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SpaceX Embracing Space Tourism With Space Adventures
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 19th, 2020 //
SpaceX
has signed an agreement with space tourism company Space Adventures to
potentially use its Crew Dragon spacecraft take space tourists out of Earth’s
atmosphere. Those spacecraft are the same ones that will be used by...
Facebook Releases New App Similar To Pinterest
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 15th, 2020 //
Facebook
Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has released a new app that some are saying is remarkably
similar to Pinterest. The new app is called Hobbi and it is an editor and
organizer for hobbies and projects that the user is interested in....
Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Chinese Drone Deployment
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 7th, 2020 //
Chinese
authorities are now deploying drones to help in the fight against the new coronavirus
outbreak. Videos have emerged on the Twitter-like Chinese social media platform
Weibo of interactions between citizens and the unmanned...
Landmine Use Restrictions Lightened
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 1st, 2020 //
A ban
on the U.S. military’s use of anti-personnel land mines outside of the Korean
Peninsula has been lightened by the Trump administration. A new Defense
Department policy will be released detailing out how and when U.S. military
commanders...
Astronauts Fix Space Station’s Antimatter Detector
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 28th, 2020 //
Spacewalking
astronauts finished repairs on a cosmic ray detector outside the International
Space Station this weekend. The spacewalk officially started about 15 minutes
late, at 7:04 a.m. EST (1204 GMT) Saturday and concluded...
Fake Draft Texts Prompt Warning From Military
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 8th, 2020 //
The
U.S. Army is warning Americans about a wave of “fraudulent text messages” being
sent that falsely say that they’ve been drafted into military service. The
messages appear to have been sent to individuals nationwide...
Facebook Buys Cloud Gaming Startup PlayGiga
Posted by Toi Williams on Dec 25th, 2019 //
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has announced
its acquisition of PlayGiga, a Madrid-based company that specializes in cloud
gaming. A Facebook spokesperson asked to comment on the purchase said, “We’re
thrilled to welcome PlayGiga...
3-Digit Suicide Prevention Hotline In The Works
Posted by Toi Williams on Dec 17th, 2019 //
The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unanimously voted to proceed with a
proposal to set up a new hotline for suicide prevention and mental health. The
proposal calls for the agency to set up a 3-digit number, similar...
SpaceX Starship Fails During Test
Posted by Toi Williams on Nov 21st, 2019 //
SpaceX’s Starship rocket prototype suffered considerable
damage after experiencing a major failure during scheduled pressurization
testing. The Starship Mk-1 prototype partially burst apart during ground tests at
the company’s...
Concerns Raised Over Army’s TikTok Recruiting
Posted by Toi Williams on Nov 13th, 2019 //
Lawmakers are expressing concerns that the U.S. Army is using
the massively popular Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok to recruit
young people into the military. The Army launched a social media
blitz this...
Samsung Beats Estimates For Third Quarter
Posted by Toi Williams on Oct 30th, 2019 //
Samsung Electronics Co. posted better-than-expected earnings
for the third quarter of its fiscal year. The South Korean company posted net
income of 6.1 trillion won ($5.2 billion) for the September quarter, higher
than the 5.5...
Twitter Misses On Third Quarter Revenue Estimates
Posted by Toi Williams on Oct 24th, 2019 //
Product problems and advertising issues weighed on Twitter
Inc.’s (NYSE: TWTR) revenue in the third quarter of its fiscal year. The
company reported earnings of 17 cents per share on revenue of $823.7 million
for the quarter,...
IBM Posts Mixed Quarterly Results
Posted by Toi Williams on Oct 16th, 2019 //
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) beat on
income but missed on revenue for the latest quarter. The company reported that net
income was $1.67 billion, or $1.87 per share, in the quarter, down from $2.69
billion,...
Meat Created In Space For First Time
Posted by Toi Williams on Oct 10th, 2019 //
Aleph Farms, an Israeli food company, has announced that it
has been able to successfully create meat in space. Aleph Farms collaborated
with Russian company 3D Bioprinting Solutions and two U.S.-based food companies
to test its...
