Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<br /> IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (<keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword>) has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium (<keyword id="534610" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIC">IIC</keyword>), an association of IT companies working towards the growth of indstrial internet across the globe.<br />
	<br /> “Large-scale adoption of <keyword id="2648047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IoT-Systems">IoT systems</keyword> requires close collaboration between technology companies, governments, universities and industry. At TCS, we engage with several IoT stakeholders through our TCS COIN (co-innovation) network. TCS is excited to be a part of the IIC, which is a key enabler of collaboration and co-innovation.” said Ananth Krishnan, chief technology officer, TCS.<br />
	<br />
	Expressing happiness over acquiring a new member in the association, Dr Richard Soley, executive director of IIC said, “TCS is an innovator and already has experience in Industrial Internet solutions, and we look forward to their active participation. As one of the world’s leading IT service and consulting companies, TCS will be a great contributor in IIC work and on the various IIC Working Committees.”<br />
	<br />
	IIC was founded in March 2014 and at present constitutes research organizations and government bodies to collaborate and spearhead innovations in the field of industrial Internet.  The body also provides a platform for addressing issues such as privacy and security. <br />
	<br />
	<em>Image Credit: Indiatimes.com</em>

Indian
IT Major TCS Joins Industrial Internet Consortium<b></b>

New Delhi, Jan 28 () Consumer electronics maker Panasonic India has ventured into education sector by launching two education-based solutions CareerEx and XcelIT, and aims to impact around one lakh students by 2025.
<p>Both the solutions are designed and developed at Panasonic's India Innovation Centre (IIC) for the students, colleges and universities to bridge the existing skill gap between current education and employment needs for the future, the firm said in a statement.
</p><p>CareerEx has been designed to address the needs of college and university students to advance their skillset with emerging technologies such as Data Science, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning/AI and Internet of Things.
</p><p>XcelIT is designed for school students primarily residing in Tier II &amp; III cities to make them ready for all competitive exams.
</p><p>"Through the launch of CareerEx and XcelIT, we hope to develop another innovative Edu-tech solution to upskill technology talent pool to address the unemployment rate amongst urban youth and at the same time cater to the demands of industry. We are looking to positively impact nearly 1,00,000 students over next 5 years," Panasonic India Innovation Centre Head Atsushi Motoya said.
</p><p>CareerEx and XcelIT are available on both Android and iOS application stores.
</p><p>Panasonic has also collaborated with specialised educational partners for this programme.
</p>Moreover, students will get a chance to work on Panasonic projects and internships, it added.  KRH  BAL

Panasonic forays into education sector in India

(Eds: Adding details &amp; recoveries) <p>Bhubaneswar, Jun 13 () Odisha on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with 225 more people, including some police personnel, testing positive for the disease, taking the state's tally to 3,723, a Health Department official said. </p><p>Of the fresh cases, 196 were reported from various quarantine centres, where people returning from other states were lodged, while 29 others were detected in contact-tracing exercises, he said. </p><p>The maximum of 92 fresh cases was detected in Cuttack district, followed by 20 in Ganjam and 19 in Khurda. Puri district, which is preparing for the annual Rath Jatra of Lord Jagannath on June 23, also reported 15 cases. </p><p>Cuttack district incidentally has the highest 186 active COVID case, followed by 128 in Ganjam in the state. </p><p>Fifteen cases were found in Kandhamal, followed by 13 in Jagatsinghpur, 12 in Bolangir, nine in Mayurbhanj, seven each in Nayagarh and Dhenkanal, five in Bhadrak, four in Kendrapara, three in Kalahandi, two in Balasore and one each in Angul and Sundergarh. </p><p>Officials said two senior police officers, including a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) and an inspector-in-charge (IIC) rank officer, were among the five police personnel who tested positive for the deadly virus. </p><p>Earlier, a total of 136 disaster response personnel of the Odisha Police were found to have the virus after their return from the cyclone restoration duty in West Bengal. </p><p>Meanwhile, 120 patients recovered from the disease on Saturday, taking the total number of cured persons to 2,594. </p><p>With this, the number of active cases in the state now stands at 1,116, while 2,594 people have recovered from the disease till Saturday, the official said. </p><p>Ten people have died of the disease in the state. Three more patients had tested positive for the disease but they died of other reasons, the official said. </p><p>Keeping in view the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, several districts like Keonjhar, Khurda, Ganjam, Jatasinghpur and Cuttack have imposed prohibitory orders banning gathering of more than seven people during the celebration of the three-day Raja festival, which commences from Sunday. </p>The district administrations have also banned mass celebration of the festival, the official said. AAM RG KJ KJ

