SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new lineup of powered-up iPads including some with 5G connectivity, responding to surging interest in tablets and home-based work and play during the pandemic. The California tech giant also introduced a redesigned suite of iMac computers with a sleeker look and more power thanks to its own M1 chips. The M1 chip is also powering the new lineup of iPad Pro tablets unveiled at […]
Tag: IT
Facebook restores news for Australian users after media bargaining deal
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Facebook on Friday restored access to news for its Australian users after reaching agreement with the government on a landmark law requiring it and other tech firms to pay for journalistic content. The Facebook pages of Australian news outlets were able to update from early Friday morning for the first time in a week, since the social media slapped a ban on news content being seen Down Under in a dispute […]
Australia passes landmark law requiring tech firms to pay for news
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Facebook and Google will be forced to pay for Australian news under legislation passed Thursday that is being closely watched globally for precedents in the battle between Big Tech and media companies. The world-first law passed easily after the Australian government agreed to water down elements most fiercely opposed by the tech giants, in return for both agreeing to negotiate paid deals with local […]
Facebook adds new tools to fight online child exploitation
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday said it is stepping up its fight against child abuse with new tools for spotting such content and tighter rules about what crosses the line. “Using our apps to harm children is abhorrent and unacceptable,” global head of safety Antigone Davis said in a blog post. “We are developing targeted solutions, including new tools and policies to reduce the sharing of this type of content.” The […]
Microsoft rides cloud to higher earnings
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Tuesday said its profit in the recently ended quarter continued to soar as the pandemic boosted a trend toward business being taken care of in the internet cloud. The US technology titan’s profit rose to $13.9 billion, up 30 percent from the same quarter last year, according to earnings figures. Revenue in the quarter climbed 12 percent to $37.2 billion. “Demand for our cloud offerings drove a […]
TikTok cracks down on hate of religions and races
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Video snippet sharing sensation TikTok on Wednesday said it is cracking down on hateful content, banning anti-Semitic stereotypes and white nationalism posts. Expanded rules against promoting hateful ideologies at TikTok include barring “misinformation and hurtful stereotypes” about Jewish, Muslim and other communities, the company said in a blog post. “This includes misinformation about notable Jewish individuals and families who are used as proxies to spread anti-Semitism,” TikTok said. […]
Netflix reports slowing subscriber growth; shares slide
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse Netflix shares slid on Tuesday after the US streaming television titan reported that subscriber growth slowed in the recently ended quarter, after booming in the early days of the pandemic. While Netflix added 28.1 million paying subscribers so far this year, only 2.2 million of them came in the third quarter, the company said in an earnings release letter. “We think this is primarily due to our record […]
Twitter service restored following global platform outage
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter service appeared to be restored Thursday evening after a technical problem caused a global outage of nearly two hours on the social media platform used by hundreds of millions worldwide. The outage marked a new setback for the network, which is fending off accusations of bias over its decision to block a news report critical of Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden. “Twitter has been down for […]
Apple joins 5G revolution with four new iPhones for fast networks
by Julie JAMMOT / with Rob Lever in Washington SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple joined the move to 5G on Tuesday, unveiling four new iPhones that use the new standard in what could be a turning point for the high-speed wireless technology. “Today is the beginning of a new era for iPhone,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said during a streamed launch event from the company’s headquarters in California. “This is a huge […]
Microsoft to let employees work from home permanently: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Software giant Microsoft will let employees work from home permanently if they choose to, US media reported on Friday, becoming the latest employer to expand work-from-home provisions prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Verge said most Microsoft employees are still at home as the health crisis drags on, and the company doesn’t expect to reopen its US offices until January of next year at the earliest. But when it […]
Trump vows to block any TikTok deal that allows Chinese control
by Rob Lever WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A deal to restructure ownership of the popular video app TikTok was thrown into doubt Monday when President Donald Trump vowed to block any deal that allows its Chinese parent firm to retain any control. The comments raised fresh concerns over a weekend deal that appeared to avert a US-ordered ban of TikTok, which the Trump administration has called a national security risk and has threatened to […]
US government receives Oracle bid for TikTok
by John BIERS WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US officials were to consider a bid by tech giant Oracle to become an American partner to the Chinese-owned TikTok video app after it was designated a national security risk. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed the offer Monday concerning TikTok’s US operations after its parent company ByteDance rejected a proposal from Microsoft. TikTok said in a statement that “we’ve submitted a proposal to the Treasury Department which […]





