Wyze’s new pan & tilt cam can see everywhere
Ubiquitous budget smart home company Wyze has released yet another new product — the Wyze Cam Pan v2. As the name implies, this is the second generation of one of Wyze’s earliest products — the Wyze Cam Pan that debuted three years ago. There’s no change in form factor, and the Wyze Cam Pan v2 camera looks virtually identical to its (now-discontinued) predecessor. Wyze has refreshed one of its earliest products, the Wyze Cam Pan, adding color night vision and a siren. The Wyze Pan Cam v2 is shipping now, and Wyze has had a fair amount of trouble keeping stuff in stock recently.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 21:45 UTC
The Oversight Board wants answers about Facebook’s celebrity moderation program
The Oversight Board, a semi-independent body that reviews Facebook’s moderation policies, announced on Tuesday that it wants more information about the “cross-check” system Facebook uses to “review content decisions relating to some high-profile users.” Cross-check is getting called into question because of a report from The Wall Street Journal that claimed the system lets high-profile users break the rules. Trump’s relative protection via cross-check came up in the board’s decision to uphold the former President’s Facebook ban. At the time, the board noted that there’s limited public information about cross-check reviews — a 2018 blog post is one of the most recent. The company has publicly committed to following the organization’s calls on individual moderation decisions but reserves the right to not follow broader recommendations. With today’s announcement and renewed pressure to clarify a program with issues Facebook’s already working to address, maybe we’ll finally learn more about the controversial program.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 21:45 UTC
At pivotal points in human spaceflight, NASA undergoes major reorganization
The second will be the Space Operations Mission Directorate, which will handle more routine, operational programs like the International Space Station and the Commercial Crew Program. NASA’s human exploration chief, Kathy Lueders, will now lead a new directorate focused on space operations. Lueders, who previously led NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, will move from her post as human spaceflight chief to helm the Space Operations Mission Directorate. How are we going to manage this huge change in scope?’”NASA’s Artemis program includes a wide range of technologies that fall under the now-decentralized human exploration directorate. “This approach allows one mission directorate to operate in space, while the other builds space systems,” Melroy said.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 20:48 UTC
Do Instagram Hashtags Belong In the Caption or Comments?
Photo: Adam Hoglund (Shutterstock)If you’re trying to reach new Instagram followers, hashtags are still one of your top tools in 2021. For years, there’s been fierce debate over where to put those pound signs: Team Caption versus Team Comment. Instagram has finally given us an answer via their @creators account, which features tips and tricks for all kinds of content creators trying to get more followers and engagement. G/O Media may get a commissionIt’s not clear the extent to which hashtags are more effective in captions over comments, but for now, Instagram has tipped the scale in favor of Team Caption. So what is Team Caption to do?
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 20:37 UTC
SEC Bill comes into effect
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Bill came into effect yesterday with the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena endorsing the certificate on the Bill. The Bill was presented by the Minister of Finance in Parliament on 9 July 2021 which was published in the gazette on 28 June 2021. The Bill was passed in the first week of this month at the Parliament with amendments without a vote. The new law, which will replace the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, before giving up his ministerial portfolio, recently stated that this Bill and the recently passed Amnesty Bill “will be very positive for the country’s economy”.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
Expats barred from fund repatriation
Expatriates were complaining on social media for not being able to transfer funds to countries including India and the UK. We are returning to live in the UK but cannot take any assets with us.”Another individual stated : “You cannot send money out of Sri Lanka. Continued attempts made by The Morning Business to determine the reason behind this issue proved futile as Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials and Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal were unreachable throughout the day, yesterday (21). Moreover, within the next two to three months alone, $ 1.5 billion in foreign debt needs to be repaid, reducing reserves to $ 2 billion. Therefore, these pressures would point to the further extension of such restrictions on outward remittance on the capital transactions and the introduction of further additional restrictions.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
‘Selendiva has attracted no investors’
By Imsha IqbalEconomist and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday (21) during a parliamentary session disclosed that no investors have come forward to invest in Selendiva Leisure, a state-owned property development entity. He said that the reason why investors have not come is the state of the economy and demanded the Government to provide details of the investors who have come forward to invest in Selendiva Leisure. Ltd. (owning company of Hilton Colombo), Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd., and Grand Oriental Hotel have been vested with Selendiva Investments at present. Under this, it has been identified to implement three investment portfolios: The Heritage Square in Colombo Fort, real estate development, and the state-owned hospitality sector. Nevertheless, the Opposition raised several concerns following the announcement that Selendiva Leisure would be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
The truth behind elephants ‘bowing down’ to pay their respects
We’ve all seen the image of elephants bowing down to pay their respects to various deities. We spoke to Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) Founder and animal rights activist Maneesha Arachchige who shared her thoughts on the matter. Therefore, he said that he feels it is futile to push for the complete abolition of the use of elephants in these cultural activities. However, what can be done, he went on, is to encourage the welfare of these animals held in captivity and to create awareness around the fact that elephants are in fact wild animals and they are not at all domesticated. “Domestication must happen over generations and elephants remain wild beasts.”Therefore, regardless of these practices being age-old traditions, they are unnatural to these wild animals and we as humans are making them do it.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
USA’s Beijing 2022 boycott is ‘nonsense’ – Russia
There have been significant calls for the IOC to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from BeijingRussia has described a potential diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing by the United States as “nonsense”. US politicians and officials boycotting Beijing 2022 moved a step closer in June when the Senate passed a Bill that introduces a series of measures aimed at tackling Chinese foreign policy and economic influence. The US and other Western countries have criticised China for its human rights record and claimed the country is carrying out a genocide on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. While the US could diplomatically boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Russia is set to send its President Vladimir Putin after he accepted an invitation to attend the Games from Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. “It is not the first and not the last time that we hear all this nonsense from there.”Relations strainedChina’s record on human rights – including in Tibet and Hong Kong – has come under increasing scrutiny with the Beijing 2022 Olympics on the horizon.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
Global Tamil Forum sceptical over President’s invite to Tamil diaspora
“The President wanting to engage with the Tamil diaspora is certainly a progressive move and we welcome it. However, when requests are made by democratically elected representatives of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka to meet with the President, they are deferred with flimsy excuses. Now from New York, he has declared that he wants to engage with us, the Tamil diaspora. In March 2021, the Government proscribed seven Tamil diaspora organisations and a number of individuals, including the GTF and Surendiran. Even recently, we facilitated millions of dollars worth of medical equipment to assist in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka.”
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:00 UTC
ISWA Provides a Clear Pathway to Life in Australia
International School of Western Australia (ISWA), Sri Lanka’s pioneer Institute to offer the Australian Advanced Level programme is an extension of the renowned International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS). ISWA carefully curates the course content to enable students to gain a sound Australian secondary educational qualification while preparing them for life in Australia. All staff members and teachers have received a cohesive training on the Australian education system and are well qualified with the necessary academic qualifications. “ The benefits of an Australian education is that students are guided and molded to be “job ready” at the time of graduation. Students are also eligible for scholarships awarded by the Western Australian Government through which they can gain direct entry to study in top well recognized Universities in Western Australia.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 11:03 UTC
G.a. Homefavor Bicycle Pizza Cutter – Quick Review
The Ga Homefavor Bicycle Pizza Cutter is the ultimate hack in slicing your pizza perfectly! The Ga Homefavor Bicycle Pizza Cutter has its front and back wheels made of steel blades with nonstick coating serveware. The one-of-a-kind Ga Homefavor Bicycle Pizza Cutter can both be a gift for your friend and a kitchen decoration! Apart from bicycle enthusiasts, anyone who appreciates unusual items in the kitchen would love the G.a Homefavor Bicycle Pizza Cutter. To make clean and precise pizza cuts, for seamless pizza slicing, go get a G.A Homefavor Bicycle Pizza cutter.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 09:33 UTC
WhatsApp working on a more private message reporting system
Dhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityTL;DR WhatsApp is working on a new message reporting system. This seems an alternative to the contact reporting system already available. WhatsApp came under stiff scrutiny for an investigation into its message reporting and moderation system earlier this month. The current contact reporting system sends the offending message and the previous four to WhatsApp. The single message reporting feature does seem a more privacy-friendly way to report contacts.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 09:11 UTC
Comcast and UK subsidiary Sky reportedly launching smart TVs
Comcast appears to be planning to offer TVs running its own software across at least two territories, according to recent reports from Protocol and The Financial Times. In the US, the TVs will reportedly be branded as XClass TVs. An Xfinity landing site confirms the “XClass TV” branding, while an FAQ spotted by Protocol says they’ll aggregate “your favorite apps, live channels, and On Demand movies and shows together in one place.”Meanwhile in the UK, Comcast subsidiary Sky is reportedly planning to launch smart TVs of its own. As well as smart TVs, in the UK Sky is also reportedly testing a version of its Sky Q service that runs solely over the internet rather than satellite, ISPreview reports. But in the UK, Sky is planning a launch event on October 7th, when it’s teasing that “something magical is coming.”Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 08:37 UTC
US agencies consider a ban for newly-independent Honor
Security agencies in the United States are debating whether to place Honor, the former Huawei brand, on an export blacklist, The Washington Post reports. Personnel at these agencies was split whether Honor deserves its place on the list as a threat to US national security. The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee has stated that “same concerns about technology exports” should apply to Honor since it is a state-backed company. However, The Washington Post reminded the brand is now owned by Zhixin New Information Technology - a company formed by two state-backed investors, tied to the Shenzhen municipal government. Honor hasn’t commented on the matter at this point.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 08:26 UTC