The foundation is looking for projects that solve agricultural and financial problems while using Mozilla’s Common Voice Kiswahili data set. It is planning to give awards of up to $50,000 to each of the winning projects, which they hope will show how voice-based tools can be integrated into apps that provide agricultural or financial services. Mozilla Common Voice is an open-source initiative aiming to make voice technology more inclusive. The initiative was started because voice technology is quickly becoming prevalent across a range of digital sites and services....

The open-source browser allowed users to access the web through standalone virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, and was available in the Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream app stores. When on the browser, users could visit standard URLs, perform searches, and ultimately move between 2D websites and immersive web experiences. Mozilla explained its decision to close down Firefox Reality was rooted in plans to place that technology into other communities and organisations so it can “continue to grow and contribute to the web like WebAssembly, Rust, and Servo”....

I know that the concept of numerically controlled machines dates back amazingly far, but actually using my own CNC in my garage to make my own storage systems is bonkers-level cool to me. I thought 3D printing felt like the future when that first MakerBot turned a roll of plastic filament into a tiny object. Since that first build, I’ve made custom 3D printed objects to solve all sorts of problems....

The transition follows a deal struck between the two companies in September for the newly merged telecommunications giant to deliver fixed network services across NAB’s corporate offices, business banking centres, and branches, as well as providing mobile connectivity to the majority of the NAB workforce. Vodafone delivered the solution to more than 80% of NAB’s mobile fleet across corporate offices and branches in metro and major regional areas. The company said Vodafone, alongside Google, would also be providing those who opt for a company phone with the Pixel 4a....

On Tuesday, ALP Senator Tony Sheldon described NBN’s contracting model as “pink batts on overdrive”. The final report [PDF] of the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program said the government should have done more to protect workers. “The reality is that the Australian government conceived of, devised, designed, and implemented a program that enabled very large numbers of inexperienced workers – often engaged by unscrupulous and avaricious employers or head contractors, who were themselves inexperienced in insulation installation – to undertake potentially dangerous work....

At the start of February, NBN said it would stop connecting new HFC customers due to supply chain constraints. It added that vulnerable customers would continue to be connected, as would customers moving into a premise already with NBN over HFC and those needing repairs and replacements on existing equipment. To that end, NBN said it had connected 230 vulnerable customers, and reconnected 47,000 premises with HFC that were disconnected from the network or where no legacy services were available....

Then, a couple of years ago, I shifted to ceramic cutters made by Slice, and I’ve not looked back. Also: This pocket-friendly tool replaced a full set of open-end wrenches for me I started using a small Slice box cutter, which was great for opening boxes and packages, and it did many months of hard cutting without getting worn down in the least. But it had a couple of downsides....

There are plenty of reasons for this, but fundamentally we are not training enough people to fill the jobs that are out there. And even if we could, there’s always going to be a mismatch between the education that students absorb in college and the skills they need in the world of work. Businesses rarely plan more than a few months ahead, and the skills they need are constantly in flux anyway, making it hard for education to keep pace....

In a statement, the company said the breach occurred more than a year ago, in May 2020. The company told ZDNet that they only discovered the breach in September 2021. Last year, the 114-year-old company filed for bankruptcy and said it owed between $1 billion and $10 billion to more than 50,000 creditors. Neiman Marcus said it hired Mandiant to investigate the data breach and has notified law enforcement about what happened....

One is perfect for those looking to make the most of their existing fixed-line internet connection, and one for those who need a better, or more bibile alternative to a fixed broadband connection. Must read: iOS 14 pro tip: One setting change for better photos Tech specs: New 6GHz Band— offering up to 200% more available spectrum than 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-FiUltra-Low LatencyMore High-Bandwidth WiFi Channels12-Streams Tri-Band WiFi— Four streams of 6GHz, four streams of 5GHz, and four streams of 2....

As then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said at the time, two million net neutrality comments were fake. Schneiderman said: “Moving forward with this vote would make a mockery of our public comment process and reward those who perpetrated this fraud to advance their own hidden agenda.” Schneiderman was wrong. His successor, Letitia James, found after a multi-year investigation that there had been “18 million fake comments with the FCC,” including over 500,000 fake letters sent to Congress in support of the repeal....

