Technology

  Bloomberg On the face of it, U.K. supercar maker McLaren would seem an odd partner for Apple Inc. as the consumer electronics and software giant seeks to crack the global auto industry. With its racetrack heritage and gas-guzzling models priced from 126,000 pounds ($165,000), Woking, England-based McLaren is a world away from the mainstream auto market, which Apple appears ...

  Bloomberg Salesforce.com Inc. and other companies eyeing Twitter Inc. may pay more than $16 billion to get their hands on the social-media company’s valuable data. But they’ll also inherit challenges, including management turmoil, lackluster growth and an unsolved identity crisis. While it remains a destination for conversation among influential people, Twitter would be tough to digest. Chief Executive Officer ...

  Relaxnews The digital mapmaker acquired by BMW AG, Audi AG and Daimler AG is rolling out a real-time traffic service that warns of road hazards and helps find parking spaces by utilizing the sensors and cameras mounted on board the luxury models of its owners. The service that will debut early next year is the first use of automotive ...

  Relaxnews Telecoms provider Orange is testing the waters of mass-market VR with an experimental OCS VR channel for the Samsung Gear VR and PlayStation VR. The Paris, France headquartered telco is teaming up with Californian startup Wevr to offer premium video content in “an immersive VR environment customized to look like a private theatre” from October 12, 2016. From ...

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. opened a branch of its early-stage technology investment program in Tel Aviv to better tap into the innovative engineering for which Israel is known. Investment in individual companies will typically be about $1 million with no limit on the number of beneficiaries or the funding amount, Eyal Miller, Samsung Next Tel Aviv’s general manager and ...

  Wellington / AFP New Zealand researchers said Monday they have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created in 1951 on a gigantic contraption built by British genius Alan Turing. The aural artefact, which paved the way for everything from synthesizers to modern electronica, opens with a staunchly conservative tune —the British national anthem “God Save the King”. Researchers at ...

  AP Of all the personal information people tend to give out willy-nilly on the internet, birthdate is perhaps the most ubiquitous. It’s not just Yahoo and Facebook seeking that information. Websites, newsletters, online stores and a plethora of other places want your birthdate — and many services won’t let you sign up until you provide it. And it’s probably ...

  Relaxnews In recent weeks Yahoo has been prompting users to change their passwords and to add a phone number as an extra layer of security and on Thursday the reason for these requests became clear. The tech company announced that a hack could have compromised 500 million users’ details. MAKE THE CHANGE NOW Whether you’re one of the 500 ...

  San Francisco / AFP Vanishing message service Snapchat announced it will launch a line of video-catching sunglasses, a spin on Glass eyewear abandoned by Google more than a year ago. The California-based company, which also announced it is changing its name to Snap Inc., said in an online post that its Spectacles will be “available soon,” with media reports ...

  Emirates Business While smartphone cameras are still unable to compete with high-end DSLRs, the gap is closing. Despite their shortcomings, the flexibility of smartphones leaves them well-equipped to capture content that is off limits to traditional cameras. From 360 Virtual Reality-ready content and action photography to wide-angle shots, the ability of smartphones to interact with companion devices or smart ...