Apple makes Siri smarter, rolls out software improvements
Apple makes Siri smarter, rolls out software improvements
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is working to make its iPhone and other gadgets smarter, responding to competitors’ recent moves by building more artificial intelligence into its Siri digital assistant, photos, maps and other online services.
The tech giant kicked off its annual software conference by announcing new software features for the Apple Watch and Apple TV, as well, while unveiling a new design for the Apple Music service. It’s also extending Apple Pay to the web, so users can pay for purchases made on their Mac computers using the fingerprint authorization on their iPhone or Apple Watch. Most of these new features won’t arrive until this fall.
At a time when sales of its flagship iPhone are slowing, Apple seemed determined to show that it can make its gadgets indispensable, or at least as useful as its competitors’ products.
Former PM Brown urges Labour supporters to vote ‘in’ on EU
LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an impassioned call Monday for Labour Party supporters to vote to stay in the European Union, amid nervousness in the “remain” camp that it is losing momentum ahead of next week’s referendum.
Brown, who governed from 2007 to 2010, says Britain should “lead in Europe” and not leave it. His speech on the EU, due later Monday, is considered significant because Brown’s last-minute intervention during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum is credited with bolstering support for remaining part of the United Kingdom.
Polls suggest the June 23 vote on whether to leave the 28-nation bloc could go either way. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has long criticized the EU, and some Labour members feel Corbyn has not made a strong case for staying in the bloc. That has made Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron by far the most vocal proponent of a “remain” vote — and left many Labour voters confused about where their party stands.
With just 10 days to go until the vote, senior Labour figures are stepping up their campaigning.
Microsoft to buy networking site LinkedIn for $26.2 billion
NEW YORK (AP) — In a surprise move, Microsoft said Monday that it is buying professional networking service site LinkedIn for about $26.2 billion.
It is by far Microsoft’s largest acquisition — much larger than Skype, which the company bought for $8.5 billion in 2011.
LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, has more than 430 million members. Users can network with other professionals, upload their resumes, catch up on career advice and search for jobs on its site and apps.
Microsoft Corp. is paying $196 for each share of LinkedIn Corp., a 50 percent premium over the stock’s closing price of $131.08 on Friday. The deal is expected to close this year.
LinkedIn will remain an independently run unit of Microsoft. It will keep its name, and current CEO Jeff Weiner will stay on and report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Microsoft is based in Redmond, Washington.
For Microsoft, the deal means access to LinkedIn’s hundreds of millions of users and an opportunity to cement itself as the tech company for the world’s professionals, helping them find jobs, learn new skills and do their work.
As mass shootings plague US, survivors mourn lack of change
DENVER (AP) — The deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history has people around the world wondering why mass violence keeps happening in America.
For those who have lived through mass shootings, and for the law enforcement officers trying to prevent them, the answer is self-evident.
“Because we allow it,” said Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was among 12 killed at Colorado movie theater in 2012.
The nation began the week mourning the 49 people killed early Sunday when a gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Authorities are investigating whether the assault was an act of terrorism, a hate crime, or both. Politicians lamented the violence as tragically familiar despite its staggering scale.
The causes of mass shootings are as disparate as the cases themselves, but those involved in other tragedies couldn’t help but feel the similarities.