Technology News Era

ICANN, the non-profit that manages namespaces on the internet, announced today that it’s blocking the controversial sale of the .org registry to private equity firm Ethos Captial. It said the sale would’ve caused “unacceptable uncertainty” over the future of the world’s third-largest domain registry, which is largely used by non-profit organizations. In a blog post, the organization said it’s dedicated to making the right decision to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems: ICANN‘s role is to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems. We are dedicated to making the right decision, knowing… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3f4lrff

Intel has spent the past several months updating its processor lineup to the 10th generation, and next up are desktops. The company today unveiled its 10th-gen consumer chips, including the new i9-10900K, capable of reaching up to 5.3Ghz with a base clock of 3.7Ghz. Intel claims the new processor can yield 10 percent more FPS than the already-zippy 9900K in PUBG, and is 18 percent faster at editing 4K video. It’s also 63 and 35 percent faster than the i7 7700K from 2017, respectively (there were no i9’s at the time). Of course, not everyone can afford a $500 processor,… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Intel from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aPAPbP

Ubisoft today finally unveiled the trailer for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the Viking adventure it teased yesterday with a chill art stream. It’s an excellent trailer, playing on conventionally accepted modern myths about Vikings while setting up the historical conflict. That said, I will give my eyeteeth if the game can be a little less like its predecessor, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The game is set in the ninth century and stars a Viking hero who’s out to go raiding, pillaging, and settling in England. While fighting battles against the forces of King Alfred the Great (or so the trailer implies), they’re also… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KOSgPi

We live in strange times. To celebrate the country’s Independence Day, each year the President of Israel opens his home to people of all walks of life and personally meets them for a brief selfie sesh, accompanied by an uplifting speech. But due to the coronavirus lockdown, the President has decided to address the nation in a responsible manner… by turning himself into an AR hologram. According to a press release, President Reuven Rivlin is set to “visit” each and every home in Israel in his virtual form, as he believes that “now, more than ever, personal contact with Israel’s… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cUgV0S

A new haptic glove can give even clumsy surgeons steady hands — just by sending them a friendly electric shock. The system is designed for robotic arms, which act as physical extensions of a human surgeon. These tools add precision and reach to operations, but they can’t prevent accidents when the human controller slips up. In traditional operations, a surgeon looks at their hands as they operate. But when they’re controlling a robot, they have to follow the procedure on a monitor, which shows footage from cameras attached to the machine. This indirect view diminishes their sense of distance, making it tricky… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cZGBsU

The average internet user conducts three to four Google searches per day. Most of those queries simply consist of one or more terms — but many people don’t know there’s a smarter way to search. Specifically, one that makes use of advanced search operators. Now that might sound a bit technical, but it’s a breeze. We’re going to show you some of the most common search operators, and examples of how to use them. After this, you’re allowed to call yourself a professional Googler. Not too shabby, right? Alright, let’s tame this beast. “ ” If you want to search for an… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3d3ne2g

Many businesses are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, but not Zoom. Just last week, the video conferencing service boasted it had over 300 million daily active users — an achievement so astounding, many refused to believe it. Well, it turns out they had a good reason not to. Zoom has quietly admitted it lied about the number, The Verge reported. The company has scrubbed all references to “daily active users” from the blog post, where it initially made the claim. Instead, the post now suggests the company has “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.” There’s a big difference between daily… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aSuAUJ

Tesla is often mentioned alongside “disruptive” products and initiatives, but the company‘s latest proposal could be one of the most contentious to date. During Tesla‘s Q1 2020 earnings call yesterday, Elon Musk mentioned that advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving will become subscription services, Engadget reports. [Read: Autonomous driving still isn’t a reality in 2020 — and it’s getting people killed] Over the past year, Tesla‘s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems have been at the center of a somewhat niche — but important — debate, which has challenged the way drivers think about how they… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Tesla from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aUmCdI

Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter! One of my favorite cocktail bars in Amsterdam is The Flying Dutchman. Great atmosphere, young and ambitious bartenders, and some of the most original and amazing cocktails you can find. Now obviously, I haven’t been there for a while, or to any cocktail bar really, and I truly miss it.  Now loads of companies are pivoting online… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YiYw9P

