Author Archives: angel

Mastercard is to stop issuing cards with a magnetic strip. By 2033, none of its debit or credit cards will have a strip, with banks in many regions including Europe able to issue the strip-less cards from 2024. The UK moved to chip-and-pin for all card payments in 2006, but in the US, some magnetic […]

The technology that currently powers landline telephones is to be switched off in 2025 – but don’t panic, you will still be able to have a handset in the hallway should you wish. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a modern version of 19th Century technology – it is what brings the connection into […]

The UK’s CCTV watchdog has criticised a Chinese firm for not saying if its cameras are used in Uyghur internment camps. Professor Fraser Sampson, said: “If your company wasn’t involved in these awful places wouldn’t you be very keen to say so?” In July, MPs said Hikvision provided the “primary camera technology” used in Uyghur […]

Apple says its announcement of automated tools to detect child sexual abuse on the iPhone and iPad was “jumbled pretty badly”. On 5 August, the company revealed new image detection software that can alert Apple if known illegal images are uploaded to its iCloud storage. Privacy groups criticised the news, with some saying Apple had […]

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong has been released from a South Korean prison and is now on parole. He served 207 days in jail – just over half the sentence he received after being convicted of bribery and embezzlement in January. The case involved the country’s former President Park Guen-hye, who is also in jail for […]

Apple has defended its new system that scans users’ phones for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), after a backlash from customers and privacy advocates. The technology searches for matches of known abuse material before the image is uploaded to its iCloud storage. Critics warned it could be a “backdoor” to spy on people, and more […]

Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and one of the world’s richest men, has been granted New Zealand residency under a category for wealthy investors. Applicants are required to invest at least NZ$10m ($7m, £5m) in New Zealand over three years. Mr Page entered New Zealand in January, when its borders were still closed because of Covid-19. […]

Huawei revealed its biggest-ever decline in revenue in the first half of 2021 – it fell by almost 30% to Rmb320 billion (£35.5 billion). The firm sold part of its mobile phone business following US sanctions, which analysts say contributed to the drop. Sanctions make it hard for Huawei to buy components and software using […]

Apple has announced details of a system to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on customers’ devices. Before an image is stored onto iCloud Photos, the technology will search for matches of already known CSAM. Apple said that if a match is found a human reviewer will then assess and report the user to law […]

Blizzard Entertainment president J Allen Brack has “stepped down”, the World of Warcraft and Call of Duty game-maker says. Parent company Activision Blizzard said Mr Brack was “leaving the company to pursue new opportunities”. California is suing the company, alleging a workplace culture of sexism and harassment. Activision Blizzard denies this allegation and has called […]