Search results for "us government "

Girl Scout cookies take flight in Virginia drone deliveries

Missing out on Thin Mints in the pandemic? A Google affiliate is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people’s doorsteps in a Virginia community. The town of Christiansburg has been a testing ground for commercial delivery drones operated by Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s corporate parent Alphabet. Now the company is adding the […]

To gain a head start, Ethio Telecom to offer mobile money services in May

Ethiopia’s state-owned provider, Ethio Telecom, announced on Wednesday the rollout of its mobile money service TeleBirr, which will be made available to subscribers starting May 2021. The announcement comes just two days after two telcos – South Africa’s MTN and a consortium from Vodafone – made bids to enter the Ethiopian telecoms market, which is […]

Samsung reports profit jump on smartphone, TV sales

Samsung Electronics said Thursday its operating profit for the last quarter jumped 46% from a year earlier driven by increased sales of smartphones and televisions as its business continues to flourish amid the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant also said its quarterly revenue of 65.39 trillion won ($59 billion) was its highest for the […]

Auto group backs guidelines for partially automated vehicles

The trade association representing most major automakers is offering guidelines for manufacturers to advertise partially automated driving systems and to make sure drivers are paying attention while using them. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation says its members support the voluntary principles, which come as two federal agencies increase scrutiny of Tesla’s Autopilot diver-assist system after […]

India censors social media, as second wave of COVID intensifies

Last week, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology urged several social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to take down user content critical of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak as cases go on a sharp rise yet again. Over 100 such take-down requests were sent out to stamp out […]

Microsoft profits soar as cloud demand continues in pandemic

Microsoft’s profits soared during the first three months of 2021, thanks to ongoing demand for its software and cloud computing services during the pandemic. The company on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $14.8 billion, up 38% from the same period last year. “Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren’t slowing down. […]

Google's Q1 ad sales surge 32%, Alphabet profit doubles

Google’s digital advertising network has shifted back into high gear, with its corporate parent reporting profit that more than doubled after an unprecedented setback during the early stages of the pandemic. The robust first-quarter advertising growth announced Tuesday provides the latest sign that advertisers are expecting the economy to roar back to life as more […]

MTN, Vodafone bid for telecom operating licenses in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Finance Ministry announced on Monday that two bids have been made for two new telecoms operating licenses, as the country looks to liberalize its telecoms industry and economy. The two license bidders include South Africa’s MTN Group and a consortium of Kenya’s Safaricom, Vodafone, Vodacom, CDC Group (a UK development finance institution) and Japanese […]

UK spy chief says West faces 'moment of reckoning' on tech

Western countries risk losing control of technologies that are key to internet security and economic prosperity to nations like China and Russia if they don’t act to deal with the threat, one of the U.K.’s top spy chiefs warned Friday. “Significant technology leadership is moving east” and causing a conflict of interests and values, Jeremy […]

The big Pentagon internet mystery now partially solved

A very strange thing happened on the internet the day President Joe Biden was sworn in. A shadowy company residing at a shared workspace above a Florida bank announced to the world’s computer networks that it was now managing a colossal, previously idle chunk of the internet owned by the U.S. Department of Defense. That […]