aRTy News – 2018-12-08
Mobile Carriers Lie About Coverage
At least, that’s what’s suspected. Unfortunately, this is slowing down expansion of 4G LTE coverage in rural areas. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) was in the process of allowing companies to bid on areas where they can expand with federal subsidies to offset the cost of the expansion.
These subsidies go to the lowest bidder, greatly reducing the cost to build out these otherwise untouched areas. But, it is suspected that at least one of the companies has fudged their coverage, in an attempt to block a competitor from bidding too close to their territory.
Military Discount on Apple Store
Apple has rolled out a 10% discount on a selection of products in its online store specifically for Active Duty military and Veterans. So, if you’ve been wanting a new iPhone XS, MacBook, or Apple Watch Series 4, head over to the store and claim your discount.
25 Hour Laptop Batteries
Apparently, the hot new thing for this holiday season in computer tech, is the “always on, always connected” PC. These laptops have embedded SIM cards (eSIM cards), which allow them to connect to cell towers and provide constant internet.
But the real selling point, apparently, is the battery life. According to manufacturers, most of the devices have not had their cell service activated yet, but people are reporting their enthusiasm over being able to use the devices for so long between charges.
Eastern European Banks Hacked
This article is a bit scant on the names of banks or hacker groups involved, but it’s still a provocative story.
In a life imitates art kind of way, several Eastern European banks were hacked when devices like laptops, Raspberry Pi computers, and USB thumb drives were connected to their networks.
Something straight out of Mister Robot, how scary and neat at the same time!
AI has to Unlearn Gender Bias
Google has begun work on making language translations inclusive of both sexes. They give the example of the Turkish phrase, “o bir doktor,” which Google will now Translate as both “He is a doctor,” and “She is a doctor.” Previously it would only return, “He is a doctor.”
I’m against being overly sensitive about language on a day-to-day basis, but removing bias is definitely a good thing. Think of it like stereotype bias, if we continually only associate men with doctor, or nurse with women we create the stereotype feedback loop.
Remember yesterday’s snippet about Russia’s gender equality in STEM careers? This is a step towards creating equality, even if it’s a small step.