15 August 2019

The Google Assistant now lets you annoy your family members with assignable reminders


Do you sometimes have to nag your significant other to take out the trash on Monday night? Now, you can do so in a more passive-aggressive way by sending them a reminder through the Google Assistant instead of in person.

“Hey Google, remind Alex to take out the trash at 8pm,” is all it takes. Your family members (or roommates that you’ve added to your Google family group) will then get a notification on their phones and/or Assistant-powered Smart Displays.

“Assignable reminders on the Google Assistant help families and housemates better collaborate and stay organized while at home or on the go,” explains Google. “This means you can now create reminders for your partner or roommate to do things like pick up the groceries, pay a recurring bill, walk the dog — or send them a note of encouragement when they need it the most (‘Hey Google, remind Mary that she will do great on tomorrow’s exam.’)”

I’m pretty sure Mary would prefer a bit of human contact with that encouragement, but sometimes the Google Assistant is all you have.AR HubTechnically, for all of this to work, you need to have the person you are sending the reminder to in your contacts list and in your Google Family group. You also need to set up Voice Match for them for this to work on a smart display or speaker. Parents can set up accounts for children under 13 through Family Link.

This new feature will become available in English on phones, speakers and Smart Displays in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Like with all Google reminders, you can set times and locations for your messages to pop up.

Mercifully, you can block people from sending you reminders, too, thanks to a new toggle in the Assistant Settings menu.AR Mobile


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Google Search gets expanded college search features


Google today announced a number of new features for students looking for more information about U.S. colleges. Last year, Google Search introduced new widgets with information about 4-year universities. Today, it is expanding this to 2-year colleges.

The company says that searches for ‘community colleges near me’ saw a 120 percent increase in the past two years, with overall searches for college information spiking between August and the fall, as high school students get ready to apply.

With this update, students can now easily compare the tuition cost, acceptance rates and other information of 4- and 2-year schools. The feature will now also show popular certificates and associate programs offered at 4-year universities and students can create lists of schools that specialize in specific fields and filter them based on distance (which often matters because many community college students, for example, stay close to home) and size.

nm miLike before, this extended data set relies on public information from the U.S. Department of Education.

“We’ve continued to work with education researchers, experts and nonprofit organizations, high school counselors, and admissions professionals to build a useful experience that is attuned to the needs of students, and we will continue to find new ways to make information more easily available and helpful as you search for your future education opportunities,” the company notes in today’s announcement.

sb cc


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US legislator, David Cicilline, joins international push to interrogate platform power


US legislator David Cicilline will be joining the next meeting of the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and ‘Fake News’, it has been announced. The meeting will be held in Dublin on November 7.

Chair of the committee, the Irish Fine Gael politician Hildegarde Naughton, announced Cicilline’s inclusion today.

The congressman — who is chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee — will attend as an “ex officio member” which will allow him to question witnesses, she added.

Exactly who the witnesses in front of the grand committee will be is tbc. But the inclusion of a US legislator in the ranks of a non-US committee that’s been seeking answers about reining in online disinformation will certainly make any invitations that get extended to senior executives at US-based tech giants much harder to ignore.

Naughton points out that the addition of American legislators also means the International Grand Committee represents ~730 million citizens — and “their right to online privacy and security”.

“The Dublin meeting will be really significant in that it will be the first time that US legislators will participate,” she said in a statement. “As all the major social media/tech giants were founded and are headquartered in the United States it is very welcome that Congressman Cicilline has agreed to participate. His own Committee is presently conducting investigations into Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and so his attendance will greatly enhance our deliberations.”

“Greater regulation of social media and tech giants is fast becoming a priority for many countries throughout the world,” she added. “The International Grand Committee is a gathering of international parliamentarians who have a particular responsibility in this area. We will coordinate actions to tackle online election interference, ‘fake news’, and harmful online communications, amongst other issues while at the same time respecting freedom of speech.”

The international committee met for its first session in London last November — when it was forced to empty-chair Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who had declined to attend in person, sending UK policy VP Richard Allan in his stead.

Lawmakers from nine countries spent several hours taking Allan to task over Facebook’s lack of accountability for problems generated by the content it distributes and amplifies, raising myriad examples of ongoing failure to tackle the democracy-denting, society-damaging disinformation — from election interference to hate speech whipping up genocide.

A second meeting of the grand committee was held earlier this year in Canada — taking place over three days in May.

Again Zuckerberg failed to show. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg also gave international legislators zero facetime, with the company opting to send local head of policy, Kevin Chan, and global head of policy, Neil Potts, as stand ins.

Lawmakers were not amused. Canadian MPs voted to serve Zuckerberg and Sandberg with an open summons — meaning they’ll be required to appear before it the next time they step foot in the country.

Parliamentarians in the UK also issued a summons for Zuckerberg last year after repeat snubs to testify to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee’s enquiry into fake news — a decision that essentially gave birth to the international grand committee, as legislators in multiple jurisdictions united around a common cause of trying to find ways to hold social media giants to accounts.

While it’s not clear who the grand committee will invite to the next session, Facebook’s founder seems highly unlikely to have dropped off their list. And this time Zuckerberg and Sandberg may find it harder to turn down an invite to Dublin, given the committee’s ranks will include a homegrown lawmaker.

In a statement on joining the next meeting, Cicilline said: “We are living in a critical moment for privacy rights and competition online, both in the United States and around the world.  As people become increasingly connected by what seem to be free technology platforms, many remain unaware of the costs they are actually paying.

“The Internet has also become concentrated, less open, and growingly hostile to innovation. This is a problem that transcends borders, and it requires multinational cooperation to craft solutions that foster competition and safeguard privacy online. I look forward to joining the International Grand Committee as part of its historic effort to identify problems in digital markets and chart a path forward that leads to a better online experience for everyone.”

Multiple tech giants (including Facebook) have their international headquarters in Ireland — making the committee’s choice of location for their next meeting a strategic one. Should any tech CEOs thus choose to snub an invite to testify to the committee they might find themselves being served with an open summons to testify by Irish parliamentarians — and not being able to set foot in a country where their international HQ is located would be more than a reputational irritant.

Ireland’s privacy regulator is also sitting on a stack of open investigations against tech giants — again with Facebook and Facebook owned companies producing the fattest file (some 11 investigations). But there are plenty of privacy and security concerns to go around, with the DPC’s current case file also touching tech giants including Apple, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter.


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US legislator, David Cicilline, joins international push to interrogate platform power


US legislator David Cicilline will be joining the next meeting of the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and ‘Fake News’, it has been announced. The meeting will be held in Dublin on November 7.

