It’s six o’clock in the evening, Saw Ku Do reviews his English lessons shortly after finishing an 11-hour shift serving food and sweeping the floor at the tea shop where he works. “Dog, cat, pig,” he said while looking at his notebook. Saw Ku Do, age 15, only has a …
From water taxis that “fly” on hydrofoils to aircraft wings and cutting-edge car steering wheels, the America’s Cup has produced technology with potential far beyond its “foiling” catamarans. With their focus on carbon fiber and aerodynamics, the teams that fought for the America’s Cup attracted partners including planemaker Airbus and …
In the two years leading up to June 29, 2007, when Apple’s iPhone went on sale, company co-founder Steve Jobs and a select team were hard at work secretly designing what would become a global game changer. The initiative even had a code name, “Project Purple.” By all accounts, the …
A new cyber virus spread from Ukraine to wreak havoc around the globe on Wednesday, crippling thousands of computers, disrupting ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting production at a chocolate factory in Australia. The virus is believed to have first taken hold on Tuesday in Ukraine where it …
While technological revolution is changing much of the world, there are still areas that have seen only very small benefits, or none at all. There, people still live without electricity, clean water and basic healthcare. At a competition recently held in Washington, innovators presented affordable new devices, specially designed to …
International business in the United States and Europe, as well as Ukrainian state institutions, were among those affected by cyberattacks on Tuesday. The virus locked digital files and demanded payment for help to restore access to them. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …
Computers around the world were locked up and users’ files held for ransom in a cyberattack Tuesday that paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations. Here’s a look at how malware and ransomware work and what people can do if they fall victim to attacks. What is malware …
EU antitrust regulators fined Google $2.7 billion Tuesday for unfairly boosting search results for its online shopping service. The European Union said Google began efforts in 2008 to boost the service now known as Google Shopping by making its results show up higher in search results, while demoting the search …
The latest farm tools on the job in Pakistan are cell phones and satellites. A new program is using satellite data to estimate how much water a field needs, and then texting this information to farmers. The hope is to prevent overwatering. A 2013 report from the Asian Development Bank …
Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft say they are forming a working group to remove terrorist content from their platforms. The global technology companies announced Monday they are creating the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism which will help them share technical solutions to remove terrorist and extremist …
A SpaceX rocket carried 10 communications satellites into orbit from California on Sunday, two days after the company successfully launched a satellite from Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off through low-lying fog at 1:25 p.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles. It carried a second …
Governments around the world are using surveillance software that taps into individual smartphones, taking screenshots, reading email and tracking users’ movements, according to security experts and civil liberties groups. The rise of so-called spyware comes as electronic communications have become more encrypted, frustrating law enforcement and governments’ surveillance efforts. Over …
From cashless payments to smartphone apps offering everything from taxis to take-out food – Africa’s digital revolution is gathering pace as average citizens take an active role in public discourse. “You’re seeing a lot of the people changing the way they live their lives,” says Maria Sarungi, founder of the …
Ubiquitous drones and a faster Internet are coming sooner than you might think, and governments are staring into the unknown as they face the prospect of regulating the coming technological revolution in a way that fosters innovation, while at the same time protecting the often conflicting interests of consumers, entrepreneurs …
Federal officials say Russian cyber-operatives targeted voting systems in 21 U.S. states last year and had varying degrees of success in penetrating them. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, that testimony before House and Senate panels Wednesday revealed significant tensions between state election officials and federal agencies whose cooperation is deemed essential …
A rapidly-growing robotics industry in India is helping usher in automation technology in companies. But at a time when the country is struggling to create jobs for millions of young people, the World Bank has warned that automation could put 70 percent of India’s jobs at risk. Anjana Pasricha has …
Cookie sales may take a back seat to fighting identity theft and other computer crime now that Girl Scouts as young as 5 are to be offered the chance to earn their first-ever cyber security badges. Armed with a needle and thread, U.S. Girl Scouts who master the required skills …
Intel said Wednesday it would become a major sponsor of the International Olympic Committee, making the computer chipmaker the latest technology company to put marketing dollars behind the global sporting event. The new deal, which goes until 2024, comes a week after longtime Olympics sponsor McDonald’s Corp bowed out of …
Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had won a $104 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop, produce and field a threat simulator to train combat aircrews to recognize and deal with rapidly evolving threats, such as surface-to-air missiles. Tim Cahill, vice president of air and missile defense systems …
The Red Cross launched a smartphone app Tuesday to help refugees and migrants arriving in Italy access information and services, including medical, psychological and legal support. The digital platform called “Virtual Volunteer” was unveiled on World Refugee Day as new data showed the number of refugees globally reached a record …
Countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be a wellspring of opportunity for the United States because of growth in the region’s digital economy and its young population, researchers say. Those combined forces will “create a much more dynamic [economy] … over the coming decades,” said …
A man who died last year when his semi-autonomous Tesla Model S collided with a truck kept his hands off the steering wheel and apparently did not respond to automated warnings from the car to take the wheel, according to over 500 documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board …
Australia says it will move classified government information from a private data center in Sydney after a Chinese consortium bought a major stake in the company. The move comes despite assurances from the company, Global Switch, that its files are secure. Global Switch owns two secure data facilities in downtown …
A slew of high tech heavyweights, some of whom have criticized President Donald Trump’s policies, huddled at the White House Monday as the administration kicked off its “technology week.” The chief executive officers of companies ranging from Amazon (the world’s largest internet company by revenue) to cloud computing giant VMware, …
Google says it is stepping up its efforts to identify and remove videos related to terrorism and violent extremist content, particularly on its YouTube platform. “While we and others have worked for years to identify and remove content that violates our policies,” Google said, “the uncomfortable truth is that we, …
The soaring cathedrals of Europe seem to defy gravity. But 3D architects are taking a page from the ancient masters to form their new creations. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …