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by Sam Thielman in Pomona, California on (#AKSJ)
US defense department awards prizes in event that featured robots built and piloted with funding from sources that included Amazon and Nasa
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Technology | The Guardian
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| Copyright | Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2025 |
| Updated | 2025-09-16 12:45 |
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by Nicholas Tufnell on (#AKCA)
Our expert offers shortcuts and tips to getting the most out of Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and the rest – and saving you money at the same time Continue reading...
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by Evgeny Morozov on (#AJW0)
Powerful tech firms are altering not just the way we buy things, but could sweep away an entire economic modelHardly a day goes by without some tech company proclaiming that it wants to reinvent itself as a platform. Back in March, when South Korea banned Uber, the company promised to let local taxi drivers use its platform – along with its matching services.Facebook pulled a similar trick in early May: having run into trouble with its pseudo-humanitarian effort to provide free internet access via a project called internet.org, it, too, promised to turn it into a platform. Now, internet.org users, most of them in the developing world, could also enjoy free access to apps other than those developed by Facebook. Continue reading...
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by Stuart Dredge on (#AJW1)
The music streaming pioneer has come under fire from critics such as Taylor Swift for giving away songs. Now he faces a new challenge from AppleThe chief executive of Spotify, Daniel Ek, has predicted that the free online music service will help the industry grow to as much as 10 times its current size, in a future where old distinctions between providers break down.Having paid out $3bn to music rights holders so far, Spotify is pitching itself as a competitor to traditional broadcasting, having recently added news, weather, podcasts and videos to its service. “The old-world paradigms we used to have are no longer true. When I think about music in the future, I don’t make a distinction between what’s radio, what used to be the music library, and so on,†Ek told the Observer in a rare interview. “It’s only going to be listening – and, as that goes forward, this old notion of these different industries or different competitors will collapse and merge together.†Continue reading...
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by John Naughton on (#AJG1)
The ripples from the revelations of NSA surveillance can be felt around the world – but intelligence and law-enforcement agencies will carry on regardlessFor anyone still in doubt about the impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations, it might be instructive to review what has been going on in the US Congress over the last few months, with legislators grappling with bills aimed at curbing the surveillance capabilities of the NSA and other federal agencies. In the end, in a classic congressional farce, there was a brief intermission in the NSA’s data-gathering capabilities, after which the Senate passed a bill to end the agency’s bulk collection of the phone records of millions of Americans.At one level it’s a significant moment: one in which – as a Guardian leader writer put it – “an outlaw rewrites the lawâ€. And in a few other countries, notably Germany, Snowden’s revelations do seem to be having a demonstrable impact – as witnessed, for example, by the Bundestag’s inquiry into NSA surveillance within the Federal Republic. Continue reading...
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by Sam Thielman in Pomona, California on (#AJ89)
At an event that combines the feel of a trade fair with a Mythbusters episode, robots compete in navigating simulation of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plantRobots are terrible drivers.The one that had just navigated a smooth stretch of road a few hundred feet long had taken 15 minutes to do so, and it didn’t really fit behind the wheel of the little red chrome four-wheeler, a sort of all-terrain golf cart called a Polaris Ranger. Instead, the robot had wedged itself across two seats and had to be winched out of the car with a chain hanging from a pulley system at the top of a big rolling frame. It had also had a hard time with the turns. Continue reading...
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by Josy Forsdike on (#AHXQ)
Humanoid robots go diode-to-diode in a disaster response competition during the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Robotics Challenge finals in Pomona, California Continue reading...
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by Alex Hinds on (#AHSP)
Valve Software’s marquee computer game, Dota 2, will have a record $US 11 million (and counting) in prize money on offer for those competing in its fifth annual world championship event in Seattle, and is expected to be viewed by more than 20 million people worldwideSet to take place in a sold-out Key Arena, the fifth edition of ‘The International’ broke its own record this week when its prize-pool bubbled above the $US 11 million dollar mark after another surge in funding support from fans. That number could balloon to as high as $US 15 million on current trends before the tournament takes place in August - a staggering amount of money indeed.To put that in context, Golf’s US Masters paid out $US 10 million this year, while tennis’s French Open will pay competitors across both men’s and women’s fields $US 36 million. It’s still nothing compared to an event like Fifa’s World Cup, but it’s a statement for the ‘e-sports’ scene that should rattle more established players. Continue reading...
