ShinyShiny snippets: Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock ‘immortalised as Barbie Doll’

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and her Barbie doll. Image: Sky News A British scientist known for her work with the largest space telescope ever made has been honoured with her own Barbie doll. Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock has been immortalised as a one-of-a-kind plastic toy in her likeness in recognition of her achievements…

ShinyShiny snippets: WhatsApp rolls out new features for Groups

WhatsApp groups can now be brought together under one umbrella with the launch of a new communities feature. Rolling out from today, it's designed so that updates can be sent to everyone across all groups in one go, while still allowing for smaller discussions within the individual groups. Think of it like a Russian stacking…

ShinyShiny snippets: ‘5G is overhyped’, claims report

5G connectivity is overhyped - and many users are yet to experience improvements in mobile speed or reliability, says a new study. Research from Uswitch.com found one in six mobile users felt the power of the technology had been overstated, and less than half said they had seen noticeable speed or reliability improvements since upgrading.…

ShinyShiny snippets: WhatsApp to let you leave group chats silently

Meta has announced new privacy features for WhatsApp users. Users will be able to leave group chats silently, control who can see their online status and block screenshots on View Once messages. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said this would help keep WhatsApp messaging "as private and secure as face-to-face conversations". It will begin rolling…

ShinyShiny snippets: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg sued over Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being sued by the US District of Columbia which is seeking to hold him personally liable for the Cambridge Analytica scandal that breached millions of people's personal data. The political consultancy was accused in 2018 of illegally harvesting the personal data of as many as 87 million Facebook users. The data was…

ShinyShiny snippets: Zuckerberg reveals AI projects to power Metaverse

A basic virtual world created by Mark Zuckerberg in Builder Bot. Image: Meta Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled several ambitious artificial-intelligence projects, describing AI as "the key to unlocking the Metaverse". In a live-streamed demonstration, he created a basic virtual world - including an island, trees and a beach -…

ShinyShiny snippets: Number of Facebook users falls for first time

Social media giant Facebook has seen its daily active users (DAUs) drop for the first time in its 18-year history. Facebook's parent company Meta Networks says DAUs fell to 1.929bn in the three months to the end of December, compared to 1.930bn in the previous quarter. The firm also warned of slowing revenue growth in…

Shiny Shiny daily round up: Hyundai announces EV with solar panel roof

Hyundai's new electric car, the Ioniq 5, has a solar panel roof and can charge other EVs. Unfortunately, the solar panel roof is not available as standard - and right now we don't know how much this optional extra will set you back. Nor will you won't be able to rely on the sun to…

WiFi and smartphones top best invention list of last 25 years

WiFi has been hailed as the best invention of the last 25 years. Researchers who carried out a detailed study saw the wireless device networking system pip smartphone technology to claim the top spot. A survey of 2,000 adults across Britain placed online banking in third place and internet search engines in fourth. Online shopping…