Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook, Twitter and news organizations including Agence France-Presse have joined a coalition of media and technology groups seeking to filter out online misinformation and improve news quality on social networks. First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news …
Read More »Hewlett-Packard Enterprise to sell software business
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Hewlett-Packard Enterprise is looking to sell its software division, perhaps for as much as $10 billion, according to media reports on Friday that cited sources close to the matter. The move would include HPE shedding the operations of Autonomy Corp, a British software …
Read More »Singer Chris Brown released from jail on $250,000 bail
Washington, United States | AFP | An attorney for Chris Brown said Wednesday that the singer has been released from custody, following a bizarre standoff at his home with police after a woman alleged that he pointed a gun at her. Police arrested Brown on suspicion of assault with a …
Read More »Dotcom demands live-stream of US extradition appeal
Auckland, New Zealand | AFP | Internet mogul Kim Dotcom launched his appeal Monday against extradition to face video piracy charges in the United States, arguing for his case in New Zealand to be live-streamed to ensure a fair hearing. The German national and founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service, …
Read More »Deal puts Microsoft apps on Lenovo smartphones
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Microsoft apps such as Office and Skype will be installed on Lenovo mobile devices powered by Android software under the terms of a collaboration announced. The US technology giant and the Chinese computer titan said they were “deepening their strategic relationship” with a …
Read More »Facebook aims for video-loving teenagers with new app
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Friday took direct aim at video-loving adolescents, and Snapchat, with the release of a new iPhone app that allows teens to watch clips about the lives of their classmates. The app, called Lifestage, was released with no fanfare, and is available …
Read More »Ad blockers out-flank Facebook
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Ad blockers on Thursday said they foiled a move by Facebook to sidestep software used to stop marketing messages at social network pages visited on desktop computers. Adblock Plus announced that it is updating its free software with a new filter …
Read More »Brazilian judge blocks WhatsApp nationwide
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | A judge on Tuesday suspended the WhatsApp smartphone messaging service across Brazil, where it is hugely popular, for failing to surrender user data in a police investigation. “WhatsApp is blocked across the whole national territory,” a spokesman for the court in Rio de …
Read More »Pokemon Go welcome at Rio Olympics, mayor says
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |AFP | Could hunting for a Pokemon get any hotter? Maybe in Rio, so the city about to host the Olympic Games is urging makers of the popular app to come down to Brazil. The app, based on a Nintendo title that debuted 20 years ago, uses …
Read More »Netherlands gets first nationwide ‘Internet of Things’
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Dutch telecoms group KPN said Thursday that The Netherlands had become the first country in the world to implement a nationwide long range (LoRa) network for the so-called Internet of Things. Connecting everyday objects to networks, allowing them to send and receive data, is …
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