For Pacific Island countries, undersea internet cables can be crucial. The number of Pacific Island countries with such connections has increased substantially in recent years. Even so, many countries still rely on a single cable and others have no cable at all. Each undersea cable is about the width of a garden hose, made up of protective layers of metal and plastic wrapped around the hair-thin optic fibers that carry signals as pulses of light....

Mark Menezes, an official from the US Department of Energy announced the grant earlier today at the Washington Auto Show, Washington Examiner reports. The DoE is also partnering with an energy utility research group. [Read: Tesla Model 3 drives surge in UK’s battery-powered vehicle registrations] Most of the money, $133 million, will go toward research of electric and battery technologies. Whilst another $100 million will be put towards the Energy Department’s exploration into biofuels — fuels that can be used in conventional gasoline cars but are slightly better for the environment....

According to Reuters, military commanders in the Pacific have developed a tool to forecast how the Chinese government will react to American actions in the region. A US defense official said the software calculates “strategic friction,” but provided little detail about how it works. We tried to dig up further information — but unearthed more questions than answers. How would the tool work? The tool reportedly analyses data since early 2020 and assesses the impact of historical actions....

So, instead of answering your morning emails in a flat in Birmingham, you could be sitting by a beach in Bermuda. This new trend is a direct byproduct of the pandemic. The rise of remote working, coupled with a growing hunger for international travel means that more and more employees are deciding to take multiple breaks per year and save their annual leave while doing so. Of course, there are a lot of things to consider before you book a workation....

Apple’s earbuds have been so successful they’ve moved beyond being only a music accessory, instead morphing into a fashion statement in themselves. There’s an issue. A glaring, painful one: these things don’t come cheap. AirPods retail for $160, which is a fair whack of cash if all you want is to be cool. And therein lies the problem — what choice does someone have if they want to be AirPod-trendy, but are adverse to spending loads of money?...

If you’ve never heard of Montreux Jazz Festival, I can only assume you don’t really care about music, so let me indulge. [Read: Watch movies with your friends via Discord’s livestreaming feature] It might be branded as a jazz festival, but over the years it’s played host to a whole variety of acts including, Queen, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Alanis Morissette, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash… Shall I keep going? Ok....

Basically, it’s rumored the iPhone 12 won’t come with a crappy plastic wire. Oh no. Instead, we’re going to get a new braided iPhone cable with USB-C to Lightning connections. You can pump your fists in excitement now. And, also, because you’re very nice, here’s a photo of it: — DuanRui (@duanrui1205) July 14, 2020 This is another part of Apple’s overall plan of removing the charger from the box of the iPhone 12 — something I have strong feelings about, but enough of that....

Separately, Hyundai said in a statement to CNBC that it’s in early talks with the iPhone maker to build a car for it: Later, the company toned down the statement and said they’ve been “receiving requests of potential cooperation from diverse companies.” “We’ve been receiving requests of potential cooperation from diverse companies regarding development of autonomous driving EVs, but no decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage....

Do the words “public servant” come to mind? Unless you’re working for an elected official, the answer is almost certainly “no,” and that’s the reason why I founded BetterManager. Because our society views managing people as either an obligation or bragging right; it’s either something that pays the bills or a way to exercise power over others and inflate one’s ego. Not unsurprisingly, 75% of employees said their manager was the most stressful part of their job....

The embattled co-working space start-up has alleged that Japanese mega-conglomerate SoftBank breached its fiduciary and contractual responsibility to WeWork’s minority shareholders when it withdrew its tender offer last week. [Read: WeWork can be salvaged — but its turnaround plan isn’t enough] The offer, which was signed back in December, also included $1.1 billion in debt financing for the loss-making WeWork — money the firm desperately needs if it’s going to survive much longer....

