FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

Walmart Files Patent For Shopping Cart That Tracks Shoppers Heart Rates 
Walmart, the US shopping giant has quietly patented a new type of shopping cart called the “System and Method for Biometric Feedback Cart Handle.” The new type of cart would see Walmart shopping carts fitted with sensors akin to smartwatches fitted on special handles, that would then transmit that data to Walmart’s servers.... Read more
Google Challenges Record $5 Billion EU Antitrust Fine 
Alphabet subsidiary, Google, has appealed the record $5 billion fine EU regulators imposed on the tech firm earlier this year. “We have now filed our appeal of the EC’s Android decision at the General Court of the EU,” Google said in an email to Reuters. Google’s main argument against... Read more
9 Million Broken, Old Wikipedia Links Restored Back To Life 
Internet Archive project alliance with Wikipedia means that you can browse Wikipedia the way you were always supposed to.  As any regular user of Wikipedia can attest to, the internet encyclopedia has something of a memory problem, or at least a dead link problem. The problem resides in the fact that the World Wide... Read more
Alphabet’s Internet Loon Balloons Reach New Heights 
Alphabet perseveres through complex technological and practical problems to set new records. Alphabet’s High Altitude Loon Balloon system set a new milestone last month by linking 7 balloons together that were flying 600 km apart, and casting the Internet in a 1000 km diameter, and all from just one ground up-link... Read more
Netflix Jumps Apple Fees, Bypassing App Store Signup
This could be bad news for Apple… Netflix has proven something in its nearly two decade-history: it’s a game-changing innovator who’s constantly experimenting in order to stay relevant and profitable. From its start taking on the age-old video rental store concept as a DVD-by-mail subscription all the way through... Read more
AI Pornography Deepfakes Are Dangerous Ground
AI-created “deepfake” videos can be shockingly realistic, causing terrifying concern for misuse. When a video of a foul-mouthed former President Barack Obama (NSFW) went viral last year, it was good for a laugh. The straight-laced favorite leader was finally letting loose and saying the things he wanted to say!... Read more
Google Wages Internal War Over China Censorship Project
Google prepares for return to China by building a censored search engine, much to some employees’ outrage. Google has been at work on a version of its search engine that will meet the strict standards of the Chinese government, but new reports from the internet giant show that some... Read more
Tech Companies Fighting Conspiracy Theorists
Alex Jones, highly vocal founder and ringmaster of conspiracy theory “journalism” site Infowars, has taken to the various online airwaves to fight back against what he feels is censorship and a violation of his freedom of speech. The issue in question is the multiple-platform ban of many of his... Read more
Amazon Removes Nazi-Themed Paraphernalia From Website 
Global e-commerce giant Amazon has begun the process of removing items that contain or have an association with Nazi and white supremacist symbols from its website.  The move by Amazon follows a series of complaints from lawmakers and a 24 page in depth report from two racial equality advocacy groups.  The story didn’t really... Read more
Burglar Breaks In, Wakes Family To Ask For Wifi Password
Before the invention of the smartphone or the internet, a story such as this one would make the “news of the weird” pile. However, considering the importance that many people place on connectivity and digital access, it begs the question of mental health issues in conjunction with the internet.... Read more
Walmart Aims To Take On Netflix, Hulu, And More
Walmart-owned Vudu is nothing new, at least not in terms of the basic function. It’s actually quite a refreshing break from the “pay for it all, consume everything” nature of most video streaming services. Like a lazy man’s Redbox, Vudu lets you pay only for titles you want to... Read more
Venmo To End Website Function
Peer-to-peer payments app Venmo begins phasing out website function to differentiate from PayPal. There are a handful of brand-name terms that have become such a part of our lives as to actually infiltrate our language. It’s not just limited to older words like “kleenex” or “coke,” either. Most of... Read more
Google’s High Altitude Loon Project Takes Off In Kenya 
Google subsidiary company Loon has revealed that it has signed a deal with the Kenyan government to bring high speed internet access to remote and rural areas of Kenya using hot air balloons…  Loon have partnered with Telkom Kenya to bring connectivity to areas of Kenya that aren’t currently covered by mobile networks.  Google’s high-altitude balloons were originally developed as... Read more
Sony Accidentally Posts Entire Movie To YouTube Instead Of Just The Trailer…
News has emerged that Sony unintentionally uploaded a full 90 minute movie to YouTube, when all they were trying to do was upload a teaser trailer. The mistake made by Sony’s US distributor stayed online for over 6 hours, before the error was spotted, and the movie removed, earlier... Read more
Tech Companies Pushing Back Against US Govt Use
A growing number of tech companies are pushing back against US Government use (or abuse) of their products. Microsoft was one of the first headlining companies to recently voice concerns over its products being used to enable a practice that many people find inhumane. Numerous employees came together to... Read more
Fake Wifi: Hacking Made Easy
A new warning has been issued for hotel guests using public Wi-Fi connections. Most people tend to the think of cyberattacks, data breaches, and hacking as the work of highly-skilled, dark web-style operatives. The reality, though, is not quite so skilled. Not only are sophisticated tools available for sale... Read more
Facebook Grounds Internet Drone Project
Facebook has announced the end of plans to build drones that could give sustained and stable internet access to the developing world. The ‘Aquila’ Internet Drone Project has been grounded, ending Facebook’s plans to build a network of high-altitude solar-powered drones in the skies that could have given sustained... Read more
Google’s “Internet-First” City Planning
Google plans to build a city that starts with the internet In many cities, add-ons like internet networks are secondary to other public utilities like water, electricity, and sewage. Left to the private business sector to contract with customers in order to provide the service, not many cities incorporate... Read more