theverge--2020-01-28--What tech companies should do about their content moderators’ PTSD

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On Friday I published a report confirming what had been obvious to anyone who spends much time talking to people who work in content moderation : the job causes post-traumatic stress disorder .
The report was based largely on an extraordinary document that Accenture , which sells its content moderation services to Facebook , YouTube , and Twitter , among others , requires employees to acknowledge that their work can lead to PTSD — and to tell their managers about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Labor law experts told me the document could be construed as an illegal requirement to disclose a disability .
At the time , I had managed to confirm only that the document was distributed to workers in Austin , TX , as part of Accenture ’ s contract with YouTube .
A few hours after my report , the Financial Times reported that it had been distributed to moderators for Facebook in Europe as well .
Around that time , I confirmed that workers on the Facebook project in Texas had also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told me it was unaware of any documents that Accenture made its workers sign , but declined to comment .
Throughout my reporting , I attempted to pin down Accenture on which workers , exactly , it had warned about PTSD .
The company ’ s PR team told me it regularly asked workers to sign “ these types of documents , ” but wouldn ’ t speak to the specific risk of PTSD .
Indeed , no Accenture flack would ever use the word “ PTSD ” in an email to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ document was distributed to both YouTube and Facebook workers , it seems clear that the company has acknowledged that its workplace is unsafe for some portion of its workforce .
As to how many people are affected , and which roles are most likely to result in long-term mental health issues , Accenture has refused all comment .
Whenever I write about these issues , people write to me to ask what the solution is .
We will clearly need human moderators for the foreseeable future .
How do we create jobs that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
After speaking with more than 100 moderators , academics , labor experts , and company executives , here are five things I wish companies would do .
First , invest in research .
We know that content moderation leads to PTSD , but we don ’ t know the frequency with which the condition occurs , or the roles most at risk for debilitating mental health issues .
Nor have they investigated what level of exposure to disturbing content might be considered “ safe.
” It seems likely that those with sustained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photos and videos — violence and child exploitation — would be at the highest risk for PTSD .
But companies ought to fund research into the issue and publish it .
They ’ ve already confirmed that these jobs make the workforce ill — they owe it to their workforce to understand how and why that happens .
Second , properly disclose the risk .
Whenever I speak to a content moderator , I ask what the recruiter told them about the job .
The results are all over the map .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of how difficult the work is .
Others actively lie to their recruits , telling them that they ’ re going to be working on marketing or some other more benign job .
It ’ s my view that PTSD risk should be disclosed to workers in the job description .
Companies should also explore suggesting that these jobs are not suitable for workers with existing mental health conditions that could be exacerbated by the work .
Taking the approach that Accenture has — asking workers to acknowledge the risk only after they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completely backwards .
Third , set a lifetime cap for exposure to disturbing content .
Companies should limit the amount of disturbing content a worker can view during a career in content moderation , using research-based guides to dictate safe levels of exposure .
Determining those levels is likely going to be difficult — but companies owe it to their workforces to try .
Fourth , develop true career paths for content moderators .
If you ’ re a police officer , you can be promoted from beat cop to detective to police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policing the internet , you might be surprised to learn that content moderation is often a dead-end career .
Maybe you ’ ll be promoted to “ subject matter expert ” and be paid a dollar more an hour .
But workers rarely make the leap to other jobs they might be qualified for — particularly staff jobs at Facebook , Google , and Twitter , where they could make valuable contributions in policy , content analysis , trust and safety , customer support , and more .
If content moderation felt like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than a cul-de-sac , it would be a much better bargain for workers putting their health on the line .
And every tech company would benefit from having workers at every level who have spent time on the front lines of user-generated content .
Fifth , offer mental health support to workers after they leave the job .
One reason content moderation jobs offer a bad bargain to workers is that you never know when PTSD might strike .
I ’ ve met workers who first developed symptoms after a year , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during training .
Naturally , these employees are among the most likely to leave their jobs — either because they found other work , or because their job performance suffered and they were fired .
But their symptoms will persist indefinitely — in December I profiled a former Google moderator who still had panic attacks two years after quitting .
Tech companies need to treat these workers like the US government treats veterans , and offer them free ( or heavily subsidized ) mental health care for some extended period after they leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or take advantage of it .
But by offering post-employment support , these companies will send a powerful signal that they take the health of all their employees seriously .
And given that these companies only function — and make billions — on the backs of their outsourced content moderators , taking good care of them during and after their tours of duty strikes me as the very least that their employers can do .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending up : Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ privacy controls actually appear to be working .
As users opt out of tracking en masse , advertisers are going to have to make do with limited location data .
Trending down : Palantir CEO Alex Karp said he stands by his company ’ s controversial work for the US government , including Immigration and Customs Enforcement .
⭐ State attorneys general are meeting with US Justice Department attorneys next week to share information on their respective probes of Google .
