AUNDRZ

Twitter Drops Its Egg, The Unintended Avatar Of Harassment Twitter announced it was doing away with the egg as its default icon, opting for a generic figure intended to encourage users to replace it with something more "expressive." Read more on NPR

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By PUI-WING TAM from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER and KELLY COUTURIER from NYT Technology via New York Times

Will Using Artificial Intelligence To Make Loans Trade One Kind Of Bias For Another? The next loan you get may depend less on your credit score and more on what a program thinks of your habits. Digital lenders say the process will be more fair, but others worry about unintended bias. Read more on NPR

How Can You Bring Innovation To Government Services? Follow Users NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, about what it takes to bring innovation to government. Read more on NPR

By MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology via New York Times

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI and MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology via New York Times

By STEVE LOHR from NYT Technology via New York Times

By PUI-WING TAM from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

Congress Votes To Roll Back FCC's Internet Privacy Protections The House voted on Tuesday to approve a measure already passed by the Senate, which disapproves of an FCC rule that would have required Internet providers to ask permission before selling consumers' personal data. President Trump is expected to sign the bill. Read more on NPR

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

Where Have All The Bob Seger Albums Gone? In the era of streaming music, everything ever recorded is supposed to be at our fingertips. So how did one of the biggest names in the Classic Rock canon go missing? Read more on NPR

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By PUI-WING TAM from NYT Technology via New York Times

The U.S. Has An 'Active Cyber War Underway' To Thwart The North Korean Nuclear Threat New York Times reporter David Sanger talks about North Korea's nuclear program and warns that the regime, which has been "fodder for late night comedians for many many years," is no joke. Read more on NPR

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

Run-Up To Census 2020 Raises Concerns Over Security And Politics Results from the U.S. Census in 2020 could remake the political map. Some census experts say the stakes for the upcoming national headcount are higher than normal. Read more on NPR

Older Workers Find Age Discrimination Built Right Into Some Job Websites The sites screen out older job seekers by limiting the dates you can fill in forms, an investigation by the Illinois attorney general found. But other sites say they make a point of fairness. Read more on NPR

By FARHAD MANJOO from NYT Technology via New York Times

As Congress Repeals Internet Privacy Rules, Putting Your Options In Perspective President Trump is expected to sign a bill to overturn new privacy rules for Internet service providers. An expert says there are steps you can take though they won't deliver absolute privacy. Read more on NPR

By CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology via New York Times

Congress Overturns Internet Privacy Regulation The rule, which had not yet taken effect, would have required Internet providers to ask permission before selling consumers' personal data. President Trump is expected to sign the rollback. Read more on NPR

'The Tinder Opera' Creators Hope You Swipe Right On Online Opera "Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera" is an 11-minute video dramatizing a young man's quest for love via the popular dating app. It marks an effort to adapt a 400-year-old art form to modern media. Read more on NPR

By PUI-WING TAM from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

Inside DARPA, The Pentagon Agency Whose Technology Has 'Changed the World' Journalist Sharon Weinberger discusses the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, which develops innovative scientific technologies for the military. Her new book is The Imagineers of War. Read more on NPR

By MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology via New York Times

By MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology via New York Times

Elon Musk Seen Targeting Human-Computer Link In New Venture Speculation about Musk's new company, Neuralink, centers on the name and how it might correspond to his previous statements about incorporating artificial intelligence into human brains. Read more on NPR

Google Hopes To Hire More Black Engineers By Bringing Students To Silicon Valley Howard, the historically black university in Washington, D.C., is sending computer science students to study at Google's headquarters in California, as part of an effort called Howard West. Read more on NPR

In China, Like In The U.S., The Fight Over Ride Hailing Is Local Until recently, migrant workers, lured by bonuses, drove for China's largest Uber-like service. But some local governments banned out-of-town drivers, apparently to protect local jobs and curb growth. Read more on NPR

By PUI-WING TAM from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By Unknown Author from NYT Technology via New York Times

New USPS Service Gives You A Peek Into Your Mailbox Before You Get Home Remember when you were excited to see what's in the mail? These days it seems we're getting fewer letters and more junk, but the U.S. Postal Service will soon let you preview what's coming your way. Read more on NPR

By MARK SCOTT from NYT Technology via New York Times

By KATIE BENNER and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED from NYT Technology via New York Times

By CONOR DOUGHERTY from NYT Technology via New York Times

If Congress Kills FCC Privacy Rules, 'Little' Would Protect Consumers From Providers The Senate overturned Obama-era internet privacy rules. Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jeremy Gillula says the measure would make it easier for companies to share online activity without permission. Read more on NPR

Companies And Users Can Do More To Stay Secure With 'Smart' Devices None of the top internet and telecom companies passed in the latest Ranking Digital Rights rankings in regard to individuals' privacy standards. But what can they do better and what can we do at home? Read more on NPR

Prosecutor Makes The Case For Law Enforcement Access To Data NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos about his push to allow law enforcement to gain access to data on individuals' smartphones. Read more on NPR

The Call-In: Answering Your Questions About Digital Privacy Seamus Tuohy, a consultant with the digital security firm Prudent Innovation, answers your questions about how to keep your data secure and your personal information private. Read more on NPR

Telehealth Doctor Visits May Be Handy, But Aren't Cheaper Overall Many patients like the convenience of being able to quickly consult a doctor by text or phone or webcam instead of heading to an urgent care clinic. But the cost of consultations can add up. Read more on NPR

Howard University's Aims To Build Silicon Valley Pipeline Of Black Software Engineers The historically black university in Washington, D.C., is sending computer science students to study at Google's headquarters in California, as part of an effort called Howard West. Read more on NPR

