Technology category, Page 36
YouTube changing its algorithms to stop recommending conspiracy videos
SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube said Friday it is retooling its recommendation algorithm that suggests new videos to users in order to prevent promoting conspiracies and false information, reflecting a growing willingness to quell misinformation on the world’s largest video platform after several public missteps. In a blog post that YouTube...
Amazon testing delivery by self-driving robots
NEW YORK — Amazon is bringing delivery robots to the streets of a Seattle suburb. The online shopping giant says it started to test self-driving robots that can bring Amazon packages to shoppers’ doorsteps Wednesday in Snohomish County, Washington. The robots are light blue, are about the size of a...
Boeing’s flying car has taken off
A Boeing flying car designed to whisk passengers over congested city streets and dodge skyscrapers completed its first test flight on Tuesday, offering a peek into the future of urban transportation the aerospace giant and others are seeking to reshape. A prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle completed a...
Pa. native is recording world languages in a mission to save them
When Daniel Bogre Udell turned 13, the small world he knew in the Poconos expanded into a much larger one in the kitchen of a local restaurant. It was the first time Bogre Udell, now 27, heard people speaking to one another in Spanish. That job as a busboy in...
Rocking beds and pillows that nudge when you snore: Tech wants into your bed
I’ve tried a mattress with water cooling and another that sways like a boat. I’ve worn brainwave-measuring helmets and rested on pillows that nudge you when you snore. In the hunt for better sleep, I’ve even snuggled up with a robot. For the gadget industry, sleep is the new exercise...
Facebook shuts hundreds of Russia-linked pages, accounts
LONDON — Facebook says it has removed hundreds of Russia-linked pages, groups and accounts that it says were part of two big disinformation operations, in its latest effort to fight fake news. The social media company said Thursday it took action after finding two networks “that engaged in coordinated inauthentic...
YouTube to ban ‘harmful or dangerous’ prank, challenge videos
YouTube is bringing down the hammer on “harmful or dangerous content” in the wake of viral challenges that place content creators in potentially serious danger. The company recently announced the content crack-down, and singled out videos that present an apparent risk of death, videos that cause children to experience emotional...
Survey: Younger drivers can identify emojis, not car dashboard alert
Younger drivers can identify emojis, but a common car dashboard alert throws them, according to a new survey. Millennials and Gen Zers are 1.5 times more likely to identify popular emojis correctly than the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning symbol, according to the survey commissioned by Goodyear Auto Service...
Gillette ad brings mixed response, 400K YouTube dislikes
Razor company Gillette is making a statement with its new commercial. The company posted “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” to its Twitter account and YouTube channel this week, calling attention to the #MeToo movement and depicting men acting in stereotypical ways. The video has more than 10.7 million...
Feds to ease rules on drone flights over crowds and at night
Federal officials plan to ease restrictions on flying small drones over crowds and at night, which would give a boost to the commercial use of unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration outlined draft rules Monday that would let drone operators do those things without a special waiver from current rules....
Egg photo becomes most-liked Instagram post – huh?
A photo of an egg, just an ordinary egg, became the most-liked photo on Instagram Sunday night, toppling the previous mark set by a photo posted by reality television personality and model Kylie Jenner. “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram,” the post,...
Sure, robots walk and talk, but now they can pour beer
LAS VEGAS — Robots that walk, talk, pour beer and play pingpong have taken over the CES gadget show in Las Vegas again. Just don’t expect to find one in your home any time soon. Most home robot ventures have failed, in part because they’re so difficult and expensive to...
Elderly, conservatives shared more Facebook fake info in 2016
WASHINGTON — Sharing false information on Facebook is old. People over 65 and ultra conservatives shared about seven times more fake information masquerading as news on the social media site than younger adults, moderates and super liberals during the 2016 election season, a new study finds. The first major study...
Hubble Space Telescope’s premier camera shuts down
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Hubble Space Telescope’s premier camera has shut down because of a hardware problem. NASA said the camera stopped working Tuesday. Hubble’s three other science instruments are still working fine, with celestial observations continuing. This third incarnation of the wide field camera was installed by spacewalking...
CES gadget show offers fun, care in devices
LAS VEGAS — The CES 2019 gadget show opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services. In recent years, CES’s influence has declined as Apple, Google and other major companies throw their own events to launch new wares. Still,...
Russian church head: Smartphones could precede Antichrist
MOSCOW — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church says the data-gathering capacity of devices such as smartphones risks bringing humanity closer to the arrival of the Antichrist. In an interview shown Monday on state TV, Patriarch Kirill said the church does not oppose technological progress but is concerned that...
New app offers one stop for subway, ride-hailing, bike-share and carpooling
A tech company launched an app Monday that offers public and private options to help people get around, including subway, buses, bike-share, ride-hailing companies and even temporary carpooling arrangements using a person’s social network. The SoMo app – short for social mobility – is the work of HERE Technologies, a...
Home items are getting smarter and creepier, like it or not
NEW YORK — One day, finding an oven that just cooks food may be as tough as buying a TV that merely lets you change channels. Internet-connected “smarts” are creeping into cars, refrigerators, thermostats, toys and just about everything else in your home. CES 2019, the gadget show opening Tuesday...
Artificial intelligence vs. hackers
Last year, Microsoft Corp.’s Azure security team detected suspicious activity in the cloud computing usage of a large retailer: One of the company’s administrators, who usually logs on from New York, was trying to gain entry from Romania. And no, the admin wasn’t on vacation. A hacker had broken in....
Google moves closer to creating sensors for controlling devices with hand gestures
Nearly two decades after its release, “Minority Report” still seems to be as prescient as the film’s eerie crime-fighting “precogs,” offering a clarifying vision of the future that continues to manifest in the real world. Though it debuted way back in 2002, the film highlighted technologies such as driverless cars,...
