Apple’s new vision for the App Store could load us with a lot more monthly bills
’ Apple’s Worldwide Developer conference — an annual confab for hundreds of people who work to make apps and programs for its devices — kicks off on Monday with a major keynote. Chief executive Tim Cook will take the stage, as he does each year, probably to announce new versions of Apple’s mobile iOS platform […]
This $1,000 go-kart has better safety tech than most cars
Since there have been teen drivers, there have been bad teen drivers. I counted myself among them, once “running over” a boulder while on a driving lesson with my mother at age 16. If only Ellen Bogage had a car with a “nanny mode,” controls that allow parents to limit a vehicle’s velocity when their […]
The huge issue that’s keeping Silicon Valley and the Pentagon apart
For over a year, top military leaders have been quietly conducting a charm offensive in Silicon Valley, in hopes that the tech industry might want to work with the Pentagon again like it used to during the Cold War. A lot has changed since then; some in tech don’t want to be seen as being too close to the […]
Elon Musk provides new details on his “mind blowing” mission to Mars
Ever since Elon Musk founded a start-up space company 14 years ago, the goal has always been the same: Establishing a colony on Mars. Now he’s finally beginning to reveal how he plans to get there. Starting as soon as 2018, Musk’s SpaceX plans to fly an unmanned spacecraft to Mars. The unmanned flights would […]
Why Facebook and other big sites are opposing this rape victim’s lawsuit
She was a 22-year old aspiring model from Brooklyn. Searching for a way to crack into the industry, she turned to ModelMayhem.com, a website that connects freelance models to casting agents, photographers and others in the business. She flew down to Miami to meet the agent she had met online and, upon her arrival, he drugged and raped her. Her […]
This is where the real action in artificial intelligence takes place
SAN FRANCISCO — Swarms of journalists lined the halls of a Southern California oceanfront resort recently to see tech luminaries like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk discuss the Gawker case, rocket launches to space, and, Silicon Valley’s obsession du jour, artificial intelligence. But perhaps the real action in artificial intelligence is happening at the Hilton San […]
This company just solved the thorniest policy problem for driverless cars
One of the biggest mysteries we’ll need to solve for driverless cars is how to assign liability in an accident. Some experts think car manufacturers will start taking on more responsibility, but many insurance companies are still loath to touch the subject because of the various state laws that risk complicating the picture. But at least one […]
How to reclaim your smartphone storage space in time for those summer vacations
Are you constantly plagued by warnings that your phone is running out of storage? We’re here to help. Storage woes are common for smartphone owners, perhaps particularly during the summer when we’re snapping more pictures, playing more games and feeling generally more unwilling to take on big organization projects. So we went in search of […]
The surprising tool bots use to get around those pesky captchas
Lin-Manuel Miranda — “Hamilton” star, creator, certified genius and all-around national obsession — penned an impassioned plea in the New York Times this week asking for help to stop bots from taking over Broadway. Miranda shed light on how scalpers use bots to buy up tickets to plays, operas, concerts and other events in milliseconds, […]
The U.S. just took one step closer to privatizing a core part of the Internet
Every time you type “Google.com” into your browser, what you get is a search engine used by billions. What you don’t see? A complicated string of actions kicking into high gear behind the scenes, turning your URL into language that any computer or server in the world can understand and, ultimately, spit out as a Web page. It’s this invisible […]
Why everyone should worry about this scary glitch that affected rich drivers
Carmaker Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus rushed to fix a software bug Wednesday that had caused a malfunction in vehicles’ GPS, climate control and “infotainment,” or front console radio systems. It disabled the backup camera and hands-free phone functions as well. Errant data broadcast Tuesday by the company’s traffic and weather service confounded vehicles’ “Enform” infotainment system […]
New York state’s top cop says this cable company misleads consumers about its Internet speeds
The ink is barely dry on Charter’s massive acquisition of Time Warner Cable — a deal that just formed the nation’s second-largest cable company — but New York’s attorney general is wasting no time pressing the firm on customer complaints about their Internet service. Thousands of Time Warner Cable’s customers have written in to the attorney general’s […]
Airbnb host who worried a trans woman could cause ‘discomforts’ was just banned — a year later
Consider for a moment the familiar faces of discrimination. There’s the Confederate-flag-waving Southerner at a political rally, the beer-swilling frat boy on a party bus or the disproportionately aggressive white cop who barrel-rolls for no reason. It’s not as though these caricatures don’t exist in the real world, but fixating on them hides a more […]
Tesla just showed us the future of car crashes
Every day, our cars are becoming smarter and more connected. This may someday save your life in a crash, or prevent one altogether — but it also makes it far harder to evade blame when you’re the cause of a fender-bender. One Tesla owner appears to be finding that out firsthand as he struggles to convince the luxury automaker […]
This technology may finally help us figure out what black holes really look like
What does a black hole really look like? For the first time, scientists might find out because of a machine-learning algorithm — one that pieces together image data collected from multiple radio telescopes scattered around the globe. If it works, artificial intelligence will have contributed to our first non-artist rendering of a captivating scientific mystery. No single telescope is up […]
T-Mobile’s plan to give away free stock could create a tax headache for millions of first-time investors
T-Mobile wants its customers to have a stake in the company’s future — literally. So it’s offering existing subscribers a free share of its stock and additional shares to any customer, new or old, who draws fresh converts from competing wireless networks. The decision — which is unusual even for a company accustomed to defying […]
Why smart homes are still so dumb
In the wake of the resignation of Tony Faddell, the founder of smart thermostat maker Nest, the future is looking cloudy not only for the smart thermostat maker, but the broader smart home business as well. Nest, after all, was supposed to be the trailblazer that led us to the smart home revolution. When Google put down […]
Five years ago, he started live-tweeting WWII. It’s all built up to this.
In 2011, a 24-year-old history buff named Alwyn Collinson had a simple idea: Tweet the Second World War as if it were actually happening, live, today. The goal, as he described it then to the Telegraph, was to “help people feel like they’re there,” sprinkling his coverage of the war with period photographs and little anecdotes […]
The Internet of Things has a child privacy problem
“In sum: Alexa is kinda my new best friend,” writes Rebecca, an author and blogger on Mommyproof. As a mother of young children, it’s not hard to see why: Rebecca details the joys of virtual assistant Amazon Echo, which functions as a kind of combined kitchen helper, child entertainer and DJ. “Is it weird that Alexa feels like […]
Toot toot: The politely honking driverless car is here
Google has revealed that its self-driving cars don’t just know how to change lanes and run yellow lights — now, they can even honk the horn like a regular human. As the company’s test cars trundle around on public roads, Google has begun training its computers to rely on the horn in specific scenarios, such as when another driver […]
Samsung’s big play for pharmaceuticals is paying off
Smartphones and tablets aside, tech giant Samsung has found success in a side business: pharmaceuticals. The company recently announced that its arthritis drug is one step closer to Food and Drug Administration approval, paving the way for the tech giant’s first drug to enter the lucrative U.S. market. Samsung is looking to release a version of Remicade, a drug currently sold by Johnson & Johnson. The […]
This landlord said ‘like’ me on Facebook or get evicted
How far will a business go for a Facebook like? Tenants in a Salt Lake City apartment building found a notice taped to their doors last week instructing them to “like” their apartment complex on Facebook. The posting, a contract addenda, threatened tenants with a breach of contract if they didn’t “like” the apartment complex, City Park Apartments, within a five-day period. Tenants, […]
The incredibly brilliant way people are now paying for things in Asia
When Apple first rolled out Apple Pay in 2014, it was billed as a simpler way to buy goods and services. You take your phone out, tap it to the credit card reader, and off you go. Seems convenient, right? But some consumers in Asia think there’s an even better way to pay. In recent […]
Everything you think you know about AI is wrong
Robots are coming for our jobs. Terminators will soon murder us all. There is no escape. Resistance is futile. These doom-laden predictions probably sound familiar to anyone who’s read or seen any movies lately involving artificial intelligence. Sometimes they’re invoked with genuine alarm, as in the case of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking warning against the danger of killer […]
Researchers have discovered a mysterious malware that can dupe operators at an industrial plant
A group of researchers discovered a rare instance of malicious computer software cleverly designed to mask the disruption of an industrial machine that’s being used, for instance, at an energy or chemical plant. The team from FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, stumbled across the malware last year while researching viruses that attack industrial control systems. They dubbed it […]
Googling yourself will soon bring a new surprise
What’s the first thing you would do if you lost your smartphone? According to Google, the answer for most people is to do a simple Google search for their own name. That’s right. A vanity search is one of the first things people do after they’ve lost their phones — presumably to determine what information […]
Why you should delete the online accounts you don’t use anymore — right now
Despite falling out of vogue years ago, MySpace — that old precursor to Facebook — still has details on more user accounts than the United States has people. And now a hefty chunk of those account credentials has been leaked to the entire Internet, in a humbling reminder that the Matchbox Twenty-inspired username you probably made in high school is still […]
The International Space Station has a new room
He sounded nervous, and why shouldn’t he be. His life’s work had been cinched up tight for more than a year, and who knew whether it would work in the harsh environment of space. In an interview in April, Robert Bigelow said he hopeful that the inflatable habitat his space company had developed would, in […]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX does it again. Nails fourth landing.
Maybe one day it’ll be routine, so boring, as Elon Musk has said, that it’ll no longer be newsworthy. But for now his attempts to launch and then land rockets are still dramatic, as exciting as sporting events. On Friday evening, SpaceX pulled off another stunning landing on a ship 422 miles off the Florida coast that […]
One of the biggest strikes in Verizon’s history may be coming to an end
Verizon has struck a provisional work agreement with unions representing nearly 40,000 employees who walked off the job in mid-April, according to the Department of Labor, taking a step toward ending a weeks-long strike that company execs said could ultimately affect second-quarter earnings. The new tentative deal, announced Friday, would last four years and must be approved […]
Newspapers escalate their fight against ad blockers
The newspaper industry is upping its tactics in the fight against ad-blockers. The Newspaper Association of America, the industry association representing 2,000 newspapers (including the Washington Post), filed a federal complaint against the ad-blocking industry on Thursday, alleging that software companies which enable users to block ads are misleading the public. The complaint asks the […]
Why scientists want robots to learn to feel pain
Robots are one step closer to being able to experience an essential human feeling: pain. Researchers in Germany are currently creating a “nervous system” that would mimic a pain response in robots, allowing them to quickly react and avoid harmful situations. “Pain is a system that protects us,” researcher Johannes Kuehn told a conference of engineers last week. “When we […]
New privacy rules for Internet service would be illegal, providers say
As we spend more of our time and money on the Internet, the big companies responsible for connecting you to it are becoming more interested in using your browsing history and online habits in the same way that Google or Facebook does — turning that valuable behavioral information into ad dollars and using the data to power […]
Elon Musk’s quest to make rocket landings routine continues today.
Looks like a beautiful day for a launch. Sunny, 80 degrees, a slight breeze moving the stratocumulous clouds around just a bit off Florida’s Cape Canaveral. The Air Force says there’s a 90 percent chance for “go” for SpaceX’s launch of a commercial satellite at 5:40 p.m. Thursday. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is attempting to deliver […]
The real reason America controls its nukes with ancient floppy disks
America’s nuclear arsenal depends on a surprising relic of the 1970s that few of us may recall: the humble floppy disk. It’s hard to believe these magnetic, 8-inch data storage devices are what’s propping up the most fearsome weapons humanity has ever created. But the Department of Defense is still relying on this technology to […]
That Chanel bag on your Instagram feed may not be a Chanel bag
Search “#Chanel” on Instagram, and a slew of images promoting the luxury bags will come up. Some feature celebrity endorsements of the luxury brand, some are official ads and some look something more like this: a mirror selfie of a woman, face out of the frame, holding a Chanel bag lit by drab department-store lights. Printed across the image are […]
Microsoft’s move away from making smartphones actually makes a lot of sense
Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it was further “streamlining” its mobile phone business. The firm will lay off more than 1,800 workers and will focus its phone efforts where they have differentiation, according to Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. So while this certainly doesn’t mean that Microsoft will ignore smartphones in the future, it certainly […]
AT&T wants to pipe DirecTV straight into your car
AT&T doesn’t just want to put an Internet connection in every car. It wants the people in those cars to watch its recently acquired television service, DirecTV. So, someday in the not-too-distant future, the wireless carrier plans to begin piping the pay-TV service into connected vehicles over its cellular network. “We think that DirecTV is a great entertainment […]
Apple may open up Siri to developers. That’s a huge deal.
