Google knows where you are even if you opt not to share location info, says lawsuit
San Francisco: The US state of Arizona filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Google of committing fraud by being deceptive about gathering location data. Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich said the suit resulted from an investigation launched two years ago after a media report that Google had ways of knowing where users were even if they […]
No more silent stadiums, just tap an app to send cheers to support your team
Tokyo: Cricketer Shoaib Akhtar recently said that playing in an empty stadium is like a wedding without a bride. A new Japanese smartphone app is set to change that. It will allow fans to send virtual cheers and jeers to sports stadiums in the hope of creating atmosphere at matches played behind closed doors due […]
Where will Trump rant if not on Twitter? He threatens to close down social media
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to close down social media platforms after Twitter labelled two of his tweets “unsubstantiated” and accused him of making false claims. “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen,” […]
Dear Swiggy, when can I have my swig in the South?
Tipplers in the five southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are eagerly awaiting the home delivery of alcohol as Zomato and Swiggy expanded the services launched in Jharkhand last week to Odisha today. Less than a week after putting ‘wine shops’ in Jharkhand on its platform, Zomato expanded to Bhubaneswar […]
Kirana stores left out as JioMart launches in 200 cities without them
Weeks after Mukesh Ambani signed a deal between JioMart and Facebook, the self-declared kirana store aggregator has launched its services in 200 cities, including small cities such as Bhatinda, Mysuru and Dehradun, but without the neighbourhood stores on board. While a pilot project was launched last month in the Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan neighbourhoods […]
Chinese anti-virus software maker Qihoo 360 criticises US for ‘politicising business’
Beijing: One of China’s biggest tech companies has criticised the Trump administration for “politicising business” after it slapped export sanctions on 33 more Chinese enterprises and government entities. The new measures announced on Friday expanded a US campaign against Chinese companies Washington says might be security threats or involved in human rights abuses. Beijing criticised […]
Don’t let Big Tech turn the world into a China, Noam Chomsky warns
New York: The role of technology in helping push back against the novel coronavirus has been hailed widely. But it also means that people are constantly being watched by entities that can set the tone for public behaviour without giving a shred of consideration to people’s privacy. One of the greatest contemporary thinkers, Noam Chomsky, […]
Pac-Man turns 40: Here’s the story of the world’s most successful arcade game
Tokyo: Forty years ago, a new video game featuring a bright yellow, dot-chomping, ghost-dodging character called Pac-Man appeared in Tokyo. It would become the most successful arcade game of all time. The hero—shaped like a mouth opening and closing—races around a maze noisily gobbling dots and occasionally fruit for extra points, all the while avoiding […]
Tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter sell work from home as the new culture
Oakland, California: For a preview of the future of office work, watch how the biggest tech companies are preparing for a post-pandemic world. Silicon Valley and Seattle giants — Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter — were the first to send their employees home as the virus spread to the U.S. Now they’re among the last to […]
Finally, Google-Apple COVID app tech released, 22 countries set to build on it
Washington: Apple and Google on Wednesday released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. The companies said 22 countries and several U.S. states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded […]
Amazon begins competing with Zomato, Swiggy in some parts of Bengaluru
New Delhi: Amazon India on Thursday said it is launching its food delivery operations in select parts of Bengaluru, a move that will see the e-commerce giant compete against major players like Zomato and Swiggy in the country. The announcement by Amazon India – which has been testing the service for a few months – […]
Now, a death sentence handed out over Zoom! Is tech making us less humane?
Singapore: Singapore was criticised for being “cruel and inhumane” Wednesday after a death sentence was handed down via video-conferencing platform Zoom. Malaysian drug trafficker Punithan Genasan was Friday sentenced to hang in a hearing conducted remotely due to restrictions in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus, court officials said. The 37-year-old had been […]
France opposes Google, Apple setting terms, will build government-monitored COVID app
Paris: France, which has long been sceptical of the growing power of US Big Tech companies, is seeking to bypass Apple and Google for a smartphone app to help trace people infected with the novel coronavirus. The move, which leaves France relatively isolated in Europe alongside Britain and Norway, reflects differences on how such apps […]
Boycott Google, Facebook to force them to pay for news, says Australian watchdog
Sydney: Australia’s competition watchdog suggested Tuesday that local media could organise a “collective boycott” of Google and Facebook to force the tech giants to pay for news they put on their platforms. The radical idea was among a series of possible bargaining tools put forward by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as it […]
Bois locker room: HC asks Google, Facebook, Twitter whether content can be removed
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought response of the Centre on a plea seeking directions to it to ensure social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram remove illegal groups such as ‘Bois Locker Room’, “for the safety and security of children” in cyberspace. A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Sangita Dhingra […]
India’s gaming industry to hit revenues of Rs 118.8 billion by 2023: Industry insider
Amid crumbling fortunes and economic distress brought on by the coronavirus, the lockdown that forced people to stay at home has had a positive effect on one industry: Gaming. With more time on people’s hands, they have taken to gaming to keep themselves engaged, entertained and, even if unreal and transient, gain a feeling of […]
AI system being developed to tell which COVID patients are at risk of cardiac events
New York: Scientists in the US are using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to identify which COVID-19 patients are at risk of adverse cardiac events such as heart failure, sustained abnormal heartbeats, heart attacks, and death. The researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the US said they have recently received a USD 195,000 grant from the […]
‘Stop suppression of Huawei’, China says US actions destroying global supply chains
Beijing has urged the United States to stop the “unreasonable suppression of Huawei and Chinese enterprises” after Washington announced new export controls to restrict the tech giant’s access to semiconductor technology. The latest restrictions on the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, which is at the centre of US spying allegations, are a new escalation in the […]
Every week one Lamborghini sold in India
Driving a Lamborghini is a very visceral experience and who does love them? One can feel the engine rumbling through their bones as we shift and downshift. Now, the Italian Sportscar marquee Lamborghini has announced that it has sold 50 units of the Urus SUV in India within a span of 12 months. Moreover, it […]
Get ready for 11-digit mobile numbers
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is considering changing the numbering schemes for Indian mobile phones, keeping in mind, the rise in demand for telecom connections with the growing population. To address the issue, TRAI is planning to change the digits in a phone number to 11 from 10. The rise in demand for telephone […]