Technology news

(Reuters) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it was investigating Equifax Inc’s massive data breach, a rare public confirmation, as a top Democrat suggested the credit-monitoring company’s corporate leaders might need to resign.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also compared Equifax to Enron, a U.S. energy company that was consumed in scandal after revealing in 2001 that it engaged in widespread accounting fraud.
“It’s one of the most egregio

 Facebook automatically generates categories advertisers can target, such as “jogger” and “activist,” based on what it observes in users’ profiles. Usually that’s not a problem, but ProPublica found that Facebook had generated anti-Semitic categories such as “Jew Hater” and “Hitler did nothing wrong,” which could be targeted for… Read More

GUEST: Maybe it’s the halo effect, but bitcoin is making otherwise rational business journalists go bonkers.
Let’s review a few headlines from this past week:
CNBC: Bitcoin’s price tanks after report China may shut down exchanges
TheStreet: Bitcoin Prices Are Crashing After China’s Bitkan Suspends OTC Trading
Business Insider: Bitcoin tanks 11.5% since Jamie Dimon called it ‘a fraud’
Forbes: Collateral Damage From The Inevitable Bitcoin Crash
On LinkedIn, an a

Blade Runner 2049 is still a few weeks away, but fans will be able to get another look at the sequel with the release of the second of three short film prequels over at the iTunes Trailers site, via Polygon.Titled 2048: Nowhere to Run, this second prequel is set 12 years after the first short film, 2036: Nexus Dawn that was released a few weeks ago, and — as the name suggests — just a year before the upcoming Blade Runner 2049.‘2048: Nowhere to Run’ is set just a year bef

A headphone jack might not have been essential enough to be part of the Essential Phone itself, but the company has confirmed it’s working on a module that includes one. “We are actively developing a high end audio accessory to support a 3.5mm jack,” the Essential team said during a Reddit AMA today.Aside from the 360-degree camera, customers can next expect the charging dock to be released before future modules including the high-end audio device. In a follow-up remark, anothe

We knew the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds copycats, clones, and homages were coming, and we have one of the first from a major company in Fortnite: Battle Royale. Earlier this week, Epic Games launched an update to its defensive crafting shooter Fortnite called Battle Royale that introduces a last-player-standing mode in which 100 players jump onto a map and have to kill and outlast one another. The mode is live right now in a testing phase, and I’ve spent some time with it. My first

Three women have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of discriminating against female employees by underpaying them and denying them opportunities for promotions. The plaintiffs seek to turn their complaint into a class action lawsuit covering all women who worked at Google within the last four years.
“Google has discriminated and continues to discriminate against its female employees by systematically paying them lower compensation than Google pays to male employees perfo

ANALYSIS: On the surface, the introduction of three new devices to the iPhone lineup seems to be all upside for Apple, which will soon be offering five tiers of handsets covering a wide range of price points. But a closer look at the features and positioning of the latest phones (iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X) reveals what could be a more complicated dynamic — one which threatens to put the company in the position of convincing consumers that any of the new iOS 11-powered smartphon

This week, Travis and Stewart interview Jason Miller, head of content at LinkedIn, who shares everything we need to know about door handles and marketing, rock ‘n’ roll, and what the future holds for content marketing. He not only drops a succession of marketing knowledge bombs in our collective laps, he also blows our minds with stories of his amazing live music photography.
In the news, Travis and Stewart discuss all the startups in Israel, companies attacking ad fraud, the use of

ANALYSIS: On Thursday, the state of Wisconsin hedged its bet on Foxconn, as legislators approved a nearly $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer in exchange for its investing approximately $10 billion in the state and building a factory that could employ up to 13,000 workers. The legislation now goes to Republican Governor Scott Walker to sign — given that he’s been a leading advocate for the project, he’s expected to give it his seal of ap

As warfare becomes increasingly digital, countries are facing a major problem: It’s hard to define when a cyberattack constitutes an act of war. Avril Haines, a former deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration, said today that while there are established norms around what counts as a physical act of war, those same metrics don’t exist for digital attacks.
“In the conventional world, we have a long history of rules that tell us when another country has use

Since the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 was introduced in the Senate in August, tech companies and advocacy groups have been mobilizing in a battle to control its message. Digital rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have called it “disastrous for free speech online,” asking its members to call their representatives in Congress. Meanwhile, supporters of the bill have emerged from unlikely quarters — including tech giant Oracle and Hollywood s

