Life

LG adds Google AI in ‘smart home’ push

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Consumer electronics titan LG on Monday proclaimed this year a “tipping point” for smart homes, pushing hard into artificial intelligence and building Google Assistant into a smart speaker. LG Electronics is developing technology designed to enable its appliances, televisions and other devices adapt to users and collaborate to handle tasks. The AI platform is “open” to utilizing software made by other companies, LG chief technology officer I.P. Park said […]

Startup unveils ‘car of future’ for $45,000

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — A Chinese startup unveiled its vision for the automobile of the future Sunday, promising to deliver an “intuitive and intelligent” car to global markets starting next year from around $45,000. The electric-powered concept car shown by Byton at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is touted as a computing device on wheels, equipped with a “digital” lounge featuring a panoramic display acting as a hub for navigation, entertainment […]

Apple urged to study iPhone addiction in children

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Two large shareholders have urged Apple to study whether iPhones are proving addictive for children and that intensive use of the smartphones may be bad for their mental health, Bloomberg News reported Monday. “There is a growing body of evidence that, for at least some of the most frequent young users, this may be having unintentional negative consequences” on their health, said Jana Partners LLC and California State Teachers’ […]

Virtual aide market a “wildfire” at CES gadget show

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Voice-commanded virtual assistants packed into speakers and other devices will be a “game-changing” trend this year, Consumer Electronics Show researchers said Sunday. Sales of smart speakers are expected to nearly double in the US, to $3.8 billion, from last year according to Lesley Rohrbaugh and Steve Koenig, researchers with the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the annual CES trade event. “That market is not just heating up, it is […]

SpaceX launches secretive Zuma mission

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Sunday blasted off a secretive US government payload known as Zuma, a mission whose nature — and the agency behind it — remains a mystery. “Three, two, one, ignition and liftoff,” said a SpaceX commentator as the Falcon 9 rocket launched under cover of darkness from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday). The launch was initially supposed to take place in November but was postponed […]

Bahamians celebrate the new year with Junkanoo

By Tenny Tamulong EBC Florida Bureau NASSAU, BAHAMAS (Eagle News) — In the early morning of New Year’s Day, and previously on December 26 (Boxing Day), the locals of the Bahamas were out on Bay Street to celebrate Nassau’s largest festival parade, Junkanoo. Junkanoo is a street parade where Bahamians showcase extravagant and colorful costumes and floats. To create the costumes, locals use an assortment of materials, such as scraps of newspapers, feathers, colorful recycled […]

Pharmaceutical stirs outrage over price hike for brain tumor drug

by Leila MACOR Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A little known pharmaceutical company in Florida has found itself in the eye of a storm following disclosures it raised the price of an old drug used to fight brain tumors by 1,400 percent, from $50 a pill to more than $700. NextSource Biotechnology in 2013 bought the license for the drug Lomustine from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which sold a 100-milligram pill of the substance for […]

Samsung overtakes Intel as world’s biggest chip maker: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — South Korea’s Samsung has overtaken US rival Intel as the world’s biggest maker of semi-conductors as sales in the sector boom, a study published by consultancy Gartner showed on Thursday. Samsung Electronics “gained the most market share and took the number one position from Intel -— the first time Intel has been toppled since 1992,” said Gartner analyst, Andrew Norwood. The total global market for semi-conductors grew by 22 percent to […]

Tech firms rush out patches for ‘pervasive’ computer flaw

by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amid a frantic rush to patch a computer security flaw, experts struggled Thursday to determine the impact of a newly discovered vulnerability which could affect billions of devices worldwide. Cybersecurity researchers called for computer systems to urgently install updates a day after the release of details of the so-called Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affecting the chips powering most modern PCs and many mobile devices. […]

Japan’s historic Tsukiji market holds final auction

by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo’s world-famous Tsukiji fish market held its last pre-dawn New Year’s auction on Friday before closing down for relocation, with the highest bidder paying more than $320,000 for a giant tuna. After more than 80 years in operation, the world’s biggest fish market, a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops, will move to Toyosu, a former gas plant a bit […]

Tech firms rush out patches for ‘pervasive’ computer flaw

by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amid a frantic rush to patch a computer security flaw, experts struggled Thursday to determine the impact of a newly discovered vulnerability which could affect billions of devices worldwide. Cybersecurity researchers called for computer systems to urgently install updates a day after the release of details of the so-called Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affecting the chips powering most modern PCs and many mobile devices. Researchers […]