This move could lead to both groups joining forces on the investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Brent Kendall report : In an extraordinary back-and-forth between a president and a congressman on Twitter , President Trump called Representative Adam Schiff , the lead House impeachment manager , “ a CORRUPT POLITICIAN , and probably a very sick man , ” warning , “ He has not paid the price , yet , for what he has done to our Country !
” The comments sparked controversy around what Twitter considers a threat .
( Sheryl Gay Stolberg / The New York Times ) Hillary Clinton said Facebook has traded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added that Zuckerberg has been persuaded “ that it ’ s to his and Facebook ’ s advantage not to cross Trump .
That ’ s what I believe .
And it just gives me a pit in my stomach.
” ( Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic ) Bernie Sanders supporters are mass-posting angry memes about his Democratic rivals on Facebook .
The volume and viciousness of the attacks reflect how Facebook rewards emotionally charged content to generate reactions from its users .
( Craig Timberg and Isaac Stanley-Becker / The Washington Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US presidential candidates currently stand on breaking up Big Tech .
A useful guide if you ’ re just catching up .
( Elizabeth Culliford / Reuters ) Coordinated disinformation campaigns and deepfakes are making it harder to deal with existential threats like nuclear war and climate change , according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists .
These concerns prompted the group to push the Doomsday Clock up to 100 seconds to midnight , a metaphor for the global apocalypse .
( Joseph Marks / The Washington Post ) Teens are using TikTok @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Australian bushfires .
The phenomenon shows how even a platform determined to avoid politics can find itself in the center of debate .
( Rebecca Jennings / Vox.com ) More than 350 Amazon employees violated the company ’ s communications policy to talk about climate policy , Amazon ’ s work with federal agencies and its attempts to stifle dissent .
They published their remarks on Medium .
It ’ s the latest sign of worker unrest at tech giants spilling over into public view ( Jay Greene / The Washington Post ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cast an unflattering light on the swiftly growing and highly secretive cottage industry of software developers specializing in digital surveillance .
NSO Group , the surveillance firm implicated in the recent WhatsApp hacks , is one of the more notorious companies that operate in this space .
( Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg ) Related : federal prosecutors have evidence indicating that Jeff Bezos ’ girlfriend , Lauren Sanchez , sent text messages to her brother that he subsequently sold to the National Enquirer .
The tabloid then published a story about the Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Joe Palazzolo and Corinne Ramey / The Wall Street Journal ) Separately , here ’ s a look at how Jeff Bezos went from relatively low-profile tech billionaire to tabloid fixture , all in the space of a year .
( Karen Weise / New York Times ) Fake news stories originally published as political satire are being copied and reposted as genuine news , then shared to large audiences on Facebook .
The articles published by AJUAnews.com and similar websites include death hoaxes about celebrities and made-up stories about Democratic congresswomen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daniel Funke / PolitiFact ) A brigade of paratroopers deployed to the Middle East in the wake of mounting tensions with Iran have been asked to use Signal and Wickr on government-issued cell phones .
The use of these commercially available encrypted messaging apps raises questions as to whether the Department of Defense is scrambling to fill gaps in potential security vulnerabilities .
( Shawn Snow , Kyle Rempfer and Meghann Myers / Military Times ) Tech CEOs in Davos are dodging tough questions about election interference and misinformation by warning about artificial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standardized rules to govern the technology .
( Amy Thomson and Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg ) Speaking of Davos , billionaire George Soros spoke there to say Facebook is conspiring with President Trump to get him reelected .
What say you , Definers ?
( Katia Porzecanski and Sarah Frier / Bloomberg ) A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of FOSTA , a federal law that has driven marginalized communities and speech about sex and sex work offline , was reinstated .
A federal judge had previously dismissed the case .
Now , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signaling that the statute could a substantial threat to free speech .
This is a good thing .
( Electronic Frontier Foundation ) The World Economic Forum is flooding the internet with bad videos designed to convey the impression that billionaires care about inequality and climate change .
“ The videos feature a few boxes of text slapped across the screen , a few close-ups of people , a few wide-shots of landscapes of crowds , state the problem then offer solutions then a call to urgency — we get it.
” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antivirus program used by hundreds of millions of people around the world is selling highly sensitive web browsing data to many of the world ’ s biggest companies , including Home Depot , Google , Microsoft , Pepsi , and McKinsey .
Joseph Cox at Vice has the story : A photo of Jeffrey Epstein mistakenly showed up in Twitter ’ s trending section , on a post related to the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant .
Just another good reminder that it ’ s time to end trending on Twitter .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ years after Vine ’ s co-founder Dom Hofmann announced he was building a successor to the short-form video app , Byte made its debut on iOS and Android .
The new app lets users shoot or upload and then share six-second videos .
The tiny time limit necessitates no-filler content that ’ s denser than the maximum 1-minute clips on TikTok .
( Josh Constine / TechCrunch ) Google suggests “ husband ” after searches for women ’ s names more often than it suggests “ wife ” for men .
The company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ searching for .
( Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed ) Some of the biggest gamers on Twitch are leaving in favor of multimillion dollar contracts with newer platforms , including Mixer and Facebook Gaming .
( Shannon Liao / CNN ) Joanna Stern ( and her dog ) tries to make a viral TikTok after becoming hooked on the app .
It ’ s way harder than it looks !
( Wall Street Journal ) This photographer has become an influencer by shooting social media stars , including many of the most famous people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him has now become one of the markers of viral fame .
( Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times ) There ’ s a familiar face at the end of this week ’ s cold open on Saturday Night Live .
It seems that hell has a new I.T .
guy ...
Send us tips , comments , questions , and your suggestions for helping content moderators : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

