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Bitcoin, the digital currency infamous for wild swings in value and black market transactions, could have profound implications for the future of public services. Tech optimists at the highest levels of government are exploring how the same technology that makes bitcoin …
Uber just won a huge political battle. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has dropped a proposal to place caps on the number of Uber cars on city streets, according to a statement released by Uber’s New York general manager, Josh Mohrer. Instead of…
(Ferenstein Wire) — Self-driving cars will save the average driver about $1,000 annually, or cost $250 a year total, according to estimates from auto insurance startup, Metromile. Robotic self-driving cars have a near perfect driving record; thus far, when self-driving …
A new report finds that small tweaks to Google’s algorithm can cause immediate and significant changes in web traffic. Google has a history of intentionally punishing or rewarding websites that align with its vision. Most recently the search giant decided to lower the …
It’s been a good year for Yosemite National Park. After the world’s richest tech company decided to name its premier operating system “OS X Yosemite”, it sent a wave of free advertising that the historic mountain range. The data seems to show that this…
(Ferenstein Wire) – Google is reportedly jumping into the ridesharing business. According to Haaretz, the search giant is launching a pilot carpooling service in three Israeli cities on top of their popular driving directions app, Waze. The feature, RideWith, allows riders …
As Uber and other Silicon Valley startups come under legal pressure for employing an army of fulltime freelancers, a well-funded new startup has decided to completely switch its workforce to staffed employees with full benefits (“W2” workers). Shyp, a hot new startup that …
Google realtime trends (The Ferenstein Wire) — Just 3 minutes after the Supreme Court declared gay marriage legal nationwide, much of America shifted its attention to learn more. Google set up a series of gay-friendly easter eggs in the search bar and on Youtube to greet…
A day after Apple began the mass purge of applications depicting the Confederate flag, the Nazi Swastika is still standing prominently in some games. The choice to ban a symbol of slavery from historical games, but not of mass genocide, reveals how tech companies…
Gmail officially added the ability to ‘un-send’ an email for a short time after it is sent, promoting an experimental feature long popular with power users. I use it daily to correct emails riddled with grammar errors or (worse) messages that I should never…
The California Labor Commission just ruled that Uber must treat a driver like a normal employee, rather than independent contractor, potentially forcing the company to pay benefits and cover expenses for other drivers, too. It’s being hailed as a victory for worker rights and …
Last fall, Sean Parker, the technology billionaire behind Napster, Facebook, and Spotify, invested several million dollars into a risky stealth startup, Brigade, which has the ambitious aim of increasing mass civic participation. “The grandiose vision is to repair democracy; …
The wildly popular online video education nonprofit, Khan Academy, inked a rare exclusive deal last year with the makers of the SAT to provide official test prep for the college-bound masses. Recently, Khan Academy’s test prep system and the new questions were released the…
Twitter has recently removed the ability of a political watchdog group to automatically archive the embarrassing and incriminating tweets of US congressmen. The Sunlight Foundation’s much-beloved politiwhoops website was famous for revealing the regrettable tweets that members …
I don’t enjoy email — I just want to get my daily digital chore done and get on with my life. There are two great new email mobile apps from Google and Microsoft and both offer helpful features, such as location-aware emails and calendar scheduling. While…
