6 Chromebook Annoyances You Should Fix Right Now

Chromebooks are fun, lightweight, and convenient. But in many ways they can also be terribly annoying at times.

Over time, those annoyances crop up to bug you so often that before long, you’ll end up feeling like throwing the thing through the nearest window.

Have no fear. While a Chromebook has a few limitations compared to a regular laptop, there are ways you can either work around these issues, or fix them entirely.

1. Auto-Hiding Scrollbars Doesn’t Work

The latest update of Chrome OS offers a browser “enhancement” that is actally more like a software bug. I’m not sure what Google engineer came up with this idea, but whoever it was should be demoted to janitor. This is the single most annoying aspect of using a Chromebook now.

What idea? The insufferable disappearing (auto-hide) scroll bar.

Put your mouse near the right edge of where the scrollbar is supposed to be and it magically appears out of thin air.

Move the mouse away, and bye-bye scrollbar.

Now here’s a pop-quiz. If you didn’t know where that scrollbar slider was already, just looking at the screenshot below, how would you know where to put your mouse in order to get it back?

The answer is, you don’t. There’s nothing there. If you place your mouse over the lower part of the invisible scrollbar, nothing happens; no scrollbar. You actually have to slide your mouse up and down the side, hoping you’re going to randomly slide it over the hidden scrollbar, until it appears.

Once you find yourself searching enough times for that hidden scrollbar, one of three things will happen.

1. You accidentally click on some other part of the window you didn’t mean to click on.
2. Curse in frustration at Google for making your life a living hell.
3. Break your trackpad punching it in frustration with your finger.

The point is, Google made a very bad design decision here.

It’s even worse when the scrollbar is supposed to be in the middle of a window, such as a scrollable pane.

Seriously, how is anyone supposed to know there’s actually a scrollbar there?

The Workaround: Set the Overlay Scrollbars Flag

Thankfully, there’s a quick fix for this annoyance.

In your browser URL field, type in chrome://flags, scroll down to Overlay Scrollbars, and set it to Disabled.

That’s it. Problem solved.

Now the scrollbar will always display where a scrollbar is supposed to display.

There are many other annoying Chrome browser issues, so we’ve provided plenty of ways for you to fix them.

2. Profile Switching Is Clunky

When you first boot your Chromebook you’ll need to sign in using a Google account. When you’re logged in under that account, you’ll see that account displayed when you click the lower right corner of the taskbar. You have the option to sign out of that account and sign into another one.

This flips you back to the sign-in screen, where you can add as many Google accounts as you like.

Here’s the issue. On the taskbar account listing, you can have multiple accounts signed it at once, but these are sessions, not windows.

So if you want to do something like copy text from a Google doc in one account to an email in another account, it’s a major hassle. You have to switch sessions (sometimes you’re forced to log in again at the main login screen), and often copy/pasting between sessions doesn’t even work at all.

The Workaround: Use Browser Profile Management

Rather than dealing with Chromebook sessions to work with multiple accounts, the workaround for this annoyance is using the Chrome browser’s own account management tools.

When you’re logged into Chrome, just click on the acount profile image, and then click the Add account button at the bottom of the list.

Then, click Use another account to sign into your other Google account.

Once you do this, the tab itself is signed into the other account. Now you can just copy from the Google Doc in one tab, flip over to the other tab, and past that text into your email or wherever else.

Working between multiple accounts within a single browser is very easy, and far less annoying than trying to work between multiple accounts using Chromebooks profile management system.

We can help you with setting up Chrome profiles if you’ve never done that before.

3. Can’t Use Word or Excel Files

When Chromebooks first came out, dealing with MS Office files like Word documents or Excel spreadsheets was a major pain. You couldn’t really work with them directly. It required converting them over to a Google Doc or Google Sheet, editing them there, and then converting back.

Over time, that “conversion” process has gotten easier, thankfully. And while it’s still a bit annoying that you can’t natively open and edit those same files right on your Chromebook, the workaround for this is fairly seamless.

The Workaround: Use an Extension

In fact, there are several solutions. The best of those, in my opinion, is the Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides extension for Chrome.

With this extension, you can open and edit MS Office files directly. No conversion necessary.

Google recognized that this was a major annoyance for Chromebook users, so if you have the latest Chome OS update, this extension is actually included automatically.

Other solutions to edit MS Office files directly:

• Use the Office Online Chrome extension offered by Microsoft.
• For documents, try the Word Online extension.
• Spreadsheets can be edited with the Excel Online extension.
• Use the PowerPoint Online extension for presentations.

There is still an added benefit to copying your MS Office files over to your Google Drive account. You can edit those documents collaboratively with other Chrome users who have the same MS Office editing extension installed.

Yes, it’s still a little bit annoying that you can’t do this without installing or using an extension. But this is the nature of using a device that’s limited to browser-based functionality. At least there are workarounds that are relatively painless.

This is one extension that’s very useful for students, but there are many more extensions to explore if you’re going to school.

4. Forget About Printing Normally

Most devices these days have the ability to connect and print to any printer that you’ve connected to the same network your device is connected to. Chromebooks don’t have that functionality.

Natively, if you open any document using your Chromebook and click on the print button, you’ll see a popup similar to the one shown below. It’s deceiving because there isn’t actually any real “print” functionality available. It’s only a glorified document-to-PDF converter.

You can’t even connect your Chromebook directly to a printer using USB because it’s impossible to install device drivers on your Chromebook. You would think that most Chromebook manufacturers would come up with a solution for this. Maybe more of a laptop/chromebook hybrid with support for commonly used devices like printers.

But currently, if you own a Chromebook, you’re completely out of luck when it comes to printing, unless you’re willing to do a little bit of work.

The Workaround: Use Google Cloud Print

While it does take a little bit of up-front effort, the Google Cloud Print solution works well.

You can set this up for free if you have a Google account. In my experience, you can’t set it up directly from your Chromebook. You’ll have the easiest setup if you do it from a computer where you’ve already printed to the printer that you’re configuring.

• On that computer, open Chrome and type “chrome://devices” into the URL field.
• You should see your printer displayed under the “Printers to register” heading.
• Select the printer (or printers) you want to register with Google Cloud Print and click Add printer(s).
• Confirm the registration.
• It’s possible that your printer may require you to accept registration. If so, just select OK.

Once you work through this process, you can print from any device (including mobile devices) using your Google account.

From now on, when you print from your Chromebook, you’ll see your printer listed as an option.

It’s a little bit annoying that you have to do so much work just to print from your Chromebook, but that’s the nature of the beast. Saving money by buying a Chromebook comes with with another kind of cost. Your time.

If you’re a digital nomad looking for a way to print when you aren’t on your own home network, we’ve offered a whole list of printing solutions for you.

5. Missing CD or DVD Player

If you have music, games, applications, or files on a CD or DVD and you’re hoping to access those with your Chromebook, you’re out of luck. Chromebooks have no support for external disc drives, for the same reason they don’t natively support printing. Lack of device drivers.

