Global slowdown in production of popular tech leaves shoppers at the mercy of ‘scalpers’Some of the most popular Christmas presents are being sold online with mark-ups of more than 70% after selling out in major high street stores because of the global shortage of microchips.Supply-chain bottlenecks and the computer-chip shortages are affecting availability of some of the most sought-after gifts, from games consoles to Dyson products. Shoppers were warned last week of a delay of at least one month for some of the most popular iPad models. Continue reading...
Yiran Sherry’s waters broke while the family was stuck in traffic, leading to what is believed to be the world’s first ‘Tesla baby’A Philadelphia mother has given birth to what is believed to be the world’s first Tesla baby: an infant delivered in the front seat of an electric smart car while it was driving on autopilot.The remarkable delivery, reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, took place in September while Yiran Sherry, 33, and her husband Keating Sherry, 34, were taking their three-year-old son Rafa to pre-school. Continue reading...
Retail was in crisis even before Covid. Now the virus has created so much turmoil that the future is becoming hard to readAfter nearly two years of disruption, Covid-19 has changed how we shop for ever. It has altered not only what we buy, but how we buy it. Big purchases involve clicks, not shopping trips, and remote working has turned the home interiors market into the new fast fashion.It has also signalled the end of overwhelming choice for consumers, analysts say, as gaps on shelves and long delivery times for items such as cars and sofas become a frustrating fact of life. Continue reading...
As a journalist, I have stood in pre-dawn lines and contested with ‘Holmies’ and true-crime fanatics for a courthouse spotThe trial of Elizabeth Holmes has seen plenty of courtroom drama, but outside the courthouse in San Jose, California, a spectacle of another sort has unfolded week after week.On landmark days – such as opening arguments, testimony from star witnesses and when Holmes made the risky decision to take the stand herself – journalists, true crime fans and other spectators have turned out early to battle for limited seats inside the courthouse. Continue reading...
The London-born photographer on his image of Gambian football fansThere’s a strong Premier League following in the Gambia: just like Brunel Johnson, 14-year-old Musa is an Arsenal fan. The London-born photographer was on his way to lunch when he noticed the teen, in his favourite football shirt, huddled with friends. They were on the grounds of Spot Academy, watching game highlights on one of the older kids’ phones.Brunel had been living alongside the boys for two weeks, documenting the work of the charity, which serves as a community school while providing boarding places for orphans. He’d left his digital camera in his room and knew the moment would pass if he went back for it. So he reached for his iPhone. The photograph’s angle was a spur-of-the-moment decision, chosen simply to fit as many faces in as possible; he added the black and white “Noir” filter later. Continue reading...
Former CEO faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on nine counts of fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraudAfter months of criminal proceedings that have gripped Silicon Valley, the fate of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes now rests in the hands of 12 jurors.A group of eight men and four women will consider whether to convict or exonerate Holmes, 37, on nine counts of fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud. Deliberations are expected to begin on Monday. Continue reading...
Educators assured parents the viral posts were not considered credible as campuses increased police presence ‘out of caution’Educators announced plans to increase security in response to TikTok posts warning of shooting and bomb threats at schools around the country Friday as officials assured parents the viral posts were not considered credible.The social media threats had many educators on edge as they circulated in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Michigan, which has been followed by numerous copycat threats to schools elsewhere. Continue reading...
Officials issue product alert and say ‘quantum pendants’ could damage DNA with prolonged usePeople who wear “anti-5G” pendants to “protect” themselves from radio frequencies emitted by phone masts have been told by the Dutch nuclear authority that their necklaces are dangerously radioactive.Owners of “quantum pendants” and other “negative ion” jewellery have been advised to store them away, as they have been found to continuously emit ionising radiation. Continue reading...
Several women have been interviewed with questions on alleged harassment and discriminationCalifornia’s civil rights regulator is investigating Google’s treatment of Black female workers following alleged incidents of harassment and discrimination, according to two people familiar with the matter and emails from the agency seen by Reuters.Attorneys and analysts at the California department of fair employment and housing (DFEH) have repeatedly interviewed several Black women who have worked at the Alphabet Inc company about their experiences there, according to the documents and the sources. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing the work. Continue reading...
He just wanted a catchy website name. Now, Bob Innes hands people over to the police for trying to have their enemies killedIn October 2005, Bob Innes bought the website domain name “rentahitman.com.” It was the dotcom era and he was a business school student in North Carolina trying to advertise website traffic analysis services: the “hit” was a nod to clicks coming in on a client’s website.“It was simply a play on words,” he says now, when contacted via email for an interview. Continue reading...
The old fashioned way has never been more popular so come away from the screens and settle down to play how we used toThe last decade has seen an explosion in the popularity of board and card games that aren’t just the traditional Christmas assortment. Families seeking interesting, actually fun alternatives to Monopoly and Trivial Pursuits have embraced the German-designed classics Catan and Carcassonne, as well as a growing range of exuberant, highly social card games exemplified by the irrepressible Exploding Kittens and the frighteningly timely Pandemic.And now, with successful, critically acclaimed video games such as Slay the Spire and Wildermyth drawing key design principles from board games, it’s the perfect time to tempt the most stubborn console and PC owners away from their screens. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#5T4Y3)
More refined design, bigger screen and Thunderbolt ports add to winning formula for convertible PCMicrosoft’s category-defining Windows 11 tablet finally gets the design and feature upgrade Surface Pro fans have been clamouring for, but it comes with the sting of price hike.The Surface Pro 8 starts at £999 ($999/A$1,649), without the essential £160 ($160/A$260) keyboard, which is £100 more for the tablet and £35 more for the keyboard than last year’s equivalent models.Screen: 13in LCD 2880x1920 (267 PPI) 120HzProcessor: Intel Core i5 or i7 (11th generation)RAM: 8, 16 or 32GBStorage: 128, 256, 512GB or 1TBGraphics: Intel Iris XeOperating system: Windows 11 HomeCamera: 10MP rear, 5MP front with Windows HelloConnectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB-4, headphones, Surface ConnectDimensions: 287 x 208x 9.3 mmWeight: 891g (without keyboard) Continue reading...
by Hannah Verdier, Hollie Richardson, Alexi Duggins on (#5T4WX)
There’s a beautiful performance from the End of the F***ing World star in a drama that sees her waking up in a new and scary world. Plus: John Bercow collaborates with The Guilty Feminist team in his new podcast series.SteelHeads
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Michael Safi on (#5T4CB)
Company will also send warnings to 48,000 people believed to be targeted by malicious activity after investigationFacebook has banned seven “surveillance-for-hire” companies from its platforms and will send warning notices to 48,000 people who the company believes were targeted by malicious activity, following a months-long investigation into the “cyber mercenary” industry.The social media company said on Thursday that its investigation had revealed new details about the way the surveillance companies enable their clients to “indiscriminately” target people across the internet to collect intelligence about them, manipulate them – and ultimately compromise their devices.Black Cube, an Israeli company that gained notoriety after it emerged that the disgraced media mogul and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein had hired them to target women who had accused him of abuse. Black Cube rejected Facebook’s claims about its activities.Cobwebs, another Israeli company that Facebook said enabled its clients to use public websites and dark web sites to trick targets into revealing personal information. The company also reportedly works for US clients, including a local police department in Hartford, Connecticut.Cytrox, a North Macedonian company that Facebook said enabled its clients to infect targets with malware following phishing campaigns. Continue reading...
Fallen Silicon Valley star faces up to 20 years in prison for 11 charges of defrauding investors and consumersProsecutors laid out their closing arguments in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes on Thursday, painting the picture of a founder who chose “fraud over failure” and calling the story of Theranos a “tragedy”.Prosecutors wrapped their closing arguments and the defense made it through several hours of their own before court broke for the day. The face-off caps dramatic proceedings that has stretched over 15 weeks. Continue reading...
The former first lady’s promotional materials note that ‘a portion’ of the proceeds will help children aging out for foster careShe is married to former US president Donald Trump but now you, too, can stare into the “cobalt blue eyes” of Melania Trump at the touch of a button and with your very own piece of trendy, digital art.The former first lady has jumped into the latest internet craze by launching a non-fungible token (NFT) just in time for Christmas. It puts Melania right in the middle of a fashion frenzy in hi-tech art circles – though critics may regard it as the latest attempt by the Trump family to cash in on political success. Continue reading...
by Vincent Ni China affairs correspondent on (#5T2SE)
Washington Post alleges marketing slides reveal firm had a role in developing technology for ChinaHuawei has helped Chinese authorities create surveillance technology that targets the country’s Uyghur minority population, an investigation has alleged.A series of marketing presentation slides reviewed by the Washington Post found Huawei had a role in developing surveillance projects created in a partnership with other Chinese companies. Continue reading...
Donations through the online retailer’s charitable program come as it faces criticism for its role in health misinformationAmazon’s charitable program is paying tens of thousands of dollars to anti-vaccine groups in a move experts say is “shocking” as millions of Americans remain unvaccinated in the face of another Covid-19 wave.AmazonSmile reportedly donated more than $40,000 to leading sources of vaccine misinformation in 2020, according to separate analyses by Popular Information and the Washington Post. Continue reading...
Block building sim is the most watched video game ever on the platform, with 35,000 active creator channels based in 150 different countriesIt has been purchased more than 200m times and after 10 years it’s still one of the most played video games in the world – now the block building sim Minecraft has passed another milestone: YouTube videos of the game have passed one trillion views, making it the most watched game on the platform.Originally released in 2009, Minecraft has always been popular on the video sharing site, thanks to its open and highly creative nature. Players can build whatever they like in the blocky landscape, and talented modellers have flooded YouTube to show off their most impressive creations, from scale models of Hogwarts and the Starship Enterprise to working computers. Continue reading...
This high-end reproduction console makes original Game Boy titles (and more) look and play better than everFor the past 10 years Seattle-based tech company Analogue has been making high-end retro video game hardware, with a steely focus on accurate, authentic reproduction rather than emulation. Its Mega Sg and Super Nt consoles were highly acclaimed modernisations of the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, allowing users to play all their old 16-bit game carts on modern machines with a variety of display and audio options. Now the company has finally launched its Analogue Pocket, a handheld console that will play Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges on a beautiful 3.5in LCD display in crisp 1600×1440 resolution.As with the other consoles in its range, there’s no software emulation of the old systems going on here. The company uses a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit to replicate the original tech specs, which means it can pretty much run any Game Boy game from the thousands available, with few of the glitches, instabilities or compatibility problems often associated with software-based emulators.The gaming equivalent of buying a fancy new turntable to play your old recordsThe Analogue Pocket is available for pre-order now; $219.99 Continue reading...
Hit noughties US teen shows – and UK ones like Skins – were irresistible to their wide-eyed, hormone-fuelled viewers. Now their casts are reuniting in podcasts to discuss the good – and the bad – of adolescent stardomThere is nothing new about a nostalgic TV reunion. In the last year we’ve seen televisual specials reunite actors from Friends, New Girl and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for emotional chats and table reads of episodes past. There are cast-led rewatch podcasts like Fake Doctors, Real Friends – hosted by the Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison – or West Wing Weekly and Office Ladies (about the US Office). But, often, they are bathed in a cosy glow. They fail to lift the lid on the shows’ darker side. They avoid raising problematic issues that call into question the ethics of the industry they work in.This is not true when it comes to the wave of podcasts that have brought together the casts of 00s teen shows. Years spent portraying the breakups, makeups, hedonistic parties and burgeoning sex lives of teenagers – in hits such as The OC and 90210 – have made way for audio series in which their casts discuss the good and the bad of adolescent stardom. Continue reading...
Tesla denies any technical problem with car as authorities investigate crash that killed one person and injured 20The biggest taxi firm in Paris has said it is suspending the use of Model 3 Teslas in its fleet after a fatal crash in the French capital at the weekend.A driver lost control of his Tesla on Saturday night in the south-eastern 13th district of Paris, killing one person and injuring 20, leaving three people in intensive care. Continue reading...
Thea-Mai Baumann reflects on making art in the web 3.0 world and digital disappearing actsThea-Mai Baumann’s Instagram profile is an eclectic mix of pink-lipped selfies, David Bowie memes, colorful recordings of her hologram artwork, shots of skyscrapers in Shanghai and portraits of friends tinted in Valencia, Amaro and Toaster, all filters from Instagram’s early days.Baumann’s account, which operates under the handle @metaverse, features 10 years of her life and work. All that became inaccessible to her when she suddenly found herself disabled from her account on 2 November, days after Facebook, which owns Instagram, changed its umbrella corporate name to Meta. Continue reading...
