ZapReader Speed-Reading 1-Year Subscription: $8.50

We have a deal on ZapReader, a speed-reading trainer. ZapReader includes advice from experts, and offers scientifically designed exercises to remove bad reading habits automatically. One year of ZapReader is $9.99 through our deal, but coupon code BFSAVE15 brings the price down to $8.50 at checkout. There’s a three-year option available in the deal listing, and the coupon code works on it, too.

Why You Should Turn Off Your Sleep Tracker

Sleep trackers, including apps on the Apple Watch, have become increasingly popular. However, an article for Wired suggests they may not be doing us all that much good.

Sleep has become one more thing to feel guilty about, even when the data we’re consulting is often flawed or incomplete. It’s one more number we didn’t hit, one more goal we didn’t achieve. Pangs of guilt follow every new study reminding us of this magical panacea, if we would just turn off Netflix, forget our social lives, emails, and all the dishes in the sink, and just climb into bed. Sleep may be a biological necessity, but our stress over it is a choice. So let’s put the issue to bed. Hit the snooze button on this one!

Traffic Cameras Could Soon Tell if you Text and Drive

Australia will soon install a camera system powered by machine learning that is designed to spot mobile phones in cars.

To let drivers adjust, warning letters will be sent to those spotted using phones by the cameras for the first three months. Australia uses a points system for drivers — unrestricted driver’s licenses have 13 points. After the first three months, drivers caught using their phones illegally will lose five points and be issued a $344 fine. During other periods, the penalty could increase to 10 points. If a driver loses all of their points, they could lose their license.

Distracted driving is absolutely a serious problem, but I don’t think more surveillance infrastructure is the answer.

Who is Sundar Pichai, And What Happens Now That he is CEO of Alphabet?

On Tuesday, Google’s parent company Alphabet announced that Larry Page and Sergey Brin were stepping aside and that Sundar Pichai was the new CEO.  On The Verge, Dieter Bohn looked at what this means for the future of the company.

I see the founding of Alphabet in 2015 as an explicit attempt to start Google’s third era. But what it really was was a midlife crisis. Splitting off experimental divisions into separate companies inside an umbrella corporation might have made sense in theory, but in practice everybody knew the truth: it was all Google and so-called “other bets” on the side. It didn’t really start the new era, is what I’m saying. But now that Pichai is running Alphabet officially alongside (above? contiguous with?) Google, he can do the same product cleanup work for the Alphabet companies. That is, if Page and Brin will let him. They did promise to “continue talking with Sundar regularly, especially on topics we’re passionate about.” It’s something to watch out for in the future, but it’s also not the most important job Pichai has right now.

Wall Street Journal Special Writer Gregory Zuckerman - TMO Background Mode Interview

Gregory Zuckerman is a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal, a 23-year veteran of the paper and a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award—the highest honor in business journalism. At the Journal, Greg writes about big financial firms, personalities and trades, as well as hedge funds, the energy revolution and more. Greg is the author of The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched a Quant Revolution, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Greg told me the surprising tale about how he got started covering business issues and how he finally landed at the WSJ. He told me how he develops his contacts and works with them to develop breaking stories. We talked about his award winning work and what kind of effort that takes. We finished with his latest book describing how Jim Simons and his team of physicist-analysts changed investing forever—and got rich in the process.

RemoBell Wireless Wi-Fi Video Doorbell: $76.50

We have a deal on RemoBell, a wireless Wi-Fi video doorbell. It uses AA batteries, communicates with an iOS or Android app, and support Alexa and Google Home. It also uses infrared for night-vision, and it’s US$89.99 through our deal, but coupon code BFSAVE15 brings it down to $76.50 at checkout.

T-Mobile Switches on its 600MHz 5G Network

T-Mobile turned its 600MHz 5G network on, but no one can use it until 5G-capable smartphones are released, like two this Friday.

The “nationwide” 5G deployment relies on a slower form of 5G, using T-Mobile’s 600MHz spectrum. This “low-band” 5G essentially takes airwaves like the ones used for LTE and bundles them together with some new technology to deliver faster speeds.

T-Mobile doesn’t offer specifics on what kind of speeds you’ll see on the new network, and the actual improvements will vary a lot by location. “In some places, 600 MHz 5G will be a lot faster than LTE. In others, customers won’t see as much difference.”

Facebook’s Algorithms Flagged a Power Mac G4 as Sexually Explicit

Not much to the story but I think it’s funny. Someone posted in the Macrumors forums saying that Facebook’s algorithms flagged their G4 workstation with the message, “This listing may go against our rules on overtly sexual content.”

I am trying to sell an old G4 tower on Facebook but their AI is loosing its cool on my G4 MDD’s sexy curves.

That sure wouldn’t happen with a modern, square piece if metal!

Makes me want to keep it…

Archivists Want to Support LibGen With Resources

Library Genesis (LibGen) is a pirate website containing 33 terabytes of books, comics, scientific papers, and more. Countries and science publishers are constantly trying to take it down, along with its sister site SciHub. But a new project has been launched to help LibGen with seedboxes.

Two seedbox companies (services that provide high-bandwidth remote servers for uploading and downloading data), Seedbox.io and UltraSeedbox, stepped in to support the project. A week later, LibGen is seeding 10 terabytes and 900,000 scientific books thanks to help from Seedbox.io and UltraSeedbox.

LibGen also teamed up with another massive online archiving project, The-Eye, to facilitate the tracking, storage, and seeding of LibGen’s scientific archive.

Sony Updates Smart TV Software With Bring AirPlay and HomeKit 2 Support

Sony has updated the software on some 2018 and 2019 smart TVs, MacRumors reported. The update brings AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to these devices.

Earlier this year, Sony announced that ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ support would come to some of its mid-range and high-end smart TVs by way of a software update. This Android 9 Pie update makes good on that promise, and also includes Dolby Atmos support. The update is available for the 2018 A9F and Z9F models as well as the 2019 A9G, Z9G, X950G, and X850G (55, 65, 75, 85-inch). TV tech site FlatpanelsHD notes that the 2018 A9F and Z9F models weren’t listed as compatible models in Sony’s original announcement, but they’ve since been included.

Cast and Director of 'The Banker’ Defend Film

Apple TV+ film The Banker has been shrouded in controversy over allegations of sexual abuse. However, Variety report the cast and crew have defended the project.

In a statement, the film’s director, writer, and producer George Nolfi, as well as cast members such as Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Nia Long, and other key talent say they stand by the film and “its positive message of empowerment.” While expressing sympathy for Cynthia Garrett, they note that the film is not based on the memories of Garrett’s children, but on interviews with Garrett himself, as well as transcripts, court rulings, and articles. “The Banker” tells the story of Garrett and his partner Joe Morris’s successful efforts to circumvent a racist establishment by convincing white man to be the face of their real estate and banking empire. Cynthia Garrett has said the film does not accurately portray her family’s story.