In 40 years, the internet has morphed from a military communication network into a vast global cyberspace. And it all started in a California beer garden
The Spanish city – grappling with the effects on residents of 27 million tourists a year – has banned Segways from the waterfront over the summerSegways have lots of advantages: they’re environmentally friendly, silent and sort of fun ... maybe. What’s more, despite being a common joke in film and TV shows, they have found a solid economic niche: city tours. But they can also be tremendously annoying for pedestrians.Barcelona, for now at least, has had enough. After summer upon summer of what the mayor’s office calls “complaints and problems†from residents of Ciutat Vella – the central neighbourhood and the one most affected by mass tourism – the city council has provisionally banned Segways from the waterfront for the summer months.
Latest satellite pay-TV system is the best television experience you can get right now, with in-home streaming, modern interface and on-demand focusSky Q is satellite broadcaster Sky’s new set top box system that takes the idea of TV anywhere – made popular by the likes of Netflix – and applies it to live TV. As the biggest change to the company’s offering in both capability and interface in a decade, it is a much needed modernisation of pay TV.It takes the same content and TV channels available through the older Sky+ and lets viewers watch live, downloaded and recorded video on other devices. The system works by using a Wi-Fi network to spit out TV content from a central satellite box to multiple wireless TV receivers and tablets about the home. Continue reading...
by Rupert Neate in New York and agencies on (#1MC4D)
Former pharmaceuticals CEO dubbed ‘poster boy of greed’ for raising price of HIV pill 5,000% overnight makes comment after leaving New York courtMartin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical boss dubbed “the world’s most hated man†after he increased the price of a HIV-related drug by 5,000%, was on Thursday told he will face trial for fraud.
The hugely popular app is reinventing the way that technology can transform images by recreating a photo from scratch, rather than overlaying a filterPeople across the world are turning amateur photos into elaborate works of art with a new viral app that relies on AI technology to let users instantly transform mundane images into Picasso paintings.Related: Watch out, Instagram: new Polaroid app brings a nostalgic classic to your phone Continue reading...
The magazine says the carmaker should disable the automatic steering function – and change its name to avoid promoting ‘dangerous assumptions’Consumer Reports magazine on Thursday urged Tesla to disable the automatic steering function on its electric vehicles and change the name of its autopilot driving-assist system, which is under investigation after a driver was killed while using it.
One-third third of its workers are female, while black employees accounted for just 3% of senior US leadership, its latest diversity figures showFacebook has said about one-third of its workers are female, while black employees accounted for 3% of its US senior leadership, both numbers only slightly higher than a year earlier.The data released by the world’s largest social network on Thursday reflects the scant progress made by Silicon Valley heavyweights in making their workplaces more diverse in the face of criticism for having mostly white, male workers. Continue reading...
A federal appeals court has ruled Microsoft Corp and other companies cannot be forced to turn over customer emails stored on servers outside the USA federal appeals court has ruled Microsoft and other companies cannot be forced to turn over customer emails stored on servers outside the United States, handing a victory to privacy advocates.Related: Microsoft sues for right to tell customers when US government requests emails Continue reading...
NearSt, a new platform to order titles from local bookshops – and get them to customers within an hour – begins in LondonAt Ink@84, an independent bookshop in Highbury, north London, an order pinged in on Thursday morning for Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel. The Pulitzer prize-winning bestseller was then to be delivered to a nearby customer within 60 minutes – by NearSt, a new platform that is offering one-hour delivery for books across London, as well as the facility to browse your local shops with your phone.Almost 40 bookshops are now on NearSt’s newly-launched platform, which allows customers in London to enter their postcode and the name of the book they’re looking for on the site or app. They can then order the book for instant collection from a local store, or have it speedily delivered. Entering Joe Hill’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Fireman for my home address in Kilburn, I’m told I can either walk nine minutes to a local shop, Queen’s Park Books, where it will be reserved for me, or have it delivered within the hour. Continue reading...
Charge against firm’s advertising arm follows reinforced filing against shopping service and probe into alleged abuse of AndroidThe European commission has filed a third antitrust charge against Google, this time against its AdSense advertising business.The EU regulator accuses Alphabet’s Google of abusing its dominance in search to benefit its own advertising business, which has historically been the company’s main revenue stream. The EC also reinforced its existing charge against Google’s shopping service, which the regulator says receives preferential treatment in search results. Continue reading...
