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Facebook knew about Russian meddling well before the US election
Despite once saying that it was "crazy" to believe Russians influenced the 2016 election, Facebook knew about a possible operation as early as June, 2016, the Washington Post reports. It only started taking it seriously after President Obama met privately with CEO Mark Zuckerberg ahead of Trump's inauguration. He warned that if the social network didn't take action to mitigate fake news and political agitprop, it would get worse during the next election. Obama's aides are said to regret not doing more to handle the problem.
Google is buying HTC's Pixel team for $1.1 billion
After weeks (months, and years) of speculation, HTC has announced that its "Powered by HTC" R&D division -- the team behind Google's Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones -- will be purchased by Google for $1.1 billion in cash. According to HTC's CFO Peter Shen, this will mean about half -- yes, half -- of the 4,000 people in his company's R&D team will be joining Google, but he emphasized that HTC will continue developing its own range of smartphones, including its next flagship product. The agreement also grants Google a non-exclusive license for a large part of HTC's intellectual property. The deal is expected to be approved and closed by early 2018. Curious about what all of this means? You could do worse than to check out our guide to the subject from last week.
Apple Watch Series 3 struggles to connect to LTE
For those awaiting their new Apple Watch Series 3, be prepared for some connectivity issues. The Verge's Lauren Goode reports that during her review of the new smartwatch, it frequently struggled to connect to LTE and often linked to an unknown WiFi network instead. While surfing, and away from WiFi signals, Goode says that her watch either had a single bar of service or no service at all. And her connectivity issues spanned across two separate sample units. The Wall Street Journal reported similar issues with LTE, also across multiple watches.
Sprint and T-Mobile might actually be inching closer to a merger
Sprint and T-Mobile have been doing a dance of acquistion and merging for years now, and it looks like all the talk might finally be leading someplace. According to CNBC, the two companies are now actively discussing a merger.
Apple questioned about Face ID security by the US Senate
A lot of people quickly raised concerns about privacy and security the moment Apple revealed iPhone X and its Face ID feature. Edward Snowden, for instance, thinks it normalizes face scanning, "a tech certain to be abused." Now, US Senator Al Franken is pressing the tech titan for answers, penning a letter addressed to Apple chief Tim Cook with a list of questions concerning the technology's "eventual uses that may not be contemplated by" its customers.
Audi wants autonomous cars to run errands while you're at work
Audi laid out its plans for autonomous vehicles and how it intends to use AI to us back in July, and now the automaker is ready to show off what it's been working on. At this year's IAA auto show in Frankfurt, Audi debuted the AIcon and ElAIne (above and below), a pair of cars capable of Level 4 autonomy (conditional, but fully automated driving) that it claims are empathetic to their drivers' needs. "They will be able to continually interact with their surroundings and passengers, and thus adapt themselves in a better way than ever before to the requirements of those on board," Audi wrote in a lengthy press release.
The iPhone X vs. the competition: Beautiful screens and more
It's been a decade since the first iPhone was introduced, so today's big announcement from Apple marks the occasion with an "X." However, the mobile scene has changed a lot since 2007, with rival companies like Samsung, LG and HTC releasing devices that can compete with the iPhone on power, features and design. We've sized up the new iPhone X against some of the more outstanding handsets out there, including a few with edge-to-edge screens, like the LG V30. See how the X's specs compare now, and check back later this month to see how it holds up in our full review.
Xiaomi's Mi MIX 2 comes with a stunning ceramic unibody
For most of us living outside of China, we tend to be limited to two options when it comes to the choice of materials on our phones: either metal or plastic, or a bit of both (and maybe a touch of wood, if you're lucky). While Essential was grabbing headlines with its titanium device, Xiaomi continued tinkering with something that many others dare not touch: ceramics. Following the Mi MIX, the Chinese smartphone maker has once again collaborated with Philippe Starck's design studio to bring us yet another ceramic device with a near-bezel-less display: the Mi MIX 2.
Amazon wants US cities to bid for its second major HQ
Amazon is looking for a second company headquarters and wants cities around the US to convince the retail giant why it should take up residency with them. Amazon says it plans to invest more than $5 billion in the new site, called HQ2, while creating up to 50,000 new jobs, and claims the development will bring "tens of billions of dollars in additional investment" to whichever area wins the bid. The company points to its Seattle location as evidence of this, claiming that investments in the site from 2010 to 2016 brought in an "additional $38 billion to the city's economy -- every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional 1.4 dollars for the city's economy overall."
