Technology category, Page 7
Power tools: Robotics research at Carnegie Mellon aims to revolutionize everyday tasksVideo
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s foremost tech conference, farming machinery giant Kubota introduced Flash, a vehicle-mounted camera that creates ultra-detailed images to help farmers care for their crops. It was an idea born in a Carnegie Mellon University robotics lab and another example of the revolutionary technology...
Google’s digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine
SAN FRANCISCO — Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to boost the profits fueling an internet empire currently worth $1.8 trillion. The ruling issued Thursday...
Trump administration plans to end IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision. The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy,...
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in historic antitrust trial
WASHINGTON — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the witness stand on the first day of a historic antitrust trial to defend his company against allegations it illegally monopolized the social media market. The trial could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups Meta bought more...
Kids under 16 will no longer be allowed to livestream on Instagram without parental consent
LONDON — Instagram users under 16 won’t be able to livestream or unblur nudity in direct messages they’ve received without parental approval, owner Meta Platforms said Tuesday as it widened its safety measures for teenagers. The social media company also said it was extending safeguards for users under 18 to...
Trump extends TikTok deadline another 75 days as U.S. continues to look for deal
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. Congress had mandated...
With a TikTok ban looming, Trump signals a deal will come before April 5 deadline
LOS ANGELES — As the deadline to strike a deal over TikTok approaches this week, President Donald Trump has signaled that he is confident his administration can broker an agreement with ByteDance, the social media app’s China-based parent company. Speaking with reporters on Air Force One late Sunday, Trump said...
Scientists release plans for an even bigger atom smasher to address the mysteries of physics
GENEVA — Top minds at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could vastly improve research into the remaining enigmas of physics. The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 56.5-mile loop along the French-Swiss border and below Lake Geneva...
U.S. immigration officials look to expand social media data collection
SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. The March 5 notice raised alarms...
Shapiro touts AI program for state employees during visit to Carnegie Mellon
Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled the results of the first-ever generative artificial intelligence pilot program for state employees during a visit Friday to Carnegie Mellon University. Partnered with CMU and OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organization, Shapiro signed an executive order in September 2023 to expand and govern the use of...
Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price
As a devastating wildfire burned through a Maui town, killing more than 100 people, emergency management employees traded dozens of text messages, creating a record that would later help investigators piece together the government’s response to the 2023 tragedy. One text exchange hinted officials might also be using a second,...
Vance hopeful ‘high-level’ TikTok deal will be completed by early April
Vice President JD Vance said Friday he is hopeful a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. will be wrapped up by the early April deadline. “There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American...
Microsoft shutting down Skype in May
REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011. The tech giant said Friday it will retire Skype in May and shift some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its flagship videoconferencing platform. Skype users will be able to use their...
Apple announces $500 billion investment in U.S. amid tariff threats that could affect iPhoneVideo
NEW YORK — Apple announced Monday that it plans to invest more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, including plans to hire 20,000 people and build a new server factory in Texas. The move comes just days after President Donald Trump said Apple CEO...
Cryptocurrency exchange says it was victim of $1.5 billion hack
A major cryptocurrency exchange says it was the victim of a sophisticated hack that stole about $1.5 billion worth of digital currency, marking one of the biggest online thefts of all time. Bybit said Friday a routine transfer of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, between digital wallets was...
Duolingo reveals owl mascot killed by cybertruck
After killing off its star mascot — Duo the owl — Duolingo provided answers Wednesday behind the sudden death. On Wednesday morning, Duolingo posted on social media that officials have identified Duo’s cause of death after singer Dua Lipa posted about the devastating news. UPDATE: Officials have identified cause of...
Duolingo’s owl mascot dead, company says
Duolingo has announced that its mascot — the iconic owl Duo — is dead. The Pittsburgh-based language learning app told the public the news via an “important message” on its social media pages. an important message from Duolingo pic.twitter.com/jTTT680yVs— Duolingo (@duolingo) February 11, 2025 “Authorities are currently investigating his cause...
Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you’
LOS ANGELES — A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found. Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to take control of...
House lawmakers push to ban AI app DeepSeek from government devices
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan duo in the the U.S. House is proposing legislation to ban the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek from federal devices, similar to the policy already in place for the popular social media platform TikTok. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., on Thursday introduced the...
Flip Phone February trend offers alternative to smartphone use
Forget the Phone Free February challenge — an alternative trend has emerged called “Flip Phone February.” Instead of using smartphones, some people have been purchasing the once-popular flip phones to allow them to unplug from apps that have left them addicted to screen time, such as social media platforms Instagram,...
Trump orders creation of sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government-owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding it an American buyer. Trump signed an order on his...
Justice Department sues to block $14 billion Juniper buyout by Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of rival Juniper Networks on Thursday, the first attempt to stop a merger by a new Trump administration that is expected to take a softer approach to mergers. The Justice complaint alleges that Hewlett Packer Enterprise, under increased...
Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension
WASHINGTON — Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to three people familiar with the matter. It’s the latest instance of a large...
Phone Free February challenges people to unplug
Have you been spending too much time on your phone? Most likely. Experts recommend cutting back phone use by just an hour each day to see significant health benefits — by participating in Phone Free February. The Phone Free February challenge is a nonprofit campaign encouraging people to be phone-free,...
DeepSeek has rattled the AI industry. Here’s a quick look at other Chinese AI models
HONG KONG — The Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has rattled markets with claims that its latest AI model, R1, performs on a par with those of OpenAI, despite using less advanced computer chips and consuming less energy. DeepSeek’s emergence has raised concerns that China may have overtaken the U.S....
