Robots; Tech Diversity Race; War Crimes App; Apple’s WWDC

Posted June 9th, 2015 at 3:13 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings:

Korean Robot Takes Home $2 Million Prize in DARPA Challenge

A South Korean team won this weekend’s DARPA Robotics Challenge to design robots for disaster aid, taking home two million dollars. The winning DRC-HUBO robot completed all tasks in 45 minutes and was able to transform into a wheeled position to move faster. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s competition was held in California.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Race to Look Diverse

More often than not, tech giants have their keynote addresses delivered by men at their various development conferences and other events – a reflection of a severe shortfall of women in the tech industry. Now, some of the leading companies are trying to change that picture and increase the number of minorities and women in their ranks.

New Mobile App Could Help Prosecute War Criminals

EyeWitness to Atrocities is a new Android app that helps users document and report war crimes, including human rights abuses, genocide and torture. The app is the fruit of a partnership between the International Bar Association, which includes in its membership legal practitioners and law associations, and data hosting tech firm, LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

The 10 Most Important Announcements From Apple’s WWDC 2015

A new music streaming service and a new Mac OS X are just a couple of the announcements that came out of Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference. There’s more, including a move away from the iPhone home screen as a central activity hub.

Apple Is Going to Kill the Home Screen

Moving away from the iPhone’s home screen, typically the center of users’ activities, will let users move around to do various tasks using more direct alternatives Apple has provided over time.

Report: High-Tech Extortion Attacks Nearly Doubled in First Quarter

New findings from Intel Corp’s McAfee Labs Threats Report show that ransomware spiked 165 percent in the first quarter of 2015, while attacks on streaming media and gaming sites that use Adobe Flash software quadrupled.

Five Steps to Keep Your Smart Home From Being Hacked

If you set up your home with all the tech bells and whistles to control all your favorite activities remotely, you might want to consider ways to protect your wireless paradise as well. Writer Robert Lemos has a few tips to help you secure your home.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *