Laura Sydell

Laura Sydell appears in the following:

Long Before Net Neutrality, Rules Leveled The Landscape For Phone Services

Friday, February 27, 2015

The new FCC rules require service providers to be a neutral gateway to the Internet. The move has precedent in the 1930s, when regulators enacted "common carrier" rules on phone service companies.

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Now You Can Sign Up To Keep Drones Away From Your Property

Monday, February 23, 2015

Most Americans worry that drones will invade their privacy, polls show. Thousands of people have signed up with NoFlyZone.org — the equivalent of a "get-off-of-my-lawn" warning to drone operators.

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Facebook Offers New Options For Digital Life After Death

Thursday, February 12, 2015

The company is introducing a new policy that allows users to appoint an executor who will keep their account active posthumously.

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Shake, Rattle And Toll: Berkeley's Bells Play Sounds Of Earth

Monday, February 09, 2015

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the bells of UC Berkeley's Sather Tower were programmed to play a score composed in real time by the data from seismic shifts happening under the campus.

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FCC Proposal Would Regulate Internet Like A Public Utility

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Supporters of the move say it's the best way to guarantee so-called net neutrality. Opponents believe meddlesome regulators will impose intrusive new rules on Internet service.

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Pro-ISIS Messages Create Dilemma For Social Media Companies

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Companies like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube could choose to ban ISIS propaganda. But analysts say law enforcement agencies ask the firms to leave messages alone to help them track terrorist activity.

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At 90, She's Designing Tech For Aging Boomers

Monday, January 19, 2015

Barbara Beskind stands out in youth-obsessed Silicon Valley. She inspires designers at the IDEO firm to think about the needs of older generations: What if your glasses could help you remember people?

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With Downloads In Decline, Can iTunes Adapt?

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Digital downloads of iTunes fell sharply in 2014, as consumers abandoned Apple's music store in favor of cheap, easy-to-use subscription services.

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Hustle Behind The Wheel: What It's Like To Be An Uber Driver

Monday, December 15, 2014

The ride-hailing service says it is creating 20,000 driver jobs every month. While this makes the service better for customers, drivers worry it will drive prices — and their earnings — down.

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Please Touch! Cooper Hewitt Creates A Museum For The Internet Age

Friday, December 12, 2014

The design museum is housed in a historic building, but it has been remade into one of the country's most technologically advanced museums. Officials hope it attracts younger visitors — and donors.

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Inventor Ralph Baer Was An American Success Story

Monday, December 08, 2014

Ralph Baer, a video game pioneer who turned TV sets into visual playgrounds, died Saturday at the age of 92. Baer was a refugee from Nazi Germany who invented the first home video system.

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Did You Hear? Going Viral No Longer Just For Videos, Memes

Monday, December 01, 2014

Sure, the Internet is littered with viral cat videos. But recently some bits of audio have drawn millions of listens. Yet it may be too soon to say we're entering a new age of viral audio.

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Pandora's New Deal: Different Pay, Different Play

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Internet radio service offers greater exposure to artists in exchange for a lower royalty rate.

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Uber Executive Lashes Out At Journalists After Negative Publicity

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

In the latest flap involving the ride sharing company Uber, an executive is apologizing after saying the company should spy on unfriendly reporters. Uber is a hit with customers, but ...

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Victims Of Online Threats Say Perpetrators Aren't Being Caught

Friday, November 14, 2014

Women who turn to law enforcement for help are often frustrated that authorities aren't doing enough. Police say tracing the culprits can be a complicated and time-consuming process.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook Comes Out, Writing He's 'Proud To Be Gay'

Thursday, October 30, 2014

In Bloomberg Businessweek, Tim Cook, now the most prominent business executive to come out, writes that his desire for privacy had held him back from publicly disclosing his sexual orientation.

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I've Got The Ingredients. What Should I Cook? Ask IBM's Watson

Monday, October 27, 2014

IBM's supercomputer has crushed Jeopardy! Now chefs are using Watson to come up with new kinds of recipes that work around dietary restrictions and other limitations.

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Silicon Valley Companies Add New Benefit For Women: Egg-Freezing

Friday, October 17, 2014

The addition of the benefit by Facebook and Apple comes as tech companies face mounting pressure to hire more women, but some warn it may increase pressure those employees feel to put off having kids.

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Twitter Is Suing The U.S. Over Free Speech (Its Own)

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Twitter filed a lawsuit against the federal government this week over First Amendment rights, marking the latest round in a battle between tech companies and the government over how much they can reveal about government requests for their user information.

This debate began when Edward Snowden revealed information about ...

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The Forgotten Female Programmers Who Created Modern Tech

Monday, October 06, 2014

The Innovators, Walter Isaacson's new book, tells the stories of the people who created modern computers. Women, who are now a minority in computer science, played an outsize role in that history.

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