Since buying it, the billionaire has wasted no time shaking up the struggling social media firm, cutting staff and introducing fees. But can he make the platform matter again – or will it become a hellscape of hateful content and misinformation?
Communications watchdog supports removal of fax services from rules governing telecoms provisionFor 20 years, the fax machine’s beeping, static-strewn screech was the sound of the future. But the pace of technology is pitiless: like carrier pigeons, portable cassette players and videocassette recorders, the fax machine is finally an official relic of the past.The death sentence was handed down on Tuesday in the form of Ofcom’s announcement that it was minded to back the government’s decision to remove the requirement for fax services under the Universal Service Order (USO) legislation. These are the rules that ensure phone services are available to people across the UK at an affordable price.Julia Roberts and Matthew Perry indulged in some heavy-duty flirting over fax prior to Roberts appearing on Friends in 1996. “There was a lot of flirting over faxing,” said Friends co-creator Kevin Bright. “She was giving him these questionnaires like, ‘Why should I go out with you?’ And everyone in the writers’ room helped him explain to her why.” The technology seems to have worked: the couple dated from 1996 to 1997.Dolly Parton still uses a fax machine as her primary mode of communication.In 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton sent out their wedding invites by fax. Courtiers told the press that faxing was the most efficient way of sending out the invites across the world.Camille Paglia and Julie Burchill engaged in what must be history’s most vitriolic fax war in 1993 when Paglia was asked to review Burchill’s book for the Modern Review. Burchill had previously given Paglia’s own book a bad review, so Paglia refused. This spiralled into the pair duelling via fax, with Burchill calling Paglia “pathetic” and Paglia firing back that Burchill was “a sheltered, pampered sultan of slick, snide wordplay, without direct experience of life of any kind”, who nobody had even heard of outside England. The faxes were later published in the Modern Review by the then editor, Toby Young, who, in doing so, also incurred Paglia’s wrath.Stephen Hawking sent a fax to the music and fashion magazine the Face in 1995 in response to them asking for the formula for time travel. Hawking replied, via his personal assistant: “Thank you for your recent fax. I do not have any equations for time travel. If I had, I would win the national lottery every week.”When David Bowie told Laurie Anderson he thought she could read minds, her response was: “You know, I’m pretty sure I can’t.” But Bowie was convinced and had the musician randomly fax him pictures she had drawn to see if they matched up with his own. Apparently they did. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#65ATZ)
Funky design, cylindrical case and decent sound without blocking your ear help these earbuds stand outThe British tech firm Nothing is back with some novel rivals to the AirPods: a set of fashion-forward Bluetooth earbuds with an open fit and see-through design. However, those hoping to be cut off from the world may be disappointed.They aren’t Nothing’s first earbuds. The £149 Ear 1 from last year landed with a buzz, introducing the firm’s semi-transparent styling and good sound with traditional silicone tips. Now the £99 Ear Stick offer a similarly interesting look in an open-fit design without silicone tips, which lets outside sound in for those who don’t want to be isolated. Continue reading...
The billionaire owner suggests the platform could have different video game-style modes, including a ‘player versus player’Elon Musk has indicated that Twitter could be split into different strands where users give their posts content ratings and stage online rows in a specially created space on the platform.The world’s richest man moved to assuage concerns about a rise in harmful content under his ownership on Friday by announcing the creation of a content moderation council. Continue reading...
The British photographer said his son could ride the ghost train – but didn’t expect to see him quite so spookedLooking back, Mark Chilvers says he thought the ghost train he put his then six-year-old son Louie on would be a “Scooby-Doo level of scary”. The pair were at a London funfair in the early summer of 2016 when they bumped into Louie’s school friend Zavian and his mum.“Zavian was pestering to go on the ghost train, and my son tagged along with the idea. We watched other young kids getting on the cars, and relented.” Continue reading...
A chronicle of months of corporate to-and-fro, distrust and unpredictabilityThe saga is over. Elon Musk has finally bought Twitter after months of to-and-fro marked by legal rows, U-turns and, inevitably, Twitter spats.There will be more drama to come, by virtue of the platform’s centrality to news and politics as well as the unpredictable personality of its new owner. But the months leading up to the deal have been compelling corporate entertainment for bystanders. Here is a timeline of what happened. Continue reading...
