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Big tech companies accused of Child labor

December 17, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, and Dell have all been named in a federal lawsuit from parents who say their children were injured or killed in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Guardian first reported. International Rights Advocates , a human rights litigation and advocacy group, filed the suit yesterday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of 14 Congolese children and parents, accusing the five major companies named in the suit of “knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young…

US online Black Friday sales biggest ever?

December 3, 2019December 3, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Online sales on Black Friday in the United States hit a record $7.4 billion this year, with a large number of transactions made from smartphones, according to data released Saturday by Adobe Analytics. The figure was a 19.6 percent increase over last year and the second biggest day of online sales ever, the company said, just below the $7.9 billion consumers spent on last year’s Cyber Monday, which follows Black Friday. This year, 39 percent of online purchases were made from smartphones, a 21 percent increase from last year. “With Christmas now…

Wearable device sales to hit $42 billion in 2019 says Gartner

November 30, 2018July 3, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Gartner, Inc. forecasts that worldwide shipments of wearable devices will reach 225 million in 2019, an increase of 25.8 percent from 2018. End-user spending on wearable devices is forecast to reach $42 billion in 2019. Of that, $16.2 billion will be on smartwatches. “At the moment, the smartwatch market is bolstered by the relatively stable and higher average selling price (ASP) of the Apple Watch,” said Alan Antin. senior director at Gartner. “But the overall ASP of smartwatches is expected to slowly decline from $221.99 in 2018 to $210 in…

Telstra announces First Global 5G Wi-Fi hotspots

March 28, 2018 Dianne Jacobs

Telstra has announced switching on the world’s first 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots in the Gold Coast ahead of the Commonwealth Games next month, with visitors to the region able to gain access to the free service. While no smartphones or tablets currently support 5G, Telstra said it is using 5G backhaul and infrastructure in its newly launched 5G Innovation Centre in the Gold Coast to power standard Wi-Fi access points. Telstra Networks MD Mike Wright said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon that there are seven or eight hotspots in the…

Researchers can determine what smartphone a photo was taken on by analyzing it

December 14, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered a way to identify smartphones by analyzing just a single photo taken by the device. The researchers centered on a flaw in digital imaging called photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) to do so. PRNU happens when the imperfections in the manufacturing process of each camera’s sensors create tiny variations. Those variations can cause the millions of pixels in the camera’s sensor to project colors that are slightly brighter or darker than normal, which creates a systemic distortion in the photo called pattern noise. This…

New startup that helps you scan, send and print yourself

November 9, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Kat Kinkead and Peter Weijmarshausen met at their old company, Shapeways. Weijmarshausen recently stepped down as CEO and was looking for something cool to do when he and Kinkead realized that the most popular application of 3D scanning and printing was in 3D figurines. These tiny action-figure-like representations were wildly popular print subjects back at Shapeways but they were notoriously difficult to capture and print. Now, thanks to improvements in scanning, color printing, and software, they’re surprisingly easy. Thus Beheld was born. Kinkead, the CEO, has an MFA in industrial…

Qualcomm beats revenue expectations despite Apple lawsuits

November 2, 2017November 30, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Qualcomm has beat analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates in its fourth fiscal quarter despite a year-long legal battle with Apple. Qualcomm booked $5.96 billion in sales, or 92 cents per share, versus expectations of $5.8 billion and 81 cents per-share as the overall economics of the chip business continue to improve. The numbers were good enough to bump shares of the stock up 54 cents (or 1 percent) in after-hours trading, to $54.00. Qualcomm’s ongoing legal battle with Apple was not enough to completely overtake strength elsewhere in its business…