Net Neutrality comments were a record. Will it matter?

LOS ANGELES — Nearly 22 million comments were filed with the U.S. government on Net Neutrality, a massive display of direct democracy that's been dogged by charges of faked submissions and the possibility that results were decided months ago.

Wednesday was the final day consumers could voice their opinion to the Federal Communications Commission on the changes to Net Neutrality rules, which the current chairman has said he wanted to nix. 

The rules were put into effect during the Obama administration in 2015 to prevent Internet providers from adjusting the speeds of big-time users, say by charging more for Netflix and Hulu or slowing them down. But under the Trump presidency, the current FCC chairman has sought to abolish the rules, which he says stymie investment by telecom providers. 

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5G and Internet of Things are ramping up and Intel is ready to make them work efficiently

Nextbigfuture interviewed Rob Topol about 5G. Rob is general manager of Intel’s 5G business and technology.

The Internet of Things will soon have 50 billion devices and 200 billion sensors deployed. LTE/4G will not be able to handle it.

5G chips will enable tens of billions and trillions of connected devices — connected cars, drones, robots, collaborative augmented reality glasses with high speed and power efficiency.

Intel feels 5G is a broader set of tracks to enable all of the predicted machine to machine protocols.

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Google offers cheaper cloud networking option

Google will release a cheaper version of its cloud networking offering, which it claims is still as good as those offered by its public cloud competitors.

GCP users are using the Premium tier today, but the Standard Tier - which is currently in alpha testing - is available at a lower cost.

Urs Hölzle, SVP of technical infrastructure at Google, said: "Over the last 18 years we [have] built the world's largest network, which by some accounts delivers 25 to 30 percent of all internet traffic.

"You enjoy the same infrastructure with Premium Tier. But for some use cases, you may prefer a cheaper, lower-performance alternative.

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Connecting with the future of the Indian telecom industry

India, with its billions of mobile phone subscribers, has emerged to be a land of opportunity for telecom service providers (telcos). Among those, millions are equipped with Internet connectivity via their mobile devices that adds a new dimension to this paradigm, disrupting how telcos look at this market. To closely examine this evolving telecom landscape, Facebook collaborated with global research consultancy Kantar TNS to bring out some key insights* into the new business normal that telcos need to be prepared for.

We now manage our personal lives through our mobile devices, and we expect everything we consume – news, videos, even ads – to be individually tailored to our interests. Kantar TNS thus notes greater scope for newer customer segmentation by telecom service providers. While telcos are constantly re-engineering and upgrading their infrastructure to ensure seamless connectivity and uninterrupted services, they are also fighting a raging battle against customer churn. In the face of this competitive landscape, where each telecom service provider is hustling to emerge on top of the food chain, the pressure to acquire and retain customers is immense.

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Google launches second-tier cloud networking offering

Google will release a cheaper version of its cloud networking offering, which it claims is still as good as those offered by its public cloud competitors.

GCP users are using the Premium tier today, but the Standard Tier - which is currently in alpha testing - is available at a lower cost.

Urs Hölzle, SVP of technical infrastructure at Google, said: "Over the last 18 years we [have] built the world's largest network, which by some accounts delivers 25 to 30 per cent of all internet traffic.

"You enjoy the same infrastructure with Premium Tier. But for some use cases, you may prefer a cheaper, lower-performance alternative.

"With Network Service Tiers, you can choose the network that's right for you, for each application."

Google said the Standard Tier is available at a lower rate because it uses ISP networks to deliver traffic to a user's cloud applications, rather than its own private network - which is used for the likes of Google Search and YouTube.

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Microsoft sets $399 price for Minecraft-playing virtual reality set

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft still hopes it can put the "reality" into virtual reality sales.

The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant announced Monday its holiday season foray into what it calls mixed reality will be marked by $399 headset/controller bundles from partners such as HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer, along with a selection of games and other VR experiences. 

That pricing is roughly in line with the competition. Facebook is now selling its Oculus Rift goggle and controller bundle for $400, slashed from $700, reflecting tepid consumer appetite for one of tech's most-hyped hardware forays.

