Tech Digest daily roundup: WhatsApp announces voice message improvements
WhatsApp announced on Wednesday that it will roll out some improvements to voice messages over the coming weeks, including the ability to listen to a message while reading other chats and play messages at 1.5 or 2 times speed (yes, please, put this feature everywhere). The experience of recording messages is also improving. WhatsApp now lets you pause and resume your recording, so you don’t have to leave large gaps of silence if you’re thinking of what to say next or redo a recording if you need to have a brief conversation in real life. You’ll also be able to listen to a message before you send it to make sure you didn’t accidentally get cut off or include something you didn’t want to. The Verge
People in the UK spent a record amount on video games in 2021 – beating the previous high set during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic, new figures show. According to industry body Ukie and its UK Consumer Games Market Valuation, the games market grew 1.9% to £7.16 billion last year. The growth was driven by console sales – which reached £1.13 billion – due in part to ongoing demand for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X consoles, as well as the Nintendo Switch OLED edition which was launched last year, and virtual reality headsets. Ukie said hardware sales of virtual reality headsets rose by 42% in 2021 to reach £183 million. Yahoo!
All patients with Type 1 diabetes in England are to be offered wearable technology to monitor their blood sugar levels in seconds. The gadget, the size of a £2 coin, sits on a patient’s arm and constantly checks their glucose levels. With an app, the user can scan the monitor in a second and get a reading which tells them whether or not their blood sugar levels are at an appropriate level. The monitors are to be rolled out to all Type 1 patients when previously only three in five were eligible. Sky News
Thousands, if not millions, of people could have lost money in the second largest crypto hack in history. Ronin Network, a key platform powering the popular mobile game Axie Infinity, has had $615m (£467m) stolen. A 20-year-old from Wiltshire, Dan Rean, is one of those affected. He told the BBC: “I have lost 0.15 Ethereum, about $500. It’s bad but I have friends in a worse position.” Jack Kenny is one of those friends, and said: “I’m down about $10,000.” The 23-year-old from Ireland added: “I don’t think people fully understand the significance of this hack – $600m is a very big portion of all the assets in this network.” BBC
Sir Richard Branson has hailed LinkedIn’s decision to recognise the term “Dyslexic Thinking” as a major step towards helping people feel proud of their neurodiversity. The businessman and entrepreneur, 71, and global charity Made By Dyslexia have collaborated with the business-focused social network to recognise the term as a valuable skill. The platform is now offering its members the chance to add it to their profiles, while online resource Dictionary.com has also said it will be adding “Dyslexic Thinking” as an official term. Yahoo!
