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Yara Debuts World’s First Autonomous Electric Container Ship
The world’s first fully electric and self-steering container ship, owned by fertiliser maker Yara, is preparing to navigate Norway’s southern coast and play its part in the country’s plans to clean-up its industry. The Yara Birkeland, an 80-metre-long (87 yards) so-called feeder, is set to replace lorry haulage between Yara’s plant in Porsgrunn in southern Norway and its export port in Brevik, about 14 km (8.7 miles) away by road, starting next year. It will cut 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, equivalent to 40,000 diesel-powered journeys by road, and is expected to be fully autonomous in two years.
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Google Meet Introduces New Immersive Backgrounds for Video Calls on Web
Google Meet has added new immersive backgrounds and styles that allow Web users to change their backgrounds during a video call. The platform has added two new animated backdrops called Cafe and Condo which will help users represent their current time zone and climate. Both the interiors will have multiple iterations including rainy, sunny, or snowy weather, along with morning and night time zones. Google Meet previously offered background options including classroom, party, and forest. Additionally, Google Meet is offering options to add several light and colour filters and more stylised backgrounds to customise the video. Google on November 17
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Apple sticking taxpayers with part of the bill for digital ID rollout
Apple is making U.S. states foot part of the bill and provide customer support for its plan to turn iPhones into digital identification cards, according to confidential documents obtained by CNBC. The company requires states to maintain the systems needed to issue and service credentials, hire project managers to respond to Apple inquiries, prominently market the new feature and push for its adoption with other government agencies, all at taxpayer expense, according to contracts signed by four states. Apple announced in June that its users could soon store state-issued identification cards in the iPhone’s Wallet app, billing it as a
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Black colleges poised for major tech funding boost under Biden bill
Administrators at historically Black colleges are eagerly awaiting passage of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, with hopes that the bill’s record funding for HBCUs could put the schools on a path to compete with top-tier research universities specializing in science and technology. The massive social safety net package making its way through Congress would provide $3 billion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs at minority-serving institutions. Advocates say that level of funding is crucial to helping Black colleges develop the kind of high-tech infrastructure commonly found at schools like Johns Hopkins and MIT. Harry Williams,
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Netflix Testing TikTok-Like ‘Kids Clip’ Feature for Younger Viewers
Netflix is rolling out a TikTok-like feature aimed at kids, its latest bid to attract younger viewers to its platform and help them discover programming. The “Kids Clips” feature, appearing on Netflix’s iOS app, will show short videos from the company’s existing library of children’s programs and movies. Netflix plans to add new clips daily based on its current and future offerings. The video-streaming giant is experimenting with new features that can expose customers to more titles in its catalog. The move is also an attempt to reach the kind of viewers who might normally watch TikTok or short clips
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Quora Said to Begin Preparations for IPO in Early 2022
US knowledge-sharing website Quora has kicked off preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) in early 2022, according to people familiar with the matter. Quora has in recent days held talks to hire investment bankers and lawyers for a stock market debut in New York, the sources said. The Mountain View, California-based company was valued at around $2 billion in a private funding round in 2019, and hopes to be worth more than twice that in an IPO, one of the sources added. The sources, who requested anonymity because the preparations are confidential, cautioned that the timing and size of
