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Category: Technology

Technology News | ReportWire publishes the latest breaking U.S. and world news, trending topics and developing stories from around globe.

  • Larry Page’s electric air taxi startup is winding down | CNN Business

    Larry Page’s electric air taxi startup is winding down | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Kittyhawk, the electric air taxi startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, announced Wednesday that it plans to “wind down” operations.

    “We have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk. We’re still working on the details of what’s next,” the company wrote in a brief statement shared on its LinkedIn and Twitter pages. Kittyhawk did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

    Kittyhawk had the lofty mission of “building autonomous, affordable, ubiquitous and eco-conscious air taxis,” according to its website. It was founded by Sebastian Thrun, a former Google executive who led the company’s self-driving car efforts.

    The startup operated in secret until 2017, when it publicly unveiled its first aircraft — an ultralight electric plane dubbed Flyer that was designed to fly over water. Page, one of the world’s richest men, was said to have invested $100 million in flying car startups, including Kittyhawk.

    Flyer was ultimately retired in 2020, after more than 25,000 successful test flights, according to the company, and it reportedly laid off many of those who had been working on Flyer at the time. The company launched other electric aircraft prototypes and announced a partnership with Boeing in 2019.

    The shuttering of Kittyhawk will not impact its joint venture with Boeing, which has been dubbed Wisk. In a tweet, Wisk said that it remains “in a strong financial position,” with both Boeing and Kittyhawk as investors.

    Like Kittyhawk, Wisk is developing an “all-electric, self-flying air taxi” that it says “rises like a helicopter and flies like a plane,” according to its website. This “aircraft will remove the need for a runway and allow you to land where you need to be,” according to the company.

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  • Amazon pausing operations at some facilities as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida | CNN Business

    Amazon pausing operations at some facilities as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida | CNN Business

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    CNN Business
     — 

    Amazon is temporarily pausing operations at some of its facilities as Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida, the company confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

    The storm, just shy of Category 5 strength, is expected to make landfall in southwestern Florida on Wednesday afternoon. It is already delivering ruinous winds and rain to the region.

    “We’re closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Ian and making adjustments to our operations in order to keep our employees and those delivering for us safe,” Richard Rocha, an Amazon

    (AMZN)     spokesperson, told CNN in a statement.

    “We’re in regular contact with our employees and delivery partners to ensure everyone is aware of any site closures or unsafe conditions and will continue to make adjustments as needed,” Rocha added.

    CNBC previously reported that Amazon had closed warehouses near Tampa and Orlando. The outlet cited notices sent to employees that stated Amazon expects the facilities to remain closed until Friday.

    Amazon declined to detail specific locations.

    Employees who are scheduled to work will continue to be paid while sites are closed, according to Amazon. There are more than 8,000 full-time and part-time Amazon employees in the Tampa area.

    Some other major businesses in the Florida area have also announced adjusted operations due to the hurricane’s approach. Disney World and Universal Resort theme parks in Orlando will be temporarily closed on Wednesday and Thursday. The storm has also been linked to a slew of flight cancellations at Florida airports.

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  • Amazon to release bedside sleep tracker later this year

    Amazon to release bedside sleep tracker later this year

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    Soon enough, an Amazon device might know whether you’re sleeping — or not.

    The e-commerce and tech giant said Wednesday it will release a device that can track sleeping patterns, with features that can help users wake up at the right time.

    The device, called Halo Rise, will use no-contact sensors and artificial intelligence to measure a user’s movement and breathing patterns, allowing the device to track sleep stages during the night, the Seattle-based company said. Amazon said it will be available for $139.99 later this year.

    Amazon noted the device can connect with its virtual assistant, Alexa, and allow users to wake up to their favorite songs, among other things.

    Separately, the company said it will release a new Kindle Scribe, the first Kindle consumers can write on. It will also add more features to its home robot, Astro, and release new Echo devices.

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  • US Army fires Javelin anti-tank missiles from robots in key tech test

    US Army fires Javelin anti-tank missiles from robots in key tech test

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    The U.S. Army test-fired Javelin anti-tank missiles at a recent exhibition in Fort Hood, Texas to demonstrate technological advancement in its fighting capabilities. 

    During a series of weapons drills and exercises, soldiers fired Javelins and .50-caliber machine guns from seven-ton robotic vehicles. 

    A Javelin missile fired by soldiers with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, separate from the exhibition in Texas. 
    (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

    The demonstration consisted of 12 robotic platforms alongside six control vehicles, the culmination of four years of activity, according to one official at the exhibition. 

    The three vehicle versions – the RCV-Light, the RCV-Medium, and RCV-Heavy – are each built for various complex unmanned operations. 

