20 December 2018

eMarketer: Amazon took 2/3 of smart speaker sales in 2018, but Echo will feel the squeeze in 2019


Smart speakers that let you control services and other connected devices in your home will continue to be a popular gift choice during the holiday season and into next year, when usage is set to rise by 15 percent to 74.2 million people in the US, working out to 26.8 percent of the US population, according to estimates from eMarketer.

But while Amazon’s Echo helped to define and still dominates the market, consumers’ love affair with Alexa may be cooling, just a little, as the Echo is finally starting to feel the heat from competitors like Home from Google, Apple’s HomePod and the Sonos One.

A new report estimates that the Echo will have accounted for nearly 67 percent of all smart speaker sales in the US in 2018, with Google taking 29.5 percent and others at 8.3 percent. But by next year, Amazon will drop to 63 percent, Google will bump up to 31 percent and a plethora of smaller OEMs will collectively take 12 percent. Three percent decline doesn’t sound like a lot, but it will be the first time ever that Amazon will have dropped below two-thirds of sales. (And for the record, eMarketer research from the UK found similar numbers and declines.)

eMarketer believes this could be the beginning of a gradual decline for the e-commerce giant that will continue through 2020 as the next wave of adopters increasingly explore other brands.

“Consumers in the market for a smart speaker have more options than ever, and Amazon will lose some of its majority share as a result,” said eMarketer forecasting analyst Jaimie Chung, in a statement. “Google has the Home Mini and Home Hub to compete with Amazon’s Echo Dot and Echo Show, and both the Apple HomePod and Facebook Portal will experience their first holiday season this year. Amazon has remained relevant by plugging Alexa into premium speakers like the Sonos, but even Sonos plans to bring Google Assistant to its devices next year, keeping the two companies neck and neck in the voice assistant race.”

There is a valid question to be asked about what people use their speakers for once they do have them. The main takeaway it seems is that while some device makers may turn speakers into a tidy business, it might be some time before the apps and software built around them monetises as lucratively.

For now, the main purpose seems to be listening to audio, where smart speakers provide a handy way to call up music and hear it — which 79.8 percent of speaker owners say they have done — one reason perhaps that the Sonos and Apple’s HomePod are making some inroads since both companies have put music at the core of their experience.

Second most common usage? Inquiries at 73 percent, which is an are where search giant Google is particularly strong.

Amazon has also made Alexa, in her own way, also a fairly amusing, and sometimes helpful, assistant on various topics, helped significantly by all the skills integrations that have been built. However, one key Alexa/Echo use case for the company has always been voice commerce, providing a new interface for people to be able to shop, to fit scenarios where a screen and keyboard are not as convenient.

For now, however, eMarketer says that this a less popular usage for these devices, and that overall voice commerce will remain a very niche slice of the e-commerce market, accounting for just 0.4 percent of sales, or $2 billion. Some 27 percent of speaker owners will experiment with buying something via voice commerce next year — a number that eMarketer revised down from an earlier estimate of 31 percent, while 37.1 percent will “shop” using their smart speakers — that is, ask questions about products, if not actually buy them.

Bad news for all the companies thinking that smart speakers will usher in a new era of smart home device usage: smart home integrations are used by just 34.5 percent of smart speaker users.


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These 10 enterprise M&A deals totaled over $87 billion this year


M&A activity was brisk in the enterprise market this year, with 10 high-profile deals totaling almost $88 billion. Companies were opening up their wallets and pouring money into mega acquisitions. It’s worth noting that the $88 billion figure doesn’t include Dell paying investors more than $23 billion for VMware tracking stock to take the company public again or several other deals of over a billion dollars that didn’t make our list.

Last year’s big deals included Intel buying MobileEye for $15 billion and Cisco getting AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, but there were not as many big ones. Adobe, which made two large acquisitions this year, was mostly quiet last year, only making a minor purchase. Salesforce too was mostly quiet in 2017, only buying a digital creative agency, after an active 2016. SAP also made only one purchase in 2017, paying $350 million for Gigya. Microsoft was active buying nine companies, but these were primarily minor. Perhaps everyone was saving their pennies for 2018.

This year, by contrast, was go big or go home, and we saw action across the board from the usual suspects. Large companies looking to change their fortunes or grow their markets went shopping and came home with some expensive trinkets for their collections. Some of the deals are still waiting to pass regulatory hurdles and won’t be closing until 2019. Regardless, it’s too soon to judge whether these big-bucks ventures will pay the dividends that their buyers hope, or if they end up being M&A dust in the wind.

IBM acquires Red Hat for $34 billion

By far the biggest and splashiest deal of the year goes to IBM, which bet the farm to acquire Red Hat for a staggering $34 billion. IBM sees this acquisition as a way to build out its hybrid cloud business. It’s a huge bet and one that could determine the success of Big Blue as an organization in the coming years.

Broadcom nets CA Technologies for $18.5 billion

This deal was unexpected, as Broadcom, a chip maker, spent the second largest amount of money in a year of big spending. What Broadcom got for its many billions was an old-school IT management and software solutions provider. Perhaps Broadcom felt it needed to branch out beyond pure chip making, and CA offered a way to do it, albeit a rather expensive one.

SAP buys Qualtrics for $8 billion

While not anywhere close to the money IBM or Broadcom spent, SAP went out and nabbed Qualtrics last month just before the company was about to IPO, still paying a healthy $8 billion. The company believes that the new company could help build a bridge between SAP operational data inside its back-end ERP systems and Qualtrics customer data on the front end. Time will tell if they are right.

