Technology | The Guardian

In 2017 voice recognition has gone mainstream, with the Echo, Google Home and other smart speakers all competing for space in your lifeThe most futuristic thing I have ever bought used to be a Sonos music player. I’d have people over just to show it off. “Name a song,” I’d say. “Go on, any version of any song by any act that ever lived. I dare you.” So they would, and I’d pull out my phone and – hey presto – seconds later, that song would boom out across my living room like magic. No ungainly wires. No battery-draining Bluetooth connection. When friends moved house, I’d see their stupid boxes of old CDs and laugh. “You antiquated morons,” I’d gloat. “When I move house, I’ll be able to fit every song ever recorded into a shoebox. I live in the distant future and you are a bone-throwing ape, and it’s all thanks to my Sonos.”I hate my Sonos player now. Continue reading...

It was already the world’s best hatchback. Now VW has gone and made the Golf GTI even betterPrice: £28,345

The internet giant will have a real store in London for Black Friday. In this topsy-turvy retail world, innovation is now a necessityOn London’s Oxford Street a row of glittering snowflakes guides shoppers along the golden mile of fashion and department stores. The 750,000 lights floating above Selfridges, John Lewis and Debenhams are a decades-old tradition but events like Black Friday have changed Christmas shopping for ever.The UK high street has just experienced something of a watershed, what some have called its “Tesla moment”. Online fashion website Asos overtook Marks & Spencer in market value terms for the first time despite not having a single store to its name. The comparison with the automotive industry comes because electric carmaker Tesla moved ahead of the 114-year-old Ford Motor Company in market value earlier this year. Continue reading...

The Xbox One X is sleek and significant upgrade that should edge Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro down the wishlistIts creators claim it is one of the most powerful gaming consoles on Earth, now the newly launched Xbox One X from Microsoft is after a new accolade - to beat its rival Sony to dominate Christmas wishlists and the hearts of video game players.Microsoft’s new console, a substantial upgrade to the original Xbox One released in 2013, comes almost exactly a year after Sony delivered a similar performance boost with its PlayStation 4 Pro. Continue reading...

The algorithms Facebook and other tech companies use to boost engagement – and increase profits – have led to spectacular failures of sensitivity and worse. How can we fight back?Earlier this month, Facebook announced a new pilot programme in Australia aimed at stopping “revenge porn” – the non-consensual sharing of nude or otherwise explicit photos – on its platform. Their answer? Just send Facebook your nudes. Continue reading...

Telecoms regulator urges parents to destroy the devices, which have been used to listen in on classroom lessonsGermany’s telecoms regulator has banned ​the sale of “smart watches” that can be used by parents to check on their children, saying the devices violated Germany’s strict surveillance laws.The Federal Network Agency said it had already taken action against several firms that sell the watches online but did not name them. Continue reading...

The impressive Xbox One X hopes to beat Sony in the battle for Christmas salesIts creators claim it is one of the most powerful gaming consoles on Earth. Now the newly launched Xbox One X from Microsoft is after a new accolade – to beat its rival Sony to dominate Christmas wishlists and the hearts of video game players.Microsoft’s console, a substantial upgrade of the original Xbox One released in 2013, arrives almost exactly one year after Sony delivered a similar performance boost with its PlayStation 4 Pro. Continue reading...

New electric supercar will break records according to Elon Musk, with blistering acceleration and 630-mile range. Here’s everything we knowTesla announced a new version of its very first car, the Roadster, turning it into an electric supercar described as a “hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars” by company founder Elon Musk.The new sports car was unveiled alongside Tesla’s new electric truck, and promises to wow drivers with some extraordinary statistics that make it look like a Top Trumps card turned into an electrified reality. Continue reading...

Not content with simply walking or carrying objects, Atlas, made by the robotics firm Boston Dynamics, can now jump across gaps, jump and spin 180°, and – most impressive of all – it can backflip, even using its arms to balance after landing just like a real gymnast Continue reading...

Using diesel trucks now ‘economic suicide’, says Musk – but questions persist over company’s capacity to meet demandElon Musk unveiled Tesla’s first electric semi-truck on Thursday evening at an event in Los Angeles that also included the surprise reveal of a new Tesla sports car.The new Roadster, which has the same name as the first electric vehicle produced by Tesla from 2008 to 2012, emerged from the back of one of the trucks at the end of a presentation that focused largely on the economic and performance needs of truck drivers. Continue reading...

He was fired from Google for arguing that men may be more suited to working in tech than women. Now James Damore opens up about his regrets – and how autism may have shaped his experience of the worldJames Damore conforms to the stereotype. He’s happy to admit he fits the mould of an awkward computer nerd and the moment we meet in a Silicon Valley coffee shop, he knocks a display stand of metal flasks that fall clattering to the floor. The commotion draws curious glances at the 6ft 3in software engineer, but Damore is used to strangers identifying him; he’s the guy who was fired by Google this summer after he argued that men are more psychologically suited to working in technology than women.

17 November 1938 We may yet be driven to consider the fitting to vehicles of a device which would indicate when they are exceeding their permitted speedsThe Commons debate on road accidents yesterday produced the familiar crop of remedies, from the twenty-five-mile limit in built-up areas suggested by Mr. Watkins to the complete segregation of different sorts of traffic advocated by Mr. Macquisten.

‘I spoke to Bill Shorten last night and we are satisfied … he has taken action to deal with it,’ Anthony Albanese saysLabor has changed its tune on an inquiry into the hacking of the defence industry minister’s personal Twitter account, with the Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese declaring the issue is now over.On Thursday the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, supported “some investigation” into the hacking of Christopher Pyne’s Twitter account, but this position was contradicted on Friday morning byAlbanese. Continue reading...

Social network is urged to reveal what it knows as expert says it is unlikely Russian professional trolls only used TwitterFacebook is under pressure from academics and parliamentarians to reveal what it knows about Russian attempts to manipulate British politics, as research efforts flounder against the company’s locked-down social network.“Facebook has been very silent on this,” said the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake. He said representatives of all major social media companies should be called before MPs “to explain what research they have undertaken into possible Russian manipulation of their sites”. Continue reading...

Chinese company’s latest smartphone is hoping to attract users with 6in-screen complete with facial recognitionThe latest Android smartphone from Chinese upstart OnePlus hopes to tempt users looking for the new all-screen experience, but at less than half the price of an iPhone X.The 5T is a revamped version of the 5 launched in June and marks the second time the company has updated its smartphone line more than once in a year. According to co-founder Carl Pei, this is because “when we’ve got new technology ready to go we don’t want to leave our users with older devices”. Continue reading...

The modus operandi for many tech entrepreneurs lacking ideas appears to be: just find an existing service, privatize it, and claim to have ‘reinvented it’Have you heard of this cool new trend called co-living? It’s a bit like co-working, except instead of sharing an office with a bunch of randoms you share a home with a bunch of randoms. Oh, you might be thinking, is it like ye olde concept of “roommates”? Why, yes. Yes it is.

Dave and his partner need a new 10in tablet now that their old Samsung Tab 2 10.1 is slow. What is the best Android option – or should they try an iPad?We want a new tablet to replace our old Samsung Tab 2 10.1, which has become very slow when we are browsing the shopping sites that my other half uses. We want a 10in screen and good enough performance that it will last several years.

Technology firm alleges he leaked company secrets and used company resources for his own benefitTechnology firm Dyson is to sue its former chief executive for allegedly leaking its closely guarded secrets, in a claim his lawyers say is a “naked attempt” to distract from a wrongful dismissal suit against the company.The extraordinary row emerged after the company, founded by inventor Sir James Dyson, filed a high court claim against Max Conze, who led the company from 2011 to 2017. Continue reading...

Foundation launched by Facebook founder and his wife says it had nothing to do with evictions near planned private school for low-income students

Company announces new rules for blue-checkmarked verified accounts following criticism over status of Charlottesville rally organizer Jason KesslerTwitter announced new guidelines for verified accounts on Wednesday, one week after the company was harshly criticized for granting the coveted blue checkmark to Jason Kessler, the organizer of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August.“We are conducting an initial review of verified accounts and will remove verification from accounts whose behavior does not fall within these new guidelines,” the company wrote on Twitter. Continue reading...

Twitter and Russia | Men of letters | Swaths blasted | Evolving words | Robert Mugabe backwardsTwitter ruthlessly rooted out the duplicate accounts of a friend who was using one for himself and one for the hillwalking group whose Facebook page he moderates, and has banned him from returning. So I don’t see why the Russians can get away with destabilising the entire western world (Russia backed Brexit in fake Twitter posts, 15 November). Our group only wanted Twitter for last-minute meet-ups and weather-related cancellations – we had no intention of recruiting the hillwalking community for nefarious purposes, even if that were possible.

The BBC was left red-faced after quoting a parody account in its Zimbabwe coverage, exposing the danger of journalists relying on social mediaThe trouble that the BBC got itself into on Wednesday morning, when both online and on air it referred to tweets from a parody Zanu PF account, illustrate the complexities of using social media as a reporting resource. This can be especially true in fast-moving news situations, where news organisations may have few reporters directly on the ground.While many parody accounts on social media are used simply for humour, they can frequently be utilised for deliberate mischief.

Head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre says Russia is ‘seeking to undermine the international system’Russian hackers attacked British media, telecoms and energy companies over the last year, the head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has confirmed for the first time.Ciaran Martin, the founding chief executive of the NCSC, declined to provide any further details of the attacks. Continue reading...

With its build quality, excellent keyboard and improved longevity, this is one of the nicest computers you can buy – but it will cost youApple’s 13in MacBook Pro for 2017 now has battery life that matches the power of the hardware and the beauty of the design, even if it is still very expensive.When the new, redesigned MacBook Pro was launched last year it came with relatively old chips – Intel’s sixth generation Core i5 or i7 processor and integrated graphics. While performance was arguably up to par with similar machines with the newer, improved seventh generation Core i5 and i7, one thing the 13in MacBook Pro fell short on was battery life. Continue reading...

Damian Collins wants to see posts linked to British politics after Twitter gave list of suspended Russia-linked accounts to US intelligence committeeA senior British MP has called on Twitter to release examples of UK-related postings linked to a Russian “troll factory”, citing concern at possible “interference by foreign actors in the democratic process of the United Kingdom”.Damian Collins, the chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, said he wanted to see examples of posts about British politics after Twitter handed a list of 2,752 accounts to the US intelligence committee, all of which it had suspended for being linked to Russia. Continue reading...

Latest incarnation of quadruped robot has new design and eerily smooth motion in a perfect blend of Terminator robot and Pixar characterThe latest robot from former Google sibling Boston Dynamics looks like a cross between something out of a Terminator movie and a cutesy Pixar character.

Governments in Venezuela, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere use social media to influence elections, drive agendas and counter critics, says reportThe governments of 30 countries around the globe are using armies of so called opinion shapers to meddle in elections, advance anti-democratic agendas and repress their citizens, a new report shows.

Which? investigation finds security flaws in ‘intelligent’ toys such as CloudPets and Hasbro’s Furby ConnectA consumer group is urging major retailers to withdraw a number of “connected” or “intelligent” toys likely to be popular at Christmas, after finding security failures that it warns could put children’s safety at risk.Tests carried out by Which? with the German consumer group Stiftung Warentest, and other security research experts, found flaws in Bluetooth and wifi-enabled toys that could enable a stranger to talk to a child. Continue reading...

I’m pining for the time the iPhone was new and apps were still cool. Can the App Store’s new daily feature rekindle the magic?“There’s an App for that.” Apple’s slogan, trademarked two years after the App Store was launched in 2008, summed up a period when an unfamiliar icon on a friend’s home screen was a conversation starter, and someone with a good idea working from their bedroom really could do something radically different.Now Apple wants to bring some of that excitement back to the iPhone of 2017, rebuilding the App Store from the ground up. Continue reading...

For decades, tech companies promised to make the world better. As that dream falls apart, disillusioned insiders are trying to take back control• Read the text version hereSubscribe via Audioboom, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Acast & Sticher and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter Continue reading...

