Tech Sightings, April 10, 2014

Posted April 10th, 2014 at 2:25 pm (UTC-4)
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Facebook to Pull Messages from App

With the acquisition of WhatsApp, Facebook will soon begin pulling chat messages out of its primary apps in hopes of “…help[ing] connect everyone in the world.”

Why You Should Treat Customer Care Like it’s Your Core Product

With the click of a finger, consumers seemingly have unlimited control to identify their favorite (or least favorite) brands on social media platforms. Many brands now look at platforms like Twitter and Facebook as the true barometer of the health and effectiveness of their customer support systems.

A German Company is Printing Food for the Elderly

A German company, Biozoon, is working on a 3D-printed food extruder-based printer that will allow some elderly patients the ability to eat without choking – the food literally melts in the mouth.

Why Dropbox and Box are Expanding Beyond Straight-up Cloud Storage

As competition becomes more fierce, Dropbox and Box are diversifying – announcing new apps and services. The hope is that users will consider more than just the price tag when picking a cloud storage service.

Behold JuggaloCoin, a Bitcoin-like currency just for Juggalo

It’s a miracle. The birth of JuggaloCoin, a virtual currency strictly for Juggalos — the counterculture devoted to the Insane Clown Posse rap group. The cryptocurrency launches Wednesday, and should appeal to those looking to “buy Juggalo necessities, like clown makeup, stick meat, Faygo, and HatchetGear.” CNET says it’s unclear if JuggaloCoin is actually real or a spoof.  But if it is legit, it might not be that absurd of an idea — considering how many Juggalos there are around the world.

Tech Sightings, April 9, 2014

Posted April 9th, 2014 at 2:23 pm (UTC-4)
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New ‘Heartbleed’ Bug Poses Major Threat to User Data

A new type of bug that affects a widely used Web encryption technology has made data on many of the world’s major websites vulnerable to theft by hackers.

How to Protect Yourself from the ‘Heartbleed’ Bug

The natural response to the Heartbleed Bug might be the desire to change passwords immediately. Security experts advise users to wait for confirmation of a fix.

A Hack That Makes Bitcoins a Whole Lot Harder to Steal

The great strength of the popular digital currency Bitcoin is that you can send it from person to person with only an online address and a password, but that can make it easy to steal. Now, a scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation has found a way to make this kind of theft more difficult.

Study: Too Much Time in Front of Screens Could Lead to Low Bone Density in Boy

A study by Norwegian students found that teenage boys who spend more time in front of screens tend to have lower bone mineral density, which could be “a strong predictor of future fracture risk.”

Singapore’s Starhub Launches First Telco-backed Crowdfunding Platform

Starhub is touting Crowdtivate as the world’s only telco-backed crowdfunding site. The company hopes that the site will help inventors ultimately turn their ideas into future businesses.

Bluetooth Wants to Talk Directly to the Internet – and Soon It Will

A new version of Bluetooth coming up in a few months will bypass smartphones and other devices and connect directly to the cloud.

Intel Closes Costa Rica Operation, Cuts 1,500 Jobs

A spokesman for American chipmaker Intel says the company, which is struggling with a shrinking personal computer market, is closing assembly and test operations in Costa Rica and eliminating 1,500 jobs.

Tech Sightings, April 8, 2014

Posted April 8th, 2014 at 2:22 pm (UTC-4)
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Scientists Develop Optical Diode that Can Lead to Faster Computers Running on Light

Scientists at the Washington University of St. Louis (WUSTL) have created the first optical diode – a breakthrough toward building the first light-based computer.

The Emerging Dark Side of Social Networks

Social networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which have been credited with mobilizing people and spreading democracy, are now projecting a darker side. In some cases, governments are using them for espionage or to spread dis-information to crack down on descent under authoritarian regimes.

Police Blame Social Media for Santa Barbara Riot

An annual spring break celebration near the University of California’s Santa Barbara campus that used Twitter and Facebook to draw more than 15,000 people, turned into a riot as fires were set and police  were attacked. More than 100 people were arrested; and police have blamed social media – the same social media they use for preparedness and law enforcement – for the riot.

Windows XP: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Microsoft’s termination of Windows XP support Tuesday threatens to leave hundreds of millions of PCs in homes and businesses worldwide open to security vulnerabilities, which will no longer be patched.

In-flight Internet Speeds to Increase to 70Mbps

In-flight Internet access provider Gogo plans to introduce a service that increases maximum data speed on planes to 70Mbps in the middle of next year. Japan Airlines is expected to be among the first to test the technology.

