The Zika virus is spreading like wildfire, says the World Health Organization, putting millions of people at risk.
Transmitted through the sting of an infected mosquito, the
virus can cause a birth defect called microcephaly in newborn babies.
The rare condition shrinks the brains of unborn babies and could affect
as many as 4 million people before a vaccine is developed. 10 Bio-Hacks That Augment Humans, Plants And Food
But scientists at the biotech firm Oxitec, based in the U.K.,
have an alternative plan. They want to unleash armies of gene-hacked
mosquitoes into Brazilian jungles to seek and destroy the
disease-carrying insects.
The genetically modified mosquitoes wouldn’t fight the Zika
carriers in probiscus-to-probiscus combat. In fact, these mosquitoes
make love, not war.
That’s because the mosquitoes, specifically a strain called Aedes aegypti,
would be modified in the lab first to carry a gene that would be
transferred to their offspring after mating with wild versions in the
jungle. Top 5 Plans to Ensure the Continuity of Our Species
The gene causes young mosquitoes to die before they reach reproductive age.
Research and development of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti
is already well underway at Oxitec because the mosquito carries other
tropical diseases, such as dengue fever, that the biotech firm has
Apple is reportedly working on distance-charging tech for iPhones and iPads.
Sarah Tew/CNET
iPhone chargers, be gone. We'd love to ditch you, and it looks like Apple might too.
The Cupertino, California-based company is developing new wireless
charging tech for iPhones that could be ready as soon as 2017, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with Apple's plans.
Wireless charging technology isn't new. Several iPhone rivals have
incorporated it, allowing people to drop their phones on a charging mat
instead of fiddling with cables. Apple, though, is reportedly
investigating ways to charge iPhones and iPads from farther away. That
poses a challenge because efficiency decreases with distance, so it
takes longer to charge a battery.
This may be a challenge
for Apple, but the technology could be a boon to device owners. The USB
cables you use to charge devices are flimsy and inconvenient.
Long-distance wireless charging could let you juice up your phone
without taking it out of your bag or pocket and continue charging it
while you use it at your desk.
Apple has adopted some
advances later than rivals, including large-screen phones and near-field
communications (NFC) technology used for tap-and-pay transactions, and
there are some good reasons a phone maker may wait to adopt wireless
charging. One is that multiple incompatible standards mean a particular
charging mat won't necessarily work with your device. Another
You'll now have to subscribe to Apple Music if you still want to listen to iTunes Radio.
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET
Try to launch an iTunes Radio station on your Apple device or your
computer, and you'll now be prompted to subscribe to Apple Music.
Launched in 2013, iTunes Radio had been a free, ad-supported way to
listen to stations devoted to specific artists and genres. But as
announced earlier this month, Apple has turned off the free tap as of
Friday.
There seem to be a few exceptions. With live
broadcasts of music picked by DJs, the Beats 1 station is still
accessible. I can also listen to news stations such as BBC News, NPR and
ESPN. But all the other music stations I tried were unavailable unless I
popped for an Apple Music subscription. A subscription is free for 90
days. After that, Apple starts charging $9.99 per month for an
individual or $14.99 a month for a family plan with up to six users.
Google doled out some cash after losing and regaining control of its domain name last fall.
Google
Google shelled out some cash last fall after losing and regaining
ownership of Google.com. Now the company has revealed how much the
slip-up cost.
Former Google employee Sanmay Ved purchased Google.com
for $12 at 1:20 a.m. ET on September 29. He bought the domain name on
the Google Domains registration service website after the company
somehow lost ownership of it.
He owned Google.com for one minute.
The transaction was reversed when Google sent Ved a cancellation order,
which returned ownership to the company.
Conflicts over domain
ownership aren't always settled amicably or cheaply. So-called domain
squatters often try to get ahead of potential, hypothetical products and
register domain names -- say, "Appleflyingcar.com" -- on the cheap in
hopes of netting a big sale to the company that needs the site. Or they
may create a website name that combines a celebrity's name and a word
like "naked."
In this case, it seems Google may have missed a
deadline to renew Google.com, creating an opportunity for someone to
slip in and nab it. Neither Google nor Ved has publicly revealed exactly
how the domain name became available.
In a security blog post Thursday, the company revealed that it wanted to give Ved $6,006.13.
Look at the amount as letters instead of numbers, and it comes close to
spelling "google." "Squint a little and you'll see it!" Google said.
by Joe Rossignol
Apple has met with TV producers and
Hollywood studios about developing original TV shows to offer
exclusively to its iTunes customers, according to TheStreet. The article comes by way of independent contributor Ronald Grover, a longtime entertainment business journalist who has previously covered the media and entertainment industry for Reuters and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
The original content could spearhead Apple's plans to launch its oft-rumored streaming TV service, which has reportedly been placed on hold due to the iPhone maker's difficulties in securing content deals with owners like CBS, ABC, Fox, Disney, and Viacom.
The report, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, claims Apple
could announce a cable-like offering alongside the iPhone 7 in
September.
The Cupertino-based tech giant began sounding out
Hollywood's creative community late last year, but has yet to sign any
agreements, according to two people with knowledge of the overtures. One
plan is to have deals in place so Apple can announce exclusive content
as part of a cable-like offering in September, when it is expected to
unveil its iPhone 7, said one of the people.
The original TV
shows would presumably be available for rent or purchase on iTunes, or
through a subscription-based service like Netflix that would provide
on-demand access to unlimited programming for a set monthly cost.
Apple's streaming TV service has been rumored to cost between $30 and $40 per month, but that price was contingent upon a "skinny bundle" of TV channels rather than original programming.
Apple's discussions with Hollywood executives are being led by iTunes
chief Eddy Cue, and Robert Kondrk, vice-president of iTunes content,
according to the report. In a recent interview,
Cue said customers should be "able to buy whatever they want, however
they want," and he used the App Store as an example of how Apple
provides users with multiple ways to purchase content.
The IIHS' first in-depth look at this type of system shows that it's reducing collisions and cutting down on related injuries.
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry.
He started his auto-industry career working as a photographer and
social media coordinator for Fluid MotorUnion, a prominent aftermarket
parts fabrication garage for late-model European vehicles. That led to a
job writing freelance features for "Total 911: The Porsche Magazine."
His most recent job prior to CNET was Senior Writer for Web2Carz.com,
where he helped tweak and develop the buying-and-selling site's
editorial department, which brings us to today. One day, he'll buy the
1988 911 SC of his dreams. One day.
See full bio
Automatic-braking study proves it's massively beneficial
T-Mobile's Binge On feature now lets you binge on even more video streaming services.
Screenshot by Claudia Cruz/CNET
T-Mobile subscribers can now watch even more video without eating into their monthly data plan.
On Thursday, the carrier announced that it added Amazon Prime Video, Fox News, Univision Now and the WWE Network
to its Binge On service. This means that any videos T-Mobile customers
watch from those providers over their mobile device don't count against
their monthly data allowance. So you can watch all you want via a
cellular connection.
Introduced last November, the Binge On service
is yet another brash move by T-Mobile to shake up the wireless
business. Its competitors are paying attention: Verizon, AT&T and
Sprint in the last half-year or more have all launched one incentive
program after another. The tumult reflects just how hard the companies
are working to retain existing customers and draw in new ones.
Available for free, Binge On is meant to appeal to consumers who've
grown accustomed to streaming video over their mobile devices, but who
are also wary about the high cost of exceeding the monthly data limit
for their cellular service. An hour of video watching per day would
bring your monthly total to 14 gigabytes of data, according to T-Mobile,
exceeding even the 10GB allotment offered by several premium plans.
Adding Amazon and the other three providers, Binge On now offers access
to more than 40 video streaming services. Among those are Netflix, HBO
Now, Hulu, Showtime, Sling TV, STARZ and WatchESPN. The video itself is
compressed to a 480-pixel resolution, which means you'll get lower
quality than you would on a high-definition TV, which typically offers
1080 pixels. T-Mobile has said the quality is still good enough for a
smartphone screen.
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry.
He started his auto-industry career working as a photographer and
social media coordinator for Fluid MotorUnion, a prominent aftermarket
parts fabrication garage for late-model European vehicles. That led to a
job writing freelance features for "Total 911: The Porsche Magazine."
His most recent job prior to CNET was Senior Writer for Web2Carz.com,
where he helped tweak and develop the buying-and-selling site's
editorial department, which brings us to today. One day, he'll buy the
1988 911 SC of his dreams. One day.
See full bio
Daimler goes on the offensive, ensures its diesels are fully compliant
Here's a picture of the 2011 C220 Coupe CDI, otherwise known as "the only C-Class CDI on Daimler's website."
Daimler AG
The
news cycle has been rife with reports of automakers beyond Volkswagen
exhibiting shady behavior insofar as diesel vehicles are concerned.
Groups have claimed that several automakers' diesels are polluting more
than laboratory tests would lead the public to believe. One of those
automakers is Mercedes-Benz, and its parent company is not happy.
The latest numbers
from market research firm Strategy Analytics reveal that Samsung
increased its lead over Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker,
after shipping 81.3 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of the
2015 calendar year. Apple announced earlier this week that it sold a record 74.8 million iPhones during the same three-month period encompassing the busy holiday shopping season.
Global smartphone shipments grew 12 percent annually from 1.28 billion
in 2014 to a record 1.44 billion in 2015, according to the data. Samsung
and Apple contributed 317.2 million and 192.7 million smartphone sales
respectively to that worldwide total, while Huawei, Lenovo-Motorola, and
Xiaomi rounded off the top five smartphone makers. All other vendors
collectively shipped 637.5 million smartphones in 2015.
Samsung led the fourth quarter with 20.1 percent market share, a slight
increase over its 19.6 percent market share in the year-ago quarter.
Conversely, Apple's fourth quarter market share was 18.5 percent, a
slight decline from its 19.6 percent share in the fourth quarter of
2014. Huawei, Lenovo-Motorola and Xiaomi had market shares of 8.1
percent, 5 percent and 4.8 percent respectively.