    CHINESE NATIONAL WHO APPLIED TO US ARMY RESERVES CONVICTED OF ESPIONAGE, PERJURY

    The official said the RCV-Heavy is still in the early stages of development but was used in the experience with an M113 personnel carrier. 

    An operation, for example, might include scouting and reconnaissance missions, distributing supplies, and finding and destroying enemy targets – when directed by a human.   

    Titan with Protector Javelin - file photo.

    Titan with Protector Javelin – file photo.
    (QinetiQ)

    Kevin Mills, the deputy executive director of ground vehicle intelligent systems, told The National Interest that the second large-scale operational soldier evaluation “is a huge learning opportunity for the Army to understand how to combat robotics can inform future decisions on how we buy material and how we fight.” 

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    “One of the unique features of robotic platforms is that, once you take the human out, they’re purposely built to be robotic platforms, so they can be much smaller and still carry significant payloads and have significant middle mobility characteristics,” he said. 

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  • NASA tests planetary defense with asteroid collision

    NASA tests planetary defense with asteroid collision

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    NASA tests planetary defense with asteroid collision – CBS News


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    NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in a test that could one day be used to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth. Mark Strassmann has more.

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    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


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  • US allows tech firms to boost internet access in Iran

    US allows tech firms to boost internet access in Iran

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — American tech firms will be allowed to expand their business in Iran, where most internet access has been cut off in response to anti-government protests, the Treasury Department said Friday.

    Iran has been cracking down on demonstrators protesting the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of its morality police. Iranian state TV suggests that as many as 26 protesters and police have been killed since violence erupted over the weekend.

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the move will help counter the government’s surveillance efforts.

    “It is clear that the Iranian government is afraid of its own people,” Blinken said in an emailed statement. “Mahsa Amini is senselessly, tragically dead, and now the government is violently suppressing peaceful protesters rightly angry about her loss.”

    The morality police detained Amini last week, saying she didn’t properly cover her hair with the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab. Amini collapsed at a police station and died three days later.

    U.S. sanctions were imposed Thursday on the morality police and leaders of other law enforcement agencies.

    The Treasury Department said an updated general license issued Friday authorizes tech firms to offer more social media and collaboration platforms, video conferencing and cloud-based services.

    The updated license also removes the condition that communications be “personal,” which Treasury said was burdening companies with the need to verify the purpose of the communications.

    “As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

    “With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people be better equipped to counter the government’s efforts to surveil and censor them.”

    The United Nations has called for an investigation into Amini’s death.

    Amir Rashidi, an exiled Iranian who is director of internet security and digital rights at Miaan Group, said lifting restrictions will help Iranians bypass censorship.

    “Also it’s going to provide Iranians with safety and security,” he said. “When you can have your data outside the country Iranian security services cannot unlawfully access your data because your data is protected by international law outside Iran.”

    In 2014, Treasury’s sanctions arm issued a license authorizing exports of software and services to Iran that would allow the free exchange of communication over the internet, with the intent to foster the free flow of information to Iranian citizens.

    Even so, U.S. firms have been reluctant to do business in Iran, due to fears of violating existing sanctions and other laws that impose penalties.

    On Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that his satellite internet firm Starlink would seek permission to operate in Iran. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was up to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to decide on Starlink’s next steps.

    The White House said the move, along with a recent increase in sanctions, does not affect the administration’s plans to reenter the Iran nuclear deal.

    “We have concerns, we do, with Iran,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, but pursuing the Iran deal “is the best way for us to address the nuclear problem.”

    ___

    Associated Press writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report from Boston.

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  • France’s Macron seeks ‘massive’ boost for renewable energy

    France’s Macron seeks ‘massive’ boost for renewable energy

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    SAINT-NAZAIRE, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for a “massive acceleration” of renewable energy development in his country, including offshore wind farms and solar power, via a new plan that seeks to bring lagging France closer to the energy policies of its European neighbors.

    The move comes amid a major energy crisis in Europe aggravated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Macron wants France to gain more independence in terms of electricity production.

    “The war changed everything… it disrupted the European model, because many countries were depending on Russian gas for (energy) production. And clearly, for the first time, energy has become a weapon of war, ” Macron stressed in his speech in Saint-Nazaire, a port in western France.

    Macron went on a boat Thursday morning to visit France’s first offshore wind farm off its Atlantic coast.

    He then detailed a range of measures to accelerate renewable energy projects. A bill will be presented next week at a Cabinet meeting.

    “We need a massive acceleration,” Macron said. “I want us to go at least twice as fast for renewable energy projects. … “our neighbors often managed to do more, better and, above all, faster.”

    Macron’s new strategy comes as a long-term response to the energy crisis, but it won’t help in dealing with shorter-term challenges. France and other European countries fear electricity shortages this winter as Russia has choked off the supplies of cheap natural gas that the continent depended on for years to run factories, generate electricity and heat homes.