China Finally Gives Green Light for Nokia-Microsoft Devices Unit Sale

China’s Ministry of Commerce has approved the Nokia-Microsoft deal. Microsoft has had to make a few patent concessions to secure China’s approval.

Battery Charges Phones in Less Than 30 Seconds

Israeli start-up StoreDot has come up with a prototype for a battery made of biological structures that recharged a dead cellphone battery in a demonstration at Microsoft’s Think Next Conference in 26 seconds. It will take three years before the product becomes commercially viable.

New Robo-Soldier to Test Chemical Warfare Suits

Britain’s Ministry of Defense has unveiled a new robot to test equipment for the British armed forces. The robot, also known as Porton Man, mimics the movements of human soldiers and is equipped with sensors that register data for testing chemical and biological suits.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Technology Still Can’t Predict When Earthquakes Hit

Posted April 4th, 2014 at 2:42 pm (UTC-4)
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People walk along a cracked road in Iquique, northern Chile, on April 2, 2014. (AFP)

People walk along a cracked road in Iquique, northern Chile, on April 2, 2014 a day after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile’s Pacific coast. (AFP)

These days, we can predict just about anything – from foreseeing political trends, forecasting the weather fairly accurately to tracking asteroids that might swing near the Earth.

But for all of our technological savvy, we can’t predict when an earthquake like the one that just rocked Chile might occur.

“We will probably not be able to ever tell, ever predict with any real precision when a future earthquake will occur on the order of minutes-to-days,” says Andrew Newman, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor who worked on a study that used GPS technology to predict the size and location of a 2012 earthquake in Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.

Unlike weather systems, earthquakes do not provide warnings or scientifically-reliable data before they occur. Scientists can tell how and when an earthquake started. But when that information becomes available, it “usually means that you will have on the order of about 30 seconds’ warning,” said Newman.

That doesn’t seem like much. But Newman argues that 30 seconds might be enough to get someone out of a precarious situation.

An early warning system to mitigate some of the immediate effects of earthquakes is currently being developed and tested in California and other parts of the United States.

“We’re working on an earthquake early warning system whereas seismometers closest to the instruments can record an earthquake and get a very early estimate of how big an event is and send out warnings before … the seismic waves travel to the populations that will be most affected,” Newman said.

People stay on higher grounds in a tsunami safety zone in  the northern port of Iquique, Chile, April 3, 2014. (Reuters)

People stay on higher grounds in a tsunami safety zone after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the northern port of Iquique, Chile, April 3, 2014. (Reuters)

Early warning systems already exist for tsunamis that sometimes follow earthquakes in coastal areas. “Once a larger earthquake occurs,” says Newman,” we send out very, very early warnings that … there is a tsunami potential. And for the most part, we can do this very, very early warning before the tsunami ever hits.”

Developing countries lacking proper infrastructure sometimes rely on Western monitoring systems for early warnings. In the 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake and tsunami, which claimed more than 100,000 lives, Newman says “even if we were to give early warning to the government, at that time there wasn’t infrastructure locally developed to actually disseminate the warning along coastlines.”

Social media, cellular phones and cellular data communications can play an important part in passing along crucial information when an earthquake occurs, provided that the local infrastructure exists. In the case of Chile’s recent earthquake, Newman says that infrastructure wasn’t there.

“But using Twitter is one possible mechanism to develop early dissemination,” he says. “Whether or not we can do it sufficiently well for earthquake early warnings – you know I am talking about 30 seconds.”

Why does my cat seem to know when an earthquake is coming?

Anecdotal evidence suggests pets and livestock sometimes become agitated shortly before an earthquake begins. So why do animals seem to be able to sense an earthquake before it occurs? Newman says this behavior is typically associated with a sampling bias, meaning that people might attribute strange behavior in pets to a particular incident, even though it might not necessarily relate to it.

Seismic slips, where parts of a fault might shift for days or weeks, change the stress patterns of the earth and create changes such as raising or lowering ground water levels. “We see actually changes in the electric response of the earth, even maybe an effect on the ionosphere above the earth,” he said. “All of these things and … probably the changes in well levels will have an effect on some animals.”

Recalling an incident in the 1970s in China, when snakes were coming out of a well in the middle of winter after water levels changed, Newman cautions that these things often occur when there is no earthquake.

So even if the scientific community were able to predict when an earthquake might occur and sufficiently warn affected populations, he says “we have to be very careful of the boy who cried wolf effect.”

The first warnings might cause panic. After that, “if we start warning of a potential and … no earthquake occurs, very quickly the population becomes desensitized,” said Newman.

