Articles by David Jones

Google on Wednesday announced that it would ban advertising for payday loans in its ad systems Starting July 13, the company will prohibit ads for payday loans and related products where funds are due within 60 days of the date of issue, as well as ads for loans with an APR of 36 percent, said David Graff, Google's director of global product policy...

Apple and SAP last week announced an agreement to create applications for the iPhone and iPad using SAP's HANA data management platform as well as an iOS software development kit and training academy for outside developers and customers The move marks Apple's latest attempt to break through to the enterprise market and comes at a challenging time f...

Amazon on Tuesday announced the launch of Amazon Direct Video, a service that will let content creators not only reach tens of millions of potential viewers with self-generated video uploads, but also participate in revenue sharing. Amazon will use the new service as an additional incentive to boost its Prime membership, which includes access to o...

Google's Self-Driving Car Project and Fiat Chrysler last week announced that they would integrate autonomous vehicle technology into 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans as part of Google's testing program It is the first time Google has worked directly with a car manufacturer to integrate its self-driving technology into a passenger vehicle....

Amazon has entered a 10-year lease agreement with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the aircraft company announced last week. Under the agreement, Amazon has the right to buy up to 30 percent of Atlas Air Amazon will lease a fleet of 20 Boeing 767-300 converted freighters -- including crew, maintenance and insurance -- for seven years, with extensions ...

Twitter has blocked U.S. intelligence agencies from accessing information from Dataminr, a firm that tracks tweets in real time to provide actionable information for financial, media, security and other types of institutional clients, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday The block suggests Twitter is unwilling to cooperate with government agenci...

Microsoft last week announced the acquisition ofSolair, a move to expand its global Internet of Things business Solair's IoT customization and deployment solutions, which are built on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, have helped a wide range of businesses improve efficiencies and profitability, according to Microsoft....

A hacker dubbed "The Collector" turned over 272 million stolen email credentials in his possession, Hold Security announced Wednesday The hacker bragged online about the stash, which included usernames and passwords, the firm said. It got a copy of the data -- which the hacker was peddling for 50 rubles, or less than US$1 -- after giving him a shou...

Researchers at theUniversity of Michigan on Monday announced they had uncovered a series of vulnerabilities in the SamsungSmartThings home automation system that essentially could have allowed hackers to take control of various functions and break into a user's home The researchers, working with Microsoft in what may be the first comprehensive stud...

A Brazilian court on Tuesday overturned a different court's Monday order that blocked WhatsApp, the messaging site owned by Facebook, amid a criminal investigation into drug trafficking in the state of Sergipe. The earlier judicial demand that WhatsApp provide data considered critical to the investigation came soon after a ramp-up in the level of ...

Five months after being outed -- and subsequently investigated by police and tax authorities -- Craig Steven Wright on Monday stepped forward to claim that he really is the cofounder of bitcoin who operated in secret for years under the name "Satoshi Nakamoto." Wright unveiled himself by penning a lengthy blog post and giving extensive interviews t...

Google has rehired former executive Rick Osterloh to lead its hardware businesses, which it plans to consolidate under a single division, according to news reports published last week Osterloh, who recently stepped down as president of Motorola, reportedly will head up Google's Nexus business, which will include a suite of products dubbed the "livi...

Facebook on Wednesday announced its board of directors is proposing a new class of shares that will allow its founder to pursue a number of different initiatives while maintaining long-term control over the company. The news came on the heels of a blockbuster first quarter earnings report....

TiVo on Wednesday announced a new version of its Roamio OTA digital video recorder aimed at the growing market of cable cord cutters, with a box that includes a hefty 1 TB of storage space and no monthly subscription fee The DVR can record up to 150 hours of high-definition programming and up to four television shows at the same time, the company s...

Yahoo on Wednesday announced that it has reached a deal with Starboard Value to add four independent directors, thus avoiding a proxy fight with a key investor that has been seeking radical changes at the company Under the agreement, Starboard CEO Jeff Smith will join Yahoo as an independent director and will be a member of the company's Strategic ...

The FBI on Wednesday confirmed its decision not to inform Apple of how it hacked into the encrypted iPhone used in last December's San Bernardino terrorist attack The bureau was investigating the possibility that deceased shooters Syed Farook, who used the iPhone, and his wife may have had links to other terrorist plots. It also was searching for e...

The Obama administration has authorized a new online campaign in its slow, grinding war against ISIS, The New York Times reported earlier this week. The Pentagon's Cyber Command will target ISIS in a way that essentially will get inside the heads of terrorist commanders to disrupt their military operations The goal appears to be to sow mistrust an...

Federal regulators on Monday granted approval of Charter Communications' US$78 billion merger with Time Warner Cable and its $10.4 billion acquisition ofBright House Networks, but with a number of tough conditions The Justice Department filed a lawsuit and settlement agreement in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that would block the...

Google appears to be on the verge of executing a long-speculated plan to integrate Google Play's vast collection of more than a million Android apps into the Chrome operating system. A series of screen shots recently posted on Reddit show Chrome OS users able to access the Google Play store on a Chromebook. Users were able to find extensive refere...

The Chinese government ordered Apple to shut down its iBooks and iTunes Movies services in the country, according to news reports published last week China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television reportedly called for the closure....