Innholdsfortegnelse for #328 i Techlife News

Apple is making more money than ever, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough to keep everyone happy. Not with conspiracy theories swirling around Apple’s secret slowdown of older iPhones while a cloud of uncertainty looms over its high-priced iPhone X. It’s a reality check for a company accustomed to an unflinchingly loyal customer base. Apple expected buyers to embrace the iPhone X as a revolutionary device worth its $1,000 price, but it’s still not clear how many people are willing to ante up, especially with other recently released models selling for $200 to $300 less. The first clues about consumers’ interest in the iPhone X emerged last week with the release of Apple’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report. That period covered the final three months of last year, including…

Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently declared that artificial intelligence fueled by powerful computers was more important to humanity than fire or electricity. And yet the search giant increasingly faces a variety of messy people problems as well. The company has vowed to employ thousands of human checkers just to catch rogue YouTube posters, Russian bots and other purveyors of unsavory content. It’s also on a buying spree to find office space for its burgeoning workforce in pricey Silicon Valley. For a company that built its success on using faceless algorithms to automate many human tasks, this focus on people presents something of a conundrum. Yet it’s also a necessary one as lawmakers ramp up the pressure on Google to deter foreign powers from abusing its platforms and its YouTube unit…

iWORK OUTRANKS ITS COMPETITION Apple, Microsoft, and Google all compete to deliver the best possible document apps to their users. The question is, do Pages, Numbers, Keynote, collectively known as iWork, compete on the same level as Microsoft and Google’s own versions which users are perhaps more familiar with and rely on more? Apple has made some big developments, and some argue that they are now a step ahead of their competition. iWORK APPS ARE YEARS AHEAD OF MICROSOFT OFFICE Immediately, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote all appear very user friendly, and have easy to use navigation. Pages is smooth and glitch-free, and Apple insists the final documents “lookbeautiful and read beautifully.” Pages makes it very easy to create unique and innovate work that incorporates custom fonts, text styles, and graphics.…

Dora Schriro, Connecticut’s public safety commissioner, knows what it’s like to be a woman in the male-dominated world of criminal justice, so she jumped at the chance to work with organizers of a national competition being held this month to find and attract young women to the field of cybersecurity. The program, “Girls Go Cyberstart,” is being run by the SANS Institute, a security education organization. The online problem and puzzle-solving competition is open to high school-age girls in 18 states and American Samoa. The game, which starts Feb. 20, has participants protecting an imaginary headquarters and moon base by cracking codes, plugging security gaps and creating software tools. It is designed to test aptitude in areas such as cryptography and digital forensics. Only about 20 percent men or women…

Foxconn Technology Group says it will establish a U.S. headquarters in Milwaukee as part of a massive investment it is making in an electronics manufacturing plant in southeast Wisconsin. The Taiwan-based company said this week it will purchase an existing seven-story office building downtown that now has a capacity of 650 people. The building will be called Foxconn Place. It will house business incubators and startup initiatives in addition to Foxconn staff. Republican Gov. Scott Walker says Foxconn’s decision to put its headquarters in Milwaukee is a sign of the company’s “ever-growing footprint” in the state. The electronics giant is building a manufacturing plant in Racine County to make liquid crystal display panels for commercial and consumer uses, including televisions. The plant is expected to be a $10 billion, 13,000-employee…

Two scientists in spacesuits, stark white against the auburn terrain of desolate plains and dunes, test a geo-radar built to map Mars by dragging the flat box across the rocky sand. When the geo-radar stops working, the two walk back to their all-terrain vehicles and radio colleagues at their nearby base camp for guidance. They can’t turn to their mission command, far off in the Alps, because communications from there are delayed 10 minutes. But this isn’t the Red Planet — it’s the Arabian Peninsula. The desolate desert in southern Oman, near the borders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations chose it as their location for the next four weeks, to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars.…

On a typically sluggish Super Bowl weekend, Sony Pictures’“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” topped the North American box office for the fourth time in seven weeks. The runaway hit, a reboot starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, sold $10.9 million in tickets in its seventh weekend of release, according to final figures Monday. Sliding to second was last week’s No. 1 film, “Maze Runner: The Death Cure.”The third installment in the young adult sci-fi trilogy earned $10.5 million in its second week. The film’s modest domestic performance has been partly alleviated by stronger sales abroad, where it has grossed $142.9 million. The lone new wide release to compete with the Super Bowl was the Lionsgate-CBS Films supernatural thriller “Winchester,” starring Helen Mirren. It debuted in third, with $9.3 million. The…

