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.

All posts by Aida Akl

China Eyes VPN Ban; Wednesday Set as Net Neutrality Day of Action

Posted July 11th, 2017 at 12:30 pm (UTC-5)
1 comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: China Will Block All VPNs by February 2018 The Chinese government has notified internet carriers that they have until February 1, 2018 to block all Virtual Private Networks (VPN) connections and shut down unauthorized VPN operators. Thanks to the country’s Great Firewall, a lot of internet services, including Western social media networks […]

Techtonics will return on July 11

Posted July 4th, 2017 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment
Tags: Posted in Uncategorized

App Roundup: RedZone; Medici; Life of Dad

Posted June 30th, 2017 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Techtonics is always on the lookout for apps that have the potential to improve people’s lives – or save them as the case may be with two of the three notable apps that recently crossed our path – RedZone, Medici, and Life of Dad. RedZone RedZone is a navigation app that provides real-time insights into […]

Apple’s iPhone Turns 10; New Details Emerge About ‘Petya’ Data Wiper

Posted June 29th, 2017 at 2:35 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Here’s Everything the iPhone Has Replaced in the Last 10 Years On June 29, 2007, the first iPhone was born. It had a unique feel to it that continues to permeate new iterations of the device. And despite a bumpy start, connectivity limitations, and battery issues, it was an instant hit that […]

‘Petya’ Spreads as Questions Mount; Facebook’s Hate Speech Rules

Posted June 28th, 2017 at 1:57 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Massive Cyberattack Has Spread to More Than 64 Countries Ukraine has managed to control the latest ransomware strain known as “Petya” or “NotPetya” that started Tuesday and spread to more than 64 countries. Petya showed up last year, but this updated strain has new capabilities. Its predecessor, WannaCry, wreaked global havoc in […]

Ransomware Attack Hits Europe; Microsoft Turns to AI to Fight Malware

Posted June 27th, 2017 at 1:53 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

 Today’s Tech Sightings: New Ransomware Attack Hits European Firms, Infrastructure A massive cyberattack first reported in Ukraine has spread to Russia, Denmark, Britain and other countries. Hackers are targeting major companies, government agencies and infrastructure, banks, utilities, airports, and many others. In Ukraine, government agencies were unable to access their computers. In Britain, an advertising […]

‘OMG!’ How Technology Is Changing Personal Interaction

Posted June 23rd, 2017 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
4 comments

Snippets of text, emojis, likes and dislikes are upending social interaction. While offering immediacy and convenience, they are taking away face-to-face body language and nonverbal cues, crucial for human communication. Technology is changing the way we communicate, “dramatically” shifting the way people relate to each other to channels like social media – a “2-dimensional medium […]

Facebook Changes Mission Statement; Hackers Altered US Voter Data

Posted June 22nd, 2017 at 1:11 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Facebook Changes Mission Statement to ‘Bring the World Closer Together’ Facebook’s original mission statement was “making the world more open and connected.” But as the company approaches two billion monthly users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared a new mission statement: to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer […]

The Future, According to Jack Ma; Uber CEO Resigns

Posted June 21st, 2017 at 12:18 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Alibaba’s Jack Ma: AI Could Lead to 4-hour Workdays and World War III Adding his voice to a chorus of visionaries warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), Alibaba Founder and CEO Jack Ma told CNBC AI automation could allow people more free time, perhaps leading to four-day work weeks in […]

Social Media Urged to Fight Political Bots; Most Web Apps Not Secure

Posted June 20th, 2017 at 12:48 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Oxford Professors Tell Twitter, Facebook to Fight Political Bots Top academic researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute are urging social media giants to take action to limit the widespread use of algorithms and bots for political propaganda. After analyzing millions of posts in nine countries, the professors leading the team described the […]