Author: Techman

Microsoft's big bet on cloud computing is paying off as the company has surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable publicly traded company.    The software maker's prospects looked bleak just a few years ago, as licenses for the company's Windows system fell with a sharp drop in sales of personal computers.    But under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has found stability by focusing on software and services over the internet, or the cloud, with long-term business contracts.      That 1990s personal-computing powerhouse is now having a renaissance moment, as it eclipses Facebook, Google, Amazon and the other tech darlings of the late decade.    Apple had been the world's most prosperous firm since claiming the top spot from Exxon Mobil earlier this decade. Microsoft surpassed Apple briefly a few…

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein called on social media companies and technology firms Thursday to work with law enforcement to protect the public from cybercriminals.     Speaking at a symposium on online crime, Rosenstein said that "social media platforms provide unprecedented opportunities for the free exchange of ideas. But many users do not understand that the platforms allow malicious actors, including foreign government agents, to deceive them by launching vast influence operations."    He said it was up to the companies to "place security on the same footing as novelty and convenience, and design technology accordingly."     He warned that if the technology sector failed to do so, government would have to step in.     "I think the companies now do understand if they do not take it upon…

Facebook is cautiously expanding a feature that shows people local news and information, including missing-person alerts, road closures, crime reports and school announcements. Called “Today In,” the service shows people information from their towns and cities from such sources as news outlets, government entities and community groups. Facebook launched the service in January with six cities and expanded that to 25, then more. On Wednesday, “Today In” is expanding to 400 cities in the U.S. — and a few others in Australia. The move comes as Facebook tries to shake off its reputation as a hotbed for misinformation and elections-meddling and rather a place for communities and people to come together and stay informed. Here are some things to know about this effort, and why it matters: The big picture…

Porsche says its future is in electric cars but for now it is rolling out a more powerful version of its internal combustion mainstay, the sleek 911 sports car. Stuttgart-based Porsche, part of Volkswagen, is to show off the eighth version of its brand-defining model at the Los Angeles Auto Show.   The new 911 doesn't look much different than earlier editions of the car. The new one has bigger wheel housings and a slightly wider body but the same long hood, sloping roof and prominent headlights that have marked successive versions since 1963.   The company said in a news release Wednesday that the new 911 Carrera S and 4S have flat six-cylinder turbocharged engines putting out 443 horsepower, 23 horsepower more than the predecessor. The Carrera S has…

In the first case of its kind, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against two alleged Iranian cybercriminals who used malware to infect the computer networks of U.S. municipalities, hospitals and other organizations in a scheme to extort millions of dollars from the victims. Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34, and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, 27, are accused of creating and deploying a sophisticated malware known as SamSam Ransomware to forcibly encrypt data on the computer networks of more than 200 organizations and other victims in the United States and Canada.   Savandi and Mansouri would then demand a ransom payment in the form of the virtual currency known as bitcoin in exchange for decryption keys for the encrypted data.   In all, the two allegedly received more than $6 million in…

Alphabet Inc's Google in May introduced a slick feature for Gmail that automatically completes sentences for users as they type. Tap out "I love" and Gmail might propose "you" or "it." But users are out of luck if the object of their affection is "him" or "her." Google's technology will not suggest gender-based pronouns because the risk is too high that its "Smart Compose" technology might predict someone's sex or gender identity incorrectly and offend users, product leaders revealed to Reuters in interviews. Gmail product manager Paul Lambert said a company research scientist discovered the problem in January when he typed "I am meeting an investor next week," and Smart Compose suggested a possible follow-up question: "Do you want to meet him?" instead of "her." Consumers have become accustomed to…

Facebook came under fire on Tuesday from lawmakers from several countries who accused the firm of undermining democratic institutions and lambasted chief executive Mark Zuckerberg for not answering questions on the matter. Facebook is being investigated by lawmakers in Britain after consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked on Donald Trump's presidential campaign, obtained the personal data of 87 million Facebook users from a researcher, drawing attention to the use of data analytics in politics. Concerns over the social media giant's practices, the role of political adverts and possible interference in the 2016 Brexit vote and U.S. elections are among the topics being investigated by British and European regulators. While Facebook says it complies with EU data protection laws, a special hearing of lawmakers from several countries around the world in London…

A mobile application launched in dozens of U.S. and Canadian cities on Monday measures the planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions of inner-city travel, its creators said, letting concerned commuters map their so-called carbon footprints. Mapping app Cowlines can suggest the most efficient route as well which uses the least fuel, combining modes of transport such as bicycling and walking, within cities, its Vancouver, Canada-based creators said. Some two-thirds of the world's population is expected to settle in urban areas by 2050, according to the United Nations. The trend presents an environmental challenge, given that the world's cities account for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. Not only will the app measure a trip's emissions and suggest alternatives, it will provide the data to cities and urban planners working on systems from…

