List of All Articles with Tag 'tec'

Divers in Mexico have discovered Megalodon teeth in a flooded inland cave and the findings have confirmed scientific beliefs. Megalodons were absolutely gigantic prehistoric sharks that reached sizes of up to 50 feet long. They dominated the oceans before going extinct around 3.6 million years ago. Scientists are interested in studying fossils of the huge sea creature, with the animal's teeth proving the most abundant type of fossil to be found today. Teeth fossils were found in Mexico by speleologist (cave specialist) and photographer Kay Nicte Vilchis Zapata and fellow speleologist Erick Sosa Rodriguez while diving in a newly discovered sinkhole in Cholul in 2019. The cenote is 400 meters long and 28 meters deep and located inside were fifteen teeth fossils from various shark species. They also discovered human remains and a vertebrae fossil that potentially belongs to an ancient species. A total of 13 of the 15 teeth fossils belonged to three different species of shark – one being the megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon), while the other two species were the mackerel shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the sawshark (Pristiophoridae). Zapata told local media at the time: “We were looking at the wall and suddenly I saw a little something, I went closer and I saw that it was a tooth, that was the first and apparently it belonged to a sawshark.” Experts believe the geological timescale of the megalodon teeth lies anywhere between 2.5 million to 5 million years old. Speleologist Sosa Rodriguez said: “It is just proof of what scientists have already studied and written about; what kind of wildlife lived here millions of years ago when this was part of the sea.” Scientists have suggested that the megalodon’s warm body temperature may have been the reason for its extinction. There is some thought that the megalodon was able to maintain a body temperature around 7 degrees centigrade warmer than the water around it, but ultimately this may have been its downfall. Randy Flores, a UCLA doctoral student and fellow of the Centre for Diverse Leadership in Science, explained: “Maintaining an energy level that would allow for megalodon’s elevated body temperature would require a voracious appetite that may not have been sustainable in a time of changing marine ecosystem balances when it may have even had to compete against newcomers such as the great white shark.” 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 has blamed Instagram and other popular apps for an overheating issue with the iPhone 15. The US tech giant said a software bug tied to the Meta-owned app was among the reasons for users reporting that its latest range of smartphones, unveiled last month, become “too hot to touch” while performing certain tasks. The company is working on an update to its latest iOS 17 operating system, which serves as the software for the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Meta has acknowledged the issue, which some users have dubbed “heatgate”, and modified its Instagram app in an effort to prevent it from heating up the device. Other apps blamed for the problem, including Uber and the video game Asphalt 9, are yet to roll out updates, according to Apple. There is also no timeline for when Apple’s own software fix would be issued but the firm said no safety issues should prevent iPhone 15 owners from using their devices while awaiting the update. “We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhones to run warmer than expected,” Apple said in a short statement. It’s not unusual for new iPhones to get uncomfortably warm during the first few days of use or when they are being restored with backup information stored in the cloud – issues that Apple already flags for users. The devices also can get hot when using apps such as video games and augmented reality technology that require a lot of processing power, but the heating issues with the iPhone 15 models have gone beyond those typical situations. In its acknowledgement, Apple stressed that the trouble isn’t related to the new titanium casing that houses the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of the stainless steel used on older smartphones. Apple also dismissed speculation that the overheating problem in the new models might be tied to a shift from its proprietary Lightning charging cable to the more widely used USB-C port that allowed it to comply with a mandate issued by European regulators. Although Apple expressed confidence that the overheating issue can be quickly fixed with the upcoming software updates, the problem still could dampen sales of its marquee product at a time when the company has faced three consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in overall sales. The downturn has affected iPhone sales, which fell by a combined 4 per cent in the nine months covered by Apple’s past three fiscal quarters compared with a year earlier. Apple is trying to boost its sales in part by raising the starting price for its top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max to $1,200, an increase of $100, or 9 per cent, from last year’s flagship model. In its acknowledgement of the iPhone 15 overheating issue, Apple said the planned software update would not impact the phone’s performance, which analysts had warned is a possibility. Additional reporting from agencies Read More Tim Cook interview: Apple boss talks trillion-dollar transformation and ushering in new era of computing

