The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Intuit and its marketing of TurboTax products, following ProPublica’s reporting that the Silicon Valley company deceived tax filers into paying when they could have filed for free. From a report: The FTC probe, run out of the commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, centers on whether Intuit violated the law against unfair and deceptive practices…
Tag: Silicon Valley
Jaron Lanier Thinks Things May Have Gotten Better, or Facebook ‘Might Have Won Already’
Jaron Lanier helped design “Together” mode for Microsoft Teams, “where he has a post as an in-house seer of sorts,” according to a recent profile in GQ. (“Initially he’d conceived of Together mode as a way to help Stephen Colbert — in whose house band Lanier sometimes performs when he’s in New York — figure out how to host his show…
Intel Slips, and a High-Profile Supercomputer Is Delayed
The chip maker was selected for an Energy Department project meant to show American tech independence. But problems at Intel have thrown a wrench into the effort. From a report: When it selected Intel to help build a $500 million supercomputer last year, the Energy Department bet that computer chips made in the United States could help counter a technology challenge…
Kanye West Accused of Plundering Trade-Secret Tech To Fund His Internet Church
Kanye West is being sued for pulling the tried-and-true Silicon Valley tactic of allegedly stealing trade tech secrets. Gizmodo reports: First spotted by TMZ, the suit is being spearheaded by small, Pennsylvania-based ecommerce company MyChannel (MYC, for short). MYC allege that after pouring millions of dollars and half a year’s worth of work into mocking up a spiffy new site for…
In South India, Amazon Builds Its Largest Office Yet
As Amazon signals its growth in India with its office in Hyderabad, its largest in the world, local business owners are pushing back. From a report: The austere building is hardly distinguishable in the landscape of glass and concrete buildings making up Asia’s Silicon Valley, as Hyderabad, India, is known. It is one of Amazon’s latest developments, the online retailer’s largest…
Graduation Can Wait: Startups Recruiting Pandemic-Weary CS Students For Gap Year
theodp writes: That was then: Lamenting a dire shortage of U.S. computer science grads, tech investors Ali and Hadi Partovi launched Code.org in 2013 with backing from the world’s largest tech firms to push coding into America’s K-12 classrooms. This is now: CS graduation can wait. Bloomberg News’ Ellen Huet reports that some Silicon Valley startups, hungry for young talent, are…
Pandemic-Weary CS Students Tempted With Gap Years By Recruiting Startups
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp shared this report from Bloomberg News: To many college students, the prospect of a year of school during a pandemic — with virtual classes, restricted movements and no parties — is a huge bummer. Some Silicon Valley startups, hungry for young talent, see it as an opportunity. Over the past few months, several companies have presented an…
Palantir, Tech’s Next Big IPO, Lost $580 Million In 2019
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Palantir, a Silicon Valley company with strong links to the defense and intelligence communities, is poised to be the latest in a string of tech companies to offer shares on Wall Street well before turning a profit. The company sent financial documents to its investors on Thursday night, ahead of…
Spies in Silicon Valley: Twitter Breach Tied To Saudi Dissident Arrests
An internal breach at Twitter a half decade ago yielded data that was later used by Saudi Arabia to harass or arrest people critical of the government, according to lawsuits, human rights groups and the relative of a person apprehended in 2018. From a report: In 2015, two Twitter employees allegedly accessed more than 6,000 accounts while acting as spies for…
Startups Tap a New Talent Pool: Pandemic-Weary College Students
To many college students, the prospect of a year of school during a pandemic — with virtual classes, restricted movements and no parties — is a huge bummer. Some Silicon Valley startups, hungry for young talent, see it as an opportunity. From a report: Over the past few months, several companies have presented an alternative to school: a remote internship, aimed…