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How to make Windows 11 run better on old, cheap devices

4 years 8 months ago

Microsoft is working on a new update for Windows 11 that will make the new operating system (OS) run better on dated and inexpensive hardware.

Windows 11 Build 22526 has currently been made available to members of the Insider early access programme with multiple enhancements and fixes, Techradar reported. It is yet not clear when the update will be rolled out to the public.


Though most of the new features are minor, the software giant is using this update to try out a new file location indexing system, hoping that the build will enable users to find out important files even faster using File Explorer.

The File Explorer of the recently released Windows 11 works very slow and is still prone to frequent crashes. Users often have to suffer due to the slowness of the Search functionality.

It takes a long time to return relevant searches if users have stored a huge number of files in the built-in hard drive.

The new update could help you cruise through large number of files more quickly.

More importantly, it will be very helpful for users who are running Windows 11 on cheap and dated devices that suffer lengthy load times affecting performance.

Other upgrades that will be released in the upcoming Windows 11 update include wideband speech support which will improve the audio quality of voice calls if you are using products such as Apple Airpods.

There will also be a new “windowed” system to the popular Alt + Tan functionality.

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White House will meet execs from Apple, Amazon, IBM to discuss software security

4 years 8 months ago

 A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

The White House will meet with executives from major tech companies, including Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc, , to discuss software security after the United States have suffered several major cyber attacks last year.

 In December, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan sent a letter to CEOs of tech companies after  a security vulnerability was discovered in open source software called Log4j that organizations around the world are using. to save data in their applications. 

In the letter, Sullivan noted that this open source software is widely used and maintained by volunteers and is a "major national security problem." 

Thursday's meeting, which will be hosted by the Deputy National Security Advisor for Information Technology and Emerging Technologies. discuss concerns about the security of open source software and how it can be improved, the White House said in a statement.

Other top tech companies in attendance at the meeting will include IBM (IBM.N), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) which owns Facebook and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N). Government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and the Commerce Department, will also be in attendance.

Cybersecurity has been a top priority for the Biden administration after several major cyberattacks last year, which exposed thousands of records held by companies and government agencies to hackers.

One hack, which the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached software made by SolarWinds (SWI.N) and gave hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used its products. The hackers got access to emails at the U.S. Treasury, Justice and Commerce departments, and other agencies.

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AstraZeneca says third dose helps against Omicron

4 years 8 months ago
A test tube labelled with the Vaccine is seen in front of AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

AstraZeneca said on Thursday that preliminary data from a trial showed that its COVID-19 shot, Vaxzevria, generated an increase in antibodies against the Omicron and other variants when given as a third booster dose.

The increased response, also against the Delta variant, was seen in a blood analysis of people who were previously vaccinated with either Vaxzevria or an mRNA vaccine, the drugmaker said, adding that it would submit this data to regulators worldwide given the urgent need for boosters.

AstraZeneca has developed the vaccine with researchers from the University of Oxford, and lab studies conducted by the university last month already found a three-dose course of Vaxzevria boosted antibody levels in the blood against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

The brief statement on Thursday, which did not include specific data, was the first by AstraZeneca on the protective potential of Vaxzevria as a booster shot following a two shot-course of either an mRNA based vaccine or Vaxzevria. Vaccines base on mRNA technology are made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna.

The company said the findings “add to the growing body of evidence supporting Vaxzevria as a third dose booster irrespective of the primary vaccination schedules tested”.

The data on Vaxzevria’s potential as a booster came from a comparative analysis in a trial testing a redesigned vaccine which uses the vector technology behind Vaxzevria but targeting the now-superseded Beta variant. AstraZeneca is trying to show the Beta-specific vaccine has potential also against other variants and more trial data is expected during the first half of the year.

Separately, Oxford University and AstraZeneca last month started work on a vaccine specifically targeting Omicron though Astra – as well as other vaccine makers in similar development projects – have said it was not yet clear whether such an upgrade was needed.

A major British trial in December found that AstraZeneca’s shot increased antibodies when given as a booster after initial vaccination with its own shot or Pfizer’s, but that was before the explosive spread of the Omicron variant.