Microsoft gets GitHub for $7.5 billion

In June, Microsoft swooped in and bought GitHub, giving it a key developer code repository. It was a lot of money to pay, and Diane Greene expressed regret that Google hadn’t been able to get it. That’s because cloud companies are working hard to win developer hearts and minds. Microsoft has a chance to push GitHub users toward its products, but it has to tread carefully because they will balk if Microsoft goes too far.

Salesforce snares MuleSoft for $6.5 billion

Salesforce wasn’t about to be left out of the party in 2018 and in March, the CRM giant announced it was buying API integration vendor Mulesoft for a cool $6.5 billion. It was a big deal for Salesforce, which tends to be acquisitive, but typically on smaller deals. This one was a key purchase though because it gives the company the ability to access data wherever it lives, on premises or in the cloud, and that could be key for them moving forward.

Adobe snags Marketo for $4.75 billion

Adobe has built a strong company primarily on the strength of its Creative Cloud, but it has been trying to generate more revenue on the marketing side of the business. To that end, it acquired Marketo for $4.75 billion and immediately boosted its marketing business, especially when combined with the $1.68 billion Magento purchase earlier in the year.

SAP acquires CallidusCloud for $2.4 billion

SAP doesn’t do as many acquisitions as some of its fellow large tech companies mentioned here, but this year it did two. Not only did it buy Qualtrics for $8 billion, it also grabbed CallidusCloud for $2.4 billion. SAP is best known for managing back-office components with its ERP software, but this adds a cloud-based, front-office sales process piece to the mix.

Cisco grabs Duo Security for $2.35 billion

Cisco has been hard at work buying up a variety of software services over the years, and this year it added to its security portfolio when it acquired Duo Security for $2.35 billion. The Michigan-based company helps companies secure applications using their own mobile devices and could be a key part of the Cisco security strategy moving forward.

Twilio buys SendGrid for $2 billion

Twilio got into the act this year too. While not in the same league as the other large tech companies on this list, it saw a piece it felt would enhance its product set and it was willing to spend big to get it. Twilio, which made its name as a communications API company, saw a kindred spirit in SendGrid, spending $2 billion to get the API-based email service.

Vista snares Apttio for $1.94 billion

Vista Equity Partners is the only private equity firm on the list, but it’s one with an appetite for enterprise technology. With Apttio, it gets a company that can help companies understand their cloud assets alongside their on-prem ones. The company had been public before Vista bought it for $1.94 billion last month.


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Some iPad Pros could come bent out of the box


Apple has confirmed to The Verge that some iPad Pro models come slightly bent out of the box due to a manufacturing process. According to Apple, it shouldn’t impact your iPad in any way.

But if you buy a new iPad Pro, please make sure that it’s not bent in case you want to exchange it within the first couple of weeks. It’s still unclear if Apple plans to repair bent iPads once you’ve passed the return window.

The issue all started with a long forum thread on MacRumors filled with people complaining about their bent iPads. Contrarily to what most people thought, it isn’t the result of improper usage. This is due to a cooling process during manufacturing, Apple told The Verge.

And it’s true that iPads have become thin sheets of glass, aluminum and electronic components. If you try to break it in half, you’ll succeed. But it’s a bit more surprising that some iPads are already bent out of the box.

This could be particularly frustrating if you try to put your iPad down on a table and it doesn’t stay flat on the table. Here’s a photo that Bwrin1 posted on MacRumors’ forum:

I imagine that it could also create some issues if you try to use the Smart Keyboard or Smart Folio in some cases.


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Drones ground flights at UK’s second largest airport


Mystery drone operator/s have grounded flights at the UK’s second largest airport, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people hoping to get away over the festive period.

The BBC reports that Gatwick Airport’s runway has been shut since Wednesday night on safety grounds, after drones were spotted being flown repeatedly over the airfield.

It says airlines have been advised to cancel all flights up to at least 16:00 GMT, with the airport saying the runway would not open “until it was safe to do so”.

More than 20 police units are reported to be searching for the drone operator/s.

The UK made amendments to existing legislation this year to make flying a drone within 1km of an airport illegal, after a planned drone bill got delayed.

The safety-focused tweak to the law five months ago also restricted drone flight height to 400ft. A registration scheme for drone owners is also set to be introduced next year.

Under current UK law, a drone operator who is charged with recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or a person in an aircraft can face a penalty of up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both.

Although, in the Gatwick incident case, it’s not clear whether simply flying a drone near a runway would constitute an attempt to endanger an aircraft under the law. Even though the incident has clearly caused major disruption to travellers as the safety-conscious airport takes no chances.

Further adding to the misery of disrupted passengers today, the Civil Aviation Authority told the BBC it considered the event to be an “extraordinary circumstance” — meaning airlines aren’t obligated to pay financial compensation.

There’s been a marked rise in UK aircraft incidents involving drones over the past five years, with more than 100 recorded so far this year, according to data from the UK Airprox Board.

Aviation minister Baroness Sugg faced a barrage of questions about the Gatwick disruption in the House of Lords today, including accusations the government has dragged its feet on bringing in technical specifications that might have avoided the disruption.

“These drones are being operated illegally… It seems that the drones are being used intentionally to disrupt the airport, but, as I said, this is an ongoing investigation,” she told peers, adding: “We changed the law earlier this year, bringing in an exclusion zone around airports. We are working with manufactures and retailers to ensure that the new rules are communicated to those who purchase drones.

“From November next year, people will need to register their drone and take an online safety test. We have also recently consulted on extending police powers and will make an announcement on next steps shortly.”

The minister was also pressed on what the government had done to explore counterdrone technology which could be used to disable drones, with one peer noting they’d raised the very issue two years ago.

