Technology | The Guardian

Glitch causes iOS to choke when certain non-Latin script is sent in a text message, causing the device to crashA bug in Apple’s iOS means that anyone can crash an iPhone by simply sending it a certain string of characters in a message.

Facebook buys Surreal Vision, founded by three Imperial College students, to bolster Oculus’s virtual reality developmentA virtual reality company founded by three PhD students at Imperial College London has been bought by Facebook to combine with Oculus.Surreal Vision specialises in real-time 3D scene reconstruction to create accurate representations of the real world and allow users to interact with real-world objects from within VR.

Evan Spiegel to take $15bn video-messaging company public, rather than sell to a social-network rivalSnapchat’s chief executive has confirmed that he plans to take the company public rather than sell it to a larger firm.“We need to IPO,” Evan Spiegel, 24, told the Code conference in California. “We have a plan to do that.” Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matter Continue reading...

Video featuring vlogger Ruth Crilly of A Model Recommends did not indicate clearly it was marketing, says watchdog Continue reading...

Technological advances have made removing salt from seawater and waste water less energy-intensive, but will they simply encourage us to use more?The average Briton uses 150 litres of water a day; the average American gets through 570 litres of the stuff. The world is getting thirstier and the global demand for fresh water is rising by 640bn litres a year.Population growth is one factor, not only the need for drinking water and sanitation but also the need to produce more food. Agriculture accounts for 70% of water use.Related: Making rain: can technology drought-proof the Caribbean?Related: Is solar-powered desalination answer to water independence for California? Continue reading...

Respected news site focused on the business side of Silicon Valley joins company behind Vox.com, Eater, and the Verge Continue reading...

Industry watchers, who try in vain to decipher the secretive tech giant’s internal politics, are reading a lot into news of Sir Jonathan’s switch to chief design officerThe ever-growing group of people who scrutinise Apple’s internal politics are poring over the announcement that Sir Jonathan Ive has been promoted to chief design officer. For tech kremlinologists, it raises questions about the 48-year-old Briton. Is he on the way out as well as up? Is it his own choice? Or does it mean that he’s going to devote more time to a huge future project such as the rumoured Apple car?Related: Forget the internet of things – we need an internet of people Continue reading...

Cabbies stage demonstration outside TfL headquarters in ongoing dispute over activities of unlicensed firms and new app-based taxi-booking companies Continue reading...

Milan court rules that allowing users of company’s smartphone app to order a ride from an Uber driver creates ‘unfair competition’

Influential technology site that closed in March after nine years has been bought by startup Knowingly Corp Continue reading...

Poor ThomMeet Thom Phipps.just drank a nice oranginaimagine drinking a pint of mayonnaisefound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there's a picture of him on the wallfound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there’s a picture of him on the wallFound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there's a picture of him on the wallfound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there's a picture of him on the wallfound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there's a picture of him on the wallfound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there’s a picture of him on the wallfound out last night our cat goes to the kebab shop down the road every day & they give him lamb mince. there's a picture of him on the walleverybody except me knows the new musici dont even listen to the radio so i have no ideas what the popular bangers of the day arecan somebody make me a spotify playlist of the ten songs i should be familliar with@thwphipps Hey Thom, we've got what you need: http://t.co/8DVjRCLVLW Continue reading...

Two months after debuting on Apple’s operating system, Twitter’s live-streaming app has come to Google – with new featuresTwitter’s live-streaming app, Periscope, is launching on Android two months after it went live on iOS devices.Android users get Periscope on Tuesday and Twitter is rewarding them for their patience with a host of new features that are unique to the operating system.Related: What do Periscope and Meerkat mean for broadcasting copyright? Continue reading...

Thousands of computers still running Windows XP at risk after Government Digital Service opted not to renew support in AprilThe Government Digital Service will not extend its £5.5m deal with Microsoft to extend support for Windows XP, leaving government computers that still run on the obsolete operating system at risk from hackers.

