Technology

  New York / AFP It’s not exactly a store, but the Google “showroom” that opened in New York is the internet giant’s first real-world shop and a step onto terrain where rival Apple has excelled. The success of the temporary storefront Google opened in the trendy Soho neighborhood could help the California-based company decide whether to follow Apple’s lead ...

  Bloomberg In a darkened master bedroom, David Kaiserman stood in shirtsleeves next to a turned-down king bed. “Good morning, Siri,” he said to the iPad in his hand, and the lights went on while the blackout shades retracted. “Your home is ready to rise and shine,” the virtual assistant replied. Inside this four-bedroom stucco house in Alameda, California, Kaiserman, ...

  Bloomberg After pushing the auto industry along toward an electric future, Elon Musk wants to put cars on an accelerated path to driving autonomously, equipping each new Tesla Motors Inc. model with the hardware needed for full self-driving capability. Every Tesla, including the upcoming Model 3 sedan, will ship with eight cameras and a dozen sensors to give them ...

  Relaxnews The new Samsung ArtPC Pulse boasts an innovative modular design, doubles as a sound bar and can be programmed to glow different colors when you get an email or social media alert. Samsung calls its latest premium PC a computer that challenges “traditional perceptions of how a desktop PC should look and operate,” and while there is something ...

  Relaxnews The new Naim for Bentley Mu-so and Mu-so qb speakers blend premium sound quality with Bentley’s signature design aesthetics. More than simply a sound idea for a brand tie-in, the new Naim for Bentley range of wireless speakers should be seen as bringing a bit of your Bentley’s performance into your home. British hi-fi manufacturer Naim makes the ...

  Cambridge / AFP Professor Stephen Hawking has opened a new artificial intelligence research centre at Britain’s Cambridge University. The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) will delve into AI applications ranging from increasingly “smart” smartphones to robot surgeons and “Terminator” style military droids. Funded by a £10 million (11.2 million-euro, $12.3-million) grant from the Leverhulme Trust, the ...

  NEW YORK / AP Google’s ambitious new smartphone, the Pixel, doesn’t offer a lot that’s new. Yet it’s still one of the best out there. Google achieves that by pulling together the best features from Apple, Samsung and other phone makers and offering them at prices comparable to iPhones — starting at about $650 for the regular, 5-inch model ...

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s long drought of Mac updates is soon coming to an end ahead of the important holiday sales period. After launching new iPhones and Apple Watches last month, the Cupertino, California-based technology company is turning its attention to its oldest product category. It currently plans to announce the Mac updates at an event on Oct. 27, according ...

Relaxnews At a Qualcomm-hosted conference on the developments in 4G and 5G connectivity one would expect news and announcements regarding when the next wave of super-fast phones are coming. And, according to the company whose chips power the majority of smartphones and tablets around the world, it’s 2018. That’s when its first 5G modem, the Snapdragon X50, launches. It promises ...

  Sydney / AFP Australian archaeologists announced plans to recreate Laos’ mysterious Plain of Jars as a three-dimensional virtual reality experience, that could one day see museum visitors walk through remote dig sites. The Plain of Jars, in Laos’ central Xieng Khouang province, is scattered with thousands of stone vessels but scientists have yet to discover their original purpose. Archaeologists ...