However, the study at the time concluded that mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna gave a biggest boost to antibodies when given as a third dose.

AstraZeneca and its contract manufacturing partners have supplied over 2.5 billion doses globally of its vaccine, even though it is not approved in the United States, while BioNTech-Pfizer have shipped about 2.6 billion doses.

Source: ARY News


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Omicron May Infect Half of Europeans Within Weeks, WHO Says

4 years 8 months ago

Image Credit:CIPhotos via Getty Images
 More than half of Europe's population could become infected with omicron within weeks at current transmission speeds, a World Health Organization official said.

The fast-spreading variant represents a "west-to-east tsunami sweeping  the region," Hans Kluge, WHO regional director  for Europe, said in a briefing Tuesday. 

He cited  the Institute for  Metrics and Health Assessment forecast that most Europeans could take it within the next six to eight weeks.

The latest Covid  surge has  resulted in fewer symptomatic cases and lower death rates than in previous waves, fueling optimism that the pandemic may subside. 

However, the WHO has repeatedly warned against underestimating the Omicron strain as mild. Kluge said hospital admission rates are increasing. In Europe, it puts pressure on health systems. 

On the flip side, another WHO official said it was too early to consider  COVID-19 is entering an endemic phase, an issue the Spanish government has proposed to discuss. An endemic phase would see "stable spread of the virus at a predictable level", but what we are currently seeing for 2022 is nowhere near that, "said Catherine Smallwood,  WHO Europe Chief Emergency Officer." We still have great uncertainty. 

We still have a virus that evolves pretty quickly and brings new challenges, "he said." We are certainly not at the point where we can call it endemic.

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Microsoft Discovered New 'Powerdir' macOS Vulnerability, Fixed in 12.1 Update

4 years 8 months ago

This morning, Microsoft's 365 Defender research team released details of a new macOS "Powerdir"  vulnerability that allows an attacker to bypass transparency, consent, and control technology to gain unauthorized access to protected data. 

Apple has already fixed vulnerability CVE-2021-30970  in the macOS Monterey 12.1 Update released in December, so users who have upgraded to the latest version of Monterey are protected. Those who haven't should update. Apple in its Security Release Notes for Update 12.1  confirmed the vulnerability of TCC  and attributed its discovery to Microsoft.


According to Microsoft, the "Powerdir" security vulnerability could allow the installation of a fake TCC database. 

TCC is a long-lasting macOS feature that allows users to configure the privacy settings of their apps, and with the fake database, an attacker could hijack an app installed on a Mac or install their own malicious app by gaining access to the microphone and the camera to obtain confidential information. 

Microsoft has a detailed description of how the vulnerability works, and the company says  its security researchers continue to "monitor the threat landscape" for new vulnerabilities and attack techniques affecting macOS and other non-Windows devices.

"Software vendors like Apple, security researchers, and the larger security community, need to continuously work together to identify and fix vulnerabilities before attackers can take advantage of them," wrote Microsoft's security team.

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PSA: Redownload your Harry Potter e-books from Pottermore before they disappear for good

4 years 8 months ago
An email sent to customers warning them about the change. Image:Pottermore

If you've purchased Harry Potter eBooks from Pottermore, you may want to re-download your copies before the option is gone for good at the end of the month. The site sends an email to its customers to inform them that the books will no longer be available for a new download after January 31, since it was withdrawn from sale in September of last year.

When it launched  in 2012, Pottermore was the only official way to download digital copies of the Harry Potter books. Despite department stores like Amazon running promotions for  titles, which are among the best-selling books of all time, stores would route customers to Pottermore to finalize the sale (retailers like Amazon would have gotten a discount anyway. ).

