Tech Digest daily roundup: NASA Artemis blasts off from Florida
NASA’s most powerful rocket ever has launched into space in the first step of a mission to return humans to the moon. The next-generation, multibillion-dollar Space Launch System lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with the Orion spacecraft in tow. It surged off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral at 1.47am local time (6.47am UK), around 40 minutes into a two-hour window after late repairs to a leak and faulty communications equipment. Sky News
When Apple announced the iPhone 14 line-up, it said that the Emergency SOS via satellite service would be launching in November. It last week reiterated that, providing a little more information. Today, the service is live in the US and Canada. Additionally, Apple has also revealed that the feature will go live in UK, France, Germany and Ireland next month. The iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature was one of the headline announcements made during the launch event, and the reason for the Far Out name and space visuals. The service operates via Globalstar satellites specifically designed to provide services to smartphones. 9to5Mac
Graphics card-maker Nvidia is investigating reports its latest cards may be causing power cables to melt. Social-media users posted photos online appearing to show damage to the cable used to power the Nvidia RTX 4090, launched in October 2022. They claimed the graphics card, which retails for £1,699, was “melting” the adapter supplied in the box. Nvidia told BBC News it was looking into the claims. “We continue to investigate the reports – however, we don’t have further details to share yet,” it said. BBC
Nissan, Cadbury’s, and Guinness-brewer Diageo have been told to avoid “dangerous” and “toxic” Twitter by their marketing agency, as an advertising boycott of the company under Elon Musk gathers pace. Tamara Littleton, chief executive of The Social Element, said she had told her clients to suspend advertising on Twitter after widespread redundancies and resignations gutted the company’s content moderation teams. “With the sackings and the resignations, in brand protection and moderation, it is just a little bit too toxic,” Ms Littleton told the Telegraph. Telegraph
Demand for Uber journeys in the UK is still strong, despite the soaring costs of living, the new boss of Uber UK has said. Andrew Brem joined Uber UK in April. Uber is looking to position itself as a “super-app” for travel – app users can now also book train and coach tickets and, in Liverpool, from rival taxi companies. But Mr Brem ruled out an Uber railway takeover, saying the company was not interested in running a rail service. “I don’t see us driving trains or operating train companies or coaches,” he said. “We will stick to making it super-simple for riders to do the end to-end journey.” BBC
Scotland has become the first country in the world to publish a special code that governs the use of DNA and other biometric data in a criminal justice setting. Biometrics are a way to measure a person’s physical, biological, physiological or behavioural characteristics to establish or verify their identity. The Code of Practice, which came into force on Wednesday, gives guidance to the police on how this sort of data and related forensic technologies can be used. Yahoo!
