Today’s Tech Digest: Elon Musk discusses ‘hovering cars’
Tesla boss Elon Musk has revealed his latest idea: hovering cars. Speaking on Thursday’s Joe Rogan Experience podcast about his vision for the Tesla Roadster he said: “I want it to hover, and I was trying to figure out how to make this thing hover without, you know, killing people…Maybe it can hover like a metre above the ground, or something like that.” The Tesla Roadster is already marketed as “the quickest car in the world” with a top speed of around 250mph and 0-60mph capability of 1.9 seconds. See story here: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1397279/elon-musk-tesla-roadster-hover-car-joe-rogan-spacex-boring-company-mars-ont
Female-founded dating app Bumble, which made its name by putting women in charge of making contact with potential mates, has soared to a market value of more than $13bn after listing shares. Its Wall Street success has made 31-year-old boss Whitney Wolfe Herd a rare self-made female billionaire. See here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56031281
Following the recent conviction of an ADT technician in the US who spied on customers’ via their security camera feeds – even watching them undress and have sex – CNet has an interesting feature on how you can protect your privacy. Advice includes updating the camera’s firmware, using two factor authentication and ensuring cameras have high level end-to-end encryption. See full feature here: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/yes-your-security-camera-could-be-hacked-heres-how-to-stop-spying-eyes/
It’s not just security cameras you have to worry about either! Six in ten people are concerned their mobile devices are listening to their private conversations, a new study has found. The findings were revealed in a survey on digital services and online safety by Red C for the Commission for Communications Regulation. It also found there was a very high awareness among the public that their data was being used to “personalise” the services they receive online, with 91 per cent saying they were aware of this process. See full story here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/my-phone-is-listening-to-me-say-60-of-people-wgp8ltd27
A Chinese spacecraft has arrived at Mars and is preparing to explore its surface, it has been reported. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft is one of three missions to the red planet arriving this month. It comes a day after a UAE spacecraft successfully went into orbit around the planet, and ahead of the arrival of NASA’s Perseverance rover. See full story here: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/china-mars-mission-tianwen-1-nasa-b1800328.html
Streaming service Spotify is the latest company to give employees greater flexibility, announcing it is leaving behind the “premise that employees need to gather in an office with traditional desk setups”. Instead staff will be able to choose a “work mode”, selecting whether they’d prefer to work mostly at home or in the office. They would also have greater choice over their geographic location. See story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/02/12/australia-moves-closer-forcing-google-facebook-pay-news-live/
