Business

Samsung is increasingly rolling out a series of experience 'stores' it calls Galaxy Studios, making it easy for consumers to play with Samsung gadgets in a way that isn't necessarily possible at ordinary retail stores. Visitors can, for example, put on a Gear VR headset to experience the company's virtual reality technology; they can also record with the maker's Gear 360 camera, or play with the latest flagship smartphones.

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Amazon, not content with just dominating consumer shopping and ebooks, is looking into launching a food delivery service that will utilize special technology for keeping meals fresh...without refrigeration. This tech was first created and used by the U.S. military, but it could prove a vital way for Amazon to set itself apart from competing food delivery services. Assuming the sources are correct and Amazon's project goes according to plan, we may see these meal deliveries go live in 2018.

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Anyone who has ever purchased a car knows that you will be at the dealership all day. The negotiation back and forth for trade and purchase price, waiting for financing approval, and then sitting through the closing process where the dealership tries to sell you everything under the sun from wheel replacement plans to extended warranties gets very tedious. An Alibaba Group company in China is rolling out a new system for buying cars that sounds like it is much more consumer focused that what most are used to.

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Amazon is about to give Ticketmaster a run for its money, according to sources, as it gears up to launch its own event ticketing business for U.S. venues. Through its service, which has been revealed by a total of four sources, Amazon will allow venue owners, sports leagues and more to sell tickets through the online platform, expanding its business and potential customer base while also loosening the grip a certain major ticketing company currently has on the market.

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The U.S. International Trade Commission has revealed plans to investigate Apple over Qualcomm's claims that the company is infringing some of its patents. According to the ITC, it received a complaint from Qualcomm on July 7; following a vote, the commission decided to proceed with a probe into the matter, saying it will have its results 'at the earliest practicable time.' It notes that the commission hasn't yet made any determinations about the case's merit.

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Google has fired the author of the controversial internal memo on diversity, after facing huge criticism after the document, citing "politically correct monoculture" at the company, was leaked. Across ten pages, the document - which was shared on one of Google's internal messageboards, as its author apparently sought feedback on his opinions - accused the search giant of extreme liberal bias, and in turn creating an environment where conservative voices felt unable to speak out. However, it was its stance on women in engineering which caused the greatest outcry.

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DirecTV NOW just announced a major expansion involving CBS Networks. Among other things, DirecTV is rolling out 25 local CBS stations to its NOW subscribers, enabling those users to watch their local CBS affiliate station over the Internet. In addition to the local stations, this new expansion will bring SHOWTIME, The CW, CBS Sports, and more. The nation's biggest cities will most benefit from this particular expansion.

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Tesla aims to raise a hefty $1.5bn to fund its battery-making Gigafactory expansion and production of the new Model 3, though some experts are wary of the automaker's ambition. The Californian company began deliveries of the Model 3, its most affordable all-electric car so far, at the end of July. However, it was a fairly symbolic milestone, with CEO and founder Elon Musk warning of "manufacturing hell" as Tesla ramps up production.

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Early this morning, Virgin Galactic completed two successful flights of its VSS Unity and VMS Eve crafts, a process that kicked off around 9AM in the Mojave Desert. This marks the first time the VSS Unity, something known as a rocket-powered manned SpaceShipTwo space-plane, has taken to the sky in a couple months. Virgin Galactic explains that this latest flight was something of a dry-run ahead of more powerful flights.

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Lyft has announced a new perk that comes with its Apple Pay support; pay with Apple's mobile payment platform and you'll be contributing to some donations going to those in need. The company has announced that under its Round Up & Donate program, anyone who pays with Apple Pay will be contributing a bit extra at no cost to themselves. The new promotion, of sorts, is only lasting through until the end of August, though, so get in on it now if you want to contribute.

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Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently teased some large project Apple has underway, one that in some way involves autonomous technology, and that makes the company's recent spat of job openings particularly interesting. Apple is hiring dozens of map technology experts for reasons that aren't stated, but that are speculated to involve, at minimum, its autonomous efforts.

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Apple is, by all accounts, developing autonomous technology for cars, but what about other gadgets? Many items could potentially benefit from such technology, not the least of which are home appliances that need to navigate around the house without aid: a smart vacuum, perhaps, or maybe even a personal robot if we're to look far enough into the future. Could that autonomous system one day come from Apple itself? Perhaps.

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