Month: January 2019
Apple takes Group FaceTime offline after ‘eavesdropping’ glitch
Apple has taken its Group FaceTime feature offline following the discovery of a bug which reportedly allowed users to eavesdrop on others through the firm’s video calling app. The software glitch reportedly allows a caller to hear audio – and in some cases see video – from a target device before they either pick up…
Apple iPhone users warned to disable FaceTime until ‘eavesdropping bug’ is sorted
Image: Press Association Apple iPhone users are being warned of a bug that allows eavesdropping on their devices through the FaceTime app. The software glitch reportedly allows a caller to hear audio from a target device before they either pick up or reject the call. The bug is said…
Facebook ‘willing to change everything’ to tackle suicide posts, says Sir Nick Clegg
Facebook is willing to “change everything” to curb posts about suicide following the death of British teenager Molly Russell, according to Sir Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, now Facebook’s head of global affairs, said social media platforms have a “profound responsibility” to safeguard teenagers. Speaking in an interview with the BBC,…
US charges Huawei with violating sanctions and stealing trade secrets
The US Justice Department is taking criminal action against Huawei, two of its subsidiaries and a senior executive, accusing the Chinese tech company of misleading banks about the company’s business and violating US sanctions. The company is also charged in a separate case with stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors are…
Could this be the end for batteries? Scientists generate electric power from Wi-Fi
A flexible material that converts radio signals into usable electric current raises the prospect of a world without batteries. Scientists in the US developed the device, known as a “rectenna”, from a semiconductor just a few atoms thick. Wi-fi signals captured by an integrated antenna are transformed into a DC current suitable for electronic circuits.…
Fortnite X-Ray Llamas show loot box contents amid child gambling concerns
Fortnite V-Buck Llamas will become X-Ray Llamas, showing players the contents before they buy (Epic Games/PA) Fortnite will now show users the contents of paid loot boxes before they purchase them, following long-running concerns around gambling. Loot boxes provided random virtual objects, such as weapons, in the Save The World…
Humans help AI software to ‘detect blind spots in self-driving cars’
Blind spots in the artificial intelligence (AI) of self-driving cars could be corrected using input from humans, new research claims. A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and tech giant Microsoft has developed a model which first puts an AI system through simulation training before putting a human through the same…
Children’s development ‘delayed by TV and computer games’
Too much time spent watching TV and playing computer games can hold back the development of young children, new research suggests. A study of 2,400 Canadian children found more screen time was linked to lower scores in “milestone” tests of communication, problem solving, interpersonal skills and physical coordination. The amount of time two and three-year-olds…
Samsung to replace plastic packaging with sustainable materials
Samsung has announced it is to begin replacing plastic packaging materials with “environmentally sustainable elements”. The South Korean technology giant, which is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, said it would start to substitute plastic for recycled and “bio-based” plastics and paper during the first half of this year. The company said the trays used for…
Save children ahead of motorists in driverless car crash, says AA survey
It's a dilemma that hopefully not many of us will have to face. But, perhaps reassuringly, most motorists would want children’s lives to be prioritised ahead of their own in a driverless car crash, a new survey suggests. More than 21,000 AA members were asked what they would want a fully automated car to do…