The Workaround: Copy Files to External Storage

The only way to access anything stored on a CD or DVD is to copy those files to your Google Drive account, or to an external hard drive. Chromebooks can connect with external hard drives, so this is a good option. However, don’t expect to run any applications using your Chromebook.

Remember, a Chromebook isn’t a laptop. The only “applications” that can run on it are browser based.

6. Apps Aren’t Really Apps

That point is worth noting, because it’s a critical part of what makes Chromebooks so different from laptops.

This is especially important for anyone who doesn’t really know much about Chromebooks, and may see them on display while browsing through the electronics store. They look a lot like a regular laptop, complete with USB ports, an HDMI port, and even an SSD card slot.

Before you buy, please remember: You can’t run applications on your Chromebook.

The only applications you can install are ones you find on Google Play or the Chrome Web Store. And realistically, these aren’t really “applications” in the true sense of the word. Sure, when you run them you might see an independent window with the typically window controls at the upper right corner of the window.

But the reality is that these are browser-based applications. They don’t operate any differently than if you were to open the same app from your Chrome browser. The independent window is a facade — it isn’t an app, it’s a Chrome-based extension. Nothing more.

This may be fine if you never really depend on “real” applications anyway. But if you find yourself using specific applications a lot—like certain photo or video editors, Microsoft applications, or music apps like Spotify—you’re going to be disappointed.

You might find web-based alternatives for those, but inevitably they’ll be scaled down web-based versions with limited functionality. Whether or not you find this annoying depends on how much you normally depend on those applications every day.

Another workaround for this, if you’re a bit more tech savvy, is to run an emulator on Chrome OS. We can show you how to install such an emulator to run Windows applications on a Chromebook if you desperately need to.

Are You Annoyed by Your Chromebook?

In early 2016, Chromebooks outsold Macs. This was an astonishing milestone for Google’s Chrome OS. However, the devices still remain the most basic type of computing device you could possibly own.

They’re super-cheap—and that’s their appeal for so many people—but they’re also severely limited in functionality. Most people buying these devices may not even realize just how limited Chromebooks are, until it’s too late.

Before buying one, make sure you follow our tips for deciding if a Chromebook is right for you. The last thing you want to do is throw your money away, so asking yourself the right questions will help you avoid making that mistake.

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Cambridge Analytica’s Nix recalled by fake news probe

Stock up on the popcorn — the currently suspended CEO of the firm at the center of a data handling and political ad-targeting storm currently embroiling Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, has been recalled by a UK parliamentary committee that’s running a probe into the impact of fake news because it’s unhappy with the quality of his prior answers.

The committee also says it has fresh questions for Alexander Nix in light of revelations that hit the headlines at the weekend about how a researcher’s app was used to gather personal information on about 270,000 Facebookers and 50 million of their friends, back in 2015 — data that was passed to CA in violation of Facebook’s policies.

Nix gave evidence to the DCMS committee on February 27, when he claimed: “We do not work with Facebook data, and we do not have Facebook data. We do use Facebook as a platform to advertise, as do all brands and most agencies, or all agencies, I should say. We use Facebook as a means to gather data. We roll out surveys on Facebook that the public can engage with if they elect to.”

That line is one of the claims the committee says it’s keen to press him on now. In a letter to Nix, it writes: “[T]here are a number of inconsistencies in your evidence to us of 27 February, notably your denial that your company received data from the Global Science Research company [aka the firm behind the survey app used by CA to harvest data on 50M Facebook users, according to The Observer].”

“We are also interested in asking you again about your claim that you “do not work with Facebook data, and […] do not have Facebook data,” it continues, warning: “Giving false statements to a Select Committee is a very serious matter.”

The self-styled ‘not a political consultancy’ but “technology-driven marketing firm” (and sometime “campaign consultancy and communication services” company) — which Nix also described in his last evidence session as “not a data miner… a data analytics company” — had its Facebook account suspended late last week for violating Facebook’s platform policies.

The UK’s data protection watchdog, the ICO, has also applied for a warrant to gain access to CA’s offices and servers — accusing the company of failing to hand over information the regulator had requested as part of a wider investigation it’s carrying out into the use of data analytics for political purposes.

CA is also now facing several legal challenges from Facebook users angry about how their data appears to have been misused.

We reached out to the company for comment on the DCMS recall. At the time of writing it had not responded.

Below are a few choice segments from Nix’s last evidence session in from of the committee — which we expect he will be asked to revisit should he agree to make a repeat appearance…

Q698       Rebecca Pow:… Could you expand a bit more on what those surveys are, what you are asking people and how you are gathering the data? Do you keep that data on surveys carried out on Facebook or does Facebook keep it?

Alexander Nix: I cannot speak to Facebook, but as far as I am aware the process works a bit like an opinion survey. If I want to find out how many people prefer red cars or yellow cars, I can post that question on Facebook and people can agree. They can opt in to answer a survey and they give their consent and they say, “I prefer a yellow car” and then we can collect that data. That is no different to running a telephone poll or a digital poll or a mail poll or any other form of poll. It is just a platform that allows you to engage with communities.

Q699       Rebecca Pow: Are they a big part of your data-gathering service?

Alexander Nix: When we work for brands, whether it is in the UK or in the US or elsewhere, we often feel the need to probe their customers and find out what they think about particular products or services. We might use Facebook as a means to engage with the general public to gather this data.

Q700       Simon Hart: Let me ask a very quick question on the Facebook survey opt-in option that you were describing. If you are asking somebody what kind of car they prefer and they opt in, does that facilitate access to other data that may be held by Facebook, which is irrelevant to car colour, or is it only the data you collect on car colour that is relevant?Nothing else that is part of the data held by Facebook would be available to you.

Alexander Nix: You are absolutely right—no other data. As far as I am aware, Facebook does not share any of its data. It is what is known as a walled garden, which keep its data—

Q701       Simon Hart: People are not in any way accidently giving you consent to access data other than that that you specifically asked for.

Alexander Nix: That is correct. People are not giving us consent and Facebook does not have a mechanism that allows third parties such as us to access its data on its customers.

Q702       Simon Hart: Even with its customers’ consent.

Alexander Nix: Even with its customers’ consent.

Chair: You said in your letter to me that, “Cambridge Analytica does not gather” data from Facebook.

Alexander Nix: From Facebook?

Chair: Yes.

Alexander Nix: That is correct.

*

Q718       Chair: The actual quote from the letter is: “On 8 February 2018 Mr Matheson implied that Cambridge Analytica ‘gathers data from users on Facebook.’ Cambridge Analytica does not gather such data.” But from what you said you do, do you not, through the surveys?

Alexander Nix: Yes, I think I can see what has happened here. What we were trying to say in our letter is that we do not gather Facebook data from Facebook users. We can use Facebook as an instrument to go out and run large-scale surveys of the users, but we do not gather Facebook data.

Q719       Chair: By that do you mean that you do not have access to data that is owned by Facebook?

Alexander Nix: Exactly.

Q720       Chair: You acquire data from Facebook users through them engaging with surveys and other things.

Alexander Nix: Exactly right.

Q721       Chair: Is your engagement, either directly or through any associate companies you may have, just through the placing of surveys or are there other tools or games or thingsthat are on Facebook that you use to gather data from Facebook users?

Alexander Nix: No, simply through surveys.

*

Q729       Chair: In that presentation I think there is a slide on data analytics where you describe that data is sourced from multiple sources and any marketing company will know that there are companies that specialise in data analytics to analyse consumer behaviour. I think on your chart you had logos of different companies. I think Experian was one and Nielsen was one. You had Facebook on there as well. Again, just to confirm on this, is that because you are highlighting the fact that you can gather data from Facebook?

Alexander Nix: Collect data through Facebook—that is exactly right, yes.

Q730       Chair: Does any of your data comes from Global Science Research company?

Alexander Nix: GSR?

Chair: Yes.

Alexander Nix: We had a relationship with GSR. They did some research for us back in 2014. That research proved to be fruitless and so the answer is no.

Q731       Chair: They have not supplied you with data or information?

Alexander Nix: No.

Q732       Chair: Your datasets are not based with information you have received from them?

Alexander Nix: No.

Chair: At all?

Alexander Nix: At all.

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What Is a Windows Domain and What Are Its Advantages?

If you use a computer at your work or school, it’s almost certainly part of a Windows domain. But what does that actually mean? What does a domain do, and what are the advantages of a computer joining one?

Let’s look at what a Windows domain is, how they work, and why businesses use them.

What Is a Windows Domain?

A Windows domain is essentially a network of controlled computers used in a business setting. At least one server, called a domain controller, is in charge of the other devices. This lets the network administrators (usually IT staff) control the computers on the domain through users, settings, and more.

Because domains aren’t for home users, only Professional or Enterprise versions of Windows can join one. You’ll also need a copy of Windows Server for the domain controller, as it includes necessary software like Active Directory (more on that later).

How Do You Know If Your Computer Is on a Domain?

If you have a home computer, it’s very unlikely you’re on a domain. You could create a domain on your home network, but there’s not much use to doing so. But if you use a computer supplied by your work or school, it’s almost certainly on a domain.

To check if your computer is part of a domain, open the Control Panel and click the System entry. Look under the Computer name section. If you see a Workgroup entry with WORKGROUP (the default) or another name listed, your computer is not on a domain. Likewise, if you see Domain here, then your computer is on a domain.

These steps also allow you to find your domain name on your computer.

Domains vs. Workgroups

Before we discuss more about domains, we should briefly mention how they compare to workgroups. If a computer isn’t on a domain, then it’s part of a workgroup. These are much more lax than domains, as they don’t have a central authority. Every computer has its own rules.

In modern versions of Windows, Workgroups are really just a formality, especially with Microsoft retiring the HomeGroup feature. Windows never asks you to configure one, and they’re only used for sharing files among devices on your network. Microsoft wants you to use OneDrive for this nowadays, so unless you want to customize your own workgroup, you don’t need to worry about it.

What Is a Domain User Account?

Unlike a personal machine, a domain-connected PC doesn’t use local account logins. Instead, the domain controller manages the logins. Using Microsoft’s Active Directory, a user management software, the network administrators can easily create new users and disable old ones. They can also add users to specific groups to allow access to private server folders.

With a domain account, you can sign into any computer that’s on the domain. You’ll start with a fresh account on that PC, but this enables you to use any computer in your company when needed. Thanks to domain accounts, ex-employees can’t sign back in either. If they try to log in with their old password, they’ll see a message that they were denied access.

The Windows login screen looks a bit different when you’re using a domain-connected PC. Instead of a local username, you’ll have to make sure you’re signing into the domain with your domain username. Thus, your login will look something like MyDomain\StegnerB01.

Domain Control and Group Policy in Windows

The biggest advantage of domains is ease of controlling many computers at once. Without a domain, IT staff would have to individually manage each computer in a company. This means configuring security settings, installing software, and managing user accounts by hand. While this might work for tiny company, it’s not a scalable approach and would quickly become unmanageable.

Along with Active Directory’s user management, joining computers to a domain allows you to use Group Policy. We’ve discussed how Group Policy is useful on your own PC, but it’s really intended for corporate use.

Using the domain controller, administrators can configure all sorts of security and use policies for all computers. For example, Group Policy makes all the following practices easy to apply:

• Removing items from the Start Menu
• Stop users from changing internet connection options
• Block the Command Prompt
• Redirect a certain folder to use one on the server instead
• Prevent the user from changing sounds
• Map a printer to new computers automatically

This is just a small sampling of what Group Policy allows. Administrators can set these changes up once and have them apply to all computers, even new ones they set up later.

Join or Leave a Domain in Windows

Normally, adding your computer to a domain or taking it off won’t be your job. Your company’s IT staff will take care of joining before you get the computer, and take your computer back when you leave. For completion’s sake, though, we’ll mention how the process works here.

Head back to Control Panel > System again. On the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings page, click Change settings. You’ll see the System Properties window. Click the Change button next to To rename this computer or change its domain box.

Here, you’ll see a box letting you change your PC name (this isn’t the only place to do so in Windows 10). More importantly, you’ll see a Member of box below. Check the Domain bubble and type the name of the domain to join it. Windows will authenticate this, so you’ll need to actually have a domain to join.

After a PC reboot, your computer will be on the domain. To leave a domain, repeat this process, but select the Workgroup bubble instead. You’ll need a domain administrator’s password to do this, of course.

The Master’s Domain

We’ve taken a look at what Windows domains do and how they’re used. Essentially, domains allow administrators to control large numbers of business PCs from a central location. The local user has less control over a domain-controlled PC than a personal one. Without domains, managing corporate computers would be a nightmare for IT staff.

With new employees and computers replacing separated employees and old machines all the time, a well-regulated system is key for business computers to run smoothly. To keep your own PC running smoothly, check out our beginner’s guide to fixing Windows 10.

Image Credit: kovaleff/Depositphotos

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Reformulating Chemistry for More Efficient Quantum Computation

Posted by Ryan Babbush, Senior Research Scientist, Quantum AI Team

The first known classical “computer” was the Antikythera mechanism, an analog machine used to simulate the classical mechanics governing dynamics of celestial bodies on an astronomical scale. Similarly, a major ambition of quantum computers is to simulate the quantum mechanics governing dynamics of particles on the atomic scale. These simulations are often classically intractable due to the complex quantum mechanics at play. Of particular interest is the simulation of electrons forming chemical bonds, which give rise to the properties of essentially all molecules, materials and chemical reactions.

Left: The first known computing device, the Antikythera mechanism: a classical machine used to simulate classical mechanics. Right: Google’s 22 Xmon qubit “foxtail” chip arranged in a bilinear array on a wafer, the predecessor to Google’s new Bristlecone quantum processor with 72 qubits, a quantum machine we intend to use to simulate quantum mechanics, among other applications.

Since the launch of the Quantum AI team in 2013, we have been developing practical algorithms for quantum processors. In 2015, we conducted the first quantum chemistry experiment on a superconducting quantum computing device, published in Physical Review X. More recently, our quantum simulation effort experimentally simulated exotic phases of matter and released the first software package for quantum computing chemistry, OpenFermion. Earlier this month, our hardware team announced the new Bristlecone quantum processor with 72 qubits.

Today, we highlight two recent publications with theoretical advances that significantly reduce the cost of these quantum computations. Our results were presented at the Quantum Information Processing and IBM ThinkQ conferences.

The first of these works, “Low-Depth Quantum Simulation of Materials,” published this week in Physical Review X, was a collaboration between researchers at Google, the group of Professor Garnet Chan at Caltech and the QuArC group at Microsoft. Our fundamental advance was to realize that by changing how molecules are represented on quantum computers, we can greatly simplify the quantum circuits required to solve the problem. Specifically, we specially design basis sets so that the equations describing the system energies (i.e. the Hamiltonian) become more straightforward to express for quantum computation.

To do this, we focused on using basis sets related to functions (plane waves) used in classical electronic structure calculations to provide a periodic representation of the physical system. This enables one to go beyond the quantum simulation of single-molecules and instead use quantum computers to model realistic materials. For instance, instead of simulating a single lithium hydride molecule floating in free space, with our approach one can quantum simulate a crystal of lithium hydride, which is how the material appears in nature. With larger quantum computers one could study other important materials problems such as the degradation of battery cathodes, chemical reactions involving heterogeneous catalysts, or the unusual electrical properties of graphene and superconductors.

In “Quantum Simulation of Electronic Structure with Linear Depth and Connectivity,” published last week in Physical Review Letters with the same collaborators and a Google intern from the Aspuru-Guzik group at Harvard, we leverage the structure introduced in the work above to design algorithms for near-term quantum computers with qubits laid out in a linear array. Whereas past methods required such quantum computers to run for time scaling as the fifth power of the number of simulated electrons for each dynamic step, our improved algorithm runs for time scaling linearly with respect to the number of electrons. This reduction in computational cost makes it viable to perform quantum chemistry simulations on near-term devices with fewer gates in each quantum circuit, possibly avoiding the need for full error-correction.

Even with these improvements, it is no small task to deploy such new technology to outperform classical quantum chemistry algorithms and methods which have been refined in parallel with the development of classical computers for more than eighty years. However, at the current rate of advances in quantum algorithms and hardware, quantum technologies may provide chemists with an invaluable new tool. We look forward to sharing our research results as they develop.

Instagram will show more recent posts due to algorithm backlash

Instagram isn’t quite bringing back the chronological feed but it will show more new posts and stop suddenly bumping you to the top of the feed while you’re scrolling. “With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won’t miss the moments you care about” Instagram writes. It should be more coherent to browse the app now that you won’t get bumped to to the top of your feed and lose your place because your feed randomly refreshes, and there shouldn’t be as many disparate time stamps to juggle. Instead, you’ll be able to manually push a “New Posts” button when you want to purposefully refresh the feed.

Instagram switched from a reverse chronological feed to a relevancy-sorted feed in June 2016, leading to lots of grumbling from hardcore users. While it made sure you wouldn’t miss the most popular posts from your close friends, showing days-old posts made Instagram feel stale.

And for certain types of professional content creators and merchants, cutting their less likeable posts out of the feed — like their calls to buy their products or follow their other social accounts — was detrimental to their business. Instagram and Facebook moved to hide these posts over time because they can feel spammy. But at least since it’s just images and videos, Instagram they’re easier to scroll by if you now see more of them.

“Based on your feedback, we’re also making changes to ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed” the company writes. Instagram’s VP of product Kevin Weil’s tweet indicates Instagram really is listening to all the complaints about the algorithmic feed:

We're working every day to improve your Instagram feed—with your feedback top of mind! We want to start talking more about what we're changing and why. Today is our first step, focused on making the feed fresher, with newer posts closer to the top. https://t.co/EqoBiszIde

— Kevin Weil (@kevinweil) March 22, 2018

Interestingly, despite all the anger about Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal and the #DeleteFacebook movement, we haven’t seen nearly as many calls to #DeleteInstagram. In fact, the #DeleteFacebook trend seems to overlook the corporate parent company that owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Instead it focuses on just Facebook’s app, indicating that the scandal blowback might not be as much of an existential crisis.

If anything, the shift to the algorithmic feed caused much more of an uproar that any political issue or privacy scandal. While Facebook has become a core utility by bringing your real world identity to the Internet, Instagram is the pleasureful escape from that real world. And people get a lot more angry when you mess with their behavior patterns than when you highlight some abstract threat like misused personal data.

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Instagram will show more recent posts due to algorithm backlash

Instagram isn’t quite bringing back the chronological feed but it will show more new posts and stop suddenly bumping you to the top of the feed while you’re scrolling. “With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won’t miss the moments you care about” Instagram writes. It should be more coherent to browse the app now that you won’t get bumped to to the top of your feed and lose your place because your feed randomly refreshes, and there shouldn’t be as many disparate time stamps to juggle. Instead, you’ll be able to manually push a “New Posts” button when you want to purposefully refresh the feed.

Instagram switched from a reverse chronological feed to a relevancy-sorted feed in June 2016, leading to lots of grumbling from hardcore users. While it made sure you wouldn’t miss the most popular posts from your close friends, showing days-old posts made Instagram feel stale.

And for certain types of professional content creators and merchants, cutting their less likeable posts out of the feed — like their calls to buy their products or follow their other social accounts — was detrimental to their business. Instagram and Facebook moved to hide these posts over time because they can feel spammy. But at least since it’s just images and videos, Instagram they’re easier to scroll by if you now see more of them.

“Based on your feedback, we’re also making changes to ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed” the company writes. Instagram’s VP of product Kevin Weil’s tweet indicates Instagram really is listening to all the complaints about the algorithmic feed:

We're working every day to improve your Instagram feed—with your feedback top of mind! We want to start talking more about what we're changing and why. Today is our first step, focused on making the feed fresher, with newer posts closer to the top. https://t.co/EqoBiszIde

— Kevin Weil (@kevinweil) March 22, 2018

Interestingly, despite all the anger about Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal and the #DeleteFacebook movement, we haven’t seen nearly as many calls to #DeleteInstagram. In fact, the #DeleteFacebook trend seems to overlook the corporate parent company that owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Instead it focuses on just Facebook’s app, indicating that the scandal blowback might not be as much of an existential crisis.

If anything, the shift to the algorithmic feed caused much more of an uproar that any political issue or privacy scandal. While Facebook has become a core utility by bringing your real world identity to the Internet, Instagram is the pleasureful escape from that real world. And people get a lot more angry when you mess with their behavior patterns than when you highlight some abstract threat like misused personal data.

