Tag Archives: technology

The Associated Press reports: Apple became the first publicly traded company to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value, marking another milestone for a technology juggernaut that has reshaped society with a line-up of products that churn out eye-popping profits. Apple shares closed up 2.3% at $193.97 Friday, bringing its market value to $3.04 trillion. Apple is …

The Washington Post reports: About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household without a landline at the end of last year — a figure that has tripled since 2010. The latest survey shows that landlines are far more common among homeowners (34 percent have them) than among renters (15 percent), while Hispanic Americans (20 percent) are less likely …

As I’ve noted for the last week in the comments of some JMG posts, at some point today we’ll go offline while our hosting service physically moves our standalone server to a new facility near downtown Los Angeles. The downtime will allegedly last no longer than four hours and could be much shorter. But unfortunately, we won’t get a heads …

Reuters reports: Apple Inc unveiled an augmented-reality headset called the Apple Vision Pro at its annual software developer conference on Monday, its first big move into a new product category since the introduction of the Apple Watch nine years ago. The headset launch will see Apple test a market crowded with devices that have yet to gain traction with consumers …

The Washington Post reports: Automakers, such as BMW, Volkswagen, Mazda and Tesla, are removing AM radios from new electric vehicles because electric engines can interfere with the sound of AM stations. And Ford, one of the nation’s top-three auto sellers, is taking a bigger step, eliminating AM from all of its vehicles, electric or gas-operated. Some station owners and advertisers …

Axios reports: As stores and restaurants attempt to go cashless, they’re installing “reverse ATMs” that dispense stored-value cards in exchange for greenbacks. More businesses are eschewing cash — a trend accelerated by the pandemic — but states and cities are passing laws banning them from doing so, in deference to people who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards. Reverse …

Axios reports: In a worldwide push called “Sunrise 2027,” the retail industry is transitioning from the standard 12-digit barcode — that square of vertical lines that’s printed on a package and makes it go “beep” at the checkout scanner — to a two-dimensional web-enabled version. The effort is being orchestrated by GS1 US, the nonprofit standards organization that oversees the …

Axios reports: The first commercially available human-shaped robots designed for warehouse work were unveiled last week by a company called Agility Robotics, for delivery in 2025. Digit, which is built to work alongside humans, can lift and move plastic bins in a warehouse or distribution center. Fully self-charging, Digit — who is a slim 5’9″ and 140 pounds — will …

CNBC reports: The FBI has warned consumers against using free public charging stations, saying crooks have managed to hijack public chargers that can infect devices with malware, or software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer. The Federal Communications Commission has also warned about “juice jacking,” as the malware loading scheme is known, since 2021. Consumer …

Reuters reports: Tesla Inc assures its millions of electric car owners that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.” The cameras it builds into vehicles to assist driving, it notes on its website, are “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy.” But between 2019 and 2022, groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an …

The BBC reports: British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy in the US after failing to secure new investment. The satellite launch company halted operations weeks ago but it hopes to find a buyer for the business. The company, based in California, announced last week that it would cut 85% of its 750-strong workforce. …

From Maryland’s Montgomery County police: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police- Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged a 16-year-old juvenile from Rockville and a 17-year-old juvenile from Washington D.C. for a strong-arm carjacking that occurred in Germantown on Saturday, March 25, 2023. On March 25, at approximately 4:36 p.m., 5th District Officers responded to the Sunoco gas …

The Verge reports: A number of well-known AI researchers — and Elon Musk — have signed an open letter calling on AI labs around the world to pause development of large-scale AI systems, citing fears over the “profound risks to society and humanity” they claim this software poses. The letter, published by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, notes that …

NPR reports: This palm reader will not be able to tell your fortune, but it will figure out if you are part of Panera’s loyalty program. Over the next few months, the bakery-café chain will roll out scanners that can access customers’ credit card and loyalty account using their palm. The biometric-gathering technology, developed by Amazon and called Amazon One, …

The Verge reports: TikTok has announced a batch of new features intended to reduce screen time and improve the well-being of its younger users. In the coming weeks, a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes will be automatically applied to every TikTok user under 18 years old. Teens that hit this limit will be asked to enter a passcode …

The Hill reports: President Biden has upheld an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that could result in an import ban on the Apple Watch, according to AliveCor, a medical device company that has accused Apple of patent infringement. The California startup said it was informed of Biden’s decision by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday. It’s …

CNBC reports: Netflix’s plan to stop users from sharing their passwords with each other is starting to take shape. The streaming giant, which last month announced that it will soon begin the preliminary rollout of its strategy, has updated its FAQs page with some details about what users can expect. The main hurdle that Netflix will place in front of …

Vice News reports: A new law makes porn sites liable for content deemed “harmful to minors” if it doesn’t install age verification technology for anyone accessing them in Louisiana—and it’s already affecting how people in the state access Pornhub. When Motherboard tested the verification, Pornhub directed us to AllPassTrust, a third-party identity verification site, which connects to LAWallet, a digital …

Via press release from Walmart: As of Dec. 15, 2022, Walmart drone delivery is available in select markets in Texas, Arizona and Florida. Many customers in the Tampa, Orlando, Phoenix and Dallas areas can take advantage of same-day delivery via drone. We continue to expand our delivery operations to help customers get the items they need when they need them, …

Bloomberg News reports: Apple Inc. was sued by two women who say its AirTag devices make it easy for stalkers to track and terrorize victims. An ex-boyfriend of one of the women who filed the lawsuit planted an AirTag in the wheel well of her car and was able to find out where she had moved to avoid his harassment, …