Technology | The Guardian

Retailer claims decision on ‘war cloud’ system is political and is contesting it in US federal courtAmazon has filed a lawsuit contesting the US defence department’s decision to award a Pentagon cloud computing contract worth up to $10bn (£7.8bn) to rival bidder Microsoft.The complaint and supplemental motion for discovery were filed in the US court of federal claims under seal, according to a spokesman for Amazon Web Services, a division of the online retail giant founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Continue reading...

Tesla’s chief designer smashed the vehicle’s windows in an attempt to demonstrate their toughnessDoes the act of someone’s net worth plummeting make an actual sound?If so, then for Elon Musk it would be the thonk of a metal ball splintering the purportedly unbreakable glass of his long-awaited cybertruck. Continue reading...

Firm considering to raise amout of targeted people from 100 to ‘a few thousands’Facebook’s plans to limit political advertising have taken another step, according to reports, as the company firms up plans to stop political advertisers from sending messages to very small numbers of people.According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has weighed up whether to increase the minimum amount of people targeted in any given political advert from 100, the current limit, to “a few thousand”. Continue reading...

In a speech, the actor argued that Facebook would have run ads by Hitler. Here are his remarks in full

We thought tech would bring us closer together. Instead it has scrambled our minds, our politics and our relationships. Can we burst our filter bubbles?In 2010, I joined Twitter. This momentous development went unnoticed by the world’s press – but to be fair, it went almost unnoticed by me, too. Certainly, I had no particular trepidation about getting involved in social media. The internet still embodied more promise than threat: the iPad was just arriving; Uber and Airbnb were finding their feet; “gamification” was going to solve everything from obesity to voter apathy, by turning tedious chores into fun digital challenges with points and prizes; the Arab spring, coordinated on social media, was a few months away. This was before the Rohingya genocide, before the teenage anxiety epidemic, before Cambridge Analytica and the alt-right and “fake news”. In October 2010, the Guardian news blog ran a brief item on a darkly comical nightmare scenario for US politics: “Donald Trump considers running for president,” the headline read.What changed in the 2010s was not so much the arrival of new technology as the rapid evolution of a business model, the monetisation of attention. This wasn’t a recent invention; indeed, it dated back to the “yellow journalism” of the 19th century, which used sensationalist stories and cheap cover prices to build big audiences that advertisers would pay to reach. But ubiquitous high-speed mobile internet has sent the attention economy into hyperdrive, plunging us into an online world structured to prioritise not the truth, or what matters most, but whatever’s most compelling, which often means whatever makes us angriest. Continue reading...

The Facebook CEO views all politics as merely instrumental to the fortunes of his companyWhat are Mark Zuckerberg’s politics? Based on recent events, one might assume the young billionaire favors American conservatism, even explicit Republican positions.On Thursday, NBC News revealed that the CEO of Facebook had a secret dinner at the White House in October with President Donald Trump. Zuckerberg was accompanied by Facebook board member and long-time mentor Peter Thiel. Thiel is notorious among Silicon Valley billionaires for explicitly endorsing Trump in 2016 and speaking at the Republican National Convention that year. Thiel, a libertarian who runs a company that enhances government surveillance efforts, has also questioned the value of women voting. Continue reading...

The 12 complainants in the class action lawsuit say an algorithm that restricts content is an attempt to push them off the platformFour LGBT YouTubers have joined a class action lawsuit suing YouTube for discrimination, deceptive business practices and unlawful restraint of speech.The 12 complainants in total allege that the algorithm YouTube, and its parent company Google, uses to promote, censor and pair advertising with videos is discriminating against LGBT content just because it is made by and for LGBT people. Continue reading...

