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Consumer group takes 28 trips each with taxis and UberX to test safety, reliability and value, reporting taxis were more expensive nine times out of 10Uber’s controversial ride-sharing service is 40% cheaper than taxis in Sydney – and more reliable, too, according to an investigation by consumer advocates.Related: Taxi drivers condemn Labor's proposal to regulate Uber in NSW Continue reading...

That game you used to play is getting a full-length feature and the trailer gives us a first look at favourite characters like Nameless Red Bird and Black Blowy-Up BirdAngry Birds is the red-hot iPhone app of the moment. It’s literally a one-in-a-million sensation. Your friends can’t stop playing it. The world’s edgiest comedians can’t stop referencing it – and now it’s heading to the big screen! What sort of blockbus… oh, hang on, my fault, sorry. I thought it was 2012. Let me start again. Continue reading...

Changes may be required after European court advocate general accuses US intelligence services of ‘mass, indiscriminate surveillance’European companies may have to review their widespread practice of storing digital data with US internet companies after a court accused America’s intelligence services of conducting “mass, indiscriminate surveillance”.The influential opinion by the European court of justice’s advocate general, Yves Bot, yet to be confirmed by the Luxembourg court as final, is a significant development in the battle over online privacy. The court normally follows the advocate general’s opinion; ECJ judgments are binding on EU countries.

Three quadcopter drones programmed by researchers self-assemble a bridge using ropes. The structure measures 7.4 metres long, consists of nine rope segments for a total rope length of about 120 metres and is able to hold an adult. It is hoped that the project, which took ETH Zurich three years to complete, will aide rescue efforts in natural disaster sites, reaching remote and inaccessible areas

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Wednesday! Continue reading...

• Emissions could have far greater impact in Europe, where almost half passenger cars are diesel, than the US• Company bosses to meet on Wednesday to decide response to emissions-rigging scandalVolkswagen’s rigging of emissions tests for 11m cars means they may be responsible for nearly 1m tonnes of air pollution every year, roughly the same as the UK’s combined emissions for all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture, a Guardian analysis suggests.The potential scale of the scandal puts further pressure on Volkswagen’s board and its chief executive, Martin Winterkorn. The company’s executive committee plans to meet on Wednesday to discuss the affair and to agree the agenda of a full board meeting scheduled for Friday, amid reports that Winterkorn could be replaced. Continue reading...

Three-day battery, great camera and flagship innards squeezed into a more compact frame make the Xperia Z5 Compact no cut-spec ‘mini’ versionSony’s latest update to its “no compromise” smaller flagship smartphone proves size really isn’t everything with three-day battery, top-spec features and a great camera.While the rest of the market has been stretching phone screen sizes, Sony has been offering smaller “Compact” phones since 2013 fitting the same processor and camera from its larger flagship phones into a more manageable size. Continue reading...

Study claims AdWords users face bill even when tech firm’s own systems have correctly identified viewer as bot

Alamo Square park officials say they did not post sign hung a half block from where a Google bus picks up employees as locals wonder if it is an artistic protestSan Francisco authorities are grappling with the mysterious appearance – and sudden disappearance – of an official-looking sign that warned visitors to a nearby park that they were entering a “No Tech Zone”.The sign was affixed to a concrete pole in San Francisco’s Alamo Square on Monday, sparking a frenzied online discussion over who had erected it and why. By late Tuesday morning, however, the sign had vanished. Local officials are insisting they have no idea who erected the sign, or indeed who removed it. Continue reading...

•11m vehicles worldwide involved

As the death toll for selfie-related incidents grows ever higher – including animal attacks and weapons misfiring – why are people risking their lives for likes?The number of deaths in 2015 related to the practice of taking selfies has risen to 12 after a 66-year-old Japanese tourist, Hideto Ueda, died when collapsing and falling down stairs posing at the Taj Mahal in India. His travelling companion survived, but suffered a broken leg. Continue reading...

