In another blow to individual privacy the European Union has enacted strict laws that now force car manufacturers to track and submit loads of data about their driver to authorities. While supposedly for safety purposes […]
Month: April 2015
Apple Watch Doesn’t Work With Tattooed Wrists
Numerous hipsters, known for their comprehensive use of tattoo body art, have reported serious issues using their Apple Watches, according to forum posts since the launch. It seems the watch’s wrist sensor, which changes what […]
Samsung Overtakes Apple As World’s Largest Smartphone Maker
New data from research firm research firm Strategy Analytics shows that Samsung Electronics Co Ltd overtook Apple Inc to recapture the title of world’s top smartphone maker by volume in the first quarter of 2015. […]
Alibaba Re-Organization Reveals Dramatically Slowing Chinese Economy
In a very surprising move Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is freezing hiring for the rest of the year because it has grown “too quickly”, according to Executive Chairman Jack Ma. “Alibaba has […]
Upset Residents Find Nepal Quake Response Lacking
As the death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal four days ago passed 5,000 on Wednesday, officials conceded they had made mistakes in their response. The mistakes left survivors stranded in remote villages waiting […]
Higher Cable Prices Likely As FCC Set To Approve AT&T DirectTV Merger
Despite rejecting the proposed Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger on the grounds of reduced competition the FCC appears set to allow mergers of Internet and TV providers. AT&T’s proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV […]
iPad Software Glitch Grounds American Airlines Flights
American airlines confirmed late Tuesday night that it had cancelled a number of flights due to an error with the digital map used by pilots in the cockpit. “Some flights are experiencing an issue with […]
Baltimore Now Stable As Only A Few Defy Curfew
Baltimore was calm last night thanks to thousands of police in riot gear and National Guard troops patrolling the city to enforce a curfew on Tuesday night. The troops dispersed protesters with pepper spray a […]
China Passes U.S. To Become Apple’s Fastest Growing Market
Apple used to dislike questions about China, a politically sensitive example of a rare instance in which the company under-performed. Now that’s all changed as Apple announced Tuesday that China has officially passed the U.S. […]
Nepal Death Toll Expected To Pass 10,000
As the smoke clears and rescuers reach out to distant villages the death toll is expected to rise considerably in Nepal, Americans.org has learned. Nepal’s prime minister said Tuesday the death toll from the catastrophic […]
Is Social Media A Viable Business Model?
Twitter announced earnings today and they were terrible. The company missed on revenue and user metrics were weak (we’ll look at that closer below). First the highlights: Twitter’s first quarter revenue hit $436 million, missing […]
U.S. Dispatches Destroyer After Iran Seizes Cargo Ship
A U.S. Navy destroyer has rushed to the area of a confrontation Tuesday between Iranian warships and a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The move comes amid increased tensions in the […]
Indonesia Defies World Anger And Executes 8 Drug Smugglers
Eight convicted drug smugglers were executed by firing squad in Indonesia Wednesday morning. The executions took place in Besi prison on the island of Nusakambangan. A ninth execution, a woman from the Philippines, was postponed […]
Baltimore Librarians Proudly Keep Doors Open Despite Turmoil
Baltimore’s librarians proudly announced that all library locations, including those at the epicenter of the riots, are welcoming patrons today. All branches remain open and fully staffed in the wake of protests and riots that […]
7 Year Old Discovers Turkey Sized T-Rex That Ate Plants
Scientists in Chile are puzzled by the discovery of a diminutive new vegetarian dinosaur which, they say, was closely related to the infamous meat-eating Tyrannosaurus rex. The finding is particularly notable for the vegetarian discovery, […]
Russians Lose Control Of Space Station Re-Supply Ship
Russia has lost control of its Progress cargo capsule that was scheduled to deliver 6,000 lbs of supplies to the International Space Station this morning. The spacecraft is tumbling around Earth as controllers try to […]
Why China’s Tone Deaf Politics Weaken It Like Russia
China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was “extremely concerned” after leaders of Southeast Asian countries expressed disapproval about land reclamation and navigational freedom in the disputed South China Sea. The statement is completely […]
Deutsche Bank CEO To Stand Trial For Purgery
Corruption starts at the top and in the case of Deutsche Bank it appears to have gone all the way to the very top. CEO Juergen Fitschen is one of five defendants in a trial […]
Researchers Find Surgery Robot Can Be Hacked To Hack You
In our increasingly digital and increasingly connected world the opportunity for hackers to take advantage of this connectivity is growing exponentially. New research shows that surgical robot makers are just as good at security as […]
Finnish Military Fires Depth Charges At Submarine As Tensions Rise
Tensions with Russia were yet again elevated on Tuesday as the Finnish military fired underwater depth charges as a warning against a suspected submarine in its territorial waters near Helsinki. The incident comes amid growing […]
How Do We Police Computer Algorithms That Collude?
The rules governing humans colluding to fix prices and reduce competition are well established law. But what if two computer programs are tasked with setting prices and end up colluding based on their strategy choices? […]
The Real Reason Google Is Reaching Out To News Publishers
Google is being credited with admitting mistakes in working with news organisations as it announced yesterday a new digital partnership with eight European publishers. The Digital News Initiative has been hailed as an attempt to […]
Writers Boycotting PEN Awards Show Contempt For Free Speech
Six prominent writers are boycotting a major U.S. literary awards show over plans to give satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo a freedom of speech award. The authors include The English Patient writer Michael Ondaatje and Peter […]
Baltimore Schools Closed Today, Curfew In Place, 1000s Out Cleaning Up
Baltimore, Maryland is a conflicted world this morning. The night after vicious riots injured dozen of people – protesters and police alike – the city is picking up the pieces. While the full extent of […]
World Grows Impatient With Russia As France Stops Destroyer Sale
The world’s developed countries are growing increasingly impatient with Russia and its belligerent antics it appears. On Monday, after months of debate, France opted to pay Russia $1.2 billion to settle a lingering dispute over […]
Young Women Moving To IUDs For Birth Control
Women in college who choose an intrauterine device (IUD) for long-term contraception say it hurts to have the device inserted, but they are otherwise very happy with it overa year later, according to a new […]
Baltimore Burns, Maryland Governor Declares State Of Emergency
In response to the police murder of, and today’s funeral for, Freddie Gray protesters took to the streets of Baltimore and have now begun rioting. Governor Larry Hogan, at the request of Baltimore City, has […]
What Harvard Has Learned About Online Education
Harvard Business School launched HBX, its new online education initiative, in June 2014. At the time the trend was for online courses to create a “lean back” experience where students would primarily watch streamed video […]
Kazakhstan’s President ‘Elected’ With Outrageous 97.7 Percent Vote
Elections in Kazakhstan aren’t exactly known to be close calls. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has led the oil-rich Central Asian country since 1989, just made winning a fifth term look suspiciously easy. On Sunday, he won […]
Good News: Big Corporations Hate Open Internet
Some of America’s largest internet and telecommunications companies hate the FCC’s new Net Neutrality rules. While the lobby groups complain their squeals mean the FCC got it right and made regulations that have teeth. The […]