As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.
Jailed Hacker Guccifer Boasts, 'I Used To Read [Clinton's] Memos… And Then Do The Gardening'
December 2013 in the village of Sâmbăteni, Romania. The air is dull and frosty as Marcel Lazăr Lehel walks out of his mud-brick house, carrying a cheap brand laptop and a mobile phone, and goes to the back garden. Exhaling steam, he places the devices on the ground, picks up his axe and begins to chop with hard, steady blows. Thunk-crunch, thunk-crunch, thunk-crunch.
VIDEO: Sims cards registered to combat terror
Pakistan has ordered mobile phone users to verify their identities by getting their fingers printed for a national database.
Best Spring Cleaning Apps
I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year. I love nothing more than digging in deep and giving my home a good spring clean. But, not everyone is as crazy about spring cleaning as I am and while I don’t necessarily understand what there is you could possibly not love about this annual ritual, I wanted to share some apps (for both iPhone and Android) that will not only make spring cleaning easier, but fun (yes, fun!).
iPhone
Cleaning Checklist
This app helps you organize and manage household cleaning tasks and activities. Pick a room (i.e. bedroom), select the tasks you want to complete (i.e. make bed, dust, clean closet) and check-off when tasks are completed. One thing I love about this app is that it shows you what percentage of the room is clean — so you can quickly see which rooms may still need some attention. You can also set personal task reminders such as “Cleaning Supplies” that will remind you what to pick up at the store.
Chore Bank
Want the kids to help with your spring cleaning chores? Chore Bank allows you to set up a chore list, assign a monetary value to each chore, know when a chore has been completed and make deposits into your child’s account. You can even download a chore calendar and text reminders to your kids!
Android
FlyHelper
FlyHelper not only helps you keep your home clean and your life up to date, but you have access to great reminders from the FlyLady herself such as “take a few minutes for yourself” or “check your calendar for tomorrow’s events.” Track everyday/weekly repeating tasks, control how you clean your home by creating “zones,” plan a menu for the week and consult with “FlyLady” to know which “zone” you should work on each day.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
Warning — this app could make you fall in love with spring cleaning. In addition to helping you create checklists for every room of your house, Spring Cleaning Checklist gives you tips for organizing family spring cleaning days, includes video tips and tricks and has music you can listen to while cleaning your home. You will want to use this beyond the spring cleaning season.
There are also a handful of websites that help you keep things clean, organized and beautiful all year long. Checkout RealSimple.com for quick-read stories and cleaning checklists, HGTV.com for DIY decorating tips and my website, GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning, for advice on how to have — and maintain — an eco-friendly home and lifestyle.
Talk to us: What app or website helps you with your spring cleaning tasks?
Technology and Grief
Of course it’s a cliché to say, but I’ll say it anyhow: technology changes everything, even such fundamental things as how we define, make and keep friends as well as how we come together when we lose them. When we asked for and were reluctantly granted “friend” status, Facebook gave us an intimate look into a whole dimension of our 19-year-old daughter Emma. We saw a side of her that was quite different from the daughter, sister, granddaughter and niece that we knew up close and personal. Sometimes it made us smile, sometimes it made us cringe, but we tried to be respectful of her one condition in opening this window — please don’t judge me!
The Facebook window stayed open after she died, and we were surprised and comforted at the ways entries honored her life and her death and the poignant ways friends, teachers and even strangers articulated the impact of knowing her. In a funny way, the anonymity usually associated with technology was completely reversed during the grieving process. Face to face, people didn’t seem to know what to say. On Facebook, friends, family, friends of friends, even people we had never known shared their deepest feelings of loss and pain with Emma, on her page, in the same way they had shared their happiness — out loud, in writing, without a care who was reading over their shoulders.
I read over their shoulders and it was the only thing that brought me comfort during my darkest days. It seemed everyone missed my child. It seemed everyone was dumbstruck with grief. Friends changed their Facebook pictures to ones in which Emma was featured, smiling, happy, radiant. All kinds of memories were shared from starting kindergarten together to the most recent of Emma at a party two nights before she died. Songs and poems and links were shared and I gobbled them all up. When I slept, it was with my iPad in my arms so I’d be sure to hear the ding of a new lifeline.
