For the last 28 years, I have written a prediction column for the new year. I study our research and look for trends that provide hints of what might impact the tech industry in the near future. In 2017, be on the lookout for augmented reality products (more so than VR), the further development of autonomous vehicles and smart cities, and the impact of the […]
Doctoral student Shuo Li shakes hands with an optoelectronically innervated prosthesis. Credit: Huichan Zhao/Provided Most robots achieve grasping and tactile sensing through motorized means, which can be excessively bulky and rigid. A Cornell group has devised a way for a soft robot to feel its surroundings internally, in much the same way humans do. A group led by Robert Shepherd, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering […]
The murky moral maze of the Middle East’s burgeoning home-help industry comes under the spotlight in A Maid for Each, a stark documentary that had its regional premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival on December 10. Most of this sobering film takes place inside the cramped confines of a small, but thriving, agency in Beirut, Lebanon, that matches well-off families with incoming immigrant workers. The cameras […]
Boeing officials, already dismayed by Mr. Trump’s attack last week over the costs of a new Air Force One, acknowledged that the Iran jet deal still faced contingencies — a polite way of saying they were deeply worried about whether Mr. Trump and the Republican-led Congress would support it. Continue reading the main story Beyond that deal, Boeing and other companies that export jet engines, high-tech products […]
2016 was a big year for VR (Image: Jake Smith/ZDNet) Virtual reality isn’t some weird concept coming in the distant future. It’s here. It’s been a major year in VR, with many consumer options now on the market from big hardware players in time for Christmas 2016’s shopping rush. We saw the breakout of Facebook, Google, Sony, and others with their first headsets aimed at the masses. […]
Apple’s products are arguably very polarizing in terms of specs and value, with some opening that there’s no shortage of cheaper and more powerful alternatives eclipsing the Cupertino company’s products in the market. However, one thing people can all agree on, Apple or non-Apple fan, is that all its products are very fragile pieces of technology, often ending up looking like props from a Michael Bay film […]
By Tife Owolabi | UYO, Nigeria UYO, Nigeria At least 100 people were killed by the collapse of a church in southeastern Nigeria, a resident and photojournalist who visited a morgue said on Sunday, but officials put the death toll at just 27. “At Uyo teaching hospital where I am now I could see over a hundred corpses, many are heaped on top off each other on […]
DUBAI // Dubai has invested Dh120m in 19 projects in the first stage of the emirate’s Future Accelerators Programme, which ended on Sunday. The investments are in projects in education, health, infrastructure, transport, technology, energy, and security. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is “leading a government system that encourages unconventional thinking to achieve unprecedented results”, said Mohammed Al Gergawi, managing director of […]
By Doina Chiacu and Howard Schneider | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump rejected as “ridiculous” reported U.S. intelligence findings that Russia intervened in the presidential election on his behalf through targeted hacking, saying he did not believe it, according to an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” The Republican president-elect’s comments casting doubt on reported U.S. intelligence findings pits him against some leading foreign policy voices in […]
An astounding 60 percent of employees have been given their walking papers at Yik Yak, a chat app particularly popular among college students. The massive layoff saw the 50-strong startup reduced to a motley crew of 20 on Dec. 8. Yik Yak Layoff The recent development has been surprising for tech industry observers because Yik Yak has managed to raise $73.5 million from investors since it began its […]
Uncover some of the cool new features hidden in iOS 10. Here is a quick rundown of some of the new features contained in the latest iOS 10 update that you might have missed. While most of these should be available on all devices that support iOS 10, some will only be available on newer devices. See also: How to make the rechargeable battery in your smartphone, […]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched a spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center on Friday, Dec. 9 that carried a magnetic tether designed to move vast amounts of space junk from the Earth’s orbit. Help From 106-Year-Old Fishing Net Maker The magnetic tether made of steel wire and aluminum strands was made with the help of a fishing net company based in Japan, the 106-year-old Nitto Seimo […]
A super flexible liquid crystal (LC) device has been developed, in which two ultra-thin plastic substrates are firmly bonded by polymer wall spacers. (via WSJ)
The constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) is especially rich in galaxies, due in part to the presence of a massive and gravitationally-bound collection of over 1,300 galaxies called the Virgo Cluster. One particular member of this cosmic community, NGC 4388, is captured in this image, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). (via WSJ)
By Laila Bassam and John Davison | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT Syrian’s military and Russian warplanes bombarded rebel-held districts of Aleppo on Saturday as Damascus’s allies said victory was near, but insurgents fought back and army advances halted after rapid gains during the week. The United States said it was meeting a Russian team in Geneva to find a way to save lives, but an agreement looked […]
In this part of the world, the debate is not just theoretical. Terrorism is an everyday reality, and the role that Facebook and other social media sites may play in inspiring it generates deep emotion. Israel has pushed to combat online provocation that it links to bloodshed. Palestinians consider a crackdown on Facebook posts just another tool of repression by an occupying power. Continue reading the main […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 10, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Film screenings Enjoy two films as part of the Cinema Space screenings at Manarat Al Saadiyat. Tales of the Night is a 2011 family-friendly animated film by Michel Ocelot that tells six […]
By Nate Raymond | NEW YORK NEW YORK A Colombian butcher accused of working with members of the Venezuelan military to facilitate shipments of massive loads of cocaine from South America to the United States was sentenced on Friday to five years in a U.S. prison. Gersain Viafara-Mina, 50, wept as U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan imposed the maximum sentence he faced after pleading guilty […]
Google has updated Chrome web browser for Android on Dec. 6, and version 55 is now rolling out across the Play Store. The update to the Google Chrome browser for Android increases its functionalities comprehensively. The updated Chrome 55 (55.0.2883.84) also brings stability and performance fixes and new features galore. We check out the new features and functionalities that version 55 of Chrome for Android brings users’ way. Reduces […]
(Image: file photo) The good news is developers are looking very closely at Linux’s core code for possible security holes. The bad news is they’re finding them. At least the best news is that they’re fixing them as soon as they’re uncovered. The latest three kernel vulnerabilities are designated CVE-2016-8655, CVE-2016-6480, and CVE-2016-6828. Of these, CVE-2016-8655 is the worst of the bunch. It enables local users, which […]
Astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency captured this photograph from the International Space Station on Nov. 25, 2016, and shared it on social media, writing, “Sunrises. We experience 16 sunrises every 24 hours on the International Space Station as it takes us 90 minutes to do a complete orbit of our planet flying at 28,800 km/h.” Source link
What are Australia’s policy options for responding to the internet threats of 2022? This question was explored in the 360° Cyber Game conducted jointly by RAND Corporation and the National Security College (NSC) at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra on Thursday. RAND has conducted two of these games before, in Washington DC and in Silicon Valley, and has written up the methodology and results in […]
08 December 2016 “The power and energy landscape in Africa is undergoing significant change” says Evan Schiff, African Utility Week event director, adding that current trends include “the availability of private investment for power and energy projects, the fast development of energy storage, renewable energy is becoming cheaper, gas that is an increasingly attractive mode of power generation in Africa, and that in the next 10 years, […]
Dropbox is often the choice solution for file storage in the cloud, but the problem is that as smartphones proliferate the market, widespread internet coverage is slow to follow suit, so accessing the cloud is not always an easy feat when physically moving from place to place. In this case, cloud-based file storage basically becomes useless on a smartphone. Dropbox previously enabled a solution for this by allowing […]
