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The world is a very busy place, and it’s hard to stay on top of everything. Infoplease has got you covered. Here are the Science & Technology news events you need to know so far for September 2023.
- Microsoft Set To Remove Teams™ From Its 365 Suite Following Investigation
- Government Workers In China Banned From The Use Of iPhones
- New Apple iPhone Releases Come With Thunderbolt Charging Ports
- Neuralink Secures Approval For Human Trials
- ChatGPT Improves And Can Now Browse The Internet
Microsoft Set To Remove Teams™ From Its 365 Suite Following Investigation
Photo Source: AP Photo/Thibault Camus
Thursday, August 31, 2023 – Following a 2020 complaint from Slack that claimed Microsoft had unlawfully connected Teams to its favored workplace software, the EU opened an investigation about a month ago into potential anticompetitive activities by Microsoft.
Since launching the antitrust probe into the company’s pairing of the products, Microsoft announced Thursday that it will permit corporate customers in Europe to purchase its video and chat tool Teams independently from its Office software.
Business users of the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites in the EU and four additional European nations will see the changes starting on October 1.
Without the Teams software, the business will charge $2.2 less each month for Microsoft 365 and Office 365, which comprise Word, Excel, and Outlook, among other programs, while Teams as a stand-alone software will be sold separately to new clients in Europe for $5.4 per month.
Source: CNN
Government Workers In China Banned From The Use Of iPhones
Photo Source: AP Photo/Andy Wong
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 – In its latest attempt to reduce reliance on foreign products amongst its ranks, the Chinese government has banned the use of iPhones among its employees. The move has had a rippling effect since it was announced as China is an important market and production location for the corporation, accounting for around 19% of total revenue.
According to sources, despite the apparent lack of a formal policy, Chinese authorities had followed an informal rule of avoiding iPhones before the pandemic. Following the news, Apple shares fell 3.6% on Wednesday, closing at $182.91 in New York. It was the month’s largest daily decline.
The iPhone ban for government officials could be retaliation for similar moves by the U.S. against Chinese technology, as China’s Huawei and ZTE have long been subject to U.S. restrictions; as has TikTok, which has also been banned from devices issued by multiple U.S. institutions, including the House of Representatives, the City of New York, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Georgia.
Sources: CNN
New Apple iPhone Releases Come With Thunderbolt Charging Ports
Photo Source: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
Thursday, September 14, 2023 – Apple has announced that the upcoming iPhone will not include its proprietary lightning charging port, as mandated by the EU. The tech giant stated that the iPhone 15, which was introduced on Tuesday at its annual event, would adopt a USB-C connector as the “universally accepted standard.”
The new iPhone, which goes on sale next week, is the first to include a different charging port since 2012. The EU had instructed the tech giant to abandon its proprietary charging connectors to make life easier for consumers, save them money, and assist minimize e-waste by encouraging charger re-use.
According to Tim Cook, the iPhones 15 and 15 Plus now feature brighter screens and enhanced camera systems, while the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max now have a titanium frame to increase strength and an “action button” in place of the mute switch that can be programmed to do several functions.
Source: BBC
Neuralink Secures Approval For Human Trials
Photo Source: AP Images
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 – Neuralink announced that an independent review board has approved it to begin recruiting patients for its first human trial. In a six-year research, the business is looking for people with paralysis to test its revolutionary Brain-Computer Interface technology.
The promise of creating an all-encompassing brain-computer to assist humans in keeping up with artificial intelligence has sparked skepticism and prompted ethical issues among neuroscientists and other academics. Several investigations were launched in response to the allegations, including one by the Department of Agriculture into animal mistreatment and another by the Department of Transportation into the mishandling of biohazardous chemicals across state lines.
The FDA declined the company’s request for accelerated human trials last year, but in May it granted Neuralink an experimental device exemption, which allows the device to be used in clinical investigations. The agency hasn’t said how its earlier concerns were addressed.
Source: The Guardian
ChatGPT Improves And Can Now Browse The Internet
Photo Source: AP Photo/Richard Drew
Thursday, September 28, 2023 – OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, has confirmed that the chatbot can now search the internet for current information. Previously, the artificial intelligence-powered system was only educated using data up to September 2021. As a result of the change, select premium users will be able to ask the chatbot questions about current events and may also gain access to news.
ChatGPT had not searched the internet until recently for a variety of reasons, including high computational costs. It is commonly stated that each inquiry costs OpenAI a few pennies.
According to the AI itself, this development is only coming now because constructing language models was time-consuming and resource-intensive; using real-time data could introduce mistakes; and there were certain privacy and ethical concerns about accessing real-time information–notably copyrighted content–without authorization.
Source: BBC
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