Apple is launching a new program designed to address the technology industry's scarcity of women in executive and computer programming jobs.   Under the initiative announced Monday, female entrepreneurs and programmers will attend two-week tutorial sessions at the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters.   The camps will be held every three months beginning in January. For each round, Apple will accept up to 20 app makers founded or led by a woman. The app maker must have at least one female programmer in its ranks to qualify. Apple will cover travel expenses for up to three workers from each accepted company. Like other major tech companies, Apple has been trying to lessen its dependence on men in high-paying programming jobs. Women filled just 23 percent of Apple's technology jobs in 2017,…

One of Cameroon's first video games studios and most successful digital startups is growing into a major player in the industry. Despite obstacles, Kiro'o Games - as it's called - is committed to drawing inspiration from its local mythology and culture. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports. ...

Britain's parliament has seized confidential Facebook documents from the developer of a now-defunct bikini photo searching app as it seeks answers from the social media company about its data protection policies. Lawmakers sought the files ahead of an international hearing they're hosting on Tuesday to look into disinformation and "fake news." The parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has "received the documents it ordered from Six4Three relating to Facebook," Committee Chairman Damian Collins tweeted on Sunday. "Under UK law & parliamentary privilege we can publish papers if we choose to as part of our inquiry," he said. The app maker, Six4Three, had acquired the files as part of a U.S. lawsuit against the social media giant. It's suing Facebook over a change to the social network's privacy policies in…

Scientific curiosity can lead to some surprising, and useful, discoveries. Consider the cat – questions about its sandpaper-like tongue led to plans for a synthetic version that could be used for household products or to dispense medicine. Faith Lapidus explains. ...

The problem with plastics is a well-known refrain by now: It never goes away and far too little of it is being recycled. That means it is turning up in every corner of our planet, from our beaches to our bodies. But one British firm has figured out a new way to recycle plastics, and customers are waiting in line. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports. ...

As many as 3 million Malawians are expected to face food shortages this year because of drought and pests. To address the problem, Malawi and the United Nations are piloting a joint project to assess the health of crops using drones. Lameck Masina reports from Kasungu, central Malawi. ...

As wildfires raged this month in California, insurance claims experts at Travelers sat in a command center 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) away in Connecticut, monitoring screens showing satellite images, photos from airplane flyovers and social media posts describing what was happening on the ground. Real-time data and technology that were unavailable to property-casualty companies even a few years ago have shaped the industry's response to the Camp Fire, which has burned nearly 240 square miles (622 square kilometers) in northern California and the 151-square-mile (391-square-kilometer) Woolsey Fire in the Los Angeles area. By overlaying the data on maps marking its customers' locations, the company can quickly identify those who are likely to have been affected, said Jim Wucherpfennig, Travelers vice president of claims. "That allows us to deploy people and…

Solar-powered suitcases are bringing light to darkened classrooms and struggling students in rural Kenya. Before solar power, the alternatives were small tin kerosene lamps that are not only expensive to fill but also have caused some health problems. VOA's Mariama Diallo reports. ...

A Russia-based news company whose accountant was charged by federal prosecutors for attempting to meddle in U.S. elections sued Facebook Inc in a federal court Tuesday, claiming that its Facebook page was improperly removed. The Federal Agency of News LLC and its sole shareholder, Evgeniy Aubarev, filed the lawsuit against Facebook in federal court in the Northern District of California, seeking damages and an injunction to prevent Facebook from blocking its account. Facebook deleted the company's account in April as it purged pages and accounts associated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, which was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election. FAN and Zubarev said they were improperly swept up in Facebook's purge. Facebook did not immediately respond to a…

For the past decade, Sheryl Sandberg has been the poised, reliable second-in-command to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, helping steer Facebook's rapid growth around the world, while also cultivating her brand in ways that hint at aspirations well beyond the social network. But with growing criticism over the company's practices, or lack of oversight, her carefully cultivated brand as an eloquent feminist leader is showing cracks. Questions these days aren't so much about whether she'll run for the Senate or even president, but whether she ought to keep her job at Facebook.  “Her brand was being manicured with the same resources and care as the gardens of Tokyo,” said Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor. “And unfortunately a hurricane has come through the garden.” Facebook has been dealing with…

