Twilio turns developer education into a game with TwilioQuest 3

Educating developers about cloud communications isn’t an easy task, and that’s why Twilio turned to a video game to do the job. TwilioQuest 3 is launching today with a mission of training developers to create cloud communications solutions.

It may sound like “gamification” rearing its ugly head again. But Kevin Whinnery, lead developer of the game, said that description isn’t a good one because it doesn’t reflect the effort that has gone into creating the game-themed tutorial application with animations that are done in classic 16-bit arcade style. Developers go on quests to complete programming challenges in desktop training sessions that replace live training.

Whinnery has been at Twilio for 6.5 years. He spent a lot of that time as a developer evangelist, teaching developers how to use JavaScript so they could be more successful. But the game turned out to be a better way to engage people, and the new version is a ground-up rewrite of the game. Whinnery and his team spent about six months on the latest version, which has about 10 hours of content.

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This is how to put power behind the fight for equal pay

When a movement gains momentum, actions for change can often get watered down into fancy logos, stamps of approval, and branding opportunities. And let’s be honest: These efforts don’t always translate into lasting change in the fight for pay equity.

Women in the United States make 20% less than men, but the statistics are even worse for women of color. Over the course of their lifetime, women of color lose up to a million dollars or more because of the pay gap.

Absent the swift, systemic action that this problem demands, the gap is not projected to close in the U.S. for a century. Globally, it’s projected to take twice as long, according to the World Economic Forum.

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Occipital Updates Structure Sensor with Active IR Stereo Depth Sensing in Mark II Version

Years ago, in 2013, Occipital introduced its original Structure Sensor for iOS, a mobile 3D scanning device for measuring three-dimensional objects. Soon after, in an unrelated deal, Apple acquired PrimeSense, the company that made one of the components for Occipital's scanning device.

But that hasn't stopped Occipital from building a follow-up to its original device, which the company unveiled on Wednesday. Occipital's new Structure Sensor Mark II includes optics for active IR stereo depth sensing and adds an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a wide-angle VGA camera in an enclosure about half the size of the original sensor.

The key optics for the Mark II model are a pair of infrared sensors and a laser projector. The infrared sensors feature global shutters for high accuracy data capture, while the Occipital-designed laser projector boasts high contrast and is safe for eyes.

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Notion Announces the Launch of NotionPRO, a 24/7 Professional Monitoring Service, Redefined.

DENVER, July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Notion, the comprehensive home monitoring and security system powered by a multifunctional IoT smart home sensor, announced NotionPRO, a new 24/7 professional home security service extension to its current home monitoring system.

Notion's affordable and easy-to-install smart home monitoring system packs multiple capabilities into a single sensor, allowing property owners to monitor all aspects of their space, including activities that could lead to costly insurance claims. Now, property owners can add on NotionPRO through the Notion app and have their sensors' activities, from motion to water leaks to sounding alarms, be professionally monitored by certified dispatchers. Designed with flexibility in mind, the app allows users to easily turn on and off what Notion sensors they want armed with NotionPRO with a tap of a button. At only $15/month, NotionPRO expands the protection of a property without the need of professional installation or a service contract. Plus, NotionPRO users have the potential opportunity to claim two discounts with their insurance providers, one for Notion's smart home technology and one for the home security service.

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Syndio Unveils New Small Group Analysis Feature on Pay Equity Platform

Syndio, an HR analytics platform with a mission to eradicate pay disparities, announced today that the Company has launched a new small group analysis feature as part of its best-in-class pay equity technology platform, PayEQ. The feature allows companies to analyze small groups of employees that perform similar work and resolve potential pay gaps identified that are not explainable by job-related criteria. PayEQ empowers organizations to analyze and resolve pay disparities due to gender, race or any other categorization and monitors compliance over time.

"Small group analysis is not a capability just for small companies," said Maria Colacurcio, CEO, Syndio. "Organizations of all sizes have groups of employees doing substantially similar work that are small – too small for multivariate regression – and require the application of controls, which you cannot perform with basic pay equity technology." 

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