About: blatcho

Allison Johnson / The Verge: T-Mobile launched App Insights, letting marketers target its wireless customers based on apps they have installed and engagement patterns; users can opt out  —  T-Mobile’s advertising business is offering a new way for marketers to pry into your app-using habits.

Virtual robot run by artificial intelligence acts in a way that conforms to toxic stereotypes when asked to pick faces that belong to criminals or homemakers

The human liver has amazing regeneration capabilities: Even if up to 70 percent of it is removed, the remaining tissue can regrow a full-sized liver within months. Taking advantage of this regenerative capability could give doctors many more options for treating chronic liver disease. MIT engineers have now taken a step toward that goal, by […]

For decades, government and industry have looked to hydrogen as a potentially game-changing tool in the quest for clean energy. As far back as the early days of the Clinton administration, energy sector observers and public policy experts have extolled the virtues of hydrogen — to the point that some people have joked that hydrogen […]

After 13 years as director of the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Ed Boyle, professor of ocean geochemistry in the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), is stepping down at the end of June. Professor Mick Follows, who holds joint appointments in EAPS and […]

Sponsor content from BetterUp.

Poorly designed programs can frustrate customers. But the right constraints can actually help them get more value from their membership.

A young leader learns how to gain credibility and trust in her new role.

Gadget manufacturers are getting into the car-making business. That could shake up the auto industry, global trade, and geopolitics.

The viral image generation app is good, absurd fun. It’s also giving the world an education in how artificial intelligence may warp reality.

From acoustic tweezers to holograms, engineers are taking inspiration from the field of optics—and riding the sound wave.

Harsh Upadhyay / Entrackr: Indian startup Solv, a B2B marketplace for SMBs, raised a $40M Series A led by Japan-based SBI Holdings, bringing its total funding to nearly $80M  —  Solv, a B2B digital marketplace for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, has raised $40 million in its Series A funding round led …

Bloomberg: Naspers subsidiary Prosus sold 131.8M shares in JD.com, a ~4% stake worth $4B+, saying the e-commerce company “does not form part of [its] core strategic focus”  —  An arm of South African internet giant Naspers Ltd. sold almost $4 billion worth of stock in JD.com Inc. that it got …

Michael Waters / MIT Technology Review: Data centers, typically located in suburbs and rural zones, are increasingly being built in urban areas to further reduce internet lag for locals  —  Companies are pushing more server farms into the hearts of population centers.  —  In 1930, the telegraph giant Western Union put …

Whether you need workout earbuds or gaming over-ears, these WIRED-tested picks sound like a million bucks.

A simple corded headset will lend depth and drama to your gameplay, no matter what device you have.

New York Times: Hundreds of documents detail the software bought by China to sift through its vast troves of surveillance data to “predict” who will become troublemakers  —  The more than 1.4 billion people living in China are constantly watched.  They are recorded by police cameras that are everywhere …

Brian Kahn / Protocol: In the wake of SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade, tech companies give “no comment” in response to questions about users’ data that can be used in prosecutions  —  Tech companies have created employee reimbursement programs, but they have been silent on whether they’ll protect users’ data …

Alex Russell / Infrequently Noted: A deep dive: how Apple uses iOS WebKit monopoly to strip-mine and sabotage the web, hurting all browser engine projects and draining the web of future potential  —  Gentle reader, I made a terrible mistake.  Yes, that’s right: I read the comments on a MacRumors article.  At my age, one […]

Observations of faraway worlds have forced a near-total rewrite of the story of our solar system.

A startlingly impressive Dolby Atmos TV audio system, minus the voice control and physical remote you’re used to.

Boil ’em, mash ’em, stick ’em in a stew. This guide will make sure you can whip up tasty grub no matter where you end up.

Andy Maxwell / TorrentFreak: How Bungie identified a mass sender of fake DMCA notices to YouTube targeting Destiny content creators and Bungie’s own channels, leading to its $7.65M lawsuit  —  In response to persons unknown sending large numbers of fake DMCA notices to YouTube while impersonating its anti-piracy partner …

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal: A look at Amazon’s fight with China-based sellers of generic items trying to game its algorithm to develop Marketplace brands and get the “Amazon’s Choice” tag  —  Jeff Bezos wanted to build the ‘everything store’—and now the company is drowning in China-based sellers hawking the same items under a […]

Manish Singh / TechCrunch: India’s central bank ban on loading non-bank prepaid payment instruments using credit lines has created panic among Indian fintech startups  —  Fintech startups in India have raised over $15 billion from high-profile foreign investors in the past two years.  —  For nearly all fintech startups, lending has long been the end […]

Chelsi Cocking is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the human body with the help of computers. For her work, she develops sophisticated software to use as her artistic tools, including facial detection techniques, body tracking software, and machine learning algorithms. Cocking’s interest in the human body stems from her childhood training in modern dance. Growing […]

Plus: Instagram cracks down on age verification, Microsoft says it will stop using AI to track emotions, and Twitter wants to be a blog.