“My Lords, technology is rapidly advancing in this area,” responded Sugg. “That is absolutely something that we are looking at. As I said, part of the consultation we did earlier this year was on counterdrone technology and we will be announcing our next steps on that very soon.”

Another peer wondered whether techniques he said had been developed by the UK military and spy agency, GCHQ — to rapidly identify the frequency a drone is operating on, and either jam it or take control and land it — will be “given more broadly to various airports”?

“All relevant parts of the Government, including the Ministry of Defence, are working on this issue today to try to resolve it as quickly as possible,” the minister replied. “We are working on the new technology that is available to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. It is not acceptable that passengers have faced such disruption ahead of Christmas and we are doing all we can to resolve it as quickly as possible.”


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App Store Review guidelines hint that users will soon be able to gift in-app purchases, not just apps


Apple will allow iOS users to gift in-app purchases, not just paid apps, according to a change to the company’s App Store Review Guidelines spotted this week. This means developers may soon have the tools to allow users to purchase virtual goods or even subscriptions through their app, which can then be gifted to others.

The changes to the company’s App Store guidelines were first discovered on Wednesday by MacRumors, which confirmed both the prior and current wording as follows:

Before: “Apps should not directly or indirectly enable gifting of in-app purchase content, features, or consumable items to others.” 

After: “Apps may enable gifting of items that are eligible for in-app purchase to others. Such gifts may only be refunded to the original purchaser and may not be exchanged.”

It’s unclear at this time how the change will be implemented, from the developer’s side. It’s likely Apple will soon share more information with its developer community to inform them of how to get started.

The move makes a lot of sense, given the App Store’s larger shift away from paid apps towards in-app purchases and more recently, subscriptions, as a way for developers to monetize their businesses.

Gamers would often like to receive in-app currency or other virtual goods as gifts. Meanwhile, subscriptions have become so popular they’re expected to contribute heavily to both iOS and Android app stores’ growth next year. Combined, the app stores are forecast to pass $122 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie.

However, some subset of apps have been abusing subscriptions, by making it difficult for consumers to even use their “free” app without committing to a subscription, or tricking users into free trials that convert in just days, among other things. Apple will need to get a good handle on the bad actors before rolling out in-app gifting of subscriptions more broadly.


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Facebook and Twitter remove accounts spreading fake news ahead of Bangladesh’s elections


Twitter and Facebook announced this morning they’ve removed a combined total of 30 accounts that were working to spread misinformation in Bangladesh, ten days before the country’s general elections. According to Facebook, the company removed nine Facebook Pages and six Facebook accounts that were engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Twitter said it removed 15 accounts that were doing the same. Both companies said the accounts had government ties.

“Working with our industry peers we identified and suspended a very small number of accounts originating from Bangladesh for engaging in coordinated platform manipulation,” Twitter explained in a tweet. “Based on our initial analysis, it appears that some of these accounts may have ties to state-sponsored actors,” it said.

Facebook, in a blog post, said it was first alerted to the fake news posts, in part, based on a tip from Graphika, a threat intelligence company it works with. The Facebook Pages in question were designed to look like news outlets, and had posted pro-government and anti-opposition content.

The company also confirmed that the activity was linked to individuals associated with the Bangladesh government.

In some example images Facebook shared, you can see the Pages had been designed to look like BBC’s Bangla news service and the online news site bdnews24.com, among others.

In its own reporting, bdnews24 noted the fake news Page had used an almost identical logo, except that it added an extra letter in the URL and the logo.

Facebook didn’t say how many total followers these Pages and accounts had, but claimed one of the Pages had around 11,9000 people tracking its updates. The network of accounts and Pages had spent around $800 USD on Facebook ads, beginning in July 2017 and continuing through last month.

“We are continuously working to uncover this kind of abuse,” wrote Facebook’s Head of Cybersecurity Policy,  Nathaniel Gleicher. “Today’s announcement of the removal of these Pages is just one of the many steps we have taken to prevent bad actors from misrepresenting themselves to manipulate civic discourse. We will continue to invest heavily in safety and security in order to keep bad actors off of our platform and provide a place for people to connect meaningfully about the things that matter to them.” he said.

Twitter, meanwhile, said its investigations are still ongoing and its enforcement actions may expand later on.

For now, however, it has taken action on a total of 15 accounts, all of which had a very small number of followers. Most of the accounts had under 50 followers, it noted. Twitter said it will release more information about the accounts when the investigation completes, as it has before.


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Juul Labs gets $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group


After a long year fighting underage use of its products, Juul Labs has today struck a deal with Altria Group, the owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes.

The deal values Juul at $38 billion, according to Bloomberg, and injects the company with a fresh $12.8 billion in exchange for a 35 percent stake of the company.

Here’s what Juul Labs CEO Kevin Burns had to say in a prepared statement:

We understand the controversy and skepticism that comes with an affiliation and partnership with the largest tobacco company in the US. We were skeptical as well. But over the course of the last several months we were convinced by actions, not words, that in fact this partnership could help accelerate our success switching adult smokers. We understand the doubt. We doubted as well.

He goes on to explain the strict criteria Juul Labs had for a potential investor, particularly one from the Big Tobacco space. For one, Altria entered into a standstill agreement that limits the company’s ownership in Juul to 35 percent. Altria must also use its database and its distribution network to get the message of Juul out to current smokers.

For the past year, many have seen Juul as a dangerous toy for teenagers. In November, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced new measures for the e-cig industry meant to keep the products out of the hands of teens. One of those measures includes restricting the sale of flavored non-combustible tobacco products beyond the usual cigarette flavors of tobacco and menthol.

