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New CEO hints at further move into sports and says Deezer can survive against well-funded competition from Apple and SpotifyStreaming music service Deezer is beefing up its spoken-word content, adding more than 20,000 podcasts and radio shows to its catalogue.The shows will be streamable on-demand alongside the 35m songs available through Deezer, initially from today in the UK, France and Sweden with other countries to follow. Partners in the expansion include the Financial Times, Slate, Monocle 24 and Sveriges Radio.Related: Spotify financial results show struggle to make streaming music profitable Continue reading...

Children’s advocates point to video of duo performing Scorsese dialogue as they argue for a Federal Trade Commission crackdown on internet content for kids

Shot of orc chieftain Orgrim Doomhammer fuses features of English actor Robert Kazinsky with CGI work from Hulk creators Industrial Light and Magic Continue reading...

Cryptologists join call for US president to resist pressure from FBI and surveillance agencies to build back doors in operating systemsApple, Google, other tech giants and a number of noted cryptologists have signed a letter to the Obama administration urging the US government to preserve strong encryption against pressure from law enforcement and surveillance agencies.The letter argues that “strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” and that the government should “fully support and not undermine efforts to create encryption standards [nor] in any way subvert, undermine, weaken or make vulnerable” commercial software.Related: Encryption won't work if it has a back door only the 'good guys' have keys to Continue reading...

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

Rob Tong created SleepHero after too many caffeine-fuelled nights trying to comfort his sleepless son. But does it work? Continue reading...

Lighter than an iPad, waterproof and with an excellent keyboard accessory, the Xperia Z4 Tablet is Sony’s best yetSony’s Xperia Z4 Tablet is the Japanese firm’s best yet, with small bezels, a bright screen and a waterproof body – but it’s when you add a full keyboard that things start to get interesting.

The world’s computers are talking to each other. As the web spreads, calling someone a geek may yet become a compliment Continue reading...

Appeals court rules in favour of tech giants after actor wanted Innocence of Muslims removed from YouTube after receiving death threats Continue reading...

Activist investor says Apple shares should be trading at nearly double their current price, making the iPhone maker worth about $1.5tn Continue reading...

If you bought insurance on your TV in 1998, the company remembers – and as it faces creditors, attorneys are looking into how much data it can legally sell Continue reading...

President collects 5,000 Twitter followers per minute as he launches @POTUS feed, where tweets will come ‘exclusively from him’, White House says Continue reading...

Paul Farley, game designer: ‘In one version, you had to go around burning churches. You’d probably get arrested for that now’ Continue reading...

The veteran director calls for progressive audiences to fight the studio system and back his new movie, an exploration of dreams starring Willem Dafoe Continue reading...

Based on Finland’s Sailfish operating system, the plan is the latest way Russia is fighting for independence from US technologyThe cold war may have ended in the 90s but Russia is still fighting to free itself from American influence over its technology sector, with the country’s minister for communications announcing plans to create a new mobile operating system to challenge iOS and Android across all the Brics nations.Meanwhile, another Russian company is designing its own central processing units to take on Intel and AMD. Continue reading...

It seems Alex Hern isn’t the only one accidentally stealing people’s identities online. Here are your tales of mistaken identity via emailThere's some guy living in the Pacific NW who has apparently spent the last three years thinking his email address is my email address.I get *so* much stuff for this guy, I can more or less plot a vague outline of his month-to-month life at this point. He works as some sort of freelance consultant, and I wonder how it's going because he's presumably missed a number of important meetings, updates and debriefings in the last 24 months, owing to the fact that I get updates about them rather than him. He's also been having a lot of renovations on his house in the last year, and much as I'd like to confirm Tuesday would be a good time for the roofer to drop by for a quote, I can't, because I live 4500 miles away and don't know if he's free on Tuesday - the same reason I can't confirm that his air conditioning unit was delivered last week, or that it's ok for his party of four booking at a local restaurant on Friday to be pushed back an hour. He appears to be having difficulty selling his former property; I'm not that surprised.@alexhern My best friend has a common name as well as me, we're discussing your article pic.twitter.com/MtFfptdh8cThe most disturbing one was from a (well known) UK solicitor who was handling the divorce of his client and there was a lot of money involved. I replied immediately and pointed out their mistake. A few weeks later the same, again I replied.

I wasn’t expecting a young, vibrant creative world to have a uniform. But there is an insidious pressure to fit in, and it involves plaid and denimMost professions have a uniform of some kind, whether it’s the suit and tie of corporate culture, or the brand-asserting mono-wear of the world’s major retail outlets. Sometimes, however, dress codes can be much more insidious. In the world of video games, a young creative industry that seeks to assert its rebelliousness and vibrancy, we aren’t required to conform through necessity or tradition. But one thing I discovered very quickly when I started working here is that there is a uniform: it’s just that this one is the result, not of workplace rules, but of a lack of diversity. And it can be just as excluding.It was the night of my very first launch party. I’d just finished my internship at a video games TV channel and I was going through the familiar routine of choosing an outfit. In other words I was trying on everything in my own wardrobe as well as the wardrobes of all my flatmates. I eventually decided on something I’d been saving for a special occasion: a patterned mid-length dress with black panels down the side. I sent a photo of it to the colleague who’d invited me, but her replied surprised me: “It’s lovely, but a bit too dressy for tonight.” I wore it anyway.Just another day at the 2K offices... pic.twitter.com/PZs1VRslI8 Continue reading...

‘China’s Apple’ launches low-cost headphones, fitness bands and portable battery packs to test the waters for a full smartphone launchChinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi will launch its first stores in North America and Europe on Tuesday, selling low-cost accessories as a prelude to launching smartphones in the West.

Camera51, Test Chamber, Great Little Places, Vimo Fitness, Knights of Pen & Paper 2, Marvel Future Fight and more Continue reading...

Meerkat, Seabeard, Microsoft Hyperlapse, Knights of Pen & Paper 2, Wear Personal Fitness Trainer, Lego Star Wars and more Continue reading...

From Maru to Grumpy Cat, Surprise Kitten to Nyan Cat, felines have been some of the biggest stars on so far. But which are most popular?

3DS, Nintendo, cert: EFirst released in Japan in 2012, Puzzle & Dragons has proved to be a phenomenal success and is presented here as a double pack of two versions on the 3DS. The game combines puzzle gameplay (similar to Bejeweled) with an RPG element (akin to Pokémon). Players must build a team of monsters, level them up, develop their abilities and use them in battles. These battles take the form of match-three puzzles, and monsters will only unleash their attacks if gamers can combine the correctly coloured orbs.It’s a compelling template that has inspired multiple rivals and, while the Mario edition boasts familiar characters and locations, it lacks the variety and depth of Puzzle & Dragons Z. However, Z in turn gameplay does become bogged down in a rather tedious story in places but when the game gets going, it’s an addictive experience. With hundreds of levels to discover, this is a really generous package for fans of match-three puzzlers. Out on Friday. Continue reading...

(iPhone, iPad, Redbreast Studio, cert: 9) Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterOh, it’s Monday. How did that happen? Continue reading...

(PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, WiiU, Slightly Mad Studios, cert:3)On a very base level, Project CARS is going to be a divisive game: you’re either going to love it or hate it. Developed with a strong emphasis on realistic graphics and accurate physics, Project CARS is a stunning and complex racer.It’s almost tempting to call it a “simulation” instead of a “game” as the whole thing feels more like a training programme for real racing drivers. There are hours to be spent tweaking tyre pressures and brake sensitivity to run practice laps and shave a couple of seconds off the best time. There’s a wealth of player choice with multiple career modes, dozens of cars and customisable weekend races. Continue reading...

In commencement speech at George Washington University, CEO says Jobs wanted his company’s products to change the worldSteve Jobs’ vision of Apple products helping to change the world has come true, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said on Sunday, thanks to iPhone cameras enabling people to capture instances of injustice on film.Cook was delivering the commencement speech at George Washington University, in Washington DC. Continue reading...

Online abuse doesn’t have to be cruel. New app Goat Attack allows you to anonymously harass people with a side-helping of baaaad punsAll the most exciting technological innovations start life in the US, don’t they? The space shuttle, the iPhone, the lightbulb. Now, a new invention can be added to this list – an app that enables you to send your friends pictures of goats, purporting to be from the goats themselves, along with faintly disappointing goat puns. It is inexplicably popular with a certain genre of tech blog, and thus it reaches us. This is probably how jazz began.While you have to live in the US to receive a Goat Attack, you don’t have to live there to send one. Accordingly, I went online and paid $0.79 to bombard my expat friend Jon with goat puns. It felt more gleeful than I had expected. This sense only grew when I learned that Jon, an intrepid journalist who, by and large, does not write about goat-based text apps, had been a little unnerved initially, thinking he was “being targeted by someone I’d pissed off with a story”. Continue reading...

