Technology

YouTube star MrBeast rethinks old notions of philanthropy

The line of cars started forming at dawn. It was early November in Greenville, North Carolina, and drivers waited in a line that stretched for miles to pick up Thanksgiving turkeys — 10,000 free frozen birds to anyone who asked. Who was behind this act of holiday kindness? A community foundation, perhaps? Or a food […]

CEO of GM's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit to leave company

Dan Ammann, CEO of General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle subsidiary, is leaving the Detroit company. GM didn’t give a reason in a short statement Thursday but said that Kyle Vogt, president and chief technical officer, would be Cruise’s interim CEO. The leadership change comes just as Cruise is about to start a fully autonomous ride-hailing […]

Harris unveils plan for electric vehicle charging network

The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry. “The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,” Vice President Kamala Harris said […]

FCC probs Meta’s acquisition of VR startup, Supernatural

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will launch a thorough examination into Meta’s scheme to acquire the famous Virtual Reality (VR) fitness platform Supernatural, according to The Information. The investigation highlights only one aspect: antitrust watchdogs have officially initiated their scrutiny on Meta – formerly known as Facebook – for its heavy investments into its latest […]

Asian shares mostly lower after tech-led retreat on Wall St

Shares fell in Asia on Friday after technology companies led Wall Street benchmarks lower as investors weighed the implications of higher interest rates, surging coronavirus cases and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai declined, but shares rose in Sydney. U.S. shares dropped a day after the Federal Reserve said it’s preparing to […]

Google smart-city spinoff folding over founder's health

Google parent company Alphabet is folding one of its subsidiaries back into Google as the startup’s founder steps down to confront a neurological disease. Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff said Thursday he’s leaving the company focused on urban planning technology because he “very likely” has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sidewalk Labs was […]

Apple removes CSAM tool from blog, says plans did not change

Apple has discreetly removed all content related to its child sexual abuse material (CSAM) tool from its blog, following harsh criticism from various organizations and individuals.  First presented in August, the CSAM tool is set to distinguish and expose unethical images on iPhones and iPads. The communications safety measure incorporates different approaches to identify this […]

EU plan for sweeping update of Big Tech rules gains momentum

The European Union’s ambitious plan to update its pioneering internet rules gained momentum Tuesday after a key committee passed measures requiring technology companies to better police content and lawmakers prepared to vote on regulations to rein in Big Tech. The 27-nation bloc has for the past year been drafting a sweeping overhaul of regulations for […]

Instagram Hits 2 Billion Active Users Without Admitting

Instagram is reported to have reached 2 billion monthly active users without officially announcing it, according to anonymous employees who broke the news to CNBC. The reason behind not announcing it is that the platform was under surveillance in the past few months for potentially causing harm to children and teens. The last time the […]

Sony to bring PlayStation to phones, PlayStation Now

After Microsoft and Apple, Sony is preparing to launch its PlayStation Now cloud gaming service on mobile phones, a confidential document reveals. As such, the documents noted that “The service would stream over 450 PS3 games at first, and follow up with PS4 titles.” Apple mentioned the PlayStation Now expansion as it was in the […]