Microsoft's Windows 10 has not helped the company to become the top operating system in the world, and last year it fell to third place behind Apple's combined iOS for iPhones and iPads, and OS X for Macs; as well as Android, based on a new report. The Bill Gates co-founded company has lost OS market share since 2013 and will not start recovering losses until next year.
Google's April Fools' Day prank called Gmail Mic Drop has caused a lot of big problems for Gmail users who clicked on the button by accident when sending serious emails and could face results such as losing their jobs. The special Send button first launched in Australia attached a gif of a minion character from the "Despicable Me" movie series to e-mails. Google promised in a blog post that the message would disappear after being sent, but since it was located on the Compose window many Gmail users accidentally clicked on the little yellow creature.
Tesla Motors gave an early preview of its Model 3 sedan at an Apple-like launch event near Los Angeles on April 1, Thursday, announcing that over 130,000 people had already ordered the electric vehicle (EV) that is set to start production runs in 2017. Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced a Model 3 prototype in Hawthorne, California with hundreds of Tesla car owners and media members at the unveiling event. The SpaceX founder announced that the company's new electric car will have a price tag starting at $35,000 and a range of 215 miles (346 kilometers).
Amazon's Dash buttons have received 70 new products for the retail giant's instant ordering service giving Amazon Prime customers over 100 products to choose from. The Wi-Fi-enabled buttons now allow customers to order tons of new products including Doritos, Red Bull, Starbucks, Vitamin Water, Charmin, Energizer, and even Trojans. Amazon.com is also giving new Dash button customers a $5 credit on their online purchases.
Tesla Motors will start taking online orders for its new Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) one hour earlier than originally scheduled. Green car fans can place an order for the new Tesla car at 7:30 p.m. PT or 10:30 p.m. ET to help ensure that Tesla's servers do not overload. Since this morning on March 31, Thursday automobile shoppers have been able to preorder a Model 3 unit by making a $1,000 deposit, which has caused long lines at Tesla dealerships around the world.
On March 24, Mesosphere announced that it has elevated a $73.5 million series C funding round. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) led the round, with Microsoft as its strategic investor. Along with HPE, earlier investors Khosla Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Fuel Capital also were involved. It included new investors Triangle Peak partners and A Capital.
The Justice Department used the All Writs Act (AWA) to justify a court order requiring Apple to break the encryption of an iPhone 5c owned by Syed Farook in last December's mass shooting in San Bernardino County. This 1789 law allows judges to issue court orders for individuals or companies to take actions even though the United States Congress has not passed laws for certain situations. However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that the US government has used the AWA in 63 federal cases since 2008 to access data in iOS or Android handsets.
Microsoft just announced at its Build developers conference that it is now offering new artificial intelligence (AI) tools so developers can build bots that are able to decipher natural language. The two features available in the Cortana Intelligence application program interfaces (APIs) allow robots to hear, speak, and understand by using natural communication. Meanwhile, the second tool allows developers to use any programming language to build smart chatboxes that let customers use natural language to communicate using platforms including SMS, Skype, and the web.
Volkswagen has been sued by the United States' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that it tricked customers with its Clean Diesel advertisements run from 2008 to 2015 when it was hacking the onboard software of its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. The German carmaker was advertising its vehicles' diesel engines as being eco-friendly when their nitrogen oxide emissions were 4,000 percent higher than the legal limit.
Facebook's social media app Instagram has announced it is launching 60 second video support. The video length limit will get upped from 15 to 60 seconds and iPhone users will get a video editing feature to combine multiple gallery photos into a single video. Instagram's change is somewhat like rumors that Twitter would boost its 140-character limit.
