The Scissor Sisters singer can’t wait to see what technology has in store for humanity, so long as it doesn’t involve FacebookYou’ve just published a book about robots. When did your love of them begin?

Driverless cars will revolutionise motoring, claim the manufacturers. But is the greatest danger that they will be too safe?In the BMW museum at the company’s solidly futuristic headquarters, next to the old Olympic stadium site in Munich, you can view a century of evolving mechanical desire. BMW has long prided itself in creating “ultimate driving machines” and all that Bavarian engineering pride is dramatised in the decade-by-decade progression of engines that harness ever more efficient power in steel, and car bodies that have moved with the ergonomic times. Each sequence of cars on show leaves a gap at one end, ready to showcase the next generation of technical advancement. Over the past century, innovation has smoothly followed innovation; it is likely, however, that the next stage will be a paradigm shift rather than a marginal gain. The next empty space, or the one after, is likely to be filled by the ultimate driverless machine.The person leading BMW’s prototype efforts to make that car a reality, Michael Aeberhard, does not want to see it in those terms. As he takes me for a drive in what seems a regular 5 Series, he is at pains to suggest that the new model now in gestation is simply another improved iteration of what has gone before. Continue reading...

Rustling up a meal becomes a whole new experience whn you can print your own food, use a smart oven or have a robot do all the work for youRead more of our future of food special:

Gay users are flocking to the photo network which offers support, belonging and taut absThink of Instagram and you probably imagine a stream of changing-room selfies, envy-inducing holiday snaps and an avalanche of smashed avocado on toast. But there’s another aesthetic which arguably defines the online social networking and photo-sharing platform which you may have missed if you’re straight.Instagram is being made over by gay men and, to a lesser extent, gay women. Search for the hashtags #gay, #gaygirl or #instagay and you’re hit with more than 45 million posts. Must-follows include: @thenexttopgay (buff guys who clearly don’t own any shirts); @lesbianfunhouse (honed girls with quiffs, tattoos and bow ties) and @thegaybeards (two guys who love to accessorise their whiskers). And recently a cluster of accounts have sprung up celebrating all things gay marriage, highlighted in a Buzzfeed listicle entitled 17 Beautiful Instagram Accounts That Will Bring Queer Love To Your Feed. Continue reading...

Apps to track your moods and a ‘life coach’ app that is part science and part interactive dramaARCADIA BY IAIN PEARSiOS Continue reading...

We share some of the newest, most fun and helpful tech ideasCan’t be bothered with pedals when you cycle? Then the Kick Varibike is for you. You can push along as though you’re on a scooter or turn the cranks by the handlebars to increase upper-body strength on the move. It has a three-gear system and brakes on the front and rear. With a prototype recently on show at the Eurobike exhibition, commercial versions are expected to become available soon. But with an estimated RRP of €1,600 (£1,160) it’s wheely expensive. Continue reading...

Apple would like to see its new set-top box become the next Nintendo Wii. But it’s questionable whether the company really understands gamingWith the launch of the new Apple TV, Apple has positioned its set-top box as the heir to the Nintendo Wii, bringing accessible casual gaming into the living room with the device’s app store and motion-sensitive remote control.The company’s all-singing, all-dancing press conferences regularly involve a quick play-through of a video game, but usually under the guise of a graphics demonstration. Hence the introduction of Vainglory, the mobile-first multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that debuted alongside the iPhone 6, which was explicitly characterised as an example of what the company’s new Metal API could do for game developers; and Infinity Blade, announced as “Project Sword” by Epic Games alongside the introduction of Game Centre, again with the emphasis on its graphical fidelity. “Everything you see is in realtime”, Epic’s Mike Capps emphasised. Continue reading...

‘The handling is a bit creaky and stiff, like a person with a slightly bad back’Nissan has been going through a phase of making cars that look like their internal organs are on the outside of their bodies (chief among them, the marvellously ugly Juke, which once you notice, you become fascinated by, like ugly babies). In the Pulsar, they bring us a car that looks like a car: they are obviously a bit embarrassed by that, which is why they gave me a red one (they think we’re like bulls, and you hold our attention by waving a red thing at us: which in my case is broadly true).The look suited me fine: I prefer a hatchback to be sensibly close to the ground. The way they endlessly try to raise themselves above one another is vulgar. It has all kinds of nice finishes, from the classy textures on the ledge above the exhaust, to the alloy wheels, to the elegant fonts on all the displays. The boot looks large and is even larger, as I learned when I swapped cars while away and had to leave the dog in Kent (joking! I went back for him). Continue reading...

Temple University physics professor Xi Xiaoxing was accused of scheming to provide secret technology to China, but other physicists and experts backed himUS prosecutors have sought to dismiss charges against a Temple University physics professor accused of scheming to provide secret US technology to China. Statements from physicists said investigators had misunderstood the technology.The US attorney’s office in Philadelphia declined to comment on the four-page motion the office filed seeking to drop four counts of wire fraud against the professor, Xi Xiaoxing. Continue reading...

UK intelligence agency wants you to simplify your approach to online passwords. But will you take data-protection advice from the organisation famed for its snooping exploits?The UK intelligence agency responsible for vast amounts of snooping, as exposed by the Snowden revelations, has released new password guidelines.

British actor releases footage of himself performing Move It on Over in I Saw the Light in advance of Toronto film festival premiereThe first footage of Tom Hiddleston as country legend Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light has been released on Twitter by the British actor.

In these simple, highly popular romance simulators, the dating game really is a game, with pitfalls, rewards and unexpected twists...What are they?Dating sims are games focused on building a romantic relationship with one of many possible partners and are popular in Japan. Often the protagonist is a male character with several potential female partners, but some titles – called otome games – have a female protagonist with male suitors and others feature same-sex pairings or don’t enforce gender restrictions. The game is won by building up enough of a relationship with a chosen partner to fulfil a relationship goal such as dating, sex, or marriage, often within a time limit. The inclusion of multiple available partners adds replay value. Continue reading...

The latest from Pac Man, Angry Birds and Lara Croft plus a war game where you help civilians survive

New games range from Star Wars to Homer Simpson in MordorDizzying number of toys-to-life products are coming out in the next six weeks, featuring the biggest entertainment names.Toys-to-life is the world’s most lucrative video game genre, having made an estimated £2.6bn since it began in 2011 with Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. This month marks a manic time for the sector. Disney Infinity 3.0 has just launched, while Skylanders Superchargers and Lego Dimensions arrive over the next two weeks. More than 100 toys based on these games (plus Nintendo’s Amiibo range) will be released over the next 12 weeks. Here’s what to expect. Continue reading...

Sony’s machine had its US launch 20 years ago this week, a console that didn’t just coincide with my entry into games writing, it defined my careerIt was exactly 20 years ago, a warm, late-summer afternoon. My girlfriend and I arrived in Bath, unsure of where to park, marvelling at the sheer density of beautiful Georgian architecture – just like millions of tourists before us. I was there for a job interview, and I was nervous as hell because I had lied to get it.The PlayStation was launched in Japan in the winter of 1994, but it took several months for Sony to roll its impressive 32bit console out to the rest of the world. The US release was on 9 September 1995, a day of hype and expectation dominated by two launch titles: the arcade driving sim Ridge Racer and the now almost forgotten fighting game Battle Arena Toshinden. Both featured state-of-the-art texture-mapped polygonal graphics, both spoke of a future that would abandon old-school two-dimensional sprites and scrolling, in favour of fully explorable worlds with dynamic cameras. It was immense and exciting. Continue reading...

Automatic updates now include Windows 10 and up to 6GB of storage claimed on hard drives for those using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, according to reportsMicrosoft has admitted that it is automatically downloading Windows 10 on to user machines even when they have expressed no interest in installing the new operating system.

Apple’s Siri interrupts a question about the intricacies of Barack Obama’s Iran policy on Thursday during a White House press briefing. The iPhone’s personal assistant beeped its question-acknowledgement tone as a journalist asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest if Obama is disappointed at not getting Republican backing for the Iran nuclear agreement. Siri then buts in, saying ‘Sorry. I’m not sure what you want me to change’ Continue reading...

UK-only app from Moshi Monsters maker is used by ‘hundreds of thousands’ of children, and will now launch elsewhere in the worldMoshi Monsters maker Mind Candy is selling its social app PopJam to fellow children’s entertainment firm SuperAwesome.The app launched in July 2014 as an Instagram-style photo-sharing app for children, and remains only available in the UK. Neither company is disclosing the acquisition price for the app. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and stuffIt’s Friday. Continue reading...

Former Channel 5, Sky and ITV executive, who is advising the government on BBC charter renewal, will pursue ‘external opportunities’Dawn Airey, Yahoo’s top European executive, is to leave the company to “pursue external opportunities” after just over two years.Airey, the former Channel 5, Sky and ITV senior executive who is currently advising the government on BBC charter renewal, has left the company with immediate effect. Continue reading...

Charlotte Proudman told ‘no more briefs for you’ after shaming senior solicitor over his LinkedIn comment about ‘stunning’ photographThe barrister at the centre of a sexism furore over a complimentary LinkedIn message from a solicitor 30 years her senior has said she is facing a professional backlash over her decision to speak out.Writing for the Independent, the human rights lawyer Charlotte Proudman said she did not regret her decision to make public a message from Alexander Carter-Silk that commented on her “stunning” photograph, because it had led to an outpouring of similar experiences from other women. Continue reading...

Apple is doing users a disservice by offering its new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus with just 16GB by defaultWith its latest 16GB iPhone 6S and 6S Plus Apple has answered the question of what it thinks really matters: profit or user experience?

Artist Bill Shannon explores the gap between the artificial and what is realIf you think this looks like a 3D version of a Picasso, then you’re not far off. Inspired by the abstract ideas of cubism, artist Bill Shannon created the digital headgear to explore the disconnect between our real and digital selves.Acting as a “digital face in front of the face”, the mask projects pre-recorded footage of Shannon in different emotional states from an iPod app on to the screens, which are mounted on holders welded to a hard hat. The mask is accompanied by audio of Shannon constantly yelling out “status updates!” Continue reading...

Patrick is looking for a portable laptop/tablet hybrid with a screen big enough to work on. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 fills the bill, but what about the cheaper alternatives?I am looking for a portable laptop/tablet hybrid with a screen that is a reasonable size for working from home (larger than 10 inches), and fairly good performance, as my partner wants to edit photos. I know the Surface Pro 3 is probably the safest bet, but I have seen a few far cheaper alternatives. They seem to have mixed reviews, though, and every time I look, different models appear. Patrick Continue reading...

Our woman on the golf course vows to improve her handicap after trying GameGolf, an app that monitors your performance … not to mention the US president’sGameGolf promises to help you “take the guessing out of golf” and, in the main, it does. It’s a PC/smartphone system with a red widget you wear on your belt that allows you to scan the club you’ve chosen to use and logs every shot you play via GPRS – Barack Obama has been spotted using one.When you get home, to the White House or wherever, you can indulge your inner golf-geek: you can download your round and fastidiously study where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Every shot and putt are there for you to see and compare with previous rounds. Continue reading...

Protesters say the online ride-sharing service is destroying their livelihoods by avoiding costly regulations and demand it should be outlawedTaxi drivers have staged rallies in Melbourne and Sydney demanding state governments outlaw the ride-sharing service UberX.Around 400 drivers and their supporters gathered outside the New South Wales parliament chanting, “Shame on Uber”, and demanding the state transport minister, Andrew Constance, resign. Continue reading...

With a motion-sensitive remote, voice control and an App Store, is the Apple TV the company’s first games console?Apple has announced a major upgrade to its Apple TV set-top box, bringing in voice control, a new motion-sensitive remote with a built-in touch pad, and the device’s very first App Store.The new features combine to make the device a potential games console as well as media player, with Apple’s Eddy Cue taking to the stage to discuss a raft of video games playable on the new hardware, including Disney Infinity and Guitar Hero. Continue reading...

Mixitl allows public to create own content such as ‘Soap Generator’ for comic-style storylines using different camera angles, sound effects and charactersThe BBC is launching a new online platform allowing the public to make their own content using brands such as EastEnders, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing.Called Mixitl, the platform is part of the BBC’s Make It Digital project that launched on Wednesday. It will also include special programmes aimed at bringing digital technology and themes to a wider audience. Continue reading...

Just like Siri and Cortana, M will be fuelled by your personal data – this trust it expects must be earned and backed up by rulesFacebook’s announcement that it is testing a digital assistant called “M” means that each of the “big five” technology companies is now in the digital assistant game. Facebook M joins Apple’s venerable Siri app, along with Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana. Even Amazon has the Echo, a voice-activated internet of things appliance.These assistants might revolutionise how we interact with our digital devices, our homes, and the world. They promise to effortlessly help us find, and even predict what we want. Facebook says M will make advances through leveraging its unmatched database of personal information, coupled with invisible human “trainers”. By applying artificial intelligence to your Facebook data, M could help you buy gifts, book travel, and reserve tables at restaurants. Continue reading...

