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Spotify signs the Obamas to an exclusive podcast deal
If it wasn't already clear by now, Spotify is betting big on podcasting and it's landed another huge catch with its latest deal. Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, will create exclusive podcasts for the streaming platform. Both Obamas will appear on some of the shows.
Netflix inks multi-year production agreement with the Obamas
As previously rumored, the 44th President and First Lady are getting into the entertainment business. According to an announcement by Netflix Monday morning, "President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features."
NYT: President Obama could be Netflix's next big signing
Given Netflix's recent list of talent deals, it's hard to imagine who they could reach an arrangement with next. According to a report by the New York Times, the streaming service is in "advanced negotiations" with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The exclusive content they'd produce for Netflix could include documentaries or fictional series that "align with their beliefs and values," or something where Barack would moderate discussions on hot-button topics, or Michelle could focus on something like nutrition. There's no word on how much the deal would be worth if finalized, but with $8 billion to spend this year there could be plenty of room.
Shepard Fairey documentary ‘Obey Giant’ hits Hulu this weekend
You may know Shepard Fairey from his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" street art campaign, his Obey clothing line or his, what came to be, iconic Barack Obama "Hope" portrait. Well now you can check out a documentary about his life, his art and what drives him. In Obey Giant, Fairey discusses how punk rock and skateboarding inspired him early on, how that led to his street art and how he uses his art to work for social change.
Barack Obama breaks the record for most-liked Tweet
Barack Obama's August 13th tweet promoting racial and religious tolerance has become the most liked of all time, Twitter says. The message -- apparently in response to the death of a woman at Charlottesville neo-Nazi marches -- quotes Nelson Mandela and reads, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion." So far, it has hit three million likes, easily surpassing Ariana Grande's 2.7 million-like-tweet following the bombing of her Manchester, UK concert that killed 23.
Researchers make a surprisingly smooth artificial video of Obama
Translating audio into realistic looking video of a person speaking is quite a challenge. Often, the resulting video just looks off -- a problem called the uncanny valley, which states that human replicas appearing almost but not quite real come off as eerie or creepy. However, researchers at the University of Washington have made some serious headway in overcoming this issue and they did it using audio and video of Barack Obama.
Report: Obama authorized a secret cyber operation against Russia
President Barack Obama learned of Russia's attempts to hack US election systems in early August 2016, and as intelligence mounted over the following months, the White House deployed secrecy protocols it hadn't used since the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, according to a report by The Washington Post. Apparently, one of the covert programs Obama, the CIA, NSA and other intelligence groups eventually put together was a new kind of cyber operation that places remotely triggered "implants" in critical Russian networks, ready for the US to deploy in the event of a pre-emptive attack. The downed Russian networks "would cause them pain and discomfort," a former US official told The Post.
Report: Russia hacked election systems in 39 US states
Russia's US election meddling was much more widespread than the public has been told, according to a report from Bloomberg. Hackers attacked voting systems in 39 states, accessed campaign finance databases in one state and tried to delete or alter voter data in Illinois. While officials don't believe the attackers changed any results, the situation was serious enough that President Obama took the unusual step of complaining to the Kremlin on "red phone" back channels.
Trump's quiet war on data begins
Two months into the Trump presidency, there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new administration. One big area of concern is how the executive branch will deal with the vast amounts of data collected by the government. Federal agencies like NASA and EPA conduct countless studies crucial to understanding our impact on climate change. Labor Department surveys are vital to determining the economic health of the country. Will the administration manipulate data that contradicts its political views? Will information become a tool of oppression? Turns out there's a simpler, but potentially just as troublesome possibility: The White House could simply make it disappear.
US hopes cyberattacks will stall North Korea's missile program
The US might not have had much success with cyberattacks against North Korea's nuclear program, but that apparently hasn't stopped officials from further efforts... not that they're having much success. The New York Times has learned that then-President Obama ordered escalated cyberwarfare against North Korea in 2014 a bid to thwart its plans for intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, it's not clear that this strategy has worked -- and there may be problems if it does.
Feds are using Palantir's tech to root out immigrants
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has yet another tool from Palantir to track and identify immigrants, according to The Intercept. Dubbed "Investigative Case Management" (ICM), it's a system that aggregates information from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation. More than that, it taps into data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives too, to provide ICE agents with everything from biometrics, family relationships and phone records on any given person -- citizen or immigrant. These tools aren't necessarily new -- some have been around for a handful of years -- it's just that now, they're being used by the ICE rather than just the Department of Homeland Security.