Chair of the committee, the Irish Fine Gael politician Hildegarde Naughton, announced Cicilline’s inclusion today.

The congressman — who is chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee — will attend as an “ex officio member” which will allow him to question witnesses, she added.

Exactly who the witnesses in front of the grand committee will be is tbc. But the inclusion of a US legislator in the ranks of a non-US committee that’s been seeking answers about reining in online disinformation will certainly make any invitations that get extended to senior executives at US-based tech giants much harder to ignore.

Naughton points out that the addition of American legislators also means the International Grand Committee represents ~730 million citizens — and “their right to online privacy and security”.

“The Dublin meeting will be really significant in that it will be the first time that US legislators will participate,” she said in a statement. “As all the major social media/tech giants were founded and are headquartered in the United States it is very welcome that Congressman Cicilline has agreed to participate. His own Committee is presently conducting investigations into Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and so his attendance will greatly enhance our deliberations.”

“Greater regulation of social media and tech giants is fast becoming a priority for many countries throughout the world,” she added. “The International Grand Committee is a gathering of international parliamentarians who have a particular responsibility in this area. We will coordinate actions to tackle online election interference, ‘fake news’, and harmful online communications, amongst other issues while at the same time respecting freedom of speech.”

The international committee met for its first session in London last November — when it was forced to empty-chair Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who had declined to attend in person, sending UK policy VP Richard Allan in his stead.

Lawmakers from nine countries spent several hours taking Allan to task over Facebook’s lack of accountability for problems generated by the content it distributes and amplifies, raising myriad examples of ongoing failure to tackle the democracy-denting, society-damaging disinformation — from election interference to hate speech whipping up genocide.

A second meeting of the grand committee was held earlier this year in Canada — taking place over three days in May.

Again Zuckerberg failed to show. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg also gave international legislators zero facetime, with the company opting to send local head of policy, Kevin Chan, and global head of policy, Neil Potts, as stand ins.

Lawmakers were not amused. Canadian MPs voted to serve Zuckerberg and Sandberg with an open summons — meaning they’ll be required to appear before it the next time they step foot in the country.

Parliamentarians in the UK also issued a summons for Zuckerberg last year after repeat snubs to testify to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee’s enquiry into fake news — a decision that essentially gave birth to the international grand committee, as legislators in multiple jurisdictions united around a common cause of trying to find ways to hold social media giants to accounts.

While it’s not clear who the grand committee will invite to the next session, Facebook’s founder seems highly unlikely to have dropped off their list. And this time Zuckerberg and Sandberg may find it harder to turn down an invite to Dublin, given the committee’s ranks will include a homegrown lawmaker.

In a statement on joining the next meeting, Cicilline said: “We are living in a critical moment for privacy rights and competition online, both in the United States and around the world.  As people become increasingly connected by what seem to be free technology platforms, many remain unaware of the costs they are actually paying.

“The Internet has also become concentrated, less open, and growingly hostile to innovation. This is a problem that transcends borders, and it requires multinational cooperation to craft solutions that foster competition and safeguard privacy online. I look forward to joining the International Grand Committee as part of its historic effort to identify problems in digital markets and chart a path forward that leads to a better online experience for everyone.”

Multiple tech giants (including Facebook) have their international headquarters in Ireland — making the committee’s choice of location for their next meeting a strategic one. Should any tech CEOs thus choose to snub an invite to testify to the committee they might find themselves being served with an open summons to testify by Irish parliamentarians — and not being able to set foot in a country where their international HQ is located would be more than a reputational irritant.

Ireland’s privacy regulator is also sitting on a stack of open investigations against tech giants — again with Facebook and Facebook owned companies producing the fattest file (some 11 investigations). But there are plenty of privacy and security concerns to go around, with the DPC’s current case file also touching tech giants including Apple, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter.


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What will Tumblr become under the ownership of tech’s only Goldilocks founder?


This week, Automattic revealed it has signed all the paperwork to acquire Tumblr from Verizon, including its full staff of 200. Tumblr has undergone quite a journey since its headline-grabbing acquisition by Marissa Mayer’s Yahoo in 2013 for $1.1 billion, but after six years of neglect, its latest move is its first real start since it stopped being an independent company. Now, it’s in the hands of Matt Mullenweg, the only founder of a major tech company who has repeatedly demonstrated a talent for measured responses, moderation and a willingness to forego reckless explosive growth in favor of getting things ‘just right.’

There’s never been a better acquisition for all parties involved, or at least one in which every party should walk away feeling they got exactly what they needed out of the deal. Yes, that’s in spite of the reported $3 million-ish asking price.

Verizon Media acquired Tumblr through a deal made to buy Yahoo, under a previous media unit strategy and leadership team. Verizon Media has no stake in the company, and so headlines talking about the bath it apparently took relative to the original $1.1 billion acquisition price are either willfully ignorant or just plain dumb.

Six years after another company made that bad deal for a company it clearly didn’t have the right business focus to correctly operate, Verizon made a good one to recoup some money.

Aligned leadership and complementary offerings drive a win-win


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The Google Assistant now lets you annoy your family members with assignable reminders


Do you sometimes have to nag your significant other to take out the trash on Monday night? Now, you can do so in a more passive-aggressive way by sending them a reminder through the Google Assistant instead of in person.

“Hey Google, remind Alex to take out the trash at 8pm,” is all it takes. Your family members (or roommates that you’ve added to your Google family group) will then get a notification on their phones and/or Assistant-powered Smart Displays.

“Assignable reminders on the Google Assistant help families and housemates better collaborate and stay organized while at home or on the go,” explains Google. “This means you can now create reminders for your partner or roommate to do things like pick up the groceries, pay a recurring bill, walk the dog—or send them a note of encouragement when they need it the most (‘Hey Google, remind Mary that she will do great on tomorrow’s exam.’)”

I’m pretty sure Mary would prefer a bit of human contact with that encouragement, but sometimes the Google Assistant is all you have.

AR Hub

Technically, for all of this to work, you need to have the person you are sending the reminder to in your contacts list and in your Google Family group. You also need to set up Voice Match for them for this to work on a smart display or speaker. Parents can set up accounts for children under 13 through Family Link.

This new feature will become available in English on phones, speakers and Smart Displays in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Like with all Google reminders, you can set times and locations for your messages to pop up.

Mercifully, you can block people from sending you reminders, too, thanks to a new toggle in the Assistant Settings menu.