In the year-ago quarter, Apple matched Samsung's 74.5 million smartphones shipped
on the strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but its South Korean
rival has since pulled ahead again. The comparison is largely
unbalanced, however, as Samsung sells dozens of different smartphone
models worldwide, while Apple currently only sells the iPhone 6s and
iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 5s.
Apple expects iPhone sales will likely decline
in the March quarter, marking the first year-over-year decline since
the smartphone was released over eight years ago. The decline will be
realized if Apple sells fewer than 61.2 million iPhones this quarter,
ending in late March. iPhone growth in the just-announced first fiscal
quarter of 2016 was the slowest since the smartphone's introduction in
2007.
Strategy Analytics has also published smartphone data for the Chinese market, where Apple trails closely behind Xiaomi and Huawei.
Following reports that Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone in March or April, a user named Gijs Raggers has shared a photo of the alleged smartphone next to an iPhone 5 on Dutch website One More Thing. The photo was posted on the website's discussion forums, where anyone can sign up and contribute.
The purported 4-inch iPhone appears to be the same size as the iPhone 5,
but otherwise looks identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s externally,
including its curved glass edges, thinner bezels, relocated FaceTime
camera, pill-shaped volume buttons and power button moved to the right
side.
Leaked photo of purportedly new 4-inch iPhone to the right of an iPhone 5
The veracity of the photo cannot be confirmed, but Gijs Raggers previously leaked photos of the original iPad Air in August 2013, nearly three months before the tablet was announced. Many other photos and videos of the tablet surfaced around the same time, however, so take that as you will.
While most rumors suggest the new 4-inch iPhone's upgraded tech specs will be similar to the iPhone 6, including A8 and M8 chips, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and NFC for Apple Pay, the photo conflicts with reports claiming the device will look similar to the last-generation iPhone 5s design.
Ideally, what size iPhone screen will your next one be?
It also sounds questionable for Apple to call its new 4-inch iPhone the "iPhone 5se" if the device truly resembles an iPhone 6. That may very well be the name, but the oft-rumored "iPhone 6c" name, or even the "iPhone 6 mini" name suggested in our forums, would seem to be more fitting name choices in that scenario.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a note to investors today, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors,
in which he reaffirmed Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone and iPad
Air 3 in the first half of 2016. Both devices, and new Apple Watch
bands, could be introduced at a March media event in San Francisco.
Apple has hired Doug Bowman, one of the U.S.' leading virtual reality experts, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Bowman joined Apple after going on sabbatical from his job as a computer science professor at Virginia Tech.
His
experience spans both fully immersive VR, as used in Facebook’s Oculus
Rift and HTC’s Vive headsets, as well as augmented reality, where
transparent visors such as Microsoft’s Hololens, Google Glass and
secretive start-up Magic Leap mingle digital images with the real world
still visible.
Bowman has been director of Virginia Tech's
Center for Human-Computer Interaction for the past five years. He's also
the lead author of the book "3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice." His past experience also includes serving as a User Experience Consultant
for Walt Disney Imagineering and honors like numerous IEEE awards for
3D user interfaces and technical achievements in virtual reality.
Bowman's LinkedIn page had not been updated to reflect the hiring and
has since been deleted.
In the past year, Apple has acquired three companies with experience in either augmented reality or virtual reality. It acquired augmented reality startup Metaio last may, real-time motion capture firm Faceshift last September and expression analysis startup Emotient a couple weeks ago.
It's unclear what Apple could have Bowman and its acquired companies working on, but there have been persistent rumors the company has been interested in VR. Apple has filed several patents for VR products, including video goggles, motion-sensing 3D virtual interfaces for iOS and 3D "hyper reality" displays. It's also been reported that the company has a "small team" working on virtual reality projects.
It's common knowledge that Apple and
Google have a monetary agreement that ensures Google's position as the
default search engine on Apple's iOS devices, but the details of that
deal have been kept under wraps, until now. A recent court transcript
from Oracle's copyright lawsuit against Google was obtained by Bloomberg
and sheds some light on the agreement, suggesting Google pays out a lot
of money to keep its search bar on Apple's iPhones and iPads.
Apple receives a percentage of the revenue that Google earns from
searches made on iOS devices, and in 2014, Apple's payout from Google
totaled $1 billion. That information mirrors a similar rumor from 2012 that also suggested Google was paying Apple upwards of $1 billion.
The current cut Apple receives from the advertising revenue Google
collects isn't known, but according to a Google witness questioned
during the Oracle-Google lawsuit, the revenue share was at 34 percent
"at one point in time." According to Bloomberg, it was not made clear in the transcript if 34 percent is the amount Apple received or the amount Google got to keep.
An
attorney for Google objected to the information being disclosed and
attempted to have the judge strike the mention of 34 percent from the
record.
"That percentage just stated, that should be sealed," lawyer Robert Van
Nest said, according to the transcript. "We are talking hypotheticals
here. That's not a publicly known number."
Both Google and
Apple attempted to have the court records blocked from public review
because the information is "extremely confidential," but a judge denied
the request. Google went on to ask the court to seal the transcript
because the release of the information could affect its negotiations
with other companies. The company's request was presumably granted, as Bloomberg says the transcript is no longer available.
