Technology | The Guardian

Gentler designs with an emphasis on teamwork are fuelling a boom in board game sales. Why, in the golden age of video games, are we choosing to play with counters round a table? Below, the best of the new waveIt’s a bright Thursday morning in Oxford, and the Thirsty Meeples cafe on Gloucester Green market is thrumming with activity. As we sit at a sun-warmed window table, the maitre d’, Gareth, introduces himself and presents a list of recommendations.First, he suggests Forbidden Desert. It is not a cocktail. “You have all crash-landed in a desert where you are searching for a lost civilisation,” explains Gareth, who sports a purple Thirsty Meeples “Game Guru” T-shirt. “A sandstorm hits, and you have to find all the pieces of a mythical flying ship to escape.” Next he offers up Escape: The Curse of the Temple, in which we’ll become “Indiana Jones-type people” who have to flee a crumbling ancient tomb. “Or,” Gareth says, “how about fighting fires?”. Last, he recommends Flash Point, in which I, my wife and two sons would rescue people from a burning building. Pull enough of them from the flames and we all win. But if a certain number are lost to the inferno, we lose. We choose Flash Point. Continue reading...

Apple’s AirPods may have grabbed the headlines but they’re only part of a whole ‘hearable’ revolutionEarlier this month, the internet got in a froth about Apple’s decision to drop the 3.5mm analogue audio jack from the new iPhone. Users took to Twitter to vent their outrage, while tech analysts, such as Paul Erickson at IHS Technology, suggested that the removal was money-driven: “It should be noted that wireless models are the highest revenue-generating products within the headphone market,” he told the Financial Times.Further disapproval was directed at Apple’s replacement for wired earphones, the AirPod, essentially a wireless earphone and microphone – “like a tampon without a string” according to the Guardian – while the writers of US late-night talkshow Conan created a satirical Apple ad featuring the devices plopping from users’ ears to floor and being eaten by their pet dogs. Continue reading...

Microsoft’s road-racing sim steps up a gear, DC’s Dark Knight returns to rule the streets of Gotham, but an intriguing new shoot-’em-up is too much like hard workPC/Xbox One, Microsoft; cert: 3

This lightweight MTB is agile and strong, perfect for muddy trails or longer ridesAfter the hottest and driest September in a century, it’s hard to believe we’ll ever have fun in the mud again… So when the rain arrives you want to be ready, and the Reaction range of mountain bikes is a great place to begin. Made by Cube, the much-lauded German manufacturer, the all-carbon range starts at £1,249 and tops out at almost £2,000. But unless you are a pro trail racer, the entry-level GTC is all you’ll ever need in a lightweight hardtail MTB. It’s balanced, responsive and very agile. At its core is its super-stiff frame, which uses the firm’s ‘Grand Tour’ composite. The tapering top tube combines with the race-light wheels to give you a wonderful sense that you could skip across gloopy bogs all day. It has decent front shox and reliable disc brakes, too. An easy rider for the hard stuff (cube.eu).Price: £1,249

Subaru’s sturdy Forester is so robust and uncompromising that it pays to have calloused palms before you drivePrice: £25,495

Photos of Duchess of Cambridge and her children, George and Charlotte, reportedly among those stolen

Spectacles, which record 10-second clips that can be sent to smartphones, expected to be available in US in time for ChristmasUndeterred by the failure of Google Glass, Snapchat has decided to launch its own pair of glasses that can record video.The picture and video messaging app is expected to release its Spectacles sunglasses in the US in time for Christmas, priced at about $130 (£100). Continue reading...

Ardit Ferizi struggles to explain why he sent extremist group the details of hundreds of US government and military officialsA hacker who helped Islamic State by providing the names of more than 1,000 US government and military workers as potential targets was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison.The sentence was much higher than the six-year term sought by defense lawyers, who argued their client, Ardit Ferizi, meant no real harm and was not a true Isis supporter. Continue reading...

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan may feel good about donating $3bn to medical research, but it’s a drop in the oceanSo, is $3bn a lot of money? Of course it is. Is $3bn enough to banish or manage all disease in the world within the next 84 years? Of course it isn’t. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have announced a plan to invest £3bn in medical research over the next 10 years. They claim this sum will enable them to play a key role in curing, preventing or managing all disease by the end of this century.Related: No Such Thing As a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy by Linsey McGoey – review Continue reading...

