Technology
By Flipboard News Desk | A curated selection of Technology news.
President Trump says ZTE must change management and pay $1.3 billion for sanctions to be dropped
The ZTE saga just keeps going... and going... and going. After the United States Department of Commerce banned ZTE from importing US-made components, …
Marco RubioLeaked Facebook documents show its shifting hate speech policies
Over the last year or so, Facebook's public statements have reflected the ongoing process of its moderation policies, both when it comes to election fraud and the even pricklier issue of hate speech. Now, beyond its publicly available Community Standards and various apologies, <i>Motherboard</i> has …
Rights & FreedomsGoogle Home speakers outsold Amazon’s Echo line for the first time last quarter
Assistant over Alexa?<p>Over 3.1 million Google Home speakers were sold during the first quarter of 2018, beating Amazon’s 2.5 million Echo devices for first time since the two companies began competing in the smart speaker market.<p>It’s worth remembering Amazon has outsold Google in the smart speaker …
Google HomeFortnite had a $296 million April
Just how big is Fortnite? Very big. Very, very big. $296 million in April, big. That’s according to SuperData Research (via The Verge), a service that tracks digital game sales. The number, which includes sales from the console, mobile and PC versions of the game, is up $73 million from just last …
Top 10Qualcomm claims its on-device voice recognition is 95% accurate
At the Re-Work Deep Learning Summit in Boston, Chris Lott, an artificial intelligence researcher at Qualcomm, gave a glimpse into his team’s work on a state-of-the-air voice recognition program.<p>The system, which works locally on a smartphone or other portable device, comprises two kinds of neural …
Machine LearningTrump campaign wants answers on Facebook and Twitter 'political bias'
The Trump 2020 campaign manager sent the letter out on Twitter. It received hundreds of retweets in minutes.<p>The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee sent a letter to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey with complaints about how the social networks treat …
Social MediaApple rejects Steam Link app on iOS
Citing “business conflicts,” Apple has rejected Valve’s Steam Link app from the App Store.<p><b>What is it:</b> Steam Link is an app that lets gamers stream PC games to their phones. It’s currently available (in beta) on Android. We originally reported that an iOS app was in the works – and it was – but now …
AppsFavstar Is Shutting Down And We're Losing One Of The Good Parts Of Twitter
The service that ranked your best tweets had a community and culture built around it that will be missed.<p>Favstar, a Twitter engagement tracking service that’s popular with journalists and comedians, announced last week that it will be shutting down due to changes in Twitter’s API. Tim Haines, …
Social MediaE3 Lays Out Security Guidelines for This Year's Show
Things have gotten a little more strict when it comes to security on the show floor of this year's E3.<p>Backpacks will no longer be allowed on the show …
RegulationMartian Watches is the next smartwatch maker to bite the dust
• Martian Watches announced it ceased operations and closed the company.<br>• The smartwatch maker was unable to gather enough funds to complete production of its mVoice G2.<br>• Martian was founded in 2007 and was notable for sticking a small display in analog watchfaces.<p>U.S.-based smartwatch maker Martian told …
WatchesKenya moves to regulate fintech-fuelled lending craze
(This May 25 story corrects first name of Capital Markets Authority CEO to Paul, not Peter, paragraph 29)<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya built a reputation as a pioneer of financial inclusion through its early adoption of a mobile money system that enables people to transfer cash and make payments on …
Interest RatesiOS 12 will reportedly include new NFC features, enable iPhones to become secure hotel room keys
The Information reports that Apple will be taking a big leap in iOS 12, giving some third-party developers full access to the NFC chip inside iPhones, first introduced with iPhone 6.<p>The report says Apple wants the iPhone to be used in many more contactless interactions beyond Apple Pay payments, …
Apple PayGoogle Wants To Entice Enterprises With Enhanced Kubernetes Engine
Google is enhancing its cloud platform to attract customers running contemporary workloads based on containers. From Shared VPC to improved auto-scaling mechanisms, Google Kubernetes Engine supports new capabilities.<p>Kubernetes is fast becoming the de facto platform to run contemporary, …
Cloud ComputingCisco weighs cybersecurity, cloud technology deals
Technology giant Cisco may consider in the years ahead deals to expand its cybersecurity operations and make it easier for people to access cloud technology, according to CEO Chuck Robbins.<p>“The way we think about acquisitions is that we want those that are complementary,” Robbins told Maria …
CybersecurityFacebook Issues New Guidelines For Advertisers
The company plans to hire 3,000 people to monitor and review content.<p>Earlier this month, Congress published over 3,500 political Facebook ads that …
Social MediaTweets from a decade ago reveal a simpler time on the internet
Former Kickstarter CTO Andy Baio hit upon a most excellent discovery recently: a quick way to surface tweets from your timeline from exactly 10 years ago. Here, try it for yourself.<p>Yup, those are decade-old tweets from the people you follow now While we obviously won’t get to see the same set of …
FriendFeediPhone X camera glass cracking, people wonder why
Groups of iPhone X users have been complaining over the past several months on Apple’s support communities and Reddit threads about finding cracks in …
Mobile TechnologyLet’s hope Instagram’s creepy tracking tool is only to combat bots
In case you were wondering whether Instagram has any creepy user tracking tools of its own, you should know that yes. Yes it does. The mobile app …
Social MediaSome Android devices from ZTE, Archos, and others shipping with 'Cosiloon' malware
ZTE is currently fighting with the US government to lift a trade ban, while federal intelligence committees accuse the company of spying on US …
CybersecurityHuawei is ending bootloader unlock program
Huawei has previously given its users the option of officially unlocking the bootloader on its devices, allowing us to flash custom kernels, custom …
HuaweiNew, 'charged up' Nokia phone teased for May 29
Will you be able to buy it?<p>The Nokia 8 Sirocco didn't knock it out of the park. But maybe a new phone might? Nokia phone-maker HMD Global is teasing an announcement for May 29:<p>All we have to go on is the hashtag "#ChargedUp," which suggests we might possibly expect a phone with a battery or …
Mobile TechnologySony is considering making its own PS1 ‘Classic Edition’ retro console
When Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition started flying off store shelves in 2016, it seemed inevitable that other console makers would follow suit and …
RetrogamingSenators investigate safety procedures for autonomous cars
Just a day after the NTSB released its preliminary findings on the Uber crash in Arizona, senators Edward J. Markey and Richard Blumenthal began an investigation into safety protocols for driverless car testing. In a letter sent to major auto manufacturers involved in autonomous driving systems, …
Autonomous CarsApple sent hundreds of engineers to Display Week to try and find the next notch
Earlier this week, hundreds of Apple engineers and employees made the five-hour trek up to the Display Week tradeshow in Los Angeles, according to a …
EmploymentHTC U12+ Camera: How It Beats The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus And iPhone X
HTC has launched its latest flagship smartphone, the U12+, and in so doing has delivered the highest DxOMark score to-date for any dual-camera phone.<p>With its overall score of 103 points, the U12+ comes out a single point ahead of Huawei’s formidable P20, making it DxOMark’s highest-scoring …
PhonesPeople Are Selling Their Homes For Bitcoin Now
“As a realtor ... I thought, isn’t it time to offer something in crypto?”<p>If you're one of the tens of people in the world out there thinking, “You know, there just aren't enough options for the average blockchain enthusiast/house hunter looking to convert $2 million worth of non-state-backed …
Real EstateApple Screen Wizards Flock to L.A. to Find Future iPhone Displays
Apple Inc. screen engineers and executives crowded an industry conference in Los Angeles this week to check out new display technology that may be …
Augmented RealityReddit co-founder reveals the sneaky design trick it decided to abandon
How do you redesign a site with 350 million monthly active users, 300 million comments a day, and a user base known to get a little rowdy when things go wrong? This is exactly the sort of challenge Reddit’s CTO and Co-Founder Chris Slowe has been tackling over the past year.<p>In a talk at TNW …
InternetSan Francisco temporarily removes electric scooters for permit process
San Francisco is about to end its electric scooter scourge... for a while. The city's Municipal Transportation Agency has posted its permit application for companies wanting to operate e-scooters under a one-year pilot program and accompanying law, signalling that the two-wheelers need to leave the …
San FranciscoTesla hires new chief financial officer for China
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Friday announced a number of key executive hires including former GE and General Motors executive James Zhou as its China CFO and Neeraj Manrao, a former Apple executive, as director of energy manufacturing.<p>Zhou previously served as CFO for Asia Pacific and India …
TeslaKiwi’s robots deliver food to hungry Berkeley students
There are Kiwi robots everywhere when we arrive at the SkyDeck headquarters. The floors of U.C. Berkeley’s accelerator are lined with the things, with the startup’s small team frantically working to get them up and running in corner of the space.<p>The robots have become a familiar sight to anyone …
RoboticsExclusive: Tesla flies in new battery production line for Gigafactory
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.<p>Transporting equipment …
TeslaYahoo shuts down social savings app Tanda only months after launch
Well, that didn’t take long. Yahoo Finance’s new social savings app Tanda, which launched just this January, is already shutting down. The company announced the news of the app’s closure via a blog post, which vaguely hinted at a lack of traction. That appears to be true – the app isn’t even in the …
App StoreElon Musk is 'exactly wrong' on AI, says Google's Eric Schmidt
The Alphabet chairman doesn't mince his words. Mark Zuckerberg, on the other hand, is slightly more sympathetic toward Musk.<p>Elon Musk is not a man who's short of opinions, but some of his opinions are less popular than others.<p>For instance, the Tesla, SpaceX and Boring Co. chief's thoughts on AI -- …
Artificial IntelligenceTrump administration tells Congress it has deal to save ZTE
The US government should soon act on its promise to give ZTE another chance following its revived export ban. The <i>New York Times</i> has learned that the Trump administration has informed Congress of a Commerce Department deal that would let ZTE take American exports as long as it accepted new …
Trump AdministrationPhotos and videos show impressive new Apple store in Seattle’s University Village nearing completion
After more than a year of construction work, Apple’s large new store located in Seattle’s University Village shopping center will soon be complete.<p>Since initial groundwork began early last year, images of the store under construction have shown continuous but metered progress as the structure rose. …
Apple StoreTesla settles with vehicle owners over delayed Autopilot updates
‘It’s the right thing to do’<p>Tesla settled a class action lawsuit this week with owners of its Model S sedans and Model X SUVs who alleged the company’s semi-autonomous driver assist system was “essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous.” As part of the deal, Tesla has agreed to partially …
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