Search results for "AI "

Amazon begins rollout of pay-by-palm at Whole Foods near HQ

Amazon is rolling out pay-by-palm technology at some Whole Foods grocery stores near its headquarters to make paying quicker and more convenient. The technology, called Amazon One, lets shoppers scan the palm of their hand and connect it to a credit card or Amazon account. After the initial set up, which Amazon says takes less […]

Venmo is into crypto, allowing users to buy Bitcoin, others

Venmo will allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its app, the company said Tuesday, the latest mainstream financial platform to wade into alternative currency like Bitcoin. In addition to Bitcoin, Venmo has opened up the platform to Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash — generally considered to be among the mainstream of the digital […]

Facebook announces ‘Soundbites,’ Clubhouse spinoff in the works

Audio-only media has been rapidly increasing in popularity among people of all ages and backgrounds over the past decade. What was once transmitted by radio has now become a podcast. Where once people would sit down and read a book, now we listen to audiobooks while commuting, running errands, and doing our dailies. Platforms like […]

US takes steps to protect electric system from cyberattacks

The Biden administration is taking steps to protect the country’s electricity system from cyberattacks through a new 100-day initiative combining federal government agencies and private industry. The initiative, announced Tuesday by the Energy Department, encourages owners and operators of power plants and electric utilities to improve their capabilities for identifying cyber threats to their networks. […]

Analysis: Can Reddit Talk beat Clubhouse at its own game?

In a sort of domino effect, popular discussion and content platform Reddit announced on Tuesday a first look into its new audio tool called “Reddit Talk” to be integrated within its subreddits, in a bid to increase user real-time engagement. While Reddit Talk does have similarities to Clubhouse, the layout of the tool has a […]

Suspected Chinese hackers spied on US, European targets

Suspected state-backed Chinese hackers exploited widely used networking devices to spy for months on dozens of high-value government, defense industry and financial sector targets in the U.S. and Europe, according to FireEye, a prominent cybersecurity firm. FireEye said Tuesday that it believes two hacking groups linked to China broke into several targets through Pulse Connect […]

Apple unveils new products, schedules privacy crackdown

Apple spruced up its product line at an event Tuesday while slipping in quiet notice of a software update, now due next week, designed to enhance the privacy of iPhone users at the expense of digital advertisers such as Facebook. Timing for the software upgrade trickled out during a series of announcements for new iPads, […]

Dogecoin has its day; cryptocurrency is latest 'meme' craze

After fans of the cryptocurrency touted April 20, long an unofficial holiday for marijuana devotees, as “Doge Day,” Dogecoin failed to come close to the $1 target that supporters hoped to reach and was falling in late afternoon trading. The goal may have sounded like a low hurdle, particularly when compared against the $50,000 or […]

Asian shares slide after tech, bank sell-off on Wall Street

Shares skidded in Asia on Wednesday after Wall Street closed lower for a second straight day, led by drops in technology companies and banks. Worsening coronavirus outbreaks in Asia have cast a shadow over prospects for a rebound from the pandemic. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 2% and other benchmarks also declined. On Tuesday, […]

Global Smartphone Market shows 24% growth in Q1 2021, report shows

Over the years, many tech pundits have repeatedly said that the peak smartphone era has ended and is long gone; and the numbers backed up those claims. A report by International Data Corporation (IDC) showed that the smartphone market saw negative growth for five quarters in a row, including the entirety of 2018. It appeared […]