Technology

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. plans to use drones and new indoor navigation features to improve its Maps service and catch longtime leader Google, according to people familiar with the matter. The Cupertino, California-based company is assembling a team of robotics and data-collection experts that will use drones to capture and update map information faster than its existing fleet of camera-and- ...

  Relaxnews A new website allowing Gmail users to unsubscribe from most websites and online services linked to their email address is currently buzzing online. There are, in fact, several online tools that can help declutter your inbox and keep personal data safe. OPTING OUT OF THE INTERNET The website deseat.me works in a very simple way. Users connect using ...

  San Francisco / AFP Apple has revealed it is investing heavily in autonomous vehicles in a letter asking the government to make it easier to develop self-driving cars. The company is “excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation,” Apple said in a November 22 letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offering Apple’s ...

  Bloomberg Computerized sensors that warn drivers they’re about to rear-end another vehicle or prevent other types of accidents are available on models made by every major auto manufacturer. The problem, according to a US safety agency and accident-prevention advocates, is that these life-saving technologies are optional equipment that makes its way onto a tiny minority of vehicles. “We’re not ...

  Bloomberg Hate doing laundry? Shin Sakane has a solution. The Japanese inventor received 6 billion yen ($53 million) from partners, including Panasonic Corp., last month to advance “the Laundroid” — a robot Sakane is developing to not only wash and dry garments, but also sort, fold and neatly arrange them. The refrigerator-size device could eventually fill the roles of ...

  Bloomberg One of the main hurdles to drones’ ability to zip around the country delivering packages is a requirement that they stay within their operator’s line of sight during daylight hours. Qualcomm Inc. is working on a solution that’s been right before our eyes: cellphone networks. The rules from the US Federal Aviation Administration exist to help prevent accidents ...

  Relaxnews Fitbit is close to buying the smartwatch-maker Pebble, known for its string of successful crowdfunding campaigns. Due to financial difficulties, Pebble is under pressure to find a buyer, although the brand itself risks being phased out after a potential takeover. Despite its original products, the American startup hasn’t managed to withstand growth in the smartwatch market, which has ...

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. introduced an image recognition program, a speech-to-text service dubbed Polly, and tools for building conversational apps, highlighting its push to add artificial intelligence to its cloud-computer offerings. Andy Jassy, chief executive officer of the Amazon Web Services unit, unveiled the new products at the company’s fifth annual re:Invent conference, which drew 32,000 people from diverse industries ...

  DUBLIN / AP As Gov. John Kasich announced a $15 million investment in advanced self-driving highway technology, he urged Ohioans to push back against old ideas about the state. “Who would ever want to be called the Rust Belt?” he said. “The Rust Belt’s some deteriorating, eroding, old, tired and worn out place. You ever hear that term, do ...

  Bloomberg Users of the WeChat instant-messaging platform can have their content censored even if they leave China or switch to an overseas phone number, according to a research group. WeChat accounts registered with a mainland China-based phone number have keywords filtered out or messages blocked anywhere in the world as long they keep the same user name, according to ...