Ministers and spy chiefs warn Britain must improve capabilities and wider digital skills to meet ‘evolving’ challengesBritain and the west are becoming embroiled in a “clash of values” with Russia and China over the rules governing the internet, ministers and spy chiefs have warned in the UK’s first national cyber review published since 2016.Threats to the UK in cyberspace are “evolving and diversifying” they added, and argued that Britain has to improve its offensive cyber capabilities – and its wider digital skills base – to meet the challenge. Continue reading...
In his quest to discover why these ads are everywhere, Alex McKinnon ended up downloading too many of them – and investing too muchIn a glamorous penthouse apartment, rain drumming against the floor-length windows, a chiselled man wearing nothing but a bath towel slowly undresses a beautiful young woman – only to stop when he notices a distinctive red mark on her chest. She has a birthmark – just like the baby he abandoned one rainy night many years ago.“Are you Rachel? Born in 2003 in Bonneville?” he asks urgently. “I’m your father.” Continue reading...
Competition watchdog says proposed new ‘big tech’ regulator should investigate effects of duopolyApple and Google have a “vice-like grip” over people’s mobile phones and their duopoly over the market should be investigated by the proposed new “big tech” regulator, the UK’s competition watchdog has said.The two companies effectively control users’ mobile phone experience in the UK, with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems installed on 99.45% of all phones in use in the country. Continue reading...
Nuclear Biscuit, a simulated experience, allows US officials to wargame a missile attack and see the devastating consequences of their choices.Players experience what the president would have to do in the event of a nuclear crisis: make a decision that would end many millions of lives – and quite possibly civilisation on the planet – with incomplete information and in less than 15 minutes. Here's a snippet of the game as completed by Julian Borger, our world affairs editor
Federal authorities investigate disaster in Edwardsville, Illinois, where six people diedQuestions over worker safety at Amazon are intensifying once again after a tornado struck an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Friday, leaving six people dead and another hospitalized.On Monday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) said it had opened a workplace safety investigation into the warehouse collapse. Meanwhile, workers and activists are calling for more action. Continue reading...
Committee’s report says sweeping changes needed to tackle an industry that has become the ‘land of the lawless’Britain’s online safety bill needs a sweeping overhaul to prevent children from accessing pornography, vulnerable people from being encouraged to commit self-harm and negligent tech chiefs from failing to protect users, according to a committee of MPs and peers.A wide-ranging series of proposals to amend the pioneering legislation also includes creating a new criminal offence for cyberflashing, punishing tech platforms for hosting fraudulent adverts, and exempting news organisations from content takedowns.Creating a digital ombudsman to deal with complaints by individuals against platformsIntroducing codes of conduct that tackle “rabbit hole” algorithmsRequiring tech companies to implement mechanisms to deal with harmful anonymous accountsSocial media companies having to reveal how many underage users are on their platforms. Continue reading...
The year ahead for the social media giants, podcasts and games – and will there be yet another hyped return for virtual reality?Twitter has an unfortunate reputation as the punchbag of social media. It has failed to deliver the huge returns of bigger rivals such as Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram, it hasn’t been the cool new network for more than a decade and even its own most dedicated users love to drag it to oblivion. Continue reading...
Stress tips, oysters and buying your own star… Back in the 80s they had big plans for what the humble telephone was going to do for us all‘Some thoughts on the phone,’ the Observer Magazine cover of 2 November 1986, with its nod to Rodin’s The Thinker, was not, in fact, a philosophical treatise on the nature of human communication but a guide to the many goods and services one could then buy over the phone.The introduction began with one eye clearly on BT’s recent privatisation in 1984 – ‘Dial P for Privatisation, a nasty new phone book and commercially sponsored pips.’ It was also the beginning of BT’s speaking clock sponsored by Accurist, beloved of pranksters who would call its premium-rate line at friends’ homes and leave it to rack up costs. I’m saying nothing. Continue reading...
Demi Skipper began her journey in May 2020, offering a bobby pin for trade on Craigslist. This month, she was offered a house in TennesseeAfter a year and a half of pouring blood, sweat and tears, Demi Skipper has successfully taken one single hair pin and traded it up all the way to a house.In May this year, the Guardian spoke to her after she’d traded three tractors for one of only a few Chipotle celebrity cards in the world, worth about $20,000. She had been inspired by Kyle MacDonald, who in 2006 traded a red paperclip all the way to a house, and hoped to reach her goal by summer’s end. Continue reading...
The richest person in the world often attracts headlines for the wrong reasons. But his upending of traditional car-production methods should not be forgottenAs I write, Tesla, the manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), has a market capitalisation of $1.051tn, which makes it the world’s sixth most valuable company by market cap. Tesla shares are trading at $1,047, which is 64% higher than at this time last year. Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of the company, currently has a net worth estimated at $300bn, which makes him the richest person in the world.Enormous wealth, like power, acts as an aphrodisiac that warps people’s perceptions of those who possess it: it’s as if they’re surrounded by a reality distortion field. Similar force fields have enveloped Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in their time and now it’s Musk’s turn. Because he’s uncommonly voluble on social media, especially on Twitter, where he has 65.7 million followers, his every utterance is assiduously parsed by besotted fans (all of whom call him “Elon”, as if he were a buddy of theirs). This gives him an influence way beyond that of any other corporate executive, influence that, on some occasions, even affects global financial markets through what the normally sober Financial Times calls the “Tesla-financial complex”. A closer examination of his Twitter feed, though, yields an impression of a really complex individual: a baffling combination of formidable intelligence and ungovernability – part visionary, part genius, part fruitcake and part exploiter of tax loopholes and public subsidies. And it raises the question: what (or where) is the real Elon Musk? Continue reading...
Despite the abuse and anger, the comedian spent hours a day online. But then his daughter Dolly became dangerously drawn in. Was it time for a rethink?Over the past 30 years, I have read and heard David Baddiel’s thoughts on many subjects, including sex, masturbation, religion, antisemitism, football fandom, football hooliganism, his mother’s sex life and his father’s dementia. “I am quite unfiltered,” he agrees, “mainly because I am almost psychotically comfortable in my own skin.” But today I have found the one subject that makes him squirm.How much time does he spend on social media a day? “Oh, um, too much,” he says, his usual candour suddenly gone. What’s his daily screen time according to his phone? “It says four hours, which is a bit frightening.” Continue reading...
In the early 2000s, the Discworld author frequented a forum dedicated to the Thief series of stealth games. His posts provide a fascinating insight into his fondness for gamingIn November 2001, Terry Pratchett was in Chester, famed for its Roman ruins and well-preserved medieval architecture. Staying at a hotel in the city centre, Pratchett opened the window of his room, and looked across the historic skyline. “I realised I could drop down on to a roof,” he wrote later. “And from then on there was a vista of roofs, leads and ledges leading all the way to the end of the street and beyond; there were even little doors and inviting attic windows …There is a line break, and then he adds. “I’m going to have to stop playing this game.” Continue reading...
A grocery revolution is underway, with individual items available at your door in next to no time. What does it mean for supermarkets, our wallets, working conditions and the planet?In a warehouse by Farringdon station, in central London, I am watching people burn through millions of pounds of investment in real time. Great big stacks of cash, all bet on the assumption that the future of grocery shopping will be app-enabled and delivered to our homes in less time than it takes to brew a cup of tea. Here, at the ultrafast grocery delivery startup Gorillas, workers push trolleys around a so-called micro-fulfilment centre, selecting food and toiletries and alcohol to be delivered by e-bicycling couriers in 10 minutes flat.I am being shown around by the commercial director, Matthew Nobbs. “Imagine you go to a standard supermarket for breakfast,” says Nobbs, over the pounding dance music. “I’m going to have to go all the way to the bakery aisle for my croissants, and now I need some jam, so I have to go to the store cupboard aisle, and now I need some bacon, so I have to go back to the chiller. Or, I can just go on an app, and order what I need.” We pass the fresh produce. “Look at that for an apple!” says Nobbs, palming a Pink Lady with an evangelical flicker in his eye. (In fairness, its skin is so glossy it could be lacquered.) Continue reading...
Adam Mosseri defends platform and calls for creation of body to determine best practices to help keep young people safe onlineThe head of Instagram faced a grilling from US lawmakers on Wednesday over how the platform protects its youngest users, an appearance that comes amid intensifying criticism of Instagram’s impact on children and young adults.In opening statements, Senator Richard Blumenthal promised to be “ruthless” in the hearing, saying “the time for self-policing and self-regulation is over”. Continue reading...
Case follows earlier legal victory over energy efficiency stickers on vacuum cleaners that firm said misled buyersDyson, the vacuum cleaner firm, has said it will appeal against a ruling by an EU court that it is not entitled to £150m in damages over flawed energy efficiency regulation.Sir James Dyson, the company’s billionaire owner, is an outspoken critic of the EU and was one of the most prominent supporters of the campaign to leave the EU. Continue reading...
The policy meant to tackle doxxing on the platform was weaponized by the far-right, leaving many anti-fascist activists locked out of their accountsTwitter is reviewing a controversial policy that penalizes users who share images of other users without their consent.In a statement, Twitter said on Wednesday that the company was conducting “an internal review” of the policy after making several errors in enforcement. Continue reading...
Critics suggest the multibillionaire is annoyed that Tesla’s nonunion-made cars wouldn’t qualify for the subsidyElon Musk criticized new incentives and infrastructure for electric vehicles in a huge spending bill backed by Joe Biden, saying he would “delete” the measures and even ditch the entire legislation if he had the power.Musk, the multibillionaire founder of the electric car company Tesla, said that if he were in charge of the federal government “I would just can this whole bill. That’s my recommendation.” The entrepreneur, speaking at a Wall Street Journal summit on Monday, added: “It might be better if the bill doesn’t pass because we’ve spent so much money, you know, it’s like the federal budget deficit is insane.” Continue reading...
by Dan Milmo Global technology correspondent on (#5STF7)
Annual list reveals most searched-for terms globally related to sports, investing, Covid and skinny jeansSquid Game, Bernie Sanders’ mittens and how to wear skinny jeans were among the most searched for subjects on Google around the world this year, and in the UK the Euros dominated web queries.The annual search trends list released by Google showed that Squid Game, the bloody South Korean smash hit on Netflix, was the most searched-for TV show, while the knitted gloves worn by Sanders, a former US presidential candidate, at Joe Biden’s inauguration ensured that searches for mittens reached a global high in January. Continue reading...
Up for discussion in this week’s newsletter: a mix of state support and entrepreneurial zeal means China is poised to win the next tech revolution – just as a former Google exec predicted
Users in North America and Europe report patchy service after cloud computing goes downSeveral Amazon services – including its website, Prime Video and applications that use Amazon Web Services (AWS) – went down for thousands of users on Tuesday.Amazon said the outage was probably due to problems related to application programming interface (API), which is a set of protocols for building and integrating application software, Reuters reported. Continue reading...
The Information reports Apple CEO’s agreement will placate threats that would have hobbled its devices and services in the countryTim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, signed an agreement with Chinese officials, estimated to be worth about $275bn, to placate threats that would have hobbled its devices and services in the country, The Information reported on Tuesday.Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Continue reading...
Cybersecurity experts confirm that Bluetooth signals can in fact be intercepted. And old-school earbuds have a level of retro coolAirPods are bad, people. I’ve said it for years. In 2016, when Apple first debuted the overpriced accessories, I wrote that wireless headphones were like tampons without strings – missing the crucial feature that helps you find them when you need to.As the years have gone by, I’ve clung steadfastly to my wired headphone sets. (I say headphone sets, plural, because I need two pairs, one to plug into the headphone jack in my laptop and one to plug into the non-headphone jack in my iPhone. I frequently think that the people I can’t hear on Zoom calls are on mute when I actually just have the wrong pair of earbuds in my ears. I don’t care; I won’t change.) Continue reading...
Founder of blood testing company says she did not think she said her devices were actively being used on military helicoptersElizabeth Holmes continued testimony in her own defense on Tuesday, in her sixth day on the stand in a widely followed trial centering on her now-defunct blood testing company, Theranos.Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison over charges that she defrauded investors and patients, lying about the capabilities of the firm’s core blood-testing technology. She has pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...
Long before Auto-Tune and deepfake compositions, university professor Lejaren Hiller premiered a concert recital composed by a computer and became an overnight celebrityOn the evening of 9 August 1956, a couple of hundred people squeezed into a student union lounge for a concert recital at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, about 130 miles outside Chicago. Student performances didn’t usually attract so many people, but this was an exceptional case, the debut of the Illiac Suite: String Quartet No 4, that a member of the chemistry faculty, Lejaren Hiller Jr, had devised with the school’s one and only computer, the Illiac I.Decades before today’s artificial intelligence pop stars, Auto-Tune and deepfake compositions was Hiller’s piece, described by the New York Times in his 1994 obituary as “the first substantial piece of music composed on a computer” – and indeed by a computer. Continue reading...