Technology category, Page 31
Drones need huge tracking network for expanded flights, FAA says
WASHINGTON — All but the smallest civilian drones would have to broadcast radio tracking data to ensure greater safety and prevent terrorism under a sweeping proposal unveiled by U.S. regulators Thursday. The long-awaited draft rules call for a massive new tracking network for everything from toys to larger commercial drones...
Special software can help the blind access the internet, but not every website supports it. A wave of lawsuits is pushing to change that
CHICAGO — Jose Martinez has been thwarted when buying concert tickets online. He changed banks after finding his financial institution’s mobile app wouldn’t work for him. Sometimes, when he can’t finalize a purchase on an e-commerce site, he simply takes his business elsewhere. Martinez, 37, is legally blind. The Chicago...
Twitter fights interference, deletes 5,929 Saudi accounts
NEW YORK — Twitter has identified and removed nearly 6,000 accounts that it said were part of a coordinated effort by Saudi government agencies and individuals to advance the country’s geopolitical interests. Separately, Facebook said it removed hundreds of Facebook accounts, groups and pages linked to inauthentic behavior from two...
Twitter brings back election labels for 2020 US candidates
Twitter is bringing back special labels to help users identify accounts and tweets from U.S. political candidates. The company, which first used such labels for the midterm elections last year, said it is trying to provide users with original sources of information and prevent spoofed and fake accounts from fooling...
Reports: FTC may try to block Facebook from integrating apps
Facebook’s stock dropped almost 3% in regular trading after news reports suggested that the FTC may take antitrust action to prevent Facebook from integrating its disparate messaging apps. The reports said the Federal Trade Commission may seek a court injunction that would block Facebook’s “interoperability” plans for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp...
What was trending on Google in 2019? Find out here
Can you believe it? Another year (almost) gone. But while you get nostalgic about 2019 or try to find ways to skip ahead to 2020, check out the work Google has done to recap what was trending in the United States this year. In overall searches, Disney took the top...
George Laurer, inventor of ubiquitous UPC, dies at 94
WENDELL, N.C. — George J. Laurer, whose invention of the Universal Product Code at IBM transformed retail and other industries around the world, has died. He was 94. A funeral was held on Monday for Laurer, who died Thursday at his home in Wendell, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh....
Duolingo touts $1.5B valuation; language company to hire 100 more people, mostly in Pittsburgh
Duolingo has earned the title of Pittsburgh’s first tech “unicorn” — investing lingo for those rare startups that achieve a valuation topping $1 billion. Now valued at $1.5 billion, the 7-year-old digital language learning company plans to increase its workforce by about 50% — which could bring nearly 100 new...
Experts speculate on Amazon’s approach to future grocery stores — a new format, lots of automation?
As Amazon readies its grocery chain, analysts and competitors are trying to predict how the commerce giant will make what many expect to be a major move into the biggest category of retail spending. Picture a grocery store with a miniature version of a highly automated fulfillment center on an...
Twitter details political ads ban, issue ads allowed
Twitter says its new ban on political ads will cover appeals for votes, solicitations for campaign contributions and any political content. Twitter is defining political content to include any ad that references a candidate, political party, government official, ballot measure, or legislative or judicial outcome. The ban also applies to...
Amazon appeals $10B Pentagon contract won by Microsoft
SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon is protesting the Pentagon’s decision to award a $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft, citing “unmistakable bias” in the process. Amazon’s competitive bid for the “war cloud” project drew criticism from President Donald Trump and its business rivals. The project, formally called the Joint Enterprise Defense...
Group says misinformation on the rise on Facebook
SAN FRANCISCO — An advocacy group tracking misinformation says it has found an increase in fake political news shared on Facebook ahead of the 2020 presidential elections. The group, Avaaz, said Wednesday that misinformation is still being spread on Facebook despite measures the company has put in place since the...
