Tech

Draft EU rules to curb the power of Amazon , Apple , Alphabet unit Google and Facebook should also tackle cloud computing services providers over potential anti-competitive practices, a study said on Tuesday. The report coincides with concerns that some EU lawmakers who are reviewing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposed by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager may be lenient towards cloud computing companies. Amazon's Amazon Web Services was the leading provider in the second quarter of this year, followed by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, market research company Statista found. Others include IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce and Oracle. The study was prepared by Frederic Jenny, chairman of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Competition Committee, in his personal capacity for trade body CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe). "The DMA does say that cloud infrastructure can come within the ambit … [Read more...] about EU tech rules should curb cloud computing providers, study says

Workers at an Amazon .com Inc warehouse in New York City's Staten Island borough have filed a petition to form a union, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Monday, though the company questioned whether enough legitimate signatures were gathered. The move represents the second time that U.S. staffers for the world's biggest online retailer have aimed to unionize this year, following a failed effort at an Alabama facility in April. Though Amazon has long resisted such efforts, some employees are advocating for more protections and benefits in light of a COVID-19 pandemic that put their safety at risk. Chris Smalls, a former employee at the Staten Island warehouse, led the organizing drive and collected around 2,000 signatures to request an official vote through the NLRB. Smalls rose to prominence last year when Amazon fired him, alleging he violated a paid pandemic-related quarantine when he showed up at his facility to protest work conditions. … [Read more...] about Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse workers file petition for union election

What just happened? It's not just Bitcoin miners and well-known figures like Elon Musk that are embracing cryptocurrencies: entire countries and global financial institutions have followed suit. Mastercard announced today that it has partnered with digital wallet app Bakkt to make "innovative" crypto-based financial services available to banks and fintech companies around the world. If we convert the marketing speak into plain English, this means that, through this partnership, banks could allow customers to use their platform to buy, hold, and trade various cryptos. Customers could also access bank-branded crypto debit and credit cards to spend their currencies. All of this would be powered by Bakkt's under-the-hood wallet technology, though it's unclear how tightly integrated it will be from a UI/UX perspective. Will banks instruct users to download Bakkt's app, or will the tech essentially be white-labeled with their own branding and custom features? It's hard to say right … [Read more...] about Mastercard will let partnered banks offer crypto-based debit cards and loyalty rewards

Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight venture Blue Origin announced plans to build its own free-flying space station today. Called Orbital Reef, the future space station will begin operating in the second half of this decade, according to Blue Origin, providing a place for researchers, industrial and commercial customers, and international partners to visit and work. Blue Origin is working on the Orbital Reef project in partnership with spaceflight company Sierra Space, a subsidiary of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Sierra Space’s most well-known project is the Dream Chaser, a winged spaceplane designed to carry cargo — and perhaps people one day — to the International Space Station. Dream Chaser is scheduled to begin cargo flights in 2022. Blue Origin says that Orbital Reef also has the backing of additional spaceflight teammates, including industry heavyweight Boeing, as well as Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. With an internal volume nearly as … [Read more...] about Blue Origin reveals plans for future commercial space station called Orbital Reef

Apple's iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are here. Both followed the tech giant's "California streaming" event in September, where Apple announced four iPhone 13 models , new iPads and the Apple Watch Series 7 . If you haven't downloaded Apple's new operating system yet, you can do it now for free and get access to upgrades for FaceTime, iMessage and more. (Here's how to get your phone ready to run iOS 15 .) Our first look at Apple's iOS 15 update came at the company's virtual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, followed by a developer beta and then a public beta. The new OS came a week after Apple released iOS 14.8 , which addressed a security issue and brought new features to several generations of the iPhone. While we saw a lot of new features arrive this … [Read more...] about iOS 15: Essential info about Apple’s latest iPhone update

