Tech Digest daily roundup: Airbus breaks unmanned aircraft record
Airbus has broken the record for the longest flight of an unmanned aircraft, flight-tracking data suggests. The Airbus Zephyr S has spent 26 continuous days airborne, beating the record it set in 2018. The unmanned craft flies high in the atmosphere, to avoid commercial air traffic and adverse weather. The aircraft is entirely solar-powered with on-board batteries to keep it airborne overnight, meaning it does not need to stop to re-supply fuel. Flight data shows the aircraft flew from the test range in Arizona to Belize in Central America, and then back again. Airbus told the BBC it could not comment on the flight. BBC
From the back, the Nothing Phone 1 is unmistakably different. Even before the light strips illuminate, it is very obviously not an Apple or a Samsung or a Motorola phone. When the “glyph” flashes to signal a notification or an incoming call, then you definitely know this is something else. It’s the definition of attention-grabbing. Otherwise, the Phone 1 is awfully familiar. And that’s not really a bad thing. The Verge
Few human inventions have had as much of an impact on our scientific understanding of the universe and our cultural imagination as the Hubble Space Telescope. Later today the first set of images from NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will usher in a generation of images of deep space that will expand our minds in just the same way. But before we enjoy the fruits of the JWST, let’s have a re-cap of some of Hubble’s greatest successes. Sky News
Elon Musk has sounded a note of defiance in his first public statement about Twitter since calling off his planned $44bn takeover of the company The billionaire Tesla chief executive gloated that Twitter will be forced to disclose the number of fake accounts on its platform in a court, posting a meme picture of him laughing about the prospect. Mr Musk has repeatedly claimed Twitter undercounts the number of “bot” accounts on the social network. He used the alleged failing as the main reason for reneging on the deal over the weekend. Telegraph
Japanese camera maker Nikon will withdraw from the single-lens reflex camera business and shift toward digital offerings amid intensifying competition from smartphone cameras, Nikkei has learned. Nikon’s SLR cameras have been widely used by professional photographers for more than 60 years and have come to be seen as synonymous with the Japanese company. It now plans to focus resources on mirrorless cameras, which have become mainstream products on the back of more advanced digital technologies. Nikkei Asia
Twitter rolled out a new safety featured across the platform this week that will allow people to “unmention,” or remove themselves from toxic conversations. The new feature was tested for select users on desktops starting in April but was rolled out sitewide on Monday. A user just needs to click the three dots of the tweet that they want to “unmention” themselves from, then click, “Leave this conversation.” Pitched as a way to “protect your peace,” it gives users an option to get away from a toxic conversation. Fox Business
