Washington, United States | AFP | The United States and China are in a virtual deadlock in the race for 5G, or fifth-generation wireless networks expected to unlock new services, an industry survey showed Tuesday. The report shows the United States has closed the gap with China in “readiness” for …
Read More »Facebook’s call for global internet regulation sparks debate
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s call for “globally harmonized” online regulation raises questions about how internet platforms can deal with concerns about misinformation and abusive content while remaining open to free speech. Here are key questions about the latest proposal from Facebook: What is Facebook …
Read More »Aiming for reinvention, Apple eyes streaming, services
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple looks to begin a fresh reinvention on Monday as it rolls out Hollywood stars for its new streaming television service, part of a broad shift of direction for the California technology giant. Having seen a pullback in the once-sizzling smartphone market, Apple …
Read More »Google moves to disrupt video games with streaming, studio
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google set out to disrupt the video game world on Tuesday with a Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish, as the online giant also unveiled a new controller and its very own studio. The California-based …
Read More »S.Africa medics use 3-D printer for middle ear transplant
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first transplant of middle-ear bones that uses 3-D printed components, a research university said. The technique “may be the answer to conductive hearing loss — a middle ear problem caused by congenital birth defects, infection, trauma …
Read More »A day not to ‘like’ for Facebook after it is hit by outage, criminal probe
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook grappled with challenges on two fronts Wednesday, an hours-long outage and intensified scrutiny from investigators reportedly probing data deals struck by the world’s largest social network. As the outage continued, gripes flooded rival Twitter as well as a comments section on downdetector.com, …
Read More »New app gives throat cancer patients their voice back
Prague, Czech Republic | AFP | Vlastimil Gular’s life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his …
Read More »Trump campaign firm pleads guilty in Facebook data case
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A UK consultancy working on Donald Trump’s US election campaign pleaded guilty and was fined by a London court Wednesday over its refusal to release personal data it secretly hoovered off Facebook. The social media giant has admitted that Cambridge Analytica — a political …
Read More »US Congress to see push to regulate Big Tech in 2019
Washington, United States | AFP | The newly installed US Congress is expected to see a fresh effort to develop new regulations for big technology firms, with a focus on tougher enforcement of privacy and data protection. The wave of data scandals that have hit Facebook and other online platforms …
Read More »Apple’s bombshell raises trillion-dollar question
Washington, United States | AFP | Apple’s bombshell news — a sharply weaker revenue outlook and lower iPhone sales — has raised questions over the future of the California giant, which until recently had been seen as the undisputed innovation leader in the tech sector. Apple’s rare admission on Wednesday …
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