Aspire Vero The updated Acer Aspire Vero features either a new 14-inch or 15-inch, narrow border display for more working space, as well as a chassis and components made of post-consumer and ocean-bound plastic. Both versions of the Aspire Vero run on Windows 11 and are built with 12th Gen Intel Evo processors for tons of power and battery life to tackle everyday tasks. The touchpad is made with Acer’s Oceanglass, which is comprised of ocean-bound plastics, for a smoother feel and better responsiveness....

The idea of cybersecurity labels for Internet of Things (IoT) and consumer software has been kicked around for years, and has recently been looked at more seriously in the EU, Australia, UK and elsewhere. In October, Singapore and Finland agreed to recognize each other’s cybersecurity labels for IoT devices. But labels were required to be seriously considered in the US as part of president President Biden’s May 2021 cybersecurity Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity”....

The annoyed user, David Leacraft’s law firm, Levi & Korsinsky, a NYC-based security company, sued Canon in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Leacraft is suing on his own behalf and on behalf of everyone else in the same annoying situation. He’s seeking $5-million in damage awards, exclusive of interest, fees, and litigation costs. His claim? “As opposed to the ‘single function’ printers it sells, Canon calls these multifunction devices a ‘3-in-1’ or ‘4-in-1’ for the fact they purportedly provide three or four functions....

Much of the focus on the iPod touch’s discontinuance had centered on the end of the iPod brand, which stretches back to 2001, a time when Apple was just starting to emerge from its late ’90s malaise. The iPod represented the dawn of the company transforming from a pioneering but underperforming PC maker to the device and services category hydra among the world’s most valuable companies. But the iPod touch’s evolution and eventual abandonment demonstrates how Apple pioneered a category that proved increasingly vulnerable as the market enveloped it....

Also: My search for the ultimate Apple Watch Ultra strap is over On Tuesday, Nomad announced another Limited Edition Sport Band, this time in what Nomad is calling Electric Blue. I don’t know if I’d call it electric, but it’s definitely a baby blue-like shade. I’ve been alternating between the sold out, limited edition neon yellow – or High Volta as Nomad calls it – and the Ultra Orange color options for the last few weeks....

NordLocker Short Review: How Does the Service Fare? NordLocker is a good option for anyone that needs both file encryption and cloud storage services. Its unique mix of local protection, efficient online backup, and sharing features make NordLocker a versatile choice. NordLocker is easy to install and use, even if its Android and iOS apps are a bit clunky. Customer service is also great — but only for premium users. The software’s memberships could be cheaper, especially when compared to other file encryption or file storage competitors, though it’s not ridiculously expensive, either....

Additionally, NortonLifeLock shareholders voted on Thursday overwhelmingly to support the company’s proposed merger with Britain’s Avast PLC. NortonLifeLock’s non-GAAP diluted EPS was 43 cents on revenue of $695 million, up 11%. Analysts were expecting earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue of $695.3 million. The company’s direct customer count in the quarter came to 23.3 million, up 2.6 million. Its customer count has grown every quarter since it was separated from Symantec, the enterprise security business that Broadcom purchased in late 2019....

Clearview AI’s facial recognition tool is known for breaching privacy laws on numerous fronts by scraping biometric information from the web indiscriminately and collecting data on at least 3 billion people, with many of those people being Australian. From November 2019 to January 2020, 10 members of the AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) used the Clearview AI platform to conduct searches of certain individuals residing in Australia....

Genetic Testing Booming Business At-home DNA test kits have become enormously popular. Most people find it appealing to find out more about their ancestry and genealogical relationships, or to estimate their ethnic mix. On top of that, direct-to-consumer DNA tests can nowadays easily be done from the comfort of a person’s own home and at an affordable price. It is therefore no wonder that genetic testing is a booming business. After years of being more of a niche product, at-home DNA test kits have definitely gone mainstream....