Tag: computers

Microsoft says Iran hackers targeted US presidential campaign

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 27, 2017 the French headquarters of US multinational technology company Microsoft is seen in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, a Paris’ suburb. – Microsoft on Friday said a hacker group linked to Iran unleashed cyber attacks on US journalists, government officials and accounts associated with a US presidential campaign. (Photo by Martin BUREAU / AFP)   SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Friday said a hacker group linked to […]

Twitter lets users sideline unwanted direct messages

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter on Monday said it is rolling out a filter that will hide away unwanted direct messages, providing a new tool to stymie abuse. Twitter users who receive direct messages from people they don’t follow on the platform will be able to have such missives automatically routed to a secondary folder. “Unwanted messages aren’t fun,” Twitter tweeted in August when it began testing the filter that let users […]

Uber trims more staff as it seeks a route to profit

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Uber on Tuesday said it was laying off about eight percent of its product and engineering teams as the smartphone-summoned ride service tries to map a route to profitability. The San Francisco-based company is cutting about 265 people from its engineering group and another 170 or so jobs from its product team, a spokesman told AFP. While a fast-growing startup, ranks of Uber employees swelled to more than […]

Microsoft halts development of Minecraft update

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft has halted development of an ambitious update to Minecraft, throwing in the towel after concluding it was technically too complicated, according to a blog post by the team responsible for the hit adventure and construction game. Microsoft had unveiled the project, dubbed “Super Duper Graphics Packs,” to great fanfare in 2017, at E3, the world’s biggest video game trade show. “Unfortunately, the pack proved too technically demanding to […]

Japan firm says $32 mn missing in cryptocurrency hack

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange said Friday it had halted all services after losing cryptocurrency worth more than $32 million in the latest apparent hack involving virtual money. Remixpoint said its subsidiary BITPoint Japan discovered overnight that about 3.5 billion yen ($32.3 million) in various digital currencies had gone missing from its management. The apparent hack was discovered after an error appeared in the firm’s outgoing funds transfer system on Thursday […]

Trump hints at softer stance on China’s Huawei

  OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that US companies could sell equipment to Chinese telecom giant Huawei, indicating a potentially softer position on a key sticking point in the US-China trade war. “US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei,” Trump told reporters in Osaka hours after sealing a tariff truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We’re talking about equipment where there’s no great national security problem with it.” […]

Tesla to stop selling $35,000 Model 3 online

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Tesla has pulled the plug on Internet sales of its cheapest Model 3 sedan in the latest shift to the company’s retail strategy. The electric car maker plans to keep taking online orders for the Standard Plus Model 3, which starts at $39,500 and is now the lowest-price option available to digital consumers, along with higher-end models. But online customers will no longer be able to order the Model […]

Google disbands artificial intelligence ethics board

  by Glenn Chapman Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Thursday confirmed that it has disbanded a recently assembled artificial intelligence ethics advisory panel in the face of controversy over its membership. The end of the Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC) came just days after a group of Google employees launched a public campaign against having the president of conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation among its members. Another member of […]

South Korea to launch world’s first national 5G networks

  by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea launches the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks Friday, a transformational leap that already has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could potentially change the day-to-day lives of billions of people. The superfast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones; from electric cars to power grids. But while the South has won […]

Microsoft pledges $500 mn to ease local housing crunch

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Wednesday pledged $500 million for loans and grants aimed at ramping up construction of affordable housing in the Puget Sound area of Washington state where the US technology giant has its home. “In recent years, our region hasn’t built enough housing for the people who live here,” Microsoft executives Amy Hood and Brad Smith said in a blog post. “We are committing $500 million as a company to […]

Civil rights groups call for Facebook to purge Zuckerberg from board

  by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Dozens of civil rights groups on Tuesday called on Facebook to purge Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg from its board for blunders including “weaponizing anti-Semitism.” Advocacy and rights group took direct aim at Zuckerberg and Sandberg for Facebook enlisting Definers Public Affairs to conduct research on company critics. “You retained the services of Definers Public Affairs to investigate, undermine and attack our […]

Facebook mulled charging for access to user data

by Glenn Chapman Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Wednesday said it considered charging application makers to access data at the social network. Such a move would have been a major shift away from the policy of not selling Facebook members’ information, which the social network has stressed in the face of criticism alleging it is more interested in making money than protecting privacy. “To be clear, Facebook has never […]