Category: Hardware

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New System Detects & Warns Of Mobile Phone Use in Cars

Norfolk-based company Westcotec is piloting new technology that can detect whether a handheld mobile phone is in use in a passing vehicle, and then warn the occupants of the vehicle. How? In a UK first, the pilot scheme, which is taking place in four locations in Norfolk, uses a directional antenna, with a detector that…
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Samsung Phones Sending Photos Without Permission

The Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ and Note 8 are all reported to have been recently affected by a bug in the Samsung Messages app that sends out photos from the user’s gallery without their permission … to random contacts. What Happens? According to Samsung phone users on social media and the company’s forum, some…
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Tesla Traps Tripp

California-based vehicle tech corporation ‘Tesla’ is suing a former employee, who some saw simply as a Whistleblower, over alleged acts of industrial espionage. Named The former Tesla technician who stands accused by Tesla boss Elon Musk of industrial espionage has been named as Martin Tripp. The allegations made against Mr Tripp include that he was…
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Apple Offers Free Replacements / Repairs On Butterfly Keyboards

After numerous complaints over the last two years and even an online petition by a customer, Apple has decided to offer free repairs or replacements for the butterfly keyboard on its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. What Happened? For quite some time now, some MacBook and MacBook Pro laptop users have been complaining about problems…
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New ‘No Cheat’ “Locked Mode” For Classroom on Chromebooks

The Google Forms Quiz in its free, browser-based educational software “Classroom” now features a “locked mode” on Chromebooks which prevents students from cheating during quizzes. What Is ‘Classroom’? Google Classroom is a free web service (app) for schools, non-profits or indeed anyone with a personal Google Account, that aims to simplify creating, distributing and grading…
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Foldable Galaxy X Smartphone Could Cost You £1,400!

After its official launch, planned for next year, it has been reported that the new Samsung Galaxy X smartphone could be priced at as much as £1,400! More Than The iPhone X This will mean that the world-first flexible-screened, foldable smartphone will be entering the market with a price that’s one-third higher than even the…
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Trump’s Tariffs For Tech Firms With China Links

While Apple Inc has had good news that it will not face traded tariffs on its iPhones assembled in China, Intel Corp may need to shift its assembly work away from China to avoid a big revenue hit. What Tariffs? President Donald Trump’s administration’s focus on putting America first, its accusations that China has been…
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Tech Tip – Improve Phone Speed With Lightweight Apps

If your phone has limited memory storage and you regularly use Facebook and Twitter, installing lightweight versions of these apps could help to speed up your phone. Facebook Lite, for example, works just as well as the full version yet uses a fraction of the resources of the full app. The Facebook Lite app is…
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Fruit Robots

Tests are being completed of ‘robot’ fruit-picking machines that can pick strawberries as carefully and quickly as humans, and can help growers solve the labour shortage challenge next growing season. Belgian Prototype Very Promising European strawberry growers in Spain, Belgium and the UK are welcoming tests of robotic prototypes that can harvest soft fruit mechanically.…
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Smart Solar Power Savings From Google

Google, in partnership with energy supplier Eon, with help from German software firm Tetraeder, has released an online tool called ‘Project Sunroof’ that uses Google’s Earth and Maps apps to estimate how much money homeowners could by switching to solar power. How? Smart ‘machine learning’ is at the heart of the tool, and it is…
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