Geek Trivia: Which Actor Voiced The Joker In Batman: The Animated Series But Was Cut Because He Terrified Children?

William Defoe Mark Hamill James Woods Tim Curry

Think You Know the Answer?

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Interview with Garry Kasparov, the first chess world champion to be defeated by a computer, about chess, AI, and a strategy for staying a step ahead of machines (Will Knight/Wired)

Will Knight / Wired:
Interview with Garry Kasparov, the first chess world champion to be defeated by a computer, about chess, AI, and a strategy for staying a step ahead of machines  —  Twenty-three years after he lost to Deep Blue, Kasparov says people need to work with machines.  You have to “nudge the flock of intelligent algorithms.”

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iMerit raises $20M Series B for its platform that helps enrich and annotate large datasets that power advanced algorithms in fields such as machine learning (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs:
iMerit raises $20M Series B for its platform that helps enrich and annotate large datasets that power advanced algorithms in fields such as machine learning  —  iMerit, a Los Gatos, CA-based data annotation and enrichment company, raised $20m in Series B funding.

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Michigan-based Algo, a SaaS startup that uses AI to help companies analyze and manage their supply chains, raises $15M Series A led by Integrity Growth Partners (Nick Manes/Crain's Detroit Business)

Nick Manes / Crain's Detroit Business:
Michigan-based Algo, a SaaS startup that uses AI to help companies analyze and manage their supply chains, raises $15M Series A led by Integrity Growth Partners  —  - $15 million investment into Troy company Algo  — Company applies AI to supply chain management

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Swedish game developer Embracer to buy US-based Saber Interactive, maker of the game World War Z, for up to $525M in cash and stock, most of which is deferred (Johannes Hellstrom/Reuters)

Johannes Hellstrom / Reuters:
Swedish game developer Embracer to buy US-based Saber Interactive, maker of the game World War Z, for up to $525M in cash and stock, most of which is deferred  —  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish video game group Embracer is buying U.S. game developer Saber Interactive for up to $525 million, the Swedish company said on Wednesday.

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CB Insights: fintech startups across the world raised $33.9B across 1,912 deals in 2019, which is down from $40.8B raised across 2,049 deals in 2018 (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
CB Insights: fintech startups across the world raised $33.9B across 1,912 deals in 2019, which is down from $40.8B raised across 2,049 deals in 2018  —  Financial services startups raised less money in 2019 than they did in 2018 as VC firms looked to back late stage firms and focused on developing markets, a new report has revealed.

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Sources: Intuit is nearing a deal to buy personal finance portal Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock; the deal could be announced as soon as Monday (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Intuit is nearing a deal to buy personal finance portal Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock; the deal could be announced as soon as Monday  —  Acquisition would be Intuit's largest ever and the first sizable transaction under CEO Sasan Goodarzi

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Enveil, a startup working on homomorphic encryption, raises $10M Series A led by C5 Capital, with Mastercard, Capital One Ventures, and others participating (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Enveil, a startup working on homomorphic encryption, raises $10M Series A led by C5 Capital, with Mastercard, Capital One Ventures, and others participating  —  Analyzing, searching, and performing calculations on encrypted data hasn't historically been possible at scale.

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Reggora, a residential appraisal software platform, raises $10M Series A, led by Spark Capital with Boston Seed Capital participating (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs:
Reggora, a residential appraisal software platform, raises $10M Series A, led by Spark Capital with Boston Seed Capital participating  —  Reggora, a Boston, MA-based residential appraisal software platform provider, raised $10m in Series A funding.  —  The round was led by Spark Capital, with participation from Boston Seed Capital.

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After exiting Colombia in January, Uber relaunches in the country after finding a legal loophole, says customers will now rent vehicles with drivers via its app (Reuters)

Reuters:
After exiting Colombia in January, Uber relaunches in the country after finding a legal loophole, says customers will now rent vehicles with drivers via its app  —  BOGOTA (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) resumed transporting passengers in Colombia on Thursday with a new service model …

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Fintech startups raised $34B in 2019

Financial services startups raised less money in 2019 than they did in 2018 as VC firms looked to back late stage firms and focused on developing markets, a new report has revealed.

