Texas
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The virusbuster boom
Disinfecting services like Enviro-Master are having a moment, but how long will it last? Omar L. Gallaga joins the company as it cleans up a Chick-fil-A.
Omar L. Gallaga04.10.2020
Texas backs out of the lawsuit to stop the T-Mobile and Sprint merger
Texas no longer stands in the way of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. The state has reached a settlement with T-Mobile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced today. In exchange for T-Mobile's commitment to build a 5G network throughout Texas, Paxton will drop the lawsuit he filed in August in an attempt to block the $26.5 billion deal.
Christine Fisher11.25.2019
President Trump will visit Apple's Mac Pro factory on November 20th
Apple is determined to win as as many tariff exemptions as it can, it seems. The White House has confirmed that President Trump will visit Apple's Mac Pro factory in Austin, Texas on November 20th, backing up rumors of an impending tour. It's not clear if Tim Cook or other Apple executives will be present (we've asked Apple for details), but it wouldn't be surprising given the optics. Apple wants to be seen as having the Trump administration's support, while Trump wants to be seen supporting American jobs.
Jon Fingas11.17.2019
Ford is bringing its self-driving cars to Austin, Texas
Ford has announced it will bring its self-driving cars to Austin. The Texas state capital joins Miami and Washington, DC as initial launch markets for the company's autonomous vehicle service. It's also testing the cars in Detroit, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh.
Kris Holt09.25.2019
Honda will offset 60 percent of its US electricity use with wind and solar
Honda plans to cover 60 percent of the electricity used at its North American manufacturing plants with renewable energy. Beginning next fall, Honda will purchase 530,000 MWh per year from the Boiling Spring Wind Farm in Oklahoma. In fall 2021, it will begin receiving 482,000 MWh per year from a Texas solar facility. According to Honda, this deal is the largest single purchase of solar and wind power by any automaker.
Christine Fisher09.23.2019
Apple will manufacture its new Mac Pro in Texas
Apple hinted that it wanted to manufacture the redesigned Mac Pro in Texas, and now it's official. The company has confirmed that it'll assemble the workstation at the same Austin, Texas plant that has produced the cylindrical Mac Pro since 2013. The company isn't shy about the reason for the move: it's reportedly enabled by exemptions from Trump's China tariffs for "certain necessary components" in the system. Production starts "soon."
Jon Fingas09.23.2019
Uber starts mapping Dallas roads to aid its self-driving efforts
Uber is still testing self-driving cars in a very limited fashion, but that isn't stopping it from expanding its efforts to a new city. The ridesharing firm has unveiled plans to map Dallas streets and lay the groundwork for self-driving technology in the city. The mapping cars will be human-driven -- they're just there to record "everyday scenarios" that Uber can reproduce in simulations and on a closed test track. The first vehicles will roll out in early November.
Jon Fingas09.17.2019
Ransomware attack in Texas targets local government agencies
Ransomware attacks against local governments are still a clear problem, and Texas is discovering this first hand. The state has revealed that 23 government entities reported a ransomware attack on the morning of August 16th. Most of these were "smaller local governments," the Department of Information Resources said, and State of Texas networks and systems weren't hit.
Jon Fingas08.18.2019
White House invites tech companies to discuss violent online extremism
The White House plans to host a meeting with tech companies to discuss the rise of violent online extremism. According to The Washington Post, this is the Trump administration's first major engagement on the issue after the recent mass shooting in Texas left 22 people dead. Trump is scheduled to be at fundraisers in the Hamptons, so he may not attend.
Christine Fisher08.07.2019
Texas is poised to ban red light cameras
Texas is set to become the 11th state in the country to ban the use of red light cameras. The Dallas News reported the state Senate passed a bill that would outlaw the devices designed to catch drivers speeding through red lights by a 23 to eight vote last week. It now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign the bill into law. Abbott campaigned on ditching the cameras last year as he ran for re-election.
AJ Dellinger05.20.2019
Google will have offices and data centers in 24 states by the end of 2019
Google is still closely associated with California to many people (and to a lesser degree New York), but it's determined to change that reputation. The company is launching a $13 billion expansion in 2019 that will give it a total US footprint of 24 states, including "major expansions" in 14 states. The growth includes its first data center in Nevada, a new office in Georgia, and multi-facility expansions in places like Texas and Virginia. This is on top of known projects like its future New York City campus.
Jon Fingas02.13.2019
Texas bill would make it illegal to throttle data in disaster areas
The revelation that Verizon (Engadget's parent company) throttled California firefighters' data is prompting new legislation... in Texas. State Representative Bobby Guerra has submitted a bill that would make it illegal for wireless carriers to "impair or degrade" mobile data in declared disaster areas. In other words, a provider couldn't throttle any service in crisis-struck regions, for emergency crews or otherwise. It wouldn't preclude throttling in normal circumstances.
Jon Fingas02.09.2019
SpaceX isn't moving Starship development to southern Texas (update)
SpaceX's decision to construct its Starship test vehicle in Texas may have just been the harbinger of things to come. The LA Times has claimed that development and assembly of Starship and its Super Heavy booster system will take place in southern Texas, not the Port of Los Angeles. It'll maintain existing design, manufacturing, launch and recovery operations in the area (plus Vandenberg Air Force Base), but that's only a partial consolation when existing projects like the Falcon 9 rocket have a limited lifespan.
Jon Fingas01.16.2019
Apple's latest expansion puts it closer to its biggest rivals
Apple is on track to become the largest private employer in Austin, Texas, after announcing plans to invest $1 billion in a new campus less than a mile away from its existing facilities there. The 133-acre site will initially be home to 5,000 new employees, with the potential to grow to 15,000. The company has also announced plans to establish new sites in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City and expand in cities across the United States including Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, Colorado over the next three years, with the potential for additional expansion elsewhere in the US over time.
Rachel England12.13.2018
Texas will soon provide inmates with 3D-printed dentures
Texas prisons were notorious for denying inmates access to dentures, because chewing isn't considered a medical necessity. That might no longer be the case in the near future, all thanks to 3D printing. Starting in the spring, the state's prison system will start providing toothless inmates with 3D-printed dentures, according to Houston Chronicle. It'll avoid the need to transport prisoners to dental facilities across the state, since technicians can simply scan the mouth of the inmate and then send the images to the 3D printing facility. The process will take weeks instead of months, cutting down wait times significantly.
Mariella Moon12.11.2018
Lyft expands its scooter service to Austin
Lyft continues to expand its scooter service, announcing today that it's now available in Austin, Texas. This is the the fifth region where Lyft has deployed its scooters and its first launch in Texas. While the company struck out earlier this year when it tried to get a permit to operate in San Francisco, it has since launched its scooter service in Denver, Santa Monica, Washington, DC and, as of yesterday, Arlington.
Mallory Locklear12.04.2018
Drive.ai launches second autonomous ride-hailing pilot in Texas
Drive.ai's autonomous ride-hailing pilot is now available beyond one town, if only just. The startup has launched its promised second pilot in Arlington, Texas, a short distance away from Frisco. If you're in the downtown area, you can hop in one of the company's self-driving vans (complete with displays to signal their intent) along fixed routes. This might be your choice if you're a sports fan -- the routes can take you to and from Dallas Cowboys games at AT&T Stadium, and Texas Rangers games at Globe Life Park.
Jon Fingas10.22.2018
Drive.ai’s autonomous ride-hailing service is now operating in Texas
Drive.ai's autonomous ride-hailing service has launched in Frisco, Texas, providing transportation between Hall Park offices and The Star. The company announced in May that the service was on the way, and while a safety driver will be present in the vehicle at launch, Drive.ai plans to transition to a passenger seat chaperone and then passenger-only rides going forward. "Today is the exciting start to our on-demand ride service, which we hope will benefit a community and increase understanding of and confidence in self-driving technology," the company said in a blog post today.
Mallory Locklear07.30.2018
Drive.ai to launch first autonomous ride-hailing service in Texas
Texas is no stranger to self-driving car tests, but actual service? Not yet, although it's just around the corner. AI startup Drive.ai is launching the state's first autonomous ride-hailing service in Frisco this July in a pilot program with support from both the city and the Hall Group. This isn't a city-wide service. Instead, the company's vans will drive on public roads between Hall Park offices and The Star to help workers get to dining and shopping that's too far to walk, but a waste to drive.
Jon Fingas05.07.2018
Texas court rules 2015 revenge porn law is unconstitutional
Revenge porn is getting attention across the nation as state, regional and even federal lawmakers wrestle with how to deal with the practice of posting private, intimate photos of people without their permission. A 2015 Texas law that made revenge porn a misdemeanor with up to a year of jail time and a $4,000 fine was struck down by the 12th Court of Appeals as violating the First Amendment. The court also dropped a charge against Jordan Bartlett Jones, who challenged the law after he was denied a Writ of Habeas Corpus last year.
Rob LeFebvre04.20.2018