Keeping up to date with what’s going on in the world of I.T. (information technology) is essential in our day and age. Whether you’re trying to stay informed on current events, or you’re an aspiring professional in the I.T. industry, it’s essential to be in the know about the new technologies and events that are developing across the world. With this in mind, here is our round-up of some of the top I.T. headlines from the last week.
Tech firms dominate ‘best places to work’ list for 2022
Technology companies have continued their reign in Glassdoor’s annual list of best places to work in the UK. Out of the 50 companies in the list, 19 of them are based in the digital or tech sectors, with software company ServiceNow taking the top spot.
The American company, based in California, is known for developing cloud computing platforms for enterprise workflows. Founded in 2004, it now has offices across the world, including 2 in the UK. Other tech companies that appeared in the list include AndDigital, an IT consultancy firm, Salesforce, Adobe, Meta, and Microsoft.
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France fines Google and Facebook over use of cookies
French regulators have hit tech giants Google and Facebook with fines totalling 210 million Euros (£175 million) over their use of cookies. Both platforms have been given three months to pay the fines, and face extra penalties of 100,000 Euros for each day of delay.
Cookies are small packets of data that allow web users to save information such as passwords and credit card information. These cookies are used by companies to track user information, for example to provide targeted advertising.
In a statement about the decision, the Commission Nationale Informatique & Libertés said that while users are easily able to click one button to accept these websites’ cookies, this was not an option for those who want to refuse them. The restricted committee argues that this affects the user’s freedom of consent, which constitutes an infringement of Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act.
Google, which received a fine of 150 million Euros, told BBC News that ‘People trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe. We understand our responsibility to protect that trust and are committing to further changes and active work with the CNIL in [the] light of this decision.’ Facebook, which is owned by Meta and received a fine of 60 million Euros, added that it was ‘reviewing’ the decision.
New technologies revealed at CES 2022
One of the biggest events in the tech calendar, CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) took place in Las Vegas last weekend. The annual trade show saw the debut of many innovative new technologies across a range of industries, from beauty to renewable energy.
Despite fears over the spread of the Omicron variant, which led to industry powerhouses such as Google and Amazon opting for virtual-only appearances, CNET reports that more than 40,000 people attended the multi-day event. Other highlights included BMW’s showcase of their ‘iX Flow’ technology, which allows users to change the colour of their cars, and Ninu revealing their invention of a perfume bottle that uses a smartphone app to provide over 100 fragrance choices.
While many of these inventions are still in the early stages of development, it will be exciting to see how many of these become a common feature in our everyday lives in the future.
Tesla adds ‘assertive’ driving mode to its vehicles
Tesla, an American company known for their electric vehicles, has added an assertive driving mode to its automated driver assist feature. The assertive driving mode means drivers will be able to follow other cars more closely, change lanes more frequently, and perform rolling stops. The feature which has been criticised on social media, as some people believe this encourages dangerous driving.
However, Matthew Avery, a motor safety expert from Thatcham Research, argues that this feature could actually improve road safety. He told BBC News that: ‘if we want widespread adoption of automation, drivers are going to expect the vehicle to do and make the decisions that you would do as a human driver, not some very benign and very safe algorithm’. He added that ‘a degree of being slightly less cautious, if that means more people use the systems more of the time because they feel that they’re more human-like, that’s a good thing’.
Incidents and crashes involving Tesla’s driver assistance feature have received widespread media coverage in the past, with the technology receiving heavy scrutiny from critics. Nonetheless, the company continues to be a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, an area of technology that is predicted to see a huge amount of growth in the coming years.
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