This Week in Tech – 03/04/2018: Amazon Earned Billions In 2017, But Paid No U.S. Income Taxes
Amazon Earned Billions In 2017, But Paid No U.S. Income Taxes
According to CNN Money, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is officially the richest person of all time. Why wouldn’t he be, when his company made more than $5 billion in 2017 and didn’t pay a dime of federal income taxes?…
YouTube Is Taking Down Conspiracy Theorist Channels and Popular Gun Videos
In the wake of the February 14 Parkland, FL school shooting, YouTube has banned a considerable number of the most egregious conspiracy peddlers and alt-righters from its ranks. The company also issued “warning strikes” and partial suspensions to a number of other channels, at least one of which was gun-focused. The move comes after months of scandals regarding the site’s inability to properly moderate the content published on its platform. The outcry reached a fever pitch last week when a conspiracy theory video suggesting that Parkland massacre victim David Hogg was a crisis actor was listed in the top trending spot on YouTube…
Studies Are Increasingly Clear: Uber, Lyft Congest Cities
One promise of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft was fewer cars clogging city streets. But studies suggest the opposite: that ride-hailing companies are pulling riders off buses, subways, bicycles and their own feet and putting them in cars instead…
The Light Phone 2 Adds Messaging and More to the Ultra-Minimalist Cellphone
The Light Phone is a cellphone that was released last year with an interesting premise: strip away all the extraneous, distracting pieces of modern smartphones — like internet, texting, email, and photography — to leave the distilled essence of a phone. It could make calls and store nine phone numbers, but that was about it…
Ex-Google Recruiter: I Was Fired Because I Resisted “Illegal” Diversity Efforts
A former YouTube employee has sued Google—the video site’s parent company—alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his position after he complained against hiring practices that he claimed were discriminatory against white and Asian men…
An AI Just Beat Top Lawyers at Their Own Game
The nation’s top lawyers recently battled artificial intelligence in a competition to interpret contracts — and they lost…
This Tiny USB Adapter Lets You Use a PS4 Controller With a Nintendo Switch
Nintendo’s Pro Controller for the Switch is a solid gamepad, but it’s also a pretty expensive add-on. If you already have a Dual Shock 4 laying around, this tiny USB adapter might be a better (and cheaper) alternative. 8bitdo — a company best known for its aftermarket retro-style controllers — has just released a new device called the 8Bitdo Wireless USB Adapter. It’s available for $19.99, and it allows you to use a number of controllers with the Switch. It includes support for all of the controllers 8bitdo makes, as well as both the Dual Shock 3 and Dual Shock 4 from Sony. It also supports most modern Nintendo controllers, including the Wii remote, Wii U Pro Controller, and the Switch’s Joy-Con and Pro Controller…