Technology

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer apologized on Wednesday for a pair of massive data breaches at the internet company, blaming Russian agents, at a hearing on the growing number of cyber attacks involving major U.S. companies. "As CEO, these thefts occurred during my tenure, and I want to sincerely apologize to each and every one of our users," she told the Senate Commerce Committee, testifying alongside the interim and former CEOs of Equifax Inc (EFX.N) and a senior Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) executive. "Unfortunately, while all our measures helped Yahoo successfully defend against the barrage of attacks by both private and state-sponsored hackers, Russian agents intruded on our systems and stole our users' data." Verizon, the largest U.S. wireless operator, acquired most of Yahoo Inc's assets in June, the same month Mayer stepped down. Verizon disclosed last month that a 2013 Yahoo data breach affected all 3 b

SpaceX suffered an explosion of one of its Falcon 9 rocket engines during qualification testing at its facility in McGregor, Texas, per The Verge. The failure resulting in the explosion occurred on Sunday, and the company is now underway with investigations designed to determine what went wrong that resulted in the incident. The Merlin engine explosion did not result in any injuries to personnel, but the component was intended to be used during a launch late last year. Even so, it shouldn't impact SpaceX's launch manifest or plans going forward, according to the company. For now, however, all testing at the McGregor facility is on hold while the investigation into the cause proceeds. Repairs might be completed before the investigation delivers its findings, however, and it will continue with its planned launches in the next few weeks while also running the investigation and sharing results publicly when appropriate. SpaceX has had a very good year so far, with 16 total suc

Apple Inc., seeking a breakthrough product to succeed the iPhone, aims to have technology ready for an augmented-reality headset in 2019 and could ship a product as early as 2020. Unlike the current generation of virtual reality headsets that use a smartphone as the engine and screen, Apple's device will have its own display and run on a new chip and operating system, according to people familiar with the situation. The development timeline is very aggressive and could still change, said the people, who requested anonymity to speak freely about a private matter. While virtual reality immerses the user in a digital world, augmented reality overlays images and data on the real one. The applications for AR are endless, from a basketball fan getting stats while watching a game to a mechanic streaming instructions on how to fix a specific piece of equipment. Apple isn't the only company working on the technology. Google, which drew derision for $1,500 smart glasses a few years ago

It's Alexa's birthday, and Amazon has announced a brief promotion that will see some sizable savings on devices powered by the virtual assistant. While it might be traditional to receive gifts on a birthday, Amazon has flipped that around and is offering a variety of deals on Alexa-powered devices. The promotion ranges from the cheapest Echo Dot, though to third-party hardware like the Alexa-powered Ecobee4 thermostat, along with Fire tablets and more. However, the latest Echo (2017) and Echo Plus are not part of the promotion. Amazon's newest models – including the Echo Plus with its Zigbee-based smart home hub functionality – are still full-price, having only just started shipping. Still, there's some decent cuts all the same. The Amazon Tap, the Alexa-powered Bluetooth speaker, is $50 off, while if you buy three Echo Dots you'll save $33. Since Alexa is smart enough to not only figure out who is talking from the registered users, but to recognize which Echo uni

Rafi Letzter/Tech Insider Veterans to Dreamforce, the annual user conference for Salesforce, swear by the Partyforce app for finding the best free nightlife during the conference. The app tracks sponsored parties throughout the city and lets users create an agenda of events they want to go to. This year, the team behind the app will even give an update when parties get sold out or over capacity. Dreamforce attendees on the hunt for free concerts and drinks at sponsored events around the city should look no further than Partyforce, an app designed specifically for tracking parties during Salesforce's annual user conference, coming up in San Francisco from November 6 to 9. Screenshot/Partyforce The app, a free download by the digital event marketing company DoubleDutch, lets users view which parties are happening when during Dreamforce, and save their favorite

Enlarge / T-Mobile and Sprint stores in Herald Square in New York City in 2011. Getty Images | Richard Levine reader comments 56 Share this story T-Mobile USA and Sprint today finally gave a definitive answer about whether they will merge. The telecom giants said that they have stopped negotiating and will remain independent entities. The wireless carriers "were unable to find mutually agreeable terms" and want to "put an end to the extensive speculation around a transaction," they said in a joint announcement. Over the past few weeks, numerous merger updates have bubbled up from anonymous sources. Initially, the merger seemed to be a done deal. Merger talks then seemed to break down, only to be revived again a couple days ago. But none of those rumors were confirmed by the companies' chief executives. That changed today when T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure both said that there won't be a