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A summer update to Xbox One will bring a variety of new features, including closer ties with Windows 10 PCsMicrosoft has announced a new summer update for the Xbox One console, which will include support for the company’s digital personal assistant, Cortana, and will more closely align the console with Windows 10 PCs. A more unified online store will offer both PC and console titles, and Xbox One will also be able to support some Windows apps.Microsoft is calling the Xbox One version of Cortana a “personal gaming assistant”. As on PC and smartphone, she is able to learn your current whereabouts and where your key locations are, so you’ll be able to ask it, while you’re playing a game at home, how long it’ll take you to get to work. Any information you request from Cortana will be displayed in a panel at the side of the main game screen.

Stickers and slides serve to ease concerns that spooks could be watching our every move, as even the FBI director says he puts tape on his cameraFor the past half decade, the technology industry has been racing to build better cameras into the hardware we use every day.Yet the surveillance age has inspired an odd cottage industry battling against this trend: a glut of cheap stickers and branded plastic slides designed to cover up the front-facing cameras on phones, laptops and even televisions. Continue reading...

Soon Facebook’s smartphone users will have to install its separate app to chat, as social network phases out mobile web version. But what’s in it for Zuckerberg and co?Facebook is forcing users of its mobile site to install its separate Messenger app if they want use chat, just as it has already done for users of its Android and iOS app.

New technology aims to stop pedestrians wandering blindly into the road while texting – but they should put down those gizmos and pick up the Highway CodeThe city of Sydney, Australia, is planning to trial traffic lights down on the pavements to stop twerps glued to their smartphones from striding blindly into traffic and injuring or killing themselves.Why pander to these creatures? Why save them from their silly selves and encourage them to glare downwards? How will they ever learn to look where they’re going? Continue reading...

La Petite Mort offers a ‘one of a kind digital erotic experience’ and aims to normalise discussion of female pleasure, but has not been warmly embraced by allI’m watching a musician, with whom I’ve been intimate, play an intimate musical game on his smartphone. As he lightly circles his finger and the music swells, the screen reddens and so do I. This is perhaps the first time I’ve been turned on by a video game – and I’m not even playing it.This is La Petite Mort, a touch-based game described as a “one of a kind digital erotic experience” by its creator, a small Danish studio named Lovable Hat Cult. The concept arose after a discussion at the Copenhagen Game Collective. This is a network of experimental developers responsible for the annual romance and sex-themed Lyst Summit and other boundary-pushing projects such as an adult colouring game. The hope is that La Petite Mort will be the first in a budding genre: female stimulation simulation. I am totally onboard. Continue reading...

Robots and automated systems are getting faster, better and cheaper by the day. A study of US jobs has found that 47% are threatened by automation in the next 20 years. So what can robots already do? What jobs are safe? And what will we do all day if we don’t have any work to do? Continue reading...

Facebook founder apparent victim of 2012 LinkedIn password dumpMark Zuckerberg is having a bad Monday.The Facebook founder briefly lost control of both his Twitter and Pinterest accounts this morning, after a hacker broke in to both, defacing the pages. Continue reading...

While the gender gap in higher education is growing, it’s facile to say playing Minecraft and its ilk are the causeOnline video games are to blame for a decline in young men entering higher education. This is the neat claim made in a recent op-ed published by the Times under the subheading “The gender imbalance in higher education may not be as complicated as it looks”. Emboldened by a recent report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, which found that boys were 10 times as likely to play collaborative online games than girls, the author repeats its assertion that “the gender gap in video gaming translates into a performance advantage for girls”. Not correlation, then, but grim causation: play video games, drop grades.This medium, in its glorious marriage of art and science, has the capacity to teach skills both dextrous and cerebral Continue reading...

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

Netflix-style system will allow passengers to watch films and TV programmes using their own devicesVirgin Trains has launched a Netflix-style entertainment system allowing passengers to watch films and TV programmes on demand using their own devices. Travellers can stream a library of around 200 hours of content to their mobiles and tablets.Related: Streaming for joy: how to master internet TV Continue reading...

Privacy International releases letters that it says show ‘cosy’ relationship between watchdog and intelligence operationsThe watchdog that monitors interception of emails and phone calls by the intelligence services allowed MI5 to escape regular scrutiny of its bulk collection of communications data, according to newly released confidential correspondence.A highly revealing exchange of letters from 2004 has been published by Privacy International (PI) before Monday’s parliamentary debate on the investigatory powers bill, sometimes called the snooper’s charter.

More than 80% of the world’s smartphones run Google’s operating system. Here we rate the handsets vying to outdo the iPhone£449 Continue reading...

