Technology | The Guardian

The health of our democracy demands that we consider treating Facebook, Google, and Amazon with the same firm hand that led government to wage war on major monopoliesIn our day, we can’t quite see anything wrong with monopoly. We’re certain that our tech giants achieved their dominance fairly and squarely through the free market, by dint of technical genius.To conjure this image of meritocratic triumph requires overlooking several pungent truths about the nature of these new monopolies. Their dominance is less than pure. Continue reading...

When the author Franklin Foer first raised concerns about Silicon Valley’s power players, ‘people looked at me funny’. Now his work appears prophetic

It’s still one of the best shows on TV, but as the third season starts there’s a sense it’s lost some of the initial complexity and purpose

Customers complain about ‘eerie’ personalised spam emails and lack of communication from pizza sellerDomino’s Australia has blamed a system “issue” of a former supplier for a leak of customer personal information to spam email lists.The pizza seller has called in the Australian information commissioner to investigate the breach but insists its systems haven’t been compromised. Instead, it blames a “former supplier’s systems” for leaking customer email addresses, names and store suburb. Continue reading...

Crossing printed from 800 layers of concrete could take weight of 40 trucks, designers sayDutch officials have toasted the opening of what is being called the world’s first 3D-printed concrete bridge, which is primarily meant to be used by cyclists.There was applause as officials wearing hard hats rode over the bridge on their bikes at the inauguration in the southeastern town of Gemert on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Total national broadband network complaints soar from 10,487 to 27,195, according to annual reportThe prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has conceded complaints about the national broadband network will increase as more people are connected, with the latest figures showing complaints about internet services have more than doubled in a year.New figures from the telecommunications industry ombudsman show complaints about the the internet now exceed those about mobile and fixed line services.

The fastest and smoothest Google Android device has a cracking camera, squeezable sides, great battery life and baked-in AIGoogle’s direct challenger to the iPhone 8 Plus and upcoming iPhone X is the Pixel 2 XL, and you may be blown away by the sheer speed of the thing.

Challenge brought by Privacy International alleges MI5 and MI6 data-sharing regimes and legal oversight system are illegalMI5 and MI6 may be circumventing legal safeguards when they share bulk datasets with foreign intelligence services and commercial partners, a court has been told.

App that avoids bullying behaviour by offering pre-checked questions is latest popular social-media app owned by company after 1bn messages were sentFacebook has acquired TBH, an app that allows teens to send anonymous compliments to each other. The cost has not been announced, but is reportedly less than $100m.The app, launched this summer in 37 US states only, has received more than five million downloads in a short space of time, thanks to its unique twist on the anonymous-messaging model of previous viral hits such as Secret, YikYak and Sarahah. Continue reading...

Apple’s hotly anticipated smartphone is coming in November and selling your existing iPhone is one way of paying for it. But timing is everythingThe iPhone X is coming soon, and if you want to be able to afford it, you have three options: travel back in time and buy a shedload of bitcoin; sell a kidney; or sell your existing phone and hope you get a good price.That third option is probably the best. But if you haven’t sold a phone, it can be daunting: may people like to hang on to their old model, “just in case”, and even if it just sits gathering dust in a drawer somewhere, that’s less stressful than having to deal with exchanging cash on the internet. Continue reading...

The critic was viciously targeted by trolls after speaking out about sexist tropes in video games. She explains how she is still fighting to change the industry and writing a book celebrating women overlooked by historyIt has been five years since the feminist critic and blogger Anita Sarkeesian became the target for a staggeringly vicious online hate campaign after producing the online video series Tropes vs Women in Video Games. Given the scale of the harassment she has been experiencing non-stop for half a decade – including a continuous barrage of rape and death threats, a bomb scare and a game in which players can punch an image of her face – it’s almost surprising to see her so relaxed and at ease, having played a couple of rounds of Mario Kart at the Guardian’s London office. It’s only when she speaks that she reveals a cautiousness most of us lack; Sarkeesian chooses her words carefully, ever mindful of what may spark even more abuse. “The biggest difference is that I don’t monitor our social media any more,” she says.Sarkeesian is the founder of Feminist Frequency, a not-for-profit educational organisation “that analyses modern media’s relationship to societal issues such as gender, race and sexuality”. She suffered under Gamergate, the campaign conducted under the guise of representing those concerned about ethics in game journalism, but which was, in reality, a hashtagged rallying cry for those wanting to harass women in the games industry. As Feminist Frequency tweeted in June of this year, “Gamergate still exists, still harasses marginalised voices and still affects our daily lives. The abuse has never stopped.” Continue reading...