One of the prime reasons why I liked computers more than drawing books was easy: I just had to hold SHIFT to draw a straight line. I was (and I still am) bad at drawing. So, all my craft assignments were finished only with the help of my mom. My drawing skills remained limited to drawing doodles on the back page of my notebook. But hey, if you are someone who’s into painting or want to pick up sketching this is the perfect time to do so. While you might not be able to sit on riverbanks and draw poetic… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aSlebo

Exoplanets rich with water appear to be common around other stars. A new study examines conditions at the bottom of these massive seas in other worlds. Alien oceans may be common throughout the Universe, but little is known about conditions deep underwater on massive worlds orbiting alien stars. A new study recreated these extreme conditions, with surprising results. Neptune, at the edge of our own Solar System, is a perfect example of a massive, water-rich world. Astronomers believe such planets, where layers of water hundreds or thousands of miles deep surround rocky cores, are common around other stars. Water worlds… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2VQkv6D

Like many of you, I’m on a lot of video calls lately — either attending meetings and webinars or running them myself — and I hate the way my webcam makes me look. Even with the blinds open and a light on during the day in my study, the image from my feed is grainy, the colors are washed out, and it all just looks rather unpleasant. Here, see for yourself. Would you want to chat with this face multiple times a week, every week? Okay, don’t answer that. But you get the picture. Luckily for me, I just found… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2WepOLU

CBI Insights’ grim sounding 2020 report entitled 339 Startup Failure Post-Mortems found that 70% of upstart tech companies fail. When it comes to consumer hardware startups, 97% eventually die or “become zombies.” And what were the top three reasons for startup failure? No market need  Ran out of cash  Not the right team (lack of diversity in skills and experience) Harry had Dumbeldore, Luke had Yoda, and Daniel had Mr. Miyagi. While your startup may not be facing an imminent attack by death eaters, stormtroopers, or teenage ninjas, having the right mentor in your corner can seriously help when it… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2yZGpeI

And after 25 years of online training, LearnNow has amassed quite a history of coursework, all of which is now available to students with the Complete Developer and IT Pro Library of courses available now for just $79.99, over 90 percent off the regular price. from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KIXegx

Microsoft just dropped its earnings for the first quarter of 2020 and — as one might expect — worldwide coronavirus lockdowns were great for its bottom line. The Redmond tech giant posted $35 billion revenue and $10.8 billion net income in Q1, up 15% and 22% respectively when compared with the corresponding period last year. [Read: Microsoft reportedly plans to invest in India’s payments giant Paytm] Microsoft‘s commercial cloud arm grew fast, up 39% year-on-year to hit $13.3 billion. In fact, Microsoft‘s flagship cloud platform Azure posted 59% more revenue than in the same quarter in 2019. CEO Satya Nadella commented that the company has seen… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Microsoft from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2W9Quxv

Will machines ever be able to replace or replicate human creativity? That is a question that we repeatedly ask ourselves as we continue to innovate and invent new creative tools. The printing press, the gramophone, the camera, the camcorder, the typewriter, the synthesizer, word processors, photo editing software, and many other tools we have invented over the past centuries have brought fundamental changes to creativity and arts. But what has remained constant throughout history is the human element. Though affected by those inventions, human thought has remained central to creativity. Will that change with artificial intelligence? I think not. It was… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2SnX56a

Now face masks are a thing across the world, we’re having to adapt. While they’re great for public health and fighting coronavirus, there’s one way they make life tricker: Unlocking our phones. Is this a big complaint in the grand scheme of things? Of course not. But little things like unlocking with a face mask do still matter — especially when they’re a fucking arseache. Thankfully, Apple has been listening. The iOS 13.5 developers’ beta includes a workaround that will make unlocking your iPhone with a face mask easier. Well, when it’s released to the public that is. Reported by… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: iOS , Apple from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3d5LRvf

As case numbers of COVID-19 continue to rise around the world, we are starting to see an increasing number of reports of neurological symptoms. Some studies report that over a third of patients show neurological symptoms. In the vast majority of cases, COVID-19 is a respiratory infection that causes fever, aches, tiredness, sore throat, cough, and, in more severe cases, shortness of breath and respiratory distress. Yet we now understand that COVID-19 can also infect cells outside of the respiratory tract and cause a wide range of symptoms from the gastrointestinal disease (diarrhea and nausea) to heart damage and blood clotting… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2ySsy9Z

There have been numerous reports of people deliberately licking products and surfaces in supermarkets and filming it. These “licking videos” are then often posted on social media sites like TikTok, Snapchat, or YouTube for all to see. Deliberately licking and coughing on things in this way, during a pandemic, spreads fear and disgust, along with the health risks. This is what’s known as “consumer terrorism” where dangerous substances are introduced to food or other consumer products, that put people’s health at risk. Sometimes done just for fun, and sometimes with criminal intent or even extortion, in extreme cases threats of… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3bRi3SH

Our robot colleague Satoshi Nakaboto writes about Bitcoin every fucking day. Welcome to another edition of Bitcoin Today, where I, Satoshi Nakaboto, tell you what’s been going on with Bitcoin in the past 24 hours. As Marcus Aurelius used to say: Peel off the skin of this mystery and eat the tasty fruit inside! Bitcoin price We closed the day, April 29 2020, at a price of $8,801. That’s a strong 12.73 percent increase in 24 hours, or $994. It was the highest closing price in fifty-two days. We’re still 56 percent below Bitcoin‘s all-time high of $20,089 (December 17… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Bitcoin from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2VPM0gD

Reddit has announced a new chatroom feature called “Start Chatting” for bored people confined to their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The idea is to put you in a group chat with other people in the community so you can converse with them in real-time. The company says it has rolled out this feature to 16,000 subreddits at first to gauge the reaction. In its announcement, it said this tool will help you find people who want to talk about the same things as you do: This past month, as people around the world have been at home under various… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Reddit from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35fNjsc

There is this lingering idea among businesses that growth is and should be limitless. It’s as if the economy of scale has no ceiling, no curve, no saturation point, and all growth drives proportionate cost savings, operational efficiencies, and technological improvements. This, of course, is not true, and as many companies are finding out, things like research and development timelines, talent shortages, data storage costs, sales and support demands, and software expenses all conspire to cap growth and expansion, beyond which a company can no longer claim savings from scale. A company shouldn’t go after more customers until it can… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2KJt0tx

In an SEC filing made earlier this week, ride-sharing service Lyft said that it would be making 988 staff members redundant, and 288 would be furloughed. The move is an attempt to cut operating costs and overcome the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, CNBC reports. [Read: Uber’s longest-serving exec quits, while coronavirus threatens 5,000 jobs] According to the report, the staff reductions represent a 17% cut to the company‘s workforce. Those that have held on to their jobs will be subject to a 12-week salary cut starting in May. The company‘s executive leadership team will all take a… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2xjKVnB

Earlier this month, India officially launched its coronavirus contact tracing app named Aarogya Setu. Within weeks it has reached the milestone of 80 million downloads. Now, the government wants smartphone makers to pre-install the app in their devices. According to a report by Livemint, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked phone manufacturers to install the app by default in a meeting held yesterday. As per a release from the ministry, the meeting was attended by major smartphone makers such as Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Foxconn, and Wistron, along with several of the country’s manufacturing bodies. [Read: WhatsApp is mulling offering loans… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cZ8kdi

It’s no secret that ThinkPad laptops have historically had some of the best keyboards on the market – better than many desktop ones. If you’ve ever wished you could just chop the keyboard off your ThinkPad and use it on for your desktop setup, Lenovo’s new $99 ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II has you covered. The keyboard was first announced at CES, and it even has the little red nub (that’s the ‘TrackPoint’ part) that ThinkPads are famous for. It might especially come in handy if you ever need to control your PC from a distance without wanting to use a separate… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Lenovo from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2y2dFlp