North Korean hackers continue to circumvent protections and compromise computer systems around the globe. Pyongyang’s cyber operatives, like the Lazarus Group, have been linked to computer system infiltrations like the 2014 Sony Pictures Studios hack prior to the release of the U.S. film “The Interview” and the attempted theft of close to $1 billion from the central Bangladesh bank using the SWIFT banking network in 2016. But how did Pyongyang become so adept at hacking while not possessing rich resources and being under tough International sanctions? Seungjoo Kim, a professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Information Security says the answer, in part, is because North Korea’s computer hackers operate in China and Europe with easy access to the internet. “North Korea practices their craft under real conditions, like hacking…

In the Baltic country of Lithuania, there’s growing debate over a Russian-owned taxi ride-sharing service that Lithuanian government officials warn could be spying on users through their smartphones. So, could an 'app' be the latest tool in Kremlin hybrid tactics, or has fear of all things Russian gone too far?  From Vilnius, Charles Maynes reports. ...

British-based startup ARC unveiled its first motorcycle model in Milan this week, one being described as fast, advanced and expensive. The so-called Vector costs more than $100,000, but ARC says it's for good reason. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports. ...

Investigative group Bellingcat and Russian website The Insider are suggesting that Russian intelligence has infiltrated the computer infrastructure of a company that processes British visa applications. The investigation, published Friday, aims to show how two suspected Russian military intelligence agents, who have been charged with poisoning a former Russian spy in the English city of Salisbury, may have obtained British visas. The Insider and Bellingcat said they interviewed the former chief technical officer of a company that processes visa applications for several consulates in Moscow, including that of Britain. The man, who fled Russia last year and applied for asylum in the United States, said he had been coerced to work with agents of the main Russian intelligence agency FSB, who revealed to him that they had access to the…

Companies could help refugees rebuild their lives by paying them to boost artificial intelligence (AI) using their phones and giving them digital skills, a tech nonprofit said Thursday. REFUNITE has developed an app, LevelApp, which is being piloted in Uganda to allow people who have been uprooted by conflict to earn instant money by “training” algorithms for AI. Wars, persecution and other violence have uprooted a record 68.5 million people, according to the U.N. refugee agency. People forced to flee their homes lose their livelihoods and struggle to create a source of income, REFUNITE co-chief executive Chris Mikkelsen told the Trust Conference in London. “This provides refugees with a foothold in the global gig economy,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s two-day event, which focuses on a host of human…

Facebook says it is getting better at proactively removing hate speech and changing the incentives that result in the most sensational and provocative content becoming the most popular on the site. The company has done so, it says, by ramping up its operations so that computers can review and make quick decisions on large amounts of content with thousands of reviewers making more nuanced decisions. In the future, if a person disagrees with Facebook's decision, he or she will be able to appeal to an independent review board. Facebook "shouldn't be making so many important decisions about free expression and safety on our own," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call with reporters Thursday. But as Zuckerberg detailed what the company has accomplished in recent months to crack down…

Super-realistic face masks made by a tiny company in rural Japan are in demand from the domestic tech and entertainment industries and from countries as far away as Saudi Arabia. The 300,000-yen ($2,650) masks, made of resin and plastic by five employees at REAL-f Co., attempt to accurately duplicate an individual's face down to fine wrinkles and skin texture. Company founder Osamu Kitagawa came up with the idea while working at a printing machine manufacturer. But it took him two years of experimentation before he found a way to use three-dimensional facial data from high-quality photographs to make the masks, and started selling them in 2011. The company, based in the western prefecture of Shiga, receives about 100 orders every year from entertainment, automobile, technology and security companies, mainly in…

Office workers often complain that the building is either too hot or too cold. Now, engineers and architects are working on creating "sentient buildings" that can cater to the personal needs and well being of each employee in the hopes of increasing productivity. VOA'S Elizabeth Lee has this report from Los Angeles. ...

China’s state-run Xinhua News has debuted what it called the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) anchor. But the novelty has generated more dislikes than likes online among Chinese netizens, with many calling the new virtual host “a news-reading device without a soul.” Analysts say the latest creation has showcased China’s short-term progress in voice recognition, text mining and semantic analysis, but challenges remain ahead for its long-term ambition of becoming an AI superpower by 2030. Nonhuman anchors Collaborating with Chinese search engine Sogou, Xinhua introduced two AI anchors, one for English broadcasts and the other for Chinese, both of which are based on images of the agency’s real newscasters, Zhang Zhao and Qiu Hao respectively. In its inaugural broadcast last week, the English-speaking anchor was more tech cheerleader than newshound,…