Declaring this ‘the most advanced butter knife in the world’ is pretty much winning a race no one else was runningSpreadTHAT’s self-heating butter knife, Selfridges, RRP £19.99, a titanium-alloyed bronze wand, with its upper edge dully serrated. Used for paring chilled butter in thin, readily smear-able strips. Continue reading...

Chinese search company challenges Google, Apple and Facebook with artificial intelligence voice search capable of ordering food and giving pet adviceChinese technology company Baidu, often labelled as China’s Google has launched a digital assistant to take on rivals from Apple, Microsoft and Google.

Need an excuse to get off the sofa? Look no further than ‘Putinspiration’ – exercise motivation tips with a political twist“Fitspiration” is the Instagram hashtag de jour, with six million posts showing flat abs or toned arms coupled with captions like “the harder the struggle the more glorious the triumph” and “earn your selfie”.“Fitspo”, as it’s also known, is about hitting the gym and eating the right food, but has been criticised by some for fetishising thinness. Continue reading...

The internet has sped things up for Australian acts such as Tame Impala and Troye Sivan breaking the international market, say insiders at Big Sound

The fate of virtual reality could be decided by Hollywood and gaming, so how can these creative industries make the most of the new tech?While virtual reality is fast becoming a familiar term in the popular consciousness, the excitement and opportunities it offers need to be pushed front and centre by encouraging wider trialling and take-up.

Dazzle It puts artist’s recent ferry redesign into hands of fans as part of first world war commemorationsThe pop artist Sir Peter Blake will let his art be remixed by users of a new app inspired by the “dazzle art” painted on British ships during the first world war, in the hope of confusing German U-boats.Dazzle It was commissioned as part of the commemorations for the war’s centenary, and has been released as a free app for Android and for iOS devices. Continue reading...

The annual American football franchise returns with complex new features and an impressively deep franchise modeThe 2015-16 NFL season is very nearly upon us and it brings with it, Electronic Arts’ American football simulator Madden 16, which is arguably the closest most Brits will ever get to suiting up and taking to the field for some good old-fashioned gridiron.We are introduced to the latest iteration through EA’s prediction for Superbowl 50, which unsurprisingly has pegged this year’s AFC champions as the Pittsburgh Steelers and, somewhat more controversially, chosen the Arizona Cardinals as the NFC champions for 2015-16. Continue reading...

Three years ago 96% of smartphone users were making at least one standard voice call a week, but now just three quarters do according to a new surveyMore than three quarters (76%) of UK adults now own a smartphone, up from 52% in 2012. But the number of people using their phone to make voice calls is falling.The share of device owners saying they make at least one voice call a week has dropped down from 96% to 75% over the past three years, according to research carried out by Ipsos Mori for Deloitte.

A US college student got very drunk and designed an entire plane. His friend’s tweet about it has gone viral and been retweeted more than 30,000 times. We talk to the guys …The news is, to put it mildly, pretty depressing recently – social media equally so. Twitter timelines are filled with the horrors of war and unspeakable tragedy, so it was a blessed relief that late on Sunday night a tweet which was a source of unadulterated joy started to go viral.Enter Keith Fraley, a 19-year-old second year student of software engineering at Michigan Tech college, and his tweet about his roommate, Mark, a mechanical engineering student, who arrived home wasted and managed to design an entire plane – and woke up with no memory the next day. Continue reading...

Lidar sensor can be fooled into seeing fake people, cyclists, cars or walls with a $60 system built out of Raspberry Pi and a laser pointerHackers can easily trick self-driving cars into thinking that another car, a wall or a person is in front of them, potentially paralysing it or forcing it to take evasive action.

Latest recall designed to protect connected vehicles from remote manipulation, says automobile companyFiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has recalled a further 7,810 Jeeps affected by a widely reported bug that allows an attacker to wirelessly seize control of the vehicle.The recall affects the variants of the 2015 model of the FCA’s Jeep Renegade sports utility vehicle with a 6.5-inch touchscreen, more than half of which FCA says are still in dealer hands. Continue reading...

