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Orionid meteors burning through Earth’s atmosphere this month will bring “prolonged explosions of light,” Nasa has said.Commonly referred to as ‘shooting stars’, the display produced by the Orionid meteor shower could be one of the most spectacular in years, with meteors travelling at 66 km (41 miles) per second.The peak of the meteor shower is expected to take place on 21 October, however the Orionid meteor shower will be active from 2 October to 7 November and several other days within this five-week period are also expected to deliver a strong showing.The International Meteor Organisation said the strength of the shower has varied from year to year and that 2020 could see an unusually large peak.The Orionids emanate from an area of the sky north of the Orion constellation, which is best observed just before dawn.Read moreAt their peak on 21 October, Nasa said to expect around 20 meteors per hour – or one every three minutes.The Orionid meteors occur each October when Earth passes through the debris in the tail of Halley’s Comet.The glowing trains left behind by the meteors can last anywhere from several seconds to minutes. “Fast meteors can also sometimes become fireballs: Look for prolonged explosions of light when viewing the Orionid meteor shower,” Nasa wrote in a blog post. “The best time to look for these meteors would be after midnight but before the sky begins to lighten with the dawn. Ideal conditions would be clear skies with no haze or clouds, a clear view of a large part of the sky after midnight, and a location far from any lights or urban light pollution.”The US space agency also advised skywatchers to allow for up to 45 minutes for their eyes to fully adapt to night vision, and not to check smartphones or look at other light sources while eyes are adjusting.

Apple is working on a foldable iPhone with a “self-healing” screen to fix scratches and dents, according to reports.The tech giant has filed a patent for the device which would have a screen that runs right across the actual fold in the phone.And according to the filing Apple says that the phone would actually heal any damage automatically.Observers say that the “self-healing” capability would fix one of the biggest issues seen with current foldable phones, which can be damaged when debris gets trapped as it is closes.Read moreThe Apple patent was actually filed earlier this year but only just made public by the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to the tech website 9to5mac.com.“During operation of an electronic device, the display cover layer for the electronic device may be scratched or dented,” the patent states.“To improve the aesthetics of the electronic device, it may be desirable for the presence of scratches and dents to be minimised. “To help mitigate the number of dents, scratches, or other imperfections in a display cover layer, the display cover layer may include a layer of self-healing material.“The layer of self-healing material may be formed across the entire display cover layer or may be formed only in the flexible region of the display cover layer.”No timeframe is given in the patent application for any device to made available to consumers.Samsung was hit with a series of screen issues when it released its $2000 Galaxy Fold in 2019 and delayed its release after poor initial reviews.Apple’s patent suggest the healing of its screen will be done through the use of heat, light or electric current.“The display cover layer may include a layer of elastomer in the flexible region of the display cover layer for increased flexibility,” the patent continues.“The layer of self-healing material may cover the layer of elastomer in the flexible region.“Self-healing may occur in the layer of self-healing material without prompting (eg when the self-healing coating is dented, the material of the coating may fill the dent even without external intervention). “Alternatively, the self-healing may be initiated or expedited by externally applied heat, light, electric current, or other type of external stimulus.”

Apple has brought its redesigned maps to the UK and Ireland in a new update.The new maps will look different, adding more detail when scrolling – and travelling – around. But it builds entirely new maps information, too, which required Apple to gather its own data on the whole of the UK and Ireland.That allows it to bring a whole host of new features, too: Maps will now get access to cycling directions, a “Lookaround” feature that works like Google’s Street View, and curated guides to cities.Apple has been working to improve the function and reputation of Apple Maps following a disastrous launch in 2012, with iOS 6. The rollout went so badly that the company published a public apology to its customers.Since then, Apple has worked to add a range of new features to Maps, as well as improving the underlying maps. That has seen it produce its own mapping information, and those new maps have already been rolled out in the US.

Apple has finally killed the iPod Nano. The iPod Nano joins the iPod classic, the fourth-generation iPod shuffle, and the fifth-generation iPod Touch as part of its “Vintage” range of products.This means the product has not been updated for more than five years. Once it reaches the seven year mark it is considered “obsolete”, such as the original iPhone (and all subsequent handsets up to the iPhone 4.)Read moreVintage products can still be repaired by Apple, if equipment is still available. Obsolete products, meanwhile, cannot be repaired at all.Apple first launched the iPod Nano in September 2005, featuring a small screen and a scroll wheel similar to the iPod Classic.Since then, it has been morphed into the shorter, fatter third-generation iPod Nano, while the fourth-generation was taller with a larger screen for video.The next major redesign came in 2010, when Apple cut the scroll wheel completely with a small, square design for the music player that relied entirely on the touchscreen.The seventh-generation iPod Nano featured a touchscreen as well as the ability to install apps – which meant it had to be larger, and have a physical home button.However, eventually the iPod Nano and iPod Touch became so similar that Apple had to make a choice of which one to retain support for.The iPod Touch, which also features a camera on the back, is now the only iPod Apple still sells.Apple’s official list of iPod devices is not entirely complete, however. The company designed a “top secret” iPod for the US government that could run custom hardware.Although experts suggest it could have been a portable Geiger counter, it is unclear exactly what the product was used for. 

Slack has gone down, with users unable to send or receive messages.The workplace chat app has become one of the central ways that remote offices collaborate as they work amid lockdowns.Slack acknowledged the problems in an update to its official status page.“Some people may be experiencing slow performance and trouble sending messages in Slack,” it reads.”We’re currently investigating and will have more information shortly. Thank you for your patience.”Read moreTracking website Down Detector saw a huge surge in the number of people reporting problems with the app, with some saying they were unable to connect at all and others saying messages were not sending.Issues appeared to be prevalent across the world. While they were concentrated on the east coast of the US, Europe and Japan, that is probably just a result of where the company’s users are based and which are online.

Twitter went down for many users on Thursday, leaving people around the world unable to load or post new tweets.The outage began at around 3pm BST and appeared to last for around 30 minutes.Website monitor DownDetector registered thousands of reports from users experiencing difficulties connecting.The highest concentration of reports came from Japan, according to an outage map.Users in the UK, Netherlands and US also reported issues with the service.The Independent contacted Twitter for further details.Twitter Support wrote in a successful tweet following the outage: “Let’s see if this works… You may have had trouble sending and seeing Tweets. (Yeah, us too.) We’ve now fixed this.”