The web pioneer that missed chances to buy Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter faces questions about its purpose in a mobile world - and whether it is a takeover targetMarissa Mayer has just one year to turn Yahoo into a thriving, growing prospect - or else the venerable business will become an acquisition target.That’s the thinking of Nicholas Carlson, a journalist whose book Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! explores the company’s struggle under its charismatic new chief executive, appointed in 2012 to try to turn around a business that seemed to be sinking into despond. Continue reading...

Company plans to make content generated by users available to commerce, academia and even police involved in crowd controlYou are travelling by plane to see your newborn grandchild. As you board the aircraft, the cabin crew address you by name and congratulate you on the arrival of a bouncing baby boy. On your seat, you find a gift-wrapped blue rattle with a note from the airline.In Twitter data strategy chief Chris Moody’s vision of the future, companies surprising their customers like this could become an everyday occurrence – made possible because Twitter is listening. Continue reading...

Former Beatle gets scanned for an official 3D-printable figurine, and makes it available for free to fans from his website Continue reading...

Taxi app firm faces legal challenge to its UberPOP service in Paris, which connects drivers with riders in a budget version of app’s premium serviceFrench police have raided the Paris offices of the taxi app firm Uber as part of ongoing investigations into its UberPOP peer-to-peer ride-sharing service.The investigation, at the behest of Paris’ prosecutors office, comes after France’s interior ministry vowed to ban the app from 1 January 2015. Continue reading...

Israeli-based quiz and list publishing platform uses content from organisations including such as the Daily Telegraph and AOL

Windows 10 will come with a new browser, codenamed Spartan, built from the ground up – but Microsoft won’t be killing off IE, however much it would like toThe web browser that will ship with Microsoft’s new Windows 10 operating system might not be called Internet Explorer, but reports of IE’s demise have been somewhat exaggerated.

From stargazing and Gruffalo-spotting to filmmaking and papercrafting, these apps get children looking up from their screensThis morning, I spent a happy 20 minutes wandering around my back garden taking photos of grass, flowers and trees to decorate a virtual patchwork elephant. I am 37 years old, and not ashamed.The Elmer’s Photo Patchwork app isn’t really for me, though. It’s a children’s app released this month by developer Touch Press, based on the popular series of Elmer books. And it’s one of a growing number of apps trying to encourage kids’ real-world play, rather than cannibalise it.Related: The best iPad apps for kids of 2014Related: The best Android apps for kids of 2014 Continue reading...

Mobile firm’s western boss Shintaro Asako wants 100m daily active players for ‘smartphone-specific game that requires day-to-day social interaction’Japanese games firm DeNA believes Nintendo’s first smartphone and tablet games have the ability to be as big as mobile hit Candy Crush Saga.The company, which struck a licensing deal with Nintendo earlier in the week, is working on the first official mobile games based on the latter’s big console and handheld brands.Related: Nintendo: NES to smartphone, it's been about one thing – controlRelated: 10 Nintendo games that would be great on a smartphone or tablet Continue reading...

The star of the Divergent series has said ‘the amount of gender violence I experience is absolutely extraordinary’ Continue reading...

Tracks from the much-anticipated follow up to Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, notched up 9.6m streams on the album’s first full day of release Continue reading...

Social network makes its big move into mobile payments, although the ability to send money directly to contacts will be US-only for nowFacebook is adding a feature to its Facebook Messenger app that will enable people to send payments directly to their friends on the social network.The new feature will be launched in the coming months, initially for US users only. It will be available within the Android and iOS Messenger apps as well as through the messaging section of Facebook’s website.“We use secure systems that encrypt the connection between you and Facebook as well as your card information when you ask us to store it for you. We use layers of software and hardware protection that meet the highest industry standards.These payment systems are kept in a secured environment that is separate from other parts of the Facebook network and that receive additional monitoring and control. A team of anti-fraud specialists monitor for suspicious purchase activity to help keep accounts safe.”Related: Messaging apps' next threads: encryption, payments, media and ads Continue reading...

Tesla chief executive thinks switch from traditional to autonomous cars may take 20 years, and warns: ‘You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine’Tesla chief executive Elon Musk thinks that once self-driving cars become widely used, traditional human-driven vehicles may need to be banned.“It’s too dangerous. You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine,” said Musk during an appearance at Nvidia’s annual developers conference, where he discussed Tesla’s ambitionsfor autonomous-cars.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterWednesday again! Continue reading...