Delete your account. That’s what Jim Carrey says Facebook users should do, as the actor looks to pull the mask off fake news. The star of “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “The Mask” said on Twitter this week that he’s dumping his Facebook stock and deleting his page because the social media giant profited from Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election via spreading false news with Russian origins, and says the company is still not doing enough to stop it. The 56-year-old Carrey encouraged other investors and users to do the same. He ended his tweet with the hashtag “unfriendfacebook.” Facebook has not responded to Carrey’s tweet, but founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said stemming the flow of misinformation is among the company’s foremost goals.…

One of China’s biggest makers of solar panels said this week it will invest $309 million to expand manufacturing in India in a move to guard against what it complained is a rising threat of import controls in the United States and other markets. Longi Solar Technology Ltd.’s announcement follows the Trump administration’s Jan. 24 decision to impose an extra 30 percent duty on imported solar modules. An Indian regulator says it is considering a “safeguard tariff” of 70 percent on solar panels from China and Malaysia. Chinese manufacturers dominate global solar panel production. Their explosive growth has helped to propel adoption of renewable energy by driving down costs. But the United States, Europe, India and others complain unfairly low-priced exports hurt their manufacturers and threaten thousands of jobs. The…

A new U.S. task force ordered by President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Cuba’s government uses internet restrictions to stifle dissent and vowed to find ways the United States could expand access and freedom for Cubans online. The Cuba Internet Task Force held its first public meeting over the objections of Cuban President Raul Castro’s government, which has dismissed it as an exercise in attempted subversion by Washington. The task force forms part of Trump’s tougher approach to Cuba and partial rollback of former President Barack Obama’s diplomatic opening with the island. “Mr. Castro, tear down this firewall,” declared Andre Mendes, acting director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ Office of Cuba Broadcasting, in a high-tech twist on former President Ronald Reagan’s famed admonition to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.…

Two government studies that bombarded rats and mice with cellphone radiation found a weak link to some heart tumors, but federal regulators and some scientists say don’t worry — it is safe to use your device. They still do. Previous studies of cellphone users had found little reason for concern, but the newest research took a closer look at the effects of super-high doses in animals to address some lingering questions that could not be tested on humans. The rat study released last week found a small increase in an unusual type of heart tumor in male rats, but there were no significant problems in female rats or in a separate study of mice. In particular, scientists could not find hard evidence for concern about brain tumors. The lead author…

SpaceX’s big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red electric sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars. The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today, doubling the liftoff punch of its closest competitor. For SpaceX, the private rocket company run by Elon Musk, it was a mostly triumphant test of a new, larger rocket designed to hoist supersize satellites as well as equipment to the moon, Mars or other far-flung points. For the test flight, a red sports car made by another of Musk’s companies, Tesla, was the unusual cargo, enclosed in protective covering for…

Apple is mulling refunds to customers who paid full price for battery replacements on older iPhones. Apple now offers a $50 discount as part of its apology for secretly slowing down the devices. Apple isn’t providing details on a potential rebate yet. The possibility was mentioned in Apple’s five-page letter to Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who demanded more details about the iPhone slowdown. Thune released Apple’s Feb. 2 response on Tuesday. Thune says Apple will follow up with additional information at a future date. Apple has been replacing batteries on older iPhones for $29 since late December, down from the usual $79. The offer is good through this year. A new battery is supposed to prevent older iPhones from bogging down.…

Twitter beat Wall Street’s cautious expectations with its first quarterly profit in history, but that isn’t going to solve the company’s broader problems any time soon. The company isn’t alone in dealing with abuse, fake accounts and attempts by Russian agents to spread misinformation. But with its troubles compounded by a revolving door of executives and stagnant user growth, Twitter has been facing questions about just who is minding the store. Every time Twitter tries to respond to a problem, it’s either not good enough, or some other problem emerges. “They are playing whack-a-mole with these problems,” said Michael Connor, whose Open Mic group helps investors push tech companies to address privacy, abuse and other issues. “They say they have the problem under control, but they don’t know what the…

Amazon is bringing its speedy delivery to Whole Foods. The online retail giant plans to roll out two-hour delivery at the organic grocer this year to those who pay for Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime membership. It is the company’s biggest — and most expected — move since it bought the organic grocer last year. Right after taking over Whole Foods, Amazon made a splash by cutting prices on bananas, yogurt and other items. It also began selling Kindle e-readers in some of its 470 stores, and started selling Whole Foods-branded food on its site. But rivals have been preparing for the day Amazon — with the Prime program that’s been very successful in cementing customer loyalty — would expand grocery delivery at Whole Foods. Walmart, the country’s largest grocer, is making…

