Is Bitcoin a Waste of Electricity, or Something Worse?
America has a productivity problem. One explanation may be the growing use of real resources to make virtual products.
Home / Archive for February 2018
Spotify Files to Go Public on the New York Stock Exchange
Instead of a traditional public offering, the streaming music service will pursue a direct listing of its shares, which will be traded under...
Facebook’s “Cat and Mouse Game”
Facebook C.T.O. Mike Schroepfer, speaking at The New York Times’s New Work Summit, explained how artificial intelligence helps the social me...
Richard Yu on Huawei Phone Restrictions
Huawei C.E.O. Consumer Business Group Richard Yu spoke about challenges of expanding his product into the U.S. market at The New York Times’...
Paul Allen Wants to Teach Machines Common Sense
The Microsoft co-founder will give $125 million to his nonprofit research lab to help develop technology that adds common sense to artificia...
Tech We’re Using: Mexico Has Its Spyware. A Reporter Has a Few Phones to Juggle.
Our Mexico bureau chief, Azam Ahmed, uses various strategies to keep communications safe while reporting, including the low-tech tactic of i...
Tech Fix: Should You Get a Cheaper Phone? Be Sure to Look Into the Camera
The most popular smartphones can cost $700 or more. But for roughly $200, you can have a model that isn’t cutting edge but is plenty capable...
Tech Tip: You Dumped Facebook. So Why Does It Keep Sending You Emails?
If you’re still receiving “Welcome back to Facebook” messages, you may not have fully closed your account on the social network.
Flying Taxis May Be Years Away, but the Groundwork Is Accelerating
As in the early days of self-driving cars, companies are digging in now so they aren’t left behind later. Just don’t call the aircraft “flyi...
Amazon Buys Ring, Maker of Smart Home Products
Amazon has made home automation a major focus because of the success of its Echo family of products.
State of the Art: The Sublime and Scary Future of Cameras With A.I. Brains
A new generation of cameras like Google’s new Clips device can understand what they see, creating intriguing and sometimes eerie possibiliti...
Tech Tip: How to Monitor Cellular Data Use for Apps
To see which apps are grabbing the most data, peek into your device’s settings or fire up a software meter.
On Technology: How Tiny Red Dots Took Over Your Life
Technologists are starting to fret that their creations are too addictive. They could start by doing something about the dots.
California Scraps Safety Driver Rules for Self-Driving Cars
The new regulations in Silicon Valley’s home state are expected to help the wider deployment of autonomous vehicles.
Op-Ed Contributor: Can the United States Search Data Overseas?
A Supreme Court case asks where the government’s right to examine digital evidence ends.
Kratsios: Let's Not Rest on Our Laurels
Speaking at The New York Times’s New Work Summit, Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said the U.S. is still leading China...
Tech Tip: Wireless (or Wired) Chromebook Printing
Those lightweight laptops running Google’s Chrome OS operating system can work with certain types of printer models.
Women in Cryptocurrencies Push Back Against ‘Blockchain Bros’
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain were meant to be great equalizers. Instead, women are finding that the gold rush is already stacked against ...
How Companies Scour Our Digital Lives for Clues to Our Health
An emerging field, digital phenotyping, tries to assess people’s well-being based on their interactions with digital devices.
Tech Envisions the Ultimate Start-Up: An Entire City
Silicon Valley wants to save cities. What could go wrong?
Facebook and Google Struggle to Squelch ‘Crisis Actor’ Posts
The tech companies vowed this week to stamp out conspiracy videos and misinformation on the Parkland, Fla., shooting. So far, they are falli...
Dropbox Files for I.P.O., and Other ‘Unicorns’ Are Watching
The online file storage company, part of a group of highly valued start-ups known as unicorns, said it planned to raise up to $500 million i...
Plumbing Problem Shows Powers and Limits of 3 Tax Programs
TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct all make filing easier, but they left our reviewer confused about what the I.R.S. would accept and what i...
Tech Tip: Organizing Pictures With Words
Tagging photos with keywords allows you to quickly search for specific images based on what is shown in them.
Bits: Dai and Jack’s Week in Tech: Don’t Trust the Internet
Why the internet is full of lies and why the problem isn’t getting fixed are big questions few in the tech industry seem eager to answer.