Abbott concedes access to journalists’ metadata to help uncover a confidential source needs court approval, but baulks at permitting them to argue against it Continue reading...

Brent Callinicos is the latest CFO to announce his retirement from a senior position in Silicon Valley, following executives at Apple, Google and AmazonA week after Google’s chief financial officer resigned to spend more time with his family, his counterpart at Uber has followed suit, announcing on Monday that his ride “is coming to and end”.Brent Callinicos’s stated reasons for leaving Uber are not that much different than Google’s Patrick Pichette, who announced that he was leaving his post to spend more time with his wife and to backpack around the world.Related: Google CFO to leave job for a 'midlife crisis full of bliss and beauty' on the road Continue reading...

The tweet advised followers to ‘pinch people who aren’t #UpForWhatever’ but was removed two hours later after a flurry of negative responses Continue reading...

ABC, CBS, 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney among broadcasters available for $30-$40 a month from autumn in challenge to cable companiesApple is preparing to launch an online TV service in a “seismic” move that is set to further shake up the already-rattled television landscape.The technology giant has long had ambitions to break into TV and recently announced an exclusive deal with HBO, home of Game of Thrones. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is aiming to offer US consumers a package of 25 channels for $30-$40 a month. The service should be available by autumn.Related: Map: How much are Americans paying for cable? Continue reading...

Maps, cards, masks and an approach to storytelling that will make children look up from their screens and start making up their own adventuresAre screens bad for children’s creativity? Minecraft is one obvious rebuttal to such a theory, but there are also a growing number of apps and websites aiming to spark children’s imaginations rather than merely treat them as passive consumers.Even so, as kids spend more time with digital forms of entertainment, many parents are looking for ways to complement that with physical, creative play. Story is the latest potential option.Related: 'Great big poo balls!' What it's like making a Kano computer with your kids Continue reading...

Kate Burns, who was Google’s first international hire outside Europe, will work on expansion Continue reading...

Nintendo has said no ports of classic games will be made, but which characters would make for the best smartphone and tablet games? Continue reading...

Tech company also confirms it has been reviewing apps before they are published to ‘catch policy offenders earlier in the process’Google is introducing a new age-rating system for Android apps and games on its Google Play store, while also revealing a new policy of reviewing apps before they are published on the store.The new age-rating system will see Android developers completing a questionnaire about their app or game’s content before it is published, rather than simply choosing a rating.Related: Android has 1bn active users and grand ambitions for cars, wearables and TVRelated: The best Android apps of 2014 Continue reading...

The creator of the Super Mario series is finally getting into the smartphone gaming sector. But how will it fit in with the company’s rigorous tradition? Continue reading...

Creator of Wii reveals it has new machine in production, but gamers shouldn’t expect more details for another yearNintendo has officially confirmed that it is working on a brand new dedicated games platform, under the development codename “NX”. The company has not stated whether this is a home console or handheld gaming device.The announcement was made during a hastily convened press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. The main purpose of the event was to explain Nintendo’s decision to enter the smartphone gaming market, via a partnership with smartphone games specialist DeNA. Continue reading...

Six months after Amazon bought out the video-game streaming site for a reported $970m, Emmett Shear says little has changed for fans Continue reading...

The Japanese million-selling hunting game series has never cracked the western market, but the latest instalment will take your breath away

IBM’s Jeopardy-winning computer, Watson, has a new calling – as a chefWhen IBM’s Watson computer won a special episode of US game show Jeopardy, many hailed the event as a threshold of a new era of computing: the end, as IBM’s Florian Pinel puts it, of “the era of programmable computers, where you had to write code to get a computer to do what you wanted. Now, we have cognitive computers, which can learn what you want”.But Watson’s Jeopardy victory was only ever intended as a proof of concept, designed to get the artificially intelligent computer system in the mind of the public. Continue reading...

Expect new smartphone and tablet games based on Nintendo’s famous characters, but no ports of Wii U or 3DS titles for now Continue reading...

Likely to be trotting the streets of Shoreditch before Christmas, the serious side to this Kickstarter-funded garment is helping lost dogs get foundYou wouldn’t take your dog to a disco if you’ve got any concern for their welfare, but how about bringing the disco to your dog?That’s the goal of the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Disco Dog, a “smartphone-controlled LED dog vest” created by design agency Party, which is seeking $15k of funding to develop the product. Continue reading...

