Moon rocks look rather nondescript —they are often gray in color — but for NASA planetary scientist Samuel Lawrence, they are the “most precious materials on Earth.” What is certain is that the lunar samples first gathered by Apollo 11’sNeil…
Category: Science
Robi launches women- focused digital lifestyle service
Dhaka, June 15 (UNB)- Robi has launched a women focused digital lifestyle service, Ichchedana. Combining safety and security features, Ichchedana provides complete lifestyle solution for the women. Any Robi prepaid customer can register for this service by just dialing the…
Instagram, PlayStation hit with outages
An Instagram outage on Thursday left users of the Facebook-owned social network flocking to Twitter to vent frustration. The website DownDetector.com showed a spike in reports of Instagram being unavailable in the afternoon, nearly hitting 54,000 before diving back down.…
UK lab destroys largest world stock of animal-killing virus
Scientists have destroyed the UK’s laboratory stocks of a virus that once caused devastating cattle losses. These stocks accounted for most of the world’s lab samples of rinderpest, which were held at The Pirbright Institute in Surrey. Rinderpest and the…
Huawei wins ‘Best 5G Core Network Technology’ award
Dhaka, Jun 14(UNB)- Huawei’s 5G intelligent and simplified core network solution won “Best 5G Core Network Technology” Award at the 5G World Summit-2019 held in London recently. 5G will bring many changes to industries and promote new industry applications and…
Netflix gets its game on at E3 with ‘Stranger Things’
Netflix on Wednesday made its first formal appearance at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, showcasing plans for video games based on hit original shows such as “Stranger Things.” The streaming television powerhouse is looking to expand its original shows into…
India’s most significant innovations have roots in civil society
By Apoorva Oza Ahmedabad, Gujatar, India (IPS) – When we look at some of the things we take for granted in India today, there is a common thread to all of them. Every single one. They all originated from civil…
Big data and its enclosure of the commons
by Ekkehard Ernst Digital dystopias are overdone but inequality is rising. The answer lies in treating data as a commons and Big Data as a collective-action problem. The fear of the machine is back. Dystopian views of a world without…
Hearing: Subscribers vent anger at cellphone operators
Dhaka, June 12 – Subscribers on Wednesday vented their anger at the poor services provided by different mobile phone companies in the country. At a public hearing arranged by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) at the Institution of Engineers,…
Quarter of pesticides used in US are banned in EU
More than a quarter of the total volume of pesticides used in US agriculture are banned in the European Union, and 3 percent and 2 percent are banned in China and Brazil respectively, according to a study published yesterday in…
ICT-enabled flexible working—all plain sailing?
by Irene Mandl and Oscar Vargas Llave Tech-based flexible working conjures up the independent consultant tapping on her tablet with a latte to hand. But the picture may not be so positive. Flexible working time and flexible places of work…
Amitabh Bachchan’s Twitter Account Hacked
Dhaka, Jun 11 (UNB) – Megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Twitter account was allegedly hacked on Monday night by Ayyildiz Tim, which claimed to be a Turkish hacker group, reports NDtv. The group replaced Bachchan’s profile picture with a photo of Pakistan…
Amazon dethrones Google as top global brand: survey
US retail giant Amazon has moved past hi-tech titans Apple and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand, a key survey showed Tuesday. The brand value of Amazon surged by 52 percent to $315 billion, global market research agency…
16 organisations fined for providing illegal internet connections
Dhaka, June 10 – Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined 16 internet providers Tk 20.20 lakh and filed cases against four others for providing internet connections without licences. The cases were filed with Sonadanga Model Police Station in Khulna,…
Tarique remark not discoruteous, says Hasan Mahmud
Dhaka, Jun 10 (UNB) – Taking a swipe at Dr Kamal Hossain-led Jatiya Oikyafront, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Monday said those who are unable to keep themselves united want to forge a greater national unity against the government.…
Digital Security Act not for curbing press freedom: Minister
Dhaka, Jun 10 (UNB) – Law Minister Anisul Huq on Monday told visiting European Union Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore that the government has enacted the Digital Security Act to deal with cybercrimes, not to suppress press freedom.…
Microsoft gives glimpse of new Xbox console
Microsoft on Sunday gave the world a first glimpse of a powerful next-generation Xbox gaming console that it aims to release late next year. Xbox head Phil Spencer pulled back the curtain on “Project Scarlett,” the creation of a successor…
G20 urged to speed up digital tax on tech giants
FUKUOKA, Japan, June 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Top G20 finance officials agreed Saturday there was an urgent need to find a global system to tax internet giants like Google and Facebook but clashed on the best way to do it.…
China warns tech giants after US Huawei ban
China warns tech giants after US Huawei ban The Chinese government convened top tech companies this week and warned them of consequences if they cut off technology sales to the country, US media reported on Saturday. The meeting followed US…
Facebook stops Huawei from pre-installing apps on phones
London, Jun 8 (AP/UNB) — Facebook said Friday it has stopped letting its apps come pre-installed on smartphones sold by Huawei in order to comply with U.S. restrictions, a move that deals a fresh blow to the Chinese tech giant.…
Google’s challenge to game consoles to kick off in November
New York, June 7 (AP/UNB) — Google will kick off its Stadia streaming service to challenge the video game industry in November — but initially only as part of a $130 bundle that includes hardware and a pass for a…
NASA to open International Space Station to tourists from 2020
NASA said Friday it will open up the International Space Station for tourism and other business ventures as of next year, as it seeks to financially disengage from the orbiting research lab. “NASA is opening the International Space Station to…
Google Doodle celebrates Lucky Akhand’s birthday
earch engine giant Google is celebrating the 63rd birth anniversary of renowned Bangladeshi singer-composer Lucky Akhand. It posted a doodle on its Bangladeshi homepage showing Akhand, donning a cap, playing guitar and singing. Doodles are alterations made to the Google…
China conducts first sea-based space rocket launch
China launched a space rocket from sea for the first time yesterday, its space agency announced, the latest step in Beijing’s push to become a major space power. The Asian giant now spends more than Russia and Japan on its…
YouTube updates hate speech guidelines to prohibit videos
San Francisco, June 6 (AP/UNB) — YouTube updated its hate speech policies Wednesday to prohibit videos with white supremacy and neo-Nazi viewpoints. The video streaming company says it has already made it more difficult to find and promote such videos,…
Is ‘Big Tech’ too big? A look at growing antitrust scrutiny
Is Big Tech headed for a big breakup? San Francisco, June 5 (AP/UNB) —The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are moving to investigate Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple over their aggressive business practices, and the House Judiciary…
US preparing antitrust probe of Google
The US Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust investigation of Internet titan Google, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Journal cited unnamed sources close to the matter as saying the department would look into Google practices related…
Hydrogen-power electric flying vehicle: Long road to liftoff
Los Angeles, June 01 (AP/UNB) — A transportation company is betting its sleek new hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles will someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky, but experts say they will have to clear a number of regulatory…
Internet users in Bangladesh soar by 6 lakh in April
The number of country’s internet users soared by six lakh to reach 9.37 crore in April which is all time highest, according to the latest statistics of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Mobile phone-based connection has contributed the highest with…
How European telcos are monitoring people’s online activity
by Katherine Barnett The security and privacy of personal data are being jeopardised as Deep Packet Inspection is deployed by internet service providers. Europe has not escaped the global move towards ‘surveillance capitalism’. Numerous pieces of legislation are under consideration…