By Yasmeen Abutaleb MENLO PARK, Calif. (Reuters) – Facebook Inc announced on Thursday it has completed building its first full-scale drone, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and will provide Internet access to the most remote parts of the world. The plane will weigh about 880 pounds (400 kg), said Yael Maguire, the company's engineering director of connectivity
Read moreBy Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ride service Uber has reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family of a 6-year-old girl who died in a San Francisco car accident, according to court filings. The girl, Sofia Liu, died after she, her younger brother and their mother were hit by a car in a San Francisco cross-walk on New Year's Eve in 2013
Read moreBy Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ride service Uber has reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family of a 6-year-old girl who died in a San Francisco car accident, according to court filings. The girl, Sofia Liu, died after she, her younger brother and their mother were hit by a car in a San Francisco cross-walk on New Year's Eve in 2013. At the time of the crash, the driver was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was available to provide rides, the lawsuit said
Read moreBy Julia Love and Paul Lienert SAN FRANCISCO/DETROIT (Reuters) – Carmakers are limiting the data they share with technology partners Apple Inc and Google Inc through new systems that link smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems, defending access to information about what drivers do in their cars. Auto companies hope that the vehicle data will one day generate billions of dollars in e-commerce, though they are just beginning to form strategies for monetizing the information. Apple and Google already make money from smartphone owners by providing a variety of products and services, from digital music to targeted advertising, and connecting phones to car systems will almost certainly extend their reach.
Read moreBy Yasmeen Abutaleb SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc announced plans on Tuesday to build a new data center in Fort Worth, Texas, its fourth in the United States and fifth overall. Facebook will invest at least $500 million in the global data center, a spokesperson said, and will employ at least 40 full-time employees.
Read moreAn online game in which Pope Francis careers through the streets of Asuncion in his “popemobile” dodging potholes is delighting Paraguayans fed up with the capital city’s dilapidated streets.
Read moreBy Yasmeen Abutaleb SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc has enabled users without an account to sign up for its Messenger app with a phone number, the social media company said on Wednesday, in another move to broaden the app's reach and make it a standalone platform. Earlier this year, Facebook opened up Messenger to developers, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted to connect users directly with retailers, restaurants and other businesses. With the latest update, users will be prompted by an option that says “Not on Facebook?” when they open the app
Read moreBy Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The Chinese hacking group suspected of stealing sensitive information about millions of current and former U.S. government employees has a different mission and organizational structure than the military hackers who have been accused of other U.S.
Read moreBy Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The Chinese hacking group suspected of stealing sensitive information about millions of current and former U.S. government employees has a different mission and organizational structure than the military hackers who have been accused of other U.S. data breaches, according to people familiar with the matter
Read moreBy Paul Carsten and John Ruwitch SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is an underdog in the global cloud computing industry, but it has one thing going for it: it's Chinese. Alibaba this week scored a minor deal with China's northeastern port city of Dalian to build a cloud computing center and provide online government services such as bill payment
Read more