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

Phablets such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 and Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus are increasingly popular. But which one should you buy?Smartphones are getting bigger, much bigger. Almost all flagship smartphones have screens larger than 5in, while the even bigger phablets are more popular than ever, with good reason.With screens measuring 5.5in and up, phablets have plenty of space to make the most of the screen in your pocket. From watching movies and browsing sites, to editing text and manipulating photos, almost everything is better on a big screen. Continue reading...

Selection of channels would be made available across devices such as iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, according to Wall Street JournalApple is in talks with programmers to offer a slimmed-down bundle of TV networks, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Greens' Adam Bandt has slammed the Labor party for caving in on the government's plans for retaining metadata. Bandt says the proposal to increase the reach of internet surveillance is a 'massive affront' to citizens' rights. Labor's Mark Dreyfus says Labor welcomes the prime minister's acceptance of the need for an amendment on the need for warrants when attempting to obtain the metadata of journalists Continue reading...

Artist Eamonn O’Neill designs animation to mark national day celebrating Ireland’s patron saint Continue reading...

Britain’s second-biggest force to undergo radical changes such as move to ‘digital policing’, owing to budget cuts and rise in domestic and online crime Continue reading...

The report, titled Americans’ privacy strategies post-Snowden, shows that US citizens are more aware of potential government spying into their lives Continue reading...

Live streaming apps’ founder, Ben Rubin, says he has no hard feelings towards the social network despite it blocking access to its social graphDespite being blocked by Twitter from accessing its social graph, the founder of live-streaming service Meerkat, Ben Rubin, says he has no hard feelings towards the social network, and plans to forge ahead with or without them, calling the lockdown “just a speed bump”.Meerkat integrates closely with Twitter, automatically announcing that a users’ stream is beginning by sending a tweet. It also streamlines account creation by letting new users sign in with the social network. But on Friday, the network blocked Meerkat’s access to its social graph, the data which shows who follows who on Twitter. Continue reading...

US firm acquires fellow fan-funding startup Subbable and reveals it has nearly 250,000 ‘patrons’ supporting its creators Continue reading...

Company rolls out new ‘on-demand’ phone-integrated password service at SXSW festival, and nods to future encryption servicePasswords: easily forgotten, but also easily guessed. It’s a bitter irony that minutes can be spent racking brains trying to remember whether a required security question answer is a pet’s name, first school or place of birth – meanwhile a cyber-criminal is merrily typing in a person’s favourite colour and relieving bank accounts of hard-earned wages.Well, now Yahoo might have made the process easier – at least when it comes to accessing email.1) Sign in to your Yahoo.com account.2) Click on your name at the top right corner to go to your account information page. Continue reading...

Film showing Apple co-founder as modern-day Citizen Kane causes unusual outburst from company’s upper ranks

Culture ministry says those posting selfies featuring partially-exposed breasts could face up to five years in jail Continue reading...

Out of the hundreds of brilliant, idiosyncratic games shown off at this year’s festival, here are the ones we couldn’t leave aloneThis year’s Rezzed festival presented a vast cornucopia of PC, Xbox and smartphone titles over a packed weekend at London’s Tobacco Dock venue. Hundreds of interesting, offbeat indie titles vied for attention, but here are the treasures that really held our gaze.Convoy (Convoy Games) Continue reading...

Hyperactivity disorders are now the second most diagnosed childhood conditions in the US behind asthma, with 20% of college students suffferingThe internet might make you feel hyperactive, but do you really have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?Michael Pietrus PsyD, coordinator of the ADHD assessment protocol at the University of Chicago, explains how the internet encourages behaviour that at least mimics ADHD, and can exacerbate the condition in people who have it already. Continue reading...

With more than 4.7m players, all-ages games creation community is focused on growth: ‘Our developers range from eight to 80...’“Some of our top developers are starting to get about a quarter of a million dollars a year. They’re treating it literally as a career, and starting to hire their friends…”David Baszucki is the chief executive of Roblox, the all-ages gaming community whose rise has been lower-profile than that of Minecraft, but just as interesting. Continue reading...

Patrick Walker, boss of multi-platform network Rightster, sees potential on Facebook, Vessel, Snapchat and other platforms – if creators are careful Continue reading...