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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
478 stories archived
Google warns EU's plans to weaken its monopoly could expose user data
The EU wants Google to share search data with competitors and open up AI on Android, but Google alleges major privacy risks.
Quantum computing startup says it will leapfrog everybody
But the system would require a massive leap from any of its existing hardware.
Kalshi sues Illinois over new tax on prediction market sports bets
Illinois now a key battleground in fight over prediction market sports bets.
F1 in Austria: Starts off exciting, then goes the opposite way
A heatwave, engine upgrades, plus power levels for the next two seasons.
Wildwood featurette lifts the veil on building its stop-motion world
Director Travis Knight is also the creative mind behind 2016's Oscar-nominated Kubo and the Two Strings .
In a bold move, Rocket Lab acquires Iridium Communications
"We believe this will be one of the most transformative deals in the space industry."
Think tank games out how to respond to disaster scenarios in space warfare
"Where does the threshold live that an action necessitates some proportional reaction?"
Inside Cannes, the Advertising Industry’s Biggest Party
Reporting from Microsoft Gardens, next to Salesforce Beach, Amazon Port, and the Canva Creative Cabana.
Comcast is splitting its media and broadband properties
NBCUniversal and Sky will be spun off into separate companies.
‘A very good gadget’: taking delivery from the robots of Milton Keynes
Starship Technologies six-wheelers could soon become a more familiar sight across the country under new laws Driving down an endless string of identical roundabouts in the dead heat with hardly a human in sight, you see robots roving around on grassy pavements, whizzing past obstacles to hurriedly reach their final destination. This isn’t a scene from a Philip K Dick novel, however, but an average Thursday in Milton Keynes. The robots aren’t a new arrival to the Buckinghamshire city, the UK’s largest new town and a longtime marvel for city planning enthusiasts fascinated by its American-influenced layout and postwar history. They’ve roamed its streets since 2018 – and could soon be coming to a town or city near you. Continue reading...
Ministers likely to support law change to allow delivery robots on England’s paths
Exclusive: Safety campaigners concerned about plan for widespread deployment on already crowded pavements Large numbers of autonomous delivery robots could be coming to towns and cities across England after ministers signalled they were likely to support a change in the law allowing their use, prompting concern from safety campaigners. Low-speed robots, which mainly deliver groceries or takeaway food, are already in use in a handful of places but they operate in a regulatory grey area. The 1835 Highways Act bans “carriages” from pavements. Continue reading...
NASA's X-59 "frankenjet" tests supersonic flight without the sonic boom
NASA’s quiet supersonic flight tests could eventually go on a national tour.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro review: night and day better with new 4K camera
Camera, wifi and design updates bring welcome upgrades to Ring’s top model in wired or battery flavour Ring’s recent revamp of its popular video doorbells with a more modern design is led by the top-of-the-line Video Doorbell Pro 3, which gains much-needed upgrades with a 4K camera and better wifi plus new interesting AI features. The new doorbells are sleeker but keep the unmistakable two-tone Ring colour scheme, button, logo and ringtone. Battery models start at £80 or equivalent, with the top model costing £219.99 (€249.99/$249.99/A$329.99) with either a battery or wired, which is roughly in line with the competition. Continue reading...
‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres
In 1993, she squeezed a $333m settlement from a Californian energy company in a scandal over contaminated water. Three decades later, she has a new target in her sights – and it’s global When Erin Brockovich woke to find 30 emails from people from the same town, she realised something was going on. People email Brockovich all the time because of what happened in 1993, when she was instrumental in suing Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on behalf of residents of the town of Hinkley, California, whose groundwater had been contaminated. The case resulted in a settlement of $333m – then the largest ever payout for a direct-action lawsuit. When she was immortalised by Julia Roberts in the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, she became the hero we didn’t know we needed, a modern day Joan of Arc. She had won against PG&E with no formal legal training. The emails she received a few weeks ago were about datacentres. In April, she put a callout on her website asking for anyone with concerns about one near them to get in touch. Within a month, 3,862 people had replied. Tech companies have needed datacentres to power their technology “for ever”, she says, but the new ones being built to power AI? “This feels like Hinkley on steroids.” Continue reading...
Why did this journal retract two 1940s papers by Max Planck?
Clicking on the links now reveals blank pages and empty PDFs. "Intellectually, it’s not acceptable.”
Australian with retirement savings? You probably own SpaceX
Tech and AI stocks now make up as much as 12% of most balanced superannuation funds, experts say Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Artificial intelligence and technology stocks have become a driving force on Wall Street and, unbeknownst to most Australians, a growing part of their retirement savings . The so-called “magnificent seven” – chip maker Nvidia, Google owner Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta and Tesla – are, for better or worse, increasingly part of the portfolios offered by superannuation funds. Continue reading...
‘Crypto v community’: 4,000 local US lenders join forces to fight ‘stablecoins’ law
Up to 4,000 community banks fear looming legislation to regulate digital cash will deprive rural firms and farmers of $850bn-worth of loans On a quiet summer morning, above a small mid-western town, an American flag is waving in the breeze. The camera cuts to a father helping his son at the wheel of a tractor, and flits to a smiling couple on a grass-lined pavement, moments before flashing to grainy images of “crypto insiders” in suits. “American families don’t want experiments with their money,” a voice booms. “They want jobs, growth, and available credit. When crypto gets a free pass, communities pay the price.” Continue reading...
Lost your crypto access code? Be wary, there‘s a scam for that too
A niche type of fraud is lucrative enough for criminals to set up fake websites with dodgy software to harvest your data After holding them for a few years, you have decided it is time to cash in your cryptocurrency holdings. The problem is, it is so long since you set up the digital wallet which manages them on your laptop, you have forgotten the lengthy access code. Stressed at the thought of losing thousands of pounds, you search and download a program which promises to recover the 24-word “seed phrase” which gives you access to your cypto assets. Continue reading...
Scientists Think They’ve Uncovered the 15-Million-Year-Old Origin of Laughter
Recordings of laughter from humans and other great apes suggest that the distinctive rhythm of "ha ha ha" emerged in a common ancestor that lived at least 15 million years ago.
Apple and Audi alumni have made a luxe EV based on the moon buggy
The Amble One is a street-legal $25,000 electric buggy designed for luxury resorts.
Australian rescue team uses AI-powered drone to find lost hikers – video
Two men in their 20s were found within five hours thanks to an artificial intelligence-powered drone, which used thermal imaging to locate them. Two hikers veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park, New South Wales, on Tuesday, and were found about half a kilometre off the track. It was the first time the FRNSW drone’s AI detection system had been used to rescue missing people Hikers lost in Kosciuszko national park rescued within five hours by AI drone Continue reading...
Social media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdown
As a host of countries move to rein in social media use by children, could this be technology’s big tobacco moment? Continue reading...
Hikers lost in Kosciuszko national park rescued within five hours by AI drone
Fire and Rescue NSW uses thermal imaging and a mobile phone red light to quickly locate men who veered off walking track near Jindabyne Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two hikers who veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park have been found within five hours using a drone powered by artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind mission, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has said. The two men, aged in their 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday evening after they failed to return to a rendezvous point on time. Continue reading...
South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"
Half-million strong military will train on drones as “universal combat tool.”