U.S. Blocks a Chinese Deal Amid Rising Tensions Over Technology
A maker of chip-testing equipment, Xcerra, said it was walking away from a proposed sale to a Chinese group because of regulatory concerns.
Tech Tip: Leaping Over the Language Barrier
If you want to browse international sites but cannot understand the text, a number of software interpreters will translate for you.
Tech We’re Using: Limiting the Influence of Tech When You Report on It
How Natasha Singer, a tech reporter at The Times, uses tech when she chronicles the industry’s effect on education, privacy and our health.
Bahrain Activist Gets 5-Year Sentence for ‘Insulting’ Tweets
Nabeel Rajab, a leading figure of pro-democracy rallies in 2011, had criticized prison abuses and the Yemen war. He was already serving time...
Tech Fix: In an Era of ‘Smart’ Things, Sometimes Dumb Stuff Is Better
It can be tempting to hook up everything you love to the internet. But take a moment to appreciate some of the objects that can remain unplu...
Tech Tip: Signing Your Name in Digital Ink
If you need to electronically sign PDF files, annotation tools built into popular programs let you scrawl your name right on the screen.
State of the Art: Why We May Soon Be Living in Alexa’s World
Next to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, Amazon’s voice assistant may be turning into the third great consumer computing platform of our er...
Venezuela Launches Virtual Currency, Hoping to Resuscitate Economy
Government officials are hoping to spur vitally needed imports like food and medicine and, perhaps, give investors a way of skirting America...
Op-Ed Contributor: How to Monitor Fake News
A software technique could help oversee the spread of disinformation.
Good News: A.I. Is Getting Cheaper. That’s Also Bad News.
The building blocks of A.I. are becoming more affordable and easier to work with. A new report explains why that opens the door to additiona...
In Picasso’s Blue Period, Scanners Find Secrets He Painted Over
Scientists used a variety of tools originally developed for medicine, manufacturing and geology to discover hidden details in the artist’s p...
AT&T Loses Bid to Obtain White House Call Logs
The decision by a federal judge hampers the company’s argument that politics influenced the government’s move to block its $85 billion merge...
Qualcomm, Moving to Fend Off Broadcom, Raises Bid for NXP to $44 Billion
The increased offer for a rival chip maker puts pressure on Broadcom to decide how hard it wants to push its hostile bid for Qualcomm.
On Social Media, Lax Enforcement Lets Impostor Accounts Thrive
Millions of “bots” posing as real users are promoting celebrities, spreading misinformation and sowing discord. And it’s far easier to build...
Tech Tip: Adding Ports to a Portable Computer
If your lightweight laptop comes with only one standard port for plugging in devices, adding a dock or hub allows you to reconnect with your...
After Florida School Shooting, Russian ‘Bot’ Army Pounced
Twitter accounts suspected of having links to Russia were focused on Robert Mueller. But after news broke about the shooting, they quickly c...
Fox News Plans a Streaming Service for ‘Superfans’
Fox Nation will focus primarily on right-leaning commentary and charge viewers a subscription fee.
The Shift: On Russia, Facebook Sends a Message It Wishes It Hadn’t
Some Facebook executives still seem more interested in defending themselves from criticism than owning their mistakes related to the 2016 el...
Why A.I. Researchers at Google Got Desks Next to the Boss
At Google, Facebook and other tech companies, executives are making statements about priorities with their seating charts.
Tech Tip: Finding Closed-Caption Content Online
Many streaming video providers offer movies and television shows with embedded text descriptions for those who cannot hear the words being s...
Fact-Checking a Facebook Executive’s Comments on Russian Interference
Rob Goldman, Facebook vice president for ads, tweeted about Russia’s disinformation effort. President Trump then cited him. We fact-checked ...
Advertising: Google Chrome Now Blocks Irksome Ads. That’s a Good Thing, Right?
The brower’s latest update filters out pop-up ads and other annoyances. It also strengthens Google’s grip on the web.
Bitcoin Thieves Threaten Real Violence for Virtual Currencies
Criminals have been going after big holders of Bitcoin and Ether, taking advantage of the ease with which vast virtual currency riches can b...