People often search for their symptoms, but the right diagnosis can be hard to find. Google and Microsoft are working on ways to improve thingsWhen Liz Jurcik of Seattle felt a sharp pain in her side and back in January of 2013, she didn’t think much about it.Jurcik, a 31-year-old human resources professional at Boeing, ran regularly and was in good shape. She thought it was probably a strained muscle from a workout. But the pain got worse, and by early February she could barely stand up. “I had the absolutely worst pain in my life,†she said. “I couldn’t stand up straight.†Continue reading...
Su Bin, 51, admitted conspiring with China-based hackers who targeted projects including F-22 and F-35 fighter jets on behalf of People’s Liberation ArmyA Chinese businessman who admitted taking part in the hacking of US defence secrets has been given nearly four years’ jail.
All vehicles using the ‘autopilot’ technology that featured in the accident that killed Joshua Brown in May to be reviewed, Nhtsa letter tells companyA letter from the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration says that it is investigating all Tesla vehicles equipped with any version of its “Autopilot Technology Package†in the wake of a crash in May that killed a 40-year-old man.The accident that killed Joshua Brown appears to have happened because autopilot – a self-driving mode still in its testing phase – could not distinguish between a white truck and a bright sky in this case, according to Tesla. Continue reading...
Senator wants the federal government to investigate the extent to which the short-term lodging market actually consists of commercial rental firmsSenator Elizabeth Warren has urged the federal government to investigate Airbnb and other short-term rental companies in a move that experts say marks an unprecedented step in US lawmakers’ formal scrutiny of the “sharing economyâ€.The progressive senator from Massachusetts, who has taken on a high-profile role in the presidential race, co-signed a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday, requesting that the agency “study and quantify†the extent to which the short-term lodging market consists of “persons or firms acting in a commercial manner by renting out entire residences or multiple residences simultaneouslyâ€. Continue reading...
by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent on (#1M6DJ)
Body launches public consultation on laws that need updating including online abuse legislation, which predates digital ageLegislation criminalising indecent or grossly offensive communications should be clarified to help tackle abuse and “trolling†on the internet, the Law Commission has suggested.Launching a public consultation on laws that may need reform, the body that identifies legal flaws also proposed reviewing ineffective or outdated parliamentary acts governing weddings, surrogacy, the “Maxwellisation†process – in which individuals facing criticism are given an opportunity to respond during public inquiries – codification of the law in Wales and confiscation of the proceeds of crime. Continue reading...
Tech giant’s first original production will feature developers trying to create ‘the next great app’Apple is seeking participants for its new reality TV show Planet of the Apps.The casting call issued on Tuesday by co-producers Propagate seeks app developers aged over 18 who are planning on making apps for Apple devices. Continue reading...
Burning airships, rocket guns, fighting on horseback – what did playing the closed alpha version of EA’s eagerly anticipated epic tell us about the future of a battered genre?“Preparing all-out war,†says the starting screen as Battlefield 1 loads up. It’s not kidding. When Electronic Arts launched the trailer for its first world war shooter, fans were delighted to see the series, not only returning to its historical roots, but heading even further back than the original start point: 1942. This heavily viewed slab of cacophonous action promised an epic war story of destruction and gritty combat; and judging by the closed alpha test – an early version of the St Quentin’s Scar map available only to a select few players – the game will deliver.After several days on the mostly stable 64-player servers, here’s what we’ve learned about the Battlefield 1 experience so far. Continue reading...
Dominant smartphone operating system maker given extra time to respond to European commission charges over market abuse of Android and Google Search and Chrome appsGoogle has been given a six-week extension until early September to respond to EU antitrust charges filed against its mobile operating system Android.In April the European commission said Google’s requirement that mobile phone manufacturers pre-install Google Search and the Google’s Chrome browser in order to get access to other Google apps including the Google Play Store, the largest source of Android apps with more than 2m available, may harm consumers and competition. Continue reading...
