Technology

In some ways, this was not the best week for Amazon. The Federal Trade Commission sued it for improperly billing customers for games used by their children. And it continues to be enmeshed in a nasty public relations battle with the publisher Hachette. But Amazon still has the drones. In a filing with the Federal Aviation Administration that got widespread attention Friday, Amazon asked for permission to test its drone delivery system outdoors, a practice that is banned for safety reasons. Never mind for the moment the fact that the F.A.A. said a few weeks ago that there would be no commercial uses of drones in a memo that did not mention Amazon but pointedly excluded even the free shipping of items by drone. That’s a lobbying battle for another day. Delivery by drone was first mentioned by Amazon last year on “60 Minutes,” and quickly became a viral sensation despite, or because of, the fact that it was unlikely to happen anytime soon. If...

People often compare computers with our brains, but there are important differences between them. One difference, which the wider public seldom thinks about, is that computer brains are made of silicon while our brains are made of carbon. All known life is made of carbon, which is the most versatile element in the universe. Why should computers be made of silicon, even if it is the second most versatile element in the universe? IBM now thinks that the silicon age of computers is about to end, and that we might see the first carbon computer in just six years.  It is a bold statement, tempered with caveats, made more with hope than authority. Carbon nanotube chips would be not very different from silicon chips, only much faster. However, making them in large scale still requires significant technology advances. The year 2020 is around the time when silicon is supposed to hit a roadblock, yet again.  It will be great to get nanotube chips ready by then. This is what IBM hop...

If you have Siri set to speak in English, she will not understand the word "gracias." But Google on Thursday updated its Google Now voice search and assistant app so it can quickly switch between multiple languages on the fly, CNET reports. Rather than select a single language setting from Google's list of about 50, Google Now can now recognize and understand the speaker's language and allow users to switch up to seven different ones on the fly. According to Google, you'll have to pre-select your secondary languages, but after that the feature will work automatically. In an interview with CNET, Google said "seemingly simple language-recognition tasks are much harder than they appear," and that it's still working on making Google Now a true linguist by understanding complex accents and minimizing ambient noise. Simultaneous multi-language support will roll out to Google Now users within "the coming days," Google said.

Apple is reportedly working on new connected home products for consumers, according to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. Although Apple unveiled its HomeKit platform for developers at this year's WWDC, the company is now working on actual hardware products for everyday users.  Gurman's sources haven't specified exactly what types of devices Apple is working on, but they did reportedly say that the connected home space will be an important market for Apple moving forward.  These smart home devices would integrate deeply with Apple's existing products, such as its line of iPhones and iPads.  Apple's smart home product probably won't compete with the Nest Learning Thermostat or the newly announced Honeywell Lyric. Rather, it will focus on something a little more mainstream that will get more widespread usage.  This could mean Apple is working on a smart speaker system or some type of controller for the devices in your home, Gurman's sources reportedly said. There...

Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc will start mass production of Apple Inc's first smart watch in July, a source familiar with the matter said, as the US tech giant tries to prove it can still innovate against rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The watch, which remains unnamed but which company followers have dubbed the iWatch, will be Apple's first foray into a niche product category that many remain skeptical about, especially as to whether it can drive profits amid cooling growth in tech gadgets. The production will be a boost to Quanta, given that its work for Apple till now has focused on laptops and iPods, product lines that are in decline. Quanta's role though is likely to raise questions about what involvement Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, one of Apple's biggest suppliers, will play in production. While the watch is widely expected, the start date of its mass production and the extent of Quanta's involvement were not known until now. Mass produ...

The Amazon Fire phone has finally been announced after years of speculation, and it's certainly bringing some different ideas to the table. First up it sports five cameras on the front - one is the traditional front-facing snapper, and the other four are part of the Fire's Dynamic Perspective feature. Dynamic Perspective tracks your head, and works out the distance it isthe screen, to produce 3D-like graphics on-screen. Firefly is a supercharged barcode scanner which you can use to scan, well, anything. A pub sign, a car, a magazine, a bottle of beer. You name it, Firefly will scan it, and then probably try and make you buy something. Mayday - Amazon's 24-7-365 interactive customer service - also makes the leapthe Kindle Fire HDX tablet to the Fire phone. Thatsounds lovely, but is it any good? We've taken a look at the early hands on Amazon Fire phone reviewsaround the web to gauge the interest. Gizmodo Gizmodo doesn't hold back, declarin...

BANGALORE : Mozilla is reportedly planning on launching a Smartphone costing as low as $25 for the Indian markets according to the inputs on the Wall Street journal. The company has announced a tie-up with the Indian OEMs like the Intex and Spice to bring its Firefox OS phones, reports Times Of India. Mozilla will work with the Chinese chipset manufacturer Spreadtrum, to develop the chipsets which will cost low and let the handset manufacturers to keep the price of the Smartphone cheap. There is no word on the specifications of the phone as yet, but the company says the phone will be available in India sometime this year. "Intex is excited to announce its association with Mozilla which will enable us to develop unparalleled smart devices on the latest Firefox OS platform”, said Mr. Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head, Mobile, Intex Technologies."The platform will give us an edge in upgrading buyers from feature phones to Smartphones while making it affordable for the...