Boston, Aug 26 (AP/UNB)- A piece of computer history that helped launch a trillion dollar company is hitting the auction block.

A fully functioning Apple-1 being auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction in September is one of only 60 or so remaining of the original 200 that were designed and built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 and 1977.

It was restored to its original, operational state by Apple expert Corey Cohen. The system was operated without fault for approximately eight hours in a test. It even includes the original keyboard from the 1970s.

It shows the humble beginnings of Cupertino, California-based Apple, which recently became the world's first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion.

The Apple 1 originally sold for about $666. It could get $300,000 or more at auction.

New York, July 28 (AP/UNB) — Cracking down on hate, abuse and online trolls is also hurting Twitter's standing with investors.

The company's stock plunged Friday after it reported a decline in its monthly users and warned that the number could fall further in the coming months. The 20.5 percent plunge comes one day after Facebook lost 19 percent of its value in a single day.

Twitter says it's putting the long-term stability of its platform above user growth. That leaves investors seemingly unable to value what the biggest companies in the sector, which rely on their potential user reach, are worth.

Twitter had 335 million monthly users in the quarter, below the 339 million Wall Street was expecting, and down slightly from 336 million in the first quarter. That overshadowed a strong monthly user growth of 3 percent compared with the previous year.

The company said its monthly user number could continue to fall in the "mid-single-digit millions" in the third quarter.

While Friday was Twitter's second-worst loss since it went public in November 2013, the stock has still doubled in value over the last 12 months.

Long criticized for allowing bad behavior to run rampant on its platform, Twitter has begun to crack down, banning accounts that violate its terms and making others less visible.

Twitter is now attempting to rein in the worst offenders after years as one of the Wild West corners of the internet.

At the same time, it must convince people it's the go-to platform in social media, even though it is dwarfed right now by Facebook.

Facebook has more than 2.23 billion users while its apps WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger each have over 1 billion.

Twitter on Friday reiterated its efforts to "to invest in improving the health of the public conversation" on its platform, making the "long-term health" of its service a priority over short-term metrics such as user numbers.

As part of these efforts, Twitter said that as of May, its systems identified and challenged more than 9 million accounts per week that are potentially spam or automated, up from 6.4 million in December 2017. The company has previously disclosed these numbers.

A Washington Post report put the total number of suspended accounts in May and June at 70 million. The Associated Press also found that Twitter suspended 56 million such accounts in the last quarter of 2017. While Twitter maintains that most of these accounts were dormant and thus not counted in the monthly user figure, the company also warned that its cleanup efforts could affect its counted user base without giving specific numbers.

"We want people to feel safe freely expressing themselves and have launched new tools to address problem behaviors that distort and distract from the public conversation," CEO Jack Dorsey said in a prepared statement.

Twitter's market value dropped by more than $6 billion Friday, to around $26 billion. Investors still value Facebook at $503 billion. Facebook lost $119 billion in value on Thursday.

Twitter's second-quarter net income hit $100.1 million, after a loss last year during the same period. It's the company's third profit in a row, the third it has ever posted.

Per-share, the San Francisco company's net income was 13 cents, or 17 cents adjusted, in line with expectations, according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue of $710.5 million, up 24 percent and edging out expectations of $696 million.

Dhaka, July 26 (UNB) - Uber, the world’s largest on-demand ride-sharing company, introduced UberIntercity on Thursday to facilitate intercity rides from Dhaka for round trips to Gazipur and Savar at a fare of Tk 22/km and Tk 3/min distance and time structure. 

Aimed at enhancing the mobility experience of riders, the service will also enable seamless travel from Dhaka to Gazipur and Savar, said a press release.

It said the intercity service provides a more comfortable and convenient travel option for those looking for going to serviceable areas.

“Riders can use UberIntecity when they need to make a business trip or factory visit outside the city or head out with friends, or simply craving a visit to their hometowns,” the release added.

Uber launched its service in Dhaka on November, 22, 2016 promising to bring a change in the commuting experience in one of the world’s largest metropolises.
 

New York, Jul 25 (AP/UNB) — Facebook is blocked in China but it's still setting up a subsidiary in the world's most populous country.

The company says it wants to set up an "innovation hub" in Zhejiang to support Chinese developers, innovators and startups. It has done the same elsewhere, including France, Brazil, South Korea and India. But it is not blocked in those countries.

Facebook said on Tuesday that the subsidiary will focus on training and workshops for developers and entrepreneurs.

According to The Washington Post, a filing published on China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System listed the company as Facebook Technology (Hangzhou) Co. The filing, which is no longer accessible, noted that the company is owned by Facebook Hong Kong Ltd. It has registered capital of $30 million.

Dhaka, July 25 (UNB) - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adviser to the Prime Minister Sajeeb Wazed Joy on Wednesday said Bangladesh has one of the cheapest internets in the world.

Joy, also the son of the Prime Minister, said this while inaugurating 5G technologies demonstrated by Huawei and Robi at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city.

“Technologically, Bangladesh was among the most backward countries in the world. Now, see where we are! I have put pressure on the regulators to reduce the cost of internet by 99 percent within 5 years. Now, Bangladesh has one of the cheapest internets in the world”, he said.
 
“Whenever there is a new technology, I want it. That is my habit as a techie. Even though we have recently launched 4G, we are talking about 5G. 5G is not a dream, it's a reality now. We are the country to deploy 1G to 4G in the fastest time”, he said. 

“No other country has been able to deploy next generation internet so fast”, he added. 

“With 5G, my goal is that we are going to be one of the first countries to deploy 5G in the world. I want Bangladesh to relentlessly move forward. This is my promise to you that if you vote for Awami League once again, we will bring 5G in Bangladesh. Thanks to Huawei for demonstrating 5G with their technologies”, Joy said.

Posts and Telecommunications Division of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology in cooperation with Huawei and Robi, demonstrated the 5G technology for the first time in Bangladesh.

The purposes of this event are to show how a 5G ecosystem can be cultivated in Digital Bangladesh and how to use 5G to respond to the economic transformation of Bangladesh as well as the operators. 

Mustafa Jabbar, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications & Information Technology Ministry, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Shyam Sunder Sikder, Secretary of Posts & Telecommunications Division, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi Axiata Limited, James Wu, President of Huawei's Southeast Asia Region and Zhang Zhengjun, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited were also present at the programme.