    France’s energy strategy has long relied on developing nuclear power — based on imported uranium— which provides about 67% of French electricity, more than any other country.

    Macron announced at the beginning of the year plans to build six new nuclear reactors and to extend the life of its existing nuclear plants as part of the country’s strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

    But relieving France’s dependence on global gas and oil also involves boosting renewable energy, he said.

    France had previously set a goal to increase its renewable energy sources to 23% by 2020 — but only managed to reach 19%. That leaves the country in 17th position in the European Union, below the average of 22% in the bloc of 27 countries, according to latest statistics.

    Despite France’s thousands of kilometers (miles) of coastline, only the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, with its 80 turbines, has emerged so far. Macron set the goal to build about 50 similar wind farms by 2050 in France.

    He also hopes to multiply by 10 the amount of solar energy that is produced, and to double the power from land-based wind farms in the same period.

    New measures will aim at reducing the delays in building and launching offshore wind farms from 10-12 years now to about six years, and big solar farms from 6 years to 3 years, Macron said.

    The new bill will also aim at providing connections to the grid as soon as a new facility is ready — instead of a delay of up to three years now.

    Other planned measures include building solar farms on vacant land along highways, railways and in car parks.

    Solar parks will also be encouraged on agricultural lands under certain conditions — including keeping them small to preserve fields for the food industry.

    The bill will need to guarantee money for local communities to see local benefits from the energy shift, Macron said.

    Macron added he hopes to take the “same approach” for nuclear energy, accelerating and simplifying procedures to build new reactors more quickly.

    At the moment, about half of France’s 56 nuclear reactors, all operated by EDF, are shut down for usual maintenance and, in some cases, to repair corrosion problems. The government said this month that EDF committed to restart all of them by this winter.

    The French government has warned that a worst-case scenario could lead to rolling power cuts in French homes, and officials have presented an “energy sobriety” plan targeting a 10% reduction in energy use by 2024.

    ___

    Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris.

    ___

    Follow all AP stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

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  • Facebook violated rights of Palestinian users, report finds

    Facebook violated rights of Palestinian users, report finds

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    Actions by Facebook and its parent Meta during last year’s Gaza war violated the rights of Palestinian users to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, political participation and non-discrimination, a report commissioned by the social media company has found.

    The report Thursday from independent consulting firm Business for Social Responsibility confirmed long-standing criticisms of Meta’s policies and their uneven enforcement as it relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: It found the company over-enforced rules when it came to Arabic content and under-enforced content in Hebrew.

    It, however, did not find intentional bias at Meta, either by the company as a whole or among individual employees. The report’s authors said they found “no evidence of racial, ethnic, nationality or religious animus in governing teams” and noted Meta has “employees representing different viewpoints, nationalities, races, ethnicities, and religions relevant to this conflict.”

    Rather, it found numerous instances of unintended bias that harmed the rights of Palestinian and Arabic-speaking users.

    In response, Meta said it plans to implement some of the report’s recommendations, including improving its Hebrew-language “classifiers,” which help remove violating posts automatically using artificial intelligence.

    “There are no quick, overnight fixes to many of these recommendations, as BSR makes clear,” the company based in Menlo Park, California, said in a blog post Thursday. “While we have made significant changes as a result of this exercise already, this process will take time — including time to understand how some of these recommendations can best be addressed, and whether they are technically feasible.”

    Meta, the report confirmed, also made serious errors in enforcement. For instance, as the Gaza war raged last May, Instagram briefly banned the hashtag #AlAqsa, a reference to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, a flash point in the conflict.

    Meta, which owns Instagram, later apologized, explaining its algorithms had mistaken the third-holiest site in Islam for the militant group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party.

    The report echoed issues raised in internal documents from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen last fall, showing that the company’s problems are systemic and have long been known inside Meta.

    A key failing is the lack of moderators in languages other than English, including Arabic — among the most common languages on Meta’s platforms.

    For users in the Gaza, Syria and other Middle East regions marred by conflict, the issues raised in the report are nothing new.

    Israeli security agencies and watchdogs, for instance, have monitored Facebook and bombarded it with thousands of orders to take down Palestinian accounts and posts as they try to crack down on incitement.

    “They flood our system, completely overpowering it,” Ashraf Zeitoon, Facebook’s former head of policy for the Middle East and North Africa region, who left in 2017, told The Associated Press last year. “That forces the system to make mistakes in Israel’s favor.”

    Israel experienced an intense spasm of violence in May 2021 — with weeks of tensions in east Jerusalem escalating into an 11-day war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The violence spread into Israel itself, with the country experiencing the worst communal violence between Jewish and Arab citizens in years.

