Microsoft’s Brandon Watson may have received more of a response than he anticipatedwhen he tweeted a messageto webOS developers affected by HP’s decision to cease smartphone and tablet device development after more than 500 people contacted the Microsoft director about a switch to the company’s Windows Phone platform. Watson, conversing with a developer enquiring as to whether he had received one such enquiry, tweeted a message that he had received a large response to his initial tweet in just 22 hours, causing him to change his route of response....

This article was originally published byChristopher CareyonCities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates, follow Cities Today onTwitter,Facebook,LinkedIn,Instagram, andYouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. Results from the UK’s first multi-cityautonomous vehicle(AV) trial have revealed that 55 percent of respondents would not feel comfortable using a self-driving car if given the opportunity, Findings from a national survey – which analysed 2,500 responses – also found that just 30 percent of those surveyed believed self-driving vehicles will be safer than traditional vehicles, with 44 percent disagreeing and 26 percent undecided....

OwnLocal is aY-Combinatorbred startup that helps local newspapers survive on the Internet.OwnLocalswoops into small towns sprinkled across America’s less tech savvy plains and puts on quite a clever show. In no way are they grifters; but with their guaranteed promises of success, small town publishers don’t stand a chance. Lloyd W. Armbrust, II, OwnLocal’s Founder and CEO, puts its technology in the hands of local publications, newspapers or television stations, so that they can then sell successful modern digital strategies like owning a website, blogging, SEO optimization, design, group deals and more to local businesses....

Demonstrating that startup accelerator programmes aren’t limited to London,Oxygen Acceleratorhas launched this morning, delivering investment, intensive mentoring and training for tech startups from the heart of the Midlands. The accelerator is now open to receive applications from individuals or groups from all over the world, requiring an initial ten startups to fill the first “boot camp” which commences September 1. Successful applicants will be required to relocate to Birmingham for a the intensive 13-week programme, receiving £20,000 in investment whilst working from Birmingham Science Park Aston to promote their idea’s and products....

Hacker, entrepreneur, researcher, space ship builder and professional mosquito assassin Pablos Holman lives in a future where cars have system updates, front doors have smart locks, credit cards are secure and where you can shoot down mosquitoes with lazer beams. Holman says the entire world will be networked in the future, so let’s start planning on that now. He advises the crowd to look for all the places where computers haven’t gone yet and apply technology there....