Odisha reports 225 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 3,723

<p class="source"><span>Disney</span></p><p>The folks over at Lucasfilm are masters at creating anticipation for their films. Information leaks are few and far between, and trailers are even scarcer. This has left the denizens of the internet to scrounge for any new morsel of information about the galactic saga. </p><p>Luckily, Wahyu Ichwandardi has taken it upon himself to help ease the wait until the film hits theaters on December 16. The New York-based artist has recreated the most recent "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" trailer with a retro aesthetic. </p><p><span>Ichwandardi used an Apple IIc, which was released in 1984, along with a KoalaPad+. Check out the making-of below:</span></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-3-elon-musk-electric-car-vehicle-2017-6">Tesla will reveal the finished Model 3 in July - here's everything you need to know about the car</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video

An artist recreated the trailer for 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' using a 33-year-old Apple computer

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sal Veder / AP Images</span></p><p class="caption">Steve Jobs, John Sculley, and Steve Wozniak launch the Apple IIc in 1984.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>A spec sheet for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/apple">Apple's</a> first computer handwritten by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/steve-jobs">Steve Jobs</a> has been unearthed and is up for auction.</li><li>It's expected to fetch up to $60,000.</li><li>It advertised an Apple-1 computer board for $75. "A real deal," Jobs wrote on the page. </li></ul><p>A piece of computer history is <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24898/lot/631/">up for auction</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24898/lot/631/">Bonhams is currently auctioning</a> a yellowed spec sheet and two polaroids from the late '70s for as much as $60,000. </p><p>The reason why these old papers could sell for such a rich sum? The spec sheet is handwritten by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, and it advertised one of Apple's first computers for $75.</p><p>"A real deal," according to the spec sheet. (Working Apple-1 computers now sell for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-1-computer-auction-price-250000-2016-8">as much as $270,000.</a>)</p><p>Check it out:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24898/lot/631/">Bonhams</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The papers were apparently given to a "longtime friend" of Jobs in 1976, the year before Apple released the Apple II, the computer that propelled it to become a major force in the electronics industry.</p><p>From the auction description:</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">"With the first 50 boards sold to the Byte Shop, Steve Jobs continued the momentum by marketing bare Apple-1 printed circuit boards (PCBs) to friends and acquaintances. The present manuscript is essentially a specification sheet for the computer and was given to the consignor during a visit to Jobs' garage. Jobs refers to the computer as "Apple Computer-1" and states that it uses either the 6800, 6501 or 6502 microprocessor, but that the 6501 or 6502 was "recommended because we have basic." He touts the "full crt terminal" the "58 ic's which includes 16 for 8K ram!!" Curiously, Jobs states "basic on the way (ROM)," which never materialized for the Apple-1, but did the following year for the Apple II. Jobs quotes the price of $75 for the board and manual, "a real deal" and lists his mailing address and phone number at the bottom."</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">"The manuscript is accompanied by two Polaroid photographs. The first shows an Apple-1 on a wooden table with a keyboard, monitor and power supply partially visible in the right edge. It looks very much like the "Production Prototype," number 2 in Mike Willegal's Apple-1 Registry, with its orange capacitors, white ceramic MOS MCS 6502 and with a similar power supply setup. The other Polaroid shows the Apple-1 screen with "Apple Computer Co. at the bottom and Jobs' address and phone number for contact. Jobs has written on the lower margin "40x24 OR 26 lines / fuzzy because camera wiggled." </p><p>Last year, a job application by Jobs from 1973 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-job-application-3-years-before-apple-auction-2018-3">sold for $174,000</a>.</p><p>Check out that piece of computer history below:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=5002">RR Auction</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-landing-super-hard-insight-curiosity-mars2020-2018-11">Why it's so difficult to land a spacecraft on Mars</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A note handwritten by Steve Jobs about how the first Apple computer was 'a real deal' at $75 has been unearthed