On Friday I published a report confirming what had been obvious to anyone who spends much time talking to people who work in content moderation: the job causes post-traumatic stress disorder. The report was based largely on an extraordinary document that Accenture, which sells its content moderation services to Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, among others, requires employees to acknowledge that their work can lead to PTSD — and to tell their managers about any negative changes to their mental health. Labor law experts told me the document could be construed as an illegal requirement to disclose a disability.
At the time, I had managed to confirm only that the document was distributed to workers in Austin, TX, as part of Accenture’s contract with YouTube. A few hours after my report, the Financial Times reported that it had been distributed to moderators for Facebook in Europe as well. Around that time, I confirmed that workers on the Facebook project in Texas had also been asked to sign it. Facebook told me it was unaware of any documents that Accenture made its workers sign, but declined to comment.
Throughout my reporting, I attempted to pin down Accenture on which workers, exactly, it had warned about PTSD. The company’s PR team told me it regularly asked workers to sign “these types of documents,” but wouldn’t speak to the specific risk of PTSD. Indeed, no Accenture flack would ever use the word “PTSD” in an email to me.
But with the confirmation that the document was distributed to both YouTube and Facebook workers, it seems clear that the company has acknowledged that its workplace is unsafe for some portion of its workforce. As to how many people are affected, and which roles are most likely to result in long-term mental health issues, Accenture has refused all comment.
Whenever I write about these issues, people write to me to ask what the solution is. We will clearly need human moderators for the foreseeable future. How do we create jobs that safe for the maximum number of workers? After speaking with more than 100 moderators, academics, labor experts, and company executives, here are five things I wish companies would do.
First, invest in research. We know that content moderation leads to PTSD, but we don’t know the frequency with which the condition occurs, or the roles most at risk for debilitating mental health issues. Nor have they investigated what level of exposure to disturbing content might be considered “safe.” It seems likely that those with sustained exposure to the most disturbing kind of photos and videos — violence and child exploitation — would be at the highest risk for PTSD. But companies ought to fund research into the issue and publish it. They’ve already confirmed that these jobs make the workforce ill — they owe it to their workforce to understand how and why that happens.
Second, properly disclose the risk. Whenever I speak to a content moderator, I ask what the recruiter told them about the job. The results are all over the map. Some recruiters are quite straightforward in their explanations of how difficult the work is. Others actively lie to their recruits, telling them that they’re going to be working on marketing or some other more benign job. It’s my view that PTSD risk should be disclosed to workers in the job description. Companies should also explore suggesting that these jobs are not suitable for workers with existing mental health conditions that could be exacerbated by the work. Taking the approach that Accenture has — asking workers to acknowledge the risk only after they start the job — strikes me as completely backwards.
Third, set a lifetime cap for exposure to disturbing content. Companies should limit the amount of disturbing content a worker can view during a career in content moderation, using research-based guides to dictate safe levels of exposure. Determining those levels is likely going to be difficult — but companies owe it to their workforces to try.
Fourth, develop true career paths for content moderators. If you’re a police officer, you can be promoted from beat cop to detective to police chief. But if you’re policing the internet, you might be surprised to learn that content moderation is often a dead-end career. Maybe you’ll be promoted to “subject matter expert” and be paid a dollar more an hour. But workers rarely make the leap to other jobs they might be qualified for — particularly staff jobs at Facebook, Google, and Twitter, where they could make valuable contributions in policy, content analysis, trust and safety, customer support, and more.
If content moderation felt like the entry point to a career rather than a cul-de-sac, it would be a much better bargain for workers putting their health on the line. And every tech company would benefit from having workers at every level who have spent time on the front lines of user-generated content.
Fifth, offer mental health support to workers after they leave the job. One reason content moderation jobs offer a bad bargain to workers is that you never know when PTSD might strike. I’ve met workers who first developed symptoms after a year, and others who had their first panic attacks during training. Naturally, these employees are among the most likely to leave their jobs — either because they found other work, or because their job performance suffered and they were fired. But their symptoms will persist indefinitely — in December I profiled a former Google moderator who still had panic attacks two years after quitting. Tech companies need to treat these workers like the US government treats veterans, and offer them free (or heavily subsidized) mental health care for some extended period after they leave the job.
Not all will need or take advantage of it. But by offering post-employment support, these companies will send a powerful signal that they take the health of all their employees seriously. And given that these companies only function — and make billions — on the backs of their outsourced content moderators, taking good care of them during and after their tours of duty strikes me as the very least that their employers can do.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔼 Trending up: Apple and Google’s tough new location privacy controls actually appear to be working. As users opt out of tracking en masse, advertisers are going to have to make do with limited location data.
Governing
⭐ State attorneys general are meeting with US Justice Department attorneys next week to share information on their respective probes of Google. This move could lead to both groups joining forces on the investigation. John D. McKinnon, Ryan Tracy and Brent Kendall report:
The state and federal investigations have given considerable focus to Google’s powerful position in the lucrative market for online advertising. The company’s dominant position in online search and possible anticompetitive behavior by Google in its Android mobile operating system have also drawn scrutiny, according to the people familiar with the matter. The planned meeting is likely to include discussions on those issues, the scope of the probes and the best division of labor as the investigations move forward, some of the people said.
In an extraordinary back-and-forth between a president and a congressman on Twitter, President Trump called Representative Adam Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, “a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man,” warning, “He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!” The comments sparked controversy around what Twitter considers a threat. (Sheryl Gay Stolberg / The New York Times)
Hillary Clinton said Facebook has traded moral accountability for commercial gain. She added that Zuckerberg has been persuaded “that it’s to his and Facebook’s advantage not to cross Trump. That’s what I believe. And it just gives me a pit in my stomach.” (Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic)
Bernie Sanders supporters are mass-posting angry memes about his Democratic rivals on Facebook. The volume and viciousness of the attacks reflect how Facebook rewards emotionally charged content to generate reactions from its users. (Craig Timberg and Isaac Stanley-Becker / The Washington Post)
Here’s where all the US presidential candidates currently stand on breaking up Big Tech. A useful guide if you’re just catching up. (Elizabeth Culliford / Reuters)
Coordinated disinformation campaigns and deepfakes are making it harder to deal with existential threats like nuclear war and climate change, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. These concerns prompted the group to push the Doomsday Clock up to 100 seconds to midnight, a metaphor for the global apocalypse. (Joseph Marks / The Washington Post)
Teens are using TikTok to post memes and comedy about the Australian bushfires. The phenomenon shows how even a platform determined to avoid politics can find itself in the center of debate. (Rebecca Jennings / Vox.com)
The Jeff Bezos phone hacking scandal has cast an unflattering light on the swiftly growing and highly secretive cottage industry of software developers specializing in digital surveillance. NSO Group, the surveillance firm implicated in the recent WhatsApp hacks, is one of the more notorious companies that operate in this space. (Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg)
Related: federal prosecutors have evidence indicating that Jeff Bezos ’ girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, sent text messages to her brother that he subsequently sold to the National Enquirer. The tabloid then published a story about the Amazon founder’s affair with Sanchez. (Joe Palazzolo and Corinne Ramey / The Wall Street Journal)
Fake news stories originally published as political satire are being copied and reposted as genuine news, then shared to large audiences on Facebook. The articles published by AJUAnews.com and similar websites include death hoaxes about celebrities and made-up stories about Democratic congresswomen wanting to slash entitlement programs. (Daniel Funke / PolitiFact)
A brigade of paratroopers deployed to the Middle East in the wake of mounting tensions with Iran have been asked to use Signal and Wickr on government-issued cell phones. The use of these commercially available encrypted messaging apps raises questions as to whether the Department of Defense is scrambling to fill gaps in potential security vulnerabilities. (Shawn Snow, Kyle Rempfer and Meghann Myers / Military Times)
Tech CEOs in Davos are dodging tough questions about election interference and misinformation by warning about artificial intelligence. They’re calling for standardized rules to govern the technology. (Amy Thomson and Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg)
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of FOSTA, a federal law that has driven marginalized communities and speech about sex and sex work offline, was reinstated. A federal judge had previously dismissed the case. Now, an appeals court has reversed that decision, signaling that the statute could a substantial threat to free speech. This is a good thing. (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
The World Economic Forum is flooding the internet with bad videos designed to convey the impression that billionaires care about inequality and climate change. “The videos feature a few boxes of text slapped across the screen, a few close-ups of people, a few wide-shots of landscapes of crowds, state the problem then offer solutions then a call to urgency — we get it.” (Edward Ongweso Jr / Vice)
Industry
⭐An antivirus program used by hundreds of millions of people around the world is selling highly sensitive web browsing data to many of the world’s biggest companies, including Home Depot, Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, and McKinsey. Joseph Cox at Vice has the story:
The documents, from a subsidiary of the antivirus giant Avast called Jumpshot, shine new light on the secretive sale and supply chain of peoples’ internet browsing histories. They show that the Avast antivirus program installed on a person’s computer collects data, and that Jumpshot repackages it into various different products that are then sold to many of the largest companies in the world. Some past, present, and potential clients include Google, Yelp, Microsoft, McKinsey, Pepsi, Home Depot, Condé Nast, Intuit, and many others. Some clients paid millions of dollars for products that include a so-called “All Clicks Feed,” which can track user behavior, clicks, and movement across websites in highly precise detail.
Two years after Vine’s co-founder Dom Hofmann announced he was building a successor to the short-form video app, Byte made its debut on iOS and Android. The new app lets users shoot or upload and then share six-second videos. The tiny time limit necessitates no-filler content that’s denser than the maximum 1-minute clips on TikTok. (Josh Constine / TechCrunch)
Google suggests “husband” after searches for women’s names more often than it suggests “wife” for men. The company says results reflect what people are actually searching for. (Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed)
Joanna Stern (and her dog) tries to make a viral TikTok after becoming hooked on the app. It’s way harder than it looks! (Wall Street Journal)
This photographer has become an influencer by shooting social media stars, including many of the most famous people on TikTok. Landing a photoshoot with him has now become one of the markers of viral fame. (Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times)
And finally...
There’s a familiar face at the end of this week’s cold open on Saturday Night Live. It seems that hell has a new I.T. guy ...
Talk to us
Send us tips, comments, questions, and your suggestions for helping content moderators: casey@theverge.com and zoe@theverge.com.


theverge--2020-01-28--Filmic DoubleTake lets you record from two iPhone cameras at the same time

Filmic is releasing a new app for iPhones today that allows you to capture video from two cameras at once .
The app , called DoubleTake , was first previewed at Apple ’ s iPhone 11 announcement in September .
It lets you record two video files separately , from any of the iPhone ’ s cameras , so that you can cut between them , or capture the video feeds displayed alongside each other , either as a split-screen or a picture-in-picture .
It works well — the question is whether filmmakers will find a use for it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro camera app .
The new app is straightforward and easy to use .
You start by choosing which two cameras you would like to record from : the ultra wide , wide , telephoto , or selfie camera .
On this same page you have the option of choosing frame rates — 24fps , 25fps , or 30fps — which all record at 1080p ( there ’ s no option for 4K ) .
You then choose how you want the camera feeds to display and start recording .
The most straightforward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This creates a split screen with one camera on the left and one on the right side of the frame .
When testing this , I set the phone between myself and my colleague Alix Diaconis in a podcast studio .
The basic idea is that that two people can have a conversation with the camera quite literally in the center of the action .
Videos shot in this mode will be exported to DoubleTake ’ s internal library as one single file .
PiP , or Picture in Picture mode , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your choosing while creating a small , moveable window for the second camera that you can drag around and even swipe on and off the screen .
The window is super responsive with no noticeable lag , and what you see on your screen is exactly what will be exported as one video file to the app ’ s library .
It looks like you ’ re watching a high-quality FaceTime call , and I could imagine someone filming a haunted house or amusement park ride in the large window with their response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mode — and as a filmmaker , my favorite — is the Discreet mode .
While the view of both cameras is the same as it is in PiP mode , DoubleTake exports two separate 16:9 files .
I often shoot in a higher resolution than I will be exporting so that I can have both a wide and tight of the same frame by being able to punch in on the wide shot .
With the Discreet mode , I was able to film from the Wide and Ultra-Wide , both at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The H.264 .mov exports are really clean and take very little time to transfer to the camera roll .
Pair a clean export with the iPhone 11 Pro ’ s excellent lens calibration , and you have a perfect punch in from a single phone .
Much like in Filmic Pro , there is a histogram at the bottom of the frame , as well as focus and exposure controls .
Unlike Filmic Pro though , Filmic tells me this app will always be free , and there are no current plans for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quick and polished , but it ultimately falls into the gadget category for me .
I have been using it for one weekend , and while at first I had a lot of fun playing with it , I ultimately couldn ’ t find a use for it in my daily filming .
It feels really advanced to be able to use more than one camera at a time , but as a user , you really have to know why you want to be using more than one camera in the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ iOS 13 devices on Apple ’ s App Store .
Though any device on iOS 13 can download it , its headline feature — recording with two cameras — is only supported on the last two generations of iPhones , which includes the iPhone XR , XS , XS Max , 11 , 11 Pro , and 11 Pro Max .
Filmic says DoubleTake ’ s features will roll out to the Filmic Pro app later this spring .

Filmic is releasing a new app for iPhones today that allows you to capture video from two cameras at once. The app, called DoubleTake, was first previewed at Apple’s iPhone 11 announcement in September. It lets you record two video files separately, from any of the iPhone’s cameras, so that you can cut between them, or capture the video feeds displayed alongside each other, either as a split-screen or a picture-in-picture. It works well — the question is whether filmmakers will find a use for it, as they have Filmic’s well-regarded pro camera app.
The new app is straightforward and easy to use. You start by choosing which two cameras you would like to record from: the ultra wide, wide, telephoto, or selfie camera. On this same page you have the option of choosing frame rates — 24fps, 25fps, or 30fps — which all record at 1080p (there’s no option for 4K). You then choose how you want the camera feeds to display and start recording.
Split-Screen mode in DoubleTake
The most straightforward, practical view is the Split-Screen mode. This creates a split screen with one camera on the left and one on the right side of the frame. When testing this, I set the phone between myself and my colleague Alix Diaconis in a podcast studio. The basic idea is that that two people can have a conversation with the camera quite literally in the center of the action. Videos shot in this mode will be exported to DoubleTake’s internal library as one single file.
PiP, or Picture in Picture mode, fills the screen with one camera of your choosing while creating a small, moveable window for the second camera that you can drag around and even swipe on and off the screen. The window is super responsive with no noticeable lag, and what you see on your screen is exactly what will be exported as one video file to the app’s library. It looks like you’re watching a high-quality FaceTime call, and I could imagine someone filming a haunted house or amusement park ride in the large window with their response in the smaller frame.
Switching between capture modes in DoubleTake.
The last mode — and as a filmmaker, my favorite — is the Discreet mode. While the view of both cameras is the same as it is in PiP mode, DoubleTake exports two separate 16:9 files. I often shoot in a higher resolution than I will be exporting so that I can have both a wide and tight of the same frame by being able to punch in on the wide shot. With the Discreet mode, I was able to film from the Wide and Ultra-Wide, both at 1080p, at the same time. The H.264 .mov exports are really clean and take very little time to transfer to the camera roll. Pair a clean export with the iPhone 11 Pro’s excellent lens calibration, and you have a perfect punch in from a single phone.
Much like in Filmic Pro, there is a histogram at the bottom of the frame, as well as focus and exposure controls. Unlike Filmic Pro though, Filmic tells me this app will always be free, and there are no current plans for in-app purchases.
Moving the ultra-wide angle in PiP mode
This app is extremely quick and polished, but it ultimately falls into the gadget category for me. I have been using it for one weekend, and while at first I had a lot of fun playing with it, I ultimately couldn’t find a use for it in my daily filming. It feels really advanced to be able to use more than one camera at a time, but as a user, you really have to know why you want to be using more than one camera in the first place.
DoubleTake is available today for iOS 13 devices on Apple’s App Store. Though any device on iOS 13 can download it, its headline feature — recording with two cameras — is only supported on the last two generations of iPhones, which includes the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. Filmic says DoubleTake’s features will roll out to the Filmic Pro app later this spring.


theverge--2020-01-27--Facebook, Razer, and LG are restricting employee travel to China amid coronavirus outbreak

Facebook and gaming hardware maker Razer are among the first US technology companies to begin restricting travel to China amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak , while South Korea ’ s LG has implemented a complete ban .
Facebook is halting all non-essential employee travel to the country , and the company is also telling employees who recently returned from China to work from home , according to Bloomberg .
Although Facebook is banned in China , the company does have offices in the country and uses Chinese suppliers for manufacturing its Oculus virtual reality headsets and its Portal family of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known for making popular gaming laptops and accessories , has separately confirmed to The Verge that it is taking similar measures .
“ Our company has already been restricting travel and advising employees to work from home , ” a Razer spokesperson said on Monday .
Razer , like Facebook and countless other tech companies , has offices throughout China and uses Chinese suppliers to manufacturer some its hardware , which includes gaming mice and keyboards , as well as headsets and laptops .
LG has implemented a complete ban on travel to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has advised its employees already in China on business to return home as quickly as possible .
Amazon tells The Verge it is following the guidelines of the World Health Organization , but it didn ’ t say whether it was restricting travel to China .
Kingston ’ s HyperX , another US-based popular gaming accessory brand , declined to comment .
Apple , Google , and Microsoft didn ’ t respond to requests for comment .
This particular instance of the coronavirus , known as 2019-nCoV , is part of the common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the SARS outbreak .
Health officials believe it originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December .
Since then , the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised all US citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China by raising the travel warning to level three on Monday .
There have already been over 100 recorded deaths in China , and there have been more than 4,000 reported cases worldwide , although a vast majority have been concentrated in the Hubei province of China , of which Wuhan is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , five cases have been confirmed in the US .