Alexa and Siri are vulnerable to 'silent,' nefarious commands
Hacks are often caused by our own stupidity, but you can blame tech companies for a new vulnerability. Researchers from China's Zheijiang University found a way to attack Siri, Alexa and other voice assistants by feeding them commands in ultrasonic frequencies. Those are too high for humans to hear, but they're perfectly audible to the microphones on your devices. With the technique, researchers could get the AI assistants to open malicious websites and even your door if you had a smart lock connected.
Google's new Street View cameras help AI map the real world
Google's Street View cameras haven't changed significantly in 8 years, and that's a problem when the technology world most certainly has. How is the company supposed to fulfill its AI ambitions with 2009-era hardware? Thankfully, it won't have to. Google has revealed to Wired that it's implementing a brand new camera design that should not only produce higher quality Street View imagery, but will prove crucial to Google's use of AI to index real-world locations.
Apple will unveil the next iPhone on September 12th at its new campus
To the surprise of almost no one, Apple has announced it'll be holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, September 12th. It'll be the first event hosted at Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California. Sure, Apple didn't say exactly what to expect, but given that the company has introduced a new iPhone around this timeframe for the last six years, it's a pretty safe bet we'll be seeing new mobile phones. That includes the "iPhone 8," a device that's expected to be radically different from its predecessors. Improvements rumored include an edge-to-edge OLED screen, face detection, wireless charging, a virtual home button and an updated dual-camera system.
Alexa and Cortana will soon work with each other
Amazon and Microsoft are integrating their digital assistants. Alexa and Cortana will soon be able to communicate with each other, allowing users of one AI to benefit from the other's skills. In the near future, summoning the AI helpers will be as easy as saying "Alexa, open Cortana," or "Cortana, open Alexa." That may sound like an odd fit now, but both Amazon and Microsoft are convinced of its perks.
India shut off the internet in an attempt to maintain order
Last week, local governments in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana shut down citizens' internet access and text messaging services just before a verdict was to be released on a high-profile rape case. The case involved a cult leader with a large following who was accused of raping two women in his group. A statement from the Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana said the order was "issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order" in the region. Around 50 million people lost internet access for five days.
Uber picks Expedia chief as its new CEO
Uber's lengthy, sometimes tumultuous search for a new CEO is over. Sources talking to both the New York Times and Recode have learned that the ridesharing company has picked Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi as its new leader. The company will only say that its board has voted on a CEO and will reveal the decision "to the employees first," but the reported decision makes sense in light of recent leaks surrounding Uber's choice.
India’s privacy ruling could disrupt its biometric society
A landmark judgement has ruled that Indian citizens have a fundamental right to privacy, despite the country's vast biometric identification scheme. In a case bought forward by opponents of the government's Aadhaar biometric program, Chief Justice J.S Khehar said privacy was "protected as an intrinsic part of Article 21 that protects life and liberty". The unanimous verdict from the nine-judge bench overturns two previous rulings by the Supreme Court which said privacy was not a fundamental right.
Solar eclipse gives NASA a rare opportunity to study Mercury
While you're stuck on Earth during today's solar eclipse, NASA jets will be performing a tricky science experiment on the Sun and its closest companion, Mercury. A pair of them will take off this morning from Houston's Johnson Space Center and follow the path of of the eclipse, allowing them to see "totality" for three and half minutes, nearly a minute longer than Earth observers. Equipped with a pair of infrared telescopes each, they'll examine the sun's corona and Mercury's chemical signatures to find out what lies below its surface.
HBO hacking woes continue: this time on social media
HBO just can't catch a break. The cable network got hacked again, though this time, the perpetrators targeted its social media accounts. A hacker group called OurMine took over the company's Facebook and Twitter accounts not to ask for millions or to steal more GoT episodes, but to "test [their] security." OurMine is known for targeting high-profile social accounts and even got Netflix's and Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter accounts in the past.
The Future IRL: Robot farmers do the dirty work
The US is facing an agricultural worker shortage, along with aging farm owners, at the same time it juggles demand in food from a global population boom. If we're being blunt, those elements added together would mean farmers and production are straight screwed. Luckily, some engineers and researchers are creating robots that are already beginning to ease the load.
GoDaddy dumps white supremacist site 'Daily Stormer' (updated)
White supremacist website Daily Stormer just lost its web domain. In a tweet, GoDaddy claims it's giving the site "24 hours" to move to another domain provider, having found it to be in violation of its terms and services. The announcement came in response to a Twitter appeal from The New Agenda co-founder Amy Siskind, who pointed out an article by the neo-Nazi publication. In the piece, Daily Stormer used obscene language in regards to Heather Heyer -- the woman who was killed in Charlottesville on Saturday after a man rammed his car into a crowd of people. Heyer was among those protesting against the Unite the Right white supremacist rallies over the weekend.
