Lockdown 3.0 is in full swing and with many of us working remotely, and even enjoying the snow, the headlines from the Tech and I.T. world may have passed you by.
From connectivity issues and Tesla safety concerns to the latest tech from Samsung, we’ll bring you right up to date.
Remote workers face regular connectivity issues
Remote working has become the norm for many since the first lockdown in March 2020. And it does have its benefits – no stressful commute, the ability to wear your pyjama bottoms on your Zoom meeting, but when it comes to connectivity, it’s not all been smooth sailing.
According to a report from Spitfire Network Services, a telecoms and IP engineering firm, more than a quarter of remote workers have regular connectivity issues. This not only impacts their productivity but their mental health as well.
The report showed that only 4% of the UK’s remote workforce has a dedicated internet connection, with the majority of workers relying on their home network. These networks become under pressure in the afternoon hours (4-6pm) when more than one household member is home and connecting their devices.
Dominic Norton, Sales Director at Spitfire Network Services comments:
“Employers are to blame, remote working is no longer the ‘new normal’ as the switch was made more than nine months ago and shows that businesses have been slow to act”.
Connectivity is crucial to those that have to work remotely; however it can be helped by making some small changes in the household. Whether that be switching provider to get a better deal, installing a WiFi booster to get better bandwidth in all the rooms or seeking advice from professionals on the best solution for your business.
Explore more here.
Tesla asked to recall 158,000 cars over safety concerns
Tesla’s popularity has grown significantly over the past year, with Elon Musk even becoming the world’s richest man. However, the car manufacturer has recently been asked to recall 158,000 of its Model S and Model X vehicles due to an issue with failing touchscreens, which could increase the risk of road accidents.
The issue relates to the memory chip used in the displays of the cars made between 2012 and 2018 which can wear out, causing the screen to stop working. This prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to send Tesla a formal letter requesting the recall, with a deadline of 27th January to respond.
The cars in question - Model S sedans built between 2012 and 2018 as well as the Model X SUVs from 2016 to 2018 have been fitted with a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with an integrated flash memory device. This means that part of the storage is used every time the vehicle is started. When capacity is reached however, the MCU (media-console units) will fail. Most MCU’s have a life span of 10 years.
Read more here.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: Does stylus spell the end of the Note?
Mobile phones now dominate our lives, and the technology continues to grow and adapt to the world’s needs, with FaceTiming to see loved ones, apps to support every hobby and portable video streaming services such as Netflix. It is therefore no surprise that we are surrounded by mobile handsets on the market and with Tech giants like Apple bringing out a new device almost every year it can be hard for other mobile firms to keep up.
Enter Samsung, who this week released mobile technology which they say, “aligns them with Apple.”
Samsung’s newest smartphone, Galaxy S21 Ultra, has hardware built in to make use of the S Pen, which is an optional add-on for the phone. Similar to the Galaxy Note, will this move phase out the separate Note handset range? Samsung recently told BBC it has yet to make a decision about this.
With the company’s handset sales declining quicker than others on the market, one expert, Ben Wood from the CCS Insight Consultancy said a streamlined line-up may help address this, he explained: “there’s increasing logic for Samsung to converge the Galaxy S and Note platforms, because there’s so little differentiation between the two kinds of devices now”
The benefit of having a stylus is that it is easier to write, draw or annotate notes rather than using your finger, but in order to work it requires a special hardware under the glass display. This was the iconic feature of the Galaxy Note family, now that the stylus is reaching out to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and other non-note mobiles, what does this mean for the future of the Note?
We are excited to see what Samsung bring to the table with their latest handset and hopefully be able to challenge some of the heavy-hitters in the mobile market.
Explore more here.
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