WPA2 protocol used by vast majority of wifi connections has been broken by Belgian researchers, highlighting potential for internet traffic to be exposedThe security protocol used to protect the vast majority of wifi connections has been broken, potentially exposing wireless internet traffic to malicious eavesdroppers and attacks, according to the researcher who discovered the weakness.Mathy Vanhoef, a security expert at Belgian university KU Leuven, discovered the weakness in the wireless security protocol WPA2, and published details of the flaw on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Playability, creativity and decision-making are to the fore in the best of this week’s games releasesPS4, Xbox One, PC, Capcom, cert 12

The trial, dubbed Airbnb Select, will see rental firm provide home improvement loans as it seeks to standardise offeringsAirbnb is looking to take an increasingly active role in ensuring the homes it offers for rent on its site are pleasant to stay in, from offering loans to hosts for home improvements to actively partnering in the construction of an apartment block in Florida, according to reports.The changes, which see the company move further than ever from its origins as a listing site connecting holidaymakers with hosts who have a spare room, could help Airbnb cement its position as an alternative to traditional hotels. Continue reading...

Ride-hailing service hopes to reverse TfL ruling that it is not ‘fit and proper’ company to run taxi services in capital

Facebook’s chief operating officer gave first live interview by a senior executive since the company disclosed it found some 3,000 politically divisive adsFacebook owes the American people an apology for the way it handled Russia’s interference in last year’s presidential election, its chief operating officer said on Thursday.“It’s not just that we apologize. We’re angry, we’re upset. But what we really owe the American people is determination” to do a better job of preventing foreign meddling, Sheryl Sandberg told the Axios news website during an interview in Washington.

Actor who has spoken out in Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal is banned in move that will reignite controversy around Twitter abuse rules

The British entrepreneur says he wants to make ‘airline speeds on the ground’ a reality, while engineering experts cast doubt on the safety of the technologySir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has invested an undisclosed amount in Hyperloop One, the frontrunner of a number of companies competing to bring Elon Musk’s futuristic vision of a magnetically-propelled high-speed transport system to life.The investment, which makes up part of an $85m fundraising announced in September, will see Hyperloop One changing adding the Virgin name to its branding. Continue reading...

A developer has warned it is possible to create a phishing attack based on a fake sign-in request for Apple ID credentialsThe iPhone’s habit of repeatedly requesting your Apple ID password with little explanation or warning isn’t just annoying – it’s also a security flaw which could allow attackers to craft extremely convincing phishing attacks, an iOS developer has warned.Regular users of iPhones or iPads will be used to sporadic requests from the operating system to enter their Apple ID password, popping up in the middle of other activities and preventing them from continuing until they accede to the request. Continue reading...

Cliff wants a an alternative to premium-priced Intel laptops. Will AMD’s new Ryzen chip bring down the cost – and if so, when?The “light but mighty” (in speed and capacity) laptops from Dell, HP and Microsoft seem to me to be very expensive because Intel sells processors at premium prices. Now that AMD has produced Ryzen chips, can you foresee if and when these makers will produce desirable laptops with cheaper AMD chips? I can afford to pay Intel’s price premium, but I’d be more likely to buy if the £1,600 price came down to, say, £1,200. CliffThe good news is that Ryzen-based laptops will be here soon. The bad news is that the first ones won’t be ultralight models like the Dell XPS 13. Also, they probably won’t bring prices down as much as you hope.

It isn’t going to replace the iPad Pro any time soon, but with hands-free Alexa, good screen and solid battery, this device hits the spot for leisure usersAmazon’s new 10in tablet aims to offer users media viewing that rivals top-end competitors, but for under half the price of even the cheapest 10in iPad.While the company has found great success with its smaller and cheaper Fire 7, and now the excellent Fire HD 8, the previous Fire HD 10 was a bit hit and miss. This time round the right corners have been cut in the pursuit of a cheaper price. Continue reading...

Oculus Go will not require linking to a smartphone or personal computer like its predecessor, the Oculus Rift, and will cost less at $199Facebook has unveiled a stand-alone virtual reality headset designed to extend the appeal of the company’s Oculus technology to the masses.The headset, called Oculus Go, won’t require plugging in a smartphone or a cord tethering it to a personal computer like Oculus Rift or its competitor HTC’s Vive do. Continue reading...

Information about F-35 joint strike fighter was taken in cyberattack on Australian defence contractor, official revealsSecret information about new fighter jets, navy vessels and surveillance aircraft has been stolen from an Australian defence contractor.The hackers had “full and unfettered access” to the information for four months last year, before the Australian Signals Directorate was tipped about the breach in November. Continue reading...

Computers, smartphones and apps all hit by problem – with Europe and North America worst affected by faults now thought resolvedFacebook and Instagram were offline to many users on Wednesday afternoon in what appeared to be a global connection problem.The website Down Detector suggested users of both social media sites began reporting problems at about 4pm, with Europe and North America seemingly worst hit, though this could be due to time zones and the number of Facebook users in different regions.

Culture secretary says internet firms may have legal status changed amid concerns about copyright and extremist materialKaren Bradley, the culture secretary, has said the government is considering changing the legal status of Google, Facebook and other internet companies amid growing concerns about copyright infringement and the spread of extremist material online.The internet groups are considered conduits of information rather than publishers under UK law, meaning they have limited responsibility for what appears on their sites. Continue reading...

Premium device switches between ebooks and audiobooks and comes with Bluetooth, longer battery life and aluminium design to tempt readersAmazon’s Kindle is finally water resistant, with the launch of the new larger 7in Kindle Oasis that merges ebooks and audiobooks into one device.Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the original Kindle in November, the new top-end device aims to lead Amazon’s e-readers into the next decade with a new aluminium design, longer built-in battery life and a larger, brighter screen. Continue reading...

Information led to US decision to end use of company’s software across federal government in DecemberAn Israeli security agency hacked into Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab in 2015, providing the crucial evidence required to ban the company from providing services to the US government, according to a report.While the Israeli spies were inside Kaspersky’s systems, they observed Russian spies in turn using the company’s tools to spy on American spies, the New York Times reports. That information, handed to the US, led to the decision in September to end the use of the company’s software across the federal government by December. Continue reading...

A study shows in most countries, women walk significantly fewer steps each day than men. Talia Shadwell hears from people all over the world saying the same thing: it’s down to personal safety, not laziness

US credit monitoring firm Equifax says far higher number of British customers were affected than previously thoughtEquifax has admitted that almost 700,000 UK consumers have had their personal details accessed following a cyber-attack, a figure far higher than previously thought.As well as affecting more Britons, the hack also resulted in significantly more damaging data being leaked on those who were affected. The information lost by the US credit monitoring firm included partial credit card details, phone numbers and driving licence numbers. Continue reading...

Government’s internet safety green paper includes voluntary levy on social media firms and web giants and social media code of practiceInternet companies such as Google and Facebook are to be asked to pay for measures to combat and raise awareness about online bullying and other web dangers, under a government internet safety strategy outlined on Wednesday.The proposed voluntary levy on social media firms and other leading web players is among a series of measures in an internet safety green paper, the product of a consultation process announced in February. Continue reading...

Regional disaster coordinators fear the Coalition’s cost-cutting decision to run fibre optics to-the-node will result in people being cut off in power outageLives may be lost in mass-emergencies including flood, bushfire and cyclone events because the NBN network will be left vulnerable during significant power outages, disaster management experts have warned NBN Co.Emergency coordinators in disaster-prone regions fear the government’s decision to run fibre optics largely to-the-node instead of to-the-premises in a bid to save money and roll out the NBN faster will leave communities completely cut off in a power outage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Cyber-attack was far more widespread than firm admits, say sources, with data from as many as 350 clients in compromised system

America’s 2 million truckers have long been mythologised in popular culture. But self-driving trucks are set to lay waste to one of the country’s most beloved jobs – and the fallout could be hugeJeff Baxter’s sunflower-yellow Kenworth truck shines as bright and almost as big as the sun. Four men clean the glistening cab in the hangar-like truck wash at Iowa 80, the world’s largest truck stop.Baxter has made a pitstop at Iowa 80 before picking up a 116ft-long wind turbine blade that he’s driving down to Texas, 900 miles away. Continue reading...

Emergency coordinators fear decision to run fibre optics to-the-node will leave communities cut off in power outageLives may be lost in mass-emergencies including flood, bushfire and cyclone events because the NBN network will be left vulnerable during significant power outages, disaster management experts have warned NBN Co.Emergency coordinators in disaster-prone Queensland regions such as the Sunshine Coast and Redland fear the government’s decision to run fibre optics largely to-the-node instead of to-the-premises in a bid to save money and roll out the NBN faster will leave communities completely cut off in a power outage. Continue reading...

The Facebook CEO’s cartoon avatar visited the hurricane-damaged island in a tone-deaf livestream that was part disaster tourism, part product promotionA cartoon version of Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, visited hurricane-damaged Puerto Rico on Monday, in a tone-deaf livestream that was part disaster tourism, part product promotion.Zuckerberg, along with Facebook’s head of social virtual reality, Rachel Franklin, appeared as avatars within the broadcast from his profile as they “teleported” to different locations using Facebook’s “social VR” tool Spaces. In reality, the two were speaking from the comfort of their offices in the company’s campus in Menlo Park, California, wearing virtual reality headsets. Continue reading...

The cryptocurrency is up 1,600% in two years – but state efforts to remove its near-anonymity will undermine its popularityIs the cryptocurrency bitcoin the biggest bubble in the world today, or a great investment bet on the cutting edge of new-age financial technology? My best guess is that in the long run, the technology will thrive, but that the price of bitcoin will collapse.If you haven’t been following the bitcoin story, its price is up 600% over the past 12 months, and 1,600% in the past 24 months. At over $4,200 (as of 5 October), a single unit of the virtual currency is now worth more than three times an ounce of gold. Some bitcoin evangelists see it going far higher in the next few years. Continue reading...