AR Mobile


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Instagram says growth hackers are behind spate of fake Stories views


If you use Instagram and have noticed a bunch of strangers watching your Stories in recent months — accounts that don’t follow you and seem to be Russian — well, you’re not alone.

Nor are you being primed for a Russian disinformation campaign. At least, probably not. But you’re right to smell a fake.

TechCrunch’s very own director of events, Leslie Hitchcock, flagged the issue to us — complaining of “eerie” views on her Instagram Stories in the last couple of months from random Russian accounts, some seemingly genuine (such as artists with several thousand followers) and others simply “weird” looking.

A thread on Reddit also poses the existential question: “Why do Russian Models (that don’t follow me) keep watching my Instagram stories?” (The answer to which is: Not for the reason you hope.)

Instagram told us it is aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

It also said this inauthentic activity is not related to misinformation campaigns but is rather a new growth hacking tactic — which involves accounts paying third parties to try to boost their profile via the medium of fake likes, followers and comments (in this case by generating inauthentic activity by watching the Instagram Stories of people they have no real interest in in the hopes that’ll help them pass off as real and net them more followers).

Eerie is spot on. Some of these growth hackers probably have banks of phones set up where Instagram Stories are ‘watched’ without being watched. (Which obviously isn’t going to please any advertisers paying to inject ads into Stories… )

A UK social media agency called Hydrogen also noticed the issue back in June — blogging then that: “Mass viewing of Instagram Stories is the new buying followers of 2019”, i.e. as a consequence of the Facebook-owned social network cracking down on bots and paid-for followers on the platform.

So, tl;dr, squashing fakes is a perpetual game of whack-a-mole. Let’s call it Zuckerberg’s bane.

“Our research has found that several small social media agencies are using this as a technique to seem like they are interacting with the public,” Hydrogen also wrote, before going on to offer sage advice that: “This is not a good way to build a community, and we believe that Instagram will begin cracking down on this soon.”

Instagram confirmed to us it is attempting to crack down — saying it’s working to try to get rid of this latest eyeball-faking flavor of inauthentic activity. (We paraphrase.)

It also said that, in the coming months, it will introduce new measures to reduce such activity — specifically from Stories — but without saying exactly what these will be.

We also asked about the Russian element but Instagram was unable to provide any intelligence on why a big proportion of the fake Stories views seem to be coming from Russia (without any love). So that remains a bit of a mystery.

What can you do right now to prevent your Instagram Stories from being repurposed as a virtue-less signalling machine for sucking up naive eyeballs?

Switching your profile to private is the only way to thwart the growth hackers, for now.

Albeit, that means you’re limiting who you can reach on the Instagram platform as well as who can reach you.

When we suggested to Hitchcock she switch her account to private she responded with a shrug, saying: “I like to engage with brands.”


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Kitty Hawk’s Flyer personal VTOL has now flown over 25,000 times


Flying cars, or at least their functional equivalent, edge closer to reality every day – and startup Kitty Hawk wants you to know it’s putting in the flying time to make it happen. The company, led by former Google self-driving car visionary Sebastian Thrun, has now flown its first aircraft, the one-person Flyer, over 25,000 times. That includes both its excursions as a prototype that resembled a flying motorcycle or ATV, and in its current, more refined, mostly enclosed cockpit design.

Flyer is now one of two aircraft that Kitty Hawk is working on bringing to market, alongside its Cora two-person, autonomous taxi built in collaboration with Boeing. Flyer is a one-person, human piloted aircraft designed primarily for recreational use, and Kitty Hawk has said it’s refined the vehicle to the point where someone with no experience can learn to fly it in 15 minutes. The company is currently looking for applications for potential partners who want to deploy it in their communities, and it does seem like the type of thing that might do well as an organized excursion activity at a travel destination or resort.

There’s no info on pricing or actual availability yet, but there was a limited Founder Series pre-order for individual purchasers with deep pockets. The aircraft features pontoons and is designed for use over water, and it can fly between three and 10 ft above the surface with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

Personally, I’d probably opt for the flying jet-ski over paragliding if it was on offer at a vacation spot, so here’s hoping this actually finds a path to commercialization somewhat soon.


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8 Fixes for a Roku TV Remote That’s Not Working


roku-tv-remote-fix

Is your Roku remote not working? It could be one of a number of different problems, some of which are simple, and others which are more complex.

In this article we’ll help you troubleshoot why your Roku remote has stopped working, and hopefully get your Roku remote working again.

1. Check Your Roku Remote Batteries

Let’s start with the most simple explanation… Are you sure that your device’s batteries haven’t run out? A slowly degrading performance is a sure-fire indicator that the power supply could be the problem.

Some Roku remote controls require two AA batteries; others require two AAAs. Check the sticker on the remote to check. The batteries are accessible from behind the sliding panel on the rear of the device.

2. How to Pair a Roku Remote

Another common cause for a Roku remote not working is that control has become unpaired from the box it is supposed to operate.

System updates, low power, changing Wi-Fi networks, using the device with another Roku box, or a simple technical glitch could all theoretically trigger an unexpected unpairing.

Thankfully, it is easy to pair a Roku remote with a Roku box or streaming stick. Just follow the instructions below:

  1. Disconnect your Roku box from its power supply.
  2. Wait 10 seconds, reconnect the box, and wait for the Home page to load.
  3. Locate the pairing button on your remote. It is typically found on the front of the device or in the battery compartment.
  4. Hold the button down for five seconds or until you see the Roku remote blinking.

And remember, some older Roku models come with an IR pointer instead of using your Wi-Fi connection. If you have IR Roku remote that’s not working, check that no dirt is blocking the receiver on either the control or the box/TV. Also, ensure that there are no obstructions in the remote’s line-of-sight to the Roku box.

3. Reset Your Roku Remote

You can reset Roku remotes by performing a specific sequence during the box or stick’s boot process.

To reset a Roku remote, follow the steps below:

  1. Remove the batteries from your Roku remote.
  2. Remove the power supply from the Roku box/stick (or go to Settings > System > System Restart > Restart if you have an IR Roku remote that’s still working).
  3. Wait 10 seconds and then reconnect your Roku box to the power.
  4. Wait for the Home screen to load.
  5. Reinsert the batteries into your Roku remote.

If the Roku TV remote still doesn’t work, move onto our next tip.

4. Check for HDMI Interference

In its official literature, Roku accepts that the remotes for some of its models are affected by interference from nearby HDMI cables. The issue is especially prevalent on Roku streaming sticks which connect directly to the HDMI port on your TV.

The solution is to use an HDMI cable extender, thus allowing your streaming stick to be positioned further away from the TV’s HDMI port.

