Articles by John P. Mello Jr

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday announced a pilot project using self-driving trucks. It will conduct the two-week experiment in collaboration with TuSimple, an autonomous driving technology company based in San Diego TuSimple's contract with the postal service calls for one of the company's self-driving trucks to make five round trips hauling US...

Next-generation 5G mobile communications technology could have a harmful impact on weather forecasting in the United States, based on expert testimony presented before a U.S. House committee during a hearing on the future of weather forecasting Interference from 5G wireless phones could reduce the accuracy of weather forecasts by 30 percent, said N...

Many users of Facebook's WhatsApp messaging software were scrambling to patch the program on Tuesday, in response to news of a flaw that allowed spyware to be installed on mobile phones running Android and iOS "This new type of attack is deeply worrying and shows how even the most trusted mobile apps and platforms can be vulnerable," said Mike Camp...

The United States Supreme Court on Monday gave thumbs up for a class action antitrust lawsuit to proceed against Apple for alleged monopolistic practices at its App Store In the case, Apple Inc. v. Pepper et al., the consumer plaintiffs maintain the Cupertino, California, company has monopolized the retail market for the sale of apps, and that it u...

Google showed off its chops in artificial intelligence and machine learning, renewed its commitment to giving users greater control over their data, and introduced a new economically priced smartphone during a keynote presentation at its annual I/O conference held in Mountain View, California, on Tuesday "They were there to hammer home the point th...

Apple plans to introduce a boatload of new apps, features and development tools at its World Wide Developers Conference next month, Bloomberg reported Monday As it does every year, Apple will use the WWDC, set to begin June 3, to reveal the next versions of operating systems for its hardware products....

These could be the worst of times for high-end flagship smartphones Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday told Alphabet shareholders that his company's flagship phones, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, released last fall, had encountered some "year over year headwinds."

A new method for hiding the true location of a website from users of the mobile Chrome Web browser has come to light Phishers can trick users into revealing their credentials for a legitimate website to operators of a malicious one, security researcher James Fisher reported in a post on his personal blog Saturday....

The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved two measures that would integrate the region's fragmented law enforcement and home affairs databases into a centralized one that would include biometric information on some 350 million EU and non-EU citizens. It approved creation of the new system, the Common Identity Repository, on two votes last we...

Foldable phones faced a setback on Monday when Samsung announced it was postponing indefinitely the release of its Galaxy Fold, which had been scheduled to reach retail shelves in the United States this Friday Samsung pumped the brakes on release of the US$1,980 phone after several reviewers reported problems with their units....

The ramp-up to Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference this June has begun, with reports circulating about the goodies the company will include in the next generation of its desktop and mobile operating systems. The latest revelations include macOS support for the iPad as an auxiliary display, and iOS support for multiple windows within apps. The...

A copyright directive that some fear could break the Internet cleared the final hurdle in the European Union on Monday The Council of the European Union approved the directive, which makes platforms for user-uploaded content -- like Google and Facebook -- legally liable for violating the rights of copyright holders. It requires them to obtain the p...

Apple plans to introduce a number of new products in the next two years that will sport a new display technology, according to master Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities Based on Kuo's predictions, which were reported widely on Tuesday, Apple will use new "mini LED" technology in three new products:...

New augmented reality features, an SDK for Stories, and a games platform highlighted Snapchat's first developer's conference last week AR features announced at Snap's first Partner Summit:...

YouTube executives have been unable or unwilling to rein in toxic content because it could reduce engagement on their platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday In a 3,000-word article, Mark Bergen wrote that the US$16 billion company has spent years chasing one business goal: engagement....

Apple is getting into the credit card business. The company has announced a virtual payment card built into the wallet app on iPhones. Apple Card sports a number of features aimed at helping consumers lead a healthier financial life "With our hardware, software and services, we think that Apple is uniquely positioned to make the most significant ch...

Apple on Monday announced a raft of new services, including original TV programming and news and magazine offerings, at an event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California The Apple TV+ service, which will launch in the fall, already has a number of high-profile shows in its lineup:...

Google on Tuesday pulled the wraps off Stadia, a new cloud-based gaming platform, at the 2019 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco Using the power of Google's global information infrastructure, Stadia can stream the highest-quality games to any screen, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a keynote announcing the platform, which is expected to c...

Apple on Monday announced a new 10.5-inch iPad and a refresh of the iPad mini The 10.5-inch iPad Air, which will sell for US$499 ($629 with cellular), provides 64 gigabytes of solid state storage and WiFi support. It has Apple's latest mobile processor, the A12 Bionic chip, and supports Apple Pencil and the company's smart keyboard....

Mozilla on Tuesday announced Firefox Send, a free encrypted file-sharing service that works in any browser To share a file, you simply visit the Send site and drag your file to a box on the Web page. Unregistered users may upload up to 1 gigabyte in files, while registered users have a 2.5 GB allowance....