    In an interview this week, Israel’s national police chief, Kobi Shabtai, told the Yediot Ahronot daily that he believed social media had fueled the communal fighting. He called for shutting down social media if similar violence occurs again and said he had suggested blocking social media to lower the flames last year.

    “I’m talking about fully shutting down the networks, calming the situation on the ground, and when it’s calm reactivating them,” he was quoted as saying. “We’re a democratic country, but there’s a limit.”

    The comments caused an uproar and the police issued a clarification saying that his proposal was only meant for extreme cases. Omer Barlev, the Cabinet minister who oversees police, also said that Shabtai has no authority to impose such a ban.

    ___

    Associated Press reporter Josef Federman contributed from Jerusalem.

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  • Cyberattack steals passenger data from Portuguese airline

    Cyberattack steals passenger data from Portuguese airline

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    LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s national airline TAP Air Portugal says hackers obtained the personal data of some of its customers and have published the information on the dark web.

    No payment data was taken in the cyberattack, the flag carrier said in a statement late Wednesday.

    The attack began almost a month ago and is being investigated by Portuguese authorities, with the help of specialists from Microsoft, the airline said.

    The hackers obtained the name, nationality, sex, date of birth and address, email and telephone contact details, the airline said, without elaborating.

    Portuguese newspaper Expresso said a hacker group called Ragnar Locker was offering the information of 1.5 million TAP Air Portugal customers on the dark web.

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  • FTC says Bezos, Jassy must testify in probe of Amazon Prime

    FTC says Bezos, Jassy must testify in probe of Amazon Prime

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are ordering Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy to testify in the government’s investigation of Amazon Prime, rejecting the company’s complaint that the executives are being unfairly harassed in the probe of the popular streaming and shopping service.

    The Federal Trade Commission issued an order late Wednesday denying Amazon’s request to cancel civil subpoenas sent in June to Bezos, the Seattle-based company’s former CEO, and Jassy. The order also sets a deadline of Jan. 20 for the completion of all testimony by Bezos, Jassy and 15 other senior executives, who also were subpoenaed.

    Jassy took over the helm of the online retail and tech giant from Bezos, one of the world’s richest individuals, in July 2021. Bezos became executive chairman.

    Amazon hasn’t made the case that the subpoenas “present undue burdens in terms of scope or timing,” FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson said in the order on behalf of the agency. However, the FTC did agreed to modify some provisions of the subpoenas that it acknowledged appeared too broad.

    The FTC has been investigating since March 2021 the sign-up and cancellation practices of Amazon Prime, which has an estimated 200 million members around the globe.

    The company said it was disappointed but not surprised that the FTC mostly ruled in favor of its own position, but it was pleased that the agency “walked backed its broadest requests” in the subpoenas.

    “Amazon has cooperated with the FTC throughout the investigation and already produced tens of thousands of pages of documents,” the company said in a statement. “We are committed to engaging constructively with FTC staff, but we remain concerned that the latest requests are overly broad and needlessly burdensome, and we will explore all our options.”

    In a petition to the FTC filed last month, the company objected to the subpoenas to Bezos and Jassy, saying the agency “has identified no legitimate reason for needing their testimony when it can obtain the same information, and more, from other witnesses and documents.” Amazon said the FTC was hounding Bezos, Jassy and the other executives, calling the information demanded in the subpoenas “overly broad and burdensome.”

    The investigation has widened to include at least four other Amazon-owned subscription programs: Audible, Amazon Music, Kindle Unlimited and Subscribe & Save, as well as an unidentified third-party program not offered by Amazon. The regulators have asked the company to identify the number of consumers who were enrolled in the programs without giving their consent, among other customer information.

    With an estimated 150 million U.S. subscribers, Amazon Prime is a key source of revenue, as well as a wealth of customer data, for the company, which runs an e-commerce empire and ventures in cloud computing, personal “smart” tech and beyond. Amazon Prime costs $139 a year. The service added a coveted feature this year by obtaining exclusive video rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.”

    Last year, Amazon asked unsuccessfully that FTC Chair Lina Khan step aside from separate antitrust investigations into its business, contending that her public criticism of the company’s market power before she joined the government makes it impossible for her to be impartial. Khan was a fierce critic of tech giants Facebook (now Meta), Google and Apple, as well as Amazon. She arrived on the antitrust scene in 2017, writing an influential study titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” when she was a Yale law student.

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  • Amazon to kick off holidays with Prime Day-like shopping event in October

    Amazon to kick off holidays with Prime Day-like shopping event in October

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    Amazon said Monday that next month it will hold a second Prime Day-like shopping event, making it the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers struggling with tighter budgets.

    During the October 11-12 event, Amazon Prime members will get early access to discounted items. The “Prime Early Access Sale” follows Amazon’s annual Prime Day in July.

    The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has long used these kinds of sales events to lure people into its Prime membership, which offers faster shipping and better deals for $139 a year. But October’s event will be the first time it has holds a major sales drive twice in a year.

    Amazon’s retail business had slowed down in recent months. The addition of the October shopping bonanza signals a recognition that the company needs to provide more deals to inflation-hit consumers in what’s expected to be a challenging holiday shopping season for retailers.


    Inflation remains high in August despite ongoing drop from June

    05:14

    Last week, Walmart and Target announced they would begin offering deals and price-matching offers earlier this year to keep up with Americans pressed by soaring inflation. 

    Target said it would begin offering holiday deals in early October and plans to hire up to 100,000 seasonal employees in stores and distribution centers this holiday season, in line with a year ago. Meanwhile, Walmart is expanding its window for gift returns to between October 1 and January 31, compared with last year’s return window of November 1 to January 24.

    “Holiday kickoff”

    “What Amazon wants to do is be part of that early crowd and get a bite of the cherry,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. “And the best way to do that is, rather than having little deals here and there, is to have a big day that’s almost like a holiday kickoff.”

    This year marks the second year in a row consumers are expected to shop earlier for holiday deals. Last year, Americans started shopping earlier to avoid shipment delays caused by supply-chain snafus. This year, analysts expect many budget-conscious consumers to do the same, aiming to spread out their spending and snag gifts before prices rise later on.


    Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein on inflation, the Fed and supply chain issues

    06:10

    Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said the company will offer deals on digital items and products that are “particularly relevant for the holiday season,” as opposed to its Prime Day event in July, which, for example, focused on back-to-school items. He declined to say whether a fall discount event will be a permanent fixture for Amazon going forward.

    “We’re just focused on having a great event this year,” Ghani said. “I can’t say what’s going to happen in the future; we aren’t really thinking about it.”

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  • Apple will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

    Apple will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

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    Apple will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.

    “The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement.

    Apple unveiled its latest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models. India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but Apple iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market against cheaper smartphones from competitors.

    The announcement from the Cupertino, California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing, which has been a key goal for his government ever since he took office in 2014.

    Foxconn in Chennai

    The tech company has bet big on India, where it first began manufacturing its iPhone SE in 2017 and has since continued to assemble a number of iPhone models there. Apple opened its online store for India two years ago, but the pandemic has delayed plans for a flagship store in India, according to local media reports.

    The latest model will be shipped out by Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler, whose facilities are on the outskirts of Chennai, a city in southern India.

    Apple is likely to shift about 5% of its iPhone 14 production to India from later this year, raising it to 25% by 2025, according to a JP Morgan report quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.

    The analysts expect that nearly a quarter of all Apple products to be manufactured outside China by 2025, compared to about 5% now. Supply chain risks like the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns seen in China are likely the trigger for such relocation efforts that will continue over the next two or three years, the report said.

    “Apple has been trying to diversify its supply chain for a while, but these efforts have grown in the last two years over trade sanctions between the U.S. and China,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys.

    Chinese manufacturing

    Last year, the tech giant manufactured around 7 million iPhones in India. This news is likely to significantly increase India-made Apple smartphones, he added.

    He said the plan to make more iPhones in India may also lead Apple to drop its prices for the Indian market, making it more competitive. “You can adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy if you manufacture locally,” Chaurasia said.

    Most of Apple’s smartphones and tablets are assembled by contractors with factories in China, but the company started asking them in 2020 to look at the possibility of moving some production to Southeast Asia or other places after repeated shutdowns to fight COVID-19 disrupted its global flow of products.

    Apple hasn’t released details, but news reports say the company planned to set up assembly of tablet computers and wireless earphones in Vietnam.

    Other companies are keeping or expanding manufacturing in China to serve the domestic market while shifting export-oriented work to other countries due to rising wages and other costs, as well as the difficulty for foreign executives to visit China due to anti-COVID-19 travel restrictions.

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  • Apple Inc will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

    Apple Inc will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

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    NEW DELHI (AP) — Apple Inc. will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.

    “The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement.

    Apple unveiled its latest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models.

    India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but Apple iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market against cheaper smartphones from competitors.

    The announcement from the Cupertino, California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing, which has been a key goal for his government ever since he took office in 2014.

    The tech company has bet big on India, where it first began manufacturing its iPhone SE in 2017 and has since continued to assemble a number of iPhone models there. Apple opened its online store for India two years ago, but the pandemic has delayed plans for a flagship store in India, according to local media reports.

    The latest model will be shipped out by Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler, whose facilities are on the outskirts of Chennai, a city in southern India.

    Apple is likely to shift about 5% of its iPhone 14 production to India from later this year, raising it to 25% by 2025, according to a JP Morgan report quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.

