These are the articles, videos, podcasts and more that caught the eye of TechCentral’s editorial team in the past 24 hours.
- Volvo admits defeat, won’t go fully electric by 2030: Volvo has revised its goal of becoming a fully electric brand by 2030. The company now plans to be flexible with its timeline, acknowledging that customer demand and infrastructure development may impact the pace of its transition. While still committed to electrification, Volvo aims to adjust based on market conditions rather than adhering to a strict deadline. Read more on Motor1.com. DM
- GoPro Hero 13 review – 27 things to know: GoPro has released its latest action camera, and DC Rainmaker already has an in-depth review up on YouTube. Is the new GoPro worth upgrading to? Turns out it’s the biggest upgrade to the world’s most popular action camera in years. Your correspondent’s Hero 8 model is suddenly looking rather long in the tooth. Watch more on YouTube. DM
- We tested Wi-Fi on over 50 flights. It often stinks, but it’s about to get better: Airlines use a patchwork of really old technologies to provide Wi-Fi internet connections on flights – that’s if they can. The technology has proven unreliable so far. Now, newer low-Earth orbit satellite solutions by Starlink and Intelsat are blowing up the charts in performance. Read more in the The Wall Street Journal (hard paywall). NN
- Why are some people’s mosquito bites itchier than others’? New study hints at answer: Some people just can’t stop scratching after a mosquito bite, while for others life goes on as though nothing ever happened. Researchers have isolated the cells responsible for the intensity of the immune response caused by allergens such as mosquito saliva, opening a path towards the treatment of chronic itch disorders. Okay, but what about people who are never bitten by mosquitoes at all – we want to know their secret. Read more on Live Science. NN
- AI’s solution to the ‘cocktail party problem’ used in court: One of the reasons people stop going out to loud parties as they get older is so they can hear the person they are talking to. Humans have a remarkable ability to hold a conversation with one person while filtering out the noise in a busy room, and now AI can do that, too. The technology has been used in a case involving murder for hire amid a child custody dispute where damning agreements were come to in a noisy restaurant. Read more on BBC. NN
- German navy blasts Darth Vader’s Imperial March from its warship in London : The German navy claims there was “no deeper message” when one of its naval ships cruised down the River Thames in London, blasting Darth Vader’s Imperial March theme song along the way. There is no evidence to suggest Luke Skywalker’s father was on the ship at the time, but Jedis in the solar system have been put on high alert. Read more on The Guardian. NN
- Microsoft to announce ‘next phase of Copilot’ on 16 September: Microsoft is holding a special Copilot event later this month that will be focused on “the next phase of Copilot innovation”. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and vice president of AI at work Jared Spataro will host the “Wave 2” Copilot event on 16 September. This keynote is likely to garner a lot of attention from business IT users. Read more on The Verge. DM
Top stories on TechCentral in the past 24 hours
- A tale of two internets: from trade wars to 6G
- And now for the software-defined EV
- ASML CEO: US restrictions on China ‘economically motivated’
- The crime problem crippling Eskom and Transnet
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