Social network and magazine app have been in talks since the beginning of the year, according to reportsTwitter is discussing the possibility of acquiring the social media aggregation app Flipboard at a valuation of more than $1bn, according to reports.Twitter’s chief financial officer Anthony Noto has been leading the talks since the beginning of the year, though they are currently stalled, reports Kara Swisher at the technology website Recode.Related: Flipboard moves to the web with plans to host some news publishers' content Continue reading...

British designer will delegate day-to-day management, leading to speculation that he wants to return to live in the UKApple has promoted Sir Jonathan Ive, the British designer responsible for most of the company’s biggest hits in recent years, to the position of chief design officer at the company.Jony Ive, whose previous title was vice president of design, will continue to be responsible for all of Apple’s design work, “focusing entirely on current design projects, new ideas and future initiatives”, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook. But Ive’s day-to-day managerial responsibilities will be delegated to the new vice presidents of industrial design and user interface design, Richard Howarth and Alan Dye. Continue reading...

YouTube-style portal adds newspaper to list of partners that includes Channel 4 News, ITN, and the Telegraph Continue reading...

Scheme to verify visitors’ identity with organisations such as banks and mobile providers has support but critics say there are privacy concerns Continue reading...

Business secretary urges phone provider to “sort it out” after people in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and parts of Northern Ireland go without service Continue reading...

Theoretical attack becomes real as criminals begin using jammers to block remote locking car keys Continue reading...

Jackie Trad, deputy premier and transport minister, says she will continue to meet with the ride-sharing service but insists passenger safety is her priority Continue reading...

Technology activists are often painted as blind to the shortcomings of the digital world. But it’s these groups who hold the key to progressive change in the fight for a fairer internet Continue reading...

Government must not repeat mistakes of previous administrations, but instead must have ‘an open and transparent assessment and critique of UK surveillance powers,’ academics say Continue reading...

The creator of PGP has moved his mobile-encryption firm Silent Circle to Switzerland to be free of US mass surveillance. Here he explains why Continue reading...

The video game Eve Online is one of Iceland's biggest exports and has become the world's largest living work of science fiction. While rival games have come and gone, it has survived – thanks to a unique experiment in democracy Continue reading...

When Indian mobile operators tried to charge extra for messaging apps like WhatsApp, a grassroots campaign for a free internet was mobilisedAt the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Jan Koum, chief executive of WhatsApp, made an announcement that would cause much unease 4,000 miles away in New Delhi. “We want to make sure people always have the ability to stay in touch with their friends and loved ones really affordably,” he said. “We’re going to introduce voice on WhatsApp in the second quarter of this year.”India’s telecom operators were less than enthusiastic about this announcement.. With more than 70m users in India, the instant messaging platform has emerged as one of the most popular alternatives to conventional text messaging - enough to make telecom operators jittery.Related: Can the internet be saved without harming democracy? Continue reading...

Sean O’Brien, who was mocked by cyberbullies after video of him dancing was posted online, flown to Los Angeles to party with celebritiesA man “fat-shamed” on social media after a video of him dancing was posted online has got his own back by partying with celebrities in Los Angeles.Sean O’Brien was ridiculed by trolls after the video was posted on 4Chan this year. The 46-year-old financier from Liverpool attracted global support and was nicknamed the “Dancing Man” by a social media campaign – #FindDancingMan – that tracked him down and revealed his identity.YAY TWITTER!!! @Dancingmanfound #FindDancingMan ❤️❤️❤️ We are going to dance!!! pic.twitter.com/G7FxuiSsIhPartying with @DancingManFound and @WhatsinaDame... #DANCEFREE pic.twitter.com/oNcPvQC6hIOn the field w @Dancingmanfound for his first pitch! #dancefree #iamdancingman @CassandraRules @DanceFreeMvmt pic.twitter.com/NVEmMd3KEKthank you @Dancingmanfound @katydolle @HOPELEIGHMUSIC @CassandraRules and everyone else for this!!! #DANCEFREE <3 pic.twitter.com/jTWClxL7nxAnd it begins!! @Dancinmanfound @HOPELEIGHMUSIC #DANCEFREE #iamdancingman pic.twitter.com/Bx4lRWcm3r#IAMDANCINGMAN @MonicaLewinsky and @Dancingmanfound wey hey Sean and Monica - tip top!! The PaRtay is going!! pic.twitter.com/B2vb0CHeLU Continue reading...