Powerful, off-message and bright orange… Nissan’s new pick-up is the Donald Trump of the motoring worldPrice: £22,040

Poll by Liberty finds widespread ignorance of move to strengthen surveillance powers that is heading for Commons battleBritons could be sleepwalking into a new era of state surveillance powers, judging by a new poll conducted by the civil rights organisation Liberty.Before a Commons battle over the investigatory powers bill this week, the poll found that 92% of respondents who were aware of the proposals – described as a “snooper’s charter” by critics – disapproved of them. But 72% of respondents said that they knew nothing about it. Continue reading...

The tech giant has employed scores of government advisers, while former employees found jobs with European governmentsNew concerns have been raised about the political influence of Google after research found at least 80 “revolving door” moves in the past decade – instances where the online giant took on government employees and European governments employed Google staff.The research was carried out by the Google Transparency Project, an initiative run by the Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a US organisation that scrutinises corporations and politicians. The CfA has suggested that the moves are a result of Google seeking to boost its influence in Europe as the company seeks to head off antitrust action and moves to tighten up on online privacy. Continue reading...

Being so low-slung on the road makes you feel cunning and felineI don’t know how you can tell that a car has got lighter, I imagine in the same way that you can tell down the phone that a relative has put on a few pounds. The Mazda MX-5 has dropped 100kg on its previous incarnation, and treads the roads like the only size zero at a party. It is dead cute. The shape is classic and unfussy, with the edges rounded to smooth out what would otherwise be an aggressive amount of cool. Things I hate about sports cars (the manufactured and unnecessary growling, the awkward getting in and out), I loved in this sports car – and not only because it is small. It has a dynamism that you ought to expect from its two-litre engine – a huge amount of horsepower for its size – but still surprises.It’s a two-seater, of course, and the driving posture is absurdly racy, a practically Formula One curve to the seat, so that it holds you like a baseball glove. If your driving persona is pretty diffident – I would just as soon be on a bus, staring out of a window – you may be horrified to discover how much you enjoy yourself. Economies of space have necessitated some odd positioning: the CD player is behind you. (While we’re here, who listens to CDs these days?) But all that, plus the fact that you can’t fit both your children in the car and they have to follow you in an Uber like dalmatians, is petty detail. The rest of the controls are intuitive and simple. Continue reading...

Global firms are investing in startups threatening to shake up motoring because they know self-driving cars are the futureThe global automotive industry and the oil majors are not known for meekly rolling over when a competitor comes along – from General Motors’ involvement in killing public transport in Los Angeles in the 1940s to Shell lobbying to undermine EU renewables targets in more recent years.But recently, the world has started to see a new side to the sector: “If you can’t beat them, join them; and if you can’t join them, buy them out.” Continue reading...

Launch of UberEATS, which will compete with Deliveroo, comes as the firm prepares a major British advertising campaignUber is recruiting an army of delivery drivers as it prepares to go to war with Deliveroo for a slice of the UK’s takeaway food market.The taxi-hailing app confirmed it was finalising plans to roll out its UberEATS service in the UK as it looks for ways to build on the success of its fast-growing service. Continue reading...

Why a vandalised Vote Leave sign is making a lot of people on the internet laughWelsh politics and the EU referendum doesn’t sound like the most fun thing to be talking about on a Friday afternoon.Yet a vandalised Vote Leave sign in mid-Wales is doing the rounds this week, leading to an unlikely mock-campaign for a third candidate in the EU referendum. Continue reading...

EA’s popular life simulation game bins binary male and female categories for bodies, hair and clothes, in line with progressive stance on same-sex relationshipsThe Sims, EA’s popular lifestyle simulation game, has removed binary gender categories for clothes, hairstyles, accessories and physical characteristics – such as voice pitch – in its customisation options for characters.A blogpost from Maxis, the EA subsidiary that makes the game, announced the changes and focused on the game’s history of LGBT support and the freedom it wanted to offer players. Continue reading...

Smart home heating aid learns your schedule, turns off when you leave the house and increases energy efficiency with upgraded screen and workingsThe new Nest learning thermostat is the third-generation heating control system from Google owner Alphabet’s subsidiary. It is the second version to be released in the UK, and now comes with a bigger, clearer screen and more advanced components that not only work better, but also protect your boiler. Continue reading...

Tribunal had ruled in favour of the occupants but owner takes case to court, arguing that a five-day stay amounts to sub-lettingA landlord who attempted to evict tenants for listing their rental property on Airbnb has taken the case to court, arguing that a five-day stay in the apartment in Melbourne amounted to sub-letting.Barbara Uecker and Michael Greaves signed a 12-month lease for the two-bedroom apartment in the bayside suburb of St Kilda in August 2015 and later listed it on Airbnb in two advertisements: one offering just the spare room, and one the whole flat.