Facebook and gaming hardware maker Razer are among the first US technology companies to begin restricting travel to China amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, while South Korea’s LG has implemented a complete ban.
Facebook is halting all non-essential employee travel to the country, and the company is also telling employees who recently returned from China to work from home, according to Bloomberg. Although Facebook is banned in China, the company does have offices in the country and uses Chinese suppliers for manufacturing its Oculus virtual reality headsets and its Portal family of video chat devices.
California-based Razer, known for making popular gaming laptops and accessories, has separately confirmed to The Verge that it is taking similar measures. “Our company has already been restricting travel and advising employees to work from home,” a Razer spokesperson said on Monday. Razer, like Facebook and countless other tech companies, has offices throughout China and uses Chinese suppliers to manufacturer some its hardware, which includes gaming mice and keyboards, as well as headsets and laptops.
LG has implemented a complete ban on travel to China, according to Reuters, and has advised its employees already in China on business to return home as quickly as possible.
Related Everything you need to know about the new coronavirus from China
Amazon tells The Verge it is following the guidelines of the World Health Organization, but it didn’t say whether it was restricting travel to China. Kingston’s HyperX, another US-based popular gaming accessory brand, declined to comment. Apple, Google, and Microsoft didn’t respond to requests for comment.
This particular instance of the coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, is part of the common mammalian virus group that in 2002 led to the SARS outbreak. Health officials believe it originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. Since then, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised all US citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China by raising the travel warning to level three on Monday.
There have already been over 100 recorded deaths in China, and there have been more than 4,000 reported cases worldwide, although a vast majority have been concentrated in the Hubei province of China, of which Wuhan is the capital city. Within the last week, five cases have been confirmed in the US.
With reporting by Cameron Faulkner.


theverge--2020-01-28--Hackers hijacked nearly half of the NFL’s Twitter accounts, as well as ESPN and UFC

The social media accounts of almost half of the teams in the National Football League , as well as the official NFL account , were hacked , the NFL said in a statement today .
Some ESPN social media accounts were also “ briefly compromised , ” ESPN said today in a statement to The Verge .
The NFL accounts were hacked on Sunday and Monday .
Many of the hacked NFL tweets promoted the hacker group OurMine , announcing that the hacking collective is “ back ” and that “ everything is hackable.
” OurMine has , perhaps predictably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the BBC .
OurMine also took credit for hacking ESPN ’ s accounts on Tuesday afternoon .
NFL reporter Dov Kleiman collected many screenshots of the hacked pages in this Twitter thread .
Facebook and Instagram accounts for some NFL teams were hacked as well , the BBC reports .
Twitter said it locked the hacked accounts as soon as it was made aware of the issue , according to the BBC .
Most accounts appear to be fully restored .
The @ OurM1ne Twitter account listed in the tweets from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here is the NFL ’ s full statement on the situation : On Monday , the NFL Cybersecurity department became aware of a breach of a league-related social media account .
Targeted breaches and additional failed attempts were discovered across the league and team accounts .
The NFL took immediate action and directed the teams to secure their social media accounts and prevent further unauthorized access .
Simultaneously , the league alerted the social media platform providers and , with their assistance , secured all league and club accounts .
We continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which have resumed normal operations .
The NFL and teams are cooperating with its social media platform providers and law enforcement .
Many of the hacked NFL tweets were sent from a social media tool tool called Khoros , ZDNet reported .
Khoros said that its platform was not compromised , in a statement published by ZDNet on Monday .
Social media posts from ESPN accounts that were apparently posted by OurMine seem to have been deleted already .
Here is ESPN ’ s full statement : OurMine also took responsibility for hacking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after compromising ESPN ’ s accounts .
In the past , OurMine has taken credit for hacking social media accounts owned by Mark Zuckerberg , Jack Dorsey , Sundar Pichai , and HBO , though there hadn ’ t been a reported hack by the group since 2017 .
Yesterday , a person who appears to be connected to OurMine told NBC News that OurMine stopped work in 2017 “ due to some issues ” and that the group is now back .
Update , January 28th , 7:25PM ET : Added information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UFC hack .

On Monday, the NFL Cybersecurity department became aware of a breach of a league-related social media account. Targeted breaches and additional failed attempts were discovered across the league and team accounts. The NFL took immediate action and directed the teams to secure their social media accounts and prevent further unauthorized access. Simultaneously, the league alerted the social media platform providers and, with their assistance, secured all league and club accounts. We continue to work diligently with the teams, which have resumed normal operations.
The NFL and teams are cooperating with its social media platform providers and law enforcement.


theverge--2020-01-28--Apple is limiting China travel and has closed one retail store due to coronavirus outbreak

Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Tuesday that the company began limiting employee travel to China last week amid the coronavirus outbreak , and that Apple has closed one store in mainland China and reduced operating hours for other retail locations .
The announcement is yet more evidence that the virus is affecting the tech industry ’ s presence in one of its most vital markets , both for sales and manufacturing operations .
Numerous other tech companies , including Facebook and LG , are also restricting employee travel to only business critical operations .
Foxconn , one of Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday it did not expect the coronavirus to affect its manufacturing timelines .
Yet it was not clear at the time whether Apple had been experiencing any retail slowdowns in the country due to the outbreak or if it planned on adjusting its manufacturing plans separately .
Apple is limiting travel and has shut down at least one retail store in China Cook made the announcement on a call with investors after Apple ’ s quarterly earnings release , saying , “ We have closed one of our retail stores and a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ storefronts.
” Apple says sales in the area around the city of Wuhan , where the coronavirus outbreak is said to have originated , are low .
But it also said that its retail traffic across the country has been negatively affected due to the situation .
Part of the reason for that is that the Chinese government has extended the Lunar New Year holiday , encouraging people to stay home and avoid unintentionally spreading or contracting the virus .
Cook said Apple has already accounted for the delay in reopening its production @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The company ’ s revenue projections for the upcoming quarter should reflect that , he added .
Additionally , Apple is providing care kits to employees in the Wuhan area , regularly taking the temperature of employees to check for fever and flu-like symptoms indicative of the virus , and aggressively cleaning retail stores and offices .

Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Tuesday that the company began limiting employee travel to China last week amid the coronavirus outbreak, and that Apple has closed one store in mainland China and reduced operating hours for other retail locations.
The announcement is yet more evidence that the virus is affecting the tech industry’s presence in one of its most vital markets, both for sales and manufacturing operations. Numerous other tech companies, including Facebook and LG, are also restricting employee travel to only business critical operations.
Foxconn, one of Apple’s lead supplier, said on Tuesday it did not expect the coronavirus to affect its manufacturing timelines. Yet it was not clear at the time whether Apple had been experiencing any retail slowdowns in the country due to the outbreak or if it planned on adjusting its manufacturing plans separately.
Apple is limiting travel and has shut down at least one retail store in China
Cook made the announcement on a call with investors after Apple’s quarterly earnings release, saying, “We have closed one of our retail stores and a number of channel partners have also closed their storefronts.” Apple says sales in the area around the city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak is said to have originated, are low. But it also said that its retail traffic across the country has been negatively affected due to the situation.
Part of the reason for that is that the Chinese government has extended the Lunar New Year holiday, encouraging people to stay home and avoid unintentionally spreading or contracting the virus. Cook said Apple has already accounted for the delay in reopening its production facilities due to the holiday extension. The company’s revenue projections for the upcoming quarter should reflect that, he added.
Additionally, Apple is providing care kits to employees in the Wuhan area, regularly taking the temperature of employees to check for fever and flu-like symptoms indicative of the virus, and aggressively cleaning retail stores and offices.


theverge--2020-01-28--NASA’s next big space observatory will likely miss its target launch date — again