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Part of Apple's culture, instilled by Steve Jobs, is this <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-guy-is-on-a-mission-to-get-apple-to-honor-steve-jobs-2012-4">ethic to always look forward, not look back.&#xa0;</a>&#xa0;<p>But Apple&#xa0;is&#xa0;obsessed with one year in history: 1984. The year the company introduced the Mac and the company was saved.</p><p>Every Apple press release since mid-2015&#xa0;includes this boilerplate (emphasis ours):</p><p>While&#xa0;Apple's press releases have always honored the Mac, they didn't honor the year.</p><p>They used to humbly say: "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world ... " and then went on to mention things like "Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad."</p><p>But maybe this idea that Jobs always looked forward, never back is a bit of a myth.</p><p>Because we found this old video from 1984 for Apple's worldwide sales staff meeting in Hawaii, to get them riled up about selling the new Mac.</p><p>It's World War II movie named "1944" that features&#xa0;Steve Jobs as Franklin D. Roosevelt. &#xa0;(It's a play off the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I">very famous Mac commercial called 1984</a>, that introduced the Mac to the public.)&#xa0;</p><p>1944 is&#xa0;filled with geeky Apple jokes.</p><p>Like at 3:09, "General Patton" refers to the dominance of Microsoft PCs back in the day and&#xa0;says: "The enemy is big, but we are smart. They are the elephant. We are the mouse."</p><p>Or at 3:21, when he says, "Let us never forget the glorious victories of the past. WWI, WWII, II+, IIe, and IIc." In the crowd, a&#xa0;man whispers, "What about III?" And a woman answers, "We don't talk about III."</p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_III">Apple III was a notorious failure</a>, and badly hurt the company and its reputation. The new PC, the Mac largely saved Apple.</p><p>But the best part is at&#xa0;05:33, where Steve Jobs shows up as President&#xa0;Roosevelt. This was before Jobs was famously voted out of the company in 1985. He, of course, returned in 1997, and the rest is, as they say, history.&#xa0;</p><p><div></div></p>

Apple is still obsessed with the year 1984

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Actress Kirstie Alley is being repeatedly confused for "Christie Ally" - or an associate of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The New York Times inadvertently <a href="http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/05/facepalm_of_the_day_kirstie_alley_cops_to_bridgega.html">started the mix-up</a></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;on Friday morning with a</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;headline declaring, "Christie Ally to Plead Guilty in New Jersey Bridge Scandal."</span></p><p>That ally is David Wildstein,&#xa0;the former director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.</p><p>Wildstein is <em>not</em>, it apparently should be noted,&#xa0;"Cheers" actress Kirstie Alley. But people nevertheless had some difficulty distinguishing the two:</p><div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;Eventually, Alley's name began to trend on Twitter and the actress herself weighed in:&#xa0;</p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer">She also responded to an image of a New York Times article featuring a photo of Christie replaced with herself. The newspaper told Business Insider, however, that the photo was fake. "There was no error by The Times," spokeswoman&#xa0;Danielle Rhoades Ha said.&#xa0;</p><div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer">Wildstein is involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal that engulfed Christie's administration and hurt his prospects in the 2016 presidential race. Wildstein ordered the&#xa0;September 2013 lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that some say was political retaliation against the mayor whose town was devastated by the resulting traffic.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-burpee-full-body-workout-2015-3">This simple exercise will work out every muscle in your body</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lyeGY3dDqIOrfWUeyzqcSzvAuvKi9t3n" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Actress Kirstie Alley responds after being confused for 'Christie Ally' in Bridgegate scandal

