BATTERYFORPC BLOG
People devote third of waking time to mobile apps
People are spending an average of 4.8 hours a day on their mobile phones, according to app monitoring firm App Annie. In 2020, UK regulator Ofcom found similar amounts of time spent, although its research included watching TV. App Annie's report indicates that apps were downloaded 230 billion times in 2021, while $170bn (£125bn) was spent. TikTok was the most downloaded app worldwide, with user ... Read more
2022-01-12 20:39:12
Moxie Marlinspike leaves encrypted-messaging app Signal
Moxie Marlinspike, the co-founder and chief executive of encrypted-messaging app Signal, has resigned. He blogged it was a "good time to replace myself as CEO" after working on Signal for over a decade. Signal recently enabled crypto-currency payments within the app, which has concerned some users. Mr Marlinspike remains a board member of the Signal Foundation, while the board's execu ... Read more
2022-01-11 19:19:44
Pokémon Go: Police fired for chasing Snorlax instead of robbers
Two Los Angeles police officers were fired for chasing Pokémon rather than fleeing robbers, court documents show. The pair were parked nearby when a radio call came in for officers to respond to a shop robbery. But a review of their in-car camera footage showed they had been playing Pokémon Go and chose to pursue a nearby Snorlax - a relatively rare catch - instead of providing back-up. The pai ... Read more
2022-01-11 19:19:24
Virgin Mobile and O2 users will not face EU roaming charges
Virgin Mobile and O2 phone users will not face roaming charges following announcements by other networks to reintroduce extra fees after Brexit. It means customers travelling to Europe will be able to use their mobile data and make calls and texts on the same deal as they have in the UK. Vodafone, EE and Three are set to reintroduce roaming fees this year for customers travelling to Europe. Con ... Read more
2022-01-11 19:18:55
Oculus Quest 2: Meta to discuss children's VR safety with watchdog
The Information Commissioners' Office (ICO) is to talk to Meta about how its virtual reality (VR) business Oculus complies with the regulator's "children's code". The code aims to ensure that online services likely to be accessed by children are appropriate for their use. A campaign group recently found evidence of harassment of under-18s in a popular third-party VR chat app. Meta say ... Read more
2022-01-10 19:52:24
Sulli Deals: Police arrest man for making app to auction Muslim women
Police in India have arrested a man suspected of creating an app that put up photos of more than 80 Muslim women for "sale" online last year. The open source app - Sulli Deals - had been hosted on web platform GitHub in July 2021. The 25-year-old was arrested days after a similar app - Bulli Bai - uploaded photos of more than 100 Muslim women. Four students, including a 21-year-old st ... Read more
2022-01-10 19:51:11
Tesla adds chill and assertive self-driving modes
Tesla's automated driver assist feature has added an assertive driving mode. The setting will follow other cars more closely, change lanes more frequently, not leave the overtaking lane, and perform rolling stops. Such driver behaviour by humans is often discouraged by safety groups. However, it could sometimes be safer for an automated system to be more assertive, like a human driver, rather t ... Read more
2022-01-10 19:50:38
Virgin Mobile and O2 users will not face EU roaming charges
Virgin Mobile and O2 phone users will not face roaming charges following announcements by other networks to reintroduce extra fees after Brexit. It means customers travelling to Europe will be able to use their mobile data and make calls and texts on the same deal as they have in the UK. Vodafone, EE and Three are set to reintroduce roaming fees this year for customers travelling to Europe. Con ... Read more
2022-01-10 19:50:02
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka asks China to restructure its debt
The president of crisis-hit Sri Lanka has asked China to restructure its debt repayments as part of efforts to help the South Asian country navigate its worsening financial situation. Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the request during a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday. In the last decade China has lent Sri Lanka over $5bn (£3.7bn) for projects including roads, an airport and port ... Read more
2022-01-09 19:51:21
France fines Google and Facebook over cookies
French regulators have hit Google and Facebook with fines totalling 210m euros (£175m) over use of cookies. Data privacy watchdog the CNIL said both sites were making it difficult for internet users to refuse the online trackers. Consent for the use of cookies is key to the EU's data-privacy regulation and a major priority for the CNIL. The social-media firms have three months to comply or face ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:40:04