Technology news

While the agility of a Spot or Atlas robot is something to behold, there’s a special merit reserved for tiny, simple robots that work not as a versatile individual but as an adaptable group. These “tribots” are built on the model of ants, and like them can work together to overcome obstacles with teamwork.
Developed by EPFL and Osaka University, tribots are tiny, light and simple, moving more like inchworms than ants, but able to fling themselves up and forward if necessary. Th

The Federal Trade Commission has voted to fine Facebook $5 billion as the result of its long-running investigation into the social network's privacy violations, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The settlement, which has not yet been finalized, according to the report, comes after a lengthy investigation into the company's privacy practices that kicked off last March following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. 
Five billion will set a record for the largest such fine ever imposed on a tech c

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has reportedly agreed to end its latest probe into Facebook‘s privacy problems with a $5 billion payout.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the 3-2, party-line vote by FTC commissioners was carried by the Republican majority and will be moved to the Justice Department’s civil division to be finalized.
A $5 billion payout seems like a significant sum, but Facebook had already set aside $3 billion to cover the cost of the settlement and the com

Prime Day, the day Amazon is set to make $2 billion as we shoppers seize deals on electronics filled with mined minerals or accessories formed through melted down plastic, is upon us. 
To glom on, succubus like, to the frenzy of Prime Day — but with a subversive twist! — I thought it would be cute to suggest you read some books about the way money, power, shortsightedness, and greed fueled the success of companies like Amazon and their billionaire bosses, at the expense of our w

While not a startup visa, the EB-5 investor green card offers many entrepreneurs a path to a green card by investing money and creating jobs in the U.S. Under the EB-5 program, an entrepreneur’s family is also eligible for green cards.
Imminent regulatory changes to the EB-5 program are expected to make obtaining an EB-5 green card a whole lot more expensive. The minimum investment is anticipated to more than double to $1.35 million from the current $500,000. And with individuals from Indi

Ajay Chopra Contributor Ajay Chopra co-founded Pinnacle Systems in his living room and grew it to a multi-billion dollar public company before becoming a venture capitalist with Trinity Ventures. More posts by this contributorPrivate equity buyouts have become viable exit options — even for early-stage startups Full autonomy is years away, but here’s what’s next on autonomy’s wild ride
Ringing the Nasdaq market bell was the thrill of a lifetime — both when I did it

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Despite it being almost six years old at the time of writing, the PlayStation 4 still holds some secrets from its players. Here are a few things you may have missed when using your console. Credit for some of these go to this Reddit thread, which opened with the revelation about hidden trophies that several PS4 owners (myself included) didn’t know

This weekend’s ICE raids are essentially a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the government‘s surveillance state. The same AI-powered tools empowering those agents to identify, target, track, and spy on immigrants without a warrant are already in the hands of police officers, sherriff’s deputies, and border patrol agents across the country. If you’re undocumented you should be worried. And if you’re a US citizen or here legally: you should be downright terrified. US citi

Birdhas positive unit economics, CEO Travis VanderZanden said Friday in a fiery response to a report from The Information that the scooter startup was seeking $300 million in new funding, had lost nearly $100 million and saw its revenue shrink to about $15 million.
VanderZanden did not disclose Bird’s revenue. However, in a series of tweets the CEO argued that the company was making money on every ride.
Bird makes $1.27 on every ride on its Bird Zero scooters, which accounts for more than

Apple has reversed course on its ban of parental control app OurPact, allowing the ousted software to return to the App Store in its original form and without any limitations or restrictions. The move marks an end to a months-long dispute between Apple and a variety of parental control companies affected by Apple’s restrictions.The fact that Apple removed or prevented updates to many of these apps (including OurPact) raised eyebrows because it allegedly stemmed from a sudden change in poli

Snapchat's plan to reinvent TV is picking up steam. The company, which hasn't always had an easy relationship with high-profile users, just announced a new lineup of original "Creator Shows" that will star influencers and celebs, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Serena Williams, and Kevin Hart.
Now, the company is testing a new feature that might make it easier to binge-watch: a dedicated section for shows separate from the main Discover page and other publisher content.
Right now, Snapchat's sh

