ShinyShiny snippets: Tesco Mobile to introduce European roaming charges
Tesco Mobile is to start charging pay-monthly users who joined or upgraded from 16 June to use their mobiles in Europe from 1 January 2023. These customers will have to pay extra to make calls, send texts and use data in 48 European countries and destinations. Mobile firms were banned from charging customers extra fees to use their UK allowance of minutes, texts and data (subject to a fair use cap) in Europe while the UK was still part of the EU. But now the post-Brexit transition is over, these rules no longer apply. Many of the major networks have either reintroduced roaming charges or confirmed that they’ll do so this summer, though the major exception is O2, which has said it won’t reintroduce fees. Money Saving Expert
A prototype space factory that can produce materials impossible to make on Earth will be on the first rocket to launch from UK soil later this summer. Welsh startup Space Forge will use microgravity and the vacuum of space to make stronger, lighter metal alloys and super-efficient semiconductors. The company told Sky News that components made in orbit could be in widespread use in as little as five years, in everything from aircraft engines to the electricity grid. To test its plan for bringing materials back to Earth, the company will launch a satellite on a rocket due to lift off from Spaceport Cornwall in September. Sky News
Since the release of iOS 14.2 in 2020, the iPhone has included a built-in Music Recognition feature in Control Center powered by Shazam. And with iOS 16, and also the iOS 15.6 beta, the feature has received a small but useful upgrade. As noted by Twitter user @someone_andrew, songs identified with Music Recognition in Control Center finally sync with the Shazam app. It also remains possible to view a list of previously identified songs by long pressing the Music Recognition control in Control Center, but syncing with the Shazam app is a useful addition for those who rely more on the app, which is free on the App Store. Mac Rumors
Google now lets you add its Password Manager to your Android home screen alongside other apps. The ability comes through a Google Play Services update recently released to Android devices. The new feature lets you get into or access your passwords more swiftly rather than scouring through the device or Chrome settings whenever needed. The service from the search giant may not be one of the best password manager options available — it is still secure, encrypted, and syncs through to your Google account. Users can easily access them as they like on both platforms, Android or iOS (from the Chrome app). Android Central
Elon Musk’s transgender daughter has applied to legally change her name and gender, saying she no longer wants to “be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form”. The 18-year-old has asked to be recognised as female and have the name Vivian Jenna Wilson. She was known as Xavier Alexander Musk. The petition for both a name change and a new birth certificate was filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica. BBC
