Tech Digest daily roundup: DB5 Junior No Time To Die Edition
There’s always a lot of excitement around a James Bond film, because everyone loves 007. But with the delays and setbacks that have beset No Time To Die, anticipation is higher than ever – Spectre was six years ago, and we haven’t waited that long between Bonds since Dalton was switched for Brosnan. Anyway, the time is almost upon us, and with the film comes merch. Just recently one of the £3m DB5 Goldfingers was shown off to London in a full-size Corgi box, and now we have this for kids of most sizes: the DB5 Junior No Time To Die Edition. Like the real thing, this is a Silver Birch DB5 (as revealed by The Little Car Company last summer) with a suite of gadgets to help you impersonate the world’s most famous spy. The modifications are so well known by now you can probably reel them off: Gatling guns in the headlights (or simulated ones, at least), a smokescreen out back and the ability to switch numberplates. Pistonheads
Apple’s iOS 15 has dropped. The latest version of the mobile operating system, and its iPad equivalent iOS 15.5, is rolling out around the world. Apple made the download available after announcing the iPhone 13 at its annual hardware event last week. Even before it was even released iOS 15 proved controversial. Apple’s child safety tools were intended to be included in this update but they’ve been put on indefinite pause after a surveillance backlash… Child safety tools aside, there are still plenty of new privacy and security features included with iOS 15. As with any new software update you should install the new system as soon as possible. Updates often include much more than new features and they often squash new bugs and security vulnerabilities – a last-minute iOS 14.8 update, released just before Apple’s iPhone event, shows how important installing new software is. Wired
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry has recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones they have now, after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship capabilities. Flagship phones sold in Europe by China’s smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as “free Tibet”, “long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”, Lithuania’s state-run cybersecurity body said on Tuesday. The capability in Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G phone software had been turned off for the European Union region, but can be turned on remotely at any time, the ministry’s national cybersecurity centre said in the report. Guardian
The European Commission is on a collision course with Apple after announcing it will introduce a new law forcing all mobile phone companies to share a common charger. Brussels officials will launch the legislation on Thursday in a move likely to be contested by the iPhone maker, whose devices are charged using its own Lightning connector. Officials have been pushing for a common charger, which will prevent manufacturers forcing customers to buy their more expensive device-specific equipment, for over a decade. The commission plans aim to decouple chargers from devices and to create a harmonised charging port across the EU. It is expected to argue that the move will cut down on waste, which is bad for the environment, and be more convenient. The new law will mean all smartphones sold in the EU must switch to USB-C chargers by 2024. Telegraph
Big Tech companies that operate around the globe have long promised to obey local laws and to protect civil rights while doing business. But when Apple and Google capitulated to Russian demands and removed a political-opposition app from their local app stores, it raised worries that two of the world’s most successful companies are more comfortable bowing to undemocratic edicts — and maintaining a steady flow of profits — than upholding the rights of their users. The app in question, called Smart Voting, was a tool for organizing opposition to Russia President Vladimir Putin ahead of elections held over the weekend. Independent
