Digital Life

National

FCC Chairman Wants To Help Low-Income Americans Afford Broadband

11:53am May 29, 2015

by Brian Naylor

Tom Wheeler proposes to reboot the Lifeline phone-access program. The plan recognizes that everyone needs to study, apply for jobs and make social connections online.

With the Periscope app, owned by Twitter, it's easy for smartphone users to stream their own video live.

Live Video Apps Like Periscope Make Life Even Less Private

7:51pm May 28, 2015

by Laura Sydell

Video cameras are everywhere — from those in smartphones to security cams. And just when you thought it couldn't get harder to hide, live-streaming video apps are raising new questions about privacy.

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A new smartphone app gives a close-up view of a patient's eye.

Smartphones Are So Smart They Can Now Test Your Vision

4:07pm May 28, 2015

by Emily Sohn

In a new study, an easy-to-use app did just as good a job as the machines in an eye doctor's office. That's a boon for people in low-income countries — and really for anyone with vision issues.

Capitol Hill Books owner Jim Toole runs the front register of his used bookstore several days a week. He has banned several words from his store, including "awesome," "perfect" and "Amazon."

Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging In There

12:59pm May 28, 2015

by Eric Weiner

The debate over whether digital books are better continues. Yet in the age of Amazon, the number of independent booksellers is up. The revival is fueled, at least in part, by digital natives.

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Worker productivity has grown, but wages have fallen far behind.

What Will The Next President Face On #Day1?

11:20am May 28, 2015

by Amita Kelly

This week, NPR looks at four seemingly intractable problems that await the 45th president: stagnant wages, violent extremism, cybersecurity and the federal debt.

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Paper can make the abstract tangible in a way that digital devices don't.

In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever

9:19am May 28, 2015

by Eric Weiner

Is paper just a curiosity of the nostalgic? It turns out that digital natives think paper works in tandem with our devices. Research agrees that old-school note taking offers benefits a screen can't.

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An engineer from Cisco shows live wireless traffic to a FedEx employee during a recent security conference in San Francisco.

How Will The Next President Protect Our Digital Lives?

3:45pm May 27, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

For the first time in a White House race, the candidates will need a game plan for cyber policy for Day 1 in the Oval Office and will have some tough choices to make.

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National

In Darren Wilson's Testimony, Familiar Themes About Black Men

12:46pm May 27, 2015

by Frederica Boswell

Wilson's descriptions of Michael Brown reminded some people of negative depictions of African-Americans in history. Recent studies suggest these perceptions have deeper psychological roots.

Now Algorithms Are Deciding Whom To Hire, Based On Voice

8:58am May 27, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

If you're trying out for a job, the one judging you may not be a person — it could be a computer. Algorithms are evaluating human voices to determine which ones are engaging, calming and trustworthy.

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Charles Ornstein with his parents at his Bar Mitzvah. Through their voice messages, saved on his phone, Ornstein has a trove of verbal memories.

'Kiss Everybody': Voice Mails Live On After Parents Are Gone

3:01pm May 26, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

Writer Charles Ornstein's parents endure in many forms, he says. Most of those, he doesn't carry in his pocket. But the voice mails — those unscripted moments of everyday life — he does.

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