MOSCOW: A “state-of-the-art” robot that appeared in a report on Russia’s main TV news channel was revealed by internet users on Wednesday to be a man in a costume. The Rossiya 24 rolling news channel on Tuesday broadcast footage of what it presented as a dancing, singing robot at a technology forum for school pupils. “At the forum there’s the...
KATHMANDU: "Please enjoy your meal," says Nepal’s first robot waiter, Ginger, as she delivers a plate of steaming dumplings to a table of hungry customers. The poor Himalayan nation is better known for its soaring mountain peaks than technological prowess, but a group of self-taught young innovators are seeking to change that. Local start-up Paaila Technology built Ginger, a 1.5...
Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia. "As we've continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts," head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in an update posted at the social network. While stressing the challenge...
WASHINGTON: What is next for the smartphone, which has become the hottest-selling consumer device around the world in just over a decade? Even as top makers like Apple and Samsung unveil new handsets with new features and improved performance, smartphone sales have flattened with most major markets largely saturated. The next catalyst for smartphones could be the possibilities offered by...
GREENBELT, United States: Some 78 million miles (126 million kilometers) from Earth, alone on the immense and frigid Red Planet, a robot the size of a small 4x4 wakes up just after sunrise. And just as it has every day for the past six years, it awaits its instructions. Around 9:30 Mars time, a message arrives from California, where it...
SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter made another attempt to make users’ tallies of followers more accurate, subtracting millions of suspicious followers which had reappeared on the social media service since a major purge in July. Twitter is under pressure to tackle its problem of fake users, which are a turn-off for investors and advertisers and have led to scrutiny from US Congress....
Facebook on Friday said it will no longer require employees to resolve sexual harassment claims via arbitration, mirroring a move by Google. The change of workplace rules at the world´s leading social network will allow complaints of such improprieties to be aired openly in court. "Today, we are publishing our updated Workplace Relationships policy and amending our arbitration agreements to...
LONDON: China’s Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 8 Pro smartphone in London Thursday, making a UK debut as the tech giant ramps up its European presence before an expected American launch next month. Xiaomi, which is looking to gain ground on rivals Apple, Huawei and Samsung, revealed the flagship product at a launch event at the Barbican Centre. The Mi 8...
SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone in San Francisco on Wednesday, urging Android developers to start writing apps for it. The South Korean tech company needs to get the foldable phone right to reverse steep declines in profit for its mobile division and restore some of the cachet its brand has lost to Apple. Foldable phones promise the...
SAN FRANCISCO: Public databases that shine a light on online political ads — launched by Facebook and Google offer the public the first broad view of how quickly the companies yank advertisements that break their rules. The databases also provided campaigns unprecedented insight into opponents’ online marketing, enabling them to capitalize on weaknesses, political strategists told Reuters. Facebook and Google,...
ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry urged tech giants YouTube and WhatsApp to combat hate mongering, two days after Twitter suspended Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi's handle over the government's complaint. “It is so welcoming that giants like Twitter and Facebook are now fully committed to regulate their platforms to combat the menace of fake news and...
HONG KONG: Tencent Holdings will expand an addiction-prevention system for underage gamers to all of its games, the company said on Monday, as the industry faces increased government scrutiny. A “healthy gaming” system that includes time limits on daily play and can perform facial recognition-aided ID checks, already in use on Tencent’s most popular Honour of Kings smartphone game, will...
WASHINGTON: Twitter has deleted thousands of automated accounts, many posing as Democrats, that were posting tweets encouraging US voters to sit out Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections, according to media reports. The reports cited a Twitter statement on Friday as saying the social media company had “removed a series of accounts for engaging in attempts to share disinformation in an automated...
WASHINGTON: Google’s top lobbyist in Washington is stepping aside as the U.S. technology company faces criticism on Capitol Hill on issues including privacy protections and its investment plans in China, the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) unit said on Friday. Former U.S. Representative Susan Molinari, who has run Google’s Washington office and its Americas Policy team for nearly seven years, will move...
LAHORE: Mobile phone services, on Friday restored in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala, Newsone reported. Mobile service was suspended pertaining to the call of strike by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) against the release of Aasia Bibi in blasphemy case. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted earlier that mobile phone services in "Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujranwala would be blocked today from 8am...
TOKYO: Japan’s space agency on Monday launched a rocket carrying a satellite that will monitor greenhouse gases, as well as the first satellite built entirely in the United Arab Emirates. The nation’s H-IIA rocket lifted off Monday afternoon at 1:08 pm (0308 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Centre, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). About 16 minutes later,...
For years, Swedish video creator PewDiePie has dominated YouTube, raking in the most subscribers of any channel on the platform. Felix Kjellberg — PewDiePie's real name — has been the most popular YouTube channel for five years. He currently has more than 67 million subscribers. Now, the growth of one particular channel on Google's video sharing service threatens to usurp...