Google removes tens of thousands of videos showing sermons and lectures by radical cleric, but experts caution over ad-hoc actionYouTube has removed thousands of videos of the radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in a significant step up for the site’s anti-extremism campaign.It is the first time Google’s video site has taken such concerted action against a particular individual. Continue reading...

Journalists fighting spread of fake news raise concerns over possible conflicts of interest and say site has refused to disclose needed dataJournalists working for Facebook say the social media site’s fact-checking tools have largely failed and that the company has exploited their labor for a PR campaign.Several fact checkers who work for independent news organizations and partner with Facebook told the Guardian that they feared their relationships with the technology corporation, some of which are paid, have created a conflict of interest, making it harder for the news outlets to scrutinize and criticize Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation. Continue reading...

Jackie Charley said she ‘could not stop laughing’ after harmless festive images were blocked by Facebook because of ‘adult’ natureFacebook has blocked the sale of a pack of Christmas cards featuring a robin redbreast because of its “sexual” and “adult” nature.The artist, Jackie Charley, said she “could not stop laughing” when she discovered the reason the social media company would not approve the product last month. Continue reading...

The social media platform will soon allow top creators to make money from content. Cyrene Quiamco, who has 200,000 followers, explains how to become a Snapchat starDo you live for Snapchat? Or did you download the app months ago, send a wonky selfie captioned “How does this work??!!” to a clueless friend and promptly forget all about it? If it’s the latter, let’s face it, you’re old. Snapchat has about 178 million daily users worldwide, the majority aged under 34. But the recent announcement by parent company Snap that top creators will be paid for content could be a game-changer.While details haven’t been announced, users could be incentivised to create content in a similar way to YouTubers, who can make videos in exchange for ad revenue. Take 28-year-old Cyrene Quiamco, from Little Rock, Arkansas, who left her job as a web designer two years ago to concentrate on Snapchat full-time, where she has 200,000 followers. She already makes $500,000 (£380,000) a year from sponsored snaps, speaking engagements and consulting, and has written a book on becoming a social media influencer, 11 Seconds to Success. Continue reading...

Jurassic-era values of sexism and homophobia also blight the brave new world of Silicon Valley web giants

A classic Playstation RPG gets an update, while one of the PS4’s best combat role-playing titles gets a meaty expansionPS4, Square Enix, cert: 12

Civil rights group warns that use of software to identify faces threatens the very liberty war veterans fought forPolice are to use controversial facial recognition software to scan crowds attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph, the Observer can reveal.The Metropolitan Police will deploy real-time biometric tracking at the event, which will be attended by about 10,000 former and current service personnel as well as dignitaries and members of the public. Prince Charles will lay the head of state’s wreath at the commemoration, which marks the 99th anniversary of the end of the first world war. Met sources said the use of the technology at the showpiece central London event is a trial, and not related to terrorism or serious crime. Continue reading...

Development Centre is filled with 400 employees dedicated to researching Amazon’s AI assistant and Prime Air deliveriesAmazon has reiterated its commitment to the UK by opening a new so-called Development Centre in the heart of Cambridge – three storeys of premium office space housing 400 employees dedicated to research for products from Amazon’s AI-assistant Alexa to the brave new field of Prime Air drone deliveries.The new development joins Amazon’s original Castle Park building in Cambridge to house an interdisciplinary team of engineers, scientists and researchers – dubbed Amazon Research Cambridge – dedicated to “pure innovation”, according to Amazon’s UK boss, Doug Gurr. Continue reading...

The sad truth is that Facebook and Google have behaved irresponsibly in the pursuit of massive profits. And this has come at a cost to our healthIn an interview this week with Axios, Facebook’s original president, Sean Parker, admitted that the company intentionally sought to addict users and expressed regret at the damage being inflicted on children.This admission, by one of the architects of Facebook, comes on the heels of last week’s hearings by Congressional committees about Russian interference in the 2016 election, where the general counsels of Facebook, Alphabet (parent of Google and YouTube), and Twitter attempted to deflect responsibility for manipulation of their platforms. Continue reading...