Wonder Based on the New York Times bestseller, Wonder follows the story of an inspirational boy born with facial differences who is entering mainstream elementary school for the first time. When he enters the fifth grade, Auggie becomes the most unlikely of heroes. FIVE FACTS: 1. Jacob Tremblay, the actor who plays Auggie, went with his family to the Children’s Craniofacial Association retreat to meet children with Treacher Collins syndrome, the syndrome Auggie has. 2. Jacob Tremblay’s sister and father also feature in the movie. 3. The author of the novel also wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the film of which was also directed by Stephen Chbosky. 4. Jacob Tremblay also starred in Room, which is also narrated from the perspective of the child he is playing. 5.…

The first trailer of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” has finally arrived, offering the first glimpse of the much-anticipated spinoff plagued by production troubles. After a 45-second ad for the latest “Star Wars” film played during Sunday’s Super Bowl, a 90-second teaser trailer premiered Monday on “Good Morning America.”The footage showcased a gritty prequel featuring the snazzy interior of a then-new Millennium Falcon, the familiar growl of Chewbacca and a plethora of handsome fur coats. Though punctuated by the brashness of Alden Ehrenreich’s young Han Solo, the vibe of the trailer is a little chiller than was once forecast for “Solo.” The initial directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“The Lego Movie,”“21 Jump Street”) are known for their irreverent sense of humor, something that first excited many “Star Wars” fans…

Russian cyberspies pursuing the secrets of military drones and other sensitive U.S. defense technology tricked key contract workers into exposing their email to theft, an Associated Press investigation has found. What ultimately may have been stolen is uncertain, but the hackers clearly exploited a national vulnerability in cybersecurity: poorly protected email and barely any direct notification to victims. The hackers known as Fancy Bear, who also intruded in the U.S. election, went after at least 87 people working on militarized drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms or other sensitive activities, the AP found. Employees at both small companies and defense giants like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics were targeted by the hackers. A handful of people in Fancy Bear’s sights also…

A Swiss mobile phone operator says its data systems were breached late last year and the contact details of about 800,000 customers were compromised. Swisscom said this week that the names, addresses, telephone numbers and date of birth of the customers was accessed by an unknown party, which got the data through a sales partner of Swisscom. It said that passwords, conversations and payment data were not affected and that it has not received any reports of customers suffering as a result. Swisscom said it discovered the incident through a routine check of its activities and is carrying out an in-depth investigation. The 800,000 customers represent almost 10 percent of Switzerland’s overall population.…

Japan has a new cafe where customers can enjoy coffee brewed and served by a robot barista. The robot named Sawyer debuted this week at Henna Cafe in Tokyo’s downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. The shop’s name in Japanese means “strange cafe.” The single-armed robot scans a ticket purchased from a vending machine and greets the customer. “Would you care for a delicious coffee?” the barista, with a screen showing a pair of cartoon eyes, asks in a flat tone. “I can make one better than human beings around here.” It grinds the coffee beans, fills a filter and pours hot water over a paper cup for up to five people at once. A cup of brewed coffee costs 320 yen ($3) and takes a few minutes. Sawyer…

A biotech billionaire struck a $500 million deal Wednesday to buy the Los Angeles Times, ending the paper’s quarrelsome relationship with its Chicago-based corporate overseers and bringing it under local ownership for the first time in 18 years. The agreement between Los Angeles medical entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Tronc Inc. represents the latest instance of a rich, civic-minded individual purchasing a newspaper from a big corporation. Soon-Shiong, 65, amassed his fortune in part by developing a cancer drug in 1991. He was already a major shareholder in Tronc, one of the richest men in Los Angeles and the nation’s wealthiest doctor by Forbes’ estimate, with a net worth put at $7.8 billion. The deal includes the purchase of The San Diego Union-Tribune and some other publications and the assumption…

Firefighters who are used to knocking down doors with heavy equipment and battling suffocating fire now are learning about new ways technology can help them more efficiently battle big blazes. The Spectrum reports trainees at the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy Winter Fire School in St. George spent a lot of time last month operating touch screens, analyzing data and learning ways to implement technology. Firefighters are learning to use three-dimensional map projections that pop up from the floor like holograms and show computerized simulation of how a fire would spread, or how traffic might impede their access, or how an unsuspected gas leak might complicate matters. Wildfires over the past year across the western U.S. have raised the profile of firefighting expertise and citizens’ expectations of their local departments.…

Every Olympic event will be streamed live. But to watch online, you’ll still need to be a paying cable or satellite subscriber. As with past Olympics, NBC is requiring proof of a subscription. If you’ve already given up on traditional cable or satellite TV, you can sign up for an online TV service such as PlayStation Vue or YouTube TV. Otherwise, your video will cut out after a half-hour grace period. The subscription requirement also applies to coverage on virtual-reality headsets. More than 1,800 hours of online coverage in the U.S. with preliminary curling matches. Friday’s opening ceremony will be shown live online starting at 6 a.m. ET, and on NBC’s prime-time broadcast on a delayed basis at 8 p.m. NBC also plans live streaming of the closing ceremony on…

A Bedford County-based partnership is working with two state school divisions to help test technology that uses television white space — channels not in use on the broadcasting spectrum — to deliver internet service in underserved rural areas. The SOVA Innovation Center in Forest is rolling out the technology with the Halifax County and Charlotte County school divisions in partnership with Microsoft and a Halifax County nonprofit. The pilot project involves providing free equipment, installation and access to selected educational content on the internet; more than 200 homes with school-age children in the two counties currently have internet access as part of the project, said Bob Bailey, executive director of the SOVA Innovation Center. TV white space originally acted as a buffer in the days of analog broadcasting to prevent…

The railroad industry is playing down expectations that a safety technology that could have prevented recent deadly train crashes will be in operation across the United States by the end of the year. Indeed, freight and commuter rail officials speak as if there never was any plan to complete their work on the technology known as positive train control, or PTC, by Dec. 31. Congress required in 2008 that railroads adopt PTC and gave them seven years to do the job. When it became clear that wasn’t enough, Congress gave them another three years. The discussion then was that a few railroads might need even more than three extra years, and provisions were added to the legislation to allow railroads that showed substantial progress, but couldn’t meet the new deadline,…

Man of the Woods Justin Timberlake Justin Timberlake’s latest album is a return to his roots and is not, as many thought the title suggested, a country album. This album does not reply on one genre in particular, and in some tracks returns to the soul and funk style pop that he started his career creating. Timberlake challenges himself and redefines his music through this new album. FIVE FACTS: 1. Justin Timberlake performed Filthy from his new Man of the Woods album at Super Bowl 2018 Halftime Show. 2. The intimate video he released to announce the album, demonstrated just how personal this new album would be. 3. The album artwork is very different from his previous releases and surprised many. 4. The title of the album, Man of the…

Will Disney’s upcoming streaming services be the mouse that roared ... or squeaked? Disney already owns enviable entertainment properties including Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. Now, it’s looking to add Fox’s TV and movie studios as it prepares to launch two streaming services, one for sports and another focused on entertainment. In announcing first-quarter earnings this week, CEO Bob Iger said he was “excited about what lies ahead” including the sports streaming service and the pending deal for Fox. Adjusted income of $1.89 per share beat analyst expectations, as did revenue of $15.35 billion, a 4 percent increase. But the same financial report hints at trouble with the lucrative ESPN cable channel. Revenue in the cable networks business fell 1 percent to $4.5 billion, hurt by an ESPN revenue decline.…

Thirty-six people were indicted in connection with an international identity theft ring known as a “one-stop shop for cybercriminals” that sold stolen credit card information on the dark web, leading to losses of more than $530 million, U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday. The Infraud Organization — founded in 2010 and operated under the slogan “In Fraud We Trust” — used an online forum to buy and sell stolen credit card and bank account numbers, Social Security numbers and other personal information, the U.S. Justice Department said. Investigators believe the group’s nearly 11,000 members targeted more than 4.3 million credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts worldwide, Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Rybicki said. Most of the members of Infraud never met in person and only knew one another through their online…

Online retailer Amazon has reached a deal with French authorities to pay about $250 million in back taxes. Amazon was asked in 2012 to pay the amount over earnings made in 2006-2010 and has since been involved in a dispute with tax authorities. Details of the deal have not been revealed. The company said Monday it has reached an “overall settlement agreement with the French tax authorities on past issues, and our main objective remains to provide the best possible buying experience for our customers in France, where we have invested more than 2 billion euros since 2010, and created more than 5,500 permanent jobs.” Amazon last year reached a similar deal with Italian authorities to end a 100-million-euro ($118 million) dispute over its tax payments from 2011-15.…