You can use any HDMI extender you have lying around your home. However, if you don’t already own one, Roku will ship you a short extender for free. To claim your free cable, you just need to fill out the appropriate form on the Roku website.

5. Check Your Wi-Fi Connection

roku wifi connection

If you’ve worked through all the Roku remote troubleshooting tips but you’ve still not had any success, your Wi-Fi connection could be the culprit.

The Roku remote does not require an internet connection in order to connect to your box, but it does need a functioning local network. If your local network is down for any reason, the remote will not function until the connection is restored.

If you have enough technical knowledge, it might be worth digging into the router’s settings; something might have happened that’s causing the remote’s connection to get blocked.

6. Use the Official Roku Remote App

Although using your smartphone as a Roku remote isn’t ideal, there is an official Roku remote app that you can download and use for free on both Android and iOS. It’s a reliable temporary stop-gap.

Before you open the app for the first time, ensure that it is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Roku streaming device.

As soon as the app loads, you will see the Discovery screen. Allow the process a few seconds to complete, and you should see your Roku box listed. Tap on the name to make the connection.

In addition to being used as a Roku TV remote, the Roku app has plenty of other cool features that are worth using.

This includes access to free TV shows and movies on your device via The Roku Channel, the ability to use your device’s headphone connection for private listening, support for keyboard (and, on some models, voice input), and a way to cast content from your device to the TV screen.

Download: Roku for Android | iOS (Free)

7. Troubleshooting the Roku App

If your phone app cannot see your Roku box, there are a couple of possible causes:

  • Network Access: Make sure your Roku box has not disabled its network access. Go to Settings > System > Advanced System Settings > Control By Mobile Apps > Network Access to check. You need to ensure either the Default or Permissive option is selected.
  • VPN: Remember, the Roku remote app will not work if either your phone or you Roku box are connected to a VPN.

Sadly, if your Roku remote is still not working after checking all of these things, you may need to take the plunge and buy a new Roku remote.

8. Replace the Remote for Your Roku

None of the different remotes cost more than a few bucks. Here’s the RC108 Roku Remote that is compatible with most models, for example:

Just make sure you check that your Roku box or streaming stick is supported by the remote you’re about to purchase before you hit the Buy button.

More Roku Troubleshooting Tips

We hope the tips we’ve discussed in this piece have managed to get your Roku remote working again. If not, please let us know in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to help you further.

If you’re experiencing other problems with your Roku, we’ve also written articles detailing how to set up and use a Roku streaming stick and how to control a Roku using Amazon Echo.

Read the full article: 8 Fixes for a Roku TV Remote That’s Not Working


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The 5 Best Baby Monitors If You Care About Reviews

How to Sideload Plex Plugins


plex-addons

In September 2018, Plex announced that it was shutting down its Plugin Directory. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that you can no longer use Plex plugins. You just need to know how to sideload Plex plugins instead.

In this article we explain how to sideload Plex plugins, how to use sideloaded Plex plugins, and how to delete sideloaded Plex plugins..

Why Did Plex Close the Plugin Directory?

Plex officially took the Plugin Directory offline in October 2018.

In a blog post, the company cited low numbers of users (less than two percent of its total userbase) along with a reliance on outdated technology as the reason for its decision:

“The ancient protocol they use is a continued pain for clients to support, and if we were to build the feature again, we’d do it very differently in this day and age. For utility-type functionality, we love standalone apps like Tautulli and believe this is a better approach.”

For those who don’t know, the Plugin Directory provided users with a single repo of content that they could use to customize their Plex apps. Inside the Plugin Directory, you could find utility tools, apps for TV networks and shows, movie apps, music apps, and a whole lot more.

But don’t worry, just because the Plex Plugin Directory no longer exists, it doesn’t mean that you can’t install plugins. As the company confirmed in the same post:

“Don’t panic—while the Plugin Directory will soon be gone, you can still manually install plugins for the foreseeable future.”

While we can’t say how long Plex plans to retain plugin functionality (“the foreseeable future” sounds intentionally vague), we can confirm that the feature is still alive and well at the time of writing.

How to Sideload Plex Plugins

plex plugin folder taskbar

So, how do you sideload plugins into Plex? The process is fairly straightforward, as long as you make sure you’re working with the right types of files and you know where to put them.

Let’s take a look at the steps in more detail.

To begin, you need to ensure you have access to the computer or drive that’s running the Plex Media Server app. You cannot sideload plugins if the machine you’re using is only running the Plex Media Player app.

Next, you need to grab the necessary files for the apps you want to install. The best place to find them is on the Plugins section of the official Plex user forums. However, you’ll also find them all over sites like Reddit and GitHub.

A Plex plugin uses the .BUNDLE file extension, so make sure that’s the file you grab. BUNDLE files are compressed; you will need to extract them before use. You can ignore and delete anything in the plugin download that’s not a BUNDLE file.

There are now two options, both of which will achieve the same result:

  1. Right-click on the Plex icon in your taskbar and select Open Plugins Folder.
  2. Navigate to your Plex installation drive and open the Plugins folder manually. On Windows, you’ll find it at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server\Plug-ins. On Mac, it’s at ~/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-ins. And on Linux, you will find it in $PLEX_HOME/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-ins.

When you’re finally looking at the plugin folder, simply drag-and-drop the BUNDLE file that you previously downloaded into its new home. There is no installation process to work through.

How to Sideload Plex Plugins Using the Unsupported App Store

plex unsupported app store home page

Instead of sideloading Plex plugins manually, you could turn to the unofficial Unsupported App Store instead. Plex power users have used the service for years. With the demise of the Plex Plugin Directory, it’s now more important than ever.

You will need to sideload the Unsupported App Store using the methodology we described earlier before you can use it. After that, however, the app is almost a like-for-like replacement for the old Directory service.

One of the significant benefits of using the Unsupported App Store to sideload Plex plugins rather than doing it manually is the updates system. The app store can handle all new releases without any input from you. If you manually sideload content, you’ll need to download and install updates yourself every time a new version becomes available.

If you would like more information on the Unsupported App Store, here’s how to install the Unsupported App Store.

Note: Since the demise of Plex plugins, the Unsupported App Store is no longer actively developed. It is still supported, however, and continues to offer an easy way to sideload and manage your Plex plugins.

How to Use Sideloaded Plex Plugins

plex plugin app menu bar

Once you’ve sideloaded any Plex plugins that you want to use, you can use them on both the Plex Media Server and Plex Media Player apps.