But after nearly a year of playing defense, this new deal marks a bit of an offensive push from Juul Labs. The company has always stressed that its main goal is to give smokers a meaningful alternative to combustible cigarettes. Partnering with Big Tobacco may not seem like the best way to do that, optically speaking. But Altria has agreed to a few measures that would get information about Juul into the hands of actual smokers, including:

  • providing Juul with access to its retail shelf space, meaning that Juul’s tobacco and menthol products will be merchandized right alongside Altria combustible cigarettes
  • Altria will include direct communications about Juul to adult smokers through cigarette pack inserts and mailings via Altria companies’ databases
  • Altria will support Juul via its logistics and distribution networks, as well as its sales team which works with more than 230,000 retail locations

In the release, Altria said that part of the reason for the investment is simply that the organization understands change is coming to the tobacco industry.

Howard Willard, Altria’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, had this to say in a prepared statement:

We are taking significant action to prepare for a future where adult smokers overwhelmingly choose non-combustible products over cigarettes by investing $12.8 billion in JUUL, a world leader in switching adult smokers. We have long said that providing adult smokers with superior, satisfying products with the potential to reduce harm is the best way to achieve tobacco harm reduction. Through JUUL, we are making the biggest investment in our history to achieve that goal. We strongly believe that working with JUUL to accelerate its mission will have long-term benefits for adult smokers and our shareholders.

Altria has made a few big moves lately, including acquiring a 45 percent stake in cannabis company Cronos earlier this month. The company also announced this month that it would discontinue its own e-cig products, including all MarkTen and Green Smoke e-vapor products, and VERVE oral nicotine products.

“This decision is based upon the current and expected financial performance of these products, coupled with regulatory restrictions that burden Altria’s ability to quickly improve these products,” read the press release. “The company will refocus its resources on more compelling reduced-risk tobacco product opportunities.”

Now we know that those opportunities look like an extra-long thumb drive called Juul.


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4 Handy Mac Apps That Bring Gmail to Your Desktop


gmail-macbook

Want to recreate the Gmail experience on your Mac desktop? You can do it quickly by installing the right email app.

By the right app, we don’t mean any old macOS email client. We’re referring to the apps that mimic the web version of Gmail, such as the four we explore below.

1. Go for Gmail

go-for-gmail-default-inbox-interface-on-mac

Install Go for Gmail if you want to check Gmail from your Mac’s menu bar. You can click on the menu bar icon to toggle the app window, which lays out Gmail exactly as it appears online.

You’ll also find a few additions, such as a full screen toolbar button and a mode-switcher button. The second button allows you to switch between the default Desktop mode and the Mobile mode. The latter displays your emails with a more compact layout. (Stick the app window to a corner of the screen for quick access.)

In the Mobile mode, you won’t see the Gmail side panel that gives you access to mini versions of Google Calendar, Google Keep, and Google Tasks.

mobile-mode-in-go-for-gmail-menu-bar-app-window-on-mac

The app settings give you a bit of control over the app’s behavior, appearance, and notifications. You can force the app to show up in the dock if you don’t prefer the menu bar version.

Plus, Go for Gmail supports multiple Gmail accounts. If you want a simpler menu bar app to check Gmail, try Mia for Gmail. It lets you manage your emails from a plain, list-like layout.

Download: Go for Gmail (Free)

2. Kiwi for Gmail

kiwi-for-gmail-default-inbox-interface-on-mac

This full-fledged app packs Gmail and a handful of other Google apps into a single interface. Of course, the default layout displays your Gmail inbox.

You can jump to Google Drive, Docs, Contacts, and Calendar, or create new entries in these apps via the left sidebar. Each app will open in a separate window.

Google Keep is also available in Kiwi for Gmail, but you’ll have to access it by clicking on the apps button to the right of the search box. The lite version of Keep is available as usual in the side panel on the right.

It’s convenient that you can attach files to emails directly from Finder. Look for the Kiwi for Gmail option under Share in the context menu. This shows up only if you have selected the Share Menu checkbox for the app under System Preferences > Extensions > All.

enable-kiwi-for-gmail-share-menu-in-macos-settings

Want to schedule emails in Gmail? You’ll be happy to know that Kiwi for Gmail supports the top scheduler plugin, Boomerang. For convenience, we recommend programming a memorable global shortcut from the app’s settings to trigger the Compose window.

Keep in mind that the lite version of the app doesn’t support Google apps, and limits you to one Gmail account. The premium subscription was totally free for quite some time, so you might want to check if that offer is still available.

Download: Kiwi for Gmail (Free, subscription available)

3. Mailplane

tabbed-interface-in-mailplane-on-mac

With Mailplane, you can manage your Gmail inbox, contacts, and Google Calendar from a single location. The app’s tabbed interface is a big plus.

If you have multiple Gmail accounts, you’ll appreciate the ability to search them all from the search box in any Mailplane inbox. Type in your search query and click on the Search Everywhere button to use this feature.

You’ll find a few useful options in the primary toolbar. From here, you can bookmark specific inbox locations for quick access. Plus, you can insert and annotate screenshots on the fly before attaching them to emails.

annotate-screenshot-in-compose-window-of-mailplane-on-mac

The app also lets you attach files from Finder via the context menu. Again, this feature works only after you enable it, as described for the Kiwi app above.

Mailplane’s menu bar notifier is a time saver. It lets you archive and reply to emails from notifications.

Want app integrations and extensions to make Gmail more powerful? You’ve got them. Mailplane supports extensions like Boomerang, Right Inbox, and Gmelius. It also works with other macOS apps like Apple Contacts, Fantastical, Todoist, Evernote, and Alfred.