Over time, of course, others have drifted away. I no longer sleep with my iPad in my arms because it no longer dings to signal the arrival of new wisps of my child. Still, I can count on friends checking in with Emma on her birthday, Halloween (her favorite) and the day she died. Once in a while, a friend of mine with whom I’ve lost touch reaches out because of Emma. My college roommate “friended” me, for example, because she somehow learned of Emma’s death online. I responded and learned that her only child had committed suicide 13 years ago. We have become friends once again.
And Emma is still there, alive in her Facebook page. There are thousands of pictures of her doing all of the things that made her happiest. There are pictures with her family, with her cat, with her friends. There are pictures of her as a baby and pictures of her dressed for Halloween and pictures of her throughout her first year of college. There are even pictures of her first apartment, a place she didn’t get to live, but the very idea of which brought her such joy. I visit her often and remain grateful that she was not only my daughter, she was my Facebook friend.
Donna Mebane is the author of the fact-based-fiction novel, Tomorrow Comes–a daring coming-of-age book in which an ordinary teenager must come to terms with her own mortality, the loss of all she once knew, and an other-worldly set of rules.
How Humor Can Help Boost Causes We Should All Give A Sh*t About
When it comes to the dark arts of moving people from apathy to action, here’s who’s cracked the code and discovered the most effective solution just might be laughter.
At a South by Southwest panel Tuesday, comedy experts took to the stage to discuss how being funny can be useful in propelling a cause. The panel, “The Hidden Power Of Humor: Creating Content With Purpose,” included participants from The Huffington Post and fundraising platforms Crowdrise and Purpose.
With no shortage of laughter and expletives, the panelists discussed how humor can boost editorial coverage of social causes. Applied correctly, a funny approach can entertain readers, reframe an issue for better understanding, challenge assumptions and call people to action, the panelists pointed out.
“By presenting themselves as self-deprecating instead of self righteous, it’s really relatable,” David Chernicoff, senior strategist at Purpose, said during the discussion.
The panelists discussed examples including President Obama’s Healthcare.gov video on BuzzFeed, the “Fitch the Homeless” campaign — which raised awareness and funds for people in need — and the humorous ACLU NSA campaign that featured everyone’s worst nightmare — a creepy Santa.
Chernicoff pointed out that “meeting people where they are” can be one of the most powerful tactics.
“The result can be lots of new people who you might not have been able to reach with your message or cause.”
Like Us On Facebook
Follow Us On Twitter
Penn State Students Protest School's Handling Of Fraternity's Nude Photos Page
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — More than 100 Penn State University students and other supporters demonstrated Friday against a fraternity accused of posting photos of nude or partly nude women, some asleep or passed out, on an invitation-only Facebook page, urging the administration to take stronger action against those involved.
The protest took place during a snowstorm in front of the main administration building. About 100 miles away, a university official told trustees at a board meeting that the scandal provided fresh evidence that more needs to be done about sexual misconduct on campus.
Protest organizers asked the university to put Kappa Delta Rho members involved with the Facebook page on interim suspension. They also want the school to sever ties with the now-suspended fraternity chapter.
Student Peri Kahraman of Columbus, Ohio, said women cannot feel safe at fraternities and that she took part in the rally to help change that culture.
“I’m here because this is a problem at Penn State, this is a problem in this country,” she said.
A sign made out of a bed sheet read, “Rape culture lives there.”
A cardboard sign read, “Boys will be boys,” with the second “boys” crossed out and followed by, “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Student Ryan Adam Myers, a resident assistant from State College, said he found it disturbing that some fraternity members feel “such privilege and such entitlement.”
He said what he found most offensive was that some students “thought it was acceptable to treat another human being with disrespect.”
“The fact that they’re remaining part of the community right now is ridiculous,” he said.
The State College chapter of Kappa Delta Rho has been suspended for a year by its national organization while a review is underway. A student newspaper reported that the words “Tear It Down” were spray-painted on a brick wall outside the fraternity. A police official confirmed that KDR had reported an act of criminal mischief but didn’t have details.
According to police, the Facebook page operated at the fraternity had 144 active members, including students and alumni. The fraternity’s members and leaders in State College have not made any public comments on the scandal.
Penn State President Eric Barron has said the university is working with the fraternity’s national leadership to see if it will continue having a presence on campus, and may also review the entire fraternity system, where he said hazing, excessive drinking and sexual misconduct have been issues.
Penn State is also aiding the investigation by police, who have said at least two of the photos uncovered could result in criminal charges.
The rally Friday was organized by Josie Rose, a 37-year-old Penn State graduate and English teacher from Philipsburg, and Penn State journalism student Lauren Lewis, 20, of Tyrone. They planned to give the administration a letter spelling out their request for sanctions, which they read during the protest.