Marshalls Opens First Online Store
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 28th, 2019 //
You can now shop at Marshalls from the comfort of your own couch.
Marshalls’ first e-commerce store is now live and open for business. TJX
Companies (NYSE: TJX), which is also the parent company of T.J.
Maxx, HomeGoods,...
Lockheed Martin Wins New NASA Contract
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 24th, 2019 //
NASA and Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) have announced the
finalization of a contract for the production and operations of six Orion
Multipurpose Crew Vehicles (MPCV), with up to twelve being manufactured in
total. The Orion...
Google Settles French Tax Probe
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 14th, 2019 //
Google has settled a fiscal fraud probe in France after years
of fighting with tax authorities over the matter. As part of the settlement, Google
agreed to pay more than a billion dollars to French authorities, comprising a
$549...
Iran Claims Rocket Responsible For Explosion
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 4th, 2019 //
Iran has now acknowledged for the first time that a rocket
exploded at the nation’s Imam Khomeini Space Center last week. Commercially
available satellite images taken of the site after the incident showed a black
plume of smoke...
U.S. Cyber Attack Cripples Iran Capabilities
Posted by Toi Williams on Aug 29th, 2019 //
The U.S. Cyber Command has caused considerable damage to
Iran’s cyber capabilities with a retaliatory strike after the Islamic Republic
shot down an American drone. The June 20th attack brought down a database used
by its Revolutionary...
Jury Says Apple Owes Qualcomm $31M
Posted by Toi Williams on Mar 16th, 2019 //
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) has won a significant victory
in its ongoing legal battles with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), after a jury in
the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California found that Apple
had infringed...
Fitbit Announces New Spring 2019 Models
Posted by Toi Williams on Mar 12th, 2019 //
Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) is taking steps to get more users on
its platform and one of those steps is to give customers more options. As part
of that goal, the company has announced the launch of four new devices for
Spring 2019:...
Alphabet’s Waymo To Begin Selling LIDAR Sensors
Posted by Toi Williams on Mar 7th, 2019 //
Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) self-driving car unit,
Waymo, has announced plans to begin selling its laser-mapping sensors to
other companies. According to a Waymo spokesperson, the company is now in
talks with dozens...
New Method Turns CO2 Gas Into Solid Carbon
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 26th, 2019 //
In a new breakthrough discovery, scientists have found a way
to turn CO2 gas into solid flakes of carbon. A research team led by RMIT
University in Melbourne, Australia, created a method that uses liquid metal
electrolysis as...
New Software Writes Convincing Fake News Articles
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 14th, 2019 //
A new software program has been developed that can produce
authentic-looking fake news with just a few pieces of information. Created by OpenAI,
an artificial intelligence research group co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, the
software...
FaceTime Bug Causing Big Problems For Apple
Posted by Toi Williams on Feb 3rd, 2019 //
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has issued a statement saying that
it is fixing a bug in FaceTime that allows eavesdroppers to listen in on calls
and see through front-facing cameras secretly. The issue was brought to the
public’s...
YouTube Making Changes To Its Recommendation Algorithm
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 26th, 2019 //
After years of being accused of exposing people to
misleading information, YouTube – a division of Alphabet Inc.’s Google – has announced
that it is retooling its recommendation algorithm to prevent the promotion of false
information....
Facebook Finds More Russian-linked Accounts To Block
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 19th, 2019 //
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has announced the removal of
hundreds of Russia-initiated accounts from its platform after the social
network detected “coordinated inauthentic behavior” from them. The social media
company wrote...
Hundreds Of German Politicians Hacked
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 6th, 2019 //
The data of hundreds of Germany’s most powerful leaders was posted
online in the days before Christmas. Some of the stolen information was freely
available online for weeks before the attack came to prominence. Politicians...