Apple and Google's search contract was reportedly set to end in 2015, sparking speculation that Apple could terminate the agreement in favor of working with Microsoft or Yahoo. Yahoo
and Microsoft were both interested in inking a deal with Apple to
overthrow Google as the default search engine on iOS devices, but as no
shift to another search engine has been made, it appears Google and
Apple may have established a renewed agreement.
In a May 2015 interview,
Google's chief business officer Omid Kordestani said Google wanted to
continue its partnership with Apple. "We'd love to continue our
partnership with them and doing our best to work with them, and that's
all I can say for now," he said.
It is difficult for humans to unravel changes in the ocean’s physical processes
South African researchers are using robotic gliders to aid the process
But despite the benefits, challenges still remain in ocean research
Thanks to robotic gliders, South African researchers are making gains in ocean R&D, writes Munyaradzi Makoni.
Eddies — circular currents of water — move deep water nutrients to the
surface, but their overall effect on the Southern Ocean and the earth’s changing climate is barely understood.
The Southern Ocean, also called the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, has high species abundance and diversity, making common and highly specialised species thrive [1].
Sailing the seas for longer periods has become inadequate to help scientists in South Africa unravel the underlying mysteries.
But thanks to robotic gliders, the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate
Observatory (SOCCO) researchers under the South Africa’s Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are observing the ocean’s
physical processes, studying their impacts on carbon dioxide exchange
between the atmosphere and ocean, and the growth of phytoplankton –
microscopic algae that live on the ocean surface.
Researchers assessed chemical components of an edible insect
They identified 12 amino acids, four flavonoids and ten essential fatty acids
Experts say identifying edible insects could boost health and food security
A new study has identified essential nutrients in an edible insect known
as stink bug and suggests it as an alternative food source to help meet
the dietary demands of an increasing human population.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), producing
70 per cent more food could help satisfy the estimated 9 billion human
population by 2050.
“Our policy recommendation is that carbohydrate-based diets such as
cereals and cassava can be fortified with powdered, processed edible
stink bugs to improve their nutritional uptake.”
Baldwyn Torto, icipe
Edible insects could contribute to the world’s food security, says Baldwyn Torto, a scientist at the Kenya-based International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and a corresponding author of the study.
Torto adds that most communities do not know which edible insects are truly nutritional and have beneficial effects on human health.
“This is what inspired our research to contribute to food security and
income generation among the communities … across the African continent.
Some of the traditional foods including insects consumed such as the
edible stink bug are highly nutritious and beneficial to human health
and should be promoted into mainstream diets,” Torto tells SciDev.Net.
The recent attacks on the major Oil pipelines at the Escravos
facility in Warri area of Delta state by suspected Niger Delta
militants has caused colossal damages to the National Integrated Power
Project (NIPP).
About 600 megawatts of electricity generated by gas plants,
particularly the Olorunsogo power plant among others, have been
reportedly lost so far. This is even as security agencies have
intensified the search for the culprits behind the act.
Meanwhile, the attack on the Nigeria Gas Company’s pipeline connected
to Chevron Nigeria Limited facility at Escravos has negatively impacted
other power plants in the area.
A statement by Hakeem Bello, media assistant to the Minister of
Power, Babatunde Fashola, said the vandalised gas pipeline which
contributes to the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) has led to a
loss of 160mmsfcd of gas daily. At a cost of $2.50 per thousand scf,
this loss means about $400,000 lost to the country on a daily basis
(N78,800,000 daily) in gas volume.
This is in addition to losses to be incurred daily from power generation ($1,988,223 or N391,680,000 daily).
According to him, the total daily loss to the country is therefore
estimated at N470,479,931. Repairs of the damaged pipeline is estimated
to cost about $609,137 (N120,000.000)
“The real sector of the economy has also been counting its losses as
some cement companies around Olorunsogo like Ewekoro and Ibese are also
affected.
“The latest incident has occurred just as the Federal Government
through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the Ministry of
Petroleum Resources along with allied agencies has been making concerted
efforts to improve gas supplies to the power plants.
“Such efforts led to previously offline plants like Ihovbor and
Sapele coming back online and the subsequent output making up for the
loss in power.
The pipelines, Bello said, are being actively monitored for further attacks.
Available records show that six incidences of vandalism from December
2014 to February 2015 which affected the Trans Forcados Pipeline (at
Oben, Sapele, Oredo) and Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (CNL) led to a
loss of 1,100 mmscfd. According to industry experts, a loss of 200 mmscd
is equivalent to a power reduction of 700MW.
Apple supplier Foxconn has reportedly
offered around $5.3 billion (¥625 billion) to purchase troubled Japanese
electronics maker Sharp, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The report claims that Sharp is also reviewing a competing offer from
the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), possibly in the
range of $2.5 billion (¥300 billion). INCJ already owns a controlling
stake in Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by the display
making divisions of Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba.
Foxconn is reportedly willing to shoulder all of Sharp's debt in an
effort to persuade the company's creditors. Sharp must repay around $4.3
billion (¥510 billion) it borrowed by March, urging the company and its
lenders to reach a decision by February 4, when it reports its latest
quarterly earnings results, according to the report.
