Tech Digest daily roundup: TikTok ditches 3 minute video limit
TikTok is to ditch its three minute limit on videos and will soon allow all users to upload clips up to 10 minutes long, the Chinese social network has confirmed. It brought in the existing limit in July 2021, upping it from 60 seconds, having initially expanded it from the original 15 seconds. The app has long been seen as a short-form video platform but is now manoeuvring itself to rival the likes of YouTube, Instagram and Facebook even more. The expanded video length will allow TikTok users more flexibility when filming clips such as beauty tutorials, cooking demos and comedic sketches. Currently anyone creating clips has to encourage viewers to follow them for a ‘Part 2’ or longer video. Daily Mail
Apple has become the latest major firm to halt all product sales in Russia, in a widening corporate backlash to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The iPhone giant said it was “deeply concerned” about the Russian invasion and stands with those “suffering as a result of the violence”. Apple Pay and other services such as Apple Maps have also been limited. Google has also removed Russian state-funded publishers such as RT from its features. Mobile banking apps in Russian, such as Russia’s VTB Bank’s app, may soon not function fully on devices using Apple’s iOS operating system, according to news agency RIA. BBC
Ukraine has thanked tech billionaire Elon Musk after equipment to use SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service arrived in the country. Mr Musk replied with “you are most welcome” after Ukraine‘s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, expressed his thanks on Twitter. Mr Fedorov also shared an image of the Starlink dishes on the back of a truck. The vice prime minister had earlier asked Mr Musk for use of the service. The SpaceX chief executive officer said over the weekend that Starlink was now “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way. Sky News
A Ukrainian cyber resistance group said it planned to attack key Russian infrastructure, including the railways and electricity grid, to retaliate against Moscow’s invasion of the country. Yegor Aushev, a local cybersecurity expert, said on Monday that he planned to organise a group of hackers in Ukraine to defend against Russia, Reuters reported. The targets would include infrastructure that helped Russians bring weapons to Ukraine for the invasion. “Everything that might stop the war. The goal is to make it impossible to bring these weapons to our country,” he was quoted as saying. Independent
Amazon’s cloud gaming service Luna, which launched on an invite-only early access basis in late 2020, has received a full release in the US. Alongside Luna’s launch, two new optional paid channels were added to its library, giving you access to more streamable games for an additional fee, as well as a free channel for Amazon Prime subscribers. The Retro Channel offers a selection of classic NES, SNES, and arcade-era games, while the Jackbox Channel includes a variety of party games. Both will cost you a $4.99 monthly fee. Tech Radar
Nvidia, the US microchip giant, has alerted authorities after hackers stole employees’ login details and began leaking them online. The company confirmed it had been hit by a cyber attack, as The Telegraph revealed on Friday, but said it had “no evidence” linking the incident to Russia and Ukraine. It has hired experts at the cyber security company Mandiant to investigate the hack. “On February 23, 2022, Nvidia became aware of a cybersecurity incident which impacted IT resources. Shortly after discovering the incident, we further hardened our network, engaged cybersecurity incident response experts, and notified law enforcement,” the company said. Telegraph
