The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Is your internet service provider charging you every month for the cable modem or router that you purchased with your own money? Or, perhaps, have you never bothered to buy those items because you couldn’t escape the fee? That fee will be illegal starting Sunday, December 20th, and you should tell your ISP that you’ll no longer tolerate it, threaten to sue, and/or take advantage of any binding arbitration clause it may have with you.

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GeekWire

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Seattle’s billion-dollar tech club, startups with valuations of more than $1 billion. (GeekWire Graphic). Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: Seattle’s tech community just reached a new milestone: 10 unicorns, privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion. Their characteristics say a lot about the direction and state of the tech industry in the region, both positive and negative.

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Venture Beast

DECEMBER 19, 2020

The logistical challenge of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the U.S. has fallen on algorithms, but lack of transparency plagues the process. Read More.

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The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

As a lowly Wired Magazine intern, one of my first assignments was reviewing 2007’s The Simpsons Game: a groundbreaking self-referential parody of the entire gaming industry that, sadly, suffered from as nearly as many tropes as it lampooned. But it turns out that Fox had been interested in a three-dimensional Simpsons game long before that — one that could have appeared on the Sega Dreamcast if things had worked out.

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Many organizations today are unlocking the power of their data by using graph databases to feed downstream analytics, enahance visualizations, and more. Yet, when different graph nodes represent the same entity, graphs get messy. Watch this essential video with Senzing CEO Jeff Jonas on how adding entity resolution to a graph database condenses network graphs to improve analytics and save your analysts time.

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TechSpot

DECEMBER 19, 2020

In an interview in the December issue of Edge Magazine, Ryan admitted that the transition from the PS3 to the PS4 was rather abrupt. He added that the company is taking a different approach as it shifts focus to the PlayStation 5.

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The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images. “Alexa, play the Queen’s Christmas Day message” will soon be a thing — even if you don’t live in the UK. Starting December 25th at 3PM GMT (or 10AM ET, 7AM PT), that phrase will deliver the Queen’s traditional Christmas Day broadcast, according to The Guardian. If you’re curious what the Queen’s message might contain, you can check out transcripts of all her previous Christmas Broadcasts (going back to 1952!

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The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge. For the second time in two months , Apple is putting one of the companies it hires to build the iPhone on notice for violating labor laws. Reuters, Bloomberg and others are reporting that Apple has put Taiwanese manufacturing giant Wistron on “probation” — meaning it won’t receive any new business from Apple until it sorts things out — after the supplier was found exploiting workers at a plant in India.

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TechSpot

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Microsoft is no stranger to development of custom chips. The company collaborated with Qualcomm to create the custom Snapdragon SQ1 for the Surface Pro X and later updated it with the SQ2. The Surface Laptop 3 has a custom Ryzen 3 processor. However, this would be the first time Microsoft.

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Venture Beast

DECEMBER 19, 2020

We can't wait for tech regulation and competition reform to ensure ethical AI. We need to move forward now. Read More.

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TechSpot

DECEMBER 19, 2020

The certificate reportedly allowed the Kazakhstan government to intercept and decrypt HTTPS traffic – essentially monitoring citizens' Internet usage. The government claimed that the certificates were being used as part of a cybersecurity training exercise. ZDNet explains, “The government’s explanation did, however, make zero technical sense, as certificates can’t prevent.

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Speaker: Aarushi Kansal, AI Leader & Author and Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO at Aggregage

Software leaders who are building applications based on Large Language Models (LLMs) often find it a challenge to achieve reliability. It’s no surprise given the non-deterministic nature of LLMs. To effectively create reliable LLM-based (often with RAG) applications, extensive testing and evaluation processes are crucial. This often ends up involving meticulous adjustments to prompts.

Applications

The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus are great gifts for early adopters of next-gen consoles. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge. The holiday season has arrived — but don’t panic. If you forgot to buy a gift for someone, you can’t decide what to give your loved one, or the item you wanted to give can’t be delivered on time, it’s not a problem. Digital gifts are the most convenient and easiest gifts.

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TechSpot

DECEMBER 19, 2020

If I were an optimist, I'd describe this graphics card as minimalist. As a realist, I have to admit that this graphics card is an ugly and (presumably) cheap blower based on the reference spec. The caveat is that MSI hasn't revealed the price yet, but that can be chalked.

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Venture Beast

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Etermax launched eight games during the pandemic in 2020, and it has had more than 800 million downloads to date. Read More.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

For a brief moment on Friday night, spectacularly bored and homebound Twitter users marveled in delight at a strange phenomenon on the social network: Everyone was tweeting the word “carp.” Questions abounded. What? Why? Huh? I’m missing something, right? Read more.

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Apache Cassandra is an open-source distributed database that boasts an architecture that delivers high scalability, near 100% availability, and powerful read-and-write performance required for many data-heavy use cases. However, many developers and administrators who are new to this NoSQL database often encounter several challenges that can impact its performance.

Open Source

TechSpot

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Cyberpunk 2077 has largely been criticized over performance issues, especially regarding how it runs on first-gen PS4s and XB1s. While CD Projekt Red did not list specifics in its v1.05 patch notes, it did mention that it has made "multiple stability improvements, including crash fixes" across all platforms. Crashing has.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

With the pandemic pushing more holiday shoppers online this year, business is booming for major shippers like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS. Malls around this time are already veritable Petri dishes with crowds packing into stores and willing to elbow the ever-loving Christmas cheer out of each other over gifts. And to cash… Read more.