AMSTERDAM Dutch competition watchdog ACM on Monday said it had rejected objections by Apple against fines of 50

By Satoshi Sugiyama and Chris Gallagher YOKOHAMA, Japan Tokyo-based start-up Tsubame Industries has developed a 4.5-metre-tall (14.8-feet), four-wheeled

The royal website was subject to a “denial of service attack”, a royal source has said. It was down for an hour-and-a-half on Sunday morning from 10am. A denial of service attack means the site was bombarded by traffic, which caused it to stop working, the source said. It is not the same as hacking, in which whoever is responsible actually gets into a website and the site is compromised. Neither the content nor the systems of the royal website were accessed on Sunday. It is currently unknown who is responsible for the cyber attack, the source said. The site is now up and running as usual. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Scientists are optimistic about the possibility of finding life on other planets. Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) found a possible sign of a gas that, on Earth, is produced by simple marine organisms. It was detected this month in the atmosphere of a planet named K2-18b, which is 120 light years away. The planet is in what astronomers call ''the Goldilocks zone' - the right distance away from its star for the surface temperature to be neither too hot nor too cold, but just right for there to be liquid water, which is essential to support life. The team expects to know in a year's time whether the hints are confirmed or have gone away. "We live in an infinite Universe, with infinite stars and planets. And it's been obvious to many of us that we can't be the only intelligent life out there," Prof Catherine Heymans, Scotland's Astronomer Royal told the BBC. "We now have the technology and the capability to answer the question of whether we are alone in the cosmos." Prof Nikku Madhusudhan of the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University, who led the study, told the BBC that if the hints are confirmed "it would radically change the way we think about the search for life". "If we find signs of life on the very first planet we study, it will raise the possibility that life is common in the Universe." He predicted that within five years there will be "a major transformation" in our understanding of life in the Universe. If his team don't find life signs on K2-18b, they have 10 more Goldilocks planets on their list to study - and possibly many more after that. Even finding nothing would "provide important insights into the possibility of life on such planets", he said. Meanwhile there are other separate projects all looking for signs of life in the universe. Pretty exciting. 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.

The Atari home video game system took the late1970s and early 1980s by storm, complete with faux wood paneling and a classic joystick with a big red button. Rival systems eventually surpassed the video-game pioneer but its iconic status, and fans, remained.

(Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Wednesday it will sell its Russia business to newly-launched exchange CommEX, becoming the latest

(Reuters) -The European Union is examining alleged anticompetitive abuses in chips used for artificial intelligence, a market which Nvidia dominates,

Facebook is known for its recognisable 'f' logo using the colours light navy blue and white - however, people can't help but notice something different. Some have noticed that once logged into their account there has been a slight tweak to the blue colour they have been familiar with in recent years. The new blue announced by the social media platform is richer, bold and darker in a move which is "Redefining Facebook’s brand identity." “We’re excited to launch the first phase of a refreshed identity system for Facebook, with a focus on fostering effortless, self-initiated exploration and connection across every touchpoint," the announcement read. There were three "key drivers" in regards to the brand design update which include: "Elevate the most iconic elements of our brand to create a distinctive, refreshed Facebook." The second is to "Unify how the Facebook brand comes to life across product-to-marketing experiences." On the topic of blue tone change, this came from wanting to "create an expansive set of colours — anchored in our core blue — that is comprehensive and vibrant, and also designed to be more accessible for people." Of course, Facebook users couldn't help but notice the colour change and took to social media to question if their eyes were deceiving them. Elsewhere, a Mark Zuckerberg product has been deemed the 'cringiest AI of all time'. 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.