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8 Android TV Games That’ll Entertain You for Hours

Android TV is slowly taking over the set-top box streaming box market. It powers the wonderful Nvidia Shield, it’s the operating system of choice for Kodi boxes, and it even forms the foundation for Amazon Fire TV sticks.

But Android TV isn’t just about streaming live TV and using on-demand video apps. It also boasts an impressive array of games. They range from console classics like Sonic to modern releases that push the boundaries of your device’s hardware.

So, if you’re fed up of watching obscure shows on Netflix and cat videos on YouTube, why not install a few of these eight games to keep yourself entertained?

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

If Sonic 2 is available on any platform, it instantly makes the list of “best games.” It was the second-best selling game on the Sega Genesis, better only by its predecessor Sonic 1.

Even today, more than 25 years after the game’s initial release, it remains an enjoyable way to waste a few hours. With larger levels and more varied enemies than Sonic 1, Sonic 2 arguably represents the zenith of the Sonic franchise.

The Android release includes a new Boss Attack mode, support for online multiplayer, and the Hidden Palace Zone which Sega cut from the original game prior to its release.

Download: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Free)

2. Asphalt 8: Airborne

Asphalt 8: Airborne first became available on Android and iOS in mid-2013, and it’s still as fun as ever.

The game lets you race luxury cars and motorbikes. You can choose from more than 190 fully-licensed vehicles, including a Lamborghini Veneno, a Bugatti 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, and a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Racing tracks are in locations as diverse as Las Vegas and Tokyo. They all feature exaggerated action elements, with ramps, rolls, and obstacles giving you a fast-paced gaming experience.

The game also offers a career mode; you can play for nine seasons across 400 individual events.

Download: Asphalt 8: Airborne (Free)

3. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series is another franchise which has made an impressive transfer to Android TV. The gameplay doesn’t feel compromised, and the frame rate is smooth.

Four other GTA games—San Andreas, Vice City, GTA 3, and Chinatown Wars—are available on Android TV. Although San Andreas is widely considered to be a better game, playing on Android TV isn’t well-suited for clocking up the days of game time required to get through the entire plot.

The length and immersion Liberty City Stories offers feels right for the platform. The mobile edition of the game has shorter missions than the original, making it perfect to dip in and out of.

Download: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories ($7)

4. Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is a gaming spinoff from 2014’s Marvel superhero movie of the same name.

Like many other Telltale games, this one arrived as a series of five episodes. Your download includes the first episode, but you’ll need to buy the rest via in-app purchases.

If you’d like to play Guardians of the Galaxy, pay careful attention to the game’s system requirements. It only supports 10 CPUs (Tegra K1 and X1, Adreno 418, 420, 430, 505, and 530, Mali T760 and T880, and Nvidia Maxwell). You also must have Android version 6 Marshmallow or later.

Download: Guardians of the Galaxy ($5)

5. The Witness

If you love puzzle games, you need to go and download The Witness right now.

The game’s premise sees you wake up on a tropical island without knowing who you are or how you arrived at your location. You need to explore the island to discover clues and solve riddles, all with the aim of rediscovering your memory and returning home.

There are more than 500 puzzles to solve, with the game offering an impressive amount of depth and intrigue in its storyline. The Witness’s developers also boast about its lack of filler content; you won’t be forced to watch nondescript cutscenes and perform other time-wasting tasks.

Download: The Witness ($14)

6. Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is an adaptation of the famous strategy-based board game. The aim of the game is to control the United States’ intercity rail network by accumulating wagons.

The transition from physical to digital has allowed the developers to add to new maps, all of which are available in the store. You can now play on the rail networks of Europe, India, Asia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

You can play both multiplayer and single-player games. According to the developer, there are more than 50 million concurrent online games, with a new game being fired up every four seconds. Thus, you’ll never be short of an opponent.

Download: Ticket to Ride ($10)

7. Meltdown

Meltdown is an arcade-style shooter with both single-player and multiplayer modes. The multiplayer mode is subdivided into two further game types: co-op missions for up to four players and a deathmatch mode.

The gameplay is nothing new; you need to choose your weapons, pick your upgrades, and improve your gear where appropriate. As you progress through the 30 levels, you come across enemies with a number of different combat styles and equipment. Rather, it’s the flashy graphics and immersive storyline that keeps you coming back for more.

You can download and play the game for free, but there’s also a premium version available if you want to go ad-free.

Download: Meltdown (Free)

8. Does Not Commute

Cast your mind back to the early days of the iPhone. You might remember the popularity of games like Flight Control; it required you to land planes on a runway as the skies became increasingly busier.

Does Not Commute uses a similar premise, but on a much grander scale. The objective of the game is to safely guide an array of vehicles to their end destination within a time limit. The gameplay uses a turn-based approach to help you make your decisions.

For each vehicle, you need to avoid crashing into other cars, buildings, and more obstacles. The game starts in a small rural town, but you’ll quickly be negotiating traffic in the big city.

Download: Does Not Commute (Free)

Remember, if you don’t have an Android TV device, you can still take advantage of games that are available on the mobile version of Android. We’ve discussed some of the best Android games before.

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How Your Data on Facebook Is Collected and Used to Win Elections

In 2014, a survey app designed by Aleksandr Kogan collected data on 50 million Facebook profiles. Less than 300,000 of them had consented to this collection.

In 2015, he gave that data to Cambridge Analytica, a voter-profiling company. They used 30 million of those profiles to construct psychographic profiles of voters.

In 2016, the Trump campaign hired Cambridge Analytica to work on the campaign.

And now, in 2018, everyone’s angry about it. Mostly they’re angry at Cambridge Analytica. Phrases like “illegal harvesting of data” and “grossly unethical experiment” abound. But Kogan, Facebook, and the Trump campaign are taking fire too.

This is a story about data privacy, and changing attitudes toward it. But who’s the bad guy here? What are people really angry about? What can be done? And, in the end, are we focusing on the wrong thing? To find out, we need to start back in 2012.

2012: Privacy Concerns? No Big Deal

Big data and social media didn’t arrive on the political scene in 2012. But the scale on which they were deployed was groundbreaking. Data—especially data from social media—played a huge role in Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

Facebook has provided tools for political campaigns for years. But the Obama campaign went beyond that. Canvassers, organizers, and other Obama supporters “consciously or otherwise” handed over public information from their Facebook profile.

Combined with all of the other ways an organization can buy people’s data, the campaign was able to put together comprehensive profiles of voters. Those profiles were used in ad targeting.

Here’s Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, talking about the importance of big data in the election (don’t miss the part where he talks about running 62,000 election simulations every day):

This type of targeting was easier to do online than on TV, according to Ed Pilkington and Amanda Michel:

“[H]e said [addressable advertising] was unlikely to happen in any great quantity in 2012 as there are too many hurdles, including concerns in Washington about the privacy of cable TV consumers.

No such impediment will hold back the digital explosion this year.”

In 2012, concerns about privacy were viewed as an impediment to advertising—but only on TV.

