Tech Digest daily round up: Profit up 53% at Samsung Electronics
Tech giant Samsung Electronics has said it expects its quarterly profit to rise by 53% amid a global chip shortage. The world’s biggest memory-chip and smartphone maker forecast operating profit of $11bn (£8bn) for the three months to the end of June. It said strong demand for memory chips had offset weaker sales of devices due to the shortage of components. A year ago, in the first few months of the pandemic, Samsung saw sales of products such as phones and TVs slump. Since then demand for electronics components has surged as people shifted more of their lives online, while many chip makers struggled to keep up with demand. The South Korean electronics giant’s outlook easily beat analysts’ expectations, signalling continued strength for the technology industry. BBC
China’s most popular social media service has deleted accounts on LGBT topics run by university students and nongovernment groups, prompting concern the ruling Communist Party is tightening control over gay and lesbian content. WeChat sent account holders a notice they violated rules but gave no details, according to the founder of an LGBT group, who asked not to be identified further out of fear of possible official retaliation. She said at least dozens of accounts were shut down, all at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday. It wasn’t clear whether the step was ordered by Chinese authorities, but it comes as the ruling party tightens political controls and tries to silence groups that might criticize its rule. AP News
The lack of people over the age of 50 working in the tech sector shows the age group needs to reskill, a study suggests. The report from BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT found that while 31% of the workforce is aged 50 and over, just 22% of those working in IT were over 50. BCS said this was well below the level of representation considered “normal” and warned it was another sign of the digital skills gap – where not enough workers are skilled in the digital technology that is now commonplace in modern working life. The institute said the need for digital skills had only increased during the coronavirus pandemic as more firms relied on remote working. “The figure for over-50s working in IT is significantly lower than in other sectors, but Government plans – recently outlined in the Queen’s Speech – to introduce a Lifetime Skills Guarantee is a significant step towards addressing the digital skills gap,” Kathy Farndon, chair of the BCS Society Board, said. Yahoo!
Today, after years of rumours and clamouring fans begging Nintendo for it, the Japanese gaming legend finally released a new variant of its Switch games console. However, it wasn’t the 4K, supercharged Nintendo Switch Pro many, including the team of tech and gaming experts at Trusted Labs, were expecting. Instead, it was a halfway house Nintendo Switch OLED….In our experience, OLED tech offers much deeper blacks, better contrast and generally more dynamic picture quality than LCD, especially when it’s set up correctly. But for me, as a PC gamer, the console misses the mark in a few key ways and showcases what in my mind are the biggest weaknesses with Nintendo’s current strategy. Trusted Reviews
People are being misled into paying more for common travel documents than needed due to copycat adverts running rife on search engines, Which? has warned. The consumer group looked into ads for health cards, driving licences and visas which can appear in prime spots along the top of popular sites including Google and Bing, above official channels. Among them were 18 ads overcharging users for services that are available for free. Brexit and traveller confusion is also being exploited, with six results for the Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) on Google attempting to charge at least £30 each, even though it is available for free through the NHS. Another advert even proposed breaking the law by offering a licence to drive in Spain without a driver’s test, Which? said. Yahoo!