A demonstration intended to show the strength of the windows on Tesla's first pickup truck went wrong when one of the team threw a metal ball at them. The futuristic Cybertruck was unveiled in Los Angeles on Thursday. Production is expected to begin in late 2021

Elon Musk says model essential to sustainable energy – but is embarrassed when ‘armour glass’ windows breakElon Musk’s glitzy unveiling of the first Tesla “cybertruck” descended into farce when a PR stunt testing the “bulletproof” body strength of the electric vehicle resulted in smashed windows.The Blade Runner-meets-cyberpunk themed launch of the $39,900 (£30,000) futuristic armoured vehicle was meant to take aim at the traditional Detroit carmakers, proving that Tesla could make a credible electric version of America’s favourite vehicle, the pickup truck. Continue reading...

Game will be first in series since Half-Life 2: Episode 2 was released in 2007Developer Valve Corporation has unveiled the latest game in the long-dormant Half-Life series, a VR-exclusive title named Half-Life: Alyx, set for release in March 2020.A new game in the critically acclaimed sci-fi shooter series had been heavily rumoured following leaks from this year’s Game Awards and was confirmed by the developer via Twitter. A prequel set between the first and second games, Half-Life: Alyx stars supporting character Alyx Vance following an alien invasion of earth and is expected to act as a flagship VR title, showcasing virtual reality shooter gameplay at a high level of fidelity. Continue reading...

Elon Musk has said he wants to build ‘supertruck with crazy torque’ as Ford and GM plan offerings of their ownUpdate: Windows shatter during demo of Tesla’s ‘cybertruck’ Elon Musk has talked for years about building an electric pickup truck that would threaten Detroit’s automakers, and on Thursday he will finally take off the wrapping.

Administrator closes the Rose Bay community group after acrimonious dispute forced her to spend $9,000 in legal feesA popular Facebook group for residents of the harbourside Sydney suburb of Rose Bay has been shut down after defamation threats were made against the administrator by the administrator of a rival Facebook group.Bianca Havas started the Rose Bay Community – Official Group in her spare time seven years ago, between working full time and parenting. Over time the group grew to more than 5,500 members, mainly women, sharing information about events in the suburb. But Havas agreed to shut down the group after an acrimonious dispute with the administrator of a splinter group that led to defamation threats. Continue reading...

Decision to cancel premiere reportedly stemmed from sexual abuse allegations against a producer of the filmApple abruptly cancelled the world premiere of its film The Banker at the AFI Festival in Hollywood on Wednesday amid reports of sexual abuse allegations against the son of the film’s subject.Related: Apple hopes its new streaming service will make a splash Continue reading...

I find myself with nothing to look forward to EVERWe are saturated with stimulation and easy pleasure. Anything from food to homewares to porn to entertainment we can get immediately via our phones. But is the easy life messing with our brain chemicals? Are we releasing too much dopamine?The latest Silicon Valley trend is dopamine fasting – having a break from anything pleasurable in order to “reset” your brain chemistry. Continue reading...

2020 candidate, Richard Blumenthal and Bill Cassidy express concerns over Project Nightingale in bipartisan letter

Guardian analysis finds VDare and Red Ice TV among several outlets that are still on the platform despite Facebook’s promised banOn 7 November, Lana Lokteff, an American white nationalist, introduced a “thought criminal and political prisoner and friend” as a featured guest on her internet talk show, Red Ice TV. For about 90 minutes, Lokteff and her guest – Greg Johnson, a prominent white nationalist and editor-in-chief of the white nationalist publisher Counter-Currents – discussed Johnson’s recent arrest in Norway amid authorities’ concerns about his past expression of “respect” for the far-right mass murderer Anders Breivik. In 2012, Johnson wrote that he was angered by Breivik’s crimes because he feared they would harm the cause of white nationalism but had discovered a “strange new respect” for him during his trial; Breivik’s murder of 77 people has been cited as an inspiration by the suspected Christchurch killer, the man who murdered the British MP Jo Cox, and a US coast guard officer accused of plotting a white nationalist terror attack. Continue reading...

