John Lister

A serious shortage of processor chips is affecting the supply chain of computers and other electronic devices. It's caused by a combination of supply and demand changes. The problem has caused not just price rises but a lack of availability. Devices ... as diverse as the latest iPhone model, the PS5 games console and high-tech cars have all been delayed or in short supply. The Guardian reports that the problem is partly down to a backlog caused by chip production factories shutting down for social distancing reasons in the early stages of the pandemic. However, even as that clears, demand is ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined two telemarketers a record $225 million for unlawful automated "robocalls." The offenders, who used names including JSquared Telecom and Rising Eagle, made around a billion such calls in a ... five-month period. The fine isn't just a record for robocalls, but is also the largest ever issued by the FCC for any reason. (Source: cnbc.com ) The calls claimed to offer health insurance plans from well-known legitimate providers. In fact the calls were made on behalf of several companies, at least one of which has already been sued for its own ... (view more)

Google has added a "Reading List" feature to Chrome that works a little like a second set of bookmarks. The feature may not be for everyone, and with a little effort it can be removed with some tweaking under the hood. The Reading List feature has ... been in the work for some time, originally developed under the name "Read Later", but is now available to all users since the latest Chrome update, version 89. (Source: metro.co.uk ) The idea is to let user differentiate between pages they want to bookmark permanently (such as regularly visited websites) and articles they want to read later on, even ... (view more)

Google will have to go to court to answer claims it misled users by tracking their online activity in a supposed private browsing mode. A judge agreed a lawsuit seeking $5 billion can go ahead with class action status. That status doesn't change ... Google's chances of winning or losing, but could mean much bigger consequences if it does lose. It means anyone meeting set criteria could effectively be treated as a plaintiff, eligible for any financial awards, without having to launch their own case. The case appears largely to come down to whether Google's wording is clear enough, rather than it ... (view more)

The Indian government plans to outlaw cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The measure is expected to become law, though it's unclear if it will be enforceable in practice. Politicians in the country have long been hostile to cryptocurrencies, which ... use blockchain technology. That's where all transactions are recorded on a digital "ledger" which exists as multiple copies across the Internet, removing any central control. India's government previously banned "real world" financial institutions from providing any services to cryptocurrency operators, for example in exchanging the virtual ... (view more)

29 countries intentionally disrupted Internet access for their citizens at some point in 2020 according to a new report. Of a total 155 shutdowns, 28 were "full Internet blackouts." While many were authoritative states, the most disruptions by far ... came in India, which is officially at least a democracy. It used more than 100 Internet shutdowns to prevent communication by protestors against a controversial law. Those shutdowns have now been judged illegal by the country's Supreme Court. Mobile Speeds Slowed The report, from Access Now, found the overall number of shutdowns around the world was ... (view more)

Israel and Canada have the world's most affordable broadband according to a newly-published study. The rankings take into account earnings rather than just the raw broadband price. The study, published by Surfshark, also found that the parts of the ... world with the most comparatively expensive broadband also had the worst service. (Source: surfshark.com ) The overall rankings take into account the prices for the cheapest fixed-line broadband package in a country plus the cost of 1GB of mobile broadband data. The researchers then compared these sums to average earnings in the country. Note that ... (view more)

Google Maps could have ads displayed in locations on the map itself. A newly-awarded patent explains how Google could adjust the costs to advertisers based on factors such as the user's location. The photographs in the patent application suggest the ... feature would most likely be added to the standard diagram view in Google Maps, rather than either the aerial image view or the Street View photographs. The system would designate specific areas on the map such as a building and treat them as spaces where an ad could appear. How many ads would appear on the screen would depend on how closely the ... (view more)

Microsoft is trying a new method for releasing and managing Windows 10 updates. The aim is to reduce the number of bugs where an update doesn't install properly. The plan involves combining two types of updates: cumulative and servicing stack ... updates, which were previously released separately. The cumulative update contains new content and fixes for Windows. Cumulative refers to the way the updates are designed to be downloaded and installed in order, meaning each individual update can be a relatively small file size. Unfortunately, the cumulative updates are also part of the reason Windows ... (view more)

A single character from ancient English could crash a Windows 10 PC, thanks to an odd security glitch. It's been patched in the most recent Windows updates, making it an important fix for those who download updates manually. The bug appears to work ... in most major browsers and involves the Æ symbol. If that isn't clear on your device, it's the symbol that looks like a capital A in italics squashed into a capital E. The symbol, sometimes called "ash" in English, has been used to designate specific sounds in several language over the past few thousand years. In old English it was a sound ...<a href="/news/10902/single-character-could-crash-windows-pc" class="more-link">view more