The Bay Area is home to the most tech innovation and venture capital in the world, and some of the most devastating earthquakes in the country, yet the region does not have a high-tech earthquake alert system for the public. But the Aug. 24 shaker near Napa caught the attention of more tech companies that, for the first time, are showing serious interest in building earthquake-warning apps.
One year after Google created an independent company dubbed Calico with the goal of extending human life, Menlo Park investor and Stanford-trained radiologist Joon Yun has launched a $1 million science competition with an aim as lofty — or, some critics say, foolhardy — as wax-winged Icarus: “curing” the disease more commonly known as aging.
Troy Wolverton writes: Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch may be the best Android Wear device on the market, but that’s not saying a lot in its favor.
Larry Magid writes: Samsung, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and numerous other companies have introduced tablets to compete with Apple’s iPad, but last week someone finally introduced what could be the iPad killer. That someone was Apple with its new iPhone 6 Plus.
Tesla’s decision to build its massive “gigafactory” for battery production in Reno is viewed as a big win for Nevada. But as Tesla races to make an affordable electric car for the masses, the company’s California footprint will continue to grow.
Michelle Quinn writes about four ways CEO Tim Cook is making Apple his own.
Google plans to begin testing its new prototype of a self-driving car — which, unlike earlier models, the company hopes to operate without a backup driver — at NASA’s Ames Research Center on the grounds of Moffett Field, just a few miles from the tech company’s headquarters, space agency officials said this week.
Apple saw a record number of pre-orders after the latest versions of its iPhone went up for advance sale in the wee hours of Friday morning, a company spokeswoman said, and demand is also stretching resources at the nation’s major cellphone carriers.
Mercury News interview: Entrepreneur, activist Sina Khanifar talks about digital copyright reform.