What do bees have in common with teams in the digital workplace? When I’m talking to leaders in business, it’s often helpful to use analogies to help them relate to workplace challenges and look at things from an alternative angle. And since moving to the countryside a couple of years ago, I’ve found observing my 50,000 bees particularly thought-provoking. Watching bees is a humbling experience. To start with, their movements may seem and random, but as you get to know them, you begin to identify the patterns in their movements, and see that they are actually buzzing around according to a carefully co-ordinated plan....

There’s a new tech trend (that’s actually a dumb old trope) sweeping through big tech, little tech, and South Korean TV stations: digital resurrection. The premise is simple. A person living in the modern world leaves tiny traces of who they are in everything they do. Our ‘digital footprint,’ if you will, has become so massive that we produce enough data for a clever AI to mimic us. Microsoft, for example, was recently granted a patent called “Creating a conversational chatbot of a specific person....

It feels impossible to tell if the technology our kids use should be celebrated or feared. A few years ago I wrote a book, Hooked, about how technology can be used to change our habits. I intended the book to teach startups how to build healthy habits, but now I’m not so sure. With headlines telling us technology is hijacking our brains, I started second-guessing the impact of our devices, especially when it comes to our kids....

WhatsApp already had basic functionality for clearing stored media, but now you get full-fledged data management. If you head to WhatsApp > Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage, you’ll be greeted with a new interface that categorizes items by size, and allows you to preview files before deleting them. You can then select multiple items to delete, while maintaining the files you want to keep. The new feature will also divide media into two categories: files larger than 5MB, and files that have been “forwarded many times....

Now the firm has rolled out a new button directly into the group chat that lets you join ongoing calls. The company said the feature is “a new spontaneous way to connect with their family and friends groups.” You can watch the new button in action in the video below. — WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 18, 2021 WhatsApp rolled out joinable calls back in July. However, you needed to go to the call menu to see ongoing calls....

As first reported by WABetaInfo, the company is rolling out this feature in its beta versions of iOS(2.20.50.25) and Android(2.20.133) across the globe. [Read: The New Yorker’s crossword now has a co-op mode and it’s bloody addictive] Several users on Twitter also posted that the upgrade is now available for them. — Vancha Kondal Reddy (@kondalreddyv) April 21, 2020 — Moshe F (@MosheFasten) April 21, 2020 For comparison, Houseparty allows 8 participants and Google Duo allows 12 participants in a group call....

But computer science majors keep launching startups that are technology- rather than people-centered. For example, in San Francisco (where else!) two restaurants opened in the last few years. Eatsa had fully automated ordering and service while human chefs prepared the food out back. Creator automated the food creation, but staffed the restaurant with friendly greeters to create what they call “an intimate, social, human-interaction-rich service experience.” Both are using automation to cut the cost of serving food, but only one of them has realized that we go out to eat – rather than ordering in – because we sometimes like to be with other people....

And that’s just the private sector. Don’t even get me started on academia and the government sector. It’s clear that workplace discrimination, confrontation, and isolation have a direct impact on how long a queer person remains in STEM, how far they advance in their careers, and, most importantly, their mental and physical health. Tech is a dangerous, unwelcoming place for queer people. Harassment, discrimination, and “othering” are all common issues queer people deal with....

This feeds a dangerous trend, however — an anti-scientific backlash against space exploration. Some memes traveling the interwebs call for ending the exploration of other worlds, in order to “fix Earth,” or “plant trees.” These are noble goals, vital to the survival of life (human and otherwise — let’s not forget cats). However, these significant, even existential, challenges (global warming, I’m looking in your direction) must be met with the best, most powerful tool humankind has ever devised to overcome obstacles — science....

The site’s crowdsourced editing model is prone to vandalism and biases. While its reputation for accuracy has improved, even Wikipedia doesn’t consider itself a reliable source. The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that oversees Wikipedia, regularly explores new solutions for these shortcomings. A new effort to address them harnesses the power of AI. The AI team at Meta has launched a research initiative to improve Wikipedia’s citations. These references are used to corroborate crowdsourced information on the site — but they’re often missing, incomplete, or inaccurate....