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by Zoe Williams on (#AHG6)
‘This car is always beeping. It’s like being attached to a heart monitor’People were queueing up to diss this Infiniti Q70. The mister was unimpressed by the dieselly pullback, especially as you pull out: “I don’t even think it’s got turbo!†he thundered. “It’s not even as good as the Passat.†My mother thought the front passenger seat way too hot, and the white ash wood dash the ugliest she’d seen.I felt oppressed by its mighty size – a 1,896kg kerb weight – and the fact that it was continually making a noise. When you reverse, when you drive near anybody, when anybody drives near you – always beeping. It’s like being attached to a heart monitor. Should you accidentally leave it in “drive†when you get out and lock it, it emits a high-pitched squeak that attracts cats. Knowing nobody would believe this, I took a picture of the cats crowded round it, which is available upon request. Continue reading...
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by Dan Roberts in Washington on (#AGTR)
White House spokesman refuses to confirm claims of Chinese involvement in hack that compromised data of 4 million US government employeesThe White House has threatened possible economic sanctions against whoever is found to be involved in the recent hacking of US government personnel records, as China responded angrily to unofficial reports that pointed the finger in its direction.Obama press secretary Josh Earnest refused to confirm off-the-record US claims of Chinese involvement, insisting at a press briefing on Friday that the FBI was still investigating who compromised the personal data of up to 4 million US government employees in the hack. Continue reading...
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by Spencer Ackerman in New York on (#AGQ6)
‘Zero day’ attack on high-level security clearance agency reignites push by Congressional leaders to hand federal government greater cybersecurity powersCongressional leaders are warning the latest major government data hack proves the Senate should hand the US government greater cybersecurity powers – even as the stalled legislation to do so would place even more consumer data into the hands of the same government that could not secure its existing information.An estimated 4 million federal employees had their personal data compromised after what was reported by authorities on Thursday to be a previously unknown software intrusion, known as a “zero day†attack, accessed networks operated by the Office of Personnel Management, the federal human resources department that houses high-level security clearances and government employee records. Continue reading...
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by Editorial on (#AGQP)
The great breach in the US government’s database is a classic case of informational smash and grab. But operations to plant misinformation are also worrying for states which care about truthDigital wars are being fought in many theatres around the world – and in many forms. In the light of the Snowden revelations, citizens who guard their privacy may already feel that it has been occupied by a hostile force. But on Thursday, the Obama administration conceded that the US federal government had itself fallen victim to a hack on an unprecedented scale, with the security of the details of up to four million former and present employees apparently breached.The Chinese, who were initially considered the most likely suspects, hotly deny any responsibility for this data smash and grab. Nor is it immediately obvious what the perpetrators’ motives might be. It could be a fishing expedition to establish who has access to real secrets. It could be a more straightforward criminal enterprise, a prelude to identity theft. The initial hack probably happened months ago, for one of the distinguishing features of the digital age is its capacity to host the faceless along with the intimate. This is what lends a more sinister force to the familiar equation of information, truth and power. The ability to extract or insert information that may or may not be true is not new – but it is uniquely facilitated in a digital world. Continue reading...
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by Robert Booth and Matthew Weaver on (#AGM2)
NSPCC calls on government to intervene over video showing screaming baby being roughly dunked in bucket of waterA disturbing video of a screaming baby being roughly dunked in a bucket of water is at the centre of a row over internet censorship.
