Robert Mercer, co-chief executive of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and one of Donald Trump’s biggest donors, has been sued by a former employee who says he was fired after he publicly criticised his boss’s support for the US president. David Magerman, a long-time research scientist at the fund who had helped it build computer algorithms that make investment decisions, was terminated after giving two newspaper interviews […]
The biannual OpenStack Summit opened with Jonathan Bryce, executive director of the OpenStack Foundation, saying “We’re a inflection point … We are moving into the second generation of the cloud.” And OpenStack is leading the way. What are these generations? The first generation was built on immature technologies that required expert architects, engineers, and developers. Only large technology companies, such as eBay and Yahoo, could implement them. […]
New research shows that an 18-mm magnetized capsule colonoscope, which can be paired with standard medical instruments, successfully performed intricate maneuvers inside the colon while guided by an external magnet attached to a robotic arm. Researchers believe this technology will reduce the potential discomfort of colonoscopies and lead to more people undergoing the life-saving screening test. Source
Comcast is making it a whole lot easier to manage a home Wi-Fi network, introducing the new xFi platform gunning for top Wi-Fi routers. In recent times, various companies such Eero, Google and others have made efforts to facilitate the setup and maintenance of a home network. Comcast now joins the party as well, announcing its new xFi cloud-based gateway for easy home network management. Smart Wi-Fi For […]
Nvidia is rolling out a new platform that aims to provide deep learning analytics to video streams produced from smart city applications. Dubbed Metropolis, the platform takes data captured by cameras deployed in government properties, public transit systems, commercial buildings and roadways, and then runs it through AI to help cities monitor video instantaneously. The idea is that cities are inundated with video data and need a […]
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute have developed a low-cost method of turning a wide variety of surfaces into touchpads, such as this steering wheel Credit: Future Interfaces Group Touch sensing is most common on small, flat surfaces such as smartphone or tablet screens. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, however, can turn surfaces of a wide variety of shapes and sizes into touchpads using tools […]
By Thierry Chiarello and Sarah White | PARIS PARIS Emmanuel Macron may have won Sunday’s presidential election by a comfortable margin, but even his supporters’ enthusiasm is tempered by the scale of the challenge that the inexperienced politician faces in tackling France’s deep-seated economic, social and security problems. Macron, a former economy minister who had never previously stood for elected office, beat far-right leader Marine Le Pen […]
Virtustream announced Monday that it’s launching Healthcare Cloud, a service built on the Virtustream Enterprise Cloud that’s designed to meet the security, regulatory, and IT needs of healthcare providers. It provides an environment compliant with federal HIPAA and HITECH regulations with availability service level agreements of up to 99.999 percent. It can be deployed in a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment, with a set of on […]
This is a section of a graphene network with chemically bound hydrogen atom: the spectral vibrational signature of the single carbon-carbon bonds adjacent to the bound hydrogen atom is highlighted in different colors. Credit: Copyright Frank Hauke, FAU This is a section of a graphene network with chemically bound hydrogen atom: the spectral vibrational signature of the single carbon-carbon bonds adjacent to the bound hydrogen atom is […]
Motorola is reportedly developing a new tablet, its first in over five years. That’s according to Android Police, which was able to obtain a photo of the tablet’s screen in question. The report estimates the tablet might be 9 to 10 inches in size, complete with a “premium look and feel.” Motorola’s Upcoming Tablet Borrows The Yoga Book’s Productivity Mode The photo tells very little other than it’ll […]
U.S. federal health regulators have approved a new drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The drug called Radicava or edaravone, is the second drug to be greenlighted by the FDA for the condition after more than 20 years. Radicava is manufactured by MT Pharma America, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation in Japan. It is given by intravenous infusion and will cost more […]
Researchers have launched a trial for prosthetic limbs which have been designed to reach for objects automatically in a bid to make them act more like natural, organic limbs. A team of biomedical engineers from the UK’s Newcastle University, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), said this month that a bionic hand has been developed which “sees” objects in its environment. Through the […]
