Author: techbizweb
Ring, the Amazon-owned home security company that’ll sell you a camera just as swiftly as it will give law enforcement access to that same camera’s footage without a warrant, is producing a television show that sounds an invitation to participate in the surveillance state. You know, as a fun family activity. Deadline reports that Wanda Sykes has signed on to host Ring Nation, a new America’s Funniest Home Videos-style clip show from MGM Television, Ring, and Big Fish Entertainment, the production company behind Live P.D. Described as a “daily dose of life’s unpredictable, heartwarming and hilarious viral videos” in a…
European electricity prices have soared to new records as the prolonged heatwave disrupted power markets that were already under strain from Russia’s cuts to the continent’s gas supplies.German baseload power for delivery next year, the benchmark European price, was up more than 5 per cent on Thursday at a record €455 per megawatt hour. This is five times higher than the price this time last year. The equivalent French contract was up 4 per cent, exceeding €600 per megawatt hour for the first time.Power prices, which are heavily influenced by the cost of gas as a key source of electricity-generation,…
Amazon Echo Show smart displays have never been as good as Google’s Nest Hub or a dedicated digital photo frame for doing one thing well: showing your pictures. This is because Amazon clutters up the screen with questionably useful info and alternates your pretty pictures with suggestions for the latest Alexa skill you might like to try, a recipe for egg salad, or a news tidbit about a tomato shaped like a duck. But as of August 5th, you can now command your Echo Show or Fire TV to show you just your pictures and nothing else for a whole…
The idea that your robot vacuum cleaner could suck up data about your home and send it back to Amazon might strike some people as creepy. If that happened, would Alexa start suggesting you buy a new rug when the old one wears out, or recommend a better way to arrange your furniture?Whether this would also be a threat to competition in the nascent home automation market, however, is an altogether different question. Separating those two issues has become of critical importance as regulators in the US break new ground in antitrust enforcement, with data very much at the centre.Amazon’s…
Rivian, the buzzy electric vehicle company backed by Ford and Amazon, reported a net loss of $1.71 billion in the second quarter of 2022 based on $364 million in revenue. It’s a sign that Rivian’s business is picking up speed, albeit slowly compared to the previous quarter in which Rivian reported a net loss of $1.59 billion based on $95 million in revenue. The earnings report was a disappointing sign from the EV maker that was founded on a promise to upend the auto industry with beautifully designed, emissions-free, adventure-themed trucks and SUVs but has run into some speed bumps…
ValueAct Capital, the activist hedge fund, has acquired a 7 per cent stake in The New York Times Company and is putting pressure on the media group to boost digital sales by pushing subscribers towards a higher-priced bundle of its products. Shares in the global news media group popped about 10 per cent as investors welcomed the move to force The New York Times to find new ways to boost its profitability. News media companies have been under pressure in recent months as a more uncertain economy, which includes the highest inflation rates in decades, has slowed down advertising revenues…
Hundreds of employees at TikTok’s parent company ByteDance used to work for Chinese state media outlets — and more than a dozen apparently still do, Forbes reports. Forbes surveyed LinkedIn profiles of ByteDance and TikTok employees and found that 300 people had previously worked for state media entities, with current roles at the tech firm including content partnerships, strategy, policy, monetization, and “media cooperation.” Of the profiles Forbes reviewed, 15 suggested that the ByteDance employees work at the tech firm and state media outlets simultaneously. It’s possible these employees simply neglected to update their profiles — employees contacted by Forbes…
The US justice department has moved to unseal the search warrant and the list of items retrieved by the FBI from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, attorney-general Merrick Garland said, breaking days of silence on the search of the former president’s home.Garland on Thursday declined to offer details on the reasons for the search, but said the department wanted a judge to approve the public release of the documents “in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter”.He added that “faithful adherence to the rule of…
Anker launched a new $149.99 portable PowerCore 24K GaN charger housing a big 24,000mAh battery for you to carry around, which is capable of being fast charged at 140W but can also dish out power at the same rate (via 9to5Toys). That’s powerful enough to charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro to 50 percent in 40 minutes, assuming you’re using the MagSafe to USB-C cable. The PowerCore is equipped with the new Power Delivery 3.1 specification that can pump more than the previous maximum of 100W from a single USB-C port. Anker’s new battery bank can pump 140W of power out…
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said he backed the idea of a new gas pipeline linking Portugal and Spain to central Europe via France, saying it would vastly improve Europe’s energy security.Speaking on Thursday at his first summer press conference, Scholz said he had discussed the idea with the leaders of Spain, Portugal and France and the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen.“I made the case that we should really tackle such a project,” he said, adding that there would also be “other connections between north Africa and Europe that will help us to diversify our [energy] supply”.He did not…