Time to Clean Out Your Email, Computer
Pittsburgh — You may not think you’re a hoarder, but your hard drive knows better. Those emails, photos and attachments that sit there in your computer or smartphone for weeks, even months, eat away at drive space and slow every log-on and complicate every keyword search. You already know that, sure, but when was the last time you did something about it? “Even the most organized person can have issues with their email,” said Jen Cohen...
Embracing March Madness
New York — March Madness is taking over at small companies that are letting employees watch the NCAA basketball tournament while they work. Staffers at the marketing company Phelps will be able to keep an eye on the games at their desks or on conference room TVs. CEO Joe Phelps said his 86 employees are hard workers, often staying late or completing projects on weekends, so he’s fine if they work a little less hard during when games...
Raise Your Computer’s IQ
San Jose, Calif. — Facebook, Google and Microsoft are tapping the power of a vintage computer gaming chip to raise your smartphone’s IQ with artificially intelligent programs that recognize faces and voices, translate conversations on the fly and make searches faster and more accurate. It’s part of a trend toward the use of an artificial intelligence technique called “deep learning” that is creating a sense that a new era of smart...
Pentagon Seeks Computer Hackers
Washington — The Pentagon is looking for a few good computer hackers. Screened high-tech specialists will be brought in to try to breach the Defense Department’s public Internet pages in a pilot program aimed at finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Defense officials laid out the broad outlines of the plan Wednesday, but had few details on how it will work, what Pentagon systems would be tested and how the hackers would be...
Facebook Pitches Solution To Tech’s Diversity Problem
There’s little doubt that there’s a race and gender gap in the tech industry. Look at any of the major tech firms’ diversity reports and you’ll see that there are proportionally fewer women, blacks and Hispanics in the tech world — particularly when it comes to engineering positions. That’s the problem, and it’s one we know well. But what could be the solution? Facebook has its own theory, which it’s trying to prove with the launch of...