According to research firm CB Insights’ annual report published this week, fintech startups across the world raised $33.9 billion* in total last year across 1,912 deals*, down from $40.8 billion they picked up by participating in 2,049 deals the year before.

It’s a comprehensive report, which we recommend you read in full here (your email is required to access it), but below are some of the key takeaways.

• Early stage startups struggled to attract money: Per the report, financing for startups looking to close Seed or Series A dropped to a five-year low in 2019. On the flip side, money pouring into Series B or beyond startups was at record five-year high.
  

  Early-stage deals dropped to a 12-quarter low as deal share globally shifts to mid- and late-stages (CB Insights)

• Emerging and frontier markets were at the centre stage of the most of the action: South America, Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia all topped their annual highs last year.
• Asia outpaced Europe in the second half of last year on both number of deals and bulk of capital raised. In Q3, European startups raised $1.6 billion through 95 deals, compared to $1.8 billion amassed by Asian startups across 157 deals. In Q4, a similar story was at play: European startups participated in 100 rounds to raise $1.2 billion, compared to $2.14 billion* raised by Asian startups across 125 deals*.
• Emergence of 24 new fintech unicorns in 2019: 8 fintech startups including Next Insurance, Bight Health, Flywire, High Radius, Ripple, and Figure attained the unicorn status in Q4 2019, and 16 others made it to the list throughout the rest of the last year.
  

  The fintech market globally today has 67 unicorns as of earlier this month (CB Insights)

• Insurtech sector, or startups such as Lemonade, Hippo, Next, Wefox, Bright Health that are offering insurance services, got a major boost last year. They raised 6.2 billion last year, up from $3.2 billion in 2018.
• Startups building solutions such as invoicing and taxing services and payroll and payments solutions for small and medium businesses also received the nod of VCs. In the U.S. alone, where more than 140 startups are operating in the space, raised $4 billion. In many more markets, such startups are beginning to emerge. In India, for instance Open and NiYo are building neo-banks for small businesses and they both raised money last year.
• Nearly 50% of all funding to fintech startups was concentrated in 83-mega rounds (those of size $100 million or above.): According to the research firm, 2019 was a record year for such rounds across the globe, except in Europe.
  

  2019 saw 83 mega-rounds totaling $17.2B, a record year in every market except Europe

• Funding of Germany-based startups reached an annual high: 65 deals in 2019 resulted in $1.79 billion raise, compared to 56 deals and raise of $757 million in 2018, and 66 deals and $622 million raise in 2017.
• Financial startups in Southeast Asia (SEA) raised $993 million across 124 rounds in 2019 in what was their best year.

*CB Insights report includes a $666 million financing round of Paytm. It was incorrectly reported by some news outlets and the $666 million raise was part of the $1 billion round the Indian startup had revealed weeks prior. We have adjusted the data accordingly.

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Companies are using social media influencers' faces without consent to promote products because recourse on even US-based platforms is somewhat complex (Emma Grey Ellis/Wired)

Emma Grey Ellis / Wired:
Companies are using social media influencers' faces without consent to promote products because recourse on even US-based platforms is somewhat complex  —  Fast fashion sellers are using social media stars' images without permission—and there's not much they can do about it.

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Original Content podcast: Netflix’s ‘Locke & Key’ offers spooky delights

At times, it can be hard to tell exactly who “Locke & Key” was made for.

Adapted from a comic book series written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, the show tells the story of the Locke family after they move into the mysterious Keyhouse, where they soon discover hidden keys that can be used for a variety of magical purposes.

With its emphasis on adolescent romance and magical powers, “Locke & Key” often feels like a young adult adaptation, but it also strays into darker territory, with plenty of horror, as well as a persuasive focus on the family’s ongoing trauma following the violent death of husband/father Rendell Locke.

Despite some quibbles, your Original Content podcast hosts agree that the show manages to balance these different elements effectively, with surprising plot twists, creepy visuals and a particularly compelling sibling relationship between the two teenaged Lockes, Tyler (played by Connor Jessup) and Kinsey (Emilia Jones).

In addition to reviewing the show, we also discuss the announcement that Netflix has acquired Adam McKay’s next film, “Don’t Look Up,” which will star Jennifer Lawrence. We had less to say about the movie itself and more about our respective attitudes towards a potential asteroid apocalypse.

