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It looks like the trippiest episode of “Star Trek” ever created. On the bridge of a starship resembling the Enterprise from director J.J. Abrams’“Trek” films, that series’ Dr. McCoy is at the engineering station frantically beaming up survivors of an attack, while former Borg tinkerer Seven of Nine from “Star Trek: Voyager” is firing torpedoes at a Klingon vessel. They’re both taking orders from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” chief engineer Geordi La Forge. He’s sitting in the captain’s chair, but he looks like a woman. “Keep us in range of that Klingon,” orders La Forge. “I’m trying to phaser him!” barks Seven. “Do you need some engine power for that?” asks McCoy. The out-of-this-world “Trek” mash-up isn’t occurring on a soundstage. The actors - Karl Urban, Jeri Ryan and…

Apple is working to make its iPhone and other gadgets smarter, responding to competitors’ recent moves by building more artificial intelligence into its Siri digital assistant, photos, maps and other online services. The tech giant kicked off its annual software conference by announcing new software features for the Apple Watch and Apple TV, as well, while unveiling a new design for the Apple Music service. It’s also extending Apple Pay to the web, so users can pay for purchases made on their Mac computers. Most of these new features won’t arrive until this fall. At a time when sales of its flagship iPhone are slowing, Apple seemed determined to show that it can make its gadgets indispensable, or at least as useful as its competitors’ products. THINKING FAST AND SLOW…

A test pilot successfully flew a solar-powered prototype aircraft on Friday for a company that envisions manufacturing a fleet of drones to provide aerial internet service for an estimated 4 billion people worldwide. The test flight by Luminati Aerospace LLC took place at a former Northrop Grumman defense plant on eastern Long Island that once made military aircraft. Speakers at a ceremony before the flight recalled that Charles Lindberg took off for his historic 1927 solo flight to Paris from an air strip in nearby Nassau County, and others noted that the spacecraft that landed men on the moon was built in the Long Island suburbs east of New York City. “This is a dream come true,” Luminati founder and CEO Daniel Preston said. “Long Island is known as the…

Sounds (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) The Beach Boys One of the most influential albums in music history celebrates its 50th birthday with an array of different mixes, instrumentals, and live performances. FIVE FACTS: 1. Brian Wilson is midway through a worldwide tour celebrating the album’s 50th anniversary, with it being confirmed that it is the last time the album will be performed. 2. The band have released 29 studio albums and 82 singles in total. 3. Cited as the best album of all time by various magazines and newspapers including the NME, The Times, and Mojo. 4. Have influenced a wide array of artists including the Ramones, The Beatles, and The Who. 5. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Why Are You OK Band of Horses The…

More than one-third of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way because of man-made lights. Among those missing out on awe-inspiring Milky Way views: nearly 80 percent of North Americans and 60 percent of Europeans. These are the findings of a new global atlas of light pollution, published as part of a scientific paper Friday. More than four-fifths of Earthlings now live beneath skies polluted by artificial light, which blocks out the Milky Way for more than a third of them, according to the research. “I hope that this atlas will finally open the eyes of people to light pollution,” lead author Fabio Falchi said in a statement. He is with the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute in northern Italy. Tiny Singapore is the most light-polluted…

Fitness trackers routinely measure physical activity such as running and cycling and encourage people to stand up and walk around throughout the day. But if you’re in a wheelchair, you’re out of luck. Apple wants to change that with an upcoming Apple Watch feature announced Monday. Instead of standing breaks, people in wheelchairs will be prompted to wheel or spin their chairs around regularly. Apple will also start tracking distance, speed and calories burned during wheelchair use, just as it does for walking or running. The efforts could give Apple’s smartwatch an image boost over stand-alone fitness trackers such as Fitbit, though the target market isn’t likely large enough to significantly lift sales. In the first three months of the year, three Fitbits shipped worldwide for every Apple Watch, according…

Sophisticated hackers linked to Russian intelligence services broke into the Democratic National Committee’s computer networks and gained access to confidential emails, chats and opposition research on presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, people familiar with the breach said Tuesday. CrowdStrike Inc., a cybersecurity firm, said the DNC asked it to investigate a suspected breach of its systems that began as early as last summer. CrowdStrike said it quickly found traces of two of the best adversaries in the hacking arena, both tied to the Russian government. The newly revealed attacks join a host of high-profile digital breaches affecting current and past White House hopefuls, underscoring vulnerabilities in digital networks that increasingly hold sensitive data about political candidates, their opponents and their donors. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the incident serious…

