Sci-Tech

‘Fortnite’ frenzy reigns at E3 gaming expo

  by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse   LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) wrapped up in Los Angeles on Thursday with the video game “Fortnite” knocking out other contenders to emerge as the star of a show which highlighted the surging interest in competitive eSports. “Fortnite” maker Epic Games has found a groove with its “battle royale” title in which scores of players fight against each other to be the […]

Cloud play on the horizon in changing video game world

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Console makers long at the center of the video game universe are adapting to an exploding constellation of ways to play, with the cloud looming on the horizon. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony remained stars, with rival Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch gaming hardware respectively, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) show floor that opened in Los Angeles on Tuesday. But the premier industry gathering was […]

Ubisoft sees blockbusters shaped by fans and stars

by Glen Chapman Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — French video game giant Ubisoft is teaming up with a firm founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to crowd source material for a forthcoming title, the companies announced Monday on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Ubisoft has long tapped into feedback from players while designing games, but the latest step will allow some to make content woven into scenes. An invitation to collaborate […]

Microsoft looks past next-gen Xbox to cloud games

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The head of Xbox on Sunday said Microsoft is hard at work on a next-generation console along with a cloud service that would let players stream games to any device. Microsoft is adding five new game studios, one it is creating in Southern California and another four it is buying, Xbox team chief Phil Spencer said. “We are making one of our greatest single year’s investments in teams by […]

Foxconn unit becomes most valuable China-listed tech company

SHANGHAI, China (AFP)- A unit of electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn soared by the maximum allowable 44 percent in its stock debut in Shanghai on Friday to become the most valuable tech company listed in mainland China. Foxconn Industrial Internet, which makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment, and industrial robots, ended the day with a market value of $61 billion after the biggest IPO in China in nearly three years. The company closed at 19.82 yuan per […]

Facebook admits privacy settings ‘bug’ affecting 14 million users

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook acknowledged Thursday a software glitch that changed the settings of some 14 million users, potentially making some posts public even if they were intended to be private. The news marked the latest in a series of privacy embarrassments for the world’s biggest social network, which has faced a firestorm over the hijacking of personal data on tens of millions of users and more recently for disclosures on data-sharing […]

Flying car startup backed by Google founder offers test flights

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A flying car project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page was closer to take-off on Wednesday, with a model for test flights by aspiring buyers. Kitty Hawk, funded by Page, unveiled a “Flyer” model it described as “an exciting first step to sharing the freedom of flight.” The company was created last year in Google’s home town of Mountain View, California, and has been testing a prototype in New […]

Facebook staff to learn Sinhala insults after Sri Lanka riots

by Amal Jayasinghe © Agence France-Presse COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Three months after Sri Lanka was rocked by deadly anti-Muslim riots fuelled by online vitriol, Facebook is training its staff to identify inflammatory content in the country’s local languages. The social network has been seeking penance in Sri Lanka after authorities blocked Facebook in March as incendiary posts by Buddhist hardliners fanned religious violence that left three people dead and reduced hundreds of mosques, homes […]

In South Africa, a unique telescope link-up scans deep space

by Susan NJANJI Agence France-Presse SUTHERLAND, South Africa (AFP) — Scientists in South Africa on Friday launched the world’s first optical telescope linked to a radio telescope, combining “eyes and ears” to try to unravel the secrets of the universe. The device forms part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project in the remote Karoo desert, which will be the world’s most powerful radio telescope system. The latest move combines the new optical telescope MeerLITCH […]

Facebook says Chinese phone makers got access to data

  by Glenn Chapman © Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday confirmed that a Chinese phone maker deemed a national security threat by the US was among companies given access to data on users. Huawei was able to access Facebook data to get the leading social network’s applications to perform on smartphones, according to the California-based company. “Facebook along with many other US tech companies have worked with them and other […]

Scans reveal newsprint, second painting under Picasso

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Infrared imaging technology has helped peel back the layers of a Pablo Picasso painting on display in Japan, and revealed a page from a 1902 newspaper and another composition below. US and Japanese researchers scanned the piece “Mother and Child by the Sea”, owned by the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, west of Tokyo, and uncovered a page of the French newspaper Le Journal from January 18, 1902. “While the […]

SpaceX delays plans to send tourists around Moon: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX will not send tourists around the Moon this year as previously announced, and will delay the project until the middle of next year, US media reported on Monday. “A new timetable for the flight — now postponed until at least mid-2019 and likely longer — hasn’t been released” by the California-based company, said the report in The Wall Street Journal. The reason for the delay is unclear. But it is […]