‘Highlights’ will hit users’ inboxes to show them what they’ve missed on the photo-sharing serviceDo you like receiving email? Do you have an Instagram account? Then we have good news for you. The photo-sharing network is going to start taking its lead from parent company Facebook and sending regular email updates to users collating the best posts from people they follow.If you don’t like receiving email, and have an Instagram account, then we have bad news. The same thing’s going to happen to you as well. Continue reading...

From cars to umbrellas, everyday objects are becoming increasingly connected. But the question we need to ask is – should they be?The internet of things is a vision of ubiquitous connectivity, driven by one basic idea: screens are not the only gateway to the ultimate network of networks.

Missing People will be tweeting details of a different child every 30 minutes on Monday with the support of stars including Stephen Fry and Simon Cowell Continue reading...

(Wii U, Nintendo, cert: 3, out now) Continue reading...

(3DS, Nintendo, cert: 12, out now)Boasting an exaggerated comic-strip presentation, steam-powered weapons, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Victoria and a host of literary characters, it’s clear that the diminutive size of the 3DS was no bar to the imagination behind Code Name: STEAM. But what appears to be a fantastical and flippant adventure also conceals a well-engineered, finely balanced, turn-based strategy game.Here, developer Intelligent Systems revisits the detailed battles of its Advance Wars series with a new first-person perspective, real-time elements and a game-changing overwatch feature – in which saving enough “Steam” action points offers the opportunity to counter-attack enemies during their turn. Continue reading...

(PS4, Idea Factory International, cert: 12, out now)Idol singers – Japan’s hordes of manufactured female performers – aren’t a concept really seen in the west, making this colourful Japanese role-playing game centred on them a curious release. But move past the culture shock, and there is a solid entry into the genre here, offering a detailed turn-based combat system and surprisingly fun characters.In the world of Omega Quintet, a phenomenon dubbed “Blare” threatens humanity’s survival. Only young women capable of channelling music into power can fight back. As Takt, childhood friend of the newest of these “verse maidens”, you serve as manager to the team, equal parts guiding their careers as singers and ensuring they’re ready for battle. Continue reading...

Former Blue Peter presenter says she quit social media because she was too thin-skinned, as official figures show convictions for ‘trolling’ have soared Continue reading...

Oxfordshire engineer Richard Brown and his team of friends, family and enthusiasts, to take on corporate-sponsored big names at event in Utah Continue reading...

BMW’s 4-Series already has plenty of admirers, but this latest roofless version will convert the undecided few Continue reading...

Speculation that account credentials of of customers using the taxi app were sold on ‘dark web’The FBI in the US is looking into how British users of the taxi-booking app Uber have been charged for journeys they did not either book or make.The minicab service, which charges users a fare depending on demand and distance travelled, says it has found no evidence of a security breach, although a number of UK users say they have had money withdrawn from their accounts for phantom trips. Continue reading...

Penny Wrinch handed her debit card details to her ‘technically savvy’ son Nick, but an error left her with financial difficulties Continue reading...

‘It occupies this curious space between mischief and seriousness, as though it were designed for a trainee mobster’ Continue reading...

From the start of this month the online retailer has started booking its sales through the UK, meaning resulting profits will be taxed by HMRC Continue reading...

Next time you gossip or brag about cheating on your partner, check under the table. Group’s stunt highlights extent of the real NSA as the debate continues Continue reading...

Managing director and finance director resign from board ahead of clampdown on tax structures of big tech companies Continue reading...