SAN FRANCISCO Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's co-founder, on Monday said the technology race to win is development of

The internet is losing it after a TikToker shared a voicemail from 2019, in which Olivia Rodrigo seemingly mistakes the total stranger for her doctor. In the clip, the singer's distinct voice can be heard, and she even introduces herself, as she goes on to explain how she 'tried to schedule an appointment' and asking them to 'call back'. "I would've called back and told her I loved her", one user joked in the comments. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

South Africa’s main coal producing province of Mpumalanga, the focus of the country’s $8.5 billion Just Energy Transition

Fortnite update v25.20 added new weapons to Fortnite WILDS, like Bender's Shiny Metal Raygun and the Mammoth Pistol, while also unvaulting the Lever Action Shotgun.

Adin Ross said, 'You’re going to leave that sh*t with a streaming deal and a full setup, but you gotta be entertaining bro'

The New York Knicks sued the Toronto Raptors, claiming a former Knicks employee stole scouting reports and other

Twitter has threatened Meta with legal action over its new social media platform “Threads,” claiming that they have created a “copycat” platform and hiring former Twitter staff to do so. Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook led by Mark Zuckerberg, revealed Threads on Wednesday, a text-based app partnering with Instagram that is similar to Twitter and other apps. More follows...

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 14, 2023--

A former Apple engineer who fled to China five years ago has been charged with stealing the company’s self-driving car technology. The US Justice Department charged Weibao Wang, 35, for stealing large troves of data from Apple, including trade secrets and technology related to autonomous systems that are used to design self-driving cars. Mr Wang was charged with six counts of theft or attempted theft of trade secrets, according to a press release issued by the department. “Innovation is alive and well in Silicon Valley – indeed, throughout the Northern District of California,” said US attorney Ismail J Ramsey. “Unfortunately, there will always be some who cheat the system by stealing and profiting from the fruits of others’ labour. The Wang prosecution is but one example. We are pleased that the Disruptive Technology Task Force renews energy and focus on securing innovation for those who actually create it.” The former Apple engineer was a resident of Mountain View in California and began working with the tech giant in 2016. He had signed a confidentiality agreement for the project for which he was working on, and very few people at the company knew about it at that time. He began working as staff engineer with the US-based subsidiary of a Chinese company and was working to develop self-driving cars, the indictment said. The company was identified only as “Company One” in the indictment. Mr Wang was also accused of waiting for more than four months before telling Apple that he was resigning, after he signed a new employment agreement with “Company One”. After the last day of his employment at Apple, on 16 April 2018, Apple’s officials found in their logs that he had accessed large troves of confidential data in the final days of his stint at the tech giant. His Mountain View home was searched on 27 June 2018. Law enforcement agents discovered “large quantities of data taken from Apple prior to his departure” during the search, for which Mr Wang was present. After telling the agents that he had no plans to travel, he purchased a one-way ticket to Guangzhou, China, and boarded a flight that same night. In a press conference, Mr Ramsey said Mr Wang remained in China and he could face 10 years in jail, if extradited and convicted. This is the third incident of a former Apple employee being charged for stealing of documents for China. Two other Apple employees have previously been charged in similar cases involving theft of trade secrets, reported the BBC. Read More Elon Musk calls working from home ‘morally wrong’ How many more rapists and killers are in Met? Police force ‘institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ says damning report The Independent backs calls for jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai to be released