To Stir Discord in 2016, Russians Turned Most Often to Facebook
The special counsel’s indictment detailed how crucial Facebook and Instagram were to the Russian campaign to disrupt the presidential electi...
Meet Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian Oligarch Indicted in U.S. Election Interference
A secretive oligarch often called “Putin’s cook,” he is one of 13 Russians the special counsel charged on Friday for meddling in the 2016 U....
Tech Tip: Creating a Point of Return for Windows
While it does not back up personal data, Microsoft’s System Restore feature saves a snapshot of your Windows settings for emergencies.
Bits: Farhad’s Week in Tech: Netflix Gets a Star, and Google’s Conflicted Ad Blocker
A look at the week’s developments in tech, plus a request: Which tech stories would you like to read more about?
Contributing Op-Ed Writer: The Tyranny of Convenience
All the personal tasks in our lives are being made easier. But at what cost?
N.B.A. Stars Get Into the Hollywood Game
Los Angeles is suddenly crawling with basketball royalty like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, who are developing TV shows, strea...
Tech Tip: Using Microsoft Apps on a Chromebook
If you have a device running the Chrome OS but prefer Microsoft Office to Google Docs, you don’t have to change your ways much.
F.C.C. Watchdog Looks Into Changes That Benefited Sinclair
An investigation could lead to questions that the F.C.C. chairman, Ajit Pai, has so far tried to avoid answering in public.
As the Streaming Wars Heat Up, Ryan Murphy Cashes In
The producer agreed to a $300 million Netflix deal months after Shonda Rhimes signed for $100 million and Apple and Amazon contributed to a ...
White Collar Watch: Should Congress Create a Crypto-Cop?
The mania over cryptocurrencies has gotten the attention of regulators. But currently, the S.E.C. and C.F.T.C. can only look on at what is h...
AT&T Is Said to Want Antitrust Official on Witness List for Trial
The company is requesting that Makan Delrahim testify in the trial over the government’s decision to block its merger with Time Warner, sour...
Tech We’re Using: This Valentine’s Day, Considering Tech That Keeps Couples Together
Technology has invaded modern relationships. Our Modern Love editor, Daniel Jones, says the most important tech for couples may be the showe...
Op-Ed Contributors: Don’t Let Criminals Hide Their Data Overseas
Bipartisan legislation before Congress would authorize the U.S. to obtain essential information on criminals and terrorists held on servers ...
Tech Tip: Sampling Twitter (Without an Account)
You can keep an eye on what people are talking about on Twitter even if you prefer to skip the apps and stick to a flip phone or a web brows...
Trilobites: How Cockroaches Crash Into Walls and Keep Going
The ability of the ancient pests may owe less to their speed than to their tough-shock absorbent exoskeletons. The finding could help engine...
Broadcom Now Seeking Fewer of Qualcomm’s Board Seats
In seeking only six director spots at Qualcomm, Broadcom has effectively lowered the bar for success in its hostile takeover campaign.
Julian Assange’s Arrest Warrant Is Upheld by U.K. Judge
The judge said the WikiLeaks founder should leave the Ecuadorean Embassy to face a bail-jumping charge. It is not clear if the U.S. wants to...
Tech Tip: Picking a Default Account in Mac Mail
Apple’s Mail program can send and receive messages from multiple accounts, but you can set a preferred address for sending new messages.
Bill and Melinda Gates Tackle ‘Tough Questions’ and Trump
In their annual update for the Gates Foundation, they say that they remain optimistic about the world’s progress, but that President Trump’s...
Universities Rush to Roll Out Computer Science Ethics Courses
Schools that helped produce some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent leaders are hustling to bring a more medicine-like morality to computer ...
As China Marches Forward on A.I., the White House Is Silent
Last summer, China unveiled a plan to become the world’s leader in artificial intelligence, challenging the longtime role of the United Stat...
YouTube Revamped Its Ad System. AT&T Still Hasn’t Returned.
The company, one of the biggest marketers in the U.S., hasn’t returned to the platform because of concerns that its ads could appear with of...
How Artificial Intelligence Is Edging Its Way Into Our Lives
Artificial intelligence is here and its effects are being felt across how we work. The New York Times examines the impact at its New Work Su...
