WSJ Tech News Briefing
Tech News Briefing is your guide to what people in tech are talking about. Every weekday, we’ll bring you breaking tech news and scoops from the pros at the Wall Street Journal, insight into new innovations and policy debates, tips from our personal tech team, and exclusive interviews with movers and shakers in the industry.
2376
Lego Boost Review: Creating Kid Coders
With the new Lego Boost kit making classic Lego bricks come to life with programmable motors and sensors, the Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler talks how encouraging kids to code has become a big trend among toys and apps.
6 min
2377
Net-Neutrality: New Hope in Finding Common Grou...
An influential House committee chairman is aiming to pass compromise net-neutrality legislation, seeking common ground between high-tech and telecommunications firms that have battled for a decade over internet governance rules. John D. McKinnon has the latest.
5 min
2378
Robotic Breakthrough: Boxing Your Online Order
Facing more pressure to speed orders more quickly to customers, a rising number of companies are using high-tech robots in their manufacturing process. The Wall Street Journal's Brian Baskin talks how this shakes up the e-commerce and traditional retail industries.
4 min
2379
PayPal, J.P. Morgan Deal Shakes Up Mobile Payme...
J.P. Morgan Chase and PayPal, two of the highest-profile companies providing mobile wallets in the U.S., will now be partners as well as competitors under terms of a new deal. The Wall Street Journal's Peter Rudegeair has the latest.
4 min
2380
Lyft Shifts Gears With New Driverless-Car Divis...
As Lyft announces plans to launch its own driver-less car division, the Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger talks where this leaves the always competitive self driving car race.
4 min
2381
Elon Musk Tweets New York-to-D.C. Hyperloop Tea...
With billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeting that he got "verbal" government approval for his ambitious New York-to-D.C. Hyperloop project, the Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins explains why he may have raised more questions than he answered.
4 min
2382
Can Samsung's Bixby Take on Apple's Siri, Amazo...
With a new talking sidekick arriving on millions of Samsung Galaxy S8 phones this week, the Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler breaks down what makes chatting with Bixby different from Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant.
5 min
2383
Do Twitter's Rules Apply to Trump's Tweets?
With President Donald Trump's tweets raising questions about a violation of Twitter's rules, the Wall Street Journal's Georgia Wells talk how the the social network's anti-harassment campaign forces the company to confront tricky questions about how it applies standards.
5 min
2384
Google Tries Again With Glass Headset
Google is relaunching Glass, its head-worn computer, by targeting corporate customers and dubbing the device, "Glass Enterprise Edition." The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens has the details.
4 min
2385
The Rise of the Retail Robots
Amid increasing pressure from Amazon, Wal-Mart and other large retailers are turning to technology to do workers' rote tasks. The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Nassauer has the latest.
4 min
2386
Best Way to Back Up Photos on Your iPhone
Is your smartphone constantly telling you there's no more storage? Michael Hsu, Gear & Gadgets editor for The Wall Street Journal's Off Duty section, breaks down three free and paid ways to easily copy your photos and videos to the cloud before safely deleting them.
4 min
2387
Netflix Soars Thanks to Big Subscriber Gains
Netflix blew through its subscriber-growth estimate, proving that big bets on original programming and international expansion are paying off. The Wall Street Journal's Austen Hufford has the latest.
5 min
2388
Will Apple Test Mass Market With New iPhone Des...
As rumors circulate that Apple's new iPhone will arrive late -- and at a much higher price, the Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher talks whether the tech giant can keep its appeal with the mass market as it scrambles to get the device done.
5 min
2389
Elon Musk Pushes to Regulate AI's 'Existential ...
Elon Musk warned a gathering of U.S. governors about several worst-case scenarios for AI, saying that the technology "is the biggest risk that we face as a civilization." The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has the latest.
5 min
2390
Visa's Big Push to Go Digital
The Wall Street Journal's AnnaMaria Andriotis discusses Visa's offer to small businesses to upgrade payment technology and stop taking cash, as well as its broader effort to steer us away from using paper money.
6 min
2391
Too Many Robocalls? FCC Offers New Hope
With hits running at a rate of more than 2.5 billion a month, technology advances continue to make robocalls cheap and easy to place. The Wall Street Journal's John D. McKinnon talks the FCC's latest move to curb these unwanted calls.
4 min
2392
Self-Driving Car Makers' Roadblock? Digital Map...
The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins talks how restrictions on digital mapping by overseas firms in China present hurdles to non-Chinese vehicle and tech companies.
5 min
2393
Hi-Tech Airport Screening: Hope for Faster Secu...
Two different airport-screening changes-one high-tech, one very low-show promise at speeding up security lines and improving accuracy at finding weapons. The Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney has the latest.
7 min
2394
Tovala: The Oven Reinventing TV Dinners
The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler talks the new Tovala meal kit, which aims to reinvent the TV dinner by shipping meals to your home that are ready to cook in a special steam oven.
5 min
2395
Google's Academic Influence Campaign: Paying Pr...
Reporter Jack Nicas discusses the Wall Street Journal's report about Google's little-known program that harnesses the brain power of university researchers to help sway opinion and public policy.
6 min
2396
Microsoft's Tries TV 'White Space' to Close Dig...
The Wall Street Journal's Jay Greene talks how Microsoft is pushing for "TV white-space technology," and why it may be the key to solving the digital divide between U.S. cities and rural areas.
5 min
2397
Tesla Amps Up Service Ahead of Model 3 Roll Out
As Tesla readies for its first mass-market car, it's tripling its capacity to repair vehicles with new service centers and hundreds of maintenance vans. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has the details surrounding its crucial strategy ahead of the Model 3 launch.
6 min
2398
Apple's iTunes Falls Short in Battle for Video
As Apple's iTunes Store continues to struggle for music listeners, it's losing the battle for video viewers as well. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle talks talks how Apple aims to take on the rising competition.
5 min
2399
The Key to Future ATMs? Your Smartphone.
As more big banks roll out ATM machines accessible via smartphones, the Wall Street Journal's Telis Demos talks the new use of biometric data, and the complexities of managing millions of customers' personal information.
6 min
2400
Apple Bets Big on Cutting Edge Privacy Tech
As companies like Apple experiment with technology aimed understanding users without invading their privacy, the Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan explains how "differential privacy" tech gives companies a new way to analyze sensitive data.
6 min