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by Andrew Pulver on (#AGK2)
Celebrations are underway for the centenary of the FDA – but with Netflix in such ascendancy, can traditional film distribution survive the looming shadow of the digital streaming giants?The lights go down; you settle back in your plush fake-velvet seat; the projector beam ignites overhead; the silver screen begins to glow ... it’s an age-old ritual, and one of cinemas great selling points. But the communal experience of cinema exhibition is under threat as never before. Not content with permanently altering the way TV is consumed with their on-demand, binge-watch-oriented streaming services, the likes of Netflix, iTunes and Amazon are taking aim at the cinema itself. Increasingly emboldened by its success and financial muscle, the big-league digital platforms are looking to buy more high-end feature film product and exert more and more control over where and how it is seen. The age of the digital world premiere for major films is not far off.At the recently concluded Cannes film festival, for example, much of the talk in the film market revolved around Netflix’s plans for their burgeoning film slate, and how it will affect the larger arena of film distribution. At an industry panel at Cannes, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos suggested that the current practice of delaying the release of films on home entertainment platforms until several weeks after they have appeared in cinemas (the so-called “theatrical windowâ€) will no longer be the norm, and that that “movies will be more profitable†if they were to debut online simultaneously with their conventional cinema release. Continue reading...
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by James Ball on (#AGH4)
Following the large-scale hack of US federal personnel databases, governments need to build up their defences to minimise the impact of future attacksIt is a story that is becoming all-too-familiar: the US government had to admit on Thursday that one of its key personnel databases, containing the records of up to 4 million staff, had been compromised in a large-scale hacking attack. Officials speaking off the record laid the blame at China’s door, though did not immediately provide any evidence for this claim.Related: OPM hack: China blamed for massive breach at US federal agency Continue reading...
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by Nicky Woolf on (#AGEX)
Drug marketplace operator ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ was found guilty last month on seven counts and given sentences that amount to life in prisonRoss Ulbricht, the man convicted of running the online drug emporium Silk Road, has appealed against his conviction and sentence, according to court documents filed on Thursday.Related: Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison Continue reading...
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by Henry Barnes on (#AGAP)
Cannes director Thierry Frémaux voices complaints at amount of social media in play during the festival, following his ban on red-carpet selfiesCannes film festival chief Thierry Frémaux has attacked social media for making this year’s event “a Twitter festivalâ€.
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by Luke Westaway on (#AGAR)
Gaming giants scrutinised in the past for using hazardous materials in consoles could soon see their online enterprises put under the microscopeThe video game industry, while dedicated to delivering hours of thumb-strengthening entertainment, hasn’t always shown a similar verve when it comes to giving Mother Earth an extra life. Greenpeace has slammed console makers Nintendo and Microsoft in the past for their attitudes towards hazardous materials and e-waste, with Nintendo again hitting bottom of the list in the group’s last ranking of environmentally responsible companies.
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by Nick Gillett on (#AG4B)
3DS; Nintendo; £8.99Pullblox was a deceptively simple puzzle game for Nintendo’s handheld 3DS, its plump little hero walking up to irregularly shaped blocks and either pulling them forwards or pushing them backwards in order to form stairs towards a flag perched at the top of each puzzle. Fullblox sticks with this formula, but adds the ability to stretch blocks sideways, along with enemies who can harm you but can also be hopped on and used as moving step ladders to reach otherwise inaccessible blocks. In typical Nintendo style, it’s polished to perfection, wringing astounding ingenuity from a simple premise and dressing it all up in charming, childlike trappings. Its introductory portion is free, and packs of new levels range from £2.69 to £4.49, with the whole game available for a very reasonable £8.99. Along with levels made by Nintendo, which include one nostalgic tranche based on characters and settings from its ancient back catalogue, you can also use the Fullblox Studio to build your own puzzles and play other people’s, a feature that’s unlocked as soon as you’ve spent any money. Cheerful, fun and incredibly taxing, Fullblox is a solidly constructed and subtle set of challenges.ALSO OUT THIS WEEK Continue reading...