You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You can also send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)

And if you want to skip ahead, here’s how the episode breaks down:

0:00 Intro
0:35 “Don’t Look Up” discussion
14:19 “Locke and Key” spoiler-free review
29:48 “Locke and Key” spoiler discussion

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Do phones need to fold?

As Samsung (re)unveiled its clamshell folding phone last week, I kept seeing the same question pop up amongst my social circles: why?

I was wondering the same thing myself, to be honest. I’m not sure even Samsung knows; they’d win me over by the end, but only somewhat. The halfway-folded, laptop-style “Flex Mode” allows you to place the phone on a table for hands-free video calling. That’s pretty neat, I guess. But… is that it?

The best answer to “why?” I’ve come up with so far isn’t a very satisfying one: Because they can (maybe). And because they sort of need to do something.

Let’s time-travel back to the early 2000s. Phones were weird, varied and no manufacturers really knew what was going to work. We had basic flip phones and Nokia’s indestructible bricks, but we also had phones that swiveled, slid and included chunky physical keyboards that seemed absolutely crucial. The Sidekick! LG Chocolate! BlackBerry Pearl! Most were pretty bad by today’s standards, but it was at least easy to tell one model from the next.

(Photo by Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images)

Then came the iPhone in 2007; a rectangular glass slab defined less by physical buttons and switches and more by the software that powered it. The device itself, a silhouette. There was hesitation to this formula, initially; the first Android phones shipped with swiveling keyboards, trackballs and various sliding pads. As iPhone sales grew, everyone else’s buttons, sliders and keyboards were boiled away as designers emulated the iPhone’s form factor. The best answer, it seemed, was a simple one.

Twelve years later, everything has become the same. Phones have become… boring. When everyone is trying to build a better rectangle, the battle becomes one of hardware specs. Which one has the fastest CPU? The best camera?

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Alphabet and Softbank ally with telcos like China Telecom and vendors like Nokia to promote industry-wide standards for balloon, drone network tech (Sam Nussey/Reuters)

Sam Nussey / Reuters:
Alphabet and Softbank ally with telcos like China Telecom and vendors like Nokia to promote industry-wide standards for balloon, drone network tech  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - Alphabet and SoftBank's attempts to launch flying cellphone antennas high into the atmosphere have received backing from global telcos …

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The Spotlight Search Tips Cheat Sheet for Mac

Spotlight is one of the easiest ways to launch files, folders, apps, and more on your Mac. You can bring it up with a keyboard shortcut (Cmd + Space) or by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar.

This native macOS feature also comes in handy when you want to look up definitions of words, get sports scores, track flights, do basic math, and retrieve all kinds of information in a snap. And thanks to natural language support, using Spotlight feels intuitive and effortless.

If you’re eager to discover the best tricks Spotlight is capable of, our cheat sheet below can help.

The cheat sheet includes keyboard shortcuts that work in Spotlight and special attributes you can use to filter data faster. You’ll also discover how to use Boolean operators, natural language, and various in-built Spotlight tools to access just the data you need in a few keystrokes.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download The Spotlight Search Tips Cheat Sheet for Mac.

