Digital Life

Health & Safety

The Momentum Of The Ice Bucket Challenge — And What It Means For ALS

8:30pm August 20, 2014

A recent fundraising challenge has gone viral on social media, calling attention to research into Lou Gehrig's disease. Forbes contributor Dan Diamond discusses the state of that research.

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Many institutions have their archives stored on CDs — but the discs aren't as stable as once thought. There is no average life span for a CD, says preservationist Michele Youket, "because there is no average disc."

Music & Culture

How Long Do CDs Last? It Depends, But Definitely Not Forever

8:27am August 19, 2014

by Laura Sydell

Preservationists are worried about troves of records stored on what was once considered a durable medium: the compact disc. Many discs can last for centuries — but most won't.

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In Hashtag Protest, 'Black Twitter' Shows Its Strength

9:14pm August 13, 2014

by Laura Sydell

Following the shooting of an unarmed black teen, the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown caught fire on Twitter. The response demonstrated the scope of what's informally known as Black Twitter.

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A Good IT Person Needs To Be Half Technologist, Half Psychologist

1:37pm August 12, 2014

by Laura Sydell

Your doctor and lawyer may know a lot about you. But in a time when we are using computers to socialize, keep track of finances, do work and store family photos, your IT person probably knows more.

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OkCupid Sometimes Messes A Bit With Love, In The Name Of Science

2:52pm August 02, 2014

OkCupid, the online dating site, disclosed Monday that they sometimes manipulate their users' profiles for experiments.

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Pinterest has created a database of "things in the world that matter to human beings," says Alexis Madrigal.

Can Pinterest Compete With Google's Search?

4:33pm August 01, 2014

by Alexis Madrigal

Pinterest has created a database of things that matter to humans. And with a programming team that's largely been hired away from Google, the company has begun offering what it calls "guided search."

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Mark Zuckerberg kicks off the annual Facebook developers conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

New Anonymous Facebook Login Hides Info, But Not From Facebook

12:00pm August 01, 2014

by Steve Henn

Facebook has introduced a way for users to log into apps anonymously as a way to build trust and protect privacy. User info would be protected from app developers, but visible to Facebook.

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North Dakota farmer Jim Reimers shows off one of the drones he uses to collect data on his family's 30,000-acre farm.

High-Ho, The Derry-O, The Farmer And The Drone

12:00pm August 01, 2014

by Steve Henn

Congress has ordered the FAA to create new rules to safely integrate drones into U.S. airspace by 2015, but North Dakota's farmers aren't waiting.

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Customers can get a tactile experience trying on glasses at Warby Parker's shop in New York City.

It's Boom Times For Pop-Up Shops As Mobile Shopping Clicks

1:33pm July 29, 2014

by Elise Hu

One-click online shopping is changing how we shop. Stores with leases as short as a day are proliferating — meaning a storefront can be a designer clothing store one day and a test kitchen the next.

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Fake Edward Snowden Joins Tinder

2:05pm July 11, 2014

The popular dating app Tinder has a new user: Edward Snowden. Actually, just the username Lonely Ed with the profile picture of the NSA leaker looking for love from Moscow.

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