Following the Fifa Interactive World Cup, EA Sports franchise finds new ways to tap in to expanding, and highly valuable, online marketThis year, a Fifa football tournament took place that included no superstar players or teams from the global sport; in fact, there was no pitch and no ball.Despite these disadvantages, live coverage of the final was shown in more than 100 countries to an audience of about 5 million and generated 40m comments on Facebook and Twitter. That’s how sporting success is measured nowadays. Continue reading...

The breach, relating to Queensland businesses, is one of 14 the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported to the Information Commissioner since 2013The Australian Bureau of Statistics inadvertently released contact names linked to more than 5,000 Queensland businesses in what was described as a “human error”.The breach is one of 14 the ABS has reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner since 2013, and was released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws. Continue reading...

With Salesforce and Google’s parent company Alphabet rumored to be possible buyers, an acquisition could bring fresh ideas on how to refine what it can offerYou could say it in less than 140 characters: Twitter may be for sale, according to the latest speculation on Wall Street reported by both Reuters and CNBC.Both Alphabet, which is Google’s parent company, and Salesforce were rumored to be possible suitors for Twitter, and the final sale price is likely to be around $22 per share, according to Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi – putting the value of the company close to $15.5bn. He also believes the victor is likely to be Google, which is a better strategic fit. Continue reading...

Under the name NimbleRichMan, Oculus founder secretly funded Reddit users dedicated to electing Trump by flooding threads with negative Clinton memesIt’s hard to love a 20-something multi-millionaire, but Palmer Luckey’s introduction to the mainstream consciousness helped cement his image as the good kind of tech industry titan: the adorkable garage tinkerer we can root for.There he was on the cover of Time magazine, barefoot and leaping, his arms floppily akimbo, his face obscured by a virtual reality headset, and a wire extending down his back like the rattail hairstyle he might have worn if he had been born a decade earlier than he was, in 1992. Continue reading...

Biggest data breach in history complicates Verizon’s $4.8bn takeover of Yahoo, with executives refusing to give reassurances that they would press aheadThe future of Yahoo, once the darling of the internet, was plunged into crisis on Thursday following the revelation that it has suffered the biggest data hack in history – and took two years to notice.

Yahoo confirmed on Thursday that the personal data of 500million Yahoo accounts was stolen in 2014. The hack is one of the largest on record. Passwords and identity details were taken, but allegedly no financial information was stolen. Yahoo was sold for $4.8bn to telecommunications giant Verizon in July, who said they only heard about the breach after the merger deal between the two companies. Continue reading...

Passengers on IndiGo flight spotted smoke coming from the overhead luggage compartment but there was no damage to the plane and the flight landed safelyA Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone started smoking during a commercial flight in India on Friday, India’s aviation regulator said.Passengers on board the IndiGo flight spotted smoke filtering from the overhead luggage compartment and alerted the cabin crew. Sparks and smoke were seen coming from the Samsung Galaxy device, the airline, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, confirmed in an emailed statement. Continue reading...

Online retailer fined £65,000 and ordered to pay £60,000 costs for despatching batteries and aerosols for airmailAmazon UK has been found guilty and fined £65,000 for breaking aviation safety laws after repeatedly trying to send dangerous goods by airmail.A judge at Southwark crown court in London said on Friday that Amazon knew the rules, had been warned repeatedly, but had failed to take reasonable care. Although the risks from the goods sent for shipment by air were low, Judge Michael Grieve QC blamed the breaches on “systemic failure” at the online retailer. Continue reading...

Transport for London admits exempting English speakers from the test would disproportionately affect BAME applicantsAnyone hoping to drive a private-hire taxi in London could be forced to take a written English test after Transport for London admitted that exemptions for English speakers would hit black and minority ethnic people hardest.TfL is introducing new rules from 1 October requiring taxi drivers to pass English exams costing £200 to obtain or renew a private hire licence. Continue reading...

Shares in Twitter rose by 21% in early trading after CNBC reported the firm had ‘received expressions of interest from several technology or media companies’Twitter shares surged more than 20% on the New York stock exchange on Friday morning, following reports that the social media company has received takeover approaches from Google, Salesforce and other technology companies.

The ISPs, which outsourced their webmail to Yahoo, have yet to directly notify users whether their accounts are affectedMillions of BT and Sky customers are affected by the hack of half a billion Yahoo accounts, thanks to the internet service providers’ decisions to outsource their webmail hosting to the Californian technology firm, which revealed on Thursday that it was hacked in 2014.Related: Yahoo hack: what to do to protect your account Continue reading...

