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Technology category, Page 23

Explainer: Will burglar alarms still work after 3G shutdown?
NEW YORK — As telecom companies rev up the newest generation of mobile service, called 5G, they’re shutting down old networks — a costly, years-in-the-works process that’s now prompting calls for a delay because many products out there still rely on the old standard, 3G. AT&T is scheduled to be...
Online harassment, real harm: Fixing the web's biggest bug
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It should have been a time of celebration: Brittan Heller would soon graduate from college and head to one of the nation’s top law programs. But when a classmate with unrequited feelings for Heller wasn’t admitted to that same school, he turned his rage on her. He...
Explainer: A scarcity of chips feeds frustration, inflation
Even coming off its fastest annual growth in 37 years, the U.S. economy is still bogged down by a persistent shortage of the computer chips essential to the technology that connects, transports and entertains us. The problem has been building since pandemic-related lockdowns shut down major Asian chip factories more...
Tesla recalls more vehicles as U.S. agency increases scrutiny
DETROIT — Tesla is recalling nearly 579,000 vehicles in the U.S. because a “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians. The recall is the fourth made public in the last two weeks as U.S. safety regulators increase scrutiny of the nation’s largest...
Why are celebrities buying million-dollar ape cartoons? NFTs, explained
Video clips of basketball highlights. Digital works of art. A yacht in the metaverse. Cartoons of apes, cats, frogs and hipsters. These are just a few examples of the digital collectibles sold as non-fungible tokens, many at forehead-slapping prices. NFTs have become a hot commodity among crypto investors and celebrities,...
A year after Trump purge, 'alt-tech' offers far-right refuge
Philip Anderson is no fan of online content moderation. His conservative posts have gotten him kicked off Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Two years ago, Anderson organized a “free speech” protest against the big tech companies. A counterprotester knocked his teeth out. But even Anderson was repulsed by some of the...
Biden extends Trump-era solar tariffs, but loosens some
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday extended tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on most solar panels imported from China and other countries. But in a nod to his efforts to combat climate change and boost clean energy, Biden excluded tariffs on some panels used in large-scale utility...
Wireless companies ending 3G service, starting with AT&T
Cathy Gates was doing just fine with a flip phone, but she got rid of it when she was given a 3G smartphone at work. “Later on, about four or five years ago, I got my own, a similar phone, but recently I started having problems with it,” said Gates,...
Amazon heads to the mall with prototype clothing store
NEW YORK — First, Amazon competed with malls. Now, it’s moving inside one. The online retailing giant said Thursday that it plans to open a clothing store in a Southern California mall later this year. It’s the latest foray into brick-and-mortar for Amazon, which already sells more than 10% of...
Is the allure of cryptocurrency fading?
Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low recently and its movement has closely mirrored financial markets in its decline. Bitcoin bulls often describe it as an asset that is uncorrelated to traditional financial markets, CNBC reported, however experts have noticed growing parallels in the price movements of bitcoin and stocks. It...
Netflix raising U.S. prices with competition growing
NEW YORK — Netflix is raising prices for its video streaming customers in the U.S. and Canada, less than a year and a half since its last price increase, as competition from other streaming services increases. The Los Gatos, Calif., company said Friday that prices are going up by $1...
Your BlackBerry dies today: End of an era for iconic handset
BlackBerry devices running the original operating system and services will no longer be supported after Jan. 4, marking the end of an era for the storied device that catapulted work into the mobile era. Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry Ltd., the company formerly known as Research In Motion whose signature handset in...
Facebook: Fake scientist used to spread anti-U.S. propaganda
A disinformation network with ties to China used hundreds of fake social media accounts — including one belonging to a fictitious Swiss biologist — to spread an unfounded claim that the U.S. pressured scientists to blame China for the coronavirus, Facebook said Wednesday. The company based in Menlo Park, Calif.,...
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO
NEW YORK — Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped down as CEO of the social media platform. He has been succeeded by Twitter’s current chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal. Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has been CTO...
Rittenhouse trial highlights rise of livestreamed video
When Andrew Mercado found himself in the middle of a protest following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last year, he was just figuring out how to livestream on Facebook. A few months later, though, thousands watched as he streamed footage from the Wisconsin streets where Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people....
Happy Halloween: Gaming platform Roblox is back online
The popular gaming site Roblox went back online Sunday after being down for most of the weekend. The online platform crashed Friday. In a statement, the company tweeted Sunday evening that “Roblox is back online everywhere! Thank you for your continued patience as we get back to normal.” The company...
In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself Meta 
OAKLAND, Calif. — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “...
People or profit? Facebook papers show deep conflict within company
Facebook the company is losing control of Facebook the product — not to mention the last shreds of its carefully crafted, decade-old image as a benevolent company just wanting to connect the world. Thousands of pages of internal documents provided to Congress by a former employee depict an internally conflicted...
Trump announces launch of his own social media site
NEW YORK — Nine months after being expelled from social media for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s launching a new media company with its own social media platform. Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology...
Bitcoin tops $66,000, hits high on mainstreaming excitement
NEW YORK — Bitcoin jumped to a record Wednesday, topping $66,000 for the first time, as it rides a wave of excitement about getting further accepted by the financial establishment. Bitcoin was trading at $66,901.30, up 7.6%, as of 10:52 a.m. It’s roared back after sinking below $30,000 during the...
Toyota to build $1.29B U.S. battery plant employing 1,750
DETROIT — Toyota plans to build a new $1.29 billion factory in the U.S. to manufacture batteries for gas-electric hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The plant location wasn’t announced, but the company said it eventually will employ 1,750 people and start making batteries in 2025, gradually expanding through 2031. The...
Instagram fretted about retaining, engaging teenagers, report says
The photo-sharing app Instagram spent time focusing on how to retain and engage teenagers, The New York Times reported, citing internal documents. Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram was privately worried about potentially losing teenage users to other social-media platforms, calling it an “existential threat,” according to a marketing presentation for 2018, the...
Outage highlights how vital Facebook has become worldwide
NEW YORK — The six-hour outage at Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp was a headache for many casual users but far more serious for the millions of people worldwide who rely on the social media sites to run their businesses or communicate with relatives, fellow parents, teachers or neighbors. When all...
Ex-Facebook manager criticizes company, urges more oversight 
WASHINGTON — While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation. Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce...
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram suffer worldwide outage
The massive global outage that plunged Facebook, its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms and many people who rely heavily on these services — including Facebook’s own workforce — into chaos Monday is gradually dissipating. Facebook said late Monday that it’s been working to restore access to its services and is “happy...


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