But income of the e-books reportedly declined over the years, and in 2015 they have been made to be had at once from different online shops. Digitally better editions released on Apple’s e-books store in October 2015, and releases on different digital shops like Amazon accompanied later that year. Pottermore subsequently morphed into WizardingWorld.com in 2019.
Although the option to redownload current book purchases from Pottermore will disappear for appropriate on the quit of the month, it shouldn’t be too difficult to maintain on in your current virtual copy.
On Twitter, Ryan C. Gordon notes that current downloads include a DRM-free .epub document, that you must be capable of switch to any new e-readers withinside the future (aleven though you need to convert the .epub document to make it readable on a Kindle).
Just make certain to stash the document someplace secure in case you don’t need to pay once more for books you already very own withinside the future.


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Shazam launches Chrome Extension to identify what’s playing in any tab, but it’s broken for some [U]

4 years 8 months ago

Apple-owned Shazam has just released a Chrome Extension that works to identify what’s playing in your “Netflix or YouTube video, that Soundcloud mix or in a Twitch streamed video game,” but it doesn’t work for all users just yet. 

After installation, Shazam exists in the Chrome Extensions drop-down menu to the right of the address bar and can be pinned like the others to always be handy.
Tap the blue icon to open a rectangular pop-up asking for another "Click Shazam". While listening, you are told "do not update or close this tab". Once recognized, there is a shortcut to play the entire song in Apple Music (login required), while you can “get lyrics, music videos and more with just one click”. The plugin's main page  has a drop-down menu to view your “Shazam Browser Song History”.
It is not possible to log into your Shazam account and sync the songs you previously identified on your phone. It would be very useful. The extension, according to reviews from the Chrome Web Store, was released in late 2021.

Shazam appears to have only announced its existence on the Android app update website and list.One reason why it could be that it does not work anyway for all users.

The Shazam extension, after testing on macOS and Chrome OS today, fails to find a match even after a minute. (No fail state is shown.) The same songs on YouTube and Soundcloud are quickly identified using the mobile application. That said, some users in the reviews say they have gotten it to work.


This extension compliments the Shazam Mac App, which was last updated in February of 2020. The Chrome offering might be the new desktop strategy moving forward as it offers wider reach.



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Samsung appears set to launch the Galaxy S22 on February 8

4 years 8 months ago
Image Credit:Letsgodigital

Samsung's launch plans over the past two years have been unusual, but it looks like the company's next flagship could be a return to normal. According to a new rumor, the Galaxy S22 launch date could be February 8.


Korean media outlet DDaily.co.kr reports that Samsung is planning a launch event for its Galaxy S22 series on February 8. The outlet claims that Samsung has "confirmed" the date with "Galaxy Unpacked 2022" to be held virtually online. 

Invitations would be sent out later this month, but it's unclear whether there will be an in-person component for the launch, but MWC 2022 could open the door to in-person screenings later this month. 

To this day, MWC 2022 is still  to be held in person in Barcelona from February 28 to March 3. Apparently, pre-orders for the Galaxy S22, S22 +, and S22 Ultra will begin on February 9, with sales starting February 24. 

That's about a month after the Galaxy S21 series debuted - that series arrived on January 29 for general sale. The Galaxy Tab S8 series is expected to arrive alongside the Galaxy S22, with three variants including a large Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

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OnePlus 10 Pro finally launches in China with full specs and details

4 years 8 months ago

Renders of the OnePlus 10 Pro phone in Emerald Forest and Volcanic Black colors. The phone was officially revealed on January 11, 2022.(Photo:-OnePlus)

After giving details on its new flagship phone  last week, OnePlus has finally unveiled the OnePlus 10 Pro in China.

Even now, there are still a few things in the mystery, like the introductory price when it goes on sale in China on January 13 or when it is available elsewhere (OnePlus has  said it will only be launched globally. 'in 2022). But what we do know is that with powerful specs and sharp cameras, the OnePlus 10 Pro could be one of the best phones to release in 2022.

These details OnePlus dropped up until now confirmed that the OnePlus 10 Pro would pack the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and run on the company's OxygenOS 12 (based on Android 12), which folds in "feature-rich" parts of Oppo's ColorOS for the first time. 


That's still true and we now know the phone will pack the Snapdragon X65 modem, which supports more 5G networks, frequencies and bandwidths along with increasing the maximum download speeds to 10Gbps. While you probably won't hit that cap with today's carriers, the new X65 should provide faster and more consistent 5G speeds. The OnePlus 10 Pro also will have up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, which are the same specs as last year's OnePlus 9 Pro.


