President Joe Biden says he thinks Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.
Discord is introducing new safeguards to protect young users. On Thursday, the company announced Teen Safety Assist. The rollout will happen in the coming weeks and consists of two features: Automated alerts and content filters.
Moving forward, when a user a teen hasn’t chatted with before sends a direct message, Discord will display a safety alert if the platform’s automated systems suspect the teen’s safety could be at risk. The prompt will nudge the young person to reconsider if they want to respond to the message, and point them to the app’s block feature and related safety tips.
By default, Discord will now also automatically blur potentially sensitive images from a teen’s friends. Young people can disable the feature through an option in Discord’s settings menu. Adults, meanwhile, can enable the filters for themselves, if they want the additional protections.
The introduction of Teen Safety Assist comes amid increased scrutiny of Discord’s efforts to limit the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and protect young users from predatory adults. In June, NBC News identified 35 cases over a period of six years where adults had allegedly used the platform to kidnap, groom or sexually assault minors. The outlet also found 165 cases where authorities were prosecuting adults for sharing CSAM over Discord or allegedly using the platform to extort young users into sending sexual images of themselves.
In the aftermath of the report, Discord banned teen dating servers and changed its safety policies to ban the sharing of AI-generated CSAM. It also announced new rules explicitly prohibiting any other kind of text or media content that sexualizes children. At the same time, the company introduced Family Center, a dashboard for parents and guardians to keep track of what their teens are doing on Discord.
“Teens are still in the process of learning about themselves and what it means to be online, and our new safety features are rooted in providing them with agency on the platform, to give them ways to learn and grow in safe and age-appropriate online spaces,” said Savannah Badalich, senior director of policy at Discord. “These newest features are part of an ongoing, multi-year effort to continually evolve and advance safety on Discord.”
At the same time, Discord is introducing a new warning system for people who violate its policies. Outside of incidents involving the most “extreme” violations, the company is moving away from permanent bans. It’s doing so under the belief that most users will choose to be better online citizens given the chance and proper guidance.
In practice, the system will notify a person when they’ve violated one or more of Discord’s policies and detail the restrictions on their account. It will also link out to the company’s Terms of Service, Community Guidelines and appeal mechanism. A new “Account Standing” tab within the settings menu will allow users to see all their current and past policy violations.
“We think we’ve built the most nuanced and proportionate reporting system,” Badalich told Engadget, adding the company hopes other platforms will look to what Discord has created for inspiration related to their own enforcement efforts. “We believe people, especially teens, have the capacity to grow.”
Separately, Discord announced a slew of new features and enhancements slated to arrive either in the near future or down the line. To start, the platform’s in-app shop, which Discord began testing last month with Nitro subscribers, will soon be available to all users. The marketplace features digital items people can use to decorate their avatars and profiles. Discord will offer store discounts to Nitro members, as part of a new perk for signing up.
This week, the company will also start a broad roll-out of a feature called Remix. It allows users to edit an image directly within Discord’s mobile app and share it with their friends and servers. The company spent much of the last year improving its Android and iOS clients. One recent update saw it improve app launch times on both platforms. In the near future, Discord says people can expect a new “Midnight” dark mode the company claims reduces battery consumption on devices with OLED screens, more functional notification tabs and a new search feature for the settings menu to make it easier to find the exact option you’re looking to tweak.
Last but not least, the company says it will begin rolling out Premium App Subscriptions to eligible developers in the UK and Europe, following a launch that began in the US a few weeks ago. On the subject of third-party apps, bots and plugins, the company said it’s in the process of exploring how to make those accessible across nearly every part of Discord. It provided few details on the effort, but said the goal is to allow people to access their favorite apps and bots without those experiences being restricted to select servers.
“We’re experimenting with a few different things, but the goal is for developers to reach more people with the awesome experience they’re building. For users, we don’t want them to be gated from having these custom experiences at their fingertips,” Cherry Park, director of product marketing at Discord, told Engadget. “In terms of the way we architecture and build it, there are a couple of solutions. Some are easier, some are more difficult, and you’re going to see us experiment with a few of them over the next few quarters.”
Discord promised to share more about its efforts around app portability in the near future. In the meantime, Nitro subscribers will get a chance to test new features before they become available to the public.