Ubisoft is taking advantage of a captive audience to give a tantalizing glimpse of the next game in the Assassin’s Creed series. In a reveal that dovetails with leaked details from months ago, we now know that the next adventure in gaming’s own historical Magic School Bus series will be set in the Viking era, and it’ll be called Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Watch the World Premiere of Assassin's Creed Valhalla April 30th at 8am PDT / 5pm CEST. #AssassinsCreed — Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) April 29, 2020 The company teased the reveal with an art stream. The person streaming is artist BossLogic, who’s… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YoJCiB

Facebook AI researchers today announced Blender, a set of state-of-the-art open-source chatbot models. These new models are supposed to be “more human” than previous iterations and provide more robust conversations. Based on early indications it appears to be as good as or better than competing bots from Google and Microsoft. But we’re not talking leaps and bounds by any measure. Because, essentially, what Facebook‘s done is taught Blender’s chatbots to lie moderately better than everyone else’s. Today we’re announcing that Facebook AI has built and open-sourced Blender, the largest-ever open-domain chatbot. It outperforms others in terms of engagement and also… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Facebook from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35hxIIw

The Academy of Arts and Sciences is this week making a painful concession to modernity. It’s finally allowing streaming-based movies the chance at an Oscar — though only because the coronavirus is seriously screwing with the traditional film release cycle. Specifically, the Academy decided during a meeting Tuesday to suspend its traditional rules governing which films are eligible. If you aren’t aware of the ins and outs of Hollywood‘s relationship with streaming-based services, the Academy has a rule that means a movie must be available to watch in a theater. Specifically, the rule was a film must be available “for paid admission… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cYds1d

Data scientists have attempted to answer the question on everyone’s mind: When will the coronavirus pandemic end? Their predictions use a mathematical model known as SIR (susceptible, infected, recovered), which calculates the spread and recovery of diseases. Researchers from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) fed the model data on confirmed infections, tests conducted, and deaths recorded, to estimate the life cycle of COVID-19. Globally, their system predicts the pandemic will end this December. But the end date is estimated to vary immensely among nations, from June in Australia to October in Italy. [Read: AI predicts where coronavirus cases will spike next] The… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3cWKJdd

Amazon bought $10 million worth of temperature-checking cameras from a blacklisted company accused of assisting China in its human rights abuses against Muslim minorities, Reuters reports citing sources familiar with the matter. The ecommerce giant reportedly purchased 1,500 cameras from China’s Zhejiang Dahua earlier this month to curb the spread of COVID-19 through its warehouses. [Read: Amazon warehouse worker tests positive for coronavirus day after Bezos visit] At least one third of those cameras were said to be destined for use in Amazon facilities across the US. Dahua is one of the largest makers of surveillance camera tech in the world, and its… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Amazon from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YfyMLt

According to an SEC filing earlier this week, Uber‘s chief technology officer is stepping down. The rest of the executive board is reportedly discussing further measures to help the company weather the financial challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic. [Read: Global e-scooter numbers could quadruple once lockdown measures lift, analysts say] The Information reports that more than 5,400 jobs could be at risk as Uber‘s management looks to cut costs. This would represent a loss of about one fifth of Uber‘s workforce. Details of the cuts are sparse. The layoffs are yet to be finalized and could be made in… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Uber from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aMfCzx

Google surely knows how to capitalize on the string of security nightmares Zoom has been dealing with and the recent coronavirus-induced work-from-home situation. The Mountain View giant announced it’s making its video conferencing service Google Meet free for everyone for the time being. The video call tool will gradually become available over the next few days, the company says. “Starting in early May, anyone with an email address can sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features available to our business and education users, such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions, and layouts that adapt… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Sdx1L9

Did you know TNW Conference has a track fully dedicated to exploring new design trends this year? Check out the full ‘Sprint’ program here. What does someone who’s hard of hearing, someone with a severe ear infection, and a commuter on a packed subway who forgot their earphones have in common? They would all struggle to interact with audio content in a digital interface. There are two primary ways to approach design that can solve problems such as this: accessible design and inclusive design. Accessible design has guidelines in place to assist people who are hard of hearing. But UX designers following those… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2yWIl7K

