PINOBOY
web business and news
Year: 2021
Year: 2021
Lithuania Urges Users to Ditch Chinese Smartphone Over ‘Built-In Censorship Tool’
A popular Chinese-made phone has a built-in censorship tool that can blacklist search terms on the web, according to research by the Lithuanian government. The country is urging owners of the phones to replace them, as Henry Ridgwell reports. …
DetailsNew Holographic Technology Provides Transportive Experience
A company in suburban Washington, D.C., is using cutting-edge technology to create lifelike video avatars to drop into music and training videos, games and other immersive environments. It’s an entry point to the so-called metaverse, as VOA’s Arzouma Kompaoré discovered while touring Avatar Dimension’s new studio. …
DetailsYouTube Will Ban All Content Containing What it Calls Vaccine Misinformation
YouTube will ban any video that claims vaccines are ineffective or dangerous, including those that question vaccines for measles and chickenpox, the company announced Wednesday. “Specifically, content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, or contains misinformation
DetailsNew Technologies Aim to Reduce Carbon in Atmosphere
A bunch of new technologies are popping up that could help bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050, and all need investment. Governments worldwide are having to decide which one suits their geography and how much they can spend on a given technology. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo. Produced by: Kimberlyn Weeks …
DetailsFacebook Puts Instagram Kids Project on Hold
Facebook is putting its Instagram Kids project on hold amid growing concerns about potential harmful effects on young people, including anxiety and depression. The idea is to provide youngsters with the Instagram social media experience but with no ads, more parental control and age-appropriate content. U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged Facebook to scrap
DetailsHuawei Executive Resolves Criminal Charges in Deal with US
A top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies has resolved criminal charges against her as part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that could pave the way for her to return to China. The deal with Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of the company’s founder, was disclosed in
DetailsDisabled People Can Now Use Android Phones with Face Gestures
Using a raised eyebrow or smile, people with speech or physical disabilities can now operate their Android-powered smartphones hands-free, Google said Thursday. Two new tools put machine learning and front-facing cameras on smartphones to work detecting face and eye movements. Users can scan their phone screen and select a task by smiling, raising eyebrows, opening
DetailsBenin Startup Builds Low-Cost Computers
BloLab is converting plastic jerricans into computers using recycled components.. Anne Nzouankeu visited the startup in Cotonou, Benin in this story narrated by Moki Edwin Kindzeka. …
DetailsMedia: ‘Quad’ Countries to Agree on Secure Microchip Supply Chains
Leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia will agree to take steps to build secure semiconductor supply chains when they meet in Washington next week, the Nikkei business daily said Saturday, citing a draft of the joint statement. U.S. President Joe Biden will host a first in-person summit of leaders of the
Details‘Devious Licks’ Videos of Damage, Thefts Bedevil US Schools
Kids across the U.S. are posting TikTok videos of themselves vandalizing school bathrooms and stealing soap dispensers and even turf from football fields, bedeviling school administrators seeking to contain the viral internet trend. The “devious licks” challenge that swept social media this week is plaguing principals and school district administrators who already must navigate a
DetailsNavalny App Gone from Google, Apple Stores on Russia Vote Day
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s Smart Voting app disappeared from Apple and Google stores Friday as Russians began voting in a three-day parliamentary election marked by a historic crackdown on the opposition. “Removing the Navalny app from stores is a shameful act of political censorship,” top Navalny ally Ivan Zhdanov said on Twitter. The app promoted an
DetailsChina Gets Serious About Cracking Down on Youth Online Gaming
With China’s new restrictions on minors playing online games, the global gaming industry wonders what’s next. Michelle Quinn reports. …
DetailsClive Sinclair, Computing Pioneer, Dies at 81
Sir Clive Sinclair, the British inventor who pioneered the pocket calculator and affordable home computers, died Thursday at age 81. He died at his home in London a decade after being diagnosed with cancer, U.K. media said, prompting tributes from many who fondly recalled their first experience of computing in the early 1980s. He was
DetailsUN Rights Chief Calls for Moratorium on Artificial Intelligence Systems
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is calling for a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial intelligence systems, which she says pose a serious risk to human rights. The High Commissioner’s report, which will be submitted to the U.N. human rights council, provides an analysis of how advances in digital technologies
DetailsUS Accuses Russia of Stonewalling on Cybercrime
U.S. warnings to Russian President Vladimir Putin over shielding cybercriminals holed up in Russia appear to have made little impact, according to top U.S. law enforcement and cyber officials. “There is no indication that the Russian government has taken action to crack down on ransomware actors that are operating in the permissive environment that they’ve created
DetailsApple Plugs ‘No-Click’ Phone Hack Attributed to Pegasus Spyware
Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the security issue was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi activist’s iPhone. They said they
DetailsHospitals Turn to Robots to Free Up More Time for Patients
A robot called Moxi is helping nurses and hospital staff focus more on patients by taking care of menial tasks. The VOA’s Deana Mitchell has the story. …
DetailsFirst Private All-Civilian Orbital Spaceflight Set for Wednesday
Four people are set to become the world’s first all-civilian crew to fly into Earth orbit when they blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Wednesday as space tourism takes its biggest leap yet. Weather conditions are 70% favorable for Wednesday night’s scheduled launch of Americans Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor from
DetailsCyber Arms Dealer Exploits New iPhone Software Vulnerability, Watchdog Says
A cyber surveillance company based in Israel developed a tool to break into Apple iPhones with a never-before-seen technique that has been in use since February, internet security watchdog group Citizen Lab said Monday. The discovery is important because of the critical nature of the vulnerability, which requires no user interaction and affects all versions of
DetailsSpaceX to Launch Private, All-civilian Crew into Earth Orbit
SpaceX is set to launch four people into space Wednesday on a three-day mission that is the first to orbit the Earth with exclusively private citizens on board, as Elon Musk’s company enters the space tourism fray. The “Inspiration4” mission caps a summer that saw billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos cross the final frontier, on
DetailsApple Must Loosen App Store Grip, Judge Says; What’s the Impact?
Apple will be forced to loosen the grip it holds on its App Store payment system, a U.S. federal judge ruled Friday in a closely watched battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games.Though app makers will be able to take steps to skirt the up to 30% commission Apple takes on sales, the tech giant avoided
DetailsQatar Awards Scholarship to Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team
Qatar has granted academic scholarships to members of a girls’ robotics team from Afghanistan dubbed the “Afghan Dreamers,” the Persian Gulf nation’s education and science foundation said on Tuesday. Qatar has been instrumental in efforts to evacuate at-risk Afghans and foreigners from Kabul airport, including members of the team who are being housed in Doha’s Education
Details