You can see all your plugins in the panel on the left-hand side of the page on desktop. The location of the plugin files on non-desktops (such as smartphones, smart TVs, and streaming boxes) can vary. However, you’ll always find it within the Online Content section of the app.

Click on a plugin’s tile to start using it.

How to Delete a Sideloaded Plugin

To remove a sideloaded Plex plugin from your system, you need to head to back to the Plex plugin folder that you used during the installation process. There is no longer a way to remove plugins from within the Plex app.

When the plugin folder is open, just find an delete the associated BUNDLE file in the usual way; either by right-clicking and selecting Delete or by hitting the Delete button on your keyboard.

Learn More About Using Plex

Setting Plex up with some killer plugins is only one small way of getting the app working how you want. There are lots of additional little tweaks you can make, especially if you know how to use the various features to their fullest extent.

If you would like to learn more about using Plex, check out our articles listing the best devices to use as a Plex Media Server and the best Plex plugins for power users.

Read the full article: How to Sideload Plex Plugins


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Start Multitasking on Android With These 8 Powerful Tips and Apps

Get a Job as an IT Professional With These 3 Course Bundles


From networking to cybersecurity, there are many well-paid careers in IT. You don’t need a college degree to find work — you just need the necessary skills and some certificates to prove it. If you want to get a job as an IT professional, these course bundles can help you get started. Right now, you can save hundreds on the training at MakeUseOf Deals.

The Complete CompTIA Certification Training Bundle

If you want to impress technical employers, it is always a good idea to put some CompTIA certifications on your résumé. This bundle helps you fly through the exams, with 12 courses and 140 hours of video tutorials. The bundle covers CompTIA A+, Cloud+, Network+, Security+, and more besides. It is worth $4,329, but you can get the bundle now for just $39.

 

The Complete CompTIA Certification Training Bundle: Lifetime Access – $39

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The MCSA SQL Server Certification Training Bundle

Thousands of companies across the nation rely on Microsoft servers for daily operations. This training bundle shows you how to handle these systems and pass the official Microsoft exams. You get 53 hours of content in total, covering installation, deployment and management. Order now for $19 to get the training, worth $598.

 

The MCSA SQL Server Certification Training Bundle – $19

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Pay What You Want: The IT Service Manager Certification Bundle

For any aspiring IT manager, this bundle provides 39.5 hours of essential training. Through five courses, you learn the strategy, design, transition, and operation stages of the IT life cycle. Just as importantly, you get full prep for ITIL exams. You can currently pay what you want for the bundle, worth $1,999.

Read the full article: Get a Job as an IT Professional With These 3 Course Bundles


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The New Soundboks is a massive, pro-level, battery-powered Bluetooth speaker


The new Soundboks is impressive. It has everything: a sturdy housing, Bluetooth, large battery, XLR-inputs, and several methods to connect multiple Soundboks. Indoor or out, the new Soundboks sounds great.

The Soundboks isn’t shy. It’s an extrovert. This speaker will stand tall among strangers and be the loudest in the room. It doesn’t try to compensate for lackluster sound with a quirky design, either. There’s nothing fancy to the style of the Soundboks 2, and to me, that’s part of its appeal. This speaker is here to party.

Quick note: This product is called the new Soundboks. It’s the third speaker from the company and it doesn’t follow the current naming scheme. The last previous version was called the Soundboks 2 yet this one is called the new Soundboks. The naming is a touch confusing.

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Click the speaker on and the new Soundboks comes alive. There are two 10-inch woofers and one compression driver tweeter. Together the company says it they produce 126 dB of noise, which I found is mostly free of distortion at high volumes. This speaker sounds great at moderate volumes. When cranked up, it still sounds good enough as the dual woofers pound and rattle windows.

Three 72W class D amplifiers live inside the plywood cabinet. That’s key and explains the endless power. Forgive the cliche: this speaker goes to 11 and does so on a battery
A large removable 12.8V, 7.8Ah battery lives on the side of the speaker. The company says it’s good for 40 hours of listening. I cannot confirm it lasts that long but I know it’s good for at least 10 hours at moderate volume.

This battery is what makes the Soundboks stand apart from other speakers. It opens up opportunities. This is portable loudspeaker. The company knows this, too, and sells accessories such as a backpack and cart to assist in getting the 34 lbs speaker to the party no matter the location.

This latest version of the speaker packs a couple upgrades from previous models. First, it sports Bluetooth 5.0 for improved audio quality and connectivity. The new speaker can also be daisy chained to five other Soundboks speakers either through wires or Bluetooth.

Connecting several together is silly easy. I was sure I did something wrong and reset all the settings to test it again. But no: It just works. First, connect one of the speakers to Bluetooth. On the side of the speakers is a large red button to put the speaker in solo or multi-speaker mode. Select host on the speaker connected over Bluetooth and join on the other speaker. Bam. Two loud speakers. Or the speakers can be connected with 3.5mm or XLR cables.

Soundboks was founded in 2014 and participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2016 program. The company saw $13.5 million in revenue in 2018 and sold over 50,000 of its first two products. 

In the end, not everyone needs a speaker the size of a Coleman cooler. This is a big speaker with a big $999 price. It’s a party speaker. It’s for sports teams and house parties and tailgates. And in those situations, the Soundboks excels because of its power, portability and ability to link more speakers together. It’s a party in a box and I love it.


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Huawei pushes back launch of 5G foldable, the Mate X


If you were desperately ripping days off of your calendar until you could get your hands on Huawei’s $2,600 5G foldable, the Mate X — which was originally slated to launch next month — it sounds like you’re going to have to wait a bit longer, per TechRadar which attended a press event at Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters today. 

It reports being told there is no possibility of a September launch. Instead Huawei is now aiming for November. But the company would only profess itself certain its first smartphone that folds out to a (square) tablet will launch before 2020. So it seems Mate X buyers may need to wait until circa Christmas to fondle this foldable.

It’s not clear exactly why the launch is being delayed. But — speculating wildly — we imagine it’s something to do with the fact that the screen, er, folds.

We’ve reached out to Huawei for official comment on the delay.

Huawei’s Mate X date slippage suggests Samsung will still be first to market with its (previously) delayed Galaxy Fold — which was itself delayed after a bunch of review units broke (because, well, did we tell you the screen folds?).

Last we heard, the Galaxy Fold is slated for a September release — Samsung seemingly confident it’s fixed the problem of how to make a foldable phone survive actual use.

Of course survival in the wild very much remains to be seen with any of these foldable. So expect TC’s in house hardware guru, Brian Heater, to put all of these expensively hinged touchscreens through their paces.

