Technology

Android will now warn about unknown Bluetooth trackers, like AirTag, traveling with you

July 27, 2023
Google today will begin to roll out a new safety feature, unknown tracker alerts, first announced at its developer event Google I/O this spring. The feature will allow Android users to be alerted automatically if an unknown Bluetooth device is traveling with them — a sign that could point to the possibility that someone is […]

The Download: protecting photos from AI, and air-conditioning’s dilemma

July 27, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. This new tool could protect your pictures from AI manipulation What’s happening? There’s currently nothing stopping someone taking the selfie you posted online last week and editing it using powerful generative AI systems.…

GlossGenius raises $28M to expand its bookings and payments platform for beauty businesses

July 27, 2023
GlossGenius, a platform designed to handle bookings and payments for salons and spas, today announced that it raised $28 million in a Series C funding round led by L Catterton with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Imaginary Ventures. The round values GlossGenius at $510 million — the startup’s second up-round in the past 12 […]

Previous governments’ incompetence crippled India’s semiconductor growth, deputy IT minister says

July 27, 2023
In an indictment of past administrations, a senior Indian minister blamed their strategic and political vision and “a big dose of incompetence” as significant contributors to the country’s underdeveloped semiconductor industry. “India has missed the bus repeatedly on electronics and semiconductors. There was a lack of strategic and political vision and a big dose of incompetence,” […]

Why air-conditioning is a climate antihero

July 27, 2023
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. The unending heat this summer has kept the air conditioners in my apartment windows wildly busy. When I’m not taking guesses about what my electric bill might look like this month, I’ve…

Patently messy: How a $6B deal may spur more IP lawsuits

July 27, 2023
A megabucks enterprise acquisition that closed six months ago could lead to thousands of patents landing on the open market. Last August, Canadian enterprise technology giant OpenText announced plans to acquire U.K.-based IT software vendor and consultancy Micro Focus for a chunky $6 billion, a deal that closed on January 31. In our coverage at […]

Terragon’s $9M raise gives credence to the market maturity in Africa’s cloud and martech space

July 27, 2023
As one of the well-known data and cloud martech companies in Africa, Terragon, via several products, gives its clients (primarily telecommunications and financial services companies) data on the continent’s growing consumer markets. Adrenaline, its main product, is a telco-data monetization solution that lets telcos diversify their income and marketers access specialized audiences who are otherwise […]

Congress dives into UFOs in a hearing featuring eyewitness testimony

July 26, 2023
A year after the first Congressional hearing on UFOs in 50 years, a House subcommittee revisited some enduring questions around a topic that once would have been laughed off. The hearing, held Wednesday by the House Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, explored a range of issues related to the baffling realm […]