I’m going to solve some pretty big things here for you. First off, memes are art. Secondly, computers are capable of creating art. How do I know this? Easy — because of this AI-driven meme generator. God, that was smooth. Anyway, the folks over at Imgflip created something called This Meme Does Not Exist, a meme generator powered by a deep artificial neural network. I was alerted to its existence when one of my friends (shout out you, Ruby) sent me this magnificent Tweet by K. Thor Jensen: there’s an AI meme generator now and it’s everything you could have wanted. https://t.co/MqXConOPWo pic.twitter.com/yKEHfgBPUE —… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3f1lZT0

The world today may seem unrecognizable, but our drive to come together and create remains unchanged. Now is the moment to share our knowledge, orient towards opportunity, and imagine a new collective future.  In the spirit of discovery, TNW – together with supporting partner We Are Live – is excited to introduce Couch Conferences: Our way to inspire and connect the tech community around areas of change and growth during the coronavirus crisis. Whether working to find your brand’s voice in these times, or defining a strategy for your new digital product, there’s an online event that adds value to your organization. Arguably the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35hS6ZX

The Complete Digital Marketing for Beginners Bundle ($44.99, over 90 percent off from TNW Deals) is a smart place to start for anyone ready to tackle the full gamut of what commerce in 2020 on the web really looks like.  from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2yTtRFD

Coronavirus will have devastating effect on startups, causing a drop in venture capital funding across the world, eradicating many businesses altogether, and making government intervention necessary. That’s according to Startup Genome’s ‘Governments, Don’t Let your Startups and Scaleups Die’ report, which states that the recent drop in venture investments in China will help predict what will happen in Europe and the US. “While it took four quarters for the US Series A and B venture investments to drop from their peak by 30 to 48%, a few weeks ago we had already documented a drop of 50% of Chinese Series A investments.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/3aTKMoV

Teracube is tackling the smartphone game from a completely different angle, arguing reliability and a responsibility to our planet are why you should consider one of their new Teracube Smartphones ($298.99; originally $349.99 from TNW Deals). from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2YfZjZd

The Histories by Herodotus (484BC to 425BC) offers a remarkable window into the world as it was known to the ancient Greeks in the mid-fifth century BC. Almost as interesting as what they knew, however, is what they did not know. This sets the baseline for the remarkable advances in their understanding over the next few centuries – simply relying on what they could observe with their own eyes. Herodotus claimed that Africa was surrounded almost entirely by sea. How did he know this? He recounts the story of Phoenician sailors who were dispatched by King Neco II of Egypt… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Yi20ts

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. I grew up loving the shutdown timer feature on my TV. With the ridiculous amounts of television I consumed, I often struggled to doze off unless I had the noise of some late-night show in the background. Things haven’t changed much since then: I still keep a season or two of The Office, Rick and Morty, or The Sopranos on Google Drive to put me to sleep. But recently I’ve started watching Twitch streamers when I hit the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35jScQT

Our robot colleague Satoshi Nakaboto writes about Bitcoin every fucking day. Welcome to another edition of Bitcoin Today, where I, Satoshi Nakaboto, tell you what’s been going on with Bitcoin in the past 24 hours. As Marie Curie used to say: Yippee! Bitcoin price We closed the day, April 28 2020, at a price of $7,807. That’s a minor 0.12 percent increase in 24 hours, or $10. It was the highest closing price in forty-seven days. We’re still 61 percent below Bitcoin‘s all-time high of $20,089 (December 17 2017). Bitcoin market cap Bitcoin’s market cap ended the day at $143,266,252,261.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2W8pSwD

The coronavirus pandemic is causing economic downturn across numerous industries. How and if they will recover remains to be seen, but new research suggests that the e-scooter market could bounce back once lockdown measures are lifted. According to new figures from market analysis firm Berg Insight, the global e-scooter market will experience a temporary contraction in 2020, but over the next four years the number of shared scooters in use is expected to boom. [Read: Study: Teslas cover more miles in their first 3 years than other auto brands] As of 2019, there were 774,000 shared scooters in operation around… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35cOUiu

