Google officially closed its $1.1 billion deal with HTC Corp., adding more than 2,000 smartphone specialists in Taiwan to help the search giant chase Apple Inc. in the cut-throat premium handset market.
Monthly Archives: January 2018
Facebook invented a new time unit called the ‘flick’ and it’s truly amazing
So what is a flick? A flick is one seven hundred and five million six hundred thousandth of a second — 1/705,600,000 if you prefer the digits, or 1.417233560090703e-9 if you prefer decimals. And why is that useful?
NASA’s Long Dead ‘IMAGE’ Satellite is Alive!
Over the past week the station has been dedicated to an S-band scan looking for new targets and refreshing the frequency list, triggered by the recent launch of the mysterious ZUMA mission.
Apple, in Sign of Health Ambitions, Adds Medical Records Feature for iPhone
In the latest indication of Apple’s growing ambitions in the digital health market, the tech giant on Wednesday unveiled a new feature that would allow users to automatically download and see parts of their medical records on their iPhones.
How do you turn an ad into a meme? Two words: Dilly dilly
Since then, the list of commercial catchphrases to earn a cultural foothold has been short.
Here’s How Scammers Are Using Fake News To Screw With Bitcoin Investors
On Saturday, Jan. 14, a Twitter account purporting to be that of John McAfee, the outlandish founder of cybersecurity firm McAfee, shared a bit of investment advice. “Coin of the day,” the account tweeted, promoting GVT, a new digital coin that had started trading in the fall of 2017.
Amazon’s automated grocery store of the future opens Monday
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc will open its checkout-free grocery store to the public on Monday after more than a year of testing, the company said, moving forward on an experiment that could dramatically alter brick-and-mortar retail.
Falcon Heavy | Flight Animation
When Falcon Heavy lifts off it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. Thrust at liftoff is equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft operating simultaneously.
Competitive Self-Play
Alibaba’s AI Outguns Humans in Reading Test
Alibaba has developed an artificial intelligence model that scored better than humans in a Stanford University reading and comprehension test. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
The Making of Apple’s Emoji: How designing these tiny icons changed my life
When design leads to friendship, and that friendship leads back to design, magic happens. This is the story of how an intern and her mentor designed Apple’s original emoji set and together changed the way people communicate around the world.
Scientists Discover Clean Water Ice Just Below Mars’ Surface
Locked away beneath the surface of Mars are vast quantities of water ice. But the properties of that ice—how pure it is, how deep it goes, what shape it takes—remain a mystery to planetary geologists.
GM Rips the Steering Wheel Out of the Self-Driving Car It Will Launch Next Year
After more than a century making vehicles for humans to drive, General Motors has ripped the heart out of its latest ride, and is now holding the grisly spectacle up for all the world to see: A car with no steering wheel.
Facebook feed change sacrifices time spent and news outlets for “well-being”
Facebook is making a huge change to its News Feed algorithm to prioritize friends and posts that spark comments between them at the expense of public content, news outlets, and importantly, the total time spent and ads you see on the social network.
Website Glitch Let Me Overstock My Coinbase
Coinbase and Overstock.com just fixed a serious glitch that allowed Overstock customers to buy any item at a tiny fraction of the listed price.
Intel CEO issues ‘security-first pledge’ following Meltdown, Spectre exploits
In an open letter released on Thursday, Intel chief Brian Krzanich outlined the company’s response to the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities while reassuring customers that his company views security as “an ongoing priority.
Facebook Tweaks Newsfeed to Favor Content from Friends, Family
In November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started sprinkling a new phrase, or perhaps a new idea, into his quarterly call with investors. “It’s important to remember that Facebook is about bringing people closer together and enabling meaningful social interactions,” he said.
Mystery deepens over fate of super-secret $1 billion military satellite
On Sunday, SpaceX launched a secret satellite codenamed Zuma on its first flight of the new year. Since then, no one knows what has happened to it.
Snapchat’s big redesign bashed in 83% of user reviews
Confusingly jamming Stories in between private messages has sparked backlash amongst the first users of Snapchat’s sweeping redesign. In the few countries including the U.K.
REVEALED: NASA’s 430,000mph machine that can travel from London to NYC in 28 SECONDS
Just a day after claims Google Earth has snapped the USAF’s 4,600mph hypersonic warplane, NASA has gone one better. The Parker Solar Probe’s extraordinary speed is almost too big to comprehend.