The 6.7-inch OLED display is the same size as its predecessor's. It has a maximum 120Hz refresh rate that makes browsing the internet or gaming very smooth, though it adaptively cranks the rate down to even 1Hz (or one frame per second) during low-demand tasks to save battery life. The phone comes in two colors: a seafoam

OnePlus has confirmed that its new phone will inherit last year's rear camera setup, too: a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel telephoto camera and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera with a maximum 150-degree field of view. The 10 Pro will get an improved 32-megapixel camera, which should take sharper photos than the 16-megapixel selfie camera on its predecessor.


As the second generation of OnePlus phones to have Hasselblad-tuned-cameras, the OnePlus 10 Pro's photo capabilities have been refined in a handful of ways. First is an improved Pro Mode that takes photos in 12-bit RAW+, a new format that combines the rich data capture of RAW with on-device image processing to give shots more accurate colors.
When taking more casual photos, all three rear cameras have 10-bit color for over 1 billion possible hues.

Hasselblad's influence is also visible in Master Mode, which features three filters refined by professional photographers and artists that make shooting fashion, wildlife and urban spaces  more stylized and unique. For videos, the new Movie mode lets you change settings like ISO, shutter speed, and white balance even while recording for precise control over focus and lighting.
The 10 Pro's 5,000mAh battery is the largest of a OnePlus flagship phone, but it's the 80-watt wired charging that will set it apart from the competition.


The company claims it will bring the phone from 1% up to full charge in a very  32 specific minutes. The phone also supports wireless charging up to 50 watts, which will charge a  nearly dead phone in 47 minutes, OnePlus estimates.

 
On paper, the OnePlus 10 Pro appears to be a serious contender for the best phones in 2022, although it will have to wait until we can test it at an undetermined later date at a price not yet announced.

 

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Crypto CEO becomes one of the world's richest billionaires

4 years 8 months ago


"Zhao Changpeng has become the world's biggest cryptocurrency billionaire(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the richest people on the planet.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who manages the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has joined the ranks of the world's top billionaires, with an estimated net worth of at least $96 billion, according to new calculations from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published Monday. 

Zhao's predicted fortune now rivals that of Oracle founder (ORCL)  Larry Ellison and surpasses that of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian tycoon whose fortune has also skyrocketed in the past two years.

The rise of the Canadian-Chinese entrepreneur is emblematic of the rapid creation of wealth in the rapidly evolving world of digital currencies. 

Last year, other cryptocurrency founders also saw huge gains as the value of virtual coins rallied, with Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong both becoming billionaires.

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, another cryptocurrency exchange  backed by Binance, said on Tuesday  "unprecedented  wealth creation  in the industry in recent years." 

I think there are a lot of people out there trying to figure out what to do with [that], ”said Friedman, who  is a young billionaire himself, in a live chat on stage at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. 

On Twitter Monday, Zhao also appeared to acknowledge  the  distinction "Don't worry about the ranking.

" Focus on how many people you can help, ”he wrote. 

A Binance spokesperson told CNN Business that “CZ intends to give up most of its wealth, even 99% of its wealth, along with other entrepreneurs and founders. 

In recent years, others Famous business leaders, such as Facebook CEO (FB)  Mark Zuckerberg,  signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative started by Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates to encourage the world's richest to donate the majority of their fortune to charity. 

Zhao launched Binance in 2017, gradually turning it into one of the  largest cryptocurrency exchanges. 

According to a  blog post on the company, the executive grew up in an immigrant family in Canada and previously worked at McDonald's to  support his family, and Bloomberg.

Zhao continued in another tweet on Tuesday, saying, “Unpopular Opinion: Instead of rankings of wealth, there should be a ranking of charitable and philanthropic efforts.

"He then learned about bitcoin in 2013 during a game of poker, after which he decided to go all-in on crypto by dedicating his life to it," according to Binance. "He even sold his apartment to buy bitcoin."

