FACEBOOK LUNCHES LOW DATA CONSUMING APP

The CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced the release of a new Facebook app called Facebook lite. This app is said to be designed for users in developing countries where they experience slow mobile network connectivity. The app is billed to roll out first in Asia then Africa, Latin America and Europe as the week goes by.

Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page yesterday:

‘’We just launched Facebook Lite, a new app designed to serve people a faster experience on slower mobile networks and Android phones around the world.

We built Facebook Lite to be faster, more reliable and very data efficient even when internet bandwidth is at a minimum. The app is less than 1 MB in size and takes just a few seconds to download.We’re starting to roll out Facebook Lite across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and it will be available in the Play store. We’re going to keep working to serve the entire world, and we'll keep building tools for people in every community until we're all connected’’

AMAZON TO USE DRONES TO DELIVER GOODS

Some call it flying robots because it flies just like an aircraft but through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems working in conjunction with GPS. Drones are more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).  UAVs have most often been associated with the military but they are also used for search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting, among other things.

Recently, Drones have come into consideration for a number of commercial applications. In late 2013, Amazon announced a plan to use drones for delivery in the not-too-distant future.  The service, known as Amazon Prime Air, is expected to deliver orders inside a 10-mile radius of a fulfillment center within 30 minutes.

Amazon announced yesterday that it would roll out free shipping to its customers on items that weigh 8 grams or less with no minimum order size. This seems like yet another move by Amazon to keep its position on the $304 billion online shopping industry at the expense of the bottom line, but that might not be the case soon: if the company can manage to make its Prime Air drone delivery program a reality, delivering lightweight goods could actually become a weirdly profitable part of the business.

There are still many technological and regulatory hurdles Amazon will need to surmount before Prime Air takes flight, even taking into consideration the progress we’ve seen in the industry and from the FAA over the last year. An analysis from Tasha Keeney at investment firm Ark offers a compelling argument that drone delivery could provide a path to substantial profits.

credit:amazon/verge

THE NEW FACE OF USB CONNECTIVITY

credit :theverge

A lot has been happening in the world of external communication buses over the past year. In the last 12 months the USB consortium has announced both 10Gbps “Super speed+” USB 3.1 and the new USB Type-C connector, USB’s new compact, reversible connector that is designed to drive the standard for the next decade or more. Meanwhile with the introduction of USB Alternate Mode functionality – the ability for USB Type-C to carry other protocols along with (or instead of) USB Super speed data – has made USB more flexible than ever, with the VESA announcing that Display Port will be supporting alternate mode to deliver Display Port video over USB Type-C ports and cabling.

USB-C, the thin connector on the right, is the hot new port standard that's taking the tech world by storm this year. The peripherals industry has faced challenges as regards transition from A to C in our usage of USB. SanDisk is one of the many companies that's embracing USB-C as the future, but it doesn't believe the time is yet right to build and sell accessories with only a USB-C connector on them. After all, the point of external storage devices like flash drives is to maximize compatibility: you're far more likely to want and use a drive that can plug into your phone, desktop PC, and other devices.

This type of USB Type-A plus USB Type-C drive wouldn’t just unify phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops; it will also be a bridge between the past and the future. SanDisk announced the 32GB Dual USB Flash Drive at MWC in February and already has it on sale at Amazon for $39.99.

Fuel Tanker Falls Off Iyana Ipaja Bridge

 No fewer than 14 people were injured, while property worth millions of naira were destroyed, yesterday, in Lagos as a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of petrol fell off Iyana-Ipaja Bridge, resulting in an explosion which triggered a fire that raged for about 10 hours.

Affected property includes a popular recording company, Remi Odus; electrical cables, three buildings, 44 shops, six tricycles and 22 vehicles, among others.

The incident happened around 1a.m. when the tanker which was moving from Agege end of the road lost control and fell off the bridge at Iyana-Ipaja, spilling its contents which spread to five adjoining streets on the axis.

There were conflicting accounts about the cause of the incident which some people attributed to fatigue on the part of the driver, while others said it was caused by brake failure.

State governor, Akinwumi Ambode, has since visited the scene of the inferno, pledging to look into the situation.

The affected areas included Adebayo, Jafojo, Oremeji, Abule Oki, Ipaja Road and Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

images: vanguard community

Eye witnesses’ accounts said both the tanker driver and his conductor escaped unhurt, while 14 others sustained minor injuries and were treated and discharged by medics of the Lagos State Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS

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