Geek News

The European Union has vowed to counter tech companies' tax maneuvers by targeting their revenue , and it's now clearer just what that will involve. In an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche , French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the EU would unveil plans to tax tech firms' revenue at a rate between "2 percent and 6 percent," most likely skewing closer to 2 percent. That may not seem like much, but Le Maire portrayed it as a "starting point." It's better to get a policy you can implement quickly than deal with "interminable negotiations," he said, adding that it can be improved later. The official EU directive would be unveiled in the "coming weeks," according to the minister. Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and other tech giants have been accused of using legal tricks to avoid paying taxes in European countries, such as routing profit through Ireland or even the British island of Jersey. A tax on revenue theoretica...

Never mind festooning a self-driving car in lights and other devices to fend off motion sickness -- you might just have to slip on some eyewear. University of Michigan researchers have patented a system that could use glasses or a headset to prevent a disconnect between your sense of motion and what you see. The approach would use a set of sequentially activated light pipes that would imitate the movement of the autonomous vehicle in your peripheral view, giving your body a frame of reference while freeing you to check your phone without getting sick. The technology could be embedded into the car itself, but the nature of the design makes it portable. Uber's recent patent application for a similar concept relied on sensory input that demanded non-wearable gear and was more about signalling intentions and offering distractions than mimicking the car itself. The researchers aren't guaranteed to implement the technology, as it's just a patent, but they're planning to...