Update, October 20, 2023, 11:20 AM ET: This story has been updated to note that these feature are rolling out in the coming weeks, not this week as the post originally said. We also removed a mention that Discord would automatically delete potentially sensitive content from strangers. This was originally part of a briefing we received on the new features, but it was not included in the final release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/discords-latest-teen-safety-blitz-starts-with-content-filters-and-automated-warnings-150031569.html?src=rss
Solar energy has long been heralded as a sustainable solution to the world’s ever-growing energy demands. Over the years, technology has advanced, leading to more efficient and flexible solar panels. Panasonic, wants to change the game with their proprietary perovskite solar cells.
These cells are not just designed to generate power but are also intended to be integrated directly into the glass building materials. This makes them not only a source of renewable energy but also a versatile architectural element.
One of the most unique aspects of Panasonic’s perovskite solar cells is the proprietary coating process used to form the power generation layer directly onto the glass substrate. This technique is intended to increase the range of architectural applications where these solar cells can be utilized. This “power-generating glass” can serve as a functional, energy-producing part of a building while offering design flexibility. We’ll explain why below.
Panasonic leverages a unique combination of ink-jet coating and laser processing technology to enhance the product further. This allows for a high degree of customization in terms of size, transparency, and design.
The freedom to tailor these solar cells to various requirements means they can be integrated more seamlessly into different types of structures, including residential and commercial buildings. Since it’s a relatively new product, we expect commercial projects to use this first, and residential buildings might select it later as economies of scale set in.
Despite their design flexibility, Panasonic’s perovskite solar cells do not compromise on power generation efficiency. According to the company, they match or beat the average efficiency of conventional crystalline silicon solar cells. Furthermore, these perovskite solar cells have achieved a very good power generation efficiency of 17.9% for modules of practical size (>800 cm^2), a figure certified by a third-party measurement organization.
Panasonic plans to showcase four different types of panels:
The 20%, 50%, and gradation panels are designed to demonstrate their transparency by placing an object behind them. This emphasizes their potential use as window glass in balconies or other parts of buildings, thereby integrating seamlessly into daily life.
Panasonic’s introduction of perovskite solar cells integrated with glass building materials represents a new approach in the renewable energy sector. With their combination of high efficiency, design flexibility, and architectural utility, these solar cells offer promising prospects for the sustainable development of urban environments. At the moment, it is available in smaller tiles, but down the road, Panasonic plans to release much larger versions, comparable to standard solar panels.
Revolutionizing Architecture: Panasonic Power-Generating Glass Unveiled
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The No Doubt singer became visibly emotional as Shelton recalled their first meeting on the set of “The Voice” nearly a decade ago.
Discord is introducing new safeguards to protect young users. On Thursday, the company announced Teen Safety Assist. The rollout will happen in the coming weeks and consists of two features: Automated alerts and content filters.
Moving forward, when a user a teen hasn’t chatted with before sends a direct message, Discord will display a safety alert if the platform’s automated systems suspect the teen’s safety could be at risk. The prompt will nudge the young person to reconsider if they want to respond to the message, and point them to the app’s block feature and related safety tips.
By default, Discord will now also automatically blur potentially sensitive images from a teen’s friends. Young people can disable the feature through an option in Discord’s settings menu. Adults, meanwhile, can enable the filters for themselves, if they want the additional protections.
The introduction of Teen Safety Assist comes amid increased scrutiny of Discord’s efforts to limit the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and protect young users from predatory adults. In June, NBC News identified 35 cases over a period of six years where adults had allegedly used the platform to kidnap, groom or sexually assault minors. The outlet also found 165 cases where authorities were prosecuting adults for sharing CSAM over Discord or allegedly using the platform to extort young users into sending sexual images of themselves.
In the aftermath of the report, Discord banned teen dating servers and changed its safety policies to ban the sharing of AI-generated CSAM. It also announced new rules explicitly prohibiting any other kind of text or media content that sexualizes children. At the same time, the company introduced Family Center, a dashboard for parents and guardians to keep track of what their teens are doing on Discord.
“Teens are still in the process of learning about themselves and what it means to be online, and our new safety features are rooted in providing them with agency on the platform, to give them ways to learn and grow in safe and age-appropriate online spaces,” said Savannah Badalich, senior director of policy at Discord. “These newest features are part of an ongoing, multi-year effort to continually evolve and advance safety on Discord.”
At the same time, Discord is introducing a new warning system for people who violate its policies. Outside of incidents involving the most “extreme” violations, the company is moving away from permanent bans. It’s doing so under the belief that most users will choose to be better online citizens given the chance and proper guidance.
