Sci-Tech

‘Incredible’: Astronomers hail first images of asteroid impact

Paris, France (AFP) — The asteroid is flying through space in the grainy black and white video, when suddenly a massive cloud of debris sprays out in front of it, meaning only one thing: impact. Astronomers have hailed this early footage of the first time humanity deliberately smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, saying it looks like it did a “lot of damage”. That would be good news, because NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) […]

Apple to make iPhone 14 in India in shift away from China

Mumbai, India (AFP) Apple will manufacture its new flagship smartphone in India, the US tech giant said Monday, as it seeks to diversify production away from a dependence on China. The iPhone supply chain is based mainly in China but the country’s zero-Covid policies and tensions with the United States have hurt production, analysts say. “We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a brief statement. The California-based firm already makes […]

Elon Musk and Twitter dig for evidence as trial looms

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter and Elon Musk sparred in court on Tuesday, each digging for evidence to prevail in a high-stakes trial next month over the billionaire’s bid to break his buyout deal. Musk has been keen to find evidence to back his accusation that Twitter misled regulators and investors about what portion of accounts are actually spam or software “bots,” as well as its key measures regarding growth. Twitter, which has […]

Direct impact or nuclear weapons? How to save Earth from an asteroid

by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse Laurel, United States (AFP) — NASA’s DART mission to test deflecting an asteroid using “kinetic impact” with a spaceship is just one way to defend planet Earth from an approaching object — and for now, the only method possible with current technology. The operation is like playing billiards in space, using Newton’s laws of motion to guide us. If an asteroid threat to Earth were real, a mission might […]

NASA gears up to deflect asteroid, in key test of planetary defense

by Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA on Monday will attempt a feat humanity has never before accomplished: deliberately smacking a spacecraft into an asteroid to slightly deflect its orbit, in a key test of our ability to stop cosmic objects from devastating life on Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spaceship launched from California last November and is fast approaching its target, which it will strike at roughly 14,000 […]

Google, Meta face record fines in South Korea over privacy violations

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea has fined Google and Meta more than $71 million collectively for gathering users’ personal information without consent for tailored ads, regulators said Wednesday, the country’s highest-ever data protection fines. Investigations into the two US tech giants found they had been “collecting and analyzing” data on their users, and monitoring their use of websites and applications, the Personal Information Protection Commission said. The data was used to “infer the […]

Ford unveils newest Mustang, extending gasoline-powered life

by John BIERS Agence France-Presse DETROIT, United States (AFP) — Ford unveiled Wednesday its seventh-generation Mustang in a brash and boisterous launch event in downtown Detroit that pointed to the staying power of gasoline-powered vehicles. The big reveal had been teased for months by company officials and organized as a celebration of the 58-year-old model. The event, organized for Ford employees and Mustang mavens, featured pulsating music, slickly produced videos on wide screens and a […]

Ex-Google CEO says Ukraine proves value of IT in war

by Sylvie LANTEAUME Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ukraine has been a very effective proving ground for the use of contemporary information technology in war, from satellite dishes to smartphone apps, Eric Schmidt, the former Google chief executive, said Monday. Schmidt, now a US government consultant on artificial intelligence, told reporters after a 36-hour visit to the country that the civilian tech sector has been crucial to Kyiv’s defense. The proof came the […]

NASA’s Moon mission pushed back, again

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – NASA is now targeting September 27 as the earliest possible launch date for its uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the Moon, the agency said in a blog post Monday. The date would depend on engineering teams successfully carrying out a test to fuel up the Space Launch System rocket, and receive a waiver to avoid retesting batteries on an emergency flight system that is used to destroy the rocket if […]

Apple unveils new gadgets despite supply chain woes

CUPERTINO, United States (AFP) – Apple launched new smartphones Wednesday at prices similar to recent models despite inflation and supply chain woes, while unveiling a premium digital watch with a price tag to match. While a 90-minute presentation at the company’s California headquarters did not include any surprise reveals, the tech giant did unveil new digital identification system to obviate the need for a physical sim card. The company’s newest smartphone, the iPhone 14, costs […]

NASA unsure next Moon rocket launch attempt possible this month

United States (AFP) by Lucie AUBOURG After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story lunar rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA officials said Saturday it may not be possible to try again this month. The current launch window for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon ends Tuesday and is “definitely off the table,” said Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, at a press conference Saturday. The […]

Google’s immersive Street View could be glimpse of metaverse

MOUNTAIN VIEW, United States (AFP) – Fifteen years after its launch, a Google Maps feature that lets people explore faraway places as though standing right there is providing a glimpse of the metaverse being heralded as the future of the internet. There was not yet talk of online life moving to virtual worlds when a “far-fetched” musing by Google co-founder Larry Page prompted Street View, which lets users of the company’s free navigation service see […]