Google takes aim at medtech for Launchpad Studio’s first batch of AI-focused startups

 Google has been going all-in on AI and machine learning for some time now, and part of that is, of course, nurturing the growing ecosystem around it, from developer tools to startups. Their latest effort targets one vertical at a time, fostering startups looking to make deep changes to industries lagging behind the cutting edge; the first batch is aimed at the data-rich medical world. Read More
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Fast Pair Makes Android Bluetooth Pairing Simple

Google is rolling out a new way for Android users to pair their Bluetooth devices. Called Fast Pair, this makes it much easier to pair Bluetooth devices to your handset. An innovation that is extremely timely given the number of Android phones now ditching the humble headphone jack. Despite the competition between Android and iOS, these operating systems have both borrowed heavily from each other, and will continue to do so until we’re all pushing up daisies. And for its latest trick Android is taking its cue from the way Apple AirPods are paired to iOS devices. Taking the Hassle...

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On Russia, tech doesn’t know what it doesn’t know

 While the Senate has spent the better part of a year making sense of Russia’s actions to influence the 2016 election, tech made quick work of its own analysis — or so it thinks. The glacial pace of Congress is often criticized, particularly contrasted to the tech industry which still moves fast and breaks things, although Facebook gave up that slogan in 2014. But when it comes… Read More
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On Russia, tech doesn’t know what it doesn’t know

 While the Senate has spent the better part of a year making sense of Russia’s actions to influence the 2016 election, tech made quick work of its own analysis — or so it thinks. The glacial pace of Congress is often criticized, particularly contrasted to the tech industry which still moves fast and breaks things, although Facebook gave up that slogan in 2014. But when it comes… Read More
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In their first Russia hearing, tech giants try to placate Congress (with mixed results)

 On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the first of three hearings this week examining the relationship between social media and Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The hearings mark the first time that lawmakers will hear testimony from Google, Facebook and Twitter around how their platforms were and are manipulated as part of Russian political… Read More
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Switch from Windows to Linux and Get Up and Running in Minutes

I’ve long dual-booted my computer with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04, but a recent issue with a Windows driver left me high and dry. With only one operating system to choose from, I suddenly had to use Linux exclusively. Incredibly, it took just a few minutes to get up and running. Now I’m using Ubuntu full-time, barely missing Windows at all (find out more about that below). What I did will work for you, too. Google Chrome and Gmail The first thing to do upon signing into your Ubuntu (or other Linux) distro is to open Google Chrome. Your desktop...

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The Countdown to Black Friday Is On – Here Are The 10 Best Deals

It’s November 1st, which means Amazon is ramping up for the biggest deal day of the year. Its countdown to Black Friday is underway, and we’ve gone through all of the deals to find the 10 best! Samsung Electronics 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV Samsung Electronics UN65MU7000 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2017 Model) Samsung Electronics UN65MU7000 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2017 Model) 4K Color Drive Pro reveals a wider spectrum of realistic colors, creating a more authentic picture. Buy Now At Amazon Too low to display To get it’s Countdown to Black...

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Trump and Clinton spent $81M on US election Facebook ads, Russian agency $46K

 Russian information troll farm the Internert Research Agency spent just 0.05% as much on Facebook ads as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s campaigns combined in the run up to the 2016 US presidential election. Clinton and Trump spent $81 million, while the IRA spent $46,000. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch revealed these figures today during the Senate Intelligence… Read More
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Google will pull its QPX Express API in April 2018, cutting off its airfare feed

 As Google gradually builds out its footprint in travel search, the company is also making a move to cut off its role as a data provider to would-be competitors. The company has quietly announced that in April of next year, it will shut down its QPX Express API, an airfare search feed, which it had picked up originally as part of its $700 million acquisition of ITA in 2010/2011. (For a blast… Read More
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Google launches Poly, a home for the world’s 3D objects built for creators

 As Google builds platforms like ARCore and Daydream that allow users to step into virtual worlds or put virtual scenes inside their phone’s field-of-view, there’s a big onus on game developers to craft the content that makes the platforms worth checking out. Google is looking to make creators’ jobs a bit easier today with the launch of Poly, the company’s new home for… Read More
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Trump and Clinton spent $81M on US election Facebook ads, Russian agency $46K

 Russian information troll farm the Internert Research Agency spent just 0.05% as much on Facebook ads as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s campaigns combined in the run up to the 2016 US presidential election. Clinton and Trump spent $81 million, while the IRA spent $46,000. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch revealed these figures today during the Senate Intelligence… Read More
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Periscope ups payouts to broadcasters on sales of Super Hearts, adds holiday bonuses

