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Microsoft Adds NewsGuard to Edge Browser for iOS to Warn Users of Untrustworthy Sites

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Going forward, regular users of Microsoft's Edge mobile browser for iOS can expect to receive warnings when they visit untrustworthy news sites.

The company's browser is integrating NewsGuard, a green-red rating system founded by journalists Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz that evaluates websites using a set of criteria, including the use of deceptive headlines, fake news history, and financial and ownership transparency.

NewsGuard also provides "Nutrition Label" write-ups of more than 2,000 news and information sites that account for 96 percent of online engagement in the U.S. in English.

NewsGuard has existed for some time as an optional privacy extension for Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge desktop browsers, but Microsoft's decision to integrate it into its mobile browser signals a greater concern for preventing users' exposure to purveyors of false or misleading news or disinformation online.

As an example of NewsGuard's yardstick for untrustworthiness, The Guardian reports the Edge mobile is now warning users that the Daily Mail's website, Mail Online, "generally fails to maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability" and "has been forced to pay damages in numerous high-profile cases." Visitors to Russia's state-sponsored RT News website receive a similar warning.

NewsGuard's Steven Brill told The Guardian it takes full responsibility for its ratings. "They can blame us. And we're happy to be blamed," he said. "Unlike the platforms we're happy to be accountable. We want people to game our system. We are totally transparent. We are not an algorithm."

(Via The Verge.)

Tag: Microsoft Edge

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Galaxy M20, M10 Added to the Official List of Samsung Devices that will Receive Android 9 Pie

via News – MySmartPrice http://bit.ly/2HuXsZJ

Amazon Pulls Echo Wall Clock Over Connectivity Issues

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Amazon has pulled its Echo Wall Clock over concerns about connectivity issues, just a little over a month since it began shipping the product.

The Wall Clock's lack of availability on the Amazon website was first spotted by The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern before being confirmed by Amazon in a statement given to The Verge.

"We're aware that a small number of customers have had issues with connectivity. We're working hard to address this and plan to make Echo Wall Clock available again in the coming weeks."

Announced in September along with several other Alexa-enabled products, Amazon's Wall Clock costs $29.99 and performs the expected Alexa and Echo tasks while also telling the time.

It runs on four AA batteries and connects to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for setup, but requires the user to own a standard Echo to access all the features, which include displaying timers on the clock face.

Customers who received a clock before they were delisted and have experienced connectivity issues are advised to contact Amazon to arrange a refund.

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Echo

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Instagram Denies Limiting the Reach of User Posts

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Instagram has moved to address rumors that it actively suppresses the reach of user posts on the social network.

In a statement posted on its official Twitter account, Instagram said that it has not made any recent changes to the way its feed algorithms work and that "we never hide posts from people you're following - if you keep scrolling, you will see them all."

Instagram explained that the order of posts in a feed is determined by the level of user interaction – in other words, like its parent network Facebook, posts on Instagram are organized by potential level of engagement rather than in chronological order.

What shows up first in your feed is determined by what posts and accounts you engage with the most, as well as other contributing factors such as the timeliness of posts, how often you use Instagram, how many people you follow, etc.
— Instagram (@instagram) January 22, 2019

We have not made any recent changes to feed ranking, and we never hide posts from people you're following – if you keep scrolling, you will see them all. Again, your feed is personalized to you and evolves over time based on how you use Instagram.✌️
— Instagram (@instagram) January 22, 2019

Instagram adopted Facebook's algorithmic feed way back in June 2016. A study by Instagram itself found that before the algorithm was introduced, on average, users missed 70 percent of the posts on their feeds and 50 percent of the posts from their friends.

After the algorithm though, Instagram's users see 90 percent of their friends' posts. Given those figures, recent rumors that the platform have been limiting the reach of posts could just well be the result of some users not scrolling down far enough.

Tag: Instagram

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Xiaomi Reveals Dual-Folding Flexible Phone in Teaser Video

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Amidst increasing hype about foldable displays, Xiaomi has revealed that it is also working on its own flexible phone.

The Chinese mobile maker broke the news with a teaser video posted on Weibo that shows Xiaomi president and co-founder Lin Bin using what at first looks like a normal tablet device, until he folds back both sides of the display so that it resembles a distinctly phone-like form factor.

The physical power button is side-mounted on the device when in landscape orientation, which places it in a top-center location when in phone mode. In a neat touch, the size and orientation of the user interface also automatically adjusts in order to conform to the new dimensions of the display.

In a message accompanying the post, Bin wrote that the device is the result of the company overcoming technical challenges relating to folding displays, foldable hinges, flexible covers, and UI adaptation.

Bin admitted that what he hopes will become "the world's first dual-folding phone" is still just a prototype at this stage, but said that the company will consider mass producing it if the response from consumers is positive. Bin floated two possible names for the phone – the Mi Dual Flex and the Mi MIX Flex – although he said Xiaomi is open to suggestions from the public.

Last year, Samsung showed off its new Infinity Flex display technology in a device that features a 7.3-inch flexible display that can be folded in half. The company said it had developed an advanced composite polymer that's "flexible and tough" to replace the glass that's usually used as a display cover in smartphones.

Samsung is expected to formally announce its first commercially available foldable phone during its Galaxy S10 event on February 20 in San Francisco, California.

Rumors that Apple is developing an iPhone with a foldable display stretch back to December 2016, when it was reported that LG's display division would begin mass-producing foldable displays for smartphones as early as 2018. Apple was said to have chosen to work with LG Display and not Samsung out of fears that Samsung could get ahold of the sensitive tech.

LG is said to have created a dedicated task force to start developing a foldable OLED display for a future iPhone, while its siser company LG Innotek has a team developing a rigid flexible printed circuit board or (RFPCB) to go along with it.

LG has shown off several foldable display prototypes over recent years, including one that folds over like a book and a second that rolls up much like a newspaper.

Tag: Xiaomi

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