Science and technology

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan earned US $892.972 million by providing different Information Technology (IT) services to various countries during the first four months of the current fiscal year 2023-24. This shows a growth of 4.45 per cent as compared with the US $854.918 million earned through the provision of services during the corresponding months of the last fiscal year 2022-23, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. During the months under review, the export of computer services grew by 4.81 per cent as it surged from US $688.078 million last year to US $721.162 million during July-October 2023. Among the computer services, the exports of software consultancy services witnessed an increase of 93.76 per cent, from US $1.009 million to US $1.955 million this year while the export of hardware consultancy services also surged by 1.13 per cent, from US $253.543 million to US $256.408 million. The export of repair and maintenance services increased by 3.16 per cent from US $0.443

How to sum up the most important news of the year past? The obvious answer in 2023 is to use Artificial Intelligence. In that spirit, I asked OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard – two of the most popular generative AI tools – to do the job for me. Their responses show AI’s power, but also the ways it still falls short, in this case both in terms of Reuters editorial standards and when compared to human editors. ChatGPT told me that “As an AI, I don’t have real-time access to current events or the internet to know the specific events of 2023” before offering me “a hypothetical scenario based on current trends and topics.” Its rosy scenario included the global community agreeing “to a radical and comprehensive set of measures to reduce carbon emissions significantly by 2030”, scientists successfully wrapping up final phase clinical trials of an unnamed cancer vaccine, and the United Nations brokering a deal to end decades of geopolitical tensions in an unspecified region of the world.

Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately in “incognito” mode. The object of the lawsuit was the “incognito” mode on Google’s Chrome browser that the plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that what they were surfing online was not being tracked by the Silicon Valley tech firm. But internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit demonstrated that users using incognito mode were being followed by the search and advertising behemoth for measuring web traffic and selling ads. In a court filing, the judge confirmed that lawyers for Google reached a preliminary agreement to settle the class action lawsuit — originally filed in 2020 — which claimed that “millions of individuals” had likely been affected. Lawyers for the plaintiffs were seeking at least $5,000 for each user it said had been tracked by the firm’s Google Analytics o

Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) has agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people who thought they were doing their browsing privately. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, put a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial in the proposed class action on hold on Thursday, after lawyers for Google and for consumers said they had reached a preliminary settlement. The lawsuit had sought at least $5 billion. Settlement terms were not disclosed, but the lawyers said they have agreed to a binding term sheet through mediation, and expected to present a formal settlement for court approval by Feb. 24, 2024. Neither the tech giant nor lawyers for the plaintiff consumers immediately responded to requests for comment. Read more: NYT sues OpenAI, Microsoft for using copyrighted content to train ChatGPT The plaintiffs alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies and apps let the Alphabet unit track their activity even when they set Google’

BEIJING: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi took the wraps off its first electric vehicle, Xiaomi SU7, on Thursday and promptly announced it was aiming to become one of the world’s top five automakers. The sedan, dubbed the SU7 with the SU short for Speed Ultra, is a highly anticipated model that Chief Executive Lei Jun touted as having “super electric motor” technology capable of delivering acceleration speeds faster than Tesla cars and Porsche’s EVs. But the car – likely to go on sale in several months – is making its debut at a time when China’s auto market – the world’s largest – is wrestling with a capacity glut and slowing demand that have stoked a bruising price war. That didn’t stop Xiaomi Chief Executive Lei Jun from outlining big ambitions. “By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world’s top 5 automakers, striving to lift China’s overall automobile industry,” he said at the unveiling. Those plans include building “a dream car comparable to

MOSCOW: Russian and US space agencies have agreed to keep working together to deliver crews to the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2025, Russian corporation Roscosmos said Thursday. The space sector — including its so-called cross-flights that involve sending crews from different nationalities on one spacecraft — is a rare area of cooperation remaining between Moscow and Washington since Russia sent troops to Ukraine. “An agreement was reached to continue cross-flights until 2025 inclusive,” Roscosmos said in a press release. The decision was taken “to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole,” it added. It also aims “to guarantee the presence of at least one representative of Roscosmos on the Russian segment and the presence of at least one representative of NASA on the American segment.” The ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of increased US-Russia cooperation following the Cold War “Space Race.” ISS partners — the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada a