Transportation, data service providers battle for bandwidth
WASHINGTON — Two big industries are fighting over radio frequencies that each could use to provide game-changing services. On one side is the transportation industry, including auto and truck makers and their suppliers. The frequencies would allow smart vehicles of the near future to talk to each other to use...
Digital wallets like Apple Cash can’t help if you’re scammed
My desperation to see Ariana Grande in concert created the perfect trap. Instead of seeing her sing about love and loss, I got sucked into an online ticket scheme that cost me $75 and a big chunk of my pride. Con artists often get away with scams like these because...
AT&T fined $60M for misleading with ‘unlimited’ plans
AT&T will pay $60 million to settle the government’s allegation it misled customers of unlimited-data plans by slowing down service for heavy users. The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that AT&T will automatically provide partial refunds to customers who signed up for unlimited wireless plans before 2011. The FTC sued...
Fitbit buy is Google’s latest step into gadgetry
Google’s acquisition of wearable pioneer Fitbit may be a bold plunge into health and fitness technology. But it’s also just the latest step in the internet giant’s often-halting effort to become a force in consumer hardware. Once a pure software company known for its search engine, apps like Gmail and...
Report: China has been using pigs as crash test dummies
Researchers in China have apparently been using live pigs as a substitution for crash dummies for testing the potential impact of automobile collisions. According to a report from the Daily Mail, 15 juvenile pigs were buckled into seats for high-speed simulations in testing that resulted in seven immediate deaths. The...
Apple TV Plus joins streaming wars, has Oprah but no catalog
LOS ANGELES — As the streaming wars near a fever pitch and viewers are targeted from every vantage point — Disney Plus has the Marvel and Star Wars brands! HBO Max counters with “Game of Thrones” and DC superheroes! — Apple TV Plus could be cast as the highly pedigreed...
Twitter pulls back on political ads, but pitfalls await
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter announced an end Wednesday to political campaign and issue ads on its service, calling it an important step in reducing the flow of election-related misinformation. But some of its users might face an unintended consequence or two. Among those potentially affected could be public-interest nonprofits eager...
Pentagon hands Microsoft $10B ‘war cloud’ deal, snubs Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pentagon has awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract , snubbing early front-runner Amazon, whose participation drew criticism from President Donald Trump and its business rivals. Bidding for the huge project, known as Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, pitted leading tech titans Microsoft, Amazon,...
Google claims breakthrough in blazingly fast computing
SAN FRANCISCO — Google announced Wednesday it has achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing, saying it has developed an experimental processor that took just minutes to complete a calculation that would take the world’s best supercomputer thousands of years. The feat could open the door someday to machines so blazingly...
Google debuts Pixel 4 phone, wireless earbuds with AIVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Google unveiled a new Pixel smartphone and other hardware devices Tuesday, all aimed at getting people even more dependent on its artificial-intelligence services. The Pixel 4 phone promises to respond to AI queries even faster than before, while a home Wi-Fi system is getting the AI features...
Delta all-women crew flew 120 girls to NASA to encourage female aviatorsVideo
Something you don’t see everyday: the entire crew and passengers on a flight’s manifest were the same gender — female. That’s exactly what happened Sunday, when Delta celebrated Girls in Aviation Day. Part of its fifth annual Women Inspiring our Next Generation (WING) Flight, the flight took 120 girls ages...
Twitter, Tweetdeck suffer global outages
Yes, everyone else was experiencing it, too. Twitter and Tweetdeck experienced global outages Tuesday night, and they remained a problem for many users Wednesday morning. Twitter Support said users might have had issues tweeting, getting notifications or viewing direct messages. Users also reported issues with retweeting and using Twitter’s GIF...
This robot can make 300 pizzas in an hourVideo
Watch out pizza world: this pizza robot could shake things up. Seattle startup Picnic announced Tuesday that it has a developed a unit that can make 300 12-inch pizzas per hour and 180 18-inch pizzas per hour. We are excited to unveil our first-of-its-kind intelligent food assembly platform. See us...