By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide the legality of Republican-backed state laws in

Tim Cook describes his first experience with Apple’s forthcoming Vision Pro headset as an “aha moment”. The mixed reality device, he claims, has the potential to usher in an entirely new era of computing, having a profound impact on the way we work, communicate and experience the world – just like the iPhone did 16 years ago. And for it to succeed, just like the iPhone, it’s going to need apps. The Apple CEO is in London at the end of a whirlwind European tour to meet with app developers that he hopes will be among the first to realise his ambitions for the Vision Pro. The UK has the largest developer community in Europe, and as he meets three of them, he is clearly curious about their apps. It is a common sight with Cook: app developers on their best behaviour, nervous with anticipation, instantly relaxing as he focuses on them, genuinely interested, warming to his encouragement and questioning. “I think the apps today are outstanding,” he says. “It’s a reminder of the empowerment of the App Store. I’m still amazed that an entrepreneur in any country in the world in a basement can start a company and it can be global,” he snaps his fingers, “like that.” Cook likes to talk about Apple’s app developers because he takes pride in the jobs created by the Apple ecosystem. Estimates suggest that half a million jobs are now directly connected to the iOS app economy, which is up nearly 70 per cent compared to 2019. UK app developers have earned nearly £7.5 billion from their apps, Apple says. When Cook took over from Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011, the app economy was still in its infancy: Instagram was less than a year old and apps like Deliveroo and Tinder did not even exist yet. Just over a decade later Apple’s App Store is now facilitating more than $1 trillion in billings and sales annually, helping the company to become the richest in the world. Among the app developers showing off their creations at Apple’s Battersea Power Station headquarters is Joseph Mambwe, whose fitness app Gym Streak aims to manage your workout for you. Mambwe says that, at the app’s core is a demonstration that “resilience is a superpower that is available to everyone, along with persistence and the will to keep going.” The app uses augmented reality (AR) to create videos where the animated figure demonstrating the exercises appears to be working out in your living room. Also in attendance is Andy Weekes, the creator of Night Sky, which also uses AR to make stars, planets and even the International Space Station appear onscreen as you point your iPhone at the place they are in the sky. It can send reminders and messages so you can share what you see – and even what you can’t – with friends and family. There is a regular refrain from the developers about the Apple Vision Pro, which is set to launch early next year: Something like Night Sky could be jaw-droppingly good on the spatial computing headset, with its immersive, wraparound display. Cook says they’re looking forward to it. “We have developer labs in London and Munich, and we’re seeing some incredible work. There’s so much excitement out there.” The tech boss says Vision Pro has become part of his nightly routine, helping him understand how it could become an industry-defining product. “There are huge differences in how people look at it, depending on if they’re read about it or actually tried it,” he says. “I believe even more about how profound spatial computing is. When you’ve tried it, it’s an aha moment, and you only have a few of those in a lifetime.” Throughout the app demonstrations, the developers talk about the support they receive from Apple. “These apps,” Cook says afterwards, “allow developers to make people more sustainable, give somebody educational knowhow about space or even democratise personal training. These are big ideas. These apps are great collaborations, but our whole company is based on collaboration.We really believe one plus one equals three. “We’ve always viewed ourselves as tool makers,” he adds. “So to make tools that allow other people to change the world in their own way and for us to have a role in that makes my heart sing… We’ve always believed our tools should be as easy to use as our products, so we try to make the developer tools simple. It’s the developer’s idea that’s the big lift, not the act of doing it themselves. It’s great to see the validation of that playing out.” Through the powerful processors in the latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Cook believes Apple iOS is now “the best gaming platform out there”. Games also form a major part of Vision Pro’s appeal, allowing users to interact and compete within an entirely new dimension. “There’s significant excitement about our role in gaming, and we’re very serious about it,” he says. “This is not a hobby for us. We’re putting all of ourselves out there.” Read More ‘I saw the future. It left me in tears’ Tim Cook says Vision Pro release is on track: ‘I watched Ted Lasso Season 3 on it’ New discovery is ‘holy grail’ breakthrough in search for aliens, scientist say Musk confirms he is cutting election integrity staff from X/Twitter ahead of 2024