Nowadays, the internet has developed to play a key part in modern-day life but many will remember the early days when the unforgettable dial-up tone sound rang each time you logged on. With apps such as MSN and MySpace being the popular social media apps at the time. Looking back at this era, it also caused the earliest existence of memes - talk about historic. And in case you didn’t already feel old today, infamous video meme Badger Badger Badger will be celebrating its 20th birthday on September 1st this year. If you look back on these frolicking mammals with fondness, domain and hosting provider, Fasthosts, takes a trip down memory lane at the era of long-lost memes. Badger Badger Badger Age: 20 years old On its 20th birthday, Badger Badger Badger is an internet video meme that consists of badgers dancing to an electronic dance song. After three loops of multiple badgers and mushrooms, a snake slithers through a desert and the animation starts again. A ridiculous notion perhaps, but it captured the attention of kids and tweens in the early internet days. The original cartoon continues indefinitely, whereas the YouTube iterations sometimes only last a few minutes. Over the years, Badger Badger Badger has spawned numerous remixes and parodies and remains a fond favourite of early 90s kids. Badgers : animated music video : MrWeebl www.youtube.com Surprised owl Age: 20 years old If you enjoyed calling someone “Captain Obvious”, or have ever used the phrase “No s**t, Sherlock” – and you’re in your 30th decade – then chances are you’ve sent this meme over MSN. The greatness of this meme comes from its simplicity, its ease of use, and its ability to be used in a multitude of circumstances, the O RLY owl was the sickest burn of its time. SpongeGar Age: 19 years old There have been many Spongebob memes over the years, including his many beloved iterations. In episode SB-129, Squidward heads back in time to the prehistoric era and discovers that his annoying neighbour is exactly the same, just a little more caveman. SpongeGar – with his long canines, square loincloth and surprised expression – there was no more fitting response to the strange situations you can find online. Rickroll Age: 16 years old A meme familiar with millennials and one that has stood the test of time, so much so that Gen Z may even recognise what it means to be "Rickrolled." For the uninitiated, Rickroll is a good old bait-and-switch meme where an unsuspecting URL instead takes you to the music video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”. After more than 15 years of tricking people around the world, the official YouTube video has garnered before than 1.5 billion views. In 2008, the meme reached its peak, by being tweeted by the White House’s official account, and when YouTube turned every link on their homepage into a Rickroll in honour of April Fools Day. RickRoll'D youtu.be Trollface Age: 15 years old Drawn on Microsoft Paint back in 2008, if you can believe it, to mock trolls. Unfortunately, the image itself was hijacked by trolls and became very widely used, often alongside the phrase “U mad, bro?”. Originating on 4chan, Trollface quickly jumped to Reddit and Urban Dictionary, before making its way to Imgur and Facebook. Doge Age: 13 years old Many people have pondered what man’s best friend might be thinking, and this unassuming Shiba Inu dog allowed our imagination to come to life. The Doge meme was overlaid with Comic Sans to relay the dog’s inner thoughts, often utilising poor grammar and spelling. Whether you Photoshopped Kabosu – the pooch’s name – used as a response or a standalone meme, Doge certainly made his mark on the world. After all, what other meme do you know that inspired its own cryptocurrency? Nyan Cat Age: 12 years old The internet is a wonderful place. And it’s the only place an 8-bit rainbow cat travelling through space would be watched by more than 150 million people. Not only was Nyan Cat a YouTube sensation, but it crossed mediums easily with live recreations, video games, classical music covers, and fan art. Certainly one of the most popular of early MySpace and Bebo days. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Meta’s Twitter rival Threads appears to be struggling to hold on to users as its daily active user count is down by about four-fifth since its launch – just days after it broke records as the fastest-growing app ever. Within a few days of its launch, Instagram’s threads reached 100 million users, making it the most rapidly growing app ever developed. In comparison, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was the previous fastest-growing app, took two months to reach 100 million users. Growing at such a rapid rate, Threads easily became the leading competitor of X (formerly Twitter) with about three times as many users as all other rivals combined within hours of launching. But new data assessed by market research firm Sensor Tower suggests Threads is facing challenges in retaining its user base. The firm’s analysis points out that the daily active user count of Threads is down by 82 per cent since the app’s launch as of 31 July, CNN reported. Fewer users are opening the app and doing so less frequently, apart from spending less time there, according to Sensor Tower. Citing the market research firm, CNN said users spent barely three minutes per day on Threads, compared to nearly 20 minutes during its initial launch. Analysis by another firm Similarweb also pointed out that Threads is struggling to retain its users. While the app’s usage peaked on 7 July – immediately after its launch – with over 49 million daily active users on Android alone, this number had fallen to 12.6 million by 23 July, according to a blog post by Similarweb. At its peak, Threads reportedly had over a third of X’s audience on that platform, but by 23 July, this had dropped to about 12 per cent of the users on the Elon Musk-owned platform. Sensor Tower noted that Threads’ daily active user count is still falling at about 1 per cent each day. “Threads took off like a rocket, with its close linkage to Instagram as the booster. However, the developers of Threads will need to fill in missing features and add some new and unique ones if they want to make checking the app a daily habit for users,” Similarweb noted in its blog post. Despite falling numbers, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg is “quite optimistic” about the app, intending now to focus on “retention and improving the basics”, according to CNN. “And then after that, we’ll focus on growing the community to the scale we think is possible,” Mr Zuckerberg said. Read More Meta is secretly building an AI chatbot with the personality of Abraham Lincoln Are you a Facebook user? Here’s how to claim your share of $725m settlement in privacy lawsuit Elon Musk red-faced as police halt Twitter sign removal leaving company called ‘ER’ Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta is secretly building an AI chatbot with the personality of Abraham Lincoln Here’s how to claim your share of $725m settlement in Facebook’s privacy lawsuit

Museums are increasingly embracing technology, featuring everything from flying metallic penguins, to robotic tins of Spam.