Current News/Innovations

Fake Apple chargers fail safety tests Investigators have warned consumers they face potentially fatal risks after 99% of fake Apple chargers failed a basic safety test. Of 400 counterfeit chargers, only three were found to have enough insulation to protect against electric shocks. It comes as Apple has complained of a "flood" of fakes being sold on Amazon.  Apple revealed in October that it was suing a third-party vendor, which it said was putting customers "at risk" by selling power adapters masquerading as those sold by the Californian tech firm.  It might cost a few pounds more, but counterfeit and second-hand goods are an unknown entity that could cost you your home or even your life, or the life of a loved-one,"said by Leon Livermore, the chief executive of Chartered Trading Standards Institute. How to spot a dangerous fake charger Plug pins - Plug the charger into a socket, but don't switch it on or connect to a device. If the c...

ISIS Tells Supporters to Quit Messaging Apps for Fear of US Bombs ISIS has told its members to stop using internet-based communication apps like WhatsApp and Telegram on smartphones, suspecting they are being used by the US-led coalition to track and kill its commanders. Until recently, the hardline group used such apps to chat with members and supporters outside its main areas of control in Syria, Iraq and Libya - including, say French officials, the assailants who staged attacks across Paris a year ago, killing at least 130 people. A US-led military coalition has been bombing ISIS positions since 2014, when the group proclaimed a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Twenty commanders of the group were killed this year, including spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani. "If you get onto the programs like WhatsApp and Telegram or others from Mosul, and get in touch with a person being tracked, the crusaders will start thinking about you ... assessing your importance and iden...

HMD Announces Official Entry Into the Mobile Market With Nokia-Branded Phone Finnish company HMD Global has officially announced its entry into the mobile market with Nokia-branded phones. The first Nokia-branded Android smartphones will be available in the first half of 2017, HMD said in a press statement on Thursday. The announcement comes less than six months after the company signed a strategic licensing agreement with Nokia , giving HMD the exclusive use of the Nokia brand on mobile phones and tablets worldwide for the next 10 years. Back then, Nokia had said it was the process of acquiring from Microsoft the rights to use the "Nokia" trademark on feature phones until 2024, and design rights relating to Microsoft's feature phone business, which Redmond had acquired after it purchased Nokia's mobile business in 2013. With Thursday's announcement, it's clear that all the necessary arrangements are in place for HMD to use the Nokia name for sm...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's Twitter Account Briefly Suspended The Twitter account of Jack Dorsey, the social network's CEO and co-founder, was briefly suspended Tuesday night because of what he called "an internal mistake." "Just setting up my twttr...again (account suspension was an internal mistake)," Dorsey tweeted late Tuesday. For about 15 minutes those trying to access Dorsey's account received a message stating that the account was suspended. Only the company can suspend Twitter accounts, though users can deactivate their own. The company did not respond to an AFP inquiry. The incident came as Twitter is struggling to increase its user base and seeking a path to profitability. Co-founder Dorsey returned as chief executive last year but has yet to ignite growth. Just weeks after reporting job cuts and a disappointing fiscal quarter, Twitter announced earlier this month that chief operating officer Adam Bain was leaving the company. ...

iPhone 8 With No Home Button: How the iPhone Experience Could Change You may have heard this before, but 2017 will be the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone. You’ve been hearing about it since even before the launch of this year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus , and many have prophesied that for the tenth anniversary, Apple intends to do something truly groundbreaking. A new design is obvious, considering the present one has been in use for three generations now, with minor tweaks. Based on the rumours, iPhone 8 will have an edge-to-edge screen, and also ditch the home button - the most important way of interacting with an iPhone. The fact that this year’s iPhone models ditched the physical button with a haptic simulation of a button press, makes the rumour somewhat believable. But still, it will be a huge shift because the home button performs multiple functions today. Here’s a list of commonly-used tasks it does:  1) Touch to unlock 2) Press once to exit from a...