James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Privacy advocates blast U.S. government demand for details about anti-Trump website visitors
The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding that it be given details about 1.3 million people who visited a website that was created to organize protestors on President Donald Trump’s inauguration. In a blog post, web hosting provider DreamHost explained how the DOJ issued a warrant demanding that it hand over details on visitors to ...
As boardroom battle rages on, Uber mulls three separate investments
Uber Technologies Inc. is considering selling a large number of shares to two investment groups, with a third proposal also being mulled over, according to a report in The New York Times. Uber’s board gave the thumbs up to go ahead with an investment from Japanese telecommunications giant, SoftBank Group, while a consortium of investors ...
As employees fear online harassment, Google cancels gender issues meeting
Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai Thursday canceled a meeting the company was set to hold concerning gender issues. The move followed the recent controversy involving software engineer James Damore and his internal email criticizing Google’s diversity policy. Damore was subsequently fired, and he later filed a complaint with the National Labor Review Board. ...
In the Trump era, US companies don’t want as many foreign tech workers
A report released today by San Francisco-based recruitment company Hired Inc. reveals big changes in global tech hiring trends during the era of President Donald Trump. Trump’s promise to bring jobs back to America has so far included plans to reform the H-1B visa system and also to scrap the Obama administration’s so-called startup visa. The Hired ...
Google engineer sets off a firestorm with a challenge to diversity initiatives
A Google Inc. software engineer has created a furor after disseminating an antidiversity manifesto, in which he criticizes the company for being an “ideological echo-chamber.” The memo accuses Google of discrimination for its attempt to level the playing field and assert gender and race equality within the company. The employee writes that Google embraces biases regarding ...
Report: Uber knowingly leased defective cars to drivers in Singapore, and it didn’t end well
Uber Technologies Inc. knowingly leased hundreds of defective cars to drivers in Singapore, and at least one of those cars caught fire, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal Thursday. The car in question was a Honda Vezel sport utility vehicle driven by Singaporean Uber driver Koh Seng Tian. The driver rented the vehicle ...
Brave New America: In a controversial first in U.S., scientists edit genes in an embryo
In a first for the U.S., researchers in Oregon have successfully modified genes in human embryos to prevent disease, recent reports have revealed. Prior to what has been called a “milestone” in the U.S., the only country to edit embryos successfully was China. The embryos involved in the U.S., as well as China, were not ...
Hands-free selfies: Snap is looking at buying drone maker Zero Zero Robotics
Snap Inc. is taking steps to buy Beijing-based Zero Zero Robotics Inc., according to a report by the Information published Tuesday. The Chinese startup, established in 2014, created a stir last year after launching its Hover Camera Passport drone. The drone users artificial intelligence and facial recognition so it can be set to track a ...
Tech CEOs brush back invitation to meet with Congress on net neutrality
Chief executives from some of the world’s leading tech companies have rebuffed an invitation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to meet with Congress in September to discuss net neutrality. Last week Republican Greg Walden sent a letter to Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet Inc. CEO Larry Page, Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos ...
AnchorFree says it’s saving net neutrality by helping apps circumvent ISPs
Silicon Valley software company AnchorFree Inc. has come up with a solution to the possibility of Internet service providers throttling certain content on the Internet: a way to get around those providers. AnchorFree, which claims to be the “world’s largest Internet Freedom and Privacy Platform,” has developed a free Software Development Kit that will protect ...