Users should log in to their account, change their password, as well as check for any signs of misuseIf you have a Yahoo account, it’s imperative you act quickly to ensure it, and your other internet services, are secured.Information including names, addresses, secret answers and passwords was stolen from Yahoo at some point in late 2014 and showed up for sale on the dark web in August this year. Yahoo says the “vast majority” of passwords were secured using an algorithm called bcrypt, which renders it impractically expensive for an attacker to try to break, but the company has not given any way of checking which passwords were in the minority not protected that way. Until they do, you should assume your password is unprotected, and act accordingly. Continue reading...

With fashion week coverage dominated by Gigi Hadid, the most powerful brands are now to be found walking on the catwalksThe most powerful women of the catwalk circuit are no longer to be found on the front row or in the industry boardrooms – but on the catwalks themselves. A tiny elite of models who have become social media superstars wield influence and commercial clout the like of which the supermodels of the 1990s could only have dreamed of.Milan fashion week has long been ruled by luxury brands, but this week a new brand leapfrogged Prada and Gucci to dominate coverage: that of 21-year-old Gigi Hadid, whose stratospheric rise in modelling is inseparable from the 23 million followers she has on Instagram. (To put this figure into perspective, consider that Donatella Versace has 858,000 followers.) This week Hadid, the star of MaxMara’s advertising campaign, walked in their catwalk show along with her 19-year-old sister Bella. The pair also starred on the catwalk for Fendi, designed by Karl Lagerfeld.

‘It doesn’t fit the normal intent’ of state-sponsored attacks, some experts say, pointing to the lack of detailed information from Yahoo about the hackIf Yahoo is to be believed in its assertion that a nation-state hacked into its network and made off with user data from 500m accounts, then there are a few obvious suspects, including China and Russia.However, Yahoo has not provided any detailed information about the attack, leading some security experts to raise questions over its origin. Why would nation-states be interested in or motivated to hack Yahoo? Continue reading...

Ad agencies voice concern as average viewing time is a key metric in deciding where to spend money onlineFacebook has admitted inflating the average time people spend watching videos for two years by failing to count people who watched for less than 3 seconds.According to the Wall Street Journal, ad agencies were first alerted to the problem when Facebook wrote a post in its Advertiser Help Centre saying it was introducing a new metric measuring time watched after realising that its previous measure only counting views lasting more than 3 seconds, the time a video must be seen to count as a view. Continue reading...

This week Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to ‘advance human potential’ and ‘promote’ equality. But he’s not the only tech billionaire in a Che Guevara shirtCapitalism is catechism in Silicon Valley. The civic religion is entrepreneurism and evangelism is a marketing tool. But for an industry that worships at the altars of the marketplace, the rhetoric of billionaires has gotten a bit confusing.Just this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his latest plans to invest $3bn from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization whose mission statement – “Our hopes for the future center on two ideas: advancing human potential and promoting equality” – would not sound out of place coming out of the mouth of a die-hard communist. Continue reading...

The company has confirmed that the breach took place in 2014 but its statement left pressing questions unansweredYahoo’s admission that the personal data of half a billion users has been stolen by “state-sponsored” hackers leaves pressing questions unanswered, according to security researchers.Details, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and security questions were taken from the company’s network in late 2014. Passwords were also taken, but in a “hashed” form, which prevents them from being immediately re-used, and the company believes that financial information held with it remains safe. Continue reading...

Facebook’s virtual reality headset creator is secret backer of a group dedicated to Donald Trump support through ‘meme magic’Palmer Luckey, the creator of Facebook’s Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, is the secret backer of a pro-Donald Trump organisation aiming to turn the tide of the US election through “meme magic” and “shitposting”.The group, Nimble America, was publicly unveiled last week on r/The_Donald, the portion of social news site Reddit dedicated to supporting the Republican candidate. In its introduction to the world, now deleted, a moderator wrote “What we’ve been able to accomplish here has been amazing and much bigger than any of us and certainly much bigger than Reddit. Continue reading...