Apple is taking two big steps to improve its voice-controlled assistant, Siri, according to a new report from tech news site the Information that cites a single person with “direct knowledge” of Apple’s plans. For one, it’s apparently working on a standalone speaker that can house the voice-controlled assistant, like Amazon’s Echo or the forthcoming Google Home. That may sound […]
What to make of the latest Apple laptop rumors
The latest rumors going around about Apple’s next laptop revamp are pretty interesting. While Apple itself hasn’t released any information on new laptops, a recent note from a trusted Apple analyst offers some intriguing clues about where the company is headed in this space. According to 9 to 5 Mac, citing KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, […]
Congrats, Twitter! Some people are actually happy about your latest changes.
Twitter announced a whole host of changes to its service Tuesday, changing some small but fundamental things about the service. And then, something extraordinary happened. There were no pitchforks. Sure, there were some grumbles out there — nothing’s going to be universally liked. And, no, there was no proverbial dancing in the streets about these […]
What’s driving Silicon Valley to become ‘radicalized’
SAN FRANCISCO — Like many Silicon Valley start-ups, Larry Gadea’s company collects heaps of sensitive data from his customers. Recently, he decided to do something with that data trove that was long considered unthinkable: He is getting rid of it. The reason? Gadea fears that one day, the FBI might do to him what it did […]
One fascinating reason cable companies won’t willingly compete against each other
If you’re like many Americans, you might live in an area that’s effectively dominated by a cable monopoly. And maybe you were hoping that someday, another cable company might come in and start competing with the local incumbent to drive down prices and improve your service. Charter’s recent takeover of Time Warner Cable made that a […]
This new search engine could be way smarter than Google
Search engines that aren’t Google rarely have much that’s interesting to offer to the average consumer. But Omnity, a new search engine aimed at researchers — or even just students doing their homework — offers some glimmers of something new that make it worth taking notice. Search, as we know it, is ripe for some […]
The states where it pays to buy a new electric car
What’s the best place in the country to buy a new electric car? That honor arguably goes to Colorado, whose legislature just passed a bill that, starting in 2017, will effectively give consumers a $5,000 discount at the dealership. Throw in an existing nationwide federal subsidy for futuristic, low-carbon vehicles powered by electricity, and Colorado residents could rack up […]
Facebook is making some big changes to Trending Topics, responding to conservatives
Facebook said Monday it will stop relying as much on other news outlets to inform what goes into its Trending Topics section — a part of Facebook’s website that despite its small size has grown into a national political controversy amid accusations that the social network is stifling conservative voices on its platform. Under the change, Facebook will discontinue the algorithmic analysis […]
Is Apple really at the risk of becoming BlackBerry?
Noted developer Marco Arment said in a blog post this weekend that Apple is on track to fall into the same trap as BlackBerry. Cue the sirens. As tech industry burns go, that’s a biggie. If there’s been a company that’s acted as shorthand for what a tech company doesn’t want to be — fairly or […]
Congratulations, America: We used nearly 1 trillion GB of mobile data last year
Americans are so committed to their smartphones and tablets that they used nearly 1 trillion gigabytes of mobile data last year, according to a new study published by a top industry trade group. That’s more than double the amount of data we used the year before. It reflects the tremendous explosion in mobile browsing — particularly online streaming […]
Why people like Edward Snowden say they will boycott Google’s newest messaging app
Google this week announced a new messaging app with strong encryption, meaning that your communications can’t be wiretapped. But there’s a catch: You have to turn on that feature yourself. The tech titan’s plan to launch Allo this summer without encryption by default has drawn withering criticism from some quarters. Google’s decision to disable end-to-end encryption by […]
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