The university’s vice president for student affairs, Damon Simons, told trustees meeting in Hershey that the allegations against the fraternity show the school needs to do more to address sexual assault and misconduct.
Simons led a task force that earlier this year proposed new ways to deal with sexual assaults on campus.
He said the “very human cost” of sexual misconduct “should compel all of us to do better than we have in response to this vexing issue.”
Asked about the problem of alcohol abuse, he said the evidence shows a large percentage of victims and assailants in campus sexual assaults had been using alcohol.
He said the school has had some success combatting alcohol abuse, but said, “the truth is we’ve been engaged in the alcohol problem around here since the beginning of time. It comes with the territory.”
Best Teen Tweets Of The Week! (3/20/15)
Every week, we round up the best 140-character quips and insights from our esteemed blogging team — and other equally awesome teen tweeters. Scroll down to read the latest batch and share your own suggestions by following @HuffPostTeen!
am I in the process of getting attractive or am I stuck like this forever
— ♛qυєєи нαяℓєу♛ (@harleyxoxo15) March 20, 2015
OMG i love thinking about what i’ll say through a ouija board after I die
— Nathan (@luvyoulikexo) March 19, 2015
WANTED PROM DATE
REWARD: I’LL BUY DINNER
— Jordan Nicole (@ThatDancer_JoJo) March 20, 2015
I’m so ready for summer but my body isn’t
— Hannah (@Hannah_kate24) March 19, 2015
I was going to go workout but I must have made a wrong turn somewhere because I somehow ended up at Chipotle
— Hannah (@hannahrec) March 20, 2015
MY DAD JUST OFGIMCRYING pic.twitter.com/a5JuhTBogg
— ♡ angelina ♡ (@G0LDENGRIER) March 19, 2015
Went driving for the first time and hit a fence, ran over 2 shrubs, and almost hit a cat. #JesusTakeTheWheel
— Leanna Naji (@LeannaNaji) March 19, 2015
Me: “I’m finally fully embracing myself as goth!”
Mom: “Don’t.”
— Bizzy Emerson (@bizzyems) March 19, 2015
“Have you ever been personally victimized by Justin Bieber saying he was going to release new music and he didn’t?” pic.twitter.com/WEbCTl4AMz
— Heather (@jxstinsdiamond) March 20, 2015
I looked at my ACT book then started crying so I guess you could say I’m prepared.
— Chelsey (@Chelsey_Pullin) March 17, 2015
I come in late and go to the attendance office and the lady says “wow you look as bad as I do are you sick too?” Actually Im fine but thanks
— T-TRAP (@Tyler_Trap) March 19, 2015
Follow HuffPost Teen on Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pheed |
U.N. Women Cancels Uber Partnership
(Reuters) – A United Nations organization for gender equality and empowerment of women said it would not collaborate with online taxi service Uber Technologies Inc.
Uber said last week that it would partner with UN Women to create 1 million jobs for women as Uber drivers by 2020. (http://bit.ly/1AdC7DQ)
“UN Women will not accept an offer to collaborate in job creation with Uber”, Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said in a YouTube video uploaded by trade union federation Public Services International on Wednesday. (http://bit.ly/1MVu9Gg)
Uber was not immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru)
Why People Are Angry
Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps out there. Launched in 2012, the matchmaking app now has more than 50 million users. As of today, more than half of Tinder’s membership is in the highly desired (from an online dating perspective) 18-24 age demographic. And it appears the app’s developers desperately want to maintain their status as the young people’s way to date.
Typically companies are eager to expand their demographic. After all, the more people who use your product or service, the more profit there is for you. But Tinder is taking the opposite approach, seeking to preserve and protect its youthful demographic with a “30-and-over” surcharge on its “Tinder Plus” premium service, which lets users manually change their locations and undo regrettable “swipes” of other people’s profiles. Tinder users 30 and under pay $9.99 per month for these privileges; those over 30 pay $19.99.
You might be asking why users wouldn’t just lie about their age to get the premium service for less — after all, people lie about their age all the time on dating sites and apps. With Tinder, however, this is not so easy. You see, when you sign up for Tinder it pulls information from your Facebook profile to create a “social graph” for you. Then it recommends matches based on commonalities like mutual friends, shared interests and location. It’s actually an awesome approach to dating — sort of a digital age slant to the social networking of yesteryear, when we asked our friends to introduce us to people we might like. The only real difference is that these days our friend is Tinder, and Tinder, thanks to Facebook, knows a heckuva lot of people. Anyway, the good folks at Facebook know exactly how old you are, so unless you want to go to the trouble of creating a fake Facebook page with a younger age, Tinder is going to charge you based on your real age.
