Mexico City has updated its 911 emergency app to send earthquake alerts to residents’ smartphones following last month’s magnitude 7.1 temblor that killed 369 people, including 228 in the capital, authorities announced Thursday. Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said users of the free 911 CDMX app can get sound and vibration …
your ad hereFacebook Pressured to Notify People Who Saw Russian Posts
Facebook received several tongue-lashings during U.S. congressional hearings this week, but the world’s largest social network also got an assignment: Figure out how to notify tens of millions of Americans who might have been fed Russian propaganda. U.S. lawmakers and some tech analysts are pressing the company to identify users …
your ad herePressure Mounts on Apple to Live Up to Hype for iPhone X
The iPhone X’s lush screen, facial-recognition skills and $1,000 price tag are breaking new ground in Apple’s marquee product line. Now, the much-anticipated device is testing the patience of consumers and investors as demand outstrips suppliers’ capacity. Apple said Thursday that iPhone sales rose 3 percent in the …
your ad hereHere’s What We Know About Russian Social Media Election Meddling
Lawyers for internet giants Facebook, Google and Twitter met with three congressional committees this week to answer questions about Russian efforts to use the platforms to spread disinformation in the 2016 presidential election, and what they are doing to stop it from happening again. Lawmakers were clear in their position …
your ad hereFacebook Faceplants in Cambodia
A trial change to the Facebook news feed in Cambodia and other small countries is stirring criticism of the U.S. tech giant, which champions interconnectivity and openness, but is famously opaque when it comes to how its own product makes critical decisions about information sharing. Their rollout of dramatic trial …
your ad hereGoogle, AutoNation Partner on Self-driving Car Program
Google is partnering with AutoNation, the country’s largest auto dealership chain, in its push to build a self-driving car. AutoNation said Thursday that its dealerships will provide maintenance and repairs for Waymo’s self-driving fleet of Chrysler Pacifica vehicles. The agreement will include additional models when Waymo brings them on line. …
your ad hereRussia Hackers Had Targets Worldwide, Beyond US Election
The hackers who upended the U.S. presidential election had ambitions well beyond Hillary Clinton’s campaign, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian opposition figures, U.S. defense contractors and thousands of others of interest to the Kremlin, according to a previously unpublished digital hit list obtained by The Associated Press. The …
your ad hereSocial Media Companies Face Tough Congressional Questions on Russian Election Interference
Facebook, Twitter and Google executives testified in public before Senate and House investigations into Russian election interference for the first time Wednesday, amid disclosures that Russian influence on social media platforms was much wider in scope than previously understood. The lawmakers had tough questions for the Silicon Valley executives as …
your ad hereFacebook Profit Soars, No Sign of Impact from Russia Issue
Facebook reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday as it pushed further into video advertising, showing no sign of financial damage from the controversy over how Russia used the social network in an attempt to sway voters in the 2016 U.S. election. The company’s shares, which hit a record …
your ad hereSaudi Women Riled by Robot With No Hjiab and More Rights Than Them
Women in Saudi Arabia have scorned the government’s decision to grant citizenship to a female robot who, unlike them, does not need a male guardian or have to cover her head in public. Social media was abuzz with questions about whether the robot, Sophia, who was unveiled at a technology …
your ad hereApple X Factor: China Consumers Wowed by New iPhone, But Will They Buy?
