Tech Industry

Eleven tech giants and major retailers have signed up to a new anti-scam initiative ahead of a United Nations global fraud summit.

The Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud recognizes the growing use of AI by criminal gangs to create more convincing scams, and pledges cooperation between the companies to combat this …

Domestic robots have been a fixture in science fiction novels for more than a century, but in the real world we’re still all doing our own domestic chores barring vacuuming.

While a number of companies are working on humanoid robots, with Apple reportedly among them, all we’ve really had so far are promises and extremely limited demos. But you can (maybe) buy a laundry-folding robot today for $8,000 or rent it for $450 a month …

Consumer reviews used to be one of the most reliable ways of assessing the quality of an app or a physical product. If you didn’t know any friends who’d tried it, the number of reviews and the average rating was a pretty good guide.

Sadly, however, that is no longer the case. Companies have become very adept at gaming the system, meaning that reviews are worth way less than they used to be. There are now six reasons you shouldn’t necessarily trust them, including one I only learned about today …

Huge chunks of the internet were completely unavailable yesterday, with many other websites and services experiencing slow performance. It was immediately clear that the problem was with the Cloudflare network, but it took some time for the company to establish the true cause.

Cloudflare says that it initially believed it was experiencing a massive cyber-attack, but subsequently realized the problems were caused by a “painful” error with a software update …

When it comes to favorite technology, Apple gets a double win from me. My MacBook Pro is my single most important piece of tech, and the Apple ecosystem is absolutely core to my approach to a whole range of things, across both work and leisure.

But I also have a number of non-Apple devices that either serve as important accessories or standalone devices in their own right …

A second Windows laptop has demonstrated that there is potential for the MacBook Air to be even lighter. Earlier this year, we saw a 14-inch Asus laptop come in lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air, and now Acer has done the same with a 16-inch model.

Interestingly, the Acer Swift Air 16 manages to be lighter than the MacBook Air despite being thicker, at 0.63-inches against 0.44 inches …

It seems clear we’re still a year away from the first iPhone Fold, but the rest of the market isn’t standing still. Samsung is planning to launch its first trifold phone this year, and Huawei is already onto its second-generation model.

On a pedantic note, I would argue that as they have two sets of hinges, they are bifold rather than trifold, but the industry seems to have adopted the latter term, so I guess we’re stuck with it now …

You would think certain things would be blindingly obvious, among them “if you are listening to music or a video on your phone on public transit, wear headphones.”

But anyone who regularly uses transit services can tell you that this is definitely not the case. London has now decided to take executive action with a PR campaign …

With smartphone addiction a growing problem among US teens, one solution being tried is digital detox summer camps, where parents are charged around $2,000 a week to separate their kinds from their electronic devices.

One kid sent to camp was so desperate to remain connected he brought three phones with him, handed over one, had another found in his bag, and was ratted out on the third by his room-mate …

Authorities came under fire when it was suggested there were no warnings of the flash floods in Texas, which resulted in at least 120 lives being lost, with many more people still missing.

In fact, the Wireless Emergency Alerts system was used to send multiple warnings, but a number of issues meant that many Texans didn’t receive them or act on them – and a new report suggests that’s a hard problem to fix …

A “click to cancel” law was last month passed in California, and now the FTC has ratified a federal rule designed to achieve the same goal. The idea of both is to force companies to make it as easy to cancel an online or app subscription as it is to sign up in the first place.

Update: Following a court challenge, the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the rule. See update at the end …

When a serious emergency occurs, a picture can be worth a thousand words. It can be incredibly helpful to first responders to see ahead of time what they will be faced with when they arrive.

It is technically possible to send photos and video to 911 operators, but it’s a convoluted process. That’s set to change later this year …