Author: Abiodun A.

Back at WWDC this year, Apple announced its intentions to move its whole Mac lineup to ARM processors. One of the first PCs to use its new M1 chipset was the MacBook Air, but interestingly, Apple didn’t redesign it, something you might have expected from the new chip architecture that champions power efficiency. But according to a new report from Bloomberg, that redesign is on the way. The new model is going to be thinner and lighter than the current 2.8-pound model. It might even have a smaller footprint thanks to smaller bezels. Aside from that, Apple is apparently bringing…

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Google announced today a fresh look for its search experience on mobile. The goal is to make search results easier to read and introduce a more modern design to its mobile search. Aileen Cheng, who oversaw the visual redesign, shared a few details about the new look. One of the notable changes is the addition of more roundness to the overall search experience. This can be seen in the Google logo, icons, search bar, and imagery in what Cheng described as a “Googley” feeling. Google also replaced the shaded boxes around individual search results with straight lines as part of…

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At least six people have been killed and eight others injured during separate attacks by bandits in Giwa and Chikun local government areas of Kaduna State. Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said four persons were killed in Chikun local government while two others were killed in Giwa. According to him, armed bandits attacked Maskoro community of Kakau Ward, and Akunakwo of Gwagwada Ward, both in Chikun local government area, where they killed two persons, identified as Nehemiah Ishaku and Yunana Mai-Mulo, while two others, Haruna…

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Two houses at the Fulani settlement have been burnt along with three vehicles following the tension that rocked the Igangan area of Oyo State on Friday. The Police Public Relations Officer of the state, Gbenga Fadeyi, confirmed this to Channels Television on Saturday evening, adding that one policeman was injured in the incident. Fadeyi, however, noted that there was no fatality. He said investigations have since commenced into the matter while efforts are on to return normalcy to the area. Trouble began on Friday after a youth leader from the Oke Ogun axis, Mr. Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Igboho…

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YouTube is finally enabling HDR support on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. The HDR support works across existing Xbox One S / X devices and new consoles like the Xbox Series X and Series S. As long as you have a TV or monitor capable of displaying HDR videos; the app will now automatically switch to output HDR content. The YouTube app on Xbox has never supported HDR previously, despite HDR being available on the PlayStation 4 since 2019. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched in November without HDR support; and it’s still not available on the PS5 yet —…

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Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole has killed five Boko Haram terrorists and injured others at Abbagajiri and Dusula towns in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. In a statement issued on Friday, the acting Director of Defence Media Operations, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, said the latest encounter with the terrorists occurred on Wednesday at Abbagajiri. “The troops of 402 Special Forces Task Force Brigade led by the Commander engaged them with superior firepower resulting in high casualty on the terrorists,” the statement partly read. “In the aftermath of the decisive encounter, five Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized while few…

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A 32-year-old man, Tunde Bello has been arrested by the police for allegedly kinappg and Raping a 29-year-old lady in Ogun State. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, The suspect was said to have held his victim hostage and then demanded the sum of ₦140,000 as ransom after raping her. “While she was going to her office on that day, she boarded a Hyundai car at about 5:00 am from Ogunrun road Mowe to Lagos. But on getting to Mowe junction, the driver of the car…

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Italian prosecutors have opened a probe into the accidental death of a 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in a “blackout challenge” on the video-sharing network TikTok. The girl died in a Palermo hospital after being discovered Wednesday by her five-year-old sister in her family bathroom with her cellphone, which was seized by police. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said Friday it had not managed to identify any content on its site that could have encouraged the girl to participate in any such challenge, but was helping the authorities in the probe over possible “incitement to suicide”.…

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An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a Pastor, John Abiodun to two years imprisonment over a false allegation against the founder of an Akure-based church. Earlier in 2019, the pastor had been dragged before the court for lying against the founder of the Promiseland Prophetic Ministry, Akure, Pastor Gbenga Akinbiyi. Abiodun alleged that seven placentas were buried on the church’s altar. Akinbiyi thereafter dragged Abiodun, a former member of the church, to the court. Abiodun, alongside a lecturer of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Prof Lanre Olu-Adeyemi were arraigned before the court on eight counts…

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In a letter dated Wednesday, Dave Clark, the incoming chief executive officer of Amazon’s retail unit; offered his congratulations to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He reiterated a request Amazon made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month asking that; frontline workers among the company’s more than 800,000 U.S. employees receive vaccines at the “earliest appropriate time.” Even as much of Amazon’s white-collar corporate workforce at its Seattle headquarters and other offices toil from home; the company’s warehouses, cloud-computing data centers and Whole Foods Market stores have stayed open through the pandemic. Clark said…

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In a letter dated Wednesday, Dave Clark, the incoming chief executive officer of Amazon’s retail unit; offered his congratulations to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He reiterated a request Amazon made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month asking that; frontline workers among the company’s more than 800,000 U.S. employees receive vaccines at the “earliest appropriate time.” Even as much of Amazon’s white-collar corporate workforce at its Seattle headquarters and other offices toil from home; the company’s warehouses, cloud-computing data centers and Whole Foods Market stores have stayed open through the pandemic. Clark said…

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No fewer than four people including a village head have been killed by Bandits in isolated locations in three local government areas of Kaduna state. The affected areas are Chikun, Igabi, and Giwa. The fresh killings occurred just four days after the village head of Konti community in Chikun local government, Samaila Yohanna, and four others were murdered by bandits. The Kaduna state commissioner for internal security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan who confirmed the latest incident in a statement, says that the Bandits attacked Chikun local government and killed the ward head of Baranje community near Buruku, Dogara Yahaya,…

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Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested one Friday Domozu, 23, a native of Jarkama Village, Bassa LGA of Kogi State, the leader of the kidnap gang responsible for the abduction and killing of a six-year-old, Farida Yahaya at the Gabije Area of Kogi State on November 2. This information was contained in a press release signed by police spokesman, Frank Mba. The victim was abducted alongside one Abdulraheem, 14, who narrowly escaped from the kidnappers’ den. Investigations by the Police team revealed that the kidnappers demanded a huge sum as ransom from the family…

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The Katsina State Police Command has arrested a vice principal, Ibrahim Tukur, for raping his 12-year-old student of a community school in the state. Briefing journalists on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Gambo Isah, said the suspect raped the teenager serially before impregnating her. He explained that the young girl had been delivered of a baby from the pregnancy through a Caesarean section. Tukur and other suspects who were paraded at the Katsina Police Command headquarters were said to have been arrested between January 9 and 14. “Ibrahim Tukur is a Vice Principal of a Community…

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Last year, Netflix was spotted testing a feature that allowed users to play shows or movies by clicking on a “shuffle play” button sitting right below the row of user profiles. Now, the streaming service has confirmed the arrival of the new capability. Netflix made the confirmation as part of its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2020. The shuffle button is set for rollout to all subscribers; in the first half of this year as a permanent feature. The upcoming capability will allow users to skip browsing; and just let the streaming platform pick a movie or show…

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Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right; has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company. Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc’s hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence; and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, Parler’s website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality. The internet protocol address it used is owned by DDos-Guard, which is controlled by two Russian…

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The government of the UK has written to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart asking him to “respect the informational privacy; and data security of Indian users” and withdraw the latest terms and privacy policy proposed by the messaging service for users in India. It expressed strong concerns over the policy days after HT on January 11 reported; that the government was closely examining the matter. The government has also issued a detailed questionnaire to WhatsApp seeking more details about its data-sharing protocols and business practices. It has sought the exact categories of data that the WhatsApp application collects from Indian users,…

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VLC now runs natively on M1 Macs The latest update to ubiquitous open-source media player VLC is here, and it comes with native support for Apple silicon Mac computers; — the new versions of the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and the Mac mini with Apple’s own M1 processor. VLC 3.0.12 also includes some visual tweaks to bring it further in line with Big Sur, the latest version of macOS. Mac apps don’t strictly require native updates to work with the M1 processor, since Apple silicon Macs include Rosetta 2; a translation layer that lets software compiled for x86 processors…

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After losing nearly $4.5 billion for over five years, LG is considering quitting the smartphone market for good in 2021. According to a report by The Korean Herald, LG’s CEO Kwon Bong-Seok has told the employees that the company is planning to make major changes ‘in the operation of the smartphone segment.’ “Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer; it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice…The company is considering all possible measures; including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business,” the LG CEO told the…

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The Nigeria Police Force has paraded some suspected kidnappers for killing a six-year-old girl after demanding ₦8 million ransom from the victim’s family. Parading the suspects in Abuja on Wednesday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said the abduction was carried out on November 2, 2020, in Gabije community of Kogi State. Also paraded were some suspected armed robbers and cattle rustlers. The suspects were said to have been positively linked through investigations by the Force Intelligence Bureau. Mba told journalists that the girl was kidnapped alongside her 14-year-old brother, noting that while the teenager brother was said to…

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