Returning to Huawei’s Mate X, potential buyers may not be entirely reassured to learn the company appeared to dangle rather more information about a planned sequel in front of reporters at the press event.

A sequel which may or may not have even more screens, as Huawei is apparently considering putting glass on the back. Yes, glass. (The gen-one Mate X will have a steel back.) Glass panels which it says could double as touchscreens. On the back. As well as the front. We have no idea if that means the price-tag will double too.

This theoretical quad (?) screen foldable follow-up to the still unreleased Mate X might even be released as soon as next year, according to TechRadar’s reportage. Or — again speculating wildly — it might never be released. Because, frankly, it sounds mental. But that’s the wacky world of foldables for ya.

There may be method in this madness too. Because, since smartphones turned into all-screen devices — making it almost impossible to tell one touch-sensitive slab from another — plucky Android device makers are trying to find a way to put more screen on the slab so you can see more.

If they can pull that off it might be great. However sticking a hinge right through the middle of a smartphone’s primary feature and function without that simultaneously causing problems is certainly a major engineering challenge.


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WebKit’s new anti-tracking policy puts privacy on a par with security


WebKit, the open source engine that underpins Internet browsers including Apple’s Safari browser, has announced a new tracking prevention policy that takes the strictest line yet on the background and cross-site tracking practices and technologies which are used to creep on Internet users as they go about their business online.

Trackers are technologies that are invisible to the average web user, yet which are designed to keep tabs on where they go and what they look at online — typically for ad targeting but web user profiling can have much broader implications than just creepy ads, potentially impacting the services people can access or the prices they see, and so on. Trackers can also be a conduit for hackers to inject actual malware, not just adtech.

This translates to stuff like tracking pixels; browser and device fingerprinting; and navigational tracking to name just a few of the myriad methods that have sprouted like weeds from an unregulated digital adtech industry that’s poured vast resource into ‘innovations’ intended to strip web users of their privacy.

WebKit’s new policy is essentially saying enough: Stop the creeping.

But — and here’s the shift — it’s also saying it’s going to treat attempts to circumvent its policy as akin to malicious hack attacks to be responded to in kind; i.e. with privacy patches and fresh technical measures to prevent tracking.

“WebKit will do its best to prevent all covert tracking, and all cross-site tracking (even when it’s not covert),” the organization writes (emphasis its), adding that these goals will apply to all types of tracking listed in the policy — as well as “tracking techniques currently unknown to us”.

“If we discover additional tracking techniques, we may expand this policy to include the new techniques and we may implement technical measures to prevent those techniques,” it adds.

“We will review WebKit patches in accordance with this policy. We will review new and existing web standards in light of this policy. And we will create new web technologies to re-enable specific non-harmful practices without reintroducing tracking capabilities.”

Spelling out its approach to circumvention, it states in no uncertain terms: “We treat circumvention of shipping anti-tracking measures with the same seriousness as exploitation of security vulnerabilities,” adding: “If a party attempts to circumvent our tracking prevention methods, we may add additional restrictions without prior notice. These restrictions may apply universally; to algorithmically classified targets; or to specific parties engaging in circumvention.”

It also says that if a certain tracking technique cannot be completely prevented without causing knock-on effects with webpage functions the user does intend to interact with, it will “limit the capability” of using the technique” — giving examples such as “limiting the time window for tracking” and “reducing the available bits of entropy” (i.e. limiting how many unique data points are available to be used to identify a user or their behavior).

If even that’s not possible “without undue user harm” it says it will “ask for the user’s informed consent to potential tracking”.

“We consider certain user actions, such as logging in to multiple first party websites or apps using the same account, to be implied consent to identifying the user as having the same identity in these multiple places. However, such logins should require a user action and be noticeable by the user, not be invisible or hidden,” it further warns.

WebKit credits Mozilla’s anti-tracking policy as inspiring and underpinning its new approach.

Commenting on the new policy, Dr Lukasz Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity advisor and research associate at the Center for Technology and Global Affairs Oxford University, says it marks a milestone in the evolution of how user privacy is treated in the browser — setting it on the same footing as security.

“Treating privacy protection circumventions on par with security exploitation is a first of its kind and unprecedented move,” he tells TechCrunch. “This sends a clear warning to the potential abusers but also to the users… This is much more valuable than the still typical approach of ‘we treat the privacy of our users very seriously’ that some still think is enough when it comes to user expectation.”

Asked how he sees the policy impacting pervasive tracking, Olejnik does not predict an instant, overnight purge of unethical tracking of users of WebKit-based browsers but argues there will be less room for consent-less data-grabbers to manoeuvre.

“Some level of tracking, including with unethical technologies, will probably remain in use for the time being. But covert tracking is less and less tolerated,” he says. “It’s also interesting if any decisions will follow, such as for example the expansion of bug bounties to reported privacy vulnerabilities.”

“How this policy will be enforced in practice will be carefully observed,” he adds.

As you’d expect, he credits not just regulation but the role played by active privacy researchers in helping to draw attention and change attitudes towards privacy protection — and thus to drive change in the industry.

There’s certainly no doubt that privacy research is a vital ingredient for regulation to function in such a complex area — feeding complaints that trigger scrutiny that can in turn unlock enforcement and force a change of practice.

Although that’s also a process that takes time.

“The quality of cybersecurity and privacy technology policy, including its communication still leave much to desire, at least at most organisations. This will not change fast,” says says Olejnik. “Even if privacy is treated at the ‘C-level’, this then still tends to be about the purely risk of compliance. Fortunately, some important industry players with good understanding of both technology policy and the actual technology, even the emerging ones still under active research, treat it increasingly seriously.

“We owe it to the natural flow of the privacy research output, the talent inflows, and the slowly moving strategic shifts as well to a minor degree to the regulatory pressure and public heat. This process is naturally slow and we are far from the end.”

For its part, WebKit has been taking aim at trackers for several years now, adding features intended to reduce pervasive tracking — such as, back in 2017, Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), which uses machine learning to squeeze cross-site tracking by putting more limits on cookies and other website data.

Apple immediately applied ITP to its desktop Safari browser — drawing predictable fast-fire from the Internet Advertising Bureau whose membership is comprised of every type of tracker deploying entity on the Internet.

But it’s the creepy trackers that are looking increasingly out of step with public opinion. And, indeed, with the direction of travel of the industry.

In Europe, regulation can be credited with actively steering developments too — following last year’s application of a major update to the region’s comprehensive privacy framework (which finally brought the threat of enforcement that actually bites). The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has also increased transparency around security breaches and data practices. And, as always, sunlight disinfects.

