Business / Tech Mar 14, 2020
After Amazon protests, Pentagon reconsiders $10 billion Microsoft contract
The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process. U.S. government lawyers said in a court filing this past week that the Defense Department "wishes to reconsider ...
Business / Tech | FOCUS Feb 19, 2020
Edison, Morse and Watson? AI poses question of who's an inventor
by Susan Decker and Dina Bass
Computers using artificial intelligence are discovering medicines, designing better golf clubs and creating video games. But are they inventors? Patent offices around the world are grappling with the question of who — if anyone — owns innovations developed using AI. The answer may upend what's eligible ...
Business / Corporate Feb 17, 2020
Parts shortage has Sony struggling to price upcoming PlayStation 5
by Takashi Mochizuki
A shortage of components has pushed manufacturing costs for Sony Corp.'s next PlayStation to around $450 per unit, forcing a difficult price-setting decision in its battle with Microsoft Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter. The tech giant is preparing to gradually replace ...
Business / Tech Jan 21, 2020
Alphabet CEO backs temporary ban on facial recognition but Microsoft boss disagrees
by Foo Yun Chee and John Chalmers
The European Union's proposal for a temporary ban on facial recognition technology won backing from Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Monday but got a cool response from Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith. While Pichai cited the possibility that the technology could be used ...
Business / Corporate Jan 17, 2020
In climate push, Microsoft to erase its carbon footprint from atmosphere
Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it aims to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits by 2030 and that by 2050, it hopes to have taken out enough to account for all the direct emissions the company has ever made. The focus on ...
Business / Corporate Jan 14, 2020
Nearly 14 million computers in Japan at risk as Microsoft ends Windows 7 support
Users need to upgrade to Windows 10 or consider buying new computers as older machines may not be compatible with the newer software, the company said.
Business / Tech Dec 31, 2019
Microsoft said Monday it obtained a court order allowing it to seize web domains used by North Korean hacking groups to launch cyberattacks on human rights activists, researchers and others. The U.S. technology giant said a federal court allowed it to take control of 50 ...
Business Dec 17, 2019
Cobalt fallout: Tesla and Apple among firms accused of aiding child labor in Congo
Five of the world's largest tech companies have been accused of being complicit in the death of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo forced to mine cobalt, a metal used to make telephones and computers, in a landmark lawsuit. The legal complaint on behalf ...
Business / Tech Dec 10, 2019
Amazon cites Trump bias at 'enemy' Jeff Bezos in Pentagon cloud deal loss
by Naomi Nix
Amazon.com Inc. claims the Pentagon failed to fairly judge its bid for a cloud contract worth up to $10 billion because President Donald Trump viewed company founder Jeffrey Bezos as his "political enemy." Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud unit, claimed in a lawsuit that was ...
Business / Tech Nov 23, 2019
Amazon files lawsuit against Pentagon's $10 billion cloud contract with Microsoft
Amazon filed a lawsuit in a federal U.S. court on Friday contesting the U.S. Defense Department's decision last month to award a Pentagon cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion to rival bidder Microsoft. The complaint and supplemental motion for discovery were filed in ...
Business Nov 16, 2019
Bill Gates again world's richest person; Amazon's Bezos is No. 2
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates overtook Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person on Friday, reclaiming the top ranking for the first time in more than two years. Gates may have been helped in part by the Pentagon's surprise decision announced Oct. 25 to award ...