The Spotlight Search Tips Cheat Sheet for Mac

Shortcut	Action
Basics
Cmd + Space	Open Spotlight
¹keyword(s)	Display results for search term with first result highlighted and its preview in right-hand pane
“keywords” or “phrase”	Display exact matches
²“as”	Display App Store as top result
²“pc”	Display Parental Controls as top result
Return (Enter)	Open selected item
Double-click result	Open selected item
Down Arrow	Select result below
Up Arrow	Select result above
³Tab	Select first item in preview pane
⁴Cmd	Display Finder location of selected result at bottom of preview pane
Right Arrow	Autocomplete search keyword using the suggested/selected result
Cmd + Down Arrow	Jump to first result in next category
Cmd + Up Arrow	Jump to first result in previous category
Cmd + L	Jump to definition in results
Cmd + R	Open result in Finder or relevant app if applicable
Cmd + Return (Enter)	Open result in Finder or relevant app if applicable
Cmd + I	Open Get Info pane for result
Cmd + B	Look up search term using default search engine in default browser
Cmd + C	Copy item
Drag result to Finder window or desktop	Copy item
Double-click Show all in Finder in results list	View all results in Finder
Hover over preview for audio/video result	Reveal Play button to play result in preview
Two-finger scroll over preview	Reveal scroll bar
Drag search box	Move Spotlight to reposition it
Esc	Clear search box
Cmd + Delete	Clear search box
Option + Cmd + Space	Open Finder search window with search box selected
⁵Search Using Metadata Attributes
from:Name	Created or sent by Name
by:Name	Created or sent by Name
author:Name	Created by Name
to:Name	Addressed to Name
title:Title_Name	With title Title_Name
tag:TagName	With tag Tag_Name
date:DD/MM/YY	From DD/MM/YY
created:DD/MM/YY	Created on DD/MM/YY
modified:DD/MM/YY	Modified on DD/MM/YY
⁶comment:keyword	Comment contains keyword
kind:app kind:application(s)	⁷Apps
kind:audio	Audio
kind:bookmark(s)	Bookmarks
kind:event(s)	Calendar events
kind:contact(s)	Contacts
kind:document(s)	Documents
kind email(s) kind: mail message(s)	Emails
kind:folder(s)	Folders
kind:font(s)	Fonts
kind:image(s), kind:jpeg, kind:png	Images
kind:movie(s)	Movies
kind:music	Music
kind:pdf(s)	PDF
kind:preferences kind:system preferences	Preferences
kind:presentation(s)	Presentations
kind:reminder(s)	Reminders
kind:pages	Pages documents
kind:numbers	Numbers spreadsheets
kind:keynote	Keynote presentations
⁸Search Using Boolean Operators
keyword 1 AND keyword 2	Results with keyword 1 and keyword 2
keyword 1 OR keyword 2	Results with keyword 1 or keyword 2
keyword 1 NOT keyword 2	Results with keyword 1 but not keyword 2
keyword 1 -keyword 2	Results with keyword 1 but not keyword 2
Tools/Math
⁹Find local businesses	coffee
	places to eat
	restaurant
	salon
	“starbucks”
	“apple store”
Get time zone information	“time in Sydney”
Get weather information	“weather” for local weather “weather in Mumbai”
Look up definitions	keyword
Convert temperatures	“302kelvins in f”
Convert measurements	“52 pounds to kilograms”
Convert currencies	“600gbp in usd”
Get math calculations	“234/5*6”
Get real-time sports scores	“cricket scores” “lakers game”
Get stock prices	“sbux” for SBUX or Starbucks Corporation
See what’s playing at local theaters	showtimes or movie times
Get movie details and showtimes	“men in black”
Track flights	“WN3536” or “southwest 3536”
¹⁰Play songs without opening iTunes	“waka waka”
Search Using Natural Language
emails i received today
photos from yesterday
files from this week
messages from last week
screenshots i took last month
last year photos
unread emails
pictures i took in june
documents i created in 2019
“spreadsheets from tim”
“presentations from ben”
¹Keyword(s) can be in title of Finder item or within content. ²Speed up search for apps and System Preferences panes by typing in their initials. Works with third-party apps also. ³Works with folders only. Preview pane items can be enclosed files or subfolders. ⁴Works with local results only. ⁵Can be used with or without keywords. ⁶Searches for Finder items with keyword in Comments section of Get Info pane. ⁷Without this filter, searching for an app name also reveals files recently used in app and matching apps in Mac App Store. ⁸Can be used with metadata attributes. Eg: kind:document date:25/08/19-31/08/19 NOT 28/08/19 ⁹Look under Maps category for relevant results. Does not work with all emojis. ¹⁰Hover over relevant track in preview to reveal Play button. Note: 1. Feature availability might vary based on country. 2. Visit System Preferences > Spotlight to toggle visibility of Spotlight categories.

Let Spotlight Find What You’re Looking For

Searching with Spotlight is one of the good habits you should get used to as a Mac user. It’s also among the best productivity tips we recommend for your Mac.

Image Credit: Wesson Wang on Unsplash

Read the full article: The Spotlight Search Tips Cheat Sheet for Mac

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