NASA ’ s next big space observatory — the James Webb Space Telescope — probably won ’ t launch in March 2021 , potentially creating added costs for the long-delayed and over-budget program .
Unforeseen technical problems are prolonging the process of finishing up the telescope , making it increasingly likely that the spacecraft will have to launch at a later date .
The grim news is detailed in the latest report from the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) , which performs audits of federally run programs .
The GAO , which has been keeping a watchful eye on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , claims that there is only a 12 percent chance the agency will meet its March 2021 goal , thanks to a recent analysis done in October by those working on the program .
NASA will figure out a new date in the spring of this year , according to the audit .
A delay would be just the latest hiccup in a long , troubled history A delay would be just the latest hiccup in a long , troubled history for the James Webb Space Telescope , or JWST .
When it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , JWST was thought to cost somewhere between $ 1 billion and $ 3.5 billion , and scientists expected it to launch between 2007 and 2011 .
Since then , the costs skyrocketed , shooting up by 95 percent as the launch date has slipped further ( and further ) into the future .
NASA now expects the total development and operational costs of JWST to run $ 9.66 billion .
The GAO claims that Northrop Grumman , the main contractor on JWST , has come a long way over the last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ readies the observatory for launch .
However , Northrop has eaten up most of the reserve schedule it had budgeted when planning out the timeline for the next couple of years , and now only has less than a quarter of that buffer time left .
The contractor has done some work to get that schedule reserve back , but there ’ s very little margin for error .
Technical issues are to blame for eating up all this precious time , a long-standing problem for Northrop Grumman as it ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused some screws and washers to come lose on the spacecraft , and Northrop Grumman accidentally caused tears in the vehicle ’ s sun shield , a delicate piece of hardware needed to keep the telescope cool in space .
Most recently in 2019 , testing revealed powering issues with two important spacecraft components .
The contractors have addressed the failures , but these mounting technical challenges have caused the workforce to work longer than expected , which may lead to increased costs for the program .
Technical issues are to blame for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s unclear exactly how much a delay will run NASA at this point .
NASA indicated to the GAO that it has enough funding to support a delay of three to four months beyond the March 2021 date .
However , the extra work required of Northrop Grumman ’ s workforce may lead to significant cost overruns .
The GAO isn ’ t making any recommendations with its report , so it ’ s possible there may not be much that NASA can do at this point to keep things on track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request from The Verge in time for publication .
Despite the turmoil it ’ s been through , JWST is still a massive priority for the astronomy community .
Once complete and launched , it ’ ll garner the title of the most powerful space observatory ever built .
The telescope , which will be situated 1 million miles from Earth , sports a giant gold mirror that spans 21 feet ( 6.5 meters ) across , allowing the observatory to see some of the oldest , most distant objects in the Universe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peer back in time when the Universe first burst into being 13.8 billion years ago .
So while the delays have been frustrating , NASA and the astronomy community still want to see the project through .

NASA’s next big space observatory — the James Webb Space Telescope — probably won’t launch in March 2021, potentially creating added costs for the long-delayed and over-budget program. Unforeseen technical problems are prolonging the process of finishing up the telescope, making it increasingly likely that the spacecraft will have to launch at a later date.
The grim news is detailed in the latest report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which performs audits of federally run programs. The GAO, which has been keeping a watchful eye on the telescope’s development for years, claims that there is only a 12 percent chance the agency will meet its March 2021 goal, thanks to a recent analysis done in October by those working on the program. NASA will figure out a new date in the spring of this year, according to the audit.
A delay would be just the latest hiccup in a long, troubled history
A delay would be just the latest hiccup in a long, troubled history for the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST. When it was first being conceived in the 1990s, JWST was thought to cost somewhere between $1 billion and $3.5 billion, and scientists expected it to launch between 2007 and 2011. Since then, the costs skyrocketed, shooting up by 95 percent as the launch date has slipped further (and further) into the future. NASA now expects the total development and operational costs of JWST to run $9.66 billion.
The GAO claims that Northrop Grumman, the main contractor on JWST, has come a long way over the last year, and made significant milestones as it readies the observatory for launch. However, Northrop has eaten up most of the reserve schedule it had budgeted when planning out the timeline for the next couple of years, and now only has less than a quarter of that buffer time left. The contractor has done some work to get that schedule reserve back, but there’s very little margin for error.
Technical issues are to blame for eating up all this precious time, a long-standing problem for Northrop Grumman as it’s been piecing together JWST. Testing in 2018 caused some screws and washers to come lose on the spacecraft, and Northrop Grumman accidentally caused tears in the vehicle’s sun shield, a delicate piece of hardware needed to keep the telescope cool in space. Most recently in 2019, testing revealed powering issues with two important spacecraft components. The contractors have addressed the failures, but these mounting technical challenges have caused the workforce to work longer than expected, which may lead to increased costs for the program.
Technical issues are to blame for eating up all this precious time
It’s unclear exactly how much a delay will run NASA at this point. NASA indicated to the GAO that it has enough funding to support a delay of three to four months beyond the March 2021 date. However, the extra work required of Northrop Grumman’s workforce may lead to significant cost overruns.
The GAO isn’t making any recommendations with its report, so it’s possible there may not be much that NASA can do at this point to keep things on track. In response to the audit, NASA argued that the telescope has met a lot of milestones in 2019, and that the year ahead will be extremely busy, too. In 2020, the observatory will go through a series of environmental testing to ensure it can survive in the harsh vacuum of space. That testing should last until November, according to the space agency.
“We’ve reduced a lot of risk, but there are still technical challenges ahead to prepare this very complex observatory for launch,” Gregory Robinson, the program director for the James Webb Space Telescope, said in a statement to The Verge. “While the schedule for the March 2021 launch readiness date is tight, we are still planning toward that, without any changes to the budget. The schedule will be reviewed again in May 2020.”
Despite the turmoil it’s been through, JWST is still a massive priority for the astronomy community. Once complete and launched, it’ll garner the title of the most powerful space observatory ever built. The telescope, which will be situated 1 million miles from Earth, sports a giant gold mirror that spans 21 feet (6.5 meters) across, allowing the observatory to see some of the oldest, most distant objects in the Universe. It will essentially allow astronomers to peer back in time to when the Universe first burst into being 13.8 billion years ago. So while the delays have been frustrating, NASA and the astronomy community still want to see the project through.


theverge--2020-01-28--Google aims to unify its workplace tools and messaging apps into one service

Google is working on another communications application , this one for workplaces , that will combine several different platforms it already operates , according to a new report from The Information .
This new product is designed to unify different Google services the company sells to businesses , including parts of its G Suite like corporate-grade Gmail and Google Drive .
It would also bundle together the various , somewhat confusing variants of Hangouts .
Once a consumer-focused communications platform , Hangouts is now geared toward enterprise customers .
It has since been split into Hangouts Meet , a video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a real-time text-based successor to Gchat .
But that means Google may be introducing yet another communications platform , or something similar , into an already confounding ecosystem of existing services .
One Google chat app to rule them all Just to take stock , Google has Hangouts , the app it is slowly phasing out in favor of Hangouts Chat and Meet , yet all three are coexisting right now after Google delayed the shutdown of the standard Hangouts .
Then there ’ s the consumer stuff , which still includes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentioned shutdown pertains only to the G Suite version .
( Yes , really . )
That consumer list also includes an RCS-based Android chat app just called Chat and the consumer video chat app Duo .
It used to include the Gmail alternative email client Inbox and the mobile chat app Allo , but those two were unceremoniously killed .
Then there ’ s Android Messages , Google ’ s custom SMS app that is supposed to be superseded by the RCS-based Chat , and the defunct Gchat , which got replaced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oh yeah , and Google Voice still exists , although Google has said in the past that it wants to integrate many of Voice ’ s features into Hangouts Meet .
So Voice may one day go away as well .
As for why Google is planning yet another app , The Information reports that it could be a way for Google to win over enterprise customers who ’ ve moved all their communication , chat and otherwise , into central collaboration hubs like Microsoft Teams and Slack .
Both of those products @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calling features and also integrate with countless other productivity apps and workplace tools like Dropbox and Salesforce .
Google doesn ’ t yet have something similar as part of G Suite .

