Technology

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have turned spider webs into music — creating an eerie soundtrack that could help them better understand how the arachnids spin their complex creations and even how they communicate. The MIT team worked with Berlin-based artist Tomás Saraceno to take two-dimensional laser scans of a spider web, which

Instagram is testing a feature that would let users decide if they want to hide likes on their own posts or posts from people they follow. The option will start with a small global test group on Wednesday. Instagrammers can also decide to keep the original experience, which includes visible likes. Instagram began testing the

The A-list of China’s tech industry was summoned before the country’s powerful regulators on Tuesday for a dressing down over antitrust behavior, just days after Alibaba was hit with a record $2.8 billion fine for acting like a monopoly. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), along with the Cyberspace Administration (CAC) and the State

Apple is set to host its first product launch of the year next week, and it’s expected that it will be announcing an updated iPad Pro as well as new AirPods. The company on Tuesday sent out press invitations for a virtual event — with the tagline “Spring Loaded” — that will take place on

As the vaccine rollout continues to accelerate and the broader US economy prepares to reopen, talk of vaccine verification apps has heated up. Tech companies, health care providers and even retail stores are working on digital health pass apps that will allow users to show proof of vaccination before entering events and businesses. The state

Siri may have just let slip when Apple is planning its next big product launch. When asked on Tuesday about when it’s holding another press event, the voice assistant responds, “The special event is on Tuesday, April 20, at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. You can get all of the details at Apple.com.” However, Apple’s

Intel has a plan to help alleviate the global chip shortage that has hampered the automotive industry, among others. CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters on Monday that Intel is in talks with companies that design chips for carmakers about manufacturing those chips in its factories. Intel could be producing the chips within six to nine

China has ordered Alibaba to pay a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) after antitrust regulators concluded that the online shopping giant had been behaving like a monopoly. Chinese state media reported Saturday that the State Administration for Market Regulation had imposed the penalty following an antitrust investigation into Alibaba’s “exclusive dealing agreements”

Alibaba is trying to draw a line under accusations that it behaved like a monopoly after Chinese regulators hit the online shopping giant with a record fine over the weekend. But that doesn’t mean the crackdown on tech in China is over yet. Joe Tsai, Alibaba Group’s co-founder and executive vice chairman, told investors on

Facebook does not plan to notify its customers who may be among the half a billion users whose personal information was exposed after being posted to a website used by hackers. Last weekend, it was reported that a database of records from more than 533 million Facebook accounts — including phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays

Amazon has defeated a union drive that would have established the company’s first US union. The vote count against unionization totaled 1,798, surpassing the simple majority of 1,608 needed for either side to prevail, on Friday. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is behind the Bessemer union drive, announced it plans to file

Employees are speaking out against Alphabet, Google’s parent company, arguing the tech giant must do more to protect employees from workplace harassment. An open letter addressed to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, published online on Friday, made two demands: the company stop those who are found to have harassed other employees from managing anyone

Amazon has soundly defeated a landmark union drive that would have established the company’s first US union, but labor advocates are hopeful that the high-profile fight will nonetheless be successful in spurring support for broader change. In the final vote tally, 1,798 workers at the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse voted against unionization while 738 voted to

For a few hours one recent Saturday, Jack Beyer stood on the roof of his Land Rover, watching as SpaceX employees toiled under a 160-foot-tall silver rocket prototype that towered like an otherworldly visitor over the otherwise barren landscape. Beyer, a Los Angeles-based photographer and contributor to the space news site NASASpaceflight.com, had by that

Neuralink, the implant company owned by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has released a video in which a monkey appears to play the computer game Pong using only its mind. The nine-year old male macaque, named Pager, has a Neuralink device implanted in both sides of its brain, according to a YouTube video posted

Amazon has gained enough votes to defeat a union drive that would have established the company’s first US union, according to an ongoing tally of the vote. The vote count against unionization reached over 1608, the simple majority needed for either side to prevail, on Friday. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is

Former President Donald Trump lost his most-prized megaphone when he was suspended from Facebook and Twitter earlier this year. Since then, he’s largely stuck with canned press statements instead of social media. But if Trump gets his way, that may change — he’s reportedly planning to launch a brand-new social media platform that presumably won’t