University of Utah electrical and computer engineering professor Massood Tabib-Azar has received a $200,000 National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grant to develop a portable, reusable coronavirus sensor that people can carry with them. The sensor, about the size of a quarter, works with a cellphone and can detect...
Apple, Google Release Technology for Pandemic Apps
Apple and Google on Wednesday released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. The companies said 22 countries and several U.S. states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect...
Health Officer: 'I Think We Will Be on Track' for Fresno Reopening May 7
The city of Fresno's shelter-in-place order goes until the first Wednesday in May. Mayor Lee Brand extended the shelter-in-place order to May 6 based on modeling that indicated COVID-19 cases will peak in late April. Fresno County's Health Officer, in response to a question Friday from GV Wire said: "I...
New Phone Tracking Software Could Slow COVID-19 Spread, Officials Say
Apple and Google have announced a joint plan to help contain the spread of COVID-19 by using mobile phone location tracking. The companies plan to add new software to phones, making it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people who may have been infected by coronavirus carriers....
WATCH: The Best and Worst of Super Bowl Ads
NEW YORK — Boston accents got poked. “Groundhog Day” got – surprise – resurrected, complete with Bill Murray. Google pulled out tears, and Cheetos and Doritos danced. All to the tune of $5.6 million for 30 seconds — to reach 100 million people with your product. During advertising’s biggest night,...
Former Uber CEO Kalanick Severs Ties With Ride-Hailing Giant
NEW YORK — Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is resigning from the board of directors, severing ties with the ride-hailing company that he co-founded a decade ago and ran until a series of scandals led to his downfall. The departure, announced Tuesday, did not come as a surprise. Kalanick recently...
For Banks, Data on Your Spending Habits Could Be a Gold Mine
NEW YORK — There’s a powerful new player watching what you buy so it can tailor product offerings for you: the bank behind your credit or debit card. For years, Google and Facebook have been showing ads based on your online behavior. Retailers from Amazon to Walgreens also regularly suction...
Did Devin Nunes See What Trump 2020 Team Said About Twitter?
Rep. Devin Nunes' lawsuit against Twitter might have taken a big hit Tuesday from President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. A statement tweeted by digital guru Brad Parscale on behalf of the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and other GOP groups stated that Twitter's impact on elections "is insignificant."...
Apple Commits $2.5B to Combat California Housing Crisis
CUPERTINO — Apple has committed $2.5 billion to ease California's housing crisis, eclipsing similar pledges by fellow Silicon Valley giants Google and Facebook to address a lack of affordable housing in the region they call home. Apple's pledge Monday includes a $1 billion fund to build new homes for households...
Twitter Bans All Political Advertisements
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages. "While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be...