Peter has to move from his very secure high-rise flat and wants to avoid being burgledI currently live in a high-rise flat, which is very secure, with CCTV, fob-controlled access and so on. Unfortunately, due to Grenfell, our block is being emptied for refurbishment. I don’t know what type of property I will be offered, but I will have to provide my own home security system. Cost is not a major issue, because I will get a disturbance grant for the enforced move. But, as a pensioner, I wouldn’t like to be saddled with a high monthly premium for monitoring. Any suggestions would be very welcome. PeterTechnology companies are selling a lot of new gadgets to increase home security, including smart locks, motion detectors, window sensors and digital cameras. Many are part of the trend towards “smart homes” with internet-connected doorbells, lighting, voice assistants and so on. Most of this stuff comes under the general tech-industry label of the internet of things (IoT). Continue reading...

From God of War 2 to Grand Theft Auto 6, here are the almost-confirmed titles and wish-list fantasies we’re holding out for with the console’s next releaseNow that Sony has revealed the technical specifications of its forthcoming console, including its powerful AMD Ryzen processor, SSD storage system for fast loading, 3D sound and 8K support, what everyone wants to know is – what will we be playing on the machine when it launches next year?Here are the rumours and expectations, some more fanciful than others, but each one a distinct and enticing possibility. Continue reading...

The great trick of online retail has been to get us to shop more and think less about how our purchases reach our homes. By Samanth SubramanianA decade ago, the British department-store chain John Lewis built itself a long warehouse, painted in gradations of sky blue. The shed, as it is called in the industry, cost £100m and covered 650,000 sq ft. Windsor Castle could easily fit inside it. John Lewis named the shed Magna Park 1, after the site where it stands: a “logistics campus” of warehouses, roads, shipping containers and truck bays east of Milton Keynes. Magna Park 1 was intended to supply the company’s stores around southern England, but almost as soon as it was finished, John Lewis realised that it wasn’t enough. The pace of e-commerce was flying, and Magna Park 1 opened in the midst of a spell in which, between 2006 and 2016, the share of John Lewis deliveries going direct to customers rose 12-fold.So John Lewis built Magna Park 2, measuring 675,000 sq ft. After that, the company realised it needed a new shed for Waitrose, its supermarket chain, where home deliveries were skyrocketing, too. “It became a bit of a standing joke,” said Philip Stanway, a regional director at Chetwoods, the architecture firm that designed and built all these facilities. “They used to come to meetings with their forecasts, and they’d say: ‘Screw this. This is the new forecast,’” Stanway said, making a scribbling motion in the manner of a John Lewis executive hastily updating the numbers. “We couldn’t build the buildings quick enough for them.” Continue reading...

Google to bar political advertisers from targeting voters based on affiliation and tighten ban on ‘demonstrably false claims’Google will no longer allow political advertisers to target voters based on their political affiliation, the company announced Wednesday, in a move that will increase pressure on Facebook to limit micro-targeting.Related: Impeachment hearings: key witness to reject claim Ukraine meddled in US election – live Continue reading...

Company hopes to bolster its safety record with feature for riders and passengers, to appear first in Brazil and MexicoUber will allow passengers and drivers in Brazil and Mexico to record audio of their rides as it attempts to improve its safety record and image, and eventually it hopes to launch the feature into other markets including the United States.Related: Impeachment hearings: key witness to reject claim Ukraine meddled in US election – live Continue reading...

When you can’t afford broadband at home, everything – from school work to Ucas or benefit applications – is more difficultA lot of the discussion about Labour’s promise to provide free fibreoptic broadband for all has revolved around economics, speculative polling and even “communism”. But it has not addressed what life without easy internet access is actually like for people across the country.I’m 26 now, and we didn’t have the internet at home when I was a teenager. Internet access is generally bad in rural communities, but I lived in Belfast: it was just one utility bill too many. In fact, it’s still fairly common for people not to have it because of the cost – according to 2017 figures from Ofcom, only 47% of those on low incomes have broadband internet at home. So when I saw the policy announcement, my first thought was how much easier free internet would have made my school work and university applications. Continue reading...

Dominic Raab defends rebranding account during debate and adds: ‘no one gives a toss’

Lobbyists worked for 29 current members of Congress, including Democratic party leaders, helping promote company’s interestsAs tech giant Facebook grapples with congressional hearings over its policy allowing politicians to sponsor untruthful ads and its role in proliferating hate speech, dozens of its lobbyists have connections to members of Congress, likely giving them special access that helps them promote the company’s interests. Continue reading...

The deeply corny film Last Christmas was maligned for its main character’s ‘look up’ philosophy. But perhaps it’s the philosophy we need right nowIn Paul Feig’s romantic comedy Last Christmas, jaded Londoner Kate (Emilia Clarke) notices a handsome stranger, Tom (Henry Golding), outside the Christmas-themed shop where she works. “Look up,” he tells her.She follows Tom’s gaze … and spots a peregrine falcon on a high ledge. However, she immediately cops an eyeful of bird shit – just as she later stumbles into a pile of rubbish while looking up at a delightful old shop sign. So far, so screwball. Continue reading...

Errors affect Tories and Labour, with heavy spending on search words not always recordedGoogle is underreporting spending on UK political adverts, in one case by a factor of a thousand, the company has admitted.Like many technology companies, Google voluntarily publishes a weekly transparency report, providing updates on how much money has been spent by political parties and other organisations on adverts. Continue reading...

Leave.EU co-founder accuses platform of leaving his personal data online for 24 hoursArron Banks’s Twitter account has been hacked and the entire private message history of the Leave.EU founder uploaded to the internet, in what appears to be a targeted attack that has been reported to the police.The founder of the pro-Brexit campaign group, who has been the subject of questions about the source of his group’s funding and rule breaches during the EU referendum, confirmed the hack and accused Twitter of leaving his personal data available for anyone to access for almost 24 hours. Continue reading...

Rental company hit by clampdown in Canada and unrest in FranceAirbnb has come under fresh pressure on both sides of the Atlantic, with Toronto winning a major victory against the proliferation of “ghost hotels” and Paris denouncing a “risky” deal between the Olympic committee and the short-term rental company.After nearly two years of appeals, a tribunal in Ontario has ruled in favour of bylaws passed by Toronto, Canada’s largest city, aimed at reining in short-term rentals. Continue reading...

Labour’s £15,000 spend has bought almost 13m video views

Labor’s innovation spokeswoman to say on Tuesday that politicians are failing to properly deal with technological disruption and a policy overhaul is neededThe Australian parliament has failed to engage in sustained policy work about the impact of technological change, with critical issues such as encryption and the use of metadata considered on the run by MPs who aren’t across the detail, according to Labor’s innovation spokeswoman, Clare O’Neil.O’Neil will use a speech to the tech industry on Tuesday to call for a significant policy reset, arguing the current regulatory framework is deficient and legislators “don’t have forever” to strike an effective balance between data and privacy. Continue reading...

IOC president says athletes directly benefit from Airbnb’s sponsorship of next five GamesThe International Olympic Committee is encouraging current and former Olympic athletes to sell personal experiences and access to their training regimes to fans via Airbnb.At a press conference in London to announce Airbnb’s $500m (£380m) sponsorship of the next five Olympics, the IOC president, Thomas Bach said: “From this partnership there will also be direct benefit for athletes.” Continue reading...

The challenge of providing high-quality video game streaming has been met – but the launch lineup of games is disappointingThe Stadia is nothing short of revolutionary. Its core technology delivers on a promise decades in the making: console-quality gaming, without the console. But revolutions have unpredictable outcomes, leave a trail of destruction in their wake, and have a tendency to destroy those who start them. Will Google be able to see this through? Continue reading...

Jordan Erica Webber looks at the pros and cons of mental health appsJordan is joined by Ammar Kalia, Sarah Niblock, Prof Paul Stallard and Daniel Mansson. Continue reading...