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Vox

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Content that spreads doubt about vaccines is easy to find online. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images. Posts that discourage and make fun of Covid-19 vaccination are racking up engagement. Social media companies like Facebook and YouTube have ramped up their policies against coronavirus misinformation and banned false claims about Covid-19 vaccines.

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Media Social Company Policies 101

Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

You know that special person in your life, the one who thinks technology is all around us. Who can taste the stink of it, as it were, and worries they’ll be infected by it? The result? Their anger at modernity creates a sense of absolute horror at what the world has become, and, worse, makes them really hard to shop… Read more.

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You’ve read the PMBOK® Guide several times, taken the certification exam for project managers, passed, and you are now a PMP®. So why do you keep making rookie mistakes? This whitepaper shows 20 of the most common mistakes that young or inexperienced project managers make, issues that can cost significant time and money. It's a good starting point for understanding how and why many PMs get themsleves into trouble, and provides guidance on the types of issues that PMs need to understand.

Project Management

The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge. The holidays can be overwhelming — even during years like this one when most of us aren’t actually traveling to visit family and friends. If buying gifts is still looming on your to-do list, you certainly aren’t alone. It’s tough to find the right kind of gift for everyone, especially people who have an affinity for tech.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

It’s been a couple decades, now, I think we can all just admit it: for a certain version of Batman, Joel Schumacher ’s Batman and Robin kind of rules. A cheesy fever dream, it’s an incredible exercise in ‘90s Blockbuster excess and the sort of Batman that fans of Adam West’s ‘60s series would recognize and enjoy. The… Read more.

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Exercises 93

GeekWire

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Shadrach White shows off an impressive catch with his 12-year-old relative, Dakota, along the Naknek River in Bristol Bay, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Shadrach White). Throughout his career, Shadrach White has participated in hundreds of successful government IT projects. While more often than not we hear about the failed IT projects, White thinks little credit is given to efforts that transform the work process and ultimately serve the public interest. “There are unique challenges when sel

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

If you’re a big fan of Locke & Key ’s first season, get excited, because there’s even more coming than you thought. Read more.

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If you’re considering migrating from DataStax Enterprise (DSE) to open source Apache Cassandra®, our comprehensive guide is tailored for architects, engineers, and IT directors. Whether you’re motivated by cost savings, avoiding vendor lock-in, or embracing the vibrant open-source community, Apache Cassandra offers robust value. Transition seamlessly to Instaclustr Managed Cassandra with our expert insights, ensuring zero downtime during migration.

Open Source

The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

9to5Mac’ s Michael Steeber noticed a interesting coincidence today : the company has temporarily closed every single retail store in California, many more across the US, both stores in Mexico, both stores in Brazil, and is about to close 16 additional stores across the UK. As Steeber points out , that’s nearly 100 stores if we include ones it closed in Germany and the Netherlands last week, leaving nearly a fifth of the company’s locations now closed worldwide.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

The emergency use authorization of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against covid-19 could mark the beginning of the end of a pandemic that has ravaged and terrorized the world for almost a year. But if we are to be successful in stomping out infection rates, we must first address another barrier: people that don’t… Read more.

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The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic for YouTube. YouTube started the last few years off with nothing short of catastrophic headlines about some of its creators. 2017 saw Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg receive global criticism for a video in which he displayed anti-Semitic imagery ; 2018 found Logan Paul uploading footage of a dead body to YouTube ; 2019 ushered in loot crate controversies and dangerous stunts by top personalities like Jake Paul who took part in the Bird Box challenge by driving while blindfolded

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Listen, good stop-motion is good stop-motion, even if it’s just trying to get you to buy some Hasbro toys. Read more.

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“Reimagined: Building Products with Generative AI” is an extensive guide for integrating generative AI into product strategy and careers featuring over 150 real-world examples, 30 case studies, and 20+ frameworks, and endorsed by over 20 leading AI and product executives, inventors, entrepreneurs, and researchers.

Case Study

The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Josh Gad’s Reunited Apart brought together the cast of the Lord of the Rings movies. The year that brought us the coronavirus pandemic, murder hornets, and the deaths of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Alex Trebek is probably one most people won’t be sad to bid adieu. Parents and kids were stuck together during lockdowns, trying to manage remote school and work, and everyone’s feeling good and frayed at this point.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

And it’s an adaptation of a graphic novel! Classic stuff. Read more.

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The Verge

DECEMBER 19, 2020

Many of us were not commuting as usual during 2020, so our podcast listening time may have been somewhat lessened. However, podcasts are still popular. They’re great to listen to while driving, cleaning your home, exercising, or just hanging out. There are podcasts to suit every taste, including topics like politics, history, music, and comedy. In fact, there are so many out there that it may be difficult to choose where to start.

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Gizmodo

DECEMBER 19, 2020

An HP Envy x360 convertible laptop and a TCL 50-inch 4K smart tv lead Saturday’s best deals. Read more.

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Are you trying to decide which entity resolution capabilities you need? It can be confusing to determine which features are most important for your project. And sometimes key features are overlooked. Get the Entity Resolution Evaluation Checklist to make sure you’ve thought of everything to make your project a success! The list was created by Senzing’s team of leading entity resolution experts, based on their real-world experience.