Today, Google announced that YouTube TV is expanding to eight more markets. As picked up by Android Police, the OTT service will now also be available in Albuquerque, Austin, Birmingham, Greenville, Norfolk, Portland, Raleigh, and Sacramento.
The announcement comes after a recent expansion in June, which brought in cities like Atlanta and Houston, and another expansion in August, which included another 14 cities, including Baltimore and Nashville. The expansions have been steady since the servic

A couple more questions have been answered about the iPhone X’s Face ID feature, confirming that the function will still work even when wearing most sunglasses, and that users will be able to quickly disable the unlocking feature to mitigate against thieves. The news come straight from Apple’s SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi responding to an email sent by Keith Krimbel, via MacRumors.E-mailed #CraigFederighi about #FaceID and actually got a response! pic.twitter.com/3Ytt1

Before he was shocked by a leaping electric eel, Kenneth Catania wasn’t sure what it would be like. In fact, no one was really sure. So, in the name of finding out exactly how much of a jolt the creatures could deliver, Catania, a professor at Vanderbilt University, volunteered his own arm. The eel jumped out of the water and into the air to deliver its shock. It looked like a nuzzle, but it packed the wallop of an electric fence.
It looked like a nuzzle, but it packed the wallop of an ele

A group of digital advertising and marketing organizations has come together today to condemn Apple for what the coalition says is a “unilateral and heavy-handed approach” to user privacy on Mac. The group fears that Apple, which has started taking more extreme measures to reduce ad tracking on both the mobile and now desktop versions of Safari, is unfairly exercising its muscle in a way that could snuff out an entire segment of the ad industry.The open letter, published this morning

Beloved science fiction show Futurama was canceled in 2013, but it’s had a bit of a revival with a mobile game called Worlds of Tomorrow. To help promote the game, Nerdist partnered with game studios Jam City and TinyCo to produce a new episode, in podcast form, reuniting the entire cast of the show for a new adventure.David X. Cohen, the show’s head writer and executive producer, told The Verge that the episode had been a long time in the making. The developers behind the game worke

Bose is getting very close to announcing a second-generation model of its popular Quiet Comfort 35 noise-canceling headphones. In early August, The Verge revealed that the company had accidentally included an image of unreleased headphones in a marketing newsletter. 9to5Google has since followed up with reports on the headline difference between these upcoming headphones and the original model: it’s Google Assistant.The new “Action button” on the QC35II headphones will be used

Snow leopards are no longer an endangered species; they’re now considered “vulnerable” to extinction. But scientists caution that the big cats are not out of danger, facing threats ranging from poaching to climate change.
The animals got their new designation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an environmental organization that keeps track of the conservation status of plants and animals. The decision was based on a new assessment that determined th

Welcome to Cheat Sheet, our brief breakdown-style reviews of festival films, VR previews, and other special event releases. This review comes from the Toronto International Film Festival.The greatest science fiction stories generally start with a single, significant change to the world, then consider what other changes would follow. Ambitious science fiction considers radical changes to culture and humanity, and possibly to the entire universe. The smaller-scale stuff might just consider how a h

The iPhone 8 is incrementally better than the iPhone 7 in every way except one: battery capacity. A listing on China's version of the FCC, TENAA, shows the batteries are being downgraded in the new devices.The iPhone 8 will have a 1,821mAh battery, compared to the 1,960mAh battery in the iPhone 7. The iPhone 8 Plus will have a 2,675mAh battery, compared to the iPhone 7 Plus' 2,900mAh battery.For those how cares about, Tenaa just confirmed #iPhone8 and #iPhone8Plus comes with 2GB and 3GB of RAM,

For almost as long as Apple has been making mobile devices — whether it’s iPods, iPhones, or iPads — the company has clung to its own charging ports, dating back to the introduction of the 30-pin dock connector in 2003 with the third-generation iPod. But for the first time this year, Apple has embraced a universal charging standard on its latest devices. (No, the iPhone X and iPhone 8 aren’t switching to USB-C. They still use Lightning ports.) But by adding wireless Qi ch

Google announced today that it’s going to start including hyperlocal events in Google News. Pulling from sources like bloggers and high school newspapers, the new feature, called Community Updates, will keep you in the loop on “news and events happening right in your own backyard,” according to Google.
Google has been tweaking its News feature a lot in the past year. In June, Google News got a redesign that reduced clutter and added the Local tab.Now underneath that Local tab,

Google has launched a new feature for its Local Guides program that allows users to submit videos up to 30 seconds in length. As spotted by TechCrunch, Google made the feature available a couple weeks ago without much fanfare, but it’s now notifying users via email.
Up until this point, only photos could be attached to locations on Google Maps. People are already used to a short video format on personal networks to share glimpses into restaurants, hotels, or landmark destinations. It makes