The shine of novelty may have worn off, after Bungie took a year to fix it, but what remains is – at last – a good gameIt was a year ago when Destiny hit consoles, promising a new era of super-connected online shooting. The first new series from Halo developer Bungie since 2001, it combined the meaty gunplay and polished exterior of that series with the deeply satisfying loot-gathering of a game like Diablo. On top of all that was a smattering of World of Warcraft-style massively-multiplayer content such as raids and public events.Those first few weeks flying around in space with your AI “Ghost” buddy in tow were glorious, even if Peter Dinklage’s delivery as the sidekick was so bad that simple adjectives like “bored” and “wooden” fail to do it justice. But as the novelty wore off, so too did the shine. For something so clearly standing on the shoulders of giants, there was a bizarre failure to learn the lessons of the past. Continue reading...

Bug in browser causes it to crash if mousing over, clicking on or pasting a short 16-character string into the address barA bug in Google’s Chrome browser causes it to crash when clicking on or mousing over a 16-character text string placed on a web page.

Pro Evolution Soccer has closed the gap on its long-standing rival, but myriad teams and features keep this the season’s standout playerAlan Partridge himself may as well have penned the marketing bumph for this, the 23rd annual edition of EA’s football series. Promises of – in the publisher’s words – “confidence in defending”, “control in midfield”, and “moments of magic” intimate a return to Fifa’s early-2000s nadir, where back-of-box buzz phrases overshadowed the on-pitch action. As such, it’s a relief to report that these Partridgisms, while cringeworthy, are not without justification. There is substance behind the slogans.The Fifa series has enjoyed a rejuvenation since the leap to this generation of machines, but all too often matches in Fifas 14 and 15 were dominated by players with elite pace and power attributes. Mercifully, thanks to the above tweaks – “confidence in defending” in particular – that’s no longer the case. Centre backs mark snugly, constantly buffeting and tugging at even the strongest forwards. Full-backs track properly and look to step in front of onrushing wingers before they can reach top speed, while defensive midfielders break on to under-hit opposition passes, always seeking to spring a deadly counterattack. Continue reading...

Hiroyuko Nishimura, a web entrepreneur who was recently named editor of Variety Japan, buys the controversial site for undisclosed amountThe influential and controversial message board 4chan has been sold to Japanese web entrepreneur-turned-magazine editor Hiroyuko Nishimura for an undisclosed sum, it was announced today.Nishimura, who was recently appointed editor of Variety Japan, was the founder of 2channel, the wildly popular Japanese image-board on which 4chan was originally modelled when it was started in 2003. 4chan quickly overshadowed its Japanese-language cousin in influence, if not in raw traffic, however, to become one of the most influential – and one of the most controversial – websites.

The US government’s plan to give up authority over Icann may create the web’s answer to Fifa – when problems arise, no one will have the power to interveneWhat if instead of organising a football competition every four years, Fifa took on management of the internet? Leaving aside the arrests and bribery allegations, the organisation might look a bit like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ( Icann), the private California company responsible for overseeing the running of the internet. The scary thing about Fifa is that, when things go wrong, no one else has the power to intervene.It was thought that 30 September 2015 was supposed to be a significant date in internet governance. The US government was going to hand over key responsibilities to the internet community – but that date will be missed, because Icann’s board looks set to oppose plans to make itself more accountable. Continue reading...

This week, a digital art project posts anonymously submitted confessions in Brighton train station. Is it cathartic release or a prime target for pranksters?The Waiting Wall pitches private thoughts into a public space. For a week from 21 September until 27 September, the main digital advertising display in Brighton train station will accommodate an art piece, broadcasting a stream of existential confessions submitted anonymously by the public alongside the usual adverts.The Waiting Wall was devised for Brighton digital festival by musician and software developer Alan Donohoe and his creative partner Steven Parker, under the banner of digital storytelling project Free the Trees.

