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Huawei and Malaysian telco Maxis have signed a deal to roll out the latter's 5G network. The Chinese telco equipment behemoth will supply LTE and 5G radio equipment and services, Huawei said, that will also allow Maxis to upgrade its existing 4G network. Maxis chair YM Raja Tan Sri Dato' Seri Arshad bin Raja Tun Uda said Huawei was a long term partner of the telco. In its earnings to June 30, Maxis reported half-yearly revenue of 4.4 billion Malaysian ringgits and post-tax profit of 806 million ringgits. For the second quarter, Maxis reported revenue down 4.7% year on year, and post-tax profit down 17% compared to last year. Maxis reported having 3.1 million postpaid and 6.4 million prepaid customers as of June 30. Malaysia has a population of around 32.6 million. The company said in its second quarter earnings that it had a live 5G trial in March, which reported close to 3Gbps in speed, while 5G testing began in East Malaysia, the part of the country on the island of Borneo, … [Read more...] about Malaysian Maxis signs up to Huawei for 5G

Microsoft did something unexpected in launching the Surface Duo, an Android phone with two screens that fold around a hinge down the middle. The company signaled that, after two years completely out of the phone game, it's ready to try again -- just not with its own software running the show. Although the Surface Duo won't arrive for a full year -- holiday 2020, in fact -- Microsoft's new hardware represents a renewed interest in a lucrative category that Microsoft all but swore off. Joining the conversation about phones with double the usual screen size, like the foldable Galaxy Fold, puts Microsoft in a position to become relevant to a topic of growing interest.You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Surface Duo could augur a future phone that runs on its new Windows 10X OS, just like the other device Microsoft announced on Wednesday, the dual-screen Surface Neo. The Neo is, after all, basically a larger Surface Duo that doesn't make calls, so the foundation for Windows … [Read more...] about Surface Duo: No, Microsoft isn’t making another Windows phone

The usual pattern for wildfires is they ignite, then they spread, and then firefighters go to battle to mitigate the damage. A team of researchers wants to stop that destructive process before it even starts. Scientists and engineers from Stanford have created a gel-like fluid that can be sprayed on at-risk areas of land. The cellulose-based fluid acts as a carrier for fire retardants. While traditional fire retardant applications only work short-term, the gel's strength is that it can last through wind and rain, making it feasible as a preventive measure.The researchers published a study on the gel this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This has the potential to make wildland firefighting much more proactive, rather than reactive," said the paper's senior author Eric Appel, a materials science and engineering professor at Stanford.  Devastating wildfires have spread across California and other places around the world in recent … [Read more...] about This sprayable gel could prevent wildfires from catching hold

Government officials from the US, the UK and Australia want Mark Zuckerberg to pause Facebook's pivot to privacy, arguing that complete encryption on services like Facebook Messenger would prevent police from solving child exploitation crimes. Those concerns are laid out in a letter to the Facebook CEO and will be presented at the Justice Department's Lawful Access Summit in Washington, DC on Friday. The summit echoes a long-held view from the US, UK and Australian governments on encryption -- calling on tech companies to provide access for law enforcement matters.The letter is signed by US Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton. BuzzFeed News first reported details about the letter to Facebook. "We are writing to request that Facebook does not proceed with its plan to implement end-to-end encryption across its messaging services without ensuring that … [Read more...] about Governments call on Facebook to pause encryption efforts

Bose is discontinuing its noise-masking Sleepbuds following customer complaints that the items failed to charge fully and that they unexpectedly powered down. The decision to stop offering the $249 wireless earbuds was disclosed Thursday in an email to customers. "Based on what we knew, we believed that software and firmware updates could fix the issues. But the failures have continued, and recently, they've increased," Bose General Manager John Roselli said in the email. "That led us to look more closely at each piece of hardware. And we learned that while the battery we chose functions safely, it doesn't work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards." Bose said it will continue Sleepbuds product development, and will honor customers' Sleepbuds warranty. Customers who return their product by Dec. 31 will receive a full refund. Contact information for service agents in your location can be found on Bose's website.  Now playing: Watch … [Read more...] about Bose puts Sleepbuds to bed after battery complaints