Tag Archives: technology

CNET reports: A global ransomware attack is holding more than 60,000 computers hostage. Banks, telephone companies and hospitals have all been ensnared in the worldwide hack, with the malware locking down computers while demanding a hefty sum for freedom. The attack has hit thousands of computers across China, Russia, Spain, Italy and Vietnam, but the UK hospitals have attracted the …

The New York Times reports: The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday outlined a sweeping plan to loosen the government’s oversight of high-speed internet providers, a rebuke of a landmark policy approved two years ago to ensure that all online content is treated the same by the companies that deliver broadband service to Americans. The chairman, Ajit Pai, …

The Associated Press reports: Researchers are creating an artificial womb to improve care for extremely premature babies — and remarkable animal testing suggests the first-of-its-kind watery incubation so closely mimics mom that it just might work. Today, premature infants weighing as little as a pound are hooked to ventilators and other machines inside incubators. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is aiming …

The jokes are too easy. The New York Daily News reports: Urine for a big surprise, President Trump. The commander-in-chief, in a surreal Earth-to-space call from the Oval Office Monday to congratulate astronaut Peggy Whitson on surpassing a record 534 days in space, received a flood of knowledge on life in zero gravity — including how pee gets repurposed. “Water …

Feh. It only flies over water. The New York Times reports: On a recent afternoon, an aerospace engineer working for a small Silicon Valley company called Kitty Hawk piloted a flying car above a scenic lake about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Kitty Hawk’s flying car, if you insisted on calling it a “car,” looked like something Luke Skywalker …

Gay dads and their kids rush to get their day started in the new Google Home ad titled Carpool released yesterday. Android Central explains the update behind the ad: From the beginning Google Home wasn’t going to make much sense if it was tied to a single account, and now several months after launch we have proper multi-user support for …

The Independent reports: Burger King’s latest advert for its Whopper has backfired after the iconic burger’s Wikipedia page was manipulated to claim that the product contains “cyanide” and is “the worst hamburger product” the fast food chain has ever made. On Wednesday, Burger King released a 15-second advert in the US which claimed there was not enough time to explain …

CNBC reports: Burger King is launching full-fledged marketing blitz based on triggering voice-activated Google devices, in what could become a grim precedent for TV and radio ads talking directly to voice-activated gadgets like smartphones and Amazon’s Echo speakers. The fast-food company’s new TV ad features a person looking directly into the camera and saying “OK Google, what is the Whopper …

The BBC reports: A UK-based team of researchers has created a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater. The sought-after development could aid the millions of people without ready access to clean drinking water. The promising graphene oxide sieve could be highly efficient at filtering salts, and will now be tested against existing desalination membranes. It has previously been …

Business Insider reports: When Verizon merges Yahoo with AOL after its acquisition of Yahoo closes, the newly created division will get a new name. And that new name is “Oath,” sources tell Business Insider. In a deal that was first announced last July, Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s core internet business for about $4.83 billion in cash. Yahoo will then be …

CNN reports: US intelligence and law enforcement agencies believe that ISIS and other terrorist organizations have developed innovative ways to plant explosives in electronic devices that FBI testing shows can evade some commonly used airport security screening methods, CNN has learned. Heightening the concern is US intelligence suggesting that terrorists have obtained sophisticated airport security equipment to test how to …

The Associated Press reports: Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether the state should become the first in the country to allow police to use drones outfitted with deadly weapons. The proposal was immediately met with concern by civil rights and liberties advocates. The state legislature’s Judiciary Committee approved the bill Wednesday and sent it to the House of Representatives. It would …

Via CBS News: Yes, there’s nothing like reaching out and touching someone from a phone booth. They used to be everywhere, but they are now rare coin-operated curiosities. Mo Rocca looks into the history of the once-ubiquitous phone booth, and of the wi-fi kiosks that are now replacing them in New York City.

Newsweek reports: The CIA allegedly developed tools to infect Apple Macs and iPhones in order to spy on them, according to documents released by WikiLeaks on Thursday. The Dark Matter leaks are the second tranche of the whistleblowing organization’s Vault 7 cache of classified documents, which WikiLeaks claims to have obtained from a former CIA contract worker. Projects undertaken by …

The New York Times reports: Republican senators moved Thursday to dismantle landmark internet privacy protections for consumers in the first decisive strike against telecommunications and technology regulations created during the Obama administration, and a harbinger of further deregulation. The measure passed in a 50-to-48 vote largely along party lines. The House is expected to mirror the Senate’s action next week, …

Reuters reports: Twitter is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time. Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user …

This isn’t exactly news that most of us here can use, but the technology is interesting. CNN reports: “Fertility is a big problem. Men are embarrassed to go to their urologist for infertility testing,” said Dr. Hadi Shafiee, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who led the study. “This is going to be …

CNET reports: Apple on Tuesday unveiled a variant of its flagship phone as part of the (Red) program, which funds programs that combat HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The special edition of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will come in 128-gigabyte and 256GB configurations, starting at $749. They will go on sale Friday. While Apple has long …

The Dallas Morning News reports: David Taffet came home last week to find his husband, Brian Cross, a little disoriented. Cross hadn’t eaten yet, so Taffet made him some dinner. But after he ate, Cross lay down, went to sleep and started snoring. Then Cross suddenly stopped snoring. The 52-year-old, whom Taffet met at a protest against the Defense of …

Holy crap. Wait for it to jump. From the clip description: Handle is a research robot that stands 6.5 ft tall, travels at 9 mph and jumps 4​ ​feet vertically. ​It uses electric power to operate both electric and hydraulic actuators, with a range of about 15 miles on one battery charge. ​​​Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance …