Tech Talk Episode 21: WT Social: The New Facebook? 3D Printing Advancements, Cut the Cord

Hey Tech Fans. Check out the new social media site and the latest bionic arm here on LA NPDT Tech Talk. We bring you the latest in science and technology and keep you tuned in the newest gadgets and product innovations across the globe. Join LA New Product Development Team for the most recent, up-to-date tech news each day. Now, let’s get to today’s news.

WT Social: The New Facebook?

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is launching a social-media site calle WT: Social. His hope is to create a social media site that will compete with Facebook and Twitter with one big difference. No big advertisers. Instead of funding the site through advertising, he will be following the Wikipedia model and will finance the site through donations from users. The site will post news articles, but will have a different algorithm than other social media sites. Instead of giving priorities to the posts with the most likes, it will show the newest content first. Wales says of his site, “Instead of optimizing our algorithm to addict you and keep you clicking, we will only make money if you voluntarily choose to support us – which means that our goal is not clicks but actually being meaningful to your life.”

3D Printing Advancements

Once again 3D printing is in the spotlight, and as this technology continually improves, we’ll see more and more of this. 3D printing has made a presence in manufacturing, health, and construction. This time around, a bionic hand was created and printed in just 10 hours. Experts from WMG worked with C Enterprise and Printed Electronics to print the hand with sensors built in. By embedding the electrical circuits into the hand, the wearer can move and control the bionic hand. A website has now been set up for people to order their bionic hand by entering certain dimensions of their arms.

Cut the Cord

Pay TV subscribers are quickly tossing in the towel and switching to various streaming services. In the third quarter alone, almost 2 million people cut the cord. With new streaming available more and more often, including the latest Disney +, this number is expected to keep climbing. As prices continue to increase for cable and satellite TV, streaming services offer a less expensive alternative to get the same or very similar TV options. Expect to see more of this coming in 2020.