A Tesla software engineer suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by a malfunctioning robot on the floor of the electric car maker’s factory in Austin, Texas. According to a British daily, the incident – which left the victim with an ‘open wound’ on his left hand – was revealed in a 2021 injury report filed to Travis county and federal regulators. The engineer was programming software that controls robots whose job it is to cut car parts from freshly cast pieces of aluminum. Witnesses told the Information last month that the robot pinned the engineer and sank its metal claws into his back and arm, leaving a trail of blood along the floor. The robot reportedly immobilised the engineer and left the victim with an “open wound” on his left hand. The engineer was able to break free from the Tesla robot after a colleague pressed the emergency stop button. Upon being released, the engineer reportedly tumbled a few feet down a chute intended for collecting scrap aluminium. The in

Apple scored a victory on Wednesday as a U.S. appeals court paused a government commission’s import ban on some of its popular Apple smartwatches following a patent dispute with medical-technology firm Masimo. The tech giant had filed an emergency request for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to halt the order after appealing the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) decision that it had infringed Masimo’s patents. Representatives for Apple and Masimo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto the ban on Dec. 26, allowing it to take effect. Apple asked for a pause of the ban later that day. Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into Apple Watches. The ITC barred imports and sales of Apple Watches with technology for reading blood-oxygen levels. Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in its smartwatches startin

LONDON: Self-driving cars could be on some British roads by 2026, the country’s transport minister Mark Harper said on Wednesday. Cars with full self-driving technology are not currently permitted on Britain’s roads but the government’s Automated Vehicles (AV) legislation is going through parliament, meaning that a legal framework for them should be in place by the end of 2024, said Harper. “Probably by as early as 2026 people will start seeing some elements of these cars that have full self-driving capabilities being rolled out,” Harper told BBC Radio. “It’ll be gradual…so there’ll be companies rolling it out to be used in certain places.” Critics of the technology, which has been trialled in the United States, say that the vehicles can cause crashes, and in California, regulators ordered General Motors’ driverless car unit Cruise to remove its vehicles from state roads after an accident in October. Britain’s Harper said that the technology had the potential to improve road safe

Apple (AAPL.O) on Tuesday appealed a decision to ban imports of its watches based on a complaint from medical monitoring technology company Masimo (MASI.O), after US President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto a government tribunal. The tech giant also filed an emergency request on Tuesday for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to halt the ban. It asked the Federal Circuit to pause the ban at least until US Customs and Border Protection decides whether redesigned versions of its watches infringe Masimo’s patents, and to put the ban on hold while the court considers Apple’s request. The customs office is due to make its decision on Jan. 12, Apple said. Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into the popular Apple Watch. The US International Trade Commission’s (ITC) order bars imports and sales of Apple Watches that use technology for reading blood-oxygen levels. Apple has included the

A ban restricting imports of Apple’s popular Apple Watches into the United States has gone into effect. Here is a look at what the ban means for consumers and what is next for Apple. Why was the ban imposed? The U.S. International Trade Commission in October ordered Apple to stop importing and selling Apple Watches based on a complaint from medical-monitoring technology company Masimo. The ITC, a federal agency that handles international trade disputes, determined that an Apple Watch feature for reading blood-oxygen levels infringes Masimo’s pulse oximetry patents. The administration of President Joe Biden had 60 days, until Dec. 25, to veto the order based on public policy concerns but chose not to do so. How are U.S. Apple Watch sales affected? Cupertino, California-based Apple announced on Dec. 18 it would preemptively pause U.S. sales of its latest high-end Series 9 and Ultra 2 models ahead of the Christmas Day deadline. The ITC’s order does not affect the lower-priced Apple

US President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday declined to veto a government tribunal’s decision to ban imports of Apple Watches based on a complaint from medical monitoring technology company Masimo. The US International Trade Commission’s (ITC) order will go into effect on Dec. 26, barring imports and sales of Apple Watches that use patent-infringing technology for reading blood-oxygen levels. Apple has included the pulse oximeter feature in its smart watches starting with its Series 6 model in 2020. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai decided not to reverse the ban following careful consultations, and the ITC’s decision became final on Dec. 26, the agency said in its decision. Apple can, however, appeal the ban to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The company has paused the sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States since last week. The ban does not affect Apple Watch SE, a less expensive model, which will continue to be sold. P

WASHINGTON: Twitter violated contracts by failing to pay millions of dollars in bonuses that the social media company, now called X Corp, had promised its employees, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Mark Schobinger, who was Twitter’s senior director of compensation before leaving Elon Musk’s company in May, sued Twitter in June, claiming breach of contract. Schobinger’s suit alleged that before and after billionaire Musk bought Twitter last year, it promised employees 50% of their 2022 target bonuses but never made those payments. In denying Twitter’s motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that Schobinger plausibly stated a breach of contract claim under California law and he was covered by a bonus plan. “Once Schobinger did what Twitter asked, Twitter’s offer to pay him a bonus in return became a binding contract under California law. And by allegedly refusing to pay Schobinger his promised bonus, Twitter violated that contract,” the judge wrote. X