That said, the basic version of Tinder is free, and only folks who want the upgrade are charged. So why bother with premium when regular will do just fine? Well, the simple truth is that the upgrades are actually quite useful. The ability to change your location increases your odds of hooking up when you go out of town, and it also lets you expand your dating pond, so to speak, by giving you new potential matches. (Remember, your suggested matches are based in part on your location.) As for erasing regrettable swipes, the desire to do so is easily understood when you realize that if you swipe someone’s profile, the service automatically alerts that person, which makes it difficult to surreptitiously keep tabs on your boss or your sister or your ex — not to mention wanting to occasionally check out potential matches without them suddenly stalking you afterward. So yeah, a few bucks a month might be worthwhile.
New Take on “Ladies Drink Free”?
Have you ever been to a bar or club that lets women in without a cover charge or offers them free drinks? If so, it’s because the club knows that if there are women inside, the men will follow. Maybe that’s what Tinder has in mind. Except it isn’t. Tinder’s play isn’t to invite the young people in, hoping that the older people (and their wallets) will follow. It’s to keep the older people out. They’re saying, “You’re not wanted. We can’t keep you out completely, but we can charge you more to be here.”
The real question that must be asked — and I am not sure there is a clear-cut answer — is whether Tinder is doing anything wrong by persevering and protecting its demographic. On the one hand, it’s easy to say that Tinder is ageist and we should all boycott in protest. On the other hand, Grindr is an app designed for gay and bisexual men hoping to meet other men. Similarly, JDate is designed for Jewish people hoping to meet other Jewish people. BlackPeopleMeet is the same, but for African Americans. Nobody is caterwauling about these apps’ focus on sexual orientation, religion and/or race. So why are we so upset about the blatant ageism of Tinder?
Maybe what people are upset about is the inevitability of getting older. I’m in my early 50s, and although I have no interest in returning to the mental and emotional anguish of my early 20s, I wouldn’t mind looking like I did back then. And I’m fairly certain that a lot more people would want to date me if I did. Thankfully I’m married, so I don’t have to worry about that sort of thing, but if I were dating, I would absolutely want to look and seem younger. And I know that I’m not alone in this.
To be honest, if I found myself in the dating pool again, I would only be interested in people 35 or so and over. It’s not that I don’t find people in their 20s attractive — it’s that for me, there is more to a relationship, and I know I’m more likely to find that extra element with someone who possesses more life experience. If I found myself for some inexplicable reason on Tinder, I would likely be an unhappy customer — not because of its pricing, but because I wouldn’t be finding many potential matches. If I were 21, however, I would probably think that Tinder was great, and I wouldn’t care that some folks find their policies ageist.
Robert Weiss LCSW, CSAT-S is Senior Vice President of Clinical Development with Elements Behavioral Health. A licensed UCLA MSW graduate and trainee of Dr. Patrick Carnes, he founded The Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles in 1995. He is author of numerous books, most recently Always Turned On: Sex Addiction in the Digital Age, coauthored with Dr. Jennifer Schneider. For more information you can visit his website, www.robertweissmsw.com. Weiss is also an expert blogger on addiction.com.
'Magical' Duvet Cover Promises To Make Monsters Under The Bed 'Glow Away'
One of the most common childhood phobias is fear of the dark. A pair of U.K.-based entrepreneurs are hoping their “magical” duvet cover will eradicate that fear once and for all.
Davide Russo and Charlotte Cramer are the creators of Glow Away, a duvet cover and bedtime storybook that “harness the power of children’s imaginations” to help them overcome their fear of the dark, their Kickstarter page states. The book tells the story of a little boy name Sam who is afraid of the dark — until he meets “the yellow fellow” Boo. After Boo teaches Sam a magical spell to protect him from monsters at night, the little boy is no longer afraid. The Glow Away duvet features a picture of Boo, and when you turn off the lights, the words of Boo’s spell illuminate on the bed.