Gu Xiaomeng, a 24-year-old primary school teacher in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, says she’s excited about the new iPhone X, set to go on sale Friday. The challenge for Apple Inc is to persuade her to actually buy one. “I’m definitely interested, but don’t currently plan to get …
your ad hereMalaysia Investigating Reported Leak of 46 Million Mobile Users’ Data
Malaysia is investigating an alleged attempt to sell the data of more than 46 million mobile phone subscribers online after a major data breach, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak said on Wednesday. The massive data breach was first reported last month by Lowyat.net, a local technology news website, …
your ad hereNew Fingerprint Technology Solves Mysteries, Brings Closure to Families of Deceased
Modern forensics have come a long way with the use of DNA evidence and fingerprint databases. But it’s not always easy to match a full set of prints, especially if a corpse is stranded in the desert and scavenging animals have picked it apart. But a new FBI database aims …
your ad hereUS Social Media Giants Pledge to Combat Foreign Disinformation
Attorneys for Twitter, Facebook and Google on Tuesday told U.S. lawmakers that Russian entities used their platforms to sow discord and disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, but downplayed the magnitude of those efforts. “Foreign actors used fake accounts to place ads in Facebook and Instagram that reached millions …
your ad hereYou Can Stymie the iPhone X Face ID – but it Takes Some Work
Apple is offering a nifty way to unlock its new iPhone X — just stare at it. Face ID, Apple’s name for its facial-recognition technology, replaces the fingerprint sensor found on other models. How well does it work — not just technically, but in everyday use? After all, it’s much …
your ad hereVietnam Tech Startups Seek Next Phase
There’s a short but not-so-simple question facing Vietnam’s technology startup fans: Now, what? The communist country was not immune to the startup craze that swept the globe, but much of the early period was spent talking about tech and all the local potential. In what could be called the next …
your ad hereDNA Lab in Netherlands to Help Find Missing People Worldwide
An organization that has been helping find people missing from the 1990s Balkan conflict has now expanded to tackle the cases of millions of missing people around the world. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), based in the Netherlands, will use the latest DNA technology to identify bodies and …
your ad hereRobotic Eel Seeks Water Pollution, Aids Researchers
Trash and tires floating in a river are easy to see. But there’s a lot of harmful water pollution that isn’t visible to the naked eye. Researchers in Switzerland are testing a robotic version of a sea monster that’s helping them get a better look at what’s floating in the …
your ad hereElon Musk Tweets Photo of Los Angeles-area Transport Tunnel
Billionaire Elon Musk has released a photograph of a tunnel he’s building under a Los Angeles suburb to test a novel transportation concept for a system that would move people underground in their personal cars rather than by subway trains. The founder of SpaceX and Tesla tweeted during the …
your ad hereU. of Michigan Expert Puts Bird-like Robot Through Its Paces
A rare bird has landed at the University of Michigan: a two-legged robot named “Cassie” that researchers hope could be the forerunner of a machine that one day will aid search-and-rescue efforts. Cassie — whose name is derived from the cassowary, a flightless bird similar to an ostrich — …
your ad hereWorld Economic Forum: Silicon Valley Must Stem IS Violent Content
The World Economic Forum’s human rights council report issued on Monday, warns that tech companies might risk tougher regulations by governments to limit freedom of speech if they do not stem the publishing of violent content by Islamic State and the spread of misinformation. The report urged tech companies to …
your ad hereBrazilian Crime Apps Help Citizens Stay Out of the Cross Fire
More than 50,000 people were killed in Brazil in 2015, which puts it on the list of the most murder-prone countries in the world. To protect themselves, Brazilians are crowd sourcing their safety, using cell phones to alert each other when violence breaks out. VOA’s Kevin Enochs. …
your ad hereRural US Areas Look at Innovative Ways to Connect to the Internet
More than 19 million Americans are still without home internet access…that according to the Federal Communication Commission. In Garrett County, Maryland, local leaders came up with an innovative plan to provide access to their community…VOA’s Lesya Bakalets reports on a creative approach to getting hard to reach customers on line. …
your ad hereRadio Pollution Creates Space Shield for Satellites
People are big polluters, on the land, in the sea and even in outer space, that can include anything from a hammer that floats away from the space station, to radiation from a nuclear weapons test in the atmosphere. “This can range from little chips of paint all the way up …
your ad hereRetailers Offer New Tools to Help Shoppers Find Clothes That Fit
Stores watching Amazon take a larger share of clothing sales are trying to solve one of the most vexing issues for online shoppers: finding items that fit properly. The retailers are unleashing tools that use artificial intelligence to replicate the help a salesperson at a store might offer, calculate a …
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