At its virtual Connect conference on Thursday, Facebook gave a special presentation to show the world its vision for the metaverse, and announce that it had co-opted half the term as its new company name: Meta. The company says that it’s betting big on what it thinks will be the next big thing in personal computing, a virtual space where people can work, play, or socialize, all through the lenses of virtual reality (VR) headsets or augmented reality (AR) glasses. It expects to spend
When the free streaming service Locast shut down last month after losing a crucial court battle with TV networks, it left millions of users without a cheap way to stream local TV channels. But Locast’s sudden collapse may have created an opportunity for LocalBTV, another service promising free streaming access to local channels without an antenna. The service is currently live in 16 U.S. markets, with an app that users can download on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV devices.
Facebook said Thursday at its Facebook Connect event that it’ll rebrand itself as “Meta” to emphasize its newfound obsession with the metaverse—a digital space for work and play that may be accessed using mixed reality glasses and other devices. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our identity as an iconic social networking brand,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. “Right now our brand is so tightly linked to one product.” “Over
In the life of a Very Busy Person, every saved second can seem like an eternity. It may sound silly, but if you find yourself running out of minutes in the day as often as I do, you probably know what I mean. Shaving seconds off time-consuming tasks can stack up fast, and there are few places more ripe for such step-slashing sorcery than your dusty old Gmail inbox. And here’s a little secret: With a handful of smart adjustments to your emailing habits, you can reclaim not only seconds but
Read more about how Amazon is upending business, from A to Z
Catherine Seifert just wanted to solve the problem of where to put her purse in her car. Before she knew it, she had a patented device and a multimillion-dollar business selling her mesh slings (designed to bridge the vertical space between seat backs) on Amazon. Seifert’s brand, Car Caché, isn’t a household name, but its signature product features professional photos, Amazon’s “#1 Best Seller”
Ghost kitchens—industrial cookhouses located in subprime real estate areas that exclusively prepare food delivery—got popular during the pandemic. Now, the same concept is coming to the doctor’s office. A company called Rezilient Health is opening five new clinics in downtown Miami in partnership with Reef Technology, a SoftBank-backed parking startup. Reef started out managing parking lots, but its business is now centered on turning its vast number of concrete pads into re
The Digital Defense Report that Microsoft recently issued includes a typical rogue’s gallery of cyberthreats, including phishing, ransomware, and supply-chain attacks. But it adds an unusual villain to the list: blockchain domains. “The next big threat” is how Microsoft’s latest annual security report characterizes domain names written into a distributed ledger maintained across a constellation of computers instead of stored in a traditional, centralized registry
Amazon’s Alexa is moving into hospitals. On Monday, the company announced that it will now support scaled launches of its devices inside both healthcare systems and senior living facilities. “When the pandemic first changed all of our lives, we had a number of healthcare institutions reach out to us and ask if there was a way we could help with some of the challenges they were having, particularly related to shortage of personal protective equipment,” says Aaron Rubenson, VP
In the months prior to the outbreak of civil war in Syria, I led a State Department delegation on a controversial trip to Syria that included a sit-down with Bashar al-Assad. Our intention was to muscle the Syrian dictator on a series of security issues in the field of technology. The weaponization of widely available consumer technology was making it easier to surveil, spread disinformation, and both develop and destroy political movements. Our delegation was there to apply political and econom
By looking at the numbers, you’d never know that Facebook is in some of the hottest water it’s felt in its history. The company released its third quarter financial results amid blowback from highly negative news coverage based on internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen. Facebook reported revenue of $29.01 billion, which was slightly lower than analyst expectations. But earnings came in above analyst expectations at $3.22 per share. Its shares bounced up 3% on the