There are no easy answers. But understanding how faults shift allows scientists to map areas with the greatest potential for earthquakes. So even if they were unable to say that “an earthquake is coming tomorrow,” Newman says “we can probably say … within the next 20 years, you have a probability of an earthquake than a certain magnitude occurring in your environment.”

That probably provides little consolation for the victims of Chile’s earthquake. But until technology finds a better way, Newman says it is more important to develop understanding of earthquakes and enforce building codes that can minimize damage and casualties when an earthquake occurs.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, April 3, 2014

Posted April 3rd, 2014 at 2:19 pm (UTC-4)
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Cambodia’s Spectacular Angkor Temples Added to Street View

Google’s Street View has added Cambodia’s Angkor temple to its database. The move appears likely to boost the impoverished country’s tourism sector while helping to preserve the historic site.

Tech Industry’s Stance on Immigration Scrutinized

As comprehensive immigration legislation falters on Capitol Hill, there are concerns the technology industry’s push to pass a smaller bill to grant more visas for high-tech foreign workers could undermine broader legislation efforts if it clears Congress.

ICANN Chief: Russia, China Will Not Hijack Internet Oversight

The head of ICANN, the group that oversees Internet infrastructure has downplayed concerns that Russia, China or other countries could restrict the web’s openness once the U.S. government cedes oversight of the non-profit group.

Robots Go to Work on Solar Energy

A solar panel can lose 40 percent of its ability to collect energy if covered in dust. Hiring humans to do this is expensive. This is why in the Negev desert in Israel, robots go to work every evening to keep the panels clean.

Why Few Trust Facebook to Power the Future

If Facebook has its way, it will give up to a billion people all over the world Internet access, using drones and satellites. The problem with this scenario is that Facebook has a perception problem because it already controls huge amounts of data, and it seems to put more of an emphasis on advertising bucks and revenue than on helping people.

Survey: One Third of Wearable Device Owners Eventually Ditch Them

One-third of Americans who owned a wearable product stopped using it within six months, according to a study from research firm Endeavour Partners.

Bitcoin ATM Goes to Capitol Hill, Lawmakers Invited to Demo Next Week

Robocoin has invited members of Congress to test on April 8 the world’s first kiosk for buying and selling Bitcoin’s controversial digital currency. Bitcoin ATMs remain rare in the United States.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, April 2, 2014

Posted April 2nd, 2014 at 2:18 pm (UTC-4)
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Giant Six-Legged Robot Crab to Walk Ocean Floor

Developed by the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, the six-legged Crabster CR200 will undertake the most dangerous undersea exploration.The name comes from the robot’s architecture, which mimics the design of crabs and lobsters that live in stormy waters.

Navy to Test Seafaring, Firefighting Robots

This summer, the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research plans to test anthropomorphic fire fighting robots to help fight fires at sea and overcome the limitations of humans dealing with the hazards of fire.

Bitcoin Wallet Service Coinbase Denies Security Breach

The Coinbase Blog posted a statement saying “there has been no data breach of names or emails at Coinbase.”

Silicon Valley Boosts Fortunes of India’s Most Exciting Political Party

India’s  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been rising quickly in the political arena, partially due to the efforts of a group of Silicon Valley techies. Sensing an opportunity to tackle India’s rampart corruption, the group provided AAP with a technology platform for connecting people and attracting funds from donors worldwide.

Vatican Super-Charges Social Media for Canonization of John Paul II

The Vatican has set up several social media accounts to reach out to millions of pilgrims expected to attend the canonization of John Paul II. In addition to the www.2papisanti.org official website, the new pages include 2popesaints on Facebook, @2popesaints on Twitter, 2popesaints on YouTube and #2popesaints on Instagram.

The Reality of Sexism in the Game Industry

Sixty percent of women in the game industry have experienced sexism – any discomfort or discrimination caused as a result of a person’s gender. Almost 77% of women and about 55% of men have female friends in the game industry that have experienced sexism.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, April 1, 2014

Posted April 1st, 2014 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Women, Impeded By Social Norms, Still Don’t Get IT

Non-profit organization Catalyst says only 14.6 percent of executive officer positions in Fortune 500 companies last year were held by women. This number hasn’t budged much in four years; and the same is true at startup companies and social media firms. But the problem might actually have deeper causes rooted in social and cultural norms, particularly in more traditional countries.

Facebook Internet Project: The Skies Have It

Facebook’s innovative plans to use drones, satellites and lasers to provide connectivity to the world might run into some problems, particularly in countries with totalitarian governments that block Internet access.