    The analysts expect that nearly a quarter of all Apple products to be manufactured outside China by 2025, compared to about 5% now. Supply chain risks like the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns seen in China are likely the trigger for such relocation efforts that will continue over the next two or three years, the report said.

    “Apple has been trying to diversify its supply chain for a while, but these efforts have grown in the last two years over trade sanctions between the U.S. and China,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys.

    Last year, the tech giant manufactured around 7 million iPhones in India. This news is likely to significantly increase India-made Apple smartphones, he added.

    He said the plan to make more iPhones in India may also lead Apple to drop its prices for the Indian market, making it more competitive. “You can adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy if you manufacture locally,” Chaurasia said.

    Most of Apple Inc.’s smartphones and tablets are assembled by contractors with factories in China, but the company started asking them in 2020 to look at the possibility of moving some production to Southeast Asia or other places after repeated shutdowns to fight COVID-19 disrupted its global flow of products.

    Apple hasn’t released details, but news reports say the company planned to set up assembly of tablet computers and wireless earphones in Vietnam.

    Other companies are keeping or expanding manufacturing in China to serve the domestic market while shifting export-oriented work to other countries due to rising wages and other costs, as well as the difficulty for foreign executives to visit China due to anti-COVID-19 travel restrictions.

    ___

    AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed.

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  • US spy satellite launched into orbit from California

    US spy satellite launched into orbit from California

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    VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office launched into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket on Saturday.

    The NROL-91 spy satellite lifted off at 3:25 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California’s Santa Barbara County.

    It was the last launch of a Delta 4 from the West Coast. Additional launches are planned from Florida before the Deltas are replaced by ULA’s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rockets.

    The Delta IV Heavy configuration first launched in December 2004. This was the 387th flight of a Delta rocket since 1960 and the 95th and final launch from Vandenberg.

    The National Reconnaissance Office is the government agency in charge of developing, building, launching and maintaining U.S. spy satellites that provide intelligence data to policymakers, the intelligence community and Defense Department.

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  • Amazon to hold holiday shopping event in October

    Amazon to hold holiday shopping event in October

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    Amazon said Monday that next month it will hold a second Prime Day-like shopping event, making it the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers struggling with tighter budgets.

    During the Oct. 11-12 event, Amazon Prime members will get early access to discounted items. The “Prime Early Access Sale” follows Amazon’s annual Prime Day in July.

    The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has long used these kinds of sales events to lure people into its Prime membership, which offers faster shipping and better deals for $139 a year. But October’s event will be the first time it has held a major sales drive twice in a year.

    Amazon’s retail business had slowed down in recent months. And the shopping bonanza signals a recognition that it needs to provide more deals to inflation-hit consumers in what’s expected to be a challenging holiday shopping season for retailers.

    Last week, Target said it would begin offering holiday deals in early October. Meanwhile, Walmart is expanding its window for gift returns to between Oct. 1 and Jan. 31, compared with last year’s return window of Nov. 1 to Jan. 24.

    “What Amazon wants to do is be part of that early crowd and get a bite of the cherry,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. “And the best way to do that is, rather than having little deals here and there, is to have a big day that’s almost like a holiday kickoff.”

    This year marks the second year in a row consumers are expected to shop earlier for holiday deals. Last year, Americans started shopping earlier to avoid shipment delays caused by supply-chain snafus. This year, analysts expect many budget-conscious consumers to do the same, aiming to spread out their spending and snag gifts before prices rise later on.

    Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said the company will offer deals on digital items and products that are “particularly relevant for the holiday season,” as opposed to its Prime Day event in July, which, for example, focused on back-to-school items. He declined to say whether a fall discount event will be a permanent fixture for Amazon going forward.

    “We’re just focused on having a great event this year,” Ghani said. “I can’t say what’s going to happen in the future, we aren’t really thinking about it.”

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  • Germany secures more gas shipments as Scholz visits Gulf

    Germany secures more gas shipments as Scholz visits Gulf

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    BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz planted a tree at a mangrove park in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, a token nod to environmentalism during a two-day visit to the Gulf region focused mainly on securing new fossil fuel supplies and forging fresh alliances against Russia.

    Germany is trying to wean itself off energy imports from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, while avoiding an energy shortage in the coming winter months.

    To do so, the German government has sought out new natural gas suppliers while also installing terminals to bring the fuel into the country by ship.

    After visiting the Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi, Scholz met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to sign an accord on energy cooperation and discuss the country’s hosting of next year’s U.N. climate talks.

    German utility company RWE announced Sunday that it will receive a first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company this year. In a separate deal, RWE will partner with UAE-based Masdar to explore further offshore wind energy projects, the company said.

