SpaceX has launched its seventeenth batch of Starlink satellites during its first mission of 2021, using a Falcon 9 rocket that was flying for the eighth time, and that landed again, recording a record for its reusability program. This puts the total Starlink constellation size at almost 1,000, as the company has expanded its beta access program for the service to the U.K. and Canada, with a first deployment in the latter country serving a rural First Nations community in a remote part of the province of Ontario.The launch took off from Florida at 8:02 AM EST (5:02 AM PST), with delivery of...…SpaceX has launched its seventeenth batch of Starlink satellites during its first mission of 2021, using a Falcon 9 rocket that was flying for the eighth time, and that landed again, recording a record for its reusability program. This puts the total Starlink constellation size at almost 1,000, as the company has expanded its beta access program for the service to the U.K. and Canada, with a first deployment in the latter country serving a rural First Nations community in a remote part of the province of Ontario.The launch took off from Florida at 8:02 AM EST (5:02 AM PST), with delivery of...WW…

Alibaba’s billionaire founder resurfaced as he spoke to 100 rural teachers through a video call, three months after his last public appearance in October, sending the e-commerce firm’s shares up more than 8% in Hong Kong.A recording of the call was first posted on a backed by the government of Zhejiang, the eastern province where Alibaba is headquartered, and the video was verified by an Alibaba spokesperson.after media reported in December that he skipped the taping of a TV program he created. Ma, known for his love for the limelight, has seen his e-commerce empire Alibaba and fintech...…Alibaba’s billionaire founder resurfaced as he spoke to 100 rural teachers through a video call, three months after his last public appearance in October, sending the e-commerce firm’s shares up more than 8% in Hong Kong.A recording of the call was first posted on a backed by the government of Zhejiang, the eastern province where Alibaba is headquartered, and the video was verified by an Alibaba spokesperson.after media reported in December that he skipped the taping of a TV program he created. Ma, known for his love for the limelight, has seen his e-commerce empire Alibaba and fintech...WW…

Apple today announced a new editorial franchise called Apple Podcasts Spotlight, which aims to highlight rising podcast creators in the U.S. The editorial team at Apple will select new podcast creators to feature every month and then give them prominent screen real estate in the Apple Podcasts app and promote them across social media and elsewhere. This will allow creators to reach a wider audience, similar to how the App Store showcases a selection of recommended apps and games with large banners at the top of its screen.The first Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, who hosts the...…Apple today announced a new editorial franchise called Apple Podcasts Spotlight, which aims to highlight rising podcast creators in the U.S. The editorial team at Apple will select new podcast creators to feature every month and then give them prominent screen real estate in the Apple Podcasts app and promote them across social media and elsewhere. This will allow creators to reach a wider audience, similar to how the App Store showcases a selection of recommended apps and games with large banners at the top of its screen.The first Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, who hosts the...WW…

India has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the planned change to its privacy policy, posing a new headache to the Facebook-owned service that identifies the South Asian nation as its biggest market by users.In an email to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, the nation’s IT ministry said the upcoming update to the app’s data-sharing policy has raised “grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens… Therefore, you are called upon to withdraw the proposed changes.”The ministry is additionally seeking clarification from WhatsApp on its data-sharing agreement with...…India has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the planned change to its privacy policy, posing a new headache to the Facebook-owned service that identifies the South Asian nation as its biggest market by users.In an email to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, the nation’s IT ministry said the upcoming update to the app’s data-sharing policy has raised “grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens… Therefore, you are called upon to withdraw the proposed changes.”The ministry is additionally seeking clarification from WhatsApp on its data-sharing agreement with...WW…

learning systems for everything from creating playlists to driving cars, but like any tool, they can be bent toward dangerous and unethical purposes, as well. Today’s illustration of this fact is a new paper from Stanford researchers, who have created a machine learning system that they claim can tell from a few pictures whether a person is gay or straight.The research is as surprising as it is disconcerting. In addition to exposing an already vulnerable population to a new form of systematized abuse, it strikes directly at the egalitarian notion that we can’t (and shouldn’t) judge a person...…learning systems for everything from creating playlists to driving cars, but like any tool, they can be bent toward dangerous and unethical purposes, as well. Today’s illustration of this fact is a new paper from Stanford researchers, who have created a machine learning system that they claim can tell from a few pictures whether a person is gay or straight.The research is as surprising as it is disconcerting. In addition to exposing an already vulnerable population to a new form of systematized abuse, it strikes directly at the egalitarian notion that we can’t (and shouldn’t) judge a person...WW…