Fiber Optics May Leapfrog Africa into Future

Mobile infrastructure in Africa has become vital to national economies as mobile penetration continues to grow. Recent figures have Africa’s mobile phone penetration at 54 percent in 2012. Now, Africa’s new digital evolution is coming from undersea fiber-optic cables, which have dramatically increased transmission capacity and reduced transmission time and costs.

QWERTY Must Die: Welcome to the Future of Typing

Despite the proliferation of mobile devices, many people still prefer the old physical QWERTY keyboards to annoying touchscreen keyboards. Now, researchers are coming up with new ways to address mobile keyboard input.

How Technology is Fighting to Prevent a Climate-Change Apocalypse

While Silicon Valley focuses on cheap, reliable energy solutions, some of the more innovative companies are pushing to make clean energy mainstream, with the hope that it could ultimately help wean humanity off fossil fuels.

Will Today’s Newborns Become Immortal Cyborgs?

Children born in 2014 may face a different set of issues in a future where the definition of “human” becomes blurred. While this is all in the realm of speculation, Google’s director of engineering Ray Kurzweil says “The Technological Singularity,” which he sees coming in 2045, will be the point when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, triggering a new phase of evolution.

April Fools’ 2014: The Best Tech Pranks of the Day

Every year on April Fool’s Day, tech companies make announcements intended to dupe readers and have some fun. Check out some of this year’s best.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Can Wireless Electricity Power the World?

Posted March 28th, 2014 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Remember the last time you wanted to recharge your cellphone only to discover that you forgot the electric cord somewhere else? And if you are hopelessly dependent on your cellphone and there is no replacement charger in sight, then you have a problem.

It doesn’t have to be that way, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spinoff WiTricity, a global producer of devices that generate wireless electricity. “The next generation of cellphones will have wireless charging in them,” says Kaynam Hedayat, WiTricity’s Vice President of Product Management and Marketing.

The technology to generate wireless electricity was invented nearly 120 years ago – with significant limitations. So for wireless electricity to be transmitted at the time, “the device that is the source of the power or electricity and the device that is receiving it … have to be exactly aligned and in very close proximity – less than one millimeter,” said Hedayat.

But in 2007, MIT professor Marin Soljacic decided to tackle that problem and invented a process called “Highly Resonant Wireless Power Transfer” that uses the same principles of induction.

Highly resonant devices are tuned to the same frequency and exchange energy via an oscillating magnetic field (WiTricity Corp.)

Highly resonant devices, tuned to the same frequency, exchange energy through a magnetic field. The magnetic field transfers electricity over distances of one to several feet and allows for “positional freedom.” That means that the receiver and the transmitter need not be aligned and can move around the room while seizing power.

“Resonance,” says Hedayat, “basically means that you are oscillating the magnetic field … at frequencies that are open in the frequency band, sometimes referred to as ISM band [i.e., industrial, scientific and medical radio bands reserved internationally for purposes other than telecommunications.]”

For all that to happen, a power source is needed. “That goes into a device we call the source, to refer to it as the source of wireless electricity,” said Hedayat. “This source has some electronics inside, which are very cost-effective.”

Those include a coil and capacitors and inductors that generate the magnetic field.

By nature, magnetic fields do not radiate energy, although they interfere with electronic devices. With WiTricity, Hedayat says the company has shielded the magnetic field to prevent such interference.

But is it harmful? “It depends on how much power you want to transfer,” replied Hedayat. “For the applications that we are targeting – from cellphone applications all the way to automotive charging – it is not harmful,” he said. “And our systems are designed to meet the safety level limitations set by standards bodies around the globe.”

Hedayat argues that WiTricity is safe enough to recharge devices that are implanted in human bodies such as pacers or pumps. Such transfers use 20 watts of power over a distance of 20 centimeters. Without wireless electricity, the devices require either a “wire sticking out of the patient” or biannual or more frequent surgery to remove the battery, he said.

The company also sees its technology as a viable alternative to batteries in places like oil fields and areas too hazardous for humans, deep at sea where submarines have to return to a station to recharge and in conflict zones to recharge military equipment.

But its biggest momentum is in recharging electric and hybrid cars. With Toyota licensing the technology for the next generation of its Prius plug-in hybrids, Hedayat says other automakers will follow.

“When you drive into the garage of your home, you don’t have to plug anything in,” he said. “And you go to your business and the car automatically detects Witricity … and starts charging itself.”

The current technology wirelessly charges vehicles within a distance of around 20 centimeters. While the system can be deployed redundantly to increase range, Hedayatssays the company’s lab tests “have demonstrated a transfer of power in one to two meters,” depending on the application.

