First off: point your browser here to get Alexa for free on the Microsoft store. You’ll likely have to log into your Microsoft account, but once you’ve arrived click on “get”. Next, allow your browser to open the Microsoft Store app on your computer. Choose get again, and then choose install. Once installed, select launch: Don’t worry if you’re not sure which selections you want, you can easily change them at any time by clicking on the settings icon within the app....

Credit: Nicole Gray It feels weird to talk about trans and non-binary people right now. It feels odd to celebrate Pride while the US government attacks its own citizens. But it also feels necessary because these are not separate struggles. Black trans women are among the most at-risk communities in the world. In 2018 one agency tracked the murders of 26 trans people in the US and all but five were black women....

One antidote to this self-defeating thinking style is to engage the power of science fiction. Sci-fi is an incredible way to free up the imagination and construct alternative futures. At Singularity University (SU), my colleagues and I use a science fiction visioning exercise to get our clients to start thinking exponentially. Specifically, we have our program attendees create their own sci-fi — in the form of comic books. We begin by asking our clients to consider a current problem they’re working on, and we use sci-fi to project that problem into the future to see if they’re thinking about it in a big enough way....

In the modern world, the idea of putting a computer chip in your brain isn’t far-fetched at all. And robotic limbs are quickly becoming a reality. But neither of these cybernetic solutions are intended to augment healthy people. For non-medical cybernetic applications, the ultimate goal of human-machine hybrids should be optimization. It might be super cool to have robotic arms that can bend steel but, arguably, there are better ways to accomplish such feats than to graft metal to your flesh....

HP is offering a dark option, Nightfall Black with Natural Walnut, alongside a lighter alternative, called Natural Silver with Pale Birch. No matter what option you choose, HP promises that each laptop will be unique, thanks to the natural variation found in the wood. These options will be available across the Envy line, including on the Envy 13, Envy x360 13, Envy x360 15, and the desktop-replacement Envy 17. These will come with the latest-and-greatest silicon from AMD and Intel....

An article by Korean news outlet Chosun Biz claimed that Hyundai had suspended R&D in 3rd generation hydrogen fuel cells due to technical problems and a lack of marketability. That’s apparently not true; an unnamed Hyundai Motor official issued a statement today to the Korea Times refuting the claim: No, Hyundai is not closing down its ICE development either The hydrogen news was hot on the heels of the claim that Hyundai was closing down its Internal Combustion Engine R&D and moving the 12,000-odd staff to electric vehicle departments....

Now, let me ask this way: When was the last time you decided to explore something new and ended up gaining a lot of new insights and learnings? I suspect many will recall multiple instances of such situations. For me, the journey started around one-and-half years ago. Well, to be honest, it actually started earlier, when I decided to join a rotational program within Philips: three different positions in three years....

There are almost eight billion people on the planet Earth today. Facing those overwhelming numbers, it isn’t hard to see where Santa may have dropped a ball or two somewhere this year. If the big man misfired on a gift this season (or maybe if he just airballed the whole thing and forgot), you can help bail him out with one of these “too late for Christmas, but not too late to matter” gift suggestions....

This week in “The Future is Thinking Machines,” Whole Foods stores started selling a plant-based milk created almost entirely by artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, machines are also analyzing social media posts to track how COVID is impacting mental health. And Blizzard Entertainment has trained computers how to cannily remove toxic players from the chat in their uber-popular Overwatch online multiplayer game. All those stories dropped this month, proving that machine learning is everywhere, impacting every industry, and making its digital presence felt in every corner of our lives....

Stop for a moment and clear your mind. Now, think carefully about your answer to this question. Do you really need the internet all the time? There’s a case to be made that 24/7/365 connectivity isn’t always a good thing. The average person checks their phone 47 times a day. 85 percent of people have no problem using their phones while talking to friends or family. 47 percent of people have tried to limit their phone use, but only 30 percent succeeded....

You can go without a refrigerator for a day or two. You can survive without an oven, or a microwave, or your fancy coffee brewing system. But there’s no faster way to bring an entire household to a screeching halt and the edge of imminent panic than if the WiFi router sputters or fails. WiFi is the lifeblood of any modern home — and considering how many smart devices and home operations are intimately intertwined with your home network, this could be an opportune moment for a serious upgrade....

The average user should expect to have to buy a new computer every four years. That means most of us are usually in some stage of either thinking about or actively getting ready to buy a new laptop or PC. But even if your current rig is slowing down and you know action is imminent, there’s probably at least one big reason you haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Sure, a new piece of tech can be a little pricey, but the more likely reason for the dragging of feet is that prepping and updating a new computer with all your old apps and data is no small task....

Our original report follows. WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger have gone down for users around the world. Thousands of users have reported problems accessing the Facebook-owned apps to outage tracking website DownDetector. Facebook is yet to provide any official response to the outages, but users are flocking to Twitter to complain about the issue. — jack rem x (@jackremmington) March 19, 2021 — Arif ? (@a_arif78) March 19, 2021...

Ads on IGTV have been in the works for a few months now — we first heard of them back in February. The ads will be about 15 seconds long, and will appear after you click the “Watch IGTV Video” button from a preview. The company will test various ad formats in the coming months, including the ability to skip them, to see what everyone responds to. It’s not a surprise to see IGTV getting its first ad-based feature, given how much experience Facebook has with that on its own platform....

Or so you’d think. Instead it appears that Instagram is going to continue the Facebook tradition of ‘If You Can’t Beat It, Copy It.’ And goddamn, it’s copying the hell out of TikTok. The mighty plan? To make every video posted on the platform a Reel. A feature that, if you remember, was stolen from TikTok anyway. Anyway, here’s the news itself: Now, according to an email received by TechCrunch, the rationale behind Meta’s move to make all Instagram videos Reels is “to simplify and improve the video experience....

As noted by Engadget, Instagram is testing a blurb at the top of users’ feeds that reminds them of features that are only available on Facebook. Among these are “how to find a job, date online, buy and sell goods, or catch up on the latest news,” according to Facebook rep’s statement to Engadget. At the moment, it’s only a small test involving very few users, and the message can be removed....

Whenever I travel, the easiest way to connect with fellow travelers is through Instagram. But after some weeks, those follows might be redundant. To reduce clutter on your timeline, Instagram has launched a new feature today that lets you check people you’ve least interacted within the past 90 days. Here’s how you can do it: Open the Instagram app on your phone. Head to your profile, and tap on Following....

But don’t get me wrong: the Galaxy Fold is still no durability king, as JerryRigEverything’s (real name Zack Nelson) ritual torture tests show. You can watch it here: Nelson acquired a Korean retail version of the phone and put it through its paces. While the exterior screen is about as scratch resistant as any typical glass panel, the folding screen is less so. That one is still plastic because glass can’t fold, so instead of the usual “scratches at a level six with deeper grooves at a level seven,” the display is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail (Samsung warns you not to press the screen too hard)....

Often, we think we’re storytelling when, in fact, we’re arguing. We’re more like lawyers in the courthouse than old-fashioned storytellers glowing in front of a campfire. Rather than tell a story, we use stories to back up our arguments. Stories supply evidence, emotion and imagery that a purely logical argument lacks. Most of us do business presentations in which consensus, decisions, solutions and investments are among the intended outcomes – not entertainment for its own sake....

The blunder was only partially the fault of Kylie Cosmetics, though. In fact, Shopify has clarified the breach stems from two “rogue” employees from its support team, who nipped customer data from over 100 sellers (or “less than 200” in Shopify’s own words) on the platform. Jenner’s company was among the list of exploited sellers, BBC reports. Ironically, Kylie Cosmetics is already tempting customers to continue shopping from its Shopify-powered site, assuring them the issue has since been resolved....