Sony recently unveiled a new program called Future Lab at the SXSW (South by Southwest) Conferences and Festivals featuring new set of prototypes including a new wearable device under a working name Concept N.
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) such as Google's self-driving cars could have many federal regulations to deal with before they are road-ready based on a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The report highlighted many old-school standards that would be difficult for some robotic cars to meet due to redundant controls.
Facebook's WhatsApp is reportedly being targeted by Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers due to problems with a wiretap order due to encryption. The feds are reportedly taking on the messaging app during an active case with Apple about unlocking the iPhone 5c of one of the terrorists in last December's San Bernardino shooting.
There's a new video game studio in town that goes by the name, First Strike Games. The interesting thing about this studio is the fact that all members of the team are former employees of 343 Industries.
Google's researchers are planning a cross-country road trip across the United States that will allow the tech giant to get user feedback. The custom-built Google van's mobile research lab will help the company to get everyday people's opinions about the Alphabet subsidiary's products, new features, and services. Its 7-city trip will give around 500 walk-up volunteers a chance to share their opinions and get freebies including T-shirts and gift cards.
Snapchat has reportedly hired a secret team of hardware experts to build new smart glasses. The social media startup is quietly developing a device and has almost a dozen wearable tech gurus on its payroll. Their LinkedIn profiles show that Snapchat's employees now include designers who worked on Logitech's UE Boom Bluetooth speaker and Nokia phones
Google is offering Android developers a one-quarter discount on a Pixel C tablet/laptop hybrid as a promotion of the Android N beta program. Developers can test the performance of the new version of the OS including split-screen view through a price cut for the mobile device's 32GB and 64GB models
Intel has announced its acquisition of Replay Technologies, an Israeli start-up that develops 3D and 360-degree video technology for sporting events, earlier this week.
Microsoft recently announced that it would bring its SQL Server database to the OS kernel Linux next year. The tech giant's database will focus on SQL Server 2016 that will be available later this year. It commemorated the longer launch period at a recent New York City event and shared it is offering a free switchover for Oracle users.
In the past week, Microsoft have been quite busy releasing updates and announcing plans related to SQL Server. To cap everything off, the Redmond-based tech giant announced an aggressive migration offer intended for Oracle database customers.