Data shows consistent performance for iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 with successive iOS updates, but that doesn’t mean the phones don’t feel slowerIt’s a perennial question asked in offices, pubs, shops and across the internet every year in the run up to the launch of a new iPhone: does Apple slow down older iPhones to make you buy new ones.

Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah becomes latest public figure to gamble on initial coin offerings to generate serious moneyForget a Gucci handbag, massive sunglasses or a teacup Chihuahua – the must-have celebrity accessory for 2017 is a cryptocurrency endorsement deal.So much money is floating around the sector that companies will pay almost anything to attract attention to their fundraising rounds – called “initial coin offerings”, in a legally questionable analogy to initial public offerings for tech startups. Continue reading...

This meticulously crafted title is more than just an ode to the golden age of animation – it’s a punishing yet moreish game that’s not for the faint-heartedYou may have heard that this game is hard. We can report, its difficulty has not been overstated – but punishment isn’t everything it has to offer. While Cuphead is decidedly painful, committed to beating you over the head with death after death in its 1930s-style animated world, it’s also meticulously crafted. It’s rich in tone, near pitch perfect in its balancing and it’s dedicated to teaching you the best way to succeed – all while you desperately sway between bashing your head against a wall and screaming in victorious elation.Bosses are the central spectacle here – ultra-paced, wonderfully designed, concentrated encounters that punctuate its run-time – but the immediate appeal is its inimitable art style. As a homage to the early days of animated cartoons, Cuphead is about as authentic as you get. The film grain crackles and its watercolour backgrounds pop with an obsessive attention to detail that never lets up. Its characters, too, are a work of art, offering up some of the most visually distinct creatures you will see in video games. That unflinching authenticity seeps into every part of Cuphead, from its menus to its music; from its character names – shout out to Porkrind the shop keeper – to their voice work. It’s fantastic across the board. Continue reading...

The latest iteration of the football gaming behemoth doesn’t disappoint, but the big hits of the season surely come in a pair of blasts from the pastEA, Xbox One/PS4/PC, cert 3

Brad Parscale tells CBS ‘Twitter is how [Trump] talked to the people’ but says staff members from other social media giant helped with targeted advertisingThe Trump presidential campaign spent most of its digital advertising budget on Facebook, testing more than 50,000 ad variations each day in an attempt to micro-target voters, Trump’s digital director, Brad Parscale, told CBS’s 60 Minutes in an interview scheduled to air on Sunday night.Related: Why Facebook is in a hole over data mining | John Naughton Continue reading...

As the venerable messaging system goes permanently AFK, one writer recalls how the platform allowed him to blossom into teenage eloquenceI was saddened this week to learn of the passing of a technological titan: the great AOL Instant Messenger. I knew it simply as Aim and I owe it a debt of gratitude, for it helped to make me the strapping, confident young man I am today, with decently fast typing skills.Related: AOL shuts down Instant Messenger after 20 years of online chat Continue reading...

Farmers’ pictures of their livestock and working day are pulling in followers from all over the worldInstagram often gets criticised for triggering Fomo or self-esteem issues, but staring at images of belted galloway calves in the Yorkshire dales could inspire an unfamiliar calm instead. Around the country, farmers are using the app to connect not only with fellow farmers but also with fans of their animals, the rural lifestyle or simply just the picturesque landscapes they capture.Neil and Leigh of Hill Top Farm in the Yorkshire dales have more than 16,000 followers as @hilltopfarmgirl, the majority of whom they believe are non-farmers. “I think they follow for a real variety of reasons,” Leigh says. It could be concern for high-welfare meat or a love of animals and the landscape. “Some people love the escape into a different world - a US follower once said he loved looking at the photos when he was at work in his office in a skyscraper in Chicago.” Continue reading...

Sync your calendars, censor your history and save great posts: top ways to streamline your social experienceWant to liven up your messages and updates? Facebook automatically converts certain character combinations into graphical emoticons: for example, if you enter “:D” it will appear as a laughing face, while “<3” gives you a heart. See emojicodes.com for a full list. Laptop users can also use keyboard shortcuts to navigate around the site quickly; on Chrome for Windows, for example, pressing alt+2 takes you directly to your timeline, while alt+3 opens your friends list. The key combinations vary depending on your browser: see this page for details. Continue reading...

Stress led the creator of Moshi Monsters to meditation and to create new app Calm, which he aims to make the biggest brand in mental fitnessHow much are you involved in Mind Candy these days? The company went through some difficult times as kids’ gaming moved from web to mobile – what did you learn from that?

For anyone with a yearning for the good old days, this new Caterham will blast you down memory lane in no timePrice: £27,995