The idea for started with a tweet about reinventing social media.A day later cryptography researcher, Nadim Kobeissi — best known for authoring the open-source E2E-encrypted desktop chat app Cryptocat (now discontinued) — had pulled in a pre-seed investment of $100,000 for his lightweight mesh-networked microservices concept, with support coming from angel investor andI'm designing a decentralized social media solution where each user hosts their own microservice. These then connect to one another in a mesh, allowing following and sharing posts. It will be lightweight, user friendly and...…The idea for started with a tweet about reinventing social media.A day later cryptography researcher, Nadim Kobeissi — best known for authoring the open-source E2E-encrypted desktop chat app Cryptocat (now discontinued) — had pulled in a pre-seed investment of $100,000 for his lightweight mesh-networked microservices concept, with support coming from angel investor andI'm designing a decentralized social media solution where each user hosts their own microservice. These then connect to one another in a mesh, allowing following and sharing posts. It will be lightweight, user friendly and...WW…

As fears over WhatsApp’s privacy policies send millions of users in the West to Signal and Telegram, the two encrypted apps are also seeing a slight user uptick in China, where WeChat has long dominated and the government has a tight grip on online communication.Following WhatsApp’s reminding users that it shares their data with its parent Facebook, people began fleeing to alternate encrypted platforms. Telegram added 25 million just between January 10-13, the company said on its official Telegram channel, while Signal surged to the top of the App Store and Google Play Store in dozens of...…As fears over WhatsApp’s privacy policies send millions of users in the West to Signal and Telegram, the two encrypted apps are also seeing a slight user uptick in China, where WeChat has long dominated and the government has a tight grip on online communication.Following WhatsApp’s reminding users that it shares their data with its parent Facebook, people began fleeing to alternate encrypted platforms. Telegram added 25 million just between January 10-13, the company said on its official Telegram channel, while Signal surged to the top of the App Store and Google Play Store in dozens of...WW…

Virgin Orbit launched its LauncherOne rocket to orbit for the first time today, with a successful demonstration mission that carried a handful of satellites and delivered them successfully to low Earth orbit on behalf of NASA. It’s a crucial milestone for the small satellite launch company, and the first time the company has shown that its hybrid carrier aircraft/small payload orbital delivery rocket works as intended, which should set the company up to begin commercial operations of its launch system very soon.This is the second attempt at reaching orbit for Virgin Orbit, after a first try...…Virgin Orbit launched its LauncherOne rocket to orbit for the first time today, with a successful demonstration mission that carried a handful of satellites and delivered them successfully to low Earth orbit on behalf of NASA. It’s a crucial milestone for the small satellite launch company, and the first time the company has shown that its hybrid carrier aircraft/small payload orbital delivery rocket works as intended, which should set the company up to begin commercial operations of its launch system very soon.This is the second attempt at reaching orbit for Virgin Orbit, after a first try...WW…

WhatsApp said on Friday that it won’t enforce the planned update to its data-sharing policy until May 15, weeks after news about the new terms created confusion among its users, exposed the Facebook app to , and drove tens of millions of its loyal fans to explore alternative messaging apps.“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. We’ll then go to people...…WhatsApp said on Friday that it won’t enforce the planned update to its data-sharing policy until May 15, weeks after news about the new terms created confusion among its users, exposed the Facebook app to , and drove tens of millions of its loyal fans to explore alternative messaging apps.“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. We’ll then go to people...WW…

WhatsApp is facing a legal challenge in India, its biggest market, after a petition was filed Thursday before Delhi High Court over the upcoming change in the Facebook-owned app’s data-sharing policy.The petition alleges the that WhatsApp requires its in the country to accept is a violation of their fundamental rights to privacy and poses a threat to national security.Through an in-app alert, WhatsApp has asked users in recent days to agree to new terms of conditions that grants the app the consent to share with Facebook some personal data about them, such as their phone number and...…WhatsApp is facing a legal challenge in India, its biggest market, after a petition was filed Thursday before Delhi High Court over the upcoming change in the Facebook-owned app’s data-sharing policy.The petition alleges the that WhatsApp requires its in the country to accept is a violation of their fundamental rights to privacy and poses a threat to national security.Through an in-app alert, WhatsApp has asked users in recent days to agree to new terms of conditions that grants the app the consent to share with Facebook some personal data about them, such as their phone number and...WW…

Cryptocurrency exchange company is acquiring and announcing a new product today based on Blockrize’s work. Later this year, the company is launching a credit card that works like a regular credit card — but you earn bitcoin rewards based on your purchases.The credit card will work like any other credit card and will be available in the U.S. Customers will earn up to 3% in bitcoin rewards (again, up to 3%). You’ll be able to earn other crypto assets as well. Those rewards will be deposited on your Gemini account.This isn’t the first time a company is announcing a credit card with bitcoin...…Cryptocurrency exchange company is acquiring and announcing a new product today based on Blockrize’s work. Later this year, the company is launching a credit card that works like a regular credit card — but you earn bitcoin rewards based on your purchases.The credit card will work like any other credit card and will be available in the U.S. Customers will earn up to 3% in bitcoin rewards (again, up to 3%). You’ll be able to earn other crypto assets as well. Those rewards will be deposited on your Gemini account.This isn’t the first time a company is announcing a credit card with bitcoin...WW…

In a brief announcement today, the Canadian nuclear fusion technology developer announced that the investment firm created by Shopify founder Tobias Lütke has joined the company’s cap table.The size of the investment made by Lütke’s Thistledown Capital was not disclosed, but with the addition, General Fusion has the founders of the two biggest e-commerce companies in the Western world on its cap table.Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, first invested in the company nearly a decade ago and General Fusion has been steadily raising cash since that time. In 2019, the company...…In a brief announcement today, the Canadian nuclear fusion technology developer announced that the investment firm created by Shopify founder Tobias Lütke has joined the company’s cap table.The size of the investment made by Lütke’s Thistledown Capital was not disclosed, but with the addition, General Fusion has the founders of the two biggest e-commerce companies in the Western world on its cap table.Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, first invested in the company nearly a decade ago and General Fusion has been steadily raising cash since that time. In 2019, the company...WW…

Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have created a set of fish-shaped underwater robots that can autonomously navigate and find each other, cooperating to perform tasks or just placidly school together.Just as aerial drones are proving themselves useful in industry after industry, underwater drones could revolutionize ecology, shipping and other areas where a persistent underwater presence is desirable but difficult.The last few years have seen interesting new autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, but the most common type is pretty much a torpedo...…Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have created a set of fish-shaped underwater robots that can autonomously navigate and find each other, cooperating to perform tasks or just placidly school together.Just as aerial drones are proving themselves useful in industry after industry, underwater drones could revolutionize ecology, shipping and other areas where a persistent underwater presence is desirable but difficult.The last few years have seen interesting new autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, but the most common type is pretty much a torpedo...WW…

Researchers have created a machine learning system that they claim can determine a person’s political party, with reasonable accuracy, based only on their face. The study, from a group that also showed that sexual preference can seemingly be inferred this way, candidly addresses and carefully avoids the pitfalls of “modern phrenology,” leading to the uncomfortable conclusion that our appearance may express more personal information that we think.The study, which appeared this week , was conducted by Stanford University’s Michal Kosinski. Kosinski made headlines in 2017 with work that .The...…Researchers have created a machine learning system that they claim can determine a person’s political party, with reasonable accuracy, based only on their face. The study, from a group that also showed that sexual preference can seemingly be inferred this way, candidly addresses and carefully avoids the pitfalls of “modern phrenology,” leading to the uncomfortable conclusion that our appearance may express more personal information that we think.The study, which appeared this week , was conducted by Stanford University’s Michal Kosinski. Kosinski made headlines in 2017 with work that .The...WW…

to the races!Last night, Affirm priced its IPO above its raised range , a sign that the public markets remain hungry for new listings. Provided that Affirm today trades similarly to how it priced, we could be looking at a 2021 IPO market that resembles last year’s heated results.The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it , or get every Saturday.That’s good news for a host of companies looking to follow in the financial technology unicorn’s footsteps.Poshmark prices tonight and trades tomorrow. With along , , and , we’re heading into another busy IPO quarter. Affirm’s...…to the races!Last night, Affirm priced its IPO above its raised range , a sign that the public markets remain hungry for new listings. Provided that Affirm today trades similarly to how it priced, we could be looking at a 2021 IPO market that resembles last year’s heated results.The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it , or get every Saturday.That’s good news for a host of companies looking to follow in the financial technology unicorn’s footsteps.Poshmark prices tonight and trades tomorrow. With along , , and , we’re heading into another busy IPO quarter. Affirm’s...WW…

The FTC has reached a settlement with Flo, a period and fertility tracking app with 100 million+ users, over allegations it shared users’ health data with third-party app analytics and marketing services like Facebook despite promising to keep users’ sensitive health data private.Flo must obtain an independent review of its privacy practices and obtain app users’ consent before sharing their health information under the terms of the proposed settlement.The action follows a 2019 reports in the that conducted an analysis of a number of apps’ data sharing activity.It found the fertility...…The FTC has reached a settlement with Flo, a period and fertility tracking app with 100 million+ users, over allegations it shared users’ health data with third-party app analytics and marketing services like Facebook despite promising to keep users’ sensitive health data private.Flo must obtain an independent review of its privacy practices and obtain app users’ consent before sharing their health information under the terms of the proposed settlement.The action follows a 2019 reports in the that conducted an analysis of a number of apps’ data sharing activity.It found the fertility...WW…

Mapping the ocean’s floor is a surprisingly vital enterprise, which helps with a range of activities including shipping, coastal protection, and deep-sea resource gathering. It’s also a very costly and time-consuming activity, which can be demanding and dangerous for those involved. is a startup focused on building out autonomous exploratory vessels that can do lots of mapping, while making very little impact on the environment in which they operate, and without requiring any crew on board at all.Saildrone’s newest robotic ocean explorer is the Surveyor, its largest vessel at 72-feet long....…Mapping the ocean’s floor is a surprisingly vital enterprise, which helps with a range of activities including shipping, coastal protection, and deep-sea resource gathering. It’s also a very costly and time-consuming activity, which can be demanding and dangerous for those involved. is a startup focused on building out autonomous exploratory vessels that can do lots of mapping, while making very little impact on the environment in which they operate, and without requiring any crew on board at all.Saildrone’s newest robotic ocean explorer is the Surveyor, its largest vessel at 72-feet long....WW…

Brian Acton is crossing paths again with Facebook. Over more than a decade of building and operating WhatsApp, the company’s co-founder first competed against and then . Only a few years ago he that made him a billionaire in a .Now Acton says the ongoing outrage over what Facebook has done to the messaging service he helped build is driving people to his latest project — Signal. Acton, who serves as the executive chairman of the privacy-conscious messaging app’s holding company, told TechCrunch in an interview that the user base of Signal has “exploded” in recent weeks.“The smallest of...…Brian Acton is crossing paths again with Facebook. Over more than a decade of building and operating WhatsApp, the company’s co-founder first competed against and then . Only a few years ago he that made him a billionaire in a .Now Acton says the ongoing outrage over what Facebook has done to the messaging service he helped build is driving people to his latest project — Signal. Acton, who serves as the executive chairman of the privacy-conscious messaging app’s holding company, told TechCrunch in an interview that the user base of Signal has “exploded” in recent weeks.“The smallest of...WW…

Amazon on Wednesday launched Amazon Academy, a service that will aim to help students in India prepare for entry into the nation’s prestigious engineering college. The American firm is the latest entrant to this market where scores of startups and institutes have launched digital offerings in recent years.The e-commerce giant, which has in the world’s second largest internet market, said offers curated learning material, live lectures, mock tests, and comprehensive assessments to help students learn and practice Math, Physics and Chemistry and prepare for the Joint Entrance Examinations...…Amazon on Wednesday launched Amazon Academy, a service that will aim to help students in India prepare for entry into the nation’s prestigious engineering college. The American firm is the latest entrant to this market where scores of startups and institutes have launched digital offerings in recent years.The e-commerce giant, which has in the world’s second largest internet market, said offers curated learning material, live lectures, mock tests, and comprehensive assessments to help students learn and practice Math, Physics and Chemistry and prepare for the Joint Entrance Examinations...WW…

Roughly eight years ago, investors Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen left Silicon Valley to open a venture firm, , in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t an easy decision. Leaving California wasn’t exactly fashionable at the time. In fact, While Olsen had grown up in Cincinnati, the Yale grad had landed at Sequoia Capital a couple of years out of college — a dream job — and had no interest in going anywhere. Meanwhile, Kvamme is a California native who attended UC Berkeley, grew up immersed in the world of startups (his dad was , and co-founded four companies before himself landing at Sequoia, where among...…Roughly eight years ago, investors Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen left Silicon Valley to open a venture firm, , in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t an easy decision. Leaving California wasn’t exactly fashionable at the time. In fact, While Olsen had grown up in Cincinnati, the Yale grad had landed at Sequoia Capital a couple of years out of college — a dream job — and had no interest in going anywhere. Meanwhile, Kvamme is a California native who attended UC Berkeley, grew up immersed in the world of startups (his dad was , and co-founded four companies before himself landing at Sequoia, where among...WW…

Image Credits: SkyroraU.K. space tech startup is currently the only private company capable of launching rockets from U.K. soil. On Christmas Eve at its testing facility in Fife, Scotland, the team performed a third-stage static fire engine test onboard a new vehicle that will ultimately carry satellites to their final destination. But what’s more interesting is that the vehicle can refire its engine several times in orbit and conduct multiple missions in a single trip. This makes it a “Space Tug” able to perform a number of maneuvers in space, including the extraction of space junk or...…Image Credits: SkyroraU.K. space tech startup is currently the only private company capable of launching rockets from U.K. soil. On Christmas Eve at its testing facility in Fife, Scotland, the team performed a third-stage static fire engine test onboard a new vehicle that will ultimately carry satellites to their final destination. But what’s more interesting is that the vehicle can refire its engine several times in orbit and conduct multiple missions in a single trip. This makes it a “Space Tug” able to perform a number of maneuvers in space, including the extraction of space junk or...WW…

Embattled social media platform after Apple, Google and Amazon on the site after the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol last week that left five people dead.But while the site is gone (for now), millions of posts published to the site since the riot are not.A lone hacker scraped millions of posts, videos and photos published to the site after the riot but before the site , preserving a huge trove of potential evidence for law enforcement investigating the attempted insurrection by many who allegedly the breach of the Capitol.The hacker and internet archivist, who goes by the online handle ,...…Embattled social media platform after Apple, Google and Amazon on the site after the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol last week that left five people dead.But while the site is gone (for now), millions of posts published to the site since the riot are not.A lone hacker scraped millions of posts, videos and photos published to the site after the riot but before the site , preserving a huge trove of potential evidence for law enforcement investigating the attempted insurrection by many who allegedly the breach of the Capitol.The hacker and internet archivist, who goes by the online handle ,...WW…

In the world of annual refresh cycles, there’s always been a big question mark around what to do with all of the old tech we too readily abandon. There are a number of options for disposing and recycling these objects that often contain rare earth and sometimes harmful material. The concept of upcycling has also become an increasingly popular option — offering a new lease on life for old technology. After all, your three-year-old smartphone may not be the latest and greatest, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily worthless.During this morning’s kickoff press conference, Samsung outlined...…In the world of annual refresh cycles, there’s always been a big question mark around what to do with all of the old tech we too readily abandon. There are a number of options for disposing and recycling these objects that often contain rare earth and sometimes harmful material. The concept of upcycling has also become an increasingly popular option — offering a new lease on life for old technology. After all, your three-year-old smartphone may not be the latest and greatest, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily worthless.During this morning’s kickoff press conference, Samsung outlined...WW…

San Francisco police are preparing for a pro-Trump protest at headquarters, a building which has been essentially abandoned since the start of the pandemic last year, with most Twitter employees working remotely.The potential protest comes days after Twitter banned the president from using its service — his favorite form of communication to millions of followers — following what the company called his continued incitements to violence in the wake of the January 6 assault on the Capitol last week by a mob of his followers.“The San Francisco Police Department is aware of the possibility of a...…San Francisco police are preparing for a pro-Trump protest at headquarters, a building which has been essentially abandoned since the start of the pandemic last year, with most Twitter employees working remotely.The potential protest comes days after Twitter banned the president from using its service — his favorite form of communication to millions of followers — following what the company called his continued incitements to violence in the wake of the January 6 assault on the Capitol last week by a mob of his followers.“The San Francisco Police Department is aware of the possibility of a...WW…

It seems that even the “free speech” social network has its limits.The social network that has attracted scores of conservative commentators because of its commitment to free speech has taken down several posts from Trump affiliate Lin Wood, .In one of the posts removed from the social media platform, Wood called for the execution of Vice President .Wood adds on that he is currently serving a Twitter suspension.— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo)In a statement to Parler chief executive John Matze confirmed that the service had taken action against Wood’s posts to the platform.“Yes, some of his...…It seems that even the “free speech” social network has its limits.The social network that has attracted scores of conservative commentators because of its commitment to free speech has taken down several posts from Trump affiliate Lin Wood, .In one of the posts removed from the social media platform, Wood called for the execution of Vice President .Wood adds on that he is currently serving a Twitter suspension.— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo)In a statement to Parler chief executive John Matze confirmed that the service had taken action against Wood’s posts to the platform.“Yes, some of his...WW…