List of All Articles with Tag 'c'

By Enrico Sciacovelli and Olivier Cherfan (Reuters) -French video game producer Ubisoft on Thursday confirmed its guidance for the current

A scientist who found the oldest water ever discovered on Earth decided the best course of action was, of course, to drink it. Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar was leading a team of geologists studying a Canadian mine in 2016 when she made the remarkable discovery. The flowing water about three kilometres below the surface was between 1.5bn and 2.6bn years old, according to tests, making it the oldest water found on Earth. “When people think about this water they assume it must be some tiny amount of water trapped within the rock,” said Prof Sherwood Lollar. “But in fact it’s very much bubbling right up out at you. These things are flowing at rates of litres per minute – the volume of the water is much larger than anyone anticipated.” Upon tasting the ancient water, she found that it was “very salty and bitter” and “much saltier than seawater”. That was an encouraging sign, because saltier water tends to be older. In this case, where the water has been ageing for billions of years, it is hardly surprising. “If you’re a geologist who works with rocks, you’ve probably licked a lot of rocks,” said Sherwood Lollar. Her team also found that life had once been present in the water, by looking at the sulphate – the composition of salts – in it. “We were able to indicate that the signal we are seeing in the fluids has to have been produced by microbiology – and most importantly has to have been produced over a very long time scale. “The microbes that produced this signature couldn’t have done it overnight. “This has to be an indication that organisms have been present in these fluids on a geological timescale.” Fortunately, the scientist had no terrifying sci-fi movie-esq reaction to drinking the ancient water, and lived to tell the tale. The paper was published in Nature in 2016. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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.

Apple plans to overhaul almost all of its AirPods next year, according to a major new report. The standard version of the AirPods earphones will be replaced with two new options, and the long-neglected AirPods Max headphones will finally get an update, according to a new report from Bloomberg. At the moment, Apple offers two versions of its basic AirPods, alongside the higher-end AirPods Pro and larger AirPods Max. The cheaper AirPods are known as the second generation and include most AirPods features, but the ones known as third-generation are more expensive and add water resistance, personalised spatial audio and other features. Those newer, third-generation AirPods are selling less well than Apple had expected, according to the new report. Apple believes that is because more customers are opting to buy the cheaper, older second-generation version, Bloomberg said. Instead of offering those various options, Apple will take all the existing AirPods off sale and replace them with two new AirPods that will go on sale at the same time, the report said. The higher-end option would get some AirPods Pro features such as noise cancellation and speakers inside the case to make it easier to find. The two new generations would also continue Apple’s move towards USB-C charging. Last month, Apple updated the AirPods to drop support for the Lightning cable and include the standard, which came alongside the same change in the iPhone line-up. Both of the new sets of AirPods are expected to be released next year. The last AirPods update came in October 2021, when the third-generation was released. Apple will also update the expensive, over-ear AirPods Max headphones next year, the report claimed. Those headphones have gone without any changes since they were first introduced in 2020, which means they do not have access to Apple’s newer wireless technologies and still use the old Lightning cable to charge. The AirPods Pro will get their own redesign in 2025, the report said. It gave no indication of what would change about the earphones, which were updated to get USB-C last month. Read More Apple TV+ and other subscriptions are about to get a lot more expensive The Apple Watch feature everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived What to expect Apple’s surprise, spooky upcoming launch

Twitter has added video calling – and left it turned on by default. The feature is now being officially rolled out, Elon Musk confirmed. He said it was an “early version” of a tool he has been hinting at for a year. Video calls are part of Elon Musk’s plans to make Twitter, which he has renamed X, into the “everything app”, offering a wide array of different functionality. For now, video calls are limited to the iOS app, and appear to be rolling out slowly. But they are also switched on by default. The system means that all accounts are liable to receive calls from accounts you follow, or those run by people whose number you have in your address book. To be able to call someone, they must have sent at least one direct message to your account. Users have the option to change that setting, however, either to switch it off or to change who has the ability to make calls. From the direct message settings, users can either disable it entirely or change it so that they can receive calls from people in your address book, from people you follow, or from all “verified” users. Making phone calls is limited to premium subscribers, who pay the monthly subscription for what was once called Twitter Blue. It can be done by opening up the DM menu to start a conversation with someone. If the feature is enabled, then a phone icon should show within the direct message conversation, and tapping audio or video will start the relevant kind of call. Users will receive a notification that they are being called, and will get another telling them they missed the call if they do not pick up. Read More The Twitter app just went very, very strange TikTok prankster Mizzy arrested ‘on suspicion of perverting course of justice’ Study finds ‘deepfakes’ from Ukraine war undermining trust in conflict footage

Apple is significantly increasing the price of its TV streaming service. The cost of Apple TV Plus will go up by around a third: from $6.99 to $9.99, or from £6.99 to £8.99. The annual price has a similar increase, from $69 to $99. Apple will also raise the cost of other services: Apple Arcade will go from $4.99 to $6.99, and Apple News Plus will go from $9.99 to $12.99. The Apple One bundle that wraps those services into one subscription will also get increases, with the individual membership going from $16.95 to $19.95. Many Apple subscriptions will stay at the same price, however. Apple Music, Fitness Plus and the premium iCloud Plus subscription will not get price rises. Subscribers will see the new prices go into effect in 30 days, after their next subscription. Apple is among the last of its competitors to substantially increase prices in recent months. Both Netflix and Disney have also raised their monthly subscriptions, with both citing the need to make more programmes and increased costs. The change from Apple comes ahead of the publication of its fourth quarter earnings next week. In recent years, Apple has looked to its services business to help its growth, amid slowdowns in some other businesses. It also after a separate report that Apple will completely overhaul its TV app later this year. The change, planned for around December, will consolidate the TV app to focus more on streaming services and bring a look more similar to that on Netflix, Bloomberg reported. At the moment, Apple’s TV app includes a significant focus on downloading Movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store. The new design is expected to bring more Apple TV Plus to a more central place in the app, as well as changing its menus to make it easier to find its programmes and those from others. Read More The Apple Watch feature everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived What to expect Apple’s surprise, spooky upcoming launch Apple announces surprise event: ‘Scary fast’

By Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy NEW YORK Lawyers for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried kicked off their case

Apple has finally released the headline feature of its new Watch. The Apple Watch Series 9 was launched last month, alongside new iPhones and other products. But Apple said that its top feature – the ability to navigate the Watch without touching it, by pressing your fingers together in a gesture Apple calls “Double Tap” – was not actually available. Apple said the feature would instead come later this year. And now with the latest software update numbered WatchOS 10.1, it has finally launched. The feature will also come to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Apple says that older Watches that lack the latest chip do not have the processing power to accurately recognise the gesture, and so it will not be available on those devices. The new Double Tap feature is intended to be used when the user only has one hand free. Apple has pointed to the example of carrying a cup of coffee or walking a dog. To use it, the Watch’s owner taps their two fingers together to select whatever is on screen. The Watch’s sensors are able to detect that gesture – using the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor – and the software will register it as an input. That input allows users to take whatever action is displayed on screen, so long as it is in one of Apple’s apps. Pressing it will end a phone call, snooze an alarm, or replying to messages, for instance. Apple has not said whether future updates will bring the option to use the feature with third-party apps. But for now, users can control notifications from third-party apps but not the apps themselves. The feature is turned on by default but can be switched off in settings. It is automatically off in some apps, such as during workouts. Read More Apple Watch 7 pre-order: How to buy the new smartwatch in the UK Apple introduces new version of Watch with complete redesign iPhone 13 - live: UK contract deals and prices for Apple, EE and O2

By Jody Godoy As FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried prepares to takes the stand at his trial on charges

Twitter has broken after seemingly being hit by an unusual bug. Some users were unable to log in or get online at all. But those who were could see something more strange: tweets displaying as if they were posted in 1970, and various posts refusing to load.

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly two years in the third

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., the largest wind-turbine maker, said profit plunged as a price war continues

Scientists have discovered a ghost-white shark with a rare condition. The predator was accidentally hooked by fishermen dedicated to catching sole. They were working from the coastal area of Los Chimus in Peru and informed authorities of the find. At the time of its capture, the shark had injuries to its gill slits as a result of being caught up in the net last month. The marine animal was transferred to the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (IMARPE) in Chimbote to undergo tests. Scientists discovered that the shark had leucism, which causes partial loss of pigmentation. The condition differs to albinism, which is a complete lack of melanin - a substance in the body that produces hair, eye and skin pigmentation. Albinos often have pink or red eyes but while leucism often makes an animal’s skin white, it does not affect their eye colour. IMARPE said this is the first known case of a shark in Peruvian waters having this condition. The fish was a young female that measured 89cm in length. Sexual maturity in females takes place when they are around 220cm in length. The predatory species sits high on the trophic food chain and mostly feeds on other sharks, rays, cetaceans and sea lions. Broadnose sevengill sharks are known to hunt in packs to bring down large prey. They are recognisable by their seven gill slits as most shark species have five. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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