A diver cleaning a river found an Apple iPhone that was covered in algae. Surprisingly, the iPhone was in perfect working condition even after being submerged for around three months in the Stanislaus River in Northern California. A diver discovered an iPhone while cleaning the Stanislaus River and after drying the phone, he switched on the device after connecting it to a charger. According to Apple Insider , diver Lee discovered the algae-covered iPhone 12 in November. After cleaning the phone, he left the phone to dry for a few days. When Lee connected a charger to the iPhone and tried to switch it on after a few days, he was surprised to find that the phone turned on. Notably, the iPhone 12 comes with an IP68 rating. Apple claims that the iPhone 12 can last 30 minutes in 6-meter deep water. However, the phone was submerged in the river for more than three months, covered in algae. Speaking to Apple Insider, the man shared the surprising story and revealed how he successfully m

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr Umar Saif, on Saturday, said that the timely decisions made by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) are yielding remarkable results and paving the way to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to $10 billion. In a video message, the minister said, “We worked with the SIFC and the State Bank to make a significant policy intervention last month, allowing IT companies to keep 50% of their export revenue in dollars in an account in Pakistan and make their international expenses without any restrictions from this amount.” Related: Pakistan’s first-ever IT Export Strategy announced The minister said that, as a result of the government initiative, IT companies are beginning to bring their dollars back home, and the country’s export revenue jumped by 14% in November, a 20% increase compared to last year, the state news agency reported. At this rate, Dr Saif expressed hope that the country would c

LAGOS: Nigeria’s central bank has lifted a ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies, while saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities, the bank said in its latest circular. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Feb. 2021 barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto assets, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Subsequently Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May last year published regulations for digital assets that signalled Africa’s most populous country was trying to find a middle ground between an outright ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use. In a circular dated Dec. 22, the CBN said current trends globally have shown there is a need to regulate the activities of virtual asset service providers (VASPs), which include cryptocurrencies and crypto assets. The latest guidelines spell out how banks and financial institutions (FI) should open accounts, provide designa

HONG KONG: Chinese regulators announced on Friday a wide range of rules aimed at curbing spending and rewards that encourage video games, dealing a blow to the world’s biggest games market, which returned to growth this year. The new rules, which will effectively set spending limits for online games, sparked panic among investors, wiping off nearly $80 billion in market value from China’s two biggest gaming companies, as investors sought to gauge the potential impact on earnings and more restrictions in the offing. Online games will now be banned from giving players rewards if they log in every day, if they spend on the game for the first time or if they spend several times on the game consecutively. All are common incentive mechanisms in online games. Shares in Tencent Holdings, the world’s biggest gaming company, tumbled as much as 16% at one point, while those of its closest rival, NetEase, plunged as much as 25% after the National Press and Publication Administrations published

Microsoft’s plan to end support for Windows 10 operating system could result in about 240 million personal computers (PCs) being disposed, potentially adding to landfill waste, Canalys Research said. The electronic waste from these PCs could weigh an estimated 480 million kilograms, equivalent to 320,000 cars. While many PCs could remain functional for years post the end of OS support, Canalys warned demand for devices without security updates could be low. Microsoft announced a plan to provide security updates for Windows 10 devices until October 2028 for an undisclosed annual price. If the pricing structure for extended Windows 10 support mirrors past trends, migrating to newer PCs could be more cost-effective, increasing the number of older PCs heading to scrap, Canalys said. Microsoft aims to discontinue support for Windows 10 by October 2025. The next generation of the OS, anticipated to bring advanced artificial intelligence technology to PCs, could potentially boost the sl

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter suffered outages globally early Thursday, according to Downdetector.com. Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, were unable to view posts on the social media site with a message that said “Welcome to X!” Users encountered loading issues on X Pro, formerly TweetDeck, with a message that said “Waiting for posts.” Over 47,000 US users faced access issues with X and X Pro, according to Downdetector data. Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users. from Science and Technology News - Latest science and technology news https://ift.tt/8VZAF3E

Canada’s BlackBerry (BB.TO) reported a surprise quarterly profit on Wednesday, backed by a resilient demand for cybersecurity services amid rising online threats. While IT spending has dwindled over the past year, cybersecurity-related expenditure has remained stable as businesses and governments scramble to beef up their systems against hackers. Over the past few months, casino giants such as MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR.O) faced large data breaches, forcing businesses to prioritize cybersecurity. Earlier this month, BlackBerry discarded its initial public offering plans for its Internet of Things (IoT) business, but still expects to split the IoT and Cybersecurity businesses into fully standalone divisions. Read more: Apple to halt sales of THESE smart watches “Work has commenced to fully separate and significantly rightsize our businesses, and we expect to further reduce operating cashflow usage in Q4,” said CEO John Giamatteo. BlackBerry