Whatever the range, cars and cellphones will automatically recharge themselves once they detect  WiTricity. And Hedayat says the technology “will not have any significant impact” for consumers once it is onboard the car or the cellphone, especially as volumes go up.

And he expects WiTricity to spread much in the same way as Wi-Fi did. “Initially there will be solutions that are integrated loosely into devices such as sleeves for cellphones or dongles that go into laptops,” he said.” But slowly, “you will see this technology embed itself into the actual cell phone and the actual laptop and PCs.”

Add to that the “room of the future” that Hedayat envisions where WiTricity runs through carpeting to light the entire room. Any cellphones equipped with WiTricity will automatically recharge themselves – no cords attached!

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, March 27, 2014

Posted March 27th, 2014 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Tomorrow’s Cargo Ships Will Use Augmented Reality to Sail the Seas

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Rolls-Royce says operating ships by remote control is already a possibility; and there are plans to deploy the first remotely-operated ship as early as next year.

NASA Crowdsources New Spacesuit Design

As of Wednesday morning, More than 83,000 people  have voted on three prototypes of spacesuits, jointly designed by NASA, suit manufacturer ILC Dover, and design students from Philadelphia University. NASA is using crowdsourcing to help pick the final cover layer design for its next generation spacesuit by April 15.

Yahoo Japan Buys SoftBank’s eAccess to Set Up New Mobile Internet Service

Yahoo Japan Corp will buy mobile network operator eAccess from Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank Corp to launch its own mobile Internet service. The purchase is scheduled for June 2.

Study: ‘Malleability’ Attacks Not to Blame for Mt. Gox’s Missing Bitcoins

A Swiss study says Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange probably lost fewer than 400 bitcoins to malleability attacks – far less than what the company reported. The findings cast doubts on Mt. Gox’s explanation of how it lost nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of digital currency.

Meet the Manic Miner Who Wants to Mint 10 Percent of all New Bitcoins

In Eastern Washington, Dave Carlson says he is running the world’s largest Bitcoin mining operation. His goal is to account for 7-10 percent of the world’s Bitcoin mining, as measured by hashtag power.

Stadium Security’s Newest Tool to Control Feisty Fans: Social Media

When the Minnesota Vikings had their final game in 1981, their fans rushed the field, grabbing everything in their path. Now, the firm that provides security to the team checks online social media chatter for trouble even before fans enter the stadium and responds as needed.

Google, Facebook, Twitter Face Lawsuit Over ‘Illegible, Incomprehensible’ Privacy Policies

A French consumer group has filed a lawsuit with the French High Court in Paris against Google, Facebook, and Twitter. The group argues the companies’ privacy policies are too complex for the average user to decipher.

Apple Planning Multicultural Emoji

An Apple exec tells MTV more diversity is needed in emoji characters, which are based on the Unicode standard, and it says the company has been working closely with the Unicode Consortium to update the standard.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, March 26, 2013

Posted March 26th, 2014 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Most US Workplaces Today Still Lag in Gender Equality

A study conducted by Cornell University had researchers submit more than 1,000 fake resumes to real job openings. The resumes had identical credentials, but varied on gender and whether or not the candidate had children. The fake male candidates with children were found the most hireable, followed by men and women without kids. Women with kids were the least desirable.

Bioprinting, Part 1: Promise and Pitfalls

Researchers say the ability to print small-volume organs may be coming in a year or two. The complexity of this process requires knowledge, though, of which cells to use and which cells to avoid. And that might be at least five years away.

Twitter Files Petitions for Lawsuits in Turkish Courts to Challenge Ban

Twitter says it has engaged Turkish officials in discussion since they blocked Twitter access six days ago. In the absence of a resolution, Twitter announced that it has filed petitions for lawsuits in various Turkish courts to challenge the ban on access to Twitter.

Social Media Users Migrating to Smaller Circles

While Facebook and Twitter remain the giants of social media, smaller social sharing and messaging mobile apps have been gaining the most users and surging in popularity. They allow users to send messages to individuals and smaller groups instead of broadcasting their posts to larger crowds.

Texting for Long Periods ‘Could Lower Life Expectancy’

According to the he United Chiropractic Association (UCA), the forward-leaning posture that people adopt when texting or using computers and mobile devices increases the risk of an early death in elderly people and might affect younger people, as well.

Phantom Lonely Women Online Lured Malware Victims in February

A recent report from Kaspersky Lab found that a lot of people worldwide were duped by emails allegedly sent by a single woman looking to make friends on Valentine’s Day in February. Clicking the email triggered Trojans that installed malware on users’ systems. According to the report, spam in email traffic that month went up 70 percent.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.