To be fair, some privacy experts did warn citizens about the centralized databases used by the campaign. But in general, the press coverage of the campaign’s efforts to use big data, including a huge amount of Facebook data, were positive. There were some dissenting voices, but not as many as you’d expect in today’s post-Snowden world.

In 2012, we saw just how valuable social data is to political campaigns. We should have known someone like Cambridge Analytica would be coming.

How Does Facebook Data Influence Elections?

The connection between Facebook data and elections isn’t intuitively clear. What good does knowing if someone likes the movie Frozen do for a political campaign?

One of the most important pieces of information that campaigns get is the identity of influencers. Algorithms see which individuals are influential among their social groups, and those people are targeted for advertising. Sway the influencer, the thought goes, and they’ll sway their friends.

Much of the data collected also serves to target political ads. Facebook data can be sliced by geographic region, age, gender, interests, likelihood to vote for a specific candidate, and more. Campaigns can use information gathered on specific demographics to better target their ads.

Here’s how microtargeting works in political advertising:

Highly targeted ads can follow individual users around the internet, transmitting specific messages that campaigns believe are likely to swing them to their side. By using information collected from Facebook and third parties, campaigns can target users with alarmingly specific messages.

And these types of campaigns have been very successful. (Though not without cost. Chuck Todd makes an interesting argument that big data broke American politics.) With the amount of money changing hands in the political industry, there’s no question that this type of analysis would be highly sought-after.

2018: The Outcry Over Facebook Data Harvesting

Early in 2018, Cambridge Analytica hit the news in a big way. It’s a voter-profiling company that was hired by the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

To make a long story short, Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data on millions of users that hadn’t consented to collection or analysis:

Note: Interestingly, the Guardian first brought allegations of suspicious data collection to light back in 2015.

Who Is Cambridge Analytica?

Cambridge Analytica is a voter-profiling company that’s owned by Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL), a group that claims to have “conducted behavioral change programs in over 60 countries” (emphasis mine). They’ve also reportedly boasted of having influenced elections around the world.

“The information environment has become the new modern battlefield where state and non-state actors employ sophisticated propaganda and disinformation,” reads SCL’s list of services for the defense industry.

This is an organization steeped in the tactics of information warfare. And their clients include governments around the world, and even NATO. (To be fair, not all of their projects are sinister-sounding; they’ve worked on youth engagement, telephone network viability, and food security, as well.)

Cambridge Analytica’s parent company exists to take strong action, through data and messaging, to influence the minds of huge swaths of people. While this isn’t Cambridge, there’s no doubt that the mindset exists in both groups.

Which explains some of the rather disturbing ideas they share in this Channel 4 sting (including using Ukrainian girls to seduce Sri Lankan politicians):

Kogan, Cambridge, and Data Collection

Both Cambridge and Facebook have made a lot of claims. Cambridge knew that they were getting illegally harvested data (or didn’t), Cambridge said they didn’t have any data from Facebook (then said they did), Facebook downplayed the scope of the breach (then didn’t)… it’s a lot to keep up with.

The story here is that Cambridge Analytica used data obtained by Aleksandr Kogan, who had harvested information from 50 million profiles.

Dr. Kogan got that information through a personality test app and a loophole in Facebook’s data-collection rules. It’s important to note, however, that Kogan likely did not violate any rules. Facebook says that Kogan told them the app was for academic purposes, and that selling the data to Cambridge Analytica is a violation of policy.

Kogan has responded by saying that while the app was initially for academic purposes, he later changed the app’s terms and conditions. Facebook says he should have informed the company directly when he did that.

It’s a big, confusing mess.

Who’s at Fault Here?

It’s easy to point fingers in this situation. Kogan sold data he shouldn’t have. Cambridge Analytica bought data they shouldn’t have. Facebook should have been watching for this type of thing. The Trump campaign contracted with a company that has a history of shady practices. And yes, all of those people are at fault. But is a party missing from these recriminations?

Look at it this way.

The data that we generate on social media is an extremely valuable resource. It’s worth billions of dollars. Like oil or gold, people will go to extremes to get it. They’ll buy and sell it. Steal it. Maybe even go to war over it.

But unlike oil or gold, we have control over this particular resource.

Our ambivalence is the root cause of this controversy. We don’t want to face that truth, but we have to consider it.

Yes, Cambridge Analytica used illegally obtained Facebook data. But let’s be honest: they probably didn’t have to. People give away the permissions to their Facebook accounts every day. Remember the people giving the Obama campaign permission to access their Facebook data “consciously or otherwise” back in 2012? That hasn’t changed.

Whether it’s through online quizzes, Facebook apps, web tracking through Like buttons, or just using Facebook to sign into a website, we’re giving away our data all the time. Cambridge Analytica just got it a little faster than they would have otherwise.

It’s been well established that Facebook could be a powerful force, for good or evil, in global politics. Cambridge Analytica had 50 million accounts, but that’s nothing compared to the data that some groups, including Facebook itself, have access to. SCL is not the only group out there offering services like this. Our information is not only valuable—it’s powerful, and it’s dangerous in the wrong hands.

Facebook itself has advertised its power in elections. With over 2 billion users, it has more power than Cambridge Analytica or SCL will ever have. But we’ve remained willfully ignorant of the problem this represents.

There’s possibly no other industry that can benefit more from your data than politics. As long as our Facebook data is valuable—and it’s hard to see that abating—companies like SCL and Cambridge Analytica are going to do whatever they can to get it.

Will we continue to make it easy for them? And will we let them do whatever they want with it?

Assigning blame in this case isn’t easy. The entire system has been headed toward an event like this. It was only a matter of time.

The Future of Data and Elections

The difference between the reactions in 2012 and 2016 is worth thinking about. Was it Snowden’s revelations that taught us to be wary of data collection? The huge data breaches that we’ve seen over the past few years? Or is it because this data collection was done on behalf of Republicans, instead of Democrats?

But when our data starts finding its way into the hands of political campaigns, and when it starts being used to influence the course of national (or even international) politics, many people find that to be a different matter.

Regardless of why we’re talking about it now, it’s something we need to keep talking about. We know that Facebook sells our data. And when they’re selling to advertisers, we generally stay silent.

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Bell & Ross creates a transparent tourbillon

It’s Spring and that means it’s time for Basel, the definitive international watch show. Around this time every year all of your favorite brands – and brands you’ve never heard of – launch unique timepieces that cost more than a few dozen Honda Accords and look like something made by a Doctor Manhattan during one of his less melancholy moments.

Today’s wild timepiece comes to use from Bell & Ross, makers of big square watches that look like aircraft dials. This new piece, called the BR-X1-Skeleton-Tourbillon-Sapphire, maintains the traditional B&R shape but is almost completely clear with a case made of sapphire and held together by pins and screws. The movement, which comes in three colors, is a complete hand-wound tourbillon system and is beautifully visible from all angles.