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by Keith Stuart on (#AG3G)
The Strong museum in New York has opened a World Video Game Hall of Fame – here are the historic titles that won’t be included any time soon
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by Hannah Jane Parkinson on (#AG28)
The lip-syncing app has been downloaded more than 50 million times, but what is it? And why is it so popular with everyone from kids to celebrities?Miming into a hairbrush, reeling off favourite quotes from films, and covering internet catchphrases – all a lot easier since the arrival of lip-syncing app, Dubsmash.The mobile app allows users to take videos either of themselves or others miming to pre-recorded audio clips. Film, music and internet snippets are popular, but users are also able to upload more personal clips. Continue reading...
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by Alex Hern on (#AFXR)
When communication goes through encrypted channels, rather than in public, the FBI has a hard time intercepting itThe FBI has again waded into the debate around encryption, with the bureau’s assistant director of counterterrorism telling the US congress that tech companies should “prevent encryption above all elseâ€.Michael Steinbach, speaking at a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, explained how the the FBI uses technology to track and intercept supporters of Isis in the Middle East and elsewhere. Continue reading...
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by Samuel Gibbs on (#AFTV)
Social network’s plan to attract next billion people sees launch of new app for developing nations that consumes a fraction of dataFacebook’s new app for Android has all the features of its full app, but is faster, smaller and lighter on data.
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by Keith Stuart on (#AFS0)
Despite a wealth of randomised missions, side-quests and collection tasks, sandbox environments can feel weird when the authors withdraw“This is the way the world ends
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by Alex Hern on (#AFR0)
EFC reports bitcoin and images and videos of child abuse used as currency after conventional payment systems decline in popularityA pan-European drive to use the financial system to fight online child abuse has succeeded in reducing sales of child abuse material using conventional payment systems – but research suggests that abusers have been driven underground, turning to anonymiser technologies to evade law enforcement, and bitcoin to pay for material.Experts from the European Financial Coalition Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation Online (EFC) report that images and videos of child abuse have become a currency in their own right, with abusers expected to provide new material in exchange for access. Continue reading...
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by Stuart Dredge on (#AFGY)
MCN regularly sees its videos uploaded without permission to social network: ‘I’m shocked that a rights holder with deep pockets has not sued’Facebook’s native video features have the potential to “eclipse†YouTube according to the boss of multi-channel network Fullscreen – but only if the social network tackles the issue of videos being uploaded without the permission of their creators.Fullscreen is one of the MCNs that has built a big audience on YouTube, with its network of 70,000 channels accumulating more than 635 million subscribers. Continue reading...
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by Matthew Weaver on (#AFJS)
NSPCC says video which has gone viral depicts child abuse, but Facebook says allowing it to be shared could lead to the child being rescuedFacebook has defended its decision to allow its users to share disturbing video of a screaming baby being roughly dunked in a bucket of water, despite calls from campaigners for government action to prevent the dissemination of such images.Children’s welfare charity the NSPCC said the video, which has gone viral on Facebook, depicted child abuse. Continue reading...
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by Dominic Rushe and agencies on (#AERG)
Denials from Beijing after computer systems are targeted at Office of Personnel Management, which holds details on entire staff of US governmentThe Obama administration is scrambling to assess the impact of a massive data breach involving the agency that handles security clearances and US government employee records, with suspicion quickly falling on China, which has been accused of carrying out cyber-espionage against the US in the past.
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by Keith Stuart on (#AFBD)
The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Friday, comments are actually switched on, so let’s chat! Continue reading...
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by Associated Press on (#AF36)
Pac-Man, Tetris and World of Warcraft also make grade in US museum’s homage to industry rivalling Hollywood in entertainment pecking orderThe first inductees into a new video game hall of fame include Pong, the game that introduced millions to electronic play, Doom, which triggered a debate over the role of games and violence in society, and Super Mario Bros., whose mustachioed hero has migrated to everything from fruit snacks to sneakers.The first six games to enter the World Video Game Hall of Fame cross decades and platforms, but all have impacted the video game industry, popular culture and society in general, according to the new hall at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, where the games were enshrined on Thursday. Continue reading...