911 Call From Space Station Sparks NASA Response
Posted by Toi Williams on Jan 4th, 2019 //
A 911 from space had security teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas in a scramble to respond. Dutch astronaut André Kuipers accidentally called 911 from the International Space Station when making a call...
AT&T Facing Criticism For ‘5G E’ Plan
Posted by Toi Williams on Dec 22nd, 2018 //
AT&T (NYSE: T) phones will start showing a controversial “5G E” icon in the coming months. The company announced that it will be replacing the LTE indicator on its smartphones with a 5G E symbol in markets that support...
ISS Gets Christmas Delivery From SpaceX
Posted by Toi Williams on Dec 9th, 2018 //
A special delivery has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) just in time for the holidays. A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship delivered more than 5,600 pounds of fresh supplies, including a variety of holiday treats. The spacecraft...
Amazon Expands Cashierless Technology Testing
Posted by Toi Williams on Dec 4th, 2018 //
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has expanded the testing of its cashierless checkout technology. The online retail giant is reportedly experimenting with the technology in Seattle, Washington in a large space formatted like a big store....
Facebook Debuts New Portal Smart Displays
Posted by Toi Williams on Nov 8th, 2018 //
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has debuted its new Portal products, a line of smart displays enhanced for video calling. The company says that the Portal is designed to bring you closer to your closest Facebook contacts, providing you...
EU Court: British Surveillance Violated Human Rights
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 13th, 2018 //
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that British surveillance programs are in violation of provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights. The court found the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) had failed...
China Accused Of Recruiting Spies On LinkedIn
Posted by Toi Williams on Sep 1st, 2018 //
China has been accused of using fake LinkedIn accounts to recruit spies in the United States that have government intel. The suspected targets include experts in the fields of supercomputing, semi-conductors, green energy, health care,...
Qualcomm Ends Quest To Acquire NXP
Posted by Toi Williams on Jul 26th, 2018 //
Qualcomm has announced that it will end its pursuit of NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch company known for automotive and IoT chips. Qualcomm bid $44 billion for the company in February, but the deal failed to win the necessary approvals...
California Passes Sweeping Consumer Privacy Bill
Posted by Toi Williams on Jun 28th, 2018 //
California Gov. Jerry Brown has approved a sweeping consumer privacy bill that is considered to be the toughest in the nation. California lawmakers unanimously passed the measure before sending it to the governor’s desk. State Sen....
Private Investigators Make Public Plea For DNA Data
Posted by Toi Williams on Jun 17th, 2018 //
A number of private investigators are spearheading a call for people to contribute their genetic information to a public genealogy database to help solve cold cases. The idea is to get people to transfer profiles compiled by commercial...
Search Ends For Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Posted by Toi Williams on May 29th, 2018 //
A private hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will end roughly four years after the plane’s disappearance. The Malaysia Airlines jet vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board in March 2014. The...
Crash Disrupts I.R.S. Website On Tax Day
Posted by Toi Williams on Apr 17th, 2018 //
The Internal Revenue Service’s website suffered a systemwide computer failure on the last day for taxpayers to pay their 2017 taxes without a penalty or extension. The website malfunction began in the early hours of Tuesday morning....
Planned Space Hotel Gets Closer To Becoming A Reality
Posted by Toi Williams on Apr 8th, 2018 //
Houston-based Orion Span is attempting to develop the “first luxury hotel in space”. The company’s planned Aurora Station is being designed to appeal to those who are passionate about space and astronomical study. Company officials...
First Self-driving Car Pedestrian Fatality Reported
Posted by Toi Williams on Mar 21st, 2018 //
An Arizona pedestrian has been killed by a self-driving Uber car. The pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, 49, was struck and killed at the intersection of Mill Avenue and Curry Road in Tempe by a Volvo XC90 operating in “autonomous mode”....
Housing Charity Shows Off First 3-D Printed House
Posted by Toi Williams on Mar 12th, 2018 //
San Francisco-based housing charity New Story has partnered with construction technology company ICON to design a 3-D printer for building homes for low-income people around the world. The team has been working on its designs for the...
