Technology category, Page 23
Elon Musk sells $7B in Tesla shares ahead of Twitter fight
Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of shares in Tesla as the billionaire gets his finances in order ahead of his court battle with Twitter. Musk disclosed in series of regulatory filings that he unloaded about 8 million shares of his company Tesla Inc. in recent days. “In...
Former Twitter worker convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia
SAN FRANCISCO — A former Twitter employee has been convicted of failing to register as an agent for Saudi Arabia and other charges after accessing private data on users critical of the kingdom’s government in a spy case that spanned from Silicon Valley to the Middle East. Ahmad Abouammo, a...
Billions pour into bioplastics as markets begin ramping up
CLEVELAND — In a world increasingly troubled by the persistent harm that plastic — manufactured in petrochemical plants — has had on the environment, companies are investing billions of dollars to ramp up production of plastics made from natural, renewable materials that can be safely composted or can biodegrade under...
‘We want to fill this program’: Seton Hill to launch varsity esports program this fall
Seton Hill track and field athlete Logan Lindenmuth will become a multi-sport athlete this fall. With the Greensburg university adapting its unofficial gaming club into a varsity program in the coming academic year, Lindenmuth — a rising junior studying computer science — will be among the first official esports players...
Amazon to buy vacuum maker iRobot for roughly $1.7B
NEW YORK — Amazon on Friday announced it has agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for about $1.7 billion, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about the company’s market power. iRobot sells its products worldwide and is most...
Twitter responds to Elon Musk’s claims, calls them ‘excuses’
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter denied in a court filing that it had deprived its would-be acquirer, billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, of necessary information or misrepresented details about its business. Musk originally made those charges to justify his attempt to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy...
New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry shakes
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday proposed a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, the latest attempt by Congress to formulate ideas on how to oversee a multibillion-dollar industry that has been racked by collapsing prices and lenders halting operations. The regulations offered by Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie...
Amazon to buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.9B
NEW YORK — Amazon will acquire the primary care organization One Medical in a deal valued roughly at $3.9 billion, marking another expansion for the retailer into health care services. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said Thursday it is buying One Medical for $18 per share cash. Its one of Amazon’s...
Facebook gives users new way to see all their friends’ posts
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook is rolling out an update that enables its 2 billion daily users to more easily view their friends’ posts in chronological order. The new feature is the company’s latest attempt to keep people coming back to its social network amid intensifying competition with its trendier...
Amazon sues admins of 10K Facebook groups over fake reviews
Amazon has filed a lawsuit against administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups it accuses of coordinating fake reviews in exchange for money or free products. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday the Facebook groups were set up to recruit people “willing to...
Twitter-Musk takeover dispute heading for an October trial
Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost his fight to delay Twitter’s lawsuit against him as a Delaware judge on Tuesday set an October trial, citing the “cloud of uncertainty” over the social media company after the billionaire backed out of a deal to buy it. “Delay threatens irreparable harm,” said Chancellor...
Crypto plunge is cautionary tale for public pension funds
MINNEAPOLIS — When the Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund bought $25 million in cryptocurrencies, with the fund’s chief investment officer touting their potential, retired fire Capt. Russell Harris was concerned. Harris, 62, has attended the funerals of 34 firefighters killed in the line of duty. He was already worried...
Amazon handed Ring footage to police without user consent
Amazon has provided Ring doorbell footage to law enforcement 11 times this year without the user’s permission, a revelation that’s bound to raise more privacy and civil liberty concerns about its video-sharing agreements with police departments across the country. The disclosure came in a letter from the company that was...
Twitter says it removes 1 million spam accounts a day
Twitter said it removes 1 million spam accounts each day in a call with executives Thursday during a briefing that aimed to shed more light on the company’s fake and bot accounts as it tussles with Elon Musk over “spam bots.” The Tesla CEO, who has offered to buy Twitter...
Apple to add ‘lockdown’ safeguard on iPhones, iPads, Macs
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple said it will roll out a “lockdown” option for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers intended to protect against spyware unleashed by state-sponsored hackers — although enabling that protection will also make these devices less useful. The safeguard announced Wednesday is a tacit acknowledgement that not even...
2 Seattle startups racing to transform next-gen space travel
The phrase “nuclear energy” conjures images of large steaming towers or Tony Stark’s arc reactor from the iconic “Iron Man” movies. But two Seattle-based startups are designing nuclear technologies small enough to pick up and carry that, thanks in part to buy-in from the Defense Department, they hope will fuel...
iPhone turns 15: How Apple forever changed the way we communicateVideo
It was January 2007 when Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs walked onto a stage at the MacWorld convention and introduced the world to a new kind of phone. It was called an iPhone, and it became available to the public June 29, 2007. Little did anyone know it would...
Company buying Trump’s social media app faces subpoenas
NEW YORK — The company planning to buy Donald Trump’s new social media business has disclosed a federal grand jury investigation that it says could impede or even prevent its acquisition of the Truth Social app. Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. dropped 10% in morning trading Monday as the...
After Roe, Dems seek probe of tech’s use of personal data
WASHINGTON — With the Supreme Court ending the constitutional protections for abortion, four Democratic lawmakers are asking federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties. The decision Friday by the...
Bitcoin drops below $20,000 as crypto selloff quickens
LONDON — The price of bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Saturday for the first time since late 2020, in a fresh sign that the selloff in cryptocurrencies is deepening. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the psychologically important threshold, dropping by as much as 9% to less than $19,000...
So long, Internet Explorer. The browser retires today
SAN FRANCISCO — Internet Explorer is finally headed out to pasture. As of Wednesday, Microsoft will no longer support the once-dominant browser that legions of web surfers loved to hate — and a few still claim to adore. The 27-year-old application now joins BlackBerry phones, dial-up modems and Palm Pilots...
Musk wars with Twitter over his buyout deal – on Twitter
Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised that taking over Twitter would enable him to rid the social media platform of its annoying “spam bots.” Now he’s arguing — without presenting any evidence — that there might be just too many of those automated accounts for the $44 billion deal to move...
Livestreamed carnage: Tech’s hard lessons from mass killings
These days, mass shooters like the one now held in the Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket attack don’t stop with planning out their brutal attacks. They also create marketing plans while arranging to livestream their massacres on social platforms in hopes of fomenting more violence. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and now the...
Elon Musk says Twitter deal at lower price is ‘not out of the question’
Elon Musk stoked speculation that he could seek to renegotiate his takeover of Twitter Inc., saying a viable deal at a lower price wouldn’t be “out of the question.” Twitter shares fell 8.2% at the close of trading in New York. The stock has been dropping on speculation that Musk...
Musk puts Twitter buy on hold, casting doubt on $44B deal
DETROIT — Elon Musk said Friday that his plan to buy Twitter is “temporarily on hold,” raising fresh doubts about whether he’ll proceed with the $44 billion acquisition. Musk tweeted that he wanted to pinpoint the number of spam and fake accounts on the social media platform. Musk has been...
