James Farrell

James Farrell is the former editor-in-chief of Chiang Mai CityNews, where he wrote and managed daily news, features, op-eds and blogs on a diverse range of topics. Prior to this, in the same city of Northern Thailand where he lives, he was the longstanding deputy editor of the monthly magazine Citylife. He has written on culture, politics, travel, tech, business, human rights, for local, national, and international news services and magazines. He has a keen interest in the role technology is playing in the transformation of society, culture and politics, especially in developing nations. This is reflected in his not-so-successful first novel.

Latest from James Farrell

Apple to team with Steven Spielberg to bring back ’80s TV series ‘Amazing Stories’

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Apple Inc.’s first major push into creating original programming will be a reboot of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s TV series, “Amazing Stories.” Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple would invest $1 billion over the next year to create several shows and movies and get a foothold in the streaming business. According to reports, this ...

YouTube bans gun modification videos in wake of Las Vegas shooting

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Following the shooting spree in Las Vegas that left 58 dead, YouTube has banned tutorial videos that helped gun enthusiasts to modify their weapon to fire more rapidly. The Google LLC-owned site said it had taken down videos that featured something called a “bump stock,” a $100 attachment to a semiautomatic rifle that can make ...

Facebook’s chief security officer takes to Twitter to defend company over ‘the algorithm’

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Facebook Inc. Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos unleashed a series of tweets Saturday defending his employer regarding allegations Facebook hasn’t done enough to combat the spread of fake news. “I am seeing a ton of coverage of our recent issues driven by stereotypes of our employees and attacks against fantasy, strawman tech cos,” wrote Stamos (pictured). ...

Social security numbers as IDs have to go, says White House official

INFRA - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

The Social Security number as Americans know it could be coming to an end as the Trump administration mulls a more modern kind of identification following the massive hack of U.S. consumer credit reporting agency Equifax Inc. Speaking on Tuesday at the Washington Post’s Cybersecurity Summit, White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce said that the ...

Facebook says 10M people saw Russian-bought political ads

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Facebook Inc. Monday turned over 3,000 ads to Congress related to a Russian misinformation campaign that was intended to sway the hearts and minds of the American public. According to a report in the New York Times, the ads covered a broad spectrum of sensitive issues in the U.S., with the faux-American accounts espousing opinions ...

Uber power struggle rages on: Ex-CEO Travis Kalanick appoints two new board members

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Uber Technologies Inc. cofounder and former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick appointed two new board members on Friday, which somehow came as a total shock to the rest of the board. Kalanick named Xerox Corp. former Chairwoman and Chief Executive Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch Inc. Chief Executive and Chairman John Thain as the new ...

Twitter slammed for ‘inadequate’ response to Russian misinformation ads

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Twitter Inc. dropped a bombshell Thursday after disclosing it had shut down 201 accounts connected to a Russian misinformation campaign. In a report titled “Russian Interference in 2016 US Election, Bots, & Misinformation,” Twitter said it had discovered that 22 accounts were linked with the 450 accounts that Facebook Inc. had also linked with Russian-based ...

Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t ‘like’ Trump saying Facebook is against him, and he fires back

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Facebook Inc., accused of helping elect President Trump because of fake news and Russian-paid ads, now has been attacked by Trump for allegedly attempting to sway voters against him. Not surprisingly, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday begged to differ. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg wrote that Facebook was not against him, stating that ...

New report reveals tech freelancers are raking in the cash, but not without risks

INFRA - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

For a few years now, a number of reports have documented that more and more people are deciding to go freelance. That may mean forgoing the two-week paid holiday in the Caribbean, but for some workers, especially in the tech milieu, it also means more personal freedom, the chance to work and travel, and the ability to ...

Tweet inflation: Twitter tests doubling up to a 280-character limit

APPS - BY JAMES FARRELL - 9 YEARS AGO

Twitter Inc. announced today a giant step toward allowing people to better express themselves: It’s doubling the character limit on tweets from 140 to 280 characters. The new limit will be tested on only a select audience at the moment, but Twitter product manager Aliza Rosen explained that Twitter hopes to find a suitable character ...