Like other exchanges, Binance has faced significant regulatory hurdles around the world in recent months, including a ban in the United Kingdom and other restrictions in countries including Canada.

Zhao has publicly addressed the setbacks, writing in an open letter last year that "clear regulations are critical for continued growth."

"More regulations are, in fact, positive signs that an industry is maturing," he added. "Because this sets the foundation for a broader population to feel safe to participate in crypto.

"He then learned about bitcoin in 2013 during a game of poker, after which he decided to go all-in on crypto by dedicating his life to it," according to Binance. "He even sold his apartment to buy bitcoin."

Like other exchanges, Binance has faced significant regulatory hurdles around the world in recent months, including a ban in the United Kingdom and other restrictions in countries including Canada.

Zhao has publicly addressed the setbacks, writing in an open letter last year that "clear regulations are critical for continued growth."

"More regulations are, in fact, positive signs that an industry is maturing," he added. "Because this sets the foundation for a broader population to feel safe to participate in crypto."

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Apple implies it generated record revenue from the App Store during 2021

4 years 8 months ago

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California on Monday, June 4, 2018.Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

Apple said on Monday that it paid developers $60 billion in 2021, a total of $260 billion  since the App Store launched in 2008. This is a figure that suggests App Store sales continue to grow rapidly. 

By comparison, Apple said  it had paid developers a total of $155 billion in 2019 since the App Store launched in 2008.

 

And at the end of 2020, it said it had paid $200 billion, an increase of $ 45billion. Monday's figures show a jump of $60 billion.


The statistic came as  part of a larger announcement from Apple intended to show momentum for its services business, which is an important signal for investors and analysts, who love to see Apple  making money not just by selling hardware, but also  selling services and applications to its customers, such as application downloads. 

Apple payments to developers accounts for  between 70% and 85% of Apple's gross total  from its App Store, which absorbs between 15% and 30% of sales from digital purchases made in apps.

In the past, it was possible to roughly estimate total Apple App Store revenue by assuming developer payouts were 30% of  total Apple App Store sales. But, over the past year, the company has changed its pricing structure several times in response to regulators and legal challenges. 

Notably, in 2021, Apple introduced the Small Business program, which reduced commissions to 15% for developers earning less than $1 million per year. It is estimated that up to  98% of App Store developers fall into this category, but this is only a small fraction of total sales. Apple also introduced a  news apps program that would cut rates to 15% if they provided content to Apple News in August. 

For all developers, even Apple is only asking for 15% of the second year  subscription, instead of 30%.

 

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BlackBerry 5G smartphone with physical keyboard officially confirmed for launch again

4 years 8 months ago

Image Credit: TCL

OnwardMobility, owner of the BlackBerry brand, has now reiterated its commitment to provide a BlackBerry 5G  smartphone with a physical keyboard. 

“Contrary to popular belief, we are not dead,” the company said.

OnwardMobility, early last year after acquiring the BlackBerry brand, announced that it is working on a new BlackBerry phone that offers both 5G and a physical keyboard. While no such phone was launched in 2021, the company is back with a reiteration of that promise.

The US-based company has proclaimed it is not dead and still has plans to release a BlackBerry 5G  device this year. The company attributes the lack of a launch in 2021 to the “various delays” it has exp

While there are already concept renderings of the phone, there is little  information on how exactly it looks. We expect it to primarily retain the KEY2 form factor, but with a modernized outlook. We will be sure to keep you updated.