Sharp, which experienced a net loss of nearly $1.9 billion (¥222
billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2015, supplies Apple with LCD
displays for current iPhones. The company is a leading television maker,
and it also sells audio equipment, home appliances, interactive display
systems for business use and more.
Foxconn could begin selling its own line of electronics if it purchased
Sharp, but exactly how it plans to use the company if taken over remains
unknown. Any possible implications for Apple may be short lived, as Japan Display, LG and Samsung are rumored to supply the company with OLED displays for iPhones as early as 2018.
In 2012, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou personally acquired a 38% stake in a Sharp display factory in Sakai, Japan.
The
report reveals that, according to Moolman, the fine imposed on the
mobile operator by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is
actually 95 percent of its annual turnover.
According to a report via leadership.ng Ferdi Moolman, Chief Executive of MTN Nigeria, has stated that the USD $5.2 billion fine could “fold the network.”
The report reveals that, according to Moolman, the fine imposed on
the mobile operator by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is
actually 95 percent of its annual turnover.
Back in October 2015
the NCC had fined the mobile giant for failing to deactivate 5.1
million pre-registered subscriber identification module (SIM) lines
discovered on its network.
According to the leadership.ng report, Moolman had stated that the
telecom giant had noted that the fine was indeed harsh; however, the
operator had learnt its lesson from it, and would work to restore
relationship with the regulator, stakeholders and its customers.
In the report he stated that: “I see a situation where the
relationship with NCC is restored in the interest of the Nigerian
public, where we start providing services again to the Nigerian public
together with the NCC.”
Moolman added to the report that: “The size of the fine blows my mind
when you start looking at the figure. It is huge, it is massive. How do
you fix it, what do you do? Operating in the telecom world has become
challenging,” he said within the report.
Moolman said, according to leadership.ng,
going forward, MTN is positioning itself as full digital company
playing deep in the broadband, broadcasting and digital content space in
the information and communications technology sector. “We would like to
take this company from a telecom company to a people’s company so that
people can communicate with each other, entertain themselves, something
that people are proud to be part of.
On SIM registration, Moolman said that a solid database of MTN’s
subscribers was key to the next phase of the telecommunications
revolution, especially in the area of broadband provisioning. He said it
had commenced a complete re-registration of all its more than 63
million subscribers in Nigeria.
Nkechi Isaac
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has
tasked Nigerian engineers to strengthen their efforts toward
diversifying national economy through the promotion of local engineering
technology.
He threw the challenge when he received a delegation from the
Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) led by its president, Prof. Rauf
Salawu in his office in Abuja.
He said: “I would like to talk in a plain language because you are
the apex of the engineering profession as members of the academy. We
would like to challenge the Nigerian engineers to do more than they are
doing today to make sure that we can really diversify our economy
because the situation that we find ourselves today in our country I
don’t think any Nigerian is really happy with it, a situation that
basically all the things
that we need we import them.
“We believe that our engineers should work harder and take up the
challenge to ensure that we import less than we are importing today and
through import substitution we will be in a position to produce many of
the things that we need because if we don’t do that we may wake up one
day and find/discover that we’ll be carrying money in trucks to buy even
bread; and our engineers really have to take up this challenge and work
to make sure that here in Nigeria our country we can be producers
rather than just being consumers, we should be able to produce as well
as consume.”
Saying such effort will help the present administration to realise
its main objectives, he urged them to help in actualising President
Muhammadu Buhari’s quest to build a strong and resilient economy.
“We want to assure you that the ministry will take our nation to the
level where we no longer have the sort of problems we are having today.
We are convinced that if we work as we should that there is no reason
why our country will have problems in terms of the things that we can
produce ourselves and the technology that we can develop.
Abuja
— Wider cooperation in science and technology will be mutually
beneficial for China and Nigeria as bilateral ties has reached a
milestone, Nigerian minister of science and technology Ogbonnaya Onu
told Xinhua Wednesday.
The senior Nigerian
official, who is leading a delegation to China, will hold talks with
his Chinese counterpart and the organized private sector.
"As a nation, we
believe that there are so many lessons we can learn when we cooperate
with a nation like China. My meeting with my counterpart in China will
be around strengthening the relationship between our two countries,
particularly in the areas of science and technology," he said in Abuja,
ahead of his visit to the East Asian nation.
His visit will also
serve as an avenue to convince more Chinese investors to do business in
Nigeria and see that, as Africa's largest economy, there is tremendous
potential to improve lives and the people's standard of living through
the science and technology sector.
"We would like to
explore new areas of cooperation that will help nurture better
understanding between our two nations. We want to improve the standard
of living of our people. We want to be in a position to use science and
technology to secure our nation, grow our economy and create jobs," the
minister said.
Taxis block a main road in Budapest's city centre, Hungary, January 18, 2016.
Reuters/Laszlo Balogh
Taxi drivers in Hungary's capital
demonstrated on Monday against ride-hailing service Uber, whose growing
popularity they find unpalatable amid new regulations setting a fixed
tariff for traditional taxi firms that is higher than Uber's.
Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Violence, Strong Language
Open-world revenge never tasted so good… by Garrett Glass
I remember feeling overwhelmed in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater due to
the sudden shift in setting. Instead of taking place in urban settings
like the first two games, where radar technology was so advanced that I
could see my enemy’s field of vision, it took place in the jungle where I
had to rely situational awareness to keep track of my enemies and
camouflage to blend in with the jungle. Every MGS after the third would
increasingly open up, allowing us more and more options to complete
missions, and eventually giving us the ability to recruit other
soldiers. Now that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been
released, I’m not sure how Kojima could continue to expand on the series
now that it’s open world; it felt like playing MGS 3 for the first time
all over again.
The Phantom Pain continues the story’s penchant for intense military
drama combined with absurdity, perfectly suited for blowing our minds.
The events of MGS 5 take place 9 years after Ground Zeroes, the demo
Konami released last year that was essentially the equivalent to the
tanker mission in MGS 2. At the end of Ground Zeroes, Snake and his army
are ambushed by Cipher and his organization who destroy Militaires Sans
Frontières, the mother base he had built in Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker. Eventually, Snake wakes up, missing an arm, stuck with a piece
of shrapnel in his head that causes him to forget Russian, and is prone
to hallucinations. After surviving the bizarre events in the hospital,
the rest of the game is about rebuilding his army and exacting revenge
against Cipher.
As I said earlier, the story is as absurd and emotional as the rest
of the series. If you’re a fan of Hideo Kojima’s writing style and have
been invested in the series’ long tale leading up to the events of the
first Metal Gear, then you’ll be entranced by the story. He has changed
his pacing, however. Kojima presents the story episodically, which makes
the game feel like a television series. What’s really surprising is the
sparse amount of dialogue, at least when compared to the previous
games. While Snake still communicates with his allies in the field, he
is no longer bombarded with long, tedious codec calls designed to fill
him in on backstory. I understand that there are many fans who will miss
these calls, myself being one of them, but the alternative Kojima
provides is a series of cassette tapes filled with debriefings. You find
these tapes, which contain conversations between Snake and other
various characters, throughout the open-world map. Otherwise, you can
listen to Ocelot give you tips in the field while still being able to
move around. Not only is this story a satisfying conclusion to Big
Boss’s tale, but its pace is perfectly tailored for the open-world
environment.
Speaking of open world, The Phantom Pain takes some getting used to. The
previous games are linear yet allow us freedom to use whatever items
and tactics we want. In MGS 5, however, you get to pick the landing zone
of the helicopter, as well as how long you wish to remain in the area.
Most of the enemies are confined to bases set up in Afghanistan;
however, I still had to remain somewhat stealthy in the middle of the
desert, as enemy convoy could appear suddenly. If I felt too endangered,
I could even run away from a base to hide deep in the desert,
eventually finding a cliff perfect for surveying the area. For once in
the series I was free to go where I wanted to, but I began to miss the
linear progression with minor backtracking as I became paranoid that I
would alert the enemy without even knowing he was there.
This is when I learned that the binoculars and the iDroid are my best
friends in this game.
Why PlayStation VR Will Be Totally Overpriced (Just Like Oculus)
People are still in sticker shock over the $600 price tag attached to
the Oculus Rift. Especially since one of the initial estimates back in
May 2015, from Oculus' Vice President, only said it would be more than
$200 and the Gear VR starts at $200. There's a lot of hemming and
hawing, with some even suggesting the PlayStation VR could be cheaper.
Except the PlayStation VR will not be cheaper. While some are
wondering if it could comfortably rest around $400, it's very likely
Sony's endeavor will be priced at around $600 too. People seem to have
unreal expectations about who VR is for and the price of a headset.
Perhaps they're thinking of it as more of a standard peripheral. High
end keyboards, controllers, headsets, and mice exist, but you can get
something pretty amazing for under $200. Headsets are different, due to
the technology within. The Oculus Rift has an OLED screen, 2160x1200
resolution, 110 degree field of view, 90 Hz refresh rate, built in
microphone and audio, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, external
Constellation positional tracking, and connections for HDMI and USB 2.0
and 3.0. It's a complicated machine that's essentially a headset,
monitor, and controller in one. Of course it's costly.
But the PlayStation VR has the potential to carry the same price tag.
Perhaps even more, if you think about it. It also has a OLED screen, a
1920xRGBx1920 resolution, a 100 degree field of view, a 90-120 Hz
refresh rate, accelerometer, gyroscope, PlayStation Eye tracking system,
and connections for HDMI and USB. All of the specifications are
comparable. It could be very plausible for Sony to come right out and
say the PlayStation VR is $600 too.
Especially since there's the elephant in the room with the
PlayStation VR. I'm talking about the external processing unit. It needs
one to run. The Oculus Rift is relying on all sorts of computer
upgrades, which a person will purchase separately. Sony has to pack in
the external processor, which is supposedly the size of a Wii U, with
its headset. That bulks up the price. Even if it was shooting for under
$600, the external processor could easily add an extra $100 onto the
cost of the system.
