More than 100 child advocates, civil society groups, medical experts and other individuals are urging Facebook to discontinue its Messenger app for kids, alleging that the software poses health and development risks to children.

Organized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, nineteen groups, including Common Sense Media and Public Citizen, have signed a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg that will be sent on Tuesday. The initiative is the latest example of critics opposing early adoption of digital technology and is playing out amid a broader backlash against the rising influence of Silicon Valley.

The signatories said children are not prepared for online relationships and lack an understanding of privacy and the appropriateness of sharing texts, pictures and videos. Citing research that suggests a link between social media use and higher rates of depression among teens, the letter states it would be irresponsible for Facebook to expose preschool-aged children to a similar service. In addition, the signatories expressed concerns over boosting the screen time of young children and said this would interfere with crucial developmental skills such as reading human emotion, delaying gratification and engaging with the physical world.

The signatories urge Facebook to reconsider Messenger Kids and to end the app.

In response, Facebook’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, said in a statement, “We worked to create Messenger Kids with an advisory committee of parenting and developmental experts, as well as with families themselves and in partnership with National PTA. We continue to be focused on making Messenger Kids the best experience it can be for families.” Facebook stressed that Messenger Kids contains no advertising and said that parents who use the app say it helps them stay in touch with their children during work hours or when they are away.

Facebook launched Messenger Kids late last year. Since its unveiling, the app has ignited a debate over kids’ social media use. Messenger Kids allows children under the age of 13 to connect to other people through text and video chats, either one-on-one or in groups. The app itself requires a parent’s permission to sign up, and then every contact must first be approved by a parent. If two children want to connect with each other, each children’s parent must approve. The home screen displays whom children can talk to and when those contacts are online. Messenger Kids also includes what Facebook has described as a “library of kid-appropriate and specially chosen GIFs, frames, stickers, masks and drawing tools lets them decorate content and express their personalities.”

The app offers Facebook access to a new market whose age prohibits them from using the company’s main social network. Facebook has positioned Messenger Kids as a safer form of social media that gives parents a higher degree of control. For years, major tech firms have complied with child privacy law by not allowing kids under the age of 13 to sign up for their services. But as a wide variety of gadgets and services have moved deeper into the home, companies with an eye for growth have come to see the market for children as an opportunity for expansion.

Josh Golin, the executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, who organized the letter, acknowledged that Messenger Kids would become a popular app. But he stressed that kids don’t need to have their own social media accounts to connect with their relatives around the world. “We are at a pivotal moment, and the tech companies need to decide if they are going to act in a way that is more ethical and more responsive to the needs of children and families, or are they gong to continue to pursue profits at the expense of children’s well-being?”

More than 100 child advocates, civil society groups, medical experts and other individuals are urging Facebook to discontinue its Messenger app for kids, alleging that the software poses health and development risks to children.

Organized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, nineteen groups, including Common Sense Media and Public Citizen, have signed a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg that will be sent on Tuesday. The initiative is the latest example of critics opposing early adoption of digital technology and is playing out amid a broader backlash against the rising influence of Silicon Valley.

The signatories said children are not prepared for online relationships and lack an understanding of privacy and the appropriateness of sharing texts, pictures and videos. Citing research that suggests a link between social media use and higher rates of depression among teens, the letter states it would be irresponsible for Facebook to expose preschool-aged children to a similar service. In addition, the signatories expressed concerns over boosting the screen time of young children and said this would interfere with crucial developmental skills such as reading human emotion, delaying gratification and engaging with the physical world.

The signatories urge Facebook to reconsider Messenger Kids and to end the app.

In response, Facebook’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, said in a statement, “We worked to create Messenger Kids with an advisory committee of parenting and developmental experts, as well as with families themselves and in partnership with National PTA. We continue to be focused on making Messenger Kids the best experience it can be for families.” Facebook stressed that Messenger Kids contains no advertising and said that parents who use the app say it helps them stay in touch with their children during work hours or when they are away.

Facebook launched Messenger Kids late last year. Since its unveiling, the app has ignited a debate over kids’ social media use. Messenger Kids allows children under the age of 13 to connect to other people through text and video chats, either one-on-one or in groups. The app itself requires a parent’s permission to sign up, and then every contact must first be approved by a parent. If two children want to connect with each other, each children’s parent must approve. The home screen displays whom children can talk to and when those contacts are online. Messenger Kids also includes what Facebook has described as a “library of kid-appropriate and specially chosen GIFs, frames, stickers, masks and drawing tools lets them decorate content and express their personalities.”