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by Shalailah Medhora on (#AEWN)
Journalist who first reported on Edward Snowden revelations for the Guardian says Australia is ‘probably the country that has gotten away with things the most’ Continue reading...
by Sarah Shemkus on (#AEM2)
Mobile banking has provided financial inclusion for developing countries. A new wave of startups is now taking the tech beyond mobile wallets Continue reading...
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by Spencer Ackerman in New York on (#AED3)
Authorized by a 2008 revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702, these searches reveal insufficiency of USA Freedom Act Continue reading...
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by Stuart Dredge on (#AE6Q)
Music-tech startups are coming together to help fans go to more gigs, and musicians to sell more tickets directly to themTwo of the technology startups trying to shake up the live music and ticketing market – Songkick and CrowdSurge – are merging.The new company will keep the Songkick brand, with the merger accompanied by a $16m funding round from venture capital firms Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Access Ventures – the latter also owns major label Warner Music Group, and is a major investor in streaming music service Deezer.Related: Songkick hits 10 million users and generates $100m in ticket revenue Continue reading...
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by Aisha Gani on (#ADYF)
Indian PM appears alongside gangsters, murderers, dictators and Justin Bieber in image searches for phrase Continue reading...
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by Alex Hern on (#ADXS)
Archiving statements made, then deleted, by elected officials goes against social network’s rules, it says, as UK spin-off’s fate hangs in the balanceThe archiving service Politwoops, which tracks and retains tweets deleted by politicians, has been blocked from accessing Twitter after the social network accused it of “breaching its terms of serviceâ€.Funded by the Washington DC-based nonprofit Sunlight Foundation which campaigns for transparency in government, Politwoops has been collecting deleted tweets since 2012, creating an invaluable archive of all the things elected officials wish they could make disappear down the memory-hole. Continue reading...
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by Jack Schofield on (#ADXT)
Last week’s column on Windows 10 resulted in more than 60 further questions from readers. Here’s another two handfuls from those who might want the new operating system – and Dolores, who doesn’t
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by Stuart Dredge on (#ADSW)
Partnership with licensing agency Merlin also covers the company’s plans for a paid music subscription service later in 2015SoundCloud has struck a deal with licensing agency Merlin that it says will help independent labels start making money from plays of their songs on the streaming service.It’s a significant partnership for SoundCloud, since Merlin negotiates streaming deals on behalf of more than 20,000 labels and distributors, including well-known labels such as Beggars Group, Domino, Ninja Tune and Warp Records.Related: 10 things we learned from a day of indie labels talking digital musicRelated: British songwriters body BASCA takes aim at Google and SoundCloud Continue reading...
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by Tara Evans on (#ADN9)
Mobile phone company introduces mid-contract rises despite undertaking made last year Continue reading...
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by Samuel Gibbs on (#ADHX)
‘China’s Apple’ rise rapidly to account for a quarter of market, but effect of Apple Watch launch remains to be seen
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by Samuel Gibbs on (#ADD2)
Pebble’s latest smartwatch is more capable and useful when connected to Android over an iPhone, but the competition is stifferThe Pebble Time is a smartwatch focused on doing notifications on the wrist and telling the time, but when paired with an Android smartphone it’s a lot more capable than with an iPhone.
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by Richard Cobbett on (#ADB8)
The controversial murder spree shooter is a monochrome menace to the legacy of glorious twin-stick shooters like RobotronHatred is a game that longs to be hated, but it’s difficult to work up the enthusiasm for a half-hearted eye-roll.It’s been controversial but, honestly, most of the controversy has been about the feuding around the game rather than the game itself. Now that it’s here, it’s officially about as dangerous as the interactive movie Night Trap, which caused a similar fuss over nothing in the 1990s. We’re at a point in gaming history where we’ve seen everything from GTA to Carmageddon to Hooligans: Storm Over Europe to JFK Reloaded to three Postal games to Super Columbine Massacre RPG … so a potty-mouthed guy in a trenchcoat deciding to play Human Robotron isn’t so much shocking as endearingly quaint. No matter how hard it tries, how stabby it gets, playing it begs only one question: is this all you’ve got, you sulky bastard? Continue reading...