Search engine’s attempt to block French order to apply delistings to its google.com domain, not just its European sites, dismissed in ground-breaking caseGoogle’s appeal against the global enforcement of “right to be forgotten” removals has been rejected by the French data regulator.

Google Analytics has continued to transmit data across the Great Firewall despite other services being blockedWith Google reportedly in talks with Chinese authorities about opening a new Android app store, speculation is rife that an agreement could see government-approved apps would come automatically installed on Google’s Android smartphones designed for the Chinese market.Many interpret this step as Google planting a seed for its eventual return to China after exiting the Chinese market five years ago – yet our research at the University of Pennsylvania shows that Google has never completely left. Continue reading...

Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom appears in court in New Zealand for the start of his extradition hearing to the United States. US authorities allege Dotcom and his associates were involved in an organised criminal enterprise centred on copyright violation through Megaupload which earned them $175m (£112m). The FBI has described it as the largest copyright case in US history

Several apps infected by malware dubbed XcodeGhost in first case of large numbers of malicious software making their way past Apple’s defencesApple has had to remove more than 300 malware-infected apps from its app store after a tainted version of its developer tools led to a number of Chinese apps leaking users’ personal information to hackers.

Article rewritten to remove references to Muslims and correction made both in paper and online after complaint to press regulator IpsoThe Mail on Sunday has apologised for and corrected a story that said “Muslim gangs” were behind an attack on an immigration enforcement van in east London following a complaint to the press regulation body Ipso.The newspaper published a story in July headlined “Welcome to east London: Muslim gang slashes tyres of immigration-raid van before officers showered with eggs from high rise”.

Volvo’s large and luxurious SUV has been the queen of the school run for years, but the new XC90 is ready to go way beyond the playgroundPrice: £45,750

Expert problem-solvers are in short supply, and women make up less than 10% of the workforce, warns new engineering president Naomi ClimerBritain desperately needs to persuade hundreds of thousands of women to take up engineering to help the country exploit new technologies that could transform our lives. Failure would damage the na tion’s capacity to meet the challenges of the future, the new president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Naomi Climer, warned last week.Climer, the first female president of the IET, the world’s largest engineering institution, told the Observer that Britain was facing a serious shortfall in engineers. Figures suggest that the country will need to recruit almost two million over the coming decade, she said. Advances in robotics, software design, renewable energy, materials and many other fields now offer to bring major improvements to Britain – but will need the problem-solving skills of engineers to make the best use of them. However, at the same time the nation is facing a serious shortfall in numbers entering the profession. Continue reading...

And extraterrestrials may never notice us, either, if our technology is sufficiently sophisticated, whistleblower tells Neil deGrasse TysonRelated: Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Snowden is a patriotThe US government whistleblower Edward Snowden believes encryption might make it difficult or even impossible to distinguish signals from alien species from cosmic background radiation.

‘It got pretty loud, with seven speakers. I like this – especially when I’m lost’They say the compact crossover is a crowded market, but that’s only in the sense that any market loosely defined (futures, greeting cards, animal fats) looks crowded. What exactly is the Mazda CX-3? The thing that is larger than the Mazda 2, or the thing that is smaller than the SUV? It’s the latter, of course, because everyone loves the word “SUV”, but it isn’t large enough, least of all in the boot capacity, to warrant the term, even if it technically skims it.The upside is that it looks neat and sharp. They are funny, Mazda, full of high design concepts: “Kodo” is the unified look across the styles. The CX-3 meets it by being aggressive yet sleek around the nose, tidy through the body, sheered off neatly at the back. Skyactiv is the technology, which they illustrate with a video that pits a CX-3 against a greyhound. It is weird nobody pointed out that most cars are faster than dogs. Continue reading...

Ukip leader defends capital’s black cabs, saying many Uber drivers can’t speak English and don’t know their way aroundNigel Farage, the Ukip leader, has complained that many Uber drivers can’t speak English, play loud music and don’t know their way around London.Speaking during his regular phone-in show on LBC radio, Farage jumped to the defence of London’s black-cab drivers after the capital’s mayor, Boris Johnson, described them as luddites for protesting about the effect new taxi smartphone apps, especially Uber, are having on their business. Continue reading...

