Tech Digest daily round up: Healthcare apps not fit for NHS
A firm which reviews healthcare apps for several NHS trusts says 80% of them do not meet its standards. Failings include poor information, lack of security updates and insufficient awareness of regulatory requirements, according to Orcha chief executive Liz Ashall-Payne. Orcha’s reviews help determine whether an app should be recommended to patients by NHS staff. Currently, there are about 370,000 health-related apps available online, claims Orcha. See story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56083231
The maker of Fortnite, Epic Games, has taken Apple to Europe’s competition watchdog, claiming the iPhone manufacturer is abusing its monopoly position and demanding that it restores Fortnite to its app stores. Epic filed an antitrust complaint to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition on Wednesday, claiming Apple had broken the law by controlling what apps can be installed on iPhones and iPads. The complaint forms part of a wider investigation into Apple following complaints made by Spotify. See story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/02/17/fortnite-maker-epic-games-takes-apple-european-competition-watchdog/
Motorola is no stranger to releasing feature-packed smartphones with ludicrously-low price tags and now the technology company is back with two new models, writes David Snelling in The Daily Express. ‘The new moto G30 and G10 have been revealed and offer some pretty impressive specs at a price you may find hard to believe’, he claims. For just £159 you can take delivery of the all-new Motorola G30 with Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a huge 5,000 mAh that’s capable of delivering two days of power and which can be charged with 12 hours of juice in 20 minutes.
The RAF has backed a British company to develop a ‘convertible aircraft’. Based in Suffolk, Aeralis has been given £200,000 by the air force to develop a modular plane that can be converted from a trainer to a faster, more aggressive jet by swapping out its engines and wings. If successful, it would be the first fully developed in Britain since the Hawk was launched in 1974. See story here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/convertible-jet-design-backed-by-raf-might-just-have-wings-v3tn6r728
Organised crime groups have developed a new phishing tactic to fool people into handing over their financial details by claiming they have been selected to receive a vaccination. Unlike many COVID-19 phishing email campaigns, the new criminal effort is linking through to websites convincingly designed to resemble official government domains and written without any spelling errors, according to email security business Mimecast. See full details here: https://news.sky.com/story/covid-organised-crime-behind-convincing-fake-nhs-vaccine-invitation-emails-12219985
European space chiefs have launched a recruitment drive for new astronauts with particular emphasis on encouraging women and the disabled to join missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. The European Space Agency (ESA) said it is looking to boost the diversity of its crews as it canvassed for up to 26 permanent and reserve astronauts. Adapting technology that enabled humans to be in space could open the opportunity for people with disabilities, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti said. “When it comes to space travel, we are all disabled,” she said. See story here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/17/europe-launches-recruitment-drive-for-female-and-disabled-astronauts
The use of tracking tech in emails is now “endemic”, according to messaging service Hey’s which has analysed the use of the technology. According to Hey’s, two-thirds of emails sent to users’ personal accounts contain a “spy pixel”, even after excluding for spam. And while defenders of the trackers say they are a commonplace marketing tactic, information can be used to determine the impact of a specific email campaign, as well as to feed into more detailed customer profiles. Hey’s co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson says they amount to a “grotesque invasion of privacy”. See story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56071437