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">When Steve Jobs was booted from Apple in the 80s, John Sculley reigned as the CEO. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">While he was in charge, Apple </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kio2_FdSDAo">created a promo video</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> showcasing all of the ways kids could use Apple technology to help expand their knowledge inside the classroom.</span></p>
<p>The video features <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kio2_FdSDAo">several children writing (typing) fan letters</a> to Sculley and Apple, Inc.</p>
<p>We've been obsessing over the promos all morning. They're an adorable blast from the past. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">You may recognize this GIF of a kid named Brent Rambo (</span><a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/brent-rambo">it has become wildly popular in the last year</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">) from the promo video.</span></p>
<p>He wrote: "Dear Mr. Sculley, Mac RULES the world! Your Mac Friend, Brent Rambo."</p>
<p>Below, we have more including the letters these kids wrote to Sculley.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><em style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Dear Mr. Sculley,</em></h2>
<p><em>At school we have an Apple IIe and at home I have a Macintosh. I think your computers are great. In the future, maybe you can invent a computer that can communicate with animals. Maybe even dolphins! I think dolphins are smart. Maybe smarter than us, in their own way.</em></p>
<p><em>Sincerely,</em></p>
<p><em>Caroline Cantaniab</em></p>
<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><br /></em></p>
<p><em>Dear Mr. Sculley,</em></p>
<p><em>My dad says computers are only tools, and real creativity comes from only your mind. He's right, I guess, but what a great tool a computer is! Computers are the tool of the future. As my computer teacher likes to say: "there are no limits."</em></p>
<p><em>Sincerely,</em></p>
<p><em>Gina Russo</em></p>
<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><br /></em></p>
<p><em><br /></em>This 12-year-old named Randy Reddick wrote a letter to John Sculley explaining how he programs video games, designs graphics and writes songs on his Apple IIC. </p>
<p>"I yearn for something more," he writes, "but my dad won't let me get a Macintosh."</p>
<p>He then asks John Sculley to write a letter back to his father, encouraging him to buy his son all of the Apple products he wants.</p>
<p>He includes a long list.</p>
<p>"Make sure you make it a professional-type letter," he adds.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><em> </em>You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kio2_FdSDAo">the full promo video here</a>. The letters begin at 5:22.</p>
<p>)</p>

GIFS: You Have To See These Great 1990s Promos Of Little Kids Using Apple Computers