Google is working on another communications application, this one for workplaces, that will combine several different platforms it already operates, according to a new report from The Information. This new product is designed to unify different Google services the company sells to businesses, including parts of its G Suite like corporate-grade Gmail and Google Drive.
It would also bundle together the various, somewhat confusing variants of Hangouts. Once a consumer-focused communications platform, Hangouts is now geared toward enterprise customers. It has since been split into Hangouts Meet, a video chat app, and Hangouts Chat, a real-time text-based successor to Gchat. But that means Google may be introducing yet another communications platform, or something similar, into an already confounding ecosystem of existing services.
One Google chat app to rule them all
Just to take stock, Google has Hangouts, the app it is slowly phasing out in favor of Hangouts Chat and Meet, yet all three are coexisting right now after Google delayed the shutdown of the standard Hangouts. Then there’s the consumer stuff, which still includes the consumer version of Hangouts as the above mentioned shutdown pertains only to the G Suite version. (Yes, really.)
That consumer list also includes an RCS-based Android chat app just called Chat and the consumer video chat app Duo. It used to include the Gmail alternative email client Inbox and the mobile chat app Allo, but those two were unceremoniously killed.
Then there’s Android Messages, Google’s custom SMS app that is supposed to be superseded by the RCS-based Chat, and the defunct Gchat, which got replaced by Hangouts a few years back. Oh yeah, and Google Voice still exists, although Google has said in the past that it wants to integrate many of Voice’s features into Hangouts Meet. So Voice may one day go away as well.


theverge--2020-01-28--US colleges are trying to install location tracking apps on students’ phones

Barely over a year ago , we pointed out how dystopian it seemed when Chinese schools added “ smart uniforms ” to track their students ’ attendance .
But US colleges are already testing out a similar tactic with a location tracking app , which students are now apparently expected to install on their phones .
I say “ apparently ” because there ’ s some confusion over whether the schools are actually forcing this on their students .
The Kansas City Star reported that at the University of Missouri , new students “ won ’ t be given a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SpotterEDU app , which uses Apple ’ s iBeacons to broadcast a Bluetooth signal that can help the phone figure out whether a student is actually in a room .
But a university spokesperson told Campus Reform on Sunday that only athletes are technically required to use the app , and a new statement from the university on Monday not only claims that it ’ s “ completely optional ” for students , but that the app ’ s being piloted with fewer than 2 percent of the student body .
What the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uses local Bluetooth signals , not GPS , so it ’ s probably not going to be very useful to track students outside of school .
“ No GPS tracking is enabled , meaning the technology can not locate the students once they leave class , ” reads part of the university ’ s statement .
Dozens of schools are trying these apps now SpotterEDU isn ’ t just used at the University of Missouri , though — it ’ s being tested at nearly 40 schools , company founder and former college @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post in December .
The Post ’ s story makes it sound remarkably effective , with one Syracuse professor attesting that classes have never been so full , with more than 90 percent attendance .
But that same professor attested that an earlier version of the app did have access to GPS coordinates , if only for a student to proactively share their location with a teacher .
And Spotter isn ’ t the only company marketing this idea to administrators : another startup , Degree Analytics , uses Wi-Fi signals instead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Post reports .
In September , The New York Times wrote about a similar app from a company called FanMaker that provides “ loyalty points ” to students who stick around to watch college sports games at the stadium instead of skipping out .
That app is in use at 40 schools , the Times wrote .
It doesn ’ t seem like any of these specific systems are particularly invasive , and it currently sounds like ( most ) students will be able to opt out .
But it also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ locations is being quietly normalized , in a way that smacks of surveillance ( compare to how some previous pilot programs attempted to track students equipped with RFID-embedded ID cards ) .
It ’ s not unthinkable that future apps might tell schools more about students ’ behavior , and that it may become harder to say no .

Barely over a year ago, we pointed out how dystopian it seemed when Chinese schools added “smart uniforms” to track their students’ attendance. But US colleges are already testing out a similar tactic with a location tracking app, which students are now apparently expected to install on their phones.
I say “apparently” because there’s some confusion over whether the schools are actually forcing this on their students. The Kansas City Star reported that at the University of Missouri, new students “won’t be given a choice” of whether to install the SpotterEDU app, which uses Apple’s iBeacons to broadcast a Bluetooth signal that can help the phone figure out whether a student is actually in a room.
But a university spokesperson told Campus Reform on Sunday that only athletes are technically required to use the app, and a new statement from the university on Monday not only claims that it’s “completely optional” for students, but that the app’s being piloted with fewer than 2 percent of the student body.
What the reports do agree on: the app uses local Bluetooth signals, not GPS, so it’s probably not going to be very useful to track students outside of school. “No GPS tracking is enabled, meaning the technology cannot locate the students once they leave class,” reads part of the university’s statement.
Dozens of schools are trying these apps now
SpotterEDU isn’t just used at the University of Missouri, though — it’s being tested at nearly 40 schools, company founder and former college basketball coach Rick Carter told The Washington Post in December. The Post’s story makes it sound remarkably effective, with one Syracuse professor attesting that classes have never been so full, with more than 90 percent attendance. But that same professor attested that an earlier version of the app did have access to GPS coordinates, if only for a student to proactively share their location with a teacher.
And Spotter isn’t the only company marketing this idea to administrators: another startup, Degree Analytics, uses Wi-Fi signals instead of Bluetooth to serve an additional 19 schools, the Post reports. In September, The New York Times wrote about a similar app from a company called FanMaker that provides “loyalty points” to students who stick around to watch college sports games at the stadium instead of skipping out. That app is in use at 40 schools, the Times wrote.
It doesn’t seem like any of these specific systems are particularly invasive, and it currently sounds like (most) students will be able to opt out. But it also sounds like the idea of tracking students’ locations is being quietly normalized, in a way that smacks of surveillance (compare to how some previous pilot programs attempted to track students equipped with RFID-embedded ID cards).


theverge--2020-01-28--Apple’s iPhone 11 and AirPods help company hit a new revenue record

