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How a pioneering mixed-gender newsroom covered the A-bomb
Writing for Their Lives by historian Marcel Chotkowski Lafollette recounts the work of America's first female science and tech reporters working for E.W. Scripps' Science Service.
Panasonic and Leica unveil 'L squared' project to jointly develop cameras and lenses
Panasonic and Leica have formed a new collaboration called L² (L squared) that will see them jointly develop cameras, lenses and imaging technology.
US sanctions against Russia will limit its access to technology from overseas
The measures will make it hard to export a range of goods that include semiconductors, telecoms parts and aircraft components to Russia.
Senator Klobuchar's major tech reform bill advances out of committee
A major tech reform bill that would prevent the industry's biggest players from discriminating against smaller businesses that rely on their services is one step closer to law on Thursday after passing from committee on a bipartisan 16-6 vote.
The USA's latest trade legislation is more bad news for Huawei phones
The US Commerce Department has issued further crushing legislation against Huawei.
Amazon's checkout-free tech is heading to other retailers
Checkout-free, cashless supermarkets -- a novelty shopping experience or the future of bricks and mortar retail? According to Amazon -- which turned the concept into a 10,400-square-foot reality -- it's the latter. After announcing its plans to license its automated checkout technology to other retailers, the company has revealed it has "several" signed deals with customers, and has launched a new website inviting inquiries from others interested in the "Just Walk Out" experience.
'Connected' is a kids' movie about the dangers of tech obsession
For all the potential that AI and robotics hold, there's still plenty of fear around the negative impacts they could have on society, as well as concerns that we already spend too much time staring at screens. Sony Pictures plans to capitalize on that sentiment with a new animated film Connected. It's another family-saves-the-world plot, but its message probes our reliance on technology, and it has some impressive talent behind it.
Google algorithm lets robots teach themselves to walk
There's no question that robots will play an increasingly central role in our lives in the future, but to get to a stage where they can be genuinely useful there are still a number of challenges to be overcome -- including navigation without human intervention. Yes, we're at a stage where algorithms will allow a robot to learn how to move around, but the process is convoluted and requires a lot of human input, either in picking up the robot when it falls over, or moving it back into its training space if it wanders off. But new research from Google could make this learning process a lot more straightforward.
Amazon's first big 'Go' grocery store opens in Seattle with 5,000 products
Amazon's checkout-free Go concept has officially morphed into a supermarket. Amazon Go Grocery opens in Seattle today, with 5,000 items for sale across the 10,400-square-foot premises. Using a range of cameras, shelf sensors and software, shoppers can pick up the items they want and simply walk out the door -- their accounts are charged via a smartphone app as they leave.
'Doctor Who' tried to tackle Big Tech, and failed
Doctor Who has had something to say since its first episodes aired in 1963, often reflecting the anxieties of its creators, from the environment through to looming dystopia. The show's newest executive producer, Chris Chibnall, clearly has concerns about the state of technology today. Unfortunately, he has struggled to properly articulate them, often coming across more amateurish than insightful.
YouTube's AI docuseries with Robert Downey Jr arrives on December 18th
If you're going to throw megabucks at a show about AI, you'd better make sure you've got the right host for it -- and most would agree that YouTube's decision to get Robert Downey Jr, aka Iron Man, on board for their multimillion dollar The Age of AI endeavor was a pretty good shout. Announced last year, the eight-part show lands on YouTube on December 18th. Episodes will be released weekly, but if you're a YouTube Premium subscriber, you'll be able to binge the first four straight away.
Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang wants your data to be your property
Andrew Yang, the tech entrepreneur turned Democratic presidential hopeful, may not be a leading candidate in the race, but he has gained attention for his unique ideas about how to address technology -- the companies behind it and the impact it's having on the country. He has proposed giving every American $12,000 per year to soften the blow of jobs lost to automation, and he has toyed with campaigning via hologram. While these ideas have come out in bits and pieces, Yang officially revealed his comprehensive tech policy today.
What's next for fitness wearables?
At IFA this year, we've seen devices, like Withings' Move ECG and ASUS' VivoWatch SP, that bring more ECGs to more people -- technology that first appeared in mainstream wearables with Apple's Watch Series 4. I've been thinking about the future of wearables, and it increasingly looks like we're at the final frontier of what fitness wearables can do. Five years from the announcement of the first Apple Watch, and it looks like, soon, there's not going to be much to distinguish one wearable from another.
A new bill could ban facial recognition in federally-funded housing
Now that facial recognition is more common, so are the laws aiming to limit its scope. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif. and Somerville, Mass. have all passed laws prohibiting city use of facial recognition. Now, a group of Congresswomen hope to pass the first federal legislation to limit the technology. According to CNET, the No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act is expected to be introduced this week.
Microsoft discreetly wiped its massive facial recognition database
Microsoft has been vocal about its desire to properly regulate facial recognition technology. The company's president, Brad Smith, appealed directly to Congress last year to take steps to manage the tech, which he says has "broad societal ramifications and potential for abuse." Such are the company's concerns that it even blocked the sales of the tech to California police forces. Now, Microsoft is continuing its crusade by quietly deleting its MS Celeb database, which contains more than 10 million images of some 100,000 people.
The best blended STEM kits for kids
For starters, the littleBits Base Inventor Kit is an awesome introduction to electronics for little kids! They can build and customize a voice-activated robotic arm and innovate from there or use the tools right out of the box and invent whatever they'd like. In addition to the robotic arm, the kit includes a power supply, slide dimmer, sound trigger, proximity sensor, LED, buzzer and other goodies The littleBits app has some good ideas, too, if your kids need some suggestions. The $100 Base Inventor kit is recommended for eight and up, but younger kids can enjoy it with adult guidance. READ ON: The best blended stem kits for kids
Mark Zuckerberg's resolution is to talk about tech's place in society
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sets himself a challenge each year. In the past, he's created an AI assistant for his home and committed to learning Mandarin. This time around, after a torrid year where Facebook faced myriad privacy scandals, he's planning to hold a number of public discussions about how technology plays a role in the future of society.
Rudy Giuliani blames Twitter for his spectacular typo fail
Rudy Giuliani, once Trump's "cyber advisor," has again demonstrated his lack of even the most basic internet knowledge. In part one of a three-act blunder, he tweeted about special counsel Robert Mueller, but left out spaces between the sentences, accidentally creating the random link "G-20.In." (Twitter automatically generates clickable text out of valid links.)
White House to host innovation talk with tech CEOs
The White House is set to host a roundtable discussion next week that will include a number of tech CEOs, the Wall Street Journal reports. A White House email says those attending will discuss "bold, transformational ideas" that "can help ensure US leadership in industries of the future," and they'll do so December 6th. Among those reportedly participating are Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf, Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman and Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian.
The next generation of wireless networking will be called WiFi 6
Not all WiFi is created equal, and determining which generation of WiFi technology your devices use can be pretty complicated. Did you know that 802.11n predates 802.11ac, for example? For those that don't, the Wi-Fi Alliance is about to make things easier, introducing the next version of WiFi -- 802.11ax -- simply as "WiFi 6."