Russo and Cramer came up with the idea for Glow Away while on vacation, they told The Huffington Post. In the middle of the night, Russo received a frantic phone call from his sister, who was crying because her young son had been unable to sleep through the night for weeks due to his fear of “monsters under his bed.” The phone call reminded Russo of his own childhood fear of the dark. “Every night my Mum had to tuck in my covers tightly under my feet and around my shoulders or I was convinced that some scary monster would come and grab me!” he recalled.
Looking into the issue, Russo and Cramer spoke to a number of psychologists and pediatricians to learn more about why so many children are afraid of the dark. “They taught us that the reason kids are so scared of the dark is because of their incredible imaginations combined with an inability to rationalize their fears,” Cramer said. The pair decided to redirect children’s vivid imaginations toward a solution.
Pairing this idea with their finding that “most children feel the only thing that can protect them at night is their blanket,” Russo and Cramer developed their magical duvet. After pitching the product and receiving funding from Virgin Startups, they fleshed out the design and production model, but they’ve since run out of money and turned to Kickstarter to raise the additional funds they need.
“Our $20k funding goal on Kickstarter will enable us to finance the down payment for our first large volume order so that we can bring Glow Away to the general public and help kids all around the world overcome their fears,” the pair explained. To date, they’ve raised almost $9,000 and are working tirelessly to raise awareness of Glow Away’s message about the importance of sleep, especially in children and their parents.
The founders of Glow Away describe the response to the product so far as “humbling.” Cramer told The Huffington Post that they received a handwritten letter from a woman whose son slept soundly through the night for the first time in months after he received Glow Away.
“The humbling impact that sales of the product have had on children’s and families’ lives has made us confident that our novel approach to problem-solving will eventually help thousands of families around the world,” Russo added.
To learn more about Glow Away or donate to the company, visit the Kickstarter campaign page.
Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact HuffPost Parents
Using Technology to Improve Mathematical Intelligence
Co-authored by Lakshmi, a Mobicip blogger who is just as passionately opinionated about the juxtaposition of technology, parenting and education.
Logical mathematical intelligence may be formally defined as the capacity to reason, calculate, apply logic, think critically and sometimes abstractly, all of which draw their basic principles from mathematics. Educational communities around the world recognize logical and mathematical reasoning to be essential parts not only of education, but of literacy itself. The American National Literacy Act of 1991 defines literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society to achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential.”
The role of technology in fostering mathematical and logical intelligence is obvious in that technology is built on the same mathematical principles and logic that drive life itself. The ancestors of modern digital gadgets — Pascal’s and Leibniz’s mechanical calculating machines, Napier’s logarithms, Babbage’s difference engine, Newman’s Colossus and Turing’s Bombe — have all been built on principles of logic and mathematics and in turn support mathematical developments. Jeanette Wing, in a seminal article, states that solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior in real life can be closely related to the concepts fundamental to computer science and technology and coined the term “computational thinking,” which must, in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, be added to every child’s education.
Technology can support mathematics education through dynamic software, anchored instruction, networked devices, participatory simulations, games and construction kits. The challenge lies in developing technology that engages students with interesting and stimulating applications of mathematics that are relevant to the real world.
Concrete manipulatives — objects such as the Abacus, Cuisenaire Rods, Base 10 Blocks and Fraction Circles — that have traditionally been used in teaching mathematics, can potentially be replaced by virtual manipulatives that are dynamic virtual representations of the concrete manipulatives, but with the added advantage that they can go beyond the capabilities of physical objects. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) for example, offers interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives and concept tutorials for mathematics instruction. A comprehensive study by researchers at the Clayton State University on the use of concrete and virtual manipulatives in math education showed that while pre-service teachers found concrete manipulatives to be easier to use, students found both types of manipulatives useful to understand mathematical concepts. This is to be expected, as the teachers typically belong to the digital immigrant generation with a steep learning curve, while the students, in all likelihood, are digital natives, at home with technology. The study concluded that incorporating both types of manipulatives into the instruction of mathematics helps build better conceptual understanding and provides sound pedagogical strategies for use with future students.
Gaming offers a rich ground for mathematical and logical training. However, the use of games and simulations to teach and train in mathematics and logistics cannot follow the carrot-in-stick routine, such as the technique proposed by Michael Grove, the education secretary to the UK Government, where equations are solved “in order to get more ammo to shoot the aliens.” Mary Matthews of Blitz Games Studio, UK, aptly responds as “Using games for motivation is only one facet, [...] exploration, experimentation, team building, problem-solving and independent, personalized, differentiated experiences [will tap into] the full potential games can offer for learning.”
The NRICH Project, perhaps meets the goals of Matthews. It aims at enriching the mathematical experiences among learners and focuses on strategy games to develop essential problem-solving skills in a stimulating environment. NRICH’s strategy games are defined as being low-threshold, high-ceiling tasks where the child can easily access the game at its basic level and play ‘randomly’ while developing a winning strategy.
A simple search for online math tools produces hundreds of sites that offer various kinds of math training and education. Sites like A+ Click Math, Math Worksheets Lands, NumberBender , Get the Math and Math Worksheet Generator are some of many that offer supplementary practice problems in primary and secondary level mathematics. Math Pickle, featuring mathematics videos for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, approaches mathematics from the standpoint of a problem solver instead of from the standpoint of a rules follower. These sites are but tip of the iceberg.
The current barriers to the use of technology in furthering mathematical and logical thinking include the general mindset that digital technologies are an add-on to learning mathematics and inadequate guidance on the use of technological tools in both statutory and non-statutory curriculum. According to a recent report by UK’s National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, the main concerns among teachers of mathematics on the use of digital technologies are:
lack of confidence with digital technologies;
fears about resolving problems with technology;
insecurity of knowing less than their learners who are digital natives;
access to digital technologies;
inappropriate training;
lack of time for preparation;
lack of awareness of how technology might support learning;
not having technology use clearly embedded into schemes of work.
John Seely Brown, cofounder of the Institute for Research on Learning , and an expert in digital youth culture, digital media, and the application of technology to enable deep learning, states that the Web may be the first medium that honors the notion of multiple intelligences. Among the different types of intelligences classified by Gardner, Brown’s notion is best suited for mathematical and logical intelligence. But the sheer volume of “help” available online for mathematical and logical training could potentially render the effort futile. It is up to the instructor and user to use their judgement to choose tools that are relevant to their needs and development.
Monica Lewinksy Took Back Her Narrative In A Powerful TED Talk
“At the age of 22, I fell in love with my boss. At the age of 24, I learned the devastating consequences.”
That’s how Monica Lewinsky began her much-anticipated TED Talk on March 19, according to TED Blog.
“Like me, at 22, a few of you may also have taken wrong turns by falling in love with the wrong person. Maybe even your boss,” she continued, according to The New York Times. “Unlike me, though, your boss probably wasn’t the President of the United States of America.”
Since becoming a household name in 1998 for having an affair with former president Bill Clinton, Lewinsky has kept a relatively low profile for the past decade. Yesterday, Lewinsky delivered a talk at TED2015 in Vancouver titled “The Price Of Shame.”
Now 41, Lewinsky described the impact the Internet had on her story. “This scandal was brought to you by the digital revolution,” she said. “It was the first time traditional news was usurped by the Internet, a click that reverberated around the whole world… Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one worldwide.”
“I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously,” she continued. “I was branded as a tramp, tart, slut, whore, bimbo and, of course, ‘that woman.’ I was known by many, but actually known by few. I get it. It was easy to forget ‘that woman’ was dimensional and had a soul.”
As the subject of one of the first major “scandals” to play out over the Internet, Lewinsky discussed the powerful effects of online harassment. “When this happened to me, 17 years ago, there was no name for it,” she told the crowd. “Now we call it cyber-bullying.”
Lewinsky cited Tyler Clementi, a New Jersey college student who committed suicide in 2010 after being cyber-bullied for being gay. “Tyler’s tragic, senseless death was a turning point for me,” Lewinsky said. “It served to re-contextualize my experiences. I began to look at the world of humiliation and bullying around me and see something different… Every day online, people — especially young people who are not developmentally equipped to handle this — are so abused and humiliated that they can’t imagine living to the next day.”
“Public humiliation as a blood sport has to stop,” she continued. “…Just imagine walking a mile in someone else’s headline.”
Towards the end of her talk, Lewinsky answered the question she keeps receiving: Why come into the spotlight now? “The top-note answer was and is: Because it’s time,” she answered. “Time to stop tiptoeing around my past… Time to take back my narrative.”
Watch Lewinsky’s full speech below.
9 Parenting Responsibilities You Can Start Outsourcing Tomorrow
My friend Matt recently faced a disconcerting dilemma millions of parents face every day: the need to be in more than one place at one time. His wife was out of town and he had to get his two sons (ages 8 and 14) to school. The older boy usually rides his bike to school, but it was 10 degrees outside. Matt needed to drive his younger son to school, 25 minutes away, which would mean the high school freshman would be on his own in frigid temps. The solution? Outsource it. He had his son use Uber, the app-based ride service, to get to school. And it worked beautifully. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner,” he said.
What a wonderful idea. Brilliant, in fact. But it’s not one I would have thought of on my own, because like most mothers out there, I’m constantly plagued with mommy guilt. “Shouldn’t I be able to figure this out on my own?” “Why can’t I get it all done?” But Matt’s example got me thinking: What’s so wrong with outsourcing? Perhaps it’s the future of parenting. Let go of the guilt and let someone else help.
Historically, someone in Matt’s very common predicament could have relied on friends or family — a member of their proverbial village — to help, but for many Americans, the village isn’t what it used to be. We don’t live in the 1950s anymore. Seventy-two percent of moms work outside the home, forty-one percent of births are to unmarried women and upwardly mobile professionals regularly move away from their families for job opportunities. In other words, American families are starved for time and starved for help more than ever before. And even if these shifting demographics don’t apply to you, multiple kids with multiple commitments means you often need to be in two (or three or four) places at one time.
Thanks to the app-driven labor market, outsourcing family logistics is no longer a privilege of the wealthy. Technology is paving the way to match supply (people willing to help) with busy families who need extra arms and legs to get it all done. And perhaps most exciting, technology is making these outsourcing tasks not only more accessible, but also more acceptable. For years, my colleagues and I have been studying the art of motherhood, and for the first time in a decade, we hear moms saying, “I don’t want ‘help’ with dinner. I want to delegate dinner to someone else.” Let freedom ring, I say.
The message to modern parents seems to be: do what you can and then get help with the rest. Hallelujah. So what is this more creative and less guilt-ridden group of parents doing these days to outsource the things they can’t get done or simply don’t want to do?
Here are 9 things you can start outsourcing tomorrow!
1. Household tasks and chores. The beauty of technology is it can match the formerly elusive supply of helpers with pent-up demand. You can use TaskRabbit to outsource errands and chores, everything from assembling those IKEA bunk beds to organizing the linen closet.
2. Archiving kids’ artwork. Who has the time? Finger-painted works of art come home every week from the kid’s school. Throwing away 80% of them feels logical but who has time to archive the 20% that you actually want to keep? Artkive knows this task is a pill and is willing to do it for you. Please and thank you.
3. Birthday cards. Who can ever remember to send them? Use Paperwoven to send personalized birthday cards to your countless nieces and nephews. Every. Single. Year.
4. Kids ski clothes. GetOutfitted delivers gently used ski apparel and accessories directly to you, saving you the trouble of shopping for expensive gear the kids will only wear for one season. Bonus: You return the dirty clothes in a prepaid mailer before you head home. No more parka-stuffed washer dancing across the floor.
5. Carpooling. Maybe you don’t need after-school help every day, but you do need someone to drive the little ones to soccer on Mondays and Wednesdays when you have to take care of something else. If you live in San Francisco you can use Shuddle, a carpooling service specifically designed for unaccompanied kids. And the best part is the drivers are almost exclusively mothers and nannies that have passed extensive background checks.
6. Dinner. It’s the number one pain point among mothers in America. Enter Plated and Blue Apron, services that eliminate meal planning and grocery shopping by providing all the ingredients you need to make meals in about 30 minutes.
7. Homework help. Not up to speed on 6th grade geometry and don’t feel like driving your kids to an after school tutor? Use Kahn Academy for online tutoring services instead of leaving work early to take your son across town for in-person help with homework.
8. Shoveling the driveway. This on-demand service from Plowz & Mowz is the ultimate example of dividing and conquering. Someone shovels your driveway while you check off the other eighty-seven things on your list.
The technology-based economy is giving parents more bench strength than ever before. Now it’s just up to us to take advantage of it. And if we do, it’s likely to change the business of parenting altogether.
In the business world, companies such as Uber are called disrupters. But for the American family, they may end up being the peacemakers and it would behoove the service industry to pay attention. Every quandary that faces a dad trying to drive carpool or a mom who has an important meeting on a snow day is a cry for help. Every time a parent mutters, “I’m just one person,” a business opportunity awaits.
So as parents let’s agree to keep asking for help and start accepting the helping hands that are coming out of Silicon Valley and beyond.
Here's The Diabolical Plot Behind Apple's Ever-Changing MacBook Chargers
That new Macbook is pretty sweet, huh?
No, not that one. The new, new Macbook — you know, the one with the radically different charger port for no apparent reason.
Oh, wait. There is a reason: “Because f**k you, that’s why!” So say the comedians at College Humor, who put together this satirical video explaining Apple’s eagerness to poke you in the eye.
McCann 'troll' suicide conclusion
A coroner concludes McCann Twitter ‘troll’ Brenda Leyland killed herself.
The Nerdiest Thing you Can Do With an iPhone
Apple has been an industry innovator for about as long as the majority of their customer base has been alive. The company’s products have a reputation for including industry-leading capabilities, predicting the twists and turns of consumer trends like a winding road leveled out into one massive superhighway of tech. The heirs to Steve Jobs’ creativity continue to innovate, regularly launching intuitive and customizable products and interfaces. And all over the Interwebs, consumers and tech gurus alike have published countless tips and tricks that help you optimize your iPhone use, but none of them so far have ascended to the level of nerdiness I’m about to bring to the table. Get ready.
First thing’s first; did you know that you can customize your iPhone’s vibration pattern? From the dull, two-toned hum sounding ’round the world, it seems that this little trick has been overlooked by the vast majority of iPhone users, despite the circulation of guides from a variety of sources online.
To accomplish this initial step, start by going into your iPhone’s settings, then click “sounds”, then “text tone”, and finally “vibration.” A few pre-programmed choices await the pleasure of tingling your right thigh (I think we’re still talking about mobile tech here), but if you find that you’d really like to create your own vibration tones, you can do that too. Hit “create new vibration” to press a pattern into the touchscreen and create a brand new alert.
But wait, we aren’t stopping there.
To awaken your inner nerd and take things a step further, you can create patterns that spell out the names of your contacts in Morse Code. Now, if you’re like most 21st-century global citizens, you probably don’t have a working knowledge of Morse Code, so use this handy chart to get started.
You’ll have to be quick inputting your pattern, as some of the characters can run a little long. It’s up to your discretion how many contacts you give the cypher treatment. Converting them all might take the better part of 2015. However, if you do it right, and you spice up a few of the usual suspects, you could come away with a totally unique communication experience, reinvigorating the way you interact with the world through mobile technology.
New Apple TV Is Coming This Summer: BuzzFeed
Apple TV, the set-top box that connects to your TV and allows you to stream Netflix and buy movies from iTunes, may finally be getting an upgrade.
BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski reported on Friday morning that Apple will unveil the next-generation Apple TV at the company’s annual developers conference in June.
Citing sources familiar with Apple’s plan, Paczkowski reported that the new Apple TV will be “a significant overhaul of the device” and include a faster processor, increased storage and support for Siri, Apple’s digital assistant found on newer iPhones and iPads. BuzzFeed also reported that the new device will go beyond just streaming video to your TV and could serve as a sort of hub for controlling smart home products such as power outlets, door locks and garage doors.
It’s unclear how much the new device will cost. Last week, Cook said Apple would drop the price of the current Apple TV from $99 to $69.
In an email to The Huffington Post, Apple declined to “comment on rumor and speculation.”
If Apple were to release a new Apple TV in June, it would be the first update to the device in more than three years.
BuzzFeed’s report about a new Apple TV comes at the end of a week of heavy speculation about Apple’s plans for the biggest screen in your home. Rumors that Apple is developing its own television set have been reported for years.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Apple plans to launch its own Internet TV service with around 25 channels, including CBS, ABC and Fox. But The Information’s Martin Peers wrote Friday that the company “is likely … still assessing which channels to include.”
And last week Apple said it would sell HBO’s standalone streaming service, HBO Now, when it debuts next month. Apple will be the only non-pay TV provider to offer the service at launch. Customers will be able to subscribe to HBO Now through Apple TV as well as their iPhones and iPads. (Cablevision subscribers will be able to buy HBO’s new service through the cable provider.)
Steve Jobs described Apple TV as a “hobby,” but CEO Tim Cook told investors in January that the company has sold 25 million of the devices.
Scores charged in paedophile inquiry
More than 260 people are charged with offences following a National Crime Agency operation targeting suspected paedophiles.
DWP to direct jobseekers to digital skills-sharing platforms
Department for Work and Pensions to update guidance to Jobcentre Plus staff to direct jobseekers to digital skills-sharing platforms
Thanks for reading our digest. Opinions in the articles above are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Digital Workshed ltd.