Tech Sightings, January 7, 2014

Posted January 7th, 2014 at 3:29 pm (UTC-4)
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These Gamers are Raising Money for Charity at Mind-Blowing Speed

Awesome Games Done Quick, the biggest speedrunning event of the year, kicked off Sunday at noon. It’s a unique spectacle in eSports, and not just because speedrunning is a bit of a niche phenomenon. Instead of cash prizes, the competition raises money for charity every year. And this year will smash the record  for giving.

Twitter, Internet Increasingly Popular for Blacks

Young, college-educated and higher-income African Americans are just as likely as their white counterparts to use the Internet, and Twitter seems to be a favorite place in cyberspace, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Offshore ‘Click Farms’ Inflate Social Media Users’ Popularity

Celebrities, businesses and even the U.S. State Department have bought bogus Facebook likes, Twitter followers or YouTube viewers from offshore “click farms,” where workers tap the thumbs up button, view videos or retweet comments to inflate social media numbers.

World’s Second Bitcoin ATM to Open in Hong Kong

The world’s second Bitcoin ATM is due to land in Hong Kong by the end of this month, according to U.S. based software company Robocoin. The machine, available for sale to individual operators such as banks and private entrepreneurs, allows users to buy or sell Bitcoin in just a few minutes.

CES 2014: Intel Stresses Need for ‘Natural’ Computing with RealSense

Forget any ideas about brainwashing. The Internet of Things means devices will eventually be smarter than the people building them.

China Suspends Ban on Video Game Consoles After More than a Decade

China has temporarily lifted a 14-year-old ban on selling video game consoles, paving the way for Sony Corp, Microsoft Corp and Nintendo Co Ltd to enter the world’s third largest video game market in terms of revenue.

Corning’s Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass: A Must Have for Kiosks

Corning’s latest iteration of Gorilla Glass has antibacterial agents built in and should be coming to kiosks and other germ friendly touchscreens in the near future.

Apple’s Next China Move: An official Store on Alibaba’s Tmall

Tmall is a major shopping Web site in China with more than 70,000 merchants, and now Apple is getting in on the mix.

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.

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