Tech Digest daily roundup: iOS verification promises end of ‘Captcha’

An annoyance, an important security feature, an uncomfortable existential request: however you feel about being asked to prove you are not a robot, it has become a daily occurrence for most of us, but perhaps not one we would miss. A new feature in the upcoming versions of iOS and macOS, Apple’s operating systems for iPhones and computers, promises to give the boot to “captchas” once and for all. Called “automatic verification”, the technology will allow sites to verify you are not a robot without you having to do anything at all. Guardian 

Hundreds of websites were knocked offline after an outage at web infrastructure service Cloudflare. The outage hit websites like messaging platform Discord and e-commerce service Shopify. The National Rail Enquiries website was also down and could have been affected, but it was already experiencing a surge in traffic because of today’s rail strikes which could have caused connection issues. Visitors to that site and others saw a message saying: “500 Internal Server Error”, according to web monitoring service Down Detector and internet users. Sky News

Signify just announced a new Philips Hue Tap dial switch, portable Hue Go lamp, and fully customizable track lighting in a range of smart lighting updates today. The Hue Tap dial switch (€49/$49) is available in matte black or white and adjusts lights with a turn of the dial. The faster you turn it the faster your lights brighten or dim. It features four buttons that can control scenes in up to three rooms or zones in the home. The magnetic base allows the Tap dial to be used as a remote control. The Philips Hue Perifo track lighting is made of individual rails that let you choose the length of the track. The Verge

The charity Guide Dogs is to provide iPads for up to 2,500 children in the UK with vision impairment as part of a scheme to boost connectivity and independence in children with sight loss. The Tech for All service is rolling out officially following a successful pilot scheme last year. That pilot saw almost 5,000 iPhone and iPad devices given to children aged between three and 18 with a vision impairment, as well as the support of a specially created digital learning experience. Yahoo! 

Nottingham has been revealed as the city with the most electric vehicle (EV) rapid chargers in the country. Analysis shows there are 122 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers in Nottingham. Milton Keynes came second in the league table, compiled by Admiral and Zap-Map, with 106 chargers. The number of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers has increased by more than 490% since the end of 2016. By the end of April 2022, the UK had more than 5,750 rapid and ultra-rapid public chargers. Fleet News

Northgard developer Shiro Games’ sci-fi strategy game Dune: Spice Wars now includes multiplayer support following the launch of its first major early access update. Dune: Spice Wars was well-received when it launched into Steam early access back in April, but several key features were missing from that initial release, including all-important multiplayer support. Shiro eventually confirmed multiplayer would arrive this “summer” as part of its inaugural development roadmap, and that day is finally here. Eurogamer