15 Minutes of Fame Is Too Much. Try 6 Seconds.
Giphy Studios is trying to help actors, musicians and advertisers slide into your DMs with goofy short videos. Yay for our brains!
Cyberattack Caused Olympic Opening Ceremony Disruption
Security researchers uncovered evidence that the attack had been in the works since last year. But hackers stopped short of the damage they ...
Op-Ed Contributor: America’s Real Digital Divide
The problem isn’t that poor children don’t have access to computers. It’s that they spend too much time in front of them.
Tech Tip: Measuring and Managing Your Cellular Data Use
High-speed broadband is plentiful in most cities, but for those out in the country with only metered cellular connections, every megabyte co...
Google Makes Its Special A.I. Chips Available to Others
The internet giant developed the tensor processing units, or T.P.U.s, for its data centers. Now other companies can use them through its clo...
With Qualcomm in Play, San Diego Fears Losing ‘Our Flag’
The world’s No. 1 maker of smartphone chips is the area’s biggest employer and benefactor, a role threatened by Broadcom’s $121 billion take...
NASA Budgets for a Trip to the Moon, but Not While Trump Is President
The administration sees a greater role for the private sector in returning to the moon and running the International Space Station, which it...
After Settling With Uber, Waymo Faces Bigger Challenges
The self-driving car unit of Google’s parent company was a pioneer in self-driving cars. Now, its former engineers are among its toughest co...
The 5 Most Popular Dogs on Instagram
According to a search of users’ posts, these are the platform’s pre-eminent pooches.
The Shift: His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming
Andrew Yang, a former tech executive, is mounting a longer-than-long-shot bid for the White House by warning of economic calamity ahead.
Is Your Dog Ready to Be an Instagram Star?
Cuteness counts, but so does the breed. Poodles and work dogs are out; Chihuahuas and mutts are in.
Facial Recognition Is Accurate, if You’re a White Guy
Commercial software is nearly flawless at telling the gender of white men, a new study says. But not so for darker-skinned women.
With Waymo Settlement, Uber C.E.O. Makes His Mark
In settling a driverless car trade secrets dispute with Waymo, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s C.E.O., showed how he employs the tactics of concil...
Amazon to Test a New Delivery Service for Sellers
A pilot program will pick up goods and move them to Amazon warehouses. It could expand over time into more of a threat to established delive...
Girls Who Code at Fashion Week
PH5, a knitwear company that bills itself as a “fashion matriarchy,” invited Girls Who Code alumnae to model its fall 2018 presentation.
Future Tense: Clap On Your Bose, Baby, ’Cause It’s Noisy as Heck Out There
The ding of texts and tweets; the tap of typing; the blurt of video games, the click of the camera shutter — all part of the new dystopian a...
Tech Tip: When Windows Is 100 Percent Stalled
Programs battling for resources, damaged driver software and other issues can drag down Windows 10 when it starts up.
NBC Executive Takes Over as Head of Amazon Studios
Jennifer Salke, who championed shows like “This Is Us,” will succeed Roy Price, who was forced out in October after a sexual harassment alle...
Uber and Waymo Settle Trade Secrets Suit Over Driverless-Car Technology
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s C.E.O., said the company had not stolen trade secrets from the self-driving car unit of Google’s parent company, b...
Bits: Farhad’s Week in Tech: HomePod Whiffs, but Elon Musk Does Not
In this week’s tech newsletter, a look at Apple’s new smart speaker, the Waymo vs. Uber trial and a billionaire’s rocket (plus his cherry re...
Fight Over Cambodian Leader’s Facebook ‘Likes’ Reaches a U.S. Court
An opposition politician argues that Hun Sen, the Asian country’s authoritarian premier, has used social media to spread fake news and stren...
How We Achieved an Olympic Feat of Immersive Journalism
The Times’s newsroom, design and product staffs collaborated to bring Olympic athletes, at scale and midperformance, into your living room.
John Perry Barlow, 70, Dies; Championed an Unfettered Internet
In a multifaceted life, he fought for free expression on the web, wrote lyrics for the Grateful Dead, ran a ranch and was a Republican leade...
Opinion: What Bitcoin Reveals About Financial Markets
The cryptocurrency bubble should finally destroy our faith that the market works as advertised.
Cryptocurrencies Come to Campus
From New York University to Berkeley, Bitcoin has set off a dash to understand the technology and economic risks of virtual currency.
Winter Olympics’ Security on Alert, but Hackers Have a Head Start
Some computer systems connected to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, have already been compromised, experts said. The big question...
Tech Tip: Cleaning Out the Kindle Library
Even if you delete a finished book right from the iPad’s Kindle collection, you still have a backup copy in Amazon’s cloud.
Wheels: To Power the Future, Carmakers Flip On 48-Volt Systems
New electrical architecture will help satisfy the demands of cars that are increasingly loaded with gadgets and will enable lower-cost hybri...
Twitter Reports First Quarterly Profit, Despite User Stagnation
The social network’s earnings report is a rare bright spot for a company grappling with criticism over fake accounts and slower-than-expecte...
Twitter Shares Surge 15 Percent on First Quarterly Profit
Twitter Inc reported its first quarterly net profit and topped Wall Street targets on Thursday as video ad sales rose, while a clampdown on ...
Why Google’s Bosses Became ‘Unpumped’ About Uber
Waymo, the self-driving-car unit of Google’s parent company, claimed Uber stole key technology. Hard as it is to imagine now, they used to b...
Tech We’re Using: Keeping Gear (and Herself) Warm at the Winter Olympics
Covering the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, requires some preparations when it comes to making sure your tech (and your feet) work as...
Tech Tip: Keeping Google Assistant on Tap
The virtual assistant software for Android devices retains a few of the old Google on Tap shortcuts.
State of the Art: A Crazy Idea for Funding Local News: Charge People for It
How two tech-industry news sites, The Information and Stratechery, may show a path forward.
Here Are the World’s Virtual Currency Billionaires (or at Least They Were)
Forbes published its first list of the wealthiest cryptocurrency holders, even as recent price declines have shrunk the value of their fortu...
For Korea Inc., Money and Politics Make an Awkward Olympics
The Winter Games are heading to Pyeongchang at a time of reckoning about South Korea’s family-run business empires, some of which are Olympi...
In Waymo-Uber Trial, Kalanick Recalls ‘Jam Sesh’ With Rival Engineer
Were Uber executives, including the former chief executive Travis Kalanick, plotting to steal technology or merely sharing ideas in a brains...
Snap Reverses Slide as User Growth and Revenue Jump
The social media company posted robust revenue and user growth in its latest quarter. It made it easier to buy ads and may have benefited fr...
A Guide to Snapchat for People Who Don’t Get Snapchat
Snapchat has an unearned reputation for being difficult to use, but it’s not, if you get the basics.
Tech Tip: Thawing a Frozen Apple TV App
If a tvOS app stops working on your Apple TV, you can force it to quit without having to reboot the set-top box.
Economic Scene: Where Are the Start-Ups? Loss of Dynamism Is Impeding Growth
The formation of companies is at an ebb, cutting off an avenue for new ideas, greater productivity and more opportunity.
Tech Fix: Apple’s HomePod Has Arrived. Don’t Rush to Buy It.
It couldn’t hail an Uber, answer a cooking question or learn music preferences. Here’s why it may not be the right time to buy Apple’s new s...
Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today
Elon Musk has disrupted the business of sending rockets into space, and hopes to achieve a milestone by testing the most powerful rocket cur...
Waymo v. Uber Trial Opens With a Battle of Sports Metaphors
The long-awaited court fight over accusations that Uber conspired to steal plans for self-driving cars began in federal court.
As Bitcoin Bubble Loses Air, Frauds and Flaws Rise to Surface
Hackers draining online exchanges. Ponzi schemes. Regulators unable to keep up with heightened interest in virtual currencies. A young indus...
Op-Ed Contributors: Our Hackable Political Future
Imagine the day when operatives can create fake video of their enemies. That day is here.
Opinion: What It’s Like to Live in a Surveillance State
China is deploying high-tech totalitarianism to repress Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang.
Tech Tip: Finding Videos With Audio Descriptions
Thanks to added voice narration, certain movies and television shows have become more accessible to those with blindness or limited vision.
