Fast Company

Tech leaders and advocacy groups voice support for Apple after CEO Tim Cook published an open letter opposing a court order.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook openly opposed a federal court order for Apple to help the FBI access the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, it was more than just a public explanation of the company’s stance. Cook’s open letter represented a defining moment in what will become a very public, global debate about the right to electronic privacy versus the needs of law enforcement and national security officials.

Read Full Story

Would you wear it?

In 2009, aspiring sneaker designer Christopher Dixon got to peek into Serena Williams’s closet and check out her personal shoe collection. “She was like, ‘Those hurt my feet, but I love them. And those hurt my feet, too,'” Dixon recalls. The tennis superstar was a cousin of Dixon’s best friend and had hired him to help with a clothing line.

Read Full Story

Intentionally or not, Twitter has given artists a new way to crowdsource their creative decisions.

When Twitter launched its new polling feature last year, the company probably wasn’t expecting this: A tweet from Kanye West asking if a certain mocked-up image should be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Despite West’s obvious lack of editorial authority over such things, the poll garnered over 109,000 votes. Just a few days earlier, his wife Kim Kardashian practically set Twitter on fire with a poll asking whether Kanye’s next album should be titled “SWISH”, “WAVES” or “SO HELP ME GOD.” Nearly half a million chimed in on that question, but to no avail: West’s latest album is called none of those things.

Read Full Story

Yahoo announced another round of layoffs yesterday; here’s what may be in store for those that remain on staff.

Yesterday, employees from Yahoo’s media unit in California and New York were let go, as the company shuttered digital “magazines” Yahoo Food, Yahoo Auto, Yahoo Makers, Yahoo Real Estate, Yahoo Health, and Yahoo Parenting. The Tech channel will be folding into the larger News site, so former New York Times writer David Pogue is still with the company, as is Katie Couric.

Read Full Story

On Wednesday, Twitter disclosed that a bug in its password recovery system could have compromised almost 10,000 user accounts.

Twitter said in a blog post Wednesday that a bug in its password recovery system could have impacted about 10,000 accounts. The bug was active for about 24 hours last week, before Twitter discovered and quashed it. Twitter claims the glitch did not leak any passwords, but it may have revealed email addresses and phone numbers associated with affected accounts.

Read Full Story

After a soft launch of four hubs in January, the LinkNYC system officially goes live today.

New York City will see the official launch of its new citywide LinkNYC free Wi-Fi system today. At noon on Thursday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is announcing the public launch of the Wi-Fi hotspots that have replaced old payphones at the northwest corner of 16th Street and 3rd Avenue. Mayor de Blasio will be joined by members from CityBridge, the consortium of companies behind the LinkNYC system.

Read Full Story

Cable and satellite TV providers must basically open-source their programming, allowing anyone to build a set-top box or app to receive it.

People who hate their cable boxes, or hate paying to rent them, have reason to celebrate today. The Federal Communications Commission has voted to open up competition for companies that make alternative boxes, as well as apps that replace the hardware entirely. That wasn’t a shocker: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the two other liberal members of the commission have favored the plan since it was announced on January 27.

Read Full Story

Uber’s lower prices hurt both Uber drivers and taxi drivers, so they’re teaming up to protest and organize.

Last year, taxi drivers in Belgium threw eggs at Uber drivers’ cars and blocked them from picking up passengers during a protest against the ride-hailing company. In France, during another day of protests, taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers, in a couple of cases even setting their cars on fire. Footage from a protest against Uber in Toronto shows a man banging on the window of someone he suspects is driving for Uber, only to be dragged 20 feet before letting go. And in cities across the U.S., Uber drivers and taxi drivers have faced off on opposite sides of protests over Uber regulations.

Read Full Story

Your growing bump may be the elephant in the room, but if handled correctly, you can still land the job.

Pregnancy is an incredibly exciting time, but if you’re looking for a job while you’re expecting, you may find your growing bump an interview hurdle. But Vicki Salemi, career expert for Monster Jobs, says interviewing for a job while pregnant can be done successfully. In fact, she’s recently seen two pregnant women successfully land the job. It may not be the ideal situation, but if done correctly, there’s no reason why you—and your little one—can’t land the job.

Read Full Story

What may seem like a huge hurdle could actually be an opportunity to change your company’s culture for all the parents who come after you.

If you’re working in a small company or organization, there’s a fair chance they don’t officially have anything on the books about maternity leave. If this is the case for you, you have a great opportunity—not only to set yourself up, but also to ensure that every woman who comes after you can bond with her new baby without being thrown into financial turmoil.

Read Full Story