Technology category, Page 29
How Twitter made its own rules for Trump to break
When Twitter slapped a warning label over President Donald Trump’s tweet Thursday night about riots in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the company’s official explanation was that the president had violated a rule prohibiting “glorification of violence.” But that justification doesn’t explain why Twitter chose to leave the tweet on the site...
Trump escalating war on Twitter, social media protectionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump escalated his war on social media companies Thursday, signing an executive order challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally...
In a first, Twitter adds fact-check warnings to Trump tweets
For the first time, Twitter has flagged some of President Donald Trump’s tweets with a fact-check warning. On Tuesday, Twitter added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets that called mail-in ballots “fraudulent” and predicted that “mail boxes will be robbed,” among other things. Under the tweets, there is now...
University students recreate campuses in Minecraft to host graduationsVideo
The notion of a video game enthusiast as a sweaty, jobless loser alone in his mother’s basement goes back as far as video games, themselves. Not only do gamers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, genders and income brackets, but the concept of players as antisocial is equally outmoded. Many...
Intel mulls new chip plant amid concern over Asian supplies
NEW YORK — Intel is talking to the Trump administration about building a new semiconductor plant in the United States amid concern about relying on suppliers in Asia for chips used in a wide variety of electronics. A spokesman for Intel, the biggest American chip maker, said Sunday the company...
Serbia protests EU description of Tesla as famous Croat
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia has protested to the European Union after one of its publications described inventor and electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla as a Croat. Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Saturday he has sent the protest note to Brussels after the EU’s Learning Corner site for children described Tesla...
Welcome X Æ A-12 Musk, Grimes and Elon Musk’s baby
Elon Musk and Grimes are now proud parents. The Tesla CEO and electronic artist welcomed a baby boy into the world Monday. If being the son of those two wasn’t enough to set you apart, his name alone is one that’s hard to forget. Musk, in responding to someone on...
Virgin Galactic completes first glide flight in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Virgin Galactic’s spaceship VSS Unity landed in the New Mexico desert on Friday, marking its first glide flight from Spaceport America as the company moves toward commercial operations. The company announced the flight on social media and shared photos of the craft on the runway and members...
Niche to expand services with $35 million in funding
The online school search platform, Niche, announced this week that it has raised $35 million with plans to expand its services to fit the needs of students amid the covid-19 pandemic. The Pittsburgh-based company analyzes data from surveys and federal agencies to produce ratings on schools, neighborhoods, colleges and workplaces...
2005 video game event offers insights into coronavirus pandemic
Video games tend to be viewed as a fun departure from reality by those who play them and a total waste of time by many who don’t. It might be that neither of those perspectives is very close to the truth, as illustrated by the way a 15-year-old event in...
Turkey: Over 400 detained for pandemic social media postingsVideo
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has detained 402 people in the past 42 days for allegedly sharing “false and provocative” social media postings concerning the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Monday. An Interior Ministry statement said officials have inspected more than 6,000 social media accounts and the 402 suspects were among a...
Epic Games will put Fortnite on Google’s Play Store after months of holding out
Epic Games has backed down from its protest of tech giant Google. After 18 months of protesting Google’s terms — and its 30% store fee — the video game maker is putting Fortnite on the Google Play Store, the official channel for adding apps to Android phones and devices. In...
Comcast launches preview of new streaming service
Comcast began offering a preview of the premium tier of NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock to some customers on Wednesday. With most people under stay-at-home restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic, Comcast said it has seen a 50% increase in on-demand consumption year-over-year. Voice remote searches for free content are...
Carnegie Mellon partners with Facebook to gather coronavirus data from residents
Carnegie Mellon University is partnering with Facebook to gather data from U.S. residents who are experiencing symptoms of covid-19. Researchers at the university hope to use the data to forecast the spread of the pandemic and its potential weight on hospital systems. Some Facebook users will soon see a link...
Venezuela’s only telecoms satellite is lost in spaceVideo
BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuela’s only telecommunications satellite has veered off its orbit and stopped working, creating a logistical headache for the cash-strapped South American nation. The Chinese-built satellite was launched among much fanfare in 2008 under the watch of former President Hugo Chavez, who said that the six-ton machine would...
Home internet jammed up? Try these steps before upgrading
With so much of the U.S. workforce — and its families — now cooped up at home to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s not a huge surprise that home internet is showing the strain. If you’ve had a business videoconference stutter while your teenagers play Call of...
Dave Matthews to livestream set from home, kick off weekly seriesVideo
Dave Matthews is playing live from his home tonight for a good cause. The singer-songwriter will play a 30-minute set starting at 8 p.m. that will be shown via Verizon’s Twitter account and also on Yahoo. The streamed set is the first from Pay it Forward Live, a weekly eight-part...
YouTube to limit video quality around the world for a month
YouTube will reduce the quality of videos around the world starting Tuesday, an effort by the world’s most popular video site to ease internet traffic during the coronavirus outbreak. Over the coming days, viewers will at first see YouTube videos in standard definition, the company said. Users will still be...
Apple brings PC-like trackpad to iPad tablets
Apple’s new iPad brings PC-like trackpad capabilities for the first time, as the company seeks to make its tablet even more like a laptop computer. Apple says the trackpad will offer more precision than fingers in selecting text and switching between apps. Older iPads will also be able to get...
U.S. revises passenger safety rules for autonomous vehicles
DETROIT — The U.S. government is coming out with new regulations aimed at changing automotive passenger safety standards that could be barriers to autonomous vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it’s seeking comment on proposed updated standards to account for vehicles that don’t have manual controls such as...
Potential Amazon site in Churchill faces uncertain future
One of the largest underdeveloped parcels of land in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs has caught the eye of retail giant Amazon for the purposes of a high-tech distribution facility, though the future of that project is uncertain, according to Churchill and Allegheny County officials. A recent change to zoning of the...
AGs for crackdown on chemical used to sterilize medical devices
Half of all medical devices used in the United States — from bandages to implantable computers — are sterilized with a toxic gas that has come under critical scrutiny over concerns about air pollution that could cause cancer. Now Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined a coalition of 11...
Twitter preps ephemeral tweets, starts testing in Brazil
Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil. The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the public and permanent...
Teens love the video app TikTok. Do they love it too much?
From the perspective of teens, TikTok is a major new outlet for self-expression, one proudly home to the silly, the loud and the weird. To others, the Chinese-owned online video service is an unnerving black box that could be sharing information with the Chinese government, facilitating espionage or just promoting...
FCC proposes fines for phone companies that shared user data
NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed roughly $200 million in fines combined for the four major U.S. phone companies for improperly disclosing customers’ real-time location. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said during a news conference Friday that the fines amounted to $91 million for T-Mobile, $57 million for...