    From Abu Dhabi Scholz flew to Qatar to meet the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and discuss bilateral relations, regional issues such as tensions with Iran and the Gulf nation’s upcoming hosting of soccer’s World Cup.

    Speaking to reporters in Doha, Scholz acknowledged that there had been progress on improving conditions for foreign workers involved in the construction of the venues for the tournament, but left open whether he would attend any of the games himself.

    The German leader’s first stop Saturday was Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    Human rights groups criticized the meeting because of Prince Mohammed’s alleged involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

    Scholz told reporters after the meeting that he had discussed “all the questions around civil and human rights” with the prince, but declined to elaborate.

    German officials noted ahead of the trip that Scholz is one of several Western leaders to meet with the Saudi crown prince in recent months, including U.S. President Joe Biden, former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron.

    German officials said all energy agreements will take into account the country’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2045, requiring a shift from natural gas to hydrogen produced with renewable energy in the coming decades.

    Saudi Arabia, which has vast regions suitable for cheap solar power generation, is seen as a particularly suitable supplier of hydrogen, they said.

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    Follow all AP stories about the impact of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

    ___

    Follow all AP stories about climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environmental.

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  • Australia mulls tougher cybersecurity laws after data breach

    Australia mulls tougher cybersecurity laws after data breach

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    CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government said on Monday it is considering tougher cybersecurity rules for telecommunications companies and blamed Optus, the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, for an unprecedented breach of personal data from 9.8 million customers.

    Optus said last Thursday it had become aware the day before of the cyberattack which obtained the details of 9.8 million people — of Australia’s population of 26 million.

    Cybersecurity Minister Clare O’Neil told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the hack was an “unprecedented theft of consumer information in Australian history.”

    For 2.8 million current and former Optus customers, the breach involved “significant amounts of personal data,” including driver’s licenses and passport numbers, O’Neil said.

    Those 2.8 million people are at significant risk of identity left and fraud, she said.

    “The breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country,” O’Neil told Parliament.

    In some countries, such a breach would result in fines “amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars,” O’Neil said.

    Australian law doesn’t currently allow for Optus to be fined for the breach.

    “A very substantial reform task is going to emerge from a breach of this scale and size,” O’Neil said.

    “One significant question is whether the cybersecurity requirements that we place on large telecommunications providers in this country are fit for purpose,” she added.

    Australian Federal Police said in a statement that reports the stolen data had already been sold were under investigation.

    Australian investigators are working with overseas law enforcement agencies to determine who was behind the attack and to help shield the public from identity fraud, the statement said.

    “To protect the integrity of the criminal investigation, the AFP will not divulge what information it has obtained in the first few days” of the investigation, police said.

    Jeremy Kirk, a Sydney-based cybersecurity writer, said he used an online forum for criminals who trade in stolen data to ask someone who claimed to have downloaded the Optus information how it was accessed.

    Optus appeared to have left an application programming interface, a piece of software known as an API that allows other systems to communicate and exchange data, open to the public, she said.

    “It looks like it was a failure to secure the software system, so anybody on the internet could find it,” Kirk told Ten Network television.

    O’Neil didn’t detail how the breach occurred, but described it as a “quite a basic hack.”

    Optus had “effectively left the window open for data of this nature to be stolen,” she said.

    O’Neil called on Optus to offer compromised customers free credit monitoring to protect them from identity theft, a request that the Sydney-based company complied with later on Monday.

    Optus announced it was offering its “most affected” customers free 12-month subscriptions to Equifax Protect, a credit monitoring and identify protection service.

    Optus said the information that had been accessed by an unidentified third party included customers’ names, dates of birth, phone numbers and email addresses.

    Police and other government security agencies worked through the weekend to protect affected customers, O’Neil said.

    Government agencies were also working with the banking sector to protect customers.

    “This is complex. It’s legally and technically complex, but we are working on a solution,” O’Neil said.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the breach as a “huge wake-up call for the corporate sector.”

    Albany foreshadowed potential changes to privacy provisions so that banks can move more quickly to protect their own customers after such a breach.

    “We know that in today’s world there are actors — some state actors, but also some criminal organizations — who want to get access to people’s data,” Albanese said.

    Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said in a statement last week that, “We are devastated to discover that we have been subject to a cyberattack that has resulted in the disclosure of our customers’ personal information to someone who shouldn’t see it.”

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  • Hidden trackers invade your browser — how to delete them

    Hidden trackers invade your browser — how to delete them

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    As long as your phone is on, it’s sharing data. This happens whether you have an iPhone or Android, but one company is tracking much more than the other. Tap or click here to see if Apple or Google collects more data. 

    I bet your home address, phone number, and even more personal information is a search away available to anyone, often for free. I value my privacy, so my team and I put together a great resource to help you out. Tap or click here for steps to remove yourself from 19 of the largest people finder sites. 