Sky, BT and other companies can advertise high-speed broadband claims even if they are only available to 10% of their customersConsumers’ group Which? has called on the advertising watchdog to ban companies such as Sky and BT from advertising super-fast broadband promises when more than 15m households don’t get anywhere near the speeds they pay for.Under the UK advertising code, which is administered by the Advertising Standards Authority, companies are allowed to advertise their top speeds even if they are only actually available to just 10% of customers.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Friday already! Continue reading...

The 72 new characters – including ‘avocado’ and ‘face palm’ – will be available from 21 June, but greater representation of women is still a work in progressIf you’ve ever been too hungover to type “bacon” in full, or felt the “face with tears of joy” had lost its impact as an expression of amusement, rejoice – your digital vocabulary is about to expand with the approval of more than 70 new emoji characters.Seventy-two new emojis are to be made available with the release of Unicode 9. Among them is a “person doing cartwheel”, avocado, doner kebab, pregnant woman, tumbler glass, boxing glove, and first, second and third place medals. Continue reading...

Impossible Foods is on a mission to make a burger so similar to beef that even the most ardent meat lovers can’t tell the difference. Have they succeeded?Raj Aggarwal took a bite of the burger and paused, looked straight ahead as he chewed, and shrugged his shoulders.“It tastes like a burger, very tasty,” said Aggarwal, the founder of a startup called Localytics. “Not quite bloody though.” Continue reading...

The Tesla CEO has proclaimed that autonomous driving is a ‘solved problem’ but tech and executives in recent years have tempered their expectationsDepending on whom you ask, your car will be driving you in less than two years – or more than 15.The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, who is never shy about beating his chest, on Wednesday declared it to be just two years away . In doing so, he made one of the most confident predictions to date about how soon consumers can stop worrying about passing their driver’s tests. Continue reading...

European commission warns against cracking down on businesses that help ordinary people offer services to the publicThe European commission has thrown its weight behind the so-called sharing economy typified by firms such as Uber and Airbnb, saying countries should only ban them as a last resort.The growth of the sharing economy – defined as businesses that help ordinary people offer services to the public – has caused tension in several European countries over claims that existing industries are being damaged. Continue reading...

A PlayStation game opened up a liberating world of play, interaction and co-operation for Keith Stuart and his young son. It continues to be a cornerstone of their relationship – and a place to have fun together as equalsMy son was seven when a paediatrician diagnosed him on the autism scale – but really, we had known for years. There was his limited vocabulary – a handful of words by the time he was three, and a habit of mixing up letters or relying on stock sentences. He found it hard to get on with other children at his nursery, and later, when he went to a much bigger school, it was obvious the experience was terrifyingly loud, hectic and incomprehensible to him. Meanwhile, if there was something he was interested in, whether it was Peppa Pig or Superman, he would fixate on it to the detriment of absolutely anything else. We knew where all the signs were pointing.

Libel lawyer says US tech firms basing international operations in the country will see ‘flurry of activity’ in coming monthsTech companies including Twitter, Google and Facebook are facing a wave of legal actions in Ireland because of their decision to base their international operations in the country, a leading libel lawyer has said.Paul Tweed told the Guardian his firm Johnsons had seen a “steady, if not dramatic, increase in claims against Facebook, Google and Twitter” as well as other social networks. He said there were several new claims a week on issues including privacy, libel and harassment. Continue reading...

@DarthPutinKGB reinstated following suspension alongside several other accounts satirising Russian officialsTwitter has unblocked a popular account parodying the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, after widespread condemnation and accusations of censorship.@DarthPutinKGB celebrated his return to Twitter following a two-day suspension with typical tweets: Continue reading...

David Cameron to be one of those facing questioning by public on 10 June

Billionaire entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal and Hyperloop discusses Mars, driverless cars and going into orbitElon Musk wears many hats. He’s the co-founder of online payments behemoth PayPal, the founder of private space flight pioneers SpaceX, the chief executive of electronic car manufacturers Tesla, and the original doodler of utopian transport concept Hyperloop. He’s also outspoken about the dangers of AI research, the need for blue-sky thinking in technology, and his desire to colonise another planet.So it’s no surprise that over the course of an interview at California’s Code conference, Musk revealed a number of things we didn’t know before. Here’s some of them. Continue reading...

Actor will also produce big-screen version of record-breaking third-person shooter, his second gaming tie-in after 2010 flop Prince of PersiaJake Gyllenhaal is set to star in a big-screen adaptation of record-breaking video game Tom Clancy’s The Division.Gyllenhaal will also act as producer on the project, according to Variety. The video game, a third-person shooter, is gaming giant Ubisoft’s fastest-selling product, making $330m (£229m) within five days of its release in March. Continue reading...

Broadcaster invests in production business that has made programming including Bear Grylls: Man vs Everest

Anti-UAV Defence System to be one of three systems trialled by Federal Aviation Authority in attempt to combat incursionsAn anti-drone system developed by a trio of UK companies is to receive its first public test by America’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), in an effort to protect airports from the risks of hobbyist unmanned aerial vehicles.The system, called the Anti-UAV Defence System (Auds), looks like a mounted turret but instead of shooting drones out of the sky with bullets, it fires nothing more menacing than radio waves. Continue reading...

From soups and stews to roasts, vegetarian and vegan meals – here are some of the most helpful apps to get you cookingThe recent rumpus about the BBC’s plans for its recipes websites showed how many of us are turning to digital sources rather than traditional books when cooking. Inevitably, there are apps for that. Lots of them.Here are 10 of the best cookery apps for Android and iOS, covering various cuisines, themes and age groups/abilities. Prices are correct at the time of writing, and “IAP” refers to in-app purchases – usually for extra bundles of recipes in this case. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Thursday. Continue reading...

Yasir Al Rumayya, managing director of the Saudi public investment fund, will join Uber’s board, giving the government a voice in one of the hottest tech firmsThe Saudi Arabian royal government’s investment arm announced Wednesday that it is investing $3.5bn in Uber, one of the largest investments in a private technology company ever.It’s an ironic investment for Uber, given that the country is the only one in the world to ban women from driving. Continue reading...

Whether you want help with cooking, cleaning or even dating, there’s a droid for the job. Here are a handful of home assistants who would love to serve youMeet Zenbo, the Asus robot that costs no more than a smartphoneIn-home robots to help with everything from cooking and cleaning to childcare and companionship have been the stuff of sci-fi for decades. But, with the unveiling this week of the Wall-E-like Asus Zenbo, this is the year that science-fiction could turn into science-fact, introducing home assistants that can talk to you, control your electronics and help out with the chores. Here are five that could be knocking at your door in the near future. Continue reading...

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Let us know what constructive stories, innovations or people you would like to read about in our new Half full seriesWhy is the news overwhelmingly bad? It’s a question that those reporting current affairs have been asked since the first town crier cleared his throat hundreds of years ago. The answer is banal: ordinary people leading quiet lives do not often make for thrilling stories.War, politics, crime, terrorism, destitution: all bring out extremes in human nature that make for compelling reading, stir up our compassion, anger or horror – all emotions that make us feel alive and engaged. Continue reading...

Listen to the first episode of our new technology and digital culture show – and let us know your thoughtsWelcome to the newest member of the Guardian’s podcast family: Chips with Everything, a new incarnation of our long-running technology show, hosted by the brilliant Leigh Alexander and Olly Mann.In putting this new show together, we’ve used the huge amount of responses we received to our call-to-action, when we asked Guardian podcast listeners for their ideas. Thank you for all the feedback – we listened carefully to what you had to say, and Chips with Everything is the result. Continue reading...

We venture below the line and ask the question – why are commenters so mean?We’ve all been there: you stumble on to a YouTube video of skateboarding cats, scroll down to the comment section, and find people arguing about Ukraine’s foreign policy. We don’t even act surprised when we see random, disruptive, often cruel comments anymore. In 2016, comment section trolls are truly an embedded component of the internet, and on this first episode of Chips With Everything, we’re asking why – what’s the point of being cruel below the line?We chat with Becky Gardiner, former comment editor at the Guardian, and Lucy Moon, a vlogger on YouTube. Continue reading...

From period trackers to a vaginal sound system, new devices imply that there is something wrong down there that needs to be monitored with constant vigilanceWomen have been tracking their menstrual cycles since at least the time of Saint Augustine, and yet when Apple introduced its much ballyhooed smartwatch and Health app in 2014, there was one glaring omission: a period tracker.

Video campaign in Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, Turkey and Japan is altered by company whose boss is openly gayApple has removed an image of a same-sex couple with their two babies from its Mother’s Day advertising in France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey and Japan.

Make unlocking your smartphone even smarter by preparing for those times when you have sticky or wet digitsMost top-end smartphones, and even some low-end models, come with a fingerprint scanner these days.

Publisher of La Presse, which is digital-only on weekdays, says readers are spending up to an hour a day reading its content - and ad sales are ‘strong’The Canadian daily newspaper that replaced its weekday newsprint issues with digital tablet editions in January is reporting an increased readership and “strong” ad sales.Guy Crevier, publisher of the Montreal-based La Presse, says there has been a 30% growth in readers across the week, including many new young readers.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Wednesday – and it’s June! Continue reading...

Had Oracle won instead, a cascade of liability could have meant every Android phone owner in the world was breaching copyright lawThe Oracle v Google case matters to all of us, not just to the two software titans who have been battling over software copyright issues in the courtroom for the past six years. To understand why, it’s worth considering the cascade of liability that might have followed if Oracle had won the jury trial instead of Google.