Charlotte Henry

Amazon is working on a device designed to read human emotions, Bloomberg News reported.  The product is being developed by the people that brought us the Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, as well as the team behind the Alexa voice software.

Designed to work with a smartphone app, the device has microphones paired with software that can discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice, according to the documents and a person familiar with the program. Eventually the technology could be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others, the documents show. It’s unclear how far along the project is, or if it will ever become a commercial device. Amazon gives teams wide latitude to experiment with products, some of which will never come to market

Transport for London (TfL) is going to start tracking every user on the London Underground using Wifi. They will do it using a system of beacons, Wired reported.

The system will use Wi-Fi beacons that are already present in 260 TfL-managed tube stations. As well as serving up internet access, the beacons will log the unique hardware addresses – or MAC addresses – of every device they sniff out, whether those devices are connected to Wi-Fi or not. The same technology is already in use in many shopping malls, museums and other public spaces, which use the data for similar purposes. TfL’s use of Wi-Fi data is particularly interesting, however, because of its sheer scale. The 2016 trial collected 509 million pieces of data from 5.6m mobile devices on 42m journeys. Until now, all TfL has known about your journey is where you tapped in and out, if you were using an Oyster Card or contactless payments. Wi-Fi can fill in the gaps. Transport planners will be able to see exactly which route between two stations was taken by customers, and how they move around each station.

Back in November, Apple and Amazon cut a deal that allowed new and refurbished Apple products via the online retailer. The move was good for the two firms but, The Verge reported, a disaster for those already selling Apple products through the Amazon Marketplace. The deal meant they were banned from doing so, putting severe pressure on a number of businesses.

Companies that want to sell Apple products through Amazon now have to meet one of two requirements. The first is to purchase at least $2.5 million worth of refurbished inventory every 90 days from Apple itself or through a retailer with more than $5 billion in annual sales, like a wireless carrier or big-box retailers like Target or Walmart. The second is to reach out directly to Apple to become an authorized reseller. Apple has yet to make its reseller requirements known to the public, but to become an Apple-authorized provider of repairs requires a physical retail space for customers to enter. By cutting this deal, Apple and Amazon benefit while knocking out millions of dollars worth of business for small sellers.

The U.S relaxed restrictions on Huawei to avoid disruption to customers of the telecoms sector, Reuters reported. It is the latest development in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. Commerce Department blocked Huawei Technologies from buying U.S. goods last week, a major escalation in the trade war between the world’s two top economies, saying the firm was involved in activities contrary to national security. The two countries increased import tariffs on each other’s goods over the past two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said China had reneged on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. On Monday, the Commerce Department granted Huawei a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to Huawei smartphones, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.

Lots of users have been having fun with the new gender altering filters on Snapchat. However, the Associated Press reported that the filters also provide comfort and support to some trans people exploring their gender identity.

“My gender’s not a costume,” says Bailey Coffman, a 31-year-old transgender woman from New York. “This story that I feel is very real. I lost a lot to be who I am, and I fought really hard for the body that I’m in….Some argue that the filter, which Snapchat calls a “lens,” could be a therapeutic tool that leads to self-discovery and even helps ease the transition of people struggling with gender identity once they see who they could become…

Staff at MIT opened a time capsule buried 20 years ago Monday. It contained a plethora of tech history, including Sir Tim Berners-Lees original proposal for the World Wide Web and the first Microsoft product, Fast Company reported.

Inside, they found Tim Berners-Lee’s original proposal for the World Wide Web, written in 1992. This document laid out the rules that governed the HTTP protocol and how the HTML language was supposed to work–describing the graphic appearance of content on the internet, and how links would connect everything in a web-like network of nodes that could take you from a page about the mating habits of penguins to one that describes how a steam locomotive work. Basically, the document is one of the primary reasons you’re able to read these lines right now. The capsule also included Microsoft’s first ever product, the BASIC interpreter that Bill Gates and Paul Allen coded for the Altair computer in 1975.

Google suspended some of its business with Huawei following President Trump’s decision to blacklist the firm. Reuters broke the news Sunday. The suspension affects the transfer of some hardware, software and technical services involving the Chinese telecoms giant.

Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, in a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world…Holders of current Huawei smartphones with Google apps, however, will continue to be able to use and download app updates provided by Google, a Google spokesperson said.

Rumors surfaced Friday that pop superstar Lady Gaga will perform at the opening of Apple’s new headquarters, AppleInsider reported. The grand opening of Apple Park is set to take place Saturday. A rainbow stage was recently erected on the site for use during the celebration.

“There are unconfirmed reports that Lady Gaga will be performing at Apple Parks’ [sic] formal opening event tomorrow, celebrating Steve Jobs,” said Lady Gaga Now on Friday. It didn’t identify sources, but did note that Gaga — whose real name is Stefani Germanotta — boarded a private jet in Los Angeles on Thursday. Her only current concert schedule involves a residency in Las Vegas, and there are no performance dates there this week. The company recently confirmed that a rainbow stage at the center of Apple Park was erected for a combined opening/Jobs event. It indicated that the event would take place on May 17, however, not Saturday.

UPDATE: 9to5Mac reports that Lady Gaga’s appearance is confirmed.

Legendary architect I.M. Pei passed away Thursday, aged 102. Most famous for the glass pyramid at the Louvre, he also had a major influence on Apple, Cult of Mac reported.

I.M. Pei first got involved with Apple in the early 80s, before it even launched the first Macintosh. Jobs wanted to hire I.M. Pei to design a campus for Apple in Coyote Valley, San Jose. This didn’t end up happening, but Jobs and Pei did work together not long after. The first instance was an ongoing project to create an apartment in the San Remo, a Neo-Renaissance apartment building in New York City. Jobs hired I.M. Pei’s firm to work on the project, although Jobs never wound up living there.

Grumpy Cat has died at age 7, reported Buzzfeed News. The pet went viral in September 2012 when a picture of it appeared on Reddit. After that, Grumpy Cat’s life was never the same again.

She died in the arms of her owner on Tuesday, according to an emotional statement posted on Twitter. “Despite care from top professionals, as well as from her very loving family, Grumpy encountered complications from a recent urinary tract infection that unfortunately became too tough for her to overcome,” it read.”She passed away peacefully on the morning of Tuesday, May 14, at home in the arms of her mommy, Tabatha.”