2 articles

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/05/09/reading-on-computer-screens-changes-how-your-brain-works-scienti/

Reading on computer screens changes how your brain works, scientists say




Reading on computer screens and smartphones has made people unable to fully understand what they are reading as our brains retreat into focusing on small details rather than meanings, a study claims.
Researchers found that those who filled in forms, read short stories or studied using computer screens tended to grasp the basic facts of what they were reading, but often failed to process the “high-level” or abstract ideas behind the materials.

• The authors suggested that the possibility of distractions offered by computers had caused people to resort to the less mentally-challenging activity of grasping concrete details when reading, even in the test conditions when these distractions were not available.
• “The ever-increasing demands of multitasking, divided attention, and information overload that individuals encounter in their use of digital technologies may cause them to ‘retreat’ to the less cognitively-demanding lower end of the concrete-abstract continuum,” they wrote.
• In a comprehension test about a short story, those who had read it in print fared far better in questions about the story’s inferences and broader narrative, while those who had read the digital document retained more information about minor details.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/05/09/chinese-stake-in-iphone-chipmaker-imagination-technologies-raise/


Chinese stake in iPhone chip designer Imagination Technologies raises talk of takeover battle with Apple




A Chinese government-backed technology firm has taken a stake in British chip company Imagination Technologies, raising the prospect of a battle with Apple for the company that designs a crucial element of the iPhone.
Stock exchange rules forced Imagination to disclose on Monday that Tsinghua Unigroup, a technology conglomerate which aims to become one of the world’s biggest chip companies, had taken a 3pc stake in the Hertfordshire-based company.
Shares jumped as much as 15pc as analysts speculated that it could be an early sign of a takeover by Tsinghua or Apple, which uses Imagination’s graphics chip designs in the iPhone.

• Apple has held repeated talks with Imagination although it said in March it was not currently negotiating with the company, while Tsinghua has been given a $47bn (£33bn) warchest to become one of the world’s biggest chipmakers alongside Intel, Qualcomm and Samsung as China aims for supremacy in the industry.
  “The idea that the Chinese state’s acquisition of intellectual property is a strategic priority, and that Imagination could be a target, has been floated before, but considered slightly left-field. The announcement brings this idea to the forefront,” said Investec’s Roger Phillips.
• The prospect of a sale has, however, brightened as Imagination undergoes a major restructuring amid repeated losses. Sir Hossein Yassaie, its chief executive of 18 years, left the company in February amid shareholder disquiet, and the company is set to sell off parts of its business including the digital radio division.