March 5 – Meta Platforms owned (META.O) opens a new tab. According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, hundreds of thousands worldwide could not access Facebook or Instagram on Tuesday.

Meta’s Facebook, Instagram Down For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Users Across Globe

According to the website, the interruptions began at 10:00 a.m. ET, with over 300,000 claims of outages for Facebook and over 40,000 for Instagram.

“We are aware that consumers are having difficulty accessing our services. “We’re working on it right now,” Meta representative Andy Stone wrote on X social network.

According to Meta’s status dashboard, the application programming interface for WhatsApp Business was also experiencing problems.

There were approximately 200 WhatsApp outages on Downdetector, which analyzes outages by collecting status information from multiple sources, including users.

Meta’s Facebook, Instagram Down For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Users Across Globe

The outage was one of the top trending issues on X, formerly Twitter, with some users reporting that they were unexpectedly locked out of the Meta-owned social media services.

Meta Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms, Inc., is a social media conglomerate that owns popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Meta’s main focus is on creating a connected digital world through virtual reality, augmented reality, and other innovative technologies.

Meta’s Facebook, Instagram Down For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Users Across Globe

The company aims to revolutionize how people interact, play, and work online.

With Mark Zuckerberg at the helm, Meta is constantly pushing boundaries and shaping the future of social networking.

SOURCE – reuters

A tech tycoon, Elon Musk, has claimed that his Neuralink company has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he stated that “promising” brain activity had been observed following the treatment and that the patient was “recovering well”.

The company aims to connect human brains to computers to better treat complex neurological diseases.

A handful of competitor companies have already implanted similar devices.

Elon Musk Says Neuralink Implanted Wireless Brain Chip

“For any company producing medical devices, the first test in humans is a significant milestone,” said Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe of King’s College London.

“For the brain computer interface community, we must place this news in the context that whilst there are many companies working on exciting products, there are only a few other companies who have implanted their devices in humans, so Neuralink has joined a rather small group.”

However, she cautioned that “true success” could only be measured over time.

“We know Elon Musk is very adept at generating publicity for his company,” she said.

Other firms that have made similar achievements in the sector include Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (EPFL), which has enabled a paralysed man to walk simply by thinking.

Electrical implants in his brain and spine that wirelessly transfer thoughts to his legs and feet allowed for this.

Elon Musk Says Neuralink Implanted Wireless Brain Chip

The breakthrough was reported in the peer-reviewed journal Nature in May 2023.

There has been no independent verification of Mr Musk’s assertions, and Neuralink has not disclosed any details about the technique he claims occurred.

BBC News has contacted Neuralink and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for comment.

Neuralink testing has been condemned, with Reuters reporting in December 2022 that the corporation killed almost 1,500 animals, including sheep, monkeys, and pigs.

In July 2023, the chairman of the US Department of Agriculture, which examines animal welfare allegations, stated that there had been no violations of animal research guidelines at the corporation.

However, the agency is currently conducting a separate probe.

The FDA allowed Mr Musk’s business to test the chip on humans in May 2023.

That cleared the way for the six-year project, in which a robot will surgically implant 64 flexible threads, thinner than a human hair, into a portion of the brain that governs “movement intention,” according to Neuralink.

Elon Musk Says Neuralink Implanted Wireless Brain Chip

According to the company, these threads enable their experimental implant, which runs on a wirelessly rechargeable battery, to record and transmit brain impulses to an app that decodes how the person wishes to move.

“[It] has great potential to help people with neurological disorders in the future and is an excellent example of how fundamental neuroscience research is being harnessed for medical advances,” Professor Tara Spires-Jones, president of the British Neuroscience Association, stated.

“However, most of these interfaces require invasive neurosurgery and are still in experimental stages; thus, it will likely be many years before they are commonly available.”

In another post on X, Mr Musk stated that Neuralink’s initial product will be Telepathy.

He claimed Telepathy would allow “control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking”.

“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs,” he said.

Referring to the late British scientist who suffered from motor neurone illness, he remarked, “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer.” “That is the goal.”

While Mr Musk’s involvement enhances the visibility of Neuralink, several of his competitors have a history extending back two decades. In 2004, Utah-based Blackrock Neurotech implanted the first of many brain-computer connections.

Precision Neuroscience, founded by a Neuralink co-founder, likewise seeks to assist patients with paralysis. Its implant resembles a very thin piece of tape that rests on the surface of the brain and can be inserted through a “cranial micro-slit,” which it claims is a much simpler procedure.

Existing equipment also produced findings. In two independent recent US research investigations, implants were used to record brain activity while a person attempted to talk, which could subsequently be decoded to aid communication.

SOURCE – (BCC)

LONDON — Amazon cancelled its acquisition of robot vacuum firm iRobot on Monday, citing “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles” after the European Union opposed the transaction.

The firms announced in a joint statement that they were disappointed but agreed to end the acquisition. The merger drew antitrust attention on both sides of the Atlantic, especially in Europe, where authorities investigating competition issues were scheduled to make a final decision by February 14.

Amazon said that in 2022, it would buy iRobot, the producer of the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum, for $1.7 billion cash. However, the deal’s value decreased by 15% after iRobot took on extra debt.

AMAZON: Bid To Buy Roomba Maker IRobot Is Called Off Amid Pushback In Europe

Amazon will pay the Bedford, Massachusetts-based business a previously agreed-upon termination fee of $94 million, iRobot said in a separate release, which also revealed that it would lay off around 31% of its workforce and fire its CEO.

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm and top antitrust watchdog warned Amazon last year of its “preliminary view” that the iRobot acquisition would reduce industry competition.

While British antitrust regulators cleared the deal in June, the Federal Trade Commission in the United States continued investigating.

The European Commission waited to respond to a request for comment. It was concerned that Amazon would minimise the exposure of an iRobot competitor’s product or restrict access to certain labels, such as “Amazon’s Choice,” which could draw more customers.

Last year, the commission said that Amazon may have discovered ways to boost the expenses for iRobot’s competitors to advertise and sell their products on its platform.

AMAZON: Bid To Buy Roomba Maker IRobot Is Called Off Amid Pushback In Europe

Amazon’s chief counsel, David Zapolsky, slammed authorities, saying consumers would miss out on “faster innovation and more competitive prices.”

“Mergers and acquisitions like this help companies like iRobot better compete in the global marketplace, particularly against companies, and from countries, that aren’t subject to the same regulatory requirements in fast-moving technology segments like robotics,” he added.

He also pointed out that “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles discourage entrepreneurs, who should be able to see acquisition as one path to success, and that hurts both consumers and competition— the very things that regulators say they’re trying to protect.”

Now that the purchase has been called off, iRobot has announced a restructuring strategy to stabilise the company. The corporation plans to lay off approximately 350 people as part of these reforms.

Colin Angle, iRobot’s chairman and CEO, will also step down. Glen Weinstein, the company’s executive vice president and chief legal officer, will become interim CEO.

Consumer rights groups had expressed worries about the Amazon-iRobot merger, claiming it would increase the ecommerce giant’s domination in the smart home industry.

AMAZON: Bid To Buy Roomba Maker IRobot Is Called Off Amid Pushback In Europe

Amazon has previously acquired several smart home firms, including Blink, Ring, and Eero, a mesh-networking Wi-Fi company.

This is the latest example of a partnership between US corporations that failed after being scrutinised by European regulators.

Adobe abandoned its $20 billion acquisition of online design business Figma last year due to antitrust concerns raised by the EU and the UK. After losing legal battles with antitrust officials in Europe and the United States, biotech giant Illumina was forced to cancel its $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer-screening business Grail.

SOURCE – (AP)