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

Two years after the iPhone 6, should buyers upgrade to the waterproof, headphone socket-free – and most expensive - iPhone yet?The most eagerly awaited iPhone since the last one, the Apple’s iPhone 7 has arrived. Much has been said about its design, the absent headphone socket, and the fact that it’s now waterproof, but is it actually any good?Following on from the iPhone 6 was a tall order, which the iPhone 6S struggled to live up to, with fewer sales and less consumer enthusiasm. Two years on, the question is whether those iPhone 6 buyers will bite and upgrade to the most expensive iPhone yet, its price in the UK inflated thanks to the Brexit referendum result. Continue reading...

Details including names, passwords, email addresses, phone numbers and security questions were taken from the company’s network in late 2014Hackers stole the personal data associated with at least 500m Yahoo accounts, the Sunnyvale, California-based company confirmed on Thursday.

Secret Service voices concern after details emerge from alleged hack of White House contractor’s Gmail accountThe White House is looking into a cyber breach after what appeared to be a scan of first lady Michelle Obama’s passport was posted online.The fresh disclosures, which included emails to and from White House staff, raised further concerns about the security of sensitive systems following a string of breaches affecting government agencies, private companies and the Democratic National Committee. Though officials declined to say whether the disclosures were authentic, there were no immediate reasons to suspect they were not. Continue reading...

As explanations swirl in Washington for how tools were stolen, sources say an agent, an unsecured computer and Russian hackers are the focusA careless agent. A cache of hacking tools left on a remote and unsecured computer. A shadowy group of Russian hackers. A fire-sale on the deep web.This is the current focus of a inquiry into a cache of NSA exploits that were dumped on to public websites last month by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, four people with direct knowledge of the probe investigation told Reuters. Continue reading...

Airbnb is worth more than Hilton Hotels, but its controversial business model depends on local authorities allowing it to operate outside of hotel lawsSleeping in other people’s beds has turned out to be a goldmine for rental startup Airbnb. The controversial Silicon Valley company has raised another half a billion dollars from investors at a price that values the company at $30bn.The company is expected to file a notice with the securities and exchange commission (SEC) on Thursday, according to Fortune, which first reported the news. Continue reading...

Despite some clumsy partnerships with brands and scrappy tools, Snapchat’s most evangelistic users say this is the new platform for emerging talentA meeting of Snapchat evangelists held in the heart of London’s hipster Silicon Roundabout district could have been ripe for mockery. And there was a lot of social media buzzwordery, with popular Snapchatters, brands and ad agencies talking about how the social app is evolving.Most of the Snapchat users at SnapHappen – an independent event not organised by Snapchat itself – describe themselves as “storytellers” and “great artists”, even those whose stories are bro-tastic vlogs or top-five listicle videos, and whose art is often promotional content for brands. The first mention of “thinking out of the box” came after 10am, but it wasn’t the last unfortunate quote. Continue reading...

State law has prevented the electric vehicle manufacturer from selling cars without franchised dealers, arguing that it is ‘entitled to a vehicle dealer license’Tesla is to sue Michigan governor Rick Snyder and other state officials in federal court over the state’s refusal to allow the company to sell its luxury electric cars directly to customers.The suit at the US district court in Michigan comes days after the state rejected the electric vehicle manufacturer’s application to directly sell vehicles to consumers. Unlike other automakers, Tesla does not sell vehicles through franchised dealers. Tesla’s suit says it is seeking on an expedited basis an order that it is “entitled to a vehicle dealer license”. Continue reading...

Newspaper companies urge ministers to ‘ensure that online platforms operate within a framework that is fair, non-abusive and respectful of media plurality’Newspaper publishers have called on the government to curb the activities of search engines and social media websites.Through their trade body, the News Media Association (NMA), they delivered a briefing to ministers on Thursday about their concerns. Continue reading...

This new NPR podcast tells the story of how modest entrepreneurs Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger came up with one of the fastest-growing apps of all timeInstagram is one of those modern day inventions that nobody knew they wanted until it was there. In NPR’s brilliant new podcast, How I Built This, Guy Raz talks to Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the two men responsible for bringing the ability to put a filter on your smashed avocado to the masses.“I think the best thing for any entrepreneur is failure,” says Systrom, whose road to success sounds like something out of a Douglas Coupland-esque fairytale. Working as a travel agent by day and learning to code by night, he came up with the idea for a check-in app, Burbn. After mingling with investors in a bar, he secured half a million dollars and found someone with a “shared interest in tinkering”: Krieger. “My future flashed before my eyes talking to Kevin,” he says. Continue reading...

