ADT on Tuesday announced an interesting new acquisition for anyone looking to the future of home security -- and it's no surprise AI is a part of the story. In a $170 million deal, ADT has purchased Origin AI, which specializes in people detection in spaces like the inside of your home, something the security company is calling AI-sensing technology. ADT has not disclosed specific plans for AI technology, but this comes at a time when concerns about corporate surveillance by companies like Ring and Flock ha ...

Uber has agreed to acquire SpotHero, the digital parking marketplace, in a move that expands Uber's ambitions beyond ride-hailing and delivery. The deal was announced on Monday and is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.SpotHero lets drivers reserve and pay for parking in advance, with coverage spanning more than 13,000 garages, lots and valet locations across over 400 cities in the US and Canada. Uber said the company plans to integr ...

Autonomous driving technology company Waymo announced on Tuesday that it's expanding its driverless ride-hailing services to four new cities -- three in Texas and one in Florida. Effective immediately, invitations will roll out to select Waymo customers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, allowing people there to take their first local robotaxi rides.The new areas for Waymo autonomous ride-hailing span 60 square miles in San Antonio and Orlando, 50 square miles in Dallas, and 25 square miles in Hou ...

Houston, we have some production. Apple announced Tuesday that it will be making its Mac Mini desktop computer in the US for the first time, shifting some manufacturing from its Asian plants, and will also increase AI server production at its existing Houston facility.The California-based tech giant also said it will open the Advanced Manufacturing Center, a 20,000-square-foot facility where students, supplier employees and businesses will receive hands-on training in making Apple products, in the same city ...

Group 1 - Meta is partnering with AMD to purchase billions of dollars' worth of AMD Instinct GPUs to enhance its AI capabilities across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp [1][2] - The deal is described as "multi-year" and will provide Meta with up to 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, which are essential for modern AI models [2] - As part of the partnership, Meta will acquire a 10% stake in AMD, indicating a strategic collaboration between the two companies [3] Group 2 - The partnership reflects a broader trend where major tech companies are securing hardware to support their AI ambitions amid tightening supplies and rising component prices [5] - Meta's continued investment in AI signifies its competitive stance against other tech giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google [6]

Nvidia is not content to simply dominate the GPU market. According to a Wall Street Journal report, it's prepping a system-on-chip that integrates the central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU) and neural processing unit (NPU) for consumer laptops. And we could see laptops from Dell and Lenovo with this new silicon in just a few months.Nvidia and MediaTek partner for Arm chipNvidia is partnering with MediaTek to build this new chip. Like system-on-chips (SoC) from Qualcomm and Apple, it w ...

Apple could announce at least five new products over a three-day event in early March that would include a low-cost MacBook, an iPhone 17E, new iPad Air and new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptop models and possibly more, according to a Bloomberg report.As opposed to an Apple "Event" that has become standard for, say, iPhone launches, a "Special Experience" will take place in New York, London and Shanghai on March 4 and could involve three days of announcements and hands-on time for those invited.Bloomberg' ...

Roblox, the popular online gaming platform, is the target of a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County seeking an injunction and civil penalties for allegations of false advertising, engaging in unfair competition and allowing "the systemic sexual exploitation and abuse of children across the United States."The suit, which follows changes and additions Roblox has made to its platform, including adding mandatory age verification for some features, is part of a barrage of legal action against gaming and social me ...

I never loved Horizon Worlds, Meta's best attempt at creating a social universe for its VR headsets. In fact, I've completely avoided it. So I'm not at all surprised that Meta now says it'll be refocusing Horizon Worlds on Roblox-like phone games. Is the metaverse dead? No, because the metaverse isn't just Meta: It just co-opted the philosophical term. But the company's biggest investment in virtual worlds has turned out to be a failure. And it's just the "tip of the iceberg pivot" that Meta's doing right n ...

Core Viewpoint - Apple is facing a lawsuit from West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey over allegations that iCloud is being used to store and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with claims that Apple has been aware of this issue for years and has not taken appropriate action [1][5]. Group 1: Allegations and Evidence - The lawsuit includes alleged iMessage conversations between Apple executives acknowledging the presence of CSAM on iCloud as early as February 2020 [1][2]. - In these conversations, one executive reportedly stated that iCloud is "the greatest platform for distributing child porn" and suggested that Apple has chosen to remain ignorant of the extent of the CSAM issue [2]. - The number of CSAM reports made by Apple to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023 was only 267, significantly lower than Google's 1.47 million and Meta's 30.6 million [3]. Group 2: CSAM Detection Tools and Encryption - The lawsuit claims that Apple failed to implement CSAM detection tools, including a proprietary scanning tool that was abandoned after an initial initiative in 2021 [4]. - Apple's Advanced Data Protection, which allows end-to-end encryption for photos and videos on iCloud, is alleged to hinder law enforcement efforts to identify and prosecute CSAM offenders [5]. - Apple has stated that its safety and privacy measures are designed with user protection in mind, including features like Communication Safety, which aims to protect children from CSAM content [6]. Group 3: Industry and Privacy Debate - The ongoing debate surrounding end-to-end encryption highlights the tension between privacy and security, particularly in relation to law enforcement and cybercrime [7]. - Privacy advocates have praised the introduction of encryption to iCloud, arguing that constant scanning for CSAM could lead to false positives and unwarranted investigations [8]. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation emphasized that blocking end-to-end encryption would undermine online security and privacy for all users, especially young people [9]. Group 4: Legal Context - The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Mason County, West Virginia, on February 19, 2024, following a class-action lawsuit in Northern California involving 2,680 plaintiffs who allege that Apple's inaction on CSAM scanning constitutes complicity in its distribution [10][11].