Facebook's parent firm opened its Horizon Worlds virtual reality platform on Thursday to the public in North America, in a step toward building its metaverse vision for the future. Horizon Worlds is far from a fully realized metaverse, a future internet where online experiences like chatting to a friend would eventually feel face-to-face thanks to virtual reality (VR) headsets. But headset-wearing users in the United States and Canada can now gather with friends or others, play games and build their own virtual worlds on Horizon as long as they are 18 years old and have the proper equipment.

Laboratory studies released this week suggest that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will blunt the power of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine to prevent Covid-19 infection after two doses, although a third dose Early BioNTech, Pfizer data suggests boosters may protect against Omicron infection may restore that protection. Data is still needed on how protective Covid-19 vaccines remain in real-world use against the highly mutated Omicron variant. The following is what we still need to know:

Team 'Mohakash' from Bangladesh won Global Finalists in the category 'Best Mission Concept' at NASA Space Apps Challenge 2021.

Some iPhone users may wonder why their smartphones show coloured dots lighting up on their devices. Well, it’s fairly simple. The coloured dots are indicator lights that signal that certain apps or tools have access to the device's camera or microphone.

E-commerce giant Amazon has announced plans to close down its global website ranking system and competitor analysis tool "Alexa.com". The announcement was made this Wednesday saying that Alexa.com will be continuing till May 2022 after which no web traffic-related information will be updated. 

Google announced yesterday that it will be providing an additional bonus worth US$1,600 (Tk. 1,36,000/-) to all international employees this month.

French video game giant Ubisoft on Tuesday launched a platform allowing players to acquire and play non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in its games, in the gaming industry's first large-scale experiment with blockchain technology.

Augmedix, the digital clinical documentation startup, has launched its $40m IPO at the New York Stock Exchange.

Between January to June this year, the government had made 51 requests to TikTok to remove or restrict content on the social media platform, reveals a recent report published in TikTok’s newly launched Transparency Centre. 

SELISE, an IT firm, has announced a partnership with Fantom Foundation, which supports one of the largest public blockchain networks in the world. Attended by distinguished guests, the two organisations signed their official partnership in a ceremony held on 30th November in Dhaka.

Digital Hospital, a digital healthcare provider has partnered with The Ashshash project – supported by Switzerland and implemented by Winrock International in Bangladesh. The project is dedicated to rehabilitating men and women who have escaped trafficking and Digital Hospital is currently providing them with various digital healthcare services and still onboarding new members.

Earlier today Instagram announced that they are enforcing stricter use of the app, including controlling how teenagers view content and the implementation of parental controls starting next year.

Reports from ad industries forecast that the pandemic has led to a huge boost in the digital advertising sector worldwide, mostly thanks to the dominance of Google and Meta.

What seemed like a regular workday turned out to be the final day of employment for 900 employees of the US-based digital mortgage lender company, Better.com. At a Zoom meeting, Vish Garg, CEO of Better.com, fired 900 of his employees at once without any prior indication or warning.

Xiaomi today announces the launch of its first locally made smartphone, Redmi 9A. Redmi 9A comes equipped with a 6.53″ Dot Drop display and a 5,000mAh high-capacity battery. The device also features a 12nm MediaTek Helio G25 and an octa-core gaming chipset.

Dhaka University’s Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Centre to pace up mainstreaming entrepreneurial education in partnership with Korea International Cooperation Agency

According to reports from global auctioneers, the computer that Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, used when making Wikipedia 20 years ago is going to be sold. Alongside his PC, an NFT of Wales’ first ever edit on Wikipedia is up for grabs as well.

Google is reportedly planning to release its first in-house smartwatch next year, reveals a report by Insider.

Earlier today, Apple revealed the list of their most downloaded apps this year, as well as choosing 15 apps and games, the winners of the App Store Awards 2021.

After a year that made the terms WFH (work from home) and metaverse instantly recognisable for many people, there are a new set of technological trends headed this way for 2022. Here's a selection of how technology may change lives in the coming year: