A team of genomic researchers from two institutes has identified 73 novel variants of the COVID-19 strain in Odisha, its head has said. The researchers are from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi and Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar, he said. REUTERS “The research team, which carried out sequencing …

Facebook has objected to the 30% fee Apple charges for purchases that take place within apps running on iPhones, a major source of revenue for Apple and an increasingly contentious issue for developers. The fee hurts businesses trying to take advantage of a new feature in Facebook’s app to sell services like video streams or online classes, the social-networking giant …

Apple Watch never did native sleep tracking before — unless you downloaded third-party apps — but it will soon. Apple WatchOS 7 adds a new sleep app and tracking features, including a wind-down mode, sleep schedules and even an alarm. The first public beta for the Apple Watch is here and I’ve been trying it out to see how it …

Up to a third of TikTok’s 49 million daily users in the US are 14 years old or younger, according to a Friday report by The New York Times, which cited internal TikTok data and documents. In July, 18 million of the short-video app’s daily users were 14 or younger, 20 million were older and the ages of the rest …

The iPhone 11, which Apple announced in September 2019, is an impressive and relatively affordable handset with a fantastic camera and a fast processor. But those with an iPhone XS from 2018 may wonder if it’s time for an upgrade. After all, the iPhone 11 has some great new hardware and a spectrum of fun, enticing colors to choose from.  …

If you need a new laptop, you might want to hold off until later this year when Intel’s newest chips are available. Tiger Lake chips promise faster speeds, better graphics and longer battery life.  Formally called Intel’s 11th generation Core processors, the chips will create more realistic explosions in Call of Duty and allow for longer PowerPoint slide decks before …

Fortnite developer Epic Games is suing Apple and Google after both pulled Epic’s hit game from their app stores over direct-payment disputes. As of right now, neither are allowing users to download and install Fortnite on phones through their digital marketplaces. At the heart of the debate is whether Epic has the right to include a direct-payments service in its Fortnite app, …

When the iPhone X first debuted in 2017, it made headlines for several reasons. It was the first iPhone to have Face ID, the first to have an OLED display and the first to have an onscreen notch . At the time it was a top-of-the-class device. Now, three years later, it’s just as reliable. Though Apple discontinued the iPhone X a mere …

Do you really need to be in your next Zoom meeting? It’s quite tempting during the pandemic shutdown to see if there’s a way to “be” in a meeting without actually being in it. And I’m not just talking about having my camera off. I wanted to see if I could appear as a fully engaged employee without actually being …

Another day, another deal on a set of cheap true-wireless earbuds that are surprisingly good for their low price. Amazon has the recently released Tranya T10 for $36 with a 10% off instant discount coupon. The earbuds have been selling for $40, or $20 off their list price, but the 10% off code showed up today, making it the lowest price …