Some advise using the app’s filters to block haters while others rejoice at Trump’s possible second coming to the platformElon Musk appeared to have taken control of Twitter on Thursday, after months of legal wrangling over the billionaire’s $44bn bid to take over the social media site.People familiar with the matter said Musk completed the deal on Thursday afternoon, and terminated several top executives at the company, including the chief executive, Parag Agrawal. Continue reading...
With Elon Musk poised to take over the social media site, it’s time for a look back at some of its best momentsElon Musk has reportedly taken over Twitter, and some of its regular users worry that a new billionaire owner could spell the beginning of the end of the site as we know it.In preparation for the potential vibe shift, and a callout from journalist Ben Collins, Twitter users have been posting some of their favourite ever tweets and “kissing them goodbye”. Here is a selection: Continue reading...
by Hannah J Davies, Hannah Verdier and Hollie Richard on (#655R1)
In this week’s newsletter: from zipline stunts to illegal parties, British Scandal charts the highs and lows of the former prime minister’s career. Plus: the five spookiest podcasts fit for Halloween.
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#654GX)
New base model gets bigger screen, better speakers, faster chip and 10-hour battery, but jumps in priceApple’s base model iPad gets a much-needed modern redesign with a bigger screen and a bunch of new accessories – but also a nasty price increase.The 10th-generation iPad costs from £499 ($449/A$749). Apple is still selling the old ninth-generation iPad for £369, while the similarly sized iPad Air costs £669 after price increases due to weak currency rates. Continue reading...
YouTube growth slowed to a crawl due to tough competition from other video streaming apps amid broader economic downturnAlphabet revenue fell below analysts’ expectations in the third quarter, it announced on Tuesday, as it continues to battle an industry-wide tech slowdown.The company reported a third quarter revenue of $69bn, up 6% from last year but lower than analyst estimates of $70.9bn. Like many tech and social media firms, Alphabet is struggling to compete with TikTok amid a broader economic downturn. Continue reading...
Mark MacGann tells MEPs Uber had ‘almost unlimited finance’ to silence drivers with legal disputesThe whistleblower who revealed how Uber flouted the law and secretly lobbied governments around the world has called on European lawmakers to take on the “disproportionate” and “undemocratic” power held by tech companies.Speaking to a committee of MEPs in the European parliament, Mark MacGann, who was Uber’s top lobbyist in Europe, said the cab-hailing company’s practices were “borderline immoral” as he recalled the “almost unlimited finance” executives had to lobby and silence drivers with legal disputes. Continue reading...
The latest tech innovation promises to display a mini 3D image of yourself on virtual calls — a breakthrough for human connection or a new level of awkwardness?Name: Proto M.Age: Brand spanking new. Continue reading...
What a treat it is to be back in the company of gruff-yet-tender Kratos and his increasingly wayward boy in God of War Ragnarök, a sequel to the beautiful 2018 reboot
Authorities said no body was found, after cadaver dogs had made ‘slight’ notifications of possible human remainsCrews fully excavated a car that police said was buried in the backyard of a northern California mansion 30 years ago and found no human remains, authorities said on Monday.The convertible Mercedes Benz filled with bags of unused concrete was discovered last week by landscapers in the affluent town of Atherton in Silicon Valley. Cadaver dogs brought to the scene made “slight” notifications of possible human remains on three separate occasions, police said in a statement. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#651Z1)
Better sound and noise cancelling among meaningful upgrades in same design, but latest version is still unrepairableApple has given its top earbuds an upgrade, adding improved noise cancelling, new touch controls for volume and a case that makes sounds to the AirPods Pro. But the problem of repairability continues to dog them.The £249 ($249/A$399) second-generation Pros come in at the same price as their predecessors, sitting above the £179 AirPods 3 and £220 Beats Fit Pro, which Apple also makes.Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, SBC, AAC, H2 chip, UWBBattery life: six hours ANC playback (30 hours with case)Water resistance: IPX4 case and buds (splash resistant)Earbud dimensions: 30.9 x 21.8 x 24.0mmEarbud weight: 5.4g eachCharging case dimensions: 45.2 x 60.6 x 21.7mmCharging case weight: 37.9gCase charging: Lightning, Qi wireless (MagSafe), Apple Watch Continue reading...
Tesla chief executive has been given until 28 October to buy social network to avoid Delaware court caseIt could be a busy November for Judge Kathaleen McCormick, depending on whether Elon Musk keeps to his word this week.The Delaware judge has given the world’s richest man a deadline of 5pm New York time (10pm London) on 28 October to complete a $44bn deal to buy Twitter, or else she will see him and the social media platform in court soon after. Continue reading...
This football-themed game is a ludicrous fantasy: a dystopian hyper-capitalist holiday park that illustrates how the virtual universe will really workAlmost every December all around the UK, temporary winter wonderland theme parks crop up, usually in out-of-town car parks or disused industrial sites. They promise hours of seasonal fun with Santa’s grottos and magic sleigh rides – but what disappointed families often get is Santa’s static caravan covered in tinsel and two emaciated donkeys dressed in plastic antlers dragging a wheelbarrow. Imagine that, but online and with a bit more cash behind it, and you have Fifa World.Announced via a typically histrionic press release, Fifa World is a “virtual environment that celebrates the power of football and the rich history of its pinnacle events”. Built into the hugely successful online multiplayer game Roblox, which allows its 55 million daily users to create their own interactive areas (but which has also attracted huge controversy for its business model of monetising childhood creativity), it’s a sort of virtual football-themed fete with a nine-hole football crazy golf course, where you kick a football through various obstacles into a goal, and a football bowling challenge, where you kick a football at some skittles. Other than that, there’s a mini football pitch with a giant ball, so you can engage in impromptu kickabouts with other inmates, sorry, visitors. Continue reading...
Regulator publishes first report into video-sharing platforms and says few put child safety before profitsPorn sites are not doing enough to protect children, Ofcom has warned, with few bothering to do more than ask for visitors to self-declare that they are over 18.Among the 19 video-sharing sites that the regulator has oversight of, OnlyFans is the only adult-focused site to have responded to regulation by adopting age verification for viewers, using a series of tools to keep children from signing up. Continue reading...
Secretary of state met tech executives to discuss national security even as US public is increasingly skeptical of industryThe US secretary of state visited Silicon Valley this week, on a trip that experts say highlights the Biden administration’s growing concerns over cybersecurity and officials’ push to collaborate more closely with the US’s powerful tech industry.Antony Blinken on Monday spoke at Stanford University and was scheduled to meet with tech executives to “highlight the key role for technology diplomacy in advancing US economic and national security”, according to the state department. Continue reading...
Company posts $3.3bn in net income and $21.45bn in revenue as vehicle production outstrips deliveryTesla’s third-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, prompting its stock price to drop more than 4% after markets closed.The company posted $3.3bn in profit and $21.45bn in revenue. The results come two weeks after the electric carmaker said it produced 22,000 more vehicles than it delivered, signaling to some analysts that the company was not able to maintain demand. Continue reading...
How do you make a Batman game without the man himself? Warner Bros Games in Montreal is giving it a shot with an open-world multiplayer game that sees a new guard of four heroes take his placeAt the Warner Bros Games studio in Montreal, a 7ft Batman statue greets visitors at reception. Comics are crammed into every shelf between each desk. And rather than images of lattes and flat whites, the coffee machine proudly displays the bat symbol.So, it might surprise you to learn that the people who work here have killed Batman. Continue reading...
Performers call for better and more equitable treatment in industry worth nearly $200bnUnderpaid, undervalued and frustrated: video game voice actors are demanding change after one raised concerns over pay and explained why she would not be reprising her role in a multimillion dollar franchise.Now others are speaking out and calling for better and more equitable treatment for actors who earn a tiny fraction of what many of the games make in revenue. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington on (#64VS7)
Jeremy Bash served on committee advising on sales of company’s Pegasus spyware to foreign agenciesA former senior CIA official who was recently appointed by Joe Biden to an intelligence advisory board previously served as a key adviser to NSO Group, where he vetted deals for the Israeli spyware company and voted on whether sales of the controversial hacking tools could proceed.Jeremy Bash served on NSO’s business ethics committee (BEC), where he was instrumental in giving advice to the company on whether proposed sales by the Israeli group to specific foreign government clients would be seen as acceptable to the US government, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. Continue reading...
Arne Schönbohm was under scrutiny after comedian highlighted his links to a Russian company in a previous jobGermany’s interior minister has sacked the country’s cybersecurity chief, after allegations he had turned a blind eye to a firm with links to Russian security circles.Arne Schönbohm, the president of the German Federal Office for Information Security, was released from his duties with immediate effect on Tuesday, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported, citing security sources. Continue reading...
It tanked the game giant’s share price and was a gargantuan flop – but it’s the most endearingly weird console I’ve ownedAs I sprint down London’s Oxford Street, past a queue snaking down the puddle-soaked road, I spot a familiar face smiling back at me. “Sorry I’m late,” I splutter, muttering something about the trains. The year is 2012, and on this particularly grim November evening, my (then) girlfriend and I are huddled in the cold for the Wii U’s midnight launch. This, I thought, is the games console that will change everything.Looking back 10 years later, I’m not sure what is more surprising: that my girlfriend of three months was willing to queue in the cold for five hours outside a HMV, or that I genuinely believed the Wii U would be a hit. Needless to say, it really was not. Shifting just 13.65m units in its lifetime – compare that to the original Wii’s 100m – the Wii U was a failure of gargantuan proportions that tanked Nintendo’s share price. Continue reading...
by Oliver Milman in Silver Peak, Nevada on (#64VG4)
The treasured mineral is critical for electric vehicles and could help slow global heating, but locals worry about the harmful extraction near tribal landDeep in the parched landscapes of Nevada, there is a stirring boom. The mining of lithium holds the promise of a treasured resource that can help slow disastrous global heating.Spurred by a growing demand for battery parts essential for electric vehicles, the US’s only major lithium mine, in Silver Peak, a remote outpost situated in desert scrub and nascent Joshua trees a three-hour drive north of Las Vegas, is doubling its production. Continue reading...
Government-backed scheme aims to crack down on road users who breach legal noise limitsNoise-detecting traffic cameras will be trialled in four areas in England in an attempt to crack down on “boy racers” who rev engines and use illegal exhausts, the Department for Transport has announced.The so-called noise cameras will be installed on the roadside in Bradford on Tuesday, before a rollout in Bristol, Great Yarmouth and Birmingham over the next two months. Continue reading...
Theranos founder filed for a fresh trial after Adam Rosendorff told her he felt ‘he had done something wrong’In a hearing on Monday evaluating Elizabeth Holmes’s request for a new trial in her fraud case, a key witness stood by his previous testimony.The Theranos founder was set to be sentenced on 17 October after being convicted on four of 11 counts of fraud for her role in the blood-testing company, but the sentencing was rescheduled after a key witness for the prosecution said he regretted the role he played in her conviction. Continue reading...
Purchase by rapper, who changed name to Ye in 2021, expected to be completed by end of yearKanye West is buying the rightwing social network Parler for an undisclosed sum, the site has announced.The purchase by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Continue reading...
World’s richest man’s company previously said it could not pay for satellite internet in country indefinitelyElon Musk on Saturday announced that his company would continue to pay for Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine, a day after suggesting he could not keep funding the project, which he said was losing around $20m a month.“The hell with it,” the world’s richest man wrote on Twitter. “Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.” Continue reading...
Texts released in the legal wrangle between Elon Musk and Twitter are ‘astoundingly unastounding’ – apart from the sycophancyHow do tech billionaires talk when they think nobody’s listening? Usually, the only people who know are the National Security Agency and waiters at Manresa, Silicon Valley’s sole three-star Michelin restaurant. But now, courtesy of the court of chancery in the state of Delaware, we lesser mortals have had an opportunity to tune in to recent conversations between Elon Musk (of Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal fame) and some of his buddies.How come? Well, the court is the arena in which a legal battle is currently being fought between Twitter and Musk. You will recall that in April the Tesla boss offered to buy Twitter outright for $54.20 a share, valuing the company at $43.4bn, which seemed, er, generous at the time. Shortly afterwards, shares in both Twitter and Tesla (the main source of Musk’s fortune) tanked, leading to a bad attack of buyer’s remorse and a search for a way of backing out of the deal. Twitter was not amused by this and sued in the Delaware court, which is the prime boxing ring for these contests because more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies are registered there. The two sides then assembled small armies of high-priced lawyers (I see that Musk’s regiment, Messrs Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has nearly 300 lawyers, none of whom comes cheap) and battle commenced.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com
Re-energized this election cycle, the tech entrepreneur joins other mega-donors apparently out to undercut the political systemPeter Thiel is far from the first billionaire who has wielded his fortune to try to influence the course of American politics. But in an election year when democracy itself is said to be on the ballot, he stands out for assailing a longstanding governing system that he has described as “deranged” and in urgent need of “course correction”.The German-born investor and tech entrepreneur, a Silicon Valley “disrupter” who helped found PayPal alongside Elon Musk and made his fortune as one of the earliest investors in Facebook, has catapulted himself into the top ranks of the mega-donor class by pouring close to $30m into this year’s midterm elections. Continue reading...
BT customers face £113 rise as providers such as EE and TalkTalk prepare controversial ‘inflation-plus’ mechanismBroadband bills could surge by as much as £113 next year if a number of the UK’s biggest telecoms firms push ahead with inflation-busting price increases next spring, says consumer watchdog Which?Many of the country’s main internet providers – including the largest player BT, along with TalkTalk, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone – use a mechanism to increase the cost of bills annually by the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) in January, plus 3.9%. Continue reading...
The actor’s name check of the cocktail becomes a meme, creating an instant drinks trendIt is the impossible-to-pronounce Italian word that is on everyone’s lips in line at the bar – or, more likely – while making do with what’s in the fridge. “Sbagliato” – meaning “bungled” or “mistaken” – has suddenly become the all-important addendum in ordering a negroni.
by Written by Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden, read by on (#64Q6Z)
Hackers are increasingly taking users’ data hostage and demanding huge sums for its release. They have targeted individuals, businesses, vital infrastructure and even hospitals. Authorities have been slow to respond – but there is help out there Continue reading...
A US court has imposed a huge fine for lies he spread about a school shooting. But he and others like him will continue to sow mayhemI assume every reader of the Guardian will cheer the news of a $965m (£860m) fine imposed on Alex Jones, the rightwing American conspiracist. A Connecticut court fined him for disseminating the cruel lie that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was staged with actors by the anti-gun lobby. Justice is now done. Up to a point.One of the most unfortunate pieces I ever wrote was to greet the internet in the 1990s as of benefit only to lawyers and pornographers. Wired magazine called me Neanderthal of the Year. I admit that among millions of other beneficiaries, I should also have added political maniacs. But the guilty parties uniquely let off scot-free by the Jones jury were the agents of his mendacity, the gold diggers of social media.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Netflix tells the origin story of Spotify, but Daniel Ek – the most powerful man in music – is no Steve Jobs. Still, it’s worth watching for the jolting discomfort you’ll feel after the finaleThanks to The Social Network, tech biopics now tend to work from the same blueprint. There is a startup, founded in a fog of resentment by a single obsessive, charismatic visionary. There is a battle to succeed, to show a world resistant to change what the future looks like. And then there is wild victory that comes at a price. For the most part, though, The Playlist (Netflix) avoids this blueprint.A drama about the creation of Spotify, The Playlist has a perfectly willing visionary in Daniel Ek, the programmer who created the app and quickly became the most powerful man in the global music industry. But Spotify is a Swedish company, and The Playlist is a Swedish show, and that means a little light socialism is in order. Continue reading...
The state has several programs in place to assist residents – but they’re already running out of fundsWhen Graciela Deniz worked as a health educator at a medical office in Kerman, California, it seemed like all the doctors drove Teslas.Deniz, 32, assumed electric vehicles were a luxury reserved for those with high incomes, until she started a new job last year as a community health worker at the Central California Asthma Collaborative. The organization was involved with the EV Equity program, an initiative to help low-income residents in the San Joaquin Valley buy electric vehicles. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#64NYX)
Top-class camera and zoom, good performance and smart AI tricks costing significantly less than rivalsThe Pixel 7 Pro looks to keep up Google’s newfound momentum in top-flight smartphones, offering a powerful camera and AI features for significantly less money than Apple or Samsung.The Pixel 7 Pro costs £849 ($899/A$1,299) – the same as the firm’s top 2021 phone – while competing with devices costing north of £1,100. It leads Google’s phone line for 2022, which includes the smaller £599 Pixel 7 and £349 Pixel 6a. Continue reading...
The former Facebook manager joins the Council for Responsible Social Media, a new coalition created to press big tech to changeFrances Haugen left her role as a product manager at Facebook in 2021, bringing with her a cache of internal documents illustrating allegations of wrongdoing at the company.But a year later, despite congressional hearings and investigations, Meta has made few meaningful changes to its policies, Haugen says, and as the US midterm elections approach, the stakes are high. Continue reading...