Facebook has reportedly reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over repeated privacy violations, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the FTC voted this week to approve a $5 billion settlement, which has now moved to the Justice Department’s civil division for review. It is unclear how long the review will take.
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment or confirm the report.
The Journal reported that the FTC voted along party lines, with three Republic

Nielsen Media Research has released its ratings for the latest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, showing that ratings for the third season over the first four days of release were significantly higher than for the second season. Those numbers back up Netflix’s assertion that the show broke records, although they highlight the differences in how both companies measure their audiences.On Monday, Netflix announced that at least 40.7 million accounts watched the series since its premi

The new 2020 C8 Corvette won’t be revealed for six more days. But to hold us over, Chevroletis showing off the steering wheel of the eighth-generation vehicle.
The photo, which Chevy teased Friday, is just the steering wheel. But there are hints and insights that even this single photo provides. For one, this new generation is unlike any of its predecessors.
The leathered-wrapped steering wheel has the Corvette crossed flags logo as the centerpiece with two spokes. Controls are integrated

The TurboGrafx-16 Mini, a retro revival of the classic Japanese game console announced last month, is slated to release on March 19th, 2020, Konami announced today. The full game list is also out, and it includes 50 titles. We’re still waiting on price, but it’s likely to cost somewhere in the ballpark of the Sega Genesis Mini and other retro consoles.What’s particularly notable in this bit of news is that we know now the console will have the same mix of English and Japanese t

Netflixhas a new sci-fi series coming in hot on July 25, and it’s got Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff in the lead role, with Selma Blair and Justin Chatwin supporting. The show focuses on Sackhoff’s Captain Niko Breckenridge and her crew of space explorers as they track down the origins of a mysterious alien artifact that finds its way to Earth.
Sounds like this will be quite the galaxy-spanning affair, with Chatwin playing Sackhoff’s husband, who stays back on Ear

Twitch continues to lead rivals including, YouTube Live, Facebook Gaming and Microsoft’s Mixer, when it comes to live-streaming video. Despite experiencing its first decline in hours watched in Q2 2019, the Amazon-owned game-streaming site still had its second-biggest quarter to date, with more than 70% of the hours watched during the quarter.
According to a new report from StreamElements,Twitch viewers live-streamed a total of 2.72+ billion hours in Q2 — or 72.2% of all live hours w

USB-C hubs are (sadly) pretty common these days, and now Sony is getting in the game with the MRW-S3, a nice-looking hub that checks a whole bunch of high-end spec boxes like 100W USB-C PD charging and a UHS-II SD card reader that most don’t.For any hub, the most important spec is what ports it offers, and Sony has plenty: there’s an HDMI port for video (with support for 4K video at 30 fps), a USB-C PD port for plugging in power (at up to the aforementioned 100W speed), a USB-C and U

Could Roblox create a new entertainment and communication category, something it calls “human co-experience”?
When it was a small startup, few observers would have believed in that future. But after 15 years — as told in the origin story of our Roblox EC-1 — the company has accumulated 90 million users and a new $150 million venture funding war chest. It has captured the imagination of America’s youth, and become a startup darling in the entertainment space.
But wha

Over 225 mayors across the US have backed a resolution to not pay ransoms to hackers, as reported by The New York Times. The resolution, titled “Opposing Payment To Ransomeware Attack Perpetrators,” states that the mayors stand “united against paying ransoms in the event of an IT security breach.”
The resolution came out of the annual US Conference of Mayors, which took place in Honolulu from June 28th through July 1st. According to the statement, at least 170 county, cit

Batteries. Odds are good you’ve got one in your handbag or rucksack. When your phone is low on juice, they’re extremely handy to have. But what if you’re travelling far, and you need to keep your larger electronics charged, like your laptop?  For that, you need a portable power station, like the Renogy Phoenix 100. This block of lithium and plastic can power all your consumer electronics, as it comes with with AC out, as well as a generic USB-A port. Renogy mailed TNW a r

