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Big Data's legend has reached mythical proportions. Increasingly, it is described as a powerful solution that could resolve some of the world's most complex challenges, from terrorist strikes to curing cancer. It is still early days for Big Data implementation, however. Every industry and category is still working through how to best harness it to...

A deluge of hateful tweets after the suicide of actor Robin Williams earlier this week forced his daughter Zelda to publicly quit Twitter and Instagram "We will not tolerate abuse of this nature on Twitter," Del Harvey, the company's vice president of trust and safety, said in a prepared message sent to TechNewsWorld in response to our request for ...

OpenMandriva Lx 2014 is a KDE-only Linux distribution that has some rough edges but is otherwise a solid and reliable choice for user-friendly computing. This latest version, released on July 17, is dubbed "Phosphorus." It is based on the Mandriva Linux project and ROSA, a Russian Linux distribution. ROSA forked from Mandriva Linux in 2012. It integrated many of Mandriva's original tools and utilities with its own enhancements...

When Facebook and OKCupid recently admitted they had been tinkering with headlines and content to see how users reacted, many consumers were outraged -- but the business community just shrugged. What the companies were doing was simply a form of multivariate, or A/B, testing, albeit in the case of OKCupid -- which changed content entered by users ...

Apple on Thursday reiterated its commitment to safe working conditions in its supply chain, and announced stricter rules for the use of benzene and n-hexane, two toxic chemicals It also published its Regulated Substances Specification (RSS), pointing out that it sets occupational exposure limits for the two toxic chemicals that follow standards bod...

Pinterest announced Wednesday that it has signed a deal that will allow users to create boards that include their favorite Vevo music videos They now will be able to share, search for and watch Vevo videos on Pinterest, as well as pin videos to Pinterest straight from Vevo.com or the Vevo iOS app....

Millions of users were unable to access the Web Tuesday, according to reports The websites of eBay, Amazon, Autotrader, LinkedIn, Time Warner and Verizon were among those hit....

A recent proposal in the U.S. Senate to curb the impact of electronic surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency could enhance privacy for citizens and benefit businesses as well. However, major information technology companies that help the government collect telecom and Internet data still will be vulnerable to the substantial costs of working with the NSA, even if the proposed bill becomes law...

Apple is firing on all cylinders. The company is excelling in so manyways, it's hard to keep track of it all. It's building an amazing new"spaceship" headquarters. It's building solar farms to power its datacenters. It's cleaning up its supply chain, both environmentally andthrough better labor practices. Apple produces the best-selling MacBookAir...

Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited Galaxy Alpha smartphone featuring a metal frame and a 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display. "We have taken a new approach to smartphone design with the Galaxy Alpha, focusing on sophisticated design techniques and compact construction, while building upon the Galaxy experience," Samsung spokesperson Ashle...

Amazon on Tuesday introduced Amazon Local Register to the mobile payment market, taking on such companies as Square and PayPal Here. The product is a combination of a secure card reader, which must be purchased for US$10, and a free mobile app. Together, they offer a platform that allows businesses to accept credit and debit card payments using sm...

The United States National Security Agency is working on a new program codenamed "MonsterMind" that will automate the monitoring of traffic patterns on the Internet to look for attacks, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden told Wired. When it detects an attack, MonsterMind will automatically block it from entering the U.S. cyberinfrastructure....

Microsoft has some good news for action-cam fans who like to capture their outdoor adventures in hours of nonstop video. It's found a way to bring time-lapse photography to first-person video footage Called "Hyperlapse," the technology can shrink hours of video into minutes without the jitter, shake and artifacts previously associated with the time...

The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an advisory warning consumers about the risks of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies The bureau "is working to identify and understand potential consumer protection concerns raised by these emerging technologies to determine what action, if any, may be necessary to protect co...

The inventors of Apple's Siri personal assistant have launched an independent effort that could make their first offspring look kind of dumb Billed by its creators as "the global brain," Viv aims to radically simplify the world by providing an intelligent interface to everything....

Yahoo and Google last week announced they'd be teaming up to secure their Web mail systems with encryption by the end of next year "Our goal is to make end-to-end encryption fully available in 2015," Yahoo Vice President of Information Security Alex Stamos said at the Black Hat hackers' conference in Las Vegas.

The Connected Car, Part 1: The Future Starts Now - Will Linux Drive It? The connected car is a battlefield among technology purveyors fighting to get their hardware plugged into the vehicle's network bus. Open source technology is becoming a key contender. OEMs are sorting through a garage full of options from versions of embedded Linux to the Aut...

After writing a positive review of Roy's Hawaiian Grill on Yelp, Matt Siltala received a "thank you" from the company and encouragement to visit the restaurant again. It's that kind of active involvement with Yelp that Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media, recommends to his own clients "I love Roy's Hawaiian Grill because it's done that for me," S...

California is poised to enact a consumer-friendly law requiring smartphone manufacturers to install "kill switches" -- that is, antitheft technology that would be activated by the carrier when a consumer alerts it that a device has been stolen or lost. The technology not only wipes the device of personal data but also renders it inoperable. The st...

A grassroots group calling itself "I Am The Cavalry" has published an open letter to the automotive industry offering its services in ensuring security and safety "Modern vehicles are computers on wheels and are increasingly connected and controlled by software and embedded devices," the letter reads.