The app offers Facebook access to a new market whose age prohibits them from using the company’s main social network. Facebook has positioned Messenger Kids as a safer form of social media that gives parents a higher degree of control. For years, major tech firms have complied with child privacy law by not allowing kids under the age of 13 to sign up for their services. But as a wide variety of gadgets and services have moved deeper into the home, companies with an eye for growth have come to see the market for children as an opportunity for expansion.

Josh Golin, the executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, who organized the letter, acknowledged that Messenger Kids would become a popular app. But he stressed that kids don’t need to have their own social media accounts to connect with their relatives around the world. “We are at a pivotal moment, and the tech companies need to decide if they are going to act in a way that is more ethical and more responsive to the needs of children and families, or are they gong to continue to pursue profits at the expense of children’s well-being?”

The campaign against Facebook’s Messenger Kids follows another high-profile push against a Silicon Valley giant. Earlier this month, two Apple investors called on the iPhone maker to change how it approaches some of its young customers. They allege that the company’s influential products risk causing long-term physical or mental harm to children. The shareholders, Jana Partners and the California State Teachers Retirement System, together control $2 billion worth of Apple stock. They urged Apple’s board of directors to ensure that their devices are not abused. The investors cited a number of studies that appear to link cellphone overuse with feelings of addiction and other health issues, particularity among teens. In a society increasingly reliant on cellphones, Apple’s devices lack sufficient safeguards, the investors said.

The letter from Apple investors was significant, policy analysts said, because it marked the first time a tech company’s own shareholders have raised the alarm on the impact of cellphone use and brain function. The groups and individuals who oppose Messenger Kids are attempting to seize on that momentum and prompt a shift at Facebook and the industry.

Beyond the studies that the letter relies on, Golin highlighted the personal struggles he said families are coping with. “It’s not just the research – so many parents see it. They see what a battle it has become. To deny that these devices monopolize our attention and are designed in a way that interferes with human relationships, I think its irrefutable at this point.”

One thing tech minded people want more than present technology is the knowledge or possibility of a future technology. We make it a point to keep all our tech minded viewers updated on tech from the future. Here are two to give you the most thrill.

FAST UNDERGROUND TRAINS(hyperloop)

You may be wondering, what does a train do under ground ? but trust me I don't know either but trust me the works of elon musk is beyond us all. Now His Hyperloop system would see ‘train’ passengers travel at up to 760mph through a vacuum tube, propelled by compressed air and induction motors. I tell you this is a breakthrough in our daily tech. You could just imagine man getting to his destination just as he hopped on train. It looks more like harry potter to the rescue. This makes transportation easier road less congested with hurrying pedestrians.  WELL, lets see the other part of the future.

 FIRE EXTERMINATION DRONES[wow they sing bass]


 Come to think of a group of drones flying right to a fire not burning, but emitting a frequency that puts off a fire. Well its not yet a drone but we're still dealing with our future so don't worry. At least not yet. But in the meantime, Below is a short clip of machines that literally makes  fire disappear(cool isn't it?). Well it works by emiting a kind of frequency that is capable of putting off fires. Now imagine a group of bass singing drones literally flying towards a burning building(hmmm now what a melody .



For more interesting fun and tech stuff, follow us.

One of the most contentious questions in nutrition science over the past decade has been whether older adults should be taking supplemental vitamin D and calcium. As the world's population ages and broken bones and fractures become even more of a public health concern, with huge social and economic consequences, researchers have been trying to make sense of conflicting studies on the association between supplements and fracture risk.

A study published in the journal JAMAon Tuesday took a fresh look at this issue by analyzing 33 randomized clinical trials involving more than 50,000 adults over the age of 50. Each of these previous research papers involved comparing calcium, vitamin D or both with a placebo or no treatment. The analysis, conducted by Jia-Guo Zhao of Tianjin Hospital in China, was focused on older adults who live in the general community and did not include those in nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities.

The conclusion was clear: Vitamin D and calcium supplements do not seem to be warranted to prevent bone breaks or hip fractures in those adults regardless of dose, the gender of the patient, history of fractures or the amount of calcium in the diet.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential federal advisory body, has raised questions about this practice since 2013 when it issued recommendations saying evidence to support the benefit of the supplements in older adults without osteoporosis or vitamin D deficiency was “insufficient.”

Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of food sciences and nutrition at New York University, wrote in an opinion piece at that time that the UPSTF's statement should caution clinicians “to think carefully before advising calcium and vitamin D supplementation for healthy individuals.” She said this week bone health involves many different aspects of eating and activity.

“Bone preservation throughout life requires eating healthfully, engaging in weight-bearing activity, avoiding excessive alcohol, and not smoking — good advice for everyone,” Nestle said.

Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone which is produced in reaction to sunlight and seems to have many different roles in the body related to the bones, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, immune function and reproductive health.

Daniel Fabricant, president of the Natural Products Association, which represents manufacturers and retailers who make dietary supplements, said that the study draws its conclusions with “too broad of a brush.” He said that it focuses on the healthiest segment of the population by looking at people who are able to live at home.

“There is a lot missing,” Fabricant said. “People with prior breaks or family incidence of osteoporosis may still need vitamin D.”

Calcium, too. Both have been known to be important to bone maintenance for a long time, and the best way to get the daily recommended doses are the natural way. For calcium, by eating dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt and leafy greens. For vitamin D by getting some sun exposure. Very few foods contain vitamin D and they include fatty fish like salmon. The issue is many Americans don't get enough calcium or vitamin D -- which is why the debate over supplements has become so important. In 2010, theInstitute of Medicine (IOM) released recommendations tripling the daily intake of vitamin D for most people to 600 IU per day and raising the calcium intake to 1,000 milligrams. While the report hardly mentions supplements explicitly, the use of supplements seems assumed and there's is a lot of discussion about the importance of setting and following upper limits for intake of vitamin D and calcium.

"As North Americans take more supplements and eat more of foods that have been fortified with vitamin D and calcium, it becomes more likely that people consume high amounts of these nutrients," the group wrote, warning of the possibility of kidney and tissue damage.

Fabricant also said that the study contained limited information on the dosages involved. “Maybe the average dose was on the lower end of dose response curve,” he said. “While it’s a nice exercise of mathematics, it doesn’t get a the actual issue which is what are optimal levels for people who need the supplements.”

The new study did not look at the benefits or risks of vitamin D supplements on other conditions, but previous studies have suggested they can lower risks for diabetes and certain cancers. However, an April 2017 study in JAMA Cardiology found high monthly doses of vitamin D supplements did not seem to do much to help with cardiovascular disease.

One other limitation of the study is some of the trials included in the analysis did not test baseline vitamin D blood concentration for all participants.

OnePlus recently debuted the OnePlus 5T ‘Star Wars’ edition in India and select markets around the globe and, for good reason, fans are fascinated by it. Now, it’s been discovered that OnePlus has hidden a clever little Easter Egg in the box with the phone.  

First spotted by Android Central, there’s a “hologram” prism in the box with the OnePlus 5T “Star Wars” edition. But, you won’t find it without first being a clever codebreaker.

 A greeting card in the box which reveals the clue “scribble with pencil” when you look at the first letter of each line on the card. Once you perform that action, another clue is presented. "Find the secret compartment and check the weather forecast on Ahch-To."

Once you find the prism hidden in the box (it’s at the very bottom), you’ll then want to construct it according to the included instructions, and then head over to your phone. Once you open OnePlus’ weather application, do a search for “Ahch-To” (the planet Luke is on in The Last Jedi), and you’ll see R2-D2 appear. When that happens, simply align the prism and suddenly, you’ll have a hologram message from everyone’s favorite droid.

A change in Google’s policy (via Bloomberg) reveals that the company is stopping sites from showing up in news results if they mask their country of origin. Sites are now forbidden to “misrepresent or conceal their country of origin or are directed at users in another country under false premises.” In other words, a site from a foreign country can’t say it’s from the US.

Speaking to Bloomberg, a Google spokeswomen explains that this move is meant to make Google’s news results more accurate and transparent.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Google is doing this, especially with pressure from lawmakers and general consumer awareness of “fake news.” This also isn’t Google’s first move on tightening up search results like this, as was mentioned back in October.

Google today is launching a trio of new photo apps – a part of new series of what it has dubbed photography “appsperiments.” (Get it? Ha ha.) 

The apps, some of which are available on both the iOS App Store and Google Play, give Google a way to test out more experimental features to see how users respond, the company explains in an announcement on its Google Research blog.

The apps involve a number of technologies now in development at Google, including those focused on object recognition, person segmentation, stylization algorithms, efficient image encoding and decoding technologies, Google says.

Specifically, the three apps in question are called Storyboard, Selfissimo!, and Scrubbies.

The first, Storyboard, turns videos into single-page comic layouts on your device. Turning photos into images inspired by art – including comic book art – is something that grew popular with the launch of the A.I.-powered editing app Prisma.

The second app, Selfissimo!, is designed for selfies, as the name implies. In this case, the app is an automated selfie photographer that takes black and white photos of you every time you pose. Whenever you stop moving, a new photo is taken.

The third, Scrubbies, is designed for video. This app lets you change the speed and direction of video playback to create looping videos. Instead of looping apps like Instagram’s Boomerang, Scrubbies has you go hands-on.