Although there remains the issue of abuse of consent for EU regulators to tackle — with research suggesting many regional cookie consent pop-ups currently offer users no meaningful privacy choices despite GDPR requiring consent to be specific, informed and freely given.

It also remains to be seen how the adtech industry will respond to background tracking being squeezed at the browser level. Continued aggressive lobbying to try to water down privacy protections seems inevitable — if ultimately futile. And perhaps, in Europe in the short term, there will be attempts by the adtech industry to funnel more tracking via cookie ‘consent’ notices that nudge or force users to accept.

As the security space underlines, humans are always the weakest link. So privacy-hostile social engineering might be the easiest way for adtech interests to keep overriding user agency and grabbing their data anyway. Stopping that will likely need regulators to step in and intervene.

Another question thrown up by WebKit’s new policy is which way Chromium will jump, aka the browser engine that underpins Google’s hugely popular Chrome browser.

Of course Google is an ad giant, and parent company Alphabet still makes the vast majority of its revenue from digital advertising — so it maintains a massive interest in tracking Internet users to serve targeted ads.

Yet Chromium developers did pay early attention to the problem of unethical tracking. Here, for example, are two discussing potential future work to combat tracking techniques designed to override privacy settings in a blog post from nearly five years ago.

There have also been much more recent signs Google paying attention to Chrome users’ privacy, such as changes to how it handles cookies which it announced earlier this year.

But with WebKit now raising the stakes — by treating privacy as seriously as security — that puts pressure on Google to respond in kind. Or risk being seen as using its grip on browser marketshare to foot-drag on baked in privacy standards, rather than proactively working to prevent Internet users from being creeped on.


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The 8 Best Media Server Software Options for Linux

How to Change the Look and Feel of Your Windows 10 Desktop


change-look-feel-windows-10

While Windows 10 has a slick look out of the box, you may still wonder how to make Windows 10 look better. We’re here to explain the wealth of customization options that will make your computer more personal.

Walk through these methods to change the look and feel of Windows, and your computer will be a livelier place once you’re all done.

1. Set a New Desktop Wallpaper and Lock Screen Background

Windows 10 Change Wallpaper

One of the easiest ways to give your desktop a new look is to pick a desktop wallpaper that matches your interests. To do this, open the Settings app (using the keyboard shortcut Win + I if you like) and enter the Personalization section.

Here, on the Background tab, you’ll find several options related to your desktop wallpaper. In the dropdown box under Background, select Picture to use a single image. Hit the Browse button below this to choose an image from your PC. Have a look at some great sites for finding new wallpapers if you need ideas.

If you want to go beyond a static image, try setting a slideshow. Pick a folder full of images on your computer, and Windows will change them at an interval you set.

At the bottom, you can choose how your images fit onto the screen if they’re not the right size. If you’re not sure, Fill will probably provide the best results.

While you’re here, head over to the Lock screen tab to pick an image for that display. Just like your desktop, you can choose a single image or a slideshow.

2. Paint Windows With Your Favorite Color

Windows 10 Choose Color

Staying in the Personalization window, hop over to the Colors section for another easy customization option. Select your favorite color from the grid, and you can apply that color all over Windows.

If you don’t like any of the standard colors, open Custom color for more granular control. Once you’ve picked one out, check both of the boxes under Show accent color on the following surfaces to apply it on app title bars, as well as Windows elements like the Taskbar and Start menu.

Also on this menu, you can disable Windows 10’s transparency effects and choose between light and dark modes. If you hate getting blinded by white lights, this is a major way to make Windows 10 look better.

3. Set an Account Picture

Windows 10 Set User Photo

The generic gray silhouette that represents your Windows 10 user account out of the box is boring. You can personalize your account with a custom photo, which is especially useful on multi-user systems.

To do this, visit Settings > Accounts > Your info. Here you can select Camera to take a new photo with your webcam, or Browse for one to upload a picture from your PC.

Once set, you’ll see this icon in a few places around the Windows interface.

4. Revise the Start Menu

Windows 10 Unpin Start Tile

Chances are that you use the Start menu often to launch programs and search your files. To streamline it, you should remove junk tiles and apps that you don’t care about.

To quickly remove a tile from the Start Menu, right-click it and choose Unpin from Start. You can also remove all tiles in a group by right-clicking the group name and selecting Unpin group from Start.

Next, you can make the Start menu more useful by dragging apps you actually use from the list to the tile area on the right. These act as shortcuts, and apps with Live Tiles can even update with new information in real time.

While you’re in the Start menu, you should also take the time to remove Windows 10 bloatware. Advanced users who don’t like the Windows 10 Start menu might instead consider using a Start menu replacement.

5. Tidy and Organize Your Desktop

Having a load of desktop icons can get in the way of seeing the wallpaper you picked out. Many people use their desktop as a general dumping ground for files they don’t know what to do with yet, leading to it getting messy fast.

A few quick steps can go a long way to making your desktop a saner place. If you’ve got a particularly messy situation, you may need our guide to cleaning your desktop once and for all.

Hide System Icons on the Desktop

Windows Desktop Icon Settings

First, you might want to hide default Windows icons like This PC so they don’t waste space. To do this, visit Settings > Personalization > Themes and click the Desktop icon settings link on the right side of the window.

This will bring up a small new window, where you can uncheck any Windows icons you don’t want to display.

Organize Desktop Icons

Next, you can take advantage of a few tools to organize your icons by right-clicking an empty space on your desktop and selecting View. This lets you change the icon size, auto-arrange them, and snap all icons to the grid.

If you’d like, you can even uncheck Show desktop icons to hide them all. Note that this doesn’t delete your files; it simply removes the icons. You can still browse the files on your desktop using File Explorer.

Once you’ve got the visual layout how you like it, use the Sort by menu option to automatically list your desktop icons by various criteria.

If you want something more powerful, you can use a third-party tool like Fences to wrangle your desktop icons. We’ve looked at some desktop management alternatives to Fences if you’d like to try something else.

6. Customize Windows Sounds

Windows 10 Change Sounds

So far, we’ve looked at how to make Windows look better visually. But you can customize how Windows sounds, too. It only takes a bit of work to override the generic default noises.

To adjust these, go to Settings > System > Sound and click the Sound Control Panel link on the right side. In the resulting window, switch to the Sounds tab.

Here you’ll see a list of various events that Windows plays sounds for. Each one that current has a sound set displays a speaker icon next to it. Highlight the one you’d like to preview, then click the Test button to hear it. To replace a sound, highlight it and pick a new sound from the dropdown menu.