Director Ilya Naishuller’s gory, first-person action film is like a video game in which we leap, climb, kill and find ourselves bored sillyFor folks who are too lazy to play their own video games, there’s the movie Hardcore. For 90 minutes, first-time feature director Ilya Naishuller throttles your central nervous system with a stretched-out spasm of first-person action. Run here, jump there, slice this carotid artery, shatter that skull. The plot, what little of it there is, has mute amnesia victim Henry (ostensibly “you”), avoiding death at every turn and frantically racing to a series of checkpoints delivered to his phone by a reappearing guide in the form of a manic (and homophobic) Sharlto Copley.From an acrobatic point of view, all the GoPro choreography is impressive. “How’d they do THAT?” you’ll wonder for the first 15 minutes. But as the relentless shaky-cam and ear-splitting weapons blasts soldier on, this query changes to: “Do I have any aspirin in my bag?” Hardcore taps into a 14-year-old boy’s brain, marinating in a vat of Mountain Dew, fantasising about high-energy kills, lusty women and loud music. Perhaps interesting for sociological study, but as a movie, it is vulgar, boring and embarrassing. Continue reading...

Formerly just deadly military devices, now anyone can buy and fly a drone – but mastering one is another matter altogetherDrones have a bad reputation. The first we heard of them, they were flying unmanned missions to kill not necessarily the right targets in the name of freedom. Next, they were going to replace Amazon delivery drivers, severing permanently the company’s relationship with human beings.This week, Nigel Wilson, 42, was fined £1,800 for flying a drone dangerously close to sports grounds and Buckingham Palace . It also emerged that drones were being used to fly contraband drugs into prisons. (“It’s complicated,” a prison governor tells me off the record. “The drugs are often legal. And the drones are legal. The only illegal thing they’ve done is fly over a prison.”) Continue reading...

Swarms have existed for millions of years in nature and now they’re evolving into silicon. Labs across the US are developing robotic swarms of flying copters and tiny bots that can coordinate on their own. With robot swarms already in development for the US military, these bands of robots will only continue to grow Continue reading...

In the third episode of internet podcast Updog, we journey into the strange world of political memes and curious politician fandoms on TumblrWe’re used to political humour on Facebook and Twitter, but how about Tumblr?Hark back to the days of the general election and you may remember the Milifandom, a group of teens who loved Ed Miliband and found their own way to support him. In a nutshell, politics Tumblr is similar, where people, predominantly young people, discuss in their own language the ins and outs of stereotypically dull current affairs. There are fandoms, there are jokes and there are plenty of flower crowns for everyone. Continue reading...

Andrew Parker also says telecoms firms should provide more help in monitoring suspected terrorists and paedophilesThe head of MI5, Andrew Parker, has called for more up-to-date surveillance powers and said tech companies had an ethical responsibility to provide more help in monitoring the communications of suspected terrorists and paedophiles.In the first live media interview ever given by a senior British intelligence official, Parker defended the British surveillance system and backed the government’s plans for new surveillance powers. Continue reading...

New range of Fire Tablets promises to outlast an iPad without breaking the bank when used for media consumption

Oscar-winning film-maker was criticised for telling an African-American judge on HBO show Project Greenlight that winners should be picked purely on meritMatt Damon has apologised for appearing to downplay the importance of diversity in film while judging the HBO reality show Project Greenlight, in which first-time directors are given the chance to make a movie.Damon was heavily criticised on social media, with the hashtag #Damonsplaining trending on Twitter, after an awkward exchange with African-American producer Effie Brown on Sunday’s episode of the show, which he created with long-term partner Ben Affleck. Continue reading...

President lectures China on commercial cyber-attacks despite reports the US has done so itself in the past and says that ‘we’re still the best at this’The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, received a chilly welcome ahead of his first US state visit next week as Barack Obama responded to growing China-bashing among presidential candidates by listing his own demands on Beijing.