Transport workers’ union launches appeal against a Fair Work Commission decision that upheld the sacking of the Adelaide-based driverThe case of an Uber Eats driver who was allegedly sacked for delivering food 10 minutes late has been likened to modern-day slavery by the Transport Workers’ Union.The union on Monday launched a bid to appeal a previous Fair Work Commission decision that upheld the sacking of Adelaide-based driver Amita Gupta. Continue reading...

The British proposal’s critics point to Australia’s national broadband network as demonstrating why governments should not get involved in broadbandUK Labour’s proposed full-fibre broadband policy is drawing a lot of comparisons to Australia’s national broadband network, but the differences are important and will decide whether the policy is viable.Last week, Labour announced a policy to give full-fibre broadband across 29m homes in the UK by 2030 at a cost of £20bn. Continue reading...

Hugh Chignell compares it with radio, Eunice Hinds says it will improve the lives of millions, and David Robson ridicules the criticism of Labour’s plan as ‘communist’When Jeremy Corbyn argues that free broadband is “an essential utility” (Business backlash over Labour broadband plan, 16 November) he harks back to the early years of radio, almost a hundred years ago. John Reith, the first director general of the BBC, would surely have agreed with Corbyn.The early pioneers of the BBC realised that radio could reach into every home and would provide a universal service for the public good. Radio would be entertaining, enriching and educational, and would inform every citizen in an energised democracy. Continue reading...

Only 8% of homes can get ‘gold standard of broadband’ – but those few see it as a necessityLabour’s plan to provide free full-fibre broadband to every home and business is an eye-catching offer to potential voters. But while the scheme has been labelled “fantasy economics” by critics, people who already enjoy ultra-fast broadband view it as invaluable.Like the roll-out of 5G for mobile phones, full-fibre broadband is the much-hyped next big thing for internet connectivity. It will mean speeds of more than one gigabit per second, letting users download an HD movie in under 50 seconds. Continue reading...

With Google’s Chrome dominating the market, not-for-profit rival Mozilla is staking a comeback on its dedication to privacyWhy do you choose the browser you use? Maybe you think it loads pages more quickly. Maybe it’s made by the same firm as your device and you think it’s more compatible in some way. You prefer the graphics, perhaps, or it just happened to be pre-installed on your machine. Maybe you’re not even aware that there’s a choice.In reality, two-thirds of us have been funnelled into using Google’s Chrome, but browser choice also hides a contest about the openness of the web and how data is collected about users. One organisation that has always put such issues to the forefront is Mozilla. Continue reading...

Technical advances are a boon, but VAR proves they rely on the people using themEven if you can’t tell your offside from your elbow (in the face), you’ve probably heard of VAR. The video assistant referee has been introduced into top-level football to cut out errors by referees. At every Premier League game, a VAR referee watches TV feeds of the game to check potentially contentious decisions.Moaning at referees has long been the staple of football fans. “That was never a penalty!” “Ref, do you need glasses? It was offside by a mile.” Continue reading...

Governments in Australia have come up with some creative reasons to sell the public on the use of facial recognition technologyIt started with passports. Then it was your phone. Now governments in Australia want you to use facial verification to access government services, take public transport and even for your private viewing.Last month the joint standing committee on intelligence and security told the government it needed to rethink its plans for a national facial verification database built off people’s passport and driver’s licence photos. It said there weren’t strong enough safeguards for citizens’ privacy and security built into the legislation. Continue reading...

Impact X, set up to support businesses run by or for minorities and women, is on its way to raising £100mBola Adegbulu’s idea came to him by accident – literally. Narrowly avoiding a car crash inspired the Londoner’s idea for smart navigation software that could predict the safest route for drivers and prevent some of the 1.3 million deaths due to road accidents globally each year. With more than 90% of those fatalities taking place in developing nations, including Adegbulu’s native Nigeria, the concept hit home.The 30-year-old spent two years working on the pilot for his company, Predina, with co-founder Meha Nelson, before clinching funding from Impact X Capital Partners: a new black-owned-and-run venture capital firm in London aiming to reverse the lack of funding for startups led by, or serving, women and people of colour. Continue reading...