Apple spoke very briefly about AirPods at Tuesday’s big iPhone X event, and only really mentioned that the truly wireless earbuds would, like the new phones, be capable of wireless charging using a new case. Now, MacRumors is reporting via Macprime that the refreshed case with Qi wireless charging could come later this year at a price of $69.
As MacRumors points out, that’s the same price as a replacement for the current case if the owner is out of warranty. Otherwise, there’s

Facebook appears to be adding a new option that lets you temporarily “snooze” a friend’s posts from appearing in your news feed. So instead of permanently unfollowing that person and never seeing whatever they’re sharing on Facebook, you can choose to just mute them for 24 hours, an entire week, or 30 days. TechCrunch reported on the new feature earlier today, which also applies to groups and pages.
To access snooze, click on the three horizontal dots to the right of the

Apple’s big iPhone reveal on Tuesday was a hardware extravaganza, with the new $999 iPhone X sucking up a lot of the air in the company’s lavish new Steve Jobs Theatre. But the Apple Watch, more so than any of the less-prominent (and less-expensive) Apple products shown off, earned some significant onstage time, thanks to an introduction of the new LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3.We pretty much knew the device was coming, just as we all had a good idea of what the iPhone X would loo

Early tomorrow morning, NASA scientists will say goodbye to their Cassini spacecraft — a hardy probe the size of a school bus that has been orbiting the Saturn system for the last 13 years.
Launched in 1997, Cassini has spent a whopping 20 years in space, lasting through two mission extensions while going above and beyond what it was designed to do. But tomorrow, the probe will dive into Saturn’s atmosphere, where it will break apart and cease operating. It’s a sad time for the

Daimler AG announced today that it’s bringing the Mitsubishi FUSO eCanter short-range electric truck to the United States. The first commercial partner is UPS, which will use three of the trucks in “locations to be determined.” Daimler had previously struck a deal with Seven-Eleven to send 25 of the trucks to Japan, and put them into production earlier this summer.Four New York City-based nonprofit organizations will also receive a small fleet of eCanter trucks: the Wildlife Co

Draw me an iPhone.
The lines may be squiggly, the rounded corners imperfect, but almost everyone you pose this challenge to will present you with the shape of a rectangle containing another rectangle sat atop a circle. The iPhone’s silhouette is the most iconic outline in all of modern technology, recognized by even diehard Android fanboys and featured on the side of “Made for iPhone” accessory boxes around the world. It’s a brand and a logo in its own right.
Now, after 1

The Federal Trade Commission is actively investigating the massive breach revealed last week at credit bureau Equifax, which leaked personal financial information on 143 million people.
"The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations,” spokesman Peter Kaplan wrote in an email to Reuters. “However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach.” Nearly 40 states

Hyperloop One has announced 10 winning submissions in a long-running contest to find what it believes to be the best places to build the first hyperloop tracks in the world. Ten teams across five countries (Mexico, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada) were picked from the original 2,600 submissions, and the routes range in size from about 200 to nearly 700 miles, depending on the location.In addition to the winners, Hyperloop One announced that it’s performing a feasib

Leasha Ali had been drunk for the last two days, but she didn’t want to be anymore. The 39-year-old math teacher and mother of two was in a spiral familiar to anyone who’s struggled with addiction. A difficult event — a hospitalization, thanks to lingering symptoms from a birth defect — had stressed her to the breaking point, and then she’d gotten home and found herself alone in her house, depressed and unable to sleep. After a few days without drinking, she gave in

Robots can do a lot: they can chant at funerals, swim, guide you through airports, and even dance their way to a Guinness World Record. Now, a robot called YuMi has made its conducting debut in Italy, leading an orchestra and renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in three pieces of music including “La Donna è Mobile,” from Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. YuMi (as in “you and me”) was created by technology company ABB, which claims the robot is the world’s &ldq

Fighting series like Street Fighter and Smash Bros. are among the most popular in gaming, but they can also be very intimidating. A combination of complex rules and difficult-to-master controls makes the genre daunting for many new players. Fantasy Strike — which launches as a Steam “early access” title today — is hoping to change that.
The game is being headed up by David Sirlin, former lead designer on Capcom’s Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and it includes a n

Snapchat’s quirky Bitmoji avatars now come with their own three-dimensional animations. By tapping on your phone’s screen, you can now project a 3D cartoon of yourself into the real world, where you can then have it ride a skateboard, drink a cup of coffee, or do yoga, among other actions. After creating an animation, you can then send it to a friend or post it to your story.
The move reflects Snapchat’s continued investment in both Bitmoji and what it calls “world lenses