BATTERYFORPC BLOG
OnlyFans suspends policy change after backlash
OnlyFans has announced that it will delay making changes to policy on content creation, following a widespread backlash by its users. The content subscription service announced plans last week to block sexually explicit photos and videos from October. On Wednesday, it tweeted that it has "suspended the planned 1 October policy change". It is currently unclear if the delay will be perm ... Read more
2021-08-25 19:58:54
Sensors and AI to monitor Dorset social care patients
One hundred people in Dorset who need social care are to be monitored by artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a three-month pilot. Sensors installed in homes will track behaviour and electricity usage which the AI will analyse to spot potential health problems. Lilli, the UK-based firm behind the technology, says it could cut costs and the number of care visits required. But one expert said ... Read more
2021-08-24 20:13:16
Virgin Hyperloop unveils new pod concept video
Virgin Hyperloop has released a video illustrating its plans for passenger pods using magnetic levitation to travel above 1,000km/h (600mph) through tubes containing a near-vacuum. Rather than connecting to form a train, the pods will travel in convoy, able to leave and join a static track individually, like cars on a motorway. Last year, Virgin Hyperloop completed its first crewed test-track jo ... Read more
2021-08-24 20:12:52
Chip giant's IPO hit by Beijing crackdown on business
Chinese electric car maker BYD's plan to sell shares in its computer chip making unit has been suspended, the latest share offering to be hit by Beijing's crackdown on businesses. The listing has been put on hold due to a regulatory investigation into the law firm advising the company. The plan to list on Shenzen's Nasdaq style market ChiNext was filed in May. The suspension comes amid a broade ... Read more
2021-08-23 19:38:46
Covid: Most popular Facebook link in US spread vaccine doubt
A news article about a doctor who died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccination was Facebook's most viewed link in the US in the first quarter of 2021, a previously shelved report shows. The piece - updated after a report said there was no proven link to the vaccine - was popular with vaccine sceptics. The New York Times claimed that Facebook initially held back its report because it would "l ... Read more
2021-08-23 19:37:53
Afghanistan: Will fingerprint data point Taliban to targets?
"We would go into villages and enrol people into this biometric data system," US Marine Special Operations Command veteran Peter Kiernan recalls. "You had a device about 12 inches by six inches wide. It would scan their fingerprints, it would scan their retina, it would also take a picture of them." It's been a busy week for Mr Kiernan. In Afghanistan, he was in charge of 12 ... Read more
2021-08-22 19:28:22
Computer Space and beyond: 50 years of gaming
What is now a multi-billion pound industry started out as a humble arcade machine created by a group of college students in 1971. Before then, playing video games had been a geeky pastime for small groups on university tech campuses, but in 1971, Nolan Bushnell, a student at the University of Utah, joined up with Jim Stein, a Stanford University researcher, to make a game. They were both players ... Read more
2021-08-22 19:27:53
OnlyFans to ban sexually explicit content
The subscription site OnlyFans, known for its adult content, has announced it will block sexually explicit photos and videos from 1 October. People will still be able to post nude content on the site. But this will need to be consistent with OnlyFans' policies. The announcement comes after BBC News had approached the company for a response to leaked documents concerning accounts which posted il ... Read more
2021-08-20 19:23:50
Afghanistan: Will fingerprint data point Taliban to targets?
"We would go into villages and enrol people into this biometric data system," US Marine Special Operations Command veteran Peter Kiernan recalls. "You had a device about 12 inches by six inches wide. It would scan their fingerprints, it would scan their retina, it would also take a picture of them." It's been a busy week for Mr Kiernan. In Afghanistan, he was in charge of 12 ... Read more
2021-08-20 19:23:33
Facebook reveals most-seen posts are inane questions, not politics
After being accused of spreading right-wing content, Facebook has revealed that its most-viewed posts include asking if sugar goes with spaghetti. Its first-ever report on the contents of people's news feeds in the United States focuses on how many people see a post rather than any other measurement. It shows a word search promising to reveal "your reality" was the most popular post fo ... Read more
2021-08-19 20:00:17