Head to Mailplane’s settings section to configure accounts, record shortcuts, download extensions, and more.

Download: Mailplane ($30, free trial available)

4. Wavebox

default-gmail-interface-in-wavebox-on-mac

The free version of Wavebox is a Gmail wrapper for your Mac. It lets you add up to two accounts, and you should have no trouble setting up your inbox. Wavebox offers quite a bit of control over its behavior.

With a Pro plan, Wavebox allows you to bring in other G Suite apps like Google Drive, Calendar, Contacts, and Hangouts. That’s because it’s a lot more than an email client. It’s one of those apps that create unified workspaces from different apps. In fact, you can add any app or service from the web to Wavebox.

The app is worth a shot, because it comes with a free trial of the Pro version. If you don’t like what you see, you can always go back to using it as a Gmail-only app.

Download: Wavebox (Free, subscription available)

It’s Easy to Get Gmail on Your Mac

Sure, you can install any of the many third-party Mac mail apps to check your Gmail account. Such apps give you added benefits like snoozing and scheduling, among other features. But it’s nice to have Gmail’s familiar web interface pop up when you open your inbox on a Mac.

If you agree, the apps on our list above are perfect for you. It’s a pity that these apps have zero to limited offline capabilities, though. If you insist on using an app that works offline, you might want to consider using Gmail Offline in Chrome.

Read the full article: 4 Handy Mac Apps That Bring Gmail to Your Desktop


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The 7 Best Apps for Scrolling Screenshots on Android and iOS

WhiteSmoke Uses AI to Correct Your Writing Errors — Now 80% off


It’s virtually impossible to write anything over a hundred words without making an error. When you need to be perfect, WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant will be your proofreader. This intelligent app uses advanced algorithms to highlight faults in your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. Right now, you can get lifetime Premium access for $79 at MakeUseOf Deals.

AI Proofreading

Potential employers and clients don’t care about human error. They want to see carefully crafted, error-free prose. Even a single spelling mistake can be enough to sow the seeds of doubt. WhiteSmoke helps you live up to these high standards by flagging every flaw in your writing.

To find the faults, WhiteSmoke uses intelligent algorithms to understand the meaning of your words. The app then finds every typo, grammatical error and misplaced comma in your draft.

WhiteSmoke can also translate between different languages and check your work for plagiarism against a huge database — a very useful tool for students.

WhiteSmoke works in any web browser, and you can also download the desktop apps on Windows and Mac. The apps work seamlessly with Word and Outlook, meaning you can write error-free reports and emails without changing your workflow.

Lifetime Assistance for $79

You can get a WhiteSmoke Premium subscription now for $79, saving 80% on the standard price. It makes a great gift for students and anyone else who needs to write perfectly.

Want your products featured by MakeUseOf Deals? Learn more about how to sell your products online!

Read the full article: WhiteSmoke Uses AI to Correct Your Writing Errors — Now 80% off


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Grab is messing up the world’s largest mapping community’s data in Southeast Asia


Grab, Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing company, has hit a roadblock in its efforts to improve its mapping and routing service after running into trouble with OpenStreetMap, the world’s largest collaborative mapping community, through a series of blundering edits in Thailand.

Grab, which gobbled up Uber’s local business in exchange for an equity swap earlier this year, has busily added details and upgraded the maps it uses across its eight markets in Southeast Asia.

Accurate maps are, of course, essential to a smooth ride-hailing experience for Grab’s 125 million registered users. Without accurate location details, ensuring that drivers and passengers can easily rendezvous becomes nearly impossible.

Grab’s effort to improve the never-ending quest of more accurate maps involves a multi-input approach that uses Google Maps as the base with Grab adding in its own information — ‘points of interest’ cultivated through customer feedback and groundwork — and other public or licensed information.

However, what appears to be a focus on speed has seen it suspend all activities in Thailand — Southeast Asa’s second-largest economy — after it was found to have overwritten data developed by OpenStreetMap (OSM) with inaccurate edits that were created by a remote team based in India.

Established in 2006, OSM’s mission is to “make the best map data set of the world” and it makes its data, which is developed by over two million volunteers from across the world, available for use without charge.

Outsourced errors

An India-based team from GlobalLogic, an outsourced software firm contracted by Grab, made dozens of edits in recent months that overwrote information created by OSM members, who voluntarily map streets by visiting them in person. Grab suspended work in Thailand by the GlobalLogic team after OSM members complained about numerous incorrect edits in OSM forum posts.

Unlike the hobbyist mappers who collect data in person, the Grab contractors used satellite imagery to ‘correct’ local map details in Thailand which, in fast-changing cities like Bangkok, meant that their work was incorrect because it relied on out-of-date sources. One mapper, so exasperating at the continued flow of inaccurate updates, began labeling correcting summaries with #WhatInGrabsNameIsThis to document the trail. More than 30 edits included the hashtag, but countless others may not have been found yet.

“Open Street Maps, for the most part, is craftsmanship but they are coming at this with an industrial mindset,” Mishari Muqbil, a Bangkok-based OSM member, told TechCrunch.

Muqbil, who previously arranged and managed a workshop to help local Grab staff and volunteers working on maps in Thailand understand how OSM works, said he spent “hours” fixing road edits in his neighborhood which had been incorrectly changed.

“God knows what they’ve been doing in other places,” he added.

Grab claims over 150 million registered users and 2.5 billion rides completed to date

The problems came to a head in November when the Open Street Map Foundation’s board of directors rejected membership requests for “more than 100 applicants” from GlobalLogic, thereby restricting the number of outsourced representatives working on maps for Grab and other clients of the agency.