“These pictures are remarkable! I’ll be using them from now on “Waqar effuses on a new AI text-to-picture tool on Canva that helps generate pretty cool pictures, although not 100% accurate though. Waqar rethinks his struggle on visiting the graphic designer’s desk and buttering him into sending a picture for the website, and social media. Waqar seems appeased by the fact that he now will seldom visit his graphic designer colleague for the squabbles. “I got my Email ready in a jiffy!” Tahira seems amazed at the rapid ChatGPT’s response in generating a clear email for her next month’s wedding leave. She’s thunderstruck that she no longer has to type an email. Instead, she just loads Chat GPt, types in her requirements, and the email material appears like magic. Professionals have been engaged in enthusiastic conversations about AI wonders in pretty much every office tucked into towers lined on the Shara-E-Faisal commercial district in Karachi. From writing emails, and reports to cr

Google parent Alphabet has agreed to pay $700 million as part of an antitrust settlement made public on Monday, with the funds going to US customers of its Android app store and state governments. Dozens of US states had joined forces in a lawsuit filed in July 2021 that accused Google of abusing its power regarding consumer access to apps on mobile devices running its Android operating system. As part of the settlement, the company will make changes to its Google Play app store to reduce competition barriers for developers, including by implementing the ability for apps to bill users directly. The announcement comes after Epic Games won a related suit last week, when a jury said Google partook in an illegal monopoly through Play. That lawsuit, backed by 37 state attorneys general, accused Google of using anti-competitive tactics to discourage Android apps from being distributed in app shops other than its Play store, where its payment system collects commissions on transactions.

The gaming community has been over the moon since the release of ‘Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6’ trailer and eagerly awaits the opportunity to pre-order the highly anticipated game.   Rockstar Games hasn’t revealed details regarding pre-orders, and the title itself is set to release sometime in 2025. Interestingly, a website has allegedly listed ‘Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6’ for pre-order for a whopping $225. The video ads have been spotted running on YouTube, telling viewers that they can “download and test the gameplay”. The video features a Rockstar logo next to the wording ‘Play now’. As reported by a gaming website, the pre-order is for the game’s PC version. However, Rockstar Games have announced that Grand Theft Auto VI is only coming out on consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This means no PS4, no Xbox One, and certainly no PC. According to the report, a website by the name of G2A has listed GTA 6’s PC version for pre-order, reportedly for $225. This is 100% fake, as Rockstar G

Apple said on Monday it would pause sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States from this week, as it deals with a patent dispute over the technology that enables the blood oxygen feature on the devices. The move comes after an order in October from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that could bar Apple from importing its Apple Watches after finding the devices violate medical technology company Masimo’s patent rights. A Presidential review period is in progress on the feature and while the review period will not end until Dec. 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand, the company said. The company said it would pause sales of the Watches from its website starting Dec. 21, and from Apple retail locations after Dec. 24. Both the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 would remain available for purchase outside of the United States and there would be no impact on units previously bought that include the blood oxygen feature. App

The German government Sunday faced a backlash after abruptly ending an electric car subsidy scheme in a blow to the already struggling automotive industry. The scheme is one of the casualties of a budget crisis caused by a shock constitutional court ruling in November that upended the government’s spending plans. The economy ministry said Saturday that Sunday would be the last day prospective buyers could apply for the scheme, which paid out thousands of euros per customer to partially cover the cost of buying an electric car. A spokesman for the ministry admitted it was an “unfortunate situation” for consumers who had been hoping to take advantage of the subsidy, but it had no choice “because there is no longer enough money available.” Analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the Center for Automotive Research warned the decision could have dramatic consequences. “The competitiveness of (auto) manufacturers will now be severely damaged,” Dudenhoeffer told the Rheinische Post newspape

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, today went on the first demo ride of the Chevrolet Bolt-based Cruise autonomous vehicle (AV) in Jumeirah 1 area.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by DubaiMediaOffice (@dubaimediaoffice) This testing and validation of the autonomous vehicle is an important step towards launching a self-driving ridehail service in Dubai. In April 2021 RTA and Cruise, which is majority owned by leading global automotive company General Motors (GM), announced that Dubai will be the first international market for Cruise, underscoring the city’s emergence as a global leader in adopting future technologies. Upon arrival in Jumeirah 1, His Highness was received by His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Lieutenant General Abdullah Khal