Communities coming together to help those in need has been a strong theme of the COVID-19 pandemic. But at the same time that many people are seemingly appreciating those around them, our new research has found that COVID-19 has led to a rise in online Islamophobic hate speech. My colleague, Roxana Khan-Williams, and I have examined the impacts of COVID-19 on social media. We’ve found that COVID-19 has been used by the far-right to peddle Islamophobic hate. Our study, which was conducted on behalf of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, provides a snapshot of the type of language used online… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2yakSzB

Google is winding down Shoelace, a hyperlocal social networking app it launched last July to help people find others nearby to join them in activities like sports and attending shows. The company said it’ll close down Shoelace servers on May 12. The service was available only in New York City, and was an experiment from Area 120, the company’s internal incubator for employees’ potentially big ideas. Google noted that “given the current health crisis, we don’t feel that now is the right time to invest further in this project,” and that it doesn’t plan to reboot Shoelace in the future.… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Sy74Gr

WhatsApp‘s payment ambitions in India might not just be limited to peer-to-peer transactions. The company is looking into the possibility of lending money to its users as well. Earlier this month, in a regulatory filing, the company said it wants to “advance money or give credit on such terms as may seem expedient, and with or without security, to customers and others.” However, as the company is barred by law from doing any banking business, it’ll have to execute this product through partnerships with existing banks. [Read: WhatsApp increases group call limit from 4 to 8 people] In 2018, WhatsApp… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: WhatsApp from The Next Web https://ift.tt/35cn71E

In the months leading up to the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro‘s launch, we’d heard multiple rumors pointing to a ‘OnePlus 8 Lite,’ but that clearly never came to fruition. But for those wanting a cheaper OnePlus device, not all hope is lost. Leakster Max J today posted an image teasing a ‘OnePlus Z’ to arrive this summer, suggesting the phone was simply delayed and rebranded. The naming alludes to 2015’s OnePlus X, a midrange alternative to the company’s high-end devices. While a single image isn’t much to go on, Max J has a good record of accurate leaks. The… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Ym5WsO

Apparently there are still some people who believe that horoscopes are legitimate. I’d like to sell each of them a share in the Brooklyn bridge (and direct them to some of our science articles here on TNW). But now is definitely not the time to be pissing off potential readers. So I’m meeting them halfway instead. I made OpenAI’s GPT-2 (one of the world’s most advanced AI-powered text generators) spit out horoscopes for all 12 zodiac signs. Accomplishing this was actually quite easy. I went to the Talk To Transformer website where programmer Adam King maintains an interactive version of… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Shpj2r

A new haptic device simulates the feel of objects in VR by pulling on strings attached to a hand. The shoulder-mounted system is equipped with spring-loaded retractors like those used on neck cord ID badges. These retractors unwind a string to each fingertip, one to the palm, and another to the wrist. A motion sensor on the VR headset then tracks the user’s hand movements and sends the signals to the springs. When it senses that the user’s close to an object, the ratchets lock the strings to mimic the feeling of the surface. [Read next: This AI suitcase could help visually-impaired people to travel] This mechanism… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2xZ1iqh

The coronavirus pandemic has left a serious dent in the stock market, but not all industries have been hit hard. In fact, three of the eleven different industries represented in the S&P 500 index have already recovered: information technology, consumer staples, and health care. MIT alum Calvin French-Owen illustrated this perfectly by comparing stock data from the beginning of the plunge in February and now, and grouping it by industry: Grouping the stocks by industry, we start seeing some of the data stick out… pic.twitter.com/fn1DjDEe90 — Calvin French-Owen (@calvinfo) April 27, 2020 Most notably, as he shows, the information technology industry… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2VLiZlX

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Whether you use them to demonstrate a point, provide evidence, or simply to break up a long block of text, images are undeniably a homestead in content creation. Unfortunately, not every image you stumble upon is free to use — not without risking getting yourself in legal trouble. Tons of stock photography services like Shutterstock, Getty Images, and iStock have figured out how to monetize your need for visuals by offering often pricey image subscriptions.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2Yfppf0