    Advertisers are notorious for watching what you do and where you go online. That’s valuable and very profitable information. Here’s one way to stop some of the spying.

    Hacker attacking internet
    (iStock)

    5 WAYS TECH CAN HELP YOU FEEL SAFER AT HOME 

    The bad kind of cookies 

    Think of cookies as the trail you leave behind when you’re online. A first-party cookie is created and stored in your browser when you visit a website. It keeps things like your login info and shopping cart, so you don’t have to fill them in again each time. First-party cookies also preserve options and settings.  

    That’s useful, but cookies can be invasive, too. Companies use cookies to track where you go and what you do online. They’ll even do it on a website other than the one you’re visiting. Advertisers love cookies because they help customize the ads you see. If the ads appeal to you, you’re more likely to click them, which yields a higher ROI. 

    Pro tip: You can block third-party cookies and other invasive tools through your browser. The level of protection varies, but it’s worth the time to change your default settings. Tap or click here for tips on changing your privacy settings in some of the most popular browsers. 

    Blocking third-party cookies and tracking is one thing, but how about not being subject to tracking methods, to begin with? That’s where AdChoices and WebChoices come in. 

    Banish tracking cookies from your browser 

    AdChoices is a program from the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a group of advertising and marketing companies that self-regulate to offer you choices for targeted advertising. Why would they self-regulate? So, no one else steps in to do it, of course. 

    Try it out next time you see an ad online. Look for the small AdChoices icon. It looks like a blue triangle with a lowercase “i” in the middle.  

    Click that to get information about the ad, change its settings and block it. Not all advertisers participate in the program, but you’ll know it when you see the symbol. 

    Go further: Delete this secret ID hiding on your phone that gives away your personal details 

    Within AdChoices is a tool called WebChoices. You can use this tool to opt-out of many companies in one step. As with AdChoices, it only works for companies that participate in the program.  

    Get this: I used it to kick out 144 different tracking cookies! 

    Woman using smartphone on a wooden desk. 

    Woman using smartphone on a wooden desk. 
    (iStock)

    Here’s how to use WebChoices: 

    Go to https://optout.aboutads.info. WebChoices will scan your browser and computer to find out whether first-party and third-party cookies are enabled, along with a list of companies creating targeted ads for you. You’ll also see which companies you have already opted out of if you’ve used the tool.  

    After the status check is complete, click Continue. 

    Look at the Customizing Ads on your Browser column to see which companies use targeted ads. If it says Yes, you can opt-out of that company by checking the box under the Opt-Out column.  

    Or you can select everything by clicking Opt Out of All. 

    After making your selection, click Submit Your Choices. (You can skip those steps by clicking Opt Out Of All as a first step.) 

    The website will process your selection, and you click View Updated Results to see how it turned out. 

    The WebChoices tool works for the browser you’re currently using, so run it for each if you use more than one browser. If you didn’t catch every company the first time, try rerunning the scan. 

    If you delete cookies, you may not see the opt-out choices for the company, so run the scan now and then. 

    A lock icon, signifying an encrypted Internet connection, is seen on an Internet Explorer browser in a photo illustration.

    A lock icon, signifying an encrypted Internet connection, is seen on an Internet Explorer browser in a photo illustration.
    (REUTERS/Mal Langsdon)

    ARE HACKERS IN YOUR PHONE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT

    Keep your tech-know going  

    My popular podcast is called “Kim Komando Today.” It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode. 

    PODCAST PICK: GPS survival tip, sign digital docs, Google Photos update 

    In this episode, Google updates Photos with redesigned Memories and a new collage editor, use your photos for a virtual clothing fit at Walmart, Keurig’s new smart brewer makes a mind-blowing amount of coffee and how to get your real signature on digital docs. Plus, a rescue helicopter nearly abandoned a stranded man by mistaking his distress call. 

    Find my podcast “Kim Komando Today” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. 

    Just search for my last name, “Komando.” 

    CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. 

    You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

    Copyright 2022, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I believe in. 

    Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. 

    For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.

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  • Ford’s Eluminator kit turns gas-powered cars electric

    Ford’s Eluminator kit turns gas-powered cars electric

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    Ford’s Eluminator kit turns gas-powered cars electric – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Ford’s pickup trucks are the stuff of legend, but a new conversion kit called the Eluminator can turn a 45-year-old F100 into a fully electric vehicle with even more power than the original engine. Kris Van Cleave has more.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


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  • Solein – Yet Another Impossible Food From The Minds Of Boffins

    Solein – Yet Another Impossible Food From The Minds Of Boffins

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    <br /> Solein – Yet Another Impossible Food From The Minds Of BoffinsThe Red Ferret Journal























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