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Facebook's oversight board's first judgments overturn four moderation decisions
The Oversight Board has issued its first judgments.
Reddit appoints Michael Seibel to Ohanian's vacated board seat
Michael Seibel is well-known in the tech world for promoting diversity and inclusion.
Facebook pledges $130 million for its content oversight board
Over the past year, Facebook has been working to put together a content oversight board. We've heard Mark Zuckerberg's vision, and Facebook shared a charter outlining its rules. Now, Facebook is committing $130 million to the effort.
A cheaper, smaller Raspberry Pi 3 is now available
The Raspberry Pi Foundation released its upgraded flagship computing board, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, earlier this year. Now the boards are shipping in volume, the company has been able to turn its attention to what it calls one of its "most frequently requested 'missing' products": the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.
DeepMind forms an ethics group to explore the impact of AI
Google's AI-research arm DeepMind has announced the creation of DeepMind Ethics & Society (DMES), a new unit dedicated to exploring the impact and morality of the way AI shapes the world around us. Along with external advisors from academia and the charitable sector, the team aims to "help technologists put ethics into practice, and to help society anticipate and direct the impact of AI so that it works for the benefit of all".
Uber's ex-CEO surprisingly appoints two new board members
When Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down in June, he retained his ownership stake in the company and seat on its board of directors. That made things awkward throughout the company's search for a new CEO, and has initiated a lawsuit from Uber's largest shareholder, Benchmark Capital. Now, the ex-CEO has suddenly appointed two new board members, apparently without notifying the rest of the company. The 10th and 11th board members are former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch head John Thain. According to the Wall Street Journal, a $3.5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in 2016 gave Kalanick control of three board seats. Those two extra seats are at issue in Benchmark's lawsuit, presumably for this exact reason. Bloomberg reports that new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called the appointments a "complete surprise." The move is apparently occurring in order to head off a planned Tuesday vote that would rework the company's corporate governance, giving Kalanick two votes on his side.
Raspberry Pi Zero W is a $10 computer with WiFi and Bluetooth
Although major Raspberry Pi announcements are very few and far between, you know that when there is one, it's worth paying attention. Take for example the Raspberry Pi Zero -- the $5 (£4) board that apparently came out of nowhere in October 2015 and offered 40 percent more computing power than the original Pi. It's been a year since the last major unveiling, when we met the Raspberry Pi 3, but the Foundation is back today with a brand new product that nestles neatly between its credit-card sized computer and its flagship board. It's called the Raspberry Pi Zero W.
The BBC Micro:bit is going global
After a bit of a slow start, the BBC's mini computer, the Micro:bit, has now made its way to more than one million children across the UK. Designed to help bridge the computing skills gap and inspire more children to take up coding, the credit card-sized board has enjoyed support from some of the biggest names in technology including Samsung, Microsoft and ARM. With their help, the BBC confirmed today that the Micro:bit is going on a worldwide tour, thanks to the formation of a new non-profit called the Micro:bit Educational Foundation.
Can a balance board improve the standing desk experience?
I'm glad that I work from home, if only because my colleagues would hate the wacky fitness gizmos I test at my desk. The latest unbearable distraction (that nobody else has to put up with) comes in the form of the Fluidstance Level. It's a balancing board for standing desk users that's designed to make you move and keep your joints supple. The company also claims the board can improve you physically, emotionally and mentally, but I'd happily settle for better balance with my eyes closed.
PINE A64 is a $15, 'high-performance' take on the Raspberry Pi
Thanks to boards like the Raspberry Pi, DIY computing projects are no longer reserved for enthusiasts who can afford to sink hundreds of dollars into them. As the new $5 Pi Zero demonstrates, picking up on a new project now costs the same as a cup of coffee. It also means that if a new entrant wants to make an impact, it needs to include a better range of components or beat its competition on price. Or both. And that's exactly what PINE64 Inc. is looking to do.
Raspberry Pi's latest computer costs just $5
Over the years, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has enabled universities and hobbyists to create their own DIY computing projects with its affordable boards. But that doesn't mean it's stopping there. Today, the company unveiled its latest programmable computing board, the Raspberry Pi Zero, and it costs just $5 (£4). With its Broadcom BCM2835 application processor (1GHz ARM11 core), 512MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a mini-HDMI socket supporting 1080p (at 60 frames per second), micro-USB sockets and an identical pin layout to its larger Pi siblings, the Zero can do plenty of heavy lifting, despite its tiny size. For context: at 65mm x 30mm, it's smaller than a credit card and has 40-percent faster chip than the first ever Pi.
Uber forms safety board, hopes to restore faith in its drivers
Uber's rapidly becoming a polarizing topic, with people either prepared to defend it to the hilt or attack it with similar fervor. Much of that hate comes from a belief that the firm has a lax attitude towards background checks and its passengers safety. That's why the company is hoping to remedy the problem by appointing its first ever safety advisory board. According to the LA Times, the panel is made up of weighty names that include Ed Davis, Boston's former police commissioner and Cindy Southworth, vice president at the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
Raspberry Pi gets an official touchscreen display
Although it's pretty easy to hook up a Raspberry Pi to a screen using its HDMI port, it's not exactly the most portable of solutions (especially if there isn't a TV or monitor around). The Raspberry Pi Foundation recognized this, so it set about finding a "simple, embeddable display" capable of giving Pi owners a screen from which to work from, but that also embodies the DIY spirit of the board that it connects to. It's taken almost a year, but the official Raspberry Pi touch display has gone on sale today, offering tinkerers a 7-inch capacitive 800 x 480 touchscreen display that supports 10-finger touch.
