Facebook says it’s going to try to help journalism ‘thrive’

Does today seem like a good day to discuss the future of journalism?

Facebook thinks it does: The social network, which has spent much of last year under fire for the way it deals with news, wants you to know that it thinks news and journalism are important.

“We care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive,” said product exec Fidji Simo, in a lengthy post announcing the creation of “The Facebook Journalism Project.”

What’s The Facebook Journalism Project? Many things, apparently — it’s a long post — but it is primarily an affirmation that Facebook values journalism and wants to “establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry.”

Last week, Facebook hired former TV news anchor Campbell Brown as a liaison to the news industry. But today’s announcement has more details, including: A commitment to work with news publishers on product development; a project aimed at supporting local news; and offering CrowdTangle, the Facebook analytics startup it recently acquired, for free to Facebook publishers.

(Facebook also mentions, as an aside, that it is going to be “exploring ad breaks in regular videos” — those are the new “mid-roll” video ads I told you about on Monday.).........Read more from the source

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LG V20 review [ (Cnet) vs (THE VERGE) ]

                     THE VERGE

LG V20 review: lots of features, less refinement

LG’s V20 is an Android phone I’d recommend to people who insist on having one of the device’s four cornerstone features: a replaceable battery, elaborate manual video camera controls, excellent audio recording capabilities, or a hi-fi headphone listening experience. If you don’t need anything from that list in your next smartphone — and a lot of people don't — you’re better off buying a Google Pixel XL or iPhone 7 Plus.

For upwards of $800 depending on where you buy it, the V20 is priced to compete with the very best phones on the market right now. But it just doesn’t. To be clear, it’s fairly good at what LG designed it to excel at. It’s a gadget for Android nerds and checks all the boxes on high-end specs, build quality, display (yes, there’s still a tiny second screen on the front), and performance. It ditches the modularity gimmick that quickly fizzled out with the G5, and the design is a little classier and safer than the rubber-clad V10 from last year. But it’s also a very big phone — too big, honestly — with ugly software, no water resistance, and a lack of the cohesion that makes Apple and Google smartphones feel so excellent

The V20’s design is a big departure and do-over from the rubberized back and steel rails of the V10. That phone looked pretty unique, but LG plays it way safer this time. Up front is a 5.7-inch QHD LCD display, with the second screen above it at the upper right. The screen is LCD,.........................................................................................Read more from the source

                            CNet
LG V20 review: The concert-goer's phone

THE GOOD The LG V20 records really high-quality audio and features a swappable battery and secondary wide-angle lens.

THE BAD For its high price, the phone doesn't break any new ground in camera performance or battery life.

THE BOTTOM LINE The LG V20 is the best phone you can buy with a removable battery, and its audio recording prowess is a cherry on top, but skip the phone if neither is a priority.

he LG V20 isn't a bad phone. It covers all its bases with the latest hardware and a solid design. But other handsets edge it out in so many ways that, aside from the V20's swappable battery, you're better off buying something else.

If you want a better camera, get the Google Pixel (or its bigger counterpart the XL). If you want a longer battery life, get the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Faster processing speeds (at least on paper)? The Apple iPhone 7 Plus. Better value? OnePlus 3.

The swappable battery is great. As is the ability to add storage via microSD. And my favorite feature about the V20 is its ability to record high-quality audio. It does this better than any other phone I've come in contact with. If the mention of these three features gets you pumped, then this might be the phone for you. If they don't, then there's no reason to buy it.

Things I liked

So what do I like about the V20? Let me list the ways...

It records great audio

The V20 the phone for the concert-goer because it handles live audio recording superbly. It's equipped with three mics and four digital-to-analog converters (the latter apparently helps reduce white noise). The phone can record much clearer and accurate 24-bit sound compared to the standard 16-bit..............................................Read more from the source

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Chan Zuckerberg Initiative hires Obama campaign mastermind David Plouffe

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have hired David Plouffe, the manager of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, to lead policy and advocacy efforts for their philanthropic arm. The news of Plouffe’s new role at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, as the organization is called, was announced in a Facebook post published on Zuckerberg’s page this afternoon. Also joining the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is Ken Mehlman, the manager of George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign and a former Republican National Committee chairman from 2005 to 2007.
Following his role in Obama’s ‘08 campaign and a role as senior advisor to the president, Plouffe became a political strategist for Silicon Valley. Most notably, Plouffe was brought on at Uber in 2014 to lead its policy and communications efforts, much of which were aimed at fighting municipal regulations and the taxi industry.......................................

                      Read more here

the source [THE VERGE]

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HTC’s leaked smartphone is a weird hybrid of LG and Samsung style

The HTC 10 earned itself a lot of love from the people who bought one last year — but as best anyone can tell, that wasn’t a whole lot of people. More recently there’s been the Bolt (a Sprint exclusive in the US) and the Google-branded, HTC-made Pixel, but it seems that HTC’s next major smartphone is due soon. Very soon.

As noted by Android Police, leaked images of a device codenamed “Ocean Blue” show off a phone with glass covering both the front and back with an aluminum frame sandwiched in the middle. Gone is the unibody metal style that’s been the hallmark of top-tier HTC smartphones in recent years.

Somewhat surprisingly, there’s a secondary display at the top right, just like on the LG V10/V20. According to the photos,...............

                  Read more here

the source [THE VERGE]

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Moto Z Play review: the best battery life

The Moto Z Play from Lenovo has the best battery life of any smartphone I’ve ever used. It’s so good and so superior to the competition that this — the third member of the Moto Z family — just became my top recommendation if battery life is your most important criteria in choosing a smartphone. Smartphone makers have claimed again and again that their devices can last for “up to two days” on a single charge. It’s almost always braggadocio and overpromising. Inevitably you find yourself reaching for a charger by 6PM or, in the case of phablets, at the end of the night. But not this time.

Lenovo found an approach that allowed the company to make a phone you can charge up overnight, unplug the next morning, and use for two days straight. No asterisks. No buts. It’s been such a refreshing thing to experience over..............................................

                            Read more here

the source [THE VERGE]

Oppo R9s review

​LG's next flagship phone to have 18:9 QHD LCD

review gionee s8

Asus ZenBook 3

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Yahoo isn't really going away (at least, not yet)

Yahoo will be renamed “Altaba” and company CEO Marissa Mayer will step down from its board of directors once its major sale to Verizon closes, according to an 8-K filing released by Yahoo earlier today.

the source:THE VERGE

                          Read more here

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Far-right blogger Chuck C. Johnson is reportedly helping vet Trump administration candidates

Far-right blogger Chuck C. Johnson is reportedly helping pick members of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. According to Forbes, multiple anonymous sources say Johnson is working with Trump transition team members — including Facebook board member and de facto Silicon Valley ambassador Peter Thiel — to help suggest and vet candidates. If correct, Johnson’s involvement may be a sign that the Trump team hasn’t distanced itself completely from its far-right, white nationalist 

fans, with whom Johnson is aligned.

the source:THE VERGE

                                              Read more here

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