Business, Financial & Legal - Page 70

E-commerce giant Amazon has announced that it has filed a lawsuit accusing two companies of what it calls "widespread tech support fraud" that is targeting users of its Alexa devices. The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle against Robojap Technologies in Washington state and Quatic Software Solutions in Punjab, India. The lawsuit also reportedly targets several employees at both companies.

Amazon says that these companies scammed Amazon users by offering to set up Alexa on consumer-owned devices via "fraudulent websites and applications." Amazon says that the companies used "Amazon's trademarks, as well as false and misleading statements about Amazon and [the companies'] services, to divert victims from Amazon's genuine activation process and customer support."

A company spokesperson from Amazon told CNN in a statement that the company works "hard to protect our customers," noting that the "blatant misuse" of the Amazon brand to deceive unsuspecting customers setting up their new device is "appalling." Since the lawsuit has been filed, neither of the companies has responded to inquiries about the suit, according to CNN.

Sony has announced two new intelligent vision sensors, which it says are the first image sensors in the world equipped with AI processing functionality. That AI processing functionality is on the image sensor itself, enabling high-speed edge AI processing and extraction of only the necessary data when using cloud services. That sort of extraction reduces data transmission latency and minimize privacy concerns while reducing power consumption and communication costs. Sony says that the new products will expand opportunities to develop AI-equipped cameras in both retail and industrial equipment industries.

The sensors include the IMX500 1/2.3-type (7.857 mm diagonal), with approximately 12.3 effective megapixels, and the IMX501 1/2.3-type (7.857 mm diagonal) with approximately 12.3 effective megapixels. Sony began shipping samples of the IMX500 in April and will begin shipping the IMX501 in June.

Sony's new sensor products use a stack configuration consisting of a pixel chip and a logic chip. The product are the world's first image sensors to be equipped with an AI image analysis and processing functionality on the logic chip. The signal required by the pixel chip is processed via an AI on the sensor, which eliminates the need for high-performance processors or external memory.

Facebook is rolling out a new future for both the main Facebook website and Messenger in the United States. The new feature is digital avatars that are sort of like bitmoji. Similar services are offered on both Snapchat and Apple devices via Memoji stickers.

Facebook's digital avatars are intended to allow users to share feelings and interact with friends in comments on Messenger and Stories. The avatars are usable in text posts with backgrounds too. The user's Facebook gaming profile can also use the avatar. Facebook introduced the avatars in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland last year. They expanded to Europe and Canada this year and are now coming to the United States.

The digital avatars are entirely customizable, including customization for skin tone and complexion to facial features and hairstyles. Users can choose the outfits their digital avatars wear and the accessories to allow complete personalization. Facebook has said that it spent time building the feature to ensure that the avatars were able to represent the diversity of its billions of users.

One of the most anticipated accessories that Apple has launched in recent memory was the iPad Magic Keyboard, aimed at both versions of the iPad Pro. Early on, the iPad Magic Keyboard earned praise for a responsive multi-touch trackpad, backlit keyboard, and its fancy counterbalancing magnetic stand. After using the Magic Keyboard for a while, some iPad Pro users are complaining about significant issues.

The latest round of complaints comes from iPad Pro users who say that battery life has become an issue when using the iPad Magic Keyboard. According to some of the users, the battery life of the iPad drops quickly when the keyboard backlight is enabled. Some are claiming that the battery drain issue arises even if the iPad is idle and not in use.

The Magic Keyboard has no battery of its own and uses the Smart Connector on the iPad to get the power it needs to operate. Unsurprisingly, Apple doesn't offer any indication of battery life impact that could be expected when using the Magic Keyboard. That means users have no idea what normal behavior is for the device.

Instagram has announced the fifth edition of its Community Standards Enforcement report that tracks its efforts to keep the social network safe. Along with that report, Instagram is also announcing new features that go along with its effort to fight online bullying. One of the key features is giving users the ability to manage multiple unwanted interactions at once.

Instagram wrote, "We know it can feel overwhelming to manage a rush of negative comments, so we've been testing the ability to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments." Instagram reports that early feedback has been "encouraging," noting that the feature is particularly useful to those with large followings that want to maintain a positive environment on their account.

Enabling the feature on iOS requires users to tap on a comment and then the dotted icon in the top right corner. Users can then select Manage Comments and choose up to 25 comments to delete at once. Tapping More Options to block or restrict accounts in bulk is also available. To block or restrict accounts on Android, users press and hold on a comment, tap the dotted icon, and select Block or Restrict. Another new feature is giving users a way to highlight encouraging and positive interactions, called Pinned Comments. Instagram says it will soon begin testing Pinned Comments.

A new report is going around the claims Apple is looking to have its employees returned to the office during 2020. This is in contrast to other major technology companies that have announced plans to keep employees out of the office the remainder of the year due to coronavirus. The report, which first originated with Bloomberg, says that Apple has already begun the first stages of returning employees to work with essential workers unable to do their jobs from home already returned to the office.

Some Apple workers who have returned to the office were having issues working from home in some regions. Apple reportedly told staff that major locations will begin returning to work later this month or in June. Apple is also said that workers may return to offices globally starting in July.

However, those plans are not firm and can fluctuate according to the changing status of state and local emergency orders. Managers will inform their staff what phase of reopening they will fall under, and if they are required to be at the office daily or just for periods of time. The first group of employees expected to return the office will include those who work in data center management, software deployment, sales, and hardware testing and development.

One of the things that long sat iPhone and Android messaging apart is that Apple's iMessage has had some features that Android users didn't have. Android users did get some improvements when RCS messaging rolled out, but it wasn't exactly what many users hope for. Some Android users have spied a new Google Messages feature in the wild that many Android users will be excited about.

That feature is reactions that allow users to share Facebook -like reactions to RCS chat conversations with various emoticons. Available emoticons include a thumbs up, laughing face, surprised face, sad face, angry face, and a thumbs down icon. Apple's iMessage for iPhone users has something similar with the ability to hold down a message and select a heart icon, thumbs up icon, thumbs down, "haha" icon, "!!" icon, or "?" icon.

According to those who have seen the reactions feature live in Android Messages, accessing the reactions is done by long-pressing a message. Currently, the reactions appear to have a fallback for users with devices that don't support reactions directly on messages. The fallback looks like the image below. Reports indicate that the new reactions don't appear in the web-based Google Messages platform.

One of the coolest accessories that Apple rolled out with the updated iPad Pro models was the iPad Magic Keyboard. That keyboard magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro with versions available for the 11-inch tablet and the 12.9-inch tablet. Another of the features of that keyboard is the ability to charge the iPad Pro through the Magic Keyboard USB-C power port.

However, some users are reporting that some USB-C power adapters and cables are unable to charge the iPad Pro through the Magic Keyboard's USB-C port. MacRumors reports that multiple iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard owners are reporting issues with pass-through charging that refuses to work with third-party cables or power adapters.

One user reported that they tried three different USB-C cables, and all resulted in a "Not Charging" message displayed next to the battery icon. In that instance, the user claims that Apple Support was trying to arrange pickup of the Magic Keyboard and would send out a replacement for what was seemingly a hardware issue. MacRumors notes that it was unable to charge the iPad Pro using the Anker PowerPort Atom and Apple's official USB-C cable.

One of the most challenging things for businesses and schools around the United States and other countries during the coronavirus is getting employees and students together to work and learn. Many video chat platforms have become popular during the coronavirus pandemic, including WhatsApp, which recently gained support for 50 people on a video call. Another service has now announced that it is free to use, and is called Spatial.

The exciting thing about Spatial is that it's not your typical video chat application, it allows for virtual reality meetings. Spatial enables users to take advantage of VR or mixed-reality headsets from a variety of manufacturers as methods to meet inside virtual spaces. The company has announced a significant change today with support for web browsers on desktops.

Previously all users in a Spatial meeting were required to have VR headsets to attend. Support for web browsers on desktops, Android, and iOS means that no headset is required, and the platform is free and open to everyone. Spatial says that it had an "intense amount of demand" during coronavirus with a 1000% increase in demand for its service.

WhatsApp is working hard to keep its rapidly growing number of users happy. The desktop app for the service is currently beta testing video calling that supports up to 50 people on a single call. With WhatsApp moving to support 50 people on a call, it would be a more viable alternative to Zoom, Google Meet, and Skype.

The way the 50-person video calls would work with WhatsApp would be to transfer people into the new Facebook Messenger Rooms service that was announced not long ago. The WhatsApp menu would have a shortcut that redirects people to Facebook Messenger Rooms, where they're able to create a virtual meeting room within the Facebook service and invite users to join.

Since the video calls would be conducted in Messenger Rooms, they would support virtual backgrounds for individual participants. There's no clear indication at this time when support for up to 50 callers will exit beta and be integrated into the public version of WhatsApp Web. If all the services doing is shooting people to Messenger Rooms, it would seem the functionality is ready to roll out.

Most gadget fans like to see the folks over at iFixit tear the latest and greatest gadgets apart so you can see the inside. It's also nice to find out how repairable the devices are so if anything needs to be fixed down the road buyers know if it's possible or not. The latest product that iFixit is tearing apart is the new magic keyboard for iPad Pro.

Before iFixit jumps into a complete teardown of the keyboard, it first took apart the trackpad. The trackpad is the only part of the Magic Keyboard that's able to be taking apart without significant destruction of the keyboard. A full keyboard tear down will be coming according to the publication.

Underneath trackpad cover, there is a single button that operates on a lever system. When the trackpad is pressed near the center the user is pressing the sole button in the trackpad. That press causes contact plate in the center to be forced upward, making a click happen. When the trackpad is pressed from one of the other sides or corners, the lever system is activated, causing the contact plate in the center to be forced upward to complete the click.

Microsoft first announced the Family Safety app in March as a way for parents to protect those who matter most with both physical and digital security. The software giant is now rolling out a limited preview of the Family Safety app on iOS and Android. During the coronavirus, pandemic families around the world are both learning and working from home, with many spending more time on computers and phones trying to be sure their loved ones are safe.

The Microsoft Family Safety app allows parents to facilitate a dialogue with kids about the time they are spending on their device and the content they're viewing. The app is designed to provide transparency on where everyone is spending time online and allows the creation of flexible schedules to carve out time for tasks like online learning.

Microsoft Family Safety also allows parents to keep on top of what kids are doing when they are apart via location sharing. Microsoft says it is committed to bringing additional physical safety features in the coming months, such as safe driving, as we go back to a "new normal" to help protect the family. Some key features of the app include activity reporting. Activity reporting includes screen time, top websites visited, and terms kids are searching online. Parents will get an email summary each week outlining usage.

Google has announced updates that it has made to the Google Duo service aimed at making the application more fun and usable for families. One of the significant changes is the new family mode that allows users to doodle on video calls allowing everyone to see what they draw. The mode also supports effects and masks that will enable users on the call to be transformed into astronauts, cats, and more.

Using the new mode requires users to start a video call, tap the menu icon, and then tap Family to get started. Google says that it hid the hang up and mute buttons while using these new features to prevent accidental muting or disconnection of calls while playing. Google also reminds us that Duo calls are end-to-end encrypted.

Any one-on-one video call also gets support for masks and effects on both the Android and iOS versions of the app starting this week. Google promises to roll out more effects and masks to help people express themselves in the future. One of the most significant updates to the service is coming down the road.

NVIDIA stock has just finished climbing a new mountain today, hitting a new all-time high of $322 on Monday after delving below $200 in March following the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The bump in stock price can be attributed to the completion of its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, which closed on April 27. The deal was worth $6.9 billion, and sees NVIDIA acquiring a bunch of technologies from Mellanox including its InfiniBand interconnect technology, which super-speeds Ethernet connections in supercomputers and huge datacenters.

NVIDIA has significant investment into supercomptuers and datacenters with its stock product stack -- powering countless supercomputers around the world with its technology. Until now, NVIDIA's previous record closing price was $314.70 -- but it now stands at $322.62.

It's been a while since Google's Gmail application introduced a feature that predicted the text a user might want to enter next when composing an email. Gmail calls its feature called Smart Compose and when you're in a hurry or trying to send an email from a smartphone or other mobile device, it's a welcome feature. A new roadmap has surfaced for Microsoft 365, and it shows that the software giant is ready to take a page out of Gmail's book with its version of the feature called "text predictions."

With text predictions, when a user sees a text suggestion, they like they can select it with the tab or arrow keys, according to Microsoft. Microsoft also notes that if the user doesn't want to use the text suggestion that turns up on the screen, they can simply keep typing, and the suggestion will disappear. The feature can also be turned off for those who don't want to use it.

Turning off text predictions requires users to go to settings, view all Outlook settings, mail, compose, and reply. Under that section will be a checkbox titled "Text predictions" that can be cleared to turn them off. Another interesting feature that Microsoft is working on is a scheduled email feature called "Send Later for Outlook.com" that would allow users to pick a time when an email will be sent.

A report is making the rounds that claims attackers could steal data from a PC or Linux computer even if the computer is locked and the data is encrypted. The report comes from a security researcher called Bjorn Ruytenberg, who says that the technique to steal the data is relatively simple, and it is called "Thunderspy." All the attacker needs is physical access to the computer, and they would be able to steal personal data in only five minutes using a screwdriver and easily portable hardware.

Thunderbolt offers very fast transfer speeds gives direct access to the PC memory, creating several vulnerabilities. Previously researchers believed that weaknesses in the Thunderbolt protocol could be mitigated by disabling access to untrusted devices or disabling Thunderbolt altogether. However, the attack method that Ruytenberg has discovered can get around those settings by changing the firmware that controls the Thunderbolt Port to allow any device access.

The security researcher also notes that the act leaves no trace and the user would never know their PC was altered. To perform the attack, which the researcher dubbed the "evil maid attack" the attacker would only need to unscrew the backplate, attach device momentarily, reprogram the firmware, reattach the backplate, and they would gain full access to the laptop.

Alphabet is the parent company to search giant Google and has announced when it will begin to reopen its offices. Google will slowly begin to reopen offices starting in June, according to CEO Sundar Pichai. The company CEO announced the June reopening date for offices in an email sent to employees that turned up online. However, workers won't have to go into the office until they feel it is safe to do so according to a Google spokesperson.

Pichai said about employees returning that the "ramp" back to the office will be slow. He said there would be no one-size-fits-all approach and guidance will vary from location to location. The leaked memo claims that Alphabet is aiming for between 10 and 15% capacity in the office at any time around the globe.

Pichai noted that currently, fewer than 5% of employees are working from offices. He also took time in the memo to thank the employees in the offices and data centers that were working in offices. The first employees to return to offices will be those who have jobs requiring them to be in the office. Those first workers to return will include those needing access to specialized equipment.

Elon Musk has had a pretty busy week, with his partner giving birth to their son -- named X Æ A-12, which you can learn on how to pronounce the name here -- but the real-life Tony Stark is also dealing with some drama.

Musk has threatened to move the Tesla HQ out of California and into Texas or Nevada, over the attempts of containing COVID-19 coronavirus. But now a Democratic state politician is getting fired up, with Lorena S Gonzalez from San Diego putting it pretty bluntly:

"F*ck Elon Musk".

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to piss someone like Elon Musk off. He's someone that you'd want on your side, and to keep happy and let him do what he does best -- 24/7. Right? Yeah, not if you're Alameda County.

Tesla Motors filed a new lawsuit over the weekend against Alameda County, which is stopping the EV maker from re-opening its factory based in Fremont, California. The new lawsuit is seeking injunctive and declaratory relief against Alameda County, with Musk firing off some heavy-worded tweets.

Musk tweeted: "Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

The news of shifting over some manufacturing from Asia to the US isn't new, with news that Trump wanted TSMC and Foxconn to consider moving to the US for manufacturing breaking in January 2017 -- right as Donald Trump was being inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.

But now, there are renewed talks between the Trump administration and Intel and TSMC about moving production to the US for some of its chip factories. Intel might already have a big presence in the US, but the talks with Intel could see Team Blue opening up a foundry that other companies could use to make products.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a "new crop of cutting-edge chip factories in the US would reshape the industry and mark a U-turn after decades of expansion into Asia by many American companies eager to reap investment incentives and take part in a robust regional supply chain".