In practice, the system will notify a person when they’ve violated one or more of Discord’s policies and detail the restrictions on their account. It will also link out to the company’s Terms of Service, Community Guidelines and appeal mechanism. A new “Account Standing” tab within the settings menu will allow users to see all their current and past policy violations.
“We think we’ve built the most nuanced and proportionate reporting system,” Badalich told Engadget, adding the company hopes other platforms will look to what Discord has created for inspiration related to their own enforcement efforts. “We believe people, especially teens, have the capacity to grow.”
Separately, Discord announced a slew of new features and enhancements slated to arrive either in the near future or down the line. To start, the platform’s in-app shop, which Discord began testing last month with Nitro subscribers, will soon be available to all users. The marketplace features digital items people can use to decorate their avatars and profiles. Discord will offer store discounts to Nitro members, as part of a new perk for signing up.
This week, the company will also start a broad roll-out of a feature called Remix. It allows users to edit an image directly within Discord’s mobile app and share it with their friends and servers. The company spent much of the last year improving its Android and iOS clients. One recent update saw it improve app launch times on both platforms. In the near future, Discord says people can expect a new “Midnight” dark mode the company claims reduces battery consumption on devices with OLED screens, more functional notification tabs and a new search feature for the settings menu to make it easier to find the exact option you’re looking to tweak.
Last but not least, the company says it will begin rolling out Premium App Subscriptions to eligible developers in the UK and Europe, following a launch that began in the US a few weeks ago. On the subject of third-party apps, bots and plugins, the company said it’s in the process of exploring how to make those accessible across nearly every part of Discord. It provided few details on the effort, but said the goal is to allow people to access their favorite apps and bots without those experiences being restricted to select servers.
“We’re experimenting with a few different things, but the goal is for developers to reach more people with the awesome experience they’re building. For users, we don’t want them to be gated from having these custom experiences at their fingertips,” Cherry Park, director of product marketing at Discord, told Engadget. “In terms of the way we architecture and build it, there are a couple of solutions. Some are easier, some are more difficult, and you’re going to see us experiment with a few of them over the next few quarters.”
Discord promised to share more about its efforts around app portability in the near future. In the meantime, Nitro subscribers will get a chance to test new features before they become available to the public.
Update, October 20, 2023, 11:20 AM ET: This story has been updated to note that these feature are rolling out in the coming weeks, not this week as the post originally said. We also removed a mention that Discord would automatically delete potentially sensitive content from strangers. This was originally part of a briefing we received on the new features, but it was not included in the final release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/discords-latest-teen-safety-blitz-starts-with-content-filters-and-automated-warnings-150031569.html?src=rss
Solar energy has long been heralded as a sustainable solution to the world’s ever-growing energy demands. Over the years, technology has advanced, leading to more efficient and flexible solar panels. Panasonic, wants to change the game with their proprietary perovskite solar cells.
These cells are not just designed to generate power but are also intended to be integrated directly into the glass building materials. This makes them not only a source of renewable energy but also a versatile architectural element.
One of the most unique aspects of Panasonic’s perovskite solar cells is the proprietary coating process used to form the power generation layer directly onto the glass substrate. This technique is intended to increase the range of architectural applications where these solar cells can be utilized. This “power-generating glass” can serve as a functional, energy-producing part of a building while offering design flexibility. We’ll explain why below.
Panasonic leverages a unique combination of ink-jet coating and laser processing technology to enhance the product further. This allows for a high degree of customization in terms of size, transparency, and design.
The freedom to tailor these solar cells to various requirements means they can be integrated more seamlessly into different types of structures, including residential and commercial buildings. Since it’s a relatively new product, we expect commercial projects to use this first, and residential buildings might select it later as economies of scale set in.
Despite their design flexibility, Panasonic’s perovskite solar cells do not compromise on power generation efficiency. According to the company, they match or beat the average efficiency of conventional crystalline silicon solar cells. Furthermore, these perovskite solar cells have achieved a very good power generation efficiency of 17.9% for modules of practical size (>800 cm^2), a figure certified by a third-party measurement organization.
Panasonic plans to showcase four different types of panels:
The 20%, 50%, and gradation panels are designed to demonstrate their transparency by placing an object behind them. This emphasizes their potential use as window glass in balconies or other parts of buildings, thereby integrating seamlessly into daily life.
