Apple criticised for pulling VPN apps from China, explains the apps did not meet new regulations

With the help of VPNs, Chinese Internet users bypass the country's famous "Great Firewall" that heavily restricts their access to foreign sites. This also helps them in remaining hidden from Internet service providers. In line with Chinese government's crackdown on Internet services, Apple removed all major VPN apps from the App Store in China. VPN service providers in China on Saturday received a notification from Apple that their applications would be removed from the App Store "because it includes content that is illegal in China".In a statement, Apple said that earlier this year, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced that all developers offering VPNs must obtain a license from the government. "We have been required to remove some VPN apps in Ch ina that do not meet the new regulations. These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business," Apple said.

Secrets of the world's toughest creatures revealed

These tiny creatures, sometimes called water bears, can survive radiation, freezing, extreme dehydration and even the vacuum of space. Researchers have now decoded the DNA of two species of tardigrade and uncovered the genes that allow them to be revived after desiccation. The study has been published in the journal, PLOS Biology. Just a millimetre or less in size, tardigrades are believed to be the toughest creatures on Earth. A recent study found that they could survive almost any cosmic disaster that could hit the planet.

Mitsubishi blends MPV and SUV in curious looking Expander

Mitsubishi has been teasing a new high-riding family car for quite some time, and it has finally arrived in the form of the slightly oddball Expander. The world is going crazy for four-wheel drives at the moment but Mitsubishi has taken a different path with its latest car, instead running with the strange MPV/SUV hybrid shape you see here.

Xiaomi's third anniversary sale kicks off with Redmi 4 at 12 PM and 4A at 3 PM on 20 July

Xiaomi is celebrating their third year anniversary in the Indian market. To commemorate this landmark, the company has setup the Mi anniversary sale exclusively to Amazon.in, which begins on 20 July, 2017 at 12 PM and will end on 21 July, 2017. Two of Xiaomis best budget phones, the Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A will be available at 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM respectively on 20 July, 2017.

Rumour: Skoda to launch Rapid Monte Carlo special edition

If media reports are to be believed, Skoda India click to gois planning to launch a special edition of the Rapid mid-size sedan in the coming months. The Rapid Monte Carlo edition gets few changes to the exterior along with some interior tweaks. The model will be available in a shade of red with contrasting black details. Black exterior highlights include the grille, mirror housings, boot spoiler and blacked-out 16-inch alloy wheels.

NASA observations reveal unreal soundscapes from the space environment around Earth

Although space is thought to be devoid of matter and silent, the space environment around the Earth contains high energy particles in magnetic and electric fields. The particles are continuously in a violent storm of electromagnetic waves, known as plasma waves. Just like the waves of the ocean, these plasma waves create a sound that can be captured with the right tools. The sounds are out of this world, and have different characteristics depending on the region of the magnetosphere they are recorded in.

NASA's Juno has beamed back the first few images from its flyby of the Jovian Great Red Spot

One of the most noticeable features on Jupiter is a storm larger than the Earth that is believed to be continuously raging for over three hundred and fifty years. The Great Red Spot is over 16,000 kilometers wide, and has been directly observed since 1830. On 10 July, NASAs Juno spacecraft passed just 9,000 kilometers over the storm, allowing astronomers to observe the storm from up close.

Tech boss attacks 'whiners' in angry email

Jonathan Teo from Binary Capital was responding to negative press coverage about the firm following allegations of sexual harassment by his co-founder Justin Caldbeck. He added that he was "tired and indignant", and raged against "whiners" who demanded his attention. Mr Teo has already offered to resign. He did so after Mr Caldbeck left the firm in June, following allegations of sexual harassment.

RED's modular Hydrogen One phone looks even crazier in its patent application

Last week we learned that RED, a company best known for making high-quality digital cinema cameras, is going to dip into the smartphone market with something called the Hydrogen One. The company announced the phone with a screaming hot price tag of $1,195 and up, but revealed little else aside from a few things: it will offer 3D (and 4D) visuals and audio that will ASSAULT YOUR SENSES, the phone will be carrier-unlocked and run Android, and it will be modular. CLick to go on google

The Oculus Rift and Touch bundle is on sale for $399

The Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch are getting a big (but temporary) price drop: for the next six weeks, the VR headset and motion controller bundle will sell for $399, nearly a $200 discount to the normal price. Its part of Oculus summer-long attempt to promote the Rift, now that its been out for over a year. According to Oculus VP of content Jason Rubin, the sale is meant to draw people who may have been sitting on the sideline because of price, and entice people who may not have been considering the Rift to look at its growing app and game library.

Get a refurbished Amazon Tap for $69.99

If I'm being honest, I'm already a little sick ofPrime Day-- and it doesn't even start until Monday evening.

But, hey, the Cheapskate's gotta skate to where the deals are, and right now the deals are atAmazon.

To wit: Today only, as part of the run-up to Prime Day, you can score acertified-refurbished Amazon Tap for $69.99 shipped. New, it's never dipped below $90 (so far), and this is quite literally good as new, so I'm calling it the "lowest price to date." (Will Prime Day proper bring an even lower price? The Cheapskate 's crystal ball is foggy, but I don't think you'll regret jumping on this.)

The Moto E4 Plus will launch in India at 12 pm on 12 July as a Flipkart-exclusive; price unknown

As reported earlier, the phone features a 5.5-inch HD display (1280720) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Its powered by a Mediatek MT6737 chip that features 4x ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.3 GHz. You get 3 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage (expandable to 128 GB via microSD), a 13 MP f/2.0 rear camera and a 5 MP f/2.2 front camera. Connectivity options include the usual assortment of Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and other options. You do get an FM Radio. The USB interface is microUSB 2.0.

Huawei Honor 8 Pro with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage launched in India at Rs 29,999

Huaweis sub brand Honor today announced its all new Honor 8 Pro smartphone. The smartphone is priced at Rs 29,999 and will be available in stores and online from 10 July.

The Volvo V90 Cross Country will try to convince us of the value of estate cars, to launch on 12 July

Volvois planning on changing the idea its Indian customer base holds of estatecars by announcing the launch of the V90 Cross Country on 12 July. While the launch wasconfirmedto happen last year, this will be the companys third Cross Country variant in India after theVolvo V40and S60.

Rocking the Stasi

"Do we really have to copy all the rubbish that comes from the West with all the monotony of their 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,'" he sneered during one of his turgid speeches to the Communist Party faithful.