News

Singapore stops Zoom for online education as hackers strike

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Singapore has suspended the use of Zoom for online education after hackers hijacked a lesson and showed obscene images to students. In what is known as “Zoombombing,” two hackers interrupted a geography lesson a day after Singapore closed schools on Wednesday in partial lockdown measures to […]

Apple, Google to harness phones for virus infection tracking

By FRANK BAJAK and MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writers Apple and Google fueled hopes for digital technology’s promise against a fast-moving, invisible killer, announcing a joint effort to help public health agencies worldwide leverage smartphones to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use […]

Virus outbreak delivers tech darlings a harsh reality check

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, DEE-ANN DURBIN and MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press Just as the coronavirus outbreak has boxed in society, it’s also squeezed high-flying tech companies reliant on people’s freedom to move around and get together. Since the beginning of March, for instance, Uber shares have lost a quarter of their value. Rival Lyft is […]

Online grocery services struggle to meet spike in demand

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — A pandemic forcing everyone to stay home could be the perfect moment for online grocery services. In practice, they’ve been struggling to keep up with a surge in orders, highlighting their limited ability to respond to an unprecedented onslaught of demand. After panic buying left store […]

Hackers' new target during pandemic: video conference calls

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and AARON MORRISON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ceri Weber had just begun to defend her dissertation when the chaos began: Echoes and voices interrupted her. Someone parroted her words. Then Britney Spears music came on, and someone told Weber to shut up. Someone threatened to rape her. Hackers had targeted […]

New phone-only Quibi aims for bite of digital entertainment

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Want to see Chance the Rapper prank Hollywood stars? Catch a new action thriller starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz? How about a six-minute edition of “60 Minutes”? There’s an app for that, and more. Quibi — a snappy amalgam of “quick” and “bite” — […]

SXSW partners with Amazon to put its film festival online

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The popcorn will be bring your own and the barbecue won’t be as good, but the Austin, Texas, SXSW Film Festival is moving online after having its 27th edition canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. SXSW announced Thursday that it’s partnering with Amazon Prime Video to […]

WarnerMedia names former Hulu chief Jason Kilar CEO

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Kilar, the founding chief executive of Hulu and a former Amazon senior vice president, has been named CEO of WarnerMedia, the company announced Wednesday. Kilar takes the reins of one of Hollywood’s largest film and television factories, putting in him charge of the Warner […]

Chinese smartphone health code rules post-virus life

WUHAN, China (AP) — Since the coronavirus outbreak, life in China is ruled by a green symbol on a smartphone screen. Green is the “health code” that says a user is symptom-free and it’s required to board a subway, check into a hotel or just enter Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people where […]

Marriott says new data breach affects 5.2 million guests

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Marriott says guests’ names, loyalty account information and other personal details may have been accessed in the second major data breach to hit the company in less than two years. Marriott said Tuesday approximately 5.2 million guests worldwide may have been affected. The information taken may have included names, […]