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When the then-CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, prepared to unveil the cloud storage service iCloud back in 2011 , he described a world that you might barely recognize now: a world where any photos you take, videos you shoot, music you buy and other digital files are stored simply on your PC, “the digital hub of your digital life”. However, as you might recall if you are old enough, this arrangement faltered as many devices other than the PC began taking on further PC-like responsibilities. The days when a photo would scarcely last long on your phone before you quickly uploaded it to your PC are long gone. As Jobs acknowledged at the 2011 keynote of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) where iCloud would ultimately be announced, our PCs, phones…

An American billionaire has given Oxford University 150 million pounds ($188.6 million) for a new institute that will study the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and computing technologies. The donation from Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of the private equity firm Blackstone, will also fund a center to house all of the university’s humanities subjects in a single space to encourage collaborative study. “AI is going to be the fourth revolution, and it is going to impact jobs, excellence, efficiency,” Schwarzman told the BBC. “It is a force for amazing good and also a potential force for not good.” Schwarzman compared the rise of AI to the rise of the internet, which was launched by computer scientists who thought it was “cool.” “And parts of it were cool — interconnectedness, globally the…

Facebook already rules daily communication for more than 2 billion people around the world. Now it wants its own currency, too. The social network unveiled an ambitious plan to create a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use, one that could drive more e-commerce on its services and boost ads on its platforms. But the effort, which Facebook is launching with partners including PayPal, Uber, Spotify, Visa and Mastercard, could also complicate matters for the beleaguered social network. Facebook is currently under federal investigation over its privacy practices, and along with other technology giants also faces a new antitrust probe in Congress. Creating its own globe-spanning currency — one that could conceivably threaten banks, national currencies and the privacy of users — isn’t likely to dampen regulators’ interest…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk abruptly revealed that he is closing the popular Twitter account that has repeatedly landed him in legal trouble, but then proceeded to keep it open long after announcing he had deleted it. The mixed messaging began to unfold last Sunday when Musk changed his Twitter handle to DaddyDotCom in apparent homage to Father’s Day. Then he signaled in a tweet that he was scrapping the account. But 17 hours later, the account remained open under its old “elonmusk” handle with 27 million followers. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment and Musk hadn’t explained his earlier tweets on Twitter as of Monday afternoon. Musk has used his Twitter account to pull pranks and make baffling changes in the past. In February, for instance, he…

Creed II Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) holds the newly-won title of heavyweight champion, but finds himself faced with an intimidating new adversary: Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of former Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Adonis’ father, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers, featured here in archive footage) in the ring over three decades earlier. FIVE FACTS: 1. This is the follow-up to the 2015 film Creed. 2. Creed II is also the eighth overall film in the Rocky series that started back in 1976. 3. Creed II is the first Rocky film ever to be theatrically released in China. 4. Dolph Lundgren reprises his famous role from 1985’s Rocky IV. 5. On the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus for Creed II calls it “a…

A decade after seemingly wrapping up “The Hunger Games,” Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. A prequel, set 64 years before the beginning of her multimillion-selling trilogy, is coming next year. The novel, currently untitled, is scheduled for release on May 19, 2020. Collins said in a statement that she would go back to the years following the so-called “Dark Days,” the failed rebellion in Panem. Collins set the “Hunger Games” books in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where young people must fight and kill each other, on live television. “With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,” she said. “The reconstruction period 10 years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days…

Uncertainty over a Boeing jet and apprehension about the global economy hover over the aircraft industry for Paris Air Show. That show and its alternating-years companion, the Farnborough International Airshow near London, are usually upbeat celebrations of the latest and greatest in aviation technology. In recent boom years, they have become a stage for huge aircraft orders. This year, however, the mood could be different. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide for three months after new flight software played a role in two deadly plane crashes. There is no clear date for when it might fly again. There are other troubling signs for the industry. After several years of surging growth, passenger traffic in March grew at the weakest rate in nine years, although April was slightly better.…

U.S. investigators have received permission from Ecuador to question a Swedish programmer close to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who has been held in jail for more than two months on suspicion of hacking, Media has learned. The interview with Ola Bini is set for June 27, according to an Ecuadorian prosecutor’s order provided to AP by someone closely following the case. Spokespeople at the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment, but a person familiar with the case in the United States confirmed that U.S. authorities want to hear from Bini, who was arrested the same day that Ecuador evicted Assange from its embassy in London. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an investigation that is in progress. It’s not clear why American…

Not every couples can say that they get to see each other at work most of the day, but the Morgans and Unruhs at Erie Middle School are an exception. After years of coming to work every day together, the couples now will retire together. Keith Morgan, who has served as principal for 19 years, will wrap up 34 years in education; his wife, Mindy, will conclude 30 years of teaching physical education at the school. Tom and Jan Unruh, who are also retiring, came to Erie 15 years ago; both have taught for more than 30 years at various schools in northern Illinois. Tom teaches math and computer technology, and Jan teaches special education. Both couples also find a bond with being able to share their work experiences at…

In perhaps its most jam-packed WWDC keynote to date, Apple lifted the lid on a whole host of enhancements to its operating systems earlier this month - including watchOS. With a dedicated App Store, better health tracking, new apps, and beautifully designed watch faces, watchOS 6 gives users more power on their wrists. This week, we delve deeper into the release… THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT… When Apple launched the Apple Watch back in 2015, the company marketed the product as a companion or extension to the iPhone - read text messages, unlock your Mac, ask Siri a question, and control your iPhone camera from your wrist. Over the past couple of years, however, Apple has been keen to distance the Apple Watch from the iPhone , enhancing the wearable…

Facebook is unveiling a digital currency called Libra as the company seeks to make its ads more valuable by enabling smoother transactions and payments online, particularly among those without credit cards or bank accounts. Libra will use the same security and record-keeping principles as Bitcoin, the most popular digital currency system today. But unlike Bitcoin, Libra is backed by several traditional financial companies, including PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, and will base its value on multiple real-world currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the euro. Libra also faces additional scrutiny over privacy, given Facebook’s poor record on the matter. Here’s a look at Libra and other cryptocurrencies. WHAT’S A CRYPTOCURRENCY ANYWAY? It’s a form of digital cash that uses encryption technology to make it secure. Cryptocurrencies exist not as physical…

As auto companies continue to fix buggy touchscreen infotainment systems, a survey of new-vehicle buyers has found there’s a different technology posing problems: driver assist systems such as automatic emergency braking. The annual survey by J.D. Power found that as the electronic safety systems find their way into more mainstream models, buyers are reporting more issues in their first three months of ownership. The problems are more than just a pain for new-vehicle owners. They affecting systems that are “critical for building consumer trust in future automated vehicles,” said Dave Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of global automotive. Overall, the number of problems reported by owners held steady from last year at a record-low 93 per 100 vehicles. The survey also found that Korean brands Genesis, Kia and Hyundai claimed…

Madame X (Deluxe) Madonna The legendary singer-songwriter Madonna has adopted a multi-faceted new persona, that of Madame X, for her 14th studio album of the same name. It’s a very fitting moniker for the album, which has been hailed by critics for its eclectic influences from the cultural melting pot of Lisbon, the Portuguese city to which Madonna relocated in 2017. FIVE FACTS: 1. Madonna’s Lisbon move was prompted by her efforts to find a top soccer academy for her son David, who aspired to play soccer professionally. 2. However, as Madonna found her new Lisbon life increasingly dull, she got in touch with local artists, painters and musicians who ultimately inspired her to record the new album. 3. One of the new album’s songs, “Dark Ballet”, was first performed…

After decades of improvement, America’s air may not be getting any cleaner. Over the last two years the nation had more polluted air days than just a few years earlier, federal data shows. While it remains unclear whether this is the beginning of a trend, health experts say it’s troubling to see air quality progress stagnate. There were 15% more days with unhealthy air in America both last year and the year before than there were on average from 2013 through 2016, the four years when America had its fewest number of those days since at least 1980. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed just the opposite, saying earlier this month in Ireland: “We have the cleanest air in the world, in the United States, and it’s gotten better since…

Huawei’s founder said that the Chinese telecom giant’s revenue will be $30 billion less than forecast over the next two years, as he compared the company to a “badly damaged plane” as a result of U.S. government actions against it. “We never thought that the U.S.’s determination to attack Huawei would be so strong, so firm,” Ren Zhengfei, who is also the CEO, said during a panel discussion at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Ren said Huawei will reduce capacity and expects revenue of about $100 billion annually for the next two years, compared with $105 billion in 2018. In February, he said the company was targeting $125 billion in 2019. Huawei’s overseas cellphone sales will drop by 40%, Ren said, confirming a Bloomberg report published. But the Chinese…

After a long day at work, Annekathrin Fiesinger is too tired to consider making dinner at home. So the 34-year-old uses her smart phone to check nearby restaurants, hotels or bakeries in Berlin for food being sold for a discount at the end of the day. The part-time coffee shop worker, who is also studying for a degree in the science of ecosystems, is part of a growing movement of environmentally-aware people in Germany and beyond who are using apps to reduce food waste and try to cut down on climate-wrecking carbon emissions. While it’s unclear how big an impact such efforts have in ultimately reducing emissions, they reflect how environmental concerns are growing and shaping the behavior of consumers and businesses. “For me this is all about the environment,”…