 

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Remember That Weird 'Cube' on The Moon? Yutu-2 Finally Took Closer Pictures

4 years 8 months ago

 

The Yutu-2 image of the ‘mysterious hut’. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)The mysterious Chinese “moon cube” is no longer a mystery. The big reveal: it's a rock that doesn't even have the shape of a cube. National rover Yutu2  discovered the object - which appeared to be a gray cube looming above the lunar horizon - in early December. China's National Space Administration (CNSA) dubbed it the “mystery hut,” playfully speculating that the cube could be an alien house or a spaceship. The news called it the "moon cube".
 The CNSA estimated that the object was about 80 meters (262 feet) away, according to the blog  affiliated with the agency, and ready to point the rover towards it. The blog said it would take two or three months to reach the cube. After several weeks of preparation and driving, the rover is close enough to see that the "mystery hut" is just a rock. Its sharp geometric aspect on the horizon was a simple turn of perspective, light and shadow.
In an updated posted on Friday, Our Space published the rover's latest photo of its target, below.
Yutu-2 image of the closer rock. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)

One of the rover's ground controllers noted on the blog that the rock is shaped like a rabbit, with smaller rocks in front  that resemble a carrot. The rover's name, Yutu, means "jade rabbit," which is now also the name of the rock too.
Yutu2 reached the moon in January 2019, when the Chang'e4 lander landed on the lunar surface and launched a ramp for the rover's descent. It was the first mission to land on the opposite side of the moon. 
Over the next three years, Yutu2 traveled over 1,000 meters (3,200 feet), used ground-penetrating radar to reveal a surprisingly deep layer of lunar soil, and identified rocks in the lunar mantle, below the crust, which have been pushed to the surface. when an asteroid crashed into the moon billions of years ago.A closer look at the rock. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)

The rover has survived long past its initial three-month mission, meaning Yutu-2 had plenty free time for a wild cube chase.
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NASA completes James Webb final deployment

4 years 8 months ago
Credits: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

 NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team has fully deployed its 21-foot gold-plated primary mirror, completing the final phase of all major spacecraft deployments in preparation for scientific operations. 

As a joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history, from  the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented on the development: “Today NASA has achieved another engineering milestone that has lasted for decades. While the journey is not over, I am joining the Webb team to breathe a little easier and envision future advances that are determined. ”To inspire the world. The James Webb Space Telescope is an unprecedented mission that is about to see the light of the first galaxies and unravel the mysteries of our universe. Every achievement and every achievement in the future  is  testament to the thousands of innovators who put their  passion for life into this mission. 

The two wings of Webb's primary mirror were bent prior to launch to fit into the nose cone of an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. After more than a week of other critical spacecraft missions, Webb's team began remotely deploying the hexagonal segments of the main mirror, the largest ever launched on launch. Place.

The telescope will now begin moving its 18 primary mirror segments to align the telescope optics. The ground team will command 126 actuators on the backsides of the segments to flex each mirror – an alignment that will take months to complete. Then the team will calibrate the science instruments prior to delivering Webb’s first images this summer.

Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate in NASA Headquarters in Washington, added: “I am so proud of the team – spanning continents and decades – that delivered this first-of-its-kind achievement. Webb’s successful deployment exemplifies the best of what NASA has to offer: the willingness to attempt bold and challenging things in the name of discoveries still unknown.”

Webb will also shortly undergo a third midway correction burn - one of three designed to bring the telescope into precise orbit around the second Lagrangian point, commonly known as L2, nearly 1 million miles from Earth. This is Webb's last orbital position where his sunshade protects him from light from the sun, earth, and moon that could interfere with  infrared light observations. Webb was designed to look back over 13.5 billion years to capture infrared light from celestial objects in much higher resolution than ever before and to study our own solar system as well as distant worlds. 

Gregory L. Robinson, Director of the Webb Program at NASA Headquarters, said, “The successful completion of all  Webb space telescope missions is historic. This is the first time a NASA-led mission attempts to complete a complex sequence of observatory in space, a remarkable feat for our team, NASA, and the world.

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Apple will reportedly unveil an iPhone SE with 5G this spring

4 years 8 months ago

 The Apple logo is displayed at an event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Apple could use its now common spring event to update its cheaper smartphone. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in his latest newsletter that Apple is expected to showcase a third-generation iPhone SE this spring through a virtual presentation that "likely" will take place in March or April. Echoing past rumors, Gurman understood that the new SE would still stick to the iPhone 8-era design, but would add 5G and a new processor, possibly the A15 from the iPhone 13, when Apple's history of using the chip peaked of last year

. No other changes were mentioned. It wouldn't be surprising if Apple increased the storage to 128GB or upgraded the camera sensors (again carried over from the iPhone 8), but that's not guaranteed given Apple's low-cost approach to the iPhone SE. A larger battery may be required to compensate for the typically higher power consumption of 5G.