Can’t tell your Big Boss from your Little John? Here’s our definitive guide to the whole Metal Gear seriesMetal Gear is arguably the greatest action gaming series ever created – but it is also easily the most bewildering. What is the difference between Liquid, Naked, and Solid Snake? What is Foxdie? And why is the US president involved? These are just some of the questions lurking within Hideo Kojima’s expansive, convoluted and often contrived gaming classics.So if you’ve been attracted to the series by the deliriously positive reviews of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, but are worried about not understanding anything that’s going on, here’s what you need to know. We’ve also ranked all the main titles for lasting quality – behind the latest title, of course, which we consider to be the very best.

As telecoms and TV customers interwine, rivals spend more on sporting rights and programmingWhen the group stages of the Champions League kick off next week, anyone turning to ITV to catch a game will be disappointed.This season’s top European club tournament (and its little brother, the Europa League) will only air on BT Sport after BT paid almost £900m for exclusive rights over three seasons, more than double the £400m Sky and ITV had paid for shared rights for the previous three years. Continue reading...

Parent Info website includes dictionary of abbreviations used by teenagers in chatrooms, many dealing with online sexual relationshipsParents concerned their children are “zerging” or giving away their ASL will be able to decode social media using a language guide launched by government.The dictionary translates abbreviations used by teenagers, including get naked on cam (GNOC) and age, sex, location (ASL) often used by children using anonymous chatrooms to disclose their personal details. Continue reading...

Yik Yak and Whatsgoodly give social media-saturated millennials a new way to openly share campus anecdotes. But with anonymity surfaces bullying and hateAs mobile phones and apps have become increasingly centralto one’s college experience in the past few years, a new type of app has emerged: the anonymous kind.In 2013 the app Yik Yak was created. And by 2014, it was being used at more than 1,000 colleges and universities worldwide, according to its founders Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. Continue reading...

As advancing technology changes the face of employment in the 21st century, is the human workforce being made obsolete?Martin Ford is the founder of a Silicon Valley software firm and the author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Geoff Colvin is senior editor at large at Fortune magazine and author of Humans Are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will.Martin Ford To understand why today’s information technology could have a much more dramatic impact on employment than anything we’ve seen before, it’s best to begin by considering the nature of work performed by most of our population. The reality is that a very large fraction of our workforce is engaged in activities that are on some level routine, repetitive and predictable. This is not to say that most people have jobs that are rote-repetitive, but rather that most workers face the same types of challenge again and again and that most of their actions and decisions can be predicted, based on what they have done in the past. Continue reading...

A combination of power and endurance meant German cyclists excelled at this year’s Tour de France, but none were a match for BMW’s latest 5-Series TouringPrice £45,320

Alex Gibney says Laurene Powell agreed to help – then tried to dissuade potential interviewees from taking partFour years ago, the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs triggered a global expression of mourning of a depth and duration that Oscar-winning documentary-maker Alex Gibney found hard to explain.Were the people who gathered at candlelit vigils at Apple stores around the world grieving for Jobs, or the perceived loss of a future that seemed to promise an endless procession of gadgets and devices each more extraordinary and innovative than the last? Continue reading...

Should that nuclear waste dump really be next to a school? Well, how else are you going to fit that Office of Bureaucracy in?Every single time I’ve played Suburbia since its release in 2012, the same moment comes up. You’re weighing up some tile or other, wondering where or how to expand, when your eyes fall on your opponent’s suburb.“What on earth have you built?!” you ask, gazing at some new variety of miserabilist hellscape.

Third title in Disney’s ‘toys to life’ series comes with the added force of Star Wars – but fans of the original trilogy will have to be patientHaving worked through classic Disney and Pixar content in the first Infinity game, followed by Marvel adventures last year, the third title in this “toys to life” series now brings out the biggest franchise in Disney’s war chest: Star Wars.As with its predecessors, the new instalment offers a range of play-sets – self-contained mini-games which can be accessed by putting the correct toy on the base. Twilight of the Republic is included in the Starter Pack and offers a Clone Wars era adventure set between Episodes II and III where a droid factory on Geonosis has been mysteriously activated. Continue reading...

Apple’s latest launch event next week is unlikely to surprise – the real conundrum is how the company convinces people to keep on buying“Siri, give us a hint,” said Apple’s invitation to its media event next Wednesday. But few needed a hint to know that the chief executive, Tim Cook, will unveil new phones and iPhone software, plus a greatly improved Apple TV set-top box controlled via Siri, Apple’s voice-activated system.