BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Nintendo Switch OLED Model gets an upgraded screen
Nintendo has unveiled its long-rumoured upgrade to the Switch, with a new model featuring a larger, better screen. The Switch OLED Model's main feature is its OLED screen - a technology which offers deeper blacks and better colours than most LCD screens like those on the original Switch. It will launch on 8 October, costing £50/$50 more than the current model. But the new revision does not feat ... Read more
2021-07-06 19:35:07
Why are Chinese tech brands flocking to Euro 2020?
Everybody's eyes were on the ball during the tense England v Germany Euro 2020 football match this week - mine included. But almost every time I saw a sponsored brand on the digital billboards that run the circumference of the pitch at Wembley, there appeared to be a Chinese super-brand logo on display. During the last tournament, held in 2016, there was just one Chinese sponsor - the TV maker H ... Read more
2021-07-02 19:53:33
US companies hit by 'colossal' cyber-attack
About 200 US businesses have been hit by a "colossal" ransomware attack, according to a cyber-security firm. Huntress Labs said the hack targeted Florida-based IT company Kaseya before spreading through corporate networks that use its software. Kaseya said in a statement on its own website that it was investigating a "potential attack". Huntress Labs said it believed the Rus ... Read more
2021-07-02 19:52:50
US and UK agencies accuse Russia of political cyber-campaign
US and UK intelligence have accused Russian military hackers of being behind an ongoing cyber-campaign to steal emails and other information, including from parliaments. The campaign is primarily focused on the United States and Europe. There are said to be hundreds of targets around the world, including UK political parties. The same group allegedly stole and leaked Democrat emails during the ... Read more
2021-07-01 19:49:12
Parents of children called Alexa challenge Amazon
Parents of children called Alexa say their daughters are being bullied because it is the same name that Amazon uses for its virtual assistant. Some have even changed their child's name because they say the barrage of Alexa jokes is "relentless". They are calling on Amazon to change the default wake word for its devices to a non-human name. Amazon says it is "saddened" by the ... Read more
2021-07-01 19:48:45
TikTok removes more than seven million suspected under-age accounts
TikTok removed nearly 7.3 million accounts suspected to belong to under-age children in the first quarter of this year. The video-sharing platform said the profiles accounted for fewer than 1% of global users. Children aged 13 and over are allowed to use the platform, which is highly popular with teenagers. This is the first time TikTok has published such figures in a Community Guidelines Enfor ... Read more
2021-06-30 19:59:13
Tim Berners-Lee sells web source code NFT for $5.4m
The original source code for the world wide web has been sold as a non-fungible token, making $5.4m (£3.9m). NFTs are certificates of ownership for digital assets, which often do not have a physical representation. They do not necessarily include copyright control - and critics say they are get-rich-quick schemes that are bad for the environment. World-wide-web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee sold ... Read more
2021-06-30 19:58:41
Elon Musk sets out Starlink goals
Elon Musk claims his Starlink satellite-internet system should be able to provide a connection from anywhere except the poles by August. He spoke as rival OneWeb secured the funding it needs to complete its first-generation constellation of 648 satellites. Starlink customers connect using small satellite receivers, dubbed Dishy McFlatFace, priced at $500 (£360). But Mr Musk said the terminals c ... Read more
2021-06-29 19:44:27
RIP Pepper robot? SoftBank 'pauses' production
Pepper, the friendly little humanoid robot that was launched to much fanfare back in 2014, looks as if it may be retired - for now at least. Its maker, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, confirmed to the BBC that production had been "paused for a while". It would only start making the robot again "when it is needed", it said. The firm is also slashing jobs at its global rob ... Read more
2021-06-29 19:44:02
US judge throws out Facebook anti-trust lawsuits
A US federal court has dismissed two separate anti-trust lawsuits filed against Facebook. Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s anti-trust complaint against the social networking giant was too vague. Another separate anti-competition lawsuit filed by a coalition of states was thrown out because the alleged violations occurred too long ago. Facebook's shares jumped ... Read more
2021-06-28 20:02:53