BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Why popular YouTubers are building their own sites
Whether he's showing off astronomically expensive computer gaming hardware or dumpster-diving for the cheapest PC builds possible, Linus Sebastian's videos always strike a chord, and have made him one of the most popular tech personalities on YouTube. But Google-owned YouTube gets most episodes of Linus Tech Tips a week late. Now, they debut on his own site called Floatplane, which attracts a mu ... Read more
2021-03-07 19:34:35
Why popular YouTubers are building their own sites
Whether he's showing off astronomically expensive computer gaming hardware or dumpster-diving for the cheapest PC builds possible, Linus Sebastian's videos always strike a chord, and have made him one of the most popular tech personalities on YouTube. But Google-owned YouTube gets most episodes of Linus Tech Tips a week late. Now, they debut on his own site called Floatplane, which attracts a mu ... Read more
2021-03-07 19:34:09
Tech Tent: The new 'space race' for computer chips
Silicon chips are at the heart of many of the biggest technology stories of our time. Without them, car plants around the world have come to a halt. The technology to make them is now seen by the United States as a key weapon in its trade war with China. And access to the latest and most-powerful versions will determine who wins the artificial intelligence race. In this week's Tech Tent podcast, ... Read more
2021-03-05 19:20:46
YouTube to lift Trump ban if violence threat falls, says CEO
YouTube's chief executive has said the platform may lift Donald Trump's suspension, if the threat of "real-world violence" decreases. Susan Wojcicki said the company will look at government warnings and violent rhetoric to determine when it's safe to lift the suspension. Following the Capitol Hill riot on 6 January that left five dead, Mr Trump's account was suspended. YouTube said he ... Read more
2021-03-04 19:55:54
Reddit chief: I was late to spot GameStop stock mania
Reddit boss Steve Huffman has told BBC News he supported the aims of controversial sub-Reddit WallStreetBets. A long-time fan of the group, he said he had been slow in spotting its effect on GameStop's huge share-price spike in January. "I was actually a little late to the party, because I didn't realise that Reddit had leaked into the real world again", he said. GameStop's share pric ... Read more
2021-03-03 20:34:55
Contraception app Natural Cycles swipes at new rival from Clue
Natural Cycles, the first app to be cleared by US regulators for use as a contraceptive, has criticised the approval of a new birth control service from period tracker app Clue. Natural Cycles knocked Clue's product for relying purely on period dates and also said its approval process had not been as thorough. But Clue said the regulator had determined its digital Birth Control service was " ... Read more
2021-03-02 19:28:39
Biden urged to back AI weapons to counter China and Russia threats
The US and its allies should reject calls for a global ban on AI-powered autonomous weapons systems, according to an official report commissioned for the American President and Congress. It says that artificial intelligence will "compress decision time frames" and require military responses humans cannot make quickly enough alone. And it warns Russia and China would be unlikely to keep ... Read more
2021-03-01 19:33:27
MyHeritage offers 'creepy' deepfake tool to reanimate dead
Genealogy site MyHeritage has introduced a tool which uses deepfake technology to animate the faces in photographs of dead relatives. Called DeepNostalgia, the firm acknowledged that some people might find the feature "creepy" while others would consider it "magical". It said it did not include speech to avoid the creation of "deepfake people". It comes as the UK g ... Read more
2021-02-28 19:26:01
Bitcoin energy use 'bigger than most countries'
We've all heard the stories of Bitcoin millionaires. Elon Musk is the latest. His electric car company Tesla made a paper profit of more than $900m (£646m) after buying $1.5bn (£1bn) -worth of the cryptocurrency in early February. Its high profile support helped pushed the price of a single Bitcoin to more than $58,000. But it isn't just the digital asset's price that has hit an all-time high. ... Read more
2021-02-26 19:06:34
Amazon rainforest plots sold via Facebook Marketplace ads
Parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest are being illegally being sold on Facebook, the BBC has discovered. The protected areas include national forests and land reserved for indigenous peoples. Some of the plots listed via Facebook's classified ads service are as large as 1,000 football pitches. Facebook said it was "ready to work with local authorities", but indicated it would not take ... Read more
2021-02-25 19:11:57