A tourbillon, for the uninitiated, is a system for rotating the watch’s balance wheel 360 degrees. This system, originally created by Breguet, ensured that a watch didn’t slow down when subjected to odd gravitational forces. Now, however, it’s a wildly expensive conversation starter.

This is a beautiful update to B&R’s original see-through watch and, while the vast majority of us will never own something like this, it’s nice to know that someone still cares about horological complexity paired with wild design. How much does it cost to own the watch equivalent of Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet? About $500,000. The piece, for those interested in picking one up, will be available online.

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Google Assistant on phones now lets you send and receive money

“Hey Google, send Brian $15 for breakfast today.” Starting today, you can use this command to tell the Google Assistant on your phone to send money to people with Google Pay, the re-branded version of what you may still think of as Android Pay. And if Brian, as usual, forgets to pay you back, you can also say: “Hey Google, request $20 from Brian for breakfast today.”

For now, this feature is only available on phones, but Google tells us that it plans to offer the same functionality through its Google Home speakers in the coming months. One of the reasons for this is probably the fact that the phone offers a more secure process for authenticating who you are. On the phone, Google will ask for either a password or a fingerprint to make sure who are who you say you are. Google Home can already recognize different speakers, but for now, it’s unclear how Google will securely authenticate users there.

Since quite a few people probably don’t have Google Pay set up yet, the Assistant will walk you through the setup process when you first try this feature. Sending and receiving money through Google Pay is free.

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How to Dual Boot a Raspberry Pi Using BerryBoot

Need more than one operating system on your Raspberry Pi? Several tools are available that help manage the process, such as the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s own NOOBS, and its forerunner BerryBoot.

NOOBS is considered by many to be the superior installer, but it misses a few of BerryBoot’s options. Interested in trying out BerryBoot for installing your Raspberry Pi operating systems? Read on!

What Does BerryBoot Do?

Ever had trouble installing an ISO disk image file to your Raspberry Pi’s SD card? Want more than one OS (perhaps a retro gaming system and a media center)? The answer is a tool that helps to manage the installation of one or more OSes for your Pi.

That’s basically what BerryBoot does. Presenting you with a selection of operating systems to choose from, BerryBoot downloads the OSes and installs them, with minimal interaction from you.

It also provides you with some basic network tools, location settings, and even an editor to adjust the configuration. You might, for example, want to edit your network settings in wpa_supplicant.conf. or you may prefer to change the boot menu timeout in cmdline.txt.

Using BerryBoot is straightforward:

1. Download BerryBoot.
2. Extract ZIP file to a formatted SD card.
3. Configure BerryBoot.
4. Select and install one or more operating systems.
5. Choose which OS you wish to use each time you boot your Raspberry Pi.

BerryBoot also makes it possible to install your chosen Raspberry Pi operating systems to a location other than the SD card. If you have network attached storage (NAS), or a hard disk drive (HDD) connected to your Pi, these can be used. This is a great way to reduce data writing on your SD card, and prolong its lifespan.

The SD card will need to remain in the Pi to boot from, however.

How to Get BerryBoot

To use BerryBoot, you’ll need to download it from Sourceforge. This is an online repository where many applications and utilities are hosted.

BerryBoot is available in one of two downloads. The first option is for all versions of the Raspberry Pi, from the original through to the Raspberry Pi Zero. If you have a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3, however, there is a dedicated version just for these devices.

Having two downloads options is ideal if you have more than one of the many different Raspberry Pi models.

Download: Berryboot for All Raspberry Pis | Raspberry Pi 2 and 3

Copy BerryBoot to a Formatted SD Card

Once downloaded, the contents of the ZIP file will need to be extracted and copied to your Pi’s SD card. Ensure this is inserted into your PC first, then right click on the ZIP file and select Extract all. In the resulting dialogue box, click Browse then find the drive letter than matches your SD card. Select this, then click Extract.

Wait while the data is copied to the SD card. Ensure that the contents of the ZIP file are copied to the root of the SD card, rather than in a directory. With this done, safely remove the SD card from your computer.

The next step is simple. Insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi, and boot it up. Make sure you have a keyboard and/or mouse attached. You’ll need one or both to select your operating systems.

Configure BerryBoot

On your Raspberry Pi’s display, you’ll initially be presented with a quick configuration screen. The first section, Video, establishes the type of TV you’re using. If you can see green borders at the top and bottom of the screen, select Yes (disable overscan). Otherwise, select No.

Next, specify the correct type of Network connection. If an Ethernet cable is connected, choose Cabled. Otherwise, select WiFi, then find your network’s SSID in the list an input the password.

Finally, ensure the correct Timezone and Keyboard layout are selected under Locale settings. This will ensure that BerryBoot is able to access the server and download your choice of operating system.

Click OK when you’re done.

Select Destination and Install Operating Systems

The next prompt invites you to select a destination for the operating system(s) you’re about to install. You’ll always have the choice of the local SD card, typically labelled mmcblk0. But if you have a NAS box, or a USB drive connected (or both) you’ll also see the options for those. These are labelled sda for the USB stick or HDD, and Networked storage for a NAS device.

With the choice made, click Format (if necessary) and proceed. It’s probably best to leave the file system as the default ext4 option, as you probably won’t be using the drive with any other devices.

Note that when formatting, any existing files on the disk will be deleted.

Once complete, the BerryBoot menu editor is then displayed. Use the Add OS button to browse for an operating system. These are grouped into tabs, so make sure you spend time browsing the choice on offer. When you find an OS you want to installed, put a check in the box. Keep an eye on the numbers in the bottom left corner, which tell you how much space you have left on your destination device. Don’t select too many OSes or you’ll run out of space!

Click OK when you’re done, then select the OS you wish to Make default. This is the operating system that will boot when your Raspberry Pi is switched on, but you’re unable to make a selection at the boot menu. When this is done, click Exit to prompt the download and installation of your favored operating systems.

Other Advanced Options for BerryBoot

Note that Berryboot offers further menu options for your set up. For instance, the Clone option create a copy of the selected operating system.

Meanwhile, Backup lets you create backups of single operating systems (or all installed OSes) to a different storage device. You can also use Delete to remove an OS.

One setting you may have overlooked is Advanced configuration, accessed via the chevrons on the right of menu. Here, you can edit the cmdline.txt and config.txt files (as well as the Wi-Fi configuration file, wpa_supplicant.conf). In cmdline.txt, for example, you can edit the bootmenutimeout property, specifying how many seconds should pass before the default OS is loaded.

bootmenutimeout=<number of seconds>

Also available in the Advanced configuration menu is a Console, Set password (protects your installations), and Repair filesystem to repair the file system. This should also run automatically if the file system is damaged (perhaps following a power outage).

Booting Your Raspberry Pi With BerryBoot

With your operating systems installed, the Raspberry Pi will reboot and present you with a boot screen. As noted, the default option will load automatically after 10 seconds (unless you’ve edited this property), but if you wish to make a manual selection, use your keyboard or mouse to do so.

