Shiny snippets: Uber helps UN deliver food and water in Ukraine

Uber has built a "private-label" version of its delivery platform to help the United Nations deliver food and water supplies to war-torn areas of Ukraine. The tech firm is working with the UN's World Food Programme (WFP). It's difficult for large delivery trucks to access some parts of Ukraine because of structural damage and the…

ShinyShiny snippets: Samsung ad criticised by women’s running groups

Samsung's latest advert has been criticised by some women's running groups and safety campaigners for being "unrealistic". The film shows a young woman getting up at 02:00 to go for a run through the streets of a city alone. Samsung says the aim was to show runners working to their own schedules. But women's safety…

ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok leading platform for fake Ukraine videos

TikTok has emerged as one of the leading platforms for snappy false videos about the war in Ukraine which are reaching millions. With a user base of more than one billion people - more than half of whom are under 30 - TikTok is where many young people have been getting updates about the conflict,…

ShinyShiny snippets: Ukrtelecom restores internet services after cyber-attack.

Ukraine's national telecoms operator Ukrtelecom is restoring internet services after driving back a major cyber-attack. The company said it restricted customer access to protect military users and critical infrastructure. Global internet monitor Netblocks said it was the most severe disruption to affect Ukrtelecom since Russia's invasion of Ukraine started last month. Netblocks said it saw…

ShinyShiny snippets: Facebook allows calls for violence against Putin

The owner of Facebook and Instagram will allow users in some countries to call for violence against Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers. Meta says it has temporarily made allowances for some violent speech, like "death to the Russian invaders," that would usually break its rules. However, it says it won't permit calls for violence against…

ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon closes all its physical bookstores

Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday it plans to close all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, pop-ups and shops carrying toys and home goods in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running retail experiments. The news, which Reuters was first to report, marks a turning point for a company that began as…

Tech Digest daily roundup: TikTok ditches 3 minute video limit

TikTok is to ditch its three minute limit on videos and will soon allow all users to upload clips up to 10 minutes long, the Chinese social network has confirmed. It brought in the existing limit in July 2021, upping it from 60 seconds, having initially expanded it from the original 15 seconds. The app…

ShinyShiny snippets: Google Maps live traffic data disabled in Ukraine

Google has disabled live traffic data in Ukraine. (Generic image. Pexels) Google has disabled live traffic data from being displayed on its Maps app in Ukraine. The app displays this information by collecting anonymous data from Android smartphones, which shows how busy roads and different places are. But it has now…

ShinyShiny snippets: Cryptocurrency donations for Ukraine reach £10m

Cryptocurrency analysts say at least $13.7m (£10.2m) has so far been donated to the Ukrainian war effort through anonymous Bitcoin donations. Researchers at Elliptic, a blockchain analysis company, say the Ukrainian government, NGOs and volunteer groups have raised the money by advertising their Bitcoin wallet addresses online. More than 4,000 donations have been made so…