Technology news

A French court today ruled that Google is not liable for $1.3 billion in back taxes, passing judgement on a suit filed last year. The courts stated the company didn’t have a “permanent establishment” in France to justify the large amount of money. The company’s legal revenue-shifting scheme means that, despite employing about 700 people in France, all of its digital business with French customers is handled by a division in Ireland. The Economy Minister in France at the

News Media Alliance (NMA), a group comprised of 2,000 news organizations in the US, recently announced it’s lobbying congress for an exemption to Federal anti-trust laws. The organization says that it is integral to democracy that publishers be able to collectively negotiate with advertisers in order to become competitive for revenue. Evidently it’s going to take on the duopoly (worst board game ever) of Facebook and Google by forming a trust that would be viewed by advertisers as r

We reported on a rumor last month that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 would be announced in August. We're now getting further confirmation on that time frame from two Korean publications. The Bell reports that the announcement date will be August 23rd, while another source, The Investor, says a Samsung executive would only confirm the month of August — not a concrete date.Still, this is a lot of talk about August, so at this point, I think it might be safe to assume next month is the right time

You can now listen to music you’ve uploaded to and purchased from Google Play Music — not just free radio stations or, if you’re a subscriber to All Access, whatever’s available on-demand. That’ll come as welcome news to people who’ve stored hard-to-find albums (stuff that’s typically absent from the big streaming services) and other music that’s important to them in Google’s cloud. Previously, as Android Police notes, using Play Music as Hom

The Microsoft font Calibri is now a key piece of evidence in a corruption investigation surrounding Pakistan’s prime minister. Investigators noticed that documents handed over by the prime minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, were typed up in the font Calibri. But the documents were dated from 2006 — and Calibri wasn’t widely available at that point, making a good case that they were forged.
The Express Tribune says that Pakistan’s court-appointed investigators

Reddit has been one of the most prominent companies in digital advocacy, organizing to defeat SOPA in 2012 and to defend net neutrality in 2014. As the internet rallies for today’s pro-net neutrality protest, Reddit has organized Ask Me Anything sessions around the issue, and the company announced in a blog post that it will be making the company’s first “official” trip to DC next month to meet with lawmakers.
“Net neutrality is not the best phrase.”
“Th

Dating app Bumble has introduced a new feature it’s calling SuperSwipe, which is basically a clone of Tinder’s Super Like. Its purpose is to signal a greater level of interest in a particular profile you come across that stands out from the swiping masses. Instead of just thumbing them to the right, you can now tap the new heart icon on a user’s profile to perform a SuperSwipe. Then, when your profile comes up at some point in their own killing-time swipe session, they’ll

Google’s Backup and Sync desktop app is now available for download for Mac and Windows after a delay last month. Users now have the power to sync up anything, including photos and videos from cameras, SD cards, and USB devices, instead of their files remaining stuck in one place.
It’s a way to protect files and photos by backing them up, as long as they’re in Google Drive and Google Photos, primarily for consumer users. Business users of G Suite are recommended to keep using Go

One of the subtler design changes in Apple’s recent MacBook and MacBook Pro models was the replacement of Apple’s magnetically detaching MagSafe charger with standard USB-C ports for charging the laptops. In the past, Apple has made no secret of its efforts to enforce its MagSafe patents, so it was a little surprising to see them switch to USB-C. And the jury is still out as to whether or not that was the right move. In the time since the 12-inch MacBook launched in 2015 — and

Following the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans pointed out that its central character, Rey, was conspicuously absent from the first wave of toys, including Hasbro’s new edition of Star Wars Monopoly. After the outcry, Lucasfilm announced that Rey would be a prominent part of the next wave of toys, and Hasbro said that it would add the character to the next release of the game. A year later, that hasn’t happened, reports the Associated Press.The 2015 edition of the game f

Scientists have inserted a GIF into the DNA of living bacteria, bringing us one step closer to one day embedding information in our own skin.Using DNA to store data isn’t new, but until now the data was stored in synthetic — not living — DNA. Storing information in living DNA is more difficult because the cells are always changing. In a paper published today in the journal Nature, scientists took advantage of bacteria’s natural defense system to embed a picture of a hand

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is set to be revealed next month, according to a report by Korean publication The Investor. The publication claims it was informed by a Samsung executive that the device would be revealed during August, in New York. Another Korean publication, The Bell, reports the exact date is August 23, but The Investor‘s source wouldn’t confirm the exact date. On the other hand, reliable leaker Evan Blass had previously suggested the launch would happen in the seco

Apple is planning to release a screen-recording feature when it publicly rolls out iOS 11. Beta testers have already played around with it, and yes, it's cool and easy to use. Now it seems the company is considering rolling out an ancillary feature that might let people start live stream broadcasts from their home screen.The Next Web reports that in the third beta version of the new OS, Apple has added a "start broadcast" option. The button currently does nothing, although some people have sugge

Amazon is considering granting third-party app developers access to transcripts of audio recordings saved by Alexa-powered devices, according to a report from The Information today. The change would be aimed at enticing developers to continue investing in Alexa as a voice assistant platform, by giving those app makers more data that could help improve their software over time. Amazon’s goal, according to The Information, is to stay competitive with more recent entrants in the smart speaker

A chatbot that provides free legal counsel using AI is now available in all 50 states starting today. This is following its success in New York, Seattle, and the UK, where it was invented by British entrepreneur Joshua Browder. Browder, who calls his invention “the world’s first robot lawyer,” estimates the bot has helped defeat 375,000 parking tickets in a span of two years.
“Everybody can win.”
Browder, a junior at Stanford University, tells The Verge via Twitter

When Aaron Wong and his co-workers at Lithium Cycles flipped a Kickstarter campaign live last summer, they only expected about 50 to 100 people to plunk down enough cash for their product. The Super 73, a minimalist electric bike that resembles a small motorcycle, started at about $2,000 (with a retail price of $3,000), which is much pricier than more practical e-bikes.But in just a few weeks, the company raised nearly half a million dollars. The stylish e-bike struck a nerve with more deep-pock

An aspect of artificial intelligence that’s sometimes overlooked is just how good it is at creating fake audio and video that’s difficult to distinguish from reality. The advent of Photoshop got us doubting our eyes, but what happens when we can’t rely on our other senses?
The latest example of AI’s audiovisual magic comes from the University of Washington, where researchers have created a new tool that takes audio files, converts them into realistic mouth movements, and

A coral blue version of the Galaxy S8 might be released through Best Buy, potentially as early as tomorrow. Droid-Life reports that the retailer holds exclusive rights to the color and will carry it in both carrier — Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint — and unlocked versions. Although Best Buy hasn't publicly announced this yet, Droid-Life says its source suggests the phones could arrive tomorrow.
Samsung released the S8's predecessor in this color last year, too, albeit later in the year

Last month, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp launched his experimental short film project, Oats Studios, releasing an alien invasion film called Rakka, and later, an alternate-history Vietnam War film called Firebase. Now, the director has shared his latest short film, Zygote, which features War of the Worlds and Twilight star Dakota Fanning.Compared to the other films, Zygote is a comparably straightforward affair. It opens with two people trapped in a mining facility somewhere in the Arctic

Post-apocalyptic fiction is often suspicious of civilization. Either it’s a delicate exception to a natural state of barbarism, or it’s a cage that’s made people soft and unable to cope with existential threats. Post-apocalyptic young adult fiction takes this one step further, suggesting that once civilization is gone, any new society will rebuild at the expense of something fundamentally human, like emotions, memories, or free will. Bannerless, a new novel by Carrie Vaughn, su

AI is modernizing all manner of legacy industries, including the valuation of used cars. Kelley Blue Book is leveraging artificial intelligence services from AWS to create a bot that understands voice and text to help people gain a better understanding of how much their car might be worth.
“We thought this was a very natural way that people use their voice already, and this was a great use case for us to think about how we’re going to evolve our products — which are very click

Scientists have discovered a virus-made protein that can block the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 from cutting DNA. The protein allows researchers to better control CRISPR so that it doesn’t snip unintended pieces of genetic code. In the future, the technique could be used to make gene editing more precise — and safe.
The protein, called AcrIIA4, switches gene editing off by mimicking DNA: it basically acts like a decoy, fooling CRISPR’s molecular scissors into thinking

Amazon has just released a software update for its Fire TV devices that allows you to control them using Alexa on another device... like, say, an Amazon Echo. The update was first spotted by Android Police.
To use the new feature, you’ll have to link your Fire TV to your Alexa device using the Alexa app on your smartphone. Once set up, you’ll be able to use voice commands through Alexa for things like playback controls, searching for videos, and opening apps. It’s similar to th

To ape Charles Dickens, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times — for media today. Even as President Donald Trump assails news coverage of his administration, his election has reminded America’s citizenry of the value of a vigorous and independent press. And the standard-bearer for speaking truth to power is, in many ways, the New York Times.
The fabled newspaper is receiving a perhaps unprecedented level of both scrutiny and praise — which translates into soaring lev