Moments later, you’ll be enjoying your chosen Raspberry Pi operating system. Want to use a different one? Simply use the restart option and choose again at the boot menu!

If BerryBoot doesn’t suit you, it might be time to check out NOOBS in more detail. See our NOOBS user guide for more details.

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Entrepreneur First, the London-based company builder backed by Greylock, expands to Hong Kong

When Silicon Valley’s Greylock Partners led Entrepreneur First‘s $12.4 million funding round in September, Greylock’s Reid Hoffman said he could see the company builder expanding to “20 or 30 or 40 cities, maybe even 50“. Since then, EF has expanded to Berlin, in addition to existing programmes in London and Singapore, and today the so-called ‘talent first’ investor is adding Hong Kong to the list.

Heading up EF’s Hong Kong office is former Airbnb and Google exec Lavina Tien, while the Hong Kong programme, which kicks off in July, will copy the Berlin format, meaning that it will run for 3 months per cohort, not 6 months as in London and Singapore. In addition, teams formed at EF Hong Kong will be eligible to participate in its Singapore demo day.

This is part of a new EF format that aims to make the company builder’s secret sauce, which sees it recruit founders ‘pre-team, pre-idea,’ a lot more scalable. So far, EF co-founder Matt Clifford tells me, it’s working out well.

He says the Berlin program was able to set up and recruit its first cohort in 9 weeks compared to the 9 months it took to get fully operational in Singapore, sounding extremely bullish about the future potential for more expansion.

That’s because the new shorter formula is designed to let EF focus locally on the part most unique to the organisation — persuading the best technical and domain talent to try their hand at entrepreneurship and in turn matching them with a complementary co-founder so that they can form a startup that might otherwise never exist.

Clifford also says this is about doubling down on EF’s Asia ambitions. He notes that, similar to other EF outposts, Hong Kong is a burgeoning but perhaps latent tech ecosystem with good education — such as Hong Kong University for Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong — and access to capital that is beginning to turn its attention locally rather than simply investing abroad.

Adds EF co-founder Alice Bentinck: “We believe that there are a handful of exceptional technologists globally who have the skills and ambition to build the next generation of breakout technology companies. We know that we will find some of them in Hong Kong, just as we have in London, Singapore and Berlin”.

Meanwhile, Clifford won’t be drawn into where EF might expand next, although he doesn’t rule out adding a further programme this year. If I had to guess, I’d say Paris is a good bet, but in all honestly there are quite a number of cities that could tick the EF box.

Separately, I’m hearing that the company builder is raising a new investment fund so that it can continue the strategy of doing follow-on investments at seed and Series A into the most promising companies it helps build, across all of the locations it now operates. As always, watch this space.

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Facebook Addresses the Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Facebook has recently been embroiled in what can be accurately described as a scandal. The scandal being that data harvested through Facebook was then used for political ends. After staying silent for a few days, Mark Zuckerberg has now addressed the issue.

What Happened With Cambridge Analytica?

In 2013, a man named Aleksandr Kogan created a personality quiz for Facebook. According to The Guardian, 300,000 people installed the app, enabling Kogan to access the data of millions of people. It’s alleged that Kogan then shared that data with Cambridge Analytica.

Cambridge Analytica is a company which specializes in data mining and data analysis. And this data can be used to help political parties during elections. And it’s alleged the data harvested from Facebook was used to target voters in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

How Is Facebook Planning on Fixing This?

It took Facebook several days to respond to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but Mark Zuckerberg has now addressed the issues in a post on Facebook. In it, he details the timeline of events and reveals what steps Facebook will take to prevent this happening again in the future.

Zuckerberg starts out by admitting that Facebook has “a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you.” He then suggests that “the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago.”

I want to share an update on the Cambridge Analytica situation — including the steps we've already taken and our next…

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, March 21, 2018

These previous actions were to “dramatically limit the data apps could access, “preventing them asking for “data about a person’s friends unless their friends had also authorized the app,” and requiring “developers to get approval from us before they could request any sensitive data from people”.

Facebook is taking three further steps to prevent a repeat performance. These are conducting a “full audit of any app with suspicious activity,” restricting “developers’ data access even further to prevent other kinds of abuse,” and helping users “understand which apps you’ve allowed to access your data”.

Is It Really Time to Ditch Facebook?

You can’t #deleteFacebook if you never installed it pic.twitter.com/vNEnddO98I

— Jason (@jasonelevation) March 21, 2018

The Cambridge Analytica scandal has understandably upset a lot of Facebook users. Especially those who may have been influenced to vote a certain way and can trace that back to Facebook. And many are calling on disgruntled users to #DeleteFacebook.

Deleting your Facebook account is certainly an option, as we suggested with our reasons to stop using Facebook in 2018. However, you CAN limit the data you share with third parties, and if Zuckerberg is to be believed maybe Facebook has learned its lesson.

Image Credit: Lord Jim/Flickr

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Huawei’s U.S. plans hit major setback as Best Buy said to stop sales

Huawei can’t catch a break in the States. Just at the company was set to announce a big carrier deal at CES, AT&T reportedly switch gears last minute. Now, a week before the company is set reveal its next big flagship at an event in Paris, Best Buy is reportedly planning to stop sales of the company’s products “over the next few weeks.”

That news comes courtesy of a report from Reuters, based on a “person with knowledge of the matter.” The Chinese smartphone maker was clearly banking on 2018 to be the year it finally expanded sales to the world’s third largest smartphone market. The AT&T deal was reportedly all but finalized ahead of the company’s big CES push.

The last minute nature of the news clearly left the company in a lurch, with consumer CEO Richard Yu going off-script to excoriate carriers and U.S. officials that have repeatedly raised concerns over the company’s perceived ties to the Chinese government.

Huawei offered a non-comment to TechCrunch in the wake of the report. “Huawei values the relationship it has with Best Buy and all our other retail partners,” the company writes in the statement. “As a policy, we do not discuss the details of our partner relationships.”

The statement goes on to offer the standard sort of defense of the company’s position.

Huawei currently sells its products through a range of leading consumer electronics retailers in the U.S.  We have a proven history of delivering products that meet the highest security, privacy and engineering standards in the industry and are certified by the Federal Communications Commission for sale in the U.S.  Our smartphones are widely acclaimed – both among critics and consumers – for their innovation in areas like battery life, processing power, build quality, and camera capabilities. Our products are sold by 46 of the top 50 global operators, and we have won the trust and confidence of individuals and organizations in 170 countries around the world.  We are committed to earning that same trust with U.S. consumers and making our products accessible in as many ways as possible.

A Best Buy spokesperson told TechCrunch, “We don’t comment on specific contracts with vendors, and we make decisions to change what we sell for a variety of reasons.” Noncommittal, sure, but it does appear to acknowledge a shift in the company’s relationship with the smartphone maker.

Until now, Best Buy has been a saving grace in the company’s U.S. plans. While it’s true that most smartphone purchases occur through carriers in the States, the chain is still the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S., marking another major setback for the company’s plans.

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