If the leak is true, the new iPhone SE would be disappointing to those who want a modern design that covers almost the entire screen. It would still have a relatively small screen, thick bezels, and a button-based fingerprint reader. However, as we just mentioned,  price is everything to the SE. The model's current  price of $ 399 is helping Apple reach some customers who otherwise wouldn't justify an iPhone. The company may not want to do anything that could result in a small  price increase, if only to maximize the SE's potential audience.

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The Boys Season 3 teaser goes viral

4 years 8 months ago
IMAGE - THE BOYS INSTA

Amazon Prime Video released the teaser of its action-thriller web show The Boys Season 3 on its social media platform.

The teaser of The Boys Season 3, which will be available for streaming on June 3, sees The Homelander all smiles while Starlight stood beside him. He is all smiles during the photoshoot but he gets angry with each second.

The Boys tells the story of a group of individuals taking on heroes/villains with special powers and agendas to show themselves as mankind’s saviour. Funded by Voight organization, the mutants stage disasters as well as terrorist attacks to be the apple of the public’s eye.

It is pertinent to mention that Homelander was being blackmailed by Queen Maeve while The Homelander’s partner-in-crime Stormfront got incinerated after Bill Butcher’s son Ryan uses his superpowers in a fit of anger at the end of the second season.

This resulted in Bill Butcher’s wife Becca Butcher getting killed as well.

Karl Urban plays the leading role of protagonists Billy Butcher while the role of his sidekick Hughie Campbell is being played by Jack Quaid. Erin Moriarty will be seen as Starlight whereas Dominique McElligott is starring as Queen Maeve

Moreover, Karen Fukuhara is playing the role of Komiko Miyashiro whereas Laz Alonso and Tomer Kapon are starring as Mother’s Milk and Frenchie respectively.

As far as the antagonists are concerned, Antony Starr stars as The Homelander while Chace Crawford, Jessie Usher and Nathan Mitchell are playing the characters The Deep, A-Train and Black Noir respectively


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SUPERMAN, CINDERELLA AND MINIONS GIVE CHILDREN COVID-19 SHOTS

4 years 8 months ago
A medical staff member wearing a costume looks at a child who receives a shot of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Prague, Czech Republic, January 8, 2022. REUTERS/David W Cerny

Superman, Cinderella and Minions were among characters from films, comics and fairy tales who greeted children at a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Prague on Saturday to ease their nerves as they came to be inoculated.

Despite a lull in coronavirus infections in the past month, the Czech Republic is trying to boost vaccination rates because it is bracing for the Omicron coronavirus variant. Vaccinations lag other European Union countries.

With children aged 5-11 now eligible for the vaccine, staff dressed in costume at one of the biggest vaccination centres in the Czech capital helped children who came to be vaccinated.

REUTERS/David W Cerny

“We thought it would be better to have a day just for the kids,” said Nikola Melicharova, a vaccination centre worker dressed for the day as Snow White. “And because kids are usually a bit afraid of vaccinations, we decided for a fairy tale day so that it was a little more pleasant.”

Some 62.4% of the population in the country of 10.7 million has been fully inoculated, compared to a rate of 68.6% in the whole of the EU, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.REUTERS/David W CernyThe Czech Republic started giving shots to children aged 5-11 in mid-December. Health Ministry figures show just over 27,000 shots had been administered to this age group by Friday.

Some children cried, but less so while talking to their favourite characters.

“I think it is right (for vaccinations). It is the only way out of the pandemic,” said Jaroslav Kottner, who brought his nine-year-old son to be vaccinated.

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MODERNA CEO SAYS PEOPLE MAY NEED ANOTHER BOOSTER IN FALL OF 2022

4 years 8 months ago


A pharmacist holds a vial of the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in West Haven, Connecticut, U.S., February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The effectiveness of COVID-19 boosters  is likely to wane in the coming months, and people may need another shot in the fall of 2022, Moderna Inc CEO Stéphane Bancel told a  conference on Thursday on health conference organized by Goldman Sachs. 