Google is pouring $1 billion into easing the high-priced housing headaches that it and its Silicon Valley peers helped give the San Francisco Bay Area. The pledge announced by Google CEO Sundar Pichai consists of a $250 million investment fund and $750 million of company-owned land. It will be used to build at least 15,000 homes that will include low- and mid-income housing. Google’s commitment eclipsed a recent $500 million pledge made by Microsoft to combat housing shortages in the Seattle area and a $500 million housing fund created by a consortium including Facebook. Google is extending a helping hand as it draws up plans to expand into sprawling offices beyond its headquarters in Mountain View, California. That suburban city of roughly 80,000 people has been swamped with affluent tech…

The Wisconsin Assembly has passed a bill that would limit the regulation of 5G, or “small cell,” technology. The bill approved Tuesday now heads to Gov. Tony Evers for his consideration. The Senate passed the bill 25-5 earlier this month. The proposal creates a statewide regulatory framework for the 5G technology, including provisions about where the small wireless facilities can be placed, height and size restrictions and other requirements. In general, the bill prohibits local governments from regulating certain communications services or charging fees on infrastructure to support it. Bill sponsor Rep. Mike Kuglitsch said Wisconsin has been at a competitive disadvantage because neighboring states have already enacted similar laws. Supporters are calling for quick action to get the technology in place, especially before Milwaukee hosts the Democratic National Convention…

Can a Libra and two Geminis get along? How about Facebook and the Winklevoss twins? Back in the day, Mark Zuckerberg’s hunky Harvard classmates claimed the Facebook CEO stole their idea for the social network when he was just a nerdy undergrad. Now, Facebook’s grand plan for a new digital currency called Libra could bring the three men together again — though it remains to be seen whether there’ll be enough drama to warrant a sequel to “The Social Network,” the 2010 film based on the story of Facebook’s founding. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have busied themselves since their Harvard days — they’re 37 now, while Zuckerberg is 35 — investing heavily in Bitcoin, currently the best-known “cryptocurrency.”With Libra, though, Facebook is hoping to change that, and so once again…

A southeast Nebraska community college is using robots to put long-distance students inside the classrooms. Four of the machines are based at the Lincoln campus of Southeast Community College, and one is available at the college district’s Beatrice and Milford locations. The college district has invested for years in distance-learning technology that allows students on one campus to plug into a course offered on another. Those opportunities expanded with the advent of the college’s six learning centers. But the teleconferencing equipment can sometimes be “the incorrect tool for what the instructor is trying to accomplish,” Christopher Cummins, the college’s director of instruction technology, told the Lincoln Journal Star. Robots give students chances to interact in classes, join small-group activities or linger behind after classes to ask follow-up questions, he said.…

Would any fictional gadget be more coveted by Hollywood executives than the memory-erasing “Men in Black” neuralyzer? Imagine the lucrative benefits of being able to, with a single flash, make moviegoers forget the film they just saw. Franchises would be endlessly renewable. IP could last forever. Instead, we get film series perpetuated beyond their natural end with the hope that you remember them enough to get you in the door but not enough that you’re much bothered by regurgitated storylines. To be honest, I don’t recall much from the first three “Men in Black” films, all by Barry Sonnenfeld, except the original’s light wit, the fine chemistry between the leads, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, and the likable premise that aliens walk among us. The new “Men in Black:…

The chief salesman for Airbus says his company already has the technology to fly passenger planes without pilots at all — and is working on winning over regulators and travelers to the idea. Christian Scherer also said in an interview with Media this week that Airbus hopes to be selling hybrid or electric passenger jets by around 2035. While the company is still far from ready to churn out battery-operated jumbo jets, Scherer said Airbus already has “the technology for autonomous flying” and for planes flown by just one pilot. “This is not a matter of technology — it’s a matter of interaction with the regulators, the perception in the traveling public,” he told Media. “When can we introduce it in large commercial aircraft? That is a matter we are…

Once a skeptic about climate change, Jim Bridenstine came around to the prevailing view of scientists before he took over as NASA administrator. That evolution did not sit well with a Trump environmental adviser, nor a think-tank analyst he was consulting, according to newly disclosed emails that illustrate how skepticism of global warming has found a beachhead in the Trump White House. “Puzzling,” says the May 2018 exchange between William Happer, now a member of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, and Thomas Wysmuller of the Heartland Institute, which disavows manmade climate change. Their exchange calls scientifically established rises in sea levels and temperatures under climate change “part of the nonsense” and urges the NASA head — who was copied in — to “systematically sidestep it.” It cannot be discerned…