If you're on the lookout for an alternative to Zoom or Microsoft Teams , you may want to check out this new FaceTime feature in iOS 15 . (Here's how to download the OS if you haven't already .) Widely seen as the tech giant's answer to Zoom video calls , Apple has made it possible for people who have Android phones or Windows laptops to join FaceTime calls-- no iPhone required. Now playing: Watch this: How to FaceTime friends who use Android and Windows devices 5:08 That isn't to say that Apple devices are cut out of the process. In fact, FaceTime relies on the new iOS 15 operating system -- now available to download free -- to look and work more like Zoom and Microsoft Teams . In addition to letting you video-chat with people outside Apple's bubble, FaceTime updates include a new grid view , Portrait mode , the … [Read more...] about iOS 15: You can finally FaceTime between iPhone and Android. Here’s how

Apple revealed the AirPods 3 and new MacBook Pro laptops powered by M1 Pro and M1 Max Apple silicon chips on Monday at its October "Unleashed" event , alongside more HomePod Mini colors and a $5 voice-only plan for Apple Music. We also got a release date for MacOS Monterey , which we can expect to be available on Oct. 25 . But now that the tech giant's October event came to a close, what's next for Apple and when can we expect another launch event? There hasn't been any rumors about the next Apple event yet, but the tech giant usually hosts three to four events each year. This includes a spring event, summer developer conference and one or two more events in the fall. With the most recent launch being Apple's fourth event of 2021, it's likely we won't see another event from the tech giant until 2022. Read more: CNET's 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro reviews Prior to Apple's October launch event, the company hosted three other events in … [Read more...] about When is the next Apple event? Next year could bring the iPhone SE 3 and more

Apple's iPhone lineup now includes eight different devices at various sizes and prices, from the supersized iPhone 13 Pro Max to the compact iPhone SE . While there are many hardware differences between models, iPhones generally run on the same software. That means no matter which model you have , you should be able to customize most settings to fine-tune your experience. All of the iPhones you can buy from Apple right now run iOS 15 , which is packed with improvements to FaceTime, Safari, and many other new features . Aside from the new settings options in iOS 15, there are plenty of features that have been around for a while that you may have missed. Below, we'll take you through the steps to change a handful of settings that will make your iPhone even better. Get the CNET Apple Report newsletter Receive the latest news and reviews on Apple products, iOS updates and more. Delivered Fridays. Read more: Here's how to set up your new iPhone , and … [Read more...] about 20 iPhone 13 settings you’ll wish you changed sooner

TikTok will face questions about content that may have led children and teens to steal from or vandalize school bathrooms and other facilities when it and other large social media companies appear before Congress on Tuesday. In setting a hearing focused on TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube and Snapchat, the Senate Commerce Committee said the popular apps have "been misused to harm kids and promote destructive acts, such as vandalism in schools, deadly viral challenges, bullying, eating disorders, manipulative influencer marketing, and grooming." In his prepared testimony, reviewed by Reuters in advance of the hearing, Michael Beckerman, head of public policy for the Americas at TikTok, said that the company's moderation teams work to quickly take down any such content known as "devious licks." The "devious licks" trend on TikTok pushed students to steal from schools or vandalize them. "We recently saw content related to 'devious licks' gain traction on TikTok and other … [Read more...] about TikTok to be in congressional hotseat over school-trashing content

Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin unveiled plans to develop a commercial space station called "Orbital Reef" with Boeing , aiming to launch the spacecraft in the second half of this decade. The venture will be built in partnership with Sierra Space, the spaceflight wing of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp, and will be backed by Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions and Arizona State University. Orbital Reef will be operated as a "mixed use business park", and plans to provide the infrastructure needed to scale economic activity and open new markets in space, Blue Origin and Sierra Space said. "Seasoned space agencies, high-tech consortia, sovereign nations without space programs, media and travel companies, funded entrepreneurs and sponsored inventors, and future-minded investors all have a place on Orbital Reef," the companies said in a statement. Sierra in April announced plans to offer the first free-flying commercial space … [Read more...] about Blue Origin, Boeing chart course for ‘business park’ in space