Bancel said the company is working on a  vaccine candidate for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but it is unlikely to be available in the next two months.

“I still believe we’re going to need boosters in the fall of ’22 and forward,” Bancel said.


His comments on needing a fourth shot come on the back of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett citing a study on Tuesday that a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold a week after the shot is administered.


Moderna, which benefits by repeat inoculations, during its third quarter earnings results said commercial booster market sales could be up to $2 billion in the United States in 2022


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Sonos wins Google import ban ruling in U.S. patent fight

4 years 8 months ago
The Google name is displayed outside the company's office in London, Britain November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A US commercial court has banned Google  from importing products that infringe the smart speaker patents of the home audio company Sonos.

The US International Trade Commission upheld a ruling in August  that Google's audio products infringe five Sonos patents and have banned Google from importing "network speaker devices" and devices that can control them, such as cell phones and laptops.
The ruling says it won't stop Google  from importing products that it has redesigned to avoid patent infringement. A Google spokesman said he didn't expect the decision to affect his ability to import or sell its products.
"We will  continue to investigate and defend ourselves against the frivolous claims by Sonos regarding our association and our intellectual property," said the company.
Eddie Lazarus, Sonos' chief legal officer, called the verdict a "crusader" victory. Google's products still infringe  patents even though they tried to develop them.

Sonos' stock was up 1.5% in late morning trading on Friday, having earlier risen more than 3%.


The parties have been embroiled in a global patent war over multi-room audio technology since 2020 that includes court cases in California, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, according to a Sonos regulatory filing.

Sonos first sued Google in Los Angeles, alleging the company misused its technology in "more than a dozen different infringing products", including Google Home speakers and Pixel phones, tablets, and laptops.


Google reacted with its own lawsuit in San Francisco, creating Sonos "substantial quantities" of its technology without permission for multiple products, including controller applications and radio Sonos service.

At the ITC, Sonos had been trying to block Google from importing Home speakers, Pixel phones and other products from China.

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GameStop jumps after report on NFT trading hub, crypto pact

4 years 8 months ago

 

A GameStop Inc. store is shown in Encinitas, California, U.S., May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Shares of GameStop Corp (GME.N) rose on Friday after  the video game retailer announced plans to expand its non-fungible token (NFT) market and partner with crypto companies.
The company's shares soared last year as they were at the center of a battle between small investors coordinating on online forums and Wall Street hedge funds that had taken short positions. Since mid-November, its shares have mostly fallen.
GameStop jumped 7.3% to $ 140.62 on Friday after  the company reportedly built an online NFT trading center for virtual game collectibles and  cryptocurrency partnerships on Thursday. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters about GameStop's plans, which were reported by the Wall Street Journal.

GameStop declined to comment on the reports.

NFTs, which use blockchain to record the ownership of digital items such as images and videos, surged in popularity in 2021, leaving many confusedabout why so much money was being spent on copiable digital items that do not physically exist.

Highly volatile crypto assets have tumbled in recent months, with bitcoin plummeting to a more than three-month low of $42,001.97, down about 38% from its $69,000 all-time high in November.

Ether , used to buy NFTs, has slumped to $3,219.77, levels last seen in early October.

"Stocks themselves are speculative rather than fundamental, and to some extent cryptocurrencies are also not very speculative in nature . excessive exposure to cryptocurrencies could have an effect on the balance sheets of these companies." , warned analyst Mirabaud  Neil Campling. Short sales against GameStop increased by roughly 1 million shares  in the past 30 days to 8.4 million, now worth $ 1.11 billion and equal to 13% of GameStop's free float , according to data from S3 Partners.


Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners, said Friday's stock move is unlikely to be a small hedging rally.

 
"We would first need to erase recent market earnings on the short side, which means reverting to levels in the range of $ 170 $ 200 per share," for a short squeeze to occur, said said Dusaniwsky.


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