Couple plans to invest $3bn over next decade to help scientists develop and utilise tools such as artificial intelligence and blood monitors to treat illnessesMark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have laid out plans to invest $3bn over the next 10 years with the not insignificant goal of tackling all diseases.“Can we cure, prevent or manage all disease by the end of this century?” asked Zuckerberg, speaking in front of a packed lecture theater at the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) William J Rutter Center. Continue reading...

Variable State’s title offers a different way of storytelling, but relies heavily on unrelatable and abstract imageryLike all art, gaming is full of copycats. First-person shooters used to be known as “Doom clones”. There are probably as many match-3 games as there are planets in No Man’s Sky. But some games are less copied than others, even when they impress critics and inspire a cult following. So it’s good to see a new game that’s unabashedly inspired by Blendo Games’ Thirty Flights of Loving.Virginia may be longer than Thirty Flights, clocking in at about the length of a film, but it’s similar in form. It’s played in first-person, though the first scene begins with the player character in front of a mirror so you can see that she’s a woman of colour: Anne Tarver, newly appointed to the FBI. You play through a week in her life in the early 90s, as she and her partner Maria Halperin investigate the case of a missing child, in a series of short scenes. Continue reading...

Project focusing on tackling social issues and encouraging tolerance to feature an initial six YouTubers from around the world

Chinese drivers use zombie-like profile pictures in scam to trick users into paying a cancellation feeChina has a so-called “ghost driver” problem, with Uber passengers being scammed out of rides and money, fearful of being picked up by what looks like a zombie.

As smart toys gain popularity, many are hoping that when technology becomes less visible play will come to the fore

Mobile telecoms firm will halt 140 years of manufacturing in home country as part of cost cuts, according to Swedish mediaMobile telecoms company Ericsson is reportedly planning to close the last of its Swedish manufacturing sites as part of planned savings, cutting about 3,000 jobs and ending 140 years of production in its home country.

Ruth is upset because she’s receiving unwanted emails at Yahoo Mail and the firm isn’t helping. Is there anything she can do?For some time now, I have been receiving from five to 20 unwanted “adult” emails per day. I followed Yahoo’s advice on how to block these emails, but I still am receiving them. I contacted Yahoo again, but within the blink of an eye, I received a standard response email stating that my case was closed. I have also emailed the CEO of Yahoo UK, and I am angry with the complete indifference that Yahoo has shown.How can I stop these emails? I was thinking of sending them back to the sender, but I’m wondering if it will have any impact. Ruth Continue reading...

The ex-politician asked her to undress and masturbate over video chat, as well as engage in rape fantasies among plethora of erotic exchanges, Daily Mail reportsDisgraced former US congressman Anthony Weiner, whose career nosedived after he was caught sending sexually explicit texts and images to young women while he was still married, has allegedly spent several months this year in an online, highly explicit relationship with a 15-year-old girl, according to a new report.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan unveil plan to spend more than $3bn over 10 years to ‘cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime’. Investments will include a bioscience research centre, plans for a microchip to diagnose diseases, continuous bloodstream monitoring and a map of cell types in the body. Continue reading...

Jobs advertised on sites such as as Freelancer.com and PeoplePerHour leapt by 14% since May, says Online Labour indexThe number of jobs in the online gig economy advertised by UK employers has leapt by 14% since May, according to a new index.There has been a rapid increase in the use of online platforms by companies and individuals who want to engage remote workers for piecemeal, short-term or project-based work delivered over the internet. Continue reading...

Rumoured takeover of F1 team owner would be Apple’s biggest deal since it bought Beats headphones in 2014Apple has been linked with a shock £1.5bn deal to buy McLaren Technology Group, the Formula One team owner and supercar maker.

Margrethe Vestager is on a US charm offensive, making the case about recovering alleged unpaid taxes – but she has been met with more offense than charmIn the wake of last month’s controversial decision by the European Commission to seek “recovery of illegal state aid” for alleged unpaid taxes in Ireland from Apple of up to €13bn – plus interest – the European competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, went to the United States this week on a “charm offensive” to make her case to government officials, lawmakers and trade officials.Vestager met with US treasury secretary Jacob Lew, had a closed-door session with members of the US Senate finance committee, and spoke at the Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium at Georgetown University, where she gave a vigorous defense of the EC’s decision. Continue reading...