BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Billionaire twins invest in ninth-tier football club
A non-league football club has received an injection of $4.5m (about £3.6m) from a pair of cryptocurrency investors. Real Bedford FC (RBFC) received the Bitcoin investment from Winklevoss Capital, an investment firm owned by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Podcaster Peter McCormack bought the side, currently in the ninth tier of English football, in 2021 with the goal of turning it ... Read more
2024-04-12 19:50:04
UK competition watchdog has 'real concerns' over big tech AI dominance
Big tech's dominance of the rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) market is a matter of "real concern", the competition regulator has warned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into the new breed of powerful AI tools - foundation models. They include text and image generators, such as ChatGPT. The CMA found an "interconnected web" of AI partners ... Read more
2024-04-11 20:29:31
TikTok to take on Instagram with photo app
TikTok is to take on social media rival, Instagram, by launching a photo-sharing app. The company said it was working on a "dedicated space" for images and text. Some users have received notifications saying their photo posts will be shared to a new "TikTok Notes" app unless they opt out. It is the latest example of social media firms imitating each others' products - includ ... Read more
2024-04-09 19:10:49
Microsoft announces new AI office in UK
Microsoft is opening a new office in London dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) research and development. The tech firm's AI boss Mustafa Suleyman said it will advertise roles for "exceptional individuals" in the coming weeks and months. But he has not said how many jobs will be created. Microsoft is a major investor in ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, which itself opened an office in Lo ... Read more
2024-04-08 19:56:39
Solar Eclipse: Sky watchers hope for clear weather
Millions are hoping for clear skies as anticipation grows ahead of Monday's total solar eclipse. Forecasters are predicting cloudy conditions in northern Mexico, Texas and parts of the Great Lakes region. Better weather is expected in western Mexico and parts of the US Midwest, with clear spring skies likely in New England and Canada. The total solar eclipse, the first to cross the continent si ... Read more
2024-04-07 19:29:53
X gives free blue ticks to its most popular users
X, formerly Twitter, is giving blue ticks to its most "influential" users in a significant change of policy. Those with more than 2,500 verified followers - people already paying for X Premium - have been given premium features for free. As well as the blue tick, the users will see fewer adverts on X. The social media platform also announced it was clearing bots so people may notice f ... Read more
2024-04-06 20:25:26
Will Truth Social post a financial bailout for Trump?
The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it. So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make? And is it the answer to Mr Trump' ... Read more
2024-04-02 19:24:38
Google to delete records from Incognito tracking
Google has agreed to delete billions of records and submit to some restrictions on its power to track users, under the terms of a proposed legal settlement. The deal aims to resolve a class action lawsuit brought in the US in 2020, which had accused the tech giant of invading people's privacy by collecting user data even when they were browsing in "private mode". The suit had sought $5 ... Read more
2024-04-01 19:36:39
Xiaomi: Electric car buyers told they face six-month wait
Just days after Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its first electric vehicle (EV), buyers have been told they may have to wait up to six months for their car to be delivered. Screen grabs on Chinese social media show the firm advising buyers it could take 27 weeks to deliver the SU7 Max. The company previously said pre-orders had hit 88,898 within 24 hours of it starting to take orders on ... Read more
2024-04-01 00:35:52
Could AI take the grind out of accountancy?
Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre. He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year. What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers. Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious p ... Read more
2024-03-28 19:56:04