Articles by John P. Mello Jr

The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a directive aimed at protecting the intellectual property of copyright holders on the Internet. It would require online platforms to scrutinize content their users post online and enter licensing agreements with rights holders The Parliament approved the copyright directive with a vote of 438-226, with ...

Getting Sonos' top-shelf speakers to play nice with other connected devices in the home has been challenging in the past, but that's about to change The company has announced the Sonos Sound Platform, which includes new APIs, developer tools, and documentation to make it easier for Sonos products to operate with third-party hardware and software....

An empty chair reserved for Google became the focal point for harsh criticism Wednesday at the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing on Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. After thanking Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for agreeing to testify at the forum, Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., added...

Strong encryption can be a threat to law enforcement and national security, the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand said in a statement issued Sunday "The increasing use and sophistication of certain encryption designs present challenges for nations in combating serious crimes and threats to national ...

Google on Monday announced several new online tools designed to help former members of the military find jobs or attract new customers to their businesses One tool allows vets to type in the search term "jobs for veterans" followed by specific military job codes to see civilian jobs with skill requirements that match their service experience....

Apple will release three new iPhones in September, according to Bloomberg -- the latest media outlet to publish information from unnamed knowledgeable sources about the company's plans Although all the phones will have edge-to-edge displays, like the iPhone X, only two will have OLED screens, Bloomberg reported Monday....

Facebook on Tuesday announced it has removed more than 650 Facebook and Instagram pages, groups, and accounts originating in Iran and Russia for "coordinated inauthentic behavior." The goal is to improve the trustworthiness of Facebook connections....

Microsoft on Monday said it has torpedoed a pair of websites designed to steal credentials from visitors to two Republican Party think tanks The malicious websites were among six the company took down last week. A group of hackers affiliated with the Russian military created the sites, according to Microsoft. The group apparently was the same group...

Nvidia on Monday announced a powerful new graphics architecture with the potential to blur the line between virtual and actual reality. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the new chips at the company's SIGGRAPH 2018 event in Vancouver, Canada The Turing architecture enables a new generation of hybrid rendering that can be used to create cinematic-qua...

The line between journalism and public relations can be fuzzy, and news organizations have wrestled with that problem for some time. However, that line recently has become more blurred than ever, with some publications enlisting armies of nonprofessional scribes to satisfy an insatiable appetite for content. It's easy to understand why the problem...

Artificial Intelligence plays a big role in Android 9, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, released Monday Called "Android Pie," the OS is designed to learn from its users' behavior, and apply those lessons to simplify and customize their phone experiences....

A computer virus over the weekend disrupted the operations of the Asian manufacturer that makes chips for the iPhone and other devices offered by top shelf high-tech companies The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Sunday said that a virus outbreak Friday evening affected a number of computer systems and fab tools at its facilities in Taiwan...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced the National Risk Management Center, part of a new effort to combat cyberthreats to the nation The new agency's mission will be to defend the U.S.' critical infrastructure through greater cooperation between the public and private sectors....

IBM and currency trading utility CLS on Monday announced a new platform that enables financial institutions to deploy, share and consume services on a hosted blockchain network Nine financial institutions, including Barclays and Citibank, have agreed to participate in the initial launch of the platform, which is sort of an app store for solutions t...

Hundreds of U.S. utilities were penetrated by Russian hackers who could have disrupted the nation's power grid The attacks were launched last year by threat actors belonging to a group known as "Dragonfly" or "Energetic Bear," which is sponsored by the Russian government, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday....

Mobile phone cameras are about to get a significant performance boost Sony on Monday introduced a 48-megapixel sensor for cellphone cameras that measures less than one-third of an inch diagonally. The sensor is slated for release in September....

Microsoft on Monday announced a new version of its Skype messaging app, along with a warning that previous versions of the software will be disabled after Sept. 1 "As we roll out improvements, there comes a time when we must shut down older services and application versions," wrote the Skype Team in an online post. "This is done to ensure that all ...

Roku has earned a reputation for making streaming TV products that are easy to set up and use, and that deliver above-average quality at affordable prices -- and that's the approach it has taken with its new Roku TV Wireless Speakers The company unveiled the speakers on Monday, although it doesn't expect to start shipping them until October, when t...

A new feature in iOS 11.4.1, which Apple released earlier this week, is designed to protect against unwanted intrusions through the iPhone's Lightning Port. However, the protection may be weak at best The feature, called "USB Restricted Mode," disables data transfer through the Lightning Port after an hour of inactivity.

A popular fitness app provided a convenient map for anyone interested in shadowing government personnel who exercised in secret locations, including intelligence agencies, military bases and airfields, nuclear weapons storage sites, and embassies around the world The fitness app, Polar Flow, publicized more data about its users in a more accessible...