If you can’t find one you like, click the Browse button to select a file from your computer. Note that all Windows sounds must be in WAV format to work properly.

For more on this, including where to find new packs of sounds, see our overview of customizing Windows 10 sounds.

7. Make Windows 10 Beautiful With Rainmeter

Best Rainmeter Skins for a Minimalist Desktop - Enigma

No discussion of how to make Windows 10 look cool is complete without mention of Rainmeter. It’s the ultimate desktop customization tool, and perfect for more advanced users who aren’t satisfied with what we’ve covered above.

Because of everything it can do, Rainmeter is often overwhelming for new users. A full discussion of how to use it is beyond the scope of this discussion, so have a look at a basic introduction to Rainmeter and some of the best minimalist Rainmeter skins to get started.

So Many Ways to Make Windows Look Better

With these customizations done, you’ve done quite a bit of work to make Windows 10 unique to you. Armed with custom wallpapers, sounds, colors, plus an organized desktop and Start menu, your Windows 10 installation won’t look quite like anyone else’s.

Want to go even deeper? Continue on with the best tools to customize Windows 10 and our mega-guide to Windows customization.

Image Credit: maradon 333/Shutterstock

Read the full article: How to Change the Look and Feel of Your Windows 10 Desktop


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WW launches Kurbo, a hotly debated ‘healthy eating’ app aimed at kids


Kurbo Health, a mobile weight loss solution designed to tackle childhood obesity which was acquired for $3 million by WW (the rebranded Weight Watchers), has now relaunched as Kurbo by WW — and not without some controversy. Pre-acquisition, the startup was focused on democratizing access to research, behavior modification techniques, and other tools that were previously only available through expensive programs run by hospitals or other centers.

As a WW product, however, there are concerns that parents putting kids on “diets” will lead to increased anxiety, stress, and disordered eating — in other words, Kurbo will make the problem worse, rather than solving it.

The Kurbo app first launched at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2014. Founder Joanna Strober, a venture investor and board member at BlueNile and eToys, explained she was driven to develop Kurbo after struggling to help her own child. Mainly, she came across programs that cost money, were held at inconvenient times for working parents, or were dubbed “obesity centers” — which no child wanted to be associated with.

Her child found eventual success with the Stanford Pediatric Weight Loss Program, but this involved in-person visits and pen-and-paper documentation.

Together with Kurbo Health’s co-founder Thea Runyan, who has a Masters in Public Health and had worked at the Stanford center for 12 years, the team realized the opportunity to bring the research to more people by creating a mobile, data-driven program for kids and families.

They licensed Stanford’s program, which then became Kurbo Health.

FoodSystem Phone

The company raised funds from investors including Signia Ventures, Data Collective, Bessemer Venture Partners, Promus Ventures, as well as angels like Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube; Greg Badros, former VP Engineering and Product at Facebook; and Esther Dyson (EdVenture), among others.

At launch, the app was designed to encourage healthier eating patterns without parents actually being able to see the child’s food diary. Instead, parents set a reward that was doled out simply for the child’s participation. That is, the parents couldn’t see what the child ate, specifically, which allowed them to stop playing “food police.”

ProfileStreak Phone

Unlike adult-oriented apps like MyFitnessPal or Noom, kids wouldn’t see metrics like calories, sugars, carbs and fat, but instead had their food choices categorized as “red,” “yellow,” and “green.” However, no foods were designated as “off limits,” as it instead encouraged fewer reds and more greens.

The program also included an option for virtual coaching.

As a WW product, the program has remained somewhat the same. There are still the color-coded food categorizations and optional live coaching, via a subscription. The app also now includes tools that teach meditation, recipe videos, and games that focus on healthy lifestyles. Subscribers gain access to one-on-one 15-minute virtual sessions with coaches whose professional backgrounds include counseling, fitness and other nutrition-related fields.

However, there are also things like a place to track measurements, goals like “lose weight,” and Snapchat-style “tracking streaks.”

Home Tracked Phone

 

While the original program was designed to be a solution for parents with children who would have otherwise had to seek expensive medical help for obesity issues, the association with parent company and acquirer WW has led to some backlash.

CoachingChat Phone

Today, body positivity and fat acceptance movements have gone mainstream, encouraging people to be confident in their own bodies and not hate themselves for being overweight. The general thinking is that when people respect themselves, they become more likely to care for themselves — and this will extend to making healthier food and lifestyle choices.

Meanwhile, food tracking and dieting programs often lead to failure and shame — especially when people start to think of some food as “bad” or a “cheat,” instead of just something to be eaten in moderation. And excessive tracking can even lead to disordered eating patterns for some people, studies have found.

In addition, WW has already been under fire for extending its weight loss program to teens 13-17 for free, and the launch of what’s seen as a “dieting app for kids” certainly isn’t helping the backlash.

That said, when positive reinforcement is used correctly, it can work for weight loss. As TIME reported, the red-yellow-green traffic light approach was effective in adults in one independent study by Massachusetts General Hospital and another by presented at the Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference worked in children, with 84% reducing their BMI after 21 weeks.

“According to recent reports from the World Health Organization, childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. This is a global public health crisis that needs to be addressed at scale,” said Joanna Strober, co-founder of Kurbo, in a statement about the launch. “As a mom whose son struggled with his weight at a young age, I can personally attest to the importance and significance of having a solution like Kurbo by WW, which is inherently designed to be simple, fun and effective,” she said.

That said, it’s one thing for a parent to work in conjunction with a doctor to help a child with a health issue, but parents who foist a food tracking app on their kids may not get the same results. In fact, they may even cause the child to develop eating disorders that weren’t present before. (And no, just because a child is overweight, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re suffering from an “eating disorder.”)

 

There can be many other factors that could be causing a child’s unexpected weight gain, beyond just their interest in eating high-calorie foods. This includes health ailments, hormone or chemical imbalances, medication side effects, puberty and other growth spurts, genetics, and more.

Parents may also be part of the problem, by simply bringing unhealthy food into the house because it’s more affordable or because they aren’t aware of things like hidden sugars or how to avoid them. Or perhaps they’re putting money into a child’s school lunch account, without realizing the child is able to spend it on vending machine snacks, sodas, or off-menu items like pizza and chips.

The child may also suffer from health problems like asthma or allergies that have become an underlying issue, making it more difficult for them to be active.

In other words, a program like this is something that parents should approach with caution. And it’s certainly one where the child’s doctor should be involved at every stage — including whether or not it’s actually needed at all.


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