“There had been a mass sign-up of 100 new accounts on 15.11.2018 from India, most coming from one single IP address from a company “well known” to OpenStreetMap. There had been a larger amount of complaints regarding edits from that company, who provide “mapping services” to other companies,” read a circular issued by the board.

The incident was the most significant membership rejection spree from OSM since 2011, the board said.

Attribution concerns

Beyond making incorrect edits using a remote team, Grab — which is finalizing a $3 billion funding round from the likes Toyota and SoftBank, and has raised $6.8 billion to date — appears to be using OSM data without proper attribution.

In a phone interview, Ajay Bulusu — head of regional operations at Grab — confirmed that the company uses OSM data but he told TechCrunch that it is not consumer-facing within Grab’s app. Instead, he explained, Grab uses the information for some internal algorithms, routing and estimated time of arrival data. Bulusu — a former Googler who joined Grab last year — explained that the company uses a combination of information, including OSM data in some places where needed.

Grab, however, does use OSM data in consumer terms as a blog post from Muqbil explains. There are some parts of Bangkok where the ride-hailing app routes a ride through roads that are not shown within the Google Map overlay that it uses to display locations. Muqbil previously claimed Uber did the same.

A screenshot from the Grab app [left] appears to show that it uses information from OSM maps [right] to route rides beyond the roads displayed in Google Maps in some parts of Bangkok (Credit: Mishari Muqbil)

While it may be true that Grab doesn’t use all of OSM’s data in its consumer product — it uses a lot of its own information, including GPS pings from previous journeys — the fact that it integrates any portion of the organization’s data in its service means it should include credit. Grab’s app currently displays no credit which violates OSM’s license agreement.

When presented with two examples that appeared to show a use of OSM data, Grab backtracked and confirmed that it does use some of the organization’s data within its consumer-facing apps.

Grab’s statement (below) doesn’t say that the company will add attribution to its map, per OSM policy, instead the company suggested that it will update an OSM wiki page it operates.

We have always been open and transparent about the partners we work with and the sources of our data. We are actively working to find the best way to acknowledge all sources within the app itself. With regards to OSM specifically, we outline our partnership here: https://ift.tt/2EHkB9l. We are also updating the Grab OSM Wiki page with more details of our partnership. Grab and the OSM community have worked closely together across many Southeast Asian cities – we share the same goal, which is to map SEA better for the common good. It’s been a very positive relationship by and large and one that we are excited to keep expanding.

It may sound trivial to some, but mapping information is a crucial differentiator that is much sought-after by the world’s billion-dollar ride-hailing companies.

Indeed, Grab’s failure to comply with OSM’s policy comes barely a week after it was reported that Go-Jek — its Indonesia-based rival that’s backed by Tencent, Google and others — had copied Grab’s map data, specifically its points of interest, in Singapore as part of its recent expansion into the country.

Bulusu refused to be drawn into commenting on the reports, claiming that he “doesn’t know” if Go-Jek did scrape Grab’s data.

A Go-Jek spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

CEO Anthony Tan has consistently positioned Grab as Southeast Asia’s “local champion”

Developing local relationships

Grab has indicated its intention to work more closely with the OSM community in Thailand. A recent report from Quartz shone a light on the work it is doing in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, where it collaborates with HOT, Humanitarian OSM Team, a non-profit that spun out of the OSM movement which specializing in mapping for disaster relief.

Bulusu said he plans to meet with Thailand’s OSM community while he admitted that the company must do better.

“We apologize to the Thai OSM community,” he said. “We’re planning to build a process [and are] trying to have an open discussion with the Thailand forum.”

As part of that bridge-building effort, Bulusu himself has committed to meeting with OSM members face-to-face in Thailand. A meeting at Grab’s office in Bangkok is in the planning, although the Grab exec has not yet committed to a request to meet in Chiang Mai, where a substantial number of community members are located.

“We totally understand the Thailand sentiment and we’ve stopped mapping to make sure we do the right thing,” Bulusu added. “Across the region, we’ve done a lot of good work on OSM and we want to continue that… if people reach out, we want to work with them.”

It’s certainly ironic that Grab, which CEO Anthony Tan continually positioned as the “local champion” during its battle with Uber and has raised more money than any startup in Southeast Asia, has resorted to outsourcing elements of its mapping to India and, in doing so, harmed the local champions developing maps that are designed to help improve services for all.

Bulusu, however, defended Grab’s use of GlobalLogic. He said that Hyderabad, where the GlobalLogic team working with Grab is based, “is where most global mapping talent is based.” He said usage of the agency was “complementary to local teams” and, while he acknowledged that there could be errors, he again reiterated that Grab is keen to establish a system of working with Thailand’s OSM community.


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Facebook defends allowing third parties access to user messages


In a new blog post, Facebook VP of Product Partnerships Ime Archibong addressed the company’s latest user privacy controversy. The rebuttal is the second round of Facebook’s push back against Tuesday’s report by the New York Times detailing some of Facebook’s special partnerships and extensive data sharing with major tech players.

In the new post, Archibong specifically argues that Facebook never allowed its partners to access private Facebook messages without a user’s permission. While Facebook did in fact share user messages with third parties, the company claims it only did so “if they chose to use Facebook Login.” Facebook Login allows users to log into third party sites without making a specific new set of login credentials.

As Archibong writes:

“We worked closely with four partners to integrate messaging capabilities into their products so people could message their Facebook friends — but only if they chose to use Facebook Login. These experiences are common in our industry — think of being able to have Alexa read your email aloud or to read your email on Apple’s Mail app.”

