Technology - itbusinessdirect

Co-operation between international tech sectors is better for everyone

July 14, 2017September 1, 2017

Technological co-operation between firms can be essential to boosting successful innovative businesses by creating networks of knowledge flows. International cooperation and collaboration between individuals, businesses and sectors has been central to the sector’s runaway growth in the tech industry. In London, a start-up can find success by working with skilled European workers backed by capital from Asian investors. The same can be said for any major tech cluster around the world. There is evidence to highlight the importance of technology collaboration for innovative businesses. For instance, Winters and Stam (2007),…

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Microsoft’s new app narrates the world for blind people

July 14, 2017September 1, 2017 Staff Writer

Microsoft recently released a smartphone app that uses computer vision to describe the world for the visually impaired. The Seeing AI allows users to point their phone’s camera at a person and it’ll say who they are and how they’re feeling. They can also point it at a product and it’ll tell them what it is. All of this is done using artificial intelligence that runs locally on their phone. “Just hold up your phone and hear information about the world around you,” Microsoft promises. It seems almost magical when…

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Qualcomm seeks Apple iPhone sales ban

July 10, 2017September 1, 2017

Qualcomm, the world’s biggest producer of mobile phone chips, has appealed for the sale of some iPhones in the US to be blocked claiming that iPhones using chips by rivals, such as Intel, infringe six of its patents. The company said it had asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate and impose an import block. It is the latest move in a series of disputes and lawsuits between Apple and Qualcomm BBC reports. In January, Apple filed two lawsuits against Qualcomm, claiming it had abused its dominant market…

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Why has sexism festered for so long in Silicon Valley?

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 Staff Writer

Silicon Valley and the wider tech industry have a problem with women. At least, that is what you might conclude after a week that has seen a leading tech investor resign after admitting his involvement in sexual harassment. In just two weeks, two powerful Silicon Valley investors have resigned from the firms they cofounded after women accused them of sexual harassment according to CNN. The men, 500 Startups cofounder Dave McClure and Binary Capital cofounder Justin Caldbeck, didn’t just cross the line once, according to the allegations. Multiple women —…

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Travis Kalanick Resigns As Uber’s CEO

June 23, 2017 Staff Writer

Travis Kalanick , one of the founder of Uber, the popular ride-hailing service has stepped down Tuesday as chief executive. Kalanick helped start the ride hailing service in 2009 and built it into a transportation colossus. He has now stepped down after a shareholder revolt made it untenable for him to stay on at the company. The exit came under pressure after hours of drama involving Uber’s investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous because the details were confidential. The company has…

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Samsung set to release a new outdoor surveillance cam

June 22, 2017 Staff Writer

Complete with 1080p video resolution, livestreaming capabilities, two-way talk, a 130-degree field of view, and night vision, the new samsung surveillace cam will cost $199.99. This new camera’s features are the same as the company’s more expensive, already released outdoor cam. Both versions support night vision and motion detection. They also record Full HD-quality video and connect over Wi-Fi. The key difference between the two appears to be design. The original camera looks like a classic surveillance device with a left to right swivel head. The new camera looks more…

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Microsoft launching a new AI startup program in Paris

June 22, 2017 Staff Writer

Microsoft is making efforts to give space for the new start-up ventures that are going make changes for the coming years. The Tech giant is set to focus on artificial intelligence. More and more startups are trying to grasp the AI field and most are new startups. This will certainly create a major impact on the AI startups. This may lead to Microsoft to start their new program for AI at the Station F. Microsoft has had a startup accelerator in the Sentier neighborhood for a few years now. When…

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Snapchat acquires social map app Zenly to allow users to track their friends

June 22, 2017 Staff Writer

Snapchat has acquired Zenly, a French startup that makes a social map so people can see where their friends are hanging out, for $200m in cash plus additional stock awards. Zenly’s app lets users see where their friends currently are on a map using constant GPS in the background. People can then message these friends in the app to make plans to hang out. Snap Inc. will however allow Zenly to run somewhat autonomously. Zenly has said that its product updates will be the main drivers of user growth, which slowed…

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#SheTechsAfrica: Miss.Africa Seed Fund Announces its 2016/17 Prize Winners

May 31, 2017 Staff Writer

Closing the global digital gender divide is a pressing concern. Women are yet to reach their full potential as participants in all aspects of society. Closing this digital gender gap can help empower women and girls to actively participate in governance as civil society members and political leaders. The Miss.Africa digital Program, a Pan-African trust program of DotConnectAfrica (DCA) , is aimed in attracting more young girls and women to the Internet platform to enable them form a sizable demographic of Internet users in Africa, thereby involving them in complementary…

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