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

Lithuania’s IT Power; Facebook Sued; Android Drops in EU; Mac BIOS Flaw

Posted June 4th, 2015 at 2:08 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: The Rise of Lithuania’s IT Power Attracted by its infrastructure and tech-favorable environment, more IT companies are flocking to Lithuania to set up shop there. Lithuania is home to 13 of the Baltic region’s 20 biggest IT firms; and its population ranks 16th in the world for their Information and Communication Technology […]

Rise of Smartphones; Global Wi-Fi; Bitcoin; Apple; PayPal User Policy

Posted June 3rd, 2015 at 2:26 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: The Unstoppable Rise of the Smartphone A new mobility report from Ericsson said about 70 percent of the world’s population will be using smartphones by 2020. That means that 6.1 billion smartphones will be sold globally within five years. Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa accounted for the highest number of […]

Online Abuse Dilemma; Windows 10; Apple Apps; Hammer of Thor PC

Posted June 2nd, 2015 at 2:31 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: The US Supreme Court Just Made the Web Even More Hostile for Women The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that violent statements on social media websites and the Web in general are not enough to consider the perpetrator’s behavior threatening and that his state of mind at the time should be […]

Do You Know What Your Tech Toys Are Sharing About You?

Posted May 29th, 2015 at 2:30 pm (UTC-5)
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Many PC and smartphone owners only use their devices for basic tasks like accessing email and the Internet, or playing a game, often unaware what apps are running in the background, possibly sharing their information. And yet many people gladly trade their privacy for convenience – a decision that makes raising awareness an uphill battle. […]

Digital Human Rights; Abuse Emojis; Google’s I/O Show; the Robot Wars

Posted May 28th, 2015 at 2:29 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: UN Report: Encryption is Important to Human Rights The United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said digital security and privacy are essential for freedom of expression around the world. A new U.N. report said encryption and anonymity tools help “provide the privacy and security necessary for the exercise of […]

Printed Prosthetics; Green Chips; iPhone Blues; IoT; Instagram

Posted May 27th, 2015 at 3:30 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Google Pledges $20 Million to Give 3-D Prosthetics a Helping Hand The Director of Google’s non-profit Google.org, Jacquelline Fuller, announced the launch of the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities project in a blog post, with $20 million in funding. The project is intended to support people with disabilities and push the development of […]

Mobile vs. PCs; ‘Chucky’ the Teddy Bear; Smartphone Cold Wars

Posted May 26th, 2015 at 2:38 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Mobile Isn’t Killing the Desktop Internet The PC is dead? No, wait, it’s not dead – yet. Pundits have been going on for years about how mobile is killing the desktop PC and how people are increasingly using their mobile phones to get online. But according to comScore, mobile use might not […]

Satellite Tracking, Gaming Take on Malaria

Posted May 22nd, 2015 at 2:11 pm (UTC-5)
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Researchers at the Australian National University have found a better way to keep an eye on the spread of malaria and other parasitic diseases using satellite data and remote sensing. Malaria, a preventable disease spread by mosquitoes, puts at risk up to 3.3 billion people worldwide. That included up to 97 countries in 2014, according to […]

Gaza Hacks VoIP; Postcards From North Korea; Java Turns 20; 3-D Printing

Posted May 21st, 2015 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Stuck in Gaza, Hackers Open Lines to the World Tech-savvy Gazans isolated from the rest of the world by an Israeli and Egyptian blockade are now using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hacking to rout international calls for a fee. The practice requires dedicated servers to collect as many IP addresses as […]

YouTube Kids; Gaming for Charity, Logjam; @POTUS; Mobile Malware

Posted May 20th, 2015 at 2:09 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: YouTube, Google Under Fire for Adult Content in Kids App U.S. consumer groups have updated a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission after finding adult-themed videos on the Google-owned YouTube Kids app for Android and iOS. Google was already criticized in April for allowing ads to mix with content geared for kids. […]