Stories by Martyn Williams

Acer is betting your pets need gadgets too

In the battle to sell more stuff to consumers, Acer has a new target: your pets.

Cisco to shed 5,500 staff in refocus on IoT, security, and cloud

Cisco Systems plans to lay off about 7 percent of its global workforce in a restructuring that will see it further focus on hot IT areas such as the Internet of things, security, collaboration, next-generation data centers and the cloud.

Riding Modobag, the motorized suitcase

The Modobag is a motorized suitcase you can ride around an airport. It's impressively built, handles great and appears sturdy, but is it really needed?

The US Marines are testing a pocket-sized helicopter drone

The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a pocket-sized drone that can deliver live video feeds from three cameras and is small enough that it's almost invisible from the ground.

Hackers hit Oracle's Micros payment systems division

Russian cybercriminals have infiltrated systems at Micros, an Oracle division that is one of the world's biggest vendors of point of sale payment systems for shops and restaurants, according to an influential security blogger.

MIcrosoft opens up HoloLens sales to anyone in the US or Canada

Microsoft has opened up sales of the HoloLens development kit to anyone with $3,000 to spare, a move that could significantly expand the community of developers building apps for the augmented reality headset.

Japan starts 8K TV broadcasts in time for Rio Olympics

Japan began the world's first regular 8K television broadcasts on Monday, five days ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games.

Alphabet will work with more auto makers on self-driving cars

Google's recent partnership with Fiat Chrysler to build the company's self-driving car technology into a Chrysler mini van will be the first of many partnerships with auto makers.

Kimpton Hotels is investigating a possible payment card breach

Kimpton Hotels, operator of boutique hotels across the U.S., says it is investigating reports of a possible payment card data breach. If confirmed, it would become the latest in a string of successful attacks on hotel chain operators in the last year.

Facebook brings high-speed laser communications into focus

Facebook says it has developed a laser detector that could open to airwaves to new high-speed data communications systems that don't require dedicated spectrum or licenses.

Samsung may place a US$450m bet on electric cars and batteries

Samsung Electronics is on the verge of making a substantial investment in BYD, a Chinese manufacturer of electric cars and batteries.

During coup attempt, Turkish president appears via Facetime on live TV

In what could be another first for our connected world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan placed what appeared to be a Facetime call into a national news broadcast early on Saturday while the world tried to figure out if a military coup against him had succeeded.

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