Education on technology

According to new Flinders University research, overuse of mobile devices has a bad rap, but one advantage may be their capacity to provide a distraction and improve teens' ability to sleep. Feedback from more than 600 teenagers from age 12 to 18 at South Australian schools between June and September 2019 has led the international research group to point to a more nuanced view on using the wide range of mobile content -- led by Youtube, music apps, Instagram and Snapchat -- before young people's bedtime. "Many teenagers struggle with a racing mind when sleep doesn't come easy," said lead corresponding author Dr Serena Bauducco, a visiting postdoctoral researcher from Orebro University, Sweden. "This study shows that many adolescents use technology to distract themselves from negative thoughts, which may help them manage the sleep-onset process. Thus, distraction may be one mechanism explaining how sleep affects technology use, rather than vice-versa," t

Realme Fold, the first foldable smartphone from the tech brand, may launch soon. Realme's foldable smartphone has been in rumours for quite a while and most recently the company Vice President Madhav Sheth has hinted at its Flip and Fold handsets. Sheth on Twitter asked followers about their preferences for a foldable phone by Realme. He suggested Realme Fold and Realme Flip options. Foldable smartphones are becoming a common form factor for premium smartphones. Besides Samsung, brands including Vivo, Oppo, Tecno, and Xiaomi have foldable smartphones in their portfolio. Madhav Sheth on Thursday took to Twitter to ask people about their preferences for a foldable phone by Realme . He has asked followers whether they want the Realme Flip or Realme Fold as the next product, suggesting that the company is working on either of the two or both. The Chinese smartphone brand has not released a foldable phone yet. Realme hasn't yet announced any specifications of its foldable handset

Artificial intelligence was supposed to be Google's thing. The company has cultivated a reputation for making long-term bets on all kinds of far-off technologies, and much of the research underpinning the current wave of AI-powered chatbots took place in its labs. Yet a startup called OpenAI has emerged as an early leader in so-called generative AI—software that can produce its own text, images or videos—by launching ChatGPT in November. Its sudden success has left Google parent company Alphabet sprinting to catch up in a key subfield of the technology that Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai has said will be “more profound than fire or electricity.” ChatGPT , which some see as an eventual challenger to Google's traditional search engine, seems doubly threatening given OpenAI's close ties to Microsoft . The feeling that Google may be falling behind in an area that it has considered a key strength has led to no small measure of anxiety in Mountain View, California, accor

Tesla is under investigation by US regulators over complaints the steering wheel can fall off certain new Model Y vehicles while they're in use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's aware of two incidents in which the wheel detached from the steering column while drivers were operating the 2023 model year SUVs. The preliminary evaluation, opened March 4, applies to an estimated 120,089 vehicles, according to a filing posted on NHTSA's website. The affected vehicles were delivered to owners without the retaining bolt that holds the steering wheel in place, the agency said. NHTSA is assessing “the scope, frequency and manufacturing processes associated with this condition.” There are no known injuries or deaths related to the issue, NHTSA said. Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The move by NHTSA is the latest in a series of investigations targeting Tesla, its products and its chief executive officer, Elon Musk. The Aus

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. In a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the 31-year-old former billionaire's lawyers said federal prosecutors in Manhattan had not yet turned over evidence collected from electronic devices belonging to Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, previously two of their client's closest associates. Both have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The lawyers also noted that prosecutors added new fraud and conspiracy charges late last month, boosting the number of counts to twelve, following the November collapse of Bankman-Fried's now-bankrupt exchange and his arrest the next month. In January, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the original eight counts that he cheated investors and caused billions of dol