The environmental impact of such technological advances can be hugeThere is, alas, no such thing as a free lunch. This simple and obvious truth is invariably forgotten whenever irrational exuberance teams up with digital technology in the latest quest to “change the world”. A case in point was the bitcoin frenzy, where one could apparently become insanely rich by “mining” for the elusive coins. All you needed was to get a computer to solve a complicated mathematical puzzle and – lo! – you could earn one bitcoin, which at the height of the frenzy was worth $19,783.06. All you had to do was buy a mining kit (or three) from Amazon, plug it in and become part of the crypto future.The only problem was that mining became progressively more difficult the closer we got to the maximum number of bitcoins set by the scheme and so more and more computing power was required. Which meant that increasing amounts of electrical power were needed to drive the kit. Exactly how much is difficult to calculate, but one estimate published in July by the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge suggested that the global bitcoin network was then consuming more than seven gigwatts of electricity. Over a year, that’s equal to around 64 terawatt-hours (TWh), which is 8 TWh more than Switzerland uses annually. So each of those magical virtual coins turns out to have a heavy environmental footprint. Continue reading...

For the latest in keyboards, monitors and headsets, our jargon-free accessories guide will raise your game however you play itWhether you’re a PC, console or smartphone gamer, there’s a wealth of accessories that promise to improve your experience – and your score. But from mechanical keyboards to high dynamic range monitors the choices and jargon can be confusing. Here is our selection of the best gaming peripherals, whatever you play on. Continue reading...

For Corbyn the proposal would create a ‘treasured institution’, but Johnson calls it ‘crazed’

Ban will come with restrictions on ‘cause-based’ ads, as Facebook faces backlash over policiesTwitter’s rules for political advertising will include new restrictions on micro-targeting, a move that will increase pressure on Facebook, the company announced on Friday.The policy rollout follows Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s surprise announcement on 30 October that the company would ban all political advertising due to a belief that “political message reach should be earned, not bought”. The new rules will go into effect on 22 November. Continue reading...

Fed up with slow internet, Michaelston-y-Fedw residents took matters into their own hands

As the experiment expands to US accounts, some influencers are worried they will lose followers or incomeInstagram has begun to hide the number of users who have “liked” a photo for some accounts in the US in an ongoing effort to create a less stressful experience.The shift had influencers, artists, celebrities and everyday users up in arms – Nicki Minaj even said she’d stop posting on the platform – with many worrying the transition will lose them followers and ultimately income. Continue reading...

PC, PS4 (version tested), Xbox One; Electronic Arts

Everwild, Grounded and more than 50 new titles for the xCloud streaming service topped the line-up at Microsoft’s Xbox fan eventMicrosoft revealed a host of new Xbox and PC titles at its X019 fan event in London on Thursday night, including projects from Rare and Obsidian. The company also announced it would expand its xCloud game streaming service and its Xbox Game Pass subscription platform.The major game revelation was Everwild, a title from veteran studio Rare. With development being led by Louise O’Connor, known for her work on the cult favourite Conker’s Bad Fur Day, the project looks to be a mystical, woodland-set action adventure game, with a muted painterly art style reminiscent of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Continue reading...

Tell Me Why, the latest narrative adventure from French studio Dontnod, stars a trans man – a decision the team says it didn’t take lightlyAt Microsoft’s X019 event in London on Thursday, the company revealed a range of major new titles for the Xbox and PC. But in an industry which has often struggled with representation and diversity of lead characters, one announcement stood out.The latest narrative adventure game from the acclaimed French studio Dontnod will have a transgender man as its lead character – a first for a major game release. Continue reading...