Have smartphones reached peak design?

Smartphones seem to be stuck after achieving an evolutionary height. Every device is a large rectangular slab usually black. Some argue that the form has achieved the ultimate mix of perfection and functionality.
24 September 2020, 18:00 PM

You’re not alone

Does that help? Not really. Realising you’re not alone while being isolated is really just one and the same.
24 September 2020, 18:00 PM

World’s first vision restoration device ready for human clinical trials

Scientists at Australia’s Monash University are working on a device that can allegedly restore vision to the blind.First-of-its-kind, the device uses a combination of electronics and brain-implanted microelectrodes to bypass damaged optic nerves that are often responsible for what’s defined as technical clinical blindness.
24 September 2020, 18:00 PM

Facebook debuts Infinite Office, a virtual reality office space

Facebook’s newest VR device, the Oculus Quest, will incorporate a new set of features to help solo productivity.
24 September 2020, 18:00 PM

GoPro’s new Hero 9 Black has a bigger battery and front-facing screen

GoPro newest camera, the Hero 9 Black, is now available for sale. The model contains a handful of new but useful features that the company hopes will keep them on the bleeding edge in the action camera category.
24 September 2020, 18:00 PM

Tech giants strike deal with advertisers over hate speech

Web giants including Facebook have struck a deal with advertisers on how to identify harmful content such as hate speech, after an impasse over the issue which led to boycotts of the platform. The agreement -- which also included Twitter and YouTube -- laid out for the first time a common set of definitions for hateful statements online.
23 September 2020, 12:58 PM

Zynga out to cast spell with Harry Potter mobile game

Social gaming giant Zynga on Wednesday kicked off its global launch of a free puzzle game based on the beloved wizarding world of Harry Potter. “Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells” is available on Apple and Google mobile devices and also on Facebook and Amazon Kindle, San Francisco-based Zynga said.
23 September 2020, 12:54 PM

Elon Musk promises radically better electric car batteries at half the cost

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk described a new generation of electric vehicle batteries that will be more powerful, longer-lasting and half as expensive than the company's current cells at Tesla's “Battery Day” on Tuesday.
23 September 2020, 12:45 PM

Study suggests dengue may provide some immunity against Covid-19

A new study that analyzed the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil has found a link between the spread of the virus and past outbreaks of dengue fever that suggests exposure to the mosquito-transmitted illness may provide some level of immunity against Covid-19.
23 September 2020, 12:30 PM

Microsoft buys Bethesda's parent company for $7.5 bn

Microsoft on Monday announced it will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, adding muscle to its Xbox arm ahead of a fierce battle in the market for new gaming consoles. ZeniMax is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, publisher of popular game franchises including Dishonored, Doom, Fallout and Elder Scrolls.
22 September 2020, 13:09 PM

How to interpret Tesla’s Battery Day lingo

Confused by kilowatts? Can’t tell an anode from a cathode? Here is a simple guide to the jargon likely to be tossed around at Tesla’s Battery Day on Sept. 22.
22 September 2020, 13:05 PM

TikTok urges social media alliance against suicide content

TikTok on Tuesday proposed an alliance with nine other social media platforms to work collectively and rapidly to remove suicide content, following an incident this month when a man killed himself on Facebook. The Chinese-owned app said it had set out its proposal in a letter to the chief executives of Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit.TikTok's interim CEO Vanessa Pappas noted that each of the platforms had its own policies to take down harmful content and stop its distribution.
22 September 2020, 13:02 PM

Nintendo's Switch faces French claim of 'planned obsolescence'

A French consumer advocacy group said Tuesday that it had filed a “planned obsolescence” claim against Nintendo's Switch console, saying the Japanese giant knew some controllers were failing too quickly.
22 September 2020, 12:57 PM

How to interpret Tesla’s Battery Day lingo

Confused by kilowatts? Cant tell an anode from a cathode? Here is a simple guide to the jargon likely to be tossed around at Tesla's Battery Day on Sept. 22.
22 September 2020, 12:51 PM

Charging ahead: Tesla teases big news on 'Battery Day'

Tesla chief Elon Musk has promised “insane” battery news at a streamed event after the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Tuesday. Speculation includes that Tesla will announce it has come up with ways to pack more energy into battery cells, slash production cost and dramatically extend battery life.
22 September 2020, 12:43 PM

Founder of truck maker Nikola resigns after fraud allegations

The founder and executive chairman of embattled zero-emission truck maker Nikola has resigned, the company announced Sunday, after allegations of fraud which sparked a stock tumble and a regulatory investigation. The Phoenix-based company said in a statement that it had accepted Trevor Milton's resignation and that he would be replaced by Stephen Girsky, a Nikola board member and former vice-chairman at General Motors (GM).
21 September 2020, 14:25 PM

Airbus aims for hydrogen-powered plane by 2035

Airbus is aiming to put the world's first hydrogen-powered commercial plane into service by 2035, the European aircraft maker's boss said in remarks published Monday. Hydrogen is a clean fuel, emitting only steam, but whether it is green depends on the carbon footprint of the fuels used to produce it.
21 September 2020, 14:20 PM

First launched globally in Bangladesh, realme C17 packs flagship features

From the very beginning of its journey, realme has been surprising smartphone enthusiasts by bringing modern features in eye-catching designs at a reasonable price point with the entry-level C-series phones. The brand has upgraded to mid-tier devices with the recently released realme C17, which offers enhanced features such as a 90Hz ultra-smooth display, powerful 6GB RAM and useful internal storage of 128GB. At a splendid price tag of just TK 15,990, its performance promises to surpass any other phone at this price point.
21 September 2020, 06:33 AM

Hackers leak personal data of 1,000 Belarusian police on weekend of protests

Anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of 1,000 Belarusian police officers in retaliation for a crackdown on street demonstrations against veteran President Alexander Lukashenko, as protesters geared up for another mass rally on Sunday.
20 September 2020, 11:18 AM

Google aims to run on carbon-free energy by 2030

Alphabet Inc's Google aims to power its data centres and offices 24-7 using solely carbon-free electricity by 2030, its chief executive told Reuters, building on its previous goal of matching its energy use with 100% renewable energy.
20 September 2020, 11:12 AM