World Cup 2018: BBC iPlayer to stream matches in 4K HD

The BBC is to stream dozens of World Cup matches live in 4K resolution and high dynamic range colour (HDR) to UK-based audiences in June and July.

It will mark the first time iPlayer has covered one of the major sporting events in such quality.

However, it will limit the number of screens with access, and will do so on a first-come first-served basis.
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New tech deal connects five local universities

BEIRUT: Five local universities signed a technology cooperation agreement that connects researchers and students locally and internationally, allowing them to collaborate on projects and share knowledge, a statement from the American University of Beirut announced Wednesday. The Technology Cooperation Agreement for Research and Education, or TechCARE, was signed Monday on AUB’s campus and got the signature of five established higher education institutions in Lebanon – AUB, Saint Joseph University, the Lebanese American University, the Beirut Arab University and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.

The event ratified Lebanon’s National Research and Education Network, a concept that has been in the works sporadically since 2011.

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How much screen time is too much for kids? It's complicated

Parents have been advised to limit media consumption, but research suggests it’s the nature of it that matters

For many parents in the digital age, battles over screen time and devices have become a depressing part of family life, and knowing how much is too much has become a moving target.

Whether it’s three-year-olds throwing tantrums when the iPad is taken away, seven-year-olds watching YouTube all night, nine-year-olds demanding their own phones, 11-year-olds nagging to play 18-rated video games that “all their friends” are, or 14-year-olds who are never off Instagram, every stage of childhood and adolescence is now accompanied by its own delightful new parenting challenges.

Up until a few years ago parenting advice centred around the concept of “screen time” quotas with a Goldilocks-style sweet spot of two or so hours of screens a day, beyond which media use could become harmful.

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Google launches video doorbell with facial recognition in UK

Google’s facial recognition video doorbell, the Nest Hello, is launching in the UK to challenge Amazon’s Ring.

Initially released in the US in March, Nest Hello is the first of Google’s new home security product lineup to make it to the UK, ahead of its Nest Secure alarm system.

Nest Hello is a £229 wifi-connected smart doorbell with a wide-angle camera that captures high definition HDR video with night vision after dusk. It will send alerts with pictures from the camera to users’ phones and allows them to talk to visitors through the doorbell from anywhere with an internet connection. Users can also opt to have the doorbell say one of three quick phrases, such as “we’ll be right there”.

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How can mobile technology unleash your creativity?

The first Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked forever. For the UK, this meant a shift from an agricultural economy towards a more urban one.

We are now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and are experiencing a new world of work, dominated by the introduction of exciting and innovative technology such as AI and Machine Learning. In this environment, creativity is seen as a skill innate to humans that can set us apart from machines, as it can enable us to make use of new technologies creatively or solve a problem in a new way. In fact, the World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that by 2020 employees will have to become more creative in order to thrive in the future workplace.

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