Old bot, new tricks.
TrickBot, a financially motivated malware in wide circulation, has been observed infecting victims’ computers to steal email passwords and address books to spread malicious emails from their compromised email accounts.
The TrickBot malware was first spotted in 2016 but has since developed new capabilities and techniques to spread and invade computers in an effort to grab passwords and credentials — eventually with an eye on stealing money. It’s highly adapt

Another state — this time North Carolina — has been enticed by the idea of hyperloop, the futuristic and still theoretical transit platform that will shuttle people and packages at speeds of up to 670 miles per hour between cities.
Virgin Hyperloop Oneand North Carolina’s Regional Transportation Alliance announced Friday the beginning of “an exploration” into using hyperloop to connect the state’s research triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
There is

Oraclehas been complaining about the procurement process around the Pentagon’s $10 billion, decade-long JEDI cloud contract, even before the DoD opened requests for proposals last year. It went so far as to file a lawsuit in December, claiming a potential conflict of interest on the part of a procurement team member. Today, that case was dismissed in federal court.
In dismissing the case, Federal Claims Court Senior Judge Eric Bruggink ruled that the company had failed to prove a conflict

United Airlines has extended its cancellation of Boeing 737 Max flights until at least November 3rd, the company announced on Friday, which will affect 5,000 flights through September and October.
The airline had previously extended cancellations through September 3rd, following the news that the Federal Aviation Administration had discovered a new flaw in the flight software of Boeing’s 737 Max plane — one that was different from the flaw that led to two deadly crashes that claimed

TL;DR: Save big by getting this sleek 75-inch Samsung smart TV at Walmart for just $1,499.99. That's a whole $3,300 off its usual price of $4,799.99. Sure, it’s the best time of year to be out in the great outdoors swimming, adventuring, and enjoying a world that still has seasons. But let’s not forget another favorite summer pastime: the air-conditioned, day-long movie marathon binge. 
And just like every activity, having the right gear is crucial. Walmart came through wit

Charter Communications (and its Spectrum internet service) has officially reached a deal to stay in New York State, with the Public Service Commission agreeing on a settlement that will see Charter fulfill its original commitments for broadband expansion that the company had agreed to when it first merged with Time Warner Cable in 2016, via Ars Technica.Charter was originally at risk of being barred from operating in the state entirely due to its failure to roll out high-speed internet services

Netflix’s Mindhunter, the David Fincher-produced crime thriller, will return for a second season on August 16th. The show follows two FBI agents from the Behavioral Science Unit — Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) — as they travel across America to interview psychopaths and serial killers in an attempt to understand their mindset.The new season, which was quickly confirmed after the show’s debut in October 2017, will focus on the Atlanta child m

Lin-Manuel Miranda: Broadway superstar, Twitter motivational speaker, and, now, internet gross-out artist. 
Miranda has broken the beacon of positivity and funky rhymes that is his Twitter account, as well as a certain part of his flesh vessel. Earlier today, he posted a poll to see whether or not the internet wanted the pleasure of seeing his — wait for it — dead fingernail. 
What would possess him to post such an inquiry? Was it boredom, or did he want to ignite the fires

It’s been a week of major change for NASA after the top two leaders of the agency’s human exploration program were suddenly reassigned without much warning. It was a shocking personnel shakeup, coming just months after NASA was challenged to send humans back to the Moon by 2024. It’s led many to suspect that NASA’s Moon initiative may not be running all that smoothly — or that the White House has gotten involved.
The Verge spoke with NASA administrator Jim Bridensti

Hulu lags badly behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video when it comes to 4K streaming. In fact, the company bailed on 4K altogether for a time after removing the UHD option last year. But today, as noticed by AppleInsider, Hulu has very quietly announced that 4K playback is once again available for customers using the Apple TV 4K or Chromecast Ultra. Hopefully the list of supported platforms will expand, but for now it’s just those two devices.Hulu says its 4K content streams at an average o

Jon Stewart is back on Capitol Hill to support the reauthorization of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
The comedian and former The Daily Show host made headlines back in June when he gave a powerful speech before Congress urging them to extend funding for 9/11 first responders and calling out inaction. 
Following the emotional speech, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to reauthorize the bill, and it was put up for a full House vote.
In honor of the House vote, which takes p