tend to focus excessively on the bad.

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BBC News - Technology

Haptic gloves help blind people to 'see' art

A virtual reality kit is helping visually impaired people "see" art through haptic gloves.

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Jawbone fitness trackers removed from online shops

Problems with the app that should log data have made the fitness trackers "useless", said Which?

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Gear Latest

How to Take Photos of Fireworks With a Smartphone or a Camera

Use these battle-tested tips and camera settings to capture dramatic photos of those explosions in the sky.

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Gadgets for Shooting Movies on Your iPhone: DJI, Rode, Joby, Moment

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Gadgets for Shooting Movies on Your iPhone: DJI, Rode, Joby, Moment

As directors like Steven Soderbergh and Sean Baker have shown, you can conjure movie magic with an iPhone.

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BBC News - Technology

The watch that can help manage severe autism

By measuring stress and anxiety levels, this wearable device could help people communicate.

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Sonos Beam, IGTV, and Everything Else We Loved This Month

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Sonos Beam, IGTV, and Everything Else We Loved This Month

Plus: Our reviews of the Amazon Fire TV Cube, Google Podcasts, and Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6.

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BBC News - Technology

Hi-tech dreamcatcher defeats sleep amnesia

The device designed to capture your dreams and offer more creative waking lives.

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Fortnite: A fortnight in my 40s in Battle Royale

BBC News - Technology

Fortnite: A fortnight in my 40s in Battle Royale

A lapsed gamer is challenged to spend a fortnight playing Fortnite to understand its appeal.

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AI to help tackle fake news in Mexican election

The smart software will help media groups debunk fake news and respond to reports of violence.

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TechNewsWorld

EU Watchdog Accuses Facebook, Google of Privacy Shenanigans

Facebook and Google have manipulated users into sharing data using so-called "dark patterns," according to a report from the Norwegian Consumer Council. The practices nudged users toward accepting privacy options that favored the tech companies rather than themselves, the NCC found. Facebook and Google have no intention of providing users with an actual choice, the NCC has claimed, and their use of dark patterns constitutes a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation implemented across Europe last month.

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Gear Latest

SteelSeries Arctis Gaming Headset Sale (and 10 Other Tech Deals)

Pick up a SteelSeries Arctis headset for cheap, along with tents, 4K TVs, and more this weekend.

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WPA3 Arrives to Shore Up WiFi Security

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WPA3 Arrives to Shore Up WiFi Security

Network devices with better security will be hitting the market this year, thanks to Wi-Fi Certified WPA3, which the Wi-Fi Alliance launched Tuesday. The announcement paves the way for the proliferation of devices that support the new, more secure protocol for WiFi communication, which is designed to replace the 14-year-old WPA2. The new protocol adds features to simplify WiFi security, enable more robust authentication, and deliver increased cryptographic strength for highly sensitive data markets.

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Sonos Beam Review: Support for Alexa in a Great Soundbar

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Sonos Beam Review: Support for Alexa in a Great Soundbar

The Sonos Beam is a $400 soundbar that comes with full support for Amazon Alexa.

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Researchers Gather for the International Workshop on Emoji Understanding

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Researchers Gather for the International Workshop on Emoji Understanding

Linguists and data scientists see a new way to study language and communication in our little digital ideograms.

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BBC News - Technology

BBC releases computer history archive

Computing 1980s-style is to be shown off in BBC archive intended to inspire new generation of coders.

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TechNewsWorld

Apple May Go All-In With Audio

Apple plans to expand its audio product line next year with new AirPods, HomePods and possibly studio-quality over-the-ear headphones. The new generation of AirPods will feature noise cancellation, be water resistant, and have greater range, according to a report citing people familiar with the developments. "If Apple is making those changes, they're just competitive upgrades," said Paul Erickson, a senior analyst with IHS Markit. "Everybody else is already doing those things for earbuds in the $150 to $200 price range."

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The Best Defense Against Fake News in Social Media

TechNewsWorld

The Best Defense Against Fake News in Social Media

IBM just showcased Project Debater, and it just won against a top human debater using actual facts. We need the production version of this tool yesterday. Fake news is getting worse. We have always had issues with politicians and con artists trying to convince us down is up and to get us to do things that, were we informed, we'd never do. It won't be long before criminals will be using artificial intelligence tied to information they have bought from a social network to better take our hard-earned cash from us or change our government.

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BBC News - Technology

Wimbledon 2018: AI uses player emotions to edit highlights

Wimbledon and IBM are using artificial intelligence systems to automatically edit the tennis action.

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Gear Latest

Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 Review: Simple Square Shots

Fuji's first square analog instant camera is finally here. Was it worth the wait?

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Westworld game hit by Bethesda legal claim

BBC News - Technology

Westworld game hit by Bethesda legal claim

The Westworld game is a "rip-off" of the Fallout Shelter title, alleges Bethesda in its legal papers

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Voices of millions of UK taxpayers stored by HMRC

Privacy campaigners say 5.1 million Britons have had their voices stored without permission.

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How to Use a Google Clips Camera

Google’s clever new AI-powered camera is designed to grab stellar 7-second snippets of family shenanigans. Here’s how to get started.

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