From baby boredom to Candy Crush begging, once the social network starts adding new buttons, it’s hard to know where it should stopFacebook is introducing a ‘Dislike’ button. Or at least something like it, for people to “express empathy” for status updates they feel awkward about liking – from people posting about the death of a loved one to news stories about crises.“Not every moment is a good moment,” said Mark Zuckerberg, as he confirmed that work had begun on an alternative. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Wednesday. Comments are now ON! Continue reading...

Prime minister calls for explanation after Google appears to adopt names used by neighbour and territorial rival VenezuelaA centuries-old territorial dispute in South America has taken a technological turn after anglophone Guyana decried Google Maps’ Spanish-language labelling of street names in a region claimed by neighbouring Venezuela.

Court decision allows YouTube user to move forward with lawsuit against Universal music for takedown notice on 2007 video that featured Prince songIt just became a little harder to force someone to take copyrighted videos off YouTube, after a ruling from a three-judge panel in California found that before filing a removal notice, copyright holders must consider whether the way their intellectual property is used could be considered “fair use” under US law.Further, according to Monday’s decision from the ninth circuit court of appeals, if an entity misuses legal takedown notices, it is taking a financial risk of its own. Continue reading...

At arms fair in London, Admiral Sir George Zambellas says navy plans to demonstrate a directed energy weapon at sea by end of decadeThe Royal Navy hopes to develop a ship-mounted “death ray” laser cannon by 2020, the first sea lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, has announced at one of the world’s biggest arms fairs.

They can’t drive, play football or get goosebumps from listening to music. So why are we so afraid of our mechanical offspring, asks the Scissor Sisters singerRobots are machines of human creation. Let me say that one more time: robots are machines. Though many of them have arms, legs and heads, they cannot move, sense touch, or see like humans. Artificial intelligence is just that: artificial. It is a simulation of human intelligence, becoming ever more human-like in its creative and problem-solving capacities, but it is not yet a mind. Robots come from us, but are not like us. There is so much more to the human brain than the ability to process information, and it’s this subtle intelligence that will always set us apart from our mechanical counterparts.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Bahrain are among 61 countries the UK government has invited to biennial eventAuthoritarian regimes including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Azerbaijan are among the official guests invited by the UK government to one of the world’s largest arms bazaars, opening in London’s Docklands this week.The biennial weapons fair, which opens on Tuesday, is the focus of an increasingly heated debate between those who say major weapons producers such as Britain cannot claim at the same time to defend human rights, and those who say the arms industry provides tens of thousands of jobs and valuable exports. Continue reading...

Will the new generation of IoT­-related data benefit us enough to be comfortable giving up even more of our privacy?For most of us, the internet of things (IoT) might call to mind specific gadgets – slick innovations like Nest thermostats or the Apple Watch – that seem to owe their provenance to science fiction and promise a more wired world, as well as the inevitable automation of everyday life.Then there are people like serial entrepreneur Nova Spivack, someone who’s far less enamoured of the next IoT device than he is with something infinitely geekier: the data that can be captured. Continue reading...

The late singer’s sister says that Houston’s hologram tour is ‘a great opportunity for her fans to see a reinvention of one the most celebrated female artists in history’A hologram of the late Whitney Houston will take to the stage next year, as Hologram USA and Houston’s estate announce that fans will be able to watch the singer’s greatest hits during a new world tour.The singer’s sister-in-law and president of her estate, Pat Houston, said in a statement that the hologram is “a great opportunity for her fans to see a reinvention of one the most celebrated female artists in history and to continue a legacy of performances that will not be forgotten in years to come.” Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Monday and it’s raining – what could be better?! Continue reading...

Andy Robson is the MD of Testology, which helps rid games such as Batman: Arkham Knight and Tearaway Unfolded of glitches and bugs to ensure smooth, stress-free playHow did you get into games testing?

The former Vodafone executive faced questioning from a Senate committee after the company admitted accessing a journalist’s call records and text messagesFormer Vodafone executive Bill Morrow says he did not report a serious privacy breach of a journalist’s phone to the police because he was not aware of it during his time with the company.

Do you know your LOLZ from your ROFLs, your number of followers and are you fluent in the language of emojis? Michael Hogan asks ten multiple choice questions to see how up-to-date you really are1How many social networks are you on?Three. Instagram, Pandora and Snapchat. The others are for old squares.Five. Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook and Vine. Wait, is Tinder one too?Also five. LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Definitely not Ashley Madison, honest.Just Facebook. Are there others? How ghastly.2When you share pictures, what do they tend be?Mirror selfies.Burgers, cocktails, holiday hotdog legs and smashed-avocado-on-toast brunches.Your kids or pets looking cute.Sunsets and gardens.3On which device do you most of your social networking?Your smartphone. It’s like an extra limb and you have a nervo if it’s out of reach or battery.Your laptop, which you whip out of your backpack any time you have a spare moment.Your tablet. Well, when you can wrestle it off your gaming kids.Your desktop computer, clearly. What else could you use?4What was the first social network you ever joined?Facebook. IKR? Maje cringeface.MySpace or Habbo Hotel.Faceparty or Bebo.Does the local Rotary Club count?5How many friends and followers do you have?HundredsThousandsYou’ve got no idea (or so you pretend).Mind your own business. Oh, you mean on social media? God knows. How do you find out?6Which celebrities do you keep up with on social media?Tay-Tay Swift, Justin Bieber and 1D.Kimye, Beyonce and the Beckhams.Nigella, Russell Brand and Barack Obama.Stephen Fry, Jeremy Clarkson and your local MP.7Do you use emojis?Duh, totes obv. Most of your social media posts are made up entirely of hearts, fistbumps and yellow cry-faces.You flirt and sext with aubergines and kisses, plus are partial to the nail-painting one and the smiley poo.The odd smiley face or dancing flamenco lady, but only ironically.Emojis... are they those Cuban cocktails?8What do you deem to be “oversharing” on social media?Nothing really.Sexy or icky health stuff. Anything else is fair game.Every meal, run or night out. Better to save it for the envy-inducing ones.Everything. You wish people would stop showing off.9What do LOL, bae and #onfleek mean?LOL srsly?Laugh out loud, babe and on point.Laugh out loud, which you try never to use. Either baby or babe, you’ve never been sure. You’ve made that third one up.Lots of love. No idea on the others. Speak properly, for pity’s sake.10What do you tend to share, forward and retweet?Hot pix of bare hench baes or clothes/shoes you’re lusting after.LOLZ, memes and ROFLs, plus the odd bit of self-promotion.Worthy political causes or broadsheet columns that chime with your worldview.Inspirational quotes on pretty backgrounds. Continue reading...

The ratings system introduced by the biggest car boot sale on earth is now used by everyone from Uber to AirbnbTwenty years ago this month, a French-born Iranian-American computer programmer named Pierre Omidyar added an experimental online auction section to his personal website, which at that time focused mainly on the Ebola virus. He called it AuctionWeb because it enabled people to bid to purchase items that other people were advertising for sale. One of the earliest, and most puzzling, sales on the site was of a broken laser pointer, which went for $14.83. The story goes that Omidyar wrote to the buyer asking if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. The guy replied that he was a collector of broken laser pointers. At this point, Omidyar realised he might be on to something.He was: he called it eBay. The idea that one could use the web as a way of putting buyers and sellers in touch with one another was not new. But up to then that affordance of the technology had been seen mainly in the context of firms. It was the basis, for example, for the early and rapid growth of so-called B2B (business-to-business) sites. The critical twist that Omidyar added was that the same technology could work for ordinary people. And so he created what turned out to be the greatest car boot sale in the history of the world. Continue reading...