Lifestyle

Apple-1 computer fetches $375,000 at auction

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — An Apple-1, a rare model of the first computer produced by the now-iconic tech firm, fetched $375,000 in an auction this week, according to Boston-based RR Auction. The computer was among 175 of those sold by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak from their production in a garage in Silicon Valley in the early days of Apple in 1976 and 1977. The model originally went for $666.66 when it was […]

Facebook unveils upgraded wireless Oculus headset in VR push

SAN JOSE, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Wednesday unveiled an upgraded Oculus virtual reality headset with power to handle the intensive graphics of digital worlds in a wire-free experience. The new Oculus Quest headset unveiled at the Facebook unit’s developer conference is being aimed at gamers seeking immersion in virtual worlds, with other potential applications likely in the future. “This is the wireless virtual reality experience we have been waiting for,” Facebook chief executive […]

Instagram departures add to woes for Facebook

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The departure of Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger adds to the woes of parent firm Facebook as it tries to repair its image hurt by privacy scandals and curb manipulation and misinformation. Instagram, created as a photo-sharing app and purchased by Facebook for $1 billion, has been one of the fastest-growing segments of the California tech giant’s “family” of applications and […]

Instagram co-founders resign from Facebook-owned company

  by Julie Charpentrat Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have announced they are leaving the photo-sharing app bought by Facebook six years ago, setting a new test for the parent company as it works to quell mounting turmoil. “Mike and I are grateful for the last eight years at Instagram and six years with the Facebook team,” Systrom said in a statement late Monday, […]

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveils $2 billion philanthropic fund

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, said Thursday he was creating a philanthropic fund to help homeless families and launch preschools in low-income communities, committing an initial $2 billion to the cause. Bezos made the announcement on Twitter a year after asking for ideas on how he could use his personal fortune — now estimated at more than $160 […]

Apple to broaden iPhone lineup with more screen

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple on Wednesday was expected to unveil new iPhones, playing up eye-grabbing edge-to-edge screens in a bid to strengthen its position in a largely saturated global smartphone market. Apple has remained mum about revelations planned for the event at its spaceship campus in Silicon Valley, but the timing fits its pattern of annually introducing iPhone updates. In a first for Apple, the event […]

Facebook to build $1 bn Singapore data center, first in Asia

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Facebook said Thursday it will invest over $1 billion to build a data center in Singapore, its first in Asia, powered by renewable energy and adapted to the city-state’s tropical climate. The center is expected to be operational around 2022, and will host Facebook servers and centralize its IT operations, Thomas Furlong, Facebook vice president of infrastructure data centers, told reporters. The 170,000 square meters (1.83 million square foot) site in the […]

1.4 billion risk disease from lack of exercise: WHO

  by Patrick Galey Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 1.4 billion adults are putting themselves at heightened risk of deadly diseases by not getting enough exercise, doctors are warning, with global activity levels virtually unchanged in nearly two decades. With richer nations enjoying an increasingly comfortable, sedentary lifestyle, a study by the World Health Organization said a third of women and a quarter of men worldwide are in the firing line […]

Facebook rolls out video service worldwide

PARIS, France (AFP) — Facebook said Wednesday it is rolling out globally its Watch video service, which has already been available in the United States for more than a year. “We designed the product not just in a mindless consumption but in order to get people engaged,” said Fidji Simo, Facebook’s vice president for video. Facebook launched Watch amid a shift in video viewing habits away from traditional television to online platforms including Netflix and […]

Conch salad completes the Bahamian experience

By Tenny Tamulong EBC Florida Bureau NASSAU, Bahamas (Eagle News) — The combination of fresh sweet onion, chopped red tomatoes, green pepper, a pinch of salt to taste, a squeezed lime, orange and lemon juice, and most importantly, freshly-caught conch, make up the famous conch salad. This delicious meal has captured the heart of both tourists and locals alike. Conch salad is never missing when one visits the “Fish Fry”, an area in Arawak Cay […]

Tinder founders sue parent firm alleging cheating on stock options

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP)–Tinder founders and early employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing parent firm InterActiveCorp of cheating them out of billions of dollars by manipulating the value of stock options for the popular dating app. The suit filed in New York contends that IAC and its spinoff Match Group, which owns Tinder, schemed to dramatically drive down the value of stock options and then eliminate them altogether. The companies “made contractual promises to […]

Skin bleaching in Africa: An ‘addiction’ with risks

  by Stephanie Findlay with AFP bureaus in Africa Agence France-Presse LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Dr. Isima Sobande was in medical school when she first heard of mothers who bleached the skin of their babies. She dismissed it as an urban myth. But it wasn’t long before she saw it with her own eyes. At a health center in Lagos, a mother brought in a two-month-old infant who was crying in pain. “He had very large […]