Starboard Value Criticizes Mellanox for Stock Sales
The activist hedge fund says corporate insiders showed a lack of faith in the chip maker by selling more of the company’s shares than they b...
She Was No. 2 at Intel. Now She’s Taking Aim at the Chip Maker.
Renée James, who was president of Intel, is gunning for the company’s most lucrative business with a competing start-up.
Broadcom Raises Its Qualcomm Offer to $121 Billion
The increase adds pressure for Qualcomm to agree to what would be the biggest-ever takeover in the technology industry.
How Silicon Valley Came to Be a Land of ‘Bros’
Why is the tech industry populated with so many aggressive dudes and so few women? Emily Chang examined the issue in her book, “Brotopia,” a...
Samsung Heir to Be Freed From Prison After Court Reduces Sentence
The judgment in favor of Lee Jae-yong deals a setback to prosecutors who hoped the original sentence would send a warning to South Korea’s p...
A Call to Cut Back Online Addictions. Pitted Against Just One More Click.
A Georgetown professor received a worldwide response to his monthlong call to limit online time, but that was just the beginning of the chal...
Amazon Asked for Patience. Remarkably, Wall Street Complied.
The retailer’s stock is soaring, but it wasn’t always that way. The company had lean years in which it told investors to have faith in its l...
Early Facebook and Google Employees Form Coalition to Fight What They Built
A group of Silicon Valley technologists plans to call attention to the dangers of tech, including working on an ad campaign aimed at 55,000 ...
Critic’s Notebook: The Rise of the Social Media Fembot
The female cyborg has long been a pop culture fixation, but now feminized tech is all around us, with a true blurring of reality and fantasy...
How Tall Is Mount Everest? For Nepal, It’s a Touchy Question.
Gauging the mountain’s precise height is not so simple, and for Nepal, the measurement can involve notions of national pride, in addition to...
Dell Weighs Possible I.P.O. or Merger With VMware
The computer maker, saddled with debt and under pressure to increase profits, said that it was considering various options as it seeks new a...
Tech Tip: Adding Captions to Images in Google Photos
You can add descriptions to the pictures in your online Google Photo albums from a mobile device or desktop browser.
Bits: Farhad’s Week in Tech: Less Time on Facebook, More Noise From Amazon
Amazon doesn’t have a plan to fix health care, but it loves that we’re talking about it. Facebook has a plan to fix the social network, but ...
Making a Crypto Utopia in Puerto Rico
Dozens of entrepreneurs, made newly wealthy by virtual currencies, have moved to the island to avoid taxes on their fortunes — and to build ...
Amazon and Apple Gush Over Holiday Sales
The tech giants singled out booming results from their devices in their quarterly financial results.
Alphabet’s Earnings Disappoint. Blame It on the iPhone.
Known for its moneymaking consistency, Google’s parent company ran into the increased price of ensuring its search engine is featured on mob...
Six Great Reads for Australians on the Culture-Tech Collision
From reality-show drag queens to the Bitcoin bubble – here’s how the latest in culture and tech fits into the Australian discussion.
A Wristband to Track Workers’ Hand Movements? (Amazon Has Patents for It)
The e-commerce giant has won two patents for a tracking technology that can nudge a human hand in the right direction — toward a warehouse b...
Contributing Op-Ed Writer: I Quit Twitter and It Feels Great
I don’t wake up with a pit in my stomach every day, dreading what horrors accrued in my phone overnight.
Social Q’s: If You Love Me, Why Won’t You GoFundMe?
A cancer patient grapples with a failed crowdfunding campaign. And: a locker-room vigilante, roommates who can’t share everything and more.
Tech Tip: Recording 4K Video on an iPhone
Apple’s recent smartphones can record in the ultra high-definition 4K format, but you may need to change your camera settings.
Wheels: Car Navigation Systems Plot a Course Forward Against Phone Apps
In-dash navigation systems aren’t as nimble as their smartphone counterparts. But as cars get more complicated, built-in could mean better.
Alibaba’s Online Growth Surges, Even as It Looks Offline
The Chinese internet behemoth is investing in brick-and-mortar stores as it seeks to apply its tech smarts to the way customers shop in the ...
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