Amazon and Expedia have submitted declarations in a federal court in Washington, claiming that a recent immigration order by U.S. President Donald Trump is disrupting their business and affecting employees. The actions by these companies come amid widespread public protests against the order, with many tech companies prominently in the opposition. The declarations were filed…
Twitter said late Monday it is rolling out features soon to counter abuse on its platform, though it did not provide details of the measures it is taking to address the problem. “We’re taking a completely new approach to abuse on Twitter. Including having a more open & real-time dialogue about it every step of…
Here’s the situation: You walk out of the supermarket with three bags in each hand and it already feels like your arms are gonna fall off. We’ve all felt like a pack mule at some point, and one company is hoping to change that with its personal cargo robot, Gita. The bot was created by…
Many major tech companies spent less money lobbying in Washington in 2016, but a handful, including Uber and Amazon, invested significantly more in attempting to influence politicians and the regulatory process. The money, which totals tens of millions of dollars, is spent on workers and companies that monitor bills and schmooze with politicians and their…
Starbucks has a new barista—and it’s a virtual assistant. On Monday, Starbucks launched a new feature for its iOS app that lets certain customers place their orders ahead of time via a voice-controlled bot. My Starbucks Barista uses artificial intelligence and a messaging interface so that customers can place their order using natural-language voice commands or…
The number of powerful chips coming out of China keeps growing as a war of words on semiconductors with the U.S. escalates. A joint venture between Qualcomm and China’s Guizhou province, called Huaxintong Semiconductor Technology, has started the development of a new server chip based on ARM technology. The joint venture is “now busy developing…
A recent IDC survey found 84% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the privacy of their personal information, with 70% saying their concern is greater today than it was a few years ago. These concerns of consumers should also alarm businesses: Consumers are willing to switch to another bank, medical center or retailer if they…
While Wall Street waits for Apple’s earnings report on Tuesday, industry analysts are already pondering the next iteration of the California company’s iPhone line. Those analysts agreed that this year’s iPhone will have special significance. After all, this month was the 10th anniversary of the iconic smartphone’s introduction by Steve Jobs, and come summer the…
Windows Cloud: That name has appeared in system files deep within some of the most recent Windows 10 Insider builds. While a few experts guess it could be a new version of Windows, what it actually is remains a mystery. As far as evidence goes, it’s pretty slim pickings. Two names, “Windows Cloud” and “Windows Cloud…
Dropbox kicked off its 2017 product launches with a pair of major announcements Monday aimed at improving users’ productivity at work. The cloud storage company announced the general availability of its Paper document collaboration service, along with the closed beta of a Smart Sync feature that gives users easy access to every file shared with…