Tech Digest daily round up: Facebook blocks Australian news content
Facebook has blocked Australian media organisations and users from sharing news content on the platform, in an escalating disagreement between tech firms and the Australian government that could ultimately become a test case for media regulations and the way people consume news around the world. Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2268431-facebooks-australian-news-ban-is-a-fight-the-whole-world-should-watch/#ixzz6mpa1Fipc
Nissan is to increase investment in its British plant to more than 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in the next few years as it rolls out greener technology, the company said as it showcased its latest Qashqai car on Thursday. The Japanese carmaker decided in 2016 to build the vehicle in Britain in what was seen as a key vote of confidence just months after the Brexit referendum raised uncertainty over its trading relationship with the European Union. See story here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-9274455/Nissan-plans-UK-investment-rolls-green-tech.html
Tesla’s UK sales soared by almost 90% in 2019 while profits more than doubled as more Brits opted for electric vehicles, new figures show. Elon Musk’s company posted revenues of £589m for 2019, up 88pc from the previous year, according to accounts filed with Companies House. Profit after tax increased to £5.18m, up 126pc, while corporation tax paid rose to £2.57m from £1.79m. See story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/02/18/tesla-uk-sales-spike-almost-90pc-590m-britons-go-electric/
When it comes to space happenings, few are as tense, exciting and high stakes as landing a vehicle on another planet, writes CNet. The NASA TV broadcast from mission control kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 11:15am. PT (7:15 pm UK time). Touch down of NASA’s Perserverance Rover in the Jezero Crater on Mars is scheduled for around 12:30pm PT (8:30 pm UK time). For more information watch YouTube above or go to: https://www.cnet.com/news/nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-lands-today-how-to-watch-the-epic-event-live/
A BBC investigation into live video chat website Omegle has found, rather disturbingly, what appear to be prepubescent boys explicitly touching themselves in front of strangers. The social media site, which links up random people for virtual video and text chats, and claims to be moderated, grew globally from about 34 million visits a month in January 2020 to 65 million in January 2021. See here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56085499
Following news yesterday that the syringe emoji is set to lose its blood as it becomes increasingly used to represent the Covid vaccine, The Guardian reports that it is one of just 200 new emojis which will arrive on iPhones with the release of the next operating system update, iOS 14.5. By number, the largest change is to how users can represent themselves as a couple with increased flexibility to mix and match skin tones when holding or not holding hands.