Apple reported its first quarter results for fiscal year 2020 this afternoon , offering an important look into the company ’ s holiday sales quarter and momentum of Apple ’ s various services .
The company posted earnings of $ 4.99 per share and revenue of $ 91.8 billion .
Both outperformed analyst expectations , which were $ 4.54 earnings per share and revenue of around $ 88.43 billion .
“ We are thrilled to report Apple ’ s highest quarterly revenue ever , fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models , and all-time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release .
“ During the holiday quarter our active installed base of devices grew in each of our geographic segments and has now reached over 1.5 billion.
” Apple had estimated revenue to fall between $ 85.5 billion and $ 89.5 billion for the quarter .
It ’ s certainly an improvement over the year-ago quarter , which Tim Cook headed off with a letter to investors that warned of slower-than-anticipated iPhone upgrades .
This is the first full quarter during which the iPhone 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Max have been on sale .
And while iPhone sales have largely leveled off in recent years , the holiday period still made for a modest bump .
Apple ’ s latest phones include the best camera system that the company has offered in years , and they successfully bring the iPhone neck and neck with Google ’ s Pixel lineup for still photos .
Apple continues to lead the pack in video recording capabilities , but that ’ s something Samsung is no doubt hoping to change with its upcoming Galaxy S20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capture video in 8K resolution .
Outside of the iPhone , Apple ’ s hardware business was buoyed by a new entry-level iPad , the Apple Watch Series 5 , and above all else , AirPods .
In October , Apple announced the AirPods Pro , which feature a new design and added active noise cancellation to the hugely popular earbuds for the first time .
This , combined with the existing models of AirPods , made for a popular holiday gift .
A month later , the 16-inch MacBook Pro was introduced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and a physical Escape key .
More importantly , the device also began Apple ’ s move away from the problematic butterfly keyboard that has adversely affected the reputation of the MacBook lineup over the last several years .
That transition is expected to continue in 2020 .
Apple ended 2019 with the release of the Mac Pro , the top-tier , modular desktop tower positioned as the Mac that professionals had long been asking for .
But wearables were the big hardware story this quarter , up 37 percent year over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ segments both down compared to the 2019 holiday quarter .
Cook told Reuters that Apple couldn ’ t meet demand for AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 3 during the quarter .
The Series 3 watch , though not the newest , was heavily discounted during Black Friday and throughout the holiday shopping season .
Apple ’ s services business , widely viewed as the company ’ s long-term answer for revenue growth , continued its impressive climb in the first quarter and was up 17 percent year over year .
Apple TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s original video efforts , got off to a strong start on November 1st , boosted by the free year-long subscription that Apple bundled with new hardware purchases .
The company quickly picked up its first Golden Globe nominations for The Morning Show — though it ended up getting snubbed at the awards show , thanks to fierce competition from Netflix , HBO , and other content rivals .
Looking ahead , Apple is rumored to be nearing the release of an “ iPhone 9 ” sometime this spring .
The device is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ option that takes after the iPhone 8 in design and the iPhone SE in price point .
New iPad Pros are due in the coming months , with reports claiming that the updated tablet will borrow the iPhone 11 Pro ’ s camera system and feature Mini LED backlighting .

Apple reported its first quarter results for fiscal year 2020 this afternoon, offering an important look into the company’s holiday sales quarter and momentum of Apple’s various services. The company posted earnings of $4.99 per share and revenue of $91.8 billion. Both outperformed analyst expectations, which were $4.54 earnings per share and revenue of around $88.43 billion.
“We are thrilled to report Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for Services and Wearables,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release. “During the holiday quarter our active installed base of devices grew in each of our geographic segments and has now reached over 1.5 billion.”
Apple had estimated revenue to fall between $85.5 billion and $89.5 billion for the quarter. It’s certainly an improvement over the year-ago quarter, which Tim Cook headed off with a letter to investors that warned of slower-than-anticipated iPhone upgrades.
This is the first full quarter during which the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max have been on sale. And while iPhone sales have largely leveled off in recent years, the holiday period still made for a modest bump. Apple’s latest phones include the best camera system that the company has offered in years, and they successfully bring the iPhone neck and neck with Google’s Pixel lineup for still photos. Apple continues to lead the pack in video recording capabilities, but that’s something Samsung is no doubt hoping to change with its upcoming Galaxy S20, which will reportedly be able to capture video in 8K resolution.
Outside of the iPhone, Apple’s hardware business was buoyed by a new entry-level iPad, the Apple Watch Series 5, and above all else, AirPods. In October, Apple announced the AirPods Pro, which feature a new design and added active noise cancellation to the hugely popular earbuds for the first time. This, combined with the existing models of AirPods, made for a popular holiday gift.
A month later, the 16-inch MacBook Pro was introduced with improved performance, greatly enhanced speakers, and a physical Escape key. More importantly, the device also began Apple’s move away from the problematic butterfly keyboard that has adversely affected the reputation of the MacBook lineup over the last several years. That transition is expected to continue in 2020. Apple ended 2019 with the release of the Mac Pro, the top-tier, modular desktop tower positioned as the Mac that professionals had long been asking for.
But wearables were the big hardware story this quarter, up 37 percent year over year, with the iPad and Mac segments both down compared to the 2019 holiday quarter. Cook told Reuters that Apple couldn’t meet demand for AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 3 during the quarter. The Series 3 watch, though not the newest, was heavily discounted during Black Friday and throughout the holiday shopping season.
Related How Apple makes billions of dollars selling services
Apple’s services business, widely viewed as the company’s long-term answer for revenue growth, continued its impressive climb in the first quarter and was up 17 percent year over year. Apple TV Plus, the home of Apple’s original video efforts, got off to a strong start on November 1st, boosted by the free year-long subscription that Apple bundled with new hardware purchases. The company quickly picked up its first Golden Globe nominations for The Morning Show — though it ended up getting snubbed at the awards show, thanks to fierce competition from Netflix, HBO, and other content rivals.


theverge--2020-01-28--Iran’s favorite ride-sharing app was secretly available on the App Store

A popular Iranian ride-sharing app that was kicked off the App Store appeared to return this week under a new name , despite American sanctions .
Iran has faced years of sanctions from the United States , most recently after the country responded to the killing of General Qasem Soleimani by firing missiles on military bases in Iraq that housed US troops .
In 2017 , after a round of US sanctions were placed against the country , Apple removed several Iranian apps from its App Store to stay in compliance .
Among those apps was an Uber-like ride-hailing service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be popular in the country .
This week , though , some iPhone users noticed something strange about an app called RadickRadio .
While the app appeared to be some sort of streaming radio service , users accessing it from an Iranian IP address were able to use Snapp instead .
Video of the issue quickly popped up on social media : After being alerted to the app , Apple removed RadickRadio from its store , but declined to comment further .
Snapp and RadickRadio did not respond to requests for comment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hit a boiling point this year after the Soleimani killing , and the tech industry will inevitably continue to be caught up in sanctions .
The incident illustrates the difficulty of keeping up with geopolitical policy in a digital world .

A popular Iranian ride-sharing app that was kicked off the App Store appeared to return this week under a new name, despite American sanctions.
Iran has faced years of sanctions from the United States, most recently after the country responded to the killing of General Qasem Soleimani by firing missiles on military bases in Iraq that housed US troops.
In 2017, after a round of US sanctions were placed against the country, Apple removed several Iranian apps from its App Store to stay in compliance. Among those apps was an Uber-like ride-hailing service called Snapp, which has proven to be popular in the country.
This week, though, some iPhone users noticed something strange about an app called RadickRadio. While the app appeared to be some sort of streaming radio service, users accessing it from an Iranian IP address were able to use Snapp instead.
Video of the issue quickly popped up on social media:
After being alerted to the app, Apple removed RadickRadio from its store, but declined to comment further. Snapp and RadickRadio did not respond to requests for comment.