He goes on to claim that these features “were experimental and have now been shut down for nearly three years.” Facebook is being purposefully quite specific here about what this particular timeline applies to, as the New York Times story reports that the company engaged in some forms of “special access” data sharing with third parties “as recently as this summer, despite public statements that it had stopped that type of sharing years earlier.”

As to the question of why Facebook would grant messaging partners deep messaging access:

“That was the point of this feature — for the messaging partners mentioned above, we worked with them to build messaging integrations into their apps so people could send messages to their Facebook friends…

In order for you to write a message to a Facebook friend from within Spotify, for instance, we needed to give Spotify “write access.” For you to be able to read messages back, we needed Spotify to have “read access.” “Delete access” meant that if you deleted a message from within Spotify, it would also delete from Facebook. No third party was reading your private messages, or writing messages to your friends without your permission.”

Facebook’s post provides screenshots of these messaging integrations, which happened long enough ago that most of us don’t remember them at all. What Facebook declined to provide in this post: the permissions screens that users saw when granting this access. Those will be key in determining just how informed users were of what they were handing over when casually enabling these integrations.

screenshot via Facebook

Still, no matter how clearly Facebook might have worded the permissions screens, social media users are only just now broadly awakening to the fact that something is unsettling about all of this data sharing. The fact remains that even if users clicked to grant their consent for a feature like this, it’s a problem that they didn’t understand the privacy implications of doing so.

In this instance, it isn’t just Facebook’s problem. With privacy regulation looming on the horizon in the U.S. and the GDPR already making major waves for consumer privacy in the EU, it’s only a matter of time before all major tech companies that rent user data to advertisers face a reckoning that could change everything about the way they do business.


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Lovot Might Be the Cutest, Snuggliest Robot Ever


When they talked about our robot overlords coming to take over the world, they didn’t mention how cute they’d be!

Lovot is an adorable little robot that just about anyone would love to have in their house. It’s soft, fluffy, and totally huggable! But it’s also packed with smart features that make it the perfect companion for your home. It might not clean your home like a robot vacuum, but it’ll look much cuter!

What Is Lovot?

The Lovot robot comes from a Japanese company called Groove X. It’s kind of like a mix between a snuggleable little teddy bear and a smart robot.

The adorable little robot sits on wheels so it can move around its space. It also features big eyes that make it look expressive, which is designed to help build an emotional connection with humans. Which will, of course, make it that much easier for the robot to take over the world when the time comes. It’ll just take over the world with love!

Getting into the nitty gritty of the robot, it features a suite of sensors that can feel touch, giving people a natural way to interact with it. It has a 360-degree camera on its head that’ll let it see the world around it and interact with what it sees. It also has a microphone that lets it detect where sounds are coming from.

Even crazier, it comes with thermal sensors that allow it to tell the difference between human beings and inanimate objects. Taking that even further, the company actually claims that it can pick out its owner instantly!

Here are the hardware specs of the cute little Lovot:

  • 4-core x86 CPU with 8GB of RAM
  • 4-core ARMv8 and 2-core ARMv7 with 4GB of dedicated RAM
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 4K connection support
  • 2 LCD displays
  • 13 degrees of movement
  • 1 Speaker
  • Posture sensor
  • Infrared communication sensor array
  • Light flash

When Can You Buy This Adorable Robot?

The little Lovot will be available in Fall 2019. It won’t be easy on the wallet though, as it’ll cost a whopping $3,100 (349,000 Yen). While it’s not for the budget conscious, it’s certainly a cool robot, and the sensors could be applied to other types of robots going forward.

Want to know more about robots? Check out this fascinating article about how robots learn.

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Apple Patents Mysterious Device With 360-Degree Screen


Apple has just patented a new device with a 360-degree screen and this new device doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before. It doesn’t look like a phone with a wrap-around display or anything like that. Or at least, it doesn’t look like what we think of as a smartphone now.

The patent could be for some revolution in the way we think of a phone, or it could be a new type of iPod. Honestly, we have no idea, but it’s definitely something exciting to keep an eye on.

Apple’s New Patent

There are three key parts of the device. We have to call it “the device” because again, we don’t know if it’s supposed to be a phone, an MP3 player, a tablet, or something else entirely. The most obvious thing that makes this interesting is the flexible 360-degree screen. The patent describes the screen as a “continuously wrapped display.”

Other key aspects of this device are the accelerometers and gyroscopes. The patent describes using motion to control the device. It speaks about rotating the device or moving the gadget around the scroll.

Lastly, there’s touch, while isn’t anything too revolutionary, as we’re all used to controlling our phones with touch. We’ve been doing it since the original iPhone, and touch doesn’t seem to be going anywhere even with this crazy-looking futuristic device.

The patent goes into deep detail on just about every aspect of this futuristic device except for what it actually is. It talks about making a case with a transparent polymer, transparent ceramic, or synthetic sapphire. It also talks about how the components can be placed inside and the way the screen will be affixed. But it keeps it vague for what it’ll be used for.

Perhaps this wrap-around technology could be used for a new Apple Watch with a screen that goes around the user’s wrist. It could also be something more obvious like a bendable phone. Only time will tell. Or it won’t because nothing could ever come of this patent.

When Can You Buy Apple’s New 360-Degree Device?

So, the short answer to that question is we don’t know. Hopefully, we see a cool new device come to market from this patent, but it’s too early to tell.

If you want a more in-depth look at the patent, check out MySmartPrice, which as an incredibly detailed breakdown of the patent and what it could mean.

In the meantime, if you want to know more about the future of smartphones, LG has recently patented a phone with 16 cameras, which could change the way we take photos on the go.

Image Credit: bernardbodo/DepositPhotos

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3 Last-Minute Digital Gifts That Don’t Require Shipping

The 15 Funniest Websites for the Best Humor on the Web


funniest-web-sites

Comedy is a diverse and varied genre; no two people have exactly the same tastes.

With the advent of the internet, however, that doesn’t matter. There really is something out there for everyone—from lowbrow to highbrow and from cheesy to cutting satire.

Let’s start the laugh meter with the funniest websites on the web.

1. Engrish.com

Engrish: Funny website

It seems somehow appropriate to kick off this list with Engrish.com. It’s a website that specializes in pictures of English-language mishaps, often in foreign lands.

Let’s be clear, there is absolutely no shame in making errors when English is not your mother tongue, but this site typically focuses errors committed by businesses—and there really is no excuse for them.

2. Funny or Die

funny or die

Funny or Die’s bread and butter are viral videos, but it mixes them in with a healthy dose of original content from comedians as well. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy launched the site, and it has since received lots of Silicon Valley backing.

Once you’ve registered you can vote on whether a video is funny or deserves to “die”, hence the name.

3. The Onion

the onion

If satire is more to your liking, you’ll certainly have heard about The Onion.

The site, which is operated out of Chicago, uses current events to create spoof stories, editorials, op-ed pieces, and interviews. Comedian and actor Bob Odenkirk has gone on record as saying “[The Onion] is the best comedy writing in the country, and it has been since it started.”

4. Overheard in New York

overheard in new york

Overheard in New York lets residents of the city submit snippets of conversations they hear while going about their daily lives in the Big Apple.

It has become so popular that a number of sister sites have been spawned (such as Overheard in the Office and Overheard at the Beach) and a book of the most popular quotes has been published.

5. Pictures of Walls

pictures of walls

Granted, “Pictures of Walls” doesn’t look like the most inspiring title for a humorous page, but it’s actually a great site.

It’s packed with pictures of funny messages that people have graffitied on walls, buildings, and other objects. Sometimes they are standalone phrases, sometimes they edit a sign or an advert.

6. CollegeHumor

CollegeHumor

CollegeHumor has become one of the most well-known comedy sites on the web. The site went live in 2000 and features an original series of pranks, mini-series, sketches, and animations.

It was originally aimed at the college-aged demographic, and while that is still arguably its core purpose, it now has something to suit most tastes.

Its success led to an MTV series in 2008 called The College Humor Show. Sadly, it went off the air after just one season.

7. The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

Branded as “comics, quizzes, and stories”, The Oatmeal’s biggest draw are the cartoons that are crafted by its founder, Matthew Inman. The content itself is varied, covering everything from the English language to computer usage.

Every single one of the works on the site requires a lot of dedication; in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2010, Inman said each image took him around eight hours to produce.

8. Awkward Family Photos

Awkward Family Photos

Most family homes have at least one picture on the wall that makes you shudder each time you see it.

This website collates all those images into one place; from painstakingly recreated family portraits to perfectly-timed snapshots, you can finally feel safe in the knowledge that you’re not the only one who has a shoebox full of embarrassing photos.

9. 9GAG

9GAG

If you want GIFs and memes, 9GAG needs to be your first port of call.

Its upvote/downvote system means you’ll find new content each time you visit, and the frequently-updated “Featured” section typically focuses on what’s hot in the media at any given time.

The site has also launched mobile apps on both iOS and Android, and now boasts a thriving Reddit-esque community.

10. Jokes.cc

Jokes.cc
Jokes.cc is a massive repository of one-liners which will be sure to make you laugh and groan in equal measure.

The funnies are organized by category and sub-category, with everything from the police to animals getting their own section.

11. Dilbert

Dilbert

If you want comic strips that are based in reality, look no further than Dilbert. It was first launched in 1989 and is now published in many national newspapers and magazines.

The comics follow Dilbert—the strip’s main character—through the mundanity of modern office life.

12. Epic Fail

Epic Fail

Rich people crashing expensive supercars, skateboarders doing stupid things, and people walking into glass doors. We all know what’s coming with fail videos, but they never cease to be hilarious.

There are lots of them on YouTube, but arguably the best dedicated website is epicfail.com. The creators upload tons of new stuff every day. It features both videos and pictures.

13. xkcd

Another geek favorite, xkcd is a webcomic which typically uses science, mathematics, and computers as its subject matter. People are represented as stickmen.

It is the work of Randall Munroe, who uploaded the first batch of 13 sketches were posted way back in 2005. The site has led to three spin-off books.

14. Cheezburger

cheezburger

Cheezburger is a mix of funny videos, images, memes, and other easily digestible content. It has been online since 2007, growing to become one of the internet’s most popular sites with millions of hits per day.

At one point, the site became so popular that it spun off into a reality TV show on Bravo. It followed the site’s staff as they created new posts.

15. People of Walmart

people of walmart

Who knew that photos of people shopping at Walmart could be so hilarious?! The site is a seemingly endless catalog of people doing silly things, dressing in a peculiar way, or otherwise acting odd.

You can even submit your own photos if you spot something worthy during one of your visits to the supermarket chain.

The Funniest Websites You Have Come Across?

We are well aware that we’ve only scratched the surface in this article. There are thousands of sites out there, all of which want to make you laugh. Many of them lie undiscovered in the little nooks of the web. Let us know your suggestions in the comments.

And for more funny content, check out our lists of the best standup comedy on Netflix and the funniest names for your home Wi-Fi network.

Read the full article: The 15 Funniest Websites for the Best Humor on the Web


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