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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Business Day Technology

Featured
State of the Art

Social Media’s Globe-Shaking Power

By FARHAD MANJOO
Doug Chayka

The election of Donald J. Trump is perhaps the starkest illustration yet that social networks are helping to rewire human society.

Tech Fix

How Not to Overpay on Black Friday? Let the Web Be Your Guide

By BRIAN X. CHEN

Despite what the ads say, the overwhelming majority of deals on the day after Thanksgiving are duds.

Pedestrians walked past a Snapchat sign outside of the New York Stock Exchange last month in Manhattan.

Snapchat’s Parent Files for a Stock Offering

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and KATIE BENNER

The confidential filing by Snap Inc. might allow the social network company to hold an offering as soon as March.

More News and Features
A woman, caught in a partial reflection, using her smartphone at the Time Warner Center last month. Facebook said it would increase its use of outside measurement services for display and video ads.

Facebook Acts to Restore Trust After Overstating Video Views

By STEVE LOHR and SAPNA MAHESHWARI

Facebook promises to increase use of outside measurement services for ads and to expand use of metrics services, among other measures.

Protecting Your Digital Life in 7 Easy Steps

By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH

Here are some basic actions for making your personal data more difficult for attackers to access.

Bits

Daily Report: The Increasingly Tectonic Force of Social Media

By PUI-WING TAM

The election of Donald J. Trump, the rise of Bernie Sanders, and the momentum behind Brexit and ISIS all show the newly global gravity of social media.

Tech Tip

Keep Your Email Online or Off

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

Most web-based email services allow you to download copies of your messages to the computer with a stand-alone mail program.

App Smart
Flinch allows two people to engage in a staring contest.

After a Bitter Election Season, Apps to Spread Good Cheer

By KIT EATON

Motivational apps encourage you to reach a goal or “pay it forward” with good deeds, while a private messaging app can bring you closer to loved ones.

Tech Tip

Give Children a Safer Searching Experience

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

If you’d like to keep the young ones from seeing inappropriate material in search results, make sure the built-in filter is enabled.

Bits
The Twitter logo at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

Daily Report: Twitter Addresses Troll Problem. Again.

By JIM KERSTETTER

The social network’s well-documented difficulty with users’ bad behavior may well be its biggest concern. But at least its executives admit it is a problem.

The interior of 20 Church Street in Hartford, which will become Innovate Hartford, 27,000 square feet of shared work space for up to 100 small, high-tech companies.

Hartford Kicks Open Its Doors to Innovators

By LISA PREVOST

A new state grant program is aimed at creating urban settings to support entrepreneurs and attract younger workers.

Hate speech has been thriving on social media platforms like Twitter.

Twitter Adds New Ways to Curb Abuse and Hate Speech

By KATIE BENNER

The social media company is making it easier to hide unwanted content and report abuse, but some say that’s not enough.

Don’t Miss
From left, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo in “Stranger Things.”

Why Netflix Lets Movie Lovers Down, and What to Do About It

By GLENN KENNY

Sure, there’s choice via streaming. But, really, how much?

Bits

Insight and analysis on Silicon Valley and the technology industry.

Continue to Bits »
Personal Technology

Should You Spy on Your Kids?

By NICK WINGFIELD

Using smartphones to track family members can be reassuring, but it can open the door to a surveillance state in the home.

App Smart
Bounden is a silly dancelike game for two players, who each hold an end of the phone and maneuver it to play.

Easing Thanksgiving Pressure on Hosts, Cooks and Guests

By KIT EATON

Apps to help keep preparations on track, keep guests happy and even keep the children from causing chaos as you try to cook the perfect turkey.

Tech Fix
Google Home, right, with a Pixel phone. The Pixel came out last month; Home will be available on Friday.

Google Home vs. Amazon Echo: A Face-Off of Smart Speakers

By BRIAN X. CHEN

Which is a better helper, Google Home or Amazon Echo? A side-by-side test for six days revealed strengths and weaknesses.

State of the Art

How the Internet Is Loosening Our Grip on the Truth

By FARHAD MANJOO

A wider variety of news sources was supposed to be the bulwark of a rational age. Instead, we are roiled by biases, gorging on what confirms our ideas and shunning what does not.

Tech Tip
The iPhone's Accessibility settings let you adjust the size of the screen text for many apps.

Make Your Phone Easier to Read

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

If you find yourself squinting to read mail and web pages on your smartphone, you can bump up the font size to give your eyes a break.

Tech Tip
In Windows, the photo’s Remove Properties box allows you to save a scrubbed copy of the picture or manually strip out certain pieces of information about the selected images.

Erasing GPS Data From Photos

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

If you have picture files with embedded location information that you would rather not reveal, you can remove it before sharing the images.

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