Reuters - Technology Report

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Monday, September 18, 2017

From grudge to nudge: tech firms help insurers shift gear

LONDON (Reuters) - Insurers are counting on real-time technology to help them cut back payouts, from a system warning ships of nearby pirates to an app offering to buy sleepy drivers a coffee on the motorway.

Hackers compromised free CCleaner software, Avast's Piriform says

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hackers broke into British company Piriform's free software for optimizing computer performance last month potentially allowing them to control the devices of more than two million users, the company and independent researchers said on Monday.

Slack valued at $5.1 billion after new funding led by SoftBank

(Reuters) - Software startup Slack Technologies Inc said it raised $250 million from SoftBank Group Corp and other investors in its latest funding round, boosting the company's valuation to $5.1 billion.

Nokia says to get sales boost after patent ruling

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia will start to book additional revenue from the current quarter after a ruling by an arbitration court on payments from South Korea's LG Electronics for using its smartphone patents.

Google launches digital payments service in India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google on Monday launched a localized payments app for India as it tries to gain a foothold in the country's rapidly-growing digital payments space.

Snap says removes Al Jazeera's Discover Publisher channel in Saudi Arabia

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Snap Inc has been asked by the Saudi Arabia government to remove the Al Jazeera Discover Publisher Channel in that country because it violated local laws, the social media company said on Sunday.

Too soon to determine risks of central bank-issued cryptocurrencies: BIS

LONDON (Reuters) - It is too soon to determine whether central banks should issue their own cryptocurrencies, the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday, as the risks could not yet be fully assessed and the technology underpinning them is still unproven.

Waymo seeks delay in self-driving trade secret trial against Uber

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit said critical new evidence it recently obtained in a trade secret lawsuit against Uber means a U.S. judge should postpone a trial of the case set to begin next month.

Volkswagen is 'second mover' in electric commercial vehicles: executive

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen is a "second mover" in electrified commercial vehicles, after lagging companies such as Tesla and Deutsche Post DHL in putting them on the road, the head of VW's trucks business told a German newspaper.

Amazon to test one-hour catwalk-to-doorstep deliveries at Nicopanda show

LONDON (Reuters) - Online retailer Amazon aims to take the "see now, buy now" model of making clothes seen in catwalk shows quickly available to consumers to a new level, offering one-hour delivery on items shown in a fashion show on Saturday night to customers in London.