Cambridge Analytica executive confirms firm asked Assange to share hacked emails related to Clinton – reportedly around time it started working for TrumpThe chief executive of Cambridge Analytica has confirmed that the UK data research firm contacted Julian Assange to ask WikiLeaks to share hacked emails related to Hillary Clinton at about the time it started working for the Trump campaign in summer 2016.Related: Julian Assange: I urged Trump Jr to publish Russia emails via WikiLeaks Continue reading...

Speaking about his 30-state tour that sparked rumors of a presidential run, the Facebook CEO added: ‘We have a responsibility to remain optimistic’The “biggest surprise by far” from Mark Zuckerberg’s listening tour of America is the extent of the opioid crisis, the Facebook CEO said on Friday.“It’s really saddening to see,” he said, referencing the 64,000 people who died from drug overdoses last year. Continue reading...

Ride-hailing app had appealed against ruling that drivers were workers with minimum-wage rights and not self-employedThe ride-hailing firm Uber has lost its appeal against a ruling that its drivers should be classed as workers with minimum-wage rights, in a case that could have major ramifications for labour rights in the growing gig economy.The US company, which claims that drivers are self-employed, said it would launch a further appeal against the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision, meaning the case could end up in thesupreme court next year. Continue reading...

The company’s most important smartphone in years does not disappoint, with Face ID and an all-screen design that spells the end of the home buttonThe iPhone X is Apple’s most important – and most expensive – new smartphone in four years, bringing with it a significant change to the design, dumping the home button to usher in a full-screen experience. Thankfully, Apple nailed it.

Site’s founding president, who became a billionaire thanks to the company, says: ‘God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains’Facebook’s founders knew they were creating something addictive that exploited “a vulnerability in human psychology” from the outset, according to the company’s founding president Sean Parker.Parker, whose stake in Facebook made him a billionaire, criticized the social networking giant at an Axios event in Philadelphia this week. Now the founder and chair of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Parker was there to speak about advances in cancer therapies. However, he took the time to provide some insight into the early thinking at Facebook at a time when social media companies face intense scrutiny from lawmakers over their power and influence. Continue reading...

Verification process is ‘paused’ after Jason Kessler, activist behind Charlottesville rally that sparked violence gains approvalJack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter, has said its blue tick verification process is “broken” after it verified the organiser of a far-right rally.The social media company was criticised after Jason Kessler, who organised the Unite the Right rally that sparked violence in the US town of Charlottesville in August, tweeted on Wednesday to confirm he had been verified by the platform. Continue reading...

The sheer volume of data Facebook has on you is difficult to comprehend, which makes it incredibly creepy – and ripe for conspiracy theoriesLast week, Facebook issued yet another denial that the company eavesdrops on its users to target them with adverts.“Just not true,” said Rob Goldman, the company’s head of ad product, in response to an open query from podcast Reply All. Continue reading...

A truck driver is blamed for the accident, which passengers say could have been avoided if the autonomous vehicle had only reversedIt took less than two hours for Las Vegas’s brand new self-driving shuttle to end up in a crash on Wednesday – thanks to a human.The autonomous bus made its debut on public roads around the so called Innovation District in downtown Las Vegas in front of cameras and celebrities, dubbed America’s first self-driving shuttle pilot project geared toward the public. But within two hours it had already been involved in a minor crash with a lorry. No injuries were reported. Continue reading...

The new version of the Alexa-ready gadget sounds great, looks good and improves on the original, meaning nobody can touch its quality for the priceThe new Amazon Echo is cheaper, smaller and has a less imposing stature, but is it still the best smart speaker going?

Senator calls for greater scrutiny of companies such as Facebook and Amazon, warning of companies’ control over ‘so many aspects of our lives’Senator Al Franken renewed his calls for increased scrutiny of the role of major tech companies such as Facebook and Amazon on Wednesday, charging that they had “failed to take commonsense precautions to prevent the spread of propaganda, misinformation, and hate speech”.Speaking to the Open Markets Institute in Washington, the Minnesota Democrat and former comedian said: “It is incumbent upon us to ask the broader questions. How did big tech come to control so many aspects of our lives? How is it using our personal information to strengthen its reach and its bottom line? Are these companies engaging in anticompetitive behavior that restricts the free flow of information and commerce?” Continue reading...