Technology

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Finnish security firm F-Secure recently discovered a shocking security flaw in the smart locks sold by KeyWe, which advertises it as an incredibly secure and advanced lock, may leave users' homes permanently open to break-ins. KeyWe's current smart locks are not designed to receive updates, so the security flaw cannot be patched. The locks are priced at 155 USD on Amazon.

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Elon Musk has once again shared his plan to have the entire United States run on emission-free renewable energy. He has suggested that by covering 10,000 square kilometers of the Arizona desert in solar panels, they could create more than enough energy to power the whole country. Some scientists tested this plan and in theory, it could work.

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Tech news site Gizmodo recently investigated the Neighbors app from smart doorbell manufacturer Ring. The app is marketed as a way for users to contribute information regarding the security situation in their neighborhoods. The Gizmodo report discovered that the app stores geolocation data for posts in an extremely vulnerable way and can be used to reveal users' exact locations without their consent.

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The makers of wearable tech are enjoying unprecedented growth in the third quarter of 2019, owing to the rising popularity of "hearables", referring to wireless listening devices. With multiple companies opting to remove headphone jacks from their devices, wearable tech companies shipped almost 84.5 million devices this quarter, an increase of 94.6% from earlier in the year.

tech devices wearable wireless hearable quarter

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According to a new report from the US military, soldiers that are fully integrated with cybernetics may become a reality by the year 2050. The report highlighted four probable areas for enhancement, including vision, hearing, muscles and direct data transfers to and from the brain. The report also stated that the public would have to be convinced to overcome its poor perception of cyborgs.

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Intel has created a new chip that will be able to manage all the data currently being transferred by wires. The chip will take up significantly less space and will be able to easily operate in the low temperatures required to run a quantum computer. This is a big step towards creating a large-scale commercial quantum system.

science quantum intel computing quantum-computer

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A number of large corporations have wanted to create an underwater energy grid for years, in order to save costs. However, they have been unable to do so as the technology required was not available. Scientists have developed a fully functional grid but it is still in the testing phase. They are saying it could become a reality very soon.

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Unicorn was a startup from Nick Evans, co-founder of gadget security company "Tile", and promised its customers an elegantly designed electric scooter which uniquely integrated with smart devices. The company recently announced its closure due to online advertisement expenditure, below target orders received for the scooter, and non-refundable advance payments to manufacturers, and customers were informed that they would not be receiving refunds for their pre-ordered scooters.

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The Chinese government overhauled its gaming regulations last year, so that any Chinese developer that releases a game without a license will be liable to pay serious fines. The law has come into effect for the first time with the case of an unnamed mobile game developer operating in Beijing, which has been fined for 700,000 CNY, seven times the revenue made, for releasing an unlicensed game.

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A man driving a Tesla recently crashed into a police cruiser while checking on his dog in the backseat. The driver claimed the Tesla was on autopilot and assumed it would be able to safely maneuver for a short period of time. Tesla has released a statement saying that drivers must keep their hands on the wheel at all times, even on autopilot.

tesla crash safety autopilot accident

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The US government is considering adding Amazon to their notorious list of markets that deal in counterfeit goods. The government has not formally made any statements regarding the matter although Amazon has said that it makes every effort to protect its users from counterfeit goods and has spent $400 million to do so.

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Us regulators have found that Cambridge Analytica lied to Facebook users regarding the company's collection of data and voter profiling. Although the Cambridge Analytica is no longer in business, the regulators have ordered that the firm will no longer be able to misrepresent the extent to which is protects user information.

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After a user on Reddit, a popular social media site, posted government documents leaked from the UK's trade negotiations with US officials, Reddit administrators noticed that several accounts were re-posting the documents in related forums, in a plan that upon further investigation seemed to have originated from the same Russian group identified by Facebook. The user and forum related to spreading the leaked documents were subsequently banned.

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The US government has placed a $5 million bounty on the leader of the Russian hacker group, Evil Corp. The group has been accused of running some of the largest computer and bank fraud schemes in the world. These schemes started in 2009 and are ongoing. This is the largest reward ever offered for a cyber-criminal.

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The creator of the DeepMind AI, Mustafa Suleyman, has revealed that he is going to leave his UK-based artificial intelligence firm and join Google. DeepMind earned renown a few years ago when it became the first artificial intelligence to defeat top human players at the board game Go, but also sparked outrage when it was used as an excuse to gather UK patients' personal data without consent.

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Instagram announced that it will be requiring its new members to share a date of birth while signing up for the platform, with the objective of restricting access to adult-only advertisements. People below the age of 18 on Instagram will not be shown ads related to gambling, alcohol, etc. However, Instagram will not be able to verify whether users are telling the truth about their age.

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While the market for battery-operated speakers is thin for Amazon in North America, it has responded to Indian users' demand for a more easily carried battery-powered Alexa speakers by releasing, exclusively for India, the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition. The rechargeable speaker comes with surround sound and sells for a starting price of 4,999 INR.

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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation released a letter written to US Senator Chuck Schumer warning against the Russian-developed FaceApp and similar mobile applications that were made in Russia, saying they might pose national security risks to the country. The app exploded in popularity earlier in 2019 and allows users to manipulate images of themselves.

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The US Department of Homeland Security has said that they would like to change regulation so that all people entering and exiting the country are also identified using facial recognition software. The rule is apparently in the final stages of clearance and will also apply to US citizens returning home.

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Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has signed a new law making it mandatory for all smart devices sold in the country to come with Russian software pre-installed in them. This law is designed to help the country's struggling IT sector. The government has yet to announce exactly what apps will be made mandatory.

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Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company founded by renowned multi-billionaire Warren Buffett, lost its bid for acquiring Tech Data, a billion dollar technology equipment distribution firm. Hathaway lost to competitor Apollo Global Management Inc, which offered Tech Data 145 USD per share instead of Berkshire's 140 per share, acquiring the company for a total of 5.14 billion USD.

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As part of Twitter's process of culling misinformation from the platform, the company has stated that starting December 11, they will start deleting accounts that have been inactive for the past six months. Some users have protested the move as, unlike Facebook's memorialization feature, Twitter will not distinguish between the accounts of deceased people and inactive accounts.

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The Chinese government has made it mandatory for everyone who is signing up for mobile services to undergo a face-scan. This is being done in order to confirm the identities of all the internet users in the country, so no one in the country can post on the internet anonymously.

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European Union antitrust regulators are looking into Google's data collection practices, according to some leaked documents. This could mean the EU is looking to further regulate the search engine as the company becomes the center of more and more controversy. The EU has heavily fined the company over the last two years due to investigations into its behavior.

google privacy data europe

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The Chinese government has announced a new policy that would make creating fake news or deepfake videos without disclosure, illegal. The government has reserved the right to prosecute both the creators and the online hosts of this content. China has said that the law is being made to combat the spread of fake news.

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