What does a professional sailor look for in a watch? Well, Jimmy Spithill, skipper and helmsman of Oracle Team USA, sums it up: “It has to look good, and it has got to have a level of sophistication. Like a boat, having beautiful lines, and sometimes the simplicity, is what makes it look good.” It also has to have features such as, naturally, a waterproof exterior, along […]
08 May 2017 Sharjah – The season’s biggest sale of consumer electronics and fashion products is all set to open as the second edition of mega shopper will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from May 10 to 13, 2017. Considered as single-largest consumer electronics and fashion event, the 2nd Consumer Electronics Fashion – Big Shopper 2017 promises to be the largest showcase of the latest in gadgets, […]
By Lizbeth Diaz and Michael O’Boyle | COYUCA DE CATALAN, Mexico COYUCA DE CATALAN, Mexico The Mexican army says its fight against surging opium production that feeds U.S demand is increasingly complicated by the rise of smaller gangs disputing wild, ungoverned lands planted with ever-stronger poppy strains. The gangs have engulfed the state of Guerrero in a war to control poppy fields, turning inaccessible mountain valleys of […]
You might have noticed that the Kickstarter-crowdfunded game Prey for the Gods is now called Praey for the Gods. That name change is actually the result of a trademark dispute involving Praey’s developer, No Matter Studios, and Zenimax, Bethesda’s parent company. From ‘Prey For The Gods’ To ‘Praey For The Gods’ For the uninitiated, the dispute grew out of Bethesda’s ownership of the Prey trademark. Zenimax was concerned that […]
From February to April this year, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover probed into four sites near a linear dune on the Red Planet to compare the samples of dark sand taken here to those that was found in 2015 and 2016 when it investigated the crescent-shaped dunes. Dark Sand From Mars’s Linear Sand Dune The newly taken samples from the linear sand dune, which is located uphill of Mount […]
Doha, Qatar – 7 May, 2017 Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar’s leading Islamic Bank, was awarded the Product Innovation Award under the Islamic Finance category from Global Finance. The award recognized QIB’s efforts in introducing innovative sharia compliant products that meet customers’ needs by providing them with long-term deposits with flexible profit payment options. The long-term deposits, with flexible profit payment options and higher expected yields, give […]
(Image: file photo) A vulnerability in Intel chips that went undiscovered for almost a decade allows hackers to remotely gain full control over affected Windows PCs without needing a password. The “critical”-rated bug, disclosed by Intel last week, lies in a feature of Intel’s Active Management Technology (more commonly known as just AMT), which allows IT administrators to remotely carry out maintenance and other tasks on entire […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist, won an emphatic victory in France’s presidential run-off against Marine Le Pen, the far-right Front National leader, on Sunday, taking 65.1 per cent of the vote, according to estimates. Mr Macron’s victory is a phenomenal achievement for the 39-year-old former Rothschild banker, who has never before held elected office and whose political movement En Marche! was […]
With the kick off of Microsoft’s Build 2017 developer conference this week, I’m expecting to hear the phrase “on the edge” more than a few times. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella set the stage for the coming distributed computing/edge computing talk during the company’s recent earnings call with press and analysts. “When everyone’s talking about the cloud, the most interesting part is the edge of the cloud,” Nadella […]
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, mocked the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices before hinting that the rumored Siri-powered smart speaker will come with a display. With the shots fired and the hinted feature, Apple’s pending entry into the smart speaker market has suddenly become even more interesting. Schiller Fires Shots at Amazon Echo, Google Home In an interview with India’s Gadgets 360, Schiller […]
New technology adds methyl groups at specific positions on DNA, allowing targeted gene correction of aberrant epigenetic disorders. (via WSJ)
(Image: file photo via CBS News/CBS Interactive) The FBI spent $900,000 on a hack that allowed federal agents into the San Bernardino terrorist’s encrypted iPhone, according to a Democratic senator. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) confirmed the figure this week during an open hearing. FBI director James Comey was testifying in regarding the agency’s work, the events in the run-up to the 2016 elections, and the upcoming reauthorization […]
