IT News Review by Control F5 Software: A startup is working to bring humanoid robots into people's homes
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A three-person robotics startup is working with designer Yves Béhar to bring humanoids into people's homes
A small startup, Kind Humanoid, led by Christoph Kohstall, is working to create humanoid robots for the home with a design influenced by Yves Béhar. Their prototype, Mona, is designed to provide assistance in the home environment, focusing on care centers and homes for older adults. Unlike most robotics companies targeting industrial applications, Kind aims to address diverse home needs with affordable, mass-produced robots. Their approach avoids the "uncanny valley" effect by creating robots that appear abstract, prioritizing function and connection to the user over human likeness. The first field tests are planned for next year.
Portuguese school sets world record for biggest programming lesson
About 1 700 students aged 12 to 67 gathered Saturday at the University of Lisbon's IST technology school to set a new Guinness world record for the largest programming lesson in one place.
The previous record was held by a group of 724 participants in Dallas in the United States on October 31, 2016.
"The final total was calculated based on how many people were present and it came to 1,668 participants," said Paulina Sapinska, Guinness World Records adjudicator.WordPress.org's latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine plugin
WordPress.org has taken control of a popular WP Engine plugin to "eliminate additional commercial sales and address a security issue," WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced. This "minimal" update, which he labels as a fork of the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin, is now called "Secure Custom Fields."
It's not clear what security issue Mullenweg is referring to in the post. He writes that it "invokes paragraph 18 of the plugin directory guidelines," in which the WordPress team reserves several rights, including removing a plugin, or modifying it "without developer consent." Mullenweg explains that the move has to do with WP Engine's recent lawsuit against him and Automattic.
TikTok is cutting its workforce as it focuses on artificial intelligence to moderate content
TikTok is making significant cuts to its global workforce as part of its transition to more AI-driven content moderation. The company announced Friday that it will lay off hundreds of employees, with a major impact on its team in Malaysia.
Reports initially indicated that more than 700 employees in Malaysia were being laid off, but TikTok later clarified that the actual number was closer to 500. Most of those affected worked in content moderation roles. The employees were notified Wednesday by e-mail about the layoffs, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
Meta removes fake accounts in Moldova ahead of presidential election
Meta announced that it had removed a network of fake accounts targeting Russian-speaking Moldovans in the run-up to the country's October 20 presidential election, citing violations of its policy on inauthentic behavior.
In parallel, Moldovan authorities have blocked several Telegram channels and bots allegedly being used to bribe voters to vote "no" in the referendum on European Union membership, which is being held alongside the presidential race.Google is experimenting with displaying full recipes directly in search results
Google is testing a new feature aimed at keeping users within search results, this time targeting the recipe blogging industry.
The feature, called "Quick View," offers a streamlined experience for users searching for recipes. For example, if someone searches for a "chocolate chip cookie recipe," they might see a "Quick View" button next to a recipe on a blog like Preppy Kitchen. Clicking this button displays the entire recipe - including ingredients, photos and step-by-step instructions - right on the search page, without having to visit the recipe blog. This test was first reported by the Search Engine Roundtable blog.
Apple could launch a $2,000 VR headset in 2024
Although the Apple Vision Pro hasn't yet made waves in the tech world, the company remains committed to developing mixed reality devices that blend the digital and physical worlds.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is gearing up for another major launch in its VR lineup as early as 2024. This new headset is expected to cost around $2,000 - much less than the $3,500 Vision Pro. Apple plans to reduce the cost by using more affordable materials, a less advanced processor, and ditching the EyeSight feature, which shows the user's eyes on the outside of the headset.
Wimbledon will replace the line umpires with an electronic system in a bid for accuracy
Wimbledon is preparing to embrace technology by introducing electronic line calling (ELC), phasing out the traditional human line umpires who have been part of the tournament for nearly 150 years. The move, designed to improve the accuracy of the umpiring, has stirred mixed emotions among both fans and line callers.For decades, Wimbledon's line judges have been responsible for making crucial "out" and "foul" decisions, often at crucial moments in the match. Their on-court decisions brought both joy and pain. However, after 147 years of human involvement in refereeing, Wimbledon has announced plans to replace these officials with an electronic system from the next tournament.
M4 iMac: Updates expected later this month
Apple last updated the iMac last October last year, switching it from the M1 chip to the M3 chip. Thankfully, the iMac won't be skipping chips again, and we expect to see the M4 chip in the iMac later this year, based on TSMC's second-generation 3nm processing.
This will upgrade the iMac from an 8-core CPU to a 10-core CPU, representing a performance gain of about 20-25%.
Apple must transition all its new devices from Lightning to USB-C by the end of this year to comply with European regulations.
We should therefore expect to see USB-C on the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad bundled with the next iMac.
Google Maps has been named the best navigation app, with rivals lagging far behind
Google Maps is the world's number one navigation app, but new research by Nationwide Vehicle Contracts confirms that Google's software dominates even the biggest markets, including the United States.
Google Maps already dominates this space, and Google Play Store data confirms it. Google Maps has more than 10 billion downloads, though that figure also includes installs when setting up a new Android phone (which comes pre-loaded with Google Maps).
Amazon unveils its first full-color Kindle e-reader after years in development
Amazon has announced its first Kindle color e-reader, after years of efforts to bring the more immersive device to market.
'Kindle Colorsoft' is priced at $280, which compares with similar devices from other manufacturers available on Amazon in the $149-$330 range.'Colorsoft' relies on LEDs and other technologies to achieve the color display, according to a company statement.
Apple says support for reward redemption will come later to Apple Pay
On Thursday, Apple celebrated 10 years of Apple Pay and announced how the service will evolve in the future, including the later addition of rewards redemption and expanded installment loan options. In addition to Apple Pay's newly added support for Affirm loan options in the US and Monzo Flex in the UK, the iPhone maker shared that, as of today, support for Klarna will also be active in the two countries, including both online checkout and in-app with Apple Pay.
Further ahead, the company says it will expand access to installment loan options to include those on eligible credit or debit cards, including those from Citi and Synchrony in the US and other participating issuers with Fiserv.Tough new EU cyber legislation is off to a disastrous start, with many countries failing to adopt the rules
The European Union's tough new regulation requiring businesses to strengthen their cyber defenses is off to a slow start as many member states have failed to adopt the rules in time to meet a key implementation deadline, according to a study monitoring the directive's progress.
The EU's NIS 2 cybersecurity directive sets a high benchmark for businesses in terms of their internal cybersecurity systems and practices. It imposes stricter requirements in terms of risk management, transparency obligations and business continuity planning in the event of a cyber breach.
On Thursday, the new directive officially became applicable by member states. This means firms must now ensure their operations are compliant. However, the majority of EU member states have not yet implemented NIS 2 into their national laws, meaning implementation is likely to be insignificant.
Google Photos introduces video player transformation
Google Photos is set to introduce a modernized video player interface with distinct volume and pause buttons for an improved user experience.
The updated search bar has a new dotted design and offers haptic feedback, improving video scrolling functionality.
Users will be able to double-tap the left and right sides of the video to scroll backward or forward five seconds, adding more intuitive controls.
Synthesis made possible with a monitoring feed provided by Control F5 Software.
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