Virtual reality is going to be expensive. We've been spoiled by
things like the Gear VR, which was more casual and reasonable. The heavy
duty headsets, like the PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift, aren't meant
for people who are willing to spend about $200 on a peripheral. They're
meant for people who could easily toss $600 at the headset without even
flinching. The PlayStation VR is going to be expensive too, and people
should use the Oculus Rift price announcement to help themselves brace
for that.
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for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence
and/or infrequent use of mild language.
Big on Offensive, Fails on Defense by Patrick Tretina:
EA Sports' fall lineup is shaping out to be one of the best the
publisher has dished out in a very long time. This year has been all
about EA’s redemption story and how they’ve managed to pick up the
pieces and improve the quality issues that’s plagued them in the recent
past. For me personally, it all started with the vast improvements in
NHL 16, FIFA 16, and reportedly Madden 16. I’ll have to admit, after
reading several optimistic press releases, I was skeptical that EA
Sports could even come close to recapturing my heart as they did when I
was young. However, after spending some significant time with both NHL
16 and FIFA 16, they’ve definitely managed to instil some much needed
old-school nostalgia into this year's titles. Yes, the only question
that remains is can NBA Live 16 make it four in a row for EA Sports'
fall 2016 lineup, or will the highly touted basketball simulator fall
flat on its face?
This year’s version of NBA Live 16 seems to focus solely on you, the
player. Upon initially booting up the game disc, you're presented with
the option of downloading EA’s NBA-Live GameFaceHD Companion app, which
allows players to scan their face with a mobile phone. I whipped out my
iPhone 5S and followed along with EA’s on-screen guide that is built
right into the opening game tutorial. Once the facial scan was complete,
EA uploaded my captured image directly to their servers, which I then
applied to my created character. Once I managed to get past the pain of
capturing and recapturing of my face, along with navigating the buggy
iOS app, the result was actually pretty cool. My captured facial image
didn’t come out as perfect as advertised, unless I just look somewhat
like an alien in real life, but having the option to do so was pretty
awesome regardless.
After being buried knee-deep in the GameFaceHD app as if I was
learning to change a diaper for the first time, I decided to customize
my new baller so that he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. It’s no
secret that the game of basketball, regardless of what level you’re at,
is shrouded in both hip-hop and fashion-based culture. The quality of a
player’s game is just as important as the shoes beneath their feet and
the shorts that hangs from their hips. NBA Live 16 is no exception and I
took full advantage of the customization options. The Live Spot is
where players can completely personalize their character from the ground
up. Everything from tops, shorts, shoes, headbands, and even socks can
tailored to the player's liking.
Feeling like reliving the glory days of Allen Iverson and his famous
array of on-court accessories? Not a problem, head on over to the Live
Spot Outfit Selection screen and rock as many finger bands, knees pads,
shooting sleeves, and just about everything else that made Iverson
standout from his competition. Similarly, if you’re one of those dudes
that shows up to the court like a weirdo in jeans and a long-sleeve on a
90-degree summer day, NBA Live will oblige you with a wealth of
unorthodox options - the choice is entirely up to you, even if it’s the
wrong one.
Take your fully customized character from Live Spot into either
Rising Star Career mode or Live Pro-Am, which features the reemergence
of the popular Live Run option that allows players to play 5-on-5 over
PSN or Xbox Live. I spent a majority of my time engrossed in the Rising
Star Career mode and the wealth of options that came along with it. The
mode started me out in the Adidas Rookie Showcase, where I matched up
against this year’s past rookie draft class before being selected by the
Phoenix Suns with the 13th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. After logging
nearly a dozen or so regular season games, I have to say that I’m really
impressed by the overall offering of the mode. Not only will you have
to work your way into the starting lineup, but you will also need to
adjust your playing style in order to fit with how the team runs their
particular scheme. Your player is awarded experience points, which can
be spent on gear and attributes, based on how stellar your gameplay was.
Don’t worry, if you suck like old man Kendrick Perkins, then the game
will simply give you some much needed pointers rather than deduct
attributes.
When I was looking for a break from the traditional organized
basketball set of Rising Star mode, I took my created player over into
the Live Pro-Am offering, which reminded of the classic NBA Street
games. I faced off against follow PSN members, presumable fellow
reviewers or
A new program
from Microsoft is encouraging Apple Watch users to switch over to the
Microsoft Band 2 with a few tiers of trade-in initiatives (via Cult of Mac).
The company is offering "as much as" $150 for the aluminum Apple Watch
Sport, $200 for the stainless steel Apple Watch with a Sport band, and
$250 for the Apple Watch with Milanese Loop.
The Microsoft Band 2 itself costs $250,
so the Milanese Loop trade-in offer is the only one available that
would fully pay off the price of the wearable band. Microsoft is also
accepting other wearables for users to trade for a new Band 2, including
a FitBit Flex ($10), Sony SmartWatch 3 ($25), and Pebble Time Steel
($25). For any successful trade-in, a device must abide by a few
stipulations listed by Microsoft:
• Device's housing and band are completely intact without cracks or missing parts.
• Device is completely functional, including:
-All keys work.