 Twitter’s Periscope is going after live broadcasters in a big way, as it’s now promising to give back more of their earnings from the sales of Super Hearts in their live video streams. Introduced in June, Super Hearts are in-app virtual goods that offer a form of virtual tipping. The idea is similar to Twitch’s or YouTube’s emotes, but instead of custom emoji… Read More

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Use This Little Known Excel Feature to Stand Out

Here is a cool Excel feature that even regular users may have missed: Excel custom views. Excel custom views allow you to manipulate a spreadsheet’s display or print settings and save them for fast implementation later. We’ll look at four ways to use Excel custom views to your advantage. Before that, though, you need to know how to create one. How to Create Custom Views in Excel Open an Excel workbook and look for the View tab at the top of the screen. When you click that, you’ll see the option for Custom Views. Click it. In the dialog box...

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Google’s Pixelbook is my new favorite travel buddy

 The Google Pixelbook is a bit of an odd duck among notebooks, or among tablets – or even among notebook/tablet hybrids. It’s a Chromebook, which by now is an established category, though one with very specific appeal; and it runs Android apps, which makes it feel very much like an iPad competitor. It’s a great device in terms of hardware build and general performance, but… Read More
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Google’s Pixelbook is my new favorite travel buddy

 The Google Pixelbook is a bit of an odd duck among notebooks, or among tablets – or even among notebook/tablet hybrids. It’s a Chromebook, which by now is an established category, though one with very specific appeal; and it runs Android apps, which makes it feel very much like an iPad competitor. It’s a great device in terms of hardware build and general performance, but… Read More

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Samsung now offers an Enterprise Edition of the Note 8 for business

 The push to let employees bring their own devices to work has been underway for some time now — in fact, it’s a big part of what ultimately doomed enterprise-focused hardware companies like BlackBerry. Samsung’s been walking the line for a while as well, rolling out enterprise features like Knox security for its consumer handsets, along with accessories like DeX, designed… Read More

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The Best Windows XP Software That Still Works

Are you still hanging onto Windows XP years after it stopped receiving updates? If so, you’ve probably noticed that major software is also dropping support for the archaic operating system (OS). If you need to use XP for work or another purpose, it’s important to make sure you’re using the best software possible. We obviously can’t review every piece of software, but let’s take a look at some major app categories and see what works and doesn’t work anymore on Windows XP. Note: Some of these apps are offered in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. In all likelihood, your copy...

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120K Instagrams by Russian election attackers hit 20M Americans

 Facebook detailed the extent of Russia’s election interference campaign on Instagram today during its congressional hearing. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said that 120,000 posts by Russian election attackers reached 16 million Americans from October through the election, and the posts reached an additional 4 million Americans prior to October. That’s on top of the 126… Read More
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120K Instagrams by Russian election attackers hit 20M Americans

 Facebook detailed the extent of Russia’s election interference campaign on Instagram today during its congressional hearing. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said that 120,000 posts by Russian election attackers reached 16 million Americans from October through the election, and the posts reached an additional 4 million Americans prior to October. That’s on top of the 126… Read More

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Robinhood stock trading comes to web with finance news for its 3M users

 You know what’s cool? Not just being worth over $1 billion, but saving your customers $1 billion. Today, zero-fee stock trading app Robinhood announced that it’s hit 3 million registered accounts, $100 billion transacted in its app, and $1 billion in saved commissions considering competitors like E*Trade cost $7 per trade. And now, Robinhood is getting a web version where beyond… Read More
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Expense report analysis startup AppZen raises $13M to build a smarter back office

 Expense reports aren’t the most exciting thing in the universe. But when you reach the scale of say, Amazon, and have tens of thousands of employees, making sure everything comes through smoothly and the right things are being billed to the company could mean the difference in millions of dollars to your bottom line. And when Anant Kale walks into the office of a big company and asks for… Read More

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8 Google Drive Settings You Should Change Right Now

Google Drive lets you access your files anywhere through the cloud, but you might not be getting the most out of it. We’re going to show you some Drive settings that you should tweak immediately. Whether it’s changing your default save folder, editing fonts, or using your files offline, these tips will help you be a more efficient Drive user. Have your own tip to share with us? Please let us know in the comments below. 1. Set a Default Documents Folder You need to manually put your files in your local Google Drive so that they sync to the...

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Essential Phone is the best deal in smartphones thanks to camera updates

 The Essential Phone has come a long way since launch in one key area: Photography. When it first hit the market a few months ago, the camera had a nasty tendency to crash and was a bit slow to load and process photos. But Essential has stayed true to its promise of delivering frequent and effective Camera app updates, and the result is a smartphone total package that is easily the best value… Read More
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