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by Keith Stuart on (#AD4A)
The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Thursday everyone! Continue reading...
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by Cory Doctorow on (#AD22)
The UK government appears to have swallowed a fly – and it’s not the bad guys who’ll die, but our libertyShe swallowed the dog to catch the cat/She swallowed the cat to catch the bird/She swallowed the bird to catch the spider/She swallowed the spider to catch the fly/I don’t know why she swallowed the fly/Perhaps she’ll dieIt’s happened: David Cameron is prime minister, and he’s following through on his promise to ban effective cryptography. Continue reading...
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by Joshua Robertson on (#ACV3)
The Brisbane-based company paid a ransom to the hackers but contacted police after it was attacked again and an executive’s child targeted onlineHackers extorted an international company based in Brisbane for a ransom paid out in bitcoin but then escalated their demands by threatening online attacks on a senior employee’s child, Queensland police have said.The company, which police refused to identify, paid the hackers an initial ransom worth thousands of dollars after its computer system was hacked and sensitive data stolen earlier this year. Continue reading...
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by Nadia Khomami in New York on (#ABX1)
Facebook’s chief operating officer writes an emotional post about the ‘void’ of the month since her husband, David Goldberg, died in an accidentSheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer at Facebook, has written an emotional post on the social networking site about mourning for her husband, David Goldberg, who died in an accident last month.“Today is the end of sheloshim for my beloved husband—the first thirty days,†Sandberg wrote. “Judaism calls for a period of intense mourning known as shiva that lasts seven days after a loved one is buried. After shiva, most normal activities can be resumed, but it is the end of sheloshim that marks the completion of religious mourning for a spouse.
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by Stuart Dredge on (#ABS2)
With 1m listeners and $2m funding, Scott Keeney wants ‘to make radio good, and take it back to its roots’ – competing with Spotify and AppleInternet radio service Dash Radio has signed up more than 1 million users since its beta launch in 2014 as a way for people to listen to streaming radio stations.Now it’s emerging from that beta with new iOS and Android apps, and $2m of seed funding from investors including former Facebook executives, music and radio industry veterans, and US sports stars. Continue reading...
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by Mark Harris on (#ABP2)
Exclusive: Federal agency is developing technology to track commercial and civilian drones via cell coverage, with first tests of air traffic control system set for this summerVerizon, the US’s largest wireless telecom company, is developing technology with Nasa to direct and monitor America’s growing fleet of civilian and commercial drones from its network of phone towers.
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by Chitra Ramaswamy on (#ABPR)
US bank JP Morgan is ditching voicemail, and not before time: it takes too long, it’s frustrating and it’s boringThe cord has been cut and the line has gone dead. The American bank JP Morgan has announced the company is getting rid of voicemail for some employees in an effort to cut costs and save time. Each line costs JP Morgan $10 per month to maintain, which admittedly is not much on the scale of its profits but, in a world dominated by email, text and instant messaging, voicemail is now as pointless as a pigeon with a pager. So don’t bother leaving a message after the beep. Here are six reasons why we wouldn’t care if voicemail hung up on us for good:1. No one checks their mail Continue reading...
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by Henry Barnes on (#ABGN)
Oscar-nominated team behind The Square to probe story of cyberattack on studio emails that sparked diplomatic rows and distressed starsThe emails leaked from Sony Pictures in 2014 deteriorated US-North Korean diplomatic relations, slurred a president and embarrassed an Affleck. No wonder the story behind the Sony hack is getting a film treatment.Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, the married film-makers behind the Oscar-nominated Egyptian revolution film The Square, are working on a feature-length documentary about cybercrime, with a focus on last December’s security breach at Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Continue reading...
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