-Device powers on.
-Device screen is not cracked or broken.
-Device screen responds to touch
-No security codes or PIN codes are required to operate the device.
The program runs for a few more weeks, ending on February 7, and is
available only to users on the Microsoft Online Store in the United
States and Canada. Microsoft unveiled
the Band 2 at an event back in October, and launched it the same month,
introducing a new curved screen with durable Corning Gorilla Glass 3
and an improved touch display on the wearable smartwatch.
Response to the new generation of the Microsoft Band wasn't entirelypositive,
so the company's new trade-in program could be an attempt to generate
some sales for the device in the months leading up to the Apple Watch
2's rumored launch in April.
Uber Nigeria to take cash payments. (Image Source: openviewpartners.com)
According to a report via today.ng,
Uber will launch a cash payment experiment in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday
January 18, 2016. The report reveals that, in order to pay via cash,
Uber app users can now select the cash payment option within the app.
Once at their destination, the Uber user will simply hand over the fair
to the driver.
The report reveals that Lagos was selected for a cash experiment
because it provided Uber with the right environment to test a cash
payment option amongst a sizeable and sophisticated rider and driver
community. Uber is encouraging all riders to make use of the service and
give feedback, as information gained from riders is what will will make
this a successful test. So riders are encouraged to ride and share
their feedback with Uber at support.lagos@uber.com or on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #UberCashLagos.
The report further states that some users will not have access to the
feature as of yet. This is due to the new payment option being rolled
out over the next few weeks.
Back in June 2015, IT News Africa interviewed Ebi Atawodi, GM for
Uber Nigeria. In the interview Antawodi discussed how Uber has taken off
in Nigeria. The video interview can be viewed here.
The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has announced plans to
make tertiary education in the fields of science, technology and
education free, in his speech on the country’s budget.
Photo: US Institute of Peace
"Indeed, this will mark a historic milestone for us as a nation"
Buhari laid out this and other plans for the country’s education
sector at the 2016 budget speech, given to the National Assembly last
month.
“The challenge will be to ensure that they have the quality of teaching staff on the ground to deliver this pledge”
He announced that the government is working with development partners
to design “an implementable and transparent conditional cash transfer
programme for the poorest and most vulnerable”.
“In the coming weeks, we will present the full programme, which will
include our home-grown public primary school feeding and free education
for science, technology and education students in our tertiary
institutions,” he said.
“Indeed, this will mark a historic milestone for us as a nation.”
Dubbed the “Budget of Change”, Buhari proposed a budget of N6.08tr
($30.5bn), of which N369.6bn ($1.8bn) will be spent on education.
Stuart Rennie, managing director of SJRennie Consulting,
which focuses on African markets, said free tertiary education for
students studying science, technology and education could encourage more
Nigerian students to go into these fields.
“Buhari and his government are aware that they can no longer rely on the price of oil to sustain their economy,” he told The PIE News.
“They need to reverse the brain drain that has been flowing out of
Nigeria and look to provide education opportunities to all levels of
society in the STEM subjects.”
“This in the future will allow Nigeria to start investing in its own
manufacturing and engineering industries, without having to buy in
expertise and capacity from overseas.”
According to Rennie, capacity issues, along with delivering “work
ready graduates with the right skills set”, are key challenges for
Nigeria, and are motivating Nigerian students to study overseas.
“The challenge will be to ensure that they have the quality of teaching staff on the ground to deliver this pledge,” he said.
The same capacity issues could prevent higher education institutions
from seeing the massive pull towards these subjects, said Bukky
Awofisayo, regional manager at UKEAS in Nigeria.
“I think problems to be solved alongside or before the free tuition
is to improve quality of offering and learning facilities at tertiary
institutions and provision of more institutions to absorb more
postsecondary school leaving students,” she said.
However she acknowledged the funding is a welcome move from the government.
“I believe it’s a step in the right direction to start to fix our education and institutional problems”
“Given the chunk allocated to education in the 2016 budget, I believe
it’s a step in the right direction to start to fix our education and
institutional problems,” she added.
Folabi Obembe, owner of Worldview Events,
which organises education fairs across Africa, said that because
students are “paying little or perhaps nothing for education in most
federal universities, free education in this subject area will only make
the subject popular but not attractive to students”.
“Also, the institutions are currently oversubscribed and hard to
manage an ever-stretched resources making the quality of education in
federal and state owned institutions decreasing,” he said.
Obembe also added that “the Nigeria government must implement
policies that give the impetus for quality, by modelling teaching and
learning to meet the challenge of the current world and its future
development”.
“They must be built from a clear vision of the impact Nigeria seeks to achieve through education.”
Also as part of the budget, Buhari said that as an emergency measure,
the government will partner with state and local governments “to
recruit, train and deploy 500,000 unemployed graduates and NCE [Nigerian
Certificate in Education] holders”.
This will be introduced in order to address the shortage of teachers in public schools across the country.
“These graduate teachers will be deployed to primary schools,
thereby, enhancing the provision of basic education especially in our
rural areas,” he said in his speech to the National Assembly.
Photo: US Institute of Peace