Mary Lee’s tweets are penned by an anonymous journalist, but that’s OK with the researchers who track her: ‘They’re really clever’ Continue reading...

Ouya, an Android-based console company that raised $8m on Kickstarter, is now reportedly seeking a quick sale amid money troubles. Here are some lessons from high-flying crowdfunded failures Continue reading...

The little Ford is the nation’s favourite car – and it’s about to celebrate a major milestone. Time for a fiesta Continue reading...

Lawmakers vote to highlight the potential dangers of keeping devices close to the body as scientists raise raft of concerns, especially for children Continue reading...

When they’re not making music or appearing in Star Wars, Hot Chip’s Felix Martin and actor Peter Serafinowicz are big on consoles. Here’s what a lifetime squinting at a screen has taught them Continue reading...

‘Driving it, you look as though you have a pension and an Ocado account; you look like someone who sends their forms back on time, and who never lets their athlete’s foot get out of control’ Continue reading...

Legislative changes exempting law enforcement officers from ban on breaking into people’s digital devices were never debated by parliament, tribunal hears Continue reading...

In Cannes with new movie Irrational Man, veteran director reveals his unease about forthcoming online streaming series and says he’d reshoot all his previous films if he could Continue reading...

The investment values the ridesharing company at $2.5bn, which he says is a bargain compared with Uber’s $41bn Continue reading...

3DS; Nintendo; £26.99-£29.99 Continue reading...

Small electric two-seater pods will take to public roads – but must be fitted with a removable steering wheel and pedals, and limited to 25mphGoogle’s prototype self-driving car pods will take to public roads for the first time around its headquarters in Mountain View, California this summer.The pods, which resemble a Smart Car crossed with a Nissan Micra, will be fitted with a removable steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals, and will require a human “safety driver” at all times. Continue reading...

If the 20th anniversary of the Saturn’s fateful US launch has filled you with nostalgia, here’s how to act on itIt was this week 20 years ago that Sega launched its Saturn console in the US, bringing forward the date by several months to beat the original PlayStation to market. Starved of software support and with only a few retailers on board, the ploy failed, and Sony’s machine marched to victory.But the Saturn was a really interesting console, with dozens of great games that still hold up today. Occasionally, they turn up as digital downloads on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but the best way to experience them is on the original machine – as long as you have some space under your TV.Related: Sega Saturn: how one decision destroyed PlayStation's greatest rival Continue reading...

Lohan Presencer has criticised Spotify before, but he’s just as angry at Universal Music Group and its rivals for their approach to digital musicMinistry of Sound chief executive Lohan Presencer is no fan of music-streaming service Spotify, but in his latest public speech he reserved more criticism for the major labels that license it.“Ever since the 80s and the beginning of the consolidation of the record industry… the way that the people who run those companies are contracted and remunerated and rewarded is all short-term,” said Presencer, speaking in Brighton at a Fireside Sessions event alongside industry conference The Great Escape.Related: Warner Music reveals streaming income has overtaken downloadsRelated: Free streaming is 'killing music industry': Ministry of Sound boss Continue reading...

Belgian data protection agency demands Facebook stops its tracking of users without explicit consent, including through social pluginsThe Belgian privacy commission has told Facebook to stop tracking the internet activities of people who have not registered with the site or have logged out, after a “staggering” report showed alleged breaches of EU privacy law.

Messages such as ‘the media is always lying’ delivered to visitorsThe Washington Post’s mobile website was brought down on Thursday evening, with the Syrian Mobile Army claiming responsibility for the attack.#SEA hacks @Washingtonpost mobile site in order to deliver a message. #SEA pic.twitter.com/CDX5CKSXRk Continue reading...

Agency deployed mass tracking devices across US that could record up to 1,800 license plates a minute, according to internal documents obtained by the ACLU Continue reading...

Addictive King Digital game will come preinstalled on Windows 10, pushing its classic time-wasting predecessors to the curbOffice-worker productivity is likely to take a hit once Windows 10 lands, after Microsoft decided to include Candy Crush Saga alongside the preinstalled classics Minesweeper, Solitaire and Hearts.The freemium match-three game, which propelled British developer King Digital to record heights with users addicted enough to pay to keep playing, will be bundled with Windows 10. Continue reading...

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

Watch the prime minster do the spidey strut, a 102-year-old blow out her teeth and the return of National Lampoon’s Griswold family in Vacation Continue reading...