Britain’s biggest carmaker plans to deploy self-driving vehicles on motorways and roads near its Coventry HQ later this yearJaguar Land Rover has said it will create a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles over the next four years to test autonomous and connected technology, with the first hitting the streets later this year.
Architects and planners brought up on SimCity are using the principles of gaming to encourage sustainabilityMany children of the 1990s would have fond memories of the smash-hit computer game SimCity. The open-ended simulation that allowed players to plan entire cities while balancing public service, environmental and budgetary pressures smashed preconceptions of what a video game could be.At the time of SimCity’s emergence in 1989, a video game with no end and no set target was considered absurd. But the sheer detail (down to crime and traffic levels on each street), the ease of learning, constant feedback to player decisions (citizens moving into suburbs or buildings becoming derelict) and the ability to “play god†lifted this title from mere simulation to a global sensation. Continue reading...
Tesla said data suggested the driver’s hands were not on the wheel in a recent accident in Montana in which a Model X veered off the road and hit a postAnother accident involving Tesla’s autopilot system has been reported, this time in Montana when a Model X veered off the road and hit a post.Early on Sunday morning on a highway near Whitehall, a Tesla veered off to the right into a wooden guardrail, according to the Detroit Free Press, stopping the car before it left the road. The driver told a highway patrol officer that the car’s driver assist feature had been engaged. Continue reading...
Currency behind social media website Steemit, in which users are rewarded or paid based number of ‘thumbs up’, has rocketed to more than $150m in valueSteem, the digital currency behind the new social media website Steemit, soared more than 1,000% in value on Tuesday to more than $150m, two weeks after it first paid people who posted on its website, according to coinmarketcap.com.
By signing up to the retail giant’s affiliate network, Amazon Associates, publishers can earn commissions from linking to products on Amazon.comIn July 2015, Amazon declared its own annual holiday: Amazon Prime Day. The retail giant promised deals on a wide range of products for customers signed up to its membership program, Amazon Prime.This is the second Amazon Prime Day, and it’s pretty hard to miss. At the time of writing, the #PrimeDay hashtag was one of Twitter’s top 10 worldwide trends. Media outlets including the Daily Mail, USA Today, the Telegraph, PC World and CNet are publishing numerous stories about the discounts on offer, and urging readers to sign up for an Amazon Prime trial. Continue reading...
Brogan BamBrogan brings harassment and nepotism lawsuit against the supersonic transport company, claiming he feared for his physical safetySenior executives at Hyperloop One, the much-hyped technology company developing a high-speed transportation system, are being accused of nepotism and physically threatening and harassing employees in a lawsuit filed by the startup’s co-founder and three former employees.Brogan BamBrogan, a co-founder who recently resigned as chief technology officer, alleges that one executive left a “hangman’s noose†on his chair in one of the most explosive claims, which is bolstered by photos included in the complaint. Continue reading...
Internapalooza provides an inside look at the peculiar cultural initiation to the tech industry: coding, entrepreneurship and a certain amount of privilegeThere were piles of free stuff at Internapalooza, the annual gathering of thousands of tech industry summer interns. In the club level at the San Francisco Giants’ stadium on Monday evening, name-tag-sporting millennials travelled in packs of three and four as they scooped up branded T-shirts, tote bags, water bottles, Moleskin notebooks, sunglasses, argyle socks from Zillow, mobile device charge pads from eBay, winter caps from Google, flip flops from Andreessen Horowitz, and – the overall favorite – selfie sticks and throw pillows from YouTube.Almost everything was free. Everything except the popcorn. Continue reading...
US Fish and Wildlife Service to target diseased prairie dogs, food for the ferrets, via specially designed drones that shoot the candies in three directions at onceThe US government is set to unleash drones that fire vaccine-covered M&Ms in a bid to save the endangered black-footed ferret, a species that is facing a plague epidemic across America’s great plains.
Investigatory powers bill could lead to video shot by reporters being accessed remotely by police or their phone microphones used as a bug, peers sayPeers have issued a serious warning that the government’s proposed “snooper’s charter†law could endanger journalists and their sources.The House of Lords heard a strong cross-party plea that greater protection for journalists’ sources was needed in Theresa May’s investigatory powers bill, which seeks to extend the powers of state surveillance. Continue reading...