The old Raspberry Pi gets an overdue price cut
If you've ever toyed with the idea of starting a DIY-computing project, chances are you will have considered (or bought) the Raspberry Pi. You're not alone: more than five million of the boards have now been sold. It's prompted companies like Intel and Imagination to try to match their features, while devices like the $9 CHIP are hoping to outdo them on price. With so many competitors snapping at its heels, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has decided to take action. It announced today that it's cutting the cost of its former flagship board by reducing the Model B+ to $25/£16.
Microsoft and Intel's latest development board will cost you $300
Intel may reign supreme in the desktop and laptop space, but ARM is eating its lunch almost everywhere else. That's not something the chipmaker can ignore, which is why it's having another crack at the hobby / developer market with Sharks Cove. The board, designed with Microsoft, has the stated aim of helping developers build apps and drivers for Windows and Android devices that use Intel chips. Since it's also available for everyone else to buy, it could also be quietly positioned as a more powerful alternative to boards like Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Unfortunately, as with the NUC, there's a catch: the board will retail for $300.
Intel launches Galileo, an Arduino-compatible development board
Notice how so many maker projects require open-source hardware like Arduino and Raspberry Pi to function? Intel has, and the company is leaping into bed with the former to produce the Galileo development board. Galileo is the first product packing Intel's Quark X1000 system-on-chip, Santa Clara's (designed in Ireland, trivia fans) new low-power gear for wearables and "internet of things" devices. Don't imagine, however, that Intel is abandoning its X86 roots, as Quark's beating heart is a single-thread Pentium-based 400MHz CPU. As part of the new project, Intel will be handing out 50,000 of the boards to 1,000 universities over the next 18 months -- a move which we're sure will make Eben Upton and Co. delighted and nervous at the same time.
Thrash down a mountain on an Elder Scrolls Online snowboard
When you're about to stomp that pickle-reaver on a double-black diamond, you want to make sure that everyone around you knows exactly what video game you support. That's why Bethesda is selling a limited edition snowboard for The Elder Scrolls Online. MMOs need all the slope cred they can get these days, we suppose. The Ebonheart Snowboard will cost you a cool $500, and that's if you're able to secure one of the only 50 boards being made. The art on the board is done by former ArenaNet artist Kekai Kotaki, and the board itself is an all-terrain, all-condition model. And yes, before you ask, the RDS 2 Damping System is included. Currently the Bethesda Store is accepting pre-orders for the snowboard, promising to ship it this December.
Former NYT digital head joins EA's board as Gregory Maffei leaves
Following last week's "restructuring," Electronic Arts has announced a new addition to its board of directors. Denise F. Warren has been appointed to both the board and EA's Audit Committee. Warren is the Vice President of the Digital Products and Services group at the New York Times, where she previously oversaw operations on NYTimes.com and the Times' other digital properties. Warren will be stepping in as director Gregory Maffei steps out, passing on re-election at the stockholders meeting to be held on July 31. Maffei is the president and CEO of Liberty Media, the distributor that owns cable channels Discovery Channel, USA, Starz and more. Maffei has been on the EA board for 10 years, but is resigning to work with his own company.
Olympia Circuits' Arno Shield lets Arduino newcomers bring their own board
While there have certainly been attempts at easing the Arduino learning curve, many of these still demand a new board or simplify just one aspect of a much larger universe. Olympia Circuits' new Arno Shield could help strike a better balance between starting fresh and diving into the deep end. It includes all the buttons, lights and sensors needed for 40-plus educational projects, but grafts on to existing boards such as the company's LeOlympia or an Arduino Uno. Owners don't have to add parts or wires; they just remove the shield once they've learned enough to create their own masterworks. The shield kit won't be cheap when it arrives on May 2nd for $60, but it may prove the real bargain for tinkerers who want a full-fledged Arduino board as soon as the training wheels come off.
CoAction Hero board comes with its own OS, simplifies desktop coding (video)
Although we've seen a deluge of tinker-friendly boards, many of them share a dirty secret: they're borrowing someone else's OS. The creator of the new CoAction Hero board, Tyler Gilbert, doesn't think that's good enough for those who want both control and ease of use. His stackable ARM Cortex-M3 design runs its own real-time platform, CoActionOS, that supports Raspberry Pi-style features like file systems and multitasking while abstracting the hardware enough to remove some of the usual headaches. Coding for the CoAction Hero is much like writing a desktop app, and a Qt-based developer kit helps owners write their own interface without knowing the circuitry inside-out. The board is being crowdfunded and won't ship until July if all goes according to plan, but a relatively low $10,000 target and $29 minimum pledge for a device should get the Hero into the hands of intrepid project builders.
