BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka asks China to restructure its debt
The president of crisis-hit Sri Lanka has asked China to restructure its debt repayments as part of efforts to help the South Asian country navigate its worsening financial situation. Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the request during a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday. In the last decade China has lent Sri Lanka over $5bn (£3.7bn) for projects including roads, an airport and port ... Read more
2022-01-09 19:51:21
France fines Google and Facebook over cookies
French regulators have hit Google and Facebook with fines totalling 210m euros (£175m) over use of cookies. Data privacy watchdog the CNIL said both sites were making it difficult for internet users to refuse the online trackers. Consent for the use of cookies is key to the EU's data-privacy regulation and a major priority for the CNIL. The social-media firms have three months to comply or face ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:40:04
Google loses Sonos smart speakers patent fight
Smart-speaker firm Sonos has won a major legal battle against Google over patents it said the firm had infringed. The decision means that Google's smart speakers and other smart home tech that uses the offending systems cannot be imported to the United States. Sonos contends that Google will have to "degrade" its speakers if it refuses to pay Sonos a licensing fee. But the tech giant ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:39:37
CES 2022: Colour changing cars and remotes that eat wi-fi
One of the tech calendar's biggest annual events, CES, has been taking place in Las Vegas this week. The pandemic and fears over the spread of the Omicron variant meant numbers of attendees were down and some of the largest firms, including Meta, Google and Amazon, pulled out. But there was still plenty of weird and wonderful technology on show. Here's a look at some of the trends and more outl ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:38:49
Bitcoin prices fall to lowest in months after US Fed remarks
Bitcoin prices have fallen to their lowest level in months following remarks from the US Federal Reserve. The crypto-currency dropped in value from $47,000 (£34,700) earlier this week to less than $42,000 (£31,000) per digital coin. It follows minutes from a meeting of the Federal Reserve, which suggested it may raise interest rates. Political events in Kazakhstan have also raised concerns abou ... Read more
2022-01-07 18:38:06
NFT marketplace OpenSea valued at more than $13bn
An online marketplace OpenSea says it is now worth $13.3bn (£9.8bn) following a new investment of $300m. The platform enables trade in NFTs (non-fungible tokens), unique pieces of digital code that can be associated with a digital asset such as a work of digital art. Some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars. OpenSea says trades on the platform rose 600-fold last year, but some critics say th ... Read more
2022-01-06 19:17:02
Drone helps save cardiac arrest patient in Sweden
An autonomous drone has helped to save the life of a 71-year-old man who was suffering a cardiac arrest. The drone delivered a defibrillator to a doctor helping the man, who became ill while shovelling snow outside his house in Trollhattan, Sweden. The man, who didn't wish to be named, told the BBC it was "fantastic" that it arrived so quickly. The company behind the drone says it mea ... Read more
2022-01-06 19:16:34
China Mobile shares rise in Shanghai debut after US exit
China Mobile shares have risen as they started trading in Shanghai after raising $7.7bn (£5.7bn) in China's biggest public offering in a decade. The shares opened 9.4% higher before ending the day just 0.5% higher. China Mobile's smaller rivals, China Telecom and China Unicom, have already made the move to their home country. The three firms were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:31:24
Kosovo bans cryptocurrency mining after blackouts
Kosovo has banned the mining of cryptocurrencies to curb electricity use as it grapples with an energy crisis caused by soaring global prices. The government says security services will identify and clamp down on sources of cryptocurrency mining. The mining is energy intensive and involves verifying digital transactions to get cryptocurrencies as a reward. While all of Europe faces sharp price ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:31:07
Vodafone and EE delay EU roaming charges return
Vodafone is delaying the reintroduction of roaming charges in Europe by three weeks. The phone network had planned to bring in post-Brexit roaming fees on 6 January, matching other networks who plan to do so in 2022. But it said more time was needed for testing, and the change will now come in at the end of January. EE has also delayed resuming its roaming charges, which were planned for Januar ... Read more
2022-01-05 19:30:32