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Leah Millis</span></p><p class="caption">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Some of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/facebook">Facebook's</a> content moderators are in revolt over new 'Big Brother'-style rules.</strong></li><li><strong>In an open letter to Facebook employees, moderators from Austin, Texas complained about draconian working conditions that are eroding trust in the company.</strong></li><li><strong>The letter highlights the gulf in working conditions between Facebook's well-compensated, full-time employees and its legions of contractor content moderators.</strong></li><li><strong>Workers are unable to use their phones, leave the property during breaks, have visitors, or talk to family members about their work, the letter says.</strong></li><li><strong>Business Insider is republishing the letter in full below.</strong></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/facebook">Facebook</a> content moderators have complained about draconian rules at one of Facebook's contractor's facilities - sparking outrage from Facebook employees over the "inhumane" conditions.</p><p>At a facility run by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/accenture">Accenture</a> in Austin, Texas, moderators responsible for helping keep the social network clear of graphic violence, hate speech, and images of child abuse have had onerous new restrictions placed on them, they say - creating a "Big Brother environment" that is eroding their "sense of humanity" and damaging trust between them and the company.</p><p>These rules include being unable to leave the property during breaks; being banned from freely using their phones, even in emergencies; and restrictions being placed on when they can take "wellness" breaks; in addition to being unable to speak to family members about their work, according to an open letter from the contract workers that was shared on Facebook's internal forum Workplace and seen by Business Insider.</p><p>"Despite our pride in our work, Content Moderators have a secondary status in th hierarchy of the workplace ... This secondary status is reinforced by directives that strictly manage our personal movements, and are in direct opposition to Facebook's stated values. We feel it is necessary to shed light on the polices that are negatively impacting our persona autonomy," the post says.</p><p>"We hope by publishing this letter internally, we can restore our sense of humanity and dignity in the workplace."</p><p>The complaint starkly illustrates the gulf in working conditions that exists at Facebook across its workforce. Its full-time employees are legendarily well-treated, with a median company salary of more than $240,000 and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-employee-perks-benefits-2017-11">a lavish array of perks</a> - from bike repair and arcade games to egg-freezing. But the company also utilizes legions of contractors through outsourcing firms, who don't qualify as Facebook employees or receive the same benefits, and are often tasked with the brutal and thankless tasks that keep the social network running safely.</p><p>The second-class nature of some Facebook employees is particularly striking when it comes to the content moderators that top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have trumpeted as being critical assets in the company's efforts to keep the site a safe and popular online destination.</p><p>For the legions of content moderators employed by Facebook, as well as other social networks, the complaint offers an unfiltered window into what <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worst-job-in-technology-staring-at-human-depravity-to-keep-it-off-facebook-1514398398">the Wall Street Journal once described as</a> "the worst job in technology," a role that entails non-stop viewing and deleting of disturbing, often gory, videos and photos uploaded by users. </p><p>A Facebook spokesperson could not immediately comment. Accenture did not respond to a request for comment. </p><h2>The 'big brother environment' is eroding worker trust</h2><p>The letter lists a host of grievances from the moderators, who are technically employed as "contingent" workers, at the Austin facility. Many of the grievances revolve around break periods.</p><p>Moderators are no longer allowed to leave the property during legally mandated breaks or during their"Wellness" breaks - additional break time given to workers in which they can they can take downtime or speak to company-provided "Wellness Coaches." </p><p>"CMs are not allowed to enjoy a simple walk around the block on which the building is located," the letter reads.</p><p>Workers are also now forced to use their break periods if they need to communicate with someone who isn't currently in their office, rather than being able to do it during regular working time: "Asking employees to go into their break time to resolve even minor issues takes away from the principal function of break time. This is especially acute for people who work on teams that deal with graphic and disturbing content, folks who need their break time to be exactly that."</p><p>Additional rules have also been placed on when exactly in the day breaks can be taken.</p><p>Another area of concern is around workers' phones.</p><p>Moderators have been told they will no longer be able to use their phones freely in the office apart from during lunch and break periods, and cannot book rooms to take calls, "even when the room is empty and the phone call is a family emergency." And the new rule will be strictly enforced: "Accenture staff informed CMs that Accenture Operations will be surveying the floor on an hourly basis to enforce this new directive. "</p><p>This comes on top of an NDA agreement that forbids workers from talking to family members about their work, and rules against bringing guests to the office, even family. (Regular Facebook employees in other offices are free to invite guests to visit.)