Month: January 2024
Google to block data tracking cookies
Cookies can be used to record various kinds of data about users including: what you do on the site, whereabouts in the world you are, what device you are using and where you go online afterwards. Google has begun testing changes to the way companies are able to track users online. A new feature in
AI key on Windows 11 PCs
Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI, which powers Copilot’s AI capabilities. It integrated AI into other products such as Microsoft 365 and Bing search in 2023. Rival Apple has included a Siri button or option on its touch bar in Macbooks for a few years. Copilot helps users with functions such as searching, writing
Red Sea crisis escalates
Many of the world’s economic crises of recent years have been about supply chains. Pandemic lockdowns, the war in Ukraine, and the overall surge in global inflation all impacted, or were impacted by, the flow of global trade and the myriad moving parts that keep it all going. Attacks on container ships in the Red
Destruction of Ukraine shelters by Russian paratroopers
The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said paratroopers from the 98th Guards Airborne Division based in Ivanovo, Russia, took down soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces located in shelters in Artemovsk, in Ukraine’s city of Bakhmut, on December 26. The ministry said in a statement: ‘Having launched the first person view [FPV] drone, the operator
virtual sex assault on girl’s avatar
In 2022, researcher Nina Jane Patel revealed she was abused in a virtual world operated by Meta called Horizon Venues (now part of Horizon Worlds), likening it to sexual assault. Ms Patel added she was worried that, in the future, technology might allow someone to physically feel such virtual assaults. Police are investigating a virtual
Blue Scuti beats Tetris video game
The popular video game – which sees players arrange falling blocks into perfect horizontal lines at increasing speeds – was originally created in 1984 by Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov, and gained popularity after its debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Nintendo’s Game Boy handheld console in 1989. Today, the game can be played
China’s BYD overtakes Tesla’s on sales
As BYD has accelerated into the fast lane, it’s fresh evidence of just how competitive the EV market has become and how hard it will be for Tesla to swerve back to head the pack.The company made a name for itself as a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries – used in smartphones, laptops and other electronics
Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea
So missile and drone attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen on ships passing through the narrow strait of Bab al-Mandab, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, apparently in support of Palestinians in Gaza, look like the latest blow to the shipping industry and to its customers but alternative routes are a
Adoption of Generative artificial intelligence
In 2023 tech giants gained, as investors grew more excited about the prospects of generative Artificial Intelligence . An equally weighted share-price index of big companies grew by nearly 80% (see chart). Tech firms benefited because they supply either the Artificial Intelligence models themselves, or the infrastructure that powers and delivers them. Generative artificial intelligence
Ransomware threats
Companies that are hacked or pay a ransom are reluctant to own up to it. Rising numbers can reflect better detection rather than more attacks. But what is clear is that, after a lull in 2022, caused in part by a split between Russian and Ukrainian hackers, ransomware attacks are back at their peak. Financially