Tech news

Do you welcome physical fitness like a fish in water, or does it take a trip to the clothing store for larger sizes to get you moving? If you need a push, perhaps a new motivational tool called KrowdFit will be more to your liking. It pays you cash to put your fitness tracking devices on. The KrowdFit wellness app uses a novel twist to a childhood motivational method. It pays you cash to keep physically active. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3cfygnT

An online map of surveillance cameras in New York City is in the works. The map project is part of a larger campaign called "Ban the Scan," sponsored by Amnesty International, which is partnering on the initiative with several other tech advocacy, privacy, and civil liberties groups. Data for the map will be "crowdsourced" by volunteers. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2MvXHqx

Google sent a shock wave through the advertising and publishing industries last year when it announced it planned to scrap third-party tracking cookies, which are an important tool for online marketers. Not to worry, the company announced Monday. It has a viable alternative in the wings. "FLoC" will be available for public testing with the March release of Chrome. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/39jj6w7

Huawei has events where it pulls together key analysts to focus on problems it thinks are critical to the future. At its last event, Huawei spoke about two areas that need considerable work. Let's talk this week about the need for centralized cyberlaw enforcement, and the need for a clear vision on the future of work. We'll close with the product of the week, a new 40" curved monitor from Dell. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3iLstYr

In the early part of 2020, the pandemic forced companies around the world to rethink their practices and determine how to accelerate the adoption of technologies that would enable remote work. After closing out on a tumultuous year, many business leaders admit where they may have gone wrong. Here are some ways they would approach a shift to remote work, if faced with the crisis all over again. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3p9jSBc

A strategic partnership with Microsoft was announced Tuesday by General Motors and Cruise aimed at speeding up the commercialization of shared self-driving vehicles. In addition, Microsoft will be joining GM, Honda and some institutional investors in adding US$2 billion to Cruise's coffers, bringing the value of the shared self-driving vehicle company to $30 billion. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/35XBDvC

DuckDuckGo reached a significant milestone last week when it racked up more than 100 million searches in a single day. While still a paltry number compared to the more than five billion daily searches performed by Google, the milestone is a major one for the search engine that doesn't store any of its users' personal information, archive their search histories, or track their search activity. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/38XyVbB

We still seem to do these remote activities as we did when we met in person. Streaming and video conferencing tools we are using still don't allow us to do what we once did face-to-face, but they have other advantages that aren't being utilized to make the experience better. Let's talk about who did a great job, and what worked at CES; and then what sucked at the event. We'll close with a look at a promised new vehicle from GM: the Cadillac Lyriq. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/368fNpB

The last thing George Kramb expected from years of walking surgeons through actual operations using medical machinery was to step into a role that helped guide patients worldwide through their own medical journeys. Kramb and his partner Patrick Frank are now listed on the "2021 Forbes 30 Under 30" list in recognition of their status as rising stars in the business world, having cofounded a service that connects patients through relatable experiences. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Kd4dS3

Smart devices, the cornerstone of the home of the future, can't seem to capture the imagination or open the wallets of a large number of Americans. Some 46.7 million broadband households aren't ready to buy a smart home device, according to a survey released this week by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in consumer technology products. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3oI4yeu

Maintaining and increasing research and development spending in the COVID-19 era is critical for high technology vendors to deliver new solutions and services, continue to innovate, and position their businesses to rebound from the negative effects of the global pandemic. Analysts, financial advisors, and investors concur that, wherever possible, vendors should continue to aggressively invest in R&D. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2XvDS4S

The PC market ended 2020 with a big bang, as shipments during the final quarter rose 25 percent over the same period in 2019, according to a report by research firm Canalys. Much of the market growth during the year was driven by notebooks and mobile workstation shipments, which increased 44 percent over 2019, reaching 235.1 million. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/39q0VU7

This year, due to COVID restrictions, CES is all digital. Let's talk about what you'll see at the show, and what might make an event like CES work better virtually. I used to teach a class on how to put together tech events, and I'm pulling out my old notes for this. We'll close with the product of the week, a monitor launched by Dell that is focused on video conferencing in the new normal. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3nyoPlt

An international group of scientists is demanding scientific journals demand more transparency from researchers in computer-related areas when accepting their reports for publication. They also want computational researchers to include information about their code, models and computational environments in published reports. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2LxR3zo

More than 80 percent of 650 cybersecurity and IT professionals surveyed by Check Point Software Technologies in July said their traditional security solutions either do not work at all, or only provide limited functions in the cloud. This indicates that organizations' cloud migrations and deployments are racing ahead of their security teams' abilities to defend against attacks and breaches. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/35jh3Wc

For the majority of consumers, cutting the cable TV cord is a mixed bag for a variety of reasons. The big misconception is that you will drastically lower your cable bill. That is not the case unless you can also pickup free TV reception from an antenna. Otherwise, you will need to use a video streaming service to help lower your costs. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/38dQcgf

A new mobile processor announced by Qualcomm Technologies is expected to spawn a wave of economically priced 5G smartphones. Kedar Kondap, vice president for product management at Qualcomm maintained in a statement that the Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform will exceed OEM and consumer expectations in delivering high- and mid-tier features at an affordable price. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/3pRj0ku

While the pandemic has been painful, it has caused things to accelerate in several areas impressively rapidly. Two of those areas are robotics and artificial intelligence, which we'll see adapted broadly this decade with a considerable bump in 2021. Let's talk about all of that this week, and we'll close with the first product of the week in 2021, the Somnofy AI Sleep Monitor. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2X8dhur