TECHNOLOGY NUCLEUS

I n-house development teams at Apple are reportedly working on a new type of display technology -- microLED -- that could soon appear in some of the company's high-end wearables, such as the Apple Watch, as well other devices. Citing unnamed "people familiar with the situation," Bloomberg last month reported that Apple is producing a small number of microLED test screens at a secret factory near its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. That report was backed up by new research this week from Digitimes, which said Apple is developing both small- and large-screen microLED displays that could be used in the Apple Watch (pictured above), wearables with augmented reality, and Mac devices. MicroLED technology promises to deliver even higher-quality images than today's leading display tech, the OLED (organic light-emitting diode). Still in the early stages of development, microLED displays use tiny, individual LEDs to produce individual pixels in an image and are more ener...

Take two tablets and a selfie? Your doctor's orders may one day include a smartphone video to make sure you took your medicine.Smartphone apps that monitor pill-taking are now available, and researchers are testing how well they work when medication matters. Experts praise the efficiency, but some say the technology raises privacy and data security concerns. Selfie medicine works like this: Open an app on your phone, show your pills, put them in your mouth and swallow. Don't forget to show your empty mouth to the camera to prove today's dose is on its way. Then upload the video proof to the clinic. Fans say the technology addresses a big problem: About half of drugs for chronic conditions aren't taken as prescribed because of cost, side effects or patient forgetfulness. With treatment for opioid addiction, a skipped dose can mean a dangerous relapse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is funding research to tailor a smartphone app for those patients and see if t...

Yesterday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversing a jury decision on Google's use of Oracle's Java API packages "protects creators and consumers from the unlawful abuse of their rights," according to a statement from Oracle general counsel Dorian Daley.However, advocates of fair use in copyright law say yesterday's ruling could cost Google $9 billion in damages as well as put a deep chill on future tech innovation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights organization, called the reversal "a surprising decision that should terrify software developers." As Oracle yesterday welcomed the opportunity to revive its original 2010 complaint against Google, it also unveiled a new service that's the first based on its "self-driving" Oracle Autonomous Database. The Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse Cloud automates database administration and management tasks for enterprise customers, and is bei...

Income tax filing season brings an increase in activity by would-be thieves using phone calls and email to try to get money out of taxpayers. That warning comes from the IRS.Phone scams often involve someone calling a taxpayer, telling them they owe taxes and could be arrested if they don't pay. The thieves try to frighten taxpayers into giving them their credit card numbers and perhaps other personal information. Sometimes the first call is a recorded message that demands the taxpayer return the call. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by phone. And if someone owes money to the government, they'll first get a bill through the mail. The IRS also does not demand payment until after a taxpayer has had time to question and/or appeal a bill. The agency also says it does not ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. The IRS also does not make its first contact with taxpayers via email. So an unexpected email purportedly from the IRS should immediately b...

The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of a concerted operation to hack the U.S. energy grid and other critical infrastructure including aviation, and separately imposed sanctions on a raft of Russian officials for alleged high-tech interference in the 2016 American presidential election.The moves were the strongest to date against Russia by the administration, which critics have complained is being soft on Moscow. U.S. national security officials said the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies had determined that Russian intelligence and others were behind a broad range of cyberattacks beginning a year ago that have infiltrated the energy, nuclear, commercial, water, aviation and manufacturing sectors. The officials said the Russian hackers chose their targets, obtained access to computer systems, conducted "network reconnaissance" of systems that control key elements of the U.S. economy and then attempted to cover their tracks by de...

The inspiration for journalist Joanne Lipman's new book came in part from an unsuspecting businessman on an airplane to Des Moines, Iowa. He and Lipman were sitting next to each other, having a nice conversation, until he asked why she was flying to Iowa. "I said, 'I'm going to speak at a women's leadership conference,'" Lipman recalled on the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher. "And suddenly, this lovely man, he freezes up, he gets that deer-in-the-headlights look, and he goes, 'Sorry I'm a man!'" "Then he launches into this whole thing about how he had just gone through 'diversity training' at his bank, and how awful it was and they beat him up, and it felt like you were being sent to the principal's office," she added. "He says to me, he took one message away from diversity training: 'It's all your fault.'" More than three years and a lot more air travel later, ...