Imagine the day you board a bus and it starts moving. It obeys all traffic signs and stops at signal lights. All without a driver. That’s the future, happening right now at a business park in Northern California. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes us on what’s probably your first ride on …
Apple’s chief executive said Wednesday he’s optimistic some apps that fell afoul of China’s tight internet laws will eventually be restored after being removed earlier this year. Speaking at a business forum in southern China, CEO Tim Cook also dismissed criticism of his appearance days earlier at an internet conference …
Booming esports do not need the Olympics to maintain their explosive growth, but a link with the world’s biggest multisports event would validate gaming worldwide and give the Games a much-needed younger audience, industry leaders say. Esports, the competitive side of electronic gaming, have an estimated 250 million players, more …
“Smart suitcases” may be able to charge mobile phones or be easily found if misplaced, but unless their battery can be removed they risk being sent packing by the world’s airlines. Global airlines body IATA said it could issue industry-wide standards on the new luggage soon, after some U.S. airlines …
YouTube says it’s hiring more people to help curb videos that violate its policies. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says “some bad actors are exploiting” the Google-owned service to “mislead, manipulate, harass or even harm.” She says Google will have more than 10,000 workers address the problem by next year, though …
Ireland has struck a deal with Apple to collect up to 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes and hold it in an escrow account pending an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The government said in a statement Monday that an agreement had been …
As greenhouse gases go, methane is one of the worst. Pound for pound, it is much more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. And a good portion of it is emitted by domesticated cattle. Scientists have been working for some time on ways to cut that methane production as …
Facebook is coming for your kids. The social media giant is launching a messaging app for children to chat with their parents and with friends approved by their parents. The free app is aimed at kids under 13, who can’t yet have their own accounts under Facebook’s rules, though they …
The high-profile attendance of the leaders of Apple and Google at a Chinese conference promoting Beijing’s vision of a censored internet highlights the dilemma for Western tech companies trying to expand in an increasingly lucrative but restricted market. The event in Wuzhen, a historic canal town outside Shanghai, marked …
Luxury brands are switching gears at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. Manufacturers once known for iconic sports cars are facing an identity crisis — trying to compete with Tesla’s electric autos while still serving Americans’ love of SUVs (sport utility vehicles). Arash Arabasadi reports …
Facebook opens its new London office on Monday and said it would add 800 more jobs in the capital next year, underlining its commitment to Britain as the country prepares for Brexit. The social network said more than half of the people working at the site in central London will …
Fracking, at least in the U.S., has changed the country’s energy outlook. It has cut the cost of fossil fuels and turned the U.S. into a net exporter of fuel. But fracking hasn’t had the same effect in Britain, and geologists say the island nation’s unique geology means fracking will …
Toyota Motor Corporation recently unveiled a high-tech personal assistant at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. It mimics the moves of the user, which Toyota says may turn this machine into a caregiver for the elderly. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
Britain’s cybersecurity agency has told government departments not to use antivirus software from Moscow-based firm Kaspersky Lab amid concerns about Russian snooping. Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said “Russia is acting against the U.K.’s national interest in cyberspace.” In a letter dated Friday to civil service …
The world’s largest lithium ion battery has begun providing electricity into the power grid in South Australia. The project is a collaboration between the state government, American firm Tesla, and Neoen, a French energy company. Tesla boss Elon Musk, who was not in attendance at the switch-on, had boldly promised …
More than a century after being unearthed in Egypt, a nearly 2000-year-old mummy is giving scientists, museum curators and medical researchers a unique look at the ancient world. Faith Lapidus reports. …
From cellphones and cars, to televisions and refrigerators, more devices are being connected to the Internet. This network of connected devices is called the “Internet of Things” (IoT). Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, is planning to use the prevalence of these IoT devices as a …
Most of us would be shocked and afraid if a doctor told us we needed brain surgery. But imagine how much calmer you’d be if you could get inside your skull to navigate the path the surgeon will take? Technology can now make that happen. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes us …
The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery has plugged into an Australian state grid, delivering on a promise by Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk. Musk said he would build the 100-megawatt battery within 100 days of contracts for the project being signed at the end of September or hand it over …
Google, which prides itself on developing simple, intuitive software that seems to know what you want almost before you do, is finding itself in a very different world when it comes to its own phones and other gadgets. Its new Pixel 2 phones, released in October, got high marks for …
Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday it was temporarily disabling the ability of advertisers on its social network to exclude racial groups from the intended audience of ads while it studies how the feature could be used to discriminate. Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, told African-American U.S. lawmakers in a …
For individuals, storing information in the cloud means it can be available to them anywhere they have a connection to the internet. It can be cheap, and it can be useful, but because all that data is going back and forth, it’s not quite as secure as storing everything on …
Snapchat is separating what friends share and what media organizations publish in an attempt to appeal to a broader range of users. The photo messaging app has not been gaining enough users, especially beyond its core of younger people. Parent company Snap Inc.’s stock is down sharply since its initial …
Microsoft says it’s overhauling its longtime headquarters with an 18-building construction project that will make room for another 8,000 workers. The announcement came ahead of the company’s annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. Microsoft’s decision to expand on the footprint of its campus in Redmond, Washington, its home since 1986, is in …
India has strongly backed a free and open Internet, with its telecom regulator recommending stringent regulations on net neutrality – the concept of ensuring equal access to the web — saying it is important the Internet is not “cannibalized.” India’s push for net neutrality comes at a time when the …
Buildings could soon be able to convert the sun’s energy into electricity without the need for solar panels, thanks to innovative new technology. VOA’s Faith Lapidus reports. …