James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
With new Maps feature, Google aims to alleviate the drudgery of commuting
Google LLC has brought out a couple of new features in Google Maps that might help deal with the stress of being stuck in gridlocked traffic. Announced Monday, the new “Commute” tab is tailored to a person’s daily drive, bus ride or train ride to and from the workplace. Once Maps knows the details of your journey, you ...
US Justice Department sues California to block state net neutrality bill
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a net neutrality bill Sunday, which much like the old Federal Communications Commission laws would prevent internet service providers from prioritizing content or throttling and blocking certain content. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has said any attempt to implement state laws on net neutrality is “illegal,” adding such “micromanagement” ...
Meeting with Congress, big tech calls for a federal data privacy law
After yet another congressional hearing Wednesday, it’s looking like Silicon Valley tech giants may soon have to get used to new data privacy laws, whether they like it or not. Some of largest names in tech, including Google LLC, Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., all endorsed data privacy legislation. That may seem surprising on the surface, but ...
Tech giants face another grilling by Congress Wednesday – and this time Google will be there
Some of the world’s leading tech companies will meet with Congress Wednesday, this time to discuss user privacy on their services. Representatives from Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., AT&T Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Google LLC and Twitter Inc. will discuss issues surrounding data collection and how companies are protecting their users’ data. According to Republican Senator ...
Privacy concerns flare over latest Chrome browser’s ‘forced login’
When Google LLC launched its updated version of Chrome browser, Chrome 69, earlier this month, users were told a lot of small changes would happen all aimed at boosting productivity. But some users now are not happy about something Google wasn’t exactly selling prior to the release of the browser. That is, if you’re logged into ...
Google confirms Gmail accounts of U.S. senators were targeted by state-backed hackers
Google LLC has confirmed that the Gmail accounts of a number of U.S. senators and senate staff were targeted by state-backed hackers. The confirmation on Thursday came a day after Sen. Ron Wyden revealed in a letter that his office had discovered that the personal email accounts of several senators and aides had been “targeted ...
Amazon to open 3,000 cashierless stores
Amazon.com Inc. may open at least 3,000 AmazonGo cashierless stores in the U.S. over the next few years, which looks like a move to take on the everyday convenience store and fast-food joints. According to Bloomberg, someone familiar with the matter had divulged that Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos saw a problem with lunchtime queues ...
Elon Musk’s woes continue as DoJ opens investigation into Tesla
When it rains, it pours, especially on Tesla Inc. and its Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk these days. On Tuesday, reports revealed the company is now under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department relating to tweets Musk made last month. First reported by Bloomberg, the probe opened by the DoJ will look at statements Musk ...
Ahead of midterms, Facebook introduces new security tools for political candidates
Facebook Inc. today rolled out a pilot program that will offer enhanced security protections for U.S. political candidates and elected officials ahead of the upcoming midterms. By its own admission, Facebook “didn’t do enough” to prevent interference by foreign agents in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and it’s now determined to ensure such undermining of ...
Mark Zuckerberg outlines his strategy to keep Facebook abuse-free
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg released what could be called a manifesto Thursday, outlining how the company will fight election interference on the platform as well as keeping misinformation at bay. Zuckerberg talked of “foreign actors” such as Russia-based operators that had paid for political ads during the U.S. presidential election. This time, he contended, ...