Africade is the first art exhibition dedicated solely to African video games, and it’ll run in The African Studies Gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel from July 29 to December 1.
Africa is a small market for games, but it’s growing. According to industry analyst Newzoo, the African games market is predicted to reach $442 million this year. The largest markets are Nigeria and South Africa, which will generate $174 million and $120 million respectively. Africade is shining a light on these mar

PRESS RELEASE:Wellness Startup Emerges as Clear Leader in Personalized Health with $15 Million Total FundingNEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 12, 2017– Care/of, the personalized vitamin and supplement company built on honest guidance and top-tier ingredients, today announced the completion of a $12 million Series A financing round. The company, which launched in November 2016, has now raised over $15 million in total funding. Goodwater Capital led the round with participation from

Findo, an AI-focused smart search startup that’s striving to help people find information buried in cloud accounts, documents, and email attachments, has announced a new personal assistant designed to automatically create tasks and reminders based on the content of your emails.
Similar to Findo’s other AI-infused productivity tools, Yva.ai uses natural language processing (NLP) to dissect and understand the content of your emails, while leaning on machine learning to identi

PRESS RELEASE:Funding to Advance Wellframe’s Mission to Transform Care ManagementBOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 12, 2017– Wellframe, a leading mobile-enabled care management solution provider, today announced the organization’s Series B round of financing, led by F-Prime Capital, with participation from existing investors including DFJ, who led the company’s A round. Carl Byers, Executive Partner at F-Prime, will join the Wellframe board of directors. This round

Microsoft is updating its Outlook mail app for Android and iOS today with some improvements to conversations and account switching. Email replies will now include a new inline reply interface that lets you tag co-workers or friends using the @ symbol, and allows you to see the whole conversation when you’re replying. Outlook will also automatically open a group conversation to the first unread message, which helps when you’re trying to read a long email chain.Alongside the new replie

After a flood, thousands of homeless fire ants pile on top of one another to build bizarro towers with their own bodies — probably as temporary shelters. All the complex construction project needs is for each individual ant to follow a few simple rules, new research says. And, if wriggling ant towers weren’t nightmarish enough, this discovery could help engineer robot swarms that are even better at cooperating.Fire ants are native to the wetlands of Brazil, so they’re accustome

The moody mystery of What Remains of Edith Finch is coming to Xbox One on July 19. It launched earlier this year on PC and the PlayStation 4 to critical acclaim, with reviewers citing the innovative storytelling and empathetic characters as highlights.
Edith Finch is a narrative-driven adventure game about a young woman’s investigation of her tragic family history. You join her on her journey as she revisits her childhood home, and you play as each of her relatives as they meet their unfor

Facebook is adding a live-streaming feature to its virtual reality app Spaces. Starting today, Spaces users can position a virtual camera and stream a two-dimensional feed of themselves to people outside VR. Viewers can send reactions and comments just as they would on a normal Facebook Live video. (Streamers will see both floating in space.) It’s part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between first-generation VR headsets and more traditional computing platforms.
Spaces

VentureBeat’s MB 2017: How AI, messaging, and personalization will rock your world resumes today. Day two continues an exploration of how artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies are affecting the entire marketing ecosystem. Every brand, marketer, product manager, and innovator must be ready to harness AI’s impact as it propels intelligent assistants, bots, smart voice, personalization, and more into the future. Watch today as top brands like American Eagle Outf

Starting today, DoNotPay bot is able to dispute parking tickets and perform 1,000 other legal services for residents of the United States and United Kingdom, creator Joshua Browder has informed VentureBeat. Before today, the bot was only able to operate its parking ticket-fighting service in a limited number of cities. DoNotPay is perhaps best known for helping people successfully challenge hundreds of thousands of parking tickets in London and New York.
Available on the web only, the new bot op

Today, private spaceflight company Moon Express unveiled its grand plans to build a robotic outpost on the South Pole of the Moon as early as 2020. To do this, the Florida-based company wants to create a new class of spacecraft, called the MX Robotic Explorers, to land and deliver payloads to the lunar surface. The ultimate goal is to have permanent robots on the Moon that can mine the pole for water and minerals — resources that can then be sold for profit.
Moon Express has long been voca

PRESS RELEASE:Provides Resellers and Distribution Partners with an Affordable Social Sales and Marketing CRM Add-on Solution for Office 365 and GSuiteSANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 12, 2017– Nimble, the pioneer of Social Sales and Marketing CRM, today announced the launch of the global Nimble Solution Partner Program to address the growing market need for a simple, affordable contact manager and CRM for Microsoft Office 365 and Google Gsuite users. The program provid