The fight among carriers and regulators over the robocalling problem continues this week. The Washington Post reports that 12 of the largest telephone companies, as well as 51 state attorneys general, have all pledged to implement new anti-robocalling technology.
Update: Deal valued at less than $3 million.
Verizon announced today that it has sold blogging platform Tumblr to Automattic, the company behind WordPress. The Wall Street Journal says the transaction is valued at a “nominal amount,” despite Tumblr having once been acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 billion.
Last month, we reported on a proposal from the FCC that would give it more power to crack down on international robocalls and number spoofing. Now, the FCC has officially voted to approve those new rules.
Sony is promising something I’ve wanted forever: a silent, wearable air-conditioner …
The House of Representatives today approved a new act aimed at improving anti-robocalling technology. The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act was unanimously approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee last week, and was sent to the House floor today, where it was passed with a 429-3 vote.
Inventor of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, would like your input on its future as he puts forward a draft “contract” for ensuring that it remains a force for good …
Robocalls have grown to become a major problem in the United States, and the FCC is working to create new legislation to hopefully help solve the issue for good. A new proposal from the FCC aims to crack down on robocalls that originate from overseas, or ones that evade spoofing laws.
The Waverly Labs Ambassador, launching today on Indiegogo for an early bird price of $99, claims to be the world’s smartest wearable translator.
It’s an on-ear device that instantly translates 20 languages and 42 dialects, with a conversational mode pairing two devices to a single iPhone for free-flowing two-way conversation …
Concerns are being expressed that Europe is going too far with legislation which is controlling tech giants and their customers …
A study has raised an interesting question: what should happen to our digital legacy: the data we leave behind after we die?
The question was prompted by the calculation that, before the end of the century, Facebook will have more dead users than living ones …
A controversial new police policy will see some UK rape victims asked to grant access to their smartphones. Forms being supplied to police forces in England and Wales seek consent to access messages, emails, and photos …
It’s 30 years today since Tim Berners-Lee submitted a proposal for what would become the World Wide Web. The inventor has said that while he feels the web was a force for good for its first 15 years, he now thinks action is required to prevent a ‘downward plunge to a dysfunctional future.’
Berners-Lee said that the 30th anniversary was a time to reflect on both the positives and negatives …
If you’ve ever worried about your iPhone, iPad or Mac being stolen, you may be worrying about the wrong thing. Data from device-protection company Prey shows that you are far more likely to misplace a device than to have it stolen.
The company also revealed some of the stranger stories behind the loss of devices …
With just three months before both national and European Parliament elections, three large tech companies are falling further behind in their promises to tackle the threat posed by fake news …
New regulations proposed to Congress by the U.S Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are set to take effect soon, which will limit the maximum charge of lithium-ion batteries to 30% or less when shipped as cargo on passenger flights or on cargo only planes.
USB 3.2, the next-generation USB standard expected to start appearing in devices later this year, will double the maximum speed supported to 20Gbps. This is achieved by allowing for two lanes of 10Gbps each, which can be achieved without reducing cable length.
The bad news is that the naming confusion around USB speeds is going to get even worse …
Global smartphone revenue continued to grow last year despite falling sales. That’s according to the latest GfK data, which showed revenue growing 5% in 2018 to hit $522B.
This is despite smartphone unit sales declining by 3% the same year …
The British parliament has said that tech giants can’t be trusted to do the right thing, and need to be regulated.
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said there are three areas in which legislation is needed …
The project manager in charge of commissioning the design of the US Army’s next-generation rifle has likened the task to ‘Steve Jobs and his engineers trying to convert the iPod Touch to the first 3G iPhone‘ …
A Japanese communications panel said on Monday that the country should consider legal action to begin imposing domestic-level rules on tech giants not based in Japan, such as Apple, Facebook ,and Google.
Austria is the next European nation looking to impose a specialized ‘tech tax’ on internet giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. This move follows in the footsteps of France and Germany to take action on a national level rather than awaiting an EU-wide agreement.
Just two weeks ago, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced the new GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) tax would take effect starting January 1. The country hopes to generate as much as 500 million euros in the tax’s first year in effect.
The same developer who found the original iOS 10 Dark Mode references in the Messages app, Andy Wiik, has found even more evidence that Apple was/is developing a black appearance for its iPhone and iPad operating system. The latest screenshots show the iOS 10 Simulator presenting the Settings app in a dark interface style, with black cell backgrounds and white text.
The screenshots are captured from the iOS 10 Simulator where it is easier to inject code and discover unfinished flags and behaviour, like this Dark Mode interface style …
Apple has apparently hit the delete button on a proposed rifle emoji that was previously accepted. Unicode, the group behind the character standard, ultimately decided to pull the rifle character from the next emoji set in Unicode 9. Buzzfeed reports, however, that Apple (which has voting rights within the group) largely led the opposition to the rifle emoji:
If there’s one thing guaranteed to eat your data plan’s allowance at an alarming rate, it’s streaming video. T-Mobile has been gradually adding more services to its Binge On program – which allows customers to stream lower-quality video from specific services without using up any of their data – and Re/code reports that Facebook video may be next in line.
