Articles by David Jones

The age of Unicorn investing has led to alarming overvaluations of startups that could result in an afterparty roll call not seen since 1999, Silicon Valley VC Bill Gurley warned Thursday Gurley, a general partner at Benchmark, raised a red flag over the large number of tech startups valued at more than US$1 billion, and suggested that the rise of ...

Volkswagen has reached an agreement with federal and state authorities to repair or replace about 500,000 diesel cars in the U.S., according to court documents released Thursday. The cars were equipped with software designed to deceive emissions tests. Under the agreement, announced Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Volkswagen will...

Intel this week announced that it would slash 12,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan to focus more on cloud-based computing and the Internet of Things and less on PCs The cuts, which will involve about 11 percent of Intel's global workforce by mid-2017, will be achieved through a combination of voluntary retirements and layoffs, the consolidat...

The Electronic Frontier Foundation on Wednesday filed suit against the Department of Justice seeking to learn whether the federal government secretly ordered technology companies to decrypt the private communications of their customers Such orders could place millions of customers in harm's way, the complaint says.

Apple's top legal official on Tuesday appeared before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and reiterated the company's willingness to help law enforcement on active cases and cooperate on long-term solutions, despite its contentious legal battle with the FBI over the encrypted iPhone used in the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Apple "wor...

Apple has hired Chris Porritt, Tesla Motors' former vice president of vehicle engineering, to work on special projects, according to news reports published Tuesday Porritt, who left Tesla last year, will take charge of Apple's electric car initiative, Project Titan, according to Electrek, which first reported the hire....

YouTube on Monday announced the rollout of live-streaming 360-degree video and spatial audio, part of the company's push to boost its reach in the growing market for immersive video and virtual reality The company has provided support for 360-degree video for more than a year, but it has been working with content creators to push the technology eve...

An international team of cybersecurity experts hacked into an iPhone loaned to a U.S. congressman who sits on a key technology committee, in a 60 Minutes demonstration of how easy it is for a criminal to spy on callers by exploiting an international mobile phone network vulnerability. The segment aired Sunday The hackers were able to listen in on a...

The HTC Vive drew accolades from a hyped-up base of gamers and virtual reality enthusiasts when it launched earlier this month -- just days after the release of the Oculus Rift. However, the Vive is proving to be an experience that is not for the faint of heart, the light of wallet, or the short of patience.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued a warning to remove Apple's QuickTime for Windows. The alert came in response to Trend Micro's report of two security flaws in the software, which will never be patched because Apple has ended support for QuickTime for Windows. Computers running QuickTime are open to increased risk of mal...

An army of 39,000 workers this week went on strike against Verizon in one of the biggest labor actions in the U.S. in several years. Fast food workers have joined in a show of support, and both Democratic candidates for president have entered the fray. Thousands of wireline workers from Massachusetts to Virginia walked off the job at 6 a.m. Wednes...

Microsoft on Thursday filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice challenging the gag orders that accompany requests to access customers' private emails and other data. The orders prevent the company from notifying affected customers about the government's demands The case is the fourth public lawsuit it has filed against the Justice Departme...

Amazon on Wednesday launched the Kindle Oasis -- the latest upgrade to its popular line of e-readers. Along with features that are arguably revolutionary, it comes with a price point that may shock more than a few customers. The Oasis is the thinnest and lightest e-reader it has ever produced, Amazon said. Without the cover, it weighs in at just 4...

Expanding on Facebook's embrace of video and communication as a transformative tool, CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday launched the company's new Messenger platform beta at its annual F8 conference for developers. The Messenger announcement was the first major initiative in the long-term vision he presented Zuckerberg outlined a major push to incorpor...

The parent company of British tabloid the Daily Mail apparently has entered what's shaping up as frenzied round robin bidding war for Yahoo, a firm that long has worn the mantle of a technology relic incapable of exciting interest. The Daily Mail & General Trust on Monday confirmed a report that it has approached private equity companies on a pos...

Adobe last week issued an emergency security patch to fix a vulnerability in Flash that could leave users vulnerable to a ransomware attack The vulnerability exists in Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.197 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Chrome operating systems. It can cause a crash and leave the computer vulnerable to attackers, th...

Verizon reportedly is planning to make a formal first-round bid for the core assets of Yahoo when the company begins fielding offers on Monday Verizon, whose CEO last month confirmed his company's interest, reportedly is working with executives of its AOL subsidiary and three financial advisors to put together a bid by the April 11 deadline.

Facebook has served as an online marketplace for armed militias in Libya and other war-torn countries, according to a news report published Wednesday in The New York Times An array of light weapons various groups bought and sold after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi unleashed a torrent of unregulated commerce in Libya, which previously had controlled o...

Yahoo is in the midst of a financial freefall, based on a Re/code report that claims the company's deal book shows a muddled and confusing financial picture that has made potential investors nervous about any effort to salvage the business Yahoo's internal presentation for investors paints a picture of a company moving entirely in the wrong directi...

Facebook on Wednesday announced enhanced Facebook Live video capabilities with additional features to allow members to share live video with friends and family by broadcasting events or sharing video in groups Users can go live in Facebook groups so that a group of users or friends or family members can be sent specific video feeds....