BATTERYFORPC BLOG
The stealthy little drones that fly like insects
When Storm Ciara swept across the UK in February, Alex Caccia was strolling on Oxford's Port Meadow watching birds take to the air. He marvelled at their indifference to high winds: "While airliners were grounded by the weather the birds couldn't care less!" It was more than just a passing thought for Mr Caccia, who is the chief executive of Animal Dynamics, a technology start-up apply ... Read more
2020-04-20 21:50:14
Coronavirus: Why are there doubts over contact-tracing apps?
There are growing tensions over the best approach to coronavirus contact-tracing apps and whether or not the technology can live up to its promise. Smartphone software is being developed to alert users when someone they were recently near becomes infected. But the Ada Lovelace Institute has said there is "an absence of evidence" such tools are practical, accurate or technically capable ... Read more
2020-04-20 21:49:48
Facebook bans events that violate social distancing orders
Facebook has banned event listings that violate government social distancing policies. On Monday, the social media giant removed the listing for anti-quarantine protests in California, New Jersey, and Nebraska. The discussion sparked outrage from some including the son of President Donald Trump who claimed the company's move violated free speech. Protests have been planned for across the US cal ... Read more
2020-04-20 21:49:23
Facebook reveals Gaming app to rival Twitch and YouTube
Facebook has launched a dedicated gaming app earlier than planned, in its latest attempt to grow its presence in the online gaming world. Facebook said the "accelerated" launch was a direct response to the Covid-19 lockdown. The app lets users follow high-profile gamers, watch live gaming streams and leave comments without interacting with the rest of Facebook. It also lets gamers bro ... Read more
2020-04-20 21:48:58
Coronavirus: AI steps up in battle against Covid-19
It feels as if a superhuman effort is needed to help ease the global pandemic killing so many. Artificial intelligence may have been hyped - but when it comes to medicine, it already has a proven track record. So can machine learning rise to this challenge of finding a cure for this terrible disease? There is no shortage of companies trying to solve the dilemma. Oxford-based Exscientia, the fi ... Read more
2020-04-19 21:24:29
Coronavirus: UK's first 'TikTok house' opens during outbreak
Six of the UK’s most popular TikTok content creators have moved in together and are trying to meet a surge in demand from teenagers in lockdown, despite some doubts about the timing. The Bytehouse collective planned the move prior to the coronavirus pandemic and completed it before the UK lockdown on 23 March. It is the UK's first "TikTok house", a phenomenon already established in the ... Read more
2020-04-19 21:24:06
Coronavirus: Will Covid-19 speed up the use of robots to replace human workers?
As a pandemic grips the world, a person could be forgiven if they had forgotten about another threat to humanity's way of life - the rise of robots. For better or worse the robots are going to replace many humans in their jobs, analysts say, and the coronavirus outbreak is speeding up the process. "People usually say they want a human element to their interactions but Covid-19 has changed t ... Read more
2020-04-19 21:23:44
Google blocking 18m coronavirus scam emails every day
Scammers are sending 18 million hoax emails about Covid-19 to Gmail users every day, according to Google. The tech giant says the pandemic has led to an explosion of phishing attacks in which criminals try to trick users into revealing personal data. The company said it was blocking more than 100 million phishing emails a day. Over the past week, almost a fifth were scam emails related to corona ... Read more
2020-04-19 21:23:14
Coronavirus: Electricity use up during day as nation works from home
Home energy use is up by up to 30% during the middle of the day, new analysis by energy firms reveals. Much of the population is working from home and schools have closed, meaning home computers and televisions are busier than ever. The highest peak is at lunchtime, when cooking is added to the power consumption of working from home. But overall, the country is actually using less energy becaus ... Read more
2020-04-17 21:00:45
Tech Tent: Learning to code during lockdown
Could one of the few upsides to the current health crisis be that a generation of young people acquire new digital skills? On this week's Tech Tent podcast, we hear how parents are using the lockdown to get children interested in coding. Listen to the latest Tech Tent podcast on BBC Sounds Listen live every Friday at 15.00 GMT on the BBC World Service Take Ruth Moore and her sons Reuben an ... Read more
2020-04-17 21:00:25