Obama's legacy: The most tech-savvy president
When Barack Obama moved into the White House on January 20th, 2009, the federal government was in the digital dark ages. Even as late as 2011, he was complaining that the White House was 30 years behind. Among other things, Obama was the first president to carry a BlackBerry, and even so, it wasn't until 2016 that the leader of the free world was finally able to trade in his aging RIM device for a modern smartphone. And, as the president was quick to point out in an interview with Jimmy Fallon, the unnamed phone is so locked down, it's like one of those "play phones" you'd give to a 3-year-old. Despite these hurdles, Obama made it one of his priorities to modernize the federal government on everything from telecommunications policy to White House IT. He tackled infrastructure, STEM education, net neutrality and climate change in serious and substantive ways. Of course, the president's efforts weren't always a rousing success, and on issues involving privacy, spying and drone usage, he faces lingering criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. But, love him or hate him, for better or worse, when it comes to science and technology, Barack Obama has had a bigger impact than almost any president in history.
Unfollowing @POTUS could be difficult right now (update: explained)
While we only just learned of the transition plan for Obama Administration social media accounts, things aren't going quite as many users expected. Currently, many people have reported that despite unfollowing (or, in some cases, apparently never following) the @POTUS account on Twitter, they checked their accounts and are suddenly following it. According to company CEO Jack Dorsey in a series of tweets, what's happening is an automated process plotted out by the Obama team.
Trump's White House website deletes climate change, LGBT pages
As Donald Trump takes over the White House today, a number of folks on Twitter have been pointing out that many crucial pages on WhiteHouse.gov have disappeared, including those relating to climate change and the LGBTQ community. While certainly troubling to the many millions of Americans worried about how the incoming administration will handle such topics, what's happening on the White House website is little more than a transition -- every page that was up on the site under the Obama administration has been removed, not just ones relating to topics that the new president doesn't care about.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 25: Black Hole Sun
Senior editor Chris Velazco, reviews editor Cherlynn Low and Social Media Editor Mallory Johns join host Devindra Hardawar to chat about the biggest stories of the week, including HTC U Ultra phone, which may or may not save the company. Moving on, they dive into the Nintendo Switch's launch, and discuss President Obama's commutation of Chelsea Manning's prison sentence.
Donald Trump trades in his Android for a 'secure' device
On the last day before President Barack Obama leaves the White House, the New York Times and Associated Press report Donald Trump has traded in his Android smartphone. The device (which a profile last year identified as a Galaxy smartphone) that was the source of so many tweetstorms is apparently gone, replaced by what NYT sources say is a "secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service with a new number that few people possess.
How to follow the Obamas after they leave the White House
As President Obama prepares to leave the White House, his team must gather up not only his physical belongings, but the tweets, blog posts and other online content produced over the last eight years. Such a bevy of accounts and internet discourse is not simple to shift, so the White House has outlined exactly what will move where tomorrow. To keep up with the outgoing President, you'll need to follow @BarackObama on Twitter, facebook.com/BarackObama and instagram.com/BarackObama. First Lady Michelle Obama will take a similar position online, posting with the @MichelleObama handle on Twitter and Snapchat, facebook.com/MichelleObama and Instagram.com/MichelleObama.
Snowden never filed paperwork requesting a pardon
If you thought Obama might give Edward Snowden a similar reprieve to Chelsea Manning this week, think again. While the formed NSA-contractor turned whistleblower has explained why the president should grant him clemency, he hasn't done anything beyond that. "Mr. Snowden has not filed paperwork to seek clemency from this administration," the White House told CNN today.
Obama pardons Stuxnet leak source James Cartwright
Chelsea Manning isn't the only source of online leaks to get a new lease on life. President Obama has pardoned General James Cartwright, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI when it investigated leaks that revealed details of Stuxnet, the US-backed malware that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program. He had denied slipping out classified details to two New York Times reporters (including book author David Sanger) in a 2012 interview with the Bureau, only to be caught out later on. He had been facing up to 5 years in prison and was due to be sentenced the same day as the pardon.
President Obama commutes most of Chelsea Manning's sentence
President Barack Obama on Tuesday commuted the majority of Chelsea Manning's remaining prison sentence, and she is now scheduled to be released on May 17th, 2017, rather than in 2045. Manning is the former army intelligence analyst who provided hundreds of thousands of classified military files to Wikileaks in 2010, including a video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two Reuters journalists. The video and accompanying data catapulted Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, into the limelight.