Plus: Microsoft details Russia’s Ukraine hacking campaign, Meta’s election integrity efforts dwindle, and more.

You don’t need a lot, nor do you need to spend a ton. From harnesses to carabiners, here are our favorites.

Richard Waters / Financial Times: Michael Saylor, whose company MicroStrategy holds bitcoin now worth ~$2.7B, says bitcoin “is still at an early stage in its development and poorly understood”  —  Software entrepreneur has remained calm even as crypto markets crashed  —  What do you do when you head the public company …

Ming-Chi Kuo / Medium: As Apple is expected to debut a headset in January 2023 and Meta slows VR investments, a look at opportunities for the VR supply chain and other headset makers  —  (1) One of the keys to the VR industry’s rapid growth in the past 2-3 years is Meta sold VR headsets […]

New York Times: Sources: Meta told staff not to discuss the Roe v. Wade ruling on wide-reaching internal channels, citing a company memo issued after the May draft opinion leak  —  Meta told its workers on Friday not to openly discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion …

This sleek Belgian ebike is ready to ride out of the box, integrates helpfully with your phone, and looks as good as Sam Elliott in a felt hat.

Rising temperatures and an unprecedented drought pose a grave and growing peril to the river and its ecosystems.

Ring in the start of summer with these outdoor discounts.

Abubakar Idris / Rest of World: A look at the rise of Nigeria’s BNPL services as some doubt the success of local startups amid weak ID verification systems and scant consumer credit records  —  BNPL startups in Nigeria are gambling millions of venture dollars on solving a problem of weak ID verification and scant consumer […]

Paul Bischoff / Comparitech: Research: 67 separate ransomware attacks impacted 954 US schools and colleges in 2021, costing schools an estimated $3.5B+ in downtime  —  In 2021, 67 individual ransomware attacks affected 954 schools and colleges, potentially impacting 950,129 students.  We estimate that these attacks …

FinSMEs: Berlin-based WorkMotion, an HR software startup that helps companies onboard and manage staff abroad, has raised a $50M Series B led by Canaan  —  WorkMotion, a Berlin, Germany-based HR-tech company for global employment, raised $50M in Series B funding.  —  The round was led by Canaan …

Here’s what Congress, the DOD, and the VA can do to ensure troops’ access to abortion—and improve the nation’s security.

If you’re planning on hitting the streets, here’s what you need to know.

Most people don’t think about abortion until they need one. But with the right to access under threat, the time to plan is now.

Sam Venis / The Block: Elliptic: US regulators have collected more than $3.3B in monetary penalties from crypto-related businesses since 2009, including $179.7M so far in 2022  —  – A new report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reveals US officials have collected more than $3.3 billion in monetary penalties from crypto-related businesses since 2009.

Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters: As state laws limiting abortion kick in, tech companies could be forced by law enforcement to hand over users’ search histories and other pregnancy-related data  —  The technology industry is bracing for the uncomfortable possibility of having to hand over pregnancy-related data to law enforcement …

Chris Dolmetsch / Bloomberg: US judge rules that Pinterest must face a suit by digital marketing strategist Christine Martinez, who says she co-created Pinterest but was never compensated  —  Pinterest Inc. must face a lawsuit from a digital marketing strategist who says she helped conceive the social media platform, a California judge ruled.

A robot that learned to manipulate clay to make letters of the alphabet without any training could one day make dumplings for you

Some period-tracking apps share data with third parties. With the rolling back of Roe v Wade abortion protections in the US, there is concern that data collected by these apps could become incriminating

Physics professors Tracy Slatyer and Jesse Thaler and mathematics professor Wei Zhang were among 16 researchers selected to receive 2022 Simons Investigator awards in mathematics, physics, astrophysics, and computer science. This program supports “outstanding theoretical scientists in their most productive years, when they are establishing creative new research directions, providing leadership to the field, and effectively mentoring […]

Even before joining a financial technology startup, Michael Pilgreen believed in taking risks and investing long-term — especially when it came to his education and career.  For six years, Pilgreen worked in creative production management, specializing in painting, metalworking, and installations. He’d established himself in the art world with large collaborative projects like a mosaic […]

Moore’s Law is the famous prognostication by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that the number of transistors on a microchip would double every year or two. This prediction has mostly been met or exceeded since the 1970s — computing power doubles about every two years, while better and faster microchips become less expensive. This rapid growth […]

A playbook to help sales reps nudge customers off the fence.