In a surprise move, Microsoft said Monday that it is buying LinkedIn for about $26.2 billion, a deal that could bring subtle but significant changes for the professional network’s more than 430 million members. LinkedIn will remain an independent unit of Microsoft. It will keep its name, and current CEO Jeff Weiner will stay on and report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. LinkedIn lets members network with other professionals, upload their resumes, catch up on career advice and search for jobs. For Microsoft, the deal presents an opportunity to cement itself as the tech company for the world’s professionals, helping them find jobs, learn new skills and do their work. Microsoft will also look for ways to combine Microsoft’s software for workers with the information stored in LinkedIn’s online…

Bethesda Softworks will surround gamers with 360-degree visions of an intergalactic hell and a nuclear wasteland. The video game publisher announced plans at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on Sunday night to bring the demon-battling shooter “Doom” and post-apocalyptic role-playing game “Fallout 4” to virtual reality. The latest entry in the “Doom” series was released for PC and game consoles last month, while “Fallout 4” arrived on those systems last November. Bethesda says the virtual reality edition of “Fallout 4” will be released in 2017 for the HTC Vive. The company didn’t specify when the virtual reality version of “Doom” would be released. SHOOTER GAMES HYPED AT TRADE SHOW JUST AFTER FLORIDA ATTACK The flags outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo are flying at half-staff in honor of the victims of the…

Gawker Media is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and putting itself up for sale, strained by a jury’s verdict that that it must pay $140 million to pro wrestler Hulk Hogan in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. The filing by the 14-year-old website follows the revelation in May that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel bankrolled Hogan’s lawsuit as what he called a “deterrent” to Gawker’s no-holds-barred and sometimes gonzo style of journalism. Thiel’s secret role sparked anxiety over the possibility that more wealthy individuals might cow publications by covertly funding lawsuits against them. Gawker says it plans to sell itself to publishing company Ziff Davis, although other bidders could emerge during the bankruptcy court auction. The sale will help it fund its appeal against the Hogan judgment in a Florida state…

In a trio of debuts, the horror sequel “The Conjuring 2” bested the video-game adaptation “Warcraft” and the magic caper “Now You See Me 2” at the weekend box office. “The Conjuring 2,” James Wan’s sequel to the 2013 paranormal thriller, opened with $40.4 million, according to final box-office figures Monday. That was roughly equal to the original’s debut and easily trumped the weekend’s other big openings. While “Warcraft” has done record business in China, the big-budget but badly reviewed “World of Warcraft” adaptation wasn’t much of a draw in North America, earning just $24.2 million. “Now You See Me 2,” in which illusionists use magic to carry out heists, opened with $22.4 million, about $7 million less than the 2013 debut of the original. The top 20 movies at…

The World Health Organization’s research arm has downgraded its classification of coffee as a possible carcinogen, declaring there isn’t enough proof to show a link to cancer. But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, also announced in a report published on Wednesday that drinking “very hot” beverages of any kind could potentially raise the cancer risk, and it classified them as “probably carcinogenic” to humans. In particular, it cited countries including China, Iran and those in South America, where teas such as the bitter herbal infusion mate are traditionally drunk at extremely high temperatures - above 65 or 70 degrees Celsius (150 or 160 Fahrenheit) - considerably hotter than drinks would normally be served in cafes across North America and Europe. Experts convened by the Lyon-based IARC…

The Dark Knight and Spidey are among the heroes swinging onto the PlayStation. Sony announced at its Monday presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that a virtual reality rendition of Rocksteady Studios’“Batman: Arkham” series is landing on PlayStation VR, while an all-new Spider-Man adventure from Insomniac Games is crawling onto the PlayStation 4. “We’ve really been pushing for a new era in gaming,” said Peter Phillips, Marvel’s executive vice president of interactive and digital distribution, after the show. “It’s about a franchise approach to our characters. We wanted to find a triple-A partner that could really do justice to this character. Ted Price, president and CEO of Insomniac Games, said the web-slinging action-adventure game won’t be connected to the upcoming film “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and would center on a more seasoned…

