BATTERYFORPC BLOG
CES 2022: Colour changing cars and remotes that eat wi-fi
One of the tech calendar's biggest annual events, CES, has been taking place in Las Vegas this week. The pandemic and fears over the spread of the Omicron variant meant numbers of attendees were down and some of the largest firms, including Meta, Google and Amazon, pulled out. But there was still plenty of weird and wonderful technology on show. Here's a look at some of the trends and more outl ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:38:49
Bitcoin prices fall to lowest in months after US Fed remarks
Bitcoin prices have fallen to their lowest level in months following remarks from the US Federal Reserve. The crypto-currency dropped in value from $47,000 (£34,700) earlier this week to less than $42,000 (£31,000) per digital coin. It follows minutes from a meeting of the Federal Reserve, which suggested it may raise interest rates. Political events in Kazakhstan have also raised concerns abou ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:38:06
NFT marketplace OpenSea valued at more than $13bn
An online marketplace OpenSea says it is now worth $13.3bn (£9.8bn) following a new investment of $300m. The platform enables trade in NFTs (non-fungible tokens), unique pieces of digital code that can be associated with a digital asset such as a work of digital art. Some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars. OpenSea says trades on the platform rose 600-fold last year, but some critics say th ... Read more
2022-01-06 19:17:02
Drone helps save cardiac arrest patient in Sweden
An autonomous drone has helped to save the life of a 71-year-old man who was suffering a cardiac arrest. The drone delivered a defibrillator to a doctor helping the man, who became ill while shovelling snow outside his house in Trollhattan, Sweden. The man, who didn't wish to be named, told the BBC it was "fantastic" that it arrived so quickly. The company behind the drone says it mea ... Read more
2022-01-06 19:16:34
China Mobile shares rise in Shanghai debut after US exit
China Mobile shares have risen as they started trading in Shanghai after raising $7.7bn (£5.7bn) in China's biggest public offering in a decade. The shares opened 9.4% higher before ending the day just 0.5% higher. China Mobile's smaller rivals, China Telecom and China Unicom, have already made the move to their home country. The three firms were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:31:24
Kosovo bans cryptocurrency mining after blackouts
Kosovo has banned the mining of cryptocurrencies to curb electricity use as it grapples with an energy crisis caused by soaring global prices. The government says security services will identify and clamp down on sources of cryptocurrency mining. The mining is energy intensive and involves verifying digital transactions to get cryptocurrencies as a reward. While all of Europe faces sharp price ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:31:07
Vodafone and EE delay EU roaming charges return
Vodafone is delaying the reintroduction of roaming charges in Europe by three weeks. The phone network had planned to bring in post-Brexit roaming fees on 6 January, matching other networks who plan to do so in 2022. But it said more time was needed for testing, and the change will now come in at the end of January. EE has also delayed resuming its roaming charges, which were planned for Januar ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:30:32
Wordle creator promises viral game will stay simple and ad-free
A free and simple online word game that has gone viral will never become attention-grabbing or ad-laden, its creator has promised. Wordle challenges people to find a five-letter word in six guesses, with a new puzzle published every day. It has amassed a following of 300,000 people in three months. But creator Josh Wardle told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he never intended for it to g ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:30:10
Asus recalls product after users 'smell smoke'
Asus has been forced to issue a product recall after reports from some users that its motherboards were melting. Reports emerged on social media that a number of affected Z690 Hero motherboards made by the computer company were burning and producing smoke after normal use. Asus acknowledged the fault and said it could "potentially affect" specific units manufactured in 2021. The Z690 ... Read more
2022-01-04 19:19:18
Apple becomes first firm to hit $3tn market value
US technology giant Apple has become the first company to hit a stock market valuation of $3tn (£2.2tn). The firm's share price has risen by around 5,800% since co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. However, its value slipped a little from that milestone, to end Monday's trading session in New York at $2.99tn. Apple has been one of the big winners o ... Read more
2022-01-04 19:19:00