They say the first step to overcoming addiction is acknowledging the problem, but what if your addiction is to technology?
IPhone designer and Nest founder Tony Fadell told Cheddar people need tools to understand how they use their devices.
“Today we do not have the information at our fingertips to allow us to see what our digital life looks like,” he said. “All of these companies have a measurement of our digital life. They know how much time we spend in each of these apps.”
“Apple and Google create these platforms, and they are in the perfect position to give us this data this back to us, and blend it with our physical data.”
Fadell’s comments follow calls from two major Apple investors that the tech giant do more to combat smartphone addiction among children. Jana Partners and California’s teachers’ retirement fund wrote letter to the company over the weekend, saying overuse of the devices has lead to lack of concentration in classrooms.
Fadell argues, though, that the issue is not exclusive to children.
“We have to think broader,” he said. “When it comes to our family, we have tech-free Sundays, where the parents and the kids are not on technology, where we’re together as a family.”
For the full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/apple-ipod-co-inventor-tony-fadell-on-combating-addictive-quality-of-technology).
As VC funds shovel money into start-ups, they have noticeably stayed away from Juul, even as it exploded in growth and catapulted to become the most valuable vape brand. Erin Griffith, correspondent for the New York Times, said investors appear to be taking a moral stand, even as they simultaneously invest in other nicotine-delivery products.
SoundCloud announced Tuesday that it is expanding its "Premier" feature, which takes a focus on the scores of musicians who use the service to record and promote their work. CEO Kerry Trainor said this feature will allow artists to be directly monetized on the platform, and it will rival any process at other streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.
Google's Pixel event kicks off on Tuesday in New York City. The company is expected to announce three new phones, with one costing upwards of $1,000. Russell Holly, Senior Editor at Android Central and Ajay Kumar, Mobile Analyst at PCMag, give their predictions for the future of Google's hardware ecosystem.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Google had exposed over 500,000 Google+ users' data and failed to alert authorities. The company ultimately said it would shut down the consumer version of the social network. Douglas MacMillan, the reporter who broke the story for the Journal, said Google's handling of the information is causing a lot of speculation about the tech giant's business practices.
Grocery delivery has a new player in Los Angeles: Milk and Eggs. This service connects consumers with farmers and food producers, and the food is delivered straight from the source, made fresh for every order. Kenneth Wu, CEO and founder of Milk and Eggs, said that unlike Walmart and Amazon, his company is able to completely eliminate the grocery store.
The tech giant made its decision after reports that the data of about a half million users of Google+ had been exposed. The company reportedly chose not to disclose the bug for fear of repercussions. Google said there was no evidence the information was misused.
Acclaimed music producer, DJ, and entrepreneur Steve Aoki is dipping his toe into comic books. At New York Comic Con Aoki debuted 'Neon Future,' his comic debut.
With sites like Priceline, Kayak, and Travelocity helping consumers find cheaper flights in-the-moment, Hopper is going one step further, letting customers know when to wait to buy an airline ticket by predicting when prices will go down. With a new round of funding, Hopper is going all in on artificial intelligence technology, helping consumers find the cheapest flights possible, said Dakota Smith, the company's head of growth and business.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