Clunky, tethered headsets and the lack of a "killer app" have dissuaded all but hard-core gaming enthusiasts from buying virtual reality headsets, leading to slashed industry forecasts and lowered prices.

Microsoft is gamely trying to change that story. Its VR content includes the travel-focused HoloTour, offering virtual tours of destinations such as Peru's Machu Picchu, as well as games such as Minecraft, Luna, Space Pirate Trainer and Fantastic Contraption. The new gear, which connects to the computer, will also be compatible with content featured on SteamVR.

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Fitbit Pay: everything you need to know about the new mobile payment service

The Fitbit Ionic is the first ever smartwatch from the brand, offering new fitness routines, a waterproof design so it can properly track your swims and built-in GPS so you can track your runs without your phone.

Fitbit's Ionic is also the first device from the company to be able to bring mobile payments to your wrist, meaning you can be out for a jog without your wallet or phone and still buy a bottle of water on the way.

Rather than using Android Pay, Apple Pay or any of the other mobile payment systems it uses its own, called Fitbit Pay. Here's everything you need to know about the new alternative payment system:

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DCIM-Accelerating the Data Center Spend

There are few things that top the list when it comes to data center spending—data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software, power equipment, cabling, and racks purchase. However, upgrades of power equipment, security concerns, as well as other reinvestment projects will persist to propel data center spending for quite some time.

According to a survey published by 451 Research's Voice of the Enterprise Datacenters, the rise in the data center facility spending is expected to come from both large and medium sized organizations in North America and Europe, with healthcare and finance industries leading the spend. The exponential growth of the large colo and cloud facilities is gaining momentum in the market and is having a positive effect on the energy consumption of the data center industry.

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Telecom operators demand 100% increase in call, data tariffs

The telecom subscribers in the country will pay more for telecom services if the industry regulator accedes to telecom operators’ demand for 100% increase in prices of data and voice calls, Daily Trust has learnt.  

Several sources within the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and from within the industry have told our reporter of the fresh move to review call and data tariffs upward by about 100 per cent.

An NCC official, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity because he has not been cleared to speak on the matter, said telecom operators had been making a case for price increment since the first quarter of this year.

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Automated technology isn't going anywhere — and it's changing society

The first thing you notice when you walk into eatsa is the staff. It’s almost non-existent. There’s no cash register, no counter where you pick up your order at this highly automated restaurant chain. A single worker, sometimes two, mans the floor to answer questions.

Customers can enter and exit, food in hand in under a couple of minutes — all without ever interacting with another human being.

It’s an increasingly common scene as companies from Amazon to Little Caesars and Uber introduce more ways to go about daily tasks while avoiding face-to-face contact. On top of email, texting and social media, such technology is undeniably changing society — for better, for worse or somewhere in-between.

“There are times when people think it serves their purposes, and there are other times when they think it’s distressing that I don’t spend as much time with humans as I might have in the past,” says Lee Rainie, director of Internet and technology research at Pew Research.

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Ensuring Proper Air Quality, Moisture Levels in Data Centers

Since the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive was passed more than 10 years ago by the European Union (with many countries passing their own versions of the law), IAQ in data centers has become a major issue. That is because this directive, which restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electronic equipment — the most significant of these being lead — has caused many types of electrical components to become much more prone to corrosion if proper air quality is not maintained.

As a result, almost all information technology (IT)/datacom manufacturers have updated their specifications, documentation, and warranty terms to include and/or update air quality specifications, said Chris Muller, technical director and global mission critical technology manager, Purafil Inc.

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Making the roads of Myanmar safer with active safety technologies

Fatalities resulting from road accidents continue to be a daily occurrence in Myanmar. Last year alone, there were more than 16,000 accidents. Over 4,600 people died and left behind their loved ones - tragedies that could have been avoided. If this doesn’t strike as a wake-up call for more sustainable measures to address the situation, concrete facts and figures should.

According to the Ministry of Transportation, there were more than 6 million vehicles in Myanmar in 2016, and close to 84 percent of these new vehicle registered were motorcycles. While the prevalence of more vehicles on the road reflects the economic progress of Myanmar, this has also unfortunately led to an increase of statistics for road accidents.

In Southeast Asia, there are approximately 63,000 reported road traffic deaths each year. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the reported numbers do not represent the real magnitude of the road safety problem in the region. It is estimated that the actual number of road traffic fatalities lies at around 117,000 per year, due to either inaccurate data or undocumented accidents. While Singapore has one of the fewest traffic-related deathsworldwide, Thailand has one of the most, second only to Libya.

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Infosys partners with Purdue to train its expected 10,000 new employees

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is entering into a five-year agreement with India-based Infosys to train the company's new employees and conduct joint research, the school announced Thursday.

The partnership comes after Infosys announced in May that it would open a technology hub in Indianapolis for up to 2,000 new employees. As part of the deal, Infosys could receive up to $31 million in conditional tax credits and training grants, the largest incentive package in state history.

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Altice Said Weighing Takeover Offer for Charter Communications

Netherlands-based telecom conglomerate Altice NV and its U.S. cable unit are in the early stages of working on an offer to buy Charter Communications Inc., sources told Reuters on Wednesday, in a move that would build more scale in the United States.

The proposed plan highlights an expected wave of consolidation in the telecom industry as cable companies look for additional ways to cut costs and grow with more U.S. consumers cutting their cords.

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Pretoria energy company receives grant from USA

WASHINGTON D.C.- The U.S. Trade and Development Agency issued a grant to Swayana (Pty) Ltd, a Pretoria-based energy project developer, for a feasibility study that will use innovative U.S. technologies to convert waste gas also known as off-gas into a valuable commodity at a plant in South Africa's Mpumalanga province. 

The project will use proprietary technologies from Illinois-based LanzaTech, Inc. to create ethanol from off-gas generated as a byproduct of ferroalloy smelting. This project will open up a new low-carbon footprint fuels and chemical industry in South Africa

"USTDA is pleased to support this cutting-edge project, which is creating new opportunities for innovative U.S. technologies that will support South Africa's commitment to reduce pollution in energy-intensive manufacturing industries," said USTDA's Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy.

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Utility Company Future-Proofs Its Infrastructure for Growth

There’s Big Data, and then there’s really Big Data. It was the latter that prompted Hydromax USA to scrap its elderly, maxed-out data center and replace it with two data centers capable of handling the company’s aggressive growth.

Based in Chandler, Ind., Hydromax USA is a professional services firm that helps utility companies and contractors locate and assess the condition of underground water, sewer and natural gas infrastructure.

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Southco Introduces Height Adjustable Display Mount Series

Southco Asia Ltd. , a subsidiary of Southco Inc., a leading global provider of engineered access solutions such as locks, latches, captive fasteners, electronic access solutions and hinges/ positioning ttechnology, announces an expansion of AV Display Mounts offering with two new versions that allow the height of a monitor or display to be precisely adjusted according to end user preferences.

The unveiled AV Display Mounts, AV-D32 Series , includes a vertically articulating t ilt, s wivel and s wing m ount (V Series) and d ual e xtension m ount (W Series) designed with Southco integrated p ositioning technology for precise control and customization of operation. This innovative design enhances the ergonomics and flexibility provided to operators in use of medical LCD mounting workstation, heavy panels and medical equipment.

The V Series offers with a single vertical articulating arm that provides tilt, swivel and swing positioning and is available in wall mounted or table mounted configurations. The W Series delivers the same functionality and adds an extended range of motion with the addition of a fixed, angled lower arm. Additionally, the W Series can be horizontally mounted to a table top or mobile cart application and is available with an optional locking mechanism to secure the height adjusting arm in a safe operation.

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Using Text Analytics to Unlock Business Insight

From simple questions to complex application requirements, the ability to examine and analyze text for insights can make a huge difference in solving business problems.

Determining what content really contains and how it can benefit the business is a critical skill in today's hectic business environment.

KMWorld recently held a roundtable webinar with Will Johnson, co-founder and CTO at Attivio, and Simran Bagga, principal product manager at SAS, who discussed why text analytics and natural language processing (NLP) are critical capabilities of cognitive solutions, strategies for delivering effective, AI-based information discovery systems to the business, and more.

Attivio provides cognitive search and insight to uncover contextual data from documents and records, Johnson explained.

The platform contains an open, extensible workflow for transforming data and queries using rich text analytic capabilities.

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Slim's America Movil wins telecom battle in top Mexico court

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled billionaire Carlos Slim's telecommunications company America Movil should not be barred by law from charging competitors certain fees, prompting fears of a rollback of a sweeping antitrust reform.

The 2014 telecom industry reform, one of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's signature accomplishments, prohibited America Movil from charging other carriers for calls made to customers on its network, even though those firms are allowed to bill America Movil for using their networks.

The reform was aimed at breaking up Slim's market dominance, which rivals said made it challenging for them to break into the sector. It was one of several changes, along with an opening of the state-run energy industry, that have increased competition in Mexico's strategic industries.

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Formula One Launches ESports World Championship

LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One will crown its first virtual world champion at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after announcing on Monday the launch of an eSports series to run from September to November.

The new eSports Series is a partnership with Formula One, game developer Codemasters and events and competitions specialists Gfinity.

The series will be in three stages, starting with qualification events through September to determine the 40 quickest virtual drivers, and run on PlayStation4, Xbox One and Windows PC platforms.

Live semi-finals will be held at London's Gfinity Arena on Oct. 10-11 with the top 20 going on to the three-race finals at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit on Nov. 24-25.

The first eSports Series world champion will automatically qualify for the following year's semi-finals.

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Global Automotive HVAC Market 2017: Bergstrom, South Air International, Keihin and Gentherm

The up-to-date research report on Global Automotive HVAC Market portrays a detailed fundamental market overview which is fueled by deep research to acquaint the users with latest Automotive HVAC market trends, current market overview and Automotive HVAC market development status expected during the forecast period from 2017-2022. Global Automotive HVAC Report offers a thorough analysis of different Automotive HVAC market segments like dominant key players their visions which will help the readers in analysing the Automotive HVAC growth opportunities. The report provides concise knowledge of the Automotive HVAC market on a global scale based on the past-present size and Automotive HVAC market forecast scenario in the form of graphs, tables, pie-charts to help all the existing as well as new Automotive HVAC market players in making decisions which will favour the growth of Automotive HVAC industry.

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China warns Washington against ‘trade war’

BEIJING — China’s government on Thursday warned “there is no winner in a trade war” after an aide to President Donald Trump called in published comments for a tougher stance toward Beijing.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, appealed for dialogue to preserve stable relations when asked about the comments by Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon.

In comments to The American Prospect posted online, Bannon said the United States is in an “economic war” with China. He recommended pursuing a trade investigation of Beijing’s technology policies and anti-dumping action over Chinese exports of steel and aluminum.

“There is no winner in a trade war,” Hua said at a regular news briefing. “We hope the relevant people can refrain from dealing with a problem in the 21st century with a zero-sum mentality from the 19th or the 20th century.”

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Linguamatics and RealHealthData partner to extract real world evidence from patient narrative

Santa Cruz, CA, Cambridge, UK & Boston, USA – Natural Language Processing (NLP) text analytics provider Linguamatics, and RealHealthData, a narrative medical records database provider, today announced their strategic partnership to combine Linguamatics’ advanced NLP technology with RealHealthData’s extensive database of detailed provider narratives, to improve the understanding of drug use, adverse events, and product switching in Real World settings. 

Understanding the real world (i.e., outside of clinical trials) impact of therapies on patients is critical for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Medical records are one of the key sources of real world data, and provide evidence that can inform all phases of drug development. RealHealthData provides access to patient narratives from all 50 US states and every medical specialty. The data can be used for all phases of drug development and post marketing research. Linguamatics I2E can be used to extract the key facts from these narratives using relevant ontologies and queries, transforming real world data into actionable intelligence for better decision making.

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TSTT receives award for being an innovative regional leader

“TSTT continues to be a leader in this region because it pushes new technologies to its consumers.

From about 20 countries in the Caribbean and Latin American (CALA) region, TSTT is one of the top companies demonstrating this pioneering behavior,” said Paulo Eduardo Da Silva, Export managing director at the Power and Telephone Supply Company (Power & Tel), at a brief recognition function during which the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) received an award for being an innovative industry leader in the CALA region. 

The award was presented to TSTT’s chief executive officer, Dr. Ronald Walcott by Jennifer Sims, Power & Tel’s chief executive officer, at TSTT’s Queen’s Park Oval Hospitality Suite on August 10. 

Power & Tel is a global leader in telecommunications and cable TV equipment and serves telecoms of all sizes, including AT&T, Comcast and Telefonica. “We have been distributing to the CALA region for over 20 years and we noticed a lag between the USA and European region and the CALA region. It usually takes three to five years for any technology adopted in the USA to be implemented in this region. 

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Amazon Macie helps businesses protect their sensitive data in the cloud

Amazon’s AWS cloud computing service hosted its annual NY Summit today and it used the event to launch a new service: Amazon Macie. The idea behind Macie is to use machine learning to help businesses protect their sensitive data in the cloud. For now, you can use Macie to protect personally identifiable information and intellectual property in the Amazon S3 storage service, with support for other AWS data stores coming later this year

The company says the fully managed service uses machine learning to monitor how data is accessed and to look for any anomalies. The service then alerts users of any activity that looks suspicious so they can find the root cause of any data leaks (whether those are malicious or not). To do all of this, the service continuously monitors new data that comes into S3. It then uses machine learning to understand regular access patterns and the data in the storage bucket.

The service also automatically detects certain data types like full names, addresses, credit card numbers, IP addresses, driver license IDs (U.S. only), social security numbers and birth dates, but it also can automatically detect different content types (email, SEC forms, data logs, database backups, source code, etc.).

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War room 2.0? U.S. Air Force upgrades Middle East command center

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (Reuters) - With its wall-sized screens simultaneously showing America's air wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, this war room at the heart of America's biggest military campaigns is already something of a technological marvel.

"It's state of the art but too slow for the future," said General David Goldfein, chief of staff of the Air Force, who is visiting the center at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base this week with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.

Enter innovation to bridge the gap. The Qatar-based operations center is undergoing a series of upgrades to its top-secret computer systems to transform how war planners here do business.

The Combined Air Operations Center, known in military-speak as the "CAOC," is grappling with a dizzying amount of data and intelligence flowing in from sources like satellites, drones, radar and U.S. aircraft flying over Middle East hot spots and bombing Islamic State positions.

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Tech companies urge Supreme Court to boost cellphone privacy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a dozen high technology companies and the biggest wireless operator in the United States, Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), have called on the U.S. Supreme Court to make it harder for government officials to access individuals' sensitive cellphone data.

The companies filed a 44-page brief with the court on Monday night in a high-profile dispute over whether police should have to get a warrant before obtaining data that could reveal a cellphone user's whereabouts.

Signed by some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, including Apple (AAPL.O), Facebook (FB.O), Twitter (TWTR.N), Snap (SNAP.N) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, the brief said that as individuals' data is increasingly collected through digital devices, greater privacy protections are needed under the law.

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Almost All of FCC’s New Advisory Panel Works for Telecoms

When the Federal Communications Commission went looking this year for experts to sit on an advisory committee regarding deployment of high-speed internet, Gary Carter thought he would be a logical choice.

Carter works for the city of Santa Monica, California, where he oversees City Net, one of the oldest municipal-run networks in the nation. The network sells high-speed internet to local businesses, and uses the revenue in part to connect low-income neighborhoods.

That experience seemed to be a good match for the proposed Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai created this year. One of the panel’s stated goals is to streamline city and state rules that might accelerate installation of high-speed internet. But one of the unstated goals, members say, is to make it easier for companies to build networks for the next generation wireless technology, called 5G. The advanced network, which promises faster speeds, will require that millions of small cells and towers be erected nationwide on city- and state-owned public property.

The assignment seemed to call out for participation from city officials like Carter, since municipal officials approve where and what equipment telecommunications companies can place on public rights of way, poles and buildings.

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​Commonwealth Bank partners with Airtasker for identity verification

For Airtasker, this is the first step in a broader project around verifying identity, skills, certifications and achievements. We're creating a reputation passport, which will help people know exactly who they are dealing with and what they are qualified for," Airtasker CEO Tim Fung said.

In October, CBA entered into a memorandum of understanding with Alipay, Alibaba's online payment platform, to deliver payment solutions to Australian and Chinese consumers and retailers.

Under the agreement that saw CBA become the first Australian bank to secure a deal with Alipay, the Chinese giant will use the bank's digital payments infrastructure to enable Australian consumers to make purchases across Alibaba Group's ecommerce websites including AliExpress.

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Sprint and T-Mobile again exploring merger, report says

Wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile are reportedly talking again about a merger that would, if completed, vault the resulting company into the No. 2 spot in the highly competitive industry, behind AT&T.

The No. 3 and No. 4 wireless providers -- T-Mobile has 69.6 million subscribers, Sprint, 53.7 million -- attempted a merger three years ago. But concerns that regulators would not approve the deal led to an unraveling.

T-Mobile declined comment on the report. Sprint could not be immediately reached for comment.

Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Tokyo-based telecom and Internet company Softbank, has been seeking a deal to improve Sprint's position. Last week, Charter Communications declined an offer to merge with Sprint, to complete a pay-TV/wireless/broadband powerhouse.

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Mazda claims engine 'breakthrough' that should worry electric car backers

Days after striking a partnership to collaborate on electric vehicles with bigger and wealthier competitor Toyota, the scrappy engineers at Mazda announced proprietary engine technology that they say is 20% to 30% more efficient than the automaker's conventional systems.

They plan to deploy the technology, which also boasts improving torque, in models beginning in 2019.

The technological advancement, which Mazda won’t share with other automakers, shows how the global race to meet fuel economy regulations will take multiple forms and could pave the way for consumers to save on transportation.

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Two big reasons Sinclair-Tribune TV merger should be nixed, opponents say

The opposition to Sinclair Broadcast Group's nearly $4 billion merger with Tribune Media Co., is fighting the deal with words and documents.

The Hunt Valley, Md.-headquartered Sinclair's acquisition, announced three months ago, could create a broadcasting powerhouse with more than 200 TV stations in 108 markets.

Not all in the media and TV industry think such a deal should be approved by regulators. "We believe this merger as proposed is unlawful, not in the public interest and should be rejected," said Matthew Polka, CEO of the American Cable Association Monday. The ACA represents about 750 smaller telecom/broadband/pay-TV providers in small and rural areas.

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One Of The USA’s Largest Southern Data Centres Is About To Become An Infrastructure Giant

QTS, one of the most active data centre real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the US today, is planning to expand its 300,000 sqf data centre in Dallas, Texas.

According to Dallas News, the company has put forward plans worth $78m to expand its hub in Las Colinas by building out two data halls within the existing 700,000 sqf shell and constructing a new data centre building.

The shell was bought by QTS back in 2013 from Maxim which used the site as a semiconductor manufacturing plant.

With the asset, QTS became also the owner of the 40-acre land plot owned by Maxim. The site is powered by an on-site 140MW dual-fed substation.

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New device can heal with a single touch, and even repair brain injuries

A new device developed at The Ohio State University can start healing organs in a "fraction of a second," researchers say.  

The technology, known as Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), has the potential to save the lives of car crash victims and even deployed soldiers injured on site. It's a dime-sized silicone chip that "injects genetic code into skin cells, turning those skin cells into other types of cells required for treating diseased conditions," according to a release.

In lab tests, one touch of TNT completely repaired injured legs of mice over three weeks by turning skin cells into vascular cells.

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Air bag, brake defects trigger Fiat Chrysler recalls of 1.3M vehicles

Fiat Chrysler has issued a pair of recalls affecting more than 1.3 million vehicles worldwide: one to fix defective air bags and another to repair anti-lock brakes.

In the air bag recall, the company is said certain crossover vehicles are prone to "inadvertent deployment of the driver-side front air bag." The company identified five potentially related minor accidents, but no injuries.

The recall affects 770,853 vehicles around the world, including certain 2011-2015 Dodge Journeys sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and certain 2011-2015 Fiat Freemont crossovers sold outside North America.

With the anti-lock brake issue, the company is recalling 565,647 vehicles so the alternators can be replaced. The defect can compromise the vehicles' anti-lock braking system and electronic stability control, although basic brake function is not affected, the company said. The company said it had identified two accidents potentially linked to the defect, but no injuries.

The recall affects certain 2011-2014 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans, Dodge Challenger coupes, Dodge Durango SUVs and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs equipped with electro-hydraulic power steering.

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US trade commission probing Qualcomm iPhone complaint

San Francisco: The US International Trade Commission on Tuesday said it will look into Qualcomm's complaint that Apple is violating its patents in some iPhones.

The step, arguably procedural, means that the commission will assign Qualcomm's complaint to an administrative law judge for evidentiary hearings instead of dismissing it out of hand.

Qualcomm last month escalated a legal battle with Apple, filing a patent infringement lawsuit and requesting a ban on the importation of some iPhones, claiming unlawful and unfair use of the chipmaker's technology.

Qualcomm asked for an import ban on some iPhones with the US International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial government agency which hears cases involving trade disputes.

"Qualcomm is pleased with the ITC's decision to investigate Apple's unfair trade practices and the unauthorized importation of products using Qualcomm's patents," executive vice president and general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a release.

The products at issue in the investigation are mobile devices such as the iPhone 7 and specific components including baseband processor modems, according to the commission.

The complaint alleges that iPhones, which are made in China, should not be allowed to be brought into the United States if they infringe on Qualcomm's patents.

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Global Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) Market will reach 44.5 billion by 2024,says Esticast Research and Consulting

As per the report “global Anti-lock braking system (ABS) market, by Component ( Sensors,Electronic Control,Hydraulic Unit), by Vehicle Type (Two Wheelers,Passenger Cars,Commercial Vehicles), Industry Trends, Estimation & Forecast, 2016-2024”,The global Anti-lock braking system (ABS) market was valued at $26 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $44.5 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2017 to 2024. Passenger cars are anticipated to dominate the market throughout the analysis period. Region-wise, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead, accounting for approximately 30% share of the global ABS market in 2017, generating a revenue of 7.5 billion in 2016.

“Impending need of safety features for automobiles owing to increasing number of accidents is expected to boost the ABS market. Anti-lock braking system holds great potential to ensure the safety of automobiles at an event of braking in the wet & rough surface.”

Hydraulic unit segment lead the ABS market holding more than 58% of the total market share in 2016

By component, market is further bifurcated into sensors, electronic control unit (ECU), and hydraulic unit. As of 2016, hydraulic system accounted for the largest revenue owing to its high cost as compared to other components. Moreover, sensors segment is anticipated to witness the highest growth rate of 7.6% CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly due to advancement in technology as leading ABS OEM are manufacturing advanced ABS which are equipped with a large number of sensors.

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Global Automotive HVAC market revenue will reach $27.5 billion by 2024, says Esticast Research & Consulting

As per the report “Automotive HVAC Market By Type (Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles (HCVs and LCVs), By Technology (HVAC and Manual HVAC), Industry trends, Estimation & Forecast, 2016 - 2024”, the global automotive HVAC market was valued at $13.66 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $27.5 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 9.3% from 2017 to 2024. In 2016, Passenger Car HVAC system segment generated the highest revenue share of $ 9.1 billion growing at a CAGR of 9.8% in the global automotive HVAC system market. Among major regions, Asia Pacific Automotive HVAC system market was the highest revenue generating market valued at $6.3 billion in 2016.

“Pace grabbing countries, such as China, Japan, France, and India, are expected to experience significant growth in the application of Automotive HVAC System technology. APAC will experience the fastest growth geographically in the overall automotive HVAC market owing to the presence of some growing automotive manufacturing countries such as Japan and India.”

Passenger car segment is projected to lead the market throughout the forecast period

The passenger car segment was the largest application segment of the automotive HVAC system market in 2016. Development of automobile market and the introduction of new vehicles with advanced technologies in the Asia-Pacific region is the key factor anticipated to drive the growth of the automotive HVAC system market. The transportation industry is one of the potential markets for HVAC system. China is the leading car manufacturing country in the world followed by U.S., Japan, and Germany, hence pushing the HVAC technology market in the respective regions.

Automatic technology would capture more than 60% of the market by 2024

The automatic HVAC technology market is projected to lead the technology type segment of the automotive HVAC system market. Increasing demand for luxury cars with more comfort has led the manufacturers to enhance their vehicles with automatic HVAC system and hence adding up a steep growth to the market. Automatic HVAC technologies such as automatic recirculation can reduce the fuel consumption of an HVAC system by 35% by, recirculating the air through the air conditioning unit back into the cabin and limit the fresh air inlet to the minimum, while fulfilling the air parameters set by the driver and/or the system’s specifications. Hence, the upgraded technology is estimated to grow in the near future.

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Extreme Networks completes US$100M Avaya networking acquisition

Extreme Networks has completed its acquisition of Avaya’s networking business, taking on new customers, personnel and technology assets from Avaya in the process. 

Avaya revealed in March that it had entered into an asset purchase agreement with the US-based Extreme Networks to sell its networking business after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the US in January.

As part of the agreement, Extreme Networks served as the primary bidder in a section 363 sale under the US Bankruptcy Code to acquire Avaya’s Networking business for a transaction value of approximately US$100 million.

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T-Mobile wins all awards in latest OpenSignal report on U.S. networks

Earlier this year, T-Mobile tied for the most awards in OpenSignal’s State of Mobile Networks: USA report. Now the latest report shows T-Mo winning ‘em all.

OpenSignal today published the August 2017 edition of its State of Mobile Networks: USA report, showing how all four major U.S. carriers performed when tested by consumers using OpenSignal’s apps. T-Mobile won out in all six categories: 4G Download Speed, 3G Download Speed, Overall Download Speed, 4G Latency, 3G Latency, and 4G Availability.

In its report, OpenSignal notes that T-Mobile became the first U.S. carrier to surpass 90 percent 4G availability, squeaking ahead of Verizon and its 89.8 percent 4G availability. This metric measures the proportion of time that a user can connect to the 4G LTE network.

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Trump Supports Plan to Cut Legal Immigration by Half

President Trump embraced a proposal on Wednesday to slash legal immigration to the United States in half within a decade by sharply curtailing the ability of American citizens and legal residents to bring family members into the country.

The plan would enact the most far-reaching changes to the system of legal immigration in decades and represents the president’s latest effort to stem the flow of newcomers to the United States. Since taking office, he has barred many visitors from select Muslim-majority countries, limited the influx of refugees, increased immigration arrests and pressed to build a wall along the southern border.

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Data center construction increases thanks to the cloud

A new report from a real estate firm that specializes in data center construction and leasing says data center construction in North America is up 43 percent over the same period in 2016, and industry consolidation has driven $10 billion in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) so far. 

Jones Lang LaSalle just published its report on the North America data center market, highlighting trends such as consolidation, enterprise hybrid cloud, security, and high-performance computing.

While construction continues at a record clip, the report also found that absorption of data center space available for lease has returned to normal levels after record leasing in 2016. So many of the cloud providers are still digesting the capacity they picked up last year.

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