Panasonic’s introduction of perovskite solar cells integrated with glass building materials represents a new approach in the renewable energy sector. With their combination of high efficiency, design flexibility, and architectural utility, these solar cells offer promising prospects for the sustainable development of urban environments. At the moment, it is available in smaller tiles, but down the road, Panasonic plans to release much larger versions, comparable to standard solar panels.
Revolutionizing Architecture: Panasonic Power-Generating Glass Unveiled
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Sony Music Entertainment, a participant in the World Yuru Music (Loose Music) Association, has recently unveiled its innovative “Ultra-Light Sax,” a groundbreaking instrument designed to make the joy of saxophone playing accessible to all, regardless of musical skill level.
I didn’t know before coming to CEATEC but the Sony Group has committed to incorporating “inclusive design” as a company standard earlier this year, according to Nikkei. The approach invites individuals with disabilities and the elderly to be involved in product planning and development.
The quality standards will include features that cater to disadvantaged persons (15% of the world’s population has some form of disability). For instance, remote controls will have text labels for color differentiation. By fiscal 2025, hundreds of Sony products, such as TVs, cameras, and smartphones, will meet these new standards. Sony will also expand its team focused on accessibility from three to nine members.
Let’s go back to the World Yuru Music Association. It is a project aimed at democratizing the pleasure of musical engagement. One of the barriers for many people to get involved with musical instruments is the steep learning curve and technical skills required. Sony’s “Ultra-Light Sax” addresses this issue head-on by eliminating the need for complicated key operations altogether.
What sets the “Ultra-Light Sax” apart from traditional saxophones is its unique mechanism to produce sound. Instead of employing keys and breath control to create different tones, this instrument converts humming into saxophone sounds. That’s right—no need to touch any part of the saxophone to play it. All that is required is the ability to hum a tune.
The innovative technology powering this instrument is Sony’s SPRESENSE™, a board equipped with a smart sensing processor designed for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. SPRESENSE comes with high computing power capable of enabling edge computing.
Using edge AI processing, the board processes the performer’s humming in real time, extracts the pitch, and converts it into the saxophone sound for output. This ensures that the instrument is not just easy to use, but also responsive in translating the hummed tune into saxophone music. When I tested it, the experience was fun and enjoyable. Perhaps it’s just me, but I had this “guitar hero” moment.
According to Sony, The “Ultra-Light Sax” presents numerous possibilities:
The Sony “Ultra-Light Sax” is an innovative step in making music more accessible to people of all ages and skill levels (with or without disabilities). By leveraging modern technology, Sony Music Entertainment and the World Yuru Music Association aim to bring the joy of playing musical instruments to a broader audience.
Hum Your Way to Saxophone Stardom: Sony’s Ultra-Light Sax
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The “Ebony Alert” could help ensure that their cases don’t continue to get ignored.
Jon Stewart is best known for pissing the right people off with his nuanced political takes on his Apple TV show The Problem with Jon Stewart, and it appears he’s also pissed off his employer. Stewart’s The Problem has officially been canceled, and the reason why may lie in his view on artificial intelligence, a…
Twitch will now allow its users to stream concurrently on other live video sites. The announcement was made at TwitchCon in Las Vegas, just as it dropped new simulcasting guidelines. The company emphasized that simulcasting is permitted as long as the “Twitch user experience is not compromised” on other platforms.
Back in August, Twitch relaxed its rules on cross-streaming, allowing channels to have their live content appear on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. In terms of what new competitor services are kosher now, Twitch’s language is broad — citing that “any service” is on the table. The lone exception appears to be channels which have signed exclusivity contracts with Twitch.
We’ve announced that you can simulcast on ANY live streaming service!
Check out our new guidelines and FAQ here: https://t.co/bTVF3hkpV9 #TwitchConVegas— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) October 20, 2023
The new approach to simulcasting might seem to hurt the company’s bottom line. A live streaming platform wants more entertainers, so, why allow users to take their content elsewhere? The move might be a response to several big-name streamers jumping ship and signing deals with competitors in the space — YouTube specifically. It’s pure speculation, but perhaps handing creators additional revenue streams with no strings attached might be enough to keep major players on board, and medium-sized streamers happier with their income.
Twitch has been trying to update policies across the board to keep both its users and investors happy. The company just attempted to address off-platform doxxing, and it has even dabbled with machine learning programs that can moderate chats. It also introduced new features borrowed from other social media companies, like stories and feeds.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-will-allow-simulcasting-to-competitor-streaming-platforms-222133289.html?src=rss
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