By PAUL MOZUR and CHOE SANG-HUN from NYT Technology via New York Times

By FARHAD MANJOO and MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology via New York Times

Police Videos Aren't Going Away. How Can We Learn From Them? In the era of body cameras and cellphones, the act of seeing police do their job is radically altering the public-police relationship, and changing civilian and police behavior and perceptions alike. Read more on NPR

By NICK WINGFIELD from NYT Technology via New York Times

By JIM KERSTETTER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By CHRISTOPHER MELE from NYT Technology via New York Times

Can Arianna Huffington Save Uber? While Uber wades through crisis after crisis, the sole woman on its board, Arianna Huffington, is emerging as chief of culture change. Read more on NPR

By CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology via New York Times

U.S. Senate Votes To Repeal Obama-Era Internet Privacy Rules The rules would require Internet providers to tell consumers what data they collect and get consent before selling. Republicans said ISPs were facing stricter regulations than companies like Google. Read more on NPR

By JIM KERSTETTER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

Hungry? Call Your Neighborhood Delivery Robot Self-driving delivery robots have popped up on the sidewalks of Washington, D.C. — and other locations have expressed interest. The bots learn about traffic patterns with every trip they take. Read more on NPR

Social Media, Math And The Mystery Of A Mumps Outbreak Since August 2016, there have been nearly 3,000 cases of mumps diagnosed in Arkansas. A epidemiologist explains how her team used online data and mathematical modeling to understand the outbreak. Read more on NPR

By JIM KERSTETTER from NYT Technology via New York Times

A Smartphone Can Accurately Test Sperm Count Measuring the quality of those little swimmers usually requires a trip to the doctor. Researchers have come up with a smartphone accessory that would let men do that at home in less than five seconds. Read more on NPR

By PAUL MOZUR from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By DAMON DARLIN from NYT Technology via New York Times

By PAUL MOZUR and JANE PERLEZ from NYT Technology via New York Times

By FARHAD MANJOO from NYT Technology via New York Times

Researchers Test Hotter, Faster And Cleaner Way To Fight Oil Spills The Flame Refluxer is essentially a big copper blanket: think Brillo pad of wool sandwiched between mesh. Using it while burning off oil yields less air pollution and residue that harms marine life. Read more on NPR

New Device Restrictions On Some Flights: Few Facts, Many Questions Homeland Security says most personal electronics won't be allowed in carry-ons on flights from some majority-Muslim countries. The U.K. has acted similarly. Why the abrupt change? It's far from clear. Read more on NPR

Google Vows To Remove Ads From Offensive YouTube Content Google says it is giving advertisers more control over where and how their ads appear. Some major advertisers in the U.K. were outraged and some pared back their spending after their ads appeared on YouTube videos created by backers of ISIS and a violent pro-fascist group. Google also says it's removing more ads from extremist content and hiring more people to deal with the problem. Read more on NPR

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

Trump's Electronics Restrictions Could Cause Headaches For Touring Musicians Cities like Dubai, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Casablanca have become popular touring destinations for prominent artists. What effect might the new baggage restrictions have on their work? Read more on NPR

Google Promises To Keep Ads Off Of 'Hateful, Offensive' YouTube Content On Friday, a division of a global marketing group with a digital budget of more than $200 million put its dealings with Google on "pause," citing recent controversies. Read more on NPR

By JIM KERSTETTER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

The Emergence Of The White Troll Behind A Black Face Over the past few months, Black Twitter has noticed an increase in the number of white trolls creating fake Twitter accounts. Read more on NPR

Are You Addicted To Your Smartphone? Behavioral addiction, especially to the new technologies so prevalent today, is the topic of Adam Alter's book Irresistible. Alva Noë proposes two criteria that may determine addiction to technology. Read more on NPR

U.S. Restricts Electronic Devices On Flights From 8 Muslim Countries Passengers on flights coming into the U.S. will be allowed to bring smartphones into the plane's cabin. But all larger electronic devices, like laptops and cameras, must be placed in checked baggage. Read more on NPR

By MARK SCOTT from NYT Technology via New York Times

Doctors Consider Ethics Of Costly Heart Surgery For People Addicted To Opioids A troubling trend has followed the opioid epidemic: people who use intravenous drugs are getting heart infections, driving up hospital bills and stirring an ethical debate among doctors. Read more on NPR

The Earth Is Flat? Check Wikipedia Wikipedia has discovered an educational mission in an age of rampant truthiness. And it's enlisting college students to help. Read more on NPR

The Voder: The First Machine To Produce Human Speech A 1939 invention called the Voder produced human-like sounds. It was an early electronic voice machine. Read more on NPR

Finding A Pedicure In China, Using Cutting-Edge Translation Apps On a trip to China, NPR's Aarti Shahani took a detour in search of a pedicure, with help from some of the latest voice translation apps. These tools could radically change how you travel abroad. Read more on NPR

By JIM KERSTETTER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By J. D. BIERSDORFER from NYT Technology via New York Times

By NIRAJ CHOKSHI from NYT Technology via New York Times

After Short-Lived Tenure, Uber President Quits Amid Company Turmoil Jeff Jones cited conflicting leadership approaches upon leaving the company after just six months. Uber's CEO had recruited the marketing expert to bolster the ride-hailing giant's reputation. Read more on NPR

By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology via New York Times

The Vatican Sends Its Social Media Guru To SXSW Festival Bishop Paul Tighe, the Adjunct Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, was a member of the Vatican's inaugural panel at the Austin fest. He discusses the Catholic Church's social media role. Read more on NPR

Take A Peek Under The Helmet Of Virtual Reality At SXSW VR was everywhere at the Austin festival. Todd Richmond, the director of advanced prototypes at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies breaks down the hype. Read more on NPR

By STEVE LOHR from NYT Technology via New York Times