PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 17, 2023--

Apple held one of its biggest events of the last decade on Monday, launching a product that could redefine the way we look at the world. The company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) began with a keynote from Apple Park in California led by CEO Tim Cook, who described the company’s new $3,499 (£2,800) Vision Pro headset as “revolutionary”. The device combines virtual reality and augmented reality, with Apple claiming it heralds a “new era of spatial computing”. The world’s most valuable company also used the keynote to unveil a major overhaul of its Mac lineup, as updates for its other platforms. This year, that meant the release of iOS 17 for iPhones, WatchOS 10 for Apple Watch, and a new iPadOS. The Vision Pro also came with its own software, called VisionOS, which supports many of the same apps found on iPhones. You can read how it unfolded here, as well as follow all the latest updates from our on-the-ground coverage of WWDC 2023.

China has loosened some of the guardrails it proposed for ChatGPT-style services months ago, as it acknowledges the

Greetings from New York City, where it now appears impossible to buy a submersible water pump to drain

Despite being by far the largest planet in the solar system, experts are still making surprise discoveries about Jupiter. The planet is only beaten in size by the Sun and as technology has evolved, scientists have sent multiple probes to investigate Jupiter. Despite all the scientific work that has gone into investigating the stripes and swirls that give Jupiters its well-known appearance, experts have only just discovered the existence of a high-speed jetstream above the clouds around the planet’s equator. The jetstream is a whopping 3,000 miles wide and was discovered thanks to the infrared data gathered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) currently orbiting the Sun. Its discovery is giving experts an insight into how the planet’s atmosphere works, as well as its ill-understood weather phenomena. Ricardo Hueso from the University of the Basque Country in Spain is the lead author of the study, published in Nature Astronomy and explained: “This is something that totally surprised us.” He added: “What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter’s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet’s fast rotation.” Scientists have long been aware of light and dark clouds that are known as zones and belts that travel around the planet in different directions and at differing altitudes, but how this occurs has left them baffled. Analysis of the data collected by the JWST revealed the jetstream that was previously only just visible but very hazy. Data confirmed that it sits around 25 miles above the clouds and travels around Jupiter’s equator at around 515 kilometres per hour (320 mph). The researchers compared their data with that collected from the Hubble’s observations of the lower cloud levels and concluded that the jetstream may form part of a weather pattern. Planetary scientist Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester, explained: “Jupiter has a complicated but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, high above the winds in the clouds and hazes measured at these wavelengths.” He added: “If the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next two to four years – it'll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

MrBeast has confirmed that he is suing the company behind his burgers over quality control complaints, while also claiming not to have received payments. The YouTube star partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts back in 2020 to launch a chain of “ghost kitchens” which would act as “virtual restaurants” producing MrBeast Burgers. MrBeast, real name James Donaldson, is now taking legal action after the virtual chain was hit with complaints from users, Bloomberg reports. The lawsuit refers to the negative feedback from customers, reading: “Customers have referred to the burgers as being ‘disgusting’, ‘revolting,’ and ‘inedible'.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “There are thousands of negative reviews, articles, and comments from people who are deeply disappointed by the fact that MrBeast would put his name on this product.” It continues: “Because the entire business is based on the tremendous global value of the MrBeast brand, it is MrBeast himself, and not Virtual Dining Concepts, who has borne the brunt of the (justified) attacks and criticisms.” The lawsuit also claims that MrBeast has not received payments. “To be clear, while this business has made millions of dollars, MrBeast has not received a dime,” it claims. MrBeast also responded to a user on Twitter who was unhappy with their experience ordering the burger by saying: “It’s impossible to guarantee the quality of orders with virtual restaurants. Hurts my soul to see orders messed up. Sadly I can’t get out of my deal with [MrBeast Burger]”, he said. “Hence why I’m never giving up control of Feastables so I can always do what’s best for my fans. Harsh lesson to learn.” Links to negative reviews and comments from customers are also included in the lawsuit. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Broadband customers could pay £150 more than they expected to over two years due to “unpredictable” mid-contract price rises, consumer group Which? has warned. Which? has called on regulator Ofcom to ban the practice altogether as it found that BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell Energy, TalkTalk and Vodafone customers could see increases of more than 8% on average in 2024 while Virgin Media customers could see rises of more than 10%, based on analysis of Bank of England inflation forecasts. Many of the biggest broadband firms – such as BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell Energy, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone – raise prices every April in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus an additional 3%, 3.7% or 3.9%. Customers wanting to avoid these hikes can be charged punitive exit fees to leave their contract early. From working and school to online banking and social media, a good broadband and mobile connection is essential to everyday modern life Rocio Concho, Which? Based on average contract amounts from the Which? 2023 broadband survey; Virgin Media, BT and EE customers could see the biggest annual increases of £50.52, £43.68 and £43.68 respectively in the year from April 2024, the watchdog calculated. Shell Energy Broadband customers could see the smallest annual price hike of £27.16 on average. These hikes would come on top of the more than 14% mid-contract uplifts many consumers faced in 2023. Which? also calculated how much extra these two rounds of price hikes could cost a customer for each provider who took out a deal in January 2023 over the course of their 18 or 24-month contract. Based on average amounts from the Which? 2023 broadband survey, BT and EE customers who took out a contract in January 2023 could see some of the highest average price hikes of £147.43 and £147.31, while Vodafone and Plusnet customers could see rises of £122.38 and £117.87 respectively. TalkTalk customers could see a smaller hike of £76.09 on average over the course of shorter 18-month contracts. Shell Energy Broadband did not apply its 2023 inflation-linked price hikes of 12.5% to customers who joined from January to March 2023. However, if a Shell Energy customer joined before January 2023 then, based on average amounts from the 2023 broadband survey, they would pay an extra £45.27 a year from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024. Ofcom should also use their review to finally ban these unpredictable mid-contract price hikes that harm consumers and undermine competition Rocio Concho, Which? Virgin Media did not use inflation-linked price hikes in 2023 but some customers’ prices did increase by an average of 13.8% per cent due to ad hoc price rises, according to Which? According to Virgin Media, customers who signed up after November 2022 would not have faced the ad hoc price rise in Spring 2023. Those on a fixed-price promotional deal – like those offered to new customers – would also not have seen the price hikes take effect until after their deal ended. Which? argues that it is unfair for consumers to be signed up to deals that do not give them certainty about how much they can expect to pay over the course of their contract, and then face exit fees if they want to leave early. A survey by the group found that 78% of consumers believe that mid-contract price hikes are always unfair and that people overwhelmingly value pricing certainty for broadband contracts. Which? has launched The Right to Connect campaign calling for clearer and fairer pricing for telecoms customers and an end to unpredictable mid-contract price hikes. Ofcom is currently reviewing inflation-linked, mid-contract price rises and is due to publish its consultation in December. Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “From working and school to online banking and social media, a good broadband and mobile connection is essential to everyday modern life. While we know that price changes are never welcome, against a backdrop of rising costs, increased usage and continued investment, we have openly and directly set out to customers that we are introducing inflation-linked price changes Virgin Media spokesman “That’s why it’s outrageous that unpredictable mid-contract price hikes have been allowed to continue in the telecoms industry for so long – especially when so many have been struggling to make ends meet during the cost-of-living crisis. Consumers must have certainty about the total cost of their contract. “Which? is calling on all providers to do the right thing and cancel 2024’s above inflation price hikes. “Ofcom should also use their review to finally ban these unpredictable mid-contract price hikes that harm consumers and undermine competition. “Consumers need to know exactly how much their contract will cost when they sign up.” We understand that price rises are never wanted nor welcomed but recognise them as a necessary thing to do given the rising costs our business faces BT spokesman A Virgin Media spokesman said: “We are always clear and transparent with customers about any price increases. We wrote directly to all customers who received a price rise this year to notify them of their exact increase, and gave them the right to cancel without penalty within 30 days if they wished. “While we know that price changes are never welcome, against a backdrop of rising costs, increased usage and continued investment, we have openly and directly set out to customers that we are introducing inflation-linked price changes from April next year. This widely used format will provide more certainty on when and how any future increases will occur while fuelling the investment required to ensure we keep providing the fast and reliable connectivity our customers rely on.” A BT Consumer spokeswoman said: “We understand that price rises are never wanted nor welcomed but recognise them as a necessary thing to do given the rising costs our business faces. “Our price rises are annual, contracted and transparent and we make this clear when customers sign up or renew their contract. With the average price increase just above £1 per week in 2023, and some of our customers exempt from the rise, we’re also doing all we can to ensure our services are accessible to the widest group of customers possible through our market leading social tariffs.” A TalkTalk spokesman said: “The preventable CPI-linked price rise in April 2023 was a direct result of Ofcom-regulated wholesale cost increases. In order to prevent the same thing happening next April, we are again calling on Ofcom to act and reduce the wholesale increases that lead to these price rises. “These are exceptional circumstances, and families and business across the UK need the regulator to act.” Read More Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses Royal website subject to ‘denial of service attack’, royal source says TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland Spotify will not ban all AI-powered music, says boss of streaming giant Vehicle scam reports surged by 74% in the first half of 2023, says Lloyds Bank

Germany’s far right has surged to new highs in opinion polls, tapping into citizens’ discontent over record-high migration,

Two Binance executives overseeing regions including Eastern Europe and Russia have left the world’s largest crypto exchange, which

TL;DR: The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a dedicated running watch with coaching plans and health

HIGH POINT, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2023--

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 7, 2023--