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced $82 million for nuclear energy projects in 28 states as part of the government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. Moniz said Tuesday that the 93 research projects will help scientists innovate with nuclear technologies that can eventually enter the commercial market. He made the announcement while visiting the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho. “Nuclear energy remains very important,” he said. “It remains by far the biggest source of carbon-free electricity.” Moniz’s announcement fits in with President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce emissions by generating carbon-free electricity. Nuclear energy currently produces about 19 percent of the nation’s energy, and officials say that represents about 60 percent of the nation’s carbon-free energy. Much of the money announced Tuesday is heading for…

Electronic Arts is leaning heavily on The Force. The video game publisher teased three forthcoming games set in the“Star Wars”universe Sunday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The games include a new edition of“Star Wars Battlefront”inspired by the recent films from DICE and Motive Studios, an action-adventure game with an original story from Visceral Games and a third-person action game from Respawn Entertainment. “They’re channeling their talent and passion to bring you all-new experiences that will span many corners of the‘Star Wars’universe”said Jade Raymond, general manager at Motive Studios, of the developers working on all the“Star Wars”games. EA stopped short of revealing more information or the new games’titles, but a promotional video showed Respawn developers working with motion-capture actors who were dueling with lightsabers. The video also featured imagery of a…

THIS YEAR’S EVENT ABOUT EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION For almost any other tech company - even one of the biggest - a developers’conference would quicken the pulses of very few people besides the diehard fans and, of course, the development maestros themselves. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), however, has long been a very different proposition, and the 2016 running saw it live up to its effortlessly cool credentials once more with some very significant software updates from the Cupertino stable. Although the WWDC has a history traceable back to the early 1980s, it was only in the 2000s that it began to be awaited with the kind of bated breath usually reserved for megastar rock concerts. The yearly conference itself traditionally takes place at the Moscone West convention center in San…

NATO agreed Tuesday to make cyber operations part of its war domain, along with air, sea and land operations, and to beef up the defense of its computer networks. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the decision to formally consider cyber operations a military domain is not aimed at any one country. He says the allies need to be able to better defend themselves and respond to attacks on their computer networks. The decision has been long in coming, particularly amid rising tensions with Russia, which has proven its willingness to launch computer-based attacks against other nations. Russian hackers have been blamed for a breach into an unclassified Pentagon computer network and for a breach of NATO’s computer network two years ago. Stoltenberg was speaking at the meeting of NATO defense…

Eye in the Sky An international dispute regarding modern warfare is triggered when a preteen girl enters the kill zone of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. FIVE FACTS: 1. TFinal live-action movie role of Alan Rickman. 2. Helen Mirren’s role was originally written for a male actor. 3. Director Gavin Hood has also worked on X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ender’s Game. 4. The main part of the plot unfolds in real time. 5. Helen Mirren has also starred in The Queen, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Monsters University. Midnight Special A young boy – who possesses otherworldy powers – and his father are forced to flee a religious cult, and are then pursued by the government. FIVE FACTS: 1. Shot in 40 days. 2. According to…

Microsoft is making it easier for gamers who share the same passions or even gender to meet and play with each other online, a step toward curbing online harassment. The company is adding a feature called “looking for group” that will allow Xbox Live gamers to use search terms to find players interested in teaming up on certain games. For example, if a female “Halo 5” fan only wants to blast away aliens with other women, or a dad gamer doesn’t want any trash-talking during his “Killer Instinct” matches, they can use the new feature to search for compatible players online. The “looking for group” feature will include preset search terms created by Microsoft, as well the option for users to make their own. It’ll be available this fall, along…

Xbox One is shrinking in size and growing in power. Microsoft unveiled during its Monday media briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo a new, slimmer version of the video game console coming later this year and a more powerful one that’s due in 2017. The company says the white Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than the original black Xbox One and will feature support for 4K high-definition video. Other changes include moving the USB ports to the front of the console, adding a built-in infrared blaster and eliminating the port for the motion-detecting Kinect camera system. Microsoft says the console will go on sale in August for $299 to $399 depending on the hard drive size. The company also detailed Project Scorpio, a more powerful Xbox One that…

In a big win for the Obama administration, a federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the government’s “net neutrality” rules that require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally. The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a victory for consumer groups and content companies such as Netflix that want to prevent online content from being blocked or channeled into fast and slow lanes. The rules treat broadband service like a public utility and prevent internet service providers from offering preferential treatment to sites that pay for faster service. Consumers are not likely to see an immediate impact, since the rules have been in effect since last June. But it could make some services more expensive or limit some content, such…