</p><p>"We take pride in our work within Community Operations, and we take pride in protecting our client's platform from bad actors. But that pride shrinks as this enforcement erodes the trust between the workforce and management. It is difficult to perform in an environment that is marked by an unreasonable increase in monitoring from the top down," the letter says.</p><p>"Furthermore, enforcing such restriction ignores that workers are people. One cannot reasonably expect workers to not only sign an NDA that forbids us from venting to our loved ones about our work day, but also insulate ourselves from the outside world and its circumstances for 90 percent of the day.</p><p>"The Content Moderator teams within Community Operations are diverse; composed of people of all walks of life, our team members have varying familial obligations and needs. The Big Brother environment created by this change makes it difficult for people to quickly resolve matters that need immediate yet short term attention out of fear that they may be reprimanded by peers and managers alike."</p><p>It's not clear if the same rules also apply to other content moderation offices run by Accenture.</p><h2>'This is inhumane'</h2><p>Big tech companies often use contract workers to cheaply and quickly expand their workforce for specific projects, but the second-class status of these workers has become an increasingly hot-button issue in Silicon Valley in recent years. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/20/facebook-contractors-filter-digital-labor-dispute-christmas">The Guardian reported in December 2018 how Facebook contract workers pushing for better conditions </a>were given an ultimatum to accept an offer or lose their jobs on the eve of Christmas (after the report was published, Facebook backed down). And <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-temp-contractors-lost-access-internal-chat-groups-2019-1">Google has also faced scrutiny </a>over its treatment of its contract, vendor, and temporary workers (also known as TVCs).</p><p>Some Facebook employees appeared shocked and horrified that content moderators associated with the social network were apparently being treated in such a way.</p><p>"Content Moderators are the people literally holding this platform together. They are ones keeping the platform safe. They are the people Zuck keeps mentioning publicly when we talk about hiring thousands of people to protect the platform. This is incredibly disappointing," a product design engineer wrote on Facebook's internal Workplace chat room. </p><p>"I worry this is trending towards how Amazon treats warehouse workers (many of whom are actually contingent)," a product manager replied.</p><p>A software engineer wrote: "This is inhumane."</p><p>"This makes me feel so friggin bad," added a project manager.</p><p>Facebook has told employees it is looking into the matter. Global operations exec John DeVine replied to the post, saying: "I want to thank you for this post and just acknowledge we are looking into this situation. We work closely with Accenture on our relationship with our employees, about whom we care very much. Their resiliency and well being is in the greatest interest of Facebook and our community."</p><p><em><strong>Do you work at Facebook? Got a tip?</strong><span> </span>Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at <a href="https://twitter.com/robaeprice">@robaeprice</a>. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.</em></p><h2>Here's the full memo:</h2><p style="padding-left: 40px;">This is a message from contingent workers (CWs) in Community Operations. Our work involves Content Moderation (CM). We are employed by Accenture Flex, which is in turn operated by Accenture. Due to the sensitive nature of our work, every one of us has signed a non-disclosure agreement that forbids telling even the people closest to us what we do for work.This NDA also forbids us from bringing guests to work, regardless of the guest's relationship to the employee (eg n<strong>o one is allowed to bring their child to Café Aztlán for an afternoon visit</strong>) and the nature of the visit. Community Operations CWs are expected to maintain a 98% accuracy score in their work of making decisions that affect the overall health of the community on the client's platform, and work across three shifts (Day, Swing, and Overnight). We take great pride in our work for the client.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">Recently, Accenture has placed restrictions of how CMs must use our breaks and Wellness*. The restrictions placed on Wellness include that Wellness must not be taken within the first or last hour of the shift, and <strong>CMs are forbidden from leaving the property while on wellness or legally mandated break time. CMs are now allowed to enjoy a simple walk around the block on which the building is located</strong>.  CMs are only allowed to leave the building during their unpaid 30-minute lunch.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">Additionally, Accenture Community Operations management announced that CMs at ATX 1601 are unable to use their phones unless they are on break or lunch, which are monitored through both SRT and an Accenture internal system. Accenture staff informed CMs that <strong>Accenture Operations will be surveying the floor on an hourly basis to enforce this new directive</strong>. This announcement comes with the caveat that CWs may use their phones in "common areas," which have been defined as the micro kitchen and the security desk lobby; Accenture communicated that couches or chains near meeting rooms are not common areas. <strong>We are not allowed to book rooms for phone conversations, even when the room is empty and the phone call is a family emergency</strong>.