Silicon Valley is reeling over a decision this week by the Trump administration to delay and most likely kill a new avenue for entrepreneurs to come to the U.S. The International Entrepreneurship Rule, which the Obama administration set in motion, was supposed to go into effect this month. It would …
your ad hereFrench Court Annuls Google’s $1.27 Billion Back Tax Bill
A French court annulled a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.27 billion) tax adjustment imposed on Google by France’s tax authorities, saying Wednesday that the way the California firm operates in France allows it to be exempt from most taxes. The French tax administration had argued that Google was required to pay taxes …
your ad hereTech Firms Protest Proposed Changes to US Net Neutrality Rules
Facebook, Twitter, Alphabet and dozens of other major technology companies protested online on Wednesday against proposed changes to U.S. net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others. In support of the “Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality,” more …
your ad hereHigh Tech Gives Wimbledon a New Look
Not all the action now underway at Wimbledon is on the tennis court. In back rooms on the tournament site, technology is taking the matches to a whole new level. It offers the most immersive view to tennis fans, whether they are in the stands, or following the play on …
your ad hereSolar Panels Have Become Major Source of Energy in Ravaged Syrian Communities
Environmentalists promote solar energy as an option to reduce pollution, but in places without a central electricity supply solar panels can be a practical solution. They are frequently used by nomads moving through the desert, and people living in remote villages. In recent years solar panels have come to serve …
your ad hereIntel Introduces New Chips in Bid for Data Center Business
Intel Corp. on Tuesday announced a new line of microprocessors for data centers, setting up a battle with Advanced Micro Devices and others for the lucrative business of supplying the chips that power cloud computing. The new Xeon Scalable Processor chips provide far greater support for next-generation computing applications such …
your ad hereTwitter Hires ex-Goldman Managing Director as CFO
Twitter on Tuesday hired Ned Segal, senior vice president of finance at Intuit and a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group, as its chief financial officer beginning in late August. Anthony Noto, who has been serving as Twitter’s CFO and chief operating officer since November, will remain at the …
your ad hereReport: Small Satellites Driving Space Industry Growth
Small satellites used for observing conditions on the earth are the fastest growing segment of the $260.5 billion global satellite industry, the Satellite Industries Association said in an annual report released on Tuesday. Small satellites, some no bigger than a shoe box, generated an 11 percent jump in annual revenue …
your ad hereFacebook Expands Ad Testing on Messenger Globally
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday that it was testing advertising on its Messenger app globally as the world’s largest social media company looks to further monetize its popular chat service. Ads will be displayed on the home tab of the Messenger app, Facebook said, adding that users clicking on the ads …
your ad hereTech Companies Wage War on Disease-carrying Mosquitoes
American technology companies are bringing automation and robotics to the age-old task of battling mosquitoes in a bid to halt the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne maladies worldwide. Firms including Microsoft and California life sciences company Verily are forming partnerships with public health officials in several U.S. states to …
your ad hereMicrosoft Eyes TV White Spaces to Boost Internet in Rural America
Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by using the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves. Microsoft plans to partner with rural telecommunications providers in 12 states, from the Dakotas and Arizona to a far eastern edge of Maine. The strategy calls for a combination …
your ad here41 Percent of Americans Have Experienced Online Harassment
Forty-one percent of Americans say they’ve experienced online harassment, a new survey says. According to the Pew Research Center, that number is up from 2014, the last time they did the survey, when 35 percent of Americans said they’d been harassed online. Nearly two-thirds reported seeing online harassment happen to …
your ad hereCongress May Bar States From Setting Self-driving Car Rules
U.S. House Republicans expect to introduce bills later this week that would bar states from setting their own rules for self-driving cars and take other steps to remove obstacles to putting such vehicles on the road, a spokeswoman said. The legislative action comes as major automakers are joining forces with …
your ad hereWhiskey Byproduct Will Power Cars
Every now and then, it pays to revisit abandoned methods for using a waste product of an industrial process. Researchers in Scotland found a profitable way to use byproducts of whiskey production to power cars, without any modifications to the engines. VOA’s George Putic reports. …
your ad hereSpyware in Mexico Targeted International Experts Critical of Government
Investigators said Monday that targets of high-tech spying in Mexico included an international group of experts backed by the Organization of American States who had criticized the government’s probe into the disappearance of 43 students. Previous investigations by the internet watchdog group Citizen Lab found that the spyware had been …
your ad hereGame Explores, Encourages the Creative Side of Coding
A common assumption is that writing computer code is a highly technical skill for people who are good at math and logic, but software engineers say another quality is just as important: creativity. A group of software developers in Palo Alto, California, has created a game called Osmo Coding Jam …
your ad hereThe Creative Side of Coding
A common assumption is that writing computer code is a highly technical skill for people who are good at math and logic. There is another quality in the tech world that is just as important: creativity. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports on a game that teaches children the creative side of …
your ad hereReport: Russia Behind Hacking of US Energy, Nuclear Companies
Hackers who penetrated the business networks of U.S. energy and nuclear companies in recent weeks were working for the Russian government according to a report in a prominent newspaper. The Washington Post reported late Saturday that anonymous U.S. government officials confirmed the hackers were working for the Russian government. The …
your ad hereFiber Optics Help Understand Australian Bushfires
Each year, wildfires around the world devastate thousands of square kilometers of forests and grasslands and make many people homeless. Some plants recover faster from fire than others, and scientists would like to know why. In Australia, they are experimenting with a simple monitoring device relying on fiber optics. VOA’s …
your ad hereFacebook to Build Housing in Silicon Valley for First Time
The shortage of housing in California’s Silicon Valley has gotten so severe that Facebook Inc. on Friday proposed taking homebuilding into its own hands for the first time with a plan to construct 1,500 units near its headquarters. The growth of Facebook, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and other tech companies has …
your ad hereUS Energy Department Helps Power Firms Defend Against Cyber Attacks
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it is helping U.S. firms defend against a hacking campaign that targeted power companies including at least one nuclear plant, saying the attacks have not impacted electricity generation or the grid. News of the attacks surfaced a week ago when Reuters reported …
your ad hereFacebook Meets With Pakistan Government After Blasphemy Death Sentence
A senior Facebook official met with Pakistan’s interior minister on Friday to discuss a demand the company prevent blasphemous content or be blocked. The meeting comes after a Pakistani counter-terrorism court sentenced a 30-year-old man to death for making blasphemous comments on Facebook, part of a wider crack-down. Joel Kaplan, …
your ad hereTesla to Install World’s Largest Battery in Australia
South Australia has picked Tesla to install the world’s largest grid-scale battery, which would be paired with a wind farm provided by France’s Neoen, in a major test of the reliability of large-scale renewable energy use. South Australia, the fifth-biggest state with a population of 1.7 million, has raced ahead …
your ad hereSecurity Apps Help Users Avoid Shooting Incidents in Violent Cities
Street violence and gang shootings are on the rise in many big cities worldwide. Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro sees an average of 15 gun battles a day, and innocent bystanders are often caught in the crossfire. But people in Rio can now avoid street violence thanks to several smartphone apps. …
your ad hereTurning Carbon Dioxide Into Stone
While our fossil fuel-dependent civilization keeps releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, scientists are racing to find a viable method for lowering the emission of the most harmful one — carbon dioxide. It can be captured and stored underground, or it can be turned into a harmless rock. The price …
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