Tag: APple
Tech Digest daily round up: Halfords Carrera impel is-1 e-scooter reviewed
Private e-scooters may be illegal on UK roads (and pavements), but this doesn't stop retailers from selling them. Chris Price reviews the latest Halfords e-scooter, the Carrera impel is-1, for Tech Radar. "Looking for a solid, powerful e-scooter? Then the Carrera impel is-1 is definitely worth considering," he writes. "Everything about this e-scooter feels robust,…
Tech Digest daily round up: Facebook to allow you to turn off algorithm
Facebook is to allow users to turn off the algorithm powering its News Feed and control the order in which items appear amid growing calls for algorithmic transparency. The company will also provide more context on suggested content by expanding the "Why am I seeing this?" tab, as well as letting users control who can…
Tech Digest daily round up: Apple patents ‘smart mattress’
Like something out of Wallace and Gromit, Apple has applied to patent a futuristic mattress sensor that can monitor people’s sleep and then wake them up by gently moving them in the morning. The iPhone maker has been working on an “in-bed haptic device,” according to a filing, which would be inserted into a person’s…
Are Today’s Smartphones Really Powerful Enough to Handle Streaming and Games?
People of a certain youthful age will only know mobile phones as being these incredible machines that can do pretty much anything. Those of a slightly older vintage will remember when the Snake game was considered the zenith of technological advancement, and that five minutes to load a single webpage was about par for the…
Mac malware surges over 1000% in 2020, claims study
According to an Atlas VPN investigation, the development of macOS malware surged by 1,092% in 2020. To be exact, 674,273 new malware samples were found in 2020, when there were only 56,556 samples detected in 2019. Malware, or malicious software, is a collective term for all kinds of threats. Microsoft lumps malware into thirteen distinct…
Tech Digest daily round up: Instagram to crack down on teen messages
Instagram is adding safety measures designed to protect teenagers from unwanted direct messages from adults. Older users will only be able to privately message teenagers who follow them. And messages will be overlaid with a notice reminding teenagers telling them they don't need to respond to anything that makes them uncomfortable. Of course, the measures…
Tech Digest daily round up: Lou Ottens, inventor of cassette tape dies
Lou Ottens, the Dutch engineer credited with inventing the audio cassette tape, has died aged 94. An estimated 100 billion cassette tapes have been sold around the world since they were introduced in the 1960s. Ottens' invention transformed the way people listened to music, and there has even been a resurgence of the cassette in…
Wearable sales to increase 24% in 2021
Demand for wearables (including smartwatches and fitness trackers) remained robust during the pandemic and will grow by 24% to 239 million units worldwide in 2021, according to market analyst company CCS Insight. CCS Insight's report indicates an impressive 22% growth in unit sales for smartwatches and fitness trackers in 2020, with 193 million units sold,…
Syringe emoji loses blood in Covid revamp
Apple is changing its syringe emoji to remove the dripping blood, as it becomes widely used to talk about the Covid-19 vaccine instead. Apple's new version appears to have nothing inside the needle (though it could be the clear vaccine liquid). "This makes the emoji more versatile when used to describe Covid-19 vaccination," explained Emojipedia,…
Chromebook sales up 74% in 2020, driven by distance learning
As remote, or distance, learning became the new normal in 2020, demand for Google Chromebook rose to a record high. According to the research data analyzed and published by Finaria, Chromebook shipments grew by 74% to 29.6 million units in 2020. Growth is expected to carry into 2021, with total shipments estimated at 40 million, up…