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">The imperative to achieve and exceed high metrics, combined with the fast-paced decision making and tight turnaround time expected, and the disturbing nature of the automatic work deliver CMs are exposed to can cause even the most strong-minded a person to step away and take time for self-care. This is especially common for teams that deal with sensitive content such as Graphic Violence.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">While the restrictions were conveyed, the reasoning for this sudden clampdown was not communicated to CMs. We take pride in our work within Community Operations, and we take pride in protecting our client's platform from bad actors. But that pride shrinks as this enforcement erodes the trust between the workforce and management. It is difficult to perform in an environment that is marked by an unreasonable increase in monitoring from the top down.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">Furthermore, enforcing such restriction ignores that workers are people. <strong>One cannot reasonably expect workers to not only sign an NDA that forbids us from venting to our loved ones about our work day, but also insulate ourselves from the outside world and its circumstances for 90 percent of the day</strong>.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">The Content Moderator teams within Community Operations are diverse; composed of people of all walks of life, our team members have varying familial obligations and needs. The Big Brother environment created by this change makes it difficult for people to quickly resolve matters that need immediate yet short term attention out of fear that they may be reprimanded by peers and managed alike.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">Lastly, it is taxing to communicate needs that need to be dealt with during regular operating hours, given that the majority of CMs generally work similar hours when compared to most businesses (8:00am - 4:30pm). For example, if a person needs to quickly communicate with anyone not currently in their office, they would have to go into their break time to do so, instead of being able to communicate from their desk and continue working. Asking employees to go into their break time to resolve even minor issues takes away from the principal function of break time. This is especially acute for people who work on teams that deal with graphic and disturbing content, folks who need their break time to be exactly that.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">Despite our pride in our work, Content Moderators have a secondary status in th hierarchy of the workplace, both within the Facebook and the Accenture structure. This secondary status is reinforced by directives that strictly manage our personal movements, and are in direct opposition to Facebook's stated values. We feel it is necessary to shed light on the polices that are negatively impacting our persona autonomy. We hope by publishing this letter internally, we can restore our sense of humanity and dignity in the workplace.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">* What is "Wellness"? The CMs work across a plethora of projects that expose moderators to written and visual content such as R<strong>evenge Porn, Inappropriate Interactions with Children (IIC), Hate Speech, Child Exploitation Imagery, Election Integrity, and Graphic Violence</strong>. Wellness allows moderators to disconnect from their work as needed, and meet with Wellness Coaches that are staffed by Accenture. Wellness time allotted varies from project to project: typically each team member is given 45 minutes of Wellness per week. CMs who work within Safety (comprising of CEI and Inappropriate Interactions with Children) are given two hours each shift.</p> <p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/stories-slide-deck?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=dmedia_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=dmedia_ctgr_leadgen_stories_deck"></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-macbook-air-laptop-microsoft-surface-go-tablet-review-2019-1">We compared the $1,200 MacBook Air with the $500 Surface Go, and the results were a mess</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

You Searched For "IIC" and got 11 results

Indian IT Major TCS Joins Industrial Internet Consortium

Purba Das

Panasonic forays into education sector in India

PTI

Odisha reports 225 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 3,723

PTI

An artist recreated the trailer for 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' using a 33-year-old Apple computer

Nick Vega

A note handwritten by Steve Jobs about how the first Apple computer was 'a real deal' at $75 has been unearthed

Kif Leswing

Apple is still obsessed with the year 1984

Julie Bort

Actress Kirstie Alley responds after being confused for 'Christie Ally' in Bridgegate scandal

Colin Campbell

GIFS: You Have To See These Great 1990s Promos Of Little Kids Using Apple Computers

Caroline Moss

Facebook moderators are in revolt over 'Big Brother'-style working conditions

Rob Price

Obama has introduced a sweeping set of new measures to tackle gun violence

Associated Press,Harrison Jac…

America's most prominent group advocating engagement with Iran was hit with a rough court decision

Armin Rosen

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides