U.S. exploring ways to disclose number of Americans caught in data grabs: spy chief

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on ''Worldwide threats to America and our allies'' in Capitol Hill, Washington February 9, 2016.

Reuters/Carlos Barria

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Monday his office was looking at “several options” to publicly disclose an estimate of the number of U.S. persons caught incidentally in Internet surveillance intended for foreign targets.“We are looking at several options right now, none of which are optimal,” Clapper told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor news organization, though he cautioned the task would be difficult and potentially run afoul of privacy considerations.

Can 'sweaty billboard' help fight Zika virus?

• From the section Technology

A billboard that attracts and kills mosquitoes has been designed by marketing agencies in Brazil.

The board releases a mixture of a lactic acid solution that mimics the smell of human sweat and carbon dioxide, which is in human breath.
Its inventors have released the blueprint for free and are encouraging people around the world to make them.
However, one expert warned it could attract insects to areas where there are many humans.
The two companies behind the Mosquito Killer Board, Posterscope and NBS, believe it could help in the fight against the Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes.
The insects are drawn to the aroma from the board from a distance of up to 2.5km away, the board's inventors say.

 

Image copyright Posterscope / Creative Commons

They are then trapped inside it and can be seen in the message it bears, which explains its purpose.
So far, they have installed two of the Mosquito Killer Billboards in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
The firms will not be selling the advertising space inside the billboard.

Apple complies with greater proportion of US data demands

By Kevin Rawlinson BBC News

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The firm released its latest transparency report this week

Apple is consistently more compliant with US requests for access to users' information than with the rest of the world on average, it has emerged.

Its own figures showed that, in 2015, Apple released data on users' devices to US authorities 80% of the time, compared to 55% when it came to the UK.

YouTube live-streams in virtual reality and adds 3D sound

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Image copyright YouTube

Image caption YouTube will broadcast virtual reality views of the Coachella festival

YouTube is introducing live-streamed 360-degree videos on its service.

The Google-owned platform said select concerts from California's Coachella festival would be the first to use the virtual reality facility.
In addition, it announced videos on its service could now be enhanced with "spatial audio", which simulates the effect of sounds coming from different directions and distances.
One expert said the innovation could greatly enhance VR experiences.

WWDC to Be Held June 13 to June 17 in San Francisco

 by Juli Clover

As we reported in January, Apple plans to hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 13 to June 17 in San Francisco, at the Moscone West convention center where the conference has been held for the past several years.

The official WWDC dates have leaked courtesy of Siri (via 9to5Mac), who, when asked when WWDC will be held responds: "The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held June 13 to June 17 in San Francisco. I'm so excited!"


While today's information counts as official confirmation that the conference will be held from June 13 to June 17, the dates in question were already known based on scheduling information at Moscone West. Since January, the Moscone Center has been booked for the first, second, fourth, and fifth weeks of June, leaving only the third week open for Apple.

YP Holdings plans first-round bid to merge with Yahoo: Bloomberg

A man walks past a Yahoo logo during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in this February 24, 2016 file photo.

Reuters/Albert Gea/Files

Oracle, Google fail to settle Android lawsuit before retrial

 By Dan Levine

A 3D printed Android logo is seen in front of a displayed cyber code in this illustration taken March 22, 2016.

Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Oracle Corp and Alphabet's Google unit failed to settle a long running copyright lawsuit over the Android operating system ahead of a retrial scheduled for May, according to a court docket.The case involves how much copyright protection should extend to the Java programming language, which Google used to design Android. Oracle is seeking billions in royalties for Google's use of some of the Java language, while Google argues it should be able to use Java without paying a fee.