Category: News and Views

Dish’s AirTV launches an $80 streaming stick for accessing Sling TV, Netflix & broadcast channels | TechCrunch

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Dish is expanding its hardware lineup today with the launch of a new 4K streaming stick, the AirTV Mini, designed to make it easier for cord cutters to access from one user interface its live TV service Sling TV, plus Netflix and over-the-air channels. The Android TV-powered device is meant to complement an existing setup that already includes an OTA digital antenna and an AirTV Wi-Fi-enabled network tuner, the company says.

For a limited time, new and existing Sling TV customers can get the latter two items for free — an AirTV Wi-Fi-enabled network tuner and an indoor antenna — by prepaying for three months of Sling TV’s service.

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The Inside Story of Twitter’s New Redesign | WIRED

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IN JANUARY, ON the heels of @realDonaldTrump’s second year in office, shortly after Elon Musk had been fined $20 million and Kevin Hart’s Oscar-hosting gig had been canceled because of controversial tweets, and weeks following Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s return from a 10-day silent meditation trip to Myanmar, about which he praised the food and the beauty of the monasteries but neglected to mention the ongoing regional genocide, Twitter made it clear that some things were about to change.

Just not the tweets. Though the company had spent the better part of the year promoting “healthy conversations,” it wasn’t much interested in putting the screws on its users. Debates, disagreements, the occasional blow-out controversy—that was all stuff that made Twitter Twitter. No, instead, Twitter decided to change itself from the outside in. It was time to give the experience of using Twitter a makeover.

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American Airlines’ flight cancellation problems extend far beyond the 737 Max grounding | CNN

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American Airlines has a big problem with canceled flights. The 737 Max grounding isn’t helping, but it is not the primary cause of its troubles.

In June, American Airlines canceled about 4% of its scheduled flights, according to data tracker masFlight. American’s canceled flight rate is twice the rate of Southwest (LUV), and is more than six times that of United Airlines (UAL), according to masFlight. It is nearly 20 times the cancellation rate at Delta (DAL).

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2 SoCal Earthquakes Warped the Ground for Miles. And It’s Visible from Space. | Live Science

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Two recent Southern California earthquakes warped the ground across dozens of square miles — and the changes are visible even from space.

A Japanese satellite picked up damage from the July 4 and 5 earthquakes that had magnitudes of 6.4 and 7.1, respectively. Quakes of these magnitudes are strong enough to cause moderate to severe damage to buildings.

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Instagram is trying to neutralize bullies before they post | Fast Company

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Facebook’s Instagram said today it is launching new tools designed to combat bullying on its platform, especially among teens.

One tool, which Instagram has already begun rolling out to users, is focused on would-be bullies. It uses artificial intelligence to notify users when a comment they’ve just composed might be considered offensive. “This intervention gives people a chance to reflect and undo their comment and prevents the recipient from receiving the harmful comment notification,” says Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a blog post Monday. “From early tests of this feature, we have found that it encourages some people to undo their comment and share something less hurtful once they have had a chance to reflect,” he writes.

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Netflix’s Worst Nightmare Has Come True | Forbes

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If there were a stock market “hall of fame,” Netflix would be a shoe-in.

Its stock has soared 8,500%+ in the last decade as “streaming” video has caught fire.

Netflix achieved those gains by stealing tens of millions of customers from cable companies. Last year, half of Americans age 22–45 didn’t watch a second of cable TV. And 35 million Americans have dropped cable in the last decade.

But it’s time to come to terms with a sad truth…

Netflix’s glory days are over. And what’s coming next won’t be pleasant if you own Netflix stock.

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5 Key Healthcare Issues Pending in Congress: The ‘New Rules’ That Could Change the Way You Get Healthcare | AllBusiness.com

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In this Gallup poll from late 2018—and in almost every other national research poll on the concerns of American voters—healthcare ranks as the No. 1 issue. Of course, healthcare is a complex, multifaceted issue, and voter concerns include the cost, quality, and availability of care as well as the availability of insurance and coverage of pre-existing conditions. The issue was recently given even higher visibility by President Trump’s executive order of June 24 mandating improved pricing disclosure in healthcare.

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Cities of Tomorrow: Syracuse and Others Opt for Citywide Smart Tech | Digital Trends

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Smart home technology is no longer limited solely to residential use. Syracuse has begun to upgrade the city’s streetlights to LEDs equipped with a “smart node” on top. According to Andrew Donovan of WSYR, bucket trucks will begin installing 3,000 lights per month until they complete the project with a total of 18,000 new streetlights across the city. The brightness of the lights can be controlled remotely, and sensors will automatically inform officials of broken lights.

But Syracuse isn’t the only city switching to smart lights. Apolitical reports that Pittsburgh has reduced travel time by 25% through the use of smart traffic lights. The Baltimore Sun reports that Baltimore is fast-tracking a program to introduce smart lights throughout the city. According to the Rivard Report, San Antonio is testing smart streetlights that not only improve lighting conditions throughout the city, but also track and measure flood patterns, temperature, air quality, and even available parking spots.

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Census 2020: Trump drops plan for controversial citizenship question | BBC News

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The Trump administration has dropped a controversial plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, marking a major victory for civil rights groups.

It comes just days after the Supreme Court blocked efforts to include the question, ruling that the government’s justification seemed “contrived”.

The White House argued it would bolster protections for minority voters.

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