Innholdsfortegnelse for #580 i Techlife News

As part of an ongoing privacy push, Apple said it will now offer full end-to-encryption for nearly all the data its users store in its global cloud-based storage system. That will make it more difficult for hackers, spies and law enforcement agencies to access sensitive user information. The world’s most valuable company has long placed customer security and privacy at a premium. Its iMessage and Facetime communications services are fully encrypted end-to-end and it has sometimes locked horns with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, over its refusal to unlock devices. But a lot of what customers backed up remotely using Apple’s iCloud service — including photos, videos and chats — has not been afforded uncompromising protection through end-to-end encryption, a technology that prevents even Apple from decrypting it. That…

Indiana’s attorney general this week sued Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, claiming the video-sharing platform misleads its users, particularly children, about the level of inappropriate content and security of consumer information. Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita claimed in a complaint filed Wednesday that while the social video app says it is safe for users 13 years and older, the app contains “salacious and inappropriate content” available to young users “for unlimited periods of time, day and night, in an effort to line TikTok’s pockets with billions of dollars from U.S. consumers.” A separate complaint from Rokita argues the app has users’ sensitive and personal information but deceives consumers into believing that information is secure. “At the very least, the company owes consumers the truth about the age-appropriateness of its content…

If you’ve ever had trouble solving a Rubik’s Cube, a good piece of advice is to break it down into steps. It’s worth a shot: That advice is from the man who invented it. “Problem solving is a very basic activity of the human mind and if a problem is complex you need to divide the problem into smaller elements,” says Ernő Rubik, who invented the cube in 1974. Rubik has seen his color-matching puzzle go from a classroom teaching tool in Cold War-era Hungary to a worldwide phenomenon with over 450 million cubes sold and a mini-empire of related toys. “For me, the cube represents what freedom means. Freedom is never endless,” he said during a recent visit to New York. “It lets you do what is necessary to…

Facebook parent Meta’s quasi-independent oversight board said that an internal system that exempted high-profile users, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, from some or all of its content moderation rules needs a major overhaul. The report by the Oversight Board, which was more than a year in the making, said the system “is flawed in key areas which the company must address.” Meta asked the board to look into the system after The Wall Street Journal reported last year that it was being abused by many of its elite users, who were posting material that would result in penalties for ordinary people, including for harassment and incitement of violence. Facebook’s rules reportedly didn’t seem to apply to some VIP users while others faced reviews of rule-breaking posts that never happened,…

President Joe Biden on Tuesday visited the site for a new computer chip plant in Arizona, using it as a chance to emphasize how his policies are fostering job growth in what could be a challenge to the incoming Republican House majority. Biden has staked his legacy in large part on major investments in technology and infrastructure that were approved by Congress along bipartisan lines. The Democratic president maintains that the factory jobs fostered by $52 billion in semiconductor investments and another $200 billion for scientific research will help to revive the U.S. middle class. “What I’m most excited about is people are starting to feel a sense of optimism as they see the impact of the achievements in their own lives,” Biden said Tuesday. “It’s going to accelerate in…

Maryland is banning the use of TikTok and certain China and Russia-based platforms in the state’s executive branch of government, Gov. Larry Hogan said this week, the latest state to address cybersecurity risks presented by the platforms. The Republican governor announced an emergency cybersecurity directive to prohibit the platforms’ use, saying they could be involved in cyberespionage, government surveillance and inappropriate collection of sensitive personal information. “There may be no greater threat to our personal safety and our national security than the cyber vulnerabilities that support our daily lives,” Hogan said in a statement, adding: “To further protect our systems, we are issuing this emergency directive against foreign actors and organizations that seek to weaken and divide us.” The Maryland directive comes a week after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem,…

After more than half a century, Boeing is set to roll its last 747 out of a Washington state factory on Tuesday. The jumbo jet — which has taken on numerous roles as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers and as the Air Force One presidential aircraft — debuted in 1969. It was the largest commercial aircraft in the world and the first with two aisles, and it still towers over most other planes. The 747’s design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump that made the plane instantly recognizable and inspired a nickname, the Whale. More elegantly, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies. It took…

Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon will share in the Pentagon’s $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network, a year after accusations of politicization over the previously announced contract and a protracted legal battle resulted in the military starting over in its award process. The Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability is envisioned to provide access to unclassified, secret and top-secret data to military personnel all over the globe. It is anticipated to serve as a backbone for the Pentagon’s modern war operations, which will rely heavily on unmanned aircraft and space communications satellites, but will still need a way to quickly get the intelligence from those platforms to troops on the ground. The contract will be awarded in parts, with a total estimated completion date of June 2028, the Pentagon…

Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the company’s blood-testing hoax — a sentence slightly longer than that given to the CEO, who was his lover and accomplice in one of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandals. Balwani was convicted in July of fraud and conspiracy connected to the company’s bogus medical technology that duped investors and endangered patients. His sentencing came less than three weeks after Elizabeth Holmes, the company’s founder and CEO, received more than 11 years in prison for her part in the scheme, which has been dissected in a book, HBO documentary and award-winning TV series. Balwani’s sentence was less than the 15 years sought by federal prosecutors, who depicted him as a ruthless, power-hungry figure.…

Microsoft agreed this week to make the hit video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years should its $69 billion purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard go through — an apparent attempt to fend off objections from rival Sony. The blockbuster merger is facing close scrutiny from regulators in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game console, faces resistance from Sony, which makes the competing PlayStation console and has raised concerns with antitrust watchdogs about losing access to what it calls a “must-have” game title. Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, tweeted that Microsoft “entered into a 10-year commitment” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo. Microsoft President Brad Smith tweeted his thanks to Nintendo, which makes the Switch game console, saying the…

Apple Music wants to help you and your friends sing along to your favorite songs with a new feature it’s rolling out just as people gather for end-of-year parties. Apple Music Sing gives the user the ability to adjust a song’s vocals and an enhanced beat-by-beat lyric display, which both draw on the platform’s massive song library. The result is what Apple hopes will be an effortless invitation to karaoke. “The level of engagement around our lyrics features is pretty phenomenal and we’re going to extend on that and make it not just easy for fans to read along to lyrics, but also to sing along with their lyrics,” Rachel Newman, global head of editorial at Apple Music, told. Display lyrics have been enhanced, going from line-by-line previously to syllable-to-syllable…

Ford Motor Co. and a South Korean partner company showed off their progress in developing a massive battery production venture in Kentucky, where they have laid the groundwork for one of the “big bets” the automaker is making in its electric vehicle business. Dirt has been moved, concrete poured and steel structures are being built according to plan so far, the companies said. Production is scheduled to start in 2025 at the two battery manufacturing plants being built in Glendale, Kentucky. The venture will employ 5,000 people to produce batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. “Ford’s made some big bets on electrification, because we believe in our ability to lead the electric revolution,” said Dave Nowicki, director of manufacturing operations for EV programs at Ford. Ford and its…

FBI Director Chris Wray is raising national security concerns about TikTok, warning that control of the popular video sharing app is in the hands of a Chinese government “that doesn’t share our values.” Wray said the FBI was concerned that the Chinese had the ability to control the app’s recommendation algorithm, “which allows them to manipulate content, and if they want to, to use it for influence operations.” He also asserted that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for traditional espionage operations. “All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States. That should concern…

China rolled back rules on isolating people with COVID-19 and dropped virus test requirements for some public places Wednesday in a dramatic change to a strategy that confined millions of people to their homes and sparked protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. The move adds to earlier easing that fueled hopes Beijing was scrapping its “zero COVID” strategy, which is disrupting manufacturing and global trade. Experts warn, however, that restrictions can’t be lifted completely until at least mid-2023 because millions of elderly people still must be vaccinated and the health care system strengthened. China is the last major country still trying to stamp out transmission of the virus while many nations switch to trying to live with it. As they lift restrictions, Chinese officials have also shifted…

Faith in the U.S. dollar has often hinged in part on what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says. On Thursday, the focus will be on what she writes, as the government churns out its first currency bearing her signature. Yellen loops her capital “J” and “Y,” with the rest of her name flowing in a haste that suggests handwriting might not have been the top priority for this pathbreaking economist. She made her reputation as a stoic chair of the Federal Reserve and a shrewd forecaster, and now she’s at the forefront of far-flung efforts to use economic levers to help stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, employ tax policy to protect the planet from climate change and oversee a massive effort to strengthen the beleaguered IRS. That puts her at the…

For the diving community, the Oceanic+ app for the Apple Watch Ultra is the equivalent to the launch of the first iPhone or Apple Watch, offering an Apple-powered dive computer on the wrist, with robust planning, a comprehensive post-dive experience, and much more. INTRODUCING OCEANIC+ When Apple launched its new rugged Apple Watch Ultra earlier in the year, one of its biggest selling points was integration with the Oceanic+ app, designed to turn the wearable into an easy-to-use dive computer and change how drivers monitored their performance forever. After a couple of months of testing, the app has arrived, developed by Huish Outdoors in collaboration with Apple, and it allows scuba divers to take their Apple Watch Ultra up to 40 meters below the surface, with the all-new depth gauge…

The unabashedly liberal city of San Francisco became the unlikely proponent of weaponized police robots last week after supervisors approved limited use of the remote-controlled devices, addressing head-on an evolving technology that has become more widely available even if it is rarely deployed to confront suspects. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to permit police to use robots armed with explosives in extreme situations where lives are at stake and no other alternative is available. The authorization comes as police departments across the U.S. face increasing scrutiny for the use of militarized equipment and force amid a years-long reckoning on criminal justice. The vote was prompted by a new California law requiring police to inventory military-grade equipment such as flashbang grenades, assault rifles and armored vehicles, and seek…

A New Hampshire man accused of running an unlicensed bitcoin exchange business catered to romance and imposter scammers who conned their victims into wiring him money that he shared as virtual currency with the criminals after taking his cut, a prosecutor alleged during opening statements in his trial Tuesday. But Ian Freeman, who also is accused of money laundering, conspiracy, and four counts of tax evasion, actually warned people of scams and he helped businesses in the community, his lawyer said in the federal trial in Concord. Some of what the prosecution is saying is “absolute nonsense,” defense attorney Mark Sisti said. Freeman has pleaded not guilty. Freeman, of Keene, was arrested last year, accused of running the unlicensed business and avoiding taxes from 2016 to 2019, said Georgiana MacDonald,…

Digital media company BuzzFeed is cutting 12% of its workforce, citing worsening economic conditions. The New York company, which made the announcement in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, did not disclose how many workers it was letting go. According to the data firm FactSet, BuzzFeed has 1,522 employees, which would mean roughly 180 of them would be laid off. Advertisers, on which BuzzFeed relies, have broadly pulled back spending to address rising costs. Spending on advertising is typically among the most elastic items in a company’s budget and is often the first place to see cuts. “In order for BuzzFeed to weather an economic downturn that I believe will extend well into 2023, we must adapt, invest in our strategy to serve our audience best, and readjust our cost structure,”…

Tesla has launched sales in Thailand, offering its popular Model 3 and Model Y at prices aimed at competing with rivals like China’s BYD. The company staged a glitzy showcase of its plans Wednesday at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall. Online purchases have begun, with plans to deliver vehicles to buyers in the first quarter of next year. Southeast Asia’s market of more than 600 million consumers is increasingly a focus for automakers looking to expand sales, especially of electric vehicles. Tesla said the vehicles will have the latest satellite